James ripped himself from me. He fluffed his raven hair and smiled guilty at his father. I was the first to recover.
"Hello Mr. Potter! How are you?" I asked politely.
"Charlus, Charles, even Chuck, but never Mr. Potter, Lily. Otherwise I'm feeling so old," he winked at me. He was really James' look-alike. Same black hair, with some gray stripes, same tanned skin, same length, strong build,… But his eyes were different. They were sapphire blue, comparing to James' hazel ones.
"That's because you are old, Dad," an easily recognizable voice said behind Mr. Potter. He said it was fine to call him by his first name, but I didn't have a good feeling with it.
"Sirius, my boy! How are you, son?" Mr. Potter smiled and he hugged Sirius.
"I'm great. But Jamesie is even better. Because Lily Evans is here," Sirius said, waving his hands and dancing around James and me.
"Padfoot, that's quite enough," Remus said. Apparently they had Apparated together.
"Yes, Mum," he grinned.
"Did anyone say anything about me?" a stunning, adult woman said, when she appeared in the doorway. She had long, fair hair, a white skin, bright red lips and beautiful, hazel eyes. James' eyes. I let the image of both of his parents melt together, and indeed, there was James.
"No, honey, Sirius was being an idiot. Again," Mr. Potter smiled widely at his wife, before walking towards her, giving her a peck on the lips and sliding an arm around her waist.
"Mum, Dad, please don't," James moaned. "We have visitors."
"I see," Mrs. Potter said. "You must be Lily Evans." She entangled her from her embrace with Mr. Potter and walked towards me.
"I am. Thanks for letting me stay, Mrs. Potter," I said, shaking her hand.
"Please call me Dorea. Now, come on in, it's freezing out here! Remus, Charlus, would you please carry Lily's trunk to her room?" The two men nodded and grabbed my trunk, carrying it inside, up the stairs.
"Come, Red," Sirius said, draping a heavy arm on my shoulders. "I'll show you the house."
"Thanks for the offer, Sirius, but I'd prefer if James did that," I said, giving him his arm back and grabbing James' hand. "I trust him more in this case."
Sirius took the hint. "You wound me, Evans. But you're lucky I love you, otherwise I'd hex you."
"Pads…" James grumbled.
"All right, all right… Have fun, you two," he said in a sing-song voice before taking off.
"Now, what would you like to see first?" James asked me. I drowned in his image. There was something incredibly tender in his stare, the way he hold my hand. He didn't remember what I said to him a couple days ago, about loving him, but he didn't seem to mind If I hold his hand.
"Maybe my room?" I really wanted to know how it looked like. He grinned widely.
"I was hoping you'd say that," James said, dragging me along with him. We climbed at least a hundred staircases, crossed a million corridors and turned a billion corners.
"You're rich?" I guessed after we crossed another corridor.
"Wouldn't know why you'd think that," he said, pinching my hand.
"Maybe because of the gigantic house?" I said, sarcasm dripping of off my voice.
"Maybe." We finally stopped in front of a door. It was from floor to ceiling, in a dark wood. The heck was from pure gold and in graceful handwriting there stood: Lily Evans.
"Wow," I breathed. The whole corridor had those doors. There was one with James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Marlene McKinnon, Frank Longbottom, Alice Prewett and then there was mine.
"There's a room for every person that has ever been here," James explained. "This is the corridor for my friends, the next is for friends of my parents, then you have one for people who ask for a place to sleep, for guests after a party,…"
"Wow," I said again.
"Is that all you're going to say all day?"
"What?" I woke from my daydream. "No, ' course not. Can I see what's behind the door?"
"Sure," he said, opening it. I couldn't believe what I saw. This was my dream room. One wall was entirely made of glass, giving me a perfect view of the endless meadows behind the Potter Mansion. There was a crackling fireplace beneath a wall that was covered with the most beautiful pictures of me and my friends. The bed was a four-poster and had red and gold sheets. Gryffindor colors. There was an amazingly soft carpet on the floor and the wardrobe was huge. I had a bathroom of my own, with two sinks, a shower, a bathtub, mirror and cupboards filled with towels.
"This is…" I started, but James cleared his throat and shrugged.
"Awful? I'm sorry, I thought you'd like it. Through the years your friends told me what you like and so I made a room with all of that for you. It isn't finished yet, but I can – "
"James, stop. It's perfect. You're perfect," I said, immediately clapping a hand over my mouth. Did I really just say that? Oh, Merlin.
"Wait, what? I'm… what?" he stammered, stepping closer to me.
"You heard me," I said, sighing.
"I want you to say it again," he commanded.
"You're not my boss, you know," I said, grinning.
"I know," he replied, "but I am perfect, according to you."
"Shut up, I didn't mean it like that," I lied. That was exactly what I meant.
"Then how was it?" he pushed, still stepping closer until we were as close as this morning. His hand grabbed my chin and he lifted my head so he could stare in my eyes.
I released a shaky breath. I couldn't find my voice when his lips started to kiss my neck gently. "I… Maybe… Why… Oh, who am I kidding?" I caught his wondering mouth with mine and kissed him passionately.
The last thing I remembered was the song All About Us by He is We playing in my head.