The bright afternoon light cast shadows across the stone floors of the Entrance Hall. The distant chiming of the clock on the other end of the castle was met with the scraping of chairs along the floor in the adjoining hall. He sat there, glancing at his watch, waiting for the moment when the doors would crack open, hitting the surrounding stonewalls and the fifth year students would come flooding out at last.
His eyes scanned through the masses of students whose once nervous faces were beaming as bright as the summer sun as they headed out towards the grounds. He spotted the group of them as they walked through the door.
The four girls were talking animatedly as they made their way towards them. The two brunette's seemed content, meanwhile the blonde was laughing nervously at whatever the smiling auburn-haired girl had said. The smallest brunette's eyes lit up when she spotted him, running away from the group towards him, running straight into his arms. He picked her up, swinging her around before placing her back on the ground.
"Hey," she smiled at him before she kissed him deeply causing the other girls to moan loudly.
"I just suffered through that exam, don't make me suffer through this too!" Marlene McKinnon groaned mockingly, covering her eyes, pretending she was an innocent young girl for the added dramatic effect.
Alice reached back shoving her hand in Marlene's face trying to push her away whilst her lips remained locked with Frank's.
"The exam wasn't even that horrendous," Lily advocated as she placed her quills back in her bag, completely oblivious to the death glares Marlene was sending her way.
"Besides," Hestia sighed happily, stepping in for Lily, "They look cute together, so let them be. Just because we are currently without relationships does not mean that we should annoy those of us who do," she reasoned.
Marlene rolled her eyes. "It is days like today where I have no clue in the world why I am friends with you three," she grumbled, running her fingers through her long blonde braid, letting her hair fall loose. "That feels so much nicer," she confessed, looking back at her friends.
"What did I miss?" Lily asked, moving to stand next to Hestia having finished organizing her bag.
"We were just about to decide what to do now," Hestia exclaimed, far too merrily for Marlene so soon after the exam.
"The lake? We could probably find a spot to jump in," Marlene suggested, a grin finally gracing her face for the first time since the exam season had begun.
"I'm in!" Hestia and Lily both chided.
The three girls turned to Alice and Frank who were completely caught up in their own little world. "Uh, guys?"
"Huh- what?" Alice questioned, jumping at the girls words.
"Did you two love birds want to join us at the lake?" Marlene pressed, sending a knowing smirk Alice's way.
Frank looked down at Alice pleadingly, her still firmly in his grasp. She grinned widely at him before turning to her friends and shaking her head. "Catch up with you later," she told them distractedly before being led away from the entrance hall by Frank.
The girls laughed a little at Alice's love-struck expression before exiting the hall themselves and stepping out into the bright summer day.
"Lily!" Severus' voice sounded out across the courtyard.
Lily spun around, a smile gracing her face as her eyes fell upon her best friend as he came running out of the entrance hall, trying to dodge people as he went.
"Sev," she exclaimed, hugging the boy. "How did it go for you?"
He grinned widely. "Probably about the same as it went for you," he told her.
"That's great then," she laughed, swinging her bag to the other shoulder.
"Are you two know-it-alls going to keep discussing how exciting the written component of DADA was or can we actually get going to the lake?" Marlene groaned from where she and Hestia were waiting for the others.
Hestia hit her on the arm. "Oh would you hush up already?" she exclaimed.
"Hest! We're officially done for the year! Shouldn't I be able to revel in that without having to hear them go on and on and on about an exam I probably got a troll on?"
"You did not get a troll," Hestia assured her, "Probably more like a poor, or acceptable if you're lucky…"
Marlene slapped her back. "Harsh!"
"Well you asked for it…"
"I was ranting or am I not allowed to do that either?"
"Girls!" Lily intervened.
"Not excessively. Like you said we're done for the year, be happy!" they continued bickering with one another, ignorant to Lily's protests. She apologized to Severus before stepping forward and grabbing both her friends by their forearm's, finally getting their attention.
"We will stop discussing exams if you both agree to stop this whatever this is," she rationalized, staring them both down.
"Good!" Marlene exclaimed, more chipper than she had been before.
Lily and Hestia watched her for a moment as she strode merrily to the grounds.
"Let's go," Hestia sighed, grabbing both Lily's and Snape's arm, dragging them out of the courtyard. "If we don't follow her, she's going to go off again…"
The three girls and Severus darted across the school grounds that were filled with students enjoying their last day in the highlands before they would return home for the summer. The group laughed all the way down to the lake's edge.
"Robe's off," Marlene instructed when they all made it there.
The girls immediately threw off their cloaks, shoes, socks, house sweaters and their ties, leaving them in their kilts and white dress shirts.
"Are you not coming in?" Lily asked when she noticed he was standing off to the side.
Severus shook his head, holding up his book. Lily smiled at him knowingly.
"Watch our stuff then?" she asked him before turning around to join hands with the girls. Severus laughed at the girls as they prepared themselves for the freezing cold water.
"I hope you girls aren't wearing brightly coloured undergarments," Marlene laughed wildly before she tugged them all forward at full speed. They launched themselves, shrieking, off of the dock.
Severus watched as they were submerged in the water and again when they reappeared at the surface shrieking and screaming, splashing water at one another as they made their way back towards the shore.
He watched her as she crawled up onto the shore, laughing. Her hair was dripping as she approached him, her white shirt soaked though completely, revealing her admittedly stunning figure and her striped green bra. He gulped nervously as she approached. He had watched the girls jump in the lake on the last day every year since first year, but this year Lily's body had changed significantly, something he thanked the universe for everyday this year. She grinned at him as she approached, shivering.
"I think it gets colder every year," she laughed shakily, as she dug through her bag for the pieces of towel they had cut up in first year for this very purpose. She pulled her wand out, making the small pieces into large towels.
She turned around to hand the towels off to the girls.
"Whose idea was it to do this again?" Hestia asked, laughing.
Lily and Marlene both shrugged.
"I bet it was Alice," Marlene grumbled.
"Because she's the only one not here?" Hestia laughed.
"I'm starting to think she is the brains of the group instead of Lils here," Marlene teased, messing up Lily's tangled hair.
"Say whatever you want," Lily chided, "But remember this moment when you come asking for assistance with potions or charms next year…"
Marlene went wide-eyed.
"That's what I thought," Lily smirked, before laughing and giving the girl a hug.
"Ok, both of you step back," Hestia ordered, pointing her wand at the both of them. Within seconds the girls were all dry.
"I'll see you at the feast," Severus said, standing up abruptly.
"Everything alright?" Lily asked as she pulled her sweater back over her head.
"I just have a lot to pack before we leave in the morning," he told her, smiling a little before waving to the girls and trekking back up the hill into the trees.
"Ok, well see you at the feast," she called to him just as he disappeared into the trees.
The girls continued pulling their sweaters back on, opting to shove their socks into their bags instead of having to deal with pulling them back on.
"I am so ready for France," Marlene exclaimed as she draped her cloak over her one arm whilst she placed her bag on her other shoulder.
"Not enjoying the Scottish weather?" Hestia teased, slipping on her shoes.
"More like not enjoying the Hogwarts men," Marlene grumbled once the girls started their trek up the hill.
"There are some good ones," Hestia argued.
"Like who? Besides that seventh sixth year Ravenclaw that you have had a crush on since third year…"
"Remus Lupin and his friends aren't bad to look at."
"You've got to be joking," Lily scoffed.
"Lily, don't you think that if you didn't have such a problem with James and Sirius that you might think of them as at least mildly attractive?" Hestia questioned her.
"But I do have a problem with them so no I don't think that's going to happen," Lily told her simply.
"Were we not good enough to hang out with?" Marlene called up ahead.
Lily and Hestia turned to look to where Severus was standing up ahead, looking as though he was talking to someone that they couldn't make out past the trees. By the time they reached him though, whoever he had been talking to had vanished.
"No, I just got distracted," he lied, smiling at them.
"Whatever you say," Marlene sighed, patting him on the shoulder as she and Hestia walked past him, continuing on towards the castle.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Lily asked him, concern spreading across her face as she took in his sickly appearance.
"I said I was fine!" he snapped.
Lily's eyes went wide at this, taking a step back.
"I'll just see you later then," she stuttered, tripping as she continued to back up. She turned around eventually her eyes glued to the ground as she walked away in no particular direction.
"Lily? Is that you?"
"Hagrid," she sighed, a smile returning to her face. "I didn't see you there."
"Yer head was down, that'd be why," the half-giant chuckled.
"You're right," she admitted. Her eyes glanced down to the large bag of apples in his hand. "Are you going to feed them?" she asked him eagerly.
Hagrid beamed at the young girl. "Would ya like to come?"
Lily nodded.
"So what are yer doin' out here all by yerself?" he questioned her, "I thought you'd be celebratin yer O.W.L's with yer friends. Where are the girls today?"
"I was with them, up until about five minutes ago," she told him, "We were celebrating the usual way."
"How cold was the water today?"
"Freezing like you wouldn't believe," she laughed when they reached the edge of the clearing.
Hagrid ripped open the bag, placing a couple of apples into Lily's waiting hands.
"Point me," she told him.
Hagrid led her down into the clearing where they roamed. He stopped her just short of one of the tree roots nearby.
"Place yer hand out as far as you can reach," he directed her as he wandered away to feed the others.
She waited for the odd sensation that came from feeding the invisible creature. Feeling its bony face and wet nose nuzzle against your palm before it would eat the food you had out for it, taking the visible and making it invisible as it did.
A smile stretched widely across her face as the Thestral continued to nuzzle against her, long after she had run out of food.
"It's goin' to be time for the feast soon, ye might want to head up soon to change if ya don't want to go around smellin' like lake water," Hagrid chuckled.
"You're probably right," she sighed, checking her watch. "Thanks for letting me help, Hagrid. I'll make sure to say goodbye before we leave tomorrow."
The half-giant chuckled at the girl, waving at her as she left before he wandered off to feed his blast-ended skrewts.
She was racing out of the forest when she heard it: the laughter that accompanied them wherever they went. She changed her direction from the castle, back towards the lake at a quick pace, praying that she wasn't too late to help whoever the poor soul was from their unfortunate meeting with him. She came around a grove of trees when she saw it, able to watch it all unfold from her place upon the slope.
"Wash out your mouth," James Potter said coldly, "Scourgify!"
Lily's legs moved quickly towards him, her heart racing as she was forced to watch the soap bubbles spew out of Severus' mouth and the undeniable signs of choking that his body was portraying.
"Excuse me, sorry," she apologized a couple of times as she pushed through the crowd.
"Potter! Leave him ALONE!" she yelled when she finally reached the front.
"All right, Evans?" said James, the tone of his voice dropping as she approached.
"Leave him alone," she repeated, glaring at him. "What's he done to you?"
"Well," James contemplated the thought for a few moments, "It's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean…" he told her, arousing a laugh out of the surrounding students.
"You think you're funny, but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."
"I will if you go out with me, Evans. Go on… go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."
She stepped closer to him. "I wouldn't go out with you," she spat at him, enunciating every word, "If it was a choice between you and the Giant Squid."
She turned around, meaning to help Severus but by the time she had turned around and rolled her eyes at Sirius Black's comment, he was already holding his wand directing it past her to Potter where a moment later after a flash of light a deep gash appeared on his face, spewing blood. She didn't even have a second to react when her best friend was all of a sudden hoisted upside down into the air, with his grey underpants showing. She held back a laugh at the sight, reminded of their younger years, but her desire to laugh ceased when she heard James Potter and co's roaring laughter.
"Let him down!" she yelled at them once again.
James did just as she asked, causing Severus to fall into a crumpled heap on the ground. She rushed to his side, trying to help him up when another shot was fired at Severus, this time by Sirius, causing him to straighten up before toppling over to the ground. He had such bad luck with people.
She spun around, angrily glaring at the boys before screeching, "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" pulling her wand out of her pocket for the first time since the event had began, pointing it directly at the two boys ahead.
"Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you," James told her earnestly.
"Take the curse off him, then!" she argued, her wand still pointed at his chest.
James Potter sighed before releasing Severus to Lily. She started walking back towards her friend, choosing to ignore whatever bait James was throwing at her to get a rouse out of her and whatever Severus would undoubtedly throw back at him because of it when she heard the unforgiveable words leave her best-friends lips.
"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her."
She staggered backward, blinking.
"Fine," she told him coolly for the first time since meeting him, "I won't bother to help in the future," she added, walking off, but stopping just short of him to mutter her last few words. "And I'd wash your pants, if I were you, Snivellus."
"Apologize to Evans!" James roared at Snape, his wand pointing threateningly at him.
"I don't want you to make him apologize," she shouted, rounding on the messy-haired boy, "You're as bad as he is."
Potter's face fell. "What? I'd NEVER call you a you-know-what!"
"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you, just because you can—I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me SICK," she shouted at him before taking off towards the castle.
Her pace never slowed down the entire way back. She saw the entrance hall before her and stopped. She didn't want to see anyone else right now. She needed to be alone. Where could she go to be alone?
Her feet knew where to go before she did, immediately taking off away from the entrance hall. They carried her along the perimeter of the castle walls, her hand grazing the stone as they did. By the time she reentered the castle she was on the far west side in the abandoned wing that rarely anyone visited anymore. The last time she had been in these halls was in second year, the last year classes were held there.
He was everywhere here though. His laughter was present as ghost of their younger selves past by her before fading into the light.
He was impossible to shake.
"Where is she?" Hestia asked the girls in a concerned whisper as she looked around the hall for the missing auburn-haired girl. "She was supposed to come back to the common room to change with us after the lake…"
Alice smacked her hand down on the table. "She can't miss the feast!"
"Well she can't," she told them a little softer after noting the two girls startled expressions. "It's one of her favourite meals of the year," she explained when they continued to stare at her.
Hestia sighed loudly again when she looked around to still find her nowhere in sight.
Marlene looked around, her eyes falling on a group of boys just a little ways down from them huddled together over some sort of parchment. "I bet those idiots would know where she is," she suggested, motioning to the boys.
"Considering one of them practically tracks her every movement, I'm sure they would," Alice rationalized, before they all got up from the table.
"Everything is in place right?" James questioned, eyeing each of his friend's down as he did. Each of the Marauders in turn nodded at him, indicating that everything was set.
"Ok, well now all we have to do is- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Sirius yelled seconds later, jumping off the bench in protest just as Marlene released his silky locks from her grip.
"Getting your attention," Marlene answered with a smirk, looking far too happy for the boys to feel comfortable with where this was headed. "Oh, quit whining," she groaned when the boy wouldn't stop complaining, shoving him back down on the bench.
"Now that we've settled that…" Hestia sighed.
"Where is she, Potter?" Alice demanded, starring down the raven-haired, be speckled boy who appeared to be shrinking in his seat.
James' eyes had grown wide, darting away from Alice's gaze and instead towards his utensils which suddenly looked like the most interesting things in the world.
"Since when do you call him, Potter, Alice?" Frank questioned her, coming up behind the group.
"Would you please just tell us where we could find her?" Hestia pleaded with the four other boys.
"She's not here," Sirius commented rather idiotically after quickly glancing around.
"Really?" Marlene gasped sarcastically, smacking the boy upside the head "Hadn't noticed!"
"We haven't seen her since the er uh event this afternoon," Remus cut in.
The girls looked between one another.
"What event?" Hestia asked to the general population.
The Marauders all looked elsewhere, whilst Frank gulped a little.
"You," Alice said, turning on her boyfriend, "You know something!"
His eyes flashed between the three girls. "You really didn't hear, did you?" he asked them. They all shook their heads. "Snape turned on Lily when she was standing up for him today. He called her a, well you know…"
"No," Hestia gasped, her hands coming directly to her face. "Why would he do that?"
Alice looked at the boys, immediately realizing what had happened. She placed a comforting hand on Hestia's shoulder. "I don't think it matters why he did, but that he did," she told the girls calmly.
"We have to find her," Marlene urged them, grabbing a hold of both their arms and charging out of the hall, "Now."
"Split up?" Hestia suggested once they reached the stairs.
"Each of us take a wing and meet back here in fifteen for the feast," Alice ordered, checking her watch. " Oh and Marlene," she added, just as the blonde was headed up the stairs, "Don't beat the story out of her if you find her!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the blonde grumbled before taking off.
She could hear footsteps from down the hall from her place on the floor behind the old professors desk. Lily slowly stood up, creeping quietly through the classroom.
"Lily?" she heard Hestia's calm voice ring out through the old deserted charms corridor.
Hestia poked her head into one of the classrooms to see it just as empty as the rest just as the fifteen-minute mark was coming to a close.
Lily peaked out from behind the wooden door, before stepping out into the hall. "Hestia?"
The brunette spun on her heel, sprinting down the hall toward her. Hestia ran straight into her, brushing through her hair as she hugged her tightly.
"What are you doing up here?" Lily asked, once they pulled apart.
"Looking for you obviously," Hestia said, straightening Lily's tie.
"Now, what are you doing?" she asked, when the brunette pulled out her wand.
"You can't go to the feast looking like a mess and smelling like well, the lake," Hestia told her, grinning.
Lily felt her clothes rumple for a second before she sniffed the collar of her shirt, smelling the fresh laundered scent. "I still am not as good at them as you are," Lily sighed, smiling.
Hestia grinned, looping her arm in Lily's before she started dragging the redhead back down the corridor.
"So why here?" Hestia questioned her, looking around the abandoned wing as they moved through it.
Lily shrugged, "It was secluded, and far away from everyone and everything I guess."
"And because this is where you and Severus used to come," Hestia added insightfully, giving her friend a small smile. "He's sorry you know," Hestia told her comfortingly.
"I don't think he is," Lily said softly, her voice wavering. "He calls everyone else like me a mudblood. It was just a matter of time before he reduced me to that status too…"
"Maybe," Hestia contemplated, "But he wasn't the person I was talking about…" she sighed, when they rounded the corner to the Great Hall and they both saw Alice and Marlene sitting back at the table just a few seats away from the Marauders.
Lily groaned outwardly. "Hestia!"
"I'm just saying!" the brunette laughed.
"Lily!" Alice and Marlene's voice rang out from behind them. The two girls turned around just in time for them to both be tackled in a group hug.
"Where have you been?" Alice badgered her. "Where did you find her?" she asked Hestia immediately afterwards.
"I was in the abandoned wing, I just wanted sometime to regroup before the feast," Lily explained softly, her swollen eyes meeting those of her friends. When no one said anything, Lily sighed again. "Let's just go into the feast all right, reckon it's about to begin," she suggested, trying to sound happy as she pushed past her friend, moving into the hall.
"Do you really think she's alright?" Alice whispered as they filed in behind Lily and the last few straggling students.
The three of them watched as Lily's head turned towards the Slytherin table, her eyes landing on Severus. She glared at the boy for a moment before walking on ahead and taking her seat.
The girls followed her lead, taking their own seats but it wasn't until then that they noticed the tears that were slowly but surely falling from her red, swollen eyes.
"Answer your question?" Marlene asked Alice harshly, gathering Lily in a hug.
"Well she looks terrible," Sirius noted, looking down the table at the girls. The comment earned a slap from the three other boys.
James couldn't take his eyes off of Lily's swollen eyes.
"I-I have to do something," he stuttered, talking more so to Remus than anyone else.
"Prongs, right now isn't the time," Remus said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "She just had a falling out with one of her best-friends and no matter how much you and Sirius don't understand their friendship, it meant something to her, and that is going to take sometime to get over."
"Besides, Prongs, I know this isn't what you want to hear but she is going to blame you for this for a while. Give her room to figure things out before you go doing anything stupid that will completely ruin your chances with her forever," Peter suggested insightfully.
"Yes, o wise ones," Sirius mocked, but James glared at him. He looked back to Lily, mulling over Remus' advice as he did. He really screwed up.
The landscape of the highlands quickly transitioned into the midlands as the Hogwarts Express barreled through the English countryside. In their compartment on the train, Lily, Marlene, Hestia and Alice stretched out across the seats and on the floor, taking turns talking and napping as the journey progressed.
"Lily," Hestia moaned, half asleep curled up on the floor, using her cloak as a pillow.
"No," she responded shortly, flipping over to face the padded side of the seat.
"Lil, he comes knocking every 5 minutes!" Marlene growled, but the pillow that her face was buried into muffled the harshness of her voice.
"Oh, not them," Alice moaned tiredly as she sat facing the compartment door, noticing their new disturbers.
Lily flipped over quickly and sat up, a little disoriented before her eyes took in the figures of Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black and James Potter outside their compartment door. James' eyes lit up a little when her eyes met his but her eyes just appeared more tired. She sat up, stretching her arms as Hestia scrambled up towards the door.
"Can we help you with something?" Marlene called out to them before Hestia had the chance to say anything.
"We just wanted to grace you with our presence before we are all tragically separated for the entire summer," Sirius announced, sauntering into their compartment and flopping back into the seat across from Lily.
The other boys followed his lead, invading their cabin.
"Er, come on in," Hestia greeted them awkwardly once they had already taken their seats. She grabbed a seat next to Remus who had settled in next to Lily. Peter had taken a place next to Alice on the floor and the other two boys had sandwiched Marlene on the other bench.
They all sat there awkwardly for a few minutes before Alice piped up. "So what are you all doing for the summer?"
"Staying at home with my mum," Peter shrugged.
"Going away to spend some time with family on the coast," Remus smiled.
"Really?" Lily asked, thoroughly interested, "Where about?"
"The Heritage Coast."
"We're going there this summer too!" Hestia squealed excitedly.
Remus arched his eyebrows at the girl. "We?"
"My family has a cottage there," Lily smiled, "Hestia comes with us when we go down every summer. We will have to meet up if you're down there when we are" Lily suggested, laughing, a sound, which made James smile as he watched her interact with his friend.
"You never said what you both were doing," Marlene reminded James and Sirius.
"Hanging around at James' house as per usual," Sirius grinned, high-fiving James as he did.
"How do your parents deal with having the both of you under one roof for an entire summer?" Marlene laughed.
"They are gone on missions a lot," James said truthfully, "But when they are home they just try to avoid whatever part of the house we're in," he chuckled.
"Mrs. Potter thinks that if she can't hear the damage we're causing that it isn't happening," Sirius exclaimed.
They all laughed at the thought just as the train was pulling into King's Cross Station.
The boys said their goodbyes to the girls before returning to their own compartment to grab their things.
"One more day, one more day," Marlene muttered to herself as she pulled her trunk down from the rack.
"What are you saying?" Lily chuckled after Marlene has been chanting her nonsense for over a minute.
"I just have to make it one day with my family before I get on a plane to Southern France for the entire summer," Marlene sighed blissfully as the girls moved down the corridor to one of the nearby exits.
"You're family is so nice, why do you want to get away from them that much?" Alice questioned.
"She's using them as an excuse, all she really cares about it getting it on with one of the French boys," Hestia announced. Marlene slapped her. "Well it's why you're so excited! It's all you've been talking about for weeks!"
Marlene grinned. "Don't you wish you were coming with me instead of Lils?"
"I take offense to that!" Lily half shrieked, half laughed.
"I love spending time with you, Lils," Hestia assured her.
"Good," Lily grinned, "You're going to be my saving grace since Petunia's new boyfriend is coming with us this time…"
"I think you may have failed to mention that…" Hestia commented, "But I'm happy to be of any help I can, plus the beach there is to die for anyways. It's totally worth it!"
"Glad to know what's really important to you, Hest," Lily teased. "I'm kidding!" she shrieked seconds later when Hestia hit her, "You're all so abusive today."
"That's not really anything new, Lils," Marlene told her truthfully as the girls, one by one, pulled their trunks off of the train and onto the Platform once again. "I'll see you in Diagon Alley at the end of summer, I promise," she told them all, gathering them up in a group hug before she darted off towards her parents.
"Write to me often!" Alice called to Hestia and Lily as Frank pulled her into the crowd towards their waiting families.
"What are the chances that our mums have already planned their outings for the entire summer already?" Hestia joked just as they came towards their parents.
"Not only have they planned them all, but they've planned them straight up until the annual trip to the Ballet at Christmas," Lily laughed.
"Lils!" Jonathan Evans exclaimed when Lily was finally in sight, breaking up the girls' conversation. He pushed himself off the wall, excusing himself from his prior conversation, striding towards her to envelope her in a giant hug.
Lily buried her head in his chest. "I missed you too, dad."
Mr. Evans took a step back, ruffling Lily's hair before he stepped turning to greet Hestia so his wife could have at their youngest daughter.
Lily breathed in the familiar scent of her mum's perfume as she hugged the older women tightly, having missed her greatly over the past few months.
"We've missed you so much, sweetheart," Claire Evans sighed, placing a kiss on her daughters cheek. "Next year you are coming home for the Easter holidays, none of this staying at school to study nonsense," she teased, grabbing a hold of Lily's book bag and swinging it on to her own back. "Ready to go?" she questioned Jonathan and Lily who nodded in response.
Lily turned to Hestia before they went their separate ways.
"I'll see you in two weeks when we come to pick you up," Lily reminded her as she squeezed her best friend tightly.
"I'll be waiting," Hestia grinned, picking up her trunk before both girls ran through the barrier together.
Hestia looked around, checking that Lily's parents were safely out of hearing range. "Is the wicked witch home now too?"
Lily laughed at the irony of the statement. "Yes," she half exclaimed, half grumbled, "She's still family... although I'm sure she'll be gone more often than not with that new boyfriend of hers…"
Hestia hugged her again. "Good luck, and try to keep your sanity until I can come and help you!" she yelled to Lily before she ran to catch-up with her parents.
"The car's out front," Jonathan told Lily as he put an arm around her shoulder and took her trunk from her hand.
Claire took the lead as their small family of three winded their way through the station.
Jonathan lowered his voice so only his daughter could hear. "You're going to need to share that luck with me that Hestia bestowed on you for the time being. The boyfriend is a whale," he whispered to her in a mock-serious tone, causing the auburn-haired witch to burst out in laughter.
Claire turned around to them just as they reached the car, having heard the whole thing. "He is not that bad, Jon. Don't put anything into her head before she meets the whale- I mean Vernon," she lectured him half-heartedly before she climbed into the passenger seat.
"Busted," Lily teased her father, who in turn stuck his tongue out at her after he closed the trunk of the car.
Her eyes lingered for a moment on the Station before she too climbed into the car. She looked out her window as her dad waited for an opening to pull out into the busy street. Her eyes focused on two dark haired boys following a grey-haired lady into a black SUV across the way. The woman was smiling at both of the boys widely as they passed the driver their trunks and then proceeded to climb into the car. The dark raven-haired boy climbed into the car last, his eyes catching her gaze just as he was about to shut the door. He nodded in her direction just as the driver climbed in his car at the same time her own car pulled out into the street.
"Is that her?"
James tore his eyes away from the car that drove her away down Euston Road.
"What?" he stuttered, turning to face his mum who was sitting on the seat across from him in the Ministry car as it pulled away from the curb to join the stream of heavy traffic outside of Kings Cross.
"The girl in the care that you were just watching," Emma Potter chuckled, "Is that her?"
"Did she have long auburn-hair and fair skin and a smile that just lights up?" Sirius questioned teasingly from beside him.
Emma laughed at the boy.
"That was Lily," James said fondly, but shook his head afterwards recalling the events that had taken place over the past few days.
Sirius continued to chuckle at his friend as he watched the traffic speed by.
"Where's Mr. P?"
Emma looked at the boys, taking notice of his change of conversation but decided to let it slide. "He's doing some extra work for the office," she told them, smiling slightly. "Not sure where in the world he is," she added, "But the minister wanted him back in the field with all the stuff that's been going on…"
She looked across at the two boys, whose demeanor had changed with her last statement. "But," she added, a brighter smile flashing across her face. "I got this today," she noted, holding up the official ministry letter that she had gripped in her left hand, "He will be home tonight."
James and Sirius both smiled at the news before they promptly fell asleep for the remainder of the ride homes. They awoke suddenly a few hours later when the car jerked as it rolled over the potholes that signaled the drive that led up towards the Potter's countryside home.
"Knew that would wake you," Emma teased, gathering up her bag and her papers, which she had spread out across the seat.
James stuck his tongue out at her before sliding out of the back seat, following Sirius to the back of the car to collect their trunks from the driver who gave both of them a curt nod before getting back in the car and driving back down the roadway.
The moment he set foot inside the foyer, he felt better than he had in days—he was finally home. Through the living room straight ahead he could just make out their Quidditch clearing through the open French doors. He and Sirius both turned to one another grinning, ready to throw open their trunks to grab their brooms and head off to play when his mother came back to the foyer.
"Your stuff isn't going to move itself," she told them as she strode through the foyer, winking at her sons.
"Yeah, yeah," they both grumbled, picking their stuff back up and strolling down the east corridor to the stairs.
James looked around the manor, with its sweeping staircase and granite floors; the tall ceilings and portraits that lined the walls. He remembered all the times that he would slide down the staircase railings when he was young and run straight into his mother's or father's arms when they came home from a mission. He laughed to himself, when they were finally upstairs, and he thought of all the shoe marks that he and Sirius had to clean over the past few summer's when they would come in from the Quidditch pitch tracking the mud all through the house.
The boys raced down the long hallway towards their rooms on the west-end of the house. James won the race naturally as his door came before Sirius', which was the very last room on the left. They quickly threw their trunks in front of their respective wardrobes before grabbing their brooms and racing back to the stairs, through the main floor and across the back lawn where they speedily mounted their brooms and took off.
All recognizable J.K. Rowling content is fully hers and I take no credit for it. *Has been rewritten, events that have/did occur in the original story will occur again but not as soon as they first did! :)