Ch. 1 Unexpected Announcements
"Unlike are we, unlike, O princely Heart!
Unlike our uses and our destinies.
Our ministering two angels look surprise
On one another, as they srike athwart
Their wings in passing."- Elizabeth Barnett Browning
A/N A story I came up with while watching Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty on a very hot, hot day:
James Harold Godfrey Potter-The only child of Lord Godfrey James Harold Potter and Lady Viviane Constance Potter. They reside at Hilsenvand Manor in southern England.
Lillian Rosemarie Evans- The second daughter of Lord Christopher Maxwell Evans and Lady Sophia Kathleen Evans. Older sister, Petunia Elisabeth Evans, recently married her boyfriend, Vernon Dursley. They reside at Bunsweight Manor in northern England.
"Why do you have to leave this weekend?" Olivia Davenport asked her boyfriend of eight months.
James Potter wrapped his arms around his girlfriend. He gently placed his hand under her chin and tilted her head so that she was staring into his eyes. "Sorry babe, but I don't have much of a choice. Mum's having another social gathering."
Olivia pouted and grabbed the front of his jacket, pulling him even closer to her. James began to squirm a little. Olivia was one of those girls that made his hormones go haywire, and being this close to her made him want to...well, lets just say it wouldn't be deemed school appropriate.
Olivia brushed her lips against his. "Can I not go?"
James shook his head. "I wish you could babe, but mum says no guests. Even Sirius isn't allowed to come."
Olivia whimpered. "But this weekend's Hogsmeade James..."
James groaned inwardly. He wished Olivia would stop whining and start snogging him instead. "Listen Olive, I'll make it up to you. Next weekend can just be you and me. No Marauders, no nothing."
Olivia's chocolate brown eyes seemed to perk up some at his suggestion. "You promise?"
He grinned. "I promise."
She smiled and leaned in. He caught her lips and slowly kissed her.
The kiss started out gentle, but their raging hormones made it more intense. Forgetting that they were in a school hallway, James pressed Olivia against the wall and continued snogging her. James heard her let out a muffled moan as he let his hands wonder underneath her blouse. He vaguely thought he heard someone call out his name, but his vision was blurred and his mind was a bit foggy at the moment. Olivia seductively ran her hands over his chest. For a second, James thought that maybe this was a bit too intense for a school hallway, but the thought lasted only for a second.
"Potter!"
James squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he hadn't heard her voice. But he had. He heard it loud and clear.
James broke apart from Olivia and turned around to face Lily Evans. Lily Evans. The girl James Potter could never escape. No matter where he went or what he did, she was always around breathing down his neck.
Even on holidays he couldn't escape her. Christmas Eve, the Evans' family was always present at the Potters' Christmas party. James, in turn, was forced to attend the Evans' annual New Years Eve bash. During the summer, Lily always spent two weeks with the Potters in the South of England. Then, he would have to spend two weeks at Lily's house in Northern England. Birthdays, anniverseries, social gatherings, you name it, she was there. And here she was now, standing in front of him critically.
Lily stood in front of them wearing a slimming, but tasteful black dress that hit just above her knees. Her hair was long and wavy, and fell delicately over her shoulders. Surprised that it was even possible, her hair was even more red and vibrant against the black material. James thought she looked beautiful, but he was kind of annoyed with her at the moment which was kind of a turn-off.
"What Evans?" he asked annoyed. Couldn't she see that he was busy?
She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head slightly in the air. James groaned inwardly, he knew this stance. It was her I'm-getting-ready-to-boss-you stance. It was one she used quite frequently when communicating with either him or Sirius.
"The train leaves soon. Meet me by the fountain in one minute, or I'm leaving your sorry ass behind." Without waiting for his response, she grabbed her suitcase and stormed off.
James rolled his eyes. He was so used to Lily's bossiness that he knew how to deal with her. In fact, he was going to be two minutes late just to piss her off.
He turned his attention back to Olivia who was busy fixing her appearance that James had messed up. She ran her fingers through her light brown hair and cleared her throat. "You didn't tell me she was going."
James closed his eyes and sighed. He should have told her. He knew he should of, but he had been trying to avoid an arguement. Olivia and Lily got along about as well as oil and water, and it really pissed her off that Lily was practically everywhere he was. But it wasn't like it was Lily's fault or anything, so James always had a bit of a hard time understanding Olivia's jealousy.
"Olivia, we've been trhough this. We can't help that our parents are friends."
Olivia sighed and brushed the hair out of his face. "I know, I know. I just wish you would have told me, that's all." She semi-smiled at him, and James gave a sigh of relief. She was trying to avoid a fight also. "I love you," she whispered into his ear.
James cleared his throat. "I love you too."
He kissed Olivia again before grabbing his suitcase and heading outside. He barely made it three feet in front of the fountain before spotting her on the bench. She sat with her arms folded, legs crossed, and her foot bouncing up and down impatiently. James smirked. He had known Lily a long time and could read her body language with his eyes closed. He could tell she was already annoyed with him. Personally, James liked her best when she was annoyed. It was never boring.
Lily noticed him approaching and narrowed her eyes. James immediately ruffled his hair, making sure she saw. She scoffed at him and turned her attention elsewhere. James's grin grew wider. He loved to annoy Lily. In fact, it was one of his favorite pastimes. He couldn't recall how many times Lily had stated that she hated it when he ruffled his hair. You would think by now, that she would learn that this only encouraged him to do it more.
James stopped two steps in front of her. Lily avoided looking at him because she thought it gave her some sort of authority over him, or something like that. James mentally laughed at her. Oh, how it would kill her if she had any clue as to how well he knew her.
"Why Potter," Lily said, still refusing to look at him. "I do believe that was the most disgusting display of affection I have ever seen."
James clicked his tongue. "Awww, jealous Evans?"
She finally looked at him to glare. "Jealous? Of what? The way you two were mating like rabbits?" Lily let out a bark of laughter. "Never."
She stood up and began making her way towards the train station. James had to jog to catch up with her.
"Oh, so then its your problem with affection. I see how it is."
She stopped dead in her tracks. "My problem with what? I don't have-"
"Lily, denial isn't going to help you any."
"I'm not den-"
"Lily, Lily." He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He was trying to be serious, but he couldn't help but grin a little. "It's okay. There are ways to work out your problem."
She snorted and shrugged his arm off her shoulders. "I don't care to hear what you have in mind."
He wrapped his arms around her waist and layed his head on top of her's. "One kiss and your problems will vanish."
"What?! Ewwww, no!" She tried to escape his grasp, but he wasn't going to let her go just yet.
"Awww come on! One little peck won't kill yeah!" James was laughing now. She was struggling so hard to break away from him, but it just wasn't happening. And her frustration was only making him laugh harder.
"Ugh, James! Let me go!"
"Give me a kiss."
"You wish," Lily stopped struggling. "And I don't think Olivia would be to pleased to hear that you were holding me captive-"
"Holding you captive? You make it sound like i'm holding you for ransom."
She chuckled. "Well, for all I know, that might be your intention."
"Evans, I hate to break it to you," he said, looking solemnly into her green eyes, "but nobody would pay the ransom unles you kissed me."
She laughed loudly at that. "Oh you would like that wouldn't you?"
James chuckled. He liked it when Lily played along with his jokes. "You know me, I never turn down a chance for some lovin'."
Lily raised an eyebrow at him. "I suddenly feel violated."
He laughed and decided to let her go. He had tortured her enough for one morning. They walked in silence as they made their way towards the train station. James couldn't help but wonder about the invitation his mother had sent. It had been rather odd and sudden.
"Where's Sirius?" Lily asked, reading his mind.
"He wasn't invited."
Lily furrowed her brow. "What? Since when is Sirius not invited?"
James shrugged. Besides Lily being present at the social events, Sirius was usually there too. "I don't know."
"Was Sirius upset?" Lily was the only one besides the Marauders that knew about Sirius's trouble at home. She knew how being included with the Potters' meant to him.
"He was okay with it, until he found out you were going. Then, I think he was a little hurt."
Lily shook her head. "Poor Sirius." Lily often pretended that she didn't care about Sirius one way or another. But secretly, James knew she did. James didn't think Lily was actually capable of hating anyone. It was one of things that he both liked and admired about her.
"Yeah, but mum sent him a big box of sweets this morning as a kind of apology. So, I think he's going to be okay." Lily nodded and smiled a little. "It's just wierd though, in mum's letter she said it was a family get together and that Sirius wouldn't be able to come."
"But I was invited, and I'm not family," said Lily quizzically
They finally arrived at the train station. They made their way through the gate still in a deep descusion.
"I know that's why I'm a bit confused by what this thing actually is tonight. I have a feeling that it's not actually a family thing."
"Yeah, I doubt it too. In my letter my mum just said that your parents were having another party like they usually do."
"Wierd." James racked his brain for a reason why his mum wounldn't invite Sirius. He couldn't come up with any. James suddenly snapped his fingers. "Maybe our parents are having an affair."
Lily rolled her eyes. "James-"
"No seriously, hear me out. Mum says its a family gathering. But why then is Sirius not invited to this one? It's because it involoves our parents having an affair!"
Lily snorted. " You have no proof."
"You don't think my strange invitation is proof."
Lily shook her head.
"Okay then, how about those looks I saw your mum giving my
dad this summer."
"What?!" She eyed him skeptically. "There were no looks. You totally pulled that out of your ass."
"Think about it Evans! It's forbidden love. They have kids. She's a muggle. He's a wizard. They're married to other people!"
Lily chuckled. "This isn't a Shakespeare play James."
"A what?"
Lily shook her head, laughing. "Nevermind. Besides if anything, it would be your mum who was giving my dad the eye."
James gasped dramatically. "Oh for the love of Merlin you're right! It's frobidden love. They have kids. He's a muggle. She's a wizard. They're married to-"
"James-"
"other people. Sirius wasn't invited because somehow he's their illegitimate child-"
"That's ridiculous. How could-"
"And tonight they are going to announce it, but they don't want your mother or my father to take it out on poor, defenseless Sirius-"
"I highly doubt-"
"Then right before dessert. They are going to announce that they are madly in love-"
"James I beg you to shut-"
"But no one wants them to be together, so they decide to runaway to Africa-"
"James...please-"
"But on their way to Africa they run into a three eyed bootlegger who gives them a lift to Russia instead."
Lily chuckled. "Is there any way I could get you to stop?"
James grinned wickedly. "Only if you give me a kiss..."
Lily rolled her eyes and boarded the train. James laughed. Who said he couldn't torture her twice in one morning?
***
"Well, I guess we're going to find out who's really having the affair," James said, sitting next to her in the car.
Lily rolled her eyes. "Oh, give it a rest Potter."
James shrugged next to her. "Fine, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you.."
Finally, he shuts up. All through the train ride, he had kept up his little 'our parents are having an affair' charade. For three hours, Lily had to endure how their parents fled to Russia, and then sailed to the Carribean to become rum salesmen. Then, while there, they met up with Sirius's evil twin brother, Ivor, who wanted to kill all living things that contained the letter 'U' in them. Finally, Lily had to yell at James to shut up about it once and for all. And then, just as she was getting ready to fall asleep, he began complaining about how muggle transportation took too long. It took all of Lily's self-control not to kill him.
Luckily, Lily could see the Potters' house, Hilsenvand manor, in full view now. Lily couldn't wait to be in her room and have some peace and quiet.
The car pulled to a stop, and Lily practically jumped out of the car. She saw her parents chauffer, Giles, and waved. Her parents had arrived a lot sooner that she had expected, but she was glad they were here.
Without waiting for James, Lily ran into Hilsenvand Manor. "Mum! Dad!"
Lily walked out of the foyer and began making her way towards the drawing room, when she saw her parents round the corner. Her mum ran towards her with outstretched arms.
"Lily!" Lady Sophia Evans hugged her daughter lovingly. "I'm so glad you're here."
Lily smiled, "Me too." Lily broke out of her mother's embrace and addressed her father. "Hey dad."
"Hey Red," Lord Christopher Evans kissed the top of his daughters head. "Good to see you arrived in one piece."
Lily laughed and looked past her father to see the Potters. They were all in the middle of greeting each other, when the front door opened, and James appeared carrying both their suitcases.
Lady Viviane Potter ran towards her son much like Lily's mother had done to her.
"Oh, James." Lady Viviane Potter kissed her son on the cheek. "How was your trip?"
James sighed. "Long..."
Lily rolled her eyes.
"Well," Lord Godfrey Potter said, clapping his hands together, "lets let these kids go up stairs and rest, while we finish our...discusion."
All the parents nodded in agreement and began making their way back towards the drawing room.
Lily's mother squeezed her hand. "Dinner's in an hour. Don't be late." She smiled at her daughter one last time, before disappearing back in the drawing room.
"Huh, "James said, "that was odd..."
Lily let out an annoyed sigh, "Potter they are not having an affair. Give. It. A. Rest."
James rolled his eyes. "I wasn't going to say they were. I was just simply stating that there short gretting was odd, that's all."
Lily nodded in agreement, but decided not to take it too seriously. She was too exhausted to really care if their greeting was short or not. Lily grabbed her suitcase from James and began making her way up the grand staircase towards her room.
As she made her way up the stairs, Lily took in her surroundings. She had always loved this house. Every part of it was taken in with great detail. All things from the gardens, to the chandiler, to the wood carvings on the stairs. She especially loved the marble statues all over the house and landscape. The sculptures covered everything from mythological creatures to gods and goddesses.
When they were younger, her and James used to play hide and seek. Lily always hid her body behind Athena's dress and pooked through Athena's arm to see if James was close. Then, when he would spot her, she would run out from behind Athena and head towards the greenhouse.
Their games of hide and seek always turned into a game of tag. Lily might have been scrawny at eleven, but she could run. James always had trouble catching her, unless Sirius played too. Then, they would team up on her to take her down.
Lily smiled at the memory, and placed her hand affectionately on the banister. The banister had a detailed carving of a lion. It was another thing Lily always loved about Hilsenvand Manor. It was definitely Gryffindor proud and magical. Lily had so many memories here, it was sometimes hard to remember them all. Hell, she had practically grown up here-with James by her side.
She could hear his footsteps echoing her own in the hallway. Neither spoke to the other.
As they walked down the hallway, the portraits of the Potters turned their heads as they passed but made no comment. Lily stopped in front of her bedroom door and pushed it open. James passed her towards his room, which was two doors down and across the hall.
Lily shut the door and leaned up against it. She was so exhausted. She didn't sleep well last night because of her mum's letter. Lily didn't tell James that her letter had been strange also. She didn't want to raise his suspicisons anymore than her's were. In fact, the letter had been extremely vague. Lily pulled the letter out of her pocket and began to read it.
Dear Lily,
Your presence is recquired at Lord and Lady Potter's manor on Saturday October 3 at 5 p.m. We shall be celebrating
something rather special, so wear the appropriate attire. Till Saturday-
Love,
Mum and Dad
Lily folded the letter and put it back into her jacket pocket. She took off her coat and layed down on the king-sized bed. With the flick of her wand, the curtains opened along with the balcony doors, which had a spectacular view of the gardens. A soft breeze flew in, and the evening sun gave a soft glow to her dark marron and black bedroom. Before she knew it, the letter slipped from her mind, and she began to fall into a deep slumber.
Lily didn't know how long she had been asleep, but she awoke to the sun beginning to set on the garden. A small smile crept onto her face as she looked out on the balcony. It really was beautiful out here.
A small snore interupted her thoughts.
Lily quickly rolled over, a bit alarmed. She hadn't realized there had been another person in her room, let alone her bed. James Potter slept with his arm underneath his head, glasses askew, and mouth slightly open.
Lily suppressed a giggle. He looked rather adorable sleeping. The sunset gave his face a rather gentler look than what she was used to seeing. Lily nudged his shoulder, in an attempt to wake him. It was getting close to dinner time.
James grunted in response.
Lily shook his shoulder.
James just grunted louder.
Lily smiled and shook his shoulder harder. "James..."
James cleared his throat. "Yeah?"
She grabbed ahold of his cheek and piched it much like a great aunt would do, "Wakey, wakey..."
James chuckled and shoved her hand away, but he didn't wake up. Instead, he rolled away from her and closed his eyes again. Lily rolled her eyes and proped herself on her arm. She began poking James in his side. "It's time to rise and shine, " she said in a sing-song voice.
James sighed defeated, "Okay, okay. I'm awake." He rolled back over so that he was facing her again. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"What are you doing in here anyways?" she asked, confused.
James put his glasses back on. "I came in here to bug you, but you were asleep. Well actually, I thought you were pretending to be asleep to ignore me. So, I layed down, figuring you would cave in and tell me to piss off or something." James chuckled at himself. "I guess, I fell asleep before I realized you weren't pretending."
Lily chuckled and rolled off the bed. She walked out on the balcony and looked out at the gardens. Her room had a perfect view of the Athena statue. She often wondered if the Potters knew about her obsession with the statue and that was why they offered her this room to stay in when she came on her many visits. The sun fell on the statue in such a way, that at any moment it looked like she would step off her pedestal and walk away to other mystical lands. A gust of wind blew in from the north. Lily closed her eyes and let the wind surround her.
It had been a long time since she felt so at ease, so alive. The wind howled louder; Lily lifted her arms above her head and began spinning around in a circle. She smiled. She used to love to do this as a kid. She couldn't explain why she loved it. She just did.
Lily stopped spinning and let reality sink in. She had less than half an hour to get ready for dinner, and she hadn't even begun to do her hair or make-up. She turned away from the gardens and saw James proped up against the head board, starring at her intentely. She could tell from the look on his face that he had been watching her the entire time. A small blush crept onto Lily's cheeks.
"Um, dinner's in half an hour, so we should probably start getting ready."
James didn't respond. He just continued to sit on her bed and stare at her. Lily had trouble meeting his gaze it was so intense. She felt like he had just caught her naked or something. Lily's blush deepened at the thought.
After awhile, James stood up and made his way towards the balcony. He didn't smile, and his clothes were twisted and wrinkled from sleeping. He grabbed her hand, his expression blank. Her hand was limp and small in his. He bent his head down, and gave her hand a light kiss.
"My dear," his said, his voice low and gruff. "Your escort shall wait for you at the base of the stairs at seven o'clock sharp."
A slow smile crept on his face. He dropped her hand and walked out the door without so much as a glance in her direction. When the door clicked shut, Lily let out a shaky breath that she hadn't even been aware she was holding.
***
For the first time since arriving home, James was glad that Sirius was not around. James would have been highly
embarassed at the moment if he had been here to witness him primping for tonights occasion. He had changed shirts twice
and ties three times, before deciding not to wear one at all. And right now, James stood in front of the mirror trying
to make his hair lay flat. It was proving to be damn near
impossible.
James checked the clock in his bedroom and swore. He was late.
Abandoning his hair, James grabbed his dinner jacket and ran out the door. Running down the hall, James mentally prayed that Lily was not already down there waiting for him. It would be just like her to be annoyingly on time.
"Boy, you should learn not to keep ladys' waiting," his great-grandfather Harold's portrait commented.
"Mind your own business," James retorted. For one, his great-grandfather had no room to give him advice. His wife had left him for the stable boy, and his second wife hadn't even lasted a year.
The portrait scoffed and muttered, "Blood or not, he's no grandson of mine. My grandson would respect his-"
"Can it!" James yelled.
Great-grandfather Harold grunted and moved to his other portrait in the study. James jogged down the stairs and was relieved to not find a miffed Lily waiting for him.
James leaned against the banister and waited. He started messing with his hair again, but he didn't know why he even bothered. It's not like she really cared what he looked like. Lily was many things, but superficial was not one of them.
James sighed. He shoved his hands in his pockets and began fidgeting with the knife that Sirius had lent him. James ruffled his hair out of nervous habbit. Lily always had the ability to make him slightly nervous. He remembered back in fifth year when he used to follow her around like a lost puppy, hoping she would notice him. He even memorized her schedule, so that he could accidently bump into her.
James chuckled at his own stupidlity. He had been so love sick back then that James was almost embarassed to say half of things he did ot get Lily's attention. But fortunately time had past since then, and James had matured. His crush had subsided, and now he only thought of Lily as a friend.
James heard footsteps echoing down the hall. He turned around, and his jaw dropped.
Then again, James thought, maybe he thought of her as his really hot friend.
She really did look exquisite. Her halter dress was classic red and hugged her figure in all the right places. Lily wasn't exactly what one would call skinny. She was about 5'7'' and had the classic hour class figure. To be honest, that was what James liked about Lily. While all the other girls in their year starved themselves-his girlfriend included-Lily took pride in her body. She wore the clothes that showed off her figure in a tasteful way, and never worried herself on being supermodel think. And Lily's confidence in herself, just made her that much more desirable.
Lily stopped two steps in front of him, and arrogantly put her hand on her hip. Her face twitched into a I'm-hot-and-I-know-it grin. Her smugness seemed to fill the room.
James almost snickered. And she complained about him being conceited...
James didn't even try to hide the fact that he was checking her out. It was what she wanted after all. It was all apart of Lily's mind games that James could never quite figure out. But if this was how all her mind games turned out, he didn't mind, too much.
James gave a low whistle. "Damn Evans, you clean up nice."
She tilted her head in the air, and allowed her smugness to sufficate him. Seriously, who was the conceited one?
She chuckled softly. "Keep it in your pants Potter. " Her voice was low and gruff, and sexy.
James stepped closer to her so that they stood face-to-face. If she couls play these mind games, so could he. He leaned in so that their faces were only inches apart. Lily began to faulter slightly under his haze, and her smugness started to deflate. Apparently, she didn't expect him to be this aggressive. He smiled to himself. Think again Evans. Think again.
James leaned in so that their noses were almost touching. He could feel Lily's breath on his face. It seemed to be a little more rapid than it had been a minute ago. He licked his lips and whispered, "We're late."
He briskly turned on his heel and walked down the stairs. He could tell Lily was still on the stairs gaping at him. He stopped in the middle of the entrance hall, and turned around. "You coming?"
She was pracitcally sneering at him now, but James didn't let it get to him. She stood on the stairs for a moment, and attempted to read his mind. Obviously, it was failing miserably.
Lily finally rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. She began walking down the stairs, as James continued to make his way towards the dinning hall. She stomped behind him out of anger, and James couldn't help but tilt his head slightly in the air. I guess I won that round, he said to himself.
Dinner had been rather dull, if you asked James. Their parents asked how school was, how their duties were going as
Head Boy and Head Girl, and so on and so forth. Basically, the standard parent-to-offspring conversation that put James
to sleep. Even Lily's grudge had lightened up as the night progressed. He was beginning to think she was losing her
touch.
Hell, he would have even been interested in the conversation about Voldemort that their parents had avoided. Actually, it was more like thier mothers' avoiding the subject. James and Lily's dad had just begun to discuss some of the paranoia that had been going on, when his mother had remarked that it wasn't 'proper dinner talk.' Unfortunately, their parents had agreed. Peronally, James thought they could have used the controversy. It would have made dinner a bit more exciting.
They all waked into the parlor to have their after-dinner drinks. Lord Evans, Lady Evans, and Lady Potter all sat on the couch, while Lord Potter poured their drinks. James and Lily sat on the love seat directly across from them.
To be honest, James was a little confused. Was this all tonight was going to be about? Dinner, and catching up on what
happened in September? But what about the letter?
Why was dinner so secluded?
Lord Godfrey Potter finished handing out the drinks and sat down in the chair beside the couch. Their parents grew eerily quiet. James and Lily glanced at each other warily. Something was fixing to happen, they could feel it.
Lord Potter cleared his throat and set his glass down on the table. "Well, I guess you've both been wondering why we summoned you here today."
James and Lily nodded their heads slowly, not really sure if they wanted to know the 'why' part.
"Well, as you can see, the wizarding world is going through a rather dramatic change. There is an upcoming war that has been brewing for over several years. And to be honest, we are worried for the both of you."
James looked back and forth between the adults. What were they getting at?
"We are entering dark times," Lady Viviane Potter added, " and it's only going to get worse."
"We've been very fortunate to have the Potter's on our side," Lady Sophia Evans remarked sadly. Viviane Potter squeezed her arm sypathetically. "I'll admit I've been terribly worried about Lily since we've learned about this war. And we're grateful that the two of you have been safe at Hogwarts."
"But you both are in your seventh year. And after this year, Hogwarts will no longer be your safety net," said Lord Christopher Evans.
Okay seriously, what were they getting at?
"Now," Lord Godfrey Potter stared straight at them, "you both come from decent respectible, aristocratic families. And you two becoming Head Boy and Head Girl gave us the extra push we needed. Which is why, because of certain circumstances, we've decided that the two of you shalll have an arranged marriage."
Nobody made a sound, especially not James or Lily...
A/N Hope you enjoyed it, please R&R!