A/N: Well it may be the end of this story but you guys will be seeing a component story connecting this one to it. I won't say anymore until after the chapter though so read and review! Love you all for reviewing and always giving me support for my first fanfic! See ya.
PS – JAMES, LILY AND SIRIUS ARE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT MEMORIES FROM THE CAMP THAT YOU GUYS DON'T KNOW ABOUT YET. Just thought I'd give you a heads up.
Disclaimer: Sadly it is all JK Rowling's and these amazing characters will never be mine. Sobs I suppose I'll just settle with writing fanfiction.
Chapter 19 of After the Quidditch Game
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Lily saw more visions of memory crashing into her. The bright whiteness turned to blackness and she soon formulated what all this exactly meant.
She knew James before they met on that fateful day after the quidditch game.
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"Lily! Lily, wake up!" A misty voice broke through Lily's comprehensive darkness and it cleared away so that when she opened her eyes James was looking at her concernedly and Sirius had a big grin on his handsome face.
She took the hand that James held out and she felt a weird nervousness unfurling inside of her. Now that her mind held the knowledge of what went on during that summer at the international camp and her interactions with James would things be different between them?
"I'm okay, just a little surprised." Lily said quietly and James smiled at her holding on to her hand.
"I'm not! I knew you two were soul mates from the beginning!" Sirius exclaimed proudly and Lily blushed slightly thinking of the camp and the memories it held.
"It looked like you and Julia were getting a little friendly too hm?" Lily asked with her hands on her hips.
Sirius smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "It was only those summer flings. I mean I like Julia a lot as a friend but that's it."
Lily nodded in understanding.
"It's kind of shocking but in a good way." James said in a quiet voice and Lily locked eyes with him.
"It is." Sirius replied.
"How bout I make us some dinner okay?" Lily asked energetically and the two men smiled.
She flipped on the TV and handed the remote to Sirius. Then she waltzed off into the kitchen to prepare something. She found some spaghetti noodles and sauce but no meat. She shrugged to herself and began to make the simple yet delicious meal.
As she began to make a small garden salad James walked into the kitchen quietly. She was humming to herself as she grated some carrot on the top of the salad when his hands came down around her waist and he hugged her from behind.
"Things aren't different Lily. I still… I still love you. If possible I love you even more because now it makes more sense instead of loving a girl I only met 5 months ago. All those times when I was home thinking about you and how it was too good to be true but it makes sense now. It makes sense of how quick we got acquainted." James said softly in her ear and a warm feeling begin to flow inside of her.
She turned around so that their eyes connected. "You still haven't given back my teddy bear." Lily finally said with a slight laugh and a tear slide down her face.
James hand came up and wiped it away. "I know Lilybunny, I don't plan on giving it back."
She laughed shakily and pulled him close for a hug. They stood there for a bit, James stroking her hair.
Footsteps sounded into the room and Lily looked up to see Sirius with a note in his hand. "A note from Dumbledore. He wants us to come see him at Hogwarts."
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"Its like it never changed!" Sirius said dramatically as he looked around the entrance. James pocketed the special portkey Dumbledore had charmed himself for their entrance to the heavily protected Hogwarts. Lily followed Sirius and James who knew their way very well around Hogwatrs, especially the whereabouts of Dumbledore's office.
"Wonder what he wants." Lily cogitated to herself out loud.
"I'm not entirely sure but I think it has something to do with Voldemort's stolen ball of memories that he wants to talk about." Sirius said thoughtfully.
"Good idea mate." James said earnestly and they turned up yet another staircase.
Lily smiled at the two men who began to talk about old happenings at the school and she listened to them as they continued to weave their way through the castle to find Dumbledore's office. Kids from the school would pop out from classes and wave to the famous old marauders.
Finally they reached the gargoyle point and then Lily saw a look of exasperation pass between Sirius and James.
"We don't have the password." James said in an annoyed voice.
Sirius however never one to be discouraged said in a clever voice, "Lets just guess. We've been to his office enough times to be able to guess it eh? Worth a try."
"Alright." James said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Umm… Cockroach Cluster?" Sirius asked in a questioning voice and then grimaced at the stone gargoyles.
"Sugar Quills!"
"Pumpkin Pasties?"
"Cauldron Cakes."
"Chocolate Frogs?!"
Sirius glared fiercely at the gargoyles and James rubbed a hand through his hair in a frustrated manner when all of a sudden a light bulb went off in Lily's head.
"Pumpkin juice." She said and the statues slid out of the way to reveal the very same staircase she had trod upon just a little while ago.
Sirius and James mouth fell open in disbelief and she just smiled as she walked up the stairs.
"How'd you know his password? You never even went here!" Sirius pointed out in an amazed voice.
"I was here awhile ago talking to Dumbledore." Lily replied nonchalantly.
"Took you awhile to remember it eh?" Sirius said under his breath as Lily knocked on the door.
A casual voice from the inside said, "Come in." Lily pushed the door open to see Dumbledore sitting at his desk reading through some papers.
Sirius and James stepped in too and Dumbledore smiled at them all with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "I daresay you three have had quite the adventure."
Lily smiled crookedly at their 'adventurous' day.
"Yes we did. D'you have any explanations for us?" James asked seriously as they all took a seat in the chairs Dumbledore had summoned.
Dumbledore's face broke out into a smile. Lily realized it was a smile that knew many things that they did not yet and probably would never know.
"Yes, yes I do James."
For the next hour Dumbledore explained everything that had happened and why it had happened.
"I knew Voldemort had stolen your memories during that International Wizarding camp because I was the head of the camp. During the end of your summer camp Voldemort and his death eaters came to the camp and attacked. I wasn't there so there wasn't anything I could do. When I had found out what happened and thought about it I had a sort of glimpse of the future and how the two linked together." Dumbledore said vaguely.
"How were they linked together?" Lily questioned him.
"You see Voldemort didn't want you two to get together romantically for he knew of information that others didn't know. He decided not to kill you straight away for reasons I don't even know. I didn't go after your memories for I knew if you got them back he would be after you for the next 7 years of your lives. I bought you time until you were fully fledged wizards capable of taking care of yourselves." He replied quietly.
"Wow." Lily breathed quietly and James squeezed her hand comfortingly.
"So basically from now on he'll be after us?" James asked Dumbledore seriously.
"Yes. But you have the advantage of being in the Order. Dumbledore replied honestly while readjusting his half moon glasses.
"What about the others in the world who have just gotten their memory back?" Sirius pondered out loud then looked at Dumbledore.
Dumbledore smiled and said, "Voldemort was very clever with his plan. He made sure that people surrounding James and Lily wouldn't have their memory. The others such as Remus, Julia, Peter and Elissa will have remembered at the exact same time as you but it won't be as dramatic for I readjusted the spell when I found out you three had attained your memory. It won't be as confusing."
"Thank you." Lily said with a smile of her own feeling calmness flow over her.
"Dumbledore will we ever find out why Voldemort didn't want us to get together?" James inquired.
Dumbledore pressed the tips of his fingers together as he surveyed the three of them. "In the near future I believe you will find out. Be very careful now that you know all of this."
"We will." Sirius responded dutifully.
Lily looked at her watch and read four thirty seven in the afternoon. It was time to get going. "Thank you so much for telling us this. We had better get going though."
"My pleasure Lily. I'll be seeing you soon." Dumbledore said cheerfully and Lily felt a smile unfurl on her face as they stepped into the Floo network he had set up for them since he had vanished the portkey.
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"Oh Lily he was such a gentleman during the trip in New York City, I had so much fun! But I'm not sure about my feelings for him yet. But wow New York City was so amazing!" Julia said breathlessly her voice shaking out with excitement that Lily had to smile.
She listened to her friend babble on about the wonders of the Big Apple but she regarded her closely. How odd it seemed that for all her other friends they would have gotten their memories back but they wouldn't be pondering about them late at night for Dumbledore had changed the spell for them.
To them the memories would still be important but they wouldn't be thinking about the past as much as she had been lately. So much had happened at the camp. She had been so young yet fell in the love with the same man that she was so in love with that very day and presence.
Her thoughts wondered over to her dear friend Elissa. She had sent her and Julia an owl the week before telling them that the wedding was going to be that summer and she was so happy. Kadmus hadn't told her that his family now lived in Costa Rica so she had been very surprised when they got their.
"Elissa's wedding is going to be so beautiful. I can't wait." Julia said dreamily thinking of the possibilities in Costa Rica. Lily just snorted.
"Uhm me too."
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Lily had been busily working at her little café and doing errands for the Order. Her and Dumbledore had been talking a lot about getting a spy inside the Ministry of Magic and he had been hinting towards her that she should try it out.
Moody needed a secretary in his Auror headquarters and she was more than willing to get in and begin doing things that she had studied seven years for at Beauxbatons.
Things in her life were definitely looking up and she was feeling so great about herself. Getting her memories back had filled a gaping hole that she hadn't known was so empty feeling until it had been filled.
Lily was at home writing up some resumes for the Ministry of Magic and filling in papers when a tapping sound came on her kitchen window. She got up and opened the window letting James owl inside the snow slightly swirling inside.
The owl flew over to the kitchen counter and Lily grabbed a bowl to fill it up with water. Once the owl was lapping up the water she took the letter and read it.
Lilybunny!
There's a Quidditch Game this afternoon and I was wondering if you and Julia wanted to come watch. Sirius is going to be there too. Guess where it is? Guess! It's in Egypt. They say it's really warm there. They sent Sirius a portkey to get there so come over to my flat around 2 pm. I won't be there because I have to leave earlier. Hope you come!
Love, James
Lily giggled at the thought of going to Egypt for a quidditch game. That meant she would be able to wear summer clothing and get a break from the heavy winter clothing she had.
"Juuuuuulia!" Lily sang out happily and she skipped down to her friend's room.
"What?" Julia asked in a tad agitated voice. She had been memorizing new lines for another musical all afternoon in her room. Julia wasn't one to stay in one place for a long time so when she did her mood changed quite rapidly.
"James invited me and you to his quidditch game this afternoon! Want to come?"
Julia looked up from her papers that were scattered all over her desk. "I dunno Lily, I have like a bazillion more lines to still memorize."
"It's in Egypt!" Lily said abruptly trying to keep the grin off her face when Julia's face brightened.
"Really? Count me in." Julia said briskly as if she hadn't been thinking about not going.
"James said to dress in summer clothing." Lily said with a wink then pranced over to her room and looked deep in the back of her closet for her packed away summer clothing.
After mulling over her summer duds for half an hour she decided on a pair of white shorts and an olive green tank top. Lily slipped into her pair of straw colored heels and pulled her hair into a long ponytail. She grabbed a funky glitzy scarf and fixed it over her hair.
She slipped on her pair of big brown sunglasses and then smiled at herself in the reflection. Lily walked over to Julia's room to see the girl sliding on a tasteful red tube dress. Her hair was down and she had a big straw hat on.
"Ready to go?" Lily asked her and Julia nodded.
Then they both turned to apparate to James's flat.
"Yoohoo!" Lily called out and Sirius walked into the kitchen proudly and Lily stifled back a giggle. Sirius was adorned in a bright Hawaii print shirt and a pair of loose cargo capris. The shirt would catch the eye of anybody.
"Nice shirt." Julia said in a teasing voice and Sirius let out a bark like laugh.
"Knew you'd like it." He said with a grin and she rolled her eyes.
Lily gave him a push and then picked up the quaffle on the kitchen table. "Is this the portkey?"
"Yep. Bought time to go. Crowd around." Sirius said impishly.
The three of them put their hands on the portkey and soon they were swirling around in the air. Lily felt her insides curl up inside and she closed her eyes tightly until they fell onto warm ground.
Lily looked up and laughed. They looked like to be in the middle of nowhere. Desert land stretched out for miles and cactuses littered the grounds but right next to them appeared a large stadium looking very out of place.
The hot sun was busily glaring down at them and Lily sighed in a wistful sort of way when she whipped out her trusty sun block. Red heads like her just couldn't take the chances. Julia on the other hand was grinning and stretching out her arms and legs letting the sun bask in. She tanned easily and rarely got burnt.
"C'mon lets go then!" Lily said tugging both of their arms forward for them to follow her.
They walked into the open back part of the stadium where many wizards and witches were pushing their way through trying to get their seats. Organizers of the game were collecting the tickets and then there were wizards and witches set up to show where your seat was.
Sirius winked and then pulled out three tickets with a big grin as they approached the nearest wizard-collecting organizer who ironically enough was Aldric the wizard who Sirius had to argue with to let him into the game.
"Aldric old boy I have tickets this time!" Sirius said jovially and he handed the man the snitch shaped tickets. Aldric scowled at the tickets then punched a hole into all three of them and handed them back to him.
"Top box seats!" Aldric said and Lily felt her stomach begin to churn with excitement. They had the best seats in the stadium and it had been awhile since she had seen James play.
Lily went to follow them when a tap on her shoulder made her turn around. James was standing there with a grin on his face.
"We'll save you a seat Lily." Julia said with a wink and an all-knowing look at the two.
"Don't be too long." Sirius said with a straight face then followed Julia up to their seat.
James surveryed her for a second and she felt her cheeks grow warm. "You came! You look very nice by the way."
"Of course I came. Egypt's amazing. I like this idea." Lily said grinning at him and locking her fingers with his as they slipped into a backstage spot where the Quidditch craze people weren't allowed in.
Lily pulled out a miniature England flag and waved it in his face.
"Hey you're finally favoring my team!" James said with a handsome grin.
Lily shook her head laughing. "Only because Ireland isn't playing."
"No fair!" James said with a pretend sulky look. She just grinned and squeezed his hand affectionately with hers. James chuckled softly and they walked in silence down a bit.
"Are you nervous?" Lily finally asked.
He shrugged. "I guess I sort of am. But I'm excited too. I'm really glad you came."
Lily stood up on her toes to kiss him. She inhaled his wizard clone scent and then broke away from his soft lips. "I better get going you know. The game should be starting soon."
James sighed but smiled all the same. "How bout we go to dinner tonight, just me and you? A date."
"I think that's a wonderful idea Mr. Potter. It's a date." Lily confirmed with a teasing smile then gave him a little push.
She waved to him and then walked back to the arena area and up to her seat. The pitch wasn't closed in; it was open so the sun poured in on them. She soon found her two friends sitting up in the seats with a brightly colored umbrella shading Sirius to make it a little bit cooler.
Lily sat in between the two because Julia wanted to soak in the sun.
"What did James want?" Sirius asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Oh nothing." Lily said nonchalantly.
Julia rolled her eyes and said, "Suuuure."
Lily shook her head with a grin and she looked out on the pitch. James was walking out on the pitch with his other team members and the stadium shook with tremendous force as the fans cheered and screamed. Lily locked eyes with him and blew him a kiss. He grinned.
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A/N: Oh my goodness it's over! I'm kind of sad actually. Ohh. Well how'd you like it? Since this is the last chapter and everything I think all of you guys who are on my alerts and fav list should review! I'll be super happy if you do! Wanna say thank you for everyone who has reviewed my story and kept me going. It's been fun. In the future I'll go back and edit my chapters because I know they need it.
Now onto the important news, I am going to be writing a sort of prequel to this story. It's going to be a small fic maybe same amount of chapters I had for this story or maybe less, I'm not entirely sure. But it will be the summer camp and I have lots of great ideas for it.
A short sequel may be in the making for any who's interested. If it were ever written it would be during Elissa's wedding I think.
So love you all and review! Tell me your thoughts and ideas, if you think a prequel and sequel would be good in the future and especially how you liked the last chapter.
See ya!
Lioness Amythest