Jily oneshots

The Girl In The Ivy House

by natalie.ana

His bus every morning drove passed the house and every morning he chose a seat that would have the best view of it. It was a seat at the back of the bus, three rows from the last to be exact and always the window seat.

The house was covered in ivy and curled around double french windows. White paint peeked out from under the leaves and under the first row of windows bright pink flowers bloomed. The house wasn't very big, two windows with a door jammed between wide and three stories high it sat on a busy corner, a green lamp post at the front.

He couldn't tell you what drew him to the house, just that he was infatuated with it. Perhaps it was the character the house seemed to possess, as though it had grown out of the ground like the ivy that twined around it. Perhaps he grew more infatuated when a lady with the loveliest shade of auburn red hair exited the front door in a bright mustard skirt that flowed around her easily and effortlessly. She was a wonder! Her hair tumbled in soft waves to her lower back, some sort of mustard scarf keeping her hair off her face. Her skirt matched with a black top reminded him of a bee - even her shoes were black! - only more elegant and beautiful.

She walked down the street, holding her keys and hoped she would be catching the bus. His heart fell when a white Swift's lights flashed and she walked around to open the car door. The bus drove off before she did but it wasn't the last time James Potter saw her, nor the last time he thought about her. In fact, she inspired exactly three hundred and twenty-seven pages of words.

Fuck, she was going to be late. She grabbed the slightly burnt piece of toast out of the toaster and shoved it in her mouth as she grabbed her bag and keys. She was in no more of a rush than usual which would be fine except she was always ten minutes late on a good day. She checked her appearance one last time in the mirror she kept by the door and deemed herself worthy of meeting a new author. She wore white, high-waisted pants with a dusty blue blouse tucked in and nude pumps. Her hair - the reason for being late today - was up in a bun with a white silk scarf tied around it and her make-up was so lightly done, her freckles still showed.

She nodded to herself before yanking her door open, taking the toast out of her mouth so she could actually eat it and heard the satisfying slam of her front door as it locked behind her. She forgot her coat. Fuck. She checked her watch. Nope, no time. She had to leave now if she wanted to prove her life was at least some what put together so ignoring the chill she unlocked her car, hauled her bag across the driver seat and onto the passenger seat before plonking herself down and starting the car.

Traffic was lighter than usual, not light enough that she was on time but light enough that she still only remained ten minutes late and honestly, at this point that was a win.

"Mr Potter's waiting for you in your office. He arrived only a few minutes ago," Emma, the receptionist, said as she walked in and she cursed parking. She'd have beaten him here if she hadn't had to park four blocks down and Mr Potter would have been none the wiser. "I told him you were delayed in a meeting."

She nodded and shouted a thanks. At least this author that Mary simply raved about would assume that she was a very busy work-driven woman as opposed to someone cursed with chronic lateness.

She entered her office with a smile and an apology. "So sorry to keep you waiting, Mr Potter. Unfortunately I was delayed in a meeting this morning."

He turned to look at her as she came around her desk and it was only after she'd placed her bag on the floor and sat down that she realised he hadn't said anything. It was also when she realised that this Mr James Potter was not some old, wise-man poet like she'd imagined but instead a rather attractive, about-her-age looking man, a realisation that had her momentarily speechless as she took him in.