LILY AND JAMES (part 3): “A Love Story”

By, Joni

Written in January 2000

Revised in October 2001

James was standing at platform 9 ¾ scanning the crowd intently. Standing with him was his best friend Sirius Black, smiling knowingly at James as he searched the crowd.

James looked at Sirius smiling at him and asked, “What?”

“I know who you are looking for,” laughed Sirius.

“I’m looking for Remus and Peter. So what?” said James, innocently.

“You are not! I know you, James, don’t try to fool me. You’ve only been talking about Lily all summer and I know you are looking for her. I also know that you are so in love with the girl you don’t know what to do with yourself so why don’t you ask her out already and get it over with? You’re driving me crazy,” said Sirius.

“It’s not that easy,” said James. “Lily and I have been friends for a while now and I’m afraid that if she only thinks of me as a friend and I ask her out, our friendship will be ruined. That’s the last thing I want to happen.”

Sirius shook his head, “I don’t know what you are so worried about. I’m convinced Lily likes you, too. You should at least talk to her.”

“I will. Can you do me a favor on the train and help me be with Lily alone for a while so I can try to talk to her? Just find some excuse to leave and take Remus and Peter with you.”

“No problem,” said Sirius.

Just then Lily appeared and she waved across the platform to James and Sirius. They ran to her and helped her get her bags into the train. Soon, they were joined by Remus and Peter as the train left to take them all to Hogwarts for their seventh and final year of school. All of them were excited to be in their last year and also nervous for what their futures held. Both James and Lily had been selected to be Head Boy and Girl so they were going to be very busy this year with their duties and studies. All of them talked for a long time about what they wanted to do when they were done with school until the witch came by with the food cart.

After a nice lunch, Sirius stood up and said, “I need to go a find…er…Ben Sampson about…something. Why don’t you guys come with me?” He motioned to Remus and Peter.

“No, I think I’m just going to stay here,” said Remus. Peter nodded in agreement.

“I really think you guys should come with me,” said Sirius, getting impatient.

“Why?” asked Remus.

“Just come on!” said Sirius, as he grabbed Remus and Peter and practically dragged them out of the compartment.

James became very nervous as Lily turned to him and asked, “What was that all about?”

“I don’t know…Lily I need to ask you something…or talk to you about something…er…where do I start?” said James as he rubbed his hands together nervously.

“What?” asked Lily.

“Okay, um, well, here goes…I know we’ve been friends for a while now, but I’ve been thinking about you all summer and I really, really like you a lot and I really want to ask you out. But, I don’t know how you feel about me because maybe you just want to be friends and I don’t want to ruin our really great friendship. So, I don’t know if this is the right thing to do but I just wanted you to know how I felt…” James trailed off.

Lily blushed deeply and didn’t say anything for a minute. Then she smiled timidly and said, “Do you really like me that much, James?”

“Yes, I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry. Remember last year when you saved Snape? While you were gone all I could think about was what if something happened to you and I never saw you again. It was then that I realized that I felt very strongly about you. I think I’ve liked you ever since we met, but I didn’t know it until then. I didn’t want to lose you as a friend either, so I tried not to think about it.”

“Really? You like me, too?” asked James.

“Yes, I think I always have,” said Lily.

For a little while they sat in silence, not really knowing what to do. Then James moved closer to Lily and put his arm around her shoulders. Lily sighed contentedly and leaned her head on his shoulder. Then James said, “I think this is going to be a great year.”

Everything started normally at Hogwarts, or as normal as things ever are at a school for witches and wizards. Before long everyone was talking about James and Lily as the word spread that they were a couple. James and Lily were very busy for several weeks with classes and Head Boy and Girl duties. When things started to calm down, Lily and James spent most of their free time together and they grew even closer.

Over the Christmas vacation both Lily and James stayed at Hogwarts instead of going home. On Christmas night, after the huge feast was over, Lily and James stayed together in the dining hall long after the other students had gone to bed so that they could be together. James suddenly got an idea and turned to Lily and said, “I know you don’t like to break the rules, but I want to show you something I’ve wanted you to see for a long time. Um…we have to go into the forbidden forest…but please come with me, I promise we won’t get caught and I know you’ll really like it.”

“James, I don’t know. The forest is dangerous, are you sure we won’t get hurt?” asked Lily.

“I swear I won’t let anything happen to you. Besides, do you really want to leave school without breaking the rules just once?” teased James.

Lily smiled and said, “Alright, just this once. But this better be good.”

“Oh, it is! Go back to your dorm and dress as warmly as you can. I’ll meet you back outside your common room, but I’ll have the invisibility cloak so you won’t be able to see me. One more thing, bring your wand, just in case.”

Lily didn’t like the sound of that but she decided to go along. Quickly she went back to her room and got her winter cloak and gloves. Quietly she crept back out of her common room entrance. Her heart was pounding; she had never done anything like this before. In the corridor, it was so quiet she became even more nervous. She waited for a few minutes, seeing and hearing nothing. Finally, a voice from nowhere whispered, “Lily.”

Lily jumped and then said, “James, is that you? Where are you?”

“I’m right here,” he whispered in her ear, touching her arm softly.

Carefully James wrapped the cloak around Lily and they stood together, completely invisible. James took her hand and they walked together out of the main entrance and to the Forbidden Forest. When the trees concealed them, James removed the cloak and took out his wand.

“Lumos,” he whispered. Then with his wand in one hand he took Lily by the other hand and started to lead her deep into the forest. Lily was scared; she had never been in the forest before and knew it was filled with dangerous creatures.

“James, are you sure you know where you’re going?” she said, getting worried after they had walked for a while in silence.

“I’ve been in here so many times I could probably find my way with my eyes closed. Don’t worry, we’re almost there,” he said.

After only a few more minutes James stopped near a clearing and muttered, “Nox,” extinguishing the light from his wand.

The moon was very bright and it only took a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the dark. Then he took Lily a few more steps and pointed something out to her in the dark. Lily gasped when she saw the unicorn standing just a few feet away. It was a beautiful creature with silvery fur and a bright, gleaming horn.

“James,” whispered Lily, “I’ve never seen a unicorn before. It’s the most beautiful thing I think I’ve ever seen.”

“I knew you’d like it. Come on, if we’re careful, we might be able to pet it.”

James and Lily walked slowly over to the unicorn and it lowered its head slowly as they reached out to pet it. The fur of the unicorn was soft and smooth, almost like feathers on a bird. Lily stroked the unicorn gently and murmured to it quietly. After a few minutes, Lily heard a branch on the ground break nearby and she looked up to see what was making the noise. She gasped again at what she saw and James looked up quickly, brandishing his wand. He lowered it slowly when he saw what had startled Lily. All around unicorns had gathered, surrounding them, and sighing softly.

“Whoa!” whispered James in honest astonishment. “It looks like there is at least a hundred of them! I’ve seen lots of unicorns together but never this many at once.”

James took Lily by the hand as they looked in awe at the unicorns surrounding them. They could almost feel the magic in the air as they stared at the beautiful sight. Suddenly, the unicorns began to gallop all around them and then they disappeared with a rush of wind into the darkness, leaving them all alone.

Lily turned to James to say something, but stopped when she saw him smiling at her in an unusual way. She smiled back, feeling suddenly shy. Slowly and gently, James gathered her up in his arms and touched her hair softly with one hand.

“Lily, I…I think I love you,” he blurted out.

“James,” she said, “I know I love you.”

“You do?” he asked, looking amazed and relieved.

Lily nodded. James wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. After a few minutes he let go and looked down at her again. Then, he drew her close and kissed her for the first time gently on her lips. They held each other again until finally James said, “We’d better leave, it could get dangerous.”

Lily laughed, “I almost forgot we were even in the Forbidden Forest.”

Together they made it back to the school safely and James walked Lily back to her common room. They said goodnight and then Lily said, “Thank you for the best Christmas present I ever got.”

“What,” said James, “seeing the unicorns or the kiss?”

“Both,” she said.

The rest of the year proceeded normally with James, Lily, and their friends cramming as hard as they could for their N.E.W.T.’s. They were all hoping to get really good scores, and Peter needed all the help he could get. After the last day of exams, Lily and James were getting some much needed relaxation. They were both feeling uneasy about school ending but neither one felt like mentioning it to the other until Lily finally brought up the subject to James.

“James, what is going to happen to us when school gets out? It’s only a week away. What if we never see each other again?”

James put his arm around Lily and squeezed her in a reassuring way, “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but don’t worry. I know we’ll see each other again, I’ll make sure of it.”

Lily nodded and they both fell silent, deep in their own thoughts and worries.

“I got an owl this morning from Dumbledore,” said James after a while, trying to change the subject. “He wants to meet with me in his office after dinner.”

“Really?” asked Lily with wide eyes. “What for?”

“I don’t know,” he said, sounding slightly concerned. “But will you meet me afterwards so we can talk? How about in the History of Magic classroom?”

“Sure,” said Lily, hoping James wasn’t in any kind of trouble.

That night, Lily waited alone in the History of Magic classroom for James to return. She had no idea how long it would take him to come back from his meeting with Dumbledore and she was worried about what this was all about. After an hour the door to the classroom opened and James came in swiftly.

“James!” Lily exclaimed when she saw that he was shaking from head to toe, looking very pale and frightened.

James rushed over to her and hugged her for comfort. Lily could feel him still shaking, but trying to calm himself with long steady breaths.

“James, what’s the matter?” Lily asked when he finally let go of her. “You’re not in trouble are you?”

“No…well, not from Dumbledore at least. Come over here and sit down with me. We really need to talk.” He led Lily over to a desk and they sat down close together.

Lily was starting to feel scared, but she didn’t want to rush James into telling her what was going on. James gulped a few times and seemed to collect himself before he began to explain.

“I went to see Dumbledore and he told me that he has a special kind of group of people that work with him, you know, against Voldemort. He…he wants me to join him.”

“Dumbledore wants you to work for him?” asked Lily.

“Sort of. It’s not really working for him, but with him. You know that Dumbledore is the only one Voldemort is afraid of, but Dumbledore told me he doesn’t do it alone, he has help. It’s kind of a unique group of witches and wizards that Dumbledore trusts personally and deeply to fight against Voldemort.”

“What kind of work would you be doing?”

“All kinds. The people with him do just about everything from being aurors to spies to undoing curses and enchantments. I could be doing just about anything if I decide to join him…which I probably will.”

“I’m still not sure I see what you are so frightened about. Stuff like this has never scared you this way before. What’s stopping you? You said you’d probably join him, I would think you’d jump right in and take this great chance,” said Lily.

“I am going to do it, but there’s something more you need to know before I do anything for sure,” said James, very seriously.

“More?”

James gulped and explained, “Dumbledore told me that Voldemort has reason to mark me as an enemy right now, even without being an ally of Dumbledore’s. Voldemort doesn’t know it yet, but he will find out eventually and then he will be out to kill me for sure.”
“Why?” asked Lily, now starting to feel that fear that James was showing.

“I don’t know. Dumbledore wouldn’t tell me and he said as long as Voldemort doesn’t know about me then I don’t need to know, but it’ll be extra dangerous for me no matter what I do once I leave the safety of Hogwarts. Dumbledore said I might even figure out why I could be such a threat to Voldemort eventually, but in time, one way or another I’ll know what’s going on.”

“I can see why you are frightened, but why did you need to tell me about this so urgently? Are you sure its okay with Dumbledore that you are telling me all of this?”

“He knows we are close, Lily, and I just thought you needed to know all of this before…” James stalled, apparently at a loss for words.

“Before what?” Lily asked, completely baffled.

James gulped, this time out of nervousness instead of fear. “Before I asked you to…to marry me,” he said almost sheepishly.

Lily stared at James in utter shock with her eyes wide. “James…I…” she whispered, but couldn’t find the words to finish.

James shifted in his seat and grabbed both of Lily’s hands in his. “Before you answer, you need to understand what kind of risk this is,” he said fiercely. “If Voldemort marks me an enemy, he would mark my family, too. I’m putting you in danger just by asking you to marry me, but I won’t let Voldemort stop me, or you, or us from being happy! Dumbledore warned me that those close to me would be in danger, but he also said that I shouldn’t let Voldemort stop me from living my life the way I want. If I live my life in fear then he will have beat me already. I won’t make you take that risk with me if you don’t want to, but you need to know before you decide to do anything. Whatever you choose to do, I’ll understand.”

They sat in silence for a few moments just looking at each other until James asked again, “Will you marry me?”

Lily squeezed his hands tightly and leaned as close to him as she could. “I love you, James. I would do anything to be with you. Yes, I will marry you!” she whispered as tears coursed uncontrollably down her cheeks.

“You will?” James asked, looking as if he couldn’t quite believe his ears.

“Yes!” Lily almost shouted, trying to convince him of her sincerity.

James laughed as he hugged Lily tightly and kissed her in his excitement. “You’re not afraid?” he asked, looking at her with an awed expression.

“Of course I’m afraid,” she said, rolling her eyes a little. “Who wouldn’t be? But it’s like you said, we can’t let Voldemort stop us from being happy. We’ll face him later on if we have to, but we’ll do it together. Until then, let’s just live our lives and be happy.”

James smiled again and hugged Lily some more. Then he let go of her and reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. “Here,” he said, holding it out to her. “This is for you.”

Lily took the box and opened it curiously. Inside was a beautiful gold ring with diamonds on it. “James,” she exclaimed. “It’s beautiful! Wait…you were planning on asking me to marry you all along. And I thought this was a spur of the moment thing!” She looked at him with an accusing expression, but not one with disappointment.

“I’ve been thinking about asking you for a while and I got this ring for you last week. I wasn’t going to ask you until we left school, maybe not for a few months, but under the circumstances, I felt I needed to do it now instead of later…before I join Dumbledore. You’re not mad are you?” he asked, slightly worried.

“No, I’m just teasing you. It’s a wonderful surprise.”

James took the ring from the box carefully and put it on Lily’s finger.

“It fits perfectly!” Lily exclaimed as she admired the ring on her finger. She looked back at James and put her arms around his neck pulling him close again. “Thank you,” she said.

James put his arms around Lily and rested his forehead on hers. “No,” he said, “Thank you.”