Games2011 ♥ FIC: Take Time To Sit And Watch The Leaves [PG]
Title: Take Time To Sit And Watch The Leaves
Author: ravenne_crion
Team: DOE
Rating: PG (some suggestiveness towards the end)
Wordcount: 3,860
Warnings: N/A
Prompt: A September to remember. / An October full of splendor. / A November to treasure. - La Prevenchere, Brittany, France, Entertaining Angels
Summary: A Portkey mishap turns out to be most fortuitous for Lily and James.
Heart racing and feet pounding against the ground, James mind barely registered the surrounding landscape as he ran. Dirt and gravel kicked up from the ground around him. In the back of his mind he knew what caused it: misfired hexes from the Death Eaters chasing behind them. The increasing closeness of the blasts was becoming unsettling. They're gaining, he thought to himself. Gritting his teeth, James willed his legs to move faster. The muscles in his thighs burned, but with the adrenaline pumping through his veins he felt no pain.
Instead, he was focused on one point ahead: the Portkey. He only needed to reach the Portkey and everything would be alright. It was only a hundred feet away now, and he was eating up distance quickly with his long strides.
A sharp crack sounded and his view in front was obscured as dirt, rocks and refuge from the forest ground exploded in front of him. He staggered to try and spin around the blast. If he wasn't fast enough, he could at least be more agile. He would be damned if he would make it easy for them to hit him by going in a straight path. The hesitation however had given one of their pursers just enough of an edge to lurch forward and slam his body against James, knocking him down to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.
The two rolled on the ground, both struggling for dominance over the other. It wasn't very often that James found himself in a physical confrontation. They were wizards, they had magic. Why bother with throwing blows? It seemed that they had driven the Death Eaters were desperate.
The Death Eater gained the upper hand, pinning James against the ground on his back. Balling up his fist, James swung, aiming for the Death Eater's masked face. He hit him once and then hit him again, this time knocking the mask off. Now lacking his anonymity, the man seemed to fly into a rage.
Reaching down he gripped James' neck, squeezing tightly, tight enough that James began to struggle for breath. James' hands reached up towards his neck, clawing at the Death Eater's grip, only barely feeling the tip of the man's wand as he brought it up to James' cheek. At the moment when he was close to blacking out, the wand didn't seem as much of an immediate threat.
The world around him began to turn dull and grey but he continued to struggle and fight for life.
Then a bright flash and all the pressure on his body and the hand gripping his neck were gone. James gasped for air and sat up. The Death Eater was several yard away, his body leaning limply against the base of a tree. James looked over her shoulder.
There Lily stood like a warrior goddess, her wand out, arm extended. A banishing charm wasn't the worst she could do but her goal hadn't been death but merely to get the attacker off James. She rushed to his side, kneeled down and gripped James' upper arm. "Come on," she said in a rushed tone as she pulled him to his feet, while at the same time tugging him towards the Portkey.
Upon touching the Portkey there the familiar sensation of a tug behind the navel, but Lily felt something else along with it as the world around them began to spin.
A Death Eater who had been close enough to grab her leg was coming along with them for the ride. The man began to crawl his way up, using Lily as though she were a ladder. Lily grit her teeth and tried to kick and buck, anything to get the creep off her. Her movements didn't do much more then to loosen her own grip on the Portkey. She wasn't used to carrying an extra 200 pounds on her.
Her hold gave out and she could feel herself begin to fall. With quick reflexes, James reached out and grasped Lily's hand. He hadn't expected the weight though. Gritting his teeth he could feel his fingers beginning to slip from the leather bound book.
The last thing Lily remembered was falling. Or more specifically: falling from the Portkey before reaching the final destination. She wasn't sure what book it was or from what class or if it was just something she had heard in passing but she could distinctly remembering a bit of information that said letting go of a Portkey before reaching the end could result in injury and death. She sat up abruptly, which may not have been the wisest move, especially if she were hurt. A quick look down at herself, reaching up she ran her hands over her body, looking for any broken bones, bruises, blood, anything. She found nothing…was she already dead? Would she really know if she was?
Hearing movement, Lily was brought back to her senses. She quickly realized that she didn't know where she was and the last she remembered, there had a Death Eater clinging to her legs when she had fallen. She looked around quickly and stood up. The terrain wasn't familiar to her. Several yards ahead of her were rocky cliffs covered a slippery moss, an ocean she couldn't name lay beyond the cliffs. The Death Eater had to be close by. She heard the noise again and her hand went for her wand.
It was gone.
Panic rushed through her quickly. She knew a little wandless magic but not enough to fight off a Death Eater. Taking a deep breath she raised her hand, attempted to focus her mind. "Accio wand," she said in a firm tone.
The slender stick of wood came to her hand and for a moment Lily felt the tension in her body ease. Something about the wand didn't feel right though. Frowning she examined it, and to her dismay there was a large splinter in the wood that went from nearly end to the other. What was still holding the wand together she wasn't sure. Perhaps it was just a few splinters of wood and sheer luck. She couldn't use it in this condition though.
"Lily?"
She turned. The voice was familiar. "James," she said breathlessly before calling out in reply, "Where are you?"
"Down here...I can't move"
As he spoke, Lily began to follow the sound of his voice, moving closer and closer to find where it originated from. She had to be careful as it led her closer to the edge of the cliffs. Wind from the outlaying ocean wiped at her hair wildly. Reaching up hold the red tendrils at bay, she leaned in to peer over the edge. It wasn't hard to find James. He was between two craggy cliffs, supporting himself on a small natural edge that had formed between them.
Seeing her, relief rushed through James. He reached up his hand to her. "Help me up, Lils."
Without a second thought Lily reached down and grasped James hand. It some effort-more than she would have expected actually-but with all her strength and James putting in the help he could, he was pulled up from his rocky ledge.
Once safe, James lay back against the mossy rock, closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Lily watched him, concern starting to creep through her mind. He was sweating bullets from the effort climbing. It didn't make much sense to her since he was the athletic type. "Everything okay, James?" She didn't bother with hiding the concern in her tone.
Opening his eyes, James looked over to Lily. He didn't answer immediately, looking as though he were debating what to say. "I just may have broken my leg."
"James! You didn't think I should know that before pulling you from that ledge?"
He let out an exasperated breath. "Getting off the ledge seemed like a bigger priority then my leg."
The spat could have gone on or even developed into a full blown argument but Lily decided to hold her tongue. There was no point in lecturing him. He wouldn't like it. She didn't like doing it and with him hurt it wasn't the best time to focus on something that would ultimately be trivial. Especially when there was a Death Eater still unaccounted for.
"We need to come up with a plan," she said instead, her mind going directly the business at hand. James needed help and they needed to find out where they were and how far from home it was. "My wand is damaged, you have a bum leg. We have no idea where we are and there could possibly be a Death Eater about if he didn't fall into the ocean."
James grit his teeth and sat up. It always surprised him how much he used a certain muscle or part of the body till he couldn't use it anymore. Reaching out he put his hand over the top of his upper thigh, as though the touch could maybe ease even a small portion of the ache. Trying to push the pain from his mind, he looked around. Oddly enough, he did believe that he recognized where they were. Off in the distance, stood a lighthouse that he remembered seeing as a young boy. "Cape Fréhel...We're in Brittany."
France, Lily thought to herself. Suppose it could have been worse. Then another though struck her mind and she looked over to James. "How do you know that?"
"I've been on holiday here," he explained. "Mum loved to come to Brittany. She liked the quiet and seeing large collection of megalithic monuments. We used to stay at this bed and breakfast that was tucked away in this little village." And from what James could remember Brittany had been the place for some of the dullest vacations he had ever experienced.
At least one of them was somewhat familiar with the location. It made things seem less desperate in Lily's mind. France wasn't very far from England. Though there were some barriers in the way. International apparition was outlawed due to increased risk of splinching. With her wand in the condition that it was, she wouldn't trust it and even James was already injured. Even if he apparated them with her as a side along, he could end up worse off than he already was.
"How far is the nearest town from here?"
Thinking back, James could remember his father telling him that there weren't any towns or villages built on the peninsula because of rocky cliffs, marshlands and moorlands that encompassed it but he remembered a small village they had passed just before reaching the peninsula. "Between 7 or 8 kilometers."
"I'm going for help," Lily in a determined tone but paused. She couldn't apparate with her wand as it was. She couldn't ask James for his. If that Death Eater was somewhere on the Peninsula and came upon James, he would be helpless. She could always walk. 8 Kilometers wouldn't kill her. It could take hours though.
"I'll go with you."
Lily turned to James him begin to struggle to his feet. Going to his side, she did her best to aide him without causing pain or further injury. "You can't walk," she said pointedly.
"Who said anything about walking? I can apparate us."
"You're hurt."
The pain throbbing in his leg and the thought of the pain he knew would come from preforming an apparition in his condition didn't put him in the mood to argue. They needed to get out of here and traveling less than 10 kilometers was far better than trying to cross the ocean. Best to just get it over with.
If there was one class that Lily now believed Hogwarts should require for its students, it would be a subject that centered on traveling abroad and knowing where the magical centers of that culture were. At the very least it would be nice to know where magical hospitals were. She had almost resorted to knocking James out before she finally managed to convince him that a muggle hospital was better than no hospital at all. Once they were able to get back home, the cast could easily come off and his bones mended. Right now, they didn't have the resources and neither of them was particularly affluent in healing magic. Lily made a personal note to remedy that once this was all over.
For now, they would just have to wait for James to heal and gain enough strength that he could apparate them.
"It doesn't have to be an entirely bad situation," James they walked up the stone path toward the Bed and Breakfast. After he had been discharged from the hospital, they needed somewhere to go. There were plenty of hotels in the city they had been taken to and there were even some fines villas outside of the city that sported beaches in walking distance. James had asked though that they make the trip the bed and breakfast that he had stayed at with his parents. Lily didn't turn down the suggestion. A quiet bed and breakfast in a small village could be what they needed. "We could actually look at this as a holiday."
"A holiday where you're slightly handicapped and we are technically in this country illegally."
"Being deported back to England would be a plus for us, wouldn't it?"
Despite herself, Lily laughed at the cheeky grin he made. "Okay, it's a holiday."
***
September was the off season for tourism which probably made all the better for them. Neither of them had much trouble blending into muggle culture when they had to but it could be tiring. James needed rest. Lily would try and do what little healing spells she could to ease the pain but nothing she did would be as good as mending the bone.
On the plus side, this time had given them something they hadn't had the luxury of in a long time. They were alone. Truly alone. Not like in their normal lives where there was the war, their friends, other responsibilities that needed to be done on a daily basis. They had moments of being alone but there were always distractions. This was the first time that they had no one but each other and nothing to do.
It was their first holiday together as well. With the increasingly volatile war with Voldemort going on, there weren't many chances for them to go off on a romantic getaway. They hadn't even taken a honeymoon before joining up with the Order. They always managed to find small moments here and there to keep the romance alive, especially during that first year. Lately however, those moments seemed few and far between. Lily had never but much thought into it. At least until now.
"Do you think we take each other for granted?"
Her question seemed to come from out of the blue to James. "Did I do something…"
"No!" she answered quickly. "I'm not accusing you of anything. It's one of those talks. I'm just curious what you think. Do we take each other for granted in our day to day lives? When we were running from those Death Eaters and one of them grabbed you, my reaction wasn't because you were my husband. It was because you were a fallen comrade."
"I don't expect you to treat me any differently than any of the other Order members when we are on a mission."
Lily took a deep breath. It was beginning to scare her not that she thought about it and it worried her more that he didn't seem concerned about it. "I don't want to treat you differently and I don't want you to treat me differently. What I am worried about it, is that you don't feel like my husband anymore. It doesn't feel like we're married. Do you remember the last time we had sex?"
"August 13. Not that I'm keeping track of anything," he replied, adding the last bit in quickly. He leaned forward to look at her pointedly. "Lily, I understand what you mean. Yes, it worries me too. We can't be like a normal couple because we're not in a normal situation. It's not going to be like this forever though. Once the war is over we'll get back on track with our lives."
What he said was reasonable enough and she knew that he was right. Their lives were just put on hold. Once the war was over they could work on their relationship. Then a chilling thought crossed her mind. "What if one of us doesn't make it to the end? We know that's a possibility James. We've heard of the Death Eater executing entire families. We've seen more than our fair share of friends die. What if we're just wasting this only time we have left?"
James fell silent. He had no reply to that. He knew she was right. More often than not whenever he heard about another death, the thought of Lily being killed would cross his mind. He would resolve to himself to spend more time with her just in case that happened. Life always seemed to get in the way of those plans however.
He reached out a hand to her. "Lily, come here."
Once she came over and took his hand, James pulled her against him, careful to not have her agitate his leg. At the moment he just wanted her close by. As close as she could be to him. "I'm sorry," he muttered before kissing the top of her head.
"I'm sorry," she replied.
***
After spending most of September inside, James was feeling somewhat stir crazy. He was enjoying this time with Lily. They had talked more intimately this past month then they had the past year. He would always have fond memories of this passing September. It was October now and he needed to get out of this damn building. His leg had healed enough in the past four weeks that he felt he could move around well enough with crutches and of course Lily would be with him.
They had walked to a nearby park and found a bench to sit on. The walk had managed to tire James out somewhat. He wasn't ready to go back to where they were staying though. He wanted to be outside. He wanted to feel the cool breeze and watch the tree tops of brown, orange and yellow sway. It amused him a little to think that when he was a boy, this had all been very boring to him. Right now however, with Lily at this side, he was quite content.
"I decided to write a letter to Remus," Lily said after they had been sitting in silence. They had been toying with the idea of contacting someone back home. They had no owls on hand and no one they knew had a telephone. Well, almost they knew. There was Lily's sister but they ruled out that option. Muggle mail was their last resort.
If Lily were being honest she would say she had been reluctant to write. She was enjoying this time they had together. It was selfish she knew but this felt rejuvenating.
"Did you get a reply back?"
"Actually, yes." Reaching into her coat pocket, Lily pulled out a folded envelope. "Firstly he berated us for not contacting them sooner. He says that they've all been very worried. He even says that he believe Sirius gained a grey hair over all the worry."
James grinned slightly.
"He goes on to say that he's happy to hear we are alive and wanted to know if we wanted them to send anyone to come and get us. "
"Did you reply?"
"I wrote back 'Give us one more month'."
James looked down at her, slightly stunned. He would think Lily's sense of responsibility would win out if they were given the chance to go home. He really liked that it didn't At least this once. Looking back ahead he nodded, "Another month should be good."
***
The month had seemed to go by much too quickly for their liking. Sirius, Remus and Peter had of course accompanied the other Order members who had come to collect them. It was a very happy reunion. They were happy to go home but at the same time sad that they wouldn't be able to spend any more time in this carefree environment. The leaves were falling from the trees now. It seemed like such an odd juxtaposition that while the environment around them was preparing to go into hibernation till spring, their life and their relationship seemed to go into a renewal. They would both have to take care not to lose it once they returned.
"When we get the chance," Lily began as she helped James into their bedroom, "we should take another holiday to Brittany." He had been to see a healer at once and the bone in his leg was now mended good and proper. He didn't have to wear the cast anymore and he could walk but it would still be sore for a few days. The healer had suggested that he rest and not do anything that would be considered too much stress on the leg.
Once she had seated him on the edge of the bed, James reached out to pull her down onto the mattress alongside him. "That's a good idea," he replied with a smile before leaning to kiss her soundly on the lips. He was very happy to have the cast off.
Lily returned the kiss, bringing a delicate hand up to stroke down the side of his cheek and grip his neck gently. It started out as simple kiss. A Heart felt and loving kiss, but still just a kiss. As it continued though, the pressure increased and the need to be closer arose. Reluctantly, Lily forced herself to pull away just enough so she could speak.
"I thought your leg was sore."
"I don't need my leg for this," he said with a lusty chuckle, but if she was concerned he didn't want to worry her.
He laid back against the bed and put his hand behind his head. "I could just lay back and let you do all the work if that will ease your worry."
Lily let out a soft snort. "You be submissive?" They were both strong, dominating personalities. Generally the fight for dominance in the bed was half the fun. The idea of him giving up power so easily amused her. "You won't last."
"That sounds like a challenge."
It was and they both knew it, enjoyed it. It was nice to get back the fun in the relationship. Sliding further onto the bed, Lily turned to lean over James. She straddled his waist before leaning down to kiss him. Her lips moved from his lips to his chin, his neck. If she were in charge, she was going to take her time to enjoy every kiss, every touch as though it would be their last.
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Poll Lily/James Games 2011 - Take Time To Sit And Watch The Leaves
Author: ravenne_crion
Team: DOE
Rating: PG (some suggestiveness towards the end)
Wordcount: 3,860
Warnings: N/A
Prompt: A September to remember. / An October full of splendor. / A November to treasure. - La Prevenchere, Brittany, France, Entertaining Angels
Summary: A Portkey mishap turns out to be most fortuitous for Lily and James.
Heart racing and feet pounding against the ground, James mind barely registered the surrounding landscape as he ran. Dirt and gravel kicked up from the ground around him. In the back of his mind he knew what caused it: misfired hexes from the Death Eaters chasing behind them. The increasing closeness of the blasts was becoming unsettling. They're gaining, he thought to himself. Gritting his teeth, James willed his legs to move faster. The muscles in his thighs burned, but with the adrenaline pumping through his veins he felt no pain.
Instead, he was focused on one point ahead: the Portkey. He only needed to reach the Portkey and everything would be alright. It was only a hundred feet away now, and he was eating up distance quickly with his long strides.
A sharp crack sounded and his view in front was obscured as dirt, rocks and refuge from the forest ground exploded in front of him. He staggered to try and spin around the blast. If he wasn't fast enough, he could at least be more agile. He would be damned if he would make it easy for them to hit him by going in a straight path. The hesitation however had given one of their pursers just enough of an edge to lurch forward and slam his body against James, knocking him down to the ground and knocking the wind out of him.
The two rolled on the ground, both struggling for dominance over the other. It wasn't very often that James found himself in a physical confrontation. They were wizards, they had magic. Why bother with throwing blows? It seemed that they had driven the Death Eaters were desperate.
The Death Eater gained the upper hand, pinning James against the ground on his back. Balling up his fist, James swung, aiming for the Death Eater's masked face. He hit him once and then hit him again, this time knocking the mask off. Now lacking his anonymity, the man seemed to fly into a rage.
Reaching down he gripped James' neck, squeezing tightly, tight enough that James began to struggle for breath. James' hands reached up towards his neck, clawing at the Death Eater's grip, only barely feeling the tip of the man's wand as he brought it up to James' cheek. At the moment when he was close to blacking out, the wand didn't seem as much of an immediate threat.
The world around him began to turn dull and grey but he continued to struggle and fight for life.
Then a bright flash and all the pressure on his body and the hand gripping his neck were gone. James gasped for air and sat up. The Death Eater was several yard away, his body leaning limply against the base of a tree. James looked over her shoulder.
There Lily stood like a warrior goddess, her wand out, arm extended. A banishing charm wasn't the worst she could do but her goal hadn't been death but merely to get the attacker off James. She rushed to his side, kneeled down and gripped James' upper arm. "Come on," she said in a rushed tone as she pulled him to his feet, while at the same time tugging him towards the Portkey.
Upon touching the Portkey there the familiar sensation of a tug behind the navel, but Lily felt something else along with it as the world around them began to spin.
A Death Eater who had been close enough to grab her leg was coming along with them for the ride. The man began to crawl his way up, using Lily as though she were a ladder. Lily grit her teeth and tried to kick and buck, anything to get the creep off her. Her movements didn't do much more then to loosen her own grip on the Portkey. She wasn't used to carrying an extra 200 pounds on her.
Her hold gave out and she could feel herself begin to fall. With quick reflexes, James reached out and grasped Lily's hand. He hadn't expected the weight though. Gritting his teeth he could feel his fingers beginning to slip from the leather bound book.
The last thing Lily remembered was falling. Or more specifically: falling from the Portkey before reaching the final destination. She wasn't sure what book it was or from what class or if it was just something she had heard in passing but she could distinctly remembering a bit of information that said letting go of a Portkey before reaching the end could result in injury and death. She sat up abruptly, which may not have been the wisest move, especially if she were hurt. A quick look down at herself, reaching up she ran her hands over her body, looking for any broken bones, bruises, blood, anything. She found nothing…was she already dead? Would she really know if she was?
Hearing movement, Lily was brought back to her senses. She quickly realized that she didn't know where she was and the last she remembered, there had a Death Eater clinging to her legs when she had fallen. She looked around quickly and stood up. The terrain wasn't familiar to her. Several yards ahead of her were rocky cliffs covered a slippery moss, an ocean she couldn't name lay beyond the cliffs. The Death Eater had to be close by. She heard the noise again and her hand went for her wand.
It was gone.
Panic rushed through her quickly. She knew a little wandless magic but not enough to fight off a Death Eater. Taking a deep breath she raised her hand, attempted to focus her mind. "Accio wand," she said in a firm tone.
The slender stick of wood came to her hand and for a moment Lily felt the tension in her body ease. Something about the wand didn't feel right though. Frowning she examined it, and to her dismay there was a large splinter in the wood that went from nearly end to the other. What was still holding the wand together she wasn't sure. Perhaps it was just a few splinters of wood and sheer luck. She couldn't use it in this condition though.
"Lily?"
She turned. The voice was familiar. "James," she said breathlessly before calling out in reply, "Where are you?"
"Down here...I can't move"
As he spoke, Lily began to follow the sound of his voice, moving closer and closer to find where it originated from. She had to be careful as it led her closer to the edge of the cliffs. Wind from the outlaying ocean wiped at her hair wildly. Reaching up hold the red tendrils at bay, she leaned in to peer over the edge. It wasn't hard to find James. He was between two craggy cliffs, supporting himself on a small natural edge that had formed between them.
Seeing her, relief rushed through James. He reached up his hand to her. "Help me up, Lils."
Without a second thought Lily reached down and grasped James hand. It some effort-more than she would have expected actually-but with all her strength and James putting in the help he could, he was pulled up from his rocky ledge.
Once safe, James lay back against the mossy rock, closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Lily watched him, concern starting to creep through her mind. He was sweating bullets from the effort climbing. It didn't make much sense to her since he was the athletic type. "Everything okay, James?" She didn't bother with hiding the concern in her tone.
Opening his eyes, James looked over to Lily. He didn't answer immediately, looking as though he were debating what to say. "I just may have broken my leg."
"James! You didn't think I should know that before pulling you from that ledge?"
He let out an exasperated breath. "Getting off the ledge seemed like a bigger priority then my leg."
The spat could have gone on or even developed into a full blown argument but Lily decided to hold her tongue. There was no point in lecturing him. He wouldn't like it. She didn't like doing it and with him hurt it wasn't the best time to focus on something that would ultimately be trivial. Especially when there was a Death Eater still unaccounted for.
"We need to come up with a plan," she said instead, her mind going directly the business at hand. James needed help and they needed to find out where they were and how far from home it was. "My wand is damaged, you have a bum leg. We have no idea where we are and there could possibly be a Death Eater about if he didn't fall into the ocean."
James grit his teeth and sat up. It always surprised him how much he used a certain muscle or part of the body till he couldn't use it anymore. Reaching out he put his hand over the top of his upper thigh, as though the touch could maybe ease even a small portion of the ache. Trying to push the pain from his mind, he looked around. Oddly enough, he did believe that he recognized where they were. Off in the distance, stood a lighthouse that he remembered seeing as a young boy. "Cape Fréhel...We're in Brittany."
France, Lily thought to herself. Suppose it could have been worse. Then another though struck her mind and she looked over to James. "How do you know that?"
"I've been on holiday here," he explained. "Mum loved to come to Brittany. She liked the quiet and seeing large collection of megalithic monuments. We used to stay at this bed and breakfast that was tucked away in this little village." And from what James could remember Brittany had been the place for some of the dullest vacations he had ever experienced.
At least one of them was somewhat familiar with the location. It made things seem less desperate in Lily's mind. France wasn't very far from England. Though there were some barriers in the way. International apparition was outlawed due to increased risk of splinching. With her wand in the condition that it was, she wouldn't trust it and even James was already injured. Even if he apparated them with her as a side along, he could end up worse off than he already was.
"How far is the nearest town from here?"
Thinking back, James could remember his father telling him that there weren't any towns or villages built on the peninsula because of rocky cliffs, marshlands and moorlands that encompassed it but he remembered a small village they had passed just before reaching the peninsula. "Between 7 or 8 kilometers."
"I'm going for help," Lily in a determined tone but paused. She couldn't apparate with her wand as it was. She couldn't ask James for his. If that Death Eater was somewhere on the Peninsula and came upon James, he would be helpless. She could always walk. 8 Kilometers wouldn't kill her. It could take hours though.
"I'll go with you."
Lily turned to James him begin to struggle to his feet. Going to his side, she did her best to aide him without causing pain or further injury. "You can't walk," she said pointedly.
"Who said anything about walking? I can apparate us."
"You're hurt."
The pain throbbing in his leg and the thought of the pain he knew would come from preforming an apparition in his condition didn't put him in the mood to argue. They needed to get out of here and traveling less than 10 kilometers was far better than trying to cross the ocean. Best to just get it over with.
If there was one class that Lily now believed Hogwarts should require for its students, it would be a subject that centered on traveling abroad and knowing where the magical centers of that culture were. At the very least it would be nice to know where magical hospitals were. She had almost resorted to knocking James out before she finally managed to convince him that a muggle hospital was better than no hospital at all. Once they were able to get back home, the cast could easily come off and his bones mended. Right now, they didn't have the resources and neither of them was particularly affluent in healing magic. Lily made a personal note to remedy that once this was all over.
For now, they would just have to wait for James to heal and gain enough strength that he could apparate them.
"It doesn't have to be an entirely bad situation," James they walked up the stone path toward the Bed and Breakfast. After he had been discharged from the hospital, they needed somewhere to go. There were plenty of hotels in the city they had been taken to and there were even some fines villas outside of the city that sported beaches in walking distance. James had asked though that they make the trip the bed and breakfast that he had stayed at with his parents. Lily didn't turn down the suggestion. A quiet bed and breakfast in a small village could be what they needed. "We could actually look at this as a holiday."
"A holiday where you're slightly handicapped and we are technically in this country illegally."
"Being deported back to England would be a plus for us, wouldn't it?"
Despite herself, Lily laughed at the cheeky grin he made. "Okay, it's a holiday."
***
September was the off season for tourism which probably made all the better for them. Neither of them had much trouble blending into muggle culture when they had to but it could be tiring. James needed rest. Lily would try and do what little healing spells she could to ease the pain but nothing she did would be as good as mending the bone.
On the plus side, this time had given them something they hadn't had the luxury of in a long time. They were alone. Truly alone. Not like in their normal lives where there was the war, their friends, other responsibilities that needed to be done on a daily basis. They had moments of being alone but there were always distractions. This was the first time that they had no one but each other and nothing to do.
It was their first holiday together as well. With the increasingly volatile war with Voldemort going on, there weren't many chances for them to go off on a romantic getaway. They hadn't even taken a honeymoon before joining up with the Order. They always managed to find small moments here and there to keep the romance alive, especially during that first year. Lately however, those moments seemed few and far between. Lily had never but much thought into it. At least until now.
"Do you think we take each other for granted?"
Her question seemed to come from out of the blue to James. "Did I do something…"
"No!" she answered quickly. "I'm not accusing you of anything. It's one of those talks. I'm just curious what you think. Do we take each other for granted in our day to day lives? When we were running from those Death Eaters and one of them grabbed you, my reaction wasn't because you were my husband. It was because you were a fallen comrade."
"I don't expect you to treat me any differently than any of the other Order members when we are on a mission."
Lily took a deep breath. It was beginning to scare her not that she thought about it and it worried her more that he didn't seem concerned about it. "I don't want to treat you differently and I don't want you to treat me differently. What I am worried about it, is that you don't feel like my husband anymore. It doesn't feel like we're married. Do you remember the last time we had sex?"
"August 13. Not that I'm keeping track of anything," he replied, adding the last bit in quickly. He leaned forward to look at her pointedly. "Lily, I understand what you mean. Yes, it worries me too. We can't be like a normal couple because we're not in a normal situation. It's not going to be like this forever though. Once the war is over we'll get back on track with our lives."
What he said was reasonable enough and she knew that he was right. Their lives were just put on hold. Once the war was over they could work on their relationship. Then a chilling thought crossed her mind. "What if one of us doesn't make it to the end? We know that's a possibility James. We've heard of the Death Eater executing entire families. We've seen more than our fair share of friends die. What if we're just wasting this only time we have left?"
James fell silent. He had no reply to that. He knew she was right. More often than not whenever he heard about another death, the thought of Lily being killed would cross his mind. He would resolve to himself to spend more time with her just in case that happened. Life always seemed to get in the way of those plans however.
He reached out a hand to her. "Lily, come here."
Once she came over and took his hand, James pulled her against him, careful to not have her agitate his leg. At the moment he just wanted her close by. As close as she could be to him. "I'm sorry," he muttered before kissing the top of her head.
"I'm sorry," she replied.
***
After spending most of September inside, James was feeling somewhat stir crazy. He was enjoying this time with Lily. They had talked more intimately this past month then they had the past year. He would always have fond memories of this passing September. It was October now and he needed to get out of this damn building. His leg had healed enough in the past four weeks that he felt he could move around well enough with crutches and of course Lily would be with him.
They had walked to a nearby park and found a bench to sit on. The walk had managed to tire James out somewhat. He wasn't ready to go back to where they were staying though. He wanted to be outside. He wanted to feel the cool breeze and watch the tree tops of brown, orange and yellow sway. It amused him a little to think that when he was a boy, this had all been very boring to him. Right now however, with Lily at this side, he was quite content.
"I decided to write a letter to Remus," Lily said after they had been sitting in silence. They had been toying with the idea of contacting someone back home. They had no owls on hand and no one they knew had a telephone. Well, almost they knew. There was Lily's sister but they ruled out that option. Muggle mail was their last resort.
If Lily were being honest she would say she had been reluctant to write. She was enjoying this time they had together. It was selfish she knew but this felt rejuvenating.
"Did you get a reply back?"
"Actually, yes." Reaching into her coat pocket, Lily pulled out a folded envelope. "Firstly he berated us for not contacting them sooner. He says that they've all been very worried. He even says that he believe Sirius gained a grey hair over all the worry."
James grinned slightly.
"He goes on to say that he's happy to hear we are alive and wanted to know if we wanted them to send anyone to come and get us. "
"Did you reply?"
"I wrote back 'Give us one more month'."
James looked down at her, slightly stunned. He would think Lily's sense of responsibility would win out if they were given the chance to go home. He really liked that it didn't At least this once. Looking back ahead he nodded, "Another month should be good."
***
The month had seemed to go by much too quickly for their liking. Sirius, Remus and Peter had of course accompanied the other Order members who had come to collect them. It was a very happy reunion. They were happy to go home but at the same time sad that they wouldn't be able to spend any more time in this carefree environment. The leaves were falling from the trees now. It seemed like such an odd juxtaposition that while the environment around them was preparing to go into hibernation till spring, their life and their relationship seemed to go into a renewal. They would both have to take care not to lose it once they returned.
"When we get the chance," Lily began as she helped James into their bedroom, "we should take another holiday to Brittany." He had been to see a healer at once and the bone in his leg was now mended good and proper. He didn't have to wear the cast anymore and he could walk but it would still be sore for a few days. The healer had suggested that he rest and not do anything that would be considered too much stress on the leg.
Once she had seated him on the edge of the bed, James reached out to pull her down onto the mattress alongside him. "That's a good idea," he replied with a smile before leaning to kiss her soundly on the lips. He was very happy to have the cast off.
Lily returned the kiss, bringing a delicate hand up to stroke down the side of his cheek and grip his neck gently. It started out as simple kiss. A Heart felt and loving kiss, but still just a kiss. As it continued though, the pressure increased and the need to be closer arose. Reluctantly, Lily forced herself to pull away just enough so she could speak.
"I thought your leg was sore."
"I don't need my leg for this," he said with a lusty chuckle, but if she was concerned he didn't want to worry her.
He laid back against the bed and put his hand behind his head. "I could just lay back and let you do all the work if that will ease your worry."
Lily let out a soft snort. "You be submissive?" They were both strong, dominating personalities. Generally the fight for dominance in the bed was half the fun. The idea of him giving up power so easily amused her. "You won't last."
"That sounds like a challenge."
It was and they both knew it, enjoyed it. It was nice to get back the fun in the relationship. Sliding further onto the bed, Lily turned to lean over James. She straddled his waist before leaning down to kiss him. Her lips moved from his lips to his chin, his neck. If she were in charge, she was going to take her time to enjoy every kiss, every touch as though it would be their last.
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