Disclaimer: I own it. Of course I do. My other personality is J.K. Rowling. You believe me, right?

I usually do an author's note at the end of the chapter, but I feel that this makes more sense here. I would like to dedicate this chapter to my Grandma, who recently passed away. She never put a damper on my dubious creativity, and she was as prone to random outbursts of song as I am. In memory of her, I would like to give her this chapter, simply for being her, and being gone – I never missed her while she was there.

Chapter 8: Growing Up


Lily woke up, rolled over, and fell out of bed.

'Careful!' called her father from the next room.

'Really useful now,' she muttered, rubbing her bottom as she got up. 'Are you just leaving?'

He peeked round her bedroom door. 'Just now. Do I get a kiss-hug from my big girl?'

Lily put her hands on her hips and frowned. 'I thought I was your little girl. Petunia was always your big girl.'

Her father smiled ruefully. 'Yes, well, Petunia has gone off, and you've got quite big yourself now.'

Lily smiled back at him, walked across to the doorway, flung her arms around him, and kissed him.

'Have a good day, Daddy. Work hard.'

He smiled. 'You bossy wotsit.'

She laughed. 'Now, get out of my room and go off to work. Go on, shoo.'

He shook his head in amusement, but left the room. Lily smiled as he shut the door behind himself, and heard him go downstairs; heard Janie's replying miaow to her father's cooing, her mother's goodbye, and the front door close.

'Let's see. What have I got today?'

Lily walked over to her desk and picked up a memo. One Muggleborn girl in Settle, Yorkshire. Probably wouldn't be up yet, she thought, but it never hurts to be ready. She was just taking her pyjama top off when James Apparated into the room with a soft pop.

'James!' she shrieked, tugging her top down hastily, and sitting down on the bed. 'I've told you about Apparating into my room first thing in the morning. I was changing! Go somewhere else!'

James didn't leave, but rolled his eyes. 'How old are you, Lily Flower?'

Lily frowned. 'I'm eighteen. What's your point?'

He didn't answer. 'What's that on your finger?'

She looked down at her hands. 'What? Oh, my engagement ring.' She twirled it around her finger. 'Why?'

'So we're eighteen and engaged, but you still get annoyed when I come into your bedroom when you're changing.' He shot her a look.

She stopped twirling her ring. 'Shouldn't you be at Auror training?'

He waved a hand dismissively. 'I have the morning off.' He moved to sit next to her on the bed. She shuffled away as he sat down.

'Really, Lily, what's the problem?'

She sighed, and turned away from him, so she wouldn't have to see his face as she said it. 'I… I… I don't want you to see me… in a state of undress.'

He laughed. 'Why not?'

She looked upset, and started biting her lip nervously.

'If you do, it might lead to… Hanky Panky.'

He laughed again. 'Hanky Panky? What do you mean by Hanky Panky?'

'I mean Hanky Panky, James,' she said, possibly more sharply than was strictly necessary. 'What more explanation do you need?'

He rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'Oh, fine. But what's wrong with a little Hanky Panky?'

Lily sighed again, and turned to face him. 'We're going to be married, James. Can't you wait?'

James sighed in understanding. 'So this is what this is all about, then, eh?'

Lily nodded, and felt horribly guilty at the look on his face.

'It's not because I don't love you, James, I love you very much. It's nothing like that. It's just… I don't want to before I'm married. I know that might not be very fair, but I just… '

He stood up, turning away from her so that she couldn't see his face, ad Lily felt the bed spring up beneath her. When he turned back, he had a too-bright smile plastered on.

'All right then. You get changed and I'll go and talk to your mother. I think I hear Ben barking.'


Lily sighed as he left the room to go and play with her family dog. She felt dreadful. Everything that Caroline had said about her, for want of a better word, prudery, was true. James did feel neglected, and she was eighteen – she was supposed to be an adult, but the idea of S.E.X. still made her blush like an eleven-year-old. She felt stupid, being embarrassed. There had to be something she could do about it, but she couldn't for the life of her think what!

Suddenly, the image of Suzie tossing a braid over her shoulder and laughing at Lily's shocked look came to her. If anyone knew what to do, it would be Suzie.

She pulled her pyjamas off and got dressed like she used to when her friends changed the time on her alarm clock, thought of Suzie's house, twirled, and Apparated to the front gate. She drew in a sharp breath – October was cold this far north! She walked swiftly up the path and rang the doorbell. After a moment, Claire Gibson opened the door, a look of faint surprise on her face, and she smiled at Lily.

'Come in, it's cold out there. I'm not sure Suzie and Peter are up, but feel free to go and check.'

Lily smiled, and made her way up to Suzie's room, where, no matter what Suzie's mother's sleeping arrangements might be, no matter how many floors apart she had planned, she knew Peter would be. She reached the door, and paused before knocking. Peter in Suzie's room seemed completely oxymoronic to Lily. The door was white, and on it there was a small china plaque, proclaiming the simple word 'Suzie' in fancy writing, with flowers intertwining the letters. Inside, she knew the layout. The whole room was a fairytale pink-and-white combination – a soft pink, deep-pile carpet, white walls, pink curtains with unnecessary lace over-curtains covering the two bay windows, a white dressing table and mirror with a matching chair, and a four-poster bed, where Lily knew Peter would be.

She knocked on the door, making sure that she made as much noise as possible. There was a sleepy, stumbling scrambling inside, and Suzie opened the door in a fluffy white dressing-gown which she was still fastening, her long blonde hair hanging down loose, making her look strangely ethereal and angelic.

'Oh, Lily, it's you! Come in, come in. Peter, it's just Lily.'

Lily walked into the room, and was mildly satisfied to see that her prediction had been correct – the room was still the same as ever, and Peter was in the four-poster bed, wearing a dressing-gown, just like Suzie's, except that his was blue, and he was reading a book.

'Lily!' he said brightly. 'Lovely to see you. How are you and James?'

Lily winced briefly. 'We're fine…' she trailed off, feeling stupid to ask how they were – if it was their relationship she was asking about, there was simply no need.

'Suzie, I need to talk to you a minute.' She dragged Suzie into her en-suite bathroom, and then stopped for a moment to collect her thoughts before speaking.

'Suzie. James came round this morning, and I was just getting my pyjama top off. I pulled it down, and…' Lily related the story of that morning, ending with, 'So now he feels all rejected and upset!' How can I persuade him that I still love him, even if I don't want to sleep with him?'

Suzie looked thoughtful for a moment, but no longer than that. 'It's simple. You just… act affectionate around him, hug him, be more… touchy-feely, you know. Just act like you want to be around him. Act like you want to do stuff with him, even if it's not actual sex.'

Lily nodded, feeling supremely odd getting love-life tips from Suzie, who, she had always felt, no matter what was technically true, was like her little sister.

'But… like what, Suzie? I mean… Ugh, now I feel so stupid. What can I do?'

Suzie looked sympathetically at her friend, and Lily suddenly realised that Suzie was a whole four months older than her, and, despite her braids, nine months older than Caroline.

'Suzie?'

Suzie sighed, and smiled. 'Just… be more, I dunno, lovey-dovey. Tactile. The key is really physical affection. If you give him more, you'll be surprised how little he wants. Let him in a little more in your life. Let him put his arm around you, let him kiss you. Let him… touch more of you.'

Lily could almost feel herself start to blush, and swore to herself she wouldn't. She managed to stop herself from grinning as she felt the blush miraculously recede.

'Thanks, Suzie. Thanks, that's really helpful.' She hugged her friend tightly. 'What would I do without you?'

Suzie giggled. 'Oh, I don't know. You'd probably blush a lot more and be left with the mistaken impression that braids and sex are mutually exclusive.'

Lily let go of her and grinned. They left the bathroom, and Lily turned to Peter again.

'It was nice to speak to you, Peter. I haven't seen you in a while.'

He nodded thoughtfully. 'Never mind. Are you free on November the actual eighteenth, for Suzie's birthday?'

Lily nodded enthusiastically. 'I'm sure we are. If we're not, we will be. I wouldn't miss it for the world.'

Peter grinned. 'Be there, or be square.'

Lily and Suzie laughed.

'We'll be there, don't worry,' said Lily, as she watched her friends kiss. 'I'd better go now, but it was nice seeing you both.'

She Apparated back to her bedroom, and turned her thoughts to the order of the day, the first item on her list being breakfast.


Well, we have GCSE mocks really soon, so we probably won't be able to update for a while. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

And, for last chapter, I would like to take this opportunity to say that it was all completely a joint effort and I did practically none of the basic writing, so it was all down to my fellow-collaborators, Lamia and Hepsa.

Review replies:

Beatles.and.HP.obsesser – No, I've never seen that show. What's it about? I'm glad you liked the chapter – I wasn't sure about it in and of myself, and it was really Hepsa and Lamia who wrote it (Great writing, by the way, guys), but if you liked it, then I'm glad. Thanks!

Hepsa also would like to know, from one Beatles obsessor to another, what your favourite Beatles song is.

moony07 – Well, yeah, Peter was the first. And Suzie. I feel your pain with the towels. That is really terrible. Might I suggest a counsellor? Mine is really very good, if you want, I'll give you her number.

Prongs76 – I'm glad you liked the chapter. I was quite proud of the basic idea (though I can't take much credit for the actual words that graced your computer screen), but I was kind of worried about the actual response it would get. I'm glad you liked it though.

Don't worry about homecoming. I'd go, if I were you. A chance to be with your friends and the like. I like wearing dresses, no matter how awful they are, so I might be a little bit biased, though I'm sure it'll look fine.

Review topic: Mock Exams. They test us within an inch of our sad, sorry little lives anyway, and so they decide to train us up for the real thing about seven months in advance. When we haven't actually covered the whole syllabus.

Larka :)