Jun 10, 2024
planning and writing a long Jily College AU with soccer/ice hockey james and nerd lily. if you have any tropes/plot points you want to see in the story, send them my way! :D
seen from Canada
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Hong Kong SAR China
seen from Netherlands
seen from India
seen from Brazil
seen from Argentina
seen from Philippines
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from China
seen from Canada
seen from North Macedonia
seen from Netherlands
seen from Paraguay
seen from Italy
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Italy
planning and writing a long Jily College AU with soccer/ice hockey james and nerd lily. if you have any tropes/plot points you want to see in the story, send them my way! :D
Is James Potter a good man?
Considering you asked this question on a blog that is heavily focused on Jily, I must admit that my answer might be a bit biased.
That said, yes, I believe James Potter is a good man.
Chapter 4: How To Finally Get the Girl
The finale of my fic "How You Get The Girl" that I started in 2019 when I was a wee fresher in college. It is finally over. *phew* I hope this story stops haunting me now.
Read it on AO3.
...
The clock in her room read 7:39pm when Lily watched Isis disappear into the horizon, soaring higher and higher above the identical houses of Cokeworth.
She wasn't sure which part of her brain was working overtime when she thought of sending a letter through Isis. Or when she thought of the idea. She just remembers Sirius holding her by her shoulders and shaking with excitement at the idea as he exited her room and her house and disapparated from her front yard with a distinct pop.
She should have checked around if anyone saw him disappear. She should have berated him for being so careless in a muggle neighbourhood, *her* neighbourhood, as he apparated back at the same position exactly 12 minutes later with a grey owl sitting gleefully on her shoulder, playing with his black hair. But words suddenly seemed foreign to her.
Despite her newly found resolve and the shadow of a black haired boy peaking behind her shoulder, she had hesitated. Multiple times. Her quill broke twice. Isis fluttered around her room from her bed to the shelves. Sirius paced the small length of her bedroom muttering, "Good god woman, you don't have be Shakespeare."
can't help falling in love (with you)
For full-goosebumps-on-my-arm-giddy-feeling, play Kina Grannis' ‘Can’t help falling in love with you’ (also featured in Crazy Rich Asians) in the background.
You can thank me later.
Read it on AO3 here.
i.
There were many times that Lily Evans thought she loved James Potter. She wanted to say it, to speak it out and let it be known, so the truth was finally out there in the universe for eternity to come.
It did not, however, start like an epiphany.
Although she will admit, when the first time the thought crossed her mind, it terrified her and her heart almost stopped. It was a cold December night, one of many that brutal winter, so it could have easily been hypothermia, she argued in her mind.
and we dance around the kitchen in the refrigerator light.
Summary: Just James and Lily, dancing away.
Recommended background song: May I Have This Dance by Meadowlark and Can I Have This Dance by High School Musical 3 Original
You can read it on AO3 here.
James Potter knew he was running late and shouldn’t be here. He wasn’t even supposed to be in this part of the castle. But whenever it came to Lily Evans, James hardly used his rational mind. This could basically be jotted down in Hogwarts rule book by now.
He wouldn’t admit it, but he often just lay in his bed, under his covers, and looking at those dots next to her name. The Marauder’s Map was handy in a lot of things, and this was just an added perk to this contraption they’d invented. When he knew she was in the library working late on an essay, he’d declare the sole possessor of the map until he knew she was back in her dorm safe and sound. It would drive Sirius, Remus, and Peter mad, but he didn’t bleeding care. A few Slytherins had taken upon themselves to wreak havoc on the lives of muggle-borns sometime in the early 3rd year, and night time was their choice of time to attack. There had been a few instances where some unsuspecting second years who were wandering the corridors late at night were jumped.
James did not like to think of them laying in the hospital wing when the news spread the next day. And he’d swore to get back, and they had. That was how the concept of the map came about; they wanted to know exactly when and where these Slytherins were roaming around looking for their next innocent target. They had worked on it for the better part of a year, trying to master the very advanced Homonculous Charm, but they finally did it. The prank that followed, entirely thought up by Remus, was genius, to say the least. And it was intricate and complicated, lasting well over a few weeks.
“The best kind of revenge is so subtle that they think they are going crazy,” Remus had explained that night. Needless to say, James was highly impressed. And a little scared of Remus, not that he’d ever admitted it to him. And the best part was no one ever suspected them. They had gotten away scot-free and succeeded in stopping those horrendous attacks. They’d celebrated with a whole carton of firewhiskey that night.
But since then, despite the corridors being safe again, his heart would drop when he’d overhear Lily working late in the library. He’d wished she stayed in the common room, where he knew she would be safe. But there was no way he could tell Lily Evans what to do and what not to do. That was a good way to have tentacles sprouting from your backside.
He’d like to call himself her little guardian angel if he was being poetic. Sirius, on the other hand, called him a stalker. He had ventured out to the corridors himself a few times when he saw Filch closing in, and distracted him with a dung bomb or two so Lily would get an uneventful path back to the Gryffindor tower and would be none the wiser. Remus called it sweet but reminded him that Lily was perfectly capable of handling herself. He knew that, but that didn’t ease the worry that sprouted in his mind.
But today, he wondered how he missed it. He remembers following her path back to the tower and into her dorm safe and sound, and then leaving the map on his bed to join his mates to get ready for the full moon night. He doesn’t know what made him look back and pick it up again, call it intuition or a gut feeling, but somehow he found himself looking at the map again, his eyes automatically searching for his favorite name when his heart dropped into his stomach. The map now showed Lily Evans in an empty classroom on the other side of the castle.
He knew he should be heading down towards the grounds, towards the whomping willow, that Sirius alone would not be able to handle a werewolf if the situation went south. But he had to see if she was okay. He practically ran towards the now empty Charms classroom, only stopping momentarily to right his invisibility cloak as it threatened to fall.
The corridors were uneasily quiet; the chill of the night settling on his bones despite the warmth from running. As soon as he turned into the Charms corridor, he could hear faint music pouring out of one of the classrooms. He stopped short, tip-toeing gently as he peered through the door.
The room was dimly lit, but he could see the chairs and tables neatly stacked along the walls to make some empty space. And there, in the center of the classroom, clad in a red night suit, was Lily Evans.
And she was dancing with a mop.
James almost doubled over at the sight, fighting to keep his amusement concealed as he observed the red-headed girl attempt to waltz with one of the mops you could find in the broom cupboard. She had a deep furrow on her forehead, her hair tucked away neatly in a ponytail as she tried to match her footwork to the music.
She tries to sway to the music, but James noticed she was too stiff with her movements. Dancing was as much as about letting go as getting the steps right. But despite Lily’s terrible dancing skills, he couldn’t help but think that she looked so cute that he could essentially melt into a puddle of mush at the entrance to the classroom.
As he continued to observe, Lily had already ended up stepping on her own feet thrice now and almost falling face-first into the floor, she balanced herself and threw the mop on the floor in a fit of rage. He almost took off his cloak to make his presence known, but something held him back. Lily Evans would rather have warts in her toes than get witnessed trying to dance with a mop by no one other than James Potter. This would probably not turn out into him helping her, rather him ending up in the hospital wing with another mindless hex.
He wanted to stay there, not spy on her anymore, and just make sure she reached back to the tower alright, but he had somewhere else to be. Someone else needed his help. Taking one last glance at Lily getting into position again, some of the strands that were now loose from the ponytail flying around her face, he retreated silently, careful not to make any sound. As he walked down the grand staircase and into the cool night, he made a mental note to check the map and make sure she reached back safely as he saw the whomping willow in front of him, preparing himself for the night.
...
The Grand Hall looked nothing like the Grand Hall, so much so that James wondered if this was actually the same room. The long tables had vanished, along with the teacher’s tables at the very end, and there were round tables placed around the edges of the room, decorated with white linen and beautiful hyacinths in full bloom on each table. The ceiling of the Grand Hall had always fascinated James, but something almost magical about it today. He found himself staring at it, trying to discern what was different in the stars tonight.
There was a dance floor at the end of the room, with a band of elves playing at the side. An unusually pretty elf wearing blush pink was singing a slow song as the couples littered on the floor swayed to the music, where he spied Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadows, and Mary Macdonald dancing away with some blokes.
“Spiked punch?” Sirius came to his side, holding two goblets of red punch, probably with more firewhiskey than punch. James took one goblet from him and scanned the room. He could see most of the school down here, and he spied Remus and Peter chatting with some Hufflepuffs near the dance floor.
He saw Amber King from Ravenclaw somewhere on the left eyeing him, looking absolutely beautiful in blue, and a group of 4th year Gryffindors beside her looking at him and giggling. Sirius had already left him, heading for Ella Edwards from Slytherin standing on the other side of the Hall. Before he could move, George Phillips and Louis Walker came to him, giving him a pat on his back, wanting to discuss Quidditch strategies for their next game the coming week.
He’d been in the Hall for a good hour when he felt dejected that maybe she had not come at all when he spotted that familiar hue of red. She was sitting at the furthest table from the entrance, hidden below the tapestries of white flowers, and she was watching Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary on the dance floor with their respective partners with an earnest look in her eyes.
She was wearing a stunning emerald green gown, her hair in a messy bun atop her head, with loose tendrils framing her face. James felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room, and George had to cough and wave his hand in front of James’ face to break him out of his reverie. They laughed, glancing back at the object of James’ affection, not surprised at all by who they found, but just left him alone to his thoughts. James would be no use to them now, his mind now hyper-aware of Lily.
Remus came and bumped into James, clinking his goblet to his, when he also noticed where James’ attention was focused on.
“She hasn’t danced with a single soul,” Remus said, drinking from his goblet.
“She hasn’t?” James asked, surprised.
“Not one. Many have asked though, but she’s declined, giving a different excuse every time.”
“Hmm,” James said, remembering her practicing in the Charms classroom just a few days ago. He wondered what went wrong. Did she actually hurt herself, tripped on her own feet or the flat floor? James tried to recall if he’d seen her limping in the days in between but he drew a blank. With one last look at Lily, he followed Remus as they made a round of the Hall, meeting and greeting their fellow classmates, talking about everything and nothing at all.
Remus danced with Marlene and Sirius danced with Ella and James danced with Dorcas, he then danced two dances with Amber, then another with Marlene. He was about to ask Mary for a dance, when from the corner of his eye, he saw George Phillips approach Lily, who was now standing with Marlene, happily chatting away. George had a nice face to look at, James admitted, and the bloke was a good Chaser. But as soon as he reached Lily, he saw her shake her head and point to her feet, and after a few minutes of conversation, George retreated, heading for the drinks table. James frowned.
He excused himself from Mary and headed straight for Lily. As soon as Marlene took one look at him approaching, she excused herself, leaving Lily alone. He was grateful to her for that, but she gave a knowing smile to him as she passed him.
“Evans,” He said in greeting as he approached her.
“Potter,” She acknowledged.
“How are you, this fine evening?” He asked, trying his best to fit into the gentlemanly character that was worthy of his expensive robes.
“I’m great, thank you for asking.” She replied, equally cordially.
“Would you like to dance with me, Evans?” He asked abruptly, mentally smacking himself in the head.
“My feet really hurt, I think I’d rather sit it out,” She said, clearly rehearsed.
“You gave the same excuse to every bloke who asked you for a dance tonight?”
“Are you spying on me, Potter?”
“Maybe, maybe not.” He said shamelessly, grinning as well.
“I’m not even surprised at this point.” She said.
“What would it take for you to dance with me?”
She sighed. She seemed tired. “I don’t know, Potter, a promise to not ask me out every day?” That startled him a little. He hadn’t asked her out since the beginning of this year now; he was trying to minimize his interactions with her to perfectly civil ones without any unnecessary wand wielding and random hexes. He hoped she noticed it, but clearly, reputations are hard to shake off.
He hummed, trying to mask his dejection, and asked instead, “How about I promise not to hit on you tonight and we can pretend to be friends?”
She mused for a moment, then shrugged, “That seems fair.”
“Can I have this dance, then?” He asked, holding out his hand, his heart wanting to practically leap out of his chest. Had she really agreed?
“James, I’m a really bad dancer. Trust me, you do not want to dance with me.” She argued, absolutely convinced, her excuses finally making sense.
“And trust me, you cannot be that bad. Besides, I know my way around the dance floor, so you just have to follow.” He said, brandishing an innocent smirk.
“Why are you suddenly being so sweet?” She asked, shaking her head a little.
“Would you rather I hit on you? Because I can do that.”
“No, no. You promised. Not tonight.” She exclaimed, a little loudly.
“And I intend to keep my promise, Evans.” He said with all the sincerity he could muster, “Shall we?” He asked again, holding out his hand.
He expected her to decline, he really did. Just like to all the boys who’d asked her for a dance tonight. Besides, he wasn’t any different from them. He had spent the better part of 4 years trying to badger the poor girl to get her to go out with him. He cringed internally at the memories, wishing to take back all the foolish things he had been up to when he didn’t know better. He can’t believe he actually thought being a dick would make her like him better. What a dolt he had been. Mum was right, men are clueless when they trying to court.
But to his surprise, she smiled a little and took his hand. Maybe it was the number of drinks Marlene had secretly plied into the girl, Lily asking for another one after every invitation she declined. The alcohol may have started to have its effects. He could be looking like her favorite pair of socks to her by now, for all she knew.
He steered her towards the dance floor, suddenly aware of the many pairs of eyes trained on their every move, pure shock coloring their faces. He really didn’t factor in that aspect of this fantasy he had been imagining in his head for the last few days. In his mind, they were alone, always alone. (In his mind, they existed somewhere beyond this world, the people around them oblivious to the two people dancing in the middle of the floor).
When they reached a spot, he hesitated for a second before wrapping his hands around hers and pulling her close by her waist. Lily automatically put her hand on his shoulder as they were forced to come closer. He was easily towering over her by a good few inches, with her head reaching up to the base of his neck. He could smell something summery on her, and something sweet. Like wild bluebells in the meadow.
“You really look beautiful tonight.” He said, trying to squash the sudden awkward silence between them as they slowly swayed to the music.
She blushed a little. “Are we breaking promises already? It has not even been 5 minutes.”
“I’m not hitting on you. I’m just stating a fact.”
She just shook her head, probably trying to hide the blush that was full-on blossoming across her cheeks and nose now, peppered with freckles. He dipped her down in an elegant move, holding her close.
“Look at you, you’re dancing.” He said as they continued to waltz around the floor amidst the other couples.
“I’m dancing!” She said with a twinkle in her eyes, the glee shining from them like the unapologetic moon at night.
“I like this James, you know.” She said after they had danced across half the floor.
“Which James?”
“This one. The kind one. The one you’ve been since the starting of this year.” So she had noticed.
“Are you saying I’m not usually kind, Evans?” He teased instead, while his insides were a little giddy at her unexpected observation.
“I’m saying you’re actually tolerable when you’re not hitting on me and not hexing everyone around you.”
“Huh. Lily Evans thinks I’m tolerable. The sun must have stopped shining.”
“I’m serious.”
“No, Sirius is over there hitting on that blonde Hufflepuff.”
Lily glared at him, disappointed. “That joke got old in the first year itself.”
“Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”
“I would really like to see more of this James.”
“Really?” She nodded in response.
“Can I ask you a question now?” James asked, unable to help himself, but he had to know.
“Sure.” She looked at him expectantly, and he hesitated. This conversation could go wrong very very fast and he didn’t want to let go of this moment, here with her, just yet.
“Are you only dancing with me to get back at Snape?” Among the crowd that was watching them, he could see Snape glaring daggers at them and had been since James had approached Lily. He wasn’t even trying to be subtle about it.
Lily bit her lip and looked down as if him mentioning it brought about memories she would rather forget. “No.” She said, finally. He could sense that sadness even though she wasn’t meeting his eyes now.
“Okay, just wanted to make sure.” He said quickly, wanting to change the topic now.
“Do you think I am?” She asked, looking at him from behind those lashes.
“Well, you declined every invitation to dance, and somehow, you said yes to me. One has to wonder why.” He answered in full candor.
“You’d laugh at me if you knew why."
“I would not, tell me.”
She hesitated for a second, unsure whether to tell him. “For some reason, I.. I know you wouldn’t let me make a fool of myself on the floor.” That made James stop short for second as he stared at her, before realizing they had stopped dancing and continuing to lead her as the music flowed in the background.
“And..” She enunciated when he didn’t respond, “I’ve seen you dance. One very good dancer and one very bad dancer, figured somehow that mix would have to end up in the deeply average zone. I’m okay with that.”
James chuckled. “And who said you’re a bad dancer?”
“Everyone. Marlene. Tunny. Snape. Corman.” James made a face at the name of her ex-boyfriend and her ex-best friend. He wanted to give them both kick in their delicate areas.
The song ended, and James’ hands migrated from her back to cup Lily’s face. He could feel the flush of her cheeks under his hand now, which was tingling. He could hear her breathing hitch and those green eyes widened, with surprise.
“Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do. That’s not the Lily Evans I know.” He said slowly and with utmost clarity. They were so close that their noses almost touched, their breaths mingling and palpable electricity between them that was threatening to overpower James now. He had never felt this way before, and it was truly frightening. Lily was looking straight at him in the eyes, but for a second, just a second, her gaze dropped to his lips.
And with that, he turned and walked away. He just didn’t want to blow this up. That this was one of the best conversations he’d had with Lily and he wanted keep it that way. Cherish it and not ruin it with some dumb remark that he was sure to make that would make Lily implode and their relationship to fall back to the way it was for 4 years. No, he wanted to change, and he wanted to change his relationship with Lily along with it. Even if that meant they never venture past friends. He’d rather have her in his life as a friend than not at all.
But later on, when the music was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself think, he saw Lily Evans on the dance floor. She had a peculiar style of dancing, that was sure, but her eyes were closed, her hair flying all around her face, and she looked absolutely content with being herself. And he was happy that maybe, just maybe, he had a little say in doing that.
...
“Don’t let me fall, please,” Lily whispered into James’ ear quickly then retreated, as they poised for the song.
James made a face. “I beg your pardon, wife, have some trust please.”
“Wife. I’m a wife. Huh, who would have thought.” Lily said, looking truly astounded, as James pulled her in and out of his arms to the beat of the music, keeping clear off the trail of Lily’s dress.
She was wearing a white mermaid dress with a long trail and combined with her fiery red hair, she looked absolutely divine as she had walked down the aisle towards him. It was a very small affair, all arranged by his mother and Lily’s bridesmaids and best friends, Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary. He hardly had a say in the whole shindig, because it was already decided amongst the girls through some telepathic conversation his poor Y chromosome mind wasn’t privy to, the moment Lily had told them. It was the happiest he had seen her in a while, save for the day he proposed. It was like they were just a couple of normal girls, not young witches part of The Order of the Phoenix fighting every day for a greater cause, not knowing which would be their last. And he had left the girls that way to their planning, wanting Lily to have the wedding of her dreams, a small sliver of happiness in their war-torn world.
So, it was decided that it would be an evening wedding, at dusk to be exact, in the gardens of the Potter manor, with a blush nude color scheme. His mother was absolutely ecstatic, which was to be expected, waving her wand and trying to make everything look perfect.
“Yes, even I’m astonished how I managed this particular feat.” He replied.
“Why, relentless badgering of course, husband ,” She answered, as a matter of factly.
“I was rather under the impression it was my wit and charm."
“That would require you to actually have either."
“Oh, you wound me.”
“But your impeccable dancing skills may have had something to do with it,” She confessed, smiling as he knew she was remembering that night. “You really make dancing seem effortless, just like that night at the ball,”
“Everyone can dance. You just need the right amount of alcohol.” He teased mercilessly, referring to her rather peculiar and drunken dancing skills at the end of the ball night.
“Oh haha!”
“Now that there is a room full of witnesses who saw us marry and separating from me would require a lot of paperwork, I have a confession.”
Lily narrowed her eyes. “Let me remind you that I can manage paperwork very well, Potter."
“I uh… I actually saw you that night. A few nights before the ball. You were in the charms classroom..” Lily’s eyes went wide, a deep red flush settling on her cheeks. He did love to see her blush. “I was always curious, how did it end with you and that mop? Was it just a one-night affair or did you both declare your intentions to marry?”
“Monty the mop was a perfectly acceptable dance partner, and at the moment, he’s faring better than you.” She said indignantly, probably mentally hexing him.
“Monty the mop?! You named it?” James couldn’t hide his grin.
“Yes, it seemed rather rude to dance so intimately with him without having proper introductions.”
“Yes, you two seemed blissfully happy together. All the signs of a great courtship."
“But alas! He had eyes for that mop bucket that’s always trying to get with him in the broom cupboard.”
“How scandalous.” James continued with her charade, mentally revelling in how much he loved their banter. And now, they had a lifetime for it.
“Indeed. It was the talk of the season. I was heartbroken.”
“My my. However must we mend your broken heart?”
“I can think of a few ways,” Lily said, whispering seductively in his ear. Her warm breath sent shivers down his spine to his very toes.
James coughed, trying with all his might not to imagine what Lily meant lest he would have a very embarrassing and a very public situation. He cleared his throat nervously, trying to not let Lily see the effect she had on him. “I uhh.. I believe that can be arranged.”
“Good. I can’t wait,” She whispered again, and he closed his eyes, biting his lips so hard he could taste blood.
“Lily Evans, you’re an absolute minx.”
“Oi! It's Lily Potter now,” She said, smirking knowingly as she got her desired effect.
“Aaand we’re done..” He said as he took her hand now, pulling her through the crowd of people who had started dancing along in couples around them by now. He smiled and nodded as they looked at them, and so did Lily beside him, both trying their hardest to be nonchalant as they wove their way to the end of the garden where they could have some privacy.
As soon as they were out of the sight of their guests, James promptly picked up Lily bridal style as she squeaked delightedly and automatically wrapped her arms around his neck. Her dress felt so soft beneath his touch, and it flowed behind them elegantly as he manoeuvred them towards the conservatory behind the Potter Manor. She cupped his cheek with one hand as she rained kisses on his face. His forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, cheek, and saved the lips for last as they finally reached the familiar structure, and they all but stumbled inside of it with their enthusiasm.
He put her down, his hands dangerously low at her waist and noses touching as he guided her till her back hit the wall. He could hear her sharp intake of breath as her hands pulled at his lapels, bringing him even closer to her.
“Now, about that arrangement..” He smiled seductively as he kissed her.
...
James was literally sleeping at the edge of the bed, that one mindless turn would send him tumbling down face-first onto the floor. This wasn’t really how he preferred sleeping, dangling on the edge, but right now seemed to be a very sensitive situation. He quieted, crooning to listen to the breathing behind him, trying to gauge whether they were slow and rhythmic of someone in a deep slumber or someone you didn’t want to trifle with lest you lose a body part.
Lily huffed violently, and he could sense her moving around, switching sides, trying to get comfortable in a position. She huffed again, and this time it came out almost as an irritated growl.
“Lils, if you huff once more, you might actually blow our house away,” James said, trying to bring a smile on his wife’s face, as he referred to one of the stories Lily had been really into the past couple of weeks. But all he got was a glare that he could feel through his entire body and another irritated growl.
“I can’t anymore, James!” Lily exclaimed suddenly, her voice quivering, “I just can’t anymore!” He could hear her tears now.
“You won’t hex me if I turn around, right?” James asked, wanting to comfort his wife but scared he might actually make her more irritable and uncomfortable. An hour into the night, Lily had woken up James with a violent shake that demanded that he migrate to the edge of the bed and turn around so as to not ‘breathe on me’. Apparently, even his breathing annoyed Lily now.
“No,” She sniffled. James turned around to see Lily had stripped down to the thinnest cotton blouse she could find that barely reached the starting of her thighs, owing to her now pretty swollen belly. Her face shone with little beads of sweat that lined her forehead and upper lips, her hair sticking to her face. She had tears in her eyes.
“Lils, how can I help? Please tell me. I can’t see you so uncomfortable,” James said, still not nearing anywhere near her. He did, however, extend his hand to wipe some of that hair away from her face and behind her ear in a gentle gesture.
“Ask Harry to come out now?” She said in a very small voice. Lily had truly enjoyed her first and second trimester, which flew by without any major symptoms. She had been relieved she hadn’t gotten the morning sickness that she dreading, but the third trimester was like a sudden unexpected thunderstorm in the middle of the sea. It wreaked havoc. Along with severe nausea, she had swollen feet, the need to pee every half hour, and had been getting hot flashes and night sweats almost every night now. She grew irritable with every passing day, and he guessed that tonight, the dam had burst.
“Are we really going with the name Harry?” James asked, trying to diffuse the situation with a little humor.
“We are certainly not going with Elvendork, James. The name has dork in it! Why do you hate our child?"
“Elvendork is a perfectly respectable name!”
“You really want him to grow up and hate us, don’t you?”
“A little trauma makes good stories later on in life,” James chuckled, and Lily glared at him again, clearly not impressed.
“Okay, okay, Harry it is,” He said, holding up his hands in defeat. He would agree with anything Lily said at this point, even if she said that the sky was purple and made of hedgehogs.
She fell back on the bed, holding her belly, and looked down. “Harry, why do you hate mummy?”
“He does not, he’s just too comfortable with you.” Lily smiled a little at that, but she was still sweating profusely. James really had to figure out how to get that air-con thing that Lily had been hounding him about. That machine scared James, no safe contraption ever made that kind of haunting noise, but if it's good enough for Lily, its good enough for him apparently.
“Okay, enough! C’mon, I’ve got an idea!” James said, suddenly, holding Lily’s hand and dragging her off the bed and out of the bedroom. He led her down the stairs and into the kitchen, and stood in front of the refrigerator. Lily looked confused, but when James opened the door and the cool air blasted out, Lily physically sighed a sigh of relief, and James sighed mentally. He really hated being helpless when Lily was miserable.
It was an hour later when they found themselves sitting on the kitchen floor, their backs to the open refrigerator, with Lily devouring a tub of vanilla ice cream and James trying with all his might not to shiver.
“Thank you for taking care of me these few months, I know I’ve been a nightmare to deal with some days,” Lily murmured into his shoulder.
“ Some days?!” James chuckled.
“I’m going to let that slide, Potter. Only because I’m enjoying this ice cream too much,” Lily said, scooping another spoon and James kissed her forehead in response. He was also twirling a picture of the two of them that James had plucked from the refrigerator door, from their Hogwarts days, in his hand.
“That was a nice night,” Lily remarked as she observed the picture, following his thoughts down the memory lane.
“It really was, wasn’t it,” He said, and smiled fondly.
“I think that was the night I started to fall in love with you,” Lily said, abandoning the now empty tub and resting her head on his shoulder.
“Really?” He asked, looking at her and Lily smiled at him.
“Mmm-hmm,” She nodded, “You looked so nice in your robes, I was mad at myself for finding you attractive.”
James laughed, as he pulled Lily closer. “Why, thank you, wife, for that late compliment.”
“And your dancing.” She said and looked down and rubbed her belly gently. "I really hope he inherits your dancing skills.”
“For his sake, I hope so too,” James said and Lily tossed a block of cheese from the refrigerator at his head that he casually dodged. “What? He has birds to impress with his skills.”
“There are other things besides dancing that us girls look at,”
“Yes, but that’s how you fell in love with me, so it's a family tradition now.”
“I did not.”
“You just said you did!” James exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. "It was the first civil conversation we’d had?”
“Yeah, it was a good night,” Lily repeated.
"I danced a lot that night, and ended up actually hurting my feet.” She chuckled.
James laughed as he recalled the events, which were a little fuzzy for himself too, thanks to Sirius’ never-ending Firewhiskey supply.
“I miss those carefree nights, where we just danced the night away,” Lily said, eyes glassing as she stroked her belly. He did too, even if he didn’t want to admit it. In all reality, he was terrified of the future, of the world they were bringing a baby in. He loved being married and being married to Lily, but some nights, he wished to go back to his Hogwarts life, where their biggest problem was their essays and exams. He remembered the nights of his final year, sitting around the fireplace with Lily, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary, just chatting and laughing, safe and protected within the walls of the castle. Remembering those nights made James' heartbreak, but there was no use of memories if we couldn’t cherish them later in life. Or recreate them, if possible.
James got up suddenly and held out a hand to Lily to get her up. She frowned and looked at him questioningly. “C’mon, let’s dance the night away while it's still the two of us.”
And at that, Lily smiled, that gorgeous smile of hers that reaches her eyes and makes it twinkle. James’ heart swelled at the sight, as he helped Lily get up slowly as she struggled a little. He turned her around, so that her back rested on his chest, their heads resting on each others’ and his arms around her belly, and they swayed left to right in the silence.
“But there’s no music,” Lily complained.
“Shhh..” James said, closing his eyes, and started humming a song.
“That is familiar,” Lily wondered, and he kept ongoing. James hummed the same song that was playing at the night of the ball where they danced for the very first time, the same song that they danced to on their wedding and the one that is now etched forever in his heart. He swayed with Lily in his arms, who was now smiling and let this beautiful and peaceful moment wash over him completely, as they danced around the kitchen slowly, in nothing but the refrigerator light.
...
10 points to Gryffindor if you find the reference to one of my favourite series.
Chapter 3: How To Hijack Dates
Sometimes you stop procrastinating when stuck in lockdown.
Sometimes you don't.
This is a result of the former.
Read it here on ao3.
...
Sirius Black had just spent a lovely afternoon with Mum Potter, helping her rearrange the books in the library downstairs. It could have been done easily with magic, or the many house elves that offered to help again and again, but Euphemia Potter was very possessive about this part of the Manor. She liked doing it by hand, putting the books back into their designated spot alphabetically by author name and loved finding old gems that she told Sirius very enthusiastically about. Mum Potter (yes, she insisted he call her Mum Potter for the very least) had put together a pile of books that she wanted to read for herself, and another for Sirius, declaring that a young wizard ought to read these books by the time they come of age. Sirius was now balancing a huge stack of books and taking them into his room when he saw James’ room door wide open and he peeked in. James was smoothening out a crisp black shirt, looking nervously at himself in the floor length mirror. Sirius’ curiosity piqued.
"Going somewhere?” He called out from the entrance of the room. James instantly turned around. He looked like he was about to throw up. "Do I look okay?"
"Yeah?” Sirius offered, from somewhere above the pile of books.
"Okay, good.” Looking somewhat satisfied, he turned around and picked up a black dinner jacket and shrugged it on.
"Where?”
"Emily's taking me out.” James said, now running a hand through his messy black curls, trying to tame them.
"Out?”
"Yeah, we're going to a fancy Muggle restaurant, somewhere in Leicester Square, I think. One of her favorites."
How You Get The Girl
Read it on AO3.
Chapter 2. How To Know If A Bloke Fancies You (Spoiler: Ask His Best Mate, He'll Snitch)
Lily,
I know.
Sirius
...
Sirius,
Stop being cryptic and tell me what you know.
Lily
...
Lilyflower,
Something that seemed to have happened on the last night of the term? *wink wink*
Sirius
...
Sirius,
He told you, didn't he?
Lily
...
Lils,
Uh huh he did. That is not the only thing I know.
Are you telling him or should I?
Ecstatic now the unthinkable has happened, Sirius
...
Sirius,
BLACK IF YOU TELL HIM, I SWEAR TO MERLIN AND DUMBLEDORE I WILL END YOU!
So now that you have figured it out, help out a poor soul, will you? Does he still, you know, fancy me?
Waiting impatiently, Lily
...
Lils,
Relax, Red. I'm not telling him.
I will help you, darling. After all, I am the godfather to your first child who you will so kindly name after me.
Sirius
...
Sirius,
Black, you delusional little git. I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF HE STILL FANCIES ME HOW ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT NAMES OF CHILDREN??
About to commit a homicide, Lily
PS. No child of mine will be named after you.
...
Lily,
Ofcourse, he does. He's fancied you for years.
Homicide is quite frowned upon in the society, darling, Sirius
PS You wound me. I'll be talking to James about it.
...
Sirius,
…he does?
Lily
...
Red,
A hundred percent sure he does.
Awaiting red haired babies with Quidditch abilities, Sirius
...
SIRIUS
THANKYOU. You put me out of my misery.
Ignoring the babies jab and prancing around, Lily
PS I should probably stop prancing lest I break my leg.
...
Red,
Keep dancing, but there might be just a teensy bit of a problem.
Sirius
PS I'll send James for your rescue if you do break something.
...
Black,
I’m sending hexes you’ve never heard of in the next letter if you don’t spit it out.
Lily
...
Lily,
He might have not EXACTLY said he still fancied you.
A toad would be highly preferable, I'll have you know, just in case. I hate cockroaches. Sirius
...
Sirius,
.
Lily
...
Lily,
I swear to Merlin’s pinkie I’ve never been frightened more by you.
Alright. He said he's moved on and didn't fancy you anymore.
Also, he might have said he's asking out Emily Cooper from Hufflepuff the week we get back. Might. I'll neither confirm nor deny that for the fear of red heads popping out from underneath my bed and hexing me while I sleep.
Sirius
...
Sirius,
HE'S ASKING OUT EMILY THE TART?!
Insulted, Lily
...
Lily,
Now, now Lilyflower, let's not disrespect others. They've already been on 3 dates this past summer and I'll have you know she's a completely fine bird. Blonde and blue eyed without any anger management issues.
Sirius
...
Sirius,
3 DATES? WHERE DID THAT INFORMATION GO WHEN I ASKED YOU WHETHER HE FANCIED ME OR NOT SIRIUS SODDING BLACK?!
Lily
...
Lils,
Told Isis to peck me, didn't you? She did, and since her temper quite matches yours, I'll have permanent scars from this ordeal.
Just tell him, would you?
Highly annoyed, Sirius
...
Sirius,
No, thank you, I'd rather not get rejected.
Lily
...
Lils,
Trust me, he does. He's just protecting himself from your rejection, it's not the other way round.
In any case, you have a week before September starts. Tick tock, Red, time is ticking. Tell him or you'll lose your only chance. Who knows? Maybe it'll be blond babies I'll be godfathering.
Sirius
...
Lily Evans sat on her desk, the book in her hand long forgotten, with her gaze locked onto the clouds rolling above the little town of Cokesworth. She loved sitting at her study, which had a perfect view of the countryside behind their little house, reading another classic or stargazing.
But today, she sat by the same window, her mind in a whirl, half of her heart hoping to see a grey feathered owl heading towards her house and the other half wanting to fling herself off the darn window and end it all.
Usually, when she was home for breaks, her window always had traffic from a certain female owl delivering colorful little letters and small, friendly chocolate treats from a bespectacled black haired boy she had come to adore. But this summer was a long, hard, dry spell, and Lily often found herself looking out the window with a sorrowed expression, waiting for something that apparently wasn't coming anytime soon.
The summer when she actually wanted to hear from him was when he decided he preferred the silence between them. And Lily was sure this silence would end in her booking herself a ward in psychiatric care at St Mungo's.
She was pulled back into reality when she heard a familiar pecking on her window. Looking up, a barn owl flew right outside her window, with a letter attached to its talons, looking expectedly at her with big brown eyes. She promptly opened the window, her heart sinking just a little and Odin, Marlene's majestic owl, flew in swiftly and landed in front of her.
"Hello there, Odin." Lily spoke, as the owl nibbled Lily's hand gently. She untied the letter attached quickly, stroking Odin's feathers as he cooed.
Lily Evans,
This is an intervention. If I receive another letter about you moping around, I'm going to set your flaming red hair on fire and I'm not kidding.
Meet me at the Leaky Cauldron tomorrow at 12pm sharp. Don't be late. There's something you need to know.
Marlene
"Marlene is such a bossy little thing, isn't she?" She asked Odin who hooted in response.
Lily sighed. She had no desire to go out, much less change out of her 3 day old pajamas. But she needed to complete her school shopping. And she was shocked at how low she let herself get. Sod him.
Hastily scribbling down an affirmative reply, she sent Odin on his way before going down to the kitchen to fix herself a bowl of ice cream.
...
The streets of Diagon Alley were bustling with last minute shoppers on this last weekend of August. September 1st was a mere few days away, and the excitement of a new year lingered in the air. As Lily wove through the crowd behind Marlene, ducking here and there from things flying overhead, she realised how much she loved to see Diagon Alley in its full dramatic flair. After 7 years, this magical world still hit her by surprise sometimes.
The pair made their way through the crowd to reach the entrance of The Leaky Couldron, a popular wizarding pub and inn.
"Ooh c'mon, or we'll be late.” Marlene exasperated, urging Lily to catch on with her quick. She was busy inhaling the sights of the street.
"Late for what?" Lily asked, confused, as she increased her pace.
Marlene didn't answer as she pushed the heavy door of The Leaky Cauldron open. The aged pub attracted both young and old alike after an exhausting day of shopping.
Scanning the crowd, she smiled at two guys sitting in one of the booths, nursing butterbeers with smirks plastered all over their faces as they spotted the girls.
Lily's heart stopped as she registered the familiar faces of the Marauders. No, no, no, no, no, no, her heart thumped in rhythm with her thoughts.
She pulled Marlene back by her clothes violently; she stumbled backwards into Lily but she paid no heave.
"You called the Marauders?!"
"Yes." Marlene answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Mar!" Lily exclaimed loudly. Her cheeks were boiling hot by this point, and the heat in the pub wasn't making things easier.
"Oh my god, you've got it bad." Marlene snickered, then stopped when she saw her best friend's vicious glare. "Don't worry, he's not here."
"He's not?" Lily's face visibly fell as Marlene shook her head.
"C'mon!" She tugged Lily along as they reached the booth.
"Hello boys!"
"McKinnon!" Both boys sang together.
"Red." Sirius said mockingly with a giant smirk.
“Hi Remus,” Lily said, completely disregarding the presence of Sirius Black.
Lily and Marlene sat in the booth opposite the boys as Peter came trodding, carefully trying to balance three butterbeers in his hands.
“For you, girls.” He said, as he put down the mugs.
“So, Marlene, ready for your last year on the pitch?” Sirius started the conversation.
“Oh, absolutely. I trained all summer. Need to leave Hogwarts with a bang,” Marlene replied, the excitement of a new quidditch season evident in her gleaming eyes.
The conversation drifted into the nitty-gritties of Quidditch, which Lily did not particularly understand. They discussed, nay argued, about Chudley Cannon’s new beater formation strategy, how the tragic fall of Harpies is going to affect the coming years of Quidditch World Cup and the incoming seeker of Puddlemere.
When the conversation finally died down after a good hour, Lily plucked the courage to finally ask, "Where's James?”
"A little too excited to see James, are we, Lils?" Remus smirked, giddy like a little kid.
"I thought I could expect some maturity from you, Remus."
"I'm still a Marauder, Lil.” Remus shrugged, lifting his mug to her.
"James is otherwise occupied." Sirius answered, as he gulped down the last of his butterbeer.
"What?!" Lily's head perked up at that, shock colouring her face. She looked like she was about to break down.
Remus, Sirius, Peter and Marlene promptly burst into laughter. Everyone in the pub paused to look at them howling with laughter for a moment, then turned around to their conversations.
“You were right, McKinnon, this was totally worth it,” Peter spat out between his laughs. Marlene gave him a high-five.
"My apologies, Evans," Sirius tried controlling himself under the murderous gaze of Lily, "By occupied I meant sneezing and coughing his bloody brains out."
"He's poorly?"
"Just a nasty flu. Courtesy of a thrilling game of Quidditch in the rain."
Lily nodded and shook her head, now embarrassed to have been caught red-handed, though her mind couldn’t help but wonder Quidditch in the rain, such a James thing to do. She really has got it bad.
"So, Lily, how do you plan to tell him?"
"Tell who what?"
"James."
"I'm not telling James anything."
“And why in Merlin’s pants not?”
“I don’t know."
“You have to tell him.”
“I don’t HAVE to tell him.”
“But why wouldn’t you?”
“Because-“ Lily tried, but her heart hurt thinking of James with Emily. Happy. She sighed, and shook her head, playing with her nails instead. Sirius, Remus, Peter and Marlene exchanged glances.
"Alright, I knew she wouldn't be convinced. You're as stubborn as James." Marlene said, shaking her head. "And that’s precisely why I brought you here." She turned to Sirius. "That's your queue."
Sirius nodded, and produced a piece of parchment from his robes and passed it to Lily. It was crumpled and then smoothened out. Surprised, she took it.
"What's this?"
"Just read it."
Lily opened the folded piece of parchment. There were just a few lines in a very familiar scrawl.
Lily,
I don't know how to start this letter, but it's high time we talked, shouldn't we? I know you must be mad at me, you should be really, because of what I did. And you know what? I'm not sorry I kissed you.
I've fancied you for a long time now, and truthfully speaking, I don't know remember a time when I didn't.
Just wanted to get that out of the way.
James
Or Potter, whatever you prefer.
"I don't understand, was I meant to read this or..?"
Sirius thought about it for a moment. "Yes, and no."
Lily raised an eyebrow in question.
"A few days ago, I found him in his room writing a letter to you. Well, trying is the key word here. The room was filled with half finished letters, some were just a pain to read, you know how cheesy James can get. Well, this one particularly piqued my interest, and I kept it. He burned the rest of them because I threatened I’ll send them all to you."
"What if he wrote I don't fancy you anymore Lily, it's best we just stay friends on the last letter he wrote?"
"But he still wrote this." Lily furrowed her brows and Sirius sighed. "He wouldn't have written this if he didn't fancy you. Doesn't matter what he wrote on the other, he wouldn't have been spending so much thought into what to write if he wasn't scared of hurting your feelings, or his own."
"I've never seen this insightful side of you, Sirius. I must say, it's rather frightening.” Remus remarked. Sirius grinned at Remus.
"He just doesn't want to be hurt again, Lil.”
Lily nodded, staring very hard at the parchment in her hand. She swallowed. There was silence for a moment as the group stared at Lily as she read the words on the parchment over and over again.
"So? What’s the verdict? Can we expect some Potter babies soon?" Remus asked.
Lily glared at him. "It's like there are two Sirius' now." She shook her head in disbelief but laughed in the end.
"So?"
"Lils?” Marlene urged.
Lily looked at each one of them. They looked so hopeful that she didn’t want to break their hearts by saying no. But more importantly, she didn’t want to break her own heart by not trying.
"James Potter wouldn't know what hit him." Lily stated and gave a small smile.
Marlene cheered and hugged her best friend. The Marauders’ grinned and cheered on. Remus pointed his wand to the ceiling and produced confetti while Sirius whistled. The bartender brought around another round of butterbeers.
“Here's for the future Potters.” Sirius took his mug and raised it in the air. Everyone else followed.
"To Lily and James!” Marlene and Remus piqued together, and they clinked their mugs together and drank.
"5 Galleons says James will shit his pants when he hears.” Peter added, and they all dissolved in laughter again.
Imagine an AU where Lily dies but James lives. Snape will be a dead man once James learns he technically was responsible for leaving him a widow and Harry without a mother
why does this hurt to even think about.