Chapter 4:

A few hours later the wheels touched the ground and they ran into the arms of a blonde lady with a very pregnant stomach and a light blue dress. Next to her was a man – Jim – with closely cropped greying hair and a barrel build. Both of them wearing identical bands of silver and gold on their left ring fingers.

James gripping Jim's hand in his hand looked into his eyes. Jim's gaze was penetrating as though trying to figure out James before letting go of his hand. He finally nodded his head slightly so James could see and let go of his hand. Lily ran up to Jim and hugged him with all her might.

Lily and Sally chatted for a full ten minutes before Sally started waddling away, Lily next to her with their arms linked. She was apparently 4 weeks away from the due date and was expecting anytime within the next 2 weeks. James definitely noticed a change in Lily.

Lily seemed happier like she had no worries in the world. She was conversing, laughing, giggling, smiling and acting like a normal teenage girl. Her hair was still messy from the plane ride and she had bags under hers eyes that faded when she laughed. Her usually green eyes looked a sparkling emerald and her thin lips were lush and curved in a permanent smile showing off her perfectly straight teeth.

Sally handed over an envelope to Lily which James notice was once again labelled Grommit in messy cursive writing. Lily jumped up and down while hugged her friend and shrieking in her ear. James was shocked to say the least. This was NOT the Lily Evans, Witch extraordinaire, Bitch of the century and Hogwarts number one student. This was a polyjuiced copy of a much bubblier and prettier girl, a light and carefree girl. This was NOT Lily Evans. It just couldn't be.

Dear Gommit,

I couldn't think of a riddle that I haven't used yet so instead here's a map and you have to find the treasure. The treasure will have the directions for your next present.

Love Dad.

Jumping up and down, once again, she proceeded to hug the living daylights out of Sally and squeal at the top of her lungs while also trying to tell Sally what the message said and meant.

"How long till the hotel?" Lily asked excitedly in the car. Blocked around Jim's car were bikes, other cars or people with dark tans, summer clothes and carefree smiles walking in between the traffic.

The weather and atmosphere in Penang was to die for. It was hot and humid like walking through pea and ham soup but the heat and sun's burning sensation on her cheeks was fantastic after almost a year in the cold of the United Kingdom. Lily could feel her paler than normal skin welcoming the UV rays with open arms, broad smiles and a cool glass of lemonade. Lily loved the heat, she lived for it. It was the one thing she missed more than her family when she lived away from home.

Penang just seemed like a town full of colour, colour and more colour. Everywhere Lily looked there was either a man wearing a bright orange shirt and purple thongs, or a lady looking after a luminous red store with fresh seafood lined up in front of her. Lily senses felt they were going into overload. There was a new smell, colour, texture, and taste around every corner. It was almost too much to take in. Lily could feel her neck muscle straining as she turned and looked in every direction possible.

The Hotel was a very, very, very large cream building with a reasonable sized car park out the front. Palm trees were everywhere and the downstairs of the building was all open planned without walls or doors. Walking into the hotel you could see through to the other side where there was a massive sea blue pool with tables, umbrellas and deck chairs around it's edge. Further on was the beach. White sand, green soft rolling sea, lime coloured grass leading up to the sand and deck chairs with blue and white stripped towels draped on their backs. There weren't many people around, a few in the deck chairs near the beach, a group of three under an umbrellaed table next to the pool and a few other stragglers enjoying the comforts of the hotel.

Sally waddled over to the large desk and checked them in. After handing Lily and James their room key they had to go home and start getting dinner ready as it was getting late.

"What do we do for dinner though?" James asked finally voicing the question his stomach was asking. Sally and Lily giggled while Jim took pity on the poor boy's stomach. He knew how it felt to be absolutely starving and yet no food – hey he did move out of home before meeting Sally.

"Try one of the restaurants down the street" he advised. On the way to the hotel they passed many stalls, outdoor restaurants and halls where stalls were all congregated and an area was in the middle of them for their customers to sit and eat.

Sally and Jim finally left and Lily and James had their luggage brought upstairs. Lily and James had each of their magical stuff in their trunks so they would be more inconspicuous when with muggles. The only thing they didn't bring were their potions stuff as it was too much and so they had it mailed home before boarding the train.


Half an hour after settling into their room Lily had finally chosen what to wear and James had become thoroughly bored. Something they noticed with the engagement curse was that they were allowed a few centimetres space to put on their clothes or use their other hand. The only way they could swap hands would be to hold both sets of hands and then let go with the ones they wanted separate. They had figured this out when they were finally bored with fighting on the plane to Penang.

Lily made James cover his eyes and hey presto ten minutes late Lily was finally dressed.

James was dressed in a pair of simple knee length khaki shorts, a light blue collared shirt and a pair of white rubber thongs. James finally lifted his eyes and had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing right.

Lily was wearing white denim short shorts with a billabong logo on her hip, a tight yellow tank top and a pair of white stringy sandals. She was rather tanned and had a very slim build. She was properly proportioned in all the right places and a few freckles were on the top of her shoulders. When she turned James took a breath, the back of the singlet, well… there wasn't one. The back seemed to just melt away and leave her dark bottle green bikini strings.

"You're drooling" she giggled at James's shocked expression. She didn't see what was so shocking this was her normal attire, too many clothes or anything too complicated always made her holidays hell.

James promptly shut his trap and guided Lily out of the room like the gentleman he was meant to be.

On the way out of the hotel James noticed a large sign next to large grey doors. The sign read:

DINNER

Tonight only special on lobster and laksa dishes

Restaurant opens 6pm – 10pm

James was still dead tired so Lily changed her plans and instead of visiting the market place that night they went into the large open planned restaurant and sat outside under a green tinted plastic roof watching the beach as the parents tried to get their kids to stop playing and go back to their rooms.

While waiting for their meals to be delivered by the restaurant staff James sat thinking about the one person he never thought he would, Lily. Today was definitely an eye opener for James. First of all cold, heartless Lily Evans became chatty, chirpy, fun loving and wearing small amounts of material which she constitutes as clothes. She loves swimming obviously because her parents choose a seaside resort and that she was wearing a pair of bathers out to dinner. The Lily Evans James knew at school seemed to have evaporated and he was now left with her identical better half. Her smile made her seem human and he definitely took back what he said about her not having a sense of humour. Earlier that day James pulled a prank on the bimbo on the plane because she insulted him and Lily actually laughed. Apparently when he was asleep she said some not very nice things to Lily and she reviled in her torture. It wasn't much of a prank because of the little time and resources he had at hand but he managed it.

The bimbo went to the toilet and James reached over to her seat with a small bottle of red food dye – apparently the man in front of him was obsessive compulsive disorder and could only eat red food – and poured half the bottle onto her seat. Coming back the bimbo sat down and shot straight back up, touched her bum and ran back off to the toilet. During this time Lily had woken up and was watching with interest as he painstakingly dropped each drip of food dye onto the seat before the bimbo came back. By the time the bimbo ran to the toilet Lily was almost crying from trying not the laugh. The small shriek from the bimbo as she ran to the toilet set her off though and she wouldn't stop till James said something mean to her and even then she couldn't reply with as much venom in her words as usual.

Lily and James had a lobster each, even though one was enough for two people. Both were still tired and so not much was said at dinner that night. It was uneventful. They figured out that so long as some parts of their skins were touching they could continue. They ate with their feet touching so that they could use their hands to eat. The only thing that was memorable for James was when the waiter kept giving Lily the eye when he brought over drinks, food, napkins, cutlery, more drinks and anything else it seemed to get closer the Lily.

Lily took it in his stride but eventually after her third set of cutlery she snapped at the 20 year old and threatened to punch the daylights out of him if he came within another meter of her. James was remarkably surprised with the threat as the only threats he had heard were in his direction and none of them being physically violent.


Finally getting to lie down comfortably, even if his arm was at an odd angle so Lily and him were still connected. Lily went to sleep in her usual pyjamas, her pink and yellow bed shorts and her long cotton blue shirt that was once her dads. James was wearing something different, he was actually wearing pyjamas. Normally he would sleep in his underwear and wake up before the other guys. But since he was going to have to share a bed with Lily over the next few days he decided it might be a good idea to wear clothes to bed. Tonight he was wearing his red boxers and a yellow singlet – Gryffindor all the way.

Lying down, finally comfy and feeling the fuzzy touch of sleep coming closer Lily decided it was a good time to talk.

"James? You awake?" whispered the sleep stealer.

"No" the sleepless one grunted in return.

"Oh well ok sorry."

'Great now I'm awake and want to talk' he grumbled to himself.

"Lily? You awake?"

"No" she said dryly then breaking into chuckles. They turned to face each other James's head resting on his hand and Lily's cheeks squished against the pillows.

"Why were you friends with Jamiliah?" James queried "I mean she's an airhead, she was going nowhere in life and she was a bit of a slut." He asked curiosity creeping into his words so it didn't seem like he was attacking her. He saw her sigh in the dim lighting and started thinking of ways to back track the conversation. But before he could say a thing she answered.

"I wasn't really. We just kind of hung out because we always did, you know like out of previously loyalty?" she sighed again thinking of her stupid choice of friends.

"Yeah I guess that makes sense but why were you friends with her in the first place?"

"She was the first Hogwarts person I met and I sat with her on the train. She was my only friend."

A little later Lily started another conversation

"James we need a story." Lily stated clearly with a little slur from sleepiness.

"Huh?" James responded sleep making his brain fuzzy.

"We need a story." She said persisted.

"A story about what? You don't still need a bedtime story to get to sleep do you?" he asked cheekily and Lily whacked him upside the head with a dry laughed.

"Very funny. No I mean we need a story to tell people why you're around." James sat up and tapped the bedside lamp erupting in a dull light as he tried to think, pushing away the sleep that he wanted so much.

"What about I saved you from a runaway hippogriff and then magiced you to St. Mungos and you fell for your hero, yada, yada, yada, love at first sight blah, blah, blah?" He asked puffing out his chest in a heroic gesture and using his hands as puppets. Lily snorted and hit him in his puffed out chest and letting James's breath woosh out again, deflating his torso.

"I mean a story to tell muggles." She said in between chuckles at James's affronted look.

"Fine" James said haughtily as though he would rather not.

"What about you saved me from a bully?" that way you could still be a hero." She asked trying to get him back in the story making mode.

"Well that's just boring." He said huffily, "what about a…?"

After half an hour of thinking Lily was tired and just suggested they met at school, became friends and then BAM!! Fell in love. Even though he wasn't doing anything heroic James decided that he was too tired to care anymore, so agreed and finally let the fuzzy warm feeling of sleep overtake his mind and body. Lily lay awake enough to turn off James's bedside light then once her head hit the pillow she was out like a light.