Dinner ended quietly, and Lily said goodnight to everyone. James looked as though he was going to say something to her, but then he kissed her forehead and said goodnight same as everyone else.

Lily walked into her room alone and sighed deeply as she leaned back against the door. It felt like this was the first moment that she had to herself in the last few days.

James was going home tomorrow.

Only for one night, he'd be back by Wednesday afternoon, and they'd be back in the public spotlight by Thursday, but still. He hadn't been here that long, but long enough to make her feel a little weird about him leaving.

And she wasn't going with him. She had heard what Emma had said, but Emma could have said that if James had asked to go alone.

Though, she couldn't begrudge him wanting to spend some time alone with his family. Perhaps she needed some time away from him as well. She'd gone from almost ignoring that he was now living in the castle, to spending almost all her time with him. She needed to find a better balance.

Maybe this could act as a reset button of sorts.

Lily felt her phone buzz in her pocket and pulled it out. There were far too many notifications for her comfort, but she ignored them all for the text message that had just come through.

James Potter: I was going to ask you if I could walk you to your room but then I chickened out

Lily Evans: Chickened out? What does that even mean?

Lily narrowed her brow, unsure of what James could mean, and also unsatisfied with giving him a hard time over text. She couldn't see his face, she couldn't guess at what he was thinking.

He didn't respond right away either, so she was forced to look through the rest of her notifications.

She swiped away all of the links and pins that Mary had sent her, quickly deleted all the spam emails she'd received on her old email account, and uninstalled an app that had sent out over a dozen notifications in the last few hours.

She was down to a manageable number now, when she noticed that her mother had called her twice today.

Her stomach instantly turned to lead. And not because she thought that her mum was hurt or that something was wrong, but because her gut reaction was to think that her mum was going to tell her that she wasn't going to come to her wedding, same as Petunia had.

She started tapping her fingers on the back of the phone and wondered if she should call her back just then, or if she should text her instead.

Luckily, she didn't have to decide just yet.

James Potter: it means that I want to ask you if you'll meet me in the kitchen

Lily Evans: Oh. So are you going to ask me then?

James Potter: do you have to be difficult all the time?

James Potter: will you meet me in the kitchen?

Lily Evans: Yes, to both.

She didn't know what he wanted, and even though she'd just decided that they could use a reset, that wasn't until tomorrow, so she could go and spend time with him tonight. And it also gave her an excuse to keep her phone call with her mother short.

The phone rang four times and Lily thought that it was going to go to voicemail, but then her mum answered.

"Mum?" Lily's voice sounded weird to her.

"Lily!" Rose's voice sounded weird to Lily too. "I knew I shouldn't have called you during the day, I should have waited until this evening. I'm sorry if I distracted you at all."

"No! I'm glad that you called, I'm sorry that I didn't answer, I didn't have my phone on me when you called." There had been a time where her mum would have been upset with her for saying that, but that time had long since come and gone.

"Oh, I understand. You're busy." The line was quiet for a moment.

"Not too busy." Lily said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she kicked out of her heels and unzipped her skirt. If she was meeting James, she would be in her pajamas, not heels.

"Yes, yes," Her mum was probably nodding her head, Lily could picture it. "I just wanted to talk to you a bit. I haven't heard from you since Petunia came back home."

Oh. "Yeah, I don't really know what you want me to say about that. Did you know that's why she was coming?"

Her mum clicked her tongue. "I did." Lily clenched her jaw as she focused on her pajama pants. "You have to understand Lily, Vernon and Petunia have been working very hard to plan for this holiday, and they didn't know that you'd be getting married this month when they made the plans!"

"Yes, Petunia explained all of that to me." Lily nodded. She didn't want to listen to her mum tell her why she shouldn't be hurt that her sister wasn't going to be at her wedding. She couldn't make those hurt feelings go away just because the reasoning behind it all made sense.

"Oh baby," And then Lily's eyes were prickling, and she couldn't stop them from watering. "I know that it doesn't seem fair, but you couldn't have thought that everyone was going to be able to make it."

Lily pressed her lips together, an attempt to collect herself before she answered. "Right, yes, of course." The noble families of the surrounding kingdoms could make the last minutes invitation, the Prime Minister and his extended family, but not her sister. "You're going to be there, right?"

"Of course!" She said quickly. "Of course, David and I will be there! I'm looking forward to seeing you, sweet girl. It's been too long." More tears fell down her cheeks and she rubbed her free hand against her cheeks.

"Good, I miss you."

"I miss you too," Rose said. The line went quiet again. "Well, I suppose I'll talk to you later."

"James is a nice bloke," She said quickly. "I think you'll like him, mum."

"Oh," Surprised. "Oh yes, I'm sure that I will."

Lily clenched her hand into a fist. "Alright. I'll see you soon."

"I love you, Lily."

"I love you too, Mum."

Her mum hung up first.

Lily put the phone down and picked up a pair of pajama pants. She pulled them on and then wiped at her face again. She took off the jacket and blouse she was wearing and put on a jumper before she left her room.

She was halfway to the kitchen when she realized that she'd forgotten to check and see if James had sent her a time that she was supposed to meet him. But it didn't really matter, she could wait for him and she didn't want to carry her phone around.

She walked down the staircase, letting her hand trail along the stone wall.

She wiped at her cheeks again before she stepped into the room, and James was there, sitting at the table with a kettle and two cups. He smiled when he saw her and she felt like crying again, but she smiled back.

"What's wrong?"

Lily stopped walking across the room and tilted her head. ''What are you talking about?" She smiled at him again, hoping that it was more convincing this time.

"Come have some tea." He waved her over, and she let out a breath, assuming that he was going to let it go.

She walked over and took a seat across from him as he poured her tea into her cup. She thanked him and pulled the cup closer to her, wrapping her hands around it.

"Now tell me what's bothering you."

She looked up at him and then sighed, taking a sip of her tea and then she sighed again. "How did you know that something was wrong?"

He shrugged his shoulders and looked slightly proud of himself for being right, or perhaps for getting her to admit that he was right. "I'm your fiancé, it's my job to know."

She gave him a look, "Shut up, James."

"Alright, then I knew because it's written all over your face."

"Why did you chicken out about asking to walk me to my room?" This was asked with an incredulous tone. Because what had he even meant by that?

James rolled his eyes. "I asked you first."

"You did not," Lily wished she had her phone now so she could pull it out and show them their text conversation. "I asked you after you said it."

"Fine." Now it was his turn to stall by focusing on his tea.

"My mum called me," Lily caved before he could even say anything. Whether that was because she actually did want to talk about it or because she didn't want to hear what he was about to say, she wasn't sure.

James' eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

"I missed her calls earlier because I was working and I had to keep my phone- anyway, I called her back right before I came down here and- Did I tell you what Petunia said before she left?" She wasn't making much sense, but she didn't know how to talk about this, she didn't talk about this with anyone but Mary and her gran, and they already knew everything so she didn't need to be careful about what she said or how she explained herself.

James blinked at her and then shook his head, "No, I don't think you did. You mentioned that something happened I think,"

"When I brought the pie, yeah. The different expectations conversation." Lily slumped over in her chair and took another sip of her tea. It could use some sugar.

James' hand was in his hair now. "So, what did she say?"

"She said that she wasn't coming to the wedding." She looked up at James. "Our wedding."

"Oh, that one," James sucked in a breath and then shook his head. "Why would she say that? It seemed as though the two of you were getting along…" He trailed off, like he was unsure if he should be mentioning how he thought Lily and Petunia got along.

She appreciated his uncertainty.

"Her and Vernon had a holiday planned for a few months now, and they didn't want to- she said that they couldn't reschedule. So, mum called to tell me not to be upset with her."

James nodded, "Oh?"

"Yes, and now I think that Petunia was only nice to me the entire time she was here because she was working up to telling me that she wasn't coming, and why would my mum tell me not to be upset? Of course, I'm upset! I had to go to Petunia's wedding even though Vernon said that it would be more convenient for everyone if I just stayed here! And who just stops being upset about something when they're told to stop being upset?"

"I've never seen that work before." James didn't seem like he knew what he should be saying.

"Right? And she never even calls me, so that just makes it worse." She took another drink of her tea. "She hasn't even asked me anything about you! Does she not care?"

"I'm sure that she does."

"Right, yeah, me too." Lily sighed. "I just, I don't know. My mum is exhausting."

James tapped his fingers along the side of his mug and nodded, "That sounds very frustrating. I can't believe you let me be nice to Vernon after he said that to you as well."

Lily snorted and shook her head. "I thought Tuney and I were getting along again! And Dudley is so cute! Vernon is just the unfortunate part of the package deal."

"Well I'm not going to just let Peter be all friendly with him in the future! I mean, I saw that he was disrespectful, and I could tell that there was bad blood between the two of you but, he tried to tell you that you couldn't go to their wedding?"

"He tried to tell Petunia that I couldn't go. While I was standing in front of them."

"That's such a shitty thing to do," He shook his head again.

"Right! Mum told me that I was overreacting then too!"

"I don't know why she does that. I'm sorry."

Lily sighed again and pushed herself up, so she was sitting again. "Thanks," She tucked her hair behind her ear. "For letting me vent for a bit. For not telling me that I just needed to let it go."

"Well, I was going to do that next." He smirked and Lily smiled at him, and her smile felt lighter now.

"Thanks for inviting me down here."

"Thanks for coming down here."

"Please, I'm down here all of the time. Even if you didn't invite me, I'd be here."

"Right. I believe that." He chuckled. "I like you, Lily." He leaned back against his chair.

"I like you too," Lily smiled.

"I didn't expect to like you so much when I heard that I was coming here."

"Well, I'm pretty great. And most people don't know that about me." She tucked her hair back behind her ear.

He leaned forward now so that his forearms were resting on the table, his hands still wrapped around his mug. "I think everyone knows. Do you remember when we first met?"

"Yeah, I hit you in the face because I distracted myself thinking about whether or not I was smiling and wondering where my gran was."

He laughed, "You were smiling."

"I saw later, on the news."

"But that wasn't the first time that we met."

Lily narrowed her brow. "Well the other time hardly counts! I met over three hundred people that night!"

"But you do remember?"

She tilted her head back and forth. "Not really. I mean, I know that we met, but also it was what? Three or four years ago?"

"I think it was your eighteenth birthday." James nodded.

"Do you remember it?" She asked, though he had to have remember it if he was bringing it up.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Remus and Sirius made a few jokes about slipping you my 'card.'"

"Your card?" She snorted. "Like your number?"

"No, like my 'card.' My profile I guess? They thought it would be awfully funny if I married a princess."

Lily pressed her lips together, glad that he remembered her because of something his friends said and not something she'd said, both because she couldn't specifically remember meeting him and because that meant that she hadn't embarrassed herself and then blocked the memory out of her mind.

"It's like they just knew," She grinned, finally reaching for the sugar bowl and dumping maybe a bit too much into her mug.

"There was no way any of them thought that I'd actually end up marrying you."

"Are they going to be there for your mum's birthday?"

"Yeah," He nodded. "Mum and dad have all but adopted the lot of them by this point. Like your gran with Mary."

"Is Sirius going to find a way to be upset with me for not going?"

He sat up straighter. "Nah, I'll tell him that it was his fault that you stayed here."

She'd made her opening, but she didn't know how to ask the question without sounding bruised. She'd already decided that him leaving for a day was a good thing anyway.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about it sooner," He said, "Between the engagement and the interviews, I just forgot that it was so close."

"Oh, that's fine," Lily almost waved her hand, but decided that that would be overkill at the last moment. "It's not as though I haven't forgotten things before."

"Right well, we've moved past that I think."

"Probably." Lily nodded. It certainly felt like it had been more than five days since she'd stood James up by forgetting that they'd made plans.

"It'll be weird not seeing you," He said.

"Not too weird, right?" Lily shrugged. "I mean, before yesterday, we didn't spend all that much time together."

"I suppose," James frowned. "I still think it'll be weird."

"You're not going for that long. You'll be back Wednesday afternoon, yes? So, twenty-four hours? I know I'm amazing, but you won't miss me that much."

"I might." He teased. "I did ask if you could come." He added, and her heart skipped because that was the answer to the question she'd been dancing around for the last few minutes. She wasn't going to have to bring it up.

"Oh? I don't remember you asking me."

"Well I didn't ask you," He corrected, still grinning. "But when I went to Emma to set up the arrangements, I told her that you might prefer to meet my parents in a less formal setting, which would be my home as opposed to anything here at the castle." He shrugged a shoulder. "But she said that that wasn't a good idea."

"As long as I meet them before we get married, I suppose it'll be alright." She took another sip of her tea. There were grains of undissolved sugar. "Though I don't know when you'll meet my mum, so maybe that's not a fair thing for me to say."

"It is." He nodded. "You'll meet them before the wedding."

"I like it when you promise me things," She smiled, looking into her teacup. The dregs on the bottom were shaped like a flower. "I actually believe you."

He was quiet long enough for her to look up at him. "I feel like you're telling me my eyes are sparkly all over again." Lily snorted.

"I believe I also said that the pastries looked sparkly."

"Yeah, but I think that having you look at me the same way you look at a pastry is kind of a big deal." Lily squirmed.

"If you say so," She looked at his cup. "Did you finish your tea?"

"Almost, why?"

"I wanted to look at your tea leaves." And change the subject, but she didn't need to say that out loud for it to be obvious. Yes, him going away for a day would definitely do her some good.

He took the last swallow and then pushed his mug over to her. She squinted at it and then spun the mug around a ways. "I'm not sure what you've got here. You tell me what you see. Technically that's how this is supposed to go anyway." She pushed the mug back to him.

"I didn't realize that you were psychic."

"I promise, I'm working on a list for you."

"You keep saying that." He pressed his lips together in concentration and peered into his mug. "What does it mean if I see a turtle and a bee?"

"I'm pretty sure that bees mean that you're rich in material goods." She smiled, "And a tortoise… I don't remember that one. I think it means something about being cautious?"

"You're a wonderful fortune teller."

"Psychic." Lily corrected and then waved her hand over the cup and took another stab at it. "You will marry a princess as the month dies, incurring more wealth and material goods, such as a castle and a crown." James laughed and shook his head.

"You're cheating now,"

"I'm not cheating! I'm just using outside knowledge."

"But that's cheating!"

"It is not, and you keep interrupting my reading, that renders the entire thing void."

"The entire thing?"

"Yeah, if you want to try again, you'll need to drink another cup of tea."

"I don't think I want to try again. You'll only cheat a second time."

Lily gasped and put a hand over her heart. "The suggestion!"

"You're a bit ridiculous."

"Yes, but that one you had to have already known by now." James laughed again and nodded.

"Yes, I did already know that." As much as she liked sitting across from him and making him laugh, she had the feeling that if she stayed down here with him much longer, he was going to try and hold her hand or have a conversation that she wasn't ready to have yet, so she took a deep breath and pushed her chair back.

"I think it's time to head to bed now."

"I suppose." James agreed, standing up and moving their cups from the table to the sink. Lily grabbed the kettle and did the same. "It's been a long day."

"A long couple of days."

"Eleven long days?" James grinned.

"A long month." Lily amended. "But it'll get easier, less busy."

"Yeah, it'll get less busy." James nodded and Lily started walking toward the stairs.

She didn't miss his word choice, but she didn't comment on it. "Not tomorrow though, tomorrow will be just as busy."

They got to the top of the stairs and continued on down the corridor. His room was one floor under hers, but in the same direction. "Turns out that I get to walk you to your rooms tonight." She said, because he was being too quiet, which meant that he was thinking, and that seemed dangerous.

He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, looks like it." He looked over at her as they made their way up another flight of stairs. "Thanks for telling me about your mum and sister earlier. I know that you don't like talking about that."

Lily looked down at her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. "Thanks for listening. I'm glad that I can talk to you." Very glad.

"Yeah, me too." He grinned. They were almost at his door now. "I guess I'll see you in the morning?"

"I hope so, otherwise you'll have some explaining to do." She teased.

"I'm not going anywhere." He grinned, his hand ran along his jaw now and Lily bit the tip of her tongue.

"I know," She nodded. "I just like hearing you say it."

He paused for a moment and looked at her and Lily cursed herself. That was a bit too flirty for this particular moment. Normally flirting with him seemed harmless, but it didn't really seem harmless right now.

It wasn't even that she thought James fancied her, it was that she thought that he thought he was supposed to fancy her. That they were supposed to behave as though they fancied each other. They were engaged, they had fun together, but Lily wasn't sure that she wanted to have any more fun.

Sure she'd thought about snogging him last night when they'd been cuddled up on his couch watching a cheesy movie, but she really did think that everything would be far more simple if they kept any of that out of their friendship for the time being. There was too much else going on just now for any of that.

"Goodnight James," She grinned at him, stepping forward for a hug. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. She really did enjoy being close to him, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

"Night, Lily." He kissed the top of her head, and Lily felt assured that hugging him goodnight had been the right choice. Not only did she get to hug him, but he also kissed her. Not in the way that she'd been thinking of letting him kiss her last night, but still, she enjoyed the warmth that spread throughout her chest at the affection. She curled her toes in her slippers and stepped back.

"See you in the morning." She waved and then turned toward the stairs.

James Potter: I think Mary was in my room while I was out

James Potter: [photo]

Lily Evans: Oh my goodness.

Lily Evans: I'm sure that's what she wants you to wear tomorrow for our interviews.

James Potter: I wonder what Emma would have to say about that

Lily Evans: She would not let you leave in that.

James Potter: [photo]

James Potter: I think I look good!

Lily Evans: I just forwarded that to Mary.

Lily Evans: The pink tights really tie the whole outfit together

James Potter: You can't tell in the picture, but they're sparkly.

Lily Evans: I hope you wear them tomorrow.

James Potter: They're kind of scratchy or I'd wear them under my trousers just for you

Lily Evans: I'll tell Mary that you'd like a softer sort in the future

James Potter: Much appreciated

Lily Evans: On and unrelated note… can I have Sirius' number?

James Potter: Absolutely not.

AN: Okay, so was this a lot of fluff and not a lot of plot? Yeah, it was. You're welcome. I remember thinking while I was writing this, that it was wholey indulgent on my part and not really necessary, but I didn't want to chop it either so here we are. I mean, it's not completely unnecessary but ya know.

Lots will be happening next week!