Saturday morning dawned brightly with hardly a cloud in the sky. This was a pleasant surprise to Lily when she opened her curtains as the last week had been cold and dreary. Smiling to herself, she turned back to her trunk which was nearly full and racked her brain for anything she might have forgotten.
After quickly running through her mental checklist, Lily gathered the last of her things and shut her trunk. Normally, she would have spent much longer making sure that she did not forget basic things such as underwear or shampoo, but today she could not focus. The birds chirping outside seemed to better emulate Lily’s mood.
After saying goodbye to her friends, Lily cast a spell to make her trunk follow behind her, and practically skipped down the staircase. Once in the common room, she saw that James and Sirius were waiting for her.
“Are you ready?” James asked, as Lily slipped her hand into his.
“Of course,” she replied, cheerfully. She was very excited for this small break from school to spend time with James and his family.
“Sirius?” James looked over at his best friend with raised eyebrows. “Are you coming?”
Sirius, who had been looking into space with glazed eyes, started at the sound of his name. “Yeah, I’m coming. I don’t know why Lily insisted on leaving so early,” he complained. He shook his hair out of his eyes and cast the spell to make his trunk follow them as they headed out onto the grounds.
Once they had left the castle it was just a short walk across the dewy grounds before they reached the Hogwarts gates, beyond which they could apparate. As she turned on the spot, Lily winced in anticipation of the unfamiliar sensation that made her feel like she was being squeezed through a tube. Though she had gotten her license last spring, she was still not very experienced in apparition and was very much relieved when she landed firmly on the ground.
“Ugh, I’m never going to get used to that,” Sirius grumbled as he picked himself up off the ground a few feet away from Lily.
James, who had landed right next to him, laughed and clapped his friend on the shoulder before turning to Lily. “So what do you think, Lils?”
At James’ words, Lily suddenly became aware of their surroundings and her mouth fell open. They were standing at the foot of a well-manicured lawn that spread out before an elegant mansion.
“You live here?” she asked, incredulously.
“Yeah,” James replied, smiling at her reaction.
“He didn’t tell you he was rich, did he?” Sirius chuckled as Lily shook her head in disbelief.
“Come on, Lily. Let’s go inside. My parents will be glad to finally meet you,” James said, tugging Lily along after him.
They entered the house and Sirius immediately started up the curved staircase with his trunk as James called for his parents. While they waited, Lily observed the nicely furnished parlor that branched off the foyer. Now that she knew James’ family was wealthy, she was even more nervous to meet his parents. Would they approve of an average-looking, Muggle-born for their son? James seemed to notice Lily’s apprehension and squeezed her hand when they heard footsteps descending the stairs.
“Welcome home, James.” A tall, kind-looking woman with dark hair streaked with silver came into view wearing a wide smile. “Is this the Lily Evans we’ve heard so much about?”
“Yup,” her son responded, beaming. “Lily, this is my mum.”
“Hi, how are you?” Lily asked politely.
“Very good, thank you.” When Mrs. Potter smiled, her eyes lit up and Lily noticed that they were the exact same color as James’.
“Mum, where’s dad?” James wondered. “I thought you said he’d be here to meet Lily, too.”
“Oh, he had to go into work early today but he said he’ll try to be home early tonight.” As she spoke, she led James and Lily further into the house. The grandfather clock chimed as they entered the sitting room and Lily jumped at the noise. James threw her a reassuring smile.
“Have you all eaten yet?” Mrs. Potter asked.
James and Lily shook their heads.
“Lily was eager to start the break early,” James explained with a chuckle. “Plus, I told her you’re an outstanding cook.”
Mrs. Potter blushed slightly. “I’ll go fix you some breakfast while you unpack. How many slices of bacon would you like?”
“A plateful would be nice. I’m starving,” James replied, holding his stomach.
His mother nodded. “I suppose I’ll have to make two platefuls then. I passed Sirius on his way to his bedroom, but I’m sure the smell of food will wake him up.”
Once they had brought their trunks upstairs, James showed Lily her room. Although James apologized, claiming that it was the smallest of all the bedrooms, Lily instantly loved it. There was a large wardrobe in the corner and the sun streamed into the room out of the wide bay window.
She sat down on the window seat, gazing out at the Potters’ backyard as James explained where the nearest bathroom was and how to call their house elf, Mitzi. He also conceded that despite her room’s size, she would have the benefit of being far enough away to not hear Sirius snoring.
Lily laughed at the jibe at Sirius and turned her attention back to James. “Can I see your room?”
The corners of James’ mouth turned up into a smile. “Sure. It’s just down the hall.”
It turned out that just down the hall was longer than Lily expected. They passed room after room before James finally stopped and pushed open the door at the end of the hallway. When she stepped inside, the room reminded her at first very much of the dormitories at Hogwarts. The walls were a vivid shade of scarlet with gold trim. However, instead of several four-poster beds, there was one massive bed on one wall, a couch on another, and a table and chairs in the corner. Lily also saw that there was a bay window with a similar view of the backyard as her room had.
“Well this is impressive,” Lily began after a few moments of admiring James’ room.
“Yeah, it’s a bit big,” James admitted. “And red,” he added, gesturing to the walls.
“No, I really like it. Has your family been in Gryffindor”?”
“”since the dawn of time,” James laughed. “Yeah, we are very proud of our house.”
Lily walked further into the room and noticed a collage of photographs on a bulletin board above the bed. Taking a closer look, she saw that most of them were of James and the other Marauders ranging from what looked like first year to present day. In some of the pictures, they simply smiled and waved back at her, but in others they stuck their tongues out or guffawed at some inside joke. Lily couldn’t help but smile at how close James and his friends were, even so many years ago when she had once thought them to be incredibly obnoxious.
“What are you smiling at?” James wondered from behind her.
“You and your friends are crazy,” she replied, shaking her head.
In addition to the pictures of the Marauders, Lily also noticed a pennant for Puddlemere United and a still picture of a motorbike.
“You like motorbikes?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
James shook his head, laughing. “I’m still not really sure how they work. Sirius made me put that up.”
“He would,” Lily giggled, sitting down on James’ bed to face him. “I like your pictures. But I think you’re missing something.”
“What’s that?” James asked, hiding a smile.
“Pictures of us.”
“Oh, why couldn’t I think of that?” James teased. “I do have a camera, though, and we have the whole week ahead of us. We can take as many as we want, Lils.” He smiled at her and took her hand as Sirius entered the room.
“Your mum says to tell you that breakfast is ready and that she’s about to leave for work,” he reported. Then he eyed their clasped hands. “You two aren’t going to go all lovey-dovey on me, are you?”
Lily blushed while James laughed. “Sirius, I invited Lily here. We can do whatever we want.”
Sirius just nodded at James and then threw her a crooked smile. “Lily, if this prat gets on your nerves, I’m always here.” He puckered up his lips and winked before quickly turning on his heel and racing out of the room.
“Sirius!” James rebuked, tugging Lily after him as he chased after his friend.
*****
The day she arrived, James, with Sirius in tow, decided to give her a complete tour of his house. After seeing every room, the boys brought her down to the basement where they unveiled boxes of candy and drinks. Lily spent the rest of the afternoon almost eating herself sick with James and Sirius while they regaled her about the pranks they used to pull on the local Muggles.
When they eventually made their way upstairs, they met the Potters who had just returned from the Ministry. Lily was embarrassed at being seen bloated with junk food and giddy from laughing and joking all afternoon so she tried to hide behind the boys. However, Mr. Potter, who looked remarkably like James, clapped his son on the shoulder as a welcoming and then asked who his friend was. Blushing, Lily introduced herself to Mr. Potter, who grinned back and warmly welcomed her to their home.
It rained for the next few days of break, but the boys still insisted that they show Lily around Godric’s Hollow. Before they left the warm and dry house, she cast a spell to waterproof her clothes but she was still soaked when she stepped outside.
“James,” Lily complained, ringing water out of her ponytail. “Is this really necessary?”
“Aw, Lils,” James said, pulling her into his side. “It’s not too bad. Besides, you look cute when you’re wet.” He planted a soft kiss on her nose and took her hand.
“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Lily,” Sirius added, as they started down the street. “Besides, what else would we be doing today?”
“Who knows?” Lily grumbled, rolling her eyes. “I’m sure you two would think of something to do.”
Sirius and James laughed.
Despite her worries, Lily did end up having fun and the rain actually made the day more exciting and memorable. The bad weather kept most people away from the village and they felt like they had more freedom to goof off and act like children without bothering anybody. Instead of shopping, they ran through puddles and splashed each other.
Then, when Sirius mysteriously disappeared, James brought Lily to the village center and they danced together in the rain by the fountain. As water streamed down their cheeks and dripped from their hair, James twirled her in a circle and then drew her close to him.
“I can hardly recognize you, you’re so wet,” James told her as they danced.
“Me, too. Your hair is not even sticking up anymore,” Lily commented, laughing softly.
James smiled and then picked Lily up to slide his feet under hers. Sighing in content, Lily placed her head on James’ chest and for a few minutes they danced in silence. As they slowly turned in place, the rain began to let up until it was only a light drizzle.
Suddenly, Lily felt something cold and wet collide with the back of her head. Startled, she jumped away from James, who also looked stunned for a moment. Then comprehension dawned on his face and his eyes narrowed as Sirius came into view, carrying several water balloons in his arms.
“Is that where you wandered off to?” James called. “To make water balloons? You do know you hit Lily pretty hard. Why don’t you apologize to her?”
“Sorry Lils, I wasn’t being fair.” He launched a water balloon at James. “There, now I’ve gotten Prongs, too.”
James glanced down at his soaked shirt and then looked up at Sirius, indignation written across his face. “You’re going to pay for that,” he said, racing off after his friend.
Lily watched as James and Sirius rounded the fountain and eventually disappeared from sight. It made her smile that she could still her James threatening and Sirius taunting even from down the street. The boys truly acted like brothers and Lily felt more a part of their family than ever now.
The afternoon wore on into evening as James, Sirius, and Lily played in the rain. Finally, when the rain stopped altogether, they decided it was time to head back to James’ house and take showers.
The following days of the break were also filled with fun activities. One day, James and Sirius tried to organize a game of Quidditch with Lily. As they had decided she wasn’t a very valuable player, she would alternate playing on each of their teams. Though she hadn’t expected to have much fun, just as with the rainy day in the village, the day turned out to be much better than she had initially thought it would be. She would never admit it to James, but she had actually enjoyed playing Quidditch, in spite of her poor flying ability. With the boys’ guidance and enthusiasm, the game became much less intimidating and even exciting at times.
On Thursday morning James and Sirius went to visit Remus while Lily planned to shop for a dress to wear to Petunia’s wedding on Friday in the village. With Mrs. Potter’s directions, Lily was quickly able to find the store she was looking for. There was not a large selection, but luckily she found a light blue dress in her size and made it back to James’ house by early afternoon though the boys hadn’t returned yet.
Deciding to take advantage of her time alone, Lily found her Transfiguration textbook and stretched out on the Potters’ couch to study. However, after only a few minutes, she quickly grew bored and started halfheartedly flipping through the pages without really seeing what she was reading. She leaned her head back on the arm of the couch and closed her eyes wondering how long she would have to wait before James and Sirius would return...
Seemingly seconds later, a gentle tug on her ponytail woke Lily from her slumber. She opened her eyes slowly and saw James smiling, his face upside down and looking amused.
“Hey, there, sleepy.” He released his hold on her hair and placed his hands on either side of her on the couch.
“What time is it?” Lily asked, groggily.
“A little after four,” he replied, his mouth still turned up in a grin.
Lily started to get up but James held her where she lay and leaned down to lightly kiss her lips.
“So what did you guys do at Remus’?” Lily asked.
James shrugged and began kissing her again. After a few moments, Lily broke away and gave him a puzzled look.
“Where’s Sirius? I would have thought he’d interrupted us by now,” she asked, her eyes glancing at the door.
“Oh, I convinced him to stay at Moony’s for a little while longer. You know, so we could have some alone time,” he replied and gave her a mischievous smile.
Lily sat up on the couch and faced James. “That’s great. We haven’t had too much of a chance to be alone yet this week.” She reached up to kiss him. “So what are we going to do?”
One corner of his mouth lifted up into a crooked smile. “I don’t know. What do you want to do?” he replied, raising his eyebrows which made Lily giggle.
“Come here,” she commanded with a teasing smile and grabbed his shirt, pulling him onto the couch next to her.
James leaned in to kiss her. “How was your day?”
“Boring,” Lily sighed. “I went shopping this morning but I spent the rest of my time studying…and sleeping.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He brushed back a strand of her hair and lightly kissed her forehead.
“That’s alright,” she replied. “My day has improved a bit.”
“Only a bit?” James smiled and leaned in once more to trail kisses along jawbone.
A moment later, she brought her lips to meet his and took advantage of their time alone. Their kiss became more passionate and soon Lily found herself lying on the couch, wrapped in James’ arms. Caught up in the moment, she lost track of time. She could only think of her relationship with James and how much he meant to her…
It was only when James pushed her away and started to sit up that Lily was able to come back to reality and orient herself. She ran a hand through her tousled hair as her boyfriend turned to face the silver, gleaming stallion that had just arrived.
The Patronus opened its mouth and Lily heard the deep voice of Mr. Potter explaining that something had come up at the Ministry and he and Mrs. Potter would be out late taking care of it. Once it had delivered its message, the stallion vanished as quick as it had arrived and James sank back onto the couch and let out a long sigh.
“You look tense,” Lily noted.
He shrugged. “It’s nothing. I promise.”
Lily was unconvinced. “Are you sure?” she asked, taking his hand.
“Yes. It’s just that…with Patronuses these days, you never know what kind of message to expect. I half expected that something had happened…”
She squeezed his hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I don’t think anything is going to happen to anyone.”
James still looked doubtful, so Lily continued. “James, your parents can take care of themselves. And if something does happen tonight while they’re away…”
“They’ll be alright. They’re fighters,” he finished, sounding more confident.
Lily sighed and leaned into his side. “That’ll be us before long.”
James’ mouth twitched up into a small smile for a second and then turned serious. “And you’re sure you still want to be an Auror? Even now that you know how much risk is involved? You do remember that Amber’s parents were just killed””
“Yes,” Lily replied, resolutely. “But I thought I told you. I’ve wanted to be one for a while now. I know what I’m getting myself into.”
James paused for a moment. “I guess that makes sense. You are in Gryffindor, after all.” He wrapped his arm around her and they sat in silence for a moment, both immersed in thought. The moment was interrupted, however, when Lily’s stomach growled loudly.
James released her from his arms and got up to stand in front of her. “Are you hungry?” he teased, slipping his hands into hers.
Lily smiled slyly as he pulled her to her feet. “I think you’re hearing things. I could have sworn that noise was just the portrait over there snoring.”
James gave a short laugh. “Oh, really?”
“Really, really,” she insisted. Just then her stomach growled again and James elbowed her lightly in the stomach.
“How ‘bout some dinner?” James asked, grinning. “I can ask Mitzi to make anything you want.”
“I have a better idea,” Lily returned. James raised his eyebrows expectantly. “How about we make dinner together?”
James furrowed his brows. “Are you serious?” he asked after a moment.
“Completely. And if we get started early enough, we can make it without Sirius breathing down our necks,” she added with a wink.
James nodded in agreement. “You do have a point,” he chuckled. Lily giggled as well, thinking how Sirius would probably find a way to inhale the food before they had finished cooking it.
“So let’s begin,” Lily declared, pulling James by the wrist into the kitchen.
“Wait, slow down, Lils. Do you even know how to cook?” James suddenly looked skeptical. Lily knew he was only accustomed to eating good meals, either at Hogwarts or at home.
“Yes,” Lily retorted, insulted. “Before I was accepted at Hogwarts, I used to help my mum in the kitchen all the time. And during the summer, I still cook quite a bit.”
James seemed to relax slightly. “What were you thinking of making?”
“My mum’s lasagna,” Lily beamed. “It’s very good and it’s not too difficult to make.”
“Do you have the recipe?” James asked, looking wary again.
Lily waved his question away. “I know it by heart. I’ve made it a hundred times.” As she busied herself opening drawers and cabinets, looking for the right supplies to make the lasagna, James leaned against the counter and watched her with an amused expression.
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked.
“Well first you could help me find the ingredients. Where does your family keep herbs?”
After James directed her to the correct drawer and she found what she needed she turned to him again. “Does your family have any meat?” She set down a container of basil on the counter and glanced around the room again. “I didn’t see a refrigerator so””
James cut her off with a laugh. “Of course we don’t. We’re not Muggles. We use an ice box.”
Lily looked puzzled. “Isn’t that what Muggles used about fifty years ago?”
He shrugged and led her over to a large wooden cupboard in the corner. “This is where we keep anything that needs to be kept cold. There’s ice inside and we put a cooling charm on it so it won’t melt,” James explained.
Lily watched with interest as he opened the door and pulled out a container of ground beef and then sausage and handed them to her.
“Do you have everything you need?” James asked as they washed their hands in the sink.
“Yes, I think so,” Lily answered. She dried her hands and bent down to take a pot out of a cabinet. “Let’s start making the sauce.” She rolled up her sleeves and turned to smile at James. “Could you start cutting up the meat?”
“Sure,” he replied.
While James chopped the meat, Lily began to carefully slice the onion. They worked in silence for a few moments until James set down his knife and started rubbing his eye.
“What is that?” James groaned.
Lily looked down at the onion and back at James, who had taken off his glasses to massage his eyes, and laughed. James looked up at her like she was crazy.
“How often do you help cook at home?” Lily asked him.
“Not very often. But what does that have to do with this?” James inquired, sounding irritated.
“It’s the onion that’s bothering your eyes. See?” Lily told him, holding out the onion. He smelled it and then flinched, looking disgusted. She giggled and continued slicing it again.
“How come it doesn’t bother you?” James wondered, putting on his glasses once more. He picked up his knife and returned to his work.
Lily shrugged. “I guess I’m used to it,” she said, dumping onion slices into the pot. “But I’m surprised that you honestly didn’t know onions make you cry,” she continued with a laugh.
“I didn’t cry,” James replied, defensively. “They just made my eyes sting.”
Lily nodded and then noticed that James was only half done chopping up the meat. “Merlin, James. Aren’t you finished yet?”
He frowned at her. “Well excuse me if I can’t work as fast as you can. Need I remind you that your onions held me up?” he grumbled.
She shoved him lightly and rinsed off her knife so she could help him finish. As James scraped the pieces of meat into the pot, Lily quickly chopped up two cloves of garlic and added it into the mix.
Once the tomato sauce was dumped in, Lily set James to work chopping basil and parsley as she monitored the meat mixture over the fire. When the meat was brown she poured in her mother’s secret tomato sauce recipe from her wand.
While the meat sauce simmered, Lily instructed James how to make lasagna noodles from scratch. Together, they mixed flour, salt, and various other ingredients to make dough.
“Hey, James, could you start on the cheese filling while I knead the dough?” Lily asked once the batter had started to solidify.
“Why can’t we both knead the dough?” he asked.
Lily hesitated for a moment. “…I don’t think you’ll want to do that. It takes some work.”
“Psh, Lily, I’m up for work. With the exception of those onions, there’s nothing in the kitchen I can’t handle,” he promised, puffing out his chest.
Lily took the dough out of their mixing bowl and set it before James. “Okay. I’d like to see you try,” she told him, slyly. “You should knead it for about ten minutes.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then crossed the kitchen to an adjoining countertop to start making the cheese filling.
James lasted longer than Lily expected, but she still ended up finishing the job for him seven minutes later. When he finally surrendered, his face was impassive but she saw him turn away to flex his fingers and wring out his wrists.
Half an hour later, Lily had finished making the noodles, put them in a pan of hot water to soak, and, with James’ help, finished the cheese filling. The only part they had left to do was to build the lasagna layers. To redeem himself from bailing out on kneading the dough, James had elected himself to put together the lasagna.
“Make sure to cover the bottom of the pan with enough sauce,” Lily instructed.
“Okay,” James replied, beginning to pour the sauce.
“But make sure you don’t use too much!” Lily exclaimed as the sauce seeped over the edge of the bowl into the pan.
James rolled his eyes at her and set the pan down. Then he dipped his finger in the sauce and tapped Lily on the nose. “You need to relax, Lils. I’ve got everything under control,” he promised and gestured to the even layer of sauce on the bottom of the pan.
Lily frowned at him and wiped off the sauce off her nose. “Let me do the noodles,” she insisted, reaching across James.
“No, I can do it. You don’t need to worry,” he assured her, taking the noodle pan out of her hands. He laid the noodles neatly on top of the sauce and gave her a smug smile. “Could I have the cheese bowl now?”
She sighed with exaggeration and handed him the bowl. “Do I get to do anything?”
“But, honey, you’ve already done so much work. Let me do at least this much.” James sounded as though he was trying to be sincere but threw her a teasing smile.
She narrowed her eyes but couldn’t help but smile back at him. As James sprinkled mozzarella and parmesan cheeses over the ricotta cheese filling, Lily tried to think of a taunt she could reply back with. When James reached for the sauce bowl again, he caught her eye and began to chuckle.
“What?” she challenged, putting her hands on her hips.
James shook his head and glanced up at her. “I know you’re trying to come up with an insult, but you can’t do it. It’s cute.”
Lily made a face at him and shoved him out of the way. “You know what? I’m going to finish the lasagna myself.” She took a handful of noodles and laid them side by side on top of the layer of sauce.
“Aw, come on, Lily. I was doing a good job,” he complained. He exhaled in frustration, reached for the rest of the cheese, but Lily beat him to it. She giggled at his indignant expression and when she was finished spreading the layer of cheese, she turned around and kissed him softly on the lips.
“Okay, I’m sorry. You can finish up the rest,” she relented.
“Really? Are you sure you trust me?” James asked, sarcastically. He lifted the bowl that contained the remainder of the sauce and held it precariously over the pan. “I mean it is sauce after all. If it is not spread perfectly, the entire dish will be a disaster.”
“James!” Lily pleaded, trying to hide her laughter. “Just pour it.”
He shot her a grin before he sprinkled a light layer of cheese on top of the sauce. Then, Lily carried the pan to the fire to cook while James set the dishes to clean themselves by magic. When that was done, Lily walked over to James and buried her face in his chest.
“We’re finally done,” she sighed.
“Mhm. It was actually more fun that I thought it would be,” James mused.
Lily lifted her head and gazed into his eyes. “Of course it was. We did it together.” Stretching up on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to James’.
Not too much later, the lasagna was finished cooking and Lily and James eagerly helped themselves to the pasta.
“Lily, tell your mom for me that her lasagna recipe is delicious,” James said, scraping the last of his meal from his plate.
“You can tell her yourself tomorrow. She’ll be at Petunia’s wedding,” Lily pointed out.
“Oh, that’s right,” James said thoughtfully. “Wow, your sister is getting married tomorrow. Aren’t you even the slightest bit excited for her?”
“Yeah. Overjoyed,” Lily answered, flatly.
James took her hand and squeezed it, reassuringly. “It’s okay. I’ll be there with you.”
More than Meets the Eye by lilybobily7
Chapter Notes: thanks everyone for being patient. I'm sorry for the wait! Hope you enjoy the chapter!
Chapter Endnotes: what'd ya think?