Great Hall, 6 January 1977

[lilium_evansiae]

Even after two months of Officially Dating, Lily and James don't eat many meals together. After all, he has his friends and she has hers, and there's such a thing as too much togetherness. But some days he joins her friends, and some days he joins hers, and some days they eat by themselves -- or at least as by themselves as they can at a table with the rest of their House.

On the morning of 6 January -- the day after the full moon -- Lily comes down to the Common Room with her roommates and finds James waiting by the portrait hole, no sign of the other Marauders. "All right?" he greets them, and then, more directly to Lily and with a very Jamesish smile, "Breakfast?"

Lily nods. "Yeah." Breakfast with James sounds good. "I'll see you later," she tells her friends, and she and James wait until they've gone on ahead.

James looks absolutely knackered. And that makes perfect sense -- unlike her, he probably hasn't slipped off to Milliways for a post-full-moon nap. But she can't quite believe she's never noticed it before, that James looks exhausted every month at the full moon, just when Remus is "ill." Is he not making as much effort to bother to conceal it from her, since she knows where he's been all night and what he's been doing? Or was she just not paying as much attention as she perhaps should have been?

Lily reaches out to take his hand, and they start for the Great Hall. "How did last night go?" she asks.

She won't -- can't -- ask more specifically than that.

But she will ask that much.

Comments

[lilium_evansiae]

Well, James is rather brilliant himself.

Lily turns her attention to her own breakfast, or at least starts to, before one of the dozens of arriving owls drops a letter onto her plate.

[alotofgood]

James merely raises his eyebrows (and readjusts his glasses, which have begun to slip down his nose, with the fervor he's giving his breakfast) at the sight of the unopened letter.

He swallows a forkful of sausage.

"From home?" he inquires curiously.

[lilium_evansiae]

"Yeah," Lily says.

"See, you can always tell a letter from my dad by the address," she says, holding the envelope out to him.

Just below the line that says Hogwarts School are lines reading Parts Unknown and Here Be Dragons.

[alotofgood]

James laughs, glad he hadn't thought to take a sip of his tea at that moment.

"Your dad's clever," he says. "A bit cheeky too, I see."

He can see where Lily gets it.

[lilium_evansiae]

"He definitely can be," Lily says. "Mum, too, when she wants."

James remembers that, right? From their meeting?

[alotofgood]

Oh, he remembers.

He passes the letter back to Lily just as Sebastian Edeson, the new Beater for Gryffindor's team, comes up to him.

"Potter," he says by way of greeting. Then he frowns. "Captain, you're looking a bit peaky. All right?"

James nods. "Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?"

... this about the time the two boys start talking about their upcoming practice.

[lilium_evansiae]

And, as Lily has had enough experience with Quidditch players to know this might take several minutes, she goes ahead and opens her father's letter.

When James does turn his attention back to his girlfriend, he may find her frowning rather hard at her father's letter.

[alotofgood]

"— right. Brilliant. See you Saturday afternoon, then."

A moment later, James is peering over Lily's shoulder, not actually looking at the letter in her hands, but pretending to be nosy about it.

That's when he notices her frown.

"Bad news, Lily?"

[lilium_evansiae]

"No, not bad, just ... unexpected," Lily says.

"Definitely unexpected."

She hands the letter over to James.

"Last paragraph."

The one that reads:

Sorry this is shorter than usual, but we're expecting Harold and Florence Potter any minute, and your mum needs help in the kitchen with something involving Yorkshire puddings gone dreadfully awry. Sounds exciting! I'll write again soon. Dad.

[alotofgood]

James narrows his eyes at the letter as though squinting will put the letter into better focus.

When that doesn't work, he takes his glasses off, cleans them, then puts them back on before rereading the letter.

No, the result is still the same.

"... your dad doesn't seriously mean my parents, does he?

"My parents very, very rarely leave the Wizarding World."

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily shrugs, helplessly.

"I'm pretty sure he does. I don't think we know any other Potters, and even if my parents know some I don't ... well, it'd be a hell of a coincidence on the names, wouldn't it?"

Lily looks down at the letter again.

"I think our parents had dinner together last night."

[alotofgood]

James leans back, shaking his head.

"Blimey.

"Our parents.

"Having dinner.

"Together."

He rubs his face, glasses going askew.

"They probably told each other the most embarrassing stories about us."

[lilium_evansiae]

"Yeah, I think we can be reasonably certain of that.

"And my parents probably brought out pictures to illustrate them."

Oh, dear.

"Your parents really don't leave the Wizarding world much?"

[alotofgood]

"They haven't really got any reason to," James says, a little curious about these pictures (if he's going to be completely honest).

"They actually don't know very many Muggles. Especially given the current climate, it's a bit difficult to get to know many."

[lilium_evansiae]

"And they went to my parents' little house in Milton.

"That's amazing, James.

"Completely terrifying, when you consider the stories they were probably trading, but ... amazing."

[alotofgood]

"It is sort of brilliant, isn't it?" James says, grinning. "Stories aside, of course."

He takes another sip of his tea.

"So what is Milton like?"

[lilium_evansiae]

"It's home," Lily says.

"It's a Northern manufacturing city, a little fallen on hard times, maybe, these days, but that's hardly unique to Milton, is it? There's a river, and mills, and shops and schools and all the things you get in a city.

"Mum and Dad have a little house with a little garden on a street full of little houses with little gardens.

"It's kind of hard to describe. I guess you'll just have to come and visit some time."

[alotofgood]

"I'd like to," James says. "I'd like to see where you lived before you learned you were going to Hogwarts to become one of the most brilliant witches in our year."

He smiles.

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily grins.

"I've lived there for a few years since learning that, too, you know," she says, cheerfully, and refills James' teacup.

[alotofgood]

James laughs.

"Right," he says amusedly, watching her refill his cup with a fair amount of fondness. "Of course."

[lilium_evansiae]

"Well," Lily says, finally turning her attention to putting food on her own plate, "now we're going to have to stick together. For our own safety, if no other reason.

"After all, they could be conspiring all sorts of things now. Think of the trouble they could get themselves into.

"Think of the trouble they could get us into."

[alotofgood]

"Do you think your parents would start owling my parents as well?" James wonders aloud. "Aether must know your home quite well by now, after all."

[lilium_evansiae]

" ... maybe.

"Would your parents start owling mine?"

[alotofgood]

"Probably."

James laughs.

"Despite the things they'd likely write to each other, I rather like the idea of them corresponding.

"Is that bad?"

[lilium_evansiae]

"No," Lily says. "No, I don't think it's bad at all, really.

"It's probably even good."

[alotofgood]

James nods, reaching for Lily's fingers.

"I think so," he says.

It shows that even if some blood-purity parties may think they're in power, they're really ... really not.

"... now d'you think you could you pass me another piece of toast, please?"

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily squeezes his hand for a second.

And then passes him another slice of toast.

Or three.

(They're small.)