thank you all for the reviews :) they have helped me a lot :) here is the second chapter. Lily is going to do the disclaimer today...
Lily: yeah, snatch doesnt own any of us, espec not Snape (but i'm sure she'd love to)
Lily woke up suddenly, sweating. She had just had a horrible dream. She had been running though a forest, being chased by Severus, who was calling her name. Slowly he had gained on her, and there looked like no escape. Then from the corner of her eye Lily had spotted someone, waving and shouting at her. She had turned and ran towards the figure, which she recognised as James Potter. She had run straight into to him, and they had embraced, but when she had looked up, she was not looking into his hazel eyes, but the cold black eyes of Severus Snape...
Lily shook herself. It had just been a dream, she told herself. Nothing more. It had been more than a year since she and Severus had ending their friendship, and even though she no longer thought about him much during the day, she still often had nightmares about him. .
Yawning, Lily got out of bed and made her way down to the kitchen. No-one was there; her parents were still asleep and Petunia presumably had spent the night at her voluminous boyfriends place. However there was a soft tapping at the window and Lily could see her owl, Speckles, pecking at the glass with his beak. She let the owl in, who hooted softly and landed on the back of the lounge. He had a letter tied to his leg, and once Lily had removed it, he flew over to his perch, obviously very pleased with himself.
Lily was surprised the letter had come so quickly, she had only written to her friend and fellow prefect Remus Lupin yesterday. However, when she unfolded the letter, it was not written in Remus's neat, ordered handwriting, but in loopy, uneven handwriting that she immediately recognised as James Potters. Slightly annoyed, she began reading.
Dear Lily
How are you? Remus is sick and we're staying at his house, so that's why I'm writing this letter and not him. However he wants me to tell you that he's fine, and not to worry too much about him.
What have you been up to these holidays? Finished that essay for charms yet?
Not much is happening at the moment. Mrs. Lupin is currently out, so we have the house to ourselves. Sirius has been acting a bit strangely lately, but I think he might just be bored.
Since school starts in 3 weeks, we were thinking we better be getting our school books and stuff. Would you like to meet us in Diagon Alley on the 20th of August? We were thinking about getting all our stuff then and just staying at the Leaky Cauldron until the 1st. We'd all love to see you, but if you can't make it, that's fine. Just send an owl telling us your plans.
Hope to see you soon
James
Lily reread the letter, hardly believing her eyes. Here was an entire letter from James Potter, and not once had he been boastful, big-headed, arrogant or rude. What's more, he had not asked her out or attempted to court her in any way. It was just written like one friend to another, and Lily realised how much James had matured over the last two years.
Lily hurried upstairs to get some fresh parchment and ink. Going back to the kitchen she sat down, quill in hand. However she didn't know what to write back. 'Dear James.' No, that sounded too soppy already. 'To James.' No, that didn't sound right either...
Half an hour later, Lily sat back and admired her finished letter, happy with the end product.
Dear James, Sirius, Remus and Peter (if you're there)
Thank you for the letter. It was nice to hear from you guys.
I haven't got my books and stuff either, so yes, I'd love to meet up in Diagon Alley on the 20th. Staying at the Leaky Cauldron till school starts again sounds good too; my sister brings her new boyfriend home all the time and I don't think I can put up with him until September. Remus; how are you? Hope the others aren't being more a hindrance than a help, and I hope you get better soon.
Not much is happening here at the moment. My holidays have been pretty boring – lots of homework and revision.
On a more serious note, how are you guys going protection and defence against You-Know-Who? I've added some protection and concealment charms around our house, just in case. I've also told my parents to be extra careful when going out. They're really awesome: they take all this business really seriously and they've been really careful.
Anyway, thank you very much for the offer, I'd love to come.
See you then, much love
Lily
Lily enveloped and sealed the letter, then called Speckles over to her.
'I want you to deliver this to Remus, but you can give it to James or Sirius if they're there too.' she said to the owl as she carried him to the window. Speckles nibbled her ear affectionately, and then took off into the sky.
Lily watched him for a moment, then went back to the kitchen and made herself some toast and a cup of her favourite Turkish Delight flavoured tea.
'9 days.' She said to herself. '9 more days.'
