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James Potter was waiting.

He gazed down the street, the street that hadn’t changed one bit in over eighteen years. Twisting trees guarded overflowing gardens in which sat large cottages with bay windows and old-fashioned doors. Winding stone paths crept through the grass, wild flowers tickling the cracks. Inside, families lived, some old couples watching tenderly over small grandchildren, others newlyweds just starting out. Some houses, like James’, were full of hidden secrets, magical giveaways hidden just out of sight.
It was summer; the sky was crystal with the sun at its highest, reflecting shockingly off the windowpanes.

While young children played on the road, screaming with mirth as they peddled their tricycles hard with their heads down and tongues stuck out in determination, adults sat outside in their gardens with glasses of lemonade and ice, chatting good-naturedly to their friends and neighbours.

James watched as four children raced near him, smiling in amusement as they argued over who had won. He was leaning against his garden wall, hands in his pockets, a pair of shorts being the only thing he was wearing besides a pair of battered sandals. He ran a hand through his damp hair, his long fingers sliding through the mixture of water and sweat. It was roasting.

He glanced back up the street, and saw a girl emerge from her garden. She closed the gate and started up the pavement; she was going to pass by James. As she drew nearer, James recognised her. It was Emily. Emily had lived on the street as long as James had, and they used to play together when they were younger. They had grown apart in recent years however, what with James being at Hogwarts and learning magic, while she, a muggle, lived on in Godric’s Hollow. She knew nothing of this, however, simply thinking his parents had sent him to a boarding school up North for the ‘experience’. They’d seen each other a few times when he had come home for his summer holidays, but more recently, he had had friends staying with him, so they hadn’t spent time together. She’d looked surprised every time she’d seen him, James had often noted, and he had started to get a sneaking suspicion that she had started to think of him rather differently to how he thought of her.

As she came closer, James silently cursed the hot weather; had it been colder, he would’ve been able to put a t-shirt on: this was going to be awkward enough as it is. But it was impossible; there was not a single man on this street, in this country even, that was wearing any more than James was at this present moment in time, due to the heat wave that had hit England this summer.

“Hey!” She called, waving at him, drawing nearer. She tucked a strand of gleaming blonde hair behind her ear and smiled coyly as she came to a stop beside him. James saw her gaze flick quickly down his body, and cursed again as he watched red tinge her already pink face. He hastily crossed his arms across his chest, but this didn’t help: the muscles in his arms rippled, causing Emily’s eyes to widen slightly. She cleared her throat, and tried to laugh lightly.

“Ah James, I remember when you were nine years old and skinnier than anything!” She looked up at his face, and blinked several times. “Who’d have guessed?”

James raised an eyebrow. “Guessed?” His deep voice was amused.

Emily cleared her throat again, trying to hide the fact that she had just felt her stomach dissolve. “Yeah, you know…” She gestured vaguely. “Who would’ve know you’d end up like this?”

James grinned. “How are you, Emily?”

“Oh, keeping well.” She smiled. “How about you? You’ve left school now, haven’t you?”

“Yeah,” James said, trying to push away the images of Hogwarts that had floated into his mind. Emily frowned.

“You look sad.”

James looked up from his feet, pulling his face into a more relaxed expression. He shrugged. “I’m going to miss it.”

“Really? I always thought boarding school was meant to be rubbish! You know, being away from home all the time, and stuff…”

James laughed. “I’m sure some are. My school was… great…” He smiled slightly. “Great.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it became like a second home to me. I met some of the best people I’ll ever know there.” Emily’s expression flickered; her shoulders drooped ever so slightly, as though disappointed.

“Like who?” she asked, putting her smile firmly back in place.

James’ smiled widened. “I have this group of really good mates. We just made this bond I doubt I would’ve had if I’d stayed here.” Emily watched as his features suddenly softened. It was almost as if he’d forgotten she was there when he said, “And I wouldn’t have met Lily either.” James blinked out of his reverie in time to see emotion flash across Emily’s face. He felt a twinge of guilt, and wished he didn’t have to see the disappointment now evident on Emily’s face.

“L-Lily?” Emily tried to pull herself together, embarrassment heightening her discomfort.

“She’s my girlfriend,” he said apologetically.

“Oh,” was all she could think to say. After a moment, she asked unevenly, “How long have you been together?”

“About ten months. That’s why I’m standing here, she’s visiting.” He laughed, a happy, delicious sound. “She’s meeting the parents.”

Emily couldn’t help but smile. She stared down at her toes, wondering if she dared ask him.

“What is it?”

She looked up to see his hazel eyes looking gently at her. His handsome face was open; he wouldn’t judge her. Emily’s insides ached as she asked the question that was burning her throat.

“Do you love her?” She held her breath, already regretting her question. But James smiled, a smile that told Emily what she already knew.

“Yes. So much.” His eyes had left hers, and he was gazing at something over her shoulder, at something she couldn’t see. When he spoke, his voice was gentle, loving. “She’s amazing. Funny, intelligent… beautiful… I’m the luckiest guy in the world. When I look in her eyes and she's looking back at mine…” He sighed. “Everything feels... not quite normal. Because she makes me feel stronger… and weaker at the same time, excited and at the same time, terrified. The truth is... I don't even know what to feel, except that I know, when I see her, what kind of man I want to be. It's as if I've reached the unreachable and I wasn't really ready for it…” He fell silent, still absorbed in whatever it was that he was seeing.

For he was seeing her: her face, her eyes, her smile. He could hear her laughter, her teasing… He could feel her hand in his, her fingers playing fondly in his hair. As if magnetically attracted, he felt his head turn, and he saw her. He blinked, and there she was, walking towards him, her long red hair glowing in the summer sunlight, a smile playing on her lips. He stood up, locking his gaze with hers. Emily watched them, knowing that she had been entirely forgotten. But this connection, this love that he was capable of, only made him more attractive, and she slowly edged away, her insides aching, heart racing, but her mind clear.

Lily reached James, and her eyebrows rose as she took in James’ bare chest. “Is that for me?” she inquired as she took a step closer to him. His eyes never leaving hers, he raised his hands to her face, tenderly holding it beneath his fingertips.

“If you want it to be,” he murmured. Against his lips, he felt her mouth turn up in a smile, and, unable to bear it anymore, he pressed his lips to hers.

Emily looked back over her shoulder as she made her way down the street. She saw them holding each other, his hands at her throat, her hands resting on his slim waist. As she watched, she saw their kiss intensify as they tightened their arms around each other, holding one another tightly. Emily looked away. It wasn’t her place to watch their moment. For, a hopeless romantic as she was, she had never seen a couple so connected, and so in love, as James and Lily so obviously were.