Petunia was at it again. Lily tried her best to stay in the living room, working on her homework for next term, but she couldn't focus because Tuney kept looking over and tutting disapprovingly. Every five seconds it seemed Petunia would let out another tut. Finally, Lily couldn't take it.

"I'm doing homework, Tuney." She said, exasperated. "I don't come distract you while you're working, do I?"

"There's nothing wrong with my work, though." Petunia said. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail so high and tight that Lily was surprised it wasn't cutting off circulation to her head. "I suppose you're writing an essay on something ridiculous like whether or not the Wicked Witch of the West was innocent?"

"Would that be any different than the paper you wrote on Hamlet last term?" Lily pointed out, lowering her quill. She was pleased to see her sister's face scrunch up as she thought of what Lily had said. "They're both fictional, right? It would only be an analysis."

"You know what I meant," Petunia spat, clearly unhappy that her insult had backfired.

Lily looked down at her half finished essay. "Besides, I'm writing an essay on why muggles need electricity. It's for my Muggle Studies class."

Petunia's eyes lit up dangerously and she leapt to her feet. "Mum!" She called loudly disappearing from the room. "Mum, Lily called me a muggle again!"

Lily jumped to her feet too, scrambling to follow her sister. "I did not!" She yelled, socked feet slipping on the hardwood floor of the hall.

Petunia was already in the kitchen, pointing an accusatory finger out the door. "She did so! I asked her what she was writing and she said a muggle like me wouldn't understand!" Petunia scrunched her face up even more to appear as if she were crying.

Lily rushed into the room, looking at her mother pleadingly. Mrs. Evans was a tall thin woman with graying red hair. She placed a hand on Petunia's shoulder and turned to Lily. "We've talked about this, Lily. It upsets your sister when you call her that."

"But I didn't." Lily insisted. "I only told her I was writing an essay for my Muggle Studies class."

Petunia loudly sniffed, drawing their mother's attention again. "You hear that, Mum? She studies us like we're the freaks."

"Oh, that is rubbish," Lily said defensively. "She's just milking it now. I didn't do anything."

"You always take her side!" Petunia whined.

"Because I'm usually right!" Lily said.

Mrs. Evans cleared her throat. "That's enough, both of you. It's the holidays, why can't you both just get along?"

Lily wanted to point out that the summer holidays were nearly over, but she held her tongue. Instead she said, "I was only trying to do my homework. Tuney kept interrupting me."

"I was in the living room first." Petunia argued. "Lily came in there to bother me."

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Enough!" Mrs. Evans cried, her hands flying to her temples. She always got terrible headaches when Lily came home from Hogwarts due to all of the yelling. "Lily, can't you work in your room? That seems the easiest solution, as we've only got the one telly in the house."

No, Lily wanted to say, I will not work in another room. But she stormed out of the kitchen without a word. She bypassed the living room all together and grabbed her sweater by the door.

Her mother followed her worriedly. "Lily, where are you going?"

"I don't know. Out." Lily shoved one of her dad's old work boots onto her foot and then the other.

"Dear, it's dangerous to go walking alone this late. I won't have it."

"It's a good thing I won't be walking then," Lily said, wrenching the door open. "I'll be aparating."

Mere seconds later Lily found herself outside the Leaky Cauldron in London. She'd only been to the place a few times, mostly when buying school supplies, but it always felt comforting to her. Having just finished her sixth year at Hogwarts and only just turning seventeen, she was finally old enough to go in and enjoy a drink.

The place was crowded, which was to be expected on a Thursday night. A few wizards sat at the bar and leered at her as she walked past them.

"Hey, doll," one of them slurred. "Fancy coming over here and keeping me and my mates company?"

One of his more sober looking companions hit him on the back of the head. "Leave her alone, Dudgeon."

Lily slipped away from the men, sliding up to the bar herself. Tom, the bartender, looked up at her expectantly. "What will it be, ma'am?"

"Firewhisky, please." She said without hesitation.

"One of those nights, I expect?"

Lily nodded wordlessly.

"Ogden's Old or Blishen's?" Tom asked.

"Whichever you prefer."

Tom brought out a bottle of Ogden's Old. She watched as Tom produced a shot glass and poured the amber liquid. She'd never actually tried Firewhiskey before, and she wondered if it would be as bad as the vodka she'd snuck from her parents Christmas party once.

Tom pushed the glass in front of her and walked away to attend to the drunken men. Lily eyed the shot warily, trying to prepare herself for the taste. Finally, with a thought of Petunia's whiney voice, she downed the thing. She felt fire racing through her veins, which was enough to distract her from the awful taste. Courage filled her as she hastily asked Tom for another shot.

"Careful there," a familiar voice called from across the tavern. "You might want to slow down. It takes a while for it to really hit you."

Lily twisted around on her stool, surprised to see James Potter sitting at a table in the corner. He had his chair reclined back and his feet propped up on the table, crossed at the ankles. There were two glasses in front of him – one empty and one half full. He was clearly well on his way to being drunk himself.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" She asked, grabbing her shot and making her way to his table.

"Oh of course the young bloke gets the girl," one of the drunks at the bar mumbled, only to be smacked again by his sober friend.

James lowered his feet, smiling as Lily took the chair next to him. "The same thing you're doing here, Evans. I'm getting roaring drunk."

"That's not the reason I'm here, it's more like a bonus." Lily downed her second shot, on fire once more. "Shouldn't you be out causing mischief with your friends?"

James shrugged, one of those lazy full body shrugs. He picked up his glass, swirling the liquid around. "I didn't feel like it tonight. Moony and Wormtail are both on vacation and Padfoot is at home tinkering with his motorbike."

"He's not really going to enchant it to fly, is he?" Lily asked. "Marlene McKinnon swears that's what he's doing, but that's illegal."

James shot her a look. "It's Sirius Black we're talking about, Evans; I doubt the word 'illegal' means anything to him at this point."

"True," she allowed. "Why aren't you with him?"

James downed the rest of his glass with one gulp, wincing slightly. "I hate this, you know." He said, shaking the glass at her. "It taste bloody awful and it's only a mixed drink. I can't fathom how you're stomaching those shots."

That surprised Lily. "James Potter can't do shots?"

He shook his head. "They're disgusting."

"But aren't mixed drinks just prolonging the pain? At least with a shot it's over quickly."

James shrugged again, and Lily realized he was trying to avoid answering her question. "My sister and I fought," She told him, waving Tom over for another shot.

They were both silent as Tom filled her up again and brought James another drink. It was only after he disappeared behind the bar again that James spoke.

"What did you and the famous Petunia Evans fight about this time?" James was always baffled by Lily's stories of her sister, unclear on how anyone could be so unpleasant.

"She claims I called her a muggle."

James raised an eyebrow, confused. "But…but she is a muggle."

Lily downed her shot. "I know, but she hates being called it. Which is fair. It makes her feel Other and I shouldn't do that to her. She's already left out because she's the one left behind. The problem is, I didn't call her a muggle. I referred to Muggle Studies. Then, of course, mum took her side. She over compensates so much to make sure Tuney doesn't feel like I'm the favorite."

"They kicked you out of your house?" James asked, incredulously. "Over this?"

"What? No, oh no. They didn't kick me out." Lily hastened to assure him. "I left in a huff. My temper got the best of me again."

It was a sign of James's maturity that he didn't make a redhead joke like he would've back in third year. "That's fair. Everyone needs to get away once in a while."

Including you, Lily thought. "Have you got your supplies list yet?"

James nodded. "It's weird, isn't it? It's the last Hogwarts letters we'll ever get."

"I didn't think of it like that," she said honestly.

James took a drink before saying, "Congratulations, by the way."

Lily's eyebrows knit together curiously. "On what?"

"Making Head Girl." James said as if it were obvious. "I imagine it was you Dumbledore appointed, right?"

"Oh, right." She hardly even thought about it. The badge had tumbled out of her letter and, though her parents were thrilled, Lily was neither surprised nor excited. "I haven't the foggiest who he made Head Boy, though."

James took another sip of his drink, avoiding her eyes.

Lily eyed him suspiciously, "You know, don't you, Potter?"

James took another large gulp of his drink still avoiding her eyes.

"Is it Remus?" She asked. Remus had been a prefect, that would've made sense.

James shook his head, again taking a drink.

Lily tried to run through every prefect she knew of. Finally she let out a tiny gasp and her eyes widened with horror. "It…it's not…please tell me it's not…"

James set his drink down, sputtering, "No, Lily, it's not Sniv – I mean him. It's me, alright? Dumbledore made me Head Boy."

Lily stared at him dumbly. "But you weren't a prefect." She said.

"Gee thanks," James deadpanned. "I wasn't aware of that already."

"I just meant that usually the Head Boy was a prefect."

"Dumbledore made a mistake, obviously." James said, reaching up to ruffle his already messy brown hair. "I thought it was a joke at first. I went barging into Sirius's room, demanding to know if he had tampered with my letter. When he was surprised too, I knew it was real."

"Dumbledore doesn't make mistakes," Lily told him. "If he made you prefect then he had a damn good reason for it."

"That," James said, pointing at her, "is the Firewhisky talking."

She shook her head, "Is not." But it kind of was. "You've grown so much in the past year, James. I barely recognized you as the pain in the arse git you used to be."

James let out a humorless laugh, "Losing your father will do that to you. It makes you grow up real quick."

She had forgotten about that. "I'm sorry, James." She reached out, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, you're right. I did grow in the past year. I realized that I wanted to be someone my father would be proud to call his son. Not to mention I'm pretty sure Padfoot's little prank on Snivellus scared a few years off my life."

Lily waved Tom over again for another shot. "I'm glad," she told James once tom had walked away. "Not about you father, of course, but about you growing up. You're a much better person to be around now."

"At least professors actually believe me now when I tell them that someone else started it first." He admitted.

Lily could feel the fire buzzing through her body now, every nerve buring with excitement. She grabbed James hand then, pulling him up. "Let's go from a walk," she said.

"A walk?"

She nodded, "Down Diagon Ally."

James smirked down at her and her heart fluttered. That's gotta be the Firewhisky. "Alright, Evans, let's go."

They both paid, leaving hefty tips for Tom and headed towards the back. James tapped his wand on the bricks, and then there they were in Diagon Ally.

"This place is so different at night." Lily said, looking around.

"I expect people are starting to get too scared to come out. Did you hear about the attacks near Hogsmede last weekend?" James looked angry, shaking his head disgustedly. "If they're brazen enough to attack close to Hogwarts, then they'll attack anywhere. Nowhere is safe anymore."

"It's horrid," Lily agreed. Her Firewhisky fog kept her from feeling the full extent of her dread. The upcoming war loomed heavy over everyone at Hogwarts. She could still pretend to ignore it in the muggle world, but soon it would be impossible there too. "I thought about warning my mum, but she wouldn't let me go back to school if I did. As if hiding will save us."

"Are you going to fight?" James asked. "After school, I mean. Because I've been giving it serious thought and there's nothing else I can picture myself doing."

"Most likely." Lily told him. They were passing Ollivander's now. Lily had no idea when she first got her wand that there were people out there killing to take it away from her. "I mean, it's my war, isn't it? It's my fault this is happening and people are dying."

"Lily, you know that's not true-"

"Not my fault exactly, of course. But it's because of my blood and people like me. If it wasn't for us Mudbloods then Voldemort wouldn't have a platform to stand on."

"Don't call yourself that." James said, sounding pained.

"Why not? It's true. I've got dirty blood, no matter which way you look at it." Lily was on a roll now. "I'm tainted by muggle blood, so the wizards hate me. I'm tainted by wizard blood, so the muggles hate me. Ergo, I am a Mudblood."

James stopped walking, turning to grab her by her shoulders. His hazel eyes bore down at her pleadingly. "There's nothing wrong with your blood, Lily."

Her pulse quickened at the contact, something else she blamed on the fire in her veins. "James-"

"No, listen to me. There is nothing wrong with you. You're perfect, alright? You are stunning and brilliant and you can hex the best of them. I've never seen a wizard who could brew a potion like you do. You are an outstanding witch, Lily, and you know it's true."

Lily looked up at him, her eyes traveling from his to his twitching jaw to his mouth, set determinedly. James clearly believed what he said. "James," she said again, rising up on her tiptoes. She wrapped her arms around his neck, shocking them both James almost stumbled back from the surprise. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her as well.

The Firewhisky was making her a little unsteady, and she clinged to him even more. "You're going to be an amazing Head Boy," she whispered into his shoulder, "And I am thrilled to have you standing next to me."

James let out a laugh. "Why thank you, Evans." He said into her hair.

Lily liked this, this closeness. She wanted to hold on and never let go. She felt so safe in James's arms. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest, matching her own frantic pulse.

"Um, Evans?" James said after another moment. "Not that I'm not enjoying this, but-"

"Oh!" Lily exclaimed, letting go of him. She at least had the decency to feel embarrassed. She had been clinging to James Potter in the middle of Diagon Ally! "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, Lily, it's alright. It's alright." He said in a tone that made it clear that he liked it too. "I just thought we might want to move out of the middle of the street, is all."

Lily was blushing from the root of her hair all the way down to her boot clad feet as they shuffled over to the tables outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. "I don't know what came over me," she explained.

"Whatever it was, I hope it happens again." James said cockily. He was grinning at her in a way that made her insides squirm.

"It's probably just the Firewhisky." She told him, thought the effects were ebbing away now.

"Oh, most likely." James agreed, sarcastically.

She pushed him playfully, blushing again. "Shut it, Potter."

James held up his hands in surrender, "Alright. It's whatever you say it is, Evans." He looked around again before checking his watch. "It's pretty late, actually. I should be getting home before mum starts to think I've been attacked."

Lily checked her watch too. "Oh, you're right! I didn't even tell my mum where I was going."

"Lily," James began, looking down at her.

"Yes, James?"

James actually looked nervous as he stared down at her, his hand subconsciously reaching up to ruffle his hair. "Do you want to meet up tomorrow, in the daylight, when we're both sober, and go shopping for school supplies?"

Lily grinned back up at him. "I'd like that."

A few minutes later she aparated back on her street in Cokeworth and happily bounded up the drive and through the front door to her house. Petunia was still in the living room, breaking out into a vicious grin as soon as she spotted her younger sister. "You are in so much trouble." She gloated. "Both mum and dad are pissed that you ran off. Maybe they'll kick you out for good now."

Lily ignored what Petunia said, the last of the Firewhisky still running through her as she flounced into the living room and scooped her older sister into a hug. "Oh Tuney," she said breathlessly, "I've just had the best night, and it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been so horrid to me."

"What are you talking about? Get your hands off of me you freak."

Lily released her sister, ignoring her whining as she flounced up the stairs into her room. It wasn't until half an hour later as she lay in her bed, staring up at the ceiling that she finally sobered up completely and realization dawned.

"Oh Merlin," she said worriedly, her heart pounding. "I have a date with James Potter."