Okay, I got a few comments about the odd dialogue between James and Lily. When I first wrote that, I was reading Hamlet…yeah. Well, here is the next chapter and sorry, but no proposal's this chapter either…I just love building suspense. I just so happen to be in the process of writing chapter 25, Sex, Drugs, and…Quidditch? And let me tell you…the title of the chapter says it all. One couple will finally have sex…but which couple???
Chapter Sixteen
Potter Mansion
The Knight Bus stopped in front of a large house. Well, perhaps large is the wrong word. It was massive. Four stories tall and as long as a city block. Thankfully it was in a Wizarding neighborhood because behind the house, three golden hoops rose up out of the trees to form half of a Quidditch Pitch. Lily, Madison, and Cara stood at the front of the long drive with their mouths hanging open. The boys managed to lead them and their trunks up to the front door and Sirius rang the doorbell. A small house-elf in a tiny suit opened the door and led them inside.
"It's good to see you Master James. And Masters Sirius and Remus, too!" The house-elf squeaked.
"It's good to see you, too, Tunny. Can you go tell my mother we are here?" James asked. But there was no need. At that moment, a woman with deep brown hair and hazel eyes ran up and hugged James and Sirius both.
"My boys! My boys are home!!! Remus, you get in here, too!" Mrs. Potter said, enveloping the three boys in a bone-crushing hug.
"Mrs. P!!! We missed you!" Sirius said, hugging her back.
"You missed my cooking, you mean." She replied, releasing the boys yet not the grin on her face.
"Ah, not even fair Hogwarts can match your cooking." Sirius said. James and Remus nodded in agreement.
"That's good to hear. And who might these beautiful ladies be?" Mrs. Potter asked, finally moving her attention over to the girls.
"Mum, this is my girlfriend, Lily Evans." James introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Lily said, extending her hand. Mrs. Potter ignored the hand and brought Lily into a big hug.
"Well, Lily, it is a privilege to finally meet you. I can't tell you how many times I heard James and Sirius talking about you over the holidays. You finally gave in, eh?" Mrs. Potter asked. A blush crept up on James' cheeks and Lily just laughed.
"Yes. I began to see the man behind the pranks." Lily replied with a laugh.
"Well I'm glad. I haven't received one letter from McGonagall yet. I was afraid something was wrong with the poor dear!" Mrs. Potter joked. "And please, call me Estelle."
"Thank you for letting us stay here Estelle." Lily said.
"It's my pleasure. Now, who do we have here?" Estelle asked, turning to Madison.
"I'm Madison Cooper. Remus' girlfriend." Madison replied. Estelle gave her a hug as well.
"Well, it certainly is a pleasure to meet you. Remus, she seems to be quite a catch." Mrs. Potter responded.
"She really is." Remus replied. Madison smiled brightly at him.
"Well, that's good, Remus. I hope you enjoy your stay here, Madison." Estelle said kindly.
"I will, and thank you so much." Madison replied. Mrs. Potter smiled, then walked over to Cara.
"You must be Cara, Sirius' girlfriend." Estelle said, smiling.
"Yes. It's great to meet you." Cara said.
"Oh it's my pleasure. How long, may I ask, have you and Sirius been dating?" Estelle asked.
"Since the beginning of November." Sirius said, wrapping his arm around Cara.
"Sirius, have you finally settled down to a serious relationship." Mrs. Potter asked.
"Every relationship is a Sirius one." Sirius joked, playing on the Sirius-serious pun. Mrs. Potter just rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'll have Tunny show you to your rooms." Mrs. Potter said kindly. "I have to finish dinner."
Tunny snapped his fingers and the trunks rose up to midair.
"If masters and misses, will follow Tunny, Tunny will show masters and misses to their rooms." Tunny squeaked and began walking up the stairs. The six teens followed him up to the third floor.
"Master James, your room." Tunny said, opening James' door. The room was clad in crimson and gold with Quidditch posters on the wall. Lily glanced in and could have sworn she saw a picture of herself in the room.
"Well, that's enough of my room. Let's keep going." James said quickly, shutting his door. Tunny led them down the hall, pausing at each door to set one of the guests' trunks in the room. After everyone was settled, they went downstairs to the living room.
"James, your house is amazing." Lily said as they sat around the fire in the living room.
"Yeah, that ballroom is massive." Cara added.
"Thanks. By the way, on Christmas Eve, my parents throw this big party. It's formal and you lovely ladies will need gowns." James said, wrapping his arms around Lily who was sitting in front of him on the floor.
"James, I wish you had told us. I left my gown at school." Lily replied.
"Don't worry. You're getting a new one." James responded with a smirk.
"But I can't afford a new one. None of us can." Lily explained.
"Oh, of course not. That's why I'm buying it for you. All of you. Consider it a Christmas present from my parents." James replied, the smirk evolving into a smile.
"Are you serious?" Cara asked.
"No you silly girl, I'm Sirius!" Sirius replied sarcastically. Cara lightly hit him on the arm.
"James, this is too much." Madison protested.
"Please. It's really nothing. We're buying them tomorrow when we go shopping." James explained.
"Dinner is served." Came the squeaky voice of a house-elf. It was not Tunny, but a female house-elf.
"Thank you Winnie." James said, standing up. Everyone followed him into the dining room. They all took their seats as Mrs. Potter and the two house-elves laid out the food.
"Enjoy your dinner sirs and misses." Tunny squeaked as he and Winnie went back into the kitchen.
"Mum, where's dad?" James asked as he picked up a chicken leg to put on his plate.
"He got held up at the Ministry. He'll be home late." Mrs. Potter explained, filling up her plate as well. Soon, everyone was eating their dinner. There was chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, and some of the most delicious rolls in all of Great Britain. All of James' favorites, of course.
"So Lily, tell me how James finally managed to win you over." Estelle said, making polite dinner conversation.
"Well, we are both Heads this year so we had to spend a lot of time together. Not to mention his ego deflated immensely over the summer. I supposed I realized I was beginning to like him but I didn't want to admit it to myself. Then we had this big fight and I realized I had fallen for him." Lily explained. Mrs. Potter smiled.
"That's wonderful. I'm so happy for the both of you." Mrs. Potter said kindly. "And what about you, Madison? How did you and Remus wind up together?"
"Well, we have been prefects for the past two years and this year Remus finally decided to ask me out." Madison replied. Mrs. Potter smiled kindly as Remus leaned over and kissed Madison's cheek.
"And Cara?" Estelle asked, turning to the final couple.
"It's a very long story, so I'll give you the short version. Sirius was a jerk, Sirius was nice. There was a big misunderstanding and a whack on the head. I freaked out and told him I loved him." Cara replied, very nonchalant.
"Well that does seem like an interesting story." Mrs. Potter replied.
"It was. But I'm glad she came around." Sirius said as a yawn escaped his lips.
"Oh my. It's getting late and you all have had a very busy day and an even busier one tomorrow. If you wish, feel free to go to bed. We have plenty of time to get to know each other." Estelle said, standing up. Everyone followed and bid their goodnights. Then the six teens headed up to their rooms. James stayed behind to talk to his mother.
"So, mum. I want your honest opinion. What do you think of Lily?" James asked, helping his mother clear the table.
"Well James, I must say that because of you, I had extremely high expectations of her…" Estelle began.
"So you didn't like her?" James asked, sadly.
"No, James. You didn't let me finish. I had such high expectations for her that I was astounded when I met her because she surpassed my expectations." Mrs. Potter explained.
"Really?" James asked, smiling brightly. Estelle nodded. Just then, someone apparated into the parlor.
"Estelle?" Came a deep voice. A tall, older man walked into the dining room. He looked like exactly like James, except for his eyes. He had blue eyes. "James! You're home! Good to see you!" Joseph Potter exclaimed, hugging his son.
"Estelle?" Came a deep voice. A tall, older man walked into the dining room. He looked like exactly like James, except for his eyes. He had blue eyes. "James! You're home! Good to see you!" Joseph Potter exclaimed, hugging his son.
"Dad! So glad you're home!" James replied, returning the hug.
"Where are all your friends?" Joseph asked, glancing around.
"They already went to bed. Look, I'm glad you are home because there is something important I need to tell you about Lily." James began.
"Lily, your girlfriend?" Joseph asked.
"Yes, her. Now, there is something really important I need to tell the two of you. It's going to change all of our lives." James continued before his mother cut him off.
"Oh dear! Did you get her pregnant!?" Estelle cried.
"What?! No! It's not that, sheesh." James replied quickly. "I'm going to ask her to marry me on Christmas Eve, at the party."
"Oh James! That's wonderful!" Estelle cried, hugging her son.
"Are you sure she's the one?" Joseph asked.
"Yes. I'm sure. I love her more than life itself. I never want to be with anyone else." James replied sincerely.
"Well, if you're sure, then I'm behind you on this, James." Joseph replied, hugging his son one last time.
"Alright. Thanks, both of you. I'm going up to bed now. See you in the morning." James said as he made his way up to his room. He walked in and undressed, leaving only his boxers and a tee-shirt on. He walked up to a portrait on his wall. It was of a mighty lion, the Gryffindor lion. In the picture, there was a tree. James stroked the length of the tree and the portrait swung open to reveal a secret compartment. He stepped into the compartment and turned the handle on the door in front of him. Another portrait swung open and James stepped into Lily's room. Lily was dozing off and did not see or hear James enter. James crawled in beside her and slipped into her arms while wrapping his around her. She stirred slightly and James kissed her forehead. She smiled in her sleep and moved closer to him. He took of his glasses and let his eyes close as he fell asleep.
After Sirius undressed, leaving only his boxers on, he crept out into the hall and silently padded past Remus' door. He came to Cara's and slowly opened the door. Cara was just climbing into bed.
"Hello Cara." Sirius said softly. Cara turned her head towards the door and smiled.
"Hello Sirius, what brings you here?" Cara asked him, pulling the covers up around herself.
"I came to see you, my love." Sirius replied, approaching her.
"Well, I'm tired. I am going sleep." Cara said, laying down completely.
"May I join you?" Sirius asked, kneeling down by her bed.
"Of course, Sirius. Of course." Cara replied before yawning. Sirius walked over to the other side of the bed and slid in. Cara turned over and draped her arm across his waist. Sirius leaned forward and kissed her gently.
"Goodnight, Cara. I love you." Sirius whispered.
"I love you, too, Sirius. Goodnight." Cara whispered back as she fell asleep in his arms.
Madison lay in her bed trying to fall asleep. She kept thinking of Remus and how safe she felt when she was in his arms. She got up out of bed and went into the hall. She walked across the hall and one door over to Remus' room. She opened the door and walked in. Remus was sitting up in his bed with his eyes closed. His eyes fluttered open when Madison walked in.
"Hey. What's going on?" Remus asked. Madison walked over to him.
"Couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about you." She said softly. Remus smiled softly. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" Madison asked.
"Of course, love. I wouldn't have it any other way." Remus whispered, moving over so Madison could lay down next to him. She crawled in the bed and laid down. She turned to face him.
"I love you, Remus. I really do." She said softly. He brought his lips to hers and kissed her with a passion only those in love could feel.
"I love you, too. I always will." Remus said as he pulled away. They closed their eyes and let sleep carry them away.
Thank god! I finally finished this god-awful chapter! So sorry for the time between updates. Junior year was really kicking my ass. So yeah… am your dutiful slave, so review or else I'm gonna start a revolt! Don't worry…I've been doing TONS of plotting during this time of not typing up chapters…once they get out of Hogwarts….wow. Stuff goes crazy. In fact, it was just last night I had a brilliant plot idea for one of our not-so-happy couples. Ah the twists of fate to come. Just you wait and see. Review please!