Cinnamon and nutmeg.
The comforting smell of the Christmas drink wafted out Lily Evan's mug as she took a sip, the taste of warm apple cider warming her chest. Mrs. Evan's bustled happily in the kitchen, Lily seated on a stool pulled up in front of the island, telling her mother all about the past fall at Hogwarts.
Lily exclaimed, "…and then this girl Celestine spilled the whole jar of Acromantula venom on the floor! Professor Slughorn had to close down the entire classroom for three days because there was a big hole in the middle of the room. "
Mrs. Evans let out a good-natured laugh as she knelt to check on muffins in the oven, waving at them with an oven mitt. "I won't pretend to know what Acromantula venom is, but I'm assuming you wouldn't want to get any on your clothes." Mrs. Evans returned.
"Definitely not." Lily stated matter-of-factly. "Hampton Gerble told me that Acromantula venom is strong enough to eat through the scales of a Peruvian Vipertooth! I'm not sure that I believe him, but he does have a brother that works as a dragon-tamer."
"Dragon-tamer, eh?" Mrs. Evans murmured distractedly as she pulled her muffins out of the oven and began to top them with patterns of red and green frosting. "You sure do have interesting friends, don't you Lily-pad?"
"Oh, I wish you could meet them. I know they'd love you all." Lily sighed.
"Well, one day I hope to." Mrs. Evans smiled. "Now, I've got to slice these potatoes. Do you think you could take over some decorating?"
"Of course!" Lily hopped from her chair and grabbed the frosting bag. "When is everyone arriving?"
Tonight was the night of their annual Christmas party. Mr. and Mrs. Evans hosted it every year, inviting a host of friends and family to pack into their home to eat, play games, and exchange gifts. The Evans would spend days getting the house decorated in enough tinsel and lights to rival a Christmas department store. When Lily and Petunia were children, they would help their dad pick a Christmas tree and direct him which color of lights to hang up outside on the terrace. The three of them would laugh and throw snowballs and then go warm up inside, red-nosed and sopping with snow, much to their mother's exasperation. It was one of Lily's favorite times of the year.
"Around six tonight." Her mother answered.
"Umm…" Lily kept her eyes trained on the cupcakes below as she frosted. "When is Tuney going to be home?"
Mrs. Evans sighed. "Oh, you know your sister."
No, I don't. Lily thought.
Well, not anymore.
"She'll probably be over at her friends' until the party starts." Mrs. Evans placed her hands on her hips. "You know, she fought this morning on even coming to this party? Apparently, her friend William is throwing some sort of Christmas social and she just HAS TO GO." Mrs. Evans rolled her eyes. "These teenagers are going to be the death of me. Never get older, okay Lily-pad?" She tapped Lily lightly on the chin and winked.
"Mmkay, mom." Lily forced a smile.
She had barely seen Tuney since she'd arrived back home for Christmas break. Every night, Petunia would stay late at school or go over to a friend's house. The few times that Petunia had been around, she had stayed in her room, locking her door and talking on her phone. Last night, Lily had managed to catch her when she had come down to the kitchen for a snack and asked her if she wanted to watch Home Alone down in the living room together. Petunia had just glared at her and snapped that she had a headache before promptly returning to her room.
Ever since Lily had gone off to Hogwarts, Lily could feel her relationship with Tuney growing more and more distant with every passing year. They used to be so close and now Lily couldn't help but feel as if Petunia was ignoring her entirely. Almost as if she wasn't her sister at all. Lily had tried to keep her talk about Hogwarts to a minimum around Tuney over the past few years – she knew that her school made her sister uncomfortable. But it seemed like no matter what she did or how hard she tried, their relationship was still falling apart. Lily had made lots of new friends at Hogwarts – and well, Severus of course – but nothing can quite make up for the relationship you have with a family member. It hurt her to know that someone that knew her so intimately, would choose to reject her so entirely.
Best to not think of it at all.
Lily refocused her attention on the cupcakes, biting her tongue in concentration as she tried to draw out a Christmas tree pattern in green icing. The sound of bells jingled through into the kitchen as someone entered through the front door.
"OOOOOOOHHHHHHHH! The weather outside is frightful." Her father's boisterous voice bellowed through the hall in an offkey tune.
Lily smiled.
"…But the fire is so….."Mr. Evan's stopped singing as he entered the kitchen, his arms full of wrapping paper. "Well if it isn't two of my favorite girls?" He swooped in to kiss Mrs. Evans on the cheek. "How goes the cupcake decorating, oh Lily-of-the-Valley?"
Lily laughed. "You know, one of these days you two are going to need to decide on a nickname."
Her dad mimed as if he was counting in his head. "Lillykins, Lil' Lilly, Lilybug, Chill Lil'…." He raised her eyebrows at her. "Those are gold! We can't just limit ourselves to one, can we?" He winked and looked at Mrs. Evans. "I'm thinking we're going to need a fire tonight, don't you? How are things going on the cooking front? Think we have time for me to run to the store and pick up some firewood?"
Mrs. Evans answered. "They're alright. The cranberry sauce is chilling, the chestnut stuffing is baking and I'm starting on the roast potatoes while Liles' works on the cupcakes." She raised an eyebrow at her husband. "It would be going a lot faster if our other daughter was anywhere to be found."
"Ah, yes. And where is Looney Tuney this fine evening?" Her father asked.
Mrs. Evans threw a dishtowel angrily over her shoulder, shifting her weight to her hip. "Not coming, according to her. There's a Christmas social with all of her classmates and she begged me to go. I called her earlier to try and convince her, but I wouldn't get your hopes up."
"But it's our annual Christmas party!" Her father exclaimed. "It's one of her favorites. How could she just skip it?"
Lily focused on her decorating, hiding her face downwards as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks in embarrassment. They all knew why Petunia was really skipping the party. Tuney wasn't going to come if it meant that she'd have to hang out with her "freak" sister all night.
"Well," Mrs. Evans patted her husband's hand. "Why don't you try and convince her? Tell her I could really use an extra hand in the kitchen."
Mr. Evans nodded, pulling out his phone and walking upstairs.
"So, tell me more about school?" Her mother asked her.
Lily kept decorating and chatting, trying to ignore the guilty feeling gnawing in her stomach as she overheard snippets of the argument her father was having with her sister over the phone in the other room. She couldn't help but feel guilty about her role in Petunia's relationship with her family. If only Lily had tried harder or wasn't so braggy about school. If only she wasn't a witch, then Tuney could have a normal life. Of course, Lily loved school and didn't want to be anything other than herself, but she also felt ashamed that she caused Petunia so much grief.
She felt herself tense as she heard her father clomping loudly down the stairs. He breezed into the kitchen. "She's not coming." He said curtly, his normal jovial tone angry.
Of course she's not. Lily thought.
She stared at the family picture mounted on the wall in front of her, a photograph taken on a trip to the country when they were kids. Her parents beamed into the camera, their two daughters hugging and laughing in the tall grass below them.
Oh, how good it is to be a witch.