The ministry was furious about the lack of secrecy. The operation had turned out to have been a complete disaster. Muggles who had seen what had happened had to be tracked down in order for ministry wizards to perform the necessary memory charms and the day after the battle, a dead family of five was removed from their home next to Caradoc Dearborn's where the death eaters had entered mercilessly. The rest of the week kept them busy with the move to the new headquarters and the installation of the fidelius charm. James and Lily took up residence there as their flat was still under surveillance by the death eaters and Remus wound up in the spare room of Sirius' condo. The following weeks saw Lily and the marauders on the job nearly twenty four hours. They spent days on end tracking down and following the death eaters they had unmasked during the battle and when they weren't doing that they were at headquarters, in a meeting or catching up on their sleep. And so it wasn't until three weeks after the wedding that James finally found himself suggesting that they continue with their honeymoon plans, during one of those short, quiet times when they were actually alone together.
And three weeks after that they lay in a hotel bed in Paris, with an excellent view of the eiffel tower and the arc de triomph. They had been to Germany and Holland but James was quite sure that France was his favorite. He had been introduced to several new things aver the course of the trip, such as Champagne and spray bottles of whipped cream and an odd substance that seemed to have been baked into a cake that he had been offered in a club in Amsterdam. Champagne had quickly gone on the list of things that he hated. Whipped cream in turn had gone on the list of brilliant muggle inventions. He didn't even want to think about the other thing.
James didn't stir for fear of waking Lily, who slept soundly with her head on his chest, waves of her shining auburn hair flowing over him like warm water or silk. Light danced across her gentle features, illuminating her porcelain skin and bringing out the highlights in her hair. He felt himself tracing patterns lightly onto her pale arm with one finger. He had no recollections of ever feeling quite so happy as he did when he watched her sleep.
Lily's eyes opened, heavy and deep with sleep. She yawned and stretched, bending her neck at an awkward angle so as to be better able to wish him good morning in the proper way. James kissed her back passionately.
" Bonjour, mon amour" he said as they separated, just as he had been practicing.
Lily pulled a face and giggled, hand over her mouth. He forced an injured look onto his face but she didn't fall for it. He delighted in the sound of her soft laughter.
"You have a problem with my french? You know that it's the language of love right? And here I was planning on serenading you with my newfound bilingual talents." He swept an arm through the air, taking in the room, the piles of clothing on the floor and the curtained window, beyond which lay all the wonders of France, like cheese and baguettes and olives.
Lily just shook her head and rose from the bed, taking a sheet with her and wrapping it snugly under her arms so that it flowed to the ground like a gown. James briefly considered reclaiming it.
"I've heard you sing before." She pulled a thoughtful expression. "I think I would have to compare your singing to what I would expect to hear if I was to hit a bag of cats against a wall."
James burst out laughing, his sides splitting, tears in his eyes, but she merely gave him a serene smile and crossed to open the curtains, letting the bright sunlight flood into the extravagant bedroom.
"And my french?" he asked, deciding against giving her another sample of his talents. He jumped up, fished around in a drawer and came up with a t-shirt and boxers. He pulled them on, eyes still on his wife.
"Um... same comparison, except all the cats have died but one."
James shook his head sadly
. "You do know that's disgusting, don't you?"
****
The parisian streets teamed with people, both local and tourist. Muggles held cameras, ready at any moment to capture anything that seemed unusual or foreign to them. An old, balding man had James take a photo of him and his wife in front of a marketplace. Men pushing bicycles, wearing those little hats that made them look like painters, and carrying baguettes under their arms muscled their way through the crowds in a habitual manner.
James held tightly to Lily's hand as they wound their way through the tightly packed street, keeping an eye out for food. He had the feeling that no matter how long he stayed, he would never get used to the place.
A small cafe soon caught their attention across a busy square and they made their way across hopefully, soon joining the queue for a table where old couples and parents with young children already sat, enjoying pain au chocolat and sipping cafe au lait. A young boy sipped a glass of wine nearby and a harassed looking waiter made his way past, laden with trays. A little blonde girl with flowers in her hair danced up to him and offered him her pastry, jabbering pleasantly at them in french.
James felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and he spun on the spot, reaching for his wand that he had concealed in the pocket of his jeans. Lily's hand on his arm stopped him abruptly. They both stared through the crowds of people, searching for a familiar face or a dark mask but there was nothing for them to see. A moment later an urgent voice interrupted them in french, speaking so fast that there was no understanding what the little man was saying before he turned on his heel and disappeared around the side of the building, whisking the little blonde girl in his wake. James exchanged an uneasy look with Lily as the waiter waved them to an empty table.
James stood frozen in horror in the doorway of their hotel room an hour later. He could feel Lily's fingers digging into his arm like claws. The room was a disaster. Luggage was strewn across the floor. The blankets had been torn from the bed and furniture had been upended, most of it in pieces. Pillows had obviously been slashed open, white feathers having settled over everything.
James gently pried Lily's fingers from his arm and strode across the floor, looking down on what had once been comfortable hotel accomodations, turned into a warning.
"What were they looking for?"
James shook his head. Lily had her arms crossed tightly across her chest as if to protect herself from the destruction all around her. Her emerald eyes gleamed with worry and something else, a barely concealed desire for revenge.
"Nothing. They just want us to know that they know. That they've been watching us."
"But why like this? They could just as easily have killed us." She looked almost hopeful as she said it, not for their deaths but for the chance to fight. It reminded him of Padfoot and maybe even a little of himself.
He didn't really have an answer. Why were the death eaters keeping their distance when they wanted Lily and James dead so badly? He picked up the remnants of what had once been a novel from the bedside table, turned it over in his hands and threw it back down again rather violently. Charred pages fell from the spine and fluttered to the ground at his feet. He didn't pick them up.
"Either they're still holding out hope we'll join up or else their not the only one's who've been following us."
"You mean Dumbledore?"
"Best guess. Did you have anything important?"
"No. You?" Lily had pulled out her wand and begun to repair the objects in the room. Feathers flew back into their pillows and legs reattached themselves to the furniture.
"Nah. I left the invisibility cloak at my mothers which is starting to seem like it was a really bad idea." He ran a hand through his hair.
"I think that our honeymoon is effectively over, if not ruined."
Lily nodded her head without looking at him. A tear in the comforter mended itself and the room was returned to it's original state.
I'M REALLY NOT SURE IF I LIKE THIS CHAPTER BUT I HOPE THAT YOU ALL DO. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READ AND MORE THANKS TO THOSE WHO REVIEWED. I KNOW IT WASN'T NEARLY LONG ENOUGH CAUSE BATTLE SCENES ARE WAY MORE FUN TO WRITE AND READ THAN PG RATED HONEYMOONS. LOOK FOR MORE REALLY SOON AS I'VE GOT MOST OF IT IN MY HEAD, I JUST HAVE TO FILL IN THE GAPS AND WRITE IT DOWN.
