Chapter 11: When You Say Nothing At All
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Whenever dawn turns to night
And all the dreams sing their song
In the daylight forever,
To You I Belong.
-To You I Belong by B*Witched
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"You're insane, Prongs."
"Why's that, just because I love Lily?"
"Part of it, but partly because you want to propose again."
"What's wrong with proposing?"
"You've only been going out for a month, remember what happened the last time? Do you want her to leave again?"
"Of course not, what the hell kind of a question is that?"
"I'm just saying, don't rush into this, the last time you did, she left and broke your heart."
"But even though we've only been going out a month, I feel like it's been for years, like we were just apart for a little while. I love her, Padfoot, and I want to be with her, I want to have a family and grow old with her." James paced the floor in the living room of Sirius' house, while his best friend sat in his chair, watching him go back and forth, occasionally reading a few words in the paper.
"Just don't rush into it yet, you may feel like you've been together for years, but she may not. You might scare her." James nodded, he hadn't really thought of it from that point of view.
"Just give it some time. She's going back to America for two weeks to get everything in order back there. Bring up the subject, casually, don't just ask her on the spot. Ask her whether or not it's too soon to be thinking about engagements, and if it is, then ask how long it'd be before she'd consider it, or something like that. But do it right." James nodded.
"When did you get so smart about this, Padfoot? You've never had a relationship that's lasted longer than three weeks."
"I'm just smart that's all," Sirius said, flashing a conceited smile.
"Ok, stop with the lies now."
"Hey, I am smart." James snorted.
"If you're smart, Padfoot my friend, then pigs fly."
"Pigs have been known to fly every once in a while."
"By themselves?"
"Maybe, you never know." James laughed. Sirius said,
"Well, go help your other half pack, and don't scare her."
"I won't." With that, James disapparated with a `pop'.
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When James found Lily, she was upstairs in her room, her back to the door, folding a shirt, singing to her muggle CD player. Her hips swayed with the music, and her beautiful voice sang the lyrics along with the singer on the CD.
"The smile on your face lets me know that you need me
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me whenever I fall
You say it best, when you say nothing at all."
James came up behind her and hugged her from behind, making her jump. She turned around and playfully smacked him in the chest.
"Don't sneak up on me like that."
"Well, then, maybe I'll leave, and leave you to packing all by yourself." He took his arms from her waist and turned to leave. Lily grabbed his arm.
"No, no, you can stay."
"Ok, good." He looked at Lily's progress, and noticed she wasn't getting very far.
"You do know with just a flick of the wand this could all be done in two seconds."
"I know, but I'm just taking my time."
"Why?"
"Because I have nothing to do after I pack."
"Well, I want to talk to you."
"Ok then." She took out her wand, and with a swish and a flick, her suitcase was packed. She faced her boyfriend and said,
"Ok, that's done, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"Want to go for a walk?" Lily shrugged.
"Sure." They went outside and started off down the street. They were silent for a while, until Lily, getting slightly impatient, said,
"Are you going to tell me what you wanted to say, or are you going to make me wait all day?"
"I had it all planned out in my head what I was going to say, and now I can't remember it." They were silent again; the only sound was of their feet on the sidewalk. Then James stopped walking and finally said,
"Ok, Lils, where do you think we are?" Lily stopped walking too. Lily looked down the street and said sarcastically,
"Um…about five blocks from Remus's house." James raised an eyebrow in annoyance. He said,
"Ok, smart ass." Lily smiled and said,
"What do you mean then?"
"In our…relationship." James said, finally settling on the right word. Lily smiled.
"This is odd, usually it's the girl that asks these kinds of questions."
"Seriously, where do you think we are?"
"I don't know, where do you think we are?"
"I feel as though we've been together for years, that those two years we weren't together were just two weeks of time apart from each other, like we will be when you leave. So, having said that, would it be too soon to consider getting married?" Lily opened her mouth to speak, a shocked look on her face.
"Now, I'm not asking you to marry me now, I'm saying that is it too soon for an engagement. And if is, then I…" James didn't know what to say, the look on Lily's face made him stop talking. After a while of silence, Lily wetted her lips and said,
"We've only been going out for a month, James."
"I know, but it feels like it's been for years. Even if you do say yes, it'd be a while before we'd get married if you want."
"James, you did this to me two years ago, why are you doing it again?"
"You already said you were coming back, this time it's not like I'd be keeping you from going places."
"Yes, but…"
"Lils, I've spent the last two years wishing you were still here. I've hated myself for letting you go. You told me that since we weren't engaged that I would be able to meet other girls outside of school. Well, I've gone out with other girls over the years, but none of them came close to you. I love you, Lily, and I don't want to be without you. I want to have a family with you, and grow old together." By the time James stopped talking, Lily had tears running down her cheeks. James wiped her tears away and took her hands in his.
"You're the witch I'm supposed to be with, it just fits."
"Give me some time to think, James. I'm going to New York, I'm going to take care of things there, and I'll come back. And I'll give you my answer." She pulled away from James and went back to Remus' house.
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At the airport two hours later, Lily stood with her carry on bag in hand at the terminal gate. Sirius and Remus came along to say goodbye. It didn't surprise Lily that James didn't come, she hadn't wanted him to come, she didn't want to say goodbye to him. She thought a little about what he said, and couldn't believe that she was loved that much by someone. The woman on the intercom made the last call for the flight from London to New York City. Lily hugged both Sirius and Remus.
"Come back soon Lils. Prongs'll get lonely without you." Lily smiled.
"I'll be back in two weeks, Sirius, so he won't be lonely for long."
"You better come back in two weeks. Or I'll come over there and drag you back home if I have to, cuz' we'll all miss you too much." Lily laughed, and gave Sirius one last hug. She gave Remus one last hug too, and he said,
"Come home soon. We'll miss ya."
"I'll miss you all too." She gave the lady at the desk her ticket, and went through the terminal.
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"Ally? Ally, you home?" Ally came from the kitchen to see who it was.
"Lily! You're home!" She gave her roommate a hug.
"For a little while."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm moving back home to England."
"You're leaving? Why?"
"It's just where I belong."
"How was your friend's funeral?"
"It was really nice. I spoke a few words about her, as did all my other friends from school."
"What did you say her name was again?"
"Isabelle Portman."
"Oh yeah. So, any hot guys over there in England?"
"Yeah, actually, I'm going out with one."
"Really? Finally you go out with someone."
"Yeah, you could kind of call him my high school sweetheart, we went out for almost a year when we were in school."
"Ok, tell me about him."
"What do you want to know about him?"
"Well, his name, what he's like, if he's hot, what does he do…you know, all that stuff."
"His name is James, he's one of the sweetest guys I've ever met, he's hot, and he…" She trailed off, she couldn't tell Ally what James' job was.
"He's in law enforcement." Lily said uneasily.
"Ooh, interesting. So what did you come back here for then?"
"I came to get the rest of my stuff, and quit my job, and say goodbye."
"I can't believe you're going to leave, we've been living together for two years, Lily."
"I know, but I want to be in England."
"What, are you marrying this guy, is that why you're moving back?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"He asked me, and I don't know."
"Already? Oh my gosh."
"Yeah. He asked me before I left, and that was one of the reasons I came here." Lily went into the long story of her relationship with James, and when she finished, Ally said,
"I think you should marry him."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he sounds like a good guy, who loves you sincerely. I wouldn't give him up; don't let him go, Lils."
"I told him I'd think about it."
"Ok, but seriously, he sounds like one to keep."
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A/n: Here's another chapter for you all, hope you enjoy. You know, I think I start every author's note at the end of the chapter with that sentence, every single time. Oh well. Lol. Anyways, thank you all who reviewed; keep it up!!!!
P.S. The part of the song that I used is When You Say Nothing at All by Alison Krouss.
Husker-fan-2006
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