Summary: When a class assignment pairs two students who have never seen eye to eye together for two weeks during the summer, sparks will fly, and two young Gryffindor lives will be changed forever. Only thing AU is the timeline.

A.N.: J.K.Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, they all own Harry Potter. I own nothing. I can barely afford gas for my car let alone try to copyright a story for a fanfic site. And if you, Mrs. Rowling would just put out a new Harry Potter book each week we uber-fans wouldn't have to take matters into our own hands and hope to Merlin you don't sue us for plagiarism.

This isn't my first fic just the first one I've had the nerve to post, most of the time they are just a very weird catharsis. I appreciate your opinions so please review and tell me what you think! Will update often.

Muggle It Ch. 9

Decisions

Three.

Yeah, definitely three.

Lily watched as he let one of her thick red curls fall though his fingers. And they were all going to have his crazy hair.

He was still fast asleep; yet his fingers somehow had managed to find their way to her hair, a little fetish of James's. She would never complain though. She loved how he was just start running his fingers though it when they were sitting on the porch or just talking. It was odd because as a child she had absolutely hated people touching her hair. Her poor mother, completely exasperated with her not brushing her hair properly, or letting anyone else do it for her, had cut it off to her chin when she was six.

Her father had nearly filed for divorce.

Lily smiled to herself, if her father could see where she was, James would have been dead over a week ago. Her father was slightly overprotective to say the least.

Then again, she re-defined Daddy's Girl. They had always been close. Both of them had the token Evans hair and eyes. The Evans temper, and the Evans love of life, as he called it. He had always thought his little goofy messy haired ballerina was perfect…even after she somehow managed to re-grow her messy hair in one night. It had taken them nearly five more years to figure out how she had managed that. That was when she became his goofy, messy haired little witch.

Yes, he was going to have a hard time accepting James, but she was going to make him. And if he could welcome that foul, troll of a man Dursley into their family, he could welcome James as well.

She was still curled up in the nook of his arm, her own arm was stretched out across his long, lean chest. She had been too scared the night before to even notice that all he was wearing was a pair of cotton pajama bottoms. Bottoms that were riding so low on his hips, she knew that was all he was wearing.

The fact that she was in bed with her half dressed boyfriend, wearing nothing more than a thin tank top and shorts herself was not lost on her.

Yes, James would most definitely be on his way to a long, painful death if her father were to ever know about this. As far as Richard Evans was concerned, when it came to his baby girl, babies always came from storks and she would be sleeping in a twin bed for the rest of her life.

She had a feeling though, that if anyone could charm her father, it was James. He had won her over after all.

Then again, when you have someone tell you that you're the only person they can see spending their life with…it's hard not to fall for it.

Three kids, that would be perfect. She mused to herself. James, a house, a family. It sounded like a dream. And her dream man was waking up.

He groaned a little and stretched out before opening her eyes.

"Mo…orning." He yawned out.

"Good morning." She answered as she propped her chin and arms up on his chest. "You need to shave." She reached up and rubbed his cheek playfully, massaging the stubble.

"Nah, I'm growing it."

"No you're not." She said was a loving frown. "I like your face just how it is." She patted his cheek to emphasize her point.

"You're right, why on earth would I want to hide a bone structure like this." He said seriously, making Lily laugh. "Are you ok now? You seemed really scared last night."

"Yeah. I'm ok. I just really don't like storms like that." She smiled at him. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

James just rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed. "Oh, well, just don't let it happen again."

"Don't worry, it won't." She smiled as James worked to hide a frown. "You snore."

"I do not!" He said indignantly.

"Yes, my love, you do."

"Well you drool."

"I do not!" She was the indignant one now.

"Yes, my love, you do." He said with a smirk. "Almost as bad as Moony and Padfoot."

Lily raised her eyebrows at him and watched as he went beet red. "That didn't sound right, did it?"

She shook her head with amusement, beginning to giggle. "Something I should know James?"

"I just meant because they're both of the canine family at times and when they pant they…can I please just shut up and you agree you know what I meant? I'm just going to make it worse." He pleaded.

"Of course…though I'm always going to wonder a little." She said with a coy smile.

"You're pretty in the morning."

"You're changing the subject."

"Yes, but you're still pretty." He smiled down at her, making her tinge pink. "But you're always pretty, so it's not very surprising."

"You're hairs all messy." She pointed out. She smiled as James self-consciously ran his hand down over his hair, trying to make it lie flat. She quickly reached up and ruffled it.

"Hey!" James went to try to flatten it again but Lily grabbed his hand to stop him.

"I didn't say I didn't like it."

"Oh." He said with a goofy grin. "Well then…" He proceeded to mess it up even more, making her laugh. "How's that?"

"Perfect." She told him as she still held his hand. James leaned in slowly and kissed her gently. It was so sweet and tender any worries she had about morning breath or eye gunk were quickly wiped from her mind as she melted into him.

He carefully rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow over her so he was able to look down as he held her hand up against the pillow, his other running its fingers though her messy locks.

Lily felt her breath hitch in her chest as she felt his bare chest against her skin, becoming very aware that all that was in-between them was a very thin tank top and a pair of light cotton shorts.

Merlin I'm glad I shaved my legs yesterday.

As new as the situation was, she couldn't help but feel relaxed in his company. She believed with all her heart that James would never do anything to hurt her. It was what made her so desperate for him to kiss her again. He seemed to sense that and smiled as he leaned back in to bring his lips to hers…

James kissed her desperately as he clenched her hair gently. His other hand had long since found its way up her shirt and she had long since been more than obliged to let him.

She had been very right about those hands.

Her nose bumped his softly, making them both smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close to her. Those intense hazel eyes were gazing into hers, reading her like a book.

That had been one of the things that made Lily fall in love with him, the way he could look at her, and for the first time in her life, she felt like someone was seeing everything she had to give, or do or hide. He looked at her like she was the most beautiful creature on earth, like she was everything.

She hoped to anyone who would listen that he knew she was looking at him the same way.

Lily smiled a little, it wasn't her normal, bubbly and slightly coy smile, it was the type of smile you see an old woman give when asked to talk about her greatest love, or her grandchildren, or her bridge club. It was a smile of someone who knew that no matter what happened, she would always be loved.

She unwrapped one of her arms from around his neck and gently stroked his cheek with the tips of her fingers.

"I'm going to marry you someday James Potter, did you know that?" She told him seriously, never taking her eyes off of him.

"Yes." He said just as seriously. "I've known that since I first saw you with that purple butterfly barrette. I was just waiting for you to catch on."

"Took me long enough, didn't it?"

"You were worth the wait."

Lily pulled him down, taking him by surprised and kissed him passionately. Her mouth crashed against his as they fell into each other.

She had never wanted something more than for him to be as close to her as possible. To feel every inch of him, and as she let one leg slide up so it was bent near his hip, she did. There were a few inches of him she had never felt…on anyone…pressing against her thigh.

She let out a surprised gasp as James went Gryffindor red from the second time that morning as he quickly made his way off of her.

She, however just grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Bugger, Lily…I'm sorry. You said you wanted to go slow and I respect that and…um…" He just cringed and continued to stare at the navy blue bedspread.

"It's ok James." She said softly, moving closer to him.

"No, its not…I understand if you want to go."

"Now, why would I want to do that?" She asked, the suggestiveness of her voice surprising even her.

James just looked at her, slightly confused. "You're not, completely disgusted with me?"

She just shook her head, smiling a little.

This only made him much much more confused.

She turned around so she was sitting facing him and wrapped her arms around his neck once again before kissing him.

"Lily." He said cautiously.

"James." She said with a naughty smile before kissing him softly. "I love you, and I want—a loud rapping on the door cut her off.

"Mr. Potter, would you please inform Miss. Evans that her mother is on the telephone for her." Ms. Brinkley's voice echoed though the door, causing James and Lily to fly away from each other as if they had been electrocuted.

Needless to say, mention of Lily's mother had quickly killed the mood.

"She wished to speak with you. Should I tell her you're…indisposed?"

"No!" Lily scrambled out of the bed, much to James's dismay and snatched his dressing gown off the back of a chair. "I'm coming."

She threw open the door to see a very stoic looking housekeeper with her arms crossed.

"We fell asleep talking." Lily explained quickly, wide eyes giving her away. "I'm afraid of thunderstorms, so I went in to talk to him."

Ms. Brinkley just raised her eyebrows, still not speaking.

"I'm just going to…" Lily pointed in the direction of the sitting room down the stairs where the telephone was located and quickly exited. James followed soon after, not looking the house keeper in the eye as he walked past pulling on a shirt.

Lily sat down in the stiff armchair and picked up the telephone.

"Hi mum." She said, a little nervously.

"Hello dear, how are you?" Her mother's voice rang across the line. "I was worried about you with that storm last night, did it reach there?"

"Oh, yes, it did. I'm fine though…James kept me company." Lily looked up to see James walking in, holding two cups of coffee. She smiled warmly at him as he set the cup down next to her before turning to leave. She took a hold of his hand and pulled him down into the arm chair with her, shivering against the cold in the room.

James just smiled and settled in next to her.

"What was that?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"Oh, nothing, I was just changing positions." She held her finger up to her lips to tell James to be quiet. The moment she saw the delightfully mischievous smile on his face, she knew that was a bad idea.

"I'm so excited you'll be home soon, we hardly see you during the year, and summer is our only time with you." Her mother complained, for the 100th time this summer.

"I know, but this assignment was very important, I'll be home on Sunday though." She bit her lip as James began to kiss her neck softly.

"Well, your father and I will be at the train station to pick you up. Will James be coming back to the house with us?"

James perked up at the mention of his name.

"I'm not sure."

"Well, tell him he's more than welcome, he could even stay for dinner. You two have become friends, haven't you?" Her mother said, almost hopefully. "I'd hate to think you've been sitting in that old house, by yourself reading this entire time."

Lily looked down at James's fingers which were tracing along her stomach softly. "Yes, we've become friends…"

James grinned at her and mouthed 'friends?'

"Oh that's good, I'm sorry for not returning your call last night dear. I was out with Tuna helping her with some of the arrangements. Did you mention you were going to be in London today?"

"Oh, yes, were taking the train in this evening. It's one of James's friends birthday."

"Perfect, your sister needs you to be at the dressmakers at four for the final fitting." Her mother said casually.

"What?" Lily said, sitting up so quick she accidentally bumped her head on James chin, causing him to yelp as quietly as he could. "We won't even be in London until nearly nine and then we have to take the tube to Diagone Alley. Besides, we had the final fitting weeks ago…I'm positive I'm the same size."

"Yes well…" Mrs. Evans hesitated nervously. "Tuna decided to change the dresses, again. We used all of your old measurements but you really need to come in and make sure it fits."

"Oh no." Lily said, starting to looked panicked. "Please tell me its not the…"

"The red one." Her mother finished for her. "Vernon told her that if that's the dress she wanted then, that was the dress she was going to have."

"Mum…they're hideous. They're beyond hideous…I won't wear it, I just wont." She said firmly.

"Lily, you're one of her bridesmaids."

"Not by choice!"

"Lily Marie Evans, this day is very important to your sister, she would be there for you. I'm sure if you can manage to come all the way to London for one of James's friends, you can make an extra stop for you sister." Her mother scolded in a tone Professor McGonagall would be envious of.

"I'll have to ask James if we can try to catch an earlier train." She said in a defeated, sulking voice.

James looked at her curiously, but just nodded at the request. "I'll be there." She said, smiling sympathetically at him.

Lily hung up the phone in a much fouler mood than she had been in when she woke up.

Not only did she have to ruin their plans, wear an absolutely ghastly dress, endure the embarrassment of having James see her in that ghastly dress, but she also had to deal with the very confusing knowledge that she had been mere seconds away from telling James she wanted to make love to him.

That was the last straw, Lavinia was bound to be at this party tonight, she was getting tested for a love potion.

Lily Evans just did not do that type of thing. She was the wedding night girl. She had grown up with that saying her mother insisted on using, No bed until you're wed. Petunia planned to incorporate that into her wedding vows. She just figured that's how it would happen.

Unfortunately, there was a small snag in that plan. It would be a year before she could marry James, even if she thought she was ready to now. Which she wasn't, they had only been together for not even two weeks for Merlin's sake.

It's not like they have family housing at Hogwarts after all.

However, it had only been two weeks, and she was already thinking about how she could find a way to stay the night in his room again. How was she going to last a year?

"So what was that?" James asked, looking a little concerned over her brewing fury.

"My sister decided to get new bridesmaid dresses, the ones she originally wanted but we talked her out of because they are hideous, I have to go in and have it fitted. I'll just leave earlier and meet you at the party."

"I'll go with you, I don't mind, besides, if I show up at the party alone…they'll never let me live it down."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's no problem. Er, so, what was going on earlier?" He asked nervously.

"Oh…nothing, can we talk about it later? I need to get ready if were going to leave earlier." She said abruptly as she stood up.

"Ok." He said as she gave him a quick kiss, still looking confused.

It was still raining lightly when they made their way to the small train station for the ten o'clock train to Kings Cross.

James had jeered at the black umbrella she had managed to find in an old closet but had quieted up about it once they were out side and he was still dry.

Now they were standing under an overhang by the platform waiting with the small crowd of muggles.

"I don't know." Lily said suddenly.

"You don't know what?" He asked, looking over at her.

"You asked what that was this morning, and I don't know." She said softly. "Trust me, I was much more surprised by it than you were."

James nodded a little, still looking confused. "Oh, so you just want to forget about it then?" He asked uneasily.

"No," She said as she looked down the track to see the train coming. "But, like I said, I don't know James, I'm sorry, I just don't know if I'm ready or not. I don't want to do something we'll both regret later on."

She looked up at him hopefully. "I want to be with you, that's something I do know. I just need to think about when."

James slipped his fingers around hers and squeezed her hand gently. "Don't worry Lily. I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything. We've got our whole lives ahead of us, I'm in no hurry."

"Thank you." She said sincerely. "For being so understanding, it really means a lot to me...You're a good man James."

James shrugged, reddening a little. However, Lily couldn't be fooled, she could see him swelling with pride. It was the truth though. He was a good man. He was the type of man someone would be proud to call their husband. He was someone she would be proud to call her husband, the father of their children.

She just hoped he wasn't going to prove her wrong when he started drinking with his friends.

They boarded the train and James was a gentleman and let her have the window seat. She couldn't help but smile, this is where it had all began.

"So," James cut into the odd silence. "Do you just go in and try the dress on?"

"I have to meet my mother and Petunia there at four The fitting shouldn't take more than a half an hour. Really, I don't mind if you go on ahead to the party." She said hopefully.

"It's fine, I don't mind waiting. So your mum and Petunia…" He grinned at her. "Have you told them I'm your date for the wedding?"

"Not yet."

"Embarrassed of me?"

"Only a little." She reassured him.

"I can live with that. Oh, hey, I got a letter from my mum today. She wanted to know if you would like to come to dinner on Wednesday."

Lily beamed at him. "You want me to meet your parents?"

"No, actually, I would like to avoid that for as long as I can…she kept hinting at my baby pictures, but they want to meet you." He shrugged, trying to make it sound like it wasn't that big of a deal. She knew better though. His family was very important to him, and he wanted her to like them.

Her liking them was the least of her worries. She was petrified about whether they would like her.

"I'll have to make sure it's alright with my parents, but I'm sure I can."

"Great." He continued to grin. "There's something I want to show you."

"Hummm, let me guess," She teased. "Could it be in your room?"

"No, but your not far off."

Lily frowned, looking more curious now. "What?"

"Sorry Love, you're just going to have to come and find out."

Lily leapt over a puddle, laughing as she and James walked down the busy London street.

"I should have worn my wellies!" She exclaimed as James leapt over the same puddle.

"It is a bit damp out, isn't it?" He said casually as he looked up at the rainy sky. He casually pulled a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket and lit it.

"James." She complained, making a face at it.

"Oh come on Evans." He said as he took a drag.

"You know I hate it when you smoke." She pouted at him a little. "They're bad for you."

"They're fine, that's just muggle hearsay. These are wizard fags. They're perfectly fine." He defended.

"I'm going to remind you of that when you're complaining about not being able to ride your broom anymore because you have to stay on your oxygen tank."

"Oxygen tank?" He asked.

Lily just rolled her eyes, letting him revel in his wizard-ness. "Do what you must." She said, defeated. "However, it might be in our best interest if you keep those hidden away when we get to the dress shop. My parents hate smoking."

James frowned and shoved the pack deeper into his pocket.

"Oh Lily!"

No sooner than the bell on the shop door had rung, she was being pulled into a giant hug from her mother.

"Hi mum." She said as she struggled for breath. She wiggled free and straightened her top out. "You remember James, right?"

James stepped forward and shook her hand and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's lovely to see you again Mrs. Evans."

Lily watched as her mum blushed slightly, looking flattered. "It's nice to see you too James. I hope you've had more luck at keeping this ones nose out of a book than I do."

James grinned over at Lily. "I've done my best to keep her busy."

Now she was the one trying not to blush. "Well, we don't have much time, where's Petunia?"

"That's right, your friends birthday party. She's in the back sorting through the dresses. Now, Lily, I know you're not fond of the dresses she chose, but remember, it's her wedding."

"And you only get married once and she deserves to have it be perfect." Lily finished for her mother, forcing herself to not roll her eyes. She had heard her mothers' fine attempt at a guilt trip many times since Petunia had begun to make her wedding plans.

It wasn't her fault she was the only person who had retained an ounce of sanity when it came to this wedding. She had been willing to go along with most of it, but the caged doves as centerpieces were just too much. That's when the, you only get married once, reminders had come in.

"Alright, this won't take to long." She said as she looked at James apologetically.

"Don't worry about it Lo…Lily." Lily had to smile to herself at his obvious slip. He was just so cute when he knew he had almost made a mistake.

He was even cuter eyeing her mum nervously to see if she had caught it.

She gave him a quick smile and let the tips of her fingers brush against the back of his hand as she walked by. She had nearly had to put her hands in her pockets to keep from reaching over and picking up his hand.

Part of her had wanted to run into the shop, hug her mum, stick out her tongue at Petunia and scream, I have the perfect boyfriend! Look! Then do a giddy happy dance.

The other part of her just loved James too much to subject him to her fathers wrath when he found out they had been staying in the same house. Mr. Evans finding out about them sharing a room just wasn't an option.

It would be in both of their best interest to just say that he had very politely asked her on a date as they were boarding the train home. Then, not wanting to be left sitting alone at the wedding, she invited him to accompany her.

That's when she would also tell her father that he was head boy, Quidditch captain, got very good marks and came from a very respectable family.

Then pray he didn't ask if James always stayed out of trouble.

She never could lie to her father very well.

Lily glanced over her shoulder as she walked into the back room, just in time to see James sit down and her mother move in on him.

She must have seen the hand graze.

"There you are. It's about time!" Lily turned around in the direction if the irate voice to see Petunia coming at her like a mavolent horse. "You were supposed to be here at four!"

Lily looked at her watch then looked dubiously at Petunia. "It's Four O' One Petunia."

Her sister just rolled her eyes and took her arm roughly as she led her through the shop.

Lily looked back at James, who looked partly amused and partly furious at the sight of Petunia manhandling her.

She briefly considered re-introducing Petunia to her very protective wizard boyfriend, but decided it would be more trouble than it was worth in the long run. After all, it was Petunia special day, and she wouldn't hesitate to promptly scratch James's name off the guest list before Lily could say Quidditch.

"You better not have gained any weight; we used your old fittings, and it it's to small you're just going to have to stop eating or something." Petunia said sharply.

"Your concern for me is overwhelming Tuna." Lily said coolly, smiling inside as her sister flared up at the nickname. It was just another one of Petunias long standing resentments towards her. She had been gifted with Tuna, while she got Lily Love, or her fathers personal favorite, Lil' Lil.

"Oh, maybe its just the way that top fits you then." Her sister said casually as she pulled out a dress bag that was three times the size Lily would have liked to see. "Just hurry up and try it on."

"Lily, come out."

"No." She said indignantly.

"Lily." It was her mother's voice now.

She knew she was being childish. However, at the moment, she just didn't care.

"I'm not coming out until you swear James isn't there!"

The laughter she heard next let her know James was still in the room.

"Alright, alright, I'm going." She could hear chuckling all the way until the bell over the shop door clanged, letting her know it was safe.

"Is he gone?"

"Yes." Her mother said in an exasperated tone.

She forced herself to suck it up and walked out of the dressing room. Her mothers strained smile let her know that it was even worse than she thought.

"I don't know why you're making such a fuss Lily, you look lovely." Mrs. Evans reassured her.

Lily just gaped at her, before turning to look at herself in the three way mirror. Lovely was the last word that came to mind.

Atrocious.

Horrendous.

Fire engine red.

Those were a little closer to the complete disaster that she was currently wearing. Where her sister had found something that was not only red, but burgundy and pink as well was beyond her.

"Oh it's perfect!" Her sister gushed with a sinister smile.

Lily was about to say something when a look from her mother silenced her. She just slumped down dejectedly. She wasn't a drinker by any means, but it was going to take a lot of firewhiskey tonight to rid her of this memory. She winched as the dressmaker thwacked her in the back with her measuring tape.

"Stand up straight, or you're not going to get a proper fitting." The woman said coldly.

Lily could only imagine she was less than pleased with her for hiding in the dressing room and demanding people out of the shop before coming out in one of her precious creations.

She had to admit, she wouldn't mind seeing James hold this bint up by her ankles until she promised to burn the dresses. He had a knack for that charm, he would need something else to focus it on now that she had finally agreed to go out with him.

Her mother just smiled at her sympathetically. "So, James seems like a very sweet boy."

"He is."

"Very good looking too, and polite." Her mother continued. She was fishing, Lily knew it. Under normal circumstances, she would have broken down and told her everything. However, at the moment, she was rather peeved with her mother for letting Petunia pick out these ghastly frocks.

"Do you two have many classes together at school?"

"We have all the same classes." Something she was still very suspicious about. "And he's in my house."

"Yes, you've mentioned that. Do you two spend much time together outside of class?"

"Only if I wasn't able to avoid him."

"Lily." Her mother scolded. "You two seem like you're friends though. Am I right?"

Lily just smiled, "You could just ask me if I like James mum."

Her mother tinged pink but smiled all the same, seeing the slightly giddy smile forming on her daughters lips.

"I knew it. The moment he showed up at the house, I knew you fancied him."

"I did not fancy him then, in fact, I thought he was positively annoying." She said, still trying not to smile.

Ten minutes. She had lasted ten whole minutes before caving in.

She was pathetic.

She was also in love though.

"He fancied you, even your father could see that."

"Oh everyone knew James fancied me. He's always made that quite obvious."

"And now you fancy him too?" Her mother questioned, looking more and more pleased with herself by the moment.

"I've always fancied him, I just didn't know it." She said, trying to sound casual, and doing a horrible job at it. Especially she saw the look on Petunias bony face. "I actually invited him to come to the wedding with me, I hope that's alright. You said I could bring someone."

"Oh that's fine." Her mother said happily. "Are you two seeing each other now?"

"Well, yes." Lily looked at her mother nervously. "You're not going to tell daddy, are you?"

Her mother just laughed. "And have him hunt down the poor boy? You just plan to bring James to the wedding and leave your father to me. Though, if he comes to dinner on Sunday, I would suggest you make sure he's wiped all of the lipstick off his face. Peach is a lovely color on him, but it may be slightly too modern for your father."

Five minutes later, Lily's face still matched the bright red dress.

Lily walked over to the bench James was seated on and sat down on his lap, facing him.

"Hello." He said, grinning.

Lily, however was not smiling. She reached up and wiped the lipstick off the corners of his mouth, still embarrassed.

"If you're going to be an Auror, you're going to need a lot more practice." She said sternly.

James quickly pulled a mirror out of his pocket and examined his face, before groaning. "You could have said something!"

"I didn't notice."

"So your mum knows?"

"Yes, and she thinks peach is a lovely color on you." She said, unable to keep herself from giggling a little. "Luckily, she happens to think it's very funny, and she's not going to tell my father…instead we get to when you come for dinner."

"Oh, yeah, about dinner…" He joked.

"Don't even think about it Potter." She told him in mock seriousness. "Besides, he's going to love you." She rubbed off the last of the lipstick before kissing him softly.

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully.

"Well, he's going to like you…maybe we'll stop by the library tomorrow and pick you up a few books on golf."

"You mean that barmy game muggles play?"

"Sport of Gentlemen." She corrected him sweetly as she stood up. "I need to go say goodbye to my mum."

"Am I allowed back inside now?"

"Yes."

"I'm going to see you in the dress eventually you know." He draped his arm over her shoulder with that effortless charm he seemed to have been born with.

"No, I plan to steal your glasses and your wand before the ceremony." She said simply.

"Stealing my glasses, what are you, seven?"

"No, if I was seven I'd use them to play keep away with Lavinia." She grinned up at him. "Then I would pinch you so you knew I really liked you."

"Tease."

Lily smiled and pushed him through the door into the shop. She could hear the laughter catch in James's throat as he saw the dress hanging on the back of the door and chided herself for not making sure the monstrosity was properly hidden away.

"Don't say a word." She warned, only making him have to fight harder not to laugh. She had a feeling he was going to be taking the mickey out of her for a very long time. "Mum, we need to get going."

Her mother walked out of one of the back rooms and Lily felt James's hand fly off her waist where it had been resting.

"Oh but you said your party wasn't until later, why don't you and James join us for dinner? We were going to go to that lovely little Italian place a few blocks over."

Lily looked over at Petunia, who had just paled, then at James, who had lit up. James looked at her to see if she wanted to go.

"Well, alright. Were meeting Remus at nine, right?" She asked James.

"Yeah, outside the Leaky. Dinner would be wonderful Mrs. Evans."

"Great, Tuna just need to get everything in order and then we'll head off." The two women disappeared into the back and James grinned over at Lily.

"Wow, your sister must really not like you."

"James!"

"Hey, you're talking to the bloke who firmly believes you would look sexy in just about anything…but even I know that it's mean to make a red head wear that color."

"You're not helping." She pouted to him. "I have to wear that in front of a fifty people!"

"Only fifty?" He asked.

"That's about forty nine too many."

"Were going to have more." He said casually.

"More what?"

"More guests at ours." He smiled at her. "Seventy five at the least."

Lily beamed at the idea. "And I'm going to make Petunia wear dress robes."

"Ah, there's the vindictive little witch I fell in love with." He winced as she poked him in the side. "I think your mum likes me."

"I hope so." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I really want them too."

"Well don't you worry your sweet little head, I'll win them over. You just watch." He winked at her, making her smile.

"Oh, hold on, you've still got a little…" She reached up and wiped a smudge of lipstick off the corner of his mouth.

"I don't know, I think the color brings out my eyes." He looked over and admired his profile in the mirror.

"Yes, it's stunning." She said as she reach up and pinched his jaw bone playfully. "I have some blush that would really bring out your bone structure."

"Ha ha."

Lily smiled stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek, before glancing past him to see her mother and sister coming out of the back, looking at them curiously.

They both moved apart and stood up straight, trying to look innocent, and failing miserably.

Why did he have to make it so hard on her?

She was trying to show her mother what a responsible and intelligent person he was, and he was making it very very hard to do so.

"James!" She hissed as quietly as she could. Her mother and Petunia were in the front seat of their car, trying to act like it was perfectly normal for a seventeen year old boy to have his head out the car window, grinning like a mad man.

He sat back in the seat properly. "These are so much cooler that the books make them out to be!"

She wanted to be mad at him, but he was just so damn cute when he had that goofy, crooked grin plastered on his face.

So instead she just laughed and shook her head.

"Don't your parents have a car?" Petunia asked curtly, making Lily seethe.

"Oh, no." He answered casually, completely unaffected by her tone. "We don't have much use for one, especially now that I have my apperation license."

Lily reached over and picked up his hand and entwined her fingers in his, feeling bad for being short with him earlier. She had been just as excited about simple things like horseless carriages and floating candles when she had come to Hogwarts. It wasn't right to get mad at him for being intrigued with a car. She felt his tighten around hers and for the first time realized he was genuinely nervous.

The unflappable James Potter, nervous?

She supposed stranger things had happened.

"So, both of your parents are wizards James?" Her mother asked sweetly.

"Oh, yeah, my whole family is, we have been for generations. This experiment as a muggle has been…interesting." He finished uneasily.

"It's not that hard." Petunia interjected again. "Any idiot can figure out how to use a stove or a telephone."

James went a little red, probably remembering his first encounter with a stove. Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly and glared at Petunia.

"It's not a matter of figuring things like that out. Wizards just have different ways of doing things, most of whom probably think you're an idiot for not knowing how to do it their way." Lily said hotly. "You don't see us laughing at you for not knowing how to ride a broomstick."

"Yes well, being able to accept people's differences is something we always tried to teach you girls." Her mother said, trying to smooth things over. "What do your parents do?"

"Oh, my dad works at the Ministry of Magic and my mum stays at home." He said, regaining his confidence. Lily figured her standing up for him had given him a slight boost.

"How nice, do you have any siblings?"

"No, I'm an only child, but my parents have practically adopted my best mate, so it's like I have a brother." He said, sounding more and more like the James she knew.

"And do you live in London?" Lily rolled her eyes at her mothers kind hearted interrogation.

"No, actually, I live in Godrics Hollow, it's a ways north of here."

"What kind of house do you have?" Petunia cut in.

"Excuse me?" James asked politely.

"What type of house do you live in, Lily's never explained what type of, dwelling you people live in."

"Petunia!" Lily glared at her sister, resisting the urge to reach for the wand in her purse. "He lives in a house, what do you expect, a gingerbread cottage!"

James raised his eyebrows at her odd reference.

"Never mind, it's a muggle fairy tail about witches." She explained to him quickly, relived when they finally pulled up at the small restaurant.

Lily continued to glare at her sister as she pointedly linked her arm with James's very toned one, smiling over the fact that the only bulging arms Petunia would ever have wrapped around her were the kind that had no visible elbow.

James scooted ahead and opened the door for them, something that got a very good reaction from her mother.

Lily just smiled at him as they walked in. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all. It was borderline impossible not to like James. Even when she couldn't stand the idiot she still liked him. That annoyingly charming smile and those bright mischievous eyes made it hard not to. Even the waitress who was seating them couldn't help but smile at him a few times.

Ok, maybe that stupid bint was smiling at him more that a few times…undressing him with her eyes was more like it.

"Can I get you something to drink…sir?" She asked James sweetly before even looking at the rest of them.

"Oh, just water please." He said as he glanced over at Lily, looking a little embarrassed.

"I'll have the same." She said in a completely fake sweet voice while slipping her hand over James. The waitress stared at that movement a touch longer than professional before looking up at Lily and giving her the same smile. Lily smiled back with a simple look on her face.

Mine.

Her mother and sister had excused themselves to the bathroom and James was now chuckling quietly to himself.

"Stop it." Lily demanded, blushing.

"You were sooo jealous." He said, grinning.

"I was not."

"Oh, you were love. And you accused me of being territorial."

"Well she was all over you. And stop calling me Love, it's what made them catch on in the first place." She said, wallowing in the fact that he had been dead on and was now thoroughly embarrassed about her tiny jealous fit.

"No, you assaulting me on the train and leaving the evidence all over my face is what got us caught, Love." He said with and arrogant wink, making Lily want to throttle him…or snog his lights out…this new arrangement of theirs was very confusing at times.

"I did not assault you!"

"I was sitting there, minding my own businesses when you started kissing my neck." He explained haughtily. Lily quickly poked him in the side.

"You know I can't help it when you do that thing with your tongue." He ginned at her, however Lilys' eyes just went wide eyed and kicked his leg.

"Ow. That hurt Evans." He frowned and rubbed his leg gingerly.

That was when Mrs. Evans and Petunia returned to their seats, causing James to close his eyes with embarrassment.

He looked over at Lily sheepishly.

Idiot.

But an adorable idiot.

They had managed to get past that unfortunate incident and were now settling in with their food.

"James, what do you plan to do when you graduate?" Mrs. Evans asked.

James looked up and proceeded to chew his food quickly. Lily just smiled; she would have killed him if he had talked with his mouth full. Her mother was a stickler for proper manners and James had already earned points for promptly putting his napkin in his lap and knowing which forks went with each meal. If her mum told her dad about how sweet and polite James was, it would make it all the easier when they met again.

"Sorry." He apologized.

"It's quite alright." Her mother said, beaming.

"I'm hoping to get into the Auror training program at the ministry." He said proudly.

"Auror, what's that?" She asked curiously.

James leaned in and lowered his voice a bit, "Dark wizard catchers…some people say it like the muggle equivalent to a detective, or bounty hunter."

"Really, that sounds dangerous."

"It is." Lily said, frowning at James playfully. "But it's also a very prestigious job at the ministry. And I don't know why he says he hopes to get in. He's one of the top students in our class, they wouldn't dream of turning away his application."

James smiled at Lily, looking thankful for her support. "I've wanted to be one for as long as I can remember. My dad had a few friends who work in the Auror office so I've grown up around them. Our poor house elf, Boxey, got the full brunt of my only child syndrome and used to get roped into playing wizard catcher with me. That is until my mum got tired of me using all the spellotape to put him in a full body bind.

Lily could even see Petunia's heart of ice thaw a little, while she and her mum nearly melted into a sappy puddle.

If that didn't win her mum over, nothing would.

"Here's you're bill, I'll be your cashier whenever you're ready." The waitress said sweetly as she handed the check to Mrs. Evans. However James took a hold of it before she had the chance.

"Let me." He said politely, not waiting for her response before pulling out his wallet.

"Oh, no James, I couldn't, I invited you." Her mother said bashfully, all the while looking at Lily with the threat of you best not let this one get away!

She had no intention of doing so.

"I insist." James said, as he nodded politely to them before getting up to go pay. Before he left he gave Lily's hand a quick squeeze and a smile as she beamed at him.

"Is he always that polite?" Her mother asked as soon as he was out of hearing distance.

Lily smiled giddily. "Yes, he's a good man."

"Well, he is clearly smitten with you." She said, smiling at her daughter. "As you are with him."

"Yes, I guess you could say I'm smitten."

"Well, how could you not be? He's very cute." Her mum leaned forward and she and Lily both peaked around the corner to watch James paying. "Not to mention a great bum."

"Mum!"

Mrs. Evans just laughed as her face softened. "Just be careful Lily. You're still very young, and he's very charming. I would hate for you to get your heart broken dear."

Lily smiled at her mum. "He's not going to break my heart."

She looked back over at him, just in time for James to look over his shoulder and catch her eye.

No, he wasn't going to break her heart.

He couldn't.

There wouldn't be anything left if he did.

"It was wonderful to see you again James. Were looking forward to having you to dinner on Sunday." Mrs. Evans said as she shook his hand.

"So am I." He held the car door open for Petunia and smiled jovially at her. Lily knew he would never dare say a mean word to her; James just wasn't that kind of person. He was however, persistent, and she had a feeling that no matter how nasty Petunia was to James, he was always going to be nice to her, just to piss her off.

They watched as the taillights of the car disappeared into the London traffic and she could see James physically relax before her eyes and drape his arm over her shoulder.

She could feel the tension in her shoulders filtering away under the comfortable weight of his arm as they headed towards the nearest tube entrance.

"Well, that's wasn't so bad." She said hopefully, slipping her arm around his waist and let her thumb hook into his back pocket.

"Yeah, I don't know what you were so worried about. I told you they were going to love me." He said nonchalantly.

"Yes, you can be quite charming when you want to be."

"I'm always charming, I got you didn't I?"

"That was more me giving in out of sheer exhaustion."

"Ah well, beggars can't be choosers right?" He smiled down at her, knowing everything she was saying was complete bull.

She hated that he knew she couldn't live without him.

His ego didn't need any more stroking.

She gave in and just rested her head on his shoulder as they walked down the darkened street looking like two perfectly normal teenagers.

"My mum liked you; she thinks you're polite, which is a very big thing with her. And if my mum likes you, she will talk you up to my dad, because he's going to be the hard sell."

"You make it sound like your worried? I think even your sister was warming up to me there at the end, and Merlin she is an unpleasant person!"

"I told you. And don't worry, he will like you. My dads just very, protective of me. The first time I ever went on a muggle date, he asked the boy what his intentions for me were. So be ready for that one." She warned playfully.

"That's easy, I want to marry you, and spend the rest of my life shagging the lights out of that pretty little red head of yours…think he'll like that answer?"

"James!" She laughed loudly as she pushed him. "Don't be crude…but, I can't say I'm completely against either."

"Yeah?"

There was something about the tone of his voice that let her know neither of them was talking about the second part of his confession.

"Yeah." She said seriously as she met his hopeful hazel eyes. He smiled contently as they continued to walk, wrapped in each others arms.

James leaned down and kissed the top of her head softly before pulling her closer under his arm.

Meanwhile that year was looking long and longer in Lily's mind.

A.N: Ok ok ok. I know it's taken me forever to update and I am sooo sorry. Finals and a bunch of other stuff kind of got in the way. The next chapter is the actual party. This one was supposed to be but I just sort of went off on a fluffy tangent, but it's important for later chapters. I should have an update by Friday or so. It definitely wont be as long in-between them now. Thanks for sticking with me!

If you go to my profile (just click on my name at the top of the page) there is a link to a picture of the dress. I thought it was funny, and as a redhead, I can tell you it's just a bad combination on us.) I think it helps to have something to really visualize, but that's just me. I love to know what you think, so let me know, thanks!