A/N: And I'm back... I hope you liked last chapter. I was feeling a bit miserable after the scene with Greyback so I thought Euphemia would be a great addition to lighten the mood - as well as James's little cameo.

Anyway, to this chapter and beyond! Enjoy :)

Chapter Twelve

He was waiting for her the moment she closed her eyes, in a world where he had wrenched open the cupboard door. Greyback's claws dug into her arms, seizing her and throwing her out onto the floor. Ripping off her top, he pinned her squirming, struggling form to the ground with his knees. Now that her torso was entirely exposed, except by that covered by her bra, he lowered he head to her level.

His abnormally long tongue ran up the length of her arm and when she fought to push him off, he laughed and, with great strength, snapped her arm. The pain was unbearable. The possibility of just ripping off the broken part seemed almost welcome; anything to stop the agony.

Greyback's tongue had made its way to her shoulder and here it chose to settle, marking its territory. Slowly, he brought his lips to the same spot on her shoulder and sucked. Lily struggled fruitlessly. Then, without warning, he sunk his teeth into her skin, tearing out a whole chunk of flesh.

Lily was screaming. She wanted to die. She wanted to escape this hell.

…

Lily threw herself into consciousness, shaking uncontrollably as she stared around her empty room. She clutched at her shoulder, letting out a slow breath of air when she found it intact. Glancing to the clock on her bedside table, she saw that it was five in the morning and thus made the decision that now that she was awake, she might as well get up.

Her whole body ached tiredly as she stretched, watching the trembles subside. Sliding out of bed, Lily padded over to her cupboard and pulled out some clean clothes. Alice was visiting her today and she would have to make a start on those healing potions. It wouldn't do for Petunia and Vernon to see her in her current state and the idea that she might brew potions with them in the house was laughable.

Sighing, Lily headed into the bathroom, washed and dressed. Once back in her room, she collected the ingredients Euphemia had given her as well as the potions book she had bought. Each step she took down the staircase was a tentative, worried she would wake her parents; she didn't want to give them any more reasons to be suspicious of her. Being up in the early hours of the morning was not something Lily usually did by choice.

'Right…' Lily hummed to herself when she got into the kitchen, opening each cabinet in search of a pot to brew her potion in.

Euphemia had folded over the page on a supposed 'cure-all', so she decided on trying that potion first. She selected Mrs Evans' largest cooking pot and set it on the hob. Then she set about weighing and chopping her ingredients.

Lily yawned. The work that she usually found so calming and pleasantly methodical was only reminding her of how early it was, of her lack of sleep. Slicing up a Valerian Root, Lily shivered suddenly, a flash of her nightmare darting across her mind. Putting down the knife, she rested her hands on the counter, staring out of the kitchen window onto the street. She sighed.

'Fuck this.' she muttered, picking up some of her prepared ingredients and flinging them into the pot. 'Fuck this!'

As she fumbled for more ingredients, her hand knocked against the knife, sending it clattering to the floor, missing her left foot by inches. She let out a stifled but frustrated yell, stooping down to pick it up and slamming it back down on the counter.

'This is so fucking stupid!' she seethed, dumping the rest of the ingredients into the pot and pouring in some water. She turned on the hob and started to stir her concoction, tapping her foot while she waited for it to boil.

'Morning.' Mr Evans' voice broke through her impatience, making her heart leap. 'You okay, love? Not like you to be down so early.'

'I'm fine.' Lily replied, trying to smother the waspish tone that managed to slip out of her mouth. 'Wonderful, actually.'

'You can tell me, y'know.' he informed her, walking over to the fridge and taking out an orange juice carton. 'I'm a decent enough listener.'

Lily felt her eyes water; her father was always patient, even when he knew she was lying to him, so she made sure her gaze was fixed firmly on the brewing potion. Stirring it determinately, she shook her head.

'I'm fine.' She sniffed. 'I just wanted a head start on this potion. It'll heal my face. I can't have Tuney seeing me like this. I – I'll embarrass her in front of Vernon otherwise. I won't do that to her.'

Mr Evans helped himself to a glass from the cupboard and then went to sit down at the kitchen table, pouring himself some orange juice. Lily's face was completely obscured from view, but he watched her nonetheless, quietly taking a sip of his drink before speaking.

'She does care about you, y'know.' Mr Evans said, setting down his glass. 'Even if she doesn't show it.'

'Ha.' Lily scoffed, bringing down the heat on the hob as her potion started to boil. It needed to simmer for two hours before being ready for use.

'You're sisters. 'Course she cares!'

'Being sisters doesn't mean anything.' Lily retorted, taking a deep breath as her temper started to rise again. 'If it meant something, I wouldn't have to stare at my feet the whole time she's here, just so I don't have to see her glaring at me.'

'You still care about her, so why shouldn't she care about you?' her father reasoned, taking another sip of orange juice. Lily spun around to face him, her arms folded, her face set in the scowl.

'Because I'm not the one who found out their sister was a witch, spat in her face and called her a freak.' Lily told him tartly before running a hand through her hair. She took a deep breath. 'Let's change topic, dad. I don't want to get annoyed at you for something that isn't your fault.'

'All right then.' Mr Evans yawned. Then he grinned. 'Got yourself a boyfriend yet?'

'Dad!'

…

'You should be proud of me.' Alice declared as she hugged Lily in greeting.

'Oh?'

'I took the Muggle train all by myself.'

Lily laughed, shaking her head slightly. She pulled out of the hug, snorting at how pleased Alice appeared. Her cheeks were a little rosy from the cold, but her eyes sparkled with excitement.

'You know most Muggles do that every day, don't you?' Lily pointed out, gesturing that Alice come inside.

'I know that.' Alice laughed too. 'Hey, why don't we go for a walk? I've been sat down for an hour on a really stuffy train.'

'Why not? Just let me get my coat.' Lily slipped into her coat (Euphemia had kindly repaired it for her) and pulled on some shoes. 'Let's go.'

They walked arm in arm through the streets of Cokeworth, Lily pointing out random places in which some small anecdote or other had occurred. Eventually, they reached a small playground absent of anyone due to the cold December weather. Alice led the way over to a set of swings and they sat down. They sat in silence, Lily rocking her swing a little as she sat on it.

'Frank proposed to me.' Alice said suddenly, scuffing her feet on the ground. 'Last night when I got back from the protest.'

'And what did you say?' Lily cocked her head to one side, observing her friend, who was looking at the ground, her expression rather vacant.

'I said yes.' Alice breathed, gripping onto the hem of her coat. 'We were just sat in his mum's living room, he'd just healed a cut on my lip, and he asked me. He didn't have a ring or anything, but he said he'd just realised in that moment that he – he couldn't live without me… so he asked…'

'Wow…' Lily smiled softly. 'That's so sweet.'

'Yeah.' Alice echoed her smile, tilting her head back and closing her eyes. 'Yeah…'

'I'm sensing a 'but' on it's way.' Lily observed, her eyes narrowing. 'Alice?'

There was a squeaking sound as Alice twisted the swing she was sat on so that she directly faced Lily.

'Do you ever feel like we're kids pretending to be adults?' she asked, her eyes unblinking. Lily stared at her. 'I mean, look at us. I'm seventeen, you're sixteen, but we're out here going to protests, trying to protect our families, acting like we're the adults. But we're still kids. We shouldn't be doing any of that.'

Lily reached out and squeezed her friend's hand.

'Being young doesn't make your feelings any less true.' she said quietly, smiling reassuringly. 'If you love Frank and you want to marry him, don't feel guilty about it.'

'You're right.' Alice relaxed slightly.

'Of course I am.' Lily winked. 'There's a reason you keep me around.'

…

'They're here!' Mrs Evans screeched from the front room and Mr Evans, who had been tasked with setting up the array of drinks, smashed the wine bottle he had been carrying in shock. The swear word emitted by him, that rang around the whole house, was enough to make Lily fall off the sofa with laughter. 'Oh, love!'

She tutted over at her husband and then pulled up her daughter, who was rolling around on the floor giggling madly.

'Lily, could you get the door? I need to get some paper towels.'

'Sure.' Lily shuffled out into the hallway, taking a deep breath and plastering a delighted smile on her face. Despite the fact that Petunia wouldn't be delighted to see her, she was going to be the bigger person, even if she was just acting herself. She pulled open the door, revealing Petunia striding up the drive, hauling a large suitcase behind her. Heaving out the other suitcase from their car was Vernon.

'Move out of the way.' Petunia said impatiently. 'We can't bring in the luggage with you standing there.'

'Sorry.' Lily stepped to the side, pulling the front door a little wider open. 'Have you got enough stuff there, Vernon?' she called jovially out to her sister's boyfriend. 'I think that suitcase could fit a whole house in it.'

'Don't try to be funny.' her sister hissed in her ear. 'You're embarrassing me!'

Lily bit back the filthy retort, just managing to catch it on the tip of her tongue. She was knocked into the wall as Vernon barged into the vicinity, banging his suitcase accidentally against her injured leg.

'Jesus fu–' Lily caught herself just in time, clutching at her leg as it seized up in pain. Noticing the glares in her direction, she forced a sickly smile onto her cheeks. 'Why don't you give me your coats? Mum and dad are just setting the table.'

Vernon thrust his coat at her and then took to hauling his suitcase up the stairs. Petunia waited for him to disappear into her room before she approaching her sister with her own coat.

'Hide that bandage – it's showing through your tights. I don't want Vernon to think my sister's a ruffian!' she snapped at her, throwing her coat at Lily with enough force to knock out a cart horse.

'I think it's too late, Tuney.' Lily informed her mildly. 'I think you already let it slip when you told him last year, I'm in a gang.'

'You – urgh – just none of your freak stuff while he's here!' Petunia let out a furious breath of air, seizing her suitcase and storming up the stairs with it.

Elbowing the front door shut, Lily shook her head slightly. She hung up the coats and limped into the living room, giving a thumbs up to her parents, who were preoccupied with clearing up the spilled wine. Lowering herself onto the sofa, Lily winced. She hadn't wanted to admit it to herself, but her leg injury had seemed to be getting worse since the protest and Vernon's suitcase swinging into it certainly wasn't helping matters.

Lily closed her eyes, feeling blood pump through her body, making her leg throb uncomfortably. Clearly, she needed to ask Madame Pomfrey for a stronger painkilling potion when she got back to school.

'Pet!' Mrs Evans cried as Petunia and Vernon entered the living room. 'You look so well! And you too Vernon!'

She hugged both of them tightly and then let go so her husband could greet them too. Mr Evans hugged his daughter and shook hands with Vernon, clapping him on the back as he did so.

'Come on, you two. Take a seat.' Mr Evans steered them to the dining table, grinning broadly. 'Vernon, tell me about that new car of yours. Looks a dream.'

'Lily, could you bring through the starter? I left the smoked salmon in the fridge.' Mrs Evans asked, smiling over at her youngest daughter before turning her attention to Petunia. 'Now, Pet, I want to hear all about Yvonne's wedding. Such a shame we couldn't make it. I've seen photos of course but it's never the same.'

Leaving the rest of them to it, Lily did as she was told and went in search of the starter. Slices of smoked salmon, squares of watermelon and baguette was Mrs Evans' favourite combination for an entrée, she thought it to be very sophisticated. Shifting about the kitchen, Lily collected all the required foods on a tray, pausing every so often to rub her twinging leg.

When she came back, everyone had settled at the table, Mrs and Mrs Evans in their usual places and Petunia and Vernon opposite them. Setting the food in the centre of the table, Lily rested the tray against the wall to use again later and sat down at the end of the table, making sure her feet avoided the pointy heels on her sister's feet. She watched everyone help themselves to food, the buzz of talk not filtering through her brain into actual words. She felt queasy; standing up for too long had left her feeling slightly faint.

Fumbling for her glass slightly, Lily took a large gulp of cold water, hoping to abate her irritated stomach. It didn't do much, but at least she was able to translate the hubbub into words again.

'Well, we've actually got some news.' Petunia was declaring smugly. Something lit up in Mrs Evans' eyes, a mother's intuition leaping into action. Vernon reached out and held Petunia's hand, his own smirk echoing that of his girlfriend.

'Knocked up, are you?' Mr Evans asked, grinning. He stopped quickly when his wife glared at him. 'So, er, your news…'

'Vernon and I are engaged.' Petunia announced, wiping out her free hand to reveal a ring sporting a large diamond. Mrs Evans squealed, her suspicions entirely confirmed. Grabbing her daughter's hand, she held it up higher so that the gem reflected strands of light throughout the room. The reflected rays made Lily's head hurt, but she forced herself to look cheerful.

'Congratulations…' she said weakly as her head pounded. 'For how long?'

'Since last week.' Petunia replied, staring at her ring and then Vernon adoringly, for once not offended her sister had dared open her mouth. 'We went out to a really expensive restaurant – La Muraille, it's in London – and then he asked me, just as we were having dessert.'

'How romantic!' Mrs Evans gushed, letting go of Petunia's hand to hold onto her husband's, pressing a kiss to his cheek. 'It sounds just wonderful. Your dad did something similar for me – he took us an expensive hotel for the weekend.'

'Thought to myself, if she says no, at least I'll have stayed some place fancy once in my life.' Mr Evans joked, and Lily snorted, instantly regretting her sudden movement when her head protested. Mrs Evans hit her husband lightly on the head.

'Don't mind him.' she said to the newly engaged couple. 'We're incredibly happy for you, aren't we, William?'

''Course we are.' Mr Evans grinned again. 'It's not everyday you get engaged. Tell you what, why don't we have that champagne in the fridge? I know we're saving it for tomorrow but –'

'Lily, could you get it for us?' Mrs Evans asked, nodding approvingly at her husband's suggestion.

Lily nodded, getting to her feet. She managed to make it to the hallway before the situation with her leg really hit her. Swaying where she stood, Lily threw out an arm and clung onto the cabinet of Mrs Evans' fine cutlery, saved purely for Christmas day and birthdays, so that she wouldn't fall over, attracting the attention of those at the dining table. The scene before her swam for a moment before settling back down, her head continuing to echo the sensation as she cautiously headed into the kitchen. This was going to be a long evening.

…

Lily had another nightmare that night, this one thrusting her into consciousness at around one in the morning. She shifted around restlessly for a while, but her leg was stinging irritably so she slid out of bed and stumped her way over to where she kept her potions. A tablespoon of painkilling potion later and she was off in search of a fresh glass of water, hoping to rid herself of the potion's appalling taste, not to mention it always burned her throat a little on the way down.

It was until she was leaving again, a glass clutched in her hand, that she noticed the front door was ajar. Her heart leapt. Had they been burgled? Or worse, was there some stranger in the house? Thinking she ought to investigate, Lily produced her wand from her dressing gown pocket and nudged the door wider open, looking for clues of forced entry. There weren't any.

A wizard maybe? But if that were true, then that meant –

'Put that thing away!' Petunia snapped from Lily's right, where she sat on the front steps, a lit cigarette between her long fingers. 'Someone could see you!'

Lily scoffed but pocketed her wand.

'Does Vernon know you smoke?' Lily challenged, not remorseful at the sight of her sister's glare since she had had her thinking their house might have been broken into. She folded her arms, watching Petunia take a long drag and then let out a large, billowing cloud of smoke.

'He knows I'm giving up.'

Lily snorted, leaning against the door frame, still watching her sister, who tutted crossly.

'I think the idea is that you don't smoke when you give up.' she pointed out mildly, and Petunia scowled further.

'Thanks for the advice.' Petunia sneered back and Lily shrugged. 'What're you doing up, anyway? It's gone one.'

'Just woke up.' Lily replied vaguely, taking a sip of her water. Her sister's eyes narrowed.

'We might not get on, but I know when you're lying.'

'Good for you.' Lily mocked, not in the mood to humour her sister. 'Well, why don't you use your superior intelligence to guess why I'm out of my nice warm bed and talking to you?'

Petunia considered her for a moment, not one to back down from a challenge. If she had been a witch and attended Hogwarts, Lily liked to think her sister would have been a fellow Gryffindor. She had a great deal of pride.

'It's a boy,' she tried, eyeing Lily carefully, puffing up defensively when she raised her eyebrows.

'Sure, Tuney.' She applauded slowly. 'Well done.'

'Your leg – it's got to do with your leg.' Petunia's eyes lit up with triumph and Lily rolled her eyes at this need to come out on top.

'Congratulations.'

'W-what did you do to it?' her sister inquired slowly. 'Not that I care, I'm just curious…'

'You really want to know?' Petunia nodded and Lily smirked, leaning in as if about to divulge a gigantic secret. In spite of herself, Petunia mimicked her sister, her eyes widening with interest. 'It was a lion – a great big one – it jumped at me and tried to eat my leg off.'

'You're lying.' Petunia said at once, deflating with disappointment.

'Prove it.' Lily told her carelessly, yawning widely. 'I'm going back to bed. Sleep well, Tuney. Run if you see a lion for me.'

She waved lazily and ventured back into the house, leaving her sister staring after her, long after Lily had retired to bed.

Did you like that little scene between Lily and Petunia? Make my day and leave a review!