Where Are You Now?

An original story by Jen Riddle

Re-written by Samantha Malfoy 1

Chapter 1: Maybe I'd do better on my own

"Maybe I'd do better on my own"

"Need more Coffee dear? You look like you've had a rough day." A thin lady, probably in her late 30s stood over Lily table. She looked up and the lady set a coffee mug down.

"Thanks Basil." Lily smiled a thankful grin at Basil who nodded and walked away. She sighed and looked back down at the pile of papers in front of her. "What I really need is a nice firewhiskey…" She groaned to herself and shuffled through some more of the papers she was supossed to make into a magazine. Lily was the editor for Witch Weekly, not exactly what she was planning on doing for a living but somehow, she'd goten an intern for it in 6th year and now here she was. She sighed and took a sip of her coffee.

She looked up from the paper she was checking and searched out across the table. It was completley covered with papers, graphs, polls and pictures. She wished to herself that she could do magic at the moment, just to clean up the mess. But she was in a muggle diner, and not just any diner, the one her parents had owned for years, ever since she was just a little girl. A bell jingled from the front of the resteraunt and Lily turned to see who had come in. She ducked down as Petunia walked in with her fiance, Vernon Dursley. Lily hoped they wouldn't come and torment her, she had enough on her hands. She despised Vernon. He despised Lily. It was a mutual agreement.

"OH LILY!" Petunia called and rushed over to the table. Lily groaned.

"Yes dearest petunia?" Lily fake smiled.

"Oh you now as well as me your faking that. Now anyway. We chose lavender for the bridesmades dresses." Petunia smiled. "Are you ok with wearing lavender?"

"I'd rather stick a fork in my eye, if that helps." Lily said in a monotone, pretending to be doing something with her work. Her sister knew very well Lily despised the color lavender.

"Oh good, maybe then you wont have to worry about it, lavender it is." Petunia smiled, patted Lilys head and walked away.

"Anything to please you." Lily muttererd under her breath. Her mother had made her be a bridesmade in Petunias wedding. She said that the girls needed to bond more and that this would help. Lily told her mother she'd rather die then even go to Petunias wedding, her mother laughed it off and told her she was going no matter what. She took another sip of the coffee, hoping it would soothe her a bit.

It didn't.

Lily got up from the table, hoping to find some food in the kitchens or atleast get Basil to make her some, she was stopped, unfortunatly, by Vernon.

"Well hello Vernon, Nice day were having isnt it?" Lily forced herself to say. She felt as if it was a bit too fake but hoped it would slip past him and all his blubber, honestly, how could a man be so large and marry some one so boney as Petunia, Lily thought he might squish her at times.

"Yes lovley, now listen here you. Your going to do what Pet wants for this wedding, you make her mad and you'll be hearing from me, you hear?" Vernon growled lowley.

"Oh yes Vernon. I would never dream of making Petunia mad. And I allways listen to you. You realize you said 'hear' 3 times in about 10 seconds?" Lily rolled her eyes and pushed past him into the kitchens. The last thing she needed now was Vernon on her back. She was over worked, tired, and still needed another story from one of her writers by tomorrow or else there would be half a blank page in the magazine.

"Hey Basil?" Lily called into the kitchen.

"Yes, Lily?" Basil called from the other side. Lily walked through, picking up a bagel on the way.

"Do you know how long Petunia and Vernon are going to be here?" Lily asked. She assumed Basil would know, she'd been working at the diner since Lily was 7 years old. Now at the age of 20, Basil and Lily knew each other like the back of their hands.

"Not sure, not long. I hope." Basil added. Lily smiled, knowing basil despised them just as much as Lily did. They constantly orded Basil around as if she was a slave.

"Thanks anyway." Lily said. She took a bite of the bagel and left the kitchen.

"Excuse me!" Someone called as she was about to step out from behined the front counter. Lily looked up.

"Erm.. sorry I don't work here." She looked up for a slit second and said to the man and continued to her table. She sat down and felt a shaddow covering her and Petunia yelling at Basil somewhere in the resteraunt. 'Basil I want a 4 layer cake… no no… strwberry ice cream…' She heard her say.

"What." Lily asked not looking up from her papers to see who was towering over her.

"Lily?" Someone asked. She gasped when she looked up.

"James!" She cried and nearly jumped out of her seat. "I… you… What are you doing here!" She gasped at her old school friend.

"I was going to visit Sirius… and I was hungry… so…" James started.

"But… But… you… I…" Lily stuttered, and sat back into her seat.

"Wow, you don't sound very happy to see me." James fake frowned at the red head.

"No… its just… Its been 2 years…" Lily said, staring at James disbelievingly.

"I know, Scary isn't it?" James said. "If it makes you feel any better, you look the same as you did 2 years ago, still beautifull." He smiled. Lily felt herself blush to the color of her hair.

"Thanks… but I'm kind of busy right now…" Lily sighed, and stared angerly down at her papers hoping somehow they would light on fire and she wouldn't have to do this.

"Tomorrow then? I'll be in town for a week, can I see you tomorrow?"

"Erm…" Lily thought about how it had been when James and her were dating. She loved it, and knew she was in love with him. But at the end of 7th year she knew she had to end it,her gut told her to stay with him but her heart told her to break it. And something told her the same thing now. As much as she wanted to see him, she remembered that feeling she had back then. She didn't want to have it come back she knew she was destined to live a life alone. "I don't think so." She said.

"Why?" James asked. Lily though for a moment of what to tell him.

"I'm just… over worked. I work for witch weekly, you know. And well my deadlines in two days and I still have another story I havent goten from one of the writers and I have to put it together and…" She rambled on.

"Ok ok, I get it, and no I didn't know you worked for witch weekly, you see, its called WITCH weekly for a reason.. I happen to be a wizard." James nodded. Lily looked at him as he gave a smile and got up. Lily got up after him.

"I'm really sorry James…" She apologized.

"Its ok. I'll just um… see in you 23 years for our 25 year Hogwarts reunion." He laughed a fake laugh and Lily could tell. She gave him a hug and watched him leave the diner.

"I don't thing needs starting with him again, or with anyone" Lily sighed as she looked at her work. "This damn magazines first priority and nothings going to come in the way. Not James, not Vernon, not Petunia, not the wedding and not that bloody owl that just flew in the resteraunt…. Wait…" Lily watched as an owl flew in through the front door and landed squarley on Lilys table, scattering some of the papers. Lily looked around to see if anyone had noticed, and to her surprised, everyone seemed too caught up in their own buisness. Lily pulled an envelope off the owl and read the letter inside.

Lily

I'm not going to let this go, if you change your mind come see me at Sirius'.

James.

Lily grinned at his hopelessness and let the owl out a nearby window, folding up the letter and stashing it in her bag. She soon decided to call it a night and finnish her work tommorow.