Heading the School

Chapter Twenty-Two

With the NEWTs approaching, Easter seemed like another time to cram for their impending exams. However, when Lily approached James with the idea of spending Easter with her family, he decided that he could get studying done just as well at her house than at Hogwarts. Which was why he enthusiastically boarded the train with all of the ten other people who were also spending their Easters with their families.

Which also meant that James and Lily had the prefects cabin all to themselves. Which had nice dark curtains and sound-proofing.

"Lily, darling, you look happy," Mrs. Evans beamed greeting them as they exited the train. "And you, too, James!"

"I'm just so happy to be home," Lily exclaimed. "Where's Oliver?"

"Oh, he's getting ready for his game," Mrs. Evans beamed. "He wants you two to come watch, if we can get there soon enough."

"What game?" James asked, taking Lily's hand as they walked through the train station.

"Football game," Mrs. Evans said, as they walked. "Oliver's been on the bench all year, poor dear is so tiny."

"But he's gotten better, hasn't he mum?" Lily asked. "They haven't benched him the entire game have they?"

James snorted. "See, the boy's not fit on the ground, he's a natural in the air-"

"Hush, James," Lily said.

"Well, the coach has been playing him as early as the beginning of the second half now," Mrs. Evans said. "But now that they're in the post-season, I don't think that he's going to be playing at all."

"Why aren't they playing him?" James asked, looking over Lily's head to her mother.

"Because he's not the...most coordinated thing on two legs," Mrs. Evans said, delicately. "And he's very small."

"Well, that's why he'd make an excellent Seeker!" James exclaimed as they climbed into the car. Lily reached over to buckle his seatbelt and give him a kiss on the cheek before going to sit in the front seat with her mother.

"So how is school going?" Mrs. Evans asked.

"School is...going still. Did I tell you that myself and one other person were the only people in class to successfully heal?"

"Lily! That's brilliant!" Mrs. Evans beamed. James scoffed in the back. "Something bugging you, James?"

"Oh, don't mind him. For once in his life he didn't get something on the first try," Lily turned around and gave him a sly look.

"I'll get it...eventually," James frowned.

"Poor dear," Mrs. Evans tutted.

"He took it as a personal insult that he couldn't even heal a cut," Lily giggled. James glared at her from the back.

"I did not."

She reached behind him and grabbed his hand. "You aren't completely hopeless, you know."

"I hope not," James winked at her. She gave him a sly look out of the corner of her eye and turned around. Mrs. Evans said nothing, but looked a bit nervous.

As it happened, they arrived at the game just as it ended. Oliver was still sitting on the bench, bored out of his mind. When he saw Lily and James, he immediately cheered up and ran over to see them, talking a mile a minute. He grabbed James by the hand and introduced him to all of his teammates.

"Lily, let's go sit for a while, hm?" Mrs. Evans asked, giving her a small smile. Lily nodded and walked with her to sit in the bleachers. Lily's eyes never left James, who was currently being introduced to Oliver's coach. Lily had a sneaky suspicion that James was trying to convince the coach to let Oliver play more often.

"Lily, I'm...you know I think James is a sweet boy, don't you?" Mrs. Evans said, suddenly.

"Yes," Lily said, tearing her eyes away from James.

"And I can tell that he cares for you deeply," Mrs. Evans smiled.

"He loves me," Lily said, quietly.

"Well, Lily, I want to remind you that you're only seventeen."

"Mum, I know that," Lily grinned. "But it's...different with him-"

"Lily, how do you know different when you've never even tested the waters? What you could be feeling you could find with some other boy-"

"Are you telling me to break up with him?" Lily asked, whipping her head around to stare at her mother.

"No, no, Darling," Mrs. Evans soothed. "I do hope that things go well with James. I'm just...I don't want to see you settle because you think you're in love with the first boy you ever...well..."

"Ever what?" Lily asked.

Mrs. Evans gave her a knowing look. "I see the way your eyes sparkle Lily. I was young once."

Lily blinked at her. "You think James and I are having sex?"

She faltered a bit. "You mean, you haven't yet?"

"No Mum," Lily shook her head, blushing slightly.

"Oh.... will you?"

"Muuum!!"

"Lily, dear, I don't want any accidents. I want you to use protection, if you happen to start. Do you want to go on the pill?"

"Mum, please," Lily giggled. "I know what to use."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she laughed again. "And...I want you to know that James does love me. I know that you might not believe it, but I do."

"I do believe you, Lily," Mrs. Evans nodded. "I just didn't want you to get your hopes up when you two break it off."

"I hope we don't," Lily grinned. "He's so....perfect sometimes."

"Well, that's a change from a few years ago when you were complaining about how he was such a ‘prat,' you called him, wasn't it?"

Lily grinned. "I can't believe how much he's changed. I can't see myself without him anymore."

"Are you sure he's the one who changed?" Mrs. Evans asked. "Perhaps you just learned to see a different side of him?"

Lily sat for a moment, watching James (who had left the coach in a huff) on his knee talking to Oliver about something. He was shooting evil looks at the coach and Lily could see him mouthing the words ‘Seeker' and ‘World famous.'

"He's been trying so hard to make this work," Lily started, slowly. "I feel so bad sometimes, and I wonder if maybe he's putting forth all the effort and I'm just trying to make it difficult for him."

"And he probably thinks that you're putting forth all the effort," Mrs. Evans smiled. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"No, I should, shouldn't I?"

"The key to making any relationship last is communication," Mrs. Evans nodded. "That's how your father and I have stayed sane all these years."

"If I don't find it with James, I want to find someone like Dad," Lily sighed. She looked at her mother sideways. "But I really hope that someone is James."

"I'm sure Oliver wouldn't have any objections if you two were to get married," Mrs. Evans beamed.

"Mum...do you think Oliver's a wizard, too?"

She sighed, but didn't respond. Lily followed her gaze out to where James and Oliver were still talking.

"I feel...very bad for Petunia sometimes," she said, quietly.

Lily nodded. If Oliver was a wizard, it would give Petunia a reason to be an even more horrible person. Lily wished that her sister could just be happy, but had a suspicion that as long as Lily remained a witch, her sister would remain jealous.

The first evening, James had enlarged Oliver's playroom (Petunia's old room) to the size of a Quidditch field and was showing Mr. Evans the basics of the sport. Lily and Mrs. Evans had another nice talk while they did the dishes after dinner together (the Muggle way, as it leant for better conversation), and then joined them in the room. Lily, getting to be the Quidditch fan because of James, could see that her brother was a natural on the broom.

The next day, Mr. Evans invited James to go to work with him. At breakfast, James was a bit nervous, even though he'd always gotten along with Mr. Evans fabulously. Lily picked up on this and, since the word of the week was ‘communication,' she decided to talk to him about it as they were brushing their teeth.

"James," she said, mouth full of suds. "We need to tawk."

"‘Bout wha?" he asked, scrubbing his teeth.

"Aw you ok?" she said, getting her back teeth.

"Yeah, I'm fiwne," he grinned and brushed his front teeth.

"You seem a bit newous," she asked, spitting into the sink.

"‘Bout wha?" he followed suit.

"About going out with my dad," she said, taking a cup and filling it up with water.

"Well, it's...your dad," he said, leaning against the sink. "I don't know."

"You don't need to be nervous," she assured him, handing him the cup of water. He took it and drank, washing out his mouth and then spitting in the sink. Lily took the half-drunk class from him and drank the rest of the glass, spitting into the sink as well. When she got up, he was wiping his mouth with the towel.

"I guess it's just father-boyfriend jitters," he sighed.

"He likes you, James," she smiled. "More than Vernon, at least."

"What if I was Vernon? What if one day I become fat and ugly? Will you still love me?" he grinned. Lily thought about it.

"No, I'd date Remus, instead," she teased. He glared at her for a second and then grabbed her by the waist, pressing the towel against her mouth. She squeaked and tried to wriggle out of his grasp, as he rubbed her face with the towel.

"Remus, give me a break," James muttered, throwing the towel on the ground and dragging her out of the bathroom.

After a very quiet ride to the auto shop, Lily's dad began the day by instructing James on the function and parts of a car. James knew a bit about them, from having taken Muggle Studies a few years before. But he was quiet and let Mr. Evans explain to him, trying to keep complete attentiveness so as to make a good impression.

As they both leaned over the engine, Mr. Evans suddenly switched subjects to the subject that James was dreading.

"You really make Lily happy, James," he said, suddenly.

"I...I try, sir," James nodded, playing with the oil gauge.

"That's good to hear. You spent a lot of money on that necklace of hers."

"Well, she means a lot to me," James said, quietly.

"I was young once, James, and I know that kids...do things. But I want to impress upon you that Lily has a future in front of her, and I don't want anything to get in the way of it-"

"Sir, I have every intention of supporting Lily in whatever she wants to do," James said, earnestly.

"I know you do, James, but things...happen when one doesn't take precautions."

"You mean like....she gets pregnant or something?" James asked.

"Yes, James. I...I know that she's almost an adult, and that she can make her own decisions, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be careful-"

"Mr. Evans, we haven't....yet."

"You haven't?" Mr. Evans asked, his head whipping around.

"No, sir," James shook his head. Even though he'd expected this conversation, it still felt awkward. He decided to throw in some butt-kissing while he was at it. "And it's her decision, and I respect that."

"That's very mature of you James," Mr. Evans was obviously impressed. James inwardly grinned. He still had it. Sirius would be proud.

"So, James, given any thought to your future?" Mr. Evans asked. "How you're going to support that family?" v"Yes," James nodded, a bit uncomfortable on the subject. "Lily and I, we're both in training right now."

"Oh yes, now I remember her training this summer," Mr. Evans nodded. "What sort of job is it? She was very vague on the subject."

"Lily hasn't told you about this?" James said. "We're both training to be Aurors."

"What is that?" Mr. Evans asked.

"Well, there are many facets of Aurors. Some stay behind and gather reconnaissance, others go out to duel-"

"Duel?" Mr. Evans asked, looking up. "What do you mean duel?"

"You know, like pull out the wand and try to hex the other person into submission," James said, nonchalantly.

"And how often do you hex people, so-to-speak?"

"Well, right now, there's this bugger, Voldemort, who's trying to off all people who aren't pure- blood-"

"What's that?"

"Oh, you know, witches and wizards that have intermarried with muggles, or muggle-borns, like Lily. A lot of wizards think that those kinds of people shouldn't learn magic, which is toss, and these people have taken it to an extreme. Like this guy, he's got a whole bunch of pure-blooded idiots who are trying to kill all of the people they deem unfit to do magic..." James trailed off and felt like kicking himself. The way Mr. Evans' eyes bulged when he said ‘killed'...obviously, Lily had not explained the concept of Aurors to her family.

"Lily, Holly, we need to talk," Mr. Evans announced. "Oliver, go take your bath."

"What for, Dad?" Lily asked, looking over to James. He had been acting strangely all evening, avoiding her eye and picking nervously at his food.

"James, you need to stay too. Oliver, upstairs," he said, in a quiet voice that asked for no conflict. Oliver nodded, glumly and climbed the stairs to his bed.

"Let's go into the living room, then," Mrs. Evans said, worried.

‘What happened?' Lily mouthed to James after her parents had left the room. He gave her a weak smile.

"Sit down," Mr. Evans said, puffing on his pipe and leaning against the fire. Mrs. Evans had pulled out her knitting and was looking from her husband to her daughter worriedly. James was making himself scarce by being silent on the couch.

"Lily, we need to talk about your career choice," he said, quietly. "And a few other things, as well."

Lily's head whirled around to James, who winced.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her temper growing.

"Lily, you're going to get yourself killed doing that Auror stuff!" he exclaimed. "James told me-"

"James!!!" Lily exclaimed. He cringed on the couch, praying that it would be over soon.

"What is this all about?" Mrs. Evans asked, putting down her knitting.

"Tell your mother what you're training for, Lily Shea," Mr. Evans said. James slid down in his seat and was looking around, hoping to get out as soon as he could.

"I..." She was at a loss for words.

"Or how about you tell us why you decided to put yourself in such a precarious position? Or explain to us why you told us that ‘Mudblood' is a joking term?" He continued to ask, with a pressing urgency that was the thin shield to the temper that Lily was known for.

James looked over to Lily and his heart began to hurt. She was in tears. He wanted to reach over and take her hand, but he wasn't sure if she was in any mood to accept any of his love at the moment.

"Richard! Calm down," Mrs. Evans said, all knitting aside.

"Holly, don't tell me to calm down!" Mr. Evans said, his voice raising. Tears were now running down Lily's face.

"Daddy, I didn't tell you because I knew you'd get mad!" she exclaimed before running upstairs. Suddenly James was the only one on the couch, but neither parent noticed him.

"What is that all about?" Mrs. Evans said, standing up to face her husband.

"That is all about your daughter becoming a target for other wizards who want to kill her!"

"Richard, you're over-reacting," Mrs. Evans shook her head.

"I am not, James told me. He said she's already been in two battles, Holly, she's going to get herself killed!"

"I'm sure it's....it's not as bad as all that," Mrs. Evans said.

"Why don't you walk upstairs and ask your daughter then?" Mr. Evans pointed up the stairs. Mrs. Evans stepped closer to her husband and the two began a heated argument. James took this opportunity to slip off the couch and up the stairs.

Inside Lily's room, he heard her sniffling, but not sobbing, so he knocked on the door.

"What?" she asked, her voice thick.

"Can I come in?" he asked, quietly.

"Why? Are you going to tell my mum and dad that I wouldn't let you in?" she hissed.

"Lily," James said, putting his finger tips on the door and looking at them. "I didn't know that you hadn't told your parents yet. He asked...so I told him."

The door opened and Lily looked at him, tear-stained cheeks and all. She would not open it anymore to allow him inside.

"Well that was awful dumb of you, now wasn't it?"

"Don't blame this on me," James frowned. "You should have told your parents."

"Don't tell me what I should and shouldn't do!" Lily exclaimed.

"Stop yelling at me, then," James folded his arms over his chest.

"I'm not yelling," Lily glared at him. "I'm mad."

"This isn't my fault," James said.

"So you're saying its my fault?" Lily asked.

"You're saying it's my fault that you never told your parents?"

"I'm saying it's your fault that you told them!"

"So what were you going to tell them when you ended up dead in battle, hm?"

"I'm not going to die in battle," Lily frowned.

"You're a walking target, Lily!" James exclaimed.

"Stop yelling at me!"

"You yelled first!"

"It's your fault!"

"Merlin!" James exclaimed leaving her by the door.

"Where are you going?" Lily cried.

"I'm going back to Hogwarts, you're unreasonable right now," James muttered, shutting the door behind him.

"Fine then!" Lily cried, slamming her own door. The door opened again. "How are you going to get there?" she yelled.

James appeared with his suitcase and passed by her. "I'm going to Apparate to Hogsmeade and walk, like I always do."

"Fine!" Lily cried, slamming the door again.