"So who's the boy?"
Lily looked up. "Huh?"
They were decorating the tree together like they always did. It was a little different this year because Lily could use magic. The cookies for Santa (that Lily and Petunia would steal) were baking in the oven. Petunia and her dad were out finding the cider that they toasted with every year. Of course Lily was only thinking about these things to avoid looking at her mind reading mother.
Her mom smiled. "You've been smiling since you got back home. Who is he?"
Lily rolled her eyes. "Mom! He's nobody."
"But there is a he?"
Lily blushed as her mom laughed. "Busted."
Lily waved her wand and more lights twinkled on the tree.
Her mom sighed. "I see why you love magic." She narrowed her eyes. "No changing the subject though. Who is this he?"
Lily laughed. "Here's a picture."
It was a recent one of her and James dancing in the snow. Sirius had taken it after one of their long snowball fights.
Her mom's face lit up. "Lily he's a doll! When can I meet him?"
"Tomorrow," Lily said. "He's coming to get me around 6 so that we can see eachother."
Her mom stopped smiling. "Lily, tomorrow is Christmas."
"Yeah, I know," Lily said, shrugging.
"Didn't you think about what we would be doing?" Her mom said, looking upset.
"Mom, it's no big deal," Lily said, confused.
"Lily, your family misses you when you're gone! Can't you live without your friends for one day?"
Lily stared at her. What was going on? "Mom...."
"Forget it!" she snapped.
________________________________________________________________________________
Now there was nothing Lily regretted more than the argument with her mom. Now she would never be able to take it back. Now her parents were gone forever.
"No! I don't want your wand!" Petunia said, looking scared of the thing.
"Oh come on. It doesn't bite," Lily said, giggling. She and her sister hadn't fought the whole day, and Lily had almost talked her into liking magic.
Petunia finally took the wand and jumped when sparks flew out.
Lily beamed. "You do have some magic in you."
"Not me," Petunia said scornfully, but she smiled as if she liked the idea.
"Put the angel on the tree now," their mother said. "You forgot to do it last night."
"Watch this," Lily said, a gleam in her eye. "Wingardium Leviosa!"
Petunia screamed as she and the angel flew up to the top of the tree. "LILY!"
Lily and her mom and dad were were laughing. "Put it on the tree!"
Petunia calmed down long enough to put it on top, but that was when bedlam broke loose. The doors opened violently, and Death Eaters burst in. Lily's parents never had a chance.
All Lily could do was sit there. She was too shocked to move. Petunia was crying, begging Lily to undo her magic. Lily didn't know what to think. It was too fast, too brutal to be real. Why had the Death Eaters let the girls live? What was the point? Lily didn't understand, but she didn't think she was supposed to. Strange things were going through her mind. Their argument the other night... James throwing snowballs... Dancing in the snow.... "I see why you love magic..."
"Lily?" A boys voice echoed through the house.
She suddenly wished to disappear.
"Are you here?"
They should have finished her off.
"The door was open."
Anything would be better than this.
________________________________________________________________________________
James didn't know what to think when he'd apparated to Lily's place and saw the door that had been torn off it's hinges. Her house was in total disarray, but the surroundings didn't get to him until he saw the bodies.
"Oh my god."
He dropped to his knees beside the older woman and felt for her pulse.
"No, no, no. Ennervate! Come on!"
He let her go. "LILY!" he bellowed.
He looked around the room wildly. "LILY! Please!"
He heard a small sniffle behind a couch and blasted the thing out of the way. There sat Lily Evans and a girl that was crying on her shoulder.
"Lily."
She looked frozen and didn't respond when he said her name again. The other girl looked up though. "Are we dead yet?" she whispered.
______________________________________________________________________________
Lily woke up a few hours later to hear an argument between James and Sirius
"Look we all care about Lily," Sirius said. "What's wrong?"
"I'll tell you later," James said, shortly.
"What happened?" Remus asked.
"Get out!" James insisted.
"James, you better get out of the- ahh!" Jazz said. James had actually picked her up and put her in the hall.
"She's fine," he said, looking at Jazz intensely. "But she needs to rest. I'll stay, you tell my mom and dad to send dinner up."
Jazz was going to argue but she saw the care in James' eyes and knew he'd take care of her. "Alright," she said softly.
"Lily?" another voice said.
Her head hurt something awful but she sat up anyway. "Petunia!"
"Hey now," James said turning back to them. "Lay back."
Lily ignored him. "Are you okay?"
For some reason, Petunia was avoiding her eyes. "No."
Lily's eyes widened. "You weren't hurt, were you?"
Petunia closed her eyes. "Lils, I watched our parents get killed because of your precious magic. I can't deal with it anymore."
James made a sharp movement, but Lily ignored him still. "What are you trying to say?"
Petunia finally met Lily's gaze with a glare. "I don't ever want to talk to you again."
A dead silence followed this statement. James was staring at Petunia as though he'd like to rip out her eyes. Lily felt sick.
"How can you- How could you- I don't understand," Lily said weakly.
"You don't?" Petunia said sarcastically, but with some pain. "Let me explain then. I always wanted to be like you. Beautiful, smart, even bloody magical. You had it all. But our parents are dead because of you. I'm not jealous anymore. I want nothing to do with a filthy-"
"GET OUT!" James yelled, not allowing another strike to Lily's pain. "GET THE HELL OUT!"
Scary Beautiful by Eve
Chapter Notes: Much more harry potter like. Character death.