Out of the Castle, into the War: A Marauder Fanfiction

Chap. Nine

The couple spent various nights reading The Lord of the Rings and by the third week of March had it completed.

"Wow, Lil. Is that really it?" James looked up as Lily closed the book.

"Yup. Managed to finish it in three weekends, pretty impressive." She admitted, setting the book on her bedside table and snuggling closer to James. "I don't want to leave."

"Then don't." James stated simply, wrapping his arms around her and breathing in the smell of her hair.

"I mean leave Hogwarts." Lily sighed, leaning her head on James' chest, tracing little circles on his side.

"Oooohhh." James nodded. "We don't have to until May. It might even be over by then. We could stay in my cottage in Godric's Hollow. Get a dog. Be Aurors. Kick some evil butt. We could still come visit Hogsmeade and come see the castle." He assured her, rubbing her arm.

"Yeah, I suppose you've got a point. But he's on the rise, James. Voldemort is on the rise." Lily forced herself to say it, smirking a little afterwards.

"Then we'll just have to stop him." James told her, determined. He wasn't going to let anything to her, and she wouldn't be letting anything get to him, much less the likes of a Dark Wizard.

"Sounds like a plan, then." Lily agreed, pecking him on the cheek. They fell asleep in Lily's bed as had become habit.

Lily woke up the next morning to the side of the bed being cold and she rolled over to see James leaning in the doorway, arms crossed. "You're gonna be late." He smiled smugly, and Lily shot up, checking her clock and mumbling, "Oh shoot, Oh shoot, Oh shoot."

She ran into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, pulling her hair back into a quick bun with a clip and washing her face. Her put on her primer cream (complete with sunscreen) and moved on to foundation. "Why didn't you wake me?" She called as she put on a layer of powder and a little bit of eye shadow with her best mascara.

"I was going to, but you looked so cute." James replied.

She rolled her eyes and applied a nice pink lipstick and brushed her hair, deciding to leave it down. She shut the door in James face and changed quickly into her uniform. She threw open the door and slipped her robe over her head, adjusting her hair. She grabbed her bag and descended stairs. James stood from the couch and met her at the door as she slipped her shoes on and they walked into the hall. Lily seemed to be doing a mental checklist before she muttered, "Crap!" And pulled out her wand from behind her ear. "Accio homework!" She pointed her wand into the dorm and caught her potions work, closing the door behind her.

"Impressive, Evans." James nodded, looking down at his watch. "Eighteen minutes, wow."

"Yeah, I was having problems with my tie." She commented, adjusting her books and homework.

"But no one even sees your tie." James replied as they descended the stairs.

"But I see my tie." She countered, pulling her bag all the way onto her shoulder.

"What if I told you my tie wasn't even tied properly?" James asked innocently, not looking over at her.

"James Potter, I will not be able to focus on anything during classes. Please tell me you tied your tie properly." She pleaded, trying to look at his tie as they walked.

"But honesty is important in a relationship, Evans." He grinned as they walked down the last set of stairs.

"Take off your robe." She sighed, pulling him to the side.

"Wow, Evans, here? In front of everyone?" He teased, pulling his robe over his head.

"Just come here, toe-rag." She instructed, undoing the knot in his tie and tying it properly. "There." She nodded, looking up to him. "Now, was that so painful?"

"Not when you do it, no. It always hurts my fingers and it never looks right." He whined, pulling the robe back over his head.

Lily's mouth almost fell open. "You mean to tell me you've never tied your tie properly in almost seven years?"

"Well most of the time one of the boys would fix it for me, I just can't get it." He shrugged sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Lily sighed, the corners of her mouth twitching up. This discussion would lead to Lily trying and failing to teach James to tie a tie, which would lead to Lily doing it every time he donned one.

"How's our favorite pair of lovebirds?" Sirius asked as they sat down.

"Running late." Lily retorted, stuffing her face.

"Mhmm." James nodded, cramming his own mouth.

"The owls have already flown through, there's a letter for you, Lil." Alice informed, throwing Lily her letter.

"Awesome, who-" She froze when she saw the name on the return address, just staring at the envelope.

"Open it, Evans." Sirius encouraged after a few moments.

"Oh, yes, of course." She tore it open carefully, pulling the letter out slowly. She read it for several minutes and the Great Hall began to empty. Her hand moved slowly to her mouth and she didn't move. Her friends were gathered around her, mouthing arguments and questions to each other, gesturing wildly. "I'm a bridesmaid. I'm a bridesmaid. I AM A BRIDESMAID." She shrieked, grinning wide. She hopped from the bench and hugged Alice tight around the neck, then turning and grabbing James by the tie, kissing him. "I'M A BRIDESMAID!" She ran from into the hallway, letter clutched in her hand. Alice looked between the boys, who all stood star struck, staring at James.

"TUNEY?" Alice called, running after her. A loud yes shattered the boys eardrums and they followed along.

"I'm not the maid of honor, but I'M A BRIDESMAID!" Lily giggled with Alice.

"Yay, Lil.! This is awesome! I'm so glad for you!" She beamed, holding onto her friend's arm as they walked.

"But who am I gonna bring? I want to introduce everyone to James, but I want to bring you. Both for obvious reasons." Lily explained, pulling her bag securely onto her shoulder.

"Lily, I love you, and I am flattered, but if you make me go to that wedding I might end up cursing your sister."

"Potter it is, then." Lily giggled, joined soon by Alice as they entered potions.

"Potter for what?" Severus asked as she sat down.

"Oh, there'll be one less Evans soon. She just needs to talk to James about the wedding." Alice replied smoothly, earning a stern look and a chuckle from Lily.

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(A/N): Wow, never done one of these before.

I just wanted to apologize to you darlings for taking so long to update. I have a minimum for my chapters and I'm writing a few different stories all at once. This seems to be the one you guys love the most, so I'm trying my best to give my attention to this one.

So happy reading sweethearts and I hope you enjoy! 😊