James and Remus were in the middle of lesson thirteen (Compliments: Do’s and Don’ts) when a loud, sharp knock came at the front door. “I’ll get it,” James yelled to no one in particular. Expecting to see yet another Zonkos delivery person, James was surprised to instead find Sirius standing at his (rather large) doorstep. “Sirius?”
His friend was drenched in rain and was holding a stuffed bag. He simply said, “James? I need somewhere to stay.”
James, who knew of the Black family situation, just nodded. “Sure! Come on in, or would you just like to stay in the rain?”
Obvious relief spread over Sirius’s face as it lit up into the brilliant grin he was famous for. “Thanks, mate,” he said gruffly, and pulled James into a brotherly hug.
After a few moments, James said awkwardly, “Umm, you do realize we’re standing out in the rain, don’t you?”
Laughing, the two boys walked into the house. Sirius closed the door, and with it left all thoughts of his family behind.
~
“ALICE! Come on! We’re going to miss the portkey!” Mrs. Vivir yelled frantically.
“Just a MINUTE!” Came the hurried response. Alice signed the parchment before her with a flourish, then quickly looked over her work:
Dearest Frank,
How are you? I’m fine on this side of England. Is your mother still being as terrible as she was over Christmas break? If so, I pity you greatly.
I’m missing you something awful already, even though it has only been but two days since I saw you last. We (my family and I) are all leaving for France today by portkey. Since there are so many of us (27) we will need two.
I think I’d better end this letter now, in case I should miss the portkey and be stranded in London for the remainder of our summer vacation. I shall miss you even more as we leave. Please write me back! Your letters may be the only thing that will keep me going in France!
Love,
Your Alice
Satisfied, Alice tied the letter to her owl, Candyce. “Don’t leave until he responds, okay Candy?”
With a shrill tweet, Candy flew out the window.
Alice could hear her family counting down in the dining hall. “Eleven, ten…”
“ALICE!” Her mother shrieked.
Alice flew out of her room and bounded down the stairs.
“Six, five…”
Spotting the majority of her family holding an old baseball glove, Alice lunged towards the tennis ball her five cousins were holding.
“Three, two…”
Just in time, Alice felt the unpleasant tug at her navel, and was whisked away.
~
Ding-dong. “I’ll get it!” Lily yelled over the loud noise emitting from her living room. She ran to the door and threw it open. “ALEX!” Lily threw her arms around the girl in the doorway. “It’s so good to see you!”
Alex smiled. “It’s good to see you to, Lily.” There was a slight pause. “Lily? LILY! You’re choking me!”
Lily backed away and blushed. “I’m sorry, but I’ve spent the last six weeks trying to stay out of Petunia’s way, and it’s so good to see a friendly face.” She grabbed her friend’s bags. “Come on! We’ll be staying in my room.”
Lily led Alex through the throng of people crowded throughout her house. When they reached Lily’s room, Alex let out, “Who were all those people?”
“Guests for the party.”
“You mean all those people came here just to see Petunia get married?” Alex asked in disbelief.
“Sadly, yes. They’re relatives, friends of Petunia, and people with good social status she wishes she was friends with. Petunia nearly had a fit when she found out that another ‘freak’ was going to be at her wedding, but Mum knows that if I didn’t have a single friend here, I’d absolutely die.”
Alex smiled. “And so here I am, coming to your rescue.”
“Exactly.”
~
The week passed by with little to comment on, save one small encounter. Alex and Lily were fighting their way through the crowd when Alex was knocked to her feet. “Oy! Watch where you’re going!”
The man leered down at her, then glanced at Lily. “Ah, you must be the freak with her freaky friend. Just keep your freakiness away from me and my friends, or no amount of freaky words will be able to bring you back from where me and my friends will send you.” With one last sneer, the man turned and stalked away.
Alex and Lily looked at each other, and then burst out laughing. “That was a MAN!” Alex gasped out. “I thought it was a pig to roast for the reception!”
Lily nodded and laughed even harder. “Not only is that hunk of blubber a man, but he’s Vernon Dursley, the man Petunia’s marrying!”
The two girls slowly calmed down, and then decided to go back to Lily’s room. As they reached the stairs, Alex said, “He does have a very limited vocabulary, doesn’t he?” Their peals of laughter followed them all the way up the stairs.
~
The wedding and reception were very uneventful, boring, and quite plain, just like the new couple. After all the proper goodbyes and thank you’s were said, and the guests had all gone, the three Evans’s, two Dursley’s, and one Suerte all headed home for a night of rest and slumber.
The next morning, Lily trudged herself down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she quickly focused on her parents. Her mother’s face was drawn and weary, with worry lines stretching across her forehead. Her father was staring blankly at a piece of paper lying on the table in front of him. “What happened?” Lily asked.
Mrs. Evans sighed. “It’s… your Uncle Eddie. He- he’s been in a fatal c- car accident, and he- he’s dying.” She choked out.
Lily sank into one of the kitchen chairs. Uncle Eddie? HER Uncle Eddie? The same Uncle Eddie that first taught her to read? The same Uncle Eddie that was so young and full of life? That Uncle Eddie? He was dying? “How long does he have left?”
“Not long.” Her father said. “That’s why your mother and I must go to Wales.”
Lily nodded. She had presumed as much. “Am I to stay here with Petunia?” Alex was going to be leaving that afternoon, and Vernon had gone back to his parent’s house for the time being.
Mrs. Evans slightly composed herself. “Yes. We’ll tell her as soon as she wakes up, but your father and I have to take a little trip into town and send a letter to your Aunt Sally to tell her we’re coming.”
A few minutes later, her parents left, and Lily was left alone in the kitchen with her thoughts, waiting for either her sister or Alex. Both were late risers.
Lily didn’t have long to wait. A few minutes later, Petunia bounded into the kitchen. “Where are Mum and Daddy?” She asked while looking in the fridge.
“They’ve gone to town to mail Aunt Sally.”
“Why?”
“Uncle Eddie’s gotten into a terrible car accident.”
“Oh, really? Well, I always knew that man was headed for trouble.”
Lily was shocked. “How could you say that? He’s DYING!”
“Good riddance to the rest of us good people on the road, I say.” Petunia was now breaking eggs into the skillet.
“How can you be so heartless?”
“Heartless!” Petunia snorted. “I’m not heartless. I’m married, and you don’t even have a boyfriend yet,” she said, as if that solved everything.
“Maybe I’m just waiting for someone who resembles more than a whale with a bad attitude!” Lily cried out.
There was a tense pause. “What did you say?” Petunia asked, her voice low with anger.
“You heard me!”
Petunia turned around with the steaming skillet in her hand. “You- you little WITCH!”
Lily backed into a corner as Petunia advanced on her, skillet held high. “I should have done this years ago, right when you were accepted into that FREAK school of yours!”
At that precise moment a shrill cry rang out. “PETUNIA! What do you THINK you’re doing!” Their parents stood in the doorway, looking at the scene that lay before them in shock.
Petunia lowered the skillet as the eggs slipped down to the floor.
~
Lily sat on her bed, shaking in Alex’s comforting grasp. There was a tentative knock on the door. “Can I come in?” Mrs. Evans asked quietly.
Lily nodded to Alex, who said, “Yes.”
The door was slowly pushed open and Lily’s mother joined her on the bed. After a momentary silence, she said, “Your father and I calmed Petunia down.”
“Good,” Lily whispered.
“We still must go to Wales, but in light of what just happened, I don’t think it would be good a good idea to leave you here with Petunia. Is there anywhere else you can stay?”
Alex smiled. “I know the PERFECT place, Mrs. Evans.”
So, two hours later, Lily found herself in front of the fireplace with her bags in hand. Alice’s cousin, who worked in the Department for Magical Transport, had set up a Muggle-to-Wizard Floo Connection for Alex. Turning around, Lily hugged her mother tightly. “I’ll miss you so much!”
Mrs. Evans smiled through the silent tears trickling down her face. “Be sure to write us as soon and as often as possible.”
“I will,” came the whispered answer. Next, Lily faced her father.
“Take care of yourself, tiger.”
“I will, Daddy.” Father and daughter shared a quick but meaningful hug, and pulled apart.
“Try not to miss us to much,” Mr. Evans said as he ruffled Lily’s hair.
Choking up, Lily quickly turned to Alex, who was standing by the fireplace.
Alex Flooed away, then it was Lily’s turn. Grasping her bags by the handles and stepping into the flames, Lily spared one last glance at her parents. “I love you!” She yelled, then the flames took her.