Chapter Eight: The Beginning

"James? What's going on here?" his mother asked. "How did you get here?"

"Floo," he said. He couldn't bring himself to pull away from Lily. She was finally in his arms, where she was always meant to be. He never wanted to let her go.

"James, I have to talk to her," his mother said. She was using her professional voice, one she had never used with him before. He'd heard it a thousand times before, but it sounded so strange in this moment.

James finally glanced at his mother. "I don't know if she's up for it right now," he said. "Can't this wait?"

"No," Lily mumbled into his shirt. "I can talk." She looked up at him, her eyes wide and her face impossibly pale. "But please stay with me?"

James nodded. "Anything," he said. "I'd do anything for you."

He led them back to the bed and he helped her sit down. He propped her pillows up and made sure the blanket was tucked around her. He could feel his mother's eyes on him the whole time, but he wasn't going to acknowledge her questioning gaze.

Lily took a deep breath, her hand reaching for James'. "What do you need to know?"

"We just need your account as the only eye witness," his mother said. "Tell us about the day and what happened before the attack."

"We didn't do much today," she said. Her voice was soft, but he could hear the strength in it. His Lily was a tough woman. "We spent the day at the house and then we were going to out to meet my sister and her new boyfriend for dinner." She looked up at him. "It was him."

"Her husband?" James asked quietly. Lily nodded. His mother cocked her head, but neither of them answered her silent question.

"We came home and it was a normal night," Lily said. "We watched the tellie for a bit before going to bed. I was tossing and turning because I was thinking about –" she cut herself off and her cheeks tinged pink. James bit his lip to keep from smiling. He had a strong suspicion about what had been keeping her awake.

"And then I heard this loud crash," she said. "I jumped up and grabbed my wand, just in case. I went into the hall and called for Mum and Dad." Her voice cracked, but she swallowed hard and kept going. "I heard another crash so I ran downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs, I found my Dad."

James gripped her hand and leaned over to kiss her forehead again. He couldn't imagine what it was like for her, to find her father's body in the middle of the night. He wanted to embrace her again, to reach for her, but he held back. She needed to get through this.

"I was crying," she said. "I couldn't believe my Dad was dead. I was ready to just lie there until Mum came to find us, but I heard her scream. So I ran into the living room. She was already gone. There were Death Eaters."

"We got one of them into custody," his mother said. "We'll be questioning him extensively before sending him to Azkaban."

Lily gave her a weak smile and nodded. "I started firing off curses. All of the ones I could think of," she said. "I thought I was going to die. There were so many of them."

James' heart shuddered painfully in his chest. This time he did reach an arm out to wrap around her shoulders. He'd come so close to losing her and he hadn't even been there. Just the thought of what life would be like without Lily Evans was enough to send him into a crazed spiral. He shook his head, forcing out the pictures of her broken, lifeless body.

"That's when the Aurors showed up," she said. "We fought them until they left. I don't know anymore. Next I remember, you were there."

His mother nodded as Rowan wrote down some notes. "Thank you, Lily," she said. "We may have a few additional questions later, but why don't you rest? James, can I have a word?"

James was loathe to let Lily go, but she gave him a reassuring squeeze of the hand. James followed his mother into the hallway.

"What's all this?" She asked. "I thought I recognized her name."

James cut her a look. "Please, you know Lily's the one I've had feelings for since Fourth Year. I'm not leaving her, Mum."

She sighed and smiled. "I guess I shouldn't expect you to," she said. "But you need to check in with me tomorrow, er, later today once you've both had some rest."

"Yeah, sure," he said. He was already turning to go back in the room.

"And James." She grabbed his arm to stop him. She had that stern look on her face whenever she was trying to get him to obey her rules. "Lily's been through a lot. I don't have to tell you to be careful with her. She's in a very delicate state right now."

Normally such an obvious directive would have annoyed James, made him want to snap back with some witty retort. But all he could see was how much his mother cared about him and the girl he was in love with. James nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I promise I won't push her or anything," he said. "I just can't leave her."

His mother let go of his arm and James walked back into the room, closing the door behind him. He gave Lily a soft smile as he approached the bed.

"Are you comfortable?" He asked. "Can I get you anything?"

Lily shook her head. "No. I just want you here." She patted the bed. James walked over and took her hand into his.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "Don't worry about that."

"No," she said. "I want you here, with me." She patted the bed again. "Come lay with me, please?"

James sat down on the bed, propping himself up with her pillows. Lily curled into him, her head resting on his chest, under his chin. He felt her body start to relax and the gentle trembling seemed to subside.

"You never told me your mum's name is Harriet," she said softly.

James shrugged. "It never seemed to matter," he said. "Does it?"

Lily looked up at him. "It makes Harry make more sense," she said.

James' heart lurched in his chest. It seemed too much to hope that everything Lily might still come back to him. That he might get to marry this woman and have a child with her. He squeezed his arm around her shoulders. The temptation of bliss was almost too much to ignore.

"Yeah, I guess it does," he said. He swallowed hard. "I don't know if all that is going to happen though. Maybe we can still change – "

"No," she said, cutting him off. "I think it's more likely than ever. Petunia is going to marry that awful Vernon I met tonight. They're going to have one terrible child just as we have ours. I don't think it's a matter of 'if' anymore, James."

"Lils, I can't think about that," he said. "I can't think about you not being here."

"We don't have to think about it now," she said. "All I want right now is for you to hold me. Promise me you won't leave?"

"I'm not going anywhere tonight," he said. "Get some rest. I'll help you figure stuff out in the morning."

Lily nodded and snuggled back into him. James had never felt so happy in his life. He had never felt something so real, so right, as to have Lily Evans sleeping by his side. He should sleep. He should prepare himself for the chaos heading their way. Lily was going to need him even more tomorrow as she tried to figure out her new life. His mind was racing with thoughts and ideas, but eventually physical exhaustion won out and he fell asleep.

James stretched, his arm bumping into another body. Startled, he looked down to see a mass of red hair on his chest. It took him a second to remember why he had a girl next to him. Lily was stirring as well, her arm stretching across his chest with her hand landing on his hip.

"Good morning," she mumbled.

"You all right, Lils?" He asked as he sat up. "Did you sleep?"

"Yeah, I did," she said. She pushed herself up. "My head feels like it weighs ten stone."

"And here you've always said I've the big head," he said with a chuckle.

Lily shoved his arm, but she gave him a playful look before turning somber. She looked around the room and slouched.

"I wonder how long I have to stay here," she said. "I want to go home –" Her face crumbled and she buried her face in the blankets.

James put his arm around her and pulled her close. "I don't know what to say to make you feel better," he said. "I don't know what's going to happen next or where you're going to go. All I can say is that I'm going to be with you as much as I can. As much as you'll let me,"

Lily raised her head and nodded. She sniffled and sucked in a deep, shaky breath. "I can do this," she said. "I don't know where I'll go or what I'll do, but I can get through this."

James put a finger under her chin, making her look up at him. "We're going to get through this," he said.

He lowered his head until his lips met hers. Kissing Lily was like having the gates of heaven opened before him. He pressed his lips against hers, savoring the soft warmth of her mouth. Lily moved, her mouth opening slightly. James took the invitation and swept his tongue through her mouth. She responded eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself up so she was straddling his lap. James wrapped an arm around her waist, placing the other hand at the back of her head.

A moment later, Lily pulled back. Her cheeks were flushed and her breath was coming out in little pants. She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling in that way that always made him take notice.

"That was much better than I thought it would be," she said.

"You had such little faith in my snogging abilities?"

She shrugged and grinned. "I always wondered if you were all talk," she said. "I'm glad to see I was wrong. I should have done this years ago."

James raised an eyebrow. "Forget all that," he said. "Does this mean you'll let me do it again?"

Lily leaned forward and kissed him again. This time it was her tongue swiping across his lips. It was his mouth that fell open to her, and his groan that came from somewhere in his chest. Lily pulled back and gave him a saucy wink.

"What does that tell you?"

"If we're going to do this," he said. "I think we should do it properly."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." He took both of her hands in his and looked down at their intertwined fingers. "Lils?"

"Oh my god, you're not proposing, are you?"

His head snapped up and he gave her a horrified look. "What? Merlin, no," he said. "I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend."

"Oh."

"Yeah," he said. "Except now I feel like the moment's gone. What on earth made you think I was going to ask you to marry me? I'm only 17 years old!"

Lily shook her head. "I'm sorry! I don't know why I jumped to that. You just looked so serious and the moment felt so serious and I just couldn't –"

"Well, even I'm not that thick," he said. "But I meant it, Lils. I want you to be my girlfriend. Will you?"

"Of course, you git," she said. She smiled, bright and beautiful. "Of course I'll be your girlfriend."

"Even if it means that someday we get married and have a kid and end up dead?"

Lily placed a finger on her chin and tilted her head. "Hmm, I suppose so," she said. "But only if you promise to let me go first."

"No way in hell," he said. He leaned forward and kissed her again. "I'd die to protect you. And who knows, maybe we'll find some other way to change that premonition."

Lily grinned. "I look forward to finding out."

"I love you, Lily Evans."

"I think I love you, too, James Potter."