Chapter 11: the great gatsby - Part I
And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy.
"James Fleamont Potter, look at you all grown up."
Maria McKinnon, one of Marlene's older sisters and sharer of the same old Hollywood killer looks, was leaning on the Potter's big mahogany kitchen counter and snacking on some stolen Fourme d'Ambert, as James walked in looking for his mum, struggling with his tie.
"Maria," James smiled wide, "I should have known you'd be hiding somewhere with the cheese already."
"Be glad I'm not hiding in the closet anymore" she said throwing the last piece of french cheese in her mouth and blinking an eye at him.
James grinned. "Ah yes, my first heartbreak."
"First and last I imagine. Do you have giant blood on you or something?" she shook the crumbs from her hands, smoothed down the sides of the fabric of her red dress and walked over him.
"Or something" he smirked.
Maria started undoing the horrible attempt of a knot he had made and worked on redoing it, looking up at him with a suspicious eye. "You look different. You sound different."
"Puberty happened, glad you missed it."
"Wow, it's been that long?"
"Only a year, but hear this. Ahem, uuhhh" he sang, lowering two octaves his normal tone.
"Impressive."
"I know."
"Prongs," Sirius called out, walking in the kitchen, barely avoiding hitting with his head on the many trays that were levitatingly leaving the wide room. "Mate, what are you oh- well, hello…" He stopped, noticing Maria up and down, and James wanted nothing more than to see where this was going.
"Padfoot mate, this is Maria. She was my babysitter before I got in Hogwarts for awhile there."
"Maria," Sirius' sang. "So you're the saving grace of Prong's upbringing. Darling Fleamont and Euphemia are season's diamonds but they didn't know how to raise him."
"That's true, I raised myself." James said to his back while looking at his reflex on a flying pan, checking his now well knotted tie.
"But it's expected you know, he is only sixteen after all," Sirius took a glass of champagne from one of the trays. "I, however, am seventeen already so, you know, the maturity difference is undeniable to say the least."
"Oh yes, I see…" Maria played the part by squinting her eyes and tilting her head to the younger boy. "You know what else is undeniable?"
Sirius looked at her through his eyelashes while sipping on the flute.
"The pain this fork is gonna cost you when I jam it into your eye." She snapped, showing him the fork she had somehow managed to grab.
James snorted and Sirius gagged on his drink.
"Merlin, what the-"
"Sis, I need your help keeping cousin Ed away from Lily, please." Marlene stormed into the kitchen as well, with a tight black dress and her long blonde hair perfectly tight in an up-do. "She is too polite to spray him and tell him he'll just end up with the first money-grabbing slut bag that gets into the backseat of his Maserati." She said and looked over at the dumbstruck boy. "Alright there, Black?"
"Ah, I get it now." Sirius said, cleaning the remains of his spilled drink from himself. "You're a McKinnon. Checks out."
Maria forced smiled at him, raising her eyebrows in acknowledgement to the logic link. Neither had noticed the way James had tensed at the mention of a certain witch.
"What are you all doing hiding here?" Euphemia Potter joined in the now crowded room, exasperated at the younger generation. "Maria dear, could I count on you to still keep an eye on the boys and make sure they present as proper hosts and not some drunken baby gorillas?"
The girls giggled and the boys reprimanded the elder woman.
"Mum"
"Mrs. Potter you have me confused- I'm of age now. I don't need a babysitter like baby gorilla Prongs here."
"Thanks mate"
"Oh yes, how could I forget my very adult other child," she walked closer with a posture of a ballerina from the 1920s that still showed in the way she swayed. "That reminds me - I asked Primrose dear to wash your pyjamas with the hyacinths soap you like so much."
James laughed heartily and Sirius smiled like a frog defeated.
"Thanks. Thanks for that Mrs. Potter."
She shot him a smirk that could put his most mischievous one up to his money.
"Very well, off you go now. Off my kitchen, you're disrupting Miss Dora's work." She shooed them away but James sneakily kept behind.
When finally left alone, he leaned on the kitchen wash basin and breathed in deep.
She's here. He thought. She came.
"Alright there, son?"
James jumped from his scare. "Merlin, dad- how are you almost deaf but silent as a mouse?"
"Language or I will revoke your Fourme d'Ambert privileges" the wizard said, stealing himself another piece of the cheese. "What is the matter?"
"Nothing. Nothing is the matter I hum, was just mentally preparing to head out and face your carefully curated jokes."
His father grinned at him. "Did your mother tell you the one about the surfing vampire already?"
He sighed. "She did not, she must have taught it had to be you telling it to do it justice."
"She's not wrong." He agreed but Fleamont noticed his son's restlessness. "You sure you're alright?"
James nodded. "Yeah, sure."
He wasn't convinced. "Come along, son. If you can't tell your old dad, who can you tell?"
James grimaced. "Oh I don't know, Sirius, mum, that chair over there-"
"Alright, alright funny man, try me."
James looked at his dad and sighed before sharing. "It's nothing I just- invited someone and well, she just arrived apparently." James spoke lower at this last part.
"A girl?!"
"Dad shh, please-"
"Well, what are we doing here? We need to get out and show her the suit your mum picked out for you!"
James in vain tried stopping him but Fleamont dragged his son out, pushing him from his back, not giving him a chance to compose himself.
They crossed the swinging side door and, as Fleamont was quickly caught in talking with a guest, Sirius came running over.
"Mate, mate, mate, I forgot to tell you earlier - Evans' here!" All attempts to look mature completely out the drain.
"Yeah, I gathered Padfoot, thanks a lot." James said exasperated trying to see her without looking but his shorter friend wasn't much help.
"I'm sorry like, don't look, don't look, I mean, you can look but I mean don't look like you're looking, you know?"
James was trying to follow his friend's trail as Fleameont rejoined the boys.
"Is that Lily?" their dad asked with a huge smile, pointing widely and directly at the girl and using his tone-deaf voice.
"Bloody-hell-dad!" James brought his hand straight to his hair and looked around, trying to hush his father in a (failed) discreet way after all that show.
"Mr. Potter, I can only imagine how your game has hopefully falter completely since you've scored Mrs. Potter because there is no way you were this smooth back then." Sirius tried helping his friend.
"What do you mean-" the older wizard started but gasped in realization. "Is Lily the girl? Son, I didn't know it was the real deal I thought it was someone else, no wonder you're so nervous-"
James' eyes grew double the size looking at his father talking fast and still, at a too high tone. Luckily, Sirius got the cue.
"Alright, that's it. Come along Mr. Potter, I'll put you up to speed, just follow me."
Sirius not so much gave him the chance to follow as much as dragged the man away from his best friend, leaving him at peace but also, defenceless.
And that's when he saw her - a vision in a flowing, straight silk green dress that fell to mid-calf, with a small split down her leg. The collar not a turtle-neck but with the cut of one just above her collarbones, showing off her shoulders and most strikingly- her new hair cut. She had cut it short. It was straight and shiny and just around mid-way her neck. Her perfect neck.
She was a spring flower standing in a cold December night, in the middle of his mother's museum like, marble built, ceiling painted ball room.
She cast her eyes anxiously around the parlour before she finally spotted James standing under the archway, in his all black suit and shirt looking more like a man and less like a boy. She breathed in, smiled and started walking over.
James' heart was beating like a drum on his chest and he had to breath in deep.
"Hello," she said with a smile and tucked a strand of hair of her new side bangs, behind her ear.
"You look lovely."
The words tumbled out before he could stop them and he knew the breathless reverence in his voice betrayed him. He wanted to smack himself in the head because "lovely" was both too much and not nearly enough at the same time. You look beautiful, breathtaking, fucking transcendent, and I will never forget how you look tonight.
She was startled by his comment on her appearance in such a sincere manner that she felt flustered as she tried to push aside the thought that most girls would probably find the low timbre of his voice combined with his child like wondering eyes, appealing.
He gulped, looking down at her in a pleading her to say something way as his mouth was still too dry to do so.
"Thank you. Your house is absolutely remarkable" she offered after a fortifying breath. "It looks like Hogwarts. No- not look, feels like Hogwarts."
She mumbled and he was surprised to notice that- was she nervous too?
Did he make her nervous?
"Thank you so much for inviting me. Marlene's family was kind enough to drive me."
James brought his hand to his forehead in dumb realization. "Of course. Lily I'm so sorry, I should have offered to pick you up. Godric, all those chivalry classes down the toilet, huh?"
Lily giggled, trying to muffle the somersault her stomach was doing at the thought of James Potter trying to be a gentleman for her.
No, not for her. Just a gentleman in general. She made herself establish for some reason.
"It's alright. This way I could surprise you."
She said and he looked at her confused. She had the panic thought that he might think she meant surprising him with her looks and quickly rectified, horrified. What was wrong with her?
"With this!" she showed him a bag she had brought from home. "I bought you something. Well, it's a record. I figured you could like some other great artists like Stevie Nicks."
He carefully took the vinyl off the bag and read its title aloud.
"Both sides now."
"Joni Mitchel. It's my favourite song, actually… ever. So you know, no pressure. Just lie to me if you don't like it."
She played it out but bit her lip and James physically hurt from restraining himself from touching her.
"This is…" he started but she stopped him.
"Nothing, compared to what you've been doing for me lately and… well, for what you had to hear said to you the other day" she said sheepish.
"Evans, you don't owe me anything and you sure as hell don't have to pay me anything back for whatever other people said or didn't say."
James rectified in a very serious tone, hating the thought of her doing things out of obligation. In a selfish way as well, he really did not want her to do anything for him for any other reason than just wanting to.
She shook her head.
"I didn't. I guess I just wanted to share my favourite song with you, that's all."
Fuck. He thought nodding, feeling pulled by her without her even moving a finger.
She didn't break eye contact and smiled. "Happy Christmas James."
He breathed out. "Happy Christmas, Lily."
They broke their gaze only when looking at the laughing crowd at the center of the room.
James moved closer to speak in her ear. "Can I go listen to it now, please?"
Lily's heart jumped but she stayed frozen in place, wide-eyed and chilled by the way he said 'please'.
"Give you a quick tour around?" He continued in a hush tone, looking at her as if looking for answers of the universe in her face.
She pressed her lips and nodded swiftly, willing her beating heart to calm down.
Lily's lips were slightly parted; she, whose lips were usually pressed together with the daily concentration of put up walls of constantly proving herself to others, pressed together like the clear line of the many books she has read, marked straight with the company of the little dimple in between her furrowed eyebrows, a certain and dedicated mouth, a precision instrument.
Now, as she followed James through his mansion's corridor and walking into the music parlour, her lips were slightly parted as if to receive a secret flavour.
She was hitching to ask about his (for certain) mesmerizing library but accepted the room he was showing her, for now.
"I thought you might like me to guide you a bit on some music other than, you know, Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd which I'm sure Black has got you cover" she said to his back as he put the record on.
"I would love that actually," he replied, "Padfoot's taste is very… particular you know and, their sound is very…"
"Particular?" she offered and he turned back at her, smirking.
"Yeah"
She nodded, smiling knowingly. "I know what you mean. Dad was the same way, Pink Floyd were his favourite and I mean, rightfully so of course, they're brilliant of course but thing is, I'm more of a lyrics girl, you know?"
She leaned on the armrest of his father's armchair, still looking around in awe while continue talking.
"That excludes of course, The Dark side of the Moon - they really got everything right with that one. It lost a lot of that psychedelic noodling stuff, you know? But we got the consensus on it, dad and I, that album is untouchable the rest," she smiled remembering, "yeah the rest we could debate all night if we had to."
He wanted to kiss her. So bad.
"I'm sorry. I don't-" she took sense of herself and straightened up, laughing surprised at her own rudeness. "I normally don't talk this much or, I don't think I do, at least… do I?"
"I'm listening." He quickly corrected, looking at her from across the room. "Not so much psychedelic noodling stuff, I agree. It changed their whole game completely. But what did you mean by being a lyrics girl?"
Lily stood perplexed looking at him, and he immediately turned back down to the record player and pretended to see what button to press so he wouldn't have to witness her reaction.
He wanted to tell her that she didn't have to stop herself from talking with him, that he would never find her insatiable thirst for knowledge as boastful or vexing. Especially in this world of the arts, she glowed more than ever when talking about music and literature and the way it thrilled her to discover something new. He wanted to tell her that he knew her. He knew it had been her way of joining her world to the ones she loved. It was her love language, and one of the sexiest things about her.
No, wait… that's not-
He shook his head and dropped the player's needle on the record, making it start. The atmosphere suddenly seemed to twist from thick with anticipation to a certain peace and lightness, as the first cords of an acoustic guitar started echoing at this ancient magical house that had probably heard similar sounds less than a handful of times.
He sensed Lily walking over and he turned to her, with wide-eyes as she grinned a girlish smile, as if excited to tell a secret, stopping just a few paces from him.
The raspy sweet voice started singing.
Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
Looked at clouds that way
Lily was whispering the lyrics back, swaying left and right and James had a glimpse of what she would be like when she were alone in her room, listening to this same song over and over again.
"Listen now" she told him.
Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way that you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way
But now it's just another show
And you leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away
I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It's love's illusions that I recall
I really don't know love
Really don't know love at all
And the pause in this last verse before the last two words, showing the first hints of melancholy in this otherwise light song, made James' insides swell.
About a minute later the song ended with the last strokes of the guitar strings giving place to that comforting static sound. He looked at her and she was smiling nervousely with her thumb nail between her teeth.
"So?" she asked him.
"Well, I'll have to hear it again without your siren voice behind it" he teased and she rolled her eyes exasperated.
"What did you think?" she cried out like an energetic child, taking the few steps missing for them to be in each others proximity, as her delighted grin would not quit.
He grinned back and his posture was always so much worse near her as he had the tendency to curve himself to be closer to her height. "It sounds lovely."
She squealed and jumped up and down, grabbing his arm "It does, doesn't it? And can you believe I actually saw her live like six years ago?"
"Really?" he asked actually surprised.
"Well, didn't so much see her as heard her even from my dad's shoulders but you know, in my mind's eye I could see even the blue of her own eyes" she continued, still rather close. "Dad took me to the Isle Of Wight Festival and it was the most beautiful thing ever, it was the first time I saw a woman be so welcoming heard."
"Ah Evans, only you would brag yourself of that experience. How am I to enjoy it now knowing it will never measure to that, hum?"
"Oh no, no, don't say that. This was great too, really, the room has great acoustics truly, top two favourite times hearing this song."
He snorted. "Yeah?"
"Yeah" she said calmly now, with a warm smile.
He breathed out, looking at her eyes for a moment's pause and she started blushing as usual but didn't walk away for the first time it seemed. James was just noticing this change when someone walked in.
"I still know you like the palm of my hand mon beau. I knew you'd be here."
They both turned to see a lean and tall beautiful brunette girl, with slightly smudged red lips that made them look bruised and inviting. High cheek bones and a chic bob that made Lily feel alien to her own new haircut, with bangs that seemed to casually cooperate with her dark brown almost raven eyes.
"Just as I thought," the girl continued, leaning on the door frame and crossing her arms as if finding James there alone or accompanied, was absolutely equal to her, "right where I finally let you kiss me."