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It was a lovely evening at Hogwarts, the sunset finding the Head Boy and Girl sitting at the top of the Astronomy Tower, staring out into the sky.
The clouds were mostly parted now, the sun dipped out of the horizon, splattering colors across the sky like paint on a canvas. The pinks were brushed gently, like watercolors, while the orange and yellow were little flecks here and there. The purple, though, looked as if it was painted on with large, bold brushstrokes; like the artist had decided this is what the sky should look like and went for it without a care in the world.
If the artist could be daring, James Potter mused, maybe he should be too.
“Move in with me,” James declared, his gaze firmly trained downward, where the Black Lake rippled with the mottled reflection of the setting sun.
Beside him, his girlfriend’s head snapped up, and the sticky popsicle she held in her hands sagged sideways.
“We already live together,” Lily pointed out. “The Head Student dorms?”
“That’s not what I meant,” James said patiently. “After school. Move in with me.”
This time, Lily’s popsicle fell onto her lap and she groaned quietly, her hands a sticky mess. James picked up his wand and vanished the popsicle. She threw him a grateful smile and shifted so she was facing him, her elbow pressed against the stone tiling of the tower. The light framed her dark red hair, sending threads of gold dancing through them. Her face was tinted pink, purple, and orange.
“Move in with you,” Lily repeated. “After school.”
James remained silent, but he nodded once.
She studied him, her expression carefully neutral, and James’ heart rate picked up, the beat thudding in his chest. Lily slowly lifted a steady hand to place it gently on his knee. Her hand was still sticky against the fabric of his trousers, but neither of them made a move to clean it.
“That’s a bold question to ask your girlfriend of three months,” Lily mused, leaning backward, propped up on her elbow. She was a sublime goddess, carved of marble, gilded in liquid gold.
“When have I ever been anything but bold?” James replied steadily, meeting her eyes without any doubt in his.
Lily laughed softly, a fond smile appearing on her lips. “I suppose that’s true. Not just anyone would take a risk like that.”
“Well, I suppose I’m not just anyone.”
“That’s true,” Lily conceded. “You’re not just anyone.”
This time it was her turn to stare at him, her green eyes alight with something he couldn’t quite place, tilted ever-so-slightly to the side as if to say guess what I’m thinking.
But James was, as his girlfriend had just acknowledged, ‘not just anyone’. As it happened, he was the exact opposite of subtle, and both of them knew that very well. In his mind, there was no point in guessing what Lily was thinking when he could just ask her.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” he said evenly, trying not to give away how he had just put all his cards on the table; how much he had at stake here. How much he had to lose; how much he could gain.
Lily’s smiled, bright and carefree. “I’m thinking about how my boyfriend is awfully averse to asking questions and rather seems to be quite inclined to making venturous statements.”
“Just trying to pretend that I have some semblance of control here,” James said with a shrug. “We both know you hold all the power in this situation.”
Her smile widened. “Yes.”
“So,” James said.
“So,” Lily parroted without dropping her smile.
“Please tell me we’re not going to do this all day,” James said. “Because I could stay here as long as I want, but I’d rather not freeze my arse off.”
Lily could see right through him; she’d always been able to. He knew she could tell that he was actually more than a little bit nervous at what she would say, and losing patience rapidly.
Thankfully, she took pity on him, deciding to cut his deliberation short.
“Tell me why we should move in together. We’ve only been dating a short while, after all. Why shouldn’t I move in with the girls, and you with your boys?”
At this point, relief flooded through James, because he already knew she was going to say yes. If she was to refuse his offer, she would have done it upfront. The questioning was just a ruse, to get him to cater to her wishes and trick him into believing she still had the upper hand. A slow grin spread across his lips.
He decided to play along. “Because I love you, and you love me.”
She raised an eyebrow, seemingly unimpressed. “I love Remus, too. Why shouldn’t I move in with him?”
James moved closer to her, holding her gaze. In the reflection of her eyes, he was green and purple and alight with hope; he was painted in bold, unapologetic strokes of color. Pathetically, he wished that she would always see him like that.
“You love me more,” He said confidently.
Her eyes crinkled, but she didn’t refute it.
“And because it makes the most sense,” James added, knowing that you love me more wasn’t much of an argument for the ever-logical Lily. “We’re both going to fight in this war; it’s easiest to live in the same place so we can actually see each other in between work and missions. And I’m your boyfriend, who you love very much, and who happens to be filthy rich. Money wouldn’t be a trouble.”
“Who said I’m going to let you pay?” Lily countered, crossing her arms across her chest. “I don’t want to be dependent on you.”
James briefly thought about arguing the point, but he knew she wouldn’t give in, so he took a different angle.
“We can split the cost. But if anything happens, you know that money wouldn’t be a restriction anyway.”
She hummed, unable to argue that point. By now, after several months of knowing him, she knew that his family legacy followed him wherever he went.
“It’s only March,” Lily said weakly. "Who knows what’ll happen in the next few months?” It was a bad argument and she knew it, but James tolerated it because it was all part of the game.
James exhaled, leaning forward to bring his face inches from Lily’s. “Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t want to move in with me. Tell me you think this is just a school fling.”
She looked him in the eye, yes, but she said neither statement.
“I’ll move in with you.”
His smile split his face; he knew she would eventually agree, but that didn’t tamp down any of his pure exhilaration at hearing her say it so plainly.
“You will?” James asked with a wide smile, posing a question for the first time in their conversation.
Lily scooted closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Together, they stared out at the sunset; the pink and orange had faded away by now, leaving only a periwinkle blue with splotches of bold, daring purple.
“Of course I will,” Lily said softly. “You know I will.”
He did know, but he would never stop being in awe of this beautiful, wonderous woman next to him, who loved him back.
“I do,” he said, chuckling softly. “I do.”