Chapter 9
"Mom, he's going to be here soon, tell Lily to get dressed!" Petunia screamed from her room.
"I am, I am, maybe if you'd gotten out of the bathroom quicker, I would've been out earlier!" I screamed from my room.
"Girls, be quiet and just get ready. Vernon and James are supposed come in 5 minutes!" My mother screamed back, most likely exhausted from the bickering. I left my room, wearing my favorite jeans and green top that matched my eyes. I did my makeup, which was only a little bit of eyeliner, and straightened my hair.
"I'm ready!" I sang as I skipped downstairs.
"So am I. And please, be more mature, Lily." Petunia huffed as she came downstairs all rigid and what was supposed to be an "elegant and mature manner".
"Tuney, you need to loosen up." I told her as we walked into the kitchen.
"Don't. Call. Me. Tuney. I am eighteen! You gave me that nickname when I was ten!" She screeched.
"Yeah. Then there was actually some peace in the house!" My dad said from the corner of the room. He was sipping his tea and reading the newspaper, as usual.
"DAD!" Petunia and I screeched together. "YOU NEED TO GET READY! THEY'LL BE HERE SOON!" We said, dragging him up and pushing him up the stairs.
"Okay, okay, I'm going!" As soon as he was out of sight, Petunia rounded up on me.
"When your freak friend gets here, I don't want any talk of that nonsense. Vernon doesn't know about it, and I intend to keep it that way, okay?" Petunia warned me.
"Yeah, yeah. There's a Secrecy Act, you know." I told her with a dismissive wave of my hand.
"And say normal things. Don't say things like 'Marlin' or 'Hippopotamus'."
"You mean Merlin and Hippogriff." I corrected as I turned on the telly.
"Whatever." Petunia said as she sat down on the couch.
"There have been mysterious disappearances across the country and equally mysterious murders. There is no sign of how these people were killed, no blood, and no other evidence. The best detectives in the country are baffled." The reporter said solemnly.
"This is your lot, isn't it?" Petunia sneered. I was surprised; I didn't think she'd piece that together so quickly.
"Yeah." This was definitely Death Eater's work. The people who were killed were probably muggles or Muggleborns. I had to remember to warn mum and dad about this, and tell them not to roam around during the night. Even during the day it was quite risky, but we can't live a life of paranoia, can we? A knock came at the door.
"He's here! Mum, Dad, get down here!" Petunia screeched, heading towards the door. Mum and Dad came downstairs. Petunia opened the front door and suddenly her posture changed and her voice did, too.
"Come in, Vernon." She said in an oddly aristocratic voice. I raised an eyebrow. This was definitely going to get interesting.
"Vernon, nice to see you again." My mother said politely. Take that Petunia! When mum saw James last, she attacked him with a hug!
James: 1, Vernon: 0
"And you, Mrs. Evans. Good Day, Mr. Evans." He said, loosely shaking my father's hand. My father's straight face faltered. He always said that you can tell a lot about a man's character by the way he shakes hands. Another knock came at the door.
"I'll get that." I said, stepping past everyone. I opened the door, and it was James, of course. "Did you get taller? Already?" I asked incredulously. That boy grew two inches in a week! He just nodded and smiled and pulled me into a quick hug.
"Mrs. Evans, good to see you!" He said, hugging my mum. She hugged him backed and, embarrassingly, blushed.
"And you, James."
"Mr. Evans, how are you?" He said, shaking my father's hand, and to my relief, firmly. My father smiled wide.
James: 2, Vernon: 0
"Hello, Petunia." He said quickly, and then he turned to Vernon. He stood in front of him. They looked at each other as if sizing each other up. Only then did I take notice of what they were wearing.
James was wearing ordinary muggle clothing-jeans and a t-shirt. Vernon, however, was a bit more dressed up, like the rest of us. He was wearing a dress shirt and jeans.
James: 2, Vernon: 1.
Oh well, James was still in the lead.
"Hello, you must be Vernon." James said, politely, holding out his hand. Vernon just looked at it in disgust, as though he just stuck it in the garbage.
"Well, Petunia, Lily, why don't we go into the kitchen so your dad, James, and Vernon can bond?" Mum said abruptly. I was glad. Things were getting awkward.
"Sorry about that." I whispered to James before slipping into the kitchen. I looked back in time to see him shrug.
"James knows not to talk about magic in front of Vernon, right?" Mum asked me casually.
"Did I forget to tell you guys about the Secrecy Act?" I asked, even though I was absolutely sure I did. "He shouldn't be talking about magic in front of muggles, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to prove that magic existed because we're not of age for another half a year and can't do magic outside of school until then." I told them quickly and out of breath by the time I finished talking. My mum nodded in satisfaction but Petunia narrowed her eyes, as though she expected us to do something like that. I turned my back on her and started setting the table.
Within a half an hour, we were done, and all of us were sitting at the table. My dad was sitting at the head of the table, and my mum at the other. James and I were across from Petunia and Vernon. The first five minutes were quite boring, because Vernon was droning on about his drills and a company he was going to start.
"So James, what are you planning to do after school?" My dad asked when Vernon paused to take a bite.
"Well Mr. Evans," James paused. He glanced at me and the Vernon. I stiffened. It just occurred to me that he was a pureblood and wouldn't know the first thing about muggles. And he couldn't quite say outright that he wanted to become an Auror. "I want to become a cop, more specifically detective work." He said, surprising me. How had he known what to call it? He wasn't a Legillimens, too, was he? My father nodded in appreciation. He definitely liked the idea of a cop better than opening up a drill company.
James: 3, Vernon: 1.
"A cop?" Vernon snorted. "They're just after money and the job's only for people who have nothing else to do." He spat.
"Well, Vernon, I'll have you know he wants to live off of his own money, so he wants to work. James' family is very rich and if he wanted he could live without working and same with his children!" I shot back.
"Well, I can see why you're interested in him, then." Vernon said snidely. My mother coughed uncomfortably. My dad just looked between the two of us and I could feel Petunia's furious glare on me. James found my hand under the table and gave it a squeeze.
"Lily. Upstairs. NOW." Petunia said, her eyes shooting daggers at me. I kept a straight face and followed her upstairs. This definitely was not going as planned. Instead of a contest between James and Vernon, it had turned into a contest between me and Petunia. This was going to get ugly.
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Petunia screamed as soon as we got upstairs.
"What was your boyfriend thinking?" I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest.
"He was just making conversation!" She defended.
"HE INSULTED WHAT JAMES WANTED TO DO!" I said throwing my arms up. She was taking Vernon's side? 'Just making conversation' Yeah, sure. Why did she have to act like he was an innocent little puppy?
"WELL MAYBE HE'S RIGHT! THOSE RICH PEOPLE ARE JUST GREEDY AND AFTER MORE MONEY!" She screamed back. "AND MAYBE VERNON'S RIGHT ABOUT WHY YOU'RE INTO HIM TOO!" I've had enough.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I'M NOT AFTER HIS MONEY! BUT I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU WERE AFTER VERNON'S!" I yelled. I didn't regret it, in fact, I felt it was true. But it still wasn't nice to say, and I just sunk to her level. Before I knew what was happening, Petunia slapped me. Hard. I fell back a little, but then caught myself. I held my hand up to where my cheek was. It was burning up. Petunia looked for a moment like she was surprised at herself. Then her expression turned fierce. So she'd done it by accident but she didn't regret it. What did I do that she treated me like this? It just wasn't fair! She's jealous that I'm a witch and she isn't. It was five years ago, and she should just give it up. Instead, this is how she treats me!
I turned away. My eyes burning, tears were running down my cheek, and went into the bathroom. I washed my face so it didn't look like I was crying, reapplied my make up and tried to get rid of the red handprint on my cheek. It just wouldn't go away. I gave up and left the bathroom. Petunia wasn't there so I assumed she went downstairs to finish lunch. When I entered the dining room, I could feel everyone staring at me, but I kept my eyes on my mom and her expression softened when her eyes lingered to my cheek. She gasped and looked towards my sister, who had her face in her food. I slipped into my seat and just ate.
"Are you alright?" James whispered to me, holding my hand. I just nodded. My cheek was still burning, and I was still very furious. I looked up at the table. Petunia was muttering to herself as she stabbed her pasta with her fork. I had a weird feeling that she was pretending it was my head. Vernon was just eating his food as thought nothing happened. My father was doing the same thing, but occasionally shifted uncomfortably. He refused to meet my gaze, but he knew I was looking at him. Mum looked at me sympathetically and smiled. James was doing the same thing as my father, but still held my hand under the table. I had a weird feeling they all heard what went on upstairs. The rest of the meal went on in a deafening silence. You could cut the tension with a knife.
"Petunia, Lily, please help me with the dishes." Mum said as she cleaned up the table. We nodded and picked up the remaining plates to put in a kitchen. We knew what was coming. "Explain." I waited for Petunia to say something, but she was just looking down at her shoes.
"Well mum, basically what happened was that we started with a shouting match and it ended with Petunia slapping me." I told her. I figured it was a good, unbiased overview of what happened.
"Did not!" Petunia said in a feeble attempt to defend herself. I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah. Because I just conjured a red handprint on my cheek." I told her sarcastically.
"You even talk freak. Conjured? Only FREAKS say those things." Petunia scoffed.
"Petunia, Lily. Stop it right now. You two are grown girls. You should not be engaging in this childish banter. Lily, apologize for yelling at your sister and using that tone with her. Petunia, apologize to your sister for slapping her and calling her a freak." My mom instructed with a stern voice we rarely hear.
"Sorry Petunia." I muttered, not meaning it entirely.
"Sorry Lily." She replied, but I could tell she didn't mean it one bit. But, I guess that was all I was going to get from her. We went back in the dining room, and I felt a little better.
"Lily, can I talk to you?" James asked, gesturing the backyard. I nodded and made my way to the back.
"It better be just talking." My dad muttered as I passed him. I pretended not to hear and just followed James out.
"So what'd you want to talk about?" I asked, moving away from the view of the door.
"You've seen the muggle news recently, right?" He asked. So he knew about the telly, too. I made a mental note to ask him how he knew about muggle things.
"Yeah." I replied, wondering where this was going.
"Well, then you've seen all the attacks. It's Death Eaters. And You-Know-Who. They've gone crazy with murdering and kidnapping. And, I want you to be careful, alright? I don't want anything to happen to you." He said morosely, stroking my cheek. Sometimes it really killed me how sweet he could be. Next thing I knew, his lips were pressed against mine. His hand that wasn't on my cheek was rubbing circles on my back. One of my hands was entangled in his mess of hair and the other on his chest. Our lips were moving in perfect unison and I felt like I was flying. I felt like I was going to be happy forever, being with James. I could hear his voice echoing around my head, 'I don't want anything to happen to you.' Soon we broke apart, in need for air. Both of us were breathing heavily, chests heaving. We stood there for a while, just holding each other. After a few more moments I remembered my parents, my sister and her boyfriend back in the house. James seemed to remember then, too.
"We should get back in the house." He told me, color rising to his cheek, jerking his head in the direction of my house. I nodded. I took my hand out of his hair and let go of him, he did the same but I could feel the reluctance. I didn't blame him. He waited, what, five years for this to happen? And this really was our first actual kiss. My first, too, now that I think about it. It all went so perfectly, I figured those things only happened in the sappy romance novels Petunia reads.
When we went back into the house, Vernon left and my parents and Petunia were talking about something in the living room. I assumed it was about me and James because once we entered the living room, they immediately stopped talking. James and I took the empty couch across from them.
"We need to discuss something with you guys." I told them, taking a breath. My mom tensed up, sensing my depressing tone. My dad's eyes widened and Petunia looked bored. I looked at James, telling him to start.
"Well, I know you have heard of the mysterious disappearances and deaths. And this is because of us...er, our lot. There is a Dark Wizard on the loose. He uses his magical powers for evil. He believes that muggleborn people, such as Lily, shouldn't be allowed to learn magic or even have it. He also doesn't like non-magical people, such as you three. He has a large number of followers. Some simply agree with his views, but there are some who join him in the murdering." James told them. I wish he didn't tell them so straightforward, but there really was no other way to say it, was there?
"And we're just asking you guys to be careful. Don't go out at night, and even in the day time, stick with crowds, they can't attack if there are too many people. And if you find yourselves up against one of them, just run, not in a single direction, but zigzag, if you can. Don't try to attack these people; they will kill you even before you can raise a fist." I added. My dad's and Petunia's eyes were wide with fear and my mom was at the brink of tears.
"As for us, Hogwarts is safe. Professor Dumbledore, the one who told you about magic, is said to be the only person this Dark Wizard fears. As long as we are under his roof, we are safe." James assured my parents. Of course we left out the part about Hogsmeade. But, we were convinced Hogwarts was safe…during the day time, at least. My parents nodded meekly. Petunia looked like she wanted to say something, presumably blame me for everything that was happening, but she decided against it.
"Is this Dark Wizard really this powerful?" My dad asked skeptically.
"Yes, dad, yes he is." I told him. "Remember that bit of accidental magic I did when I was 9, when mum wanted to cut my hair, but I refused? The electricity went crazy, the lights started flickering, the telly started turning on and off. Mum's hair even started to grow shorter! And this was just my ACCIDENTAL magic. This is an extremely powerful Dark Wizard who's had seven years of training and is doing all of this purposely. He could make something like what I did happen to every house in Britain with the simple flick of his wand!" I told them. I think I scared them, but that was the point, wasn't it? So they'd be careful? And now that they understand the magnitude of You-Know-Who's power, they'd really be careful. My dad nodded, pale in the face. My mother was now crying and Petunia had her eyes closed, her face paler than usual, and she was slouched back in her chair.
"Sorry we had to drop this on you like that, but there really was no other way to explain it." James apologized. "And I really must get going. My parents'll be really worried." He stood up. We followed him to the door. I walked out the front door with him and Petunia and my parents left us alone, saying their good-bye's.
"Well, that was…interesting." I told him, rocking back and forth on my heels.
"Yeah, it was unexpected." He said, running his hand through his hair.
"Well, at least you beat Vernon."
"I beat Vernon? At what?" He asked, genuinely confused. I laughed.
"At being the better boyfriend. My dad was really impressed with you. He seemed to dislike Vernon a lot." James sighed in relief.
"Well, that's good." I remembered something important.
"How'd you know all that muggle stuff?" I asked, remembering James' explanation on his career choice. He smiled meekly.
"Well, it was pretty much to impress you. I wanted to make it a surprise, so I didn't take Muggle Studies. Instead, I had Moony tutor me. It helped both of us. I learned the ways of Muggles and he was able to pass Muggle Studies with O's." He said ruffling his hair a bit. I flung my arms around his neck.
"That's so sweet!" I squealed. He was surprised by my reaction and it took him a while to return the hug.
"Well, if I knew you'd have this reaction, I would've told you ages ago!" He joked. I laughed along with him and realized something.
"How'd you get here?" I asked him.
"Oh, with the help of my parents and my invisibility cloak, I told you about that, didn't I?" I nodded. "My parents charmed a broom to make it come only to your house and then back to my house. If it's at one place it goes to the other. And to hide it from muggles, I just use the invisibility cloak."
"Oh. Wow, that's amazing magic." I told him, stunned. Magic could do anything and everything, couldn't it?
"Yeah, it's something Dumbledore taught them." He said, crouching down and looking around in the rose bushes in front of my house.
"You hid the broom in the rose bushes? My dad'll kill you if he finds out." Unlike most families, my dad was the gardener.
"Er, I hope I put it here…I kinda forgot." He said, ruffling his hair. He was doing that a lot today. I rolled my eyes.
"Here, lemme help." I said, moving in front of him.
"Nice to know my girlfriend wants me to leave as soon as I can." He muttered to himself. I hit him on the arm.
"You're a prat."
"But I'm your prat." He whispered into my ear, and wrapping his arms around my waist. I rolled my eyes and gave him a small kiss on the lips. I turned back around to find the broomstick again, but someone behind us coughed. We turned around slowly, and my hand was in my pocket, in case I needed my wand, but I couldn't whip it out right then and there, what if it was a muggle? It wasn't. It was Snape! And this time, Regulus was with him. James looked like he was about to kill both of them. I held him back with an arm.
"Don't take out your wand; you'll be more tempted to use it. Don't even use it at all. That way if they do, they can't frame us for attacking them first or something." I whispered urgently. He nodded
"Good thing you're logical, smart, and beautiful…you'd make a good Auror, did I ever tell you that?" He said smiling. I blushed and a girly giggle escaped my mouth. Regulus gagged and Snape snickered. Merlin, I forgot they were here. We had to remember not to lose ourselves in the face of danger.
"Regulus, Snape." I said, giving them each a nod.
"Mudblood, Potter." Regulus replied. James lunged forward. I grabbed his hand.
"Don't even bloody think about it." I told him sternly and he backed up.
"Potter, good to see you're the man of the relationship." Snape sneered sarcastically.
"That's not of your concern." I snapped.
"Oh, feisty, are we?" Regulus said, raising his eyebrows. He stepped closer to me, licking his lips. I closed my eyes in disgust and shuddered. I was scarred forever. James put a protective arm around me and glared at him in repugnance.
"Alright, Black," I spat. "You and Sir Slimy have three seconds to get off my parent's property or I will call the muggle police." I told them. This wasn't Hogwarts. They couldn't just stroll around like they owned the place as they usually do.
"Whatever. We'll get you later, Mudblood, we will. You better watch your back. You won't always have Potter to save you." Regulus sneered as he left.
"Gits." I muttered, turning back around. My voice was confident but I didn't feel it, I was truly a little scared, but not for myself. What if they went after my family? Snape knew where I lived, and now so did Regulus.
"It's okay. I won't let anything happen to you." James must've mistaken the terror on my face fear for me.
"It's not me I'm worried about. It's my parents. And Petunia. You-Know-Who does that all the time, killing off an entire family because he has a problem with just one of them." I said guiltily. I couldn't live with myself if Petunia and my parents got killed because of me.
"It's alright. Everything's going to be okay. You're still in school and you don't pose a threat to them." James said, but I could just feel the 'yet' he wanted to add to the end. I sighed and nodded. There wasn't much we could do but be careful. I walked towards the rose bush again and tripped.
"I think I found your broom." I told him from the ground. He helped me up. We felt around the area of where I tripped and I felt some cloth catch my hand. I pulled on it and underneath was a broom.
"Thanks." He picked up the invisibility cloak and the broom and set it aside, apart from each other. "I guess this'll be the last time I see until the start of term again?" He asked, frowning.
"Yeah." I said, suddenly really depressed. He put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer to him. I put my arms around his neck and hugged him, burying my face in his chest. He stroked my cheek and my hair and we pulled apart.
"It'll only for a month and a half." He assured me, but he seemed to be telling himself more than me. I nodded all the same, and watched him throw the invisibility cloak over himself. Then the broom was lifted into the air. I felt his hand squeeze mine from under the invisibility cloak. He mounted the broom and took off with a whoosh. I waved, knowing he would be looking back. This time, I knew he said 'I love you.'
A/N: Well, I'm pretty happy with this chapter.
Tell me what ya think!
Love,
Sam :)
