I'm sorry, I'll get back to my multi-chapter stories soon... this one was bugging me.

"So." James glanced at Harry, a little wearily. Everything about him was weary these days; the failed attempt to kill him in Godric's Hollow, which had killed Sirius instead, seemed to have aged him and quenched the sparkle and zest that had made him James Potter. "Mine for the day?"

"Yours, Dad."

James sighed and stowed his wand in his back pocket. "I had something special planned for today. But then something happened, and it's not going ahead."

"It's fine."

His boy was oddly quiet; James felt a jolt of worry in his stomach. Was it his fault? Or hers?

"What's wrong, Harry?"

Harry met his gaze for a moment, causing another painful jolt, and looked away again. "Nothing."

Definitely something wrong.

"Son, I was thinking. About you, and girls."

Harry's head jerked up sharply. "What about them?"

"Don't marry too young, Harry."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You're sixteen, son. At that age I began to date your mother after asking her out for ages."

"I know."

"I never had a serious relationship before your mother. She's my first and last." His lips tightened. "What I'm trying to say is, that's not a good idea."

"I have been serious," he protested.

"How long were you with her?"

Harry avoided his gaze, pain crossing his face. "Near the beginning of third year until the end of fifth."

"And you two were serious?"

"Serious, Dad."

"Why did you break up, then?"

"She told me that whenever I was near her there were Wrackspurts around, and it wasn't safe for me. Me, not her," he added bitterly.

James looked sadly at his son. "Has any other girl caught your eye since?"

"No, and I'm already in sixth year, I - "

"Harry."

"What?"

"You don't need to choose your wife while we're still in Hogwarts. You're sixteen, for Sirius' sake!" He had modified the expression in homage to his deceased friend after discovering Peter's duplicity.

"That's what everyone does. Maybe I should try Ron's sister."

"You're not running out of time, Harry. What I wanted to say is this. Love is not always enough. Girls are not always sweet and pretty. Let me make this clear, I do not blame your mother. She was lovely - but we were too young and had expectations that could not be met. Leave it for a year after you're certain you want to get married. If you still do at the end of the year, go ahead. But we married too young, and look what came of it."

Harry glanced at his father and said nothing.

"Treat a woman right. Be gentle when she's upset. Show you love her. Have fun with her, Harry. And do your best to keep that bond together. We were driven apart by circumstances despite love, because we were too young and inexperienced. I don't want that to happen to you too."

There was silence for a moment. Then, "Thanks, Dad."


"Have a nice day?" Lily paused in her chopping to glance up at her son. She would have been beautiful but for the strain that years had placed on her, a careworn shadow of the girl she had been.

"Yes. Dad was telling me how to treat women."

"Oh?" Her hand tightened on the knife, increased strain around her eyes.

"He said to love a woman as much as she deserves, that love isn't enough when life conspires against you. He said he's always regretted marrying so young because he didn't know how to treat you like you deserve."

Lily turned away, blinking quickly. "Is that what he said?"

"Yes."

She hesitated. "Could you finish these vegetables please?" He couldn't complain that he couldn't use magic where she could; his mother never used it for chopping, maintaining that they tasted better when prepared the muggle way.

"Sure."

"I've got to go out somewhere." She hurried out the front door without even grabbing her purse, aware her wand was in its holster as usual.

There, she almost bumped into someone as she shut the door. Glancing up in surprise, she saw the familiar form of James Potter. Startled, Lily took a step backwards. "James!"

"Lily." He was grave.

"Why are you still here?"

"I've been thinking."

She waited.

"I wanted to make sure our boy knew his priorities. He was getting right worked up about how he hasn't got a girlfriend. I told him not to rush it. Things will happen in their own time."

"We rushed it." Her voice wavered.

"I know."

They had officially separated a few days after Harry's tenth birthday, but their minds and hearts had fallen out of step with each other soon after the attack on Godric's Hollow. Lily had had nightmares for years about what could have been, while James had actually seen the death of his best friend and was affected accordingly.

Love, they had discovered the hard way, was not enough.

There was silence, both made mute by the weight of the words that had built up inside them. At last James said very softly, "Lily..."

She looked at him, something of the strain of years lifting from her expression.

"I was thinking... do you want to try again?"

Hope, fragile as a butterfly's wings, expanded between them. It might not work out. They might just be driven further apart. But there was a chance, and they were both willing to go for it. Love wasn't enough, but maybe determination would be.

"All right."

She opened the door again, yellow light flooding out and illuminating her husband. Taking his arm, she pulled him forward. "Welcome home."

I hope you enjoyed this! I don't quite understand why I wrote it - I'm always on the side of people marrying earlier and growing up together, so to speak. But it was bouncing around my head concerning my own original characters, so to get it out I transferred it to James and Lily instead. Since I hate writing breakup snippets between my original characters whose love story I love.

Anyhow, *please* review. Whether you liked it or not, I'd like to hear your opinions. What can I improve? How've I written it wrong? What have I missed?