#royalty jily fest

[diana-bookfairchild]

Bear in mind that this hypothetical work would be part of the @ficwip 5k fest and hence <5000 words. Also know that I am terrible at writing sexual tension and politics and do not write smut.

@hinnymicrofic: May Day 17 May Day 21 May Day 25 June Day 2

@jilymicrofics: May Day 29

[writingrosesandcoffee]

The Princess and the Wizard (Part 3)

Title: The Princess and the Wizard Author: Nesma Disclaimer: I own nothing A/N: Figured it would be a good idea to just publish the rest of this story...

-&- 

"Alright, so I hear that one of you has some good news to share with us?" Said the pretty blonde journalist, her eyes twinkling as the crowd started to clap.

Under the lights, Petunia blushed slightly and averted her gaze downwards.

"Well now, don't make a mountain out of an anthill. It's just a small bit of news." Petunia said, chiding the journalist a tad as she giggled. The blonde journalist smiled back.

"Does it have to do with the fact that you're always with a certain someone…" The journalist trailed on as the crowd started to make some 'ohhhh' noises. Petunia giggled, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Yes, yes it does. As some magazines may have noticed… I am spending a lot of time with Vernon Dursley." She gave a coy smile to the audience, fully aware that everyone was sitting on the edge of their seat. "And I am indeed dating him and we couldn't be happier." At this, the crowd applauded and cheered as Petunia blushed, batting her eyes. I gave her a grin and a thumbs up as the journalist signaled the audience to calm down. She then focused her attention on me.

"Now, what do you think of him? You think he's right for your sister?"

I gave her my biggest smile, batting my eyes as I gave the well-rehearsed line, "I absolutely adore Vernon for my sister. The way those two are, well, they're true lovebirds." I said, giving Petunia a small smile that she returned. The crowd all awed at my comment.

"And what about yourself Lily? Is there any lad in your life right now?"

I took a breath and froze for a second. These weren't the questions that were sent to us. More time was meant to be spent on my sister, not me. And even so, it was an easy question. No blokes in my life, even though James' face popped to mind the second the question was out.

I bit my lip and shook my head quickly. I could already feel the heat on my cheeks and the journalist looked at me as if I was a rabbit and she was a hunter, her grin bared her teeth.

"Really now? It seems that by your response that perhaps another Evans sister may be off the market soon."

I was truly blushing now. Fuck. My brain went haywire as I tried to find words, grammar, anything so that I could operate again. But I sat frozen at the seat, blushing madly.

"Oh no, there's not necessarily a lad at the moment. Just a hint of someone becoming a bit more than mates." Petunia chimed in quickly, placing a hand of hers over mine as she giggled. "Lily is no-where near to me and Vernon but, we should all keep an eye on her." Petunia teased, as she squeezed my hand twice. I laughed on cue, covering my mouth with my available hand. I was able to start breathing again and my shoulders started to relax (I didn't realize that they were so tense in the first place).

"Is that so?" The journalist tilting her head towards us as I nodded.

"Nothing serious. There's been a lad who've I've been seeing but I think we may be mates for now. And I'm quite happy about it." I said firmly, biting my lip and giving her a smile as the journalist nodded before going into a speech about next week.

I sat there gripping my sister's hand and praying to God and whoever else was up there that James was not watching this interview. I mean, how awkward was that? Either he realized that I think that him being nice to me during his shift meant that we were 'hanging out' and realized that I am a complete moron OR he thinks there's another bloke OR some wild third option that my brain couldn't even comprehend at the now.

And suddenly, the lights went down, the cameras shut off and it seemed like everyone was going in every which way.

"Come on." Petunia whispered, tugging me up as I came to my feet numbly, blindly following her as our security team for the day encircled us as we walked towards the car.

"That was awful," I whispered, absolutely mortified as we settled into the cars, on our way back home. Petunia shrugged and gave me a small smile.

"It was really nasty of her to ask you that – she promised that she would stick to the questions that were sent our way. And everyone knows, even the public, how private you can be. If anything, this is going to reflect badly on her. Not you. You handled it well-"

"With your help," I muttered bitterly, crossing my arms as Petunia rolled her eyes; but not unkindly.

"What are big sisters for? I'd do anything for you, you know that. Even if it means hiring sketchy men to beat up our newest friend…"

And I laughed, clutching my stomach and feeling a bit at ease as the car hummed softly on the road.

-&-

After the whole interview, Petunia decided to meet with her security team in regards to her and Vernon. While I settled in one of the many libraries with a book in my arm, unable and unwilling to deal with the reality of my own situation and praying that the attention would be on my sister and not me.

"So, I saw the interview." Came a voice in the doorway. I snapped my head up to see Sirius Black leaning against the door frame.

"Great," I muttered dryly, shutting the book close and placing it to the side as Sirius walked towards me. A look of sympathy in his eyes.

"You know that everyone knows that she plays dirty. It was really unfair for her to ask that, especially after your sister announced her love life." Sirius said gently, sitting down next to me as I focused on the table in front of me.

"Yeah, but it was a simple question and me, I just… froze." I said, clenching my fists as the memory washed over me. "I've answered that question many times and I never struggled-"

"You didn't have James before," Sirius said quietly, twirling his thumbs as he eyed me carefully.

"But… we're just mates. I think." I said, looking down at my pants and wiping my hands. "I mean, he's hired to be around me and to protect me…"

"You're mates. James doesn't read unless it's important or to impress someone." Sirius said simply, pulling his own knees to his chest. "I would know, seeing that I've been his roommate since 11 years old."

"Huh," I said, toying with this newfound bit until I remembered something.

"He said he wanted to read the classics. Obviously, you'd start with Jane Austen-"

"Well, you don't just tell some bird you like that you're reading all of her favorite books to get to know her better. That's just weird. Even for James." Sirius interrupted, moving his feet around as I drew in a breath.

"But still, as of now, we're just mates. It would be too complicated if we were to date-"

"Oh, you don't even know half of it," Sirius said, snorting to himself.

"What do you mean by that?" I retorted, because if the fact that I'm royalty and he's part of my security team would make it complex… well, I think I have a right to know.

"Can't do that, would be breaching all sorts of promises that I made. And I intend to keep them." Sirius quipped, pushing back a lock of his own hair.

"Though, it would make things difficult… that's all I'll say."

"So you don't think I should date him? Hypothetically that is?" I said quickly, blushing a bit as Sirius eyed me again though with a smile on his face. He took a deep breath and stared out on the countryside.

"I think, that it is the stupidest thing he could do to date you. First, there is Kingsley who would list how dishonorable it is and all that bullshit. Then, there is the fact that you are constantly in the spotlight and James needs to stay out of the spotlight-"

"Because he's a criminal hiding from the law?" I blurted out, half joking and half serious because you never do know. Sirius just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, that is exactly why he can't be in the spotlight. Kingsley hired a dangerous fugitive on the run to protect the royal family. That sounds exactly like Kingsley." Sirius said in a bored tone.

He had a point.

"Anyways, there is the fact that things would simply be weird. I mean, how would you two go on dates? And meeting the parents would be an awkward experience… for the both of you." Sirius rambled, waving his hands around as my heart sunk.

If his best friend was against the idea of us dating, hypothetically. Then why should we? And why do I even care?

"So, you think no then?" I whispered, pushing a strand back as Sirius let out a frustrated groan.

"You're not listening." He whined, pulling a bit at his hair. "I think it would be reckless if you two dated but… you two seem to make each other happy, so why not? I think James needs a reminder that there are things in life worth risking your neck for. Besides, I don't mind hanging with you so that's a definite improvement from his last girlfriend." Sirius said, grinning as my heart fluttered.

"Well, glad you approve of this hypothetical situation but I don't know if it's going to happen."

Sirius threw his hands in the air and started shaking them as if he were arguing with some higher powers. His hands dropped and he turned to face Lily. "Alright. Fair. You two are just mates for now. But, if you happen to get together, could you possibly make it sooner rather than later? I have money on you two-"

"You're betting?! With who?"

"The entire security team, except James and Kingsley of course, has money on you two!" Sirius exclaimed, laughing at my shocked expression. Which, I'm sure is hilarious on the other side but I just found out that men were actually betting on when I was going to start dating James. Not if.

"The entire security team?! This is insane…" I said, shaking my head as Sirius continued to laugh.

"It's fairly obvious on our end. I mean, James throws that million dollar smile with those dimples and you give him this 'come hither' smile-"

"I do not have a 'come hither' smile!"

"Yes, you do! We even have footage-"

"You blokes watch footage of me to see if I give James a 'come hither' smile?!"

"Uh, you know, that makes us sound a lot creepier than we actually are. We do have to go through the tapes for any suspicious behaviors and… well… you notice details on the fifth time of rewatching the same bloody tape…" Sirius rambled, and then sighed dramatically.

"Anyways, thought I'd let you know that your future boyfriend has zero clues who you were referring to in that interview and to settle your nerves. I shall go back to being a bodyguard before Kingsley orders for my head to be chopped off." Sirius said, standing up and looking around.

"What's on the schedule for the rest of the week by the way? " He asked, wiping down his pants.

"Not sure, here, let me see," I said, rummaging through my bag until I found my tattered agenda. Leafing through the pages until I hit the correct week.

"Socialwise… meeting with the Malfoys. And that's in two days. Hopefully, some celebrity did something more embarrassing than I did on television by then." I muttered, shutting it close while Sirius remained very quiet.

"Something wrong?" I asked, tilting my head as Sirius stood there with a confused look.

"Nothing. Just… just lost track in that moment. That's all." Sirius said, but he sounded odd and there was a look of deep concern on his face.

"Do you know the Malfoys?" I asked, standing up as Sirius took a step back, putting his hands up.

"I do. But, I doubt they are the same ones. Really, Lily, it's nothing." He said, placing a hand on my shoulder before walking away. Not even giving me a chance to follow up with questions.

-&-

"Right this way, the couple is very excited to meet you." Said the man in front of us, I assume he's from the communications/marketing team, as Petunia and I exchanged glances.

"We're thrilled to meet them, sounds as if the pair of them are very ambitious." Petunia said, lying through gritted teeth.

You see, neither one of us could discover who the Malfoys were. We knew that the couple, Lucious (like the cat from Cinderella) and Narcissa were a wealthy British couple that had recently climbed the social ladder among the elite rather quickly.

Almost, too quickly. The connections among the elites seemed to have formed within an instant. There were no mentions of them in any of the newspapers and it seems as if they sprouted from thin air. Or as if their lives only started months ago.

"At least it's only for twenty minutes," I whispered to Petunia, hoping that the man ahead of us was oblivious. Petunia nodded as he knocked on a door and entered. Seconds later we were called in.

"And here they are!" He said with a flourish as two very blonde people smiled at us before bowing and curtsying. The male, with long blonde hair, stepped forward and extended his hand to Petunia who shook it graciously.

"Lucious Malfoy. It is an honor to meet the pair of you." He said, moving swiftly from Petunia to myself. Smiling, I shook his hand as his wife, with equally blonde hair and a small smile stepped forward.

"Narcissa Malfoy. What an honor." She said, stressing on the last word as her fingers seemed to have done their best to try to break a few bones.

"Well, shall we sit down?" Petunia offered, gesturing towards the sofa and armchairs. As Petunia sat down, I scanned the room, noting which security members were on duty. After the odd conversation with Sirius yesterday, I discovered he was supposed to be on duty; yet, it was James who was standing stiffly. His jaw tense and his arms rigid as he glared at the back of the Malfoy's heads.

What on Earth do these boys know about the Malfoys? Was it so bad that Sirius had to switch shifts?

"Well, tell us about yourself." Petunia said after I had finally settled on the other end of the sofa. Petunia was fidgeting with a ring on her finger as Narcissa started to speak for the pair of them. In the middle of her sentence though, Petunia's ring seemed to have ended on the floor.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. Not sure how it got there!" Petunia said, laughing at herself nervously; she never dropped her rings.

This was so odd. Why was Sirius so repulsed by the Malfoys yesterday? Why was it so bad that he had to switch shifts? Even though there is no note or piece written about the infamous pair? Why did it seem that James was ready to murder them on the spot? And in all of the 17 years of knowing Petunia, why did her fidget habit make her ring drop today. Of all days?

As she bent over to pick up the ring as Narcissa continued to babble, I felt as if my mind had been wiped. A sense of happiness came over me, as if every little worry, though, or fear seemed to have floated away. Then, a small voice whispered in my mind, almost kindly so.

"Stand up."

And I was about to, my hands placed on my sides and I was ready to stand up when another voice, my voice, spoke from the back of my mind.

"Why? That would be rude to stand up. I think I'll stay here and avoid humiliation. Thanks."

This time, the voice was firmer.

"Stand UP."

"No. I will not. I will stay here."

"STAND UP. Or pay the price."

"I will stay here-"

And that's when it happened when it felt like my entire skin was on fire. As if there were thousands of knives stabbing my body as if my muscles were plunged in ice, and as if someone was ripping out my nails. I opened my mouth to scream but nothing came out. It was only once the pain was gone that I found my voice again.

"Lily! Are you alright?" Petunia said she was crouched down on the ground with me as I breathed heavily. How did I end up on the ground? My hands shook as I tried to steady myself, and my stomach felt as if it were submerged in an ice bath as I tried to regain control of the situation.

"Tell her you're ill from food poisoning and then, STAND UP. Or you know what happens next…" The voice said in a cruel tone.

No. I thought frantically, and my own voice was much louder. I wasn't going to say I was ill from food poisoning. No.

"Lily! Say something." Petunia whispered, her hand on my shoulder as I continued to gulp down some breathes.

"I must have slipped-"

"STAND UP. ON YOUR OWN YOU FOOLISH GIRL." The voice was angry, livid, and for a second I felt the temptation to just obey. To just listen. To just follow through the motions.

But I never did something just because someone told me. Even if it was from the Queen or King.

"Surely we should get you up and back on the couch." Petunia interrupted, trying to wrap her hands around my arms but I pulled back.

"No, I would rather stay down here for the moment," I said, unsure as to why I was disobeying the voice in my head.

"You stupid girl. You'll pay for this. The Dark Lord won't let you escape."

And the pain came back. It felt as if it was roaring with anger as every part of my body was in pure agony. I wanted to scream, I wanted to fight, I wanted to do something… but all I could do was thrash. My voice was gone yet again.

It was only when I heard a dull thud, a cool liquid dripping past my ears, and a scream that I passed out.

-&-

"Kingsley said he'd be here any moment-"

Sirius.

"One spell-"

James?

"Mate, no."

"She's bleeding."

Definitely James.

"She'll live. The doctor will stitch her in no time-"

"That's barbaric!"

"Try not to worry so much."

"I can't… not with her."

And then it was dark again.

-&-

This time, when I awoke again, the family doctor was peering over me with his PA at his side who was taking notes. I could hear Petunia fretting in the corner as Kingsley talked to her in low tones.

"Lily?" The doctor said as I blinked, my hand going straight to my head as a dull ache seemed to have settled all over my body. My head pounding and my stomach wanted to turn inside out.

Oh, no.

And luckily, the PA was smart enough to give me a metal bowl as I vomited into the container, hating every second of it and trying not to focus how many people were watching me. There was an audible gasp and I could hear my sister running towards me, her hands quickly pulling my hair back as I retched into the blasted thing for the second time.

"There, there." The PA said in a soothing tone as she took away my sick ridden bowl as I breathed heavily, one hand covering my right eye as I tried not to cry. I felt a tugging sensation on my hand and I could tell that they hooked me up to some sort of IV drip.

"Can you tell us your name?" The doctor said gruffly, his hand clutching a pen as he focused his attention on me.

"Lily Evans. My name is Lily Evans." I said, feeling so tired and resting against my pillows.

"Can you tell me your sister's name?"

"Petunia or Tuney." I said, feeling slightly dizzy as I shut my eyes for a second. When I opened them, the doctor was peering at me with a small light.

"Follow the light." And I did as he asked as he made 'hmm' noise. As he turned away, I scanned the room and nearly burst into tears when I realized that James, Sirius, Kingsley, and a few other members of Petunia's security team were standing around looking anxious.

A new wave of humiliation hit and I just wanted to crawl under the bed and hug my knees close until the throbs, the aches, and the soreness just stopped.

"Alright, seems that you have a concussion. You'll need to be woken up every few hours tonight to ensure that you don't slip into a coma. You'll also need to avoid washing your hair for 48 hours-"

"Ew. Why?" I asked, my hand immediately going to my head as I felt the oily roots.

"It's because of the stitches." The doctor said calmly, and at my bewildered look he softened a bit. "You had twenty stitches."

"I had what?" I said as I felt the panic swell up inside of me. Because I certainly don't remember getting twenty stitches.

"Don't worry, memory loss is normal. And you were rather nervous, so I suspect that you've entirely blocked out that memory. Do you remember what happened before the incident?"

I spluttered, for saying the truth would make me sound insane. I paused for a second before answering in a small voice.

"I fell and hit my head." Glancing down at the sheets, hoping I was right, hoping that this would pass-

"Right. Well, you seem to be doing alright, for now, we'll be removing your IV and we'll be well on our way." At once, he started to tug at the IV strand until the needle was gone and a band-aid was quickly wrapped around the spot.

"I'll see you sooner rather than later to remove those stitches. Take care." He said, briskly putting his things away as Petunia clutched my hand.

"You want something to eat? Drink?" She asked nervously, and I nodded my head.

"Some water would be nice." I said, and she instantly left my bedside as she yelled over her shoulder, "I'll be back!" as she snaked her way out of the room with the doctor, her security team, and the PA.

After the door slammed shut, I bought the sheets up closer to my chin as I started to take more shallow breaths. I looked around the room, making the briefest of eye contacts with James before averting them.

I can't believe he saw that whole episode.

"Boys, why don't you stand outside. I need to talk to Lily." Kingsley said, and the two nodded before walking to the door. The pair of them looked over their shoulder, waved a bit before exiting.

"Well, you had quite a day," Kingsley said gently, as he walked towards me as I bit my lip.

"Something exciting for the team report. Glad I can create some excitement for the security team." I said quietly, forcing my lips to smile but it felt more like a grimace.

"Lily, I have to ask you something," Kingsley said, as he took a seat near my bed and scouted the chair closer. "Do you remember anything… unusual about the incident?"

Well. Apart from hearing voices in my mind, being in extreme pain, and threatening all in the span of minutes? No, nothing at all was unusual.

And a part of me wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him how I was hearing voices and how they were commanding me and how it felt like I was being tortured. I wanted to tell him that something was wrong but to speak it out loud…

Well, that would be admitting what happened. That would mean a 'crazy' label slapped on me. That would mean tabloids never leaving me along and writing about Loony Lily. It would mean far more trouble than it was worth sharing.

"No. It was just a clumsy fall." I said quickly, staring hard at my quilted cover. Kingsley let out a deep sigh and I could tell that he was disappointed. Was he hoping it was something more dramatic? He surely couldn't have known the truth?

"Alright then. Feel better. I suspect your sister will come through the door any second now." He said, standing up and wondering over across the room. Just as he reached the door, Petunia came rushing with a glass in her hand.

"Here." She said, breathing rather heavily as I grabbed the cup and started to gulp the contents down easily.

"Want me to stay?" Petunia said, sitting close to my bed as her eyes were large with worry. She was always such a motherly person.

"No, it's okay, you have that date-"

"I can cancel-"

"I just want to sleep. It would be terribly boring. Just… come back later this evening if I'm awake and you can tell me all about it." I said, and she bit her lip as if deciding as if this was the best course of action.

In the end, it seemed like my suggestion won, as she stood up and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again." She said, and I gave her a small smile.

"I won't. Now go see Vernon! Tell him hi from me." I said, and she gave me a lingering look before leaving the room.

The second that she was gone and I was finally alone in my room, I curled up on my side and cried quietly to myself. It had been an overwhelming day and it wasn't every day that you discovered you were mad.

-&-

"Lily?" I felt a pair of hands on me before I opened my eyes. Staring blankly at me was James Potter.

"Oh. Hi." I whispered hoarsely, clearing my throat but still felt as if it were raspy.

"Here. I-uh-brought you some water." He said weakly, gesturing to the cup near my bed. His hand went to the back of his head as he ruffled his hair.

"Thanks," I said, reaching over for it and taking a few gulps. "Guessing it was time to make sure that Princess Lily was still breathing?" I asked, trying to laugh at my own clumsy joke, but the words came out bitter and forced laugh would make anyone cringe.

I was just so… frustrated. Through this whole ordeal. By the fact that I may be hearing voices in my mind. That a 'dark lord' will come after me. That I was in pure agony, with no real explanation, except for the fact that I hit my head. I felt a stranger in my own body and I wanted nothing more than to disassociate with myself for a few hours. Or days.

"Considering that my main job is to make sure that you're alive, I would argue that every hour of the day 'is Princess Lily still breathing?'" James said, giving her a small smile, he was teetering on his feet; as if he was unsure if he should stay or go.

"You can sit you know," I told him, eying the chair behind him as the last few rays of sunshine fell upon him.

He nodded and took a seat, bringing it very close to my bed. For a few seconds he hardly said a word, just wringing his hands together.

"You scared me today." He whispered, leaning back and locking eyes with me. "You really gave me a fright." And there was something in his hazel eyes that made my heart beat a bit faster than usual.

I shrugged. "At least my life is interesting, right? I'm sure the tabloids will be all over this, 'Princess Lily's Frail Fainting Condition." I snapped, spreading my arms out as if I was laying down a headline. James chuckled, but it seemed more out of fear than anything else.

"First, your life is plenty interesting – stop trying to downplay it. Second, this incident is staying within these walls. Your commitments have been canceled, the press will know that you have the common flu and you are advising my people as possible to get their flu shots. Something that the public health department is looking forward to." James shrugged as I mulled over the information.

"Fair enough. At least I won't need to dodge insanity questions, like, how on earth did you manage to give yourself a concussion." I said, laughing a bit to myself. Because, honestly, giving yourself a concussion is quite a feat. Though, James seemed uncomfortable as he squirmed in his chair and started ruffling his hair.

"Everything alright?" I asked kindly, tilting my head as James puffed out his cheeks and gave a sigh.

"With me? Yeah, I mean, I'm not the one with a concussion-"

"You know what I mean James."

He was silent for a moment before nodding. "I'm alright… I'm just not sure how much I believe your story though."

I froze as it felt like my stomach was plunged into ice. After all, everything that happened… the voice and the pain were in my head. There was no way he could have heard it.

Could he?

"What do you mean?"

James adjusted himself on the chair again. "It's just… right before you fell to the ground, it looked like you were in pain." He said, averting his gaze as I felt my anger rise, bubbling from the pit of the stomach and into my veins.

I shook my head, "There's no reason to think that-"

"It was all over your face-" He interrupted, leaning forward.

"What do you mean it was all over my face?" I snapped angrily, "What an idiotic thing to say." I snapped again, crossing my arms and turning away from James who sighed heavily.

"Lily… you can tell me anything. You know that, right? Even if you think what happened to you was illogical or impossible-"

"Why would you say that," I said coolly, crossing my arms and staring at James whose shoulders slumped forward.

"Because… I have watched hours of tapes of you. Never have you slipped as you did off the couch, never did you thrash around, and… well, you're talkative and for moments as you fell- it looked like you had no voice." James said uncomfortably, "It doesn't add up." He said, rummaging a hand through his hair as I bit my lip, hoping that I wasn't tearing up.

"I don't believe that falling story because it's not what I saw happen. Despite what the Malfoys-" He hissed out the name in revulsion, "-or what anyone else said to happen for the matter. So, I'm asking you to tell me, in your own words, what happened." He said, his eyes piercing into mine as I gripped my sheets.

Tell him what happened? He'd think I was insane. Forget about the living room incident, this is far worse. But I can't lie and all the emotions and feelings were bottled up felt as it were about to tip over.

"Hey-don't cry, it's okay," James said, standing up and hovering awkwardly over my bed as I tried to stop a sob from escaping.

"Shh, it's okay." He whispered, wrapping his arms around me, bent in half as he gave me a hug. And that small bit of kindness was enough for me to cry into his jacket, snot, and everything.

"I'm sorry-I don't mean to be a mess-" I panted out between the hysterics as James rubbed my back comfortably, the smell of his deodorant or aftershave was oddly calming.

"It's okay. I promise. You can cry as much as you want." He whispered, and I nodded into his chest.

"This can't be comfortable for you, standing over and such," I muttered, my breaths finally coming in smoothly. "You can climb on the bed if you want-goodness knows there's enough space." I murmured, and instantly felt my face heat up. And there was a beat of silence as James seemed to contemplate this before pulling away from me and walked over to the other side.

Glancing over, he sat on the bed and started to untie his shoes. My heart rate picked up as he successfully kicked both shoes off before scooting closer to me, wrapping an arm around me as I instantly placed my head on his shoulder. His free arm took hold of one of my hands and it was all very confusing but very nice at once.

"Your bed is very nice. Is that okay to say?" James asked, and I chuckled.

"Maybe don't bring it up to Kingsley. Or anyone really. Lord knows that rumours they'd come up about us." I whispered, coughing a bit as my voice came out scratchy.

"Yeah," James said, as he took a deep breath and stared around the room.

"Anything interesting?" I asked, and James looked down on me.

"Other than you? Nothing." He said, giving my hand a squeeze as my heart jumped into my throat.

"Oh, that's a nice thing to say."

"It's true." He whispered, and another squeeze. And it felt like it was a nudge of courage that I needed as his thumb started to rub circles on the back of my hand.

"So you asked about today…"

"Mhmm."

"I think I'm going mad," I whispered hoarsely as James' thumb stopped immediately.

"You think what?"

"I think I'm going mad, because, you see… this afternoon it felt as if someone invaded my mind. And they were trying to tell me to do things. And when I didn't do it… they put me in a lot of pain. And it happened twice or three times. And they mentioned something about a Dark Lord not letting me escape? And then I thought I overheard a conversation about spells between you and Sirius. So, basically, I'm insane." I said in a rush as if worried that if I didn't tell him soon enough that the madness would fester within.

"You're not insane, the fact that you think you are would imply a catch-22…"

"I thought you didn't read?"

James snorted, "I don't need to read the novel to understand the reference. Good to know that you have confidence in me." He said in a teasing tone as I chuckled.

"I guess… but then, what was all that stuff? About a Dark Lord? I mean, who's ever heard of that?"

"Honestly? I think those Malfoys are slimeballs-"

"Why?"

James hesitated, "The reason why Sirius and I switched today is that there is bad blood between him and the Malfoys. They are… related, distantly, but you could not find anyone more unlike as the pair of them. Sirius disagrees with his family a lot and it just so happens that the Malfoys are on extremely good terms with his family. So, when Sirius had enough of their bullshit, he moved out and his family basically treated him as if he was dead. The Malfoys are no different." James said.

"I never knew that," I whispered as I stared straight ahead. "But how come I couldn't find anything in the relation between the Malfoys and the Blacks? If they're so close surely there is an article-"

"Privacy. The two families love it. Helps them achieve this 'mysterious air' and create this weird popularity thing." James said, shrugging as his hand on my shoulder moved up and down.

"I honestly wouldn't put it past them that they poisoned you or something-"

"Oh come on-"

"I'm serious! Through the air or something? A small little squirt and you're hallucinating-"

"This is ridiculous, you sound like Kingsley-"

"How often is he wrong?" James retorted, and at that, I stayed silent. "That's what I thought. And he has similar views." James said as he went on, "He thinks you were poisoned, and you telling me this lets me narrow down what they could have used."

"So… so you think there is a rational explanation after all?" I asked, the hope in my chest blowing up as James chuckled.

"For you to be insane would be to recognize that it isn't insanity… so yes, I think there is a reasonable argument here on your side of the story."

"What about Tuney? Why didn't she get affected?" I asked quickly, after all, why go after me?

James shrugged, "She can be immune to it or she may not have been the targeted one. There are lots of different theories."

Just as I felt the warmth of hope trickle down to my toes, it froze as a new memory floated through my mind.

"What about you and Sirius though? Did one of you take me to my room?"

James tensed up next to me, I felt his body stiffen as I rattled out the question. I looked up at him and frown.

"Well, er, I carried you to your bedroom. Got my workout in for the day-"

I punched him in the arm, and James merely gave his deep throaty laugh.

"I'm kidding, you're light as a feather. Anyways, I brought you to your room as Sirius coordinated the security team to organize, Kingsley barked orders in my walkie-talkie and I was instructed to stay in your room with Sirius until the medical team arrived-"

"But the conversation-"

"We talk in code. I can't really tell you what we were talking about… but I can guarantee you were not talking about spells with frogs and such." James said, reassuringly as he hugged me closer.

"Alright…" I trailed off, as I was suddenly getting sleepy.

"Tired?" James asked softly, as I kept opening and closing my eyelids. I nodded sleepily as James chuckled, swooped down and gave me a kiss on my forehead. I opened my eyes and looked up at him and felt a warm feeling sweeping through my body.

"Thanks for being here." I whispered as James leaned down enough to have our foreheads touching.

"Thanks for not dying today." He whispered back, a smile on his face as he gave me a second kiss on the forehead, I felt a smile on my face as I started to doze off.

"Sweet dreams Lily." He said as he started to slip off the bed. I was already falling asleep when he was at the door, though I could tell he paused for a bit before leaving the room.

-&-

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Let me know!

[ao3feed-jily]

The Heart of a Lion

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32SICCY

by Phoenix_Merton

"He was the Lionheart. He was loyal, and brave, and had the heart of a lion. But more importantly, he had captured her's too." A royalty AU where Lily is a princess and James is her lionheart

Words: 2898, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Gilderoy Lockhart

Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Jily Royalty Fest, jily, Royalty, Princess - Freeform, lionheart, Gryffindor, Action/Adventure, Action & Romance, Arranged Marriage, Undercover Missions, Spies

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32SICCY

[jilyarchive]

Any fics with a lot of Sirius in them? T or g rated pls?

Here are a bunch!

Title: HogsmeadeAuthor: lizardcookieRating: GGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 3,308Summary: It’s the last Hogsmeade weekend of Sixth Year, and Lily Evans is totally fine with how things worked out. She’s definitely okay with the fact that her date never showed up (which is definitely unrelated to the amount of drinks she’s downed), and she is totally, totally fine with the fact that James Potter must be having a better time than her (which is also unrelated to the amount of drinks she’s downed).

Title: How Do You Call Your Lover BoyAuthor: CokeBottleKRating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 3,145 Summary: “Nuh-uh, Evans. No way would Prongs skip out on Quidditch with me just to shag you.“: Lily and Sirius make a bet for James’s attention.

Title: Provisionally Yours  Author: snapslikethis Rating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 5Word Count: 43,618Summary: Lily Evans discovers she’s been married off to James Potter without her knowledge. She and the spoiled count (in whom she appears to have finally met her match) have three days, for better or worse, to decide whether to accept the contract. With her sister adamant to make her life miserable, and a husband who seems equally determined to repel her, what else can possibly go wrong?

Title: Sovereign AffairsAuthor: BookWorm77071Rating: TGenre(s): Family, RomanceChapters: 20 [WIP]Word Count: 57,543Summary: Modern Jily AU for the Jily Royalty Fest. Lily is the illegitimate sister of Duke Sirius and Prince Regulus, and is summoned to the Slytherin Palace to take her place by Prince Orion on his deathbed. With the help of her new friends, Lily learns what it means to be a Princess, and just what it is that makes a family.

Title: Fate Works in a Funny WayAuthor: gxldentrio Rating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 22Word Count: 69,833Summary: Lily despised James and all of his mannerisms. James hated how she was always so uptight. But with head duties, common friends, and a curious Divination seminar, neither of them is ready to look at each other the same way again.

Title: Arse Over Tea KettleAuthor: october31st1981Rating: Not ratedGenre(s): HumourChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: She’s coming towards them.Sirius’s elbow is digging into his side, and her voice drifts down the corridor, and half of him wants to think something poetic about the way the sound of it envelops him, and the other half of him thinks he is a complete prat for even having such thoughts.

Title: A Month of SundaysAuthor: marziipanRating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 25Word Count: 88,345Summary: How exactly does Lily discover her buried feelings for James Potter? Picks up from James’s and Lily’s 5th year, shortly after Lily ends her friendship with Snape.

Title: And That’s When a Bludger Came Through My WindowAuthor: Jen RiddleRating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 16Word Count: 39,197Summary: This summer was supposed to be peaceful. A few weeks away at my Aunt Rose’s, in her quiet cottage in the country. Just minutes away from the beach. I could catch up on my reading, and my school work… and thats when a bludger came through my window.

Title: DemigodAuthor: gryffindormischiefRating: TGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: so I’m a greek god and you’re a demigod who I turned up to curse because man you screwed up, but honestly that face is too cute to turn into a minotaur au 

Title: The Wrong ArmAuthor: scared-of-clouds Rating: Not ratedGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: She was eating an apple when an arm draped across her shoulders, but she was so used to that these days that she barely batted an eyelash, just ignored it and continued her animated discussion with Marlene. It wasn’t until a moment or so later that she realised that the arm now resting across her shoulders….well, it was all wrong.

Title: What It’s LikeAuthor: ohsnap its potterRating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 10Word Count: 27,748Summary: Due to a potions incident, Sirius and Lily switch bodies. Not good. Lily is freaking out, and Sirius decides to play cupid. Not good at all.

Title: perpetuusAuthor: gryffindormischief Rating: TGenre(s): Adventure, RomanceChapters: 1Word Count: 14,397Summary: Sometimes even an entire life of planning can’t prepare you for a pair of warm, millennia old, hazel eyes.

Title: CanisAuthor: gryffindormischief Rating: K+Genre(s): Friendship, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 2,747Summary: jilychallenge prompt: I’m working the kissing booth at the summer fair and thank god you bought up my last half an hour of tickets, the guy with the dentures is next in line I’m not sure I could face it - you’re my hero

[jameslilyfest-blog]

Round One Masterlist: Fics

Please see under the cut for all fics, ordered by first posting day down to last.

Title: Whiskey & Orange Juice Author: @wotcherpotter Prompt: Scenario #7 Holiday Party Pairing(s)/Characters: James Potter/Lily Evans Rating: General Audiences Spoilers/Warnings: N/A Summary: Lily’s mum had always said, ‘the way you started the New Year was a reflection of how your year would pan out’ and she did not want to be moping for a full 365 days. Notes: AU - College, AU - Modern

Title: Defeating the Grinch Author: Chie/ @chierafied Prompt: Scenario #4 – Ice-skating Pairing(s)/Characters: James&Lily; James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, Mary, Marlene, Lily Rating: T Warnings: Some drinking, tipsiness and mild swearing Summary: Lily has lost her holiday spirit - and her mother. But luckily she has friends who want to remind her that she is not alone. Notes: Thanks for @gryffindormischief and Maz for beta-reading! ♥

Title: All I Want For Christmas Is You Author: @siriuslynerdy32 Prompt: Image #5 Pairing(s)/Characters: James Potter/Lily Evans Rating: General Audience Spoilers/Warnings: No spoilers/warnings Summary: During the chilly Christmas, Lily Evans finds the hearth to keep her warm. Notes: Jily Muggle Neighbours AU! Unadulterated fluff

Title: A Game of Thrones Author: @wearingaberetinparis Prompt: Quote #2 “Winter is coming.” - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones Pairings: James Potter/Lily Evans Rating: M Spoilers/Warnings: None Summary: Lily Evans had never imagined she would meet Prince James, but when she does at St Andrews’ annual Christmas Pub Crawl, her whole world is turned upside down. For who thought that a girl like her - with a sister that reads “Hello” magazine like it’s the Bible - would end up with a prince like him? Notes: A Jily Royalty/University/Modern Setting AU.

Title: Eight After Eights Author: @bantasticbeasts Prompt: Quote #10 “Happy birthday, Jesus. Sorry your party’s so lame.” - The Office Pairing(s)/Characters: James Potter/Lily Evans Rating: Not rated Spoilers/Warnings: No warnings Summary: “You know James met Jeremy Paxman and he was so awestruck that he cried?” Sirius tells her, through a mouthful of chip sandwich. “First of all,” says James, eyes not leaving the screen, “I was eight, so jot that down. I was meeting my hero, I think I was entitled to a few tears. Secondly—” “Your hero when you were eight was Jeremy Paxman?” Lily grins. “I’ve literally never been less surprised to learn anything.” Notes: special love to rhiannon, grace and ria for reassuring me that this is okay and encouraging me through this x

Title: James Potter, Arrogant Tosser Author: JannaElizabeth93/ @bengaliprincess Prompt: Image #3 Pairing(s)/Characters: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter Rating: General Audiences Spoilers/Warnings: none Summary: James Potter, Arrogant Tosser, missed a few days of class in December 1976 Notes: none

Title: Snowbody Like You Author: @our-daily-struggle Prompt: Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin’/In the lane, snow is glistening/A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight/Walking in a winter wonderland - “Winter Wonderland” - Richard B. Smith Pairing(s)/Characters: James Potter/Lily Evans Rating: Teen Spoilers/Warnings: mild language Summary: Their last Christmas at Hogwarts was one filled with cheer and joy and ‘to new beginnings’. So why is Lily Evans not in the Christmas spirit, but rather waging a war in her own head? And how is Potter, again, the root of all her problems? Notes: A MASSIVE thank you to my wonderful and amazing beta-reader @wearingaberetinparis for proof reading my story, i can’t thank you enough! This is dedicated to Mary, my new gorgeous, HP-GoT loving friend :) And to everyone else who loves and adores Jily!

Title: An English Witch In Newark Author: @attinaadellaalana/PeridotLionheart Prompt: Secret Santa Pairing(s)/Characters: James Potter/Lily Evans Rating: Not Rated Spoilers/Warnings: I suppose Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince. Mentions of blood might squick people out. Summary: A festivity is happening after a grand adventure. Will Lily and James finally admit what is going on between them? Notes: Special thanks to @bengaliprincess and a friend for beta reading!

Title: Prongs and the Hot Chocolate Incident Author: ashkar (@sass-and-ambition) Prompt: Word #3 Hot Chocolate Pairing(s)/Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, James/Lily Rating: General audience Warnings: none Summary: James is nice to Lily for once, and it has a profound impact on him.

Title: So Just Act Like You Love Me Author: twilightstargazer ( @hiddenpolkadots​) Prompt: Quote#3 ‘At Christmas tea is compulsory, relatives are optional’ - Robert Godden Pairing/Chraacters: James Potter/ Lily Evans; James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black, Petunia Evans Dursley Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Spoilers/ Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Alternate Universe- Modern, Fake/ Pretend Relationship Summary: “Petunia knows Sirius, but she doesn’t know you,” she says, and her voice doesn’t wobble even once. He doesn’t seem to catch it, but Sirius is staring at her with his eyebrows raised, just a little. She ignores it and trudges forward, steeling herself for what’s to come. “Petunia doesn’t know you. She doesn’t know that we’re just friends or that we argue like nothing else so–” A flicker of understanding flares to life in his eyes and his jaw almost falls open. “Oh god.” or, Lily was looking forward to a nice, quiet Christmas by herself. Instead she’s heading back home for her sister’s engagement party with a fake boyfriend in tow. Notes: thank you to @gxldentrio​, @prongsno​, and @tamilprongspotter for putting up with my chat based yelling.

Title: Snow Angels Author: @grhffindores Prompt: Word#8 Snow Pairing(s)/Characters: James Potter/ Lily Evans; James Potter, Lily Evans, mentions of Marauders Rating: no warnings apply Spoilers/Warnings: minor spoilers about the first war. Summary: Snow blurs the line between friends and lovers, but that’s okay because they kind of don’t care anyways.

Title: it’s all perception Author: @missgoalie75 Prompt: Image #9 Pairing(s)/Characters: Lily/James Rating: T Warnings: None Disclaimer: Title is from “Young” by The Paper Kites. Summary: Lily and James’ last five holidays. Notes: Thank you to @firstbreaths for co-running this fest with me and being the best beta in the entire world.

Title: to hope to be Author: Paradise_of_Mary_Jane/ @pdfcct Prompt: Quote #5  "It’s Christmas Eve.  It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year we are the people we always hoped we would be.“ - Scrooged Pairing(s)/Characters: James/Lily; James Potter, Lily Evans; Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew Rating: T Warnings: None Summary:Their guests arrive at a quarter past five, a full hour before they’re meant to. It’s a testament to James’ powers of persuasion and desperation that Remus and Sirius arrive together, and that Peter arrives at all. Still, Lily can’t help but frowning playfully when she sees them come through the fireplace. She adjusts the hold she has on Harry so that she’ll see them better. “You’re early,” she says. “Dinner’s not ready yet.” Notes: A huge thanks to the mods of jameslilyfest and to my beta wotcherpotter for making this fic possible!! You guys are amazing<33

[ao3feed-snape]

The Heart of a Lion

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/32SICCY

by Phoenix_Merton

"He was the Lionheart. He was loyal, and brave, and had the heart of a lion. But more importantly, he had captured her's too." A royalty AU where Lily is a princess and James is her lionheart

Words: 2898, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Gilderoy Lockhart

Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape, Sirius Black & Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black & Remus Lupin & Peter Pettigrew & James Potter

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Jily Royalty Fest, jily, Royalty, Princess - Freeform, lionheart, Gryffindor, Action/Adventure, Action & Romance, Arranged Marriage, Undercover Missions, Spies

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/32SICCY

[naireides]

I read Provisionally Yours thanks to your recommendation and I loved it!!! Do you know of any other jily royalty au fics? Thanks

provisionally yours is super amazing i hope linds knows how much i love this fic

as for other royalty aus there was a jily royalty fest a few years ago which you can find here (make sure to check out Key Limes; it’s great)

[writingrosesandcoffee]

The Princess and the Wizard (Part 2)

Title: The Princess and the Wizard Author: Nesma A/N: Still writing. Disclaimer: I own nothing.

-&-

"So, how was our walking date?" Petunia asked as she walked into my bedroom. Immediately kicking off her black ballet flats, dropping her tan leather bag on the floor along with her black jacket, before throwing herself on my bed.

"It was good. We read you spent a lot of time getting the books and food items that you forgot to bring." I said, putting my book down and uncurling myself in the arm chair nearest my bed. "I also got to know one of the newest security members of my team," I said, wiggling my eyebrows a bit at Petunia.

"Oh yeah? Which one? The one with the long black hair? He's quite fit." Petunia said, perking up in my bed. She rested her head on her hands as she stared at me with excitement.

I snorted. "No, that's Sirius by the way. I got to know James, the one with the messy black hair-"

"Oh. That one?" Petunia asked, her face immediately scrunching up into a look of disgust. Which, I took offence too. So, Petunia and I did not share the same views as far as attractive men but James was certainly attractive.

I mean, first, he looked like he was in shape. Though he was wearing a jacket, it did seem that he had toned arms and his shirt did fit him quite nicely. Then, there is jet black hair and hazel eyes. Nothing makes me swoon as much as the combination of dark haired men with light eyes. Always a combination that I am fascinated with (and I tend to go after those guys considering my dating history). Then, there is the small detail that James has dimples. Cute little dimples that would make any girl want to grab his face and litter it with small little kisses. Because dimples are dimples.

Of course, would I even dare share all of these thoughts with Petunia? Of course not. The girl is actually attracted to someone who looks like he is a human bull of some sort (very large, though Petunia claims he's strong). He has basically no neck (which I guess means opposites attract since Petunia has double the neck). And, he has blonde hair and brown eyes – actually, this part isn't terrible. But he's always so serious and plain and no jokes whatsoever.

"I think James looks nice. To each their own after all." I said calmly. Which, I thought was a much more diplomatic line rather than saying, 'I think James is much fitter than Vernon so there.'

"Whatever. Is he like Kingsley with a million and one degrees?" Petunia asked, rolling onto her back and staring up at my canopy.

"Actually… I'm not sure. I know James went to school with Kingsley at some point but it is unclear when that happened." I said, twisting my strand of hair as I tried hard to remember if James said anything about his past.

"Mysterious background. That's probably why you think he's fit." Petunia said suggestively.

"I don't think he's fit, well, not like that at least," I mumbled, standing up and walking towards my desk. I started to shuffle some papers around, even though no organisation was really needed as a slight blush started to creep on my face.

"Oh come on, please tell me that you've moved on from Robert," Petunia said movements could be heard in her direction as I turned around to face her. "He was honestly such a bore and a jerk." Petunia said, crossing her arms.

I rolled my eyes at her. "I know. I dated the bloke, remember? Believe me, there is nothing that makes me want to date him." I said with a sense of finality as I shoved some random pieces of paper into a drawer.

And I was telling the truth. After all, I had no interest in really seeing Robert. Though, that was impossible since he did go to a majority of the social events that my family does. You see, Robert is a fine guy. He's attractive, at least to me, and I can have a good time with him. We like to talk about History a lot. But, he has this streak of arrogance that makes him so unappealing. And this nasty quality in which he could only talk about himself. Which meant the relationship ended rather swiftly (four months). Which was a record for my shortest relationship, while my longest was for a year or so.

"Good. Just making sure." Petunia said as she stood up from my bed. "I suppose I better make an appearance in front of my own security team. Let them know I am alive and all." She said, sweeping her hair over her shoulder as she collected her items.

"I'll walk with you. I need to pick some things up in your room anyways." I said, standing up and walking with Petunia on her side as we left my room. Though, nearly immediately after ten seconds that we left the room, James was at my side.

"Do you mind if I talk to you miss? For a moment?" James said, fretting a bit as my sister gave him a once over glance. Giving Petunia a small smile, and a pat on her shoulder, she waltzed off.

"Of course, what would you like to talk about?" I asked, putting my hands behind my back as James' hand went through his hair.

"I wanted to apologise for my behaviour earlier, it was quite impolite and disgusting how I talked you-" James said quickly, his breaths coming in short.

"Ah, so you realised your walkie talkie transmitted sound both ways?" I said innocently, smiling at him as his hand dropped from his hair and his jaw went slacked. Chuckling to myself, I put out my hand.

"Can I see your walkie?" I said, and James gave me a suspicious look as he started to fumble with the electronic on his belt. I don't blame the guy, I did after all, perhaps, land him in some serious trouble with Kingsley.

After thrusting the small black box in my hand, I peered at the side and flipped a switch before handing it back to him.

"There. Now you can hear what's going on from their end, but they won't be able to hear us so you can speak candidly." I said and James took the device from my hand and peered at his closely. "How do I know I can trust you?" He asked, putting the device back into his belt holder.

"Well, the fact that I did just show you a nifty trick on your device should soothe you soul." I said sweetly, tilting my head as James' eyebrows raised.

"Yes, but you nearly got me fired-" He said, cooly. I rolled my eyes at such an atrociously false comment.

"No. I didn't." I said quietly, fixing my eyes on him. He took a step back as if he was aware of what I was going to say next. "You nearly got yourself fired." Jabbing my finger at his chest as he stared down at it dumbly. "It is hardly my fault that you were so bold, so arrogant as to think that you could talk to me like that without turning off your walkie." I said roughly because I had an entire country blaming me (well, my family) for the poor state of affairs in this country.

Adding James Potter to the mix? No, thank you.

"Besides," I said quickly, flipping my hair to the side as I crossed my arms, "I hardly doubt that Kingsley would ever fire you-"

"We are talking about the same Kingsley, right? Big man, huge muscles? Looks like he eats ten of me for a snack?" James asked in a panic way, exaggerating his body measurements as I laughed as his impressions.

"Yes, yes we are. But I still stand by what I said, he won't fire you in a million years." I said simply.

"What makes you so sure?" James asked hotly, crossing his arms over his chest as I leant back on the wall behind me with his eyes squinting down on me.

"Well, for starters, you don't have the exact military or educational requirements that Kingsley desires in his security team. Nor do you seem to have the personality type that Kingsley wants in his security team." I stated as James face's eyes went wide, as his arms went slightly slack as if I had punched him in the stomach.

I was never one to shield from the truth.

"But," I lowered my voice a bit for this, causing James to lean in a bit, "But-you clearly possess something that impresses Kingsley. And that's not a small feat." I said kindly, grinning at him as a hard-line set in on his face.

"Really? Because I pissed him off twice today. Once for when you stumbled on me and I acted like a complete fool and the second because I talked to you in an improper way." James gave a sigh as he shifted his weight, his hand going to his hair again. "I feel completely out of my element here and I'm starting to realise that the learning curve is quite steep. And I probably shouldn't be saying any of these things to you. I mean, I know how to protect you and I have gone through the training necessary for this job… it's just the politics I'm struggling." James said, running a hand through his hair again as he took a few steps away from me.

I frowned a bit at this. It's not that anything he said worried me, after all, I did completely trust Kingsley choices. It's just… how often does someone grow up in England without knowing any real knowledge of the royal family? With the number of products out there with my face and the news coverage of our every movement… there have only been a few people who I've met who were completely oblivious to my status. But they recognised my name. And James? It seemed like he had no idea the power of the Evans name.

"You're doing fine. Besides, I thought it was part of training to learn the history of our family and politics?" I ventured, and James froze for a second-his hand back in his hair and his glasses almost tittering off of his nose.

"Yes. Usually, that is part of training, but Kingsley was very eager to have us join the team. Something about us having dashing good looks if I recall correctly." James said, his shoulders relaxing as he gave me a red carpet smile.

And usually, because of the dimples, I would have been swayed with such a smile and laugh, maybe even placing a well-thought hand on his shoulder. However, that is not at all what I did. I went back to leaning against the wall and stared down at the floor thoughtfully. After all, why was their training compromised? What was so important to have them join the team that Kingsley threw the training manual out the window?

After a few seconds, I brought my gaze up and gave James a wide smile, the photo-ready smile. And with the smile finally reaching his eyes, it was clear that he bought my confidence. "Huh, interesting theory. But I do suspect that he hired you because of your skill, you're not that pretty." I said, giving him my own wink as he chuckled along.

"Right. Well, I do apologise for any inconvenience… I'll behave better in the future."

"There's no need to though." I said and James stopped in his tracks as he gave me another wide-eyed look, his jaw slightly slacked. "I mean, uh, well, not as it may imply… but I shockingly like talking to you. I wouldn't mind a few rounds of conversations with you." I said bluntly, my cheeks heating up and praying to God that it was the cute pink cheeks versus the flaming fire that splashed across my face.

James gave me a smile, one with dimples. "Consider it done." He said, giving me a small wink as he sauntered off, his hands went to the walkie talkie and a switch was turned on. My heart thumped a bit more than usual, but then again, perhaps that wasn't so strange.

-&-

"Right, what do we have for the next few weeks?" I asked, as I finally plummeted to bed that night. My lazy pyjamas were on, too big and worn far too often, while Petunia sat like an angelic faerie at the end of my bed.

She raised her eyebrows, "Do you mean as far as social events this coming month? Or as far as dates with Vernon?" She asked, pulling a strand behind her ear.

"Both." I said, lying back on my pillows as a small, secretive smile spread across her face. Which would mean that we would be discussing her calendar with Vernon first.

"Well, for the next two days, there is nothing so we can actually work out together. But then, on Thursday, we're hoping to get another walk in so we'll be 'reading' outside again-"

"Lovely." I murmured, as I fiddled with the bed spread in front of me, trying not to fall asleep at the utter boredom of my sister's love life. Petunia simply ignored my moody tone as she continued to ramble on about her calendar.

"Then, this week is a mad house at all the events we have to be at, where the only thing we need to do is just be there. Oh, and we have an interview coming up in a few weeks-"

"Oh, gosh, I'm so good at those." I said, giving a sigh as Petunia gave me a hard look, "We'll practice this time. Extra hard, I promise."

"Okay, then what?" I asked, as Petunia put a hand to her chin as a look of concentration washed over her.

"Oh – we do have a meeting the Malfoy family." She said and I gave her a look of confusion. Because, first, what kind of name is Malfoy? There are, admittedly, a lot of odd names in this country. Though, I had never heard of a Malfoy. And if they were meeting us, that must mean that they were extremely well connected. And I had no memory of ever meeting a family named the Malfoy.

"I know. I didn't know them either, and I couldn't find out too much about them when I tried to research them. They must be relatively new on the social scene. Kinda surprised that they were able to get a meeting with us though so soon." Petunia said as she shrugged her shoulders as I scrunched up my face.

"When are we meeting with them?" I asked, putting my own hair up in a pony tail.

"At the start of next month, so four weeks or so." Petunia said as she leant back on the bed post.

"Odd. Alright, do we need to prepare anything?"

"I think it's just a formality? Like, congratulations for unlocking level royalty in the social networking of England, please collect your prize of meeting the princesses." Petunia said in a sarcastic tone and I threw my head back to laugh.

"Well, I do say we are an amazing prize." I said between my laugh as Petunia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, we'll see how it goes. Oh, what did that James bloke want with you?" Petunia asked, her head snapping up to monitor my gaze.

I bit my lip as I twirled a strand of my hair. "Oh, he just wanted to apologise… again for his behaviour today. He may have crossed a line. I can't tell yet." I said, shrugging my shoulders.

"Did he? What did he say?" Petunia asked, pressing in and I could hardly find the need to tell her the odd conversations of the day.

"Nothing terrible. Only Kingsley would find them scandalous for my pure ears-"

Petunia snorted and I grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked at her head. Luckily for her, since pillows as weapons can be quite deadly, it missed her by a mile. "Oy. That's not a very nice thing to insinuate about the youngest princess."

"I know, but can you imagine how they would react if they knew our lives? Our dating lives especially?" She asked, trying to resist to grin as I laughed and rolled my eyes.

"I'm sure they know some of it…. Hopefully not all of it." I said, as I grabbed a pillow and hugged it to my chest. Petunia shrugged as she hopped off the bed.

"Hopefully Kingsley won't be too harsh on him, looked like he was a kicked puppy or something." She said, over her shoulder as she opened the door and slipped out.

For James' sake, I truly hoped his punishment wasn't severe.

-&-

But I had no time to discover how James was reacting to his new role or punishment.

"What is going on?" Petunia whispered frantically in my ear as our car arrived at the hospital that we had to make a visit at.

I looked out at the window. As usual, there were large crowds pushing back against the officials that had been station there. There was lots of yelling, some had signs painted in multiple colours that splashed how much they loved us. There were grinning faces, sobbing faces, and shocked faces. These were the faces I was used to at an event like this.

But a number of the people looked angry. Furious even as they brandished their hateful signs, faces turning a deep red, and I could hear their voices so clearly that I know that they'd be whispering hoarse in a few hours. Eyes were bulging out as I skimmed the signs - mostly declaring justice for the Prewett.

"Angry. Clearly, over the Prewett murder." I muttered, smoothing down my skirt, my hands trembling slightly as I took a quick glance out the window.

"Who?" Petunia asked, her head swivelling around her neck as she tried to read the signs as I heaved a sigh.

"The Prewett. One out of the latest families that have been murdered behind homes that appeared to be locked. It is as if they murdered themselves but… nothing really points to that. The case… it's gruesome." I said, feeling my stomach twist and turn as Petunia gazed thoughtfully out the window, her lips parted slightly as her eyes scanned the crowds.

In honesty, the Prewett murders were one that shook me to my bones. It was a case in which when the police had arrive, everyone was dead. Everyone had a look of absolute horror and pain on their faces. Their bodies had suffered massive internal organ failure before their heart gave out. To put the body under that much stress… it is cruel, to say the least. And if there is someone or something out large, people have the full right to demand that someone steps in to over see it all.

And thus, when got out of the car, we were nearly mobbed by those fighting for the Prewett's right to life.

-&-

The next few days was complete insanity. It was one of those weeks when it was difficult to tell when the day started and when it ended. I had to spend every night with my sister picking out appropriate outfits for the next day. Researching what the tabloids had written about us. Seeing if there were any unflattering photos of us or if there was another essay about our fashion sense.

I was constantly being shoved out in front of cheering crowds, crumbling buildings, newly built buildings, and strictly quiet political settings. It was all completely tiring, that by the middle of the following week, I was looking forward to the solitary walk that I would have with my books as Petunia slipped out to Vernon.

Despite eagerly setting out the blanket and pulling out my books and such, did I notice that Sirius Black was standing nearby at a tree. A nagging worry was tugging within, and I resisted the urge to throw my cares away with an open of a book. Standing up and wiping the debris off of my dress, I wondered over to Sirius who made it a mission not to look at me per say.

"Kingsley didn't give him too much hell?" I asked, crossing my arms as I shifted my weight around as Sirius coughed.

"I don't care if Kingsley or the others can hear this conversation. If you're worried, you can shut it off. I know your mate must have shown you how to turn it off." I said stiffly, as Sirius gave a huge sigh and tugged at the device and flipping the switch.

"Happy?" He asked as he tucked it back into his belt. I staggered a bit as I wasn't used to facing annoyed security guards as he clearly was.

"You didn't answer my question-"

"No, he didn't get into too much trouble. Just extra studying time, how to treat princesses and such." Sirius said sternly, refusing to meet my eyes.

Oh, wonderful. Those manuals are so poorly written (they are updated so often that it's very confusing of how to keep up on them). Also, all the images in there of Petunia and I are very obviously retouched. Like, glaringly retouched and laughable. Then, the cartoons in there are priceless. This isn't too bad of a punishment, James is probably laughing is head off.

"Oh, that's not too bad. Those manuals are dry but hopefully Kingsley will let up on you two."

"Excuse me, but I actually knew how to respond to you when I first met you. I also didn't turn into some blubbering goon-" Sirius rambled as I laughed, cutting him off.

"Oh, stop being so harsh on him, he was nervous." I said, dropping my arms to the side as Sirius eyed me.

"I know he was, he's just a little out of his element. Not used to the whole royalty thing. Lived under this pitiful rock with hermits as parents." Sirius said with wagging eyebrows, causing me to laugh again.

"I mean, I think he'll do fine. Just as long as he stays out of Kingsley's way." I said, before frowning, "Well, actually, if both of you will. Didn't you both get in trouble at school a lot? And probably from Kingsley thanks to his Head Boy duties?" And Sirius smirked as he tossed his long hair back.

"Well, James always relied on my wits and charms to get us out of trouble. They tended to work 100% better on the Head Girl rather than on Kingsley…" Sirius trailed off with a wink and I giggled to myself.

"I can't even imagine someone trying to flirt their way out of trouble with Kingsley." I said, grinning at the thought. The man was always so serious, always so strict, and I doubt that the man ever broke a rule in his life.

"Oh, many tried and many failed." Sirius said wistfully, staring off into the sky as I laughed.

"I have to say, glad that you two still have your job. Though, I'm sure you'd have more fun doing something else. I lead… well, apart from the crazy mobs that want to attack and kiss me, a quiet life." I said, and Sirius grinned.

"The crowds were a little out of control. Especially at the event early this week." He said, his face darkening a bit as I heaved a sigh.

"Well, what could we expect? There was a protest not too far from us about the recent murders. Especially with the Fabian and Gideon Prewett being murdered-"

"You heard about that?" Sirius asked incredulously, his face that was smiles moments ago harden, looking more menacing than welcoming.

I sniffed angrily as I rolled my eyes. It appeared that the only appropriate response to the Prewett murder was to be blissfully unaware as my older sister. Batting my eyes and expressing my deepest sympathies as furious citizens yell for investigation and then casually forgetting the brutality hours later.

Lord forbid that I would know what's actually affecting the country.

"Of course I did. It was all over the news-" I snapped, crossing my arms as I stared at Sirius' bewildered and darkened face; his eyebrows drawn down as his eyes focused solely on mine.

"Your news-" He muttered, glancing slightly to the left before, for the briefest of seconds, flashing an angry look with his lips snarled back, before resuming his brooding look.

"What do you mean my news?" I asked quietly as Sirius' eyes shifted a bit as he shook his head, gritting his teeth. "Sorry, I… I know that not all of the murders were getting the lime light of being written about. I guess I was surprised that you bothered to learn names. I… I'm sorry." Sirius stammered as I gave him an odd glance as he stared directly at the ground, heaving slightly.

"Yeah, well, it's horrible. Twins too, right?" I asked as Sirius stared off into the distance and nodded. His hands were clasped in the front and his shoulders were tense.

"Right, well, not exactly shocking then that the public is angry." I said, trying to shift the topic of the conversation onto something else.

"Yeah, but it's obviously not your fault. Those people are morons." Sirius said bitterly kicking at the ground a bit.

"I suppose. Oh well, have any fun plans tonight after you're done here?" I asked, crossing my arms again as Sirius took a deep breath.

"I have a meeting tonight with James and Kingsley, some security stuff. Maybe go to a pub and grab a drink or two. It's been a long week to be fair." Sirius said, heaving a sigh.

"Drink extra for me, will ya?" I asked, and Sirius grinned.

"Now, that's something that I would never deny." He said and I laughed a bit.

"Say hi to James from me?" I asked, and Sirius gave a small grin. "Of course." He said as I walked back to my blankets and book. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading, focusing on the words and not on the bloodshed taking place in the world.

-&-

Three days later, on another walking date with Petunia, James was the assigned security guard. I gave him a small wave as I set up the blanket and books. Though, it was only a matter of time before I heard the crunching of leaves as James stood at the edge of the blanket.

"I thought I'd tell you hi back." He said, and I looked up at him, shielding my eyes as I stared up at him.

"Excuse me?" I asked as James crouched down.

"Well, you told Sirius to tell me that you said hi. So, I'm saying it back. Hello." He said, grinning as I laughed at his awkward antics. James took this as an invitation to fully sit on my blanket and something in my heart swelled when he did.

"Did you turn it off?" I asked, pointing to the walkie talkie as James nodded, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I did. I am learning rather quickly." James said as I bit my lip.

"How did your meeting go from a few nights ago?" I asked, and snuck a glance at James who wore an expression of shock on his face.

"How did you know about that?"

"Magic. Duh." I said, laughing at my own hilarious joke; though I was the only one since James merely chuckled along before giving me an expectant look.

"Right, well, Sirius told me. It's not top secret now, is it? It's just between you two and Kingsley." I said and James heaved a sigh.

"Something like that. We had others come in, helping with training and such." James said gruffly as he started to pull a bit at the grass.

"Were you two able to go out afterwards? Grab a drink or something? It has been a few hectic days on the job I assume." I said and James laughed a bit.

"Yeah, we did. We couldn't stay very long, though, Sirius did make an utter fool of himself in front of the bartender." James said, grinning at the memory.

I smiled a bit as I leant back on my hands. "Oh yeah? What happened?" I asked as James messed up his hair, a grin forming on his face with my favourite dimples.

"Well, we already had a bit to drink but right before we left, he went straight up to the bartender and told him, 'I need to have an extra drink – it's for Princess Lily. I need to drink extra for her.'" And I started to roar with laughter. After all, how many people drink because of me?

"That sounds great." I said after I gained control of my happiness as James smiled at me.

"It was, the bartender thought he was full of shit of course. I mean, part of our job is never disclosing that we're in fact part of your security team. As I'm sure you know." And nodded, thinking that this was a little extreme but Kingsley, as usually, disagreed.

"Sounds nice." I said, grabbing a book and gripping it closely to my lap as James eyed it.

"Still Jane Austen?" He asked and I nodded, and a proud look spread on James' face.

"You know, I looked it up after you were reading it. She seems to have written a lot of books." He said as if that was supposed to impress me.

I mean, it's Jane Austen. Of course, she's written lots of books! I mean, dear lord, where did this boy go to school if he thought that Jane Austen was this obscure author?

"Uh, yes, I take it you've never read any of her books? Have you seen the films?"

James blinked rapidly, "Uh, there are films? Of her books?" And burst out laughing, placing a hand on his shoulder as I continued to laugh hysterically.

"I'm guessing your parents never really let you watch television or go to the cinemas?" I asked, taking my hand back and wiping my eyes as James eyed the place my hand was previously.

"Well, yeah, of course. I mean, I know what films and cinemas are. Please." James said, scoffing and pretending to look deeply offended as I rolled my eyes.

"I know you do. Otherwise, I'm not sure how you would be functioning in this world here. But yes, Jane Austen is rather famous. Many films have been made based on her stories. I quite like Emma and Pride and Prejudice but that's just me." I said, rambling a bit as James eyed me from the corner of his eyes.

"Perhaps I'll pick up a copy of the books. Or maybe just watch the movie and dazzle you with my knowledge." He said, swiping a hand through his hair as I scoffed and laughed at him. Unsure of how to really respond.

With the other blokes… well, neither of them picked up a Jane Austen novel unless it was required for their literature lessons. And all of them would pick it apart and constantly remind me that she essentially wrote 'chick novels' for her generation and why would we even bother to give her the time of day? This was usually when I would close my eyes, count to ten and try very hard not to shout at them until my throat went hoarse.

But James didn't seem to mind of what Jane Austen wrote. To be fair, it sounded as if he had no idea who Jane Austen was which… well, I had never met someone who didn't have the faintest idea of her.

"Perhaps. We'll see, though." Giving him a small grin before opening my book, James took the hint and stood up. Wiping debris off his pants before taking station further away from me.

I found it rather hard to concentrate on the Bennet sisters that afternoon.

-&-

The next two afternoons, Petunia and I went to the gym for our workouts (considering we had an interview coming up, we thought it would be best to look slightly toned so that when we get the dreaded body question we could at least answer it somewhat truthfully). However, after two gym sessions, we decided a break was in order and Petunia went to visit her boyfriend and I spent my afternoon with my books.

Of course, James was on duty this afternoon. As soon as I settled onto my blankets, I found that his shadow was overcasting me as he stood on the edge; waiting for me to invite him to sit down.

"So, I'm part way through Pride and Prejudice." He stated, crouching down and settling on the edge of the blanket after I gestured for him to sit.

He did what?

"You… you're in the mist of reading Pride and Prejudice?" I asked in a disbelieving way as James chuckled.

"Don't sound too surprised. You're hurting my feelings over here." He said, giving me his puppy eyes. I bit my lip as I averted my gaze.

"I'm sorry, you just don't seem the type to read Pride and Prejudice." I said, blushing a bit.

"No, you're right. I normally wouldn't read Pride and Prejudice but Jane Austen is one of our greatest national treasure. And, I really should start reading the classics more, and what better way to start than with Pride and Prejudice?" He asked, leaning back on his hands as he stared up at the sky.

"What part are you at?"

"I'm a slow reader and the language took a little getting used to for me… but I'm at the part where they're at the ball." He said sheepishly.

"That's not bad at all considering you just started reading it."

"I know, but I'm hardly as fast as you are." He said, gesturing to my stack of books. I blushed and laughed a bit.

"It's different, I'm rereading some books. And I can never decide what to read-"

"Just like your sister, who, I've noticed has never joined you on these walks despite what her schedule states." James said, giving me this irritatingly knowing look: a smirk on his face, eyebrows raised, and his eyes full of mirth as I scrambled in my own head for a clever lie.

"Well, you see, Petunia can be sensitive to the chemicals they use for the grass-"

"You have a blanket-"

"Yes, but, she needs to have her medicine just in case. And sometimes, she'll take the medicine inside, making her drowsy? Right, and so she'll fall asleep right then and there." I said, feeling my face heat up as James locked eyes me, squinting a bit as if he was trying to see if I was lying. And then, his face relaxed and he shrugged as his hand went over to the walkie talkie. And pulled it out of his belt loop.

Oh no.

I could feel myself panicking as James gave me a grin before pressing a button and bringing the device close to his lips. "Princess Petunia is in her room, copy that, please send a confirmation once you've laid a visual-"

"She's not in her room!" I blurted, reaching over and trying to tug at his hands to release the walkie talkie (and only for the walkie talkie, it's not as if I wanted to feel the callouses on his fingers or anything). Yet, he tightened his grip as my fingers were nestled within his.

"Oh, she's not?" James asked innocently. "Where is she then?"

I bit my lip as I eyed our hands. They did look nice together. "Sometimes, she takes her medications in the hall way so she literally falls asleep on her feet. In the middle of a hallway." I said quickly, and realising that it was the dumbest lie that could have ever flown out of my mouth.

"Alright then, I'll just send some people over-"

"Why don't I help? I can search the hallways for her and then just alert the nearest guard when I find her-" I said quickly, standing up as James buried his face into his hands.

"Merlin-I mean, oh my god Lily, are you that stubborn?" He asked, laughing a bit into his hands as I stared down at him.

"What do you-"

"We all know that she's snogging Vernon Dursley senseless right about now. In fact, we can give you coordinates." James said, lifting his head out of his hands as my jaw dropped to hit the floor.

"For how long?" I demanded, putting my hands on my hips as James started to chuckle.

"Since the start of their romance. Do you really think that there is anything in here that happens without Kingsley's knowledge?"

"Obviously I did if I told you my sister falls asleep in the middle of the hallway." I sputtered, as I buried my own face in my hands as I started to blush a wonderful crimson colour.

"It's quite amazing the lies you told. I can't believe you slept in her bed that one time-"

"You were hired after that!" I spluttered out, taking my face out of my hands as James gave me a guilty look.

"Sorry love, the other blokes were talking about it. Couldn't help but overhear."

"Ugh. Well, that's great." I muttered, plopping myself down and rolling onto my stomach as I hid my face in my arms. James laughed and put a hand on my shoulder.

"It's fine. It's funny and it shows that you're loyal and dedicated to her. That's never a bad thing." He said in a soothing tone.

"True." I said, lifting my head up. "I guess it's fair that you 'officially' know considering that she's going to go public with her boyfriend in tomorrow's interview." I said, shifting around so that I was sitting up and looking across to James. He shrugged.

"That's great? I'm sure it'll make some tabloid headlines, but it's not as if he's a bad choice or anything."

"No, he seems nice. I'm sure the media will go crazy now that Tuney has a boyfriend." I said, sighing a bit as I fiddled at the grass.

"Is that a bad thing?" James asked, tilting his head to the side. I shrugged.

Though we've both had boyfriends, and tabloids have picked up on it… we've never done the whole publicly announcing it to the world fiasco. For royalty, that is a big move and signal that marriage may not be too far away. While the relationship is young for Tuney and Vernon… they already seem serious. And if she's announcing the relationship to the world… well that means that she thinks Vernon is the one. And it won't be long until she's announcing the engagement and leaving me behind.

Not that I was worried about our relationship but things do change once one person in the dynamic duo gets into a serious relationship. And I wasn't quite sure how I felt about the whole situation.

"I don't know." I answered truthfully. "I don't mind the guy, it's just… things will change and I'm not sure how I feel about it, you know?" I said and James nodded.

"I went through a similar thing with Sirius." James said quietly, fidgeting with his hands.

"You did? Sirius had a serious relationship?" I asked, leaning forward as James nodded stoically.

"He is. And it was very hard me to comprehend what she had that I didn't-"

"Oh, James." I whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder as he hung his head.

"Yes, and I often grew jealous of how much time he spent with her versus me… we even got into a drunken fight-"

"Over a girlfriend?" I asked quietly and James tilted his head back and laughed.

"No, no. His damn motorcycle." I scoffed as I removed my hand. "You got jealous of a motorcycle?" I asked incredulously.

"He named it Bella. Because it was so beautiful." James said seriously and I couldn't help but erupt into a fit of giggles.

"Bella? He actually named it Bella?"

"Oh, yes he did. And he talks about her all the bloody time. Drove me mad, so I told him. Granted, I should have simply talked to him rather than shout at him… We should have both been sober too. That would've helped." James said, shrugging a bit though as he smiled at me.

"Anyways, my point is to just talk to her if you're feeling that you're growing apart. Though it still seems that you two are close… just from the security side. Seems like you two have something special." James said, and I couldn't help but smile. Because Petunia would never leave me behind, and even though she drives me absolutely bonkers, she is still my sister.

"Thanks, James… that was nice of you." I said, giving him a small smile that he easily returned.

"Well, with that, I guess I should pretend to be working." He said, giving me a wink as he hopped up, brushing some debris off his pants. "Enjoy your afternoon!" He cried, as he walked away as I started to read about the Bennet sisters again.

Except, this time, I flipped back to the ball and started to read from there.

[jilyarchive]

any fics where Jily is being shipped by family/friends/fans/ECT.

Here are a bunch, and I think we haven’t recommended the first one before!

Title: Snap Me ThatAuthor: wearingaberetinparisRating: Not ratedGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: ~ Summary:University AU

Title: Shipped by the PublicAuthor: doopilydoRating: Not ratedGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: ~ Summary: Prince James and Princess Lily are shipped hardcore by the people. They’ve never met. The strength of the will of the public brings them together. 

Title: UndercoverAuthor: thequibblah Rating: KGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 2,861Summary: “Who said we had to be subtle? It’s not like either of us works for MI6.” “You won’t fool me into snapping into spy mode by bringing it up!” “Are you asking me to step up my game?” “Prick,” Lily says through gritted teeth. “Challenge accepted.” Muggle spies-posing-as-high-school-teachers AU. 

Title: UntitledAuthor: thornfield13713 Rating: Not ratedGenre(s): HumourChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged that Professor Evans and Professor Potter are the one true OTP of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However little known the feelings or views of the professors may be to the student body of Hogwarts at large, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of their students that it is considered almost sacrilegious to ship either Professor Evans or Professor Potter with anyone but each other.

Title: Blind DatingAuthor: MPPmaraudergirlRating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: ~16,000 Summary: Jily Muggle AU: After being set up on a blind date neither agreed to, Lily and James decide that fake dating and staging a horrendous breakup would be the perfect pay-back for their friends’ scheme. But after a while, who can say what’s real and what’s fake?

Title: UntitledAuthor: fetchalgernonRating: KGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count:~Summary:“our asshole mutual friends set us up on a blind date and didn’t tell us it was a blind date, so instead of getting to know each other we spent the entire ‘date’ scheming against them and decided an awesome way to get back at them would be to pretend to date and then have a horrendous breakup but now that we’re two months into this charade we’re not sure what’s real and what’s fake anymore” AU

Title: UntitledAuthor: thejilyshipRating: UnratedGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: 19. Our Grandmother’sare trying to set us up AU

Title:Christmas LightsAuthor: potting-liliesRating: Not ratedGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: Got stuck on the roof putting up Christmas lights AU

Title: Meeting the Marauders Author: PoppyPotterRating: TGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 10Word Count: 49,864Summary: Or how Mr Evans was forced to spend Christmas with four raving lunatics, had his life turned upside down and was forced to make his precious daughter go on a date.

Title:Give Me Some TimeAuthor:takeharryandgoRating:Not ratedGenre(s):Romance,Humour, Muggle AU, Modern AUChapters:1WordCount: ~Summary: Modern AU. I got the idea from one ofthose posts with multiple AU prompts–hope you enjoy my version ofrockstar/groupie (+coffee shop ;))

Title: A Dying WishAuthor: pupparouxRating: TGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 15Word Count: 47,781Summary: Lily Evan’s grandmother wants only one thing from Lily before she dies…she wants to meet Lily’s boyfriend. So Lily rises to the occasion, and who does she bring? Why none other than our favorite… James Potter.

Title: Arm CandyAuthor: Chie (Chierafied)Rating: TGenre(s): Celebrity AU, Muggle AU, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 997Summary: “I really don’t need a date,” Lily had protested to her agent from the start, biting out the words from between her gritted teeth. “It’s the twenty-first century. My value should be determined by my performance, not by my ability to land a man.”  But Mary, stubborn as she was, had not come around. “You’re getting an award, Lily, you can’t well go to the ceremony alone.”

Title: #JilyAuthor: Chie (Chierafied)Rating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 2,991Summary: Twitter seemed awash with the hashtag Jily. Lily blinked at in confusion, until she realised it was one of those silly couple monikers people had bestowed on her and Potter.…Though there was a small dissenting crowd following a tweet from Potter’s bandmate Sirius Black: Jily? Hah! More like LAMES.

Title: Key Limes Author: cgner Rating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 24,695Summary: In which Academy Award winner Lily Evans discovers the periphery of internet fandom and the existence of Prince James’s gold star system.

Title: Upside DownAuthor: Bob_The_Other_ZombieRating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 1Word Count: 6,722Summary: Lily’s pop star career seems to be hitting a rut, until her publicity team comes up with the perfect plan- a fake relationship with James Potter, frontman of the hot new boyband The Marauders. Lily’s less than enthused- last time she and James were in the same room together, there was vomit involved, all over her nicest pair of shoes. After a few dates, however, lines begin to blur, and suddenly things between them don’t seem to be just PR anymore…

Title: Sovereign AffairsAuthor: BookWorm77071  Rating: TGenre(s): Family, RomanceChapters: 20Word Count: 57,543 Summary: Modern Jily AU for the Jily Royalty Fest. Lily is the illegitimate sister of Duke Sirius and Prince Regulus, and is summoned to the Slytherin Palace to take her place by Prince Orion on his deathbed. With the help of her new friends, Lily learns what it means to be a Princess, and just what it is that makes a family.

[jilyarchive]

Do you know anything where muggle au where lily and james meets but sev tels her he is no good

Here you go!

Title: Key Limes Author: cgner Rating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 24,695Summary: In which Academy Award winner Lily Evans discovers the periphery of internet fandom and the existence of Prince James’s gold star system.

Title: Sovereign AffairsAuthor: BookWorm77071  Rating: TGenre(s): Family, RomanceChapters: 20Word Count: 57,543 Summary: Modern Jily AU for the Jily Royalty Fest. Lily is the illegitimate sister of Duke Sirius and Prince Regulus, and is summoned to the Slytherin Palace to take her place by Prince Orion on his deathbed. With the help of her new friends, Lily learns what it means to be a Princess, and just what it is that makes a family.

Title: Coffeeand Bad Shirts (ItCould Happen excerpt)Author: scaredof cloudsRating: TGenre(s): Humour, Romance, SmutChapters: 1 (out of 29)WordCount: ~Summary: Muggle coffee shop AU

Title: When Love Was KingAuthor: wearingaberetinparis Rating: UnratedGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: Royalty/UniversityTrope - Basically I’ve done royalty inspired Jily fics before, but I lovewriting them so much. Prince James just makes me swoon. This one is slightlydifferent, though, because I thought I’d add the setting of a university. Inshort: this is kind of “The Prince & Me” as well as Kate andWilliam-inspired.

Title: Textbooks, Time-Scarves and TeaAuthor: cgner Rating: TGenre(s): Romance Chapters: 1Word Count: 7,821Summary: Lily visits the coffee shop because Sev works there, even though he’s got a completely obnoxious coworker with admittedly fantastic hair.  

Title: The Bakes of WrathAuthor: paddypadsRating: Teen and UpGenre(s): AUChapters: 10Word Count: 30,132Summary: Lily Evans and James Potter are contestants on the 2015 Great British Bake Off. Lily is determined to beat James. James is determined to win. And to make good cakes. Rivalries and Twitter wars ensue.

[jilyarchive]

Hey. Do you know any fanfics where Lily and Sirius get very close because of their family (Sirius being hated by his parents, Lily being hated by Petunia) and Lily always wonders how Sirius ended up being best friends with James because they're so different till she realises every good thing James has done?

These all have Sirius & Lily bonding over family background stuff, some are canon and some AU:

Title: ProgressionAuthor: SunshineDaisiesWindmillsRating: K+Genre(s): Friendship, FamilyChapters: 1Word Count: 2,541Summary: Sirius Black and Lily Potter were not friends. They never had been, nor would they ever be. They had never hated each other, certainly, but were never enticed by the other’s friendship. No, Sirius Black and Lily Potter were never friends.

Title: Sovereign AffairsAuthor: BookWorm77071 Rating: TGenre(s): Family, RomanceChapters: 20Word Count: 57,543 Summary: Modern Jily AU for the Jily Royalty Fest. Lily is the illegitimate sister of Duke Sirius and Prince Regulus, and is summoned to the Slytherin Palace to take her place by Prince Orion on his deathbed. With the help of her new friends, Lily learns what it means to be a Princess, and just what it is that makes a family.

Title: Pax Author: ohprongsRating: MGenre(s): Angst, FriendshipChapters: 1Word Count: 1,582Summary: “What’s it like, having it all?” she says, and he’s still mystified. He raises an eyebrow. She blinks at him and sighs. Finally: “Being a Pureblood.” Sirius lets out a bitter laugh. “I’m not sure having pure blood equates to having it all, Evans,” he scorns, but she doesn’t cower under his words. Pairing: L/J.

Title: Fighting FateAuthor: scared of clouds Rating: MGenre(s): Romance, AdventureChapters: 18Word Count:128,296Summary: It may have taken him a while to get to this point, but James Potter is happy with his life; as the captain of the pirate ship Fawkes, no-one tells him what to do or where to go. But when he agrees to carry a passenger - for a fee, of course - his life takes a rather interesting and wholly unexpected turn, and the past may be about to catch up with him. 

[jilyarchive]

More multi chapter celebrity au's?

Here are a bunch!  The two at the bottom are brand new!

Title: Eight DaysAuthor: BeeDailyRating: MatureGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 6 [WIP]Word Count: 21,677Summary: During a week-long exhibition, professional Quidditch player James Potter encounters Lily Evans, Junior Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet.

Title: StarstruckAuthor: aceremuslupinRating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 15 [WIP]Word Count: 153,115Summary: Lily Evans is looking forward to summer - until she finds the Marauders, England’s top-selling band, hiding in her barn. Now, she has to deal with rockstar egos, an unwanted admirer, and the dark force that sent them into hiding in the first place. 

Title: After the Quidditch GameAuthor: Lioness AmythestRating: K+Genre(s): RomanceChapters: 19Word Count: 61,318Summary: Lily goes to a professional Quidditch game, England against Ireland unknown to her that there she will meet the inevitable James Potter.

Title: The Art of Successfully Dating a Quidditch PlayerAuthor: DisorderlyandPunkRating: K+Genre(s): RomanceChapters: 18Word Count: 89,492Summary: Lily and James are happily married with a baby on the way. But a visit to Diagon Alley makes them fondly recall their courtship.

Title: Sovereign AffairsAuthor: BookWorm77071 Rating: TGenre(s): Family, RomanceChapters: 20 [WIP]Word Count: 57,543 Summary: Modern Jily AU for the Jily Royalty Fest. Lily is the illegitimate sister of Duke Sirius and Prince Regulus, and is summoned to the Slytherin Palace to take her place by Prince Orion on his deathbed. With the help of her new friends, Lily learns what it means to be a Princess, and just what it is that makes a family.

Title: A Right Royal MixupAuthor: Lily ItriwiRating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 28Word Count: 77,597Summary: She was a dead ringer for a runaway princess.So British tourist Lily Evans was hired to impersonate the missing monarch - at her arranged engagement to a prince!

Title: One Wild RideAuthor: twilightstargazerRating: TGenre(s): HumourChapters: 3 [WIP]Word Count: 14,405Summary: Breaking News: Lily Evans and James Potter are not so secretly snogging. The internet is losing its shit.

Title: Young LightningAuthor: flagpolesRating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 5 [WIP]Word Count: 8,991Summary: So you didn’t hear this from me, but Lily Evans and James Potter are writing songs together in the middle of the night or the Rock Band AU.

Title: Maraudermania Author: greysky3 Rating: TGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 26Word Count: 22,358Summary: It's 1965, and England is gripped with Maraudermania. Everyone is talking about the wildly popular band and the Fab Four: James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. But behind the fame and music, tensions brew within the group, especially when James meets waitress Lily Evans. Will the group survive to release another record? AU/AH.

Title: Tomorrow Never KnowsAuthor: greysky3 Rating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 5Word Count: 7,534 [WIP]Summary: Four blokes from Liverpool rising to international fame and becoming 1966’s most popular band is no simple business, but it’s never been more complicated with Liverpool in unrest due to serial killings. Whisperings are going round the city, terrible whisperings that the Marauders are next. Sequel to Maraudermania, AU/AH Jily.

Title: Rainbows Are Very Punk RockAuthor: lieselpalmerRating: TGenre(s): Muggle AU, Modern AUChapters: 3 [WIP]Word Count: 5,735Summary: Sirius has a crush on the cute boy from the coffee shop across the street from the record store he works at. James has a crush on the pretty girl he met on Tumblr. Remus and Lily are trying to figure out the best way to ask someone out. Everyone is struggling through their first year of uni.

Title: Rock Chicks, Pricks and the LovesickAuthor: thequibblahRating: TGenre(s): Romance,HumourChapters: 2 [WIP/abandoned]Word Count: 5,215Summary: Girl-band The Coven has a formidable rivalry with international sensations The Marauders. When the eight teenagers are suddenly forced to tour together, only madness can ensue.

Title: Eight DaysAuthor: BeeDailyRating: MatureGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 6 [WIP]Word Count: 21,677Summary: During a week-long exhibition, professional Quidditch player James Potter encounters Lily Evans, Junior Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet.

Title: Fairy Tale RobberyAuthor: preciselypotterRating: MGenre(s): Romance, CrimeChapters: 4 [WIP]Word Count: 12,919Summary: Meet James Potter: modern-day Robin Hood, con man, thrill seeker. He and his merry Marauders have been hired to steal from none other than the highest in the land. Meet Lily Evans: the Queen’s sister, activist, (likewise) thrill seeker. Lily Evans is James’ mark. James Potter is in for a few surprises.

Title: friends, trolls, jily stansAuthor: highandlonelydestiny, LadyLaiRating: GGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 1 [WIP]Word Count: 8370Summary: James chuckled, shaking his head. “You’ll be keeping me around a good, long while, though.”   “Only if we’re shooting for a happily ever after.” Lily laughed. “Lucky for us, you hate tragic endings.”   “Lucky us.” James grinned, shifting a little closer to Lily and bending down to be inside the frame as well. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, smiling fondly as he hugged her tight. “We’ve really got it good.”

Title: Falling to Pieces Author: TwilLil Rating: K+Genre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 3 [WIP]Word Count: 6,650Summary: She finally knew what it was like to be free. Here on stage with her four best friends, she didn't want to be anywhere else. The Marauders are a world famous band. Yet they still face struggles, in a world where being famous is the norm, The Marauders struggle to remain independent. But with betrayal and romance in their midst who knows what they'll do. SBRL JPLE

Title: Rock OnAuthor: That1.WeirdChick Rating: TGenre(s): Friendship, RomanceChapters: 1 [WIP]Word Count: 294Summary: The Band Au: The Marauders and The Flowers two separate bands with lead singers that hate each other, or at least pretend to. Will they admit their love to each other during their joint tour? Not quickly, first you must endure the pinning.

[jilyarchive]

Hello! I hope you have a wonderful evening! Thanks for everything you do :)

I was wondering if you had any more muggle/band/royalty fanfics like the one where Lily meets James (a popular football player) on tinder?

So you should check out the royalty AU, celebrity AU and social media tags, but these are similar Lily and famous James fics:

Title: making spirits brightAuthor: twilightstargazerRating: General AudiencesGenre(s): Romance, Fluff, Modern AU, Celebrity AUChapters: 1Word Count: 2,202Summary: She should have expected it to be hard, dating a celebrity, but somehow she and James make it work.

Title: Key LimesAuthor: cgner Rating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 1Word Count: 24,695Summary: In which Academy Award winner Lily Evans discovers the periphery of internet fandom and the existence of Prince James’s gold star system. 

Title: Sweet Tooth    Author: mylifeissocoollike Rating: Teen and UpGenre(s): Romance, FriendshipChapters: 1Word Count: 2,849Summary:Lily and James were best friends growing up, but when he moved away and they drifted apart they thought that would be the end of their friendship. But fate has a funny way of working out, and Lily can’t keep herself away from the brownies in the grocery store.

Title: Eight DaysAuthor: BeeDailyRating: MatureGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 6 [WIP]Word Count: 21,677Summary: During a week-long exhibition, professional Quidditch player James Potter encounters Lily Evans, Junior Quidditch Correspondent for the Daily Prophet.

Title: UntitledAuthor: scared-of-cloudsRating: Not ratedGenre(s): Romance, FluffChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: Where James is a professional Quidditch player and he’s playing at the World Cup.

Title: when you’re young, you just runAuthor: ravnclaws Rating: PG-13Genre(s): RomanceChapters: 1Word Count: 2,200Summary:about wanting closure, but what you get isn’t always what you want, sometimes it’s better.

Title: StarstruckAuthor: aceremuslupinRating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 15Word Count: 153,115Summary: Lily Evans is looking forward to summer - until she finds the Marauders, England’s top-selling band, hiding in her barn. Now, she has to deal with rockstar egos, an unwanted admirer, and the dark force that sent them into hiding in the first place.

Title: When Love Was KingAuthor: wearingaberetinparis Rating: UnratedGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: Royalty/UniversityTrope - Basically I’ve done royalty inspired Jily fics before, but I lovewriting them so much. Prince James just makes me swoon. This one is slightlydifferent, though, because I thought I’d add the setting of a university. Inshort: this is kind of “The Prince & Me” as well as Kate andWilliam-inspired.

Title: How to Write a Love SongAuthor: creatingconstellationsRating: TGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 1Word Count: 2,377Summary: The ‘I’m in a new band, and we ride the same bus, and holy hell you’re listening to my album au’.

Title: If We Ever Meet Again & A Little Death (Alternate Moments excerpt)Author: twilightstargazerRating: TGenre(s): Romance, HumourChapters: 2 (out of 10)Word Count: ~Summary:A series of oneshots and drabbles that I wrote for Jily Alternate Universe Week.

Title: After the Quidditch GameAuthor: Lioness AmythestRating: K+Genre(s): RomanceChapters: 19Word Count: 61,318Summary: Lily goes to a professional Quidditch game, England against Ireland unknown to her that there she will meet the inevitable James Potter.

Title: The Art of Successfully Dating a Quidditch PlayerAuthor: DisorderlyandPunkRating: K+Genre(s): RomanceChapters: 18Word Count: 89,492Summary: Lily and James are happily married with a baby on the way. But a visit to Diagon Alley makes them fondly recall their courtship.

Title: Sovereign AffairsAuthor: BookWorm77071 Rating: TGenre(s): Family, RomanceChapters: 20Word Count: 57,543 Summary: Modern Jily AU for the Jily Royalty Fest. Lily is the illegitimate sister of Duke Sirius and Prince Regulus, and is summoned to the Slytherin Palace to take her place by Prince Orion on his deathbed. With the help of her new friends, Lily learns what it means to be a Princess, and just what it is that makes a family.

Title: Rumour Has ItAuthor: wearingaberetinparis Rating: UnratedGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 1Word Count: ~Summary: LordSirius is dating Lily Evans. Or so they say. But what goes on behinddoors? Inspired by a Daily Mail article (how awful, yes, but I lovegossip) on Kate and Harry’s “very special bond”.

Title: A Right Royal MixupAuthor: Lily ItriwiRating: TGenre(s): Romance, DramaChapters: 28Word Count: 77,597Summary: She was a dead ringer for a runaway princess.So British tourist Lily Evans was hired to impersonate the missing monarch - at her arranged engagement to a prince!

[jilyarchive]

you once posted patronus soulmate one shots and I wanted to request some multi chapters (if you know of any)? btw your blog is amazing, keep up the good work :)

These are the only multichapters we know:

Title: We’re Soulmates Author: Xx_Astrid_xXRating: ExplicitGenre(s): Soulmate AUChapters: 2 [WIP]Word Count: 5,327Summary:(Marauders AU, no magic [except for the tattoos]) Everyone got the tattoos. No one knew where the came from, or why, but they appeared whenever something big happened; James had gotten his Marauders’ Tattoo when he, Sirius, and Peter had opened up the shop; Sirius had gotten his Elvendork: It’s Unisex! tattoo when Mr. Potter had given the bike to him. But everyone, invariably, got the Soulmate tattoo on their eleventh birthdays; the first thing their Soulmate would say to them in the exact place they would first touch. Unfortunately for James Potter, his was ‘You are the worst fucking human being to have ever plagued this earth!’. What happens when he and his best mate, Sirius, both find their soulmates on the same day?

Title: Kindred Souls Author: punkhalfwerewolfRating: ExplicitGenre(s): Royalty AU, Soulmate AUChapters: 1 [WIP]Word Count: 1,189Summary:Lily is the Queen of the Kingdom of Griffin at 18 and is left to face the menacing threats of King Riddle. When out visiting one of the villages, she notices four young men who are willing and have the skill to take on King Riddle, so she invites them to come to the castle and train to become knights.Written for Jily Trope Fest on Tumblr.

Title: What Souls AreAuthor: yourbckyRating: Teen and UpGenre(s): Soulmate AUChapters: 7 [WIP]Word Count: 32,121Summary: Everyone knows that the world is in black and white until a person meets their soul mate. James meets his when he’s eleven. And again at twelve.

Title: Altered TimeAuthor: HayleekinsRating: Teen and UpGenre(s): Soulmate AU, Modern AUChapters: 2 [WIP]Word Count: 7,213Summary: Something’s gravely wrong in the world. No, not the war. This war was always going to happen eventually. There are little things, shifts in time that can be felt by few individuals. Someone’s been meddling with time itself, so that Lily Evans would never be a part of the wizarding world. What this individual didn’t consider is that somethings, in time, cannot be changed.

Title: First WordsAuthor: AcrataRating: UnratedGenre(s): Fluff, Soulmate AUChapters: 1 [WIP]Word Count: 1,652Summary: James and Lily find out what each others soul marks are and whether they are ‘destined to be’ or not.

Title: The Art of MisdirectionAuthor: Bob_The_Other_ZombieRating: TGenre(s): RomanceChapters: 10 [WIP]Word Count: 47,303Summary: It’s Lily’s sixth year and finally, everything seems to be going right. She’s got amazing friends, a great potential boyfriend in hunky ex Ludo Bagman, and a good shot at becoming Head Girl next year, and, even better, she’s finally managed to bury the hatchet (somewhat) with James Potter when he started dating her best friend Mary. Things couldn’t be better- until she turns seventeen and receives her soulmate tattoo, indicating that her perfect match is none other than her former nemesis. As Lily struggles to keep this hidden, her world quickly turns upside down, somehow culminating in a crazy matchmaking scheme between her and James to set up most of their mutual friends. Did the tattoo get it wrong? Will Lily manage to keep it a secret? Can James and Lily really put their past behind them?

[ao3feed-jily]

LIVEBLOG of the Royal Reunion: Prince James and Princess Lily Meet Again

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2mp9SXh

by ritaskeetered

Rita Skeeter is a royalty watcher extraordinary. Liveblogging royal events gives her life. Her life is made when Prince James of Great Britain and Princess Lily of Ireland are set to meet again...

Words: 1917, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

Rating: Not Rated

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Rita Skeeter

Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Jily Royalty Fest

read it on the AO3 at http://ift.tt/2mp9SXh

[writingrosesandcoffee]

The Princess and the Wizard (Part 1)

Well, looks like I decided to rejoin the fanfic world again. Been tinkering with this so I hope you enjoy. Basically a repost from last time. 

Title: The Princess and the Wizard Disclaimer: I own nothing.

-&-

A year ago, I was sitting on a velvet couch with Petunia talking to the rising journalist of the time, about fashion trends and current events. Gossiping about the latest monarchy scandals and batting my eyes at the camera, hoping that the bright lights weren't causing me to sweat my make-up off. The journalist made a remark on how ordinary I was. I blushed and let out a nervous giggle, trying not show the anger and hot shame bubbling in my stomach.

I shouldn't have been surprised. The monarchy has always designed my image as the 'smart' one rather than the 'pretty' one. Petunia, with her classical looks, was easy to morph into the pretty one. It always astonished us how bizarre it was that people could only handle the simple version of ourselves. And if anyone realized that we were complex than the one-dimensional images that were created based on a flip of a coin or our interest at the age of five. We were both smart and pretty; but no journalist would ever sell an article if they portrayed that.

At that particular moment, with the journalist giving me a knowing smirk, I would have given anything to blurt out a scandalous story of my past. A romantic flame with a stable boy. Perhaps a daring adventure. Anything to prove that I was anything but ordinary.

I always found that life had a crude sense of humour.

-&-

The first thing that anyone should know about me is that I'm a decent liar with a horrendously boring life. Despite being born as a princess, I have done nothing that would make my mark in History. In fact, I am convinced and have shared this thought with my sister Tuney multiple times, that I will be the princess that historians dread to write about in their large history books. They'd make arguments about why I shouldn't be written into History books (did she do anything? No) and perhaps add a conspiracy theory that I am in fact not blood related to the royal family.

Alright, so the blood relation theory may have been inspired by some tabloid magazine article that I caught a glimpse of, but still.

Now, why would I think I lead such a terribly boring life style? Most likely because I often compare myself to my dear older sister Tuney (otherwise known as Princess Petunia).

While I lay in her bed at 6AM, pretending to be her, she is off gallivanting with her lover doing God knows what. In fact, she has spent a majority of the night with this lad. And they probably did, or doing, something romantic like staring at the stars and sharing their inner most thoughts. Or perhaps they had a moonlit walk. Or maybe he got a horse for them to ride on.

So while my sister is having the love story of the century, I spent my night wrestling with her sheets. I believe that my sister is thoroughly confused about the difference between a bed and a believes that a bed must have at least 20 sheets and covers. Then, there are all these decorative pillows that may or may not hold sentimental value to Tuney. Also, the odd stuffed animals that she collected throughout the years. So getting into this bed is like battling a squid. Then, to sleep in the bed is another battle, one that I have not discovered how. Which is why I'm positively exhausted because I was unable to get any sleep since this bed is not a bed.

Of course, there is the fact that I am currently worrying about how to get to my own bed in the next few minutes. You see, being part of the royal family means having my own security team. A group of men and women who actually work to ensure my safety. Even though I think that it is a gross mismanagement of funds. I mean, really, who would want to kill me? Or even hurt me? Of course people have issues with the monarchy, I mean, that's only normal. And, granted, strange things are happening around the country at the current moment.

For one, there seems to be a lot more murders and deaths. The numbers have steadily been growing but this year it literally has doubled. And some are completely bizarre, like somewhere the people are found in completely locked homes (I believe one was found in a shut and locked bomb shelter). Then, there is the fact that most of the people that are dying really should be alive. People dying in perfect health conditions. Some doctors have actually tried to get away with listing the deaths as 'frighten to death' on the certificates because there is literally no reason why these people should be dead.

Except, for that they are dead. It's all really bizarre.

To make matters worse, the public health sector has released a statement days ago that the number of people being diagnosed with moderate to severe depression has doubled in the past year or so. Which came shortly after people complaining about damaged forests. Which, occurred around the time a major gas pipe burst and caused the death of nearly 100 people at some convention.

This country is in a bit of a crisis at the moment. In case that is unclear.

And people are, obviously unhappy with the state of the country (who can blame them!?) and are willing to blame anyone, like the royal family (as if we have the power to control the issues in this country anymore). Either way, no one truly believes (except maybe some extremists) that by attacking me, Princess Lily, that the country would just turn around.

But alas, no, Kingsley Shakelbot tends to disagree with my whole, 'it is absolutely bonkers that a terribly boring 17 year old requires her own security team' belief. He usually states the fact that I'm a princess and the royal family is very important to the country and thus I require a security team. He usually fails to comfort me on the fact that I describe myself as boring. Though, I do suppose that it makes it easier for him (and the rest of his team) to monitor my movements.

And I do like Kingsley. He is rather young to be head of a security team, but he came with these credentials (Oxford, Imperial, some odd stint at Harvard) and he was highly recommended and all that. Even though I am displeased with his lack of enthusiasm for my humor. He just tends to eye me after a joke and tells me to 'watch out for myself' as if there is an ax murderer looking for me around every corner.

I also suspect that he's aware that I've been helping Tuney sneak out. Always quizzing me and Petunia about our 'shared' schedule (but really, time Tuney puts aside to see Vernon-her lover). Of course, because Vernon is also, technically, in line for the throne and comes from a well-established family… I don't think anyone is really nervous about the relationship. In fact, the two could actually start dating in the public sphere and people would simply be happy for them. It's not as if she's dating a driver or the stable boy. Regardless, Kingsley takes security very seriously.

Right around now, Kingsley and the others are having this huge meeting regarding security issues. They go over the daily schedule and assign people different time slots. Then, they usually discuss the latest security hack and what's being done to remedy that. By 6:15 or 6:30, they're usually done and standing guard outside the doors making it that much harder to sneak back into our rooms.

Stranded in my own train of thoughts, I nearly missed the entrance of Petunia.

"Oh, you're still here?" The door slammed and I nearly toppled out of bed as my dear older sister made her way across the room, dropping her bag and sweater on the floor. A look of content was on her face and she lets out a sigh as she plopped herself down into one of her armchairs.

Uh, yes, of course, I was still here. What else would I do with my time? Have a life?

"Of course I'm still here!? Where else would I be? And you're late!" I exclaimed as I wrestled with the sheets on my bed. My sister merely gave me a bored glance before examining her nails.

"I'm sorry, it's just." And at this, a small smile spreads across her face and she batted her eyelashes one too many times, "We just lost track of time. We spent the entire night talking, about everything!" She uttered in a dreamy tone.

Ew. I would have much rather she told me that they spent the evening making out or shagging. At least that would be interesting.

"Well, that's just great." I mumbled, kicking the pillows in front of me out of the way so that I could start my 'walk of shame' (haha) back to my room.

Petunia gave out another content sigh as she swung her legs over her armchair, letting her head drop over the armrest as she stared up the ceiling. "It was great. He's so charming. So lovely. He's just… he's just my everything." She said quietly, and there was a dreamy look on her face with a hint of a smile playing on the edge of her lips, and it was obvious even to me that the nights before were flashing before her very eyes.

Which is all nice and lovely, except I was going to be terribly late to my day. Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I balled my hands into fists as I made my way out the door.

"You owe me!" I shouted over my shoulder, as Petunia waved a hand in my direction. As if I was a fly rather than a sister who spent the entire evening spinning lies for her.

And of course, she's my sister. I love her very much and would only want her happiness. But she's been asking me to lie for her a lot lately. Which, normally I would be fine with (I am a decent liar after all) but lying for Petunia is positively exhausting. We have to memorize our shared schedule, we have to make sure that our appearances line up, we have to make sure that we have at least three back-up plans in case the security team finds out the real deal.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Came the voice of a very peeved Kingsley. Stuck in my own thoughts, I nearly walked right into him.

Well, I never did say I was aware of my surroundings. Just a decent liar.

"Had to talk to Petunia about today," I told him, yawning loudly as I scrunched up my eyes to avoid his gaze.

"And that was?" Kingsley drawled.

"Lessons. Homework. You know how I can be terribly tardy on completing those." I said lazily, waving a hand in the air as if I was shooing an annoying fly. Starting to walk towards my room in hopes of shaking Kingsley off.

"Mhmm. Well, get back and finish your work then." Kingsley said stiffly, stepping aside as to let me through as he followed me back to my room.

I rolled my eyes as Kingsley's footsteps mimicked my own. Was it truly necessary to have the head of security follow me around as if I was this hopeless puppy?

"This is completely unnecessary. I'm sure you have better things to do." in an annoyed tone, because, really.

"This is my job you know. It would seem that you want me fired."

I snorted. "Yes, but me walking a few feet on my own is hardly invitation for someone to murder me-"

"You never know." Kingsley cut me off in a tone that suggested that I back off. Which he only did whenever something terrible happened. Or lately, when another bizarre thing happened with no logical explanation in clear sight.

"What happened today?" I asked, turning my head to fact as Kingsley's gaze averted to the floor.

"Another murder. An entire family this time. No obvious cause of death yet. Though poison is a strong suspect." Kingsley scowled, his gaze focused straight ahead.

"Do you think we'll ever capture the person behind this?" I asked, mulling over my own thoughts as Kingsley stopped dead in his tracks.

"What makes you think it is one person?"

I frowned at this. Trying to choose my words carefully as I wanted to make sure that i said something intelligent rather than the ramble of words that were jumbled in my mind. "Well, I mean, I know it can't be just one person. But it has to be a group of people, right? What are the odds that all these deaths that are occurring are all random? Well, alright, I do suppose that there are higher death rates that they are done completely random with no relation at all with each other but it is a bit odd that they are all dying the same weird way. Not to mention that they seem to target people who tend to be unknown to neighbors and such… so there must be some pattern and probably done by a similar group of people or something?" I said, blushing a bit as I rambled on my own security theory to Kingsley who stared down at me thoughtfully.

"If you weren't a princess, I would hire you for my own security team." He said softly, leaning over to open my bedroom door, the guards outside standing rigidly as if we weren't there.

I gapped at him. For Kingsley, this was an equivalent of him telling me that I was smart. No, a prodigy in the making. Perhaps even a Nobel Prize Winner.

Well, being a Princess could potentially put me on the short list due to status in life but still.

"You think I'm right?" I asked, slightly surprised and annoyed that I blurted out my first thought.

"I think you're on the right track." He said, crossing his arms behind his back as I gingerly walked to my own room.

I had seen him more often yelling at the little security minions for their stupidity and lack of awareness and what not. He could be very harsh and scary, so a compliment from him is like finding a hundred pounds on the ground.

"By the way, I've hired two extra security members for your team." He said, nonchalantly as I stopped in my doorway. I turned around to scowl at him, crossing my own arms.

"I can't be such an awful or scandalous member of the royal family to get two extra body guards." I snapped at him as Kingsley laughed. "I mean, the only reason why tabloids write stories about me is to compare me to Petunia and complain about my lack of social skills or 'classic beauty.' Surely that' doesn't mean I get two extra body guards!" I wailed, as Kingsley continued to chuckle to himself.

My misery was clearly a source of joy to him.

"Of course not. Just expanding your team as Smith and Williams are wanting to go back to school. We need to train these two a bit more than usual-"

"Why is that?" I quickly interjected, knowing that if I struck fast, then I could potential catch Kingsley off guard.

Kingsley paused for the briefest of seconds. "These two… well, they have a similar background as me-"

"As in they have made it their personal mission to collect degrees from the best universities that this world has to offer? How many are they at?" I asked sarcastically. I raised my eyebrows as Kingsley merely shook his head, a smile dotting around his face.

"No, nothing like that. I'm still the smartest person on your security team." He said with a wink as I rolled my eyes. Considering the brilliance of Kingsley, he was quite modest. Though, he did choose his times to let it slip that he studied at Oxford or Harvard or Imperial or wherever else it was he studied.

"No, these two… they went to the same high school as I did." He said carefully as I raised my eyebrows at him, my arms dropping to the side. "Do not worry, they are perfectly qualified - I wouldn't hire them if they weren't. It's just… it might be an adjustment for them so they'll need more training than the usual men we hire. They don't necessarily have the military background but they will be useful." Kingsley droned on as I bit my lip.

"Alright, well, I trust you," I said tiredly, turning my back to enter the room before looking over my shoulder at Kingsley, realizing that I had forgotten a critical question.

"What are their names?"

"James Potter and Sirius Black. Now, get back to work, I don't want to hear that you're falling behind on your lessons simply because of me." He said with a small grin on his face as I rolled my eyes. Though, after shutting the door I quickly jumped upon my messy bed and tuckered on inside the covers. I did have a half an hour after all before I had to make it to my first lessons of the day.

-&-

Granted, my lessons are hardly normal. I did take them with Tuney and it was mostly going over current events, proper cultural practices based on countries we will visit, history lessons regarding the country, and other terribly boring topics that one would only need to know if they were part of the royal family or something.

These topics were very dry at times. And though I usually had enough grace to make it through the lesson without wanting to collapse in fatigue, today was entirely different. As our 'teacher' discussed the finer points of interviewing with different journalists, I just battled against my fatigue. I resisted the urge to yawn loudly. And frequently.

Tuney, on the other hand, was bright-eyed. She came to lessons early in a very simple yet elegant outfit. Her hair was neatly brushed and blow-dried. She was eagerly listening to every word our teacher said which seemed so strange to me.

Tuney was an expert on matters like these. She was extremely skilled in charming journalists with a flash of her smile and a well-placed comment here or there. It certainly helped that she did have a classic beauty; blonde hair that could easily be manipulated into any fashionable style at the moment. Her wardrobe was always impeccable (she made it a point to deliberate for hours over the outfits she would wear in the week, as it was her biggest fear to be placed on a worst-dressed list).

While I on the other hand… couldn't care less. Well, I did a bit. It's hard not to when there are weekly (sometimes daily) articles about how your sister is the better princess. I paid as much attention to the Fashion News as I could possible put up with. While my team were obsessed with the classic looks that were reminiscent of various romanticized history; I tended to like the edgier looks that came down the runway for the Avant Garde looks. Needless to say, I was hardly allowed to wear the tulle gown that had what looked like it was cut up five minutes before.

With my wavy dark hair that rebelled against any anti-frizz spray or mousse, it always seemed like I just jumped out of bed. While I spent my time reading books or the newspapers, Petunia kept up with the latest trends. Of course, Tuney still kept up with the daily events but she tended to just read headlines.

Tuney always knew enough to make pleasant talk to the various diplomats and such at social events. She could talk about them more intelligently than most thanks to our lessons which meant that during her free time she was able to read fashion magazines and experiment with her hair. I, on the other hand, could also make pleasant talk to the various diplomats; but I also liked talking to the lonely professor in the back of the event who merely got invited on some sort of connection with someone. I often talked to them about the intricacies of some random history event or something. I was a bit of an odd ball within the Royal Family.

This was a lesson I should be paying attention to. After all, I did have a few interviews coming up a few weeks from now but I was honestly so tired from staying up late. And I stayed up late fretting over my sister and her silly love life rather than worrying about own life.

As I thought angrily over these thoughts, I felt my head droop and my eyes shut. Only for a moment….

SMACK.

I jolted awake as I stared wide eyed at my teacher, a Miss Evanstan who glared angrily at me through her small lenses.

"I'm sorry, was I disturbing your nap with my lesson?" She asked in a mocking voice as I gulped. Miss Evanstan could be truly terrifying. When angry, her brown eyes would practically pop out of their sockets, the veins in her neck seem to turn a particular shade of blue, and I'm sure if it was still legal to hit pupils, she would have carried a ruler with the word "LILY" on it just for me.

"I am sorry, I stayed up late working on the assignments." I muttered, feeling my voice go dry as I stared hard at the desk.

"You really should take a leaf from Petunia's book." Miss Evanstan said wearily, walking around from my table and towards her own desk that had the notebooks that had our assignments in. She picked up Petunia's which was in pristine condition and Miss Evanstan flicked through it, a smile on her face. Then, she picked up my own notebook and I winced a bit. Though mine was technically still clean, you could tell it had been thrown around in book bags and taken outside as there were grass stains. And even flickering through my book, my messy handwriting was obvious from back here.

"My, my, my." Miss Evanstan said in an annoyed tone as she roused on the page in front of her, flickering through until she reached the empty pages. A frown on her face as she placed my own notebook down, not as gently as she did with Petunia's I may add.

"You realize that your sister wrote four more pages for this last assignment? While you barely met the bare minimum?" She said testily, her arms crossing as she glared at me. "I mean, I thought you two did your work together!" She snapped as she turned to Petunia who gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Miss, we do, it's just that Lily tends to read a lot and gets distracted. She also tends to procrastinate while I like to get things done early." Petunia said sweetly, her head tilted in such a way that you could only think of her as a sweet little angel. She even turned around and gave me this mocking smile that you would give to some insolent child or something.

I bit my lip as the blood in my veins just seemed to burn. My cheeks flamed up as Miss Evanstan stared at me. And there was hardly anything I could say in my defense. Other than I thought the assignment was completely stupid: proper outfits to wear for certain events and why. I had to write pages dedicated to this topic. Pages. I was hardly an expert on fashion. Which is why I had an entire team dedicated to my fashion sense.

Plus, who cares if I was interested in reading other books? Was it honestly necessary for Petunia to add all those extra details? Like how I waited later rather than sooner to start the assignments? I mean, I could easily count the number of times that Petunia had to borrow my notes the night before to write the history focused assignments. Or the number of times that she begged me to read over my essay. And we do have an agreement to help each other out with different assignments… but that doesn't mean we tell Miss Evanstan about it!

"Well, that explains a lot." Miss Evanstan said coolly, as if Petunia had given the greatest insight in regards to Britain's foreign policy or something. I rolled by eyes as she turned away, because between my utter grouchiness towards my lack of sleep and the stabbing of the back from my sister… I needed a break from the room.

"Miss Evanstan? Do you mind if I fetch a drink of water?" I said quickly, standing up as Miss Evanstan looked down at her watch. "You may. Be back shortly though." She said lazily, as she wondered over to Tuney to discuss God knows what with her.

I turned on my heel and quickly walked out. After I was a few feet away from the room, I broke out in a quick jog and ran into one of the usually abandoned rooms. It was a small room with a bookcase filled with old musty books and small trinkets that various family members have collected from their travels. The curtains were usually drawn and the furniture in there was rather sparse and generally worn down.

Scowling, I marched straight into the room and slammed the door with all my might. A small plastic trinket, one that Petunia had purchased when she was seven or something wobbled before falling down.

"Stupid, bloody cow" I snarled angrily and wondered over to the stupid little toy. I bent down to examine it a bit more closely. It was a small cow that had multiple colored spots, it had the country's name written across its back but over the years the cheap paint had worn off. Without really thinking much about my next actions, I stood back up, lifted my right heel high and brought my foot down on the little toy.

I was expecting the toy to burst into thousands of little pieces. Perhaps the head would remain or something for me to glorify my triumph over Petunia. Instead, because I was wearing dainty ballet flats rather than combat boots, I merely stabbed myself with a stupid plastic cow on my foot. An irritating pain spread across my feet as I stumbled back onto the bookcase and fell flat on my butt.

"Ow!" I howled, throwing off my shoe in a random direction (couldn't be bothered to see where it bounced to) and examined my foot. Clutching it tightly as it started to throb with pain. "Stupid, stupid cow. Stupid Petunia. What a bloody little prick." I stammered, as I started to massage the bottom of my foot, trying to twist it in such a way to see if it was badly bruised or bloody or something.

Of course, it was merely red. "Eugh!" I snarled as I slammed my food down on the ground. Completely frustrated by the day, by Petunia, by the stupid cow that refused to break under pressure of my foot. I huddled my knees closely and reached out above me, grasping for another toy figurine.

This time, it looked like a bear of some sort. Or maybe it was suppose to be a dog or something. Scowling at it, and deciding to hell with it, I started waving the toy around as if it were something alive.

"Hi, my name is Petunia and I'm the most annoying bloody thing on Earth to talk to. Look at me, look at me, I was best dressed according the Okay! magazine!" I said in a very high pitched nasally voice. "I'm so perfect and I have a lover boy that'll do anything even though I look like a cow." I continued on, feeling slightly better and grinning at the small little toy.

I heard a small laugh and my stomach felt as if it were drenched in ice cold water as I dropped the toy. Looking up frantically, my eyes landed on a scrawny man with jet black hair and wired rimmed glasses. His eyes were wide like a deer as he stood frozen on the spot a grin frozen on his face. I quickly scanned his outfit and realized that he was wearing a security outfit similar to the ones on my team.

And a new flood of humiliation and shame just washed over me. What must he think? Was he counting the ways he could sell this story to the tabloids? I could almost see the headlines, "Insane Princess Evans plotting to attack Princess Petunia with toy figurines!" or perhaps, "Princess Evans Injured by Foreign Plastic Toys!"

Alright, so these are possibly the worst headlines in the world but my main occupation was not tabloid life ruiner writer.

"Oh my god." I whispered hoarsely, as I stood up and brushed off the dust that had settled over my outfit as I gapped at him. "I am so sorry. It's just - my sister, she can be a bit much and I just. Well, I'm rather crossed at her, and I know that my behavior wasn't proper at all…I just thought I was alone you see." I rambled on, cursing myself in my head as the man simply stared at him from across the room; not even taking a step back from the insanity that I was as I moved closer toward him.

Blushing furiously as I stared at the man in front of me. The stupid prat had still not said a word despite rambling like a lunatic. Closer up, I could tell that he had long eyelashes that framed his hazel eyes and the same strain of rebellious hair that I had (clearly, there was some heavy amount of product in it to make it remained flat, but alas, the hair looked like he had just ridden a motorcycle or something).

"Well, I should probably leave." I muttered, twisting around trying to find my damn shoe.

"Uh?" The man stuttered as I quickly turned to face him. He was gingerly holding my shoe in his hand, a look of confusion on his face and a slight blush on his own face.

Right. To make this even more mortifying, the fates have decided to bestow this awful situation in my hand. I mean, poor bloke, first day on the job and he has this princess just rambling to herself without a care in the world. Especially since the monarchy has built my image, as well as my sister, as graceful young ladies with our wits and charms to one day take over the throne.

And I just took some paint and messed that image right up.

"Fabulous. Another embarrassing day for me." I muttered as I leaned forward to grab the shoe out of his hand.

"It's-It's fine." He stuttered, as I flopped onto the couch as I tugged on the shoe.

"Right. You're new right?" I asked, standing up and straightening up as he gave me yet another wide eyed look.

"Uh yes, your royal highness." He stammered awkwardly, bowing over the top and almost knocking something off of the side table of the sofa. He caught it swiftly and gave me another deer in the head lights look as his trembling hand placed the object down on the table.

Oh dear lord. This poor lad. Though he was right to address me as so, the royal family does do the whole hand shaking. Bowing and curtseying are of course, normal, just unnecessary at times. In this case, a handshake would have been fine. I would have not even minded if he called me 'Lily' instead of the title. I am really not picky about these things. I always find it much more awkward to correct people ('Oh, excuse me, it's actually 'your royal highness' and not just 'Lily').

Petunia on the other hand… she's extremely gifted in correcting people. She always makes it so normal that people end up thanking her. The one time I tried correcting someone, I just stammered and rambled.

"It's okay – you can call me Lily." I said, bowing my head to hide my flamboyant blush.

"Alright. Lily." He said stiffly. He sounded each word as if they were difficult to pass through his lips.

"Prongs – what are you doing here?" I turned to face my head in the direction of a voice. It was another man, yet with long hair and dark eyes. Same outfit as Prongs (what kind of name is that?). Though he was in such a haste to make it to us, he stopped dead in his tracks once he spotted me.

"Your royal highness." He said simply, bowing a bit before moving forward again, "I'm Sirius Black, one of the newest member of your security team."

Oh. Right.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Sirius." I said, extending my hand out which Sirius took as the proper invitation to shake firmly.

"And you must be James Potter," I said simply, turning to look at James who blinked rapidly. My hand awkwardly suspended in midair as he just kept blinking.

"I'm assuming that you met Kingsley before he went off collecting degrees around the world?" I asked timidly, withdrawing my hand and turning to face Sirius.

Sirius let out a laugh that sounded more like a bark. "Yes. Yes we did, though I assure you, we are both qualified for this job. Even if James is acting a bit off, I think he may have a concussion." Sirius said in a worried tone as he squinted towards his friend who seemed to be barely part of the conversation.

I let out a nervous laugh, a natural instinct that I truly wish would die out on its own. "Are-are you serious?" I asked as I peered at James.

Sirius nodded his head, "I'll take him to Kingsley, and make sure nothing isn't seriously wrong. I mean, my mate does have issues, serious ones-" James snorted at this. "so maybe a trip to Kinsley wouldn't be so bad." Sirius continued, ignoring the ignition on James' face.

"Alright, well, I do have to go back to my lessons," I said gloomily, walking the pair out to the door. "I'm assuming we'll see each other again soon?" I said, turning to face the boys in the doorway.

"You will. As we are going to be trailing you during your walk or picnic with your sister." James piped up, a voice a tad deeper than I remembered.

I rolled my eyes since I truly believe that these two could be doing something a bit more meaningful than watch me read my Jane Austen book.

"I'll see you then." And marched out towards the dreaded lesson.

-&-

"I didn't mean to be so odd earlier." I snapped my head and looked up at the figure who was standing at the edge of my picnic blanket. James was there, frowning slightly with his hands in his pocket as he stared down at me.

"It's-it's quite alright," I said calmly, folding the page in my book and shutting to close in my lap. I craned my neck to look up at him, tilting my head at the side to do so.

You see, it is rather unusual for my security team to interact with me. It has to do with the fact that Kingsley has instilled in all of them that by talking to the subject would distract them from their actual duties of protecting me. Despite my best efforts in trying to engage with them… they've all been extremely professional and cold.

Until now.

"I thought I should apologize. Sirius figured I scared you or offended you." He continued, shuffling his feet a bit, his hands were drawn behind his back.

"You can sit, you know." I said, quickly clearing the books to the side and grabbing the bag to place on my side. He stared down, looking over his shoulder, before he crouched down and settled into some sort of sitting position.

"I suppose this is against the rules?" I ventured, picking up on his slightly worried look on his face.

"I think so. I'm still learning the rules for this job. Besides, Kingsley knew he was hiring some troublemakers when he took Sirius and me on." He said, a small grin came across his face. Dimples appeared there too and my heart skipped a beat (I have a weakness with dimples).

"That's shocking. Considering what a goody-two shoes Kingsley is." I murmured, hugging my knees to my chest.

"Oh, he is. He was Head Boy at our school…. He used to write me and Sirius up all the time." James said, though he quickly frowned, "Though, I suppose that's nothing to brag about it; especially you of all people."

"Especially me? What makes you say that?" I asked, snorting a bit.

James fidgeted in his seat. "Well, I mean, you're the princess. We have to protect you. Doesn't really instill confidence if two of your security guards broke school rules all the time-"

"Did you ever break laws though?" I asked quickly, my heart skipping a beat. Who cares about the school rules?

James chuckled and gave a wink. "Only the minor ones, like… underage drinking or joy riding motorcycles in the streets of London."

Hardly exciting. I let out a small breath, I guess there was the small chance that he was an ax murderer of some sorts. That would have been exciting if Kingsley had actually hired a criminal rather than his normal, rule-abiding hire.

Alas, not even my security team could be exciting.

"That all sounds… fascinating." I said, staring down at the grass along the blankets. My fingers reaching out to rest against the ground.

"Where is Petuina?" James asked, checking over his shoulder.

"Went off to grab some snacks and more books." I said, lying automatically as James narrowed his gaze on me.

"You have a bag full of snacks and enough books with you for a small library. And you just happened to forget the few items that she actually wants?"

"Yes. I have a terrible memory you see, can hardly remember what is the magazine or book my sister is currently interested in." I said, in a slightly aggressive way.

"You don't seem to have a terrible memory-" James started before I could cut him off.

"Well, I guess you don't know me that well." I snapped, angrily glaring at him while he put up his hands in mock resignation. Breathing slightly heavily, I focused again on the green patch in front of me.

"I think that should change, don't you?" James asked after a few seconds of silence.

I rolled my eyes as stretched my legs in front of me. "Well, everything you would want to know about me is in the tabloids or magazine spreads or something. They're small pieces, I'm not exactly the most popular princess." I ended bitterly, wondering why on Earth I cared about being the exciting princess or not. Especially in front of James.

"Don't get into enough trouble?" He asked, in a teasing way. Slightly bumping into me when he said it, and I felt my lips curl into a smile.

"Something like that," I muttered.

"Still, I'd like to know something about you that doesn't involve your fashion sense or your bursts of anger with toys." He said, chuckling a bit as I groaned.

"Oh God, I'm still mortified that you heard that." My face was heating up which was never good. I already have red hair, no need to add a blotchy face to that mix.

"Don't be, we all have our moments like that." He said in an irritatingly knowing way. As if he held the world's secrets. Psh.

"Oh yeah? What about you? Ever done something like that only to be walked in on?" I asked, twirling a strand of my hair.

James stretched out his legs. "Well, Sirius did once walk in on me when I was punching a locker after a particular rough match. And instead of being the caring friend that would walk out or try to calm me down, he just laughed at my face. Which only pissed me off more so then I really started to hit the lockers and I managed to break my hand. So then, Sirius is laughing, I'm in pain, he has to help me to get to the hospital wing and the bloke cannot stop laughing. He's in hysterics and nearly crying, and it only got worse when I had to tell the story to the nurse…"

"That would be embarrassing," I said, laughing a bit as James had a slight pink crawl across his cheeks. It was rather nice to see him blush. Not as nice as his dimples… but then again, what person could resist dimples?

"Anyways, now we know each other's embarrassing moments. I say that counts for knowing each other a little bit?" James said, grinning at me as I bit my lip.

"The thing is, is that I actually know two of your most embarrassing moments," I said with a sort of arrogance that I only reserved for special moments. Well, only for when I was proving Petunia wrong which was nearly a weekly occurrence.

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" James bantered.

"Well, you were not exactly the smoothest person I've ever met mister 'deer in the headlights look.'" I bantered back, James looked shocked for a moment before laughing.

"My, my, seems like you do have a collection worthy of blackmail which is why I will be making you this deal." He said, standing up and brushing the leaves off his pants, "You promise not to leak to the tabloids about my stories-"

"Who would pay to read those?"

"Sirius is my number one fan, he would absolutely buy every magazine with my gorgeous face on them," James said, throwing her a wink and grinning to himself. I tried hard not to pull him back down so that I could see his dimples properly. "Anyways, you don't share my secrets and I won't leak to them about your little anger burst."

I snorted. As far as tabloid stories go, the Princess going mad is hardly a good selling point. Unless I shaved my head or went streaking. Unfortunately for those soul sucking magazines, I look horrible bald and even the idea of streaking makes me shiver with the cold air. "Honestly, that story won't sell, it would need to be more scandalous."

"Oh, Princess Lily caught having some stolen romantic moments with a special someone?" He said quickly and my jaw dropped as I let out this splutter of laughter.

It is very unusual for people to talk crudely to me. As if I am this image of purity and have no sexual desires whatsoever (that is extremely false). So, most people treat me as this sweet innocent thing that needs to be protected. To be honest, it was refreshing for someone to completely disregard that image.

"Don't look too surprised Lily, I did say I was a trouble maker after all," James said over his shoulder as he started to saunter away. And I could only grin to myself.

James Potter, whoever he is, clearly didn't grow up with the whole royal frenzy. I mean, people lined up outside for my birth. My mother collected mugs with my crying face on them. There are postcards and flags and even dolls that look like me (those are the creepiest). There is a certain tone of respect and convention that nearly every person abides by when it comes to royalty.

Except for James Potter. It seems like he was immune to all of it. Probably lived under a rock or something. Regardless, people are always shocked when I'm treated as a fellow civilian. Kingsley always has the best reactions whenever he discovers that I found out about what the security team did last Saturday night and what not. And while James Potter may be arrogant enough to think he was above all of this… well, he somehow forgot about how walkie-talkie's, especially the ones that the security team uses, tends to go both ways.

I guess I was hardly the goody two shoes if I neglected to tell him that.

-&-