Harry Potter One Shots

Tuesdays With Lily

James downed the rest of his coffee, slammed the cup on the small table he was sharing with his younger sister for no other reason than to be dramatic and stood up to leave. He had forgotten, as usual, that the cup was porcelain and therefore shattered upon impact, and he watched sheepishly as Lily, looking around the vicinity to make sure there were no muggles, which was silly really because they were in Hogsmeade, mended it with a swish of her wand. Sighing, she linked his arm and lead him out of the cafe and onto the street, which was packed with witches and wizards despite the icy Autumn air. James glanced back at Madame Puddifoot's, the cafe he and Lily had just come from, and smiled as he recalled all the times they'd shared there, perched on faded pouffes sipping iced pumpkin juice in the warmer months or cuddling on the couch clutching warm mugs of coffee when it was chilly, as it had been today. It was his and Lily's special spot, the one place it could be just the two of them. No one else seemed to like Madame Puddifoot's - Rose, Roxanne and Louis preferred the Three Broomstick, Dom often dragged Victoire to the Hog's Head and Vic in turn took Teddy, Hugo and Fred had been banned from the place a few years back and Albus and Scorpius said it was 'too gay'. Once when Lily had been away and he'd been desperate for a good cup of coffee, he'd begged his dad to grab one with him, but Harry had most adamantly refused, muttering something about the Hogwarts Transfiguration teacher, Cho Chang. So James really looked forward to these Tuesdays with Lily.

"Hey James," she said now, and he turned to face her, unlinking their arms to wrap his around her shoulders as he noticed she was shivering, "can we go into Honeydukes for a sec? I want to get some chocolate for mum and dad."

"What've you done now, Lils?" He knew she'd never buy chocolate for anyone other than herself for no reason.

"Nothing! Noth- oh alright. I'm going to tell them tonight."

James' eyes widened in shock.

"Well good for you, Lily! I'm sure they'll be completely accepting and-"

"Not about that! About going to Romania to stay with Uncle Charlie."

James' face fell and he scuffed at the worn pavement with his boots. Lily nudged his foot with her own and as he looked down he saw a drop of water fall on each of their shoes, trickling down the leather of his black boots but soaking into Lily's battered red Converse.

"Come on, Jamie. It won't be so bad."

"Yes, it will. And don't call me Jamie, only mum can call me that."

Lily rolled her eyes, pushing a strand of her long red hair behind her ear as the sharp wind that had suddenly picked up tugged it free of her two plaits.

"Oh James! You'll be fine! Besides, this isn't about you, it's about me and what an amazing opportunity this is."

"No more Tuesdays with Lily," James grumbled, his voice matching the roll of thunder that echoed, not caring if he sounded sulky.

Lily didn't appear to be listening, "a whole month with dragons! Just think, James! I'll get to work with Welsh Greens, Ukrainian Ironbellies - I might even get to meet Norbert!"

She beamed at him and he dredged up a smile.

He was happy for her, really he was, it just wouldn't be the same without her. James was terrible at dealing with change. When Albus had been born it had taken him forever to warm to the idea of having a younger sibling. With Lily it was even worse because she was a girl and at that age he didn't like girls. And then they'd moved house just before he started at Hogwarts because Harry had wanted to be within apparating range, and James had refused to sleep in his room for a whole month, instead sharing a bed with his parents. Even small things, like his dad being home really late after work or someone cancelling the fortnightly get together with the whole family or missing a prank he and Fred had scheduled, freaked him out. In fact, the only change he was comfortable with was Teddy, Teddy and his hair and eyes and clothes, Teddy who always looked different and yet exactly the same as always. But Lily going away? James would hate that. He couldn't imagine living in the huge Potter mansion with just his parents and Albus - occasionally Scorpius and sometimes Teddy as well, but Lily was the one who filled the house with life.

"It's Norberta, remember?"

Lily laughed and pulled him into a hug, tousling his auburn curls as he kissed her cheek.

"I'll miss you too. But I'll write every day if you want."

He smiled and squeezed her tight just as the rain began to fall in earnest. They were both drenched within a few minutes, holding hands and shrieking as they made their way, slipping and sliding across the cobbled street, to Honeydukes, only to find it closed. Looking not in the least bit upset that her clothes, including a pale blue coat James knew had been a gift from Fleur just a few days ago, were drenched and her hair plastered to her face, Lily whipped out her wand and conjured up an umbrella.

"Let's go home," she murmured, and James ducked under the umbrella in relief, noting with amusement that it had on it a pattern of dragons.

"Lily," he began after they had been walking for a while, "couldn't we just apparate home?"

"We could," she agreed, before stretching her hand out and smiling as droplets of water ran down the lines of her palm. "But I love walking in the rain, don't you?"

And James, who was feeling very uncomfortable in his wet clothes and quite chilly besides, wrapped his arm around her shoulders once more, taking the umbrella from her as she slid her arm around his waist, replied, "only with you."

A/N

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