Jily

Chapter 18

Lily's POV

I skipped down to the Great Hall, absolutely giddy. James and I had the most magical date last night. It was wonderful and absolutely beautiful. Just thinking about it makes my pulse race. James is so caring and funny and just perfect. God, am I so head over heels for James bloody Potter. Just thinking about his floppy mess of hair, his glimmering, golden eyes, his deep laugh, the comforting, rough calluses, covering his hands, makes me breathless. It is odd to think about how much the two of us have changed, individually and as one. 

I stepped into the large Great Hall, stuffed with students, eating their first meal of the day, tired but ready to learn. As if he heard me come in, the moment my feet crossed the threshold, James' head rose and his eyes immediately flew to mine, they were crinkled by the joyful smile that spread across his face. He rises from his seat as I approach him and the two of us share a warm hug and kisses on the cheek. When I sit down, I notice my friends looking at the two of us longingly.

"What?" I ask them

"Nothing. We just wish that we had that." one of the girls says, nodding toward our interlaced hands resting on the table. I smile at them then go to begin my breakfast.

Just before I begin to serve food onto my plate, I notice it. A velvet box on your plate. I immediately look to James. He is grinning from ear to ear. "Open it." he says

I hesitantly pick up the box and open it up to reveal a beautiful heart shaped golden locket. I gasp when my eyes settle on it. It glimmers in the light that fills the Great Hall and I smile up at my loving boyfriend, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Thank you." I breath out, just above a whisper, lingering by his ear. I pull away from him and I am smiling giddily now. What did I ever do to deserve him?

I open up the locket and I am greeted by two pictures: one picture is of me jumping on James' back and pressing a kiss to his cheek as we both laugh, and the second is of all of the gryffindors in our year huddled in front of the castle on the first day of sixth year. I am still smiling giddily as I place another grateful kiss on James' cheek. 

James holds out his hands politely in the direction of the necklace, "May I?" he asks. I nod and he takes the golden gift into his hands and moves behind me. He pushes my hair out of the way and clasps it gracefully behind my neck. He sits back down.

"Thank you so much, James. I love it." I do not even realize that my hand is gravitating toward the necklace. I clutch it in my hand.

The girl that told us before that all the others were envious of our relationship spoke up again, "You see what I mean! You two are absolutely perfect for each other." we all laugh. I have a feeling about today.

Then I dig into my meal, suddenly ravishing. Soon, the posts comes. The Daily Prophet comes for me and a number of my friends. James gets a letter. I do not question it and continue eating as he opens up the envelope. His eyes flit down the page and all of a sudden, he drains of all color. He freezes where he sits, his skin turns ice cold. I immediately recognize the change and look to him, alert, concerned, and worried.

"James, what's wrong?" I ask frantically

He looks to me, eyes wide, tears welling and about to spill.

"It's my parents." he says, his throat catches "they were killed."