Chapter 10: Fame Isn’t Everything
“Just ignore them,” James said the next day when there was a knock at the door. “They’ll get the hint sooner or later.” They’d closed the curtains over every window in every room, bolted all of the doors shut, and had disconnected the Floo for the time being.
They were gathered once again in the living room, relaxing. Or would be, if it weren’t for the pounding on the door every ten minutes. Another firm knock was heard. Closing the book she was trying to read to rub at her temples, Lily sighed, “I have to talk to them sometime.”
“No, you don’t. Not if you don’t want to.”
“James, if I don’t get something in the paper for people to read, I’ll be bombarded with questions at Hogwarts. I really don’t want that.”
Turning this over in his mind, James knew she was right in a sense. He sighed while asking, “Do you want me to go with you?”
Lily contemplated this. After all, he’s the one suggesting it, and she would like someone for support. Other than having to tell Dumbledore and a few Ministry officials, she hadn’t had to repeat the events of that night. “I would appreciate it, yes.”
Charlie piped up. “They’re going to take a lot of pictures, so you’d best wear something you’d want people to see you in.”
Twenty minutes later, Lily joined James at the bottom of the stairs after they’d both changed. It appeared that James had tried to comb down his hair. Pursing her lips together, Lily reached up and rumpled it.
“Not working, is it?” James asked, scrunching up his nose.
She laughed lightly. “I used to hate it when you’d mess it up. Now I realize it fits you, and want to run my hands through it myself.”
They walked to the front door and paused. Abruptly, James said, “You know they’re going to ask about us.”
Lily turned to him and tilted her head to one side. “Yes.”
“What do you want to tell them?”
A slow smile formed on her lips. “That we’re getting married so our child won’t be illegitimate.” Then she threw back her head and laughed at the stunned expression on his face. Slapping him on the arm lightly, she said, “The truth, of course.” She stepped close and hooked her arms around his neck.
“That we’re boyfriend and girlfriend?”
“Certainly not. We’re paramours.”
Catching on, James smirked as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “Not quite. Yet.”
Lily found that she didn’t even blush. She wasn’t embarrassed to imagine James being her first. In fact, she wouldn’t want anyone else to take her most prized personal possession. Rubbing her nose on his, she said, “We’re lovers.”
“They won’t believe seventeen-year-olds can fall in love.”
“Doesn’t matter what they believe. We know we love each other.”
He looked at her for a moment. He was surprised how fast they’d gone in one day. He’d always taken Lily for someone that would take extra precaution to make sure she didn’t get too cozy with anyone. But here she was, enfolded in his arms, telling him she loved him. Oh, how long he’d waited for that.
He closed the small gap between them and pressed his lips to hers. He hadn’t been able to close off the part of his mind that had been warning him she was going to turn around suddenly and say, “You foolish boy, why would I love you?” He traced his tongue around the outside of her lips. On a surprised gasp, they parted, and he didn’t waste the opportunity to deftly slip his tongue inside to meet hers.
When she pulled back slightly, Lily was breathless. What had come over him? Before she could wonder though, he was clutching her tightly against him and burying his face in her hair. It was as if he was afraid to let go. Sensing he needed some sort of comfort or reassurance, she rubbed his back in soothing circles.
After a minute he quietly commanded, “Say it again.”
She briefly wondered what he meant, then smiled. “I love you.”
“Do you?” He pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders. “After just realizing it yesterday morning, do you really?”
What’s with the uncertainty? Her eyebrows came together and she frowned. Thinking about it, she had no doubt. “Yes,” she answered firmly, wanting him to know she was sincere. Taking his face in her hands, she asked, “James, what’s wrong?”
He only shook his head as if to clear it and kissed her forehead. “Nevermind.” He took out his wand and unlocked the door. They could hear the reporters on the other side start to talk excitedly. Looking back at her, he asked, “You sure?”
Nodding determinedly, she took his hand and sucked in a deep breath as he pulled open the door. Instantly, cameras were flashing and people were shouting questions at once.
“Lily, what really happened”“
“Is it true you’ve been targeted”“
“What about your sister”“
“How will you go on”“
“Where are you staying”“
“Lily, over here”“
“Please,” Lily said patiently, raising her voice to be heard. “I’m going to answer questions that I see fit to be answered. Now, one at a time. You, in the back.” She pointed to woman.
“Did you see your parents die?”
James had shut the door and squeezed Lily’s hand in support when he’d heard the question.
“No.”
The reporters waited a beat to see if she was going to elaborate. She didn’t. She was going to answer what they asked.
“Where were you, then?” another asked.
“Upstairs.”
“In your bedroom?”
“Yes.”
“Doing what?”
“Getting my wand.”
“You hadn’t had your wand with you?”
“Right.”
When they cast exasperated glances at each other, Lily sighed. “Look, here’s how it happened. My parents and I had been sitting in the living room relaxing when I’d heard a twig snap outside. I didn’t put much thought to it until I heard more footsteps. Then I heard the lock on the back door come undone. I grabbed both my parents and hid them in a closet. I now realize that wasn’t the brightest idea, but I was in a panic. I’d left my wand upstairs and went to go get it. While there, I sent an S.O.S. with my owl to James, here. Then I heard my mum scream.”
She shuddered, still able to remember that terrified shriek. With odd humor, she saw that the Quick Quotes Quills were practically smoking trying to get everything she was saying written. The reporters were hanging onto her every word.
“I ran downstairs like a madwoman and saw my parents dead on the floor. A group of black hooded figures with skeleton masks were around them and turned to me when I came in. They gave chase as I ran out the front door. One of them set my house on fire.” She paused, amusing herself by making them sick with anticipation.
“Then what?” someone burst impatiently.
“Before they could do anything, Voldemort”“
“You dare say his name?” one reporter asked with a mixture of admiration and suspense.
Lily looked her straight in the eye. “Yes. As I was saying, before they could do anything, though, Voldemort showed up and said he wanted to take care of me himself”“
“What were his exact words?”
Not knowing whether she was doing herself a favor or only digging the hole deeper, Lily replied, “’Leave the prodigy to me. You’ve been a real burden upon me, but now, that will come to an end, girl.’ Then he raised his wand and was halfway through saying the Killing curse when Professor Dumbledore arrived.”
“And…?”
“They argued a bit, and Voldemort tried the Killing curse on me again. Only I conjured a chair at the last second and intercepted it.” Lily had to fight a smirk when some of their mouths actually dropped open.
“You… You stopped a Killing curse? Sent by… by You-Know-Who?” someone stuttered.
“No,” Lily corrected lightly. “I just made sure it didn’t hit me.”
Mutters and murmurs broke out and she swore she heard, “No wonder he wants her. She’s got to be the first to have done it!”
“Carrying on,” Lily shushed them, “Voldemort and Professor Dumbledore started dueling”“
“What happened to the Death Eaters?”
“They didn’t move, simply because they hadn’t been commanded to, I’m guessing. Anyway, they were dueling and suddenly Voldemort Disapparates, only to Apparate again behind me. Cast the Cruciatus Curse on me. You don’t know pain until you’ve been under it.” This time she squeezed James’s hand instead of shuddering.
“I didn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing me scream. That only made him angry. Just as I was about to pass out, he let up to duel with Professor Dumbledore again. I noticed more people had arrived, including James, and our friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. I stunned the Death Eater Sirius was dueling, then Remus’s. Remus had started to ask me if I was all right when Voldemort grabbed me.” James stiffened beside her.
“He grabbed you… how?”
Pervert, she thought. “Pulled my back against him and put his wand to my throat. He said that he was going to do what he had come to do. Before he could kill me, though, I kicked him where it hurts a man”though I don’t think he can be called human”elbowed him in the stomach, and stomped on his foot. He let me go. Before he left he spat, ‘You’ve won this battle, Mudblood, but you didn’t come out unscathed.’ He Disapparated, followed by his cronies. I went into shock, and James brought me back here.”
Wow, Lily thought. Must hand it to those Quills. The one I use for taking notes would have keeled over by now.
The reporters turned to James and eyed him up. One stated more than asked, “You’re the grandson of Nathaniel and Annabel Potter, two of the best Aurors of the Ministry. Son of Seth and Justine Potter, the Curse Breakers that retired early because they’d been so successful.”
“That’s right.”
“Are you two involved?”
That’s what Lily had been waiting for. “Very.” To put an exclamation point on the end, she turned to James, wrapped her arms around his neck as she’d done before, pressed chest to chest, and gave him a full-blown French kiss. He didn’t hesitate to reciprocate. Cameras snapped and flashed to catch what’s bound to be hot gossip for quite a while.
Sure enough, the next morning, there was quite the article in the Daily Prophet. After reading it, Sirius let out a whoop and, referring to the picture of Lily and James kissing, said, “I’m going to blow up that picture and hang it all over the entire school!”
Lily nearly choked on her eggs. “Sirius Black, you will not! It’s bad enough that it’s in the paper.”
“But you must remember, Lily Flower, that you put it there. Besides, if I don’t, surely someone will.”
He had a point, but Lily wasn’t about to admit it. She knew he was trying to cover up his shock of reading what truly happened that night. She appreciated his effort to lighten the situation, however, so she let him be.
Lily’d been startled to hear what the reporter had said about James’s parents and grandparents, but she hadn’t dwelled over it. She’d found some books that told briefly of their famous success. She was just glad that she was getting to know the personal side of Tina and Seth, and not just assuming what they were like by their professional status.
Through the last few days of the Christmas holiday, James and Lily spent their time evenly between being together, and being with everyone else. Peter owled to say that he wouldn’t be able to join them at all; his parents were keeping him at home to spend “quality family time” together. He wrote his sympathy and shock for Lily, having read the paper, and thanked them for the presents he’d been sent.
They visited Diagon Alley so Lily could get new robes and school supplies. She hated knowing that everywhere she went it was her name being whispered behind hands. Some people stole side-glances at her, while others openly stared. There was one shy little girl that came up to Lily, all for the shake of her hand. Lily put up with all of this, consoled by James’s presence.
She was sure of one thing though. It was better to be famous and remembered for something great, something that entertained, than to always be known as the one who’d narrowly escaped death. Sure, she was an inspiration, and the means for many people to hope, but she’d rather be remembered for something that made people feel all fuzzy and warm inside.
The day before Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Charlie were to return to school, James’s grandparents Nate and Anna Potter visited. Nate, despite his old age, had the trademark Potter hair, though with several silver strands. His eyes were chocolate brown. If they’d been blue, and Nate had had fewer wrinkles, he and Seth would have probably looked like twins. Anna was tall and slim, had strawberry-blonde hair and misty gray-green eyes.
Lily noticed the coincidental patterns. How couldn’t she? Nate and Seth looked alike, except for the eyes, so would James and his son appear similarly? The Potters have kept their line going on just the first-born son, so would James only have son? Anna was tall and skinny, Tina was short and stout, and Lily herself was short but skinny. Not to mention the three of them had different shades of red hair.
Nate and Anna weren’t strict, old-fashioned, or straight-backed. On the contrary, they were lively and spry, full of gossip and eagerly soaked in the news they hadn’t heard from the grapevine yet. They joked with their family and Sirius (he was practically their grandson, after all), and gave Lily the appropriate condolences. They got reacquainted with Remus, asked about Peter, and were introduced to Charlie.
That night, the five teenagers packed their trunks for the last half of their final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.