Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Potterverse and all its characters

Lily Luna Potter did not often have company over at her house.

It wasn't as though she didn't have friends—she had quite a few, even though she was pretty sure some of them were only so because she was the daughter of Harry Potter. Right annoying, that was. It was like her peers were always expecting her to do something particularly spectacular just because she was related to someone famous. That was a lot of pressure, because she wasn't her father; she was just Lily.

She did have one friend—outside Teddy and the Weasleys—that came over to her house on occasion. Bethany became her best friend at Hogwarts last year when they were both sorted into Gryffindor and shared a dormitory. And since she was a muggleborn, she didn't react to Lily's dad the same way that everyone else did. It was refreshing, for all of them. Lily's mum told her dad that he was forbidden from coming to King's Cross after he'd seen all his children off for their first year because he caused too much of a scene. Anyway, Bethany knew from hearsay and History of Magic books who Harry Potter was and what he'd done, and while she was somewhat shy the first time she met him, she had easily fallen into a rhythm of treating him normally.

But lately, Lily had been somewhat reluctant to ask Bethany over. The previous summer, Lily's brother, James, had had a growth spurt and was now what the general female population of Hogwarts classified as a "babe." The smarmy idiot knew it, too. And, unfortunately, Bethany was not immune to his charms.

James, thankfully, was practically living at his friend Martin's house this summer—something about practicing so that one of them could be Quidditch Captain next year—and so Lily didn't see the harm in inviting Bethany over. It had been a while since they'd had any real girl time together, and there was a Ravenclaw boy in the year ahead of them that Lily had her eye on and wanted Bethany's opinion about.

Bethany was due to arrive at noon. About five minutes beforehand, Lily heard the front door open and slam shut, and someone rooting around in the kitchen. Lily's stomach plummeted. Only one person made that much of a ruckus upon entering a house. "James!"

Lily thundered down the stairs, screeching at her brother. She skidded into the kitchen to see James standing in front of the open refrigerator, drinking juice straight from the jug. Disgusting. "James!" she repeated, her face hot. James turned and raised an eyebrow, not lowering the drink. "What are you doing here?" Lily hissed.

James swallowed hard. "What do you mean?" he asked, swiping a hand across his lips.

"You!" Lily shouted. "Here! Why?"

James opened his mouth to answer, but a knock at the door interrupted him. Lily froze. James glanced between her and the door. "You gonna get that?"

Lily didn't know what to do. She knew she should let Bethany in, but she didn't want her to see James and drool all over him. Sickening, absolutely sickening. When Lily didn't make a move, James put his juice on the counter and started for the door. The only thing worse than Bethany seeing James would be for James to be the first person she saw. Reluctantly, Lily opened the door for her friend.

"Hello, Lily!" Bethany greeted cheerfully. She was a quiet girl, blonde hair pulled back into two braids and eyes bright. Her face was still round with baby fat, something she was self-conscious about, but Lily thought it made her look more charming. "I brought a pie from home," she said, holding out the pastry in her hands slightly. Lily simply stared at her, mind blank. "Um," Bethany started, giggling somewhat nervously, "Can I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah," Lily stuttered, hoping James had left the kitchen. Bethany stepped in, looked around, and froze, eyes wide. Apparently he hadn't. Lily sighed, closing the door resolutely behind her friend.

"H-Hey, James," Bethany breathed, her voice little more than a whisper.

James turned from his place at the fridge. He had put the juice back but was now looking for more. He smiled pleasantly and responded, "Oh, hey, Bethany! How're you?"

Lily's jaw dropped. Who was this boy? Certainly not her brother. Her brother smiled salaciously at girls and whispered suggestive things in their ears. He maliciously pranked Slytherins and was a smart alack in class. James wasn't…sweet.

"Erm, fine, thanks," Bethany answered, still stuck in place. She suddenly snapped out of her trance and thrust the pie toward James. "I brought pie, if you want any," she mumbled, blushing.

"Oh, thanks!" James said, taking the pie from her hands. "I would love some, but I think Mum would have a fit if I had any before dinner, am I right, Lily?"

Lily was in shock. "Uh, yeah, James? Can I talk to you for a sec?" Without waiting for an answer, Lily wrenched the pie from him, set it on the kitchen counter, and dragged him out into the living room. Once they were sufficiently far away, Lily rounded on her brother. "What are you doing?"

James furrowed his brows. "Lily, you're not making any sense today. What are you on about?"

"You!" Lily said, exasperated. "Being nice! You're never nice! You're Mr. Sex!"

James hesitated. "You want me to be 'Mr. Sex?'" he asked, scrunching his fingers in air quotations.

"No!" Lily clenched her hands into fists in frustration. "I don't want to you to be Mr. Sex! Or nice! I don't want you to be anything to Bethany!"

"Wait," James started, holding up a hand. "Are you just being ridiculously possessive of your friend?"

"I'm being protective!" James' eyebrows rose. "I've seen how you treat other girls, and Bethany is practically in love with you, and I just don't want her to get hurt!"

A silence hung between the siblings. Lily was breathing hard and James' expression was, for once, serious. "Look, Lils," James said quietly, "I know that I can be a jerk sometimes. Especially toward girls that don't deserve it. But I wouldn't do that to one of your friends. I promise." Lily eyed him skeptically and held out her pinky finger. James rolled his eyes, but smiled and clasped his pinky with hers. Ruffling a hand through Lily's hair, James continued, "I'm, uhh…I'm just going to go practice at Martin's some more."

Lily smoothed down her hair and smiled at her big brother. "Thanks, Jay."

James shook his head and feigned confusion. "For what?" Winking, turned to make his way up the stairs to gather his things. "Have fun, sis! Save some pie for me!"

Lily grinned, already contemplating where she would hide the pie.