Chapter Eleven: Godric's Hollow
By Natali K. A.
Lily awoke stretched across the wide bed of the room James had reserved for them in that little God-forsaken little village in the middle of nowhere.
The warm feelings she'd had during the dream came back, and a satisfied little smile slid onto her lips. The dreams were back and they were better than ever.
Even though the romance she and James had shared was nothing like her little dreams-or escapes into fantasy as she liked to think of them-it made their relationship even better.
Though their relationship would probably be better if A)he screwed her already! B)he proposed to her and C)if she knew where he actually was at the moment.
"Up so early, Lily?" he asked, coming from the bathroom with just a towel around his waist. Lily had to fight back a groan as she watched a droplet of water slide its way down from his neck to his chest to his abdomen to his navel, where it disappeared into the dark hairs underneath.
"James. Put on some bloody clothes and get bloody dry unless you want me to jump on you and throw you onto this bed so I can have my naughty little way with you."
He stopped on his way to his bag for some clothes and grinned at her, cocking his head to the side. "Why, I'm tempted to let you. Maybe tonight, hmm?"
Lily raised an eyebrow, rising up onto her elbows to look at him better. "Are you serious or are you just joshing me? If you're just joshing me I'm going to be tempted into picking up a pair of scissors and snip-snipping off your shortest appendage."
But he seemed undeterred and only let his smile broaden as he turned and bent down to look through his clothes. She appreciated the view from her position on the bed and sighed dramatically.
Why was he torturing her??
"Get up if you're awake then. We've got a lot that I want to do today," James said, heading back for the bathroom. "And we've still got breakfast to eat before that."
"Prat," she murmured under her breath, throwing off the bed covers and heading sleepily in the direction of the bathroom to shower.
James chuckled to himself, toweling off his hair as he thought of what he would do that very day.
By that night, Lily would be his fiancé. Of that he was sure.
"James, could you bring me a towel? I forgot to grab one," Lily called from the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack.
Completely unsuspecting, he went to the closet where the towels were kept and took one. He walked, whistling, towards the bathroom. And so absorbed was he in his whistling that he didn't notice that Lily was standing in front of him stark naked until he made to open the door.
He rolled his eyes. "Lily, you're good." He walked forward so that his nearly naked body just barely touched hers. "But I'm better." With a cocky laugh, he hung the towel on her face and shut the door.
"ARGH!" she shrieked, tossing the towel to the floor. "You must think it's so bloody funny that I'm sexually frustrated, don't you?" she yelled to the other side. "Just be glad I love you so much because if I hadn't, I'd be at some other bloke's place right now, one who would give me some!"
His laughing only increased because he knew how very unlikely that was.
*~*
Hours later, on top of two of the horses that James had bought from the man at her parents' dinner party, they sat next to each other, looking out over the land.
"She's beautiful," Lily gushed for what seemed the twentieth time that day, patting her Arabian mare. "Now if we could just say her name right…"
"Mahraylees," James attempted, still unable to say the horse's name correctly. "Well damn it, can't we just rename her? So much simpler than attempting to teach my English tongue to roll that r."
Lily shrugged. "Seems rude. That's her name."
"Yes, what's your point? Name's are meant to be changed."
"Like when? Are you suddenly going to up and become Tim one day?"
James grimaced. "Heavens, no! I meant last names. Female last names anyway." His eyes passed over her once quickly before returning to survey the field before them. "My horse depresses me though."
Lily looked at him curiously. "Why? He's perfectly fine and his name is very pronounceable."
"He's a gelding."
Lily blinked a couple times. "Yeah. What about it?"
"Lost that which made him male. I feel sorry for him and it just makes me sad."
Lily burst out laughing, shaking her head. "I'm sure he's alright about it by now. You'll get used to it."
He nodded, not really paying attention. "This is a pretty place, isn't it?"
Thought she'd at first been reluctant to spend two days here-it seemed extremely boring-she had to admit that it was very relaxing and nice area.
James abruptly kicked his gelding into a walk. "Come on, I want to show you something. The whole reason that we came here."
Infinitely curious, Lily spurred her horse into moving and caught up with him.
They must have traveled for nearly an hour, sometimes cantering, before they reached the location James seemed to have been looking for.
About seven or eight minutes from the village on a cantering horse stood a two-story house atop a slight hill.
"Where are we?"
James raised his eyebrow, sitting back in the saddle and letting his shoulders slump. "Well, that would depend. If you like the house and we bought it, it would be our home. If it's not up to snuff and we walk away, then it's just a house on the outskirts of a muggle village in the middle of nowhere."
Lily found it hard to breathe, as she examined the house with new eyes. "Oh," was the only thing she could say.
He jumped off his horse and tethered him to a nearby tree, Lily's with him. Reaching up a hand, he helped her down and practically dragged her off toward the house.
The door had been left unlocked, as it was in no danger of getting anything robbed. Not that there was actually any furniture about…
"The owner's a man in London, friend of my father's," James began to explain. "He's had this house sitting around doing nothing for years now with a couple relatives coming to stay every now and then. He's offered to sell it to me for a good price, providing I promise him one thing."
"What's that?" Lily asked idly, eyes scanning every corner of the giant welcome hall.
He crept up behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. "To fill it up with children."
It was at that moment that Lily's heart truly sped up. "Oh?"
"I came here once, as a child. My parents had asked to borrow it for a couple weeks in the summer," James said, breath tickling her ear. "And do you know, I had a dream about it recently?" Removing an arm from around her, he gently pushed her in the direction of a door to the left. "Come see the banquet hall. It's just outstanding."
When Lily finally got a good look at the two-story tall banquet hall adorned with golden draperies and marble floor, she understood.
"Yes," she whispered, walking away from him and revolving slowly in a circle. "Vicky got married here, to Jonathan."
He nodded once, hands in his pockets. "She did. I wasn't sure you'd had the same dream."
"Ages ago, before I even knew Jonathan was a person on this planet," she mumbled, awestruck. "No part of my dreams have come true yet, James. Except for our dating."
"I can't say for certain whether they'll get married, here or not, but I do know one thing." He headed in her direction with clear intent. "But that dream wasn't a simple coincidence."
"But… I…" she sighed. "I didn't know you'd had it too."
"After yours had supposedly stopped. One night, it just popped into my head. And I knew. I think it was the night I first denied you sex," he snickered.
Lily humphed.
"Lily… Do you like it?"
She gave a short laugh. "It's not as if I can't. I mean… It's too big a coincidence, you're completely right."
"Then we can sign the papers?"
She smiled warmly at him. "You're going to fill this place up with children?"
"I'm not. We are." He paused, hesitating. Then he reached further into his pocket and came out with a ring. "Will you let me have that honor?"
Lily's smile grew to a toothy grin that could have lit up an entire room in the dead of night.
"Yes, I will."
*~*
"He what?!" Vicky shouted, sounding almost angry. Lily was puzzled, as Vicky had always seemed to be perfectly alright with James up to that point. "Tell me he didn't propose to you," her best mate begged over the phone, groaning dramatically.
"He did. Why?" Lily asked, alarmed. She continued throwing stuff into her trunk. James had gone to sign the papers for the house.
"Because Jonathan asked me!" Vicky cried out, screaming. Lily held the phone away from her ear, looking at it oddly. Vicky was always full of little surprises. "And I said yes, but it's just too disgusting for us to have gotten engaged on the same day, Lils! No, I'm going to Jonathan and telling him he needs to ask me in about a month, because I just can't deal with-"
"Are you out of your bloody mind?!" Lily gasped, ceasing her packing. "You've found the man you want to marry, he asked you, you said yes, and you're saying you want to break it off because I was asked on the same day? Vicky, you're bonkers!"
"Say whatever you'd like!" Vicky said stubbornly, shoving on shoes. "Jonathan will understand perfectly well."
Lily rolled her eyes. "When's the date?"
"Next year."
"Next year? You're going to wait that long?"
"His idea," Vicky sighed, frustration evident in her voice. "He says we haven't known each other long enough and that there's absolutely no rush. Honestly, I didn't put up much of a fight."
"What happened to staying single?"
Vicky glared at the telephone. "Fuck you, Lils. You knew I'd get married. Now go and meet up with your fiancé so I can break it off with mine. No one else need ever know. Later." She slammed down the receiver, Disapparating for Jonathan's.
On the other end, Lily was giggling, bewildered. Vicky was such a very complex person…
Her eyes strayed to the ring on her left hand for the hundredth time in the past thirty minutes. She couldn't wait to show it off. The Potters were well-known for their excellent jewels. James had not disappointed her.
So everything was great and happy. Now, if he would only just bang her already, it'd be doubly spectacular. She'd work on it. She was determined to win.
*~*
A/N: Short chapter, but I wanted to close it here, because… Well, the time has come.
The next chapter is the very last. Originally, this fic was supposed to for three, and it will have gone for twelve. While I loved writing it, I think I need to quit while I'm ahead-while I'm still updating on a somewhat regular basis. Point is, my fingers are running out of things to write and time's getting scarce. I don't want to turn this into one of those fics that never gets updated or that should have been finished ages ago.
I love what this fic has become, and I hope everyone truly has enjoyed it.
The reason it took me so long to come out with this chapter-where they finally get engaged-is because I just couldn't figure out how they should get engaged. I didn't want it overly corny, it had to do with the dream James had had without Vicky actually getting married, and… Just sweet. And romantic and different. I'm hoping I accomplished all my goals. Special thanks to my evil Cali twin Amanda who really did lend a helping hand with the horses. It was all her, those horses, though I think she'd had a different idea in mind, lol.
Otherwise, thanks for all the reviews and I do hope you'll review again so that A)I'll review on time next week and B)it'll boost my ego. Lol.
Much love,
NKA
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