The Marriage of Convenience

Jersey Princess

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance
Relationships: Lily & James
Book: Lily & James, Books 1 - 4
Published: 15/08/2005
Last Updated: 15/08/2005
Status: completed

1-shot. Lily and James hate each other. They always have. But then a love potion created by their friends goes wrong, and they end up doing something they’d never thought they’d ever do so early; let alone with each other. And to make it even worse, James discovers that he has more than friendly feelings for a certain hated girl…LJ HATE/HATE AU

Chapters

1. The Marriage of Convenience

1. The Marriage of Convenience

This was inspired by a story I'm writing for my AU series (now that everything has been DELETED that I previously wrote) called The Kid Machine. I thought that this particular part would work for a sort-of grown-up LJ.

Summary: Lily and James hate each other. They always have. But then a love potion created by their friends goes wrong, and they end up doing something they'd never thought they'd ever do so early; let alone with each other. And to make it even worse, James discovers that he has more than friendly feelings for a certain hated girl…LJ HATE/HATE AU

Disclaimer: I own the idea. I own the AU series. I own all the comments made in this. In fact, I own everything but JK's stuff. I'm not gaining money this way, but I might one day publish my AU series…

I hope you enjoy! R/R

---

The Marriage of Convenience

“Don't talk to me, don't look at me, and Merlin forbid you hit on me,” Lily barked.

James, listening impatiently, grimaced and pretended to vomit. “And why would I hit on you exactly? You're an ugly spiteful cow who's never had a boyfriend and you're more likely to hit on me.”

Lily scowled back and walked to one side of the Head Dorm that she shared with James, whilst he walked to the other.

In total there were three rooms; a bathroom, a sitting room, and a bedroom (Dumbledore couldn't be bothered with following the separate-rooms code for the Heads, obviously). The two were to be equal Heads and share their responsibilities. This meant organising dances (where they would be partnered together), patrolling (together), coming to meetings and organising them (together) and sharing all their secrets with each other—Dumbledore had insisted on this last one.

They hated the ideas and they hated each other.

Lily's friends Elisa and Monica had banded together with James's friends Remus and Sirius. The four of them had decided that they had to set the two of them up. They'd eventually agreed on a love potion to make them fall in love, and would wear off when they truly did love each other. They set to making it.

---

Three weeks later, the potion was poured into tumblers and taken to the Heads' Rooms by the House Elves. Lily and James had argued non-stop and separated their tasks out so they didn't have to communicate as much. They really needed to get together, in their friends' eyes.

Lily had been having a shower. James was in the sitting room, so she walked out in her towel and into the bedroom, where she found a drink waiting for her with a little House Elf sitting next to it. “Drink, Miss,” he told her. Lily drank.

The Elf disapparated and Lily sat on the bed as she became dizzy. James came in once she was sitting down and sat next to her. She fell into him and somehow something happened to them, and they found themselves kissing…even though they still hated each other.

Lust overcame hatred, and the next thing they knew was that they were in bed and there was something going on that nobody could ever call normal.

---

Lily woke up to feel someone's arms wrapped around her. She turned, and screamed.

Her scream woke James up. He was horrified to find himself in the same bed as a girl he hated. He turned briefly and was disgusted to find some frilly somethings on the floor. He picked them up and said, “What on earth are these?”

Lily looked and replied, “They're my knickers, you idiot.” Then her eyes widened as she realised what this meant. “Oh my gosh…” she whispered in horror. “I don't believe it.”

“What?” James asked with a snap, to which Lily yanked the covers off him in reply.

Understanding dawned on him when he noticed he was naked, and he moaned in irritation. “Don't tell me we…”

“I hope not,” Lily told him, no louder than a whisper. She slipped out of bed on her side and meekly asked for her knickers back.

James, sickened at the thought of what he'd done, also grabbed his boxers and pulled them on quickly. “We don't mention this to anyone, okay?”

Lily nodded in agreement and said hopefully, “Maybe we just slept in the same bed…” Both of them knew how unlikely this was, but neither of them mentioned this fact. They stood up, shook hands, and went over to their respective beds and finished getting dressed there.

---

Remus, Sirius, Elisa and Monica were sad to find that their love potion hadn't worked, even though Lily and James seemed to be ignoring each other rather than yelling, and were much more peaceable when they had to communicate.

Elisa went back to the book that they had used and looked up the page number. She read the title and then did a double-look as she realised what it said.

It wasn't a make love potion, it was a make love potion.

She coughed ungracefully and laughed a bit. “Poor Lily,” she said.

Monica poked her head around the door. “Why poor Lily?”

“Have you noticed anything different about her?”

“Yeah, she's being nice to James. Ish.”

“Anything else?” Elisa asked.

Monica thought for a moment. “Yeah,” she said. “She's getting fatter, her eating habits are weird—I mean, who wants Brussels sprouts for breakfast? —, and she always cries with misery; it's like she's never happy anymore.”

Elisa nodded. “I thought so. Look, I don't think Lily knows it, but I know why she's like that. You see…well, read the title of the page.”

Monica did, and she began laughing. Elisa joined in. “Poor Lily!” Monica said between laughs.

Remus came in through the door. “Why poor Lily?”

The girls cracked up again.

---

Lily looked at her stomach and cried. James walked in the room and frowned. It wasn't the first time he'd seen Lily like this, and she wouldn't tell him what was wrong. It really irritated him.

“That's it,” he yelled angrily. “You are going to tell me what's wrong right now. You are going to tell me why you've been throwing up in the mornings and why you're always crying and why you yell at your friends when they try to be nice. So tell me!”

Lily nodded. “I guess you deserve to know.”

“Well, go on then, Evans.”

“Potter…” she began quietly. “I'm…well…” She stopped.

“What?!” he asked, annoyed. “PMSing…on a bad diet…getting fat…what!?”

“Pregnant, James, I'm pregnant,” she replied softly.

James stopped his ranting and stared at her. “What?” he whispered.

“Pregnant,” she repeated louder. “And it's…” She shrugged.

“Is it mine?” he asked softly.

She looked up into his eyes, and whispered, “I'm sorry, James.”

James sat down on the sofa with a thud and stared ahead. “Oh Merlin.”

“My mother is going to be shocked,” Lily said. “She'll probably kick me out of the house or something. I'm not eighteen yet. Not until July.”

James nodded. “Me either. And my father will kill me. He's so old-fashioned.”

“What shall we do about the school and our friends?” Lily asked, suddenly terrified. “They'll realise, James, they will. They're not stupid. And how would I be able to stay at school when there's a baby growing inside me?”

Said like that, it made James feel sick. “I'm sorry,” he whispered. “If I could take back that evening, I would. I swear it.”

Lily shook her head. “I have a feeling that this baby will be good for me. I hope, at least.”

James nodded. “I hope,” he repeated.

---

During Lily's fifth month, James decided to talk to his friends about something.

“Moony, Padfoot,” he began. “I would like some advice.”

“On what?” Remus asked, interested. The two boys hadn't been told about Lily's pregnancy.

“There is a girl, a girl I really dislike. But lately my feelings have changed. I still hate her, but not as much and recent events have led me to do something else…”

“In plain language, Prongs,” Sirius told James.

“I…I had sex with Lily.”

Remus's eyes widened. “You…Merlin. But what do you need us for?”

“Lily's pregnant and it's all my fault!”

“Ah.”

“And there's something wrong. I hate her, but I find myself being gentler around her, and looking out for her, and stuff like that. And even though she's getting fatter I'm thinking that she's prettier than ever and I don't care that she's being cruel to me…I don't know what's wrong with me!”

Remus processed this information, and said, “I think, that now you've got her pregnant, you're starting to notice things about her that you never did before. I think you're beginning to fancy her.”

James bit his lip. “But I still hate her!”

“Ah, but do you really, Prongs?”

“Padfoot, not helping.”

“Of course it is! In fact, I think you're just in denial. Even more, I think you love her.”

James's eyes widened. “I…”

“In one word, how would you describe her physical description?”

James blushed and whispered, “Beautiful.”

“Personality?”

“Sweet.”

“Figure?”

“Perfect.”

“Do you want to kiss her?”

“Yes.”

“Is she sexy in your eyes?”

“Yes…”

“Do you want to shag her? Again?”

James winced, looked at his hands, and nodded.

“Do you want to have her with you forever?”

Another nod.

“Well the, the answer's simple,” Sirius told his friend. “Just ask her to marry you.”

James shook his head. “She hates me.”

Sirius shrugged. “She's carrying your baby, isn't she? Just say it's a marriage of convenience.”

James shrugged. “I could try. I'll have to ask Father first, though.”

“You may as well ask Dumbledore, too,” Remus put in.

“I suppose.” James nodded. “Thanks guys. You've been a lot of help.”

“You're going to ask Elisa and Monica, aren't you.”

James nodded. “You bet.”

---

The girls, who gave him similar information, were delighted at the outcome and explained to the boys why the potion didn't work. They were surprised, but pleased that they now knew why everything was going the way it was.

Meanwhile, Lily's and James's parents had insisted they get married.

Lily brought up the subject one day during her last month (Dumbledore had allowed her and James leave of school—nobody had told him so they were surprised that he knew). But first, she brought up some different information. “Hey, you know about this?” She pointed to her stomach, and James nodded. “I was just thinking that it's weird; my first time ever and I get pregnant.”

James looked slightly happier. “You lost your virginity to me?”

Lily nodded. “Who did you lose it to?”

James smiled softly and whispered, “Someone beautiful.”

“Care to elaborate?”

James shook his head and changed the subject. “What was in your letter?”

“Oh, yeah! Daddy says that I'm a little whore and I'm never living under his roof again. He says if you can get me pregnant you have to pay for the baby's things and everything.”

James nodded. “My father said the same. He says I should get a job to support you two.”

“Daddy also says we have to get married. He refuses to have a single mother for a daughter.”

This was the chance he'd been waiting for, and it was too good to miss. “So marry me.”

“What?” Lily asked, surprised. She'd expected him to fuss about it—she hadn't expected him to agree.

“Marry me.”

“I…no.”

“What?” he asked softly.

“No, I won't marry you. I'll defy my father. I'm not marrying someone who I don't love, who doesn't love me, just because of the baby we're having together. I'll prove I can cope on my own.”

James nodded. “Okay,” he whispered. His voice caught in his throat.

“You look upset,” Lily said thoughtfully. “But I mean, it's not like you wanted to marry me. You were just obeying my father's wish, right?”

“Right,” James whispered. “Look, I'm going to chat to my friends for a while…” He left the room, Lily watching his back in confusion.

---

Remus and Sirius were the only people in the Seventh Year Boys' Dorms when James entered. The boy staggered over to his old bed, burst into tears, and rushed into the bathroom where he locked the door.

Remus looked at Sirius, bewildered, and then hurried out and down to the Heads' Rooms. He knocked on the portrait when he got there. “Hey, Lily? It's Remus.”

The portrait swung open and he entered. “Do you know why James is crying?” he asked. “I've never seen him like this before.”

Lily shook her head. “He looked a bit upset when he left here about ten minutes ago. We'd just had a conversation about what was going on.”

“Can you tell me what you said? If it has anything to do with your pregnancy, I know—it's kind of obvious when you look at it, anyway.”

Lily nodded, and told him everything they said. When she'd finished, she said, “Did anything strike you as likely to have set him off?”

“Yeah,” Remus replied. He had a perplexed look on his face, and he was very worried. “I know exactly why he's crying.”

“Can you help him?”

Remus shook his head in reply. “You can,” he said. “After all, it's you he wants.”

Lily's eyes widened. “What do you mean?” she asked in a whisper.

“James is, and has been for a long while, in love with you,” Remus replied. “He didn't know it himself and that's why he's been so mean to you. So when he started realising, he came to Sirius and I and asked for what we thought. We deduced that he loved you, and so we suggested he marry you. For convenience, we decided to tell you. We always thought you'd agree; we never thought you'd refuse to marry him. I think he's heartbroken because you won't. And it probably doesn't help that he lost his virginity to you.”

Lily looked surprised. “He did what? But why didn't he tell me? For both things! He lied to me about losing his virginity to me, and about liking me! He should have told me!”

Remus shrugged. “Nobody knew until recently, least of all himself. Now, he's in our bathroom…”

Lily didn't need to be told twice. She stood up and hurried out of the room without another word.

---

Lily, who was now quite large and pregnant-looking, hurried through the halls and into the Gryffindor Tower. She then waddled up the stairs and into the boys' dorm. She nodded to Sirius and knocked on the door to the bathroom. “James,” she said softly. “James, come out. Please, James? For me?”

The door remained shut, so she tried again.

“For our baby?”

Still no movement. She knew what she had to do.

“Dammit James! Yes! I will bloody marry you!”

The door to the bathroom was thrown open and Lily was picked up and spun around in the same motion. Lily found herself being kissed repeatedly. She smiled gently against James's lips and began to kiss him back when she realised something. She pushed James away and wailed, “My waters have broken!”

Remus, who'd just arrived, yelled, “I'll get Madam Pomfrey!” and promptly left again.

Lily wriggled out of her knickers and threw them at James. James looked at the frilly things, confused, and then dropped them to rush to his fiancée, who was lying on James's old bed and grabbing the post as she screamed.

“Dammit,” James said. “Contractions.”

Elisa and Monica hurried in the room. “Lily, don't worry. Calm,” they told her. “James, hold her hand.”

James obediently did as he was told and was subject to nails gripping him so tightly that they cut into his skin and made him bleed.

Madam Pomfrey entered then. “All of you leave but for the father,” she said. They obeyed her, and James was left holding Lily's hand. Madam Pomfrey looked at James, amused. “Who would have thought it'd be you. You used to hate each other. Congratulations, though.”

Lily screamed again, and Madam Pomfrey turned to her and began whispering soothing things. “Now, push,” she told the girl.

Lily pushed, and eventually Madam Pomfrey had a baby in her arms. “It's a boy,” she said gently. She cut the cord attaching him to his mother and wrapped him in a towel from the bathroom.

Lily screamed again, and they realised that there was another one. James, who looked at the little boy with a smile on his face, turned and smiled gently at Lily.

The second baby was a girl. Both babies had blue eyes (babies always have different colour eyes when they're born; they change overnight. In this case, both children got their mother's green eyes) and had tufty black hair.

Lily looked at her two children and beamed. “The little boy can be Harry.”

“That's my middle name,” James said. “Harold.”

Lily nodded. “That's why we're calling him that. Now, you name your daughter. Just please don't call her Marie.”

“She looks beautiful,” he said softly.

“Bella? Isabelle?”

James shook his head. “Jasmine. It means grace, and she certainly looks graceful.”

Lily kissed the foreheads of her children and said, “Harry and Jasmine Potter. Perfect.”

---

On the 30th of June, Professor Dumbledore married Lily Marie Evans to James Harold Potter. The best man was Remus Lupin and the chief bridesmaid was Elisa Motley (the others being Monica and Evelyn Potter—James's little sister). The godparents became Sirius Black and Monica Firth.

During the toasts, the four adults related the story of the potion to everyone (the newlyweds had only just previously been told). Everyone found it hilarious, and was very proud.

Lily's and James's parents had come to the wedding expecting it to be a wedding of convenience, and were surprised to find how much the bride and groom loved each other. The parents became good friends from that event.

Sirius signed off from his toast with, “To the bride and groom; Lily and James Potter. We hope your Wedding of Convenience went as unplanned and we hope your parents are pleased with the outcome. We love you guys and your twins are beautiful! To Lily and James, their Convenient Marriage, and Harry and Jasmine—to whom all this would not be possible without. Congratulations!”

Everyone applauded and someone threw a basketful of petals over the couple. It was, truly, a beautiful wedding.

THE END

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So, what do you think? I hope you enjoyed it! I wrote this when I was in France…I hope you like that!

Love,

x Kirstie x

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