Lily grabbed her trunk and looked at the clock on the wall. –9:58,†she muttered. –Two more minutes.†Two more minutes until Mary’s parents would arrive to take her to Mary’s home. Two more minutes of dealing with Petunia until Christmas. Two more minutes of avoiding Severus until September.
Lily checked her bags one last time. She hadn't forgotten anything, so she walked to the kitchen.
"Bye, Mum. Bye, Dad. Bye, Petunia." Lily gave each member of her family a hug before walking back to her things and waiting, watching out the front window like she did when she was a little girl.
A crack resounded and Lily smiled. She picked up her bags and said goodbye to her family one last time. The door opened, and Lily stepped outside.
–Ready, Lily?â€
–Yes, Mr. McDonald.†Lily placed one hand on Mary’s father’s arm.
–Well then, here we go!†Lily and Mary’s father and mother Apparated. The familiar squeezing encompassed Lily for a moment, but passed as soon as they landed in front of Mary’s home. –Go on in, Lily. We want to say hello to the neighbors for a moment.†Lily nodded and ran to the front door. Mary pulled it open and pulled Lily inside, quickly shutting the door. The two best friends enjoyed a hug, then began transporting Lily’s trunks to the guest room. Lily started to unpack her trunks, but Mary grabbed her arm.
–Lils, that’s boring. Let’s do something more... exciting.†Mary raised her eyebrows a bit at the end of her sentence, sending Lily into laughter.
–Oh, all right, Mare. What do you want to do?â€
–Well, do you know who lives here in Godric’s Hollow with me?â€Lily shook her head. –Then you are about to find out.†Mary pulled Lily into Mary’s room and to the window. –Look. In the backyard, about four houses down.†Lily squinted into the distance, then turned to Mary with wide eyes.
–Is that...â€
–James? You bet.â€
–And you didn’t tell me? Mare, you know how much I despise that arrogant-â€
–Yes, Lils, but look at who’s with him.†Lily looked out the window again before turning back to her friend.
–I suppose you want me to help you get hooked up with Remus.â€
–Yeah, more or less.â€
–What do you mean ‘more or less’?â€
–Um... I’ll tell you later.†The two friends looked at each other and giggled. Both knew it was impossible to keep a secret from the other, but what Lily didn’t know was that Mary’s secret was more than just a secret. It had a motive. There was a reason, and not something silly. After all, true love doesn’t happen every day.
---
–So, what’s step one?†James asked Remus. Remus looked at a window a few houses down before answering.
–Get over Lily. That’s step one.â€
–What? How am I supposed to do that? Isn’t the point of this to get me a date with Lily?â€
–Yes, Prongs. But remember the plan? You have to fall in love with a different girl. And I think we should start with you, well, falling in love with someone else.â€
–But Lily’s not even here. Why do I have to start now? Can’t I just get a new girlfriend a couple days before school starts and say we’ve been together since the beginning of the summer?â€
–That’s what I think the problem was. I think you need to really convince Lily, and, in order to do that, you need to have gone through the motions of forgetting that you love Lily. Don’t actually forget, though. Got it?â€
–Yeah.†James closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Focus. Focus, focus, focus. I can do this. I will forget Lily, and fall in love with a different girl. –Moony, I can ‘fall in love’ with Alexandra Prince! She lives about three houses over and is a nice girl. I think she’ll be a sixth year this year, so there’s no way Lily will be super attached to the girl. That way friendships won’t get in the way.â€
–Brilliant, Prongs!†Moony exclaimed. –Now we just have to start. What are your thoughts on strolls through the park?â€
–Good idea.â€
--
Lily sat on the window seat and looked out over Godric’s Hollow. It was one of few neighborhoods in England that consisted of mostly wizards, and the place felt magical to her. The place didn’t feel magical because of actual spells, however. There was something else magical about Godric’s Hollow, but Lily couldn’t quite identify it.
--
Mary looked down at the note from Remus. So far, so good. James was convinced. Lily was... not exactly convinced, but she was more accepting. This summer would be great. Mary scribbled a quick reply, and then sent the owl out the window and back to Remus.
--
As James lay in bed, he couldn’t help thinking about Lily. He could see her in his mind. The way her eyes glowed when she had an idea, her hair falling down her back when she was writing, her enthusiasm while learning something new, her determination to always get it right. But he had to think beyond Lily, now. It was just so hard.
--
Remus opened the window to let in Mary’s owl. As he read her reply, his smile grew. They were going to do it this year. James would come back to school a better person, and Lily would come back to school with a more relaxed attitude toward James. Everything would be perfect. And there would be no Sirius to talk James out of things this summer, either. Nothing would go wrong. Nothing could go wrong.
Awry by Liet Dumbledore, Kaitlyn Snape
Chapter Endnotes: Is Remus right, or will things go horribly wrong?