chapter 5
After James’ failure at the Black drawing room yesterday morning, James decided to pay a visit to his main prospect for the season. Lily Evans. Unlike the Blacks, the Evans drawing room was full of young men and women for both girls. Even though most of the prospects were for the diamond James noted plenty of men calling on Lily's’ sister Petunia.
Lily was gorgeous in the sense of society’s’ standards but her older sister had a sense of natural beauty that couldn’t be denied. He noticed one in particular; Vernon Dursley was a friend of a friend. He and Michal had grown up as neighbours and Michal spoke of him fondly when with James and Remus.
James thought that he would find failure here as well as there was a long line of men and women waiting ahead of him. However, this thought quickly flew out of his head when he locked his eyes with Lily’s mother.
“Mr. Potter what a pleasure to see you here,” she said walking up to him.
“The pleasure is all mine, Lady Evans. You have a beautiful home,” he said kissing the women on her gloved hand.
“Thank you, my boy. Which one of my lovely daughters are you here for. I hope it’s not the elder because Vernon Dursley already has intentions to accompany her on promenade and the horse races later today,”
“No ma’am I was hoping for an audience with your youngest, yet I’m afraid that won’t happen today,” James said looking around the drawing room.
“Well Mr. Potter I wouldn’t be so sure. Yes Lily has had twice the callers now that the queen deemed her the diamond but I’m not sure my daughter appreciates the attention. She has rejected every caller today.”
“Well then I may go try my luck,” James said, his eyes twinkling with a sense of mischief he has had since he was a child.
“Go on Potter, and if they scream at you for skipping the line send them to me,” she said gesturing at the line. James thanked the women before heading into the drawing room. Even though the Evans father was sitting in a chair as chaperone, Vernon Dursley didn’t seem to care as he was already feeling up Petunia’s arms. The head of the house turned to James as he entered the room.
“Hello Sir,” he said mid bow, “may I request an audience with miss Lily,”
“Darling,” the man said looking towards the direction of his daughter, who currently sat alone.
“Yea sure dad,” the man gestured James to her as he got his daughters permission.
“Miss. Evans might you join me for promenade this morning, my mother shall be chaperoning sir so you won’t have to leave your daughter,”
“Yea James, I’d love to,” she said smiling.
“Well, you better tell your mother to shoo away the line,”
“Yes father, I’ll see you for lunch,” she said making her way to James, looking almost concerningly at her sister.
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It was a lovely day for April and James had been enjoying Lily’s com[ay throughout their stroll, Effie trailing behind.
“So, you were saying you like Austen. Anything in particular.”
“Emma is a favourite of mine. How about you James? Read any Austen,”
“Not Austen but I do the Brontës. My mother had been reading me wuthering heights since I was two.”
“He finally finished the book at 12,” Effie added.
“Your, close with your family,” Lily said eyeing the boy curiously. Like she wanted to know all that there was to James.
“Yes, very close.”
“I respect it. A close family I mean. My family has always been really close,”
“Do you ever think about having a family in the future,”
“Well it’s not that I have much of choice but yea it crosses my mind,”
James paused for a second, “I’m sorry what do you mean you have no choice?”
“Well Mr. Potter as a women I am destined to be two things. A wife and a mother. We don’t have the freedom to have choice in our lives,”
James never noticed how all of the women he knew did have those two qualities. They were wifes and they were mothers, and if they didn’t then they would one day plan too. His mother had always been so content with her life he never really thought there was a chance women could be more.
“Well if you had that choice, would you opt for a family,”
“I know this may hurt my chances James, but I really don’t know. I don’t mind settling down if I find the right person but, I can be content without it,”
James smiled. Lily was just as much beautiful on the inside as her looks depicted, “What do you mean hurt your chances?”
“At being chosen by the heir of the Potter house,”
“Oh, I never-“
“Relax James, I’m messing with you,”
James smiled as he looked around at couples courting by the lake, “Tell me what do you think about Regulus Black,” he doesn’t know why he asked. He doesn’t know why he’s thinking of Regulus at all, he shouldn’t be not when he was with the diamond. Yet, he did.
“I think he’s a fine man. We’ve taken to being good friends,”
“Good,” James smiled, “good,”
“How about you?”
“Oh yes he’s lovely,” he paused.
He didn’t mean to say that, he could pass Regulus off as a good connection and respectable man and just move on from it. He didn’t have to compliment him on such a personal level. Yet, he did.
“You know I called on him,”
“Did you?”
“Yep, yesterday,”
“I can’t imagine his mother appreciated that, especially after everything that happened last season,” James smiled at the ground, “I respect it you know. What you did for Sirius. He really needed someone.”
“Did you know him?” Sirius had never mentioned Lily.
“Not personally but I’m close with Mary McDonald.”
Of course, Mary McDonald had been the girl Sirius had been courting all season. Not only was she a respectable match for his family but had been a nice girl to him when he told her that he saw the match as purely business. He and Mary became fast friends as they were courting just to appease their families. Sirius respected that Mary would never love him. When James asked why, Sirius told him that Mary had to be good friends with someone before the idea of love could even enter her consciousness. Mary respected that Sirius just didn’t like girls. They had promised to court and marry. They would live as friends only appearing to be a couple in public. They had a plan, that all changed the nigh Sirius left for the Potters. After Sirius ran away. The McDonalds called of the engagement leaving Mary in scandal.
“Of course, how is she?” James asked, as he genuinely wanted to know.
“She’s good James. She’s good,” Lily was happy to know James genuinely wanted to know. No one ever cares about how the women feels in situations like Mary’s. James and Lily spent the rest of the morning chatting and learning about each other. James had a wonderful time with the girl.
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That night James sat on one of the benches in the peach orchard. He hadn’t listened to Regulus and again brought flowers. He couldn’t help himself. He was his mother’s boy after all. James was still not 100% sure that Regulus would come but he had hope. Suddenly, he felt a shift in the air behind him.
“Hi Reg,” he said still facing the front.
“How’d you know it was me,” Regulus said coming to sit next to James.
“Intuition, how was your day been?” James said, tucking a flower behind Regulus’ ear.
“Fine,” Regulus said eyeing James curiously, “I thought I told you to stop with the flowers Potter,” he said touching the daisy that sat on his skin.
“Acha, thale outta thomar bahlagani?” James smirked, noticing the smile at the corner of the boy’s mouth. Regulus dropped his smile and went back to eyeing him strangely.
“You know I don’t know what you just said,”
“I know,” James said not so subtly admiring the boy. Regulus was attractive yea, but the way the Black family features sat on him was different than Sirius. There is something sharper. Something hidden from the public eye. Something James desperately wanted to uncover.
“Qu’est-ce que tu regardez?”
“Tu,”
“Oh, so you speak French now too,” Regulus joked.
“What can I say Reg I’m a man of many talents.” Regulus looked skeptical of this fact.
“Really,”
James let out a small laugh looking towards the trees, “No, Sirius lets it slip sometimes and I’ve picked it up a bit.”
“Mhm, James?”
“Yea,”
“That language, which you spoke first. What is it?”
“Bengali. My father and mother grew up in west Bengal but moved to London once they married.”
“That’s nice Jamie,”
James smiled at the nickname, “You called me Jamie,”
“Well if you clearly insist on making weird renditions of my name. then when can’t I do the same,” James’ smile grew wider, “ok no, nope this is making you too happy. I am never calling you that ever again.”
“Calling me what,” he teased.
“Shut up,”
James laughed, “Wow Reg, and here I was thinking I got you out of your shell,”
“This early please,” James and Regulus spent a good 10 minutes chatting and learning about each other. James noticed how Regulus was more reserved than he was. Always keeping this wall up between them. James hoped that one day Regulus would let those walls down around him.