The Simple Things

The Simple Things

Lily walked down the street on a warm summer evening right after her seventh year at Hogwarts, not entirely sure she knew where she was going. Mrs. Potter had said that James had left only a few minutes before and that he was probably headed to the park down the street from their house. She walked a little farther and found the small park. She could see the ground sloping down to a small pond, with benches around it and a walkway. She looked around and spotted James standing on the walk looking out over the pond. Lily walked slowly and silently toward him, smiling slightly as she watched him run one hand through his hair.

James was staring off into space, thinking about everything that had happened the past year and what all was going on right now. He had come here several times lately, just to be able to sort out his thoughts on his own. Right now, though, he wanted to be able to talk to someone about it all, at least a little bit. 'Someone like Lily,' he thought. He didn't even notice that she was coming toward him until she wordlessly slipped her hand into his free one. He jumped and whipped around with a startled look on his face.

"Lily!" James exclaimed as a grin spread over both their faces. He wrapped her up in a tight hug. As they let go of each other, they took each other's hand again. "What are you doing here?" James asked, astonished at how he had been wishing to talk to her only a moment before.

"I went to your house and your parents said you'd just left, most likely to come here. I thought you might want someone to talk to, or at least to sit with so you wouldn't be alone."

"Yeah, I do." James said as he let out a heavy sigh and stared out across the pond. "I needed to get out of the house and think."

"About what?"

"Oh, I dunno. Anything. Everything. About not being at Hogwarts anymore. About the war going on. About my family. About Sirius and Peter and Remus and the rest of our friends. About you. About life..." he trailed off. Then he turned to look at Lily and added, "Why isn't anything simple anymore?"

"I don't know," Lily said sadly. She looked out for a few moments, thinking. Then, she turned around to face James, placed his hand she was holding on her waist, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. James drew his other hand to the back of her neck, kissing her back tenderly. After a few moments, they broke apart. Lily looked up at James just as a mischievous grin spread over his face and a glint came to his eyes. "What in Merlin's name are you thinking about now?" Lily laughed, knowing that look all too well.

"Come on, I'll show you," James replied, taking her hand and starting to run along the path to a more level part of ground. "Would you like to dance, milady?" James asked, offering his hand and smiling even more than before.

"James, what on earth...?" Lily asked, but placing her hand in his.

"Lily, right now I want us to do all the simple things that nobody ever thinks about anymore and not care what anyone else thinks or what else is going on. I just want us to be able to remember some good things in the middle of all chaos right now," he explained, looking deep into her eyes.

"Alright," Lily smiled. "Shall we dance, then?" And they danced for a while, twirling around in the moonlight.

*******

When they started getting tired, Lily asked, "Do you want to go get some ice cream?"

"Sure, there's a place just a little bit up the road we can go to." So, taking each other's hand, they walked to the ice cream shop. Then they sat eating their cones, laughing when Lily got some on her nose and when James' cone started dripping from the bottom. As they finished, James said, "It's getting a little late, do you want me to take you home? Your parents are probably wondering where you are," he added with a wink.

"Actually, they left on a short vacation this morning and won't be back for a couple days. I doubt whether Petunia's worrying about me. But it's alright, it's not like I'm getting into trouble or anything," she said with a grin. James put his arm around her shoulder and hugged her closer as they walked back towards James' house.

When they were almost back, James asked, "Hey, would you want to go flying? I know it's not your favorite but you might like it. Besides, it's not all that bad once you get up there. Please?"

Lily laughed. "You say that like I've never been on a broom before. I'm just not nearly as good as the famous James Potter," she teased. "But wouldn't it be a little hard for people to miss, even though it is dark out?"

"Don't worry, I've got it covered. I could even teach you how to fly better," he suggested hopefully, making Lily laugh again.

"Go on, I'll wait here for you."

James ran up the stairs to his house, up to his room, and grabbed his broom and his Invisibility Cloak. He ran out to meet Lily, holding up the cloak. "See? As long as it covers us both, we're fine." He mounted the broom, then held out his hand to help Lily get on in front of him. He draped the cloak over them and wrapped his arms around Lily. Then he said, "We'll kick off and then you pull up on the broom handle. We need to be high enough above the trees. I'll help you if you need me, but you can do it yourself, too."

"Are you sure?" Lily asked, a little unsure of herself.

"Yes, I'm positive. Besides, your house isn't that far away. Now, on the count of three. One... two... three!" They soared into the sky, James steadying the broom to make sure nothing went wrong. They flew steadily higher into the sky, a warm wind rippling over the cloak. Then he wrapped his arm around Lily's waist and whispered in her ear, "Look down." She did, and gasped both at the beautiful sights of the houses below and at the height they were flying.

"It's wonderful," she whispered back and squeezed James' hand around her waist. Soon, James helped Lily to guide the broom smoothly down. When they had landed in Lily's yard, they took off the cloak and dismounted.

"You did great Lily! I don't know why you doubted yourself so much." James looked into Lily's eyes and smiled proudly at how well his girlfriend had flown. Then he leaned in and kissed her softly on her forehead.

Suddenly, Lily's bright green eyes lit up. "Fly up to the balcony on the second floor. I'll go inside and open the door so we can sit under the stars for a while." She went quickly into the house and opened the door once she was upstairs, so that she wouldn't be locked out. She stepped out onto the small balcony and walked over to James, who was waiting for her. Lily leaned onto the railing and looked up towards the sky. "Doesn't it make you feel so small and insignificant to the whole, big scheme of things?"

"Yeah, it does," James replied. "But you know, Lily, you're not insignificant at all to a whole lot of people."

Lily smiled at James' sweet comment. "I know. And you're not either." Then she sat down on the stone floor and continued gazing up at the stars. James sat down next to her and held her close as she rested her head on his shoulder. They stayed just like that for a while, enjoying the quiet. Then, Lily turned slightly towards James and said, "I love you."

Grinning madly, James replied, "I know. I love you too." Then, they shared a long romantic kiss under the stars. They stayed there for a long time in the summer night air, just to be with one another and to live all the sweet, simple things of life.

A/N: This is my first fic, please tell me what you think, honestly!