Chapter 11

After what felt like a particularly long day, Lily was crossing the marshes on her way to the meeting she still feared to define. It wasn't that the day that had passed since her brave offer had been full of events; On the contrary, the fact that there wasn't a fraction of any extraordinary event was what made it feel so long and tedious, and gave her countless opportunities to look at Potter from a distance and to think that perhaps she should withdraw her offer. But she never did.

After an unusually long deliberation she decided to wear a faded crimson dress with thin straps, and after many experimentation with her hair he kept it down and held it with her silver- lily brooch. When she took it out of the box she noticed late Mrs. Potter's hair pins, and it made her feel a stab in her heart. She promised herself that she would return them to Mrs. Chambers as soon as possible and left them in the confines of the box.

She left the house through the side door in the staff's quarters, which no one ever used because it led to a rocky patch on a steep hill and the walk to the front of the house was unusually long and unpleasant. However, Lily didn't want to bump into anyone, certainly not Mrs. Chambers, and have to tell her where she was going and with whom. That way the only person who saw her leave was Maxwell, who was working on the vegetable patches outside his hut on the edge of the estate.

She noticed Potter from a distance. He was leaning against the fence that surrounded the estate with his back to her, looking into the woods as if they were particularly interesting. She was relieved that couldn't see her coming. He didn't turn around even when she was close behind him, and only when she opened the gate did he turn and give her a tight smile. Her only comfort was that he seemed to be even more nervous than she was. She began to regret her chose the wear a dress with narrow straps, because his gaze made her feel exposed.

They exchanged a few embarrassed looks and started walking down the path together. Lily hugged herself as she walked and Potter seemed to be at a loss for the proper placement of his hands. They were alone, in a desolate place, far from the house and the routine that allowed them a comfortable escape from each other's company. The silence only made things worse.

Finally Potter said, "Now I'm sorry I've already used the joke about St. Bertie Bott's School, that would've been useful right about now."

His faint attempt to make a joke was enough to make Lily smile in her present nervous state.

"If only the good people of Hogwarts knew that James Potter was recycling jokes ..." she said, desperately trying to help him break the ice.

Potter grinned with unusual embarrassment. For some reason Lily liked it. After a few more minutes of walking along the empty country road, which at that moment didn't seem close to its end, his stubborn silence became jarring.

"Say something, you're beginning to worry me," she said finally. Usually he was one of the most talkative people she knew.

He laughed nervously. "Sorry. I feel like my brain is deep- fried..."

Lily decided to try a different angle. "You can probably tell me something about this road. It looks pretty old."

"Well ..." Potter pondered and then began to tell the story of the ancient wizards who had built that road that stretched from the forest to the ocean.

"That's very interesting," Lily said after he had finished telling her about a famous battle between giants and trolls that had taken place hundreds of years ago on the marsh lands to their right. "Is any of it actually true?"

"None," Potter admitted, "I just made it up."

Lily laughed and rolled her eyes. "Why would you go to all that trouble?"

Potter shrugged. "I thought you'd like it. We're almost there, by the way."

It was true, they were already a few feet away from the ruins of the outer wall. In the light of day the ruined fortress looked much less mysterious and frightening, and was visible to everyone who walked along the path.

"It was nice," Lily admitted. Feeling the embarrassment begin to creep back, she added as a joke, "I sincerely thank you, Mr. Potter."

"Please, Mr. Potter is my father," Potter went along with her joke. "You may call me Lord Potter – "

Lily punched his arm softly, realizing that she was laughing. Potter was laughing too.

The courtyard where Lily encountered Remus as a wolf looked very different in daylight; The thick forest seemed to retreat from the light, and white and yellow flowers emerged from the cracks in the pavements. The stone guards on both sides of the door looked much less threatening and imposing while covered with moss and a ivy. On the head of one of them a bird had set up a nest.

Potter climbed the broken stairs and offered Lily his hand. She could climb alone, but she still took his hand and let him help her. His hand was large and warm compered to hers. Then he went over and pushed the rotting wooden door carefully, its iron hinges creaking in agony.

"Are you sure it's a good idea?" Lily asked uncertainly. The ancient structure looked as though it might collapse at any moment.

"I used to play here all the time when I was a kid," Potter said confidently. When she didn't seem convinced he smiled at her and added, not for the first time that summer, "Trust me."

Every shred of resistance she had left dissolved and she followed him into the stone passage that led into the fortress.

It felt like stepping into another world altogether. One could almost touch the sunlight that penetrated with fierce beams trough the ruined ceiling and walls, illuminating the ancient dust that was swirling in the high, narrow space. Birds that nestled among the stones and the firing slits chirped enthusiastically toward the evening, their song echoing in the hall like a symphony. Silver cobwebs and stems of wild plants hung on the shattered stairs and balconies like velvet curtains, and the cracked floor was covered with a carpet of grass and flowers that penetrated against all odds.

"It's beautiful," Lily murmured, stunned by the unexpected charm and beauty of the wreckage.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Potter said smugly. He crossed the space and in a few light steps climbed an octagonal platform on which stood a statue. It was well preserved compered to the other statues; It remained intact and protected from the elements, missing only one hand and several fingers in his arms that were raised in a gesture of greeting. The top of his face was obscured by a wide hood, and his robe glided over his shoulders in wonderfully realistic stone waves.

"This is Ignotus Peverell. He built this fortress, like most of the wizard castles and fortresses in this area. He's is the most ancient known wizard in the Peverell line," Potter told her, looking eye to eye at the statue of one of his ancestors. Then he reached out and touched the cloak.

Lily almost expected him to be able to grip the cloth, but something more amazing than that happened; A blue glow illuminated tens of thousands of hidden runes engraved in the stone robe, then it slid and expended like liquid until it covered all of the hall. The light rebuilt the walls and staircases and illuminated the images of dozens of wizards and witches that where walking around.

Lily stepped back to avoid colliding with a witch in a rich cloak that was concentrated entirely in a scroll of parchment, only to stand in the way of a group of laughing and screaming children that passed right through her.

"What are they?" She asked with amazement, watching a group of wizards that were trying to restrain a small dragon down the hall.

"Memories," Potter replied, stepping off the stage and joining her in the center of the hall. "Of the wizards who lived here centuries ago."

"It's amazing," Lily hummed, watching a woman who was holding a baby in one arm and a cage with a fiery Phoenix in the other. "Can they talk?"

"If only," Potter replied with the same hope. "Think about the stories they could've told."

Lily gulped her surroundings eagerly, not knowing what to look at first. She thought she knew a lot about the wizardring world, but each time she found out how little she really knew. She prayed that she would never know everything that was to be known, and that each time she would be reawakened by the wonders of that world.

She was surprised when Potter took her hand but didn't resist as he led her gently to a staircase leading up. The real stairs had long since been destroyed, but the magic of Ignotus Peverell's statue had replaced them with a semi-transparent bluish glow that was as solid as a rock. Lily surprised herself when she realized she wasn't afraid to climb them, even though they were already very far from the ground.

At last they stepped out through a stone arch to what used to be a balcony, and now only a broken ledge remained. It looked over a ravine filled with dense trees that slipped toward a peaceful village surrounded by cliffs and hills. Beyond it the ocean stretched in all directions, huge and empty in the golden afternoon light. A sweet salty briez was blowing, carrying screaming gulls.

Lily had no more words to express her amazement at the beauty before her. Potter sat down on the edge of the stone ledge and she sat down next to him, not taking her eyes off the wonderful view, afraid that if she would look away it would disappear forever.

"That's Godric's Hollow," Potter told her, pointing to the red roofs of the village. "According to the legend, Godric Gryffindor was born and buried there. And that's... The ocean..."

"I can see that," Lily said with a grin. She looked at him and the amusement left her.

The way he was looking at her made the thoughts jumble in her head. It was like that evening in the car, only much more intense – so intense that she felt his gaze could melt her.

This time he didn't delay. The next moment he was kissing her. She didn't think about retreating, not for a moment, though she was too stunned to do anything in response.

She had no experience in it at all. The first and last time someone kissed her was a few months earlier, after the spring ball. Her date for the ball was a seventh year from Ravenclaw. After he kissed her outside the common room she told him good- night quickly and ran inside, feeling as if she had done something terrible. The next day she broke up with him, and they didn't speak again.

But this kiss was different. It was worm, sure, loving in every way. It felt right, as if it were an integral part of the corrected sequence of history.

After a few seconds that felt very long he let her go reluctantly, and she surprised herself immeasurably when she leaned forward and kissed him again. He kissed her back with an enthusiasm that caught her unprepared, wrapping his arms around her and bringing her closer to him. It made her lose her concentration on the kiss; She tilted her head and the corner of his glasses stabbed her forehead.

"Sorry," he mumbled as she recoiled, taking off his glasses and placing them in his shirt pocket. Then their eyes met and both of them chuckled.

"You have no idea how long I wanted to do that," he said, his breath tickling her cheek. They were still very close, and Lily surprised herself by not wanting to run away from that foreign closeness. His body spread a pleasant warmth and he smelled good, a combination that made her feel like her belly was full of hot honey.

She couldn't speak, only to smile at her knees. He took her hand and pressed it to the left side of his chest. She could feel his heart pounding hard, as if he just ran a maraton.

"That can't be healthy," she joked to ease the tension.

"It's been happening to me for years," he replied. "So how long do you think I've got left, Doctor?"

She laughed. Then she tried to put her head on his shoulder, and discovered that the feeling was consoling and pleasant. He put his arm around her shoulders, protecting her naked skin against the ocean breeze. Her heart was also unusually loud.

Lily's mother used to tell her that everyone were beautiful in their own way, because the real beauty came from within. It taught her how to see the true nature of people and not to be misled by their appearance. That was the reason she refused to run around after the popular girls at school, the reason she didn't shy away from Severus' tattered appearance when she first met him, like her sister did, and that was why she hadn't been immediately taken by James Potter's looks when he first became interested in her in their fourth year.

But now that she knew him better, his inner self shed a new light on him. She had learned that he was an avid history lover, a loyal friend, sensitive to people who were important to him and determined to do good. She loved the delicacy with which he smiled at her as she spoke, how he tried to make her laugh at any moment, the way he touched her hair sensitively, as if it had a life of it's own. All these qualities made it possible for her to open her eyes and realize that despite her obstinate ignorance over the years, James was quite handsome. She realized that she liked the way the sun entangled in the black hairs that grew at every direction, the golden sparks that shimmered in the brown and the green of his eyes when he smiled, and that he had the most beautiful lips she had ever seen.

Time passed quickly, slipping over them like water while they were immersed in a world of their own, talking very little and yet saying a lot. At last the sun kissed the ocean and the world began to darken quickly.

"We should go back," Lily said, "We'll be late for dinner."

"Let's stay a little longer," James muttered against her lips, kissing her lightly. When he realized that she wasn't kissing him back he opened his eyes and gave in. "Alright, let's go."

Inside the fortress the bustle died down. The specter children fell asleep in a hay stack in the corner, and the adults were sitting around the fire, talking and playing music without making a sound. As soon as James stepped outside the door the images melted away and the ruined hall remaind in darkness. The ghosts have returned to their graves. The thought saddened Lily, but she was immediately encouraged when they were outside and James entangled his fingers with hers. Somehow it made her know that nothing ever really dies.

"How do you think Mrs. Chambers will react?" She said as they walked in the twilight.

"Maybe she'll have a hard time accepting it at first," James said, "But ultimately she'll realize that I'm just too young for her – "

He laughed when Lily bumped into him. "Be serious for a second!"

"Well, seriously – she can be a little protective, but she'll accept it."

Somehow seemed to know that the matter made her uncomfortable, because he added in a comforting tone, "Is it about work? Because I meant it when I said you don't have to worry –"

"That's not it," Lily said sharply, and immediately regretted her impatient tone. "I'm sorry – "

"Nothing of it," he replied, tightening his hold around her – again reading her like and open book and sensing that she didn't want to talk about it.

Lily was grateful for that. She liked him very much, but it didn't mean that she was willing to take from him money that she hadn't earned.

For the first time since what had happened in Petunia's house, she realized that she would never get to see the fruits of her work. She sent every sickle she earned to Petunia so she could take care of their father, but he lived with her and her husband now, in a house that Lily was unable to return to. In a few weeks she would go back to Hogwarts, and then who knows when she will see her father again?

The thought that maybe that day, when she frightened him so much, was the last time she would see her father alive made her shiver with pain.

"You alright?" James asked her softly.

"Yes. It's starting to get cold," she made an excuse, hugging herself.

He pulled her gently against him. "We're almost home," he said in a soft voice that warmed her from the inside.