Nothing On Earth

Chapter Four

10:25 PM

It was nearly ten thirty at night when James decided that he would go back inside. He had come out onto the boat deck about a half an hour beforehand to meet with Sirius and see how things had gone at dinner. Only, Sirius had yet to show up at the planned time, and James - never the patient one - was getting sick of waiting. While Sirius was probably off downing brandies and sitting in a nice, warm room, James was sitting outside in the chilly air - not drinking - and smoking with numb fingers.

If Sirius really needed to talk to him, then he could do so in the morning, for he was tired of being cold. He hadn't brought out his jacket or gloves because it hadn't been too cold when he had first come out, and he had thought Sirius would be on time for once in his life. Obviously, he had been wrong, and now the only thing he cared about was getting his fingers defrosted. If Remus ended up having a problem with him not accomplishing anything, then he could stop chatting up that pretty blonde girl, get off his arse, and come out and wait for Sirius himself.

James walked over to the side railing and looked disinterestedly at the dark water passing below. He took one last drag on his cigarette, before throwing it overboard and watching its orange glow disappear into the night. He blew into his hands, rubbed them together, and then set off toward the third class entrance.

He wasn't even halfway across the ship when he heard the sudden clang of metal against metal and the sound of hurried feet running down the stairs leading into the well deck. He glanced curiously in that direction, but it was too dark to see anything clearly and several shipboard objects were blocking his view. With an agitated sigh, he shoved his hands in his coat pockets, and resumed his course toward the stairs. It seemed as though Sirius had decided to show his ugly mug after all.

James was just nearing the stairs, thinking of all the possible rude names he could call the other man, when a red-headed woman burst from the steps and raced toward him, seemingly so intent on running away from whatever that seemed to be chasing her that she didn't see him. James didn't see her either, until the last minute, and it was too late to move.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, as the girl collided into him, knocking all the air out of him. She lost her balance upon their collision, and almost tumbled to the ground, but James quickly grabbed her upper arm and steadied her.

He got a brief glance of what she looked like - enough to tell that she was not third class and upset - before she ripped her arm away with a terrified cry, and pushed past him. He turned, intent on stopping her, but she was far out of his reach by then. He took a few hesitant steps after her, but stopped, thinking better of it.

James contemplated for a moment, staring at her disappearing figure. He sighed, annoyed, before turning on his heel, and walking back towards the stairs. He had better things to do than chase after and try to comfort a hysterical first class girl. After all, if the girl had wanted his help, she wouldn't have run away in the first place.

"Probably didn't get the diamond she wanted for her birthday," James mused, rolling his eyes. "As if she would know what real misery is..."

He paused at the stairs, and then glanced over his shoulder, trying to spot her, but the machinery was blocking any area where she could have run to. Only then, did it strike him as odd that a crying, first class girl was running away from her area of the ship and right into the third class. Didn't the members of society usually think that the third class was diseased?

And why had she come down here to cry to begin with? Couldn't she go be upset in her own, more elegant surroundings and stop invading the third class area? If there was one thing that irked James more than Gideon Prewett, Severus Snape, and Death Eaters, it was when society people had to go, and -

Unexpectedly, a thought struck James...Perhaps this girl had run all the way to the stern because she was so terribly upset that she was planning on doing something terribly stupid...

Suddenly filled with alarm, he turned back around and ran for the edge of the stern. While he was already berating himself for not following after the distressed girl in the first place, James had to wonder why everything seemed to happen to him. All he wanted to do was to go back to the general area, warm his fingers up, and have a few good drinks; was that too much to ask? Obviously someone thought so, and now he had to go check on a stupid rich girl to make sure she wasn't going to do anything thick, just so he satisfy his bloody conscience -

James stopped short when the girl came into view again, and the first thing he noticed that - even from behind - she was breathtakingly beautiful. The second thing he noticed was that she was hanging on the other side of the railing.

His heart skipped a beat when he realized exactly what he was seeing and panic rose in his chest. What was she doing? Was she going to...jump? Why on Earth would she want to do something as mad as jump off the back of Titanic?

But he didn't have the time to think of her reasons; all James knew was that he had to stop this girl...before she made a horrible mistake.

Cautiously, he stepped toward her, trying to make as little noise as possible. It seemed, however, that she was too caught up in her grief to notice her surroundings. She was trembling fiercely, and her fiery red hair was blowing softly in the wind. She looked slightly familiar (although James was sure he'd recall if he'd met her before) and perhaps if the light above the flagpole was a bit brighter, he might've been able to recognise her.

He was just a few feet behind her, when she suddenly leaned forward, and her grip on the railing loosened. James took a deep breath; it was now or never.

"Don't do it."

***

Lily's eyes snapped open.

No! She had been ready! Why couldn't anything go the way she wanted it for once? And why did the only person on the Titanic who seemed to have noticed her have to show up now?

She whipped her head around, and her eyes took a few seconds to focus on the speaker. It was a young man; he couldn't be more than twenty, with his messy, black hair, and twinkling hazel eyes. He was a steerage passenger - the same one she had probably run into earlier - but handsome nonetheless. If the lighting had been a bit better and if her vision had been so blurry, she might've been able to recognize him from somewhere. But where had she ever been in contact with a handsome steerage man before?

He took a hesitant step toward her, as if realizing he had successfully got her attention, and Lily suddenly remembered what she was supposed to be doing. She couldn't let this man come near her; if she did, he'd pull her back on board, and she'd be returned to Lucius like a lost coin -

"Don't come any closer!" she cried warningly, her voice trembling. The man froze, and she glanced back down at the dark water below. This was her only chance to escape from Lucius! She had to do this! "I - I'll let go!"

There was silence from behind for a moment, and then; "No, you won't."

Lily twisted around to face him better, her temper beginning to rise. Did everyone on this bloody ship seem to think that she could make a decision by herself?

"What? What do you mean, 'no, you won't'?" Lily exclaimed angrily, glaring at him. He didn't quail under her angry gaze that usually sent servants running for cover. Instead, he jammed his hands into his pockets - trying to look relaxed, but failing miserably - and stared right back. Infuriated with him, she continued, "Don't you presume to tell me what I will and will not do. You don't know me."

"True," he replied, with a shrug of his shoulders. He was acting as though he often talked to hysterical girls hanging off the back of ocean liners. "But I do know that if you really wanted to jump, you would've done it already."

She stared at him, now quite confused. First, he had been telling her not to jump, and now he was questioning whether or not she was brave enough to let go? And why would he care anyway?

"I would've done it, if you hadn't distracted me! Go away!" she exclaimed, twisting back around to face the water. She half-expected him to turn away - like others would have done - mumbling about stupid rich girls under his breath. But instead of receding footsteps, another sound came to her ears.

"I can't. I'm involved now."

She tore her eyes away from the water once more, exasperated that he was once again distracting her. He was now only an arm's length away from her, seemingly having moved closer during the few seconds that her back had been turned.

"What's that have to do with anything?"

"Well, if I back away now, and let you jump...I'm going to have to live with that decision and the guilt for the rest of my life..." He explained slowly, clearly only just thinking of all this at the moment. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, and continued, "And then I'll have to wake up everyday knowing that I didn't do anything to stop you from jumping and that I had a hand in your death - "

"You wouldn't feel guilty - It's not like I mean something to you. I'm just another petty, society girl..." Lily interrupted. She looked at his face, searching for some hidden emotion, but there was no to be found. Whoever this man was, he was genuinely concerned about her safety. "And besides," she added quickly to cover up for her staring. "What would you do if I did...jump?"

"Probably jump right in after you," he replied without any hesitation.

"Don't be stupid. You'd be killed." she shot back.

"Nah, I'll be fine. I'm a good swimmer," he assured her, waving his hand dismissively. "Besides, I'm more worried about how cold that water's going to be, than whether I survive the fall or not."

He kept his eyes on her as he spoke, and she looked away, trying not to let him see exactly how afraid she was now that he had mentioned all those things. There was a very pregnant pause between them for a few moments, before Lily's curiosity finally got the better of her and she asked, "H-How cold?"

"Dunno for sure. Probably around freezing, give or take a few degrees." He responded with the air of someone talking about something as boring as the weather rather than a life or death situation.

Lily gulped nervously, and glanced quickly at the water below. Suddenly, it didn't seem like so inviting...She had thought this would be the quickest way to end it all, but from what this man was saying, it would be a lot more painful than she had imagined.

"You ever been to Hogwarts?"

His voice cut through her muddled thoughts like a knife, and she looked back at him once again. Why the bloody hell was he talking about Hogwarts at a time like this?

"What?"

"You know, Hogwarts School for Gentlemen and - "

"I know what Hogwarts is!" she interrupted, exasperated.

"Sorry," he responded, putting his hands up in defence. "Er...Well, I was a student at Hogwarts for a bit, and it has this huge lake on the property. One winter, the lake froze over, and my friends and I decided it'd be fun to go take a walk out on it." He glanced at her, as if to make sure she was listening. She had to wonder how mad he really was, and whether this stupid story had anything to do with what they were talking about. "Well, that was a pretty bad idea, 'cause the lake wasn't as frozen as we thought it was. Just a few feet from shore, I fell through some thin ice, and the water - just like that down there - " He walked over to the rail, closing the gap between them, and glanced over the side.

"The water was freezing. When water that cold hits you, it feels...feels like someone's stabbing you with needles all over your body...You can't breathe, can't think about anything but the pain..." Lily saw him shiver suddenly out of the corner of her eye, and then he continued on. "So I'm really not looking forward to repeating the experience by jumping in after you...I'm kind of hoping that you'll come back over the rail, and get me off the hook."

Lily desperately wanted to come back over the rail too, but - but she couldn't. Whatever brief pain she might cause herself by letting go could never amount to the pain she would feel for the rest of her life if she came back over and went back to her world. She couldn't let it continue like this any more.

"You're mad!" she replied at last. If this young man wanted to risk his life trying to save her from something he couldn't understand, than so be it.

"Sure I am," he replied. He then leaned in close to her; so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath on the back of her neck. "But if you don't mind me by saying so, miss, I'm not the one hanging off the back of the ship."

Gulping, she looked over her shoulder, and into his warm eyes. They were so sincere and inviting, and such a change from Lucius's cold grey set, and Riddle's hateful ones. Maybe...maybe...

"Now, come on. Give me your hand," he continued, extending his own, shaking hand out to her. She stared at it. This was her choice; she could either take his hand and go back, or... "You don't want to do this."

Her eyes flickered briefly to the water below, and then back to his outstretched hand. Trembling with uncertainly and fear, she slowly unfastened one hand and reached out for his. His grasped her hand protectively in his, and Lily felt - for the first time in a long time - that she was safe. Slowly, she shifted her footing, and turned around to face him. In the moment that their eyes met, she knew that she had done the right thing.

"I'm James Potter."

"Lily Evans," she replied, her voice still trembling. For a second, she thought she saw something like recognition flash on his face, but it was gone as soon as she had seen it.

"At least it's short," James said, with a small grin. "Now, let's get you back on the right side of the rail, and then someplace warm."

Lily nodded numbly, and began to climb. The height was terrifying now that she had decided to turn back, and she moved slowly, as to not offset her balance. But when she didn't consider, as she put her first foot on the railing, was her clothing's inadequacies for climbing.

It happened in a matter of seconds; the silk of her dress snagged under her heel, and she slipped. With a piercing shriek, Lily plunged downward.

***

Sirius wondered if Lucius Malfoy was ever going to shut up, and go off to bed. Maybe the rumours about him being a blood-sucking vampire were true after all.

The two of them, Tom Riddle, and a few other first class men had been sitting at the same table in the first class smoking room for hours, and still no one had gotten up to retire. They had played cards for a bit (Sirius had to lose to Riddle to stay on his good side), and then talked about stupid things like stocks or Parliament for the rest of the time. No mentions of Death Eaters or anything of that sort had been a topic of discussion, and Sirius supposed they weren't going to be brought up any time soon.

He glanced exasperatedly over at the small clock above the fireplace mantle, trying to guess when most men decided to retire for the night. The time read eleven o'clock, and with a small stab of guilt, he realized that he was supposed to have met James over an hour ago. He was certainly going to get an earful from him about that tomorrow...

With a roll of his eyes, Sirius glanced around the smoking room again. Much to his disappointment, there were still quite a few men up, playing cards (like Riddle) or having one last brandy, and it didn't look like they - or his 'companions' at the table - were going to go to bed any time soon. He'd probably have to make up some excuse to get away, and then he'd have to go find James, apologize to him, and then make up another excuse concerning his tardiness.

"Sirius, my young friend," Riddle declared suddenly. He looked up, and found that the few other first class men had left the table, leaving him alone with the two older men. Riddle was staring at him over folded hands, as if he had just spotted him for the first time tonight. "Lucius has just informed me that you want to become a Death Eater."

After fighting down the urge to vomit at being called Riddle's 'friend', Sirius replied evenly, "Yes, yet I'm afraid I don't know quite as much about your organization as I would like to. I know that Regulus is going to become a member, but he's been rather sparse with information as of late."

Those were both outright lies; he knew far more about Death Eaters than he probably should, and Regulus never shut up about his impending initiation into the group. Thankfully, Riddle seemed to have bought his story, but he kept a wary eye on the younger man as he talked. Sirius stared back with, trying to look interested, not look Riddle in the eye, and keep a poker face at the same time (making an unbelievably strange facial expression).

There were all sorts of rumours circulating the streets about Riddle as of late, but the one that most worried Sirius right now was the one concerning Riddle's 'ability' to read minds. He had heard from all sorts of sources that the head of the Death Eaters could tell what a person was thinking through their emotions or body language, and while he had scoffed those rumours when he had been safely tucked away in the Order's Headquarters, he wasn't going to take any chance with those cold, grey eyes just a few paces away. Hopefully, he had skewed up his expression so much that Riddle would just think that he was mental, and wouldn't try to 'read' his thoughts.

"I'm sure you at least know the main goals of our organization?" Riddle asked, sounding exasperated with the young Black. Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Even if you do, I'll inform you once again, so that you can...decide whether or not you truly want to become part of this."

Sirius knew what was coming next; he had heard it often enough from old Mad-Eye during Order meetings: An aspiring member would meet with Riddle or Malfoy and be told the mission. If, after hearing that, he still wanted to go through with it, he'd be bound to the group, and there'd be no backing out unless you wanted to be sent to an early grave. Or, if he decided that he really didn't want to be a Death Eater, he'd be let off, and then would be murdered by a loyal member a day later, so he couldn't talk about what he heard.

Either way was dangerous, but hat he would be doing would have more risks than the two combined; he'd be taking on the role of spy. The Order had tried to get several spies into the main circle of Death Eater for years, and they had only succeeded once because - if the rumours were had any truth to them - Riddle didn't take kindly to spies in his organization. Several good Order members had been killed or tortured after being discovered, and Sirius really didn't want to add his name to that list. But he wouldn't be playing the role of spy long - a week at the longest - so the chance of him being discovered was quite low.

"I'm fully committed to doing this, with or without knowing the purpose," Sirius responded, crossing his fingers under the table. Both Malfoy and Riddle looked impressed, but not surprised by his exclamation; it seemed Bellatrix had once again stolen his lines.

"Well, if you've paid any attention to our country and the world, you've had to have noticed what's been happening as of the last few years," Malfoy began with a superior air. Remembering that he liked to talk a lot, Sirius shook his head. "Ah, I forgot. You went to Hogwarts, didn't you? Well, then of course you wouldn't know it as a problem, with that fool, Dumbledore, as Headmaster. He's one of the main supporters of the problem, and I suppose he told you that all that was happening was just excellent, didn't he?"

Sirius never got a chance to answer, for at that moment, Severus Snape strode up to the table, wearing a sourer look than usual. Snape shot him a heated glare (it seemed he still had forgiven Sirius for his actions at Hogwarts), before turning to Malfoy.

"Lucius."

Malfoy stopped talking - Sirius had tuned him out to glare back at Snape (just because he was a slimy git) - and looked at his valet, wearing a slightly exasperated expression.

"Make it quick, Severus," Malfoy replied with a bite of impatience. "Tom and I would like to get back to informing Sirius here, of what's expected of a Death Eater."

Snape glanced at him, and Sirius thought that there something akin to disbelief in his eyes. Before he could determine that, however, Snape looked back to Malfoy.

"I'm afraid that might have to wait for another time," he stated, though his tone indicated that he clearly thought it should not occur at all. "For there's a problem concerning your fiancée at the moment."

Lily...

It had been so hard to lie to her, and act like he didn't care any more...He knew that she always thought of him like a brother, and he had seen how betrayed she was when he had talked to her. He'd never forget that look in her eyes, and it hurt to know that he had been behind the pain. He fidgeted nervously in his chair, wondering what the problem with Lily was at the moment.

"What has she gone and done now?"

Both he and Malfoy seemed to know that Lily tended to do...well, stupid things when she got upset. While Sirius was started to get concerned with whether she had hurt herself or not, the older man seemed to more worried about whether she had broken anything expensive. Well, at least he was worried about her for once.

"I don't believe she's done anything, but a steward has informed me that she was attacked by some steerage filth only a few minutes ago."

Attacked! But who would attack someone like Lily? Sirius sat up straight in his chair at once, and listened intently to what Snape had to say.

"What? How dare that - that..." Malfoy hissed after a moment. His tone was dangerous, and an angry flush had appeared on his face. "Who was it? How did this happen?"

"The only information I was given about her attacker was that he's steerage. They were found out on the stern. It appears that Miss Lily had wandered out there, and the steerage man attacked her while her back was turned." Snape continued, apparently not worried by Malfoy's reaction or about Lily either. "The stewards have gone to get the Master at Arms, and they would like you out on deck."

"Very well," Malfoy replied, trying to compose himself, though he still looked very angry. He looked at Riddle - who had remained silent during the whole exchange - after he had calmed a bit, and asked, "Will you be joining me?"

"No," Riddle said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Take Sirius instead; perhaps this will teach him something about the filth we're trying to put a stop to."

Without a word, Malfoy motioned for him to get up, turned on his heel, and walked toward the exit of the smoking room. Slowly, Sirius got out of his chair and followed. As they passed by the fireplace, he took another look at the clock upon the mantle piece. A feeling of dread rose up in his chest as he remembered that James was supposed to have been on the stern too...

That feeling grew worse once they were out on deck, and Sirius realized that he might've just caused a whole mess of trouble for his two friends.

***

"Here you go miss. This'll warm you up nicely."

"I'm not cold."

The steward didn't seem to believe her, for she was sitting far up on one of Titanic's numerous benches, and was burrowed into a steamer blanket. He obviously wasn't a first class steward or very experienced either, because he kept pestering her.

"Well, it'll cheer you up, anyway. My mum says that a nice cup of tea will cure any problems you've got." He pressed on, pushing the cup of tea toward her. She slowly reached out, and took it, more just to make the young steward leave her alone than to drink it. "Though, I'm not sure just one cup will cure what happened tonight. That must've been a terrible ordeal you went through, ma'am."

Lily didn't answer, and instead glanced over in James Potter's direction. He was standing further back on the stern, and two burly crewmembers were on either side of him, standing guard. He seemed to be taking this all quite well, but when he noticed she was looking at him, he cocked his head to the side a bit, as if to say, "Well, aren't you going to tell them what really happened?"

It had been James's quick reflexes that had saved her from plunging sixty feet into the ocean, and he had had the strength to hold on to her as she panicked and trashed at the air, trying to pull herself up. He had calmed her down (though, Lily realised with a frown, he had told her to shut up quite a few times, just so she'd listen to him) just enough so she could pull herself far enough to where he could reach her other hand.

James had stumbled when he had pulled her completely back on board - and for one wild moment, Lily had thought she was going to tumble back into the ocean - and they had landed in a heap on the deck, James nearly landing completely on top of her, both of them gasping for breath. And that was how the steward had found them minutes later, attracted by her screams for help...

She looked away quickly from James quickly, and stared down at the tea in her cup. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she recalled that incident, yet...just thinking about how warm and pleasant she had felt with James's arms around her sent tingles of excitement through her body -

"You really ought to drink that up before it gets cold, ma'am," the steward bothered, bringing her pleasant thoughts to an abrupt end.

"Oh...yes," Lily murmured, bringing the teacup to her lips and taking a sip. She stared at the steward for a moment, realizing for the first time that he had to be younger than she was. His uniform looked like it was a size too big for him (though he was probably expected to grow into) for his trouser legs and shirt arms were rolled up so they would fit, and he kept pushing up the big cap sitting on top of his bright red hair. "...What's your name?"

"Bill, ma'am. Bill Weasley."

"Weasley?" Lily asked, glancing at him. "Not Arthur Weasley's son?"

"Yes, ma'am," Bill replied, not sounding at all surprised that someone like Lily would know who his father was. After all, everyone had heard about the Weasley scandal years ago.

"Shouldn't...Shouldn't you be at Hogwarts?"

"I would've started my fourth year back last September, but I decided to work instead. I've got four little brothers at home, and my dad doesn't bring in much money anymore, so I thought I'd help out," he explained sheepishly. "My mum wasn't very keen on the idea - said I was too young - but I've found some respectable jobs despite me being only fourteen. I almost didn't get this job here, but they were desperate for some workers, so here I am."

She nodded, and took another sip of her tea. "Well, I think that you're a very noble young man, Bill. Not many boys your age would give up a chance for education at Hogwarts like you did."

Bill blushed scarlet, and mumbled something that she couldn't quite catch. A small smile crept on Lily's lips as she realized that Bill probably hadn't been complimented by any rich, fancy ladies before...

"Well? What are you waiting for? Arrest this filth!"

Lily's smiled disappeared, and her insides filled with dread the moment she heard Lucius's voice. She glanced quickly over in James's direction, and found that her fiancé was already over there, glaring at the other man if he was some bug under his shoe. For a brief moment, Lily was confused; what on Earth was Lucius doing here? She hadn't called for him, had she?

But then, she saw one of the crew members take out a pair of handcuffs, and she remembered. They all still thought that James had attacked her! They were going to arrest him when he had done nothing wrong, and she hadn't spoken a word in his defence! Now furious with herself for getting distracted, Lily got up from the bench, and hurriedly walked over to the small group of men.

"What made you think that you could put your hands on my fiancée?" Lucius accosted, clearly watching with some vindictive pleasure as James was handcuffed. The other man didn't answer, but looked over Lucius's shoulder and at her.

His expression held a sudden understanding for her...as if he had finally realized what - or more importantly, who - she had been trying to get away from, and why she had wanted to jump so badly. But even seeing Lucius now, in all his fury, hadn't changed her mind about turning back. James Potter had saved her, and now it was time for her to return the favour.

"You will look at me when I'm talking to you, you filth!" Lucius exclaimed, obviously noticing that James's attention had wavered elsewhere. "You are the most - "

"Lucius!" Lily cried, hearing the telltale signs of one of Lucius's famous outbursts, and running the rest of the way to group. If he had heard her, he made no sign of it, and continued on with his rant. She grabbed onto his arm, and tried again. "Lucius, stop it! It - It was an accident."

He paused for a moment, as if trying to register exactly what she had said, and then looked down at her. He was furious - worse than before - and she almost backed away from him then and there.

"A - An...accident?" he repeated slowly. He looked a bit calmer as he spoke, but his tone wavered and gave away the fact that he thought a steerage man ending on top of his fiancée was no accident.

"Yes, an accident...Stupid of me, really..." Lily explained, glancing nervously at the other men in the group. She had just noticed Sirius and Snape in the background (both of them wearing identical, sour looks) and the stern Master at Arms holding onto James's forearm, and her need for a good excuse intensified. "I - I was leaning over the rail...and I slipped!" Snape and Lucius exchanged disbelieving looks, and Sirius gaped at her. Panicked that they might not believe her, she pressed on; "What I mean was that I was leaning far over to see the...ah...the..."

"...The propellers?" Lucius substituted after seeing the frantic circling motions she had been making with her arms.

"Yes! The propellers! I was leaning over to see them, and my dress caught under my shoe, and I slipped...but luckily Mr. Potter here," she gestured at James, calling attention to him once more, " - saved me, and if he hadn't had such quick reflexes, we both might've gone overboard."

Lucius stared at her unblinkingly, and she prayed that he'd accept her story without question.

"The propellers..." he murmured after a pause. He voice was hard and his tone doubtful. Lily's heart sank. He hadn't believed her! James was still going to be arrested!

But before she could open her mouth to add more to the story, Sirius - looking as though he had wanted to open his mouth for some time - exclaimed, "Well, if that's the case, I think this man's a hero. Wouldn't you agree, Lucius?"

"A hero...Yes, a hero," Lucius agreed, quickly regaining his usual cool and confidant air. He turned to the Master at Arms and - as if he hadn't heard Lily beforehand - said, "She wanted to see the propellers, and slipped...Obviously an accident."

The Master at Arms, however, didn't look like he had bought her story as readily as Sirius had (the other two still looked doubtful), and instead of taking the handcuffs off James, he turned to him, and asked, "Was that the way of it?"

***

James glanced questioningly at Lily. Her eyes were desperate, and she just barely inclined her head to indicate that he should say something before they all got suspicious.

After he had realized that she was the same Lily Evans that Sirius had talked about only hours before and the same sad, first class girl that he had been so captivated by on deck, he had decided that he'd do anything that she asked him to do. After all, she was going to be marrying Lucius Malfoy; this was the least he could to do for her...

"Yes. That's what happened," James insisted, nodding his head. He felt the Master at Arms' grip on his forearm loosen, and the rustle of keys from behind. The Master at Arms unlocked the handcuffs, and backed away, muttering crossly to himself.

"Well...Now that we've got this little misunderstanding sorted out, shall we go back to our brandies?" Sirius asked merrily, breaking the tense silence between everyone. James shot him an irritated glare - because he had probably had too many brandies already - while Malfoy nodded in agreement. He still looked angry, but he barely glanced at James as he turned to his fiancée.

"You must be freezing, Lily!" he exclaimed, putting his hands on her arms and trying to warm her up. James noticed that Lily stiffened at his touch, and she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

She had the most wonderful eyes...Their depth and colour had taken his breath away when he had seen them up close for the first time, when she had finally turned around and taken his hand. He hadn't been able to taken his eyes off of her, and nothing had felt more right than when he had held her in his arms for that brief moment -

"Come on. Let's get you inside," Malfoy continued, wrapping his arm around Lily's shoulder as he turned, and began to lead her away.

James gaped after him; he'd thought that first class gentlemen were supposed to have manners. This man certainly didn't; he hadn't even given him a sign of gratitude for saving his fiancée! Malfoy probably thought that people of the third class didn't know what a thank you was in the first place.

Arrogant bastard.

But he wasn't going to say anything; if Malfoy didn't want to thank him, then that was all right with him because it was unlikely that he'd even accept a thanks from that man. Sirius, on the other hand, seemed to think that a reward was necessary, for he quickly followed after Malfoy and opened his big mouth.

"Perhaps - if I'm not being too bold - a little something for him, Lucius? He did save Miss Evans, after all."

Malfoy stopped, and turned back around. He sized James up for a moment, before looking at Snape.

"I think twenty pounds shall do - oh wait, you're probably going to work in America, aren't you?" Malfoy asked, with a small chuckle. James glowered at him. Oh yes; it was terribly funny to actually work for a living. "Twenty dollars then, Severus." Then, he turned back around to Lily. "I do hope I'm being generous enough, Sirius."

"Really, Lucius," Lily interjected, stepping away from him as he tried to put his arm around her again. There was disgust evident in her tone, but Malfoy seemed to take it as sarcasm. "That's the price for saving the woman you love?"

Malfoy observed her for a moment, and then looked back at him. Suddenly, turned on his heel, walked over, and stood in front James. For the first time in their short meeting, James finally had the feeling that Malfoy was treating him more like a human than an animal that had rolled in something disgusting.

"Lily is displeased with what I have offered," he began. "So, Mr...er...?"

"Potter. James Potter."

"Yes, Mr. Potter. So I was wondering if you would like to join us for dinner in two nights time to...tell our group your heroic tale." Malfoy shot Snape an amused glance, and James was smart enough to realize when he was being mocked. He'd rather take twenty dollars than have to sit with a bunch of Death Eaters for a whole dinner...But Sirius was giving him a look that reminded him of Remus in a bad mood (which is what he'd be in when he finally found out that they had got nothing done tonight) and Lily was glancing at him hopefully...

"Sure. I'll be there."

It had been Lily that had cemented his decision. If he went to that dinner, he'd get to be around her more...And anywhere she was, was a good place to be.

"Perfect," Malfoy murmured, a smirk appearing on his lips. He walked back over to Lily, and began leading her back toward the first class section. She glanced one last time over her shoulder at him, a smile on her lips -

"Well, well...If it isn't famous James Potter...Always were in trouble with the law, weren't you?" Snape's oily voice asked snidely.

James tore his gaze away from Lily, and looked over at him. If there was one person in the world that he hated more than Gideon Prewett, it was Severus Snape. The two of them had hated each other the moment they had seen each other at Hogwarts, and the feeling of resentment hadn't decreased since.

"Always were the one to slink behind someone more powerful than you, weren't you?" James shot back, glaring. Snape didn't offend easily - probably because James had called him every foul name under the sun at Hogwarts - and he didn't look offended at the moment.

"Such a weak retort. You must be losing your famous charm," Snape scoffed. "But I wasn't surprised when I found out that it was you who had attacked Miss Lily. You always did seem like the type who'd try to take advantage of - "

"If you had listened, Snape," James snapped, his anger rising. "You would've known that I saved her life - "

"I'm smarter than that, Potter - I saw those looks you exchanged with her. Do you actually expect me to believe that little lie you fabricated? And do you want to know what else I don't believe?"

"Not particularly."

"I find it hard to believe that it's just a simple coincidence that you and Black over here, just happen to be on the same steamer, at the same time, and headed for the same destination. You might've fooled Lucius Malfoy - " Snape explained acidly, moving in to close the distance between them. He glared down his long, hooked nose at James, and he glared back definitely, "but you can't fool me. The tables have turned, Potter, because I've got the power here...There's no Dumbledore on board Titanic to save your arse when you get in too deep." He smirked, and James found it hard to control the urge to punch him. "So I'll be watching...Both of you."

He sneered at them one last time before sweeping off like the overgrown bat that he was, and leaving them behind with his ominous threat.

***

Petunia had thrown a fit about the state her dress was in when they had finally arrived back at their rooms. Far from being worried about her sister's near death experience, she was more moved by the fact that Lily had ripped a very expensive and very elegant gown beyond repair.

"You can't even wear it any more, Lily! How could you? I told you to be careful!"

"Like I was going to wear it more than once anyway," Lily muttered gloomily, watching herself brush through her widely tangled hair in the stateroom's vanity mirror. "I suppose if I told her a steerage man had touched it, she'd burn it, and wouldn't complain a bit..."

It'd be just like Petunia to do something like that, and to hate something because she couldn't understand it...like the way she hated the lower classes, even though half the people in those classes were ten times the person she could ever be -

She flung her brush back down onto the vanity, furious. The brush bounced off the vanity, and onto the carpeted floor. With an annoyed sigh, she bent down to pick it up, and when she sat back up again and looked into a mirror, a surprise greeted her eyes.

Lucius was reflected in her mirror, leaning against the doorframe in his bedclothes, watching her with an expression that she couldn't identify. She glanced over her shoulder at him, wondering what on Earth he wanted this late at night.

"I know you've been upset with me," he muttered, straightening back up and walking into her room. "And I don't pretend to know why."

Lily didn't answer, amazed by the fact that he had actually noticed that something was wrong with her for once. She was touched by how unguarded and open he seemed...until she saw the black, velvet box clutched in his hands. Her heart fell as he sat on the edge of the vanity, pushing her things away to make room, and moving the box into plain view.

"I hope that this might cheer you up. I was going to save it until a bit later, but I thought it'd be better if you could have it now," he explained, unlatching the box and opening it up.

Inside was a dazzling diamond necklace, dripping with large emeralds, and sparkling in the dim light of her room. Lily gaped at it; she had never been impressed by jewellery, but this had to be the most beautiful thing she had seen in her life.

"Y - You're giving that...to me?"

"Of course," he replied, with a small smirk. He gently took it out of the box, and laid it on her neck. "It's a Malfoy family heirloom."

"Oh, Lucius, I don't deserve this - "

"You're going to be a Malfoy, Lily," he explained, getting off her vanity, and bending down to her level. She glanced at him, the feeling of awe ebbing away slowly as she realized what he had said. "And Malfoys always deserve the best."

They stared, studying one another. She couldn't possibly be the proper Malfoy that Lucius wanted, and he knew that. Although he was willing to give her a chance...and as she looked at him, he knew he was at least trying to become her vision of a Prince Charming.

"Those emeralds remind me of your eyes..."

Lily tore her eyes away from him, and looked back at her reflection. Suddenly, she didn't like what she saw. The necklace was splayed out across her neck, as if it owned her instead of the other way around. It wasn't so beautiful any more either. It was dark, ugly, and looked like a fancy noose... She slowly reached up, and put her hand over the necklace, trying to cover it up.

But it felt even worse than it looked. It was so heavy, and cold, and constricting... She didn't want it any more if it was going to feel like that every time she wore it. She glanced at Lucius, ready to tell him that she couldn't accept the necklace, but he was looking at her so hopefully, she couldn't bear to crush his mood.

"I-It's wonderful, Lucius. I'll cherish it."

But as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, she realized that even if she gave Lucius a chance to change his ways, he wouldn't. Just like the diamonds in the necklace wouldn't become lighter, he wouldn't give in...

It was ironic how a simple necklace could reflect every facet of his personality perfectly.