Chapter Two:

The next morning, Lily awoke to a pair of brown eyes staring down at her. She yelped and lashed out with her hand, but he was already gone.

"James!" She screamed, snatching back her covers and racing after him. She could hear his derisive laughter echoing from downstairs. She took each step three at a time and found him sitting at the kitchen table, muffling his snickers with his hand. Their mother stood at the stove, fixing a large breakfast with one hand, and doing dishes with the other, either ignoring the typical morning quarrel, or honestly oblivious to what was going on.

Albus looked nervously between the two of them. "Guys, cut it out. Don't you think fighting will get you in more trouble?"

Lily curled her lip in disgust and sat down beside her other brother, keeping a close eye on James. "Good morning everyone,"

"Morning father," James and Lily said in unison, and then glared at each other.

Albus scratched his head and mumbled a half-hearted greeting. Mr. Potter looked at his youngest son with sympathy. He was caught in a feud between his siblings, and probably being forced to take sides. Being the middle child obviously wasn't easy.

"Morning, Harry. Are you hungry?"

Harry smiled at his wife and kissed her quickly. "Starving. But I'll have to eat quickly. I have a meeting with the Minister of Magic in an hour."

"Oh yes, I almost forgot about that! Well, here you are dear. Kids, help yourselves to everything. I'll be right back."

She ruffled her husband's hair as she left and disappeared up the stairs. James stood up and did just as his mother had said and helped himself to everything she had prepared. Lily stood up and walked over to where he stood by the stove, piling his plate high with food she knew he could finish, but shouldn't.

"Um, Albus and I have to eat too, you know."

"Oh, I know. This plate is for me and Albus. We're going to eat in my room."

Lily watched as James pulled Albus from the table and dragged him away. She turned back to glance at the stove, seeing a small portion of eggs, a half piece of bacon, and a piece of toast with a bite taken out of it. She grimaced and made her way back to her room.

"You're not going to eat?" Harry asked his daughter inquisitively.

"No, I'm not hungry anymore. I think I'm just going to get ready."

Once she was out of sight, she ran up the stairs and into her room. She yanked clothes out of her drawers and shoved them into her suitcase.

"He does it all on purpose. Why can't he just stop being such a… such a…." Lily bit her lip in frustration. "Never mind. Once we get back to Hogwarts, things will get better. I'm sure of it."

Once she had finished packing and dressing herself, she sat down on the edge of her bed, and placed her head in her hands. Why hadn't she just ignored James? This last fight got them both into a lot of trouble, but it could have been worse. Lily could have been expelled. She couldn't even imagine how she would cope without Hogwarts. It had become a second home to her, and her friends and teachers had become her second family. Lily sighed heavily and fell back onto her bed, staring up at the speckled ceiling. Two months of detention with James... She thought miserably. Oh that's a lovely idea. They may has well have just given us detention until we graduated. James would have been happy with that. He graduates in a few months.

"Lily?"

Her eyes snapped to her door, and saw a hesitant Albus standing in her doorway. She sat up and folded her hands in her lap. Albus had done nothing wrong, so he didn't deserve to be given the cold shoulder.

"Yes, Al?"

"I'm sorry for what James did this morning. I told him I wasn't hungry, so I saved my portion for you if you want it." Albus walked into the room and handed his plate to Lily. "It's probably a little cold, but you could probably heat it up if you wanted to." She frowned and handed it back.

"No, Albus, I won't take that. I can always eat on the train or at school or something. It was yours in the first place, fair and square." Lily smiled and he smiled back and nodded. Then he scratched the back of his neck and looked down at his food.

"Lily..."

"What?"

"Why can't you and James get along? It kinda hurts to take sides."

"Oh..." Lily felt awkward now. She had never really taken into consideration how much Albus really would be involved in her feud with James. Or anyone else, really. It had always been just her and James. Their fight. No one else's.

"I don't know. But we're too different."

"James and I are different. You and I are different... but we don't fight."

Lily sighed. "It's complicated Albus, and I'm sorry I can't better explain."

He shrugged and began to leave. "Oh, well... it's okay. I'll just keep saying you're both right, until one of you is wrong."