In Your Shadow ✓

Epilogue

"James, you cannot possibly be serious about this."

"Mia-mor, you know bloody well that I am absolutely –"

"Sirius, yes, I know." Mia nodded as she waved a dismissive hand at her boyfriend impatiently. "But this... this idea of yours... it's –"

"Genius?" With a huge grin on his face, he leaned forward and grabbed Mia's hands, which were resting on top of the small table in between them.

James was counting on a big reaction to his plan from his girlfriend, so he decided he would tell her in public – in a cute little coffee shop near their shared apartment in London, to be exact.

It was an added bonus that they were around muggles, too – Mia couldn't possibly try and curse him there.

"Absolutely not." Frowning, Mia pulled her hands back and ran them through her dark locks. "Listen..."

"Oh, I'm always listening, love."

"Are you, though?" Mia let out a frustrated sigh, took a sip out of her hot beverage, then cleared her throat. "James, you're an..."

"What?" James tilted his head to the side. "An amazing boyfriend? A blast to be around?"

After taking a quick glance around, Mia leaned in and said in a hushed voice, "An Auror."

"I'm aware," he replied casually. "So what?"

"So what?!" Mia asked back, disbelief written all over her face. "You didn't become an – that," she glanced around the shop again, "just so you could become a flying instructor," she whispered the last two words.

"Well, it's my decision, isn't it?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry, but that's the only other available position at Hogwarts right now, so –"

"You don't have to follow me everywhere, James."

"Oh, I would follow you inside a black hole if it came down to it, trust me," he declared.

Shaking her head slowly, Mia started playing with the shiny promise ring on her finger, not knowing how to continue their conversation.

"Mia..." James spoke up again, his brown eyes shining as he looked straight into her blue ones. "You'll finally be able to do what you've always wanted to. It's still mind-boggling to me that the previous Transfiguration professor suddenly decided to move abroad, but you said you didn't have anything to do with that, so –"

She couldn't help but groan. "I'm not that calculating, James."

"Right!" He gave her a big nod. "So, this is obviously an amazing opportunity for you, and you're not going to miss out on it. Therefore, my only option is to follow you there –"

"You could just not," Mia stated. "You could just stay an Auror and work at the Ministry. You know... like you wanted."

"Now, that's where you're wrong," James said, pointing two fingers at her. "What I always wanted was to be with you. I couldn't care less about what I do for a living. I only care about living... again, if it's with you."

Mia opened her mouth to reply, but ended up closing it. To her dismay, she just couldn't seem to find the right words – something that seemed to happen a lot whenever she was around James Sirius Potter.

With a small smile, he continued, "Besides, it's... like... the next best thing for me, I suppose. You know I always loved Quidditch, and I sure was a bloody amazing flyer. Plus, I could use some practice with the kids for when we have our –"