"Lily! Phone!" Rose Evans called up the stairs.

Awakened by her mother's raised voice, Lily groaned before turning over in her bed and snuggling closer to her blanket and pillow.

"Darling, it's Dorcas! You remember her. Close friend of yours from school?" Rose yelled, in hopes to coax her daughter out of bed and into the new day.

"Tell her I'm sleeping!" Rose heard as a reply.

"Dorcas? Lily would like me to tell you that she is still asleep." Rose paused and silently listened to Dorcas' sarcastic reply. "One moment." Turning to face the stairs once more Mrs Evans replayed Dorcas' message word for word. "Lily?! Dorcas said that she is amazed that you are able to speak while being asleep and was wondering if you could teach her this useful technique.

Lily smiled softly into her pillow and was about to shout her reply when she heard her mother continue speaking. "Oh and to say; 'Get your lazy ass out of bed and talk to me woman!' Her wording, not mine."

Rose waited patiently before she heard the sound of heavy footsteps trudging down the stairs. "She's coming now. Ok, dear. Have a nice summer. And a very nice job by the way. Mhmm. Alright, bye."

Turning around Rose watched Lily sway slightly as she looked at her mother blankly. She smiled warmly at her daughter and offered her the phone. "Morning, sweetie." Getting a nod in reply Rose went to kiss Lily on the forehead before leaving for the lounge room.

"Good morning sunshine!" Lily heard as she lifted the phone to her ear.

"Dorcas, you better not have woken me up and dragged me out of bed just to say good morning." Lily murmured, frustration and warning wrapped around every word.

"No, no. There's a reason for this phone call."

Lily waited for Dorcas to explain but she heard no sound come from the other side of the phone. "Want to fill me in?"

Dorcas laughed. "Just making sure I have your attention. Ok, the thing is my parents are going away on a 'business trip', as they put it, and I am going to be so lonely all on my own."

Lily couldn't help the smirk that pulled at her lips as she could only imagine the pout Dorcas had on her face just then. "What about your brother?"

"He's moving in with his friends for the summer then moving back just in time to wish me well for seventh year." Dorcas recited. "So what do you say Lils? Stay with me for the summer?"

"Hmmm, I don't know….without that hunky brother of yours around…." Lily smirked.

"Ok, Lily….ew." Dorcas said while wrinkling her nose in disgust.

Laughing, Lily asked. "When should I start packing?"

"Yes!" Dorcas yelled. "A.S.A.P. I'll pick you up tonight, say around seven-ish?"

"Sure. Is there any-"

"Dor! Where the hell is my effing board?!" Lily heard on the other side of the phone.

Dorcas sighed heavily. "Gotta run Lils. See ya at seven, bring bathers and-"

"DORCAS!" Dorcas whimpered, quickly said, "Bye Lil." and hung up before Lily had a chance to say goodbye.

Shaking her head in exasperation, Lily placed the phone back in its place before walking to the living room to tell parents of her summer plans.

"So would it be ok if I went?" She looked at her parents with pleading eyes.

"Oh let her go. There will be less chance of that freak scaring my Verny away." Petunia sniffed as she entered the room, her arms crossed over her chest.

Lily turned to her sister with a cool air. "Maybe it's those saber teeth of yours that scare him away."

"What are you on about? I don't have saber teeth." Petunia said, looking down her nose at Lily.

"Want some?" Lily said, grinning wickedly.

"Stop it you two." Daniel said from his chair. He sighed heavily and massaged the bridge of his nose. Daniel never understood why his daughters always bickered, was it written in the law of siblings? Was he ever this bad with his brother? He smirked as a voice in his head answered the rhetorical question; But of course. He could only hope that when they grew up his daughters would become as close as he had with his brother.

"Lily, you've barely been here a week and already you want to leave again?" Lily's father stated disbelievingly.

Lily rolled her eyes at her sister as Petunia stuck her tongue out at her. "I think we all know why I want to leave so much." She muttered under her breath.

Apparently she didn't say it soft enough as her mother gave her a warning look. "What was that?"

Lily bit her lip when she realized her mistake. "Nothing. I know that I haven't been here very long but I may lose touch with Dorcas after school-"At this her father snorted in an attempt to hold back laughter. "-as friends do." Lily continued with emphasis. "And it's not like I won't come to visit. I will." She added to wipe of her father's sceptical look.

"Once a week at least." Rose began to negotiate.

"Sunday lunches?" Lily bargained, knowing it would be a lost cause to try and lessen the amount.

Rose opened her mouth to haggle with her daughter some more but Daniel beat her to it. "Deal." He said confidently and sent Lily a wink.

Lily smiling and began jumping around like mad.

Rose, who had frowned at her husband turned to find her daughter jumping for joy and her frown melted into a soft smile.

"I better start packing. Dorcas is coming around seven." And with that said Lily raced up to her room to do just as she had said.

Petunia, mouth wide and eyes bulging, turned from the door that Lily had just exited to glare at her father. "You let her go off to hang out with her freaky friends," she spat, "but you won't let me stay at Vernon's? This is so unfair!" She screeched and stormed up to her room. There was another frustrated scream before a door slammed shut.

Daniel sighed and slouched in his chair. "I should probably go talk to her." He said, and braced himself on the arms of the chair to get up just as a weight sat on his lap. He looked up and gazed into his wife's eyes.

"Let her cool off first." She advised. "We can't afford to buy her another lamp. Remember what happened last time?" Rose said, her eyes holding humour.

Daniel feigned a child-like huff. "You're teasing me."

Rose laughed. "What else are you good for, dear?"

Daniel wrapped his arms around his wife's waist and pulled her tight against him. "Quite a few things, as it happens." He whispered.

"Is that so?" She asked bravely.

"Absolutely" He neared her face, and she shut her eyes. Then instead of feeling the weight of her husband's lips on hers, she felt herself rise and be spun around after a kiss was placed on her cheek. By the time she opened her eyes her husband had left the room.

"I think I'll give Lily a hand with her packing." Rose heard him say, and the soft footfalls reached the stairs.

"Daniel Evans, you tease!" She exclaimed.

He merely laughed and continued his way up the stairs.