Trials and Tribulations
Summary: Harry Potter knew he was going to get shocked when he visited his parents graves. He knew that'd he'd see family he never met; like grandparents, uncles, and aunts. But one thing he didn't know was that he was going to meet his sister.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am not making any profit off of this fanfic.

Chapter Eleven: Grovel

Lily shuffled her way down the corridor, looking at the ground. Since the row she had with James, she hadn't felt like doing anything because she felt like someone had taken her heart and smashed it into a thousand pieces, and to make matters worse, they used a hammer to do it.

Everyone around her had tried to cheer her up. Remus had given her advice about James, which she tried to understand but couldn't, Alice had brought her breakfast in bed on a few occasions, and even Peter was feeling a little sorry and he carried her books. She didn't know why the Marauders were still conversing with her, even though she and James were now officially over.

Elizabeth had told her that after two days had passed and he hadn't apologized. He hadn't even acknowledged that they had just spent the last month or so being together. He was acting as if they were back to their love-hate relationship, except it was he who was doing the hating.

Lily sighed. It was horrible doing Head Duties separately. The last time she did this, it was her decision because she didn't know how to act around him, and now it was he who activated this decision, and it just brought her further into the dumps.

Lily looked at her watch. Duties had been over for more than ten minutes, so she decided to head back to her room. 'It wouldn't have made a difference if I didn't do the duties tonight. I didn't even try to look for anyone.'

With a sigh, she headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

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James was sitting by the window in an empty classroom. His head was in his hands, and he was cursing himself quietly; he hadn't stopped doing that for hours. The Marauders had been there and gone. 'I'm such a git!' James thought. He gripped his hair in his hands and sighed. 'I am an utter fool, a jerk. I honestly…She has to hate me now.'

A moment later James peered out the window. Just days ago it had been the full Moon. 'How can I put Moony through this?' James stopped, shaking his head. 'How can I put Lily through this, actually? It's more of a health hazard for her than it is for Moony, isn't it? Two lives are at stake with her. How can I take that for granted?' He punched his knee, hoping to cause some type of answer, but it didn't.

He blinked and leaned his head against the window. It had to be late now. Everyone was probably in bed. 'She did Head Duties all alone…I didn't even attempt to leave this bloody room!' He watched as some clouds shifted, showing more of the stars. He glared at them, and then he leaned his head against the window again. He shivered slightly. This room, of all rooms in Hogwarts, was freezing. It was as if the window was open. He hadn't been this cold in a long time. He bit his bottom lip so he wouldn't curse out loud. He was failing miserably.

James stood up abruptly. 'I have to go apologize.' He thought. 'It's the best I can do. Maybe we can be friends after this. But I wouldn't blame her if she doesn't want to be. I mean, how many days can pass before she just gives up all together? I should have apologized immediately after it happened…'

James cracked his back and then he walked towards the door. He peeked out into the corridor to see if any ghosts or adults were walking about. All he heard were distant cat cries. He just shrugged his shoulders and walked into the corridor. 'If I get caught, I'll say it was Head duties.' He shut the door behind him and listened as the lock made a quiet click. 'Well, I should have my Head badge, that would be more convincing.'

Silently James walked up the corridor. He was only one secret passageway away from the Gryffindor Common Room. He thought, as he peered around the school, that it looked eerie. There were strange shadows cast on the—

"Password?"

James jumped. He hadn't even noticed he had made it to the portrait. The Fat Lady was staring at him sleepily, and that made James envy her. She never had to worry about anything. She couldn't fight with her significant other to the point where it hurt everyone around them, and a life was at stake. 'I hate you.'

James mumbled the password and was surprised when the portrait swung open. He climbed into the portrait hole, and walked into the Common Room. He looked around. There was a fire in the fireplace, but it was dying. He saw that Peter was the only one in the room, and he could see that he was falling asleep. It looked like he was working on last minute work.

James walked towards him. "Oi Wormtail, you should give it a rest and go to sleep," he said while shaking Peter awake. Peter nodded his head, and wiped the drool from his chin. He asked if James was coming up, and James replied, "In a minute. I have some things to do. By the way…is Lily in our dorm?" Peter shook his head, and then gathered his books, before heading to bed.

James sighed and walked to the girl's dormitory staircase. 'Why would she be in there? She hasn't slept in there since our row.' He put his foot on the first step, and watched as they turned into a slide. 'Well, if I walked more quickly, I probably could have gotten halfway up before it turned into a slide.'

James backed up, and then took a running start. He ran up the slide, hanging onto the banister for support. He had only done this a few times before, and even then it seemed easier than it was now.

James took a deep breath, trying to settle his nerves. He knew now was not a good time to feel this feeling again. The last time he felt it, he and Lily rowed.

Finally, after a few moments of trying to keep a hold on his composure, he walked to the door for the 7th years. He slowly opened the door and peeked in, relieved to see that no one was naked. But he was saddened when he saw Lily sitting on the floor in front of the window. Her legs were flat out in front of her, and her back was against the wall. She looked at the door, as if knowing James was there.

James swallowed hard and stepped away from the door as Lily came towards it. She opened it and stepped out, gasping quietly because the cold stone floor.

They stood around in silence, neither looking at the other. After a moment Lily looked at James. James returned her look and they stared at each other for a few seconds before Lily asked, "Why?"

James was quiet, and he swallowed again. "I was scared," he finally said, rather lamely in his opinion. "I am scared."

"Well hell James," James flinched. Her voice was raw with emotion, and he could hear the pain she was carrying with her. He looked at her, seeing the new formation of tears in her eyes. He could see the pain in her eyes, and he could tell he messed up big time. "I'm scared too. I'm scared to death, but I don't go around picking fights with people."

"I know," James said, looking at the ground; he was too ashamed to look her in the face. 'How can I be scared? She's the one carrying the baby. She has the pressure to succeed in life, to be accepted, to pass school, and now she has this…baby on her hands…What the bloody hell was I afraid for…I should be scared for her…'

Lily slowly reached out and lifted his chin with her hand, watching as his eyes searched hers. She could see what he was thinking, and it made her want to cry. She could see the fear and anxiety in his eyes, along with a billion other things.

"I'll understand if you want nothing to do with me," James said quietly. "As long as the baby is going to be taken care of. I'll pay you all the money in the world so you can take care of it…I swear Lily, if that's what you want."

Lily put her fingers against his lips, silencing him. "Let's put this behind us," she whispered softly.

"Are you sure?" James asked. "I know what I said…I take it back Lily, I really do. I want to be a father, and I want to be the father that you want me to be."

Lily nodded her head, openly crying now. James wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. After a moment he pulled away from their embrace and kissed her quickly. He laced his fingers with hers. "I promise I will never bottle up feelings like that again." He kissed her hand. "It hurts too much when I'm done."

Lily wrapped her arms around him again, hugging him tightly. She cried for a moment, before whispering, "I promise I won't yell like that ever again."

They stood like that, holding each other, for a few minutes, and then James broke away, kissing her forehead. "Let's go lay down."

Lily smiled. "I can't get down the stairs, unless you want to stay here for the night, which is against all the rules." Her smile grew just a touch bit bigger. "I'll stay here for the night."

"Violet isn't a great person to be in the room with," James said, trying to reason with her.

"I've been up here for the passed few days, and it smells better," she paused. "Besides, my morning sickness has slowed down quite a bit." She kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I'll see you in the morning."

James smiled at her, and walked towards the slide. "Remember we have that class tomorrow morning," Lily said, watching as he was getting ready to go down the slide.

James stopped, unsure what she was talking about. He thought back quickly to any new classes he was supposed to take, and then he remembered. "What time should I be ready?" he asked, looking at her.

"Eight thirty." Lily said promptly, before going back into her room, shutting the door quietly. James smiled, and slid down the stairs, landing neatly in the Common Room. He walked to his dormitory, trying to keep his smile at bay. 'Apologizing was a lot easier than I thought. I could have groveled at her feet some.'

He stopped suddenly when he sneezed in front of the staircase. As he was going up the stairs he sneezed two more times. "I cannot be getting sick," he mumbled opening his bedroom door. 'I have things to do tomorrow.' He wasn't smiling anymore as he sneezed a few more times while putting on his pajamas. If he continued sneezing like he was, he'd wake up the other Marauders.

With a sigh, he crawled into bed, sneezing himself to sleep.

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BB/N: It's been a long time since I've updated, I know. I'm sorry for the wait. I've had a really weird writers block that kept me away from the computer. It kind of depressed me a little.

But anyway, I've been working on this and Unplanned Pregnancies. Unplanned Pregnancies is going good, but I realized that since I changed it to go along with the 6th book, I need to hurry and post it before J.K. Rowling puts out the 7th book. It would be a mess if I didn't get it out fast enough.

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Bob Bennit