A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Chelsee, because I'm thankful that I don't have nearly the trouble with sequels that she does!
Chapter 1: Life with You
"Constant vigilance!"
Lily Potter flinched slightly, squeezing her husband's hand behind his back. He glanced down at her curiously.
"I wish he'd stop doing that," she muttered, referring to Alastor Moody's constant shouting of his two favorite words. It always seemed to catch her off guard, ironically. James chuckled softly, giving her hand another light squeeze.
"Potters!" Moody shouted at them, "Separate! Now!" Lily and James quickly dropped each other's hands and took a few steps away from one another.
There were in their second week of crash-course Auror Training, and it had already been made extremely clear to them that public displays of affection, even between married couple within the Auror Department, were quite discouraged by the Ministry of Magic. Lily, James, Frank, Sirius, Remus, the Prewitt twins, and Emmeline Vance were part of a special group of students who had just graduated Hogwarts. They were all being given a special six-week training course and were to be accepted as fully-fledged Aurors until the War with Voldemort was over. When the war ended, they would be given the opportunity to attend the actual Auror Academy and keep their jobs with the department. Lily, Sirius, Frank and Gideon had been chosen for the Special Forces Sector of the Auror Department, while James, Remus, Fabian, and Emmeline would be working for the Information Sector. However, they all were receiving the same basic training techniques in the afternoons. In the mornings, they were divided into two groups to be receive training for their specialized assignments.
"Trainees, twenty laps. Go!" Moody roared.
Lily groaned inwardly but sprinted in the direction of the track. James trailed slightly behind her. Moody continuously sprung random attacks of calisthenics or laps on his trainees. He claimed that this helped to prepare them for the unpredictable life of an Auror and to keep them in shape. James claimed that it helped to put a man's back out of commission.
Lily put on a sudden burst of speed as she realized James was falling behind her. She loved that she ran faster than he did.
"Wait up a second," James called.
Lily grinned over her shoulder at him in a very self-satisfied way, but reduced her pace so that James fell into step behind her.
"You love that, don't you?" James panted after he had caught up.
"Yup!" Lily grinned, kicking up her speed again and easily by-passing Frank Longbottom and one of the Prewitt twins.
"Show off!" Sirius shouted at her back, falling into pace next to James.
"You know you like the view!" Lily retorted, wiggling her hips in a slightly suggestive manner as she ran a good ten paces in front of the rest of the trainees.
"No talking!" Moody barked from the center of the training field.
The training field was about the size of an American Muggle football field. It had a long track running along its perimeter. On the field lay tons of magical exercise equipment. There was also a padded platform near the center which was used for dueling practice.
The training field was only accessible through Portkey from the Auror's offices at the Ministry of Magic.
Lily reduced her speed significantly to fall back into stride net to Sirius and James. She reached out one hand to grab her husband's momentarily.
"Separate, Potters!" Moody shouted again. Lily and James both sighed. James fell back a few paces as Lily again boosted up her speed, now falling into step behind Fabian Prewitt. He smiled sympathetically at her, and Lily rolled her eyes in Moody's direction.
"Down, pushups!" He barked. They all groaned simultaneously, but did as they had been told.
A bell rang in the distance, signifying the end of the training day.
"Alright, go and hit the showers, then," Moody grumbled, sounding quite defeated.
Lily jumped up and ran for the Portkey, the others hot on her heels.
"Ready to go, love?" James asked, walking up behind his wife, who was sitting on the bathroom counter of the locker room, combing her long, wet hair.
"In a minute," she replied.
James chuckled. "You don't have to look perfect, you know," he teased her.
"What do you mean?"
"We're just apparating straight home. Your hair does not have to be perfect. It's not as if we're doing anything particularly special tonight."
Lily ceased the movements of her comb. She turned to face her husband with a solemn look on her face, but an unmistakable twinkle in her eye. "How do you know we're not?" she asked, her voice naught but a seductive whisper.
James gulped. Even after nearly two months of marriage, he marveled at the newfound effects she could have on him with merely a simple sentence.
"All the more reason for you," he said, leaning down close to her ear, "to get a move on."
Lily giggled as his breath tickled her ear and moved away. She stood and wrapped her arms around her husband. They apparated home to Godric's Hollow.
Later, they lay twined together in their bed. James lie on his back , Lily on her side, her hand resting on his expansive chest. His muscles, though they had been strong from Quidditch training before, were now even more well-sculpted from the Auror training. James gently ran one hand up and down Lily's arm and side, creating small tingling sensations along his wife's body.
Lily sighed happily and turned over to face her husband.
"What is it?" James asked, softly reaching up to brush a stray tendril of hair out of her face.
"I love you," Lily replied, leaning up and placing a soft kiss to his lips.
James smiled into her kiss and returned it. "I love you, too," he murmured. Lily smiled sleepily and rolled over onto her side again, snuggling against her husband's warmth as she drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Hello, and welcome to the first chapter of Thrice! yay! I can't believe it's finally here, honestly! Obviously, this chapter is just a prologue of sorts. However, it does set the tone for a lot of the rest of the fic, including explorations of the new, more physical aspect to Lily and James' relationship. Hope everyone is enjoying this as much as I am!
Please review! I don't care if you just say "Cute story. I liked it." or "Crappy story. I hated it." I'd prefer the first choice, and if I get the second choice, at least give me a reason. Just let me know that you've been here and you've read it.
Love to everybody, and major cookes to the first person that reviews!
Love from
Lyny Angell