Lily clambered out of her father's car, going to get her trunk out of the back. Lily's father always tried to get it for her but lily wasn't a huge fan of people helping her with things she could do herself. She ran and got it herself before he could. He came around and shook his head

"Why are you so opposed to making life easier for yourself?" he chuckled

"Why are you so opposed to me doing things for myself?" she countered lightheartedly, lifting the trunk and setting it down on the sidewalk. Not easily, but she liked doing it for some reason. It made her feel independant. It was stupid, but there was no harm in it.

"At least let me get the door for you." he said walking the few feet to the front door and holding it open for her

"Thanks." lily smiled up at him. She closed the back door to the car and began dragging her trunk up the walk. She lifted it up to get it over the step into the house and heaved a sigh as she set it down again, now in the foyer.

"Is that my lily?" she heard her mother yell from across the house. She had an appointment and hadn't been able to come pick her up from king's cross this year.

"No, it's just dad letting strangers into the house again." she yelled back and only a second later her mother appeared around the corner and ran to her.

"I missed you so much!" her mother exclaimed, grasping lily in a firm hug

"Missed you too, mum." lily laughed happily returning the hug. "Where's petunia?" she asked when they broke apart. Lily wasn't surprised petunia wasn't here. She would have more surprised if she was. Petunia had stopped greeting lily when she got home from hogwarts after lily had finished fourth year, stating "i guess this freak stuff of yours really wasn't a phase".

"Oh," her mother waved a hand "off with that boyfriend of hers, i expect. They're coming over for dinner later, i know you're just dying to meet him." she said sarcastically

"Don't worry," her father said "you won't really want to die until you hear him talk about his job."

"George!" her mother exclaimed, hitting him on the arm before turning to lily and saying "he's not kidding, though. You really will want to die." lily laughed again. It felt so good to be home.

"Can i help you with your trunk?" her mother offered. Lily was about to decline but

"Yeah, i guess. I suppose i can't really get it upstairs by myself. It's quite heavy."

"Oh come on!" came the cry from her father. Lily stuck her tongue out at him while she grabbed her side of the trunk and lifted, her mother holding the other. Together they maneuvered carefully up the stairs, only scraping the wall once. The same place they scraped it every year. There was a large black mark on the wall that, frankly, looked horrible but her mother never let her father paint over it.

"It has memories, george! It makes the house looks lived in."

"What memories? The memory of you two always failing to carry lily's belongings up to her room correctly."

"Yes!"

Lily and her mother reached her room, setting the trunk down with a loud thump.

"Careful!" her father yelled from downstairs

"Oh, shut it!" her mother yelled back. She ten turned to lily "so. How was hogwarts this year?"

"It was the usual." lily replied "magic, spells, all that nonsense." she was only joking, but she couldn't help but think of petunia when she called it all nonsense.

"Did you get yourself a boyfriend yet?" her mother teased. She asked this question when lily came home every year. She had even asked it when lily came home from her first year. Lily usually rolled her eyes immediately and brushed the question off but her mother read into her delayed response.

"Oh my, you actually do have a boyfriend don't you!"

"Well," lily tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear "something like that."

"Ah! And you didn't write home to tell me! Who is he!"

"Well," lily started "do you remember" this wasn't about to come out well "how i always tell you about those four boys at school."

"The ones that are always causing trouble?" lily's mother asked

"Yeah, those ones. Do you also remember how i told you one of them is always asking me out?"

"The potter boy?"

"Yes again, well… he did and i went and now… we're together."

"Really? The boy you always thought was so annoying? What changed?"

"I don't know." lily admitted, feeling a little silly sitting in her room talking about boys with her mother "he's just… he's not just the potter boy anymore he's… james. He's nice and thoughtful and i really, really like him."

"Oh my goodness, that's adorable." her mother declared "i bet you two look cute together!"

"mum!"