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 Twenty: Dancing
James kept a close eye on Lily as the days passed. Not just because he was worried about her first panic attack and how she was going to react to it, but also to make sure she ate a good breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in between. He also watched the workload that she carried and helped her with anything that she needed. He had even taken some time out of Marauding to read a book on N.E.W.T.'s and take exceptionally well notes on it for Lily so she didn't have to read it.
She had been slightly annoyed at first, well actually, she had been totally annoyed and was furious beyond words when James pulled her from the Library during lunch so she could eat, but after James kept explaining to her exactly what and why he was doing this, she calmed down. Now she appreciated the fact that she didn't have to do everything on her own.
It was nearing seven o'clock in the morning when James snuck out of the seventh years dorm, the other Marauders in tow behind him. They hadn't pulled a good prank in ages, and they were getting a bit restless.
"Only Severus, okay?" Remus said, getting under the invisibility cloak and holding it open for the three others. "He shouldn't have pranked the first years in Gryffindor, but we can't punish the entire house, besides, James has Head Duties and Lily to think about."
"Right Remus," Sirius said, getting under the cloak. "You take the fun out of everything."
James and Peter got under the cloak, and slowly the four of them made their way out of the Gryffindor Common Room. As they were walking down the stairs and towards the dungeons, Sirius stopped.
"Lily might give us detentions."
It was quiet for a moment, and then they whipped off the invisibility cloak. James folded it and stuffed it in Peter's school bag.
After realizing how much the four of them were going to get in trouble by Lily, the prank that they were going to play seemed to disappear totally from their minds. Just thinking about getting a detention from Lily made James shiver. She would have him clean every lavatory with a toothbrush and a bar of soap. He didn't even want to think of what she would make the Marauders do, because she would have let him off lightly with the lavatory toothbrush thing, but the other Marauders…
She'd more than likely kill them.
"Well that ruined the mood," Peter said quietly.
"Pretty much," Remus said. They walked towards the Great Hall in silence, contemplating which was worse, getting caught by McGonagall or Lily.
When they reached the Great Hall, they were surprised to see a great majority of the students eating breakfast. What was really strange was that it was Sunday, and usually everyone slept in until noon, except for the choice few who liked to be up early. They walked to the Gryffindor table and sat in their normal spot, the poor first year still sitting beside Sirius. But this morning Sirius was so gloomy about not pulling the prank that he didn't even bother to give the first year advice about how to kill himself. He just ignored him.
"You guys are looking a bit blue," Elizabeth said, stopping by Remus. Remus just shrugged his shoulder.
"We were going to play a prank, but we thought about how Lily was going to punish us, and we changed our minds."
"Rightly so. She was really sick this morning. She's sleeping now though," Elizabeth said. "I think Alice might still be sitting with her though."
James dropped his fork that was halfway to his mouth. "She was sick? Is she okay now? What kind of sick?"
"Morning sickness," Elizabeth said, an eyebrow arched. "You haven't been on her arse about her health have you?"
James shifted slightly. "Er, maybe?"
"Of course you were. That's why she was yelling at Alice and me this morning. You know, she doesn't need you to watch every move she makes. She's done pretty good for the past six years, and when she's not around you, she still makes good decisions about her health and internally she knows when to stop, even if she doesn't want to." Elizabeth put her hands on her hips, enjoying the small scolding she was giving James. But by the look on his face, she knew that she had put just a wee bit too much guilt on him. "But I'm sure she appreciates the help that you give her. Just…don't be on her arse like you have been, that's all."
James nodded her head. "You said she was sleeping?"
Elizabeth nodded her head. "She'll probably sleep the afternoon away."
xoXoXoXox
It was nearing three o'clock when James walked up the boys dormitory staircase with a sandwich wrapped in a paper napkin. He opened the door to his room and was surprised to see Lily half awake, books and parchments spread out around her. She was still in her pajamas and her hair was a mess. She looked up when he stepped into the room.
"Afternoon," Lily said around a yawn. She patted a space on the corner of the bed. It was the only place that wasn't surrounded with books. When James neared his bed he saw a bowl and two plates on the floor. He smiled and shook his head.
"Thought you could use a sandwich," he said, handing her the napkin present. "Roast beef with peppers and onions."
"Ooh! Yummy," Lily said, taking the sandwich. She took a bite out of it and made another sound of pleasure from her sandwich. "Best sandwich ever."
James laughed. "How long have you been up?"
Lily shrugged her shoulders. "An hour or so."
James sat down on the corner of the bed. "I was wondering if you're doing anything tonight?"
Lily thought for a moment, taking another bite from her sandwich. Then she shook her head. "Not that I know of, no. Well, I have head duties and what not, but that's normal isn't it?" James just nodded his head, surprised at how awake she suddenly seemed. "Why?" she asked.
"Oh, I was just wondering…we haven't been on a real date yet," James looked up to see Lily's sparkling eyes. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to…I don't know, hang out and maybe go to dinner?"
"Go to dinner?" Lily asked skeptically.
"Yeah, and all in the comfort of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"How many rules will we be breaking?"
James winced slightly. "Enough?" Knowing that that wasn't an acceptable answer for Lily, he sat and waited for her rejection. They were almost engaged, so they really didn't have to go on dates.
"Oh, I guess."
"You guess?" James asked, surprised.
Lily shrugged her shoulders, taking another bite of her sandwich. "I mean, we're Head Students, so we have a later curfew, it won't be that late will it?"
"I can ask the sixth year Prefects to cover for us, that way we can have an earlier evening since we have classes tomorrow." James was hoping that Lily would agree. He knew how much she hated leaving her duties for the younger students. "I'm sure we can cover for them when they need it."
"Only if they have a good excuse," Lily said.
"Is our excuse good?" James asked cheekily.
Lily laughed slightly. "Not really, no."
"So do you want to?"
Lily nodded her head. "Sure…yeah, it would be fun." James smiled. "What should I wear? A dress? Pants? Nothing--"
"Wearing nothing would seem a bit awkward, don't you think?" James asked. Lily rolled her eyes at him. "A dress would do fine. Do you even have a dress? I've never really noticed."
"I bought one on the last Hogsmeade trip. Alice insisted. She said I'd never know if I'd need one."
"Well, now you do."
"I don't know it'll fit…an enlarging charm might work."
James just nodded his head. "Well…I guess I'll leave you to study and whatnot."
Lily smiled at him. "Guess so. I'll see you later, yeah?
"Course," James said, standing up. He kissed Lily lightly on the forehead and then he was off, leaving her alone.
Lily shook her head slowly and returned to her studying. 'That boy sometimes…'
xoXoXoXox
'Oh, I don't think the enlarging charm worked much, even though the dress isn't supposed to be baggy.' Lily turned slightly and stared at her reflection in the mirror. 'It shows every curve on my body…I don't quite like it.' She turned again and shook her head. 'It'll do though. He did say a dress.' She looked down at her feet, sighing. 'And flip flops? How does black represent spring and summer? It's the hottest color in the world and here I am, wearing it…and I only have black flip flops to match with the dress…Goodness, I need to go shopping more…' She walked towards her bed and picked up her discarded wand. Then she walked back to the mirror. She had already brushed her hair, but it just wasn't cooperating. She tapped her head and almost instantly her hair became straight, falling well passed her shoulders. 'I never use that spell…' She wrinkled her nose. 'Violet taught it to me in third year…prat.'
She turned again, running a hand down her stomach. 'I'm not that large yet. I'm only in my fifth month…But this baby needs to be born!' She ran a hand down her side. 'I hate these aches and pains that come along with the pregnancy.'
She went to the door and opened it slowly. She was surprised that the Marauders and Frank had left her alone for so long. 'Especially James. He's been on me as if I'd pass out any minute. I'm pregnant, not someone who is bleeding to death.' She smiled softly as she held onto the banister and walked down the steps. 'But he is a lot more bearable when he's concerned, instead of being the prat he was last year…Maybe being concerned is a good thing…just not on my arse.'
There must have been a party or something of the sort going on in the Gryffindor Common Room because the talking volume was insanely loud. She walked into the Common Room and everyone was in there, from first years to the seventh years. They didn't notice Lily as she walked passed them, and she could smell the distinct odor of alcohol. When she reached James she arched an eyebrow at him. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Padfoot said he'll keep an eye on them," he said, shrugging his shoulders again.
"You sure? I don't want to come back and see half the house passed out and the other half dead because them were too intoxicated to figure how far the ground was from the windows."
"Oh Lily, just trust me," Sirius pouted.
Lily turned to see Remus smiling fondly at her, shaking his head. "I'm still trying to figure how Prongs got to be Head Boy in the first place, he lacks in the area of common sense." He smirked at James. James laughed, rolling his eyes at him.
"Okay, I just wanted to make sure."
"Don't worry," Sirius said, his pout disappearing, "I'll watch the little children."
"I hope that wasn't supposed to be reassuring, because it didn't help any," Lily said, putting her hands on her hips. The Marauders laughed.
"Come on Lily, we best leave before we get sucked into the party." James grabbed her hand and began leading her out of the Common Room, trying to ignore the advice that Sirius was sending him.
"Be careful! You know how Lily got pregnant the last time!" he called before the portrait closed.
Lily and James walked through the corridor quietly. James was concentrating about where they were going to go, and Lily was wondering where they were going to go. She didn't want to go outside, that was for sure. It was January and there was still snow on the ground.
"Hmm?" Lily asked, surprised that James was speaking to her. She looked at him, and he was trying not to laugh.
"I said you look rather dashing tonight."
"Oh," Lily responded. "Thank you. You don't look half bad either." She eyed James, noticing what he was wearing. It was a dark green button down shirt tucked into a pair of dress slacks. "You actually know how to clean up well, I'm proud."
"Haha, funny," James said sarcastically. "I actually got this today. I realized that I didn't have anything appropriate to wear, and robes were really out of the question."
Lily nodded her head. "Where exactly are we going? We haven't gone down any staircases."
"We're not leaving Hogwarts. I told you we'll be in the school the entire time, or at least that's what you'll have to believe."
"Believe?" Lily asked questioningly. James didn't reply. He just squeezed her hand and continued down the corridor. Lily sighed and just followed. It was several minutes later when James dropped her hand and began pacing back and forth in front of a tapestry.
Lily was just beginning to take in the fact that she hadn't seen that particular tapestry, when James grabbed her hand. Lily looked in the direction that James was pulling her to, and was surprised to see a door. "That wasn't there a moment ago," she said, trying to put her heels into the floor so she could stop. Her flip flops held no friction, and she just slid forward, almost falling.
"I know." James winked at Lily, and turned towards the door. "Lillian Evans, welcome to the Room of Requirement, where you'll be happy to know there's no snow outside.
Lily gasped when he opened the door. She followed James through the doorway and looked at the sky. It was dark outside and the moon and stars were showing brightly. There was a slight breeze, but it was comforting. There was a blanket and basket underneath a willow tree and a couch to the far left of the tree. She quirked an eyebrow at James, and he just smiled.
"Incase you can't get comfortable on the ground," he replied. He walked towards the basket and Lily followed, awestruck at how everything in the room seemed so real.
"We're not really outside, are we?" she asked, staring at the sky. The moon and stars seemed real enough. She could even see a shooting star moving across it.
"No, we're still in the school. Come sit beside me. I'm starting to get hungry."
Lily sat down on the blanket. "Where'd you think of this? Of all the things we could do on a first date…"
"Well, we've done everything else before the first date, so why not just continue on?" James asked. He opened the basket and began pulling out the food. Lily stared as the strangest things came out of the basket. It was only strange because they were all Muggle food and it was all of her favorites.
"I've never had this before," James said. He held up a bottle of black liquid. "How do you say it, Pep-sigh?"
Lily laughed. She shook her head. "Pepsi, it's a carbonated soda."
"Soda?" James asked. "Isn't that used to bake with? When you add carbon to soda, you get…this?" James tilted his head and stared at the bottle. "Strange," he ended up saying, shaking his head.
Lily shook her head. "Not that kind of soda. They also call it pop."
"Pop? Does it explode?"
"Well, kind of," Lily said, reaching for a cup from the basket. "Twist the cap."
James twisted the cap and gasped in surprise. The bottle fizzed and made a strange sound. He looked at Lily, his eyes open wide. "Is it supposed to do that? This soda is dangerous."
"No it's not, just drink some," Lily said. She handed him a cup and he poured himself barely a teaspoon of the drink. He cautiously took a sip, his brow furrowing as he swallowed it. "It's not a wine James, you don't need to swish it around your mouth," Lily said, giggling as he poured himself another, larger cup.
"I like it," was James's only comment.
After a while of James cautiously pouring himself cup after cup, they began to eat. Lily hadn't had a Mars bar and crisps together in a long time, and she was just giddy. She loved it when she could have a meal of just random Muggle food.
"If I don't stop, my bladder will explode," James said, drinking his fifth cup of soda. Lily just nodded her head, her mouth full of chocolate. When she swallowed, she looked serious.
"We're going to get sick."
"I agree."
She smiled and ran her tongue across her teeth, getting the food off of them. They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then James stood up. "Let's dance,"
"Dance?" Lily echoed, looking up at James. He just nodded his head and pulled Lily to her feet. "Dance to what?"
"Music of course," James said, and a moment later music filled the air. James wrapped his arms around her waist and turned her until her back was to his chest. They just slowly swayed to the music, their eyes drifting closed as they enjoyed the moment.
James sighed quietly. After six years of being after this woman, he finally had her in his arms, and they were dancing. 'We're almost engaged and I've met her family, she's met mine…' He rested his chin on her head and tightened his grip on her waist.
"What are you thinking about?" Lily asked softly.
"You," James murmured quietly. "And Christmas and your family and mine and about how this year has been totally barmy," he added quietly.
"Oh." Lily looked up at James. "It has been quite a year hasn't it?" James nodded his head in response. "But we don't know each other as well as some people who are in the same position as us, or at least engaged."
James opened his eyes to look at Lily. "What do you mean?" He was a bit surprised that she had dropped the almost.
"Like, what were your parents like, and why my sister can't stand magic…things like that…and the little things…Usually people who-"
"We're not usual people Lily," James whispered, kissing her forehead. He could feel and hear the small sigh that escaped her lips. He knew she wasn't satisfied with his answer, so he began to unravel his own story. "My parents were Aurors and they passed away around Christmas when I was in my first year. I've been living with my grandparents since then." James whispered softly. "My parents were wonderful people, and I really wish you got to meet them. The other Marauders met them over the holiday and when they passed I had stayed with Sirius for the rest of the holiday. My mum had black hair, as did my dad, but my mum was the one with unruly hair, believe it or not. But she managed to control it, unlike me." He smiled softly into Lily's hair. "My dad was a genius and loved to play chess, gobstones, and quidditch. He bought me my first broom when I was seven. Best broom I ever had. I wish I could still ride it, but it would snap in half with my weight."
Lily closed her eyes, imagining what James's parents would look like. Immediately she saw the loving and caring looks his grandparents had, mixed with a younger looking James and a black haired woman.
"They seemed like wonderful people."
"Merlin…they were," James whispered.
Lily looked at James. "Petunia can't abide magic."
James snorted, ducking from Lily's swatting hand. "Obviously."
"She just can't stand changes or a difference amongst the normal, but what Vernon did at dinner…She's never that rude…What he did was uncalled for in both our books. As Muggles, we respect the dead, the same as wizards do, and she knew that. Sometimes I just don't understand why she's with him. I mean, she's not terribly ugly," James snorted again, just barely missing Lily's swatting hand. "Anyway, she isn't terribly ugly, so why'd she pick him?"
"The same reason you picked me," James whispered. "I'm just irresistible."
"Not with that attitude," Lily commented, turning around to look James in the eyes. He stared at her a moment, and then leaned down and kissed her.
James smiled when they pulled apart. "You're magnificent, Lillian Evans," he breathed, pulling her into a hug. "Absolutely magnificent."
Lily smiled. "Goodness, stop flattering me. I'll be about the same color as a tomato if you don't stop."
James smiled and pulled away slightly. "I don't want to leave this room." The look that Lily was giving him made him flush a deep red color. "Not like that Lily, I meant…I just want to be here, with you and no distractions."
Lily smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him to the couch. She pushed him onto it and laughed at his shocked scream. Then she sat down and curled up beside him, tucking her head underneath his chin. She kicked her flip flops off and watched as James untucked his shirt.
"If you need to use the lavatory, just think about a lavatory and one will just appear." James whispered, running a hand through her hair.
"Thanks for telling me. I'm sure I'll need to use one soon," Lily replied, blinking her eyes tiredly. James looked at Lily and shook his head.
"You go to sleep way to early."
"I have no energy left!" Lily said, mock glaring at him. "I'd like to see you carry around a ton of extra weight with barely any bladder power, a barmy kicking in your stomach, and insane cravings. I wonder how long you'd last."
"Probably two minutes. Don't even begin to talk about labor." James shuddered. "It sounds just about horrible with the pushing and the pain." He kissed her forehead. "I'm glad women are so strong, because I'd never be able to handle it."
Lily smiled. "Thank you."
James kissed her one last time before wrapping his arms around her and shifting until he was comfortable. Lily was now basically on top of him, but he didn't mind. "G'night Lily."
"Night," she whispered, resting her head on his chest again.
The two of them fell asleep rather quickly, having an early night to their first date.
xoXoXoXox
BB/N: I'm updating! Thanks for the reviews! I liked them loads. :)
Have a Great Day!
Love,
Bob Bennit
P.S. The baby's name is: Mary Anne Evans-Potter. I think the names are backwards but oh well!