A/N. So please don't kill me! I know it's been a while (like a really long long long while) but I actually haven't given up on this story and I am committed to finishing it. I hope a few people stuck it out with me! I'd love to hear from all of you, new and old, so please leave a review!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter or Harry Potter related copyrights.
Christmas arrived with all the usual bells and whistles and none of the previous year's drama or discomfort. Presents, smiles, and wonderful breakfast food abounded. Lily couldn't help but be amazed; her current situation in the midst of a warm and loving, albeit abnormal, family was so vastly different from the frigid and shallow confines of her previous house. There were moments when she missed her family, missed her dad and her sisters, but as her heart told her she knew that if she were "home" with her "family" the moments when she missed the extended Potter family, James in particular, would be continuous, would morph into one long "moment" of pain. Even Carter's jealous glares and smarmy comments couldn't make her reconsider her position.
The days flew by and before anyone knew it, it was New Year's Eve.
Lily woke up that morning with such a deep pit in her stomach that not even the usually soothing presence of James's bare arm draped over her hip could get rid of the nausea she felt. The incredible pain of separation had faded to a distant memory while she was at Potter Manor, but now that the idea of leaving had morphed into concrete reality, the searing pain flowed through her veins like poison.
Lily took a deep shuddering breath and then the tears were unleashed. There was nothing she could do to stop the body-racking sobs that then took control. Lily only cried harder as she felt James shift against her back and hold her tighter.
"I love you," he whispered in her ear, his voice still laden with the huskiness of sleep.
Lily turned in his arms and pressed her face against his chest, her tears flowing unchecked. "I love you too," she told him as steadily as she could.
James sighed and just held her. There were hundreds of things he wanted to say to her- Stay with me. Don't go. You're breaking my heart.- but really all he could do was hold her, words didn't belong in this moment.
As the minutes passed Lily regained control of herself and her tears receded.
"I don't want to leave you," she told him.
James choked back all of his anger and frustration and maturely responded, "I don't want you to go either, but you have to."
Lily was silent then, contemplating her upcoming departure. "I hate this," she finally whispered. "I hate having to choose."
"I know," James whispered back. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip around her. "Someday you won't have to choose. Someday you'll have it all."
Lily didn't respond, her mind full of visions of her and James living the picket fence life. Eventually both teens drifted back off to a comfortable sleep.
While the couple slept the rest of the household drifted around the manner as if in a daze. The dark cloud of Lily and James's upcoming heartbreak had infected the hearts of everyone as keenly as a dementor's presence. Once the sleeping beauties finally emerged from James's bedroom, sleep still in their eyes, and pajamas slightly askew, the fog became tangible. There was just something about the way they looked at each other, the way that they held onto each other continuously… it drove a spike into the hearts of everyone who beheld them.
Eventually the cloud got too much for even James. With a few whispered words and a nod of understanding from Lily he shot off in the direction of the Quidditch Pitch, his beloved broom gripped firmly in his right hand.
Lily then absentmindedly wandered around the manor, looking for all the world as if she had lost track of her purpose in life. It was thus that Remus bumped into her and found a kindred spirit.
"Hey Remus," said Lily softly.
"How are you doing?" he asked politely.
"Fine," she answered automatically. "And you?"
"As well as to be expected I guess," he responded.
"Mmm…" Lily drifted off uncertainly. A pause followed as neither party could work up the energy to ignite a stimulating conversation.
"Do you want to sit down?" Remus finally asked.
Startled out of her deep reverie, Lily merely nodded and planted herself in between a priceless vase and antique suit of armor. Remus wedged himself up against the wall next to her and stretched out his legs.
"Vicky's packing," Remus mentioned.
"James is flying," Lily countered.
Remus nodded. Lily placed her head against his shoulder. As the minutes passed by the two friends became fortified by each other's presence. It was as if the sun finally burned through the cloud cover.
"This sucks!" Lily cried vehemently.
"Yes it does," Remus answered gravely.
With a sudden burst of energy Lily sat up straight and turned to face Remus. "We can't just let our lives suck. We need to do something about it!"
Remus sighed deeply. "What could we possibly do? James and I are stuck here and you and Vicky have to go there. That's it. End of story. Game over!" he cried in frustration.
"No. Game just beginning…" Lily's sentence trailed off as she stood up and walked away.
Remus watched her walk away but couldn't be bothered to follow. He sighed and just sat there despondently until Sirius threw a dungbomb into his lap. Then the battle was on and a smile graced Remus's face once more.
Hours passed by the time James returned from flying to find two of his best mates in rather awkward conditions. Sirius's once noble nose was gone, leaving a potato in its place, which he was stroking somberly and Remus could not seem to find his legs no matter how hard he wiggled his torso.
"Seriously mates?" was all James could say as he stopped, dumbfounded. "What spell did you even use to change a nose into a potato?"
"Dunno," said Sirius in an oddly nasally and monotonous voice while Remus continued to wiggle. "He ambushed me as I came around a corner and hit me with two or three in a row and this is what happened. And I was thinking about a caterpillar when I cast a spell, I dunno which one, and now his legs are gone and he can't stop wiggling."
James ended both of their odd conditions with two waves of his wand and a whispered "Finite Incantatem" and was relieved to see that they were back to as normal a state as ever.
"Thanks mate!" cried Sirius exuberantly, making up for his period of apathy.
"Padfoot!" bellowed Remus as he lunged for his handsome friend.
"Where's Lily?" James yelled after the pranking pair.
Unfortunately for James, Remus and Sirius both did not know where Lily was and were too busy casting spells to tell James even that bit of information.
James wandered the house for a bit, diligently checking each of Lily's preferred spots in the house, but to no avail. He also requested information from each house elf he came across, but that also was fruitless. Human beings were not any more help; Lily was nowhere to be found and James was becoming more furious by the minute that they were spending their last moments together apart.
And that was how Lily found James a few hours later, fuming in his bedroom.
"Where have you been?" he shouted as soon as she appeared in the doorway. "Never mind! It doesn't matter! How could you be anywhere except with me on the last day we're going to see each other for months? What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"
Lily was physically taken aback by this barrage of angry comments, but recovered quickly and entered the lion's den. Through the anger she could see the deeply rooted hurt, so she gingerly sat down on his bed next to him taking his calloused hand in both of hers.
"You know," said Lily contemplatively as she scrunched up her nose and her cheeks lifted up so her eyes were slightly narrowed. "That is the second time someone asked me what was wrong with me."
James clenched his fists and angrily groaned in frustration. "WHO was more important to you to spend time with today?"
"The Headmaster of the Institute. I told him that I wouldn't be returning tomorrow, and he understandably performed several diagnostic charms to see if I was crazy, sick, or somehow cursed," said Lily, her words calm, but every muscle of her body tense with excitement.
"You what?" gasped James.
"I'm staying here. I begrudgingly got promises of letters of recommendation from a couple of my professors, so I should be able to attend the Healing school in London…" said Lily brightly.
"That school was such a perfect fit for you. You'll be so bored anywhere else… All of your dreams…" James trailed off dully, his voice laden with guilt. "I can't let you do this Lily. You've worked so hard and come so far…"
Depressed by his lack of enthusiasm, Lily sullenly and flatly stated, "It's already done."
"Lily, please, just tell them you made a mistake. They'll let you go back! Just say it was a joke or something… This is too much to ask of you to give up. We can get through the next few years. I would never ask this of you. I want to give you the whole world, not take the best opportunity anyone could ever receive away from you," explained James sweetly and sorrowfully.
Lily gently cupped James's face in her hands and turned it to face her own. "You're my whole world now. Nothing else matters. I'm just waking up from one dream to pursue another. I don't feel like I'm giving up anything."
"Will you marry me?"
"What?" spluttered Lily, flabbergasted.
"Will you marry me?" James calmly repeated as covered Lily's left hand with his own and he twisted himself out of Lily's embrace and knelt in front of her.
Lily's eyes widened spectacularly and sparkled with joyful tears as she exuberantly cried, "Yes! Of course!"
"Ok, wait here then," he exclaimed as he sprang up and bounded out of the room.
James sprang down corridors and jumped down staircases, dashed behind a tapestry into a secret sector of the house, and then cast the proper incantations to charm a suit of armor to stand aside and let him pass into the heart of the Potter mansion and its fortune.
As James stepped into the hidden chamber, his breath caught just as it had when his father had first introduced him to the room on his eleventh birthday. In the small room piles of rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and sapphires gleamed atop hills of gold jewelry and coins. Priceless muggle art covered the walls and shining sculptures rested on pieces of antique furniture.
James passed all of these things by, absently kicking aside a stray diamond that had tumbled into his path. His heart was set on something he had first seen almost three years ago, when he had returned shortly after his seventeenth birthday to claim the first of many pieces of his inheritance, an engagement ring.
The first Potter to truly make a name for himself was Slade Potter, a man who was born and raised in a small secluded valley with no more than a dozen other wizarding families. His family had been working with clay since anyone could remember, making everyday items like bowls and plates. Slade, thinking that there had to be something better, started adapting the charms used to manipulate clay so that he could produce art with metal instead. A clever man, he began to work furiously as rings, necklaces, and bracelets formed themselves in his hands. Soon he began to incorporate the sparkly stones so many girls were fond of, and he had made a name for himself.
Witches and wizards from other communities flocked to him and made him wealthy enough to move to Hogsmeade where he opened his own shop. Before he knew it he had met a wonderful woman, wooed her with his most beautiful jewelry, and then was given many sons whom he taught to take over the family business. His son Elmar took the business to the newly developing Diagon Alley and the family was forever established. Within a couple of generations stores appeared in wizarding communities all over Europe, and gems and metals were being imported from every corner of the globe. Seven generations before Christopher Potter, the empire was sold for millions, and the family was able to live very comfortably off the interest of their fortune. That was when a bored Edward Potter turned to the Auror Academy and a new dynasty began.
In the center of the room lay a pedestal and padded velvet cushion. On this cushion sat three of the original five engagement rings which Slade Potter had crafted for his four sons to give to the girls of their dreams, the fifth being the one he had made for his own wife. The loves of James' father and uncle had been entrusted with the keeping of two of the rings and a third would now rest on the left hand of the woman who had just agreed to marry him.
Nearly three years ago James had picked a ring with Lily just a distant thought at the back of his mind, but now that he saw it again he knew that it was meant for her. It was substantial yet delicate, the band made of two strands of gold, one white and one yellow, that branched off separately from the stones, but intertwined and became one mixed color, more beautiful than either alone, just after the setting so that when worn everyone could see the blending of the two strands. Perched atop this symbolic band was one large oval sapphire surrounded by small circular diamonds that twinkled in the sunlight. It was perfect: elegant and substantial and not gaudy or too ostentatious.
As James re-familiarized himself with the piece he was sure that Lily would love it just as much as he did. He swiftly plucked the ring off the cushion, and after reactivating all of the protective charms, he rushed back to the love of his life, who, for once, was waiting patiently and allowing herself to be surprised.
"This is the last time I am going to ask you this," said James with a grin on his face and both eyes gleaming with joy and renewed hope. He got back down on one knee in front of Lily and held up the ring in front of her. "Will you marry me, please?"
"Yes," said Lily more solemnly, know that she had had time to think about it and the shock had worn off she had returned to her usual rational self.
"Brilliant," breathed James as he slipped the ring on her finger. "Do you want to tell mum or shall I?"
"I suppose we should do it together," said Lily with an overly mature voice to poke fun at her new fiancé.
As could be expected, Marilyn Potter was overjoyed at the news, and hugs, kisses, and tears abounded. In fact she was still crying for joy as she swept out of the room to plan a dinner party for the evening so that Vicky could also join in on the festivities before she left the following morning for the Institute.
James and Lily then separated, he to tell his father and she to tell Vicky. The couple, and Mrs. Potter, had agreed to keep it a secret from Sirius, Remus, Peter, Marlene, and Alice however. All had agreed that the looks on their faces would be too priceless not to share with everyone.
The meeting with Mr. Potter went well; he had long ago resigned himself to the fact that he no longer had the authority to meddle in his son's relationship with Lily. Begrudgingly he had accepted that it was out of his hands, and in a rare moment of humility he accepted his son's announcement with grace and calm.
"I knew this moment was coming sooner rather than later," Christopher replied when James questioned him about his change of heart. He paused for a minute to pour two glasses of whiskey and then continued, "I have watched you and Lily very carefully and I can no longer raise any objections to the two of you being together for the rest of your lives. I regret that I served as another hurdle to your happiness when there were already so many. I should have been there to help you; I am sorry to have failed you."
James accepted the glass from his father, and thus the adult relationship it represented, but before he took a sip he embraced his dad in a long hug as a link to his past and all the hugs he had missed as a child.
"Thanks dad."
Christopher cleared his throat and then began speaking in his lecture voice. James settled back down in his chair and took a long sip of his drink and thought that his dad's lectures were much more bearable when alcohol was involved. "Now James, being a husband is a lot of responsibility…"
"Why does your mum keeping looking at you like that?" Sirius whispered to James midway through dinner when the main conversation was directed elsewhere.
"Like what?" asked James, using all of his skills to convincingly act dumb.
"Like you have some fatal disease, or you just learned how to use the loo for the first time… or you proposed to Lily or something," he trailed off with a glint in his eye.
"How could you know that?" asked James skeptically, breaking the Maruader's first rule about lying- admitting guilt before being accused.
"You proposed to Lily?" Sirius bellowed.
"Ummm…" was James's eloquent answer.
"Yes he did and I accepted," Lily substituted.
Alice and Marlene squealed and hugged each other and then hugged Lily, while Vicky couldn't stop grinning. Sirius jumped up and pulled a crying Marilyn out of her seat and procedure to dance around the room with her, while Chrsitopher looked on and chuckled to himself. Peter awkwardly clapped James on the back and muttered "Congratulations" while Remus set some fireworks off with his wand and shouted incomprehensible words.
Just then Harry and Eileen arrived back from Italy and silence descended on the room as the door hit the wall of the dining room with a great clang.
"Now what exactly was so important that I had to leave my own New Year's Eve party to come all the way back here?" asked Harry good-naturedly.
"James and Lily are getting married!" announced Peter.
"Well that's not exactly news, now is it?" asked Harry in exasperation. "James told me he was going to marry her five years ago."
"But this time he asked her and she said yes!" stated Sirius gleefully.
"Oh well then! That is news!" he shouted as he bounded across the room and hugged James with such enthusiasm that he lifted him right out of his seat. Eileen caught up soon after and was took over when Harry left off hugging James and moved on to embracing Lily.
Order was only once more restored, when Christopher hit his glass with his spoon and grandly said, "I'd like to propose a toast to James and Lily. May their love always be greater than their problems, their friendship stronger than their enemies, and their laughter more numerous than their tears. To Lily and James!"
"To Lily and James!" chorused the room. After everyone had drunk to the newly engaged couple, excited conversations broke out once more, regarding stag parties, bridesmaids' dresses and wedding dates. Although their attention was being fully claimed by friends and family, Lily and James still found a few moments during the rest of the meal in which to glance at each other across the table and those looks said it all.
After dinner had finished, the young people went off to celebrate both the engagement and the coming of the new year in style in London, while Harry and Eileen returned to their own, yet less fun, party, and Christopher and Marilyn left to make some social appearances at the parties to which they had been invited.
"I still think you're bonkers and I don't know what I'm going to do without you," remarked Vicky as she threw her clothes and possessions into her trunk at the last minute.
"You'll be just fine," said Lily tiredly as she leaned back on Vicky's bed and watched her tiredly. Unlike Vicky, Lily had nowhere to be and nothing to do that morning so she had partied quite exuberantly and had not yet been to bed.
"I suppose," said Vicky distractedly from under her bed. "Are you sure you aren't making a mistake? I didn't want to ruin your happiness yesterday, but have you really thought about what you're doing. . ?"
"Yes I have," said Lily firmly as she absently played with a loose thread on the quilt underneath her. "I'll miss the Institute and you of course, but this is the right place for me right now. I can do so much more for the war effort here and I'll still have you and a few others continuing my job abroad."
"But do you really have to be "Mrs. Potter" to do that? Why not just stay here and not get married? Changing your mind about the Institute would be easy; changing your mind about getting married is a much bigger deal!" exclaimed Vicky angrily.
"Everyone else knows that James and I are just meant to be together, that we would get married sooner rather than later. You just don't understand," said Lily loftily.
The words stung Vicky and she retreated to the closet to collect herself and not betray her emotions. She returned to her trunk with an armful of clothes and a stony expression. "Fine. I can finish packing by myself, not that you were helping in the first place."
"Oh don't be like that," snapped Lily.
"How would you like me to be when my best friend is throwing away her future?" screeched Vicky.
"Supportive! I have only ever been supportive of you even when you're doing something stupid!" retorted Lily.
"I have never done anything as stupid as throwing my entire future away for a boy! Along with your career, training, and millions of opportunities, you're also throwing away whatever respect I had for you!"
Lily cast a sobering up charm on herself; she was at least coherent enough to realize she needed one. The effects wouldn't last long but Lily didn't need them too.
Lily stood up and then softly and calmly explained herself. "My education means a lot to me, it always has. But over the last semester I have realized that something else means more to me: my relationship with James. I was losing him Vicky; it was killing him that I chose an education over him and I don't think he would have survived another semester of it, not to mention two or three more years after that. And I cannot bear to lose him again. For now, this is the best place for me and this is the best decision. If circumstances change, the Headmaster said he would welcome me back, if I passed the tests again."
"It's your life I suppose," shrugged Vicky. "If there's anything I can do to help you, let me know."
"You still think I'm making the wrong choice."
"Yeah, but it is your choice and I'll support you even if I can't understand why."
"But I want you to understand; I really need you to understand. Then I won't feel like I'm so crazy."
Vicky sighed and sat down on the bed. "Try me one more time."
Lily smiled. "Ok, here goes nothing. I love James; I really and truly do with every last bit of my heart. We've been through so much together that we've become a solid, almost fused, team. I can't go anywhere without him without feeling like I'm only half a person. School is distracting, but I still miss him every minute of every day. My leaving him hurts him, which hurts me, but also it just hurts me to be away from him. Going to the Institute was my dream for a few years, but it's not everything to me; James is everything to me. Being with him fulfills me in ways the Institute can't; it may be hard to believe but he challenges me in ways no one at the Institute can. Please understand, I can't live without him now. As independent and proud and self-assured as I am, I cannot live without James Christopher Potter.
"I know this all seems rather sudden, especially since last week I swore that I wasn't ready to get married, but once I realized that I wanted to stay here for him, deciding to get engaged wasn't so farfetched. I just felt right when he asked me. And I'm absolutely not getting married tomorrow or anything; as right as it all feels, I need some time to get adjusted to the idea or being married too."
Vicky nodded. "I think I do understand now, though I haven't found that kind of love and can't be sure. I have one last question for you and then as far as I'm considered this case is closed."
"Shoot."
"Does your research with Master Livedero have anything to do with this decision?" asked Vicky as she looked Lily straight in the eye.
If Vicky hadn't been paying so much attention to Lily's face she would have missed the very subtle tightening of the muscles around the corners of her eyes, a telltale sign that she was trying to hide something.
"I've been sworn to secrecy."
"Then how does Teddy Bear of all people know about it and I don't?" asked Vicky, exaggerating her hurt feelings because she knew that was the quickest way to Lily's heart and thus the truth.
"That is between him and Master Liverdo; it has nothing to do with me. He has fewer qualms and morals than I do and thus is a more attractive candidate for research. After he addressed Teddy, it was proposed to me that I might be replaced."
"But not before you went too far," guessed Vicky.
Lily shrugged. "Boundaries were passed, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."
"Yet you're afraid to go back…"
"I am NOT afraid of anything!"
"You were afraid of getting married two weeks ago," Vicky shot back.
"And now obviously I'm not!" quipped Lily as she flashed her ringed hand.
"You can't replace one fear with another."
"Yes I can," said Lily stubbornly.
"You shouldn't," clarified Vicky with exasperation.
"Look. I'm worried about many things. The work I was doing at the Institute didn't seem nearly as scary or abnormal when I was there, but when I got back and you started bringing up all the weird things about us and I realized that when that stuff shocked common people, the true stuff I was into would stop them dead, would shock you even. So I became worried about that and where I was going.
"Then I started to worry about James because he's been rather quiet in the last few days. I'm worried that we wouldn't survive another period of time apart. And as I just said, I can't let that happen, so the decision was logical," Lily explained.
Vicky sighed, "But why marriage? Just stay here and don't get married, or engaged."
"I couldn't turn him down again. We won't get married any time soon, but it is pretty inevitable, so I might as well say yes now. He feels good; I'm ok with it, so I don't see any harm in it."
"That sounds incredibly stupid to me but, hey, it's your life. I'm just worried that you pulled a 180 so fast; is there anything else going on?" Vicky asked with concern.
"There's a bloody war going on!" Lily spat. Then in a softer voice she continued, "Dumbledore wrote me yesterday saying that he was going to ask them, meaning all four of the boys, but in this case I'm talking specifically about James, to join the effort very soon. As you know, things aren't going well and he needs their support. He believes that their youth will bring fresh ideas and refresh the older members. You and I both know what this means.
"It is both a reason for me to stay here and keep an eye on things, namely to prevent the boys from joining or if they join to protect them as much as possible, and a reason to say yes to marrying James. It gives me hope for a better future and it distracts everyone else from the true evil going on. Also it is incredibly likely that either, if not both of us, will die relatively soon; therefore we might as well get married before then and if we both survive and ten years from now we decide it was a mistake we can just get divorced."
"Finally! Something that makes sense!" cried Vicky exuberantly. "Couldn't you have just said that in the beginning. I was starting to think your mind had turned into a mushy pile of blind romanticism."
"Me? A romantic?" laughed Lily. "I don't think that will ever happen."
"Good. There are more than enough romantics in this world," giggled Vicky. "Us realists need to stick together, even if we are physically far apart."
"Write me often?" requested Lily with a smile.
"Too often," joked Vicky. "Do you see anything else in here that I forgot?"
Lily took one last look around and shook her head no. "I'm going to miss you!"
"I'll miss you too," said Vicky in an uncharacteristically soft voice as she embraced her friend.
The good-bye between Lily and Vicky was simple. The separation of Remus and Vicky was not.
Five minutes before Vicky was due to leave, she stood in the entrance hall nervously, and also angrily, tapping her foot. She couldn't believe Remus wasn't there to say good-bye. Sure it was early but he had promised her he would be awake to see her off. After casting one last hopeful look around the hallway to scan the many entrances, she sighed and adjusted the ratty canvas shoulder bag that held all of her possessions, after they were magically shrunk and made weightless of course, and turned toward the door.
"Wait!" shouted Remus frantically as he ran down the hallway toward the staircase and all but tripped down it. "Wait! I'm here; don't leave yet."
Vicky turned around and grinned widely. "I was starting to think you wouldn't make it."
"I'm sorry," gasped Remus. "I overslept."
"It's ok, you made it in time."
"Ummm…" replied Remus as he struggled to arrange his thoughts.
"Good-bye," said Vicky suddenly to break the awkward silence. Then, almost as an afterthought, she gave him a brief hug.
Remus stared in shock as she released him and began moving to the door. "Wait. What is going on? What are we doing?"
"I don't know," said Vicky quickly. "What do you want to do?"
Summoning his courage, Remus calmly stated, "I want a relationship, a real one, no games or tricks. It will be hard but I think we can do it if we both want it."
"I want that too. I think we finally have something going here and I don't want to lose it."
"Ok then," Remus said frankly as he walked toward Vicky. "We're in a committed, exclusive, long-distance relationship."
"Looks like it," she smiled.
"Fantastic," he whispered as he kissed her intensely.
Vicky wished she could have stood there kissing Remus forever, but it was time for her to leave. She broke off the kiss, looked deeply into his golden brown eyes simply said, "I'll write to you," and then quickly left the entrance hall, her portkey taking effect soon afterwards.
Remus stood in the hall for a few more minutes while the shock of her leaving sunk in, and then slumped back to bed where he eventually fell into an uneasy sleep.
The next few days progressed smoothly, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end and their vacation was no exception. By January 2nd Remus had left the manor to return to work, and Peter and Marlene were also back to work in their offices. That left James, Sirius, and Alice to face their upcoming reunion with the barracks with foreboding thoughts, and Lily to wonder about her immediate future as her application to St. Mungo's Healing Academy went unanswered, a concern which she failed to share with any of her friends.
The departure of the three aurors-to-be was emotional, but only mildly so because as second semester trainees, they were now allowed to leave the training compound on weekends, meaning that the time spent apart would be cut into manageable chunks.
The morning after her friends returned to their training and on the day she was supposed to start hers, Lily went to the main office of the Healing Academy to speak with someone about the lack of communication. After hours of being shuffled from one unhelpful person to the next, Lily finally managed to secure a hearing with the Headmaster, a small and squat man with a noble nose and dark brown eyes set too closely together under bushy grey eyebrows.
"So ahh, Miss Evans," he drawled as he flipped through the scant report one of his staff members had prepared a few hours prior. "What is it that I can do for you?"
Struggling to maintain her composure, Lily reiterated her story for the fifteenth time that day. "I would like to transfer into this Academy immediately. In my file you will find my transcript from both Hogwarts and my previous school, as well as copies of my O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s scores."
"Ah, yes. Well I'm afraid you've wasted your time today Miss Evans. We do not accept transfer students, especially during the middle of the year. Unfortunately you have also missed the deadline to apply to start as a first year trainee in September. I would encourage you to begin the application process this October. Furthermore, it seems that your so-called N.E.W.T. scores are invalid because they are not the standard tests taken by British seventh year students, so I would also encourage you to retake those tests either this spring or the next," said the Headmaster with finality as he shut the folder and folded his hands over it. "Have a nice day."
"Look," said Lily, her frustration eeking out into her tone. "I was a student at the International Institute for Incredibly Talented Wizards. As such, I am outstandingly brilliant and your program would be lucky to have me! Meanwhile this is a huge demotion for me. I think you can bend the rules this one time because, in case you haven't noticed, there's a bloody war going on and this country needs all the Healers it can get!"
"Well, Miss Evans," said the unmoved man with frustrating calmness. "I suggest that you go back to where you came from because we, at the Academy as well as this country, have no need for your 'brilliant' or as I see it, freakish, kind. Have a nice day."
Lily barely restrained herself as she left the building and apparated back to Potter Manor.
"Bad day I take it?" asked Christopher as he passed the whirlwind that was Lily in one of the numerous hallways.
"The Healing Academy refuses to take me," Lily spat.
"That's preposterous!" said Christopher almost jovially, believing it to be just some bureaucratic misunderstanding.
"Of course it is! But that doesn't change anything. I spent all day speaking to every bloody person in that administration and it didn't matter! It didn't matter that I'm brilliant and talented and half-trained already for goodness sakes!" Lily cried, finally breaking down.
"I'll go and see if I can sort this whole mess out tomorrow," Mr. Potter promised kindly.
Then Christopher awkwardly put a hand on the sobbing teenager's shoulder, but luckily for him, just then Marilyn swept into view and took over. She put a warm arm around Lily's shoulder and gently led her toward a parlor where she sympathetically listened to the tale of woe, reacting with sadness and outrage when appropriate. Lily was pampered and fawned over until, emotionally exhausted, she retired to bed early.
As promised, Christopher paid a visit to the Healing Academy early the following morning before he reported to his own office. He was met with more civility, but was given the same message. Not even the Potter name has the power to reverse the decision of the Headmaster.
This was unfortunate for the underlings that fell into the path of the raging Christopher Potter. He was not used to hearing the word "no" about anything, especially when it was clearly so wrong. All day long he barked orders, and lashed out with unnecessary severity at any indiscretion.
His anger only began to fade once he began walking up the path to his front door. A glimmer of hope had appeared on Lily's face when he renewed his promise to her at breakfast and now he could hardly bear the thought that he would have to dash her hopes. Begrudgingly, he delivered the news to Lily. Anticipating the worst, she received his words with a graceful sadness.
Having just arrived home from Italy and hearing the bad news, Harry and Eileen decided to invite Lily to dinner at their home so she wouldn't be alone while Christopher and Marilyn fulfilled a social call.
The dinner went very smoothly with Harry being his usual charming and jovial self and Eileen egging him on. Soon enough Lily forgot about her immediate troubles. Then while Harry had to attend to some business he had neglected while away, Lily and Eileen had some girl time.
Almost immediately after Harry left the room Eileen grabbed Lily's left hand and scrutinized it. "I didn't think of this until just this morning, but how is your ring finger feeling?" she asked.
"How did you know?" asked Lily skeptically. "It's been horribly painful for the last few days and yesterday morning I discovered a terrible rash forming under the ring. It's been spreading even since, and it's getting more severe."
Eileen sighed. "As horrible as it sounds my dear, you can't wear this ring. I didn't think that James could have possibly known, but I was hoping he would have chosen a different ring for you. This is one of the five original rings crafted by the Potter ancestor, I forget his name but that's not important. Anyway, what is important is that at the time he, as well as almost all magical people, was obsessed with blood purity. He enchanted, or as I see it cursed, the rings so that they would tell the difference between a pureblood and a lesser witch.
"As you can see, the ring then harms the wearer if they prove to not be a pureblood. I didn't figure all of this out until the rash encompassed my whole left hand. I consulted dozens of history and charms specialists, but no one could figure out how to reverse the curse. The only way to reverse the rash is to remove the ring and never wear it again. Even then, the scars remain."
Eileen removed her engagement and wedding rings and placed her left hand in Lily's. The skin was normal upon ordinary inspection, but when Lily looked closer she could see the abnormally shiny skin and the web of pink lines. It was if the skin had been burned. Most notably there was a deep red ring of skin where the engagement ring itself had once been.
Lily had no words, but Eileen had a few left. "Harry understood and I'm sure James will too. The ring was designed to prevent any witch who lied about her bloodline from contaminating the family tree. Obviously, James knows that you're not a pureblood witch and he doesn't care. And, engagement ring shopping with a Potter is incredibly fun; only the sky is the limit with them!"
"Thank you for telling me," said Lily as she sadly slipped the ring off. It hadn't been in her possession for many days, but she had already grown very attached to it.
"Cheer up dearie," said Eileen happily. "It isn't the end of the world. And you can do what I did until you get a new ring; put it on a chain and wear it around your neck. Especially if there is a layer of cloth between your skin and the ring, it can hardly harm you."
"Didn't it make you feel like a lesser person though?" asked Lily slowly. "I don't know. I know James knows about my blood background and doesn't care, but this is just one more piece of evidence saying that he should care. I just feel like I'm not supposed to be good enough for him."
"Pish posh! The rings are hundreds of years old and if the Potter family couldn't adjust to the changing times then I certainly wouldn't be here. It is definitely a challenge when you know that other people don't think you deserve to belong, but there are good days and bad days like anything else. And it gets easier after a while. If you've made it this far, you can handle anything. I think you'll agree with me when I say that Christopher was your greatest hurdle and now that he's on your side anything is possible."
Eileen paused for a moment and then continued, "Consider this, I barely had the support of Harry's mother, and had no support from his father, but his father didn't really care because Harry was the second born son anyway and Christopher was already married and expected to produce an heir so Harry wasn't necessary. I didn't even have Christopher's support, he actually tried to convince Harry several times to marry someone else, and Marilyn acted as if I didn't exist for fear of angering her new husband. You have the support of every member of this family and more, so if I could do it with no support, you can certainly manage now."
"Thank you for giving me some perspective," said Lily quietly. Eileen's testimony came as quite a shock to Lily, who, since she was twelve, had considered herself to be the most burdened and unlucky person to have ever lived. Realizing that someone else had endured a greater obstacle and overcome it was revolutionary.
"Anytime," chirped Eileen as she waved her hand as if to scatter the unpleasant thoughts. "Let's talk about something more cheery; how about the many options you have and which one to pursue. Just because those pigheaded pincushions at the Healing Academy closed their door to you, it doesn't mean that everyone has or will. What other things are you interested in?"
"Well I love charms most of all, especially developing new charms, but also researching and finding old ones that were forgotten and improving them and using them. I'm also fairly decent at potions, but I haven't any passion there. A friend of mine used to work with me on potions and it was interesting then because he was always finding better ways to do things and making new potions, but we lost touch and now I find potion making rather mundane. I've also developed an interest in dueling recently, though I fear that that isn't a field I'm good enough at to work in professionally."
"Well there are three very solid talents to work with. Now let's start to think about what you could do with them. I know you said potion making is rather boring, but recently I read an article in the paper listing all the jobs that were desperately understaffed and Mungo's is looking for technicians to brew healing potions. That might not be ideal, but it's one way to get your foot in the door," suggested Eileen.
"That is definitely something to consider," said Lily vaguely.
"How do you feel about teaching? Maybe not professionally in a school, but oftentimes families need tutors for their young children, so you might find something there."
Lily make a face of disgust. "I did a lot of tutoring while I was at Hogwarts, but I only did it because my professors asked me to, or I was expected to as either prefect or head girl."
"Hmmm… I never liked tutoring or teaching much either. I'm afraid I know nothing about charms work, though perhaps Harry might. That might be something covered in the Department of Mysteries I suppose. Though I don't know if you'd like to work for the Ministry or not."
"That is also a pretty good option. I'll write an owl to my professors from Hogwarts and see if they know whom I should contact. It also just occurred to me that the dueling instructor at the Auror Academy said I was welcome to work there if I wanted. I might send an owl to him as well."
"That's the spirit!" said Eileen excitedly. "When one door closes, another one always opens! There's more than one way to be a productive member of society!"
"Thank you," said Lily gratefully. "For all of your advice," she added as she absently played with her engagement ring.
"Anytime my dear, anytime," said Eileen soothingly. "Except for right now, because I am off to bed. Traveling can be so tiring!"
Lily thanked her hosts and then retired back to Potter Manor, where she did some light reading and then worked late into the night composing her many letters. Feeling accomplished, Lily set the envelopes in the usual place knowing that the house elves would post them the following morning, and fell into a deeper sleep than she had expected.
A/N. Hey Everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter; it certainly was a big one! Here are some questions as usual:
What did you think of Lily's decision not to return to the Institute?
What do you think of James's decision to ask Lily to marry him after all, and Lily's decision to say yes this time?
What do you think of Remus and Vicky's relationship and where do you think it's going?
What do you think about the history of the Potter family and the ring's curse?
What do you think about the Healing Academy's refusal of Lily and what alternate field should she pursue?
Anything else you would like to comment on? [Enter angry rants about lack of updating here]