A/N: Bonjour! I'm leaving for three weeks, so I thought I'd try and write another chapter before I left. Here you go. Thanks so much to my UL buddies – XOXXOXOXXOXO. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed – I really appreciate it. Again, I'm not JKR. Enjoy.
.y.g.e.
James and Lily spent the rest of the day ignoring each other. Lily was cursing James for kissing her, for trying to make her explain. She didn't have to explain anything to him. After all, it was none of his business any more – it had been two years since they had been together. The dinner table was pretty much silent, until Sirius began a conversation trying to figure out what James couldn't do. The conversation was short-lived, as Lily screamed at the pair to 'shut your bloody mouths and eat.'
When she walked into the kitchen the following morning, James and Sirius had already revived their conversation. Each of them had a cup of hot coffee in their hand, sipping at it as Sirius suggested things that James couldn't do. Ignoring the pair, she poured herself a cup, sweetening it with a teaspoon of sugar and some cream before leaning back against the counter, sipping it.
"Erm…you can't touch your nose with your tongue."
James laughed, sticking out his tongue, and easily reaching the tip of his nose. Lily blinked rapidly, pushing every thought away that had just come into her mind. She had forgotten how long his tongue was, how he could practically reach down her throat with it – they had experimented with this on multiple occasions. "Ohhh," James responded, drawing out the word. "What now? Huh? Huh? Huh?"
"Shut up, I'm thinking," Black responded. "Back flip?"
"Find me somewhere flat, and I'll show you."
"Oh, wait… I've got one," Sirius said, taking another sip of coffee, ignoring Lily behind him.
"You can't… Oh, wait, never mind… Hrmm…"
James rolled his eyes. "I still don't see why you're so obsessed with me, Padfoot."
"Oh, I know," Sirius said, feeling slightly guilty for what he was about to say. "You can't get a girl to marry you." Lily sputtered into her coffee cup, choking on the hot liquid for a moment before pouring the liquid out on Black's head. "What was that for?" Sirius demanded, glaring hotly at her. "It's not like you ever gave a damn, anyways!"
"You ass!" She shouted, watching as James, who had turned completely white, got up and left. "Of course I cared!"
"Then why'd you leave him?" Sirius shouted after Lily, who was following James. She found him kneeling in front of the toilet, retching.
Apparently, he had already thrown up once when she arrived. She conjured a glass of water, handing it to James and laying a hand on his back as he sat back. "You alright?"
"Fine," was James' reply, as he downed the water, still able to taste the stomach acid in his mouth. It was a lie, but it was better than telling her how much he hated her for everything. He could remember everything perfectly, even now.
"Normally, I would have waited longer," the Head Boy began, clearing his throat. He continued, his voice getting stronger. "But I love you, more than I could ever love anyone else. I'm a blood traitor. I don't know how long I'll live after we graduate, but I want to be with you forever. So, I guess what I want to ask is, will you marry me?" He held out the ring for her to take. It was gold, with a princess-cut diamond. It had been his grandmother's, and a family heirloom for generations and generations before that.
Lily put a hand to her mouth in shock. The ring was beautiful, and he was amazingly sweet about everything. How could he ask her this now? After she had decided what needed to be done in order for them both to survive? "James," she whispered, staring at him for a moment. "I can't. I'm sorry." The grin slowly faded from his face, as they stared at each other. "You should go."
And that was how Lily Evans had left him. He didn't remember much more of that night – he and Sirius had been completely smashed by the end of it, and had awoken the following morning to the worst headaches in Hogwarts history.
"Don't lie," Lily said, turning him towards her, wrapping both her arms around his back. "That was mean of him to say."
"He had to say it," James said, taking her hands, forcing her to release him. Besides, Sirius was right. He had spent too long moping over a girl who was still making him crazy, and who he would never have a chance with, anyways. It was all pointless. He couldn't make the same mistake twice, could he? He certainly still loved her, still felt the desire to take her and hold her until they both stopped hurting. "And I'm not lying. I'm fine."
"Liar," she retorted, standing up, dropping his hands. "You might want to brush your teeth." He nodded, watching her leave before heading back up the stairs to his bedroom.
He never had time to brush his teeth.
"JAMES!!! THERE'S BEEN AN ATTACK!!!" Sirius roared up the stairs, until James came out, now wearing shoes, his wand in hand.
"Where?"
"Diagon Alley!"
There was a fairly loud pop, and he disappeared, to reappear in the center of Diagon Alley, faced by a scene of chaos. Bodies were already strewn across the cobblestone street, as masked faces shot hexes and curses at innocent wizards. James jumped as one was shot his way, hitting the brick right beside his head. He hexed back, as Sirius and Lily appeared on the opposite side of the street, along with Grace and a dozen other Aurors.
And they fought, knowing they were outnumbered five to one by the group of Death Eaters, that it was rather likely that several of them would be dead by the time this battle was over.
James had saved several civilians in the course of an hour, sending them off down an alleyway that led into the muggle world, telling them not to use magic until they were alone. He had gone through three months of training to become an Auror, and very little of it was practical. He had learned a lot of it at school, but the training they gave the Aurors didn't match what they had to do in the field. He heard Lily scream across the street, and turned to see Sirius hexing the brains out (literally) of the death eater who had just grabbed Lily, dragging her away towards some dark corner as she struggled to make him let go.
Now, even the Aurors were on the run, defensive. There were too many death eaters – they were going to kill everyone, unless some miracle happened. James was exhausted from hexing and blocking and trying not to back himself into a wall for an hour, and breaking every wand that flew into his hand. Then, suddenly, Voldemort's cronies disapparated, leaving the Aurors to survey the damage.
The streets were drenched in blood, covered in corpses, and the Aurors looked a bit worse for wear. There was blood on everyone, whether it was their own or someone else's. "Let's go," Sirius said, finally, "before they come back." There were more pops, as everyone returned to James' house.
Remus greeted them at the door, frowning at what he saw. He forced them all into the kitchen, tending to their scrapes and scratches, sometimes to deeper gashes and cuts, and to the adverse effects of curses. No one spoke – they were all too tired. Several left for showers and sleep, others just falling into slumber at the kitchen table, too exhausted to move.
.y.g.e.
That night, Sirius served dinner to Marlene McKinnon on the back porch. It consisted of salad, pork, rice… All of which were wonderful. They spoke little, though Black thought things were going well based on how much she was enjoying the food. Besides, what little conversation they did have was pleasant… She liked Quidditch, obviously… Had been captain the previous year, after he and James had graduated. It was something to forget about everything else.
Everything only went downhill when he served the dessert. It was a chocolate cake with raspberries baked in. Marlene thought it was wonderful, until her face started swelling up. Recognizing the familiar feeling, she got up, running inside to find Remus before she passed out. Luckily, he was in the kitchen, and completely capable of helping. He pulled her hand away from her face, as Sirius arrived, watching from the other side of the kitchen.
"Okay… Allergic reaction," Remus muttered, with a look at her immensely swollen lips and cheeks. He pulled a potion out of his collection of bottles, measuring out a cup of the foul-smelling substance. She choked on it before swallowing the nasty green mixture, and heading upstairs, hiding her swollen face behind one hand.
"Should go down in a couple hours," Remus said softly to Sirius, raising an eyebrow at her. "Did you actually make her dinner, or am I dreaming?"
"You're dreaming," Sirius said sarcastically. "You have a much more sick and twisted mind than I first thought." He grinned. "I don't know… Is she allergic to chocolate? Because it only started when she ate the dessert."
"Well, maybe you should ask people these things before you try to woo them by cooking dinner for them."
"I was not trying to woo her," Sirius protested, crossing his arms over his chest. "I was trying to sleep with her."
"Too late," Remus responded, grinning. "You like her. You liiiiiiiiike her…"
Sirius made a rather obscene gesture and went storming up the stairs, stopping when he saw Marlene's closed door. He knocked, softly. "Come in," she said, and he did so, crossing the room to where she laid on the bed. She was on her side, and had changed into her pajamas.
"You alright?" Black asked, sitting down, then laying down to face her when she tugged on his hand.
"I'm fine." There was a long silence. "Raspberries. I'm allergic to raspberries."
"I'm sorry," he responded, noting that their faces were inches from each other, and they were lying on her bed.
"Sirius, why are you so numb?" Marlene asked, staring at him, drawing patterns with one fingernail upon his palm.
"I'm not numb," he responded stubbornly, their eyes meeting. Hers were full of questions. His were empty – perhaps he didn't have the answers after all.
.y.g.e.
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