Lily, Jessica, and two other girlfriends of the pack were walking down Diagon Alley when Lily stopped dead. The other girls, being engrossed in a silly conversation about the cutest member of the newest Wizarding band, the Vultures, nearly didn’t see Lily stop.
“But, Hannah, he’s so short!” said Jessica.
“Oh, Jess, please “ Lily, what’s wrong?” For Hannah had nearly walked into Lily. She merely pointed.
“Oh.”
Lily had been given permission from her parents to stay with Jessica, who arrived a little late on Friday night.
Lily had been frantically cleaning her room beforehand, shoving all her clothes, books, and worn-out supplies in her trunk and large duffel bag. Archimedes also was not too happy with the plan of being stuffed in his cage early and being forced through a suffocating green fire. It was to Lily’s relief that she could leave the house she had inhabited been cooped up in for the last several weeks.
All in all, the pair had made it safely to Jessica’s house, though not before Petunia had made a scene at dinner.
“I am turning twenty-one next month,” Petunia announced, bitterness plain in her voice.
“Petunia, please sit down,” said Harry Evans wearily. “We’re having a celebration for your sister tonight! We can talk about your birthday tomo “”
“No!” spat Petunia, pushing back her chair.
Lily looked pleadingly at her sister. Don’t do this… Please, act like my sister, just once…
“Vernon has proposed to me!” she shrieked. Her bony cheeks and long teeth added to the horse-like appearance her shouting had created.
“Has he?” Claudia asked, looking at her daughter as though mildly interested.
“Yes! And as I have accepted, I had planned for you to attend. However, I have no intention of inviting any abnormal” “ here she glanced disgustedly at Lily “ “guests.”
She stood, panting slightly from shouting. Mr. and Mrs. Evans were looking at each other; Lily was staring at the beef stew.
“Watch your tone.” Harry Evans was looking at his daughter, disappointment etched in his worn face.
After another pause, Claudia turned and said, “So, Lily “”
“NO!”
Everyone’s eyes were on Petunia again. She looked livid.
“For thirty seconds, we do not have to speak of Lily, or her stupid school, or her accomplishments!”
“We acknowledged your news, dear, and we have come to a new topic,” Claudia said calmly.
“A new topic? What’s new? She practically goes to a mad house, and you don’t ever want to talk about anything else!”
“Calm down, please. You’re acting like a child!”
“A child?” Petunia yelled, looking as though she wanted very much to strike her mother (or father) across the face. “Fine then!”
And she left the room. Claudia pushed out her chair coolly, and followed Petunia’s thundering steps upstairs.
“I’m sorry, Lily,” said Harry from across the table.
“It’s alright, Daddy.” They smiled at each other. Within a second, however, the clock chimed, and Lily realized she needed to retrieve her trunk. She excused herself, and tip-toed back to her room.
So, she wasn’t invited to Petunia’s wedding? Good riddance. She might be spared the torture of meeting her sister ever again. But than why was Petunia’s stare so hurtful?
Claudia came into Lily’s room. “Your sister is planning to move out.”
Lily nodded dumbly.
“Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry! This was supposed to be your farewell dinner! We didn’t ever get to say a proper good-bye.” She moved and sat next to Lily on the edge of the bed, wrapping Lily in an unnecessarily large hug.
“Don’t worry about it, Mum.” Lily didn’t like this situation at all; her mother’s coddling, her father’s silence, and Petunia’s cold stare…
“Oh, my sweet baby! Off to her last year at school!” And Claudia burst into tears.
Lily tried not to roll her eyes. Her head was panging, though it must have been in frustration with her family. What a relief it was to go to Hogwarts, to never worry about what Petunia thought, or if her mother was lurking in the next room.
Jessica arrived on time, and helped Lily get her things through the fire.
Once at the Grant’s house with Jessica, Lily met up with her two other best friends “ Bethany Kery, a very tall, skinny, and temperamental brunette, and Hannah Silver, a gorgeous blonde who sat at the height of popularity. The group had stayed at the Grant manor for the night on Saturday. On Sunday, per Lily’s suggestion (more like nagging pleas), the girls had decided to apparate to Diagon Alley.
“Here it comes,” Beth muttered to her friends, who recognized a fire in Lily’s emerald eyes as she lay them upon the Marauders.
Across the way, Sirius warned, “Be careful, Prongs.”
“Well, if it isn’t the most beautiful Head Girl in the World!” James exclaimed, calling loudly to the group of girls growing closer to him from down the alley.
“How do you know about that, Potter?” Lily spat. Her red hair only enhanced her tone. Sirius found it terrifying; James was spellbound.
“Oh, fiery Evans, my pet, who else could compare to your spectac “”
“Shut it, Potter,” said a raging Lily. “I am neither fiery nor your ‘pet’ as you so disgustingly put it.”
“Has anyone told you how great you look when you’re angry?” James asked, unscathed.
Lily just glared at him. She was trying very, very hard to suppress the tiniest bit of pride she took in this statement.
In the mean time, Hannah, Jess, and Beth were watching the fight with the other Marauders, safely out of danger on the sidelines.
“I put ten Knuts on the feisty redhead…” Sirius joked.
“Oh I don’t know, Sirius, James seems very focused…” Hannah argued, smiling stepping closer to a grinning Sirius.
“Between the two on my left and the two on my right, I can’t tell who is worse…” Jessica said quietly to Remus. He laughed nervously and took Jess to yet another bench.
This left a very bored Bethany and a pitiful Peter, who quickly looked at each other and began to talk lamely about the latest musical groups.
“No, Potter, I can’t stand you for one more second, so just go away!” Lily said, trying to push past him. As she did so, her ears rang, and she felt slightly off-balance. Stupid Potter…
“Lils, princess,” James continued with a laugh, following her, “you know that I am simply irresistible. That’s just your spirited nature talking.”
“This is my last year at Hogwarts. If you like me at all, you will kindly leave me alone.” All of the sudden, Lily got very dizzy and swayed a little on the spot. Since when did the sky get black? And why wasn’t James staying still?
“Lily, are you ok? “ asked James concernedly, rushing to her side.
“Yes…” Lily said, holding her hands to her temples and closing her eyes. That bench Remus and Jessica had taken was looking extremely comfortable. “Yes, Potter, so just leave, please. I’m fine,” she added, see the hurt and worry in his hazel eyes… such deep eyes…
Oh good god, Lily! Are you kidding yourself? Lily told herself firmly. This is James Potter, most annoying boy in the world, who just asked you out for the billionth time. He doesn’t care, he just wants you to let your guard down, so STOP IT! After a minute of internal debate, she looked up again at James, still by her side.
James loved her gorgeous green eyes, reminding him of fairies he had seen years before of the exact same shade.
Stop staring, you prat! a voice said in his head, but he couldn’t help himself. He didn’t want to be the cause of one ounce of her pain; of course, fury wasn’t really pain, as he had excused himself in pranks past. But now, she was actually sick.
“I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t mean to push you…” James said sweetly. He stood, making his way back towards his friends. “I’ll see you at school, then.”
He stalked off. Lily watched him leave, and for some reason, wanted his company back. Guilt flooded her. She should have asked about his summer, or maybe his classes… She sighed. Why couldn’t she get along with him? He was always pushing, that’s why, she reminded herself; ‘no’ was never enough.
Still hearing a strange ring in her ears, Lily moved away from the wall and went to collect Jessica, Beth, and Hannah.
“Oh great. They’re up to it again?” James asked, walking up and announcing his return to the group at large. Remus and Jessica looked up from their conversation. Peter and Beth, the latter rather upset at the company she was being forced to sit with, also turned around.
Sirius and Hannah, however, were busy behind the group on a small bench, snogging. Hannah was sitting on Sirius’ lap; he looked as though he was about to fall back with the force of Hannah’s kisses, at which point she would be all the way on top of him, unlike the half-finished position they were in now.
“Oi, Padfoot! Get a room…” James called, when finally Sirius took a second’s break.
“I thought they’d never come up for air. Like fish, the pair of ‘em…” Remus said softly, as Jessica giggled.
“Well, bye,” said Remus and Peter.
“Bye,” said a wistful Jessica and a relieved Beth.
Lily felt terrible “ her stomach churned with guilt. Without meeting his eyes, she said, “Thanks for caring, James.”
James could have skipped home.
Finally, when the three unoccupied members of each group had joined their respective teams, they parted. Lily and James turned around after a second, pealed the relapsed couple of Black and Silver off each other, and walked away again down the street.
As the boys finally got to another resting place, at the ice cream parlor, Sirius smirking madly at the astonished looks from Remus and Peter, James could only think one thing:
She called me James…
A/n- aaaah, another soppy chapter done. I am so proud that I finished. Don’t you just love James.
Read and review, please. It keeps me sane--or, as much as my meds lead me to believe…