A/N: And the wait is over! Ha. Yeah. Sorry about that. But it's almost summer, and in a few weeks I'll be done with AP exams…and then my graduation will be a month away…and then it'll be summer. And I'll be able to write more. So yay! So for the poll. What's your favorite thing about Spring/Summer? I love thunderstorms…so that'd be my favorite thing…
So anyways, review, please.
Chapter Twenty-One: Peter, Among other ThingsIt was Tuesday evening, and James found himself strolling the streets of Diagon Alley. The lanes weren't as crowded as they usually were, (more and more people were getting scared of You-Know-Who and insisted on staying indoors during darkness) James, however, felt confident in his magical ability and as he was free that evening—Lily was at Allison's and Sirius was with Charlotte—he felt the need to just peruse around town.
He walked down the street and took in the sunset. He was wearing one of his favorite cloaks—it was dark navy and of light-weight material, perfect for the early autumn. Deciding that he could use with some extra spending money, he made a bee-line for Gringotts.
The impressive white building always took him by surprise. It was simply gigantic, and he always marveled that almost the entire wealth of the magical community was stored in that one building. As he approached the large bronze doors he remembered the goblins. Merlin, he hated goblins. They were useful creatures, however. They were shrewd and fierce-- good qualities to possess when guarding the fortune of the Wizarding World.
As soon as he entered the building a goblin in a gold and red caught his eye and gave him a severe look-over before bowing to him. James shrugged it off and headed towards the counters where the goblin-tellers waited for money orders.
"Hello." James greeted the teller, he tried smiling but the creature frowned at him.
"May I help you?" the goblin asked, looking him over.
James nodded. "Er…yes. I've come to take some money out of my vault. The name's James Potter."
The goblin nodded. "A Potter, eh?" He gave a greedy smile and showed off his pointy, yellow teeth. "You have your key, I presume, sir?"
"Of course." James replied, smiling and pulling a gold key out of his pocket. Just as he was about to hand the key over, a large crash happened just behind where the goblin had been sitting behind the counter. James looked down to see a short, plump young man on the floor, scampering around and trying to pick up the pile of papers scattered on the floor. James smiled slightly. It was Peter Pettigrew.
"Idiot!" The teller yelled, turning harshly on Peter. "Can't even use your wand!"
Peter stood up, holding the stack of papers in his chubby, sweaty hands.
"I'm sorry, sir, I—I just, I tripped over the foot of your chair there, and I, I am sorry." He mumbled, his watery blue eyes praying for mercy from the savage goblin between James and himself.
"I've told you a thousand times, Pettigrew, watch where you're going, you worthless lump!" he scolded.
"Hey!" James interjected. "That's my friend there, sir, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't talk to him like that. Now he said it was an accident, he's sorry, and he cleaned up his mess."
The goblin turned to look at James, the goblins shrewd eyes flickered, but something inside the little monster decided that James Potter wasn't worth arguing with.
"Very well, Mr. Potter." he looked at him for a moment more before calling for a goblin to take James to his vault.
Before James left, he motioned for Peter to come and talk to him. Peter, the papers still in his clumsy hands, nodded and stepped towards the counter.
"You okay, Wormtail?" James asked his friend. Peter didn't look okay. His eyes had dark circles under them and he wore a slight frown.
"Yes, I'm fine." Peter replied hastily as the goblin was looking over them and was more than likely listening to their conversation. "I've got to put this away before I spill them over again." He made to turn away but James stopped him.
"Wait, Peter. What time do you get off?"
"Seven."
"Eight." The goblin interrupted, giving a glare towards Peter.
James nodded. "Right, well, I'm getting some shopping done, and I'll be around for awhile, care to meet for a drink or something?"
"Sure." Peter replied, his eyes lighting with excitement. "The Leaky Cauldron, eight-thirty."
"Sounds good. Bye Peter, and be careful." James said, grinning before following the impatient goblin that had been waiting to take James to his vault.
After a round trip on the rickety cart, James left with a good pile of gold, silver, and bronze coins stowed away in his cloak. He tapped his pocket lightly before heading towards the first place he could think of; Quality Quidditch Supplies.
He admired the variety of brooms, new jerseys, and other trinkets that came with his favorite sport for half an hour before deciding he had nearly everything that could be of any use to him.
As he walked down the nearly empty street, he caught sight of familiar face through the glass of the most popular bookstore in Diagon Alley. Remus was working at Flourish and Blotts.
The bell dinged lightly as James entered, Remus looked up from where he was returning unwanted books to their proper places on the shelves.
"Prongs!" He smiled tiredly—the full moon was approaching. "I didn't know you read."
James grinned at his old friend. "Oh you know, the occasional book on Quidditch…but I was thinking of getting something for Lily, and I saw you in the window there."
Remus nodded as James approached him—they were almost completely alone except for an old witch in the back who was looking at used cookbooks.
"How have you been?" James asked. "Haven't seen you for a few days."
"Oh I'm fine, just a little tired, you know." Remus looked warily out the window to where an almost full moon was beginning to emerge in the dusk.
"Yes, I know. We'll be there." James replied, looking at his friend with sincerity. "Are you free at eight thirty? I ran into Wormtail at the bank and am going to meet him for a drink after he got off."
Remus shook his head, smiling slightly. "I'd like to, but Grace invited me over to her place for dinner."
James nodded. "Okay then." He leaned in closer to his friend to whisper. "Have you heard anything about Dumbledore's plan for you lately?"
"No, well, I won't be leaving anytime soon. I did speak with him the other day, though. He says a meeting is coming up soon." Remus answered quickly as the old woman approached him, books in tow to purchase. "I got to go take care of this, Prongs. There's some knew Charms books we have in the front there that Lily might like. I'll see you later."
"Okay, Moony, have fun tonight." James grinned at him before patting him on the shoulder and going to the 'Just In' display at the front.
Lily packed up her bag—stuffing it with folders and papers she had been working on that day. It was half past six, she had stayed late at the office. Dumbledore had sent her some names to look into, and she saw no harm in staying after her coworkers went home to research them. Now, she was forcing herself to leave the interesting world of criminals and meet Allison for dinner. They were meeting at this chic new restaurant in Diagon Alley…Allison had picked it out—Lily had offered meeting at a Muggle café, but Allison wasn't in the mood for Muggle dining.
She stopped at her flat for a few minutes to drop off her folders and such before heading towards Diagon Alley.
When Lily arrived at The Purple Mushroom she found that Allison was already waiting for her at a table for two.
"Lily, over here!" she called, catching the attention of several other diners. She smiled, a slight blush rising in her cheeks. Lily laughed lightly and went to sit down.
By eight-twenty James had purchased a number of books for Lily, visited Remus for a few more minutes, stopped by the apocothary and was on his way to meet up with Peter.
When he arrived at The Leaky Cauldron, he found Peter sitting on a bar stool with vacant seats on both of his sides. Sitting there, sipping on firewhisky, he looked so lonely. He was as usual, dumpy-looking and oblivious to everything around him.
"Wormtail!" James greeted, slapping him on the back and causing Peter to spit out whatever drink had been in his mouth in surprise.
He looked up bashfully.
"Hullo, Prongs. Take a seat."
James obliged and waved Tom, the bartender, over.
"A bit of firewhisky, please." He said, before turning his attention to Peter and smiling.
"So how you been? Haven't seen you in awhile—I've been busy, and I imagine you have been too."
Peter nodded slightly. "Well you know, my mother's not doing to well these days and I'm kept pretty busy at Gringotts. Damn goblins." He shuddered.
James frowned. "What's the matter with your mother?"
Peter waved him off and tried to shrug. "Oh you know, she's just getting old—she was nearly forty when she had me. She's worn out and stressed."
"I see. Well, she just needs some rest and I imagine she'll be fine." James smiled kindly at him. "I'm sorry your…er..coworkers…for lack of a better word….aren't more friendly."
Peter shrugged again; his face was sweaty despite the draft coming into the bar, his flabby cheeks glistening in the candlelight. "Well I knew what kind of company I'd be getting when I accepted the job, Prongs."
"Well of course, but they don't have to be such bastards to you." James quipped, taking a drink from his glass.
"Yeah, well." Peter continued before smiling slightly—although James thought it looked rather forced, almost a grimace—" How are you and Lily, the wedding plans and all?"
James grinned like the love struck fool he was. "We're brilliant. She's got her dress and things picked out and I've got my stuff picked out and we've picked out our invitations and a few other things. There's still a lot to do of course, we've still got to get a cake, find a place for the wedding---that's really the most important part, isn't it? No, just marrying Lily is, doesn't matter where or how, just as long as it's her…" He smiled to himself, lost in his fantasy world that was the most reality he had ever experienced.
"Well just make sure I get an invitation." Peter said, taking a sip from his cup.
"Sure thing, mate." James grinned. "It's not that far off…we should probably send those off soon." He pondered for a minute before Peter broke the silence.
"I won't be able to make it to the next full moon…on Friday. There's no way they're going to let me off in time."
James' mind quickly changed gears. "Oh, but…" He studied Peter. "Well all right, if you have to. Remus'll miss you and it won't be the same, I hope we can manage."
"You'll manage all right, you don't really need me there nowadays anyway. It's not like you're still trying to get past the Whomping Willow."
James shook his head. "Now that's not right. It's not whether we need you or not, it's that we want you there, Pete." He looked at his friend sincerely, his dark hazel eyes piercing Peter's watery blue ones.
"Well as long as you'll miss me." Peter replied half-heartedly. "I'm sorry I can't go."
"Don't be sorry, just poison those goblins for us." James chuckled good-naturedly and patted Peter on the shoulder. "Lighten up, Wormtail."
He and Peter went their separate ways after a good twenty minutes more of mindless talking. Peter had said he needed to get back to his house, that his mother would be worried about him. James didn't doubt him, he was rather eager to get out of Peter's presence, although he hated to admit it. Peter was rather depressing lately.
As he pitter-pattered along the alley—yes, he could have gone off to his flat, but he didn't feel like it just yet—he heard a familiar laugh echo around the lane. He looked ahead and saw Lily's form with who must be Allison, laughing and talking happily. James grinned mischievously as he pulled out his wand.
With a swish of his wand, Lily's handbag suddenly yanked itself out of her reach and dangled itself a few feet in front of her. She looked at Allison, who looked just as bewildered as she did, and reached for it. The brown leather bag jumped out of her reach and continued to dangle like a carrot in front of a hungry horse.
"What the hell?" Lily interjected, making to grab it, only to be thwarted again. Allison lunged for it too, and Lily pulled out her wand—like the sensible witch she sometimes forgot she was. She went to summon the bag, but it only went further out of her reach.
She stomped her foot in frustration and turned around. "James Potter!"
"Lily, love." James greeted her in open arms. Lily pulled away. "What's the matter?"
"You've bewitched my bag." She said. As if to make a point, she motioned her hand towards the bag, which still hovered in the air out of her reach.
"I did no such thing." James replied, grinning. "I was merely leaving Peter at The Leaky Cauldron when I saw two beautiful young ladies being robbed by someone in an invisibility cloak. Can't be very fast or bright, though."
Lily hit him—none to lightly—in his chest. "Potter!"
James laughed and pulled out his wand, lifting the spell. "Sorry love, couldn't resist."
Lily sighed and Allison shook her head.
"I better be off, Jacob is going to be home soon and he might want something to eat…they keep holding him later and later at work."
"Right then, it was nice to see you, Allison." James said, smiling at her.
"Yes, dinner was wonderful, we'll have to do it again sometime." Lily added, giving her friend a quick embrace before letting her depart.
"Now James." Lily said, turning to him. "That little stunt wasn't funny."
James pouted. "Really? And I thought your sense of humor was better, Lily."
"Oh, I have a sense of humor, Potter, it just happens to have taste." She replied grinning at him.
"Well then you'll have to teach me to master your tasteful humor. I'd hate to not be able to make you laugh." He grinned goofily at her and Lily gave him a small smile.
"Good thing I'm a brilliant teacher." Lily retorted. "And I happen to fancy a good snog now and again."
James waggled his eyebrows at her and reached for her, pulling her body close and kissing her tenderly. "Now let me deliver you safely back to your flat, then you can maybe invite me in for tea and ask me about my dreadful day going over military tactics with Moony and I can hear you complain about Owen."
She smiled at him and kissed his nose before taking his hand and walking with him back to her flat.
They sat together on her couch, Lily cupping her tea in her small, slender hands and James' resting on the coffee table not to far off from where they were sitting. James had his arms wrapped around Lily, who was telling him about her dinner with Allison.
"She says she wants to double date sometime." Lily continued, looking up at James by tilting her head back.
"I suppose we can do that." James smiled. "Have her pick a date and time."
"Well hold on there's a catch." Lily replied quickly. "That's why I didn't agree to meet her and Jacob sometime on the spot."
James furrowed his dark eyebrows. "I see. Are they going to ask us to do the whole wife-swapping thing again? Because although the idea is creative, I'm not sure we can play, seeing as we're not married yet."
Lily stuck out her tongue at him. And James laughed.
"Actually, I think Allison wants you to somehow bring up marriage on our date…I don't know. I think she wants to get Jacob thinking about it." Lily looked deep into his hazel eyes and could see the uneasiness that lay there.
"I don't know, Lily. I don't want to pressure Jacob into something if he's not sure about it…I mean, if he's ready, he'll feel it." James started. "Not that it isn't a nice idea, marriage, but you need to know when it's time on your own, not have your friends pressure you into it."
"My thoughts exactly." Lily quipped, taking a sip of her tea. "Now how should I tell Allison that…"
"Be creative." James answered vaguely. "Speaking of marriage and weddings and all, I thought Sunday we could get together and do some serious planning, get everything settled, start on the house, it still needs to be furnished and cleaned up."
Lily nodded. "All right, I can pencil you in. It does mean I'll have to cancel my lunch with Gilderoy Lockhart…"
James silenced her with one of his long, slow kisses that always managed to take Lily's breath away. Once they broke apart, James knew her mind would be completely frazzled and she would temporarily forget anything they were just talking about.
Lily felt herself losing her senses—like she usually did when wrapped in James' embraces, but she ignored it. She turned her body so that she was lying lightly on top of him, her hands—which had just been holding her mug of tea that now lay empty and forgotten on the floor--tugged at his shirt. He pressed against her, closing in any space between their bodies. His strong, large hands caressed her torso and he let his long fingers play with the white buttons of her blue blouse.
All of a sudden, a door burst open and laughter echoed throughout the flat.
Charlotte and Sirius.
Lily and James, brought back to reality, opened their eyes.
A slight crimson spread into Lily's fair cheeks, her loose red hair dangled over James' face, and he looked into her green eyes, trying to read her thoughts. He sighed and let Lily slip off him.
"Hello, Charlotte." Lily called, giving an apologetic look to James before brushing herself off and picking up James' and her mugs, taking them back to the kitchen.
Charlotte turned to look at Lily, giggling slightly as Sirius kissed her neck.
"Hey, Lily, sorry if we woke you up." Charlotte apologized, although not looking sorry as she gave Lily's slightly disheveled appearance a glance over.
"Oh, I wasn't sleeping—I didn't know you'd be in so early." Lily replied, forcing a small smile. Just at that moment, James appeared from the dark sitting room and into the kitchen. He nodded to acknowledge Sirius and Charlotte. He squeezed Lily's shoulders and planted a quick kiss on her lips.
"I better go, I'll see you tomorrow." James smiled and waved at his cousin and best friend before letting himself out.
Charlotte looked at Lily for a moment, her dark eyes questioning for only brief moment. Lily grinned in an almost nervous manner. "Well, I'll be off to bed, I was going to try to go in early tomorrow morning."
"Good night." Charlotte called to her. Sirius merely grunted in acknowledgement and continued with his flow of ticklish kisses, causing Charlotte to giggle into the night.
POLL: What's your favorite thing about Spring/Summer?
So thanks to my reviewers! I really appreciate it…
Misshertfordshire, Missing Summer, official cheeky devil, xxxxParvati-Patilxxxx, scooter5710, Hilaryjojo, luv24+Alias, blvd, IAMSOAP, chikichiki, riduculouslyriddiklus, Kaean, and WhiteCamellia.
Hermione-lilypotter1234: Right now I'm still in high school, but next year I'll be at Appalachian State University…although my mother is still trying to get me to go to Carolina…thanks for reviewing…as I do love writing this story and I do love reviews..
glowing-ice: Agh. Yes, it IS vigilance. Silly me. My apologies. Thanks for the reviews.
unidentifiedwriter: I really hate TOO much drama, so I'm glad you don't think I have too much. Thanks for the review!
And as always, thanks to my beta. And I'm sorry, but you may be mad at me for a few chapters more.