*** The Marauder Chronicles is a fan fiction. It isn' to be sold, reproduced or taken as true. The main characters and most locations belong to J.K. Rowling, as do all publishing rights. No copyright infringement is intended.***

The Summer in Between

Part One

"The world is full of irony, you just can't always see it."

Sirius' jaw dropped, he swore he heard it shatter as it hit the pavement, his teeth rolling every which direction. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. James popped open the box to reveal a gold ring, on which lay three diamonds, the center one bigger than it's two neighbors. Lily stood silent, her hands to her mouth, her eyes reading total astonishment. Everyone else on the platform also fell silent and stood and stared. The girls all began crying with tears of joy, the boys grinned.

"James, I..." Lily began.

"I know what you're going to say," James interrupted, "We'll get married next summer, when we're old enough. Not this summer. I want to spend forever with you, Lily. Since the first time I saw you I loved you, and I will till the end of time. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy, because I can only find happiness if I know you are smiling."

A single tear of joy slid down her cheek. With her hands still covering her open mouth, she smiled, and nodded, then began to laugh.

James stood, took her waist and lifted her high in the air and began to spin her around. The crowd that was watching the scene unfold applauded and whooped, the girls were all in tears saying, "How romantic!"

"We're getting married!" she said to him, "Oh James!" she exclaimed as she hugged him, still crying with utter bliss. "You've made me so very happy."

James smiled, one of two of the greatest smiles that he ever wore. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me."

Sirius still stayed in his stupor. He still didn't quite grasp what he had seen. For sure James wouldn't have had the guts to ask such an important question as that, just now. No, he was going to take at least five years to pop that question, why was he doing it now? It just didn't make sense.

"Sirius!" Lily exclaimed, "We're getting married!"

"Uh huh," was all he could say, a stupid smile on his face.

"You alright, man?" James asked, "You know what this makes you?"

"All alone," Sirius responded automatically.

Lily's feet met the floor softly as James set her down. They both looked at each other, then back at Sirius who was staring into space.

"All alone?" James asked, curiously.

"Whose all alone?" Sirius said, with all sincerity. It seemed clear he was now back in the present.

"You just said that you're going to be all alone," James told him. Sirius gave him a funny face.

"No I didn't. Why would I say something like that?"

"Yeah, I heard you say it, Sirius," Lily attested. "I was standing right here. James asked you, 'Do you know what this makes you?' and you said, 'all alone.' Do you think you're alone, Sirius?"

He looked at her as if she was crazy. "No," he answered. "I never said that." But James and Lily looked at him strangely, making him uncomfortable. "So Congratulations!" he said, changing the subject.

James and Lily didn't quite understand, but smiled and moved on.

After the dramatic goodbyes, and the celebratory placement of the three diamond engagement ring on Lily's delicate finger, they left through Platform Nine and three Quarters. James and Sirius got off in the Tiverton Train station to find Mr. and Mrs. Black waiting for them.

Lily got off in the Norfolk train station to find that a short woman, with faded red hair, and a tall man with brown hair with some grey flecks were waiting for her. They were her parents and were eagerly anticipating her arrival. When she saw their smiling faces, she abandoned her cart and ran into their open arms.

"There's my princess!" her dad yelled as he enclosed her into his arms. Her mother was right behind her, hugging her tightly.

"We missed you, baby," Mrs. Evans said, "we missed you so much!"

"I missed you too," Lily said, though it was muffled due to the fact that she was talking into her father's suit. They all stayed in that group hug for at least five minutes, just holding each other. Passer's by looked at them and laughed.

When they did start walking to the car, Lily told them about the last half of the year, how they won the Quidditch cup, and the Inter-House championship, and how she had gotten 13 O.W.L.s, the top score in the school, but she purposely didn't mention her very recent engagement, and had also managed to keep her left hand out of sight.

Lily was opening the back door to her father's Mercedes Benz when her mother began a different conversation.

"Oh, Lily, did you get my letter?" she asked, as she got into the passenger's seat.

"What letter?," Lily asked. She put on her seat belt, and relaxed a bit.

"About the Wedding."

"Oh," Lily said, her eyes popping widely, "That letter, yeah I got it alright." She didn't mean for it to come out in such a dry, unpleasant tone. "So did Petunia forget about inviting me, or did she not want me to take any part in her marriage to Vernon?"

Mr. and Mrs. Evans exchanged nervous glances, then Mrs. Evans turned around in her seat to face her daughter.

"You know what," Lily said before her mother could utter a word, "It doesn't matter. I know she didn't want me there, I know that you probably tried to reason with her, but nothing could change her mind. I don't care, it's not like I'm going to invite her to my wedding next summer any..." Lily stopped dead. She had said she was having a wedding next summer. She had blown her cover. Way to go, stupid. And you worked so hard at not saying it just moments ago. You're never going to be Head Girl, she thought. But would they notice?

"What?" they both asked. "Did you say something about a Wedding?" her father asked, staring at her in the rear view mirror.

"Yeah," Lily said, but thought of a different route quickly enough, "So how was Petunia's ceremony? Was is nice?" But for all it was worth, she could have said she was joining a convent; they weren't fooled for a second.

"You just said that you were getting married next summer," Mr. Evans said, "Isn't that what you heard, Amanda?" he asked his wife.

"Yes, it is," she answered. She turned back again to look at Lily.

"Princess," Mr. Evans continued, "Are you planning on getting wed next summer?" his tone was very alluring.

Lily shifted uncomfortably in her seat, being careful not to expose her ring. But they kept staring at her.

"Yes," she said quietly. Mr. Evans had to swerve to miss a lamp post, the tires squealed.

"Robert!" Amanda yelled, clutching the handle on the car door. Once he was driving in his lane again, and the other cars on the road stopped honking at him, Robert took a deep breath.

"Lily, you are 16 years old, and far to young to even be thinking about marriage. Your mother and I met in college, in college, and got married in out late twenties, and you, you want to get married next summer!"

"I'm going to be 17 years old in two weeks, Daddy! I'll be a legal wizard by then, able to do magic when I see fit. And I am away from home nine months out of the year, so I am hardly a little girl anymore."

Robert started to drive faster, and his face was getting more color. "Whom are we marrying? It's not that Potter character you mentioned casually over Christmas, the same boy you were out with late at night when you were supposed to be in bed, thus causing your first detention in your life, is it?" Robert made it sound as if James was a common criminal, with the tone of his voice, and to Robert that's exactly what James was.

Lily looked at her palms. She had always been the favorite daughter, and she knew she had been. Whatever she did, she came out on top of the world, and her parents just loved her for it, more than they did before, which Lily thought was impossible. But now's when things got tricky. She knew that when she brought home the man she wanted to marry, her father would have a heart attack. No man would ever be good enough. Oh sure, Petunia could date whomever she wanted, they never cared, but Lily, their baby girl, their pride and joy, their Princess?

"Yes, the very same," Lily almost whispered.

"No, No, NO! I will not have my daughter marrying some late night walk about, who kisses in a dark secluded room, I won't stand for it!" he yelled.

"Daddy, James isn't a 'late night walk about!' He's a wonderful person, and I love him, and you are not going to stand in my way. I'll be eighteen years old next summer, and you won't be able to say anything about it. You haven't even met him, or spoken to him yet, how do you know he's such a bad person? You'll love him, he's nothing like Vernon."

Amanda smiled at Lily, and put her hand on her husbands shoulders. "I think it's sweet," she said.

"Sweet?" Robert said disgusted, "Sweet? How do you think it's sweet?"

"Oh come now, dear. You can't stop a young girl from falling in love, now can you? We always knew, or I always knew, that our Lily would marry young. She's too kind and beautiful to be single for long, and I think you know that too, Robert. You just don't want to let her go."

"Well I still don't like it. Not at all. I'll just have to meet this Potter. What are his goals, his aspirations, his physical desires?"

Lily laughed. "'Physical desires? Daddy!"

"Now you listen to me, Princess. When I was a young boy that's all I wanted: Physical. And you can't convince me that John doesn't think the same way."

"His name is James, and he's not the same way. He's the top student in the school, he's got the best grades, he's Quidditch captain, well respected and liked, very kind and gentle, and positively cute."

"Whatever.." Robert said. He kept mumbling to himself, the word "Potter" could be heard occasionally. "I thought you said that you wanted to live with us. Forever," Robert said to Lily.

"Daddy, I said that when I was five. I didn't think I would ever want to leave then. But that was eleven years ago. I've grown up."

"I was hoping that you would never change your mind," Robert said, a note of sadness in his voice. "You can stay with us as long as you want, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know that."

Once they had arrived home, her parents helped her unload her trunk and take it up to her room. It looked the same as she had left it a year ago. The walls were a very light blue, almost white. Her bed was centered in the middle, covered in a powder blue spread, with white pillows on the end. She had various posters on her walls: Unicorns dancing in purple streams, baby angels asleep in the clouds, and a single poster of John Lennon, a man from a muggle musical group known as "The Beatles." She loved John Lennon, he reminded her of James, especially in this picture. His hair was a bit longer, but messy and black, and he wore round glasses, just like James.

On her ceiling were dozens of glow in the dark stars that her mother had given her once when she was very young. She had never taken them down, even though she knew they were quite juvenile. But some how they comforted her when it was dark and stormy outside. She knew it was silly, but could never remove even one.

She lay down on her bed and sighed. What a day it had already been, and what days to come. Lily leaned over on her side to look at her night-stand. On it was a single photograph, in a frame. It was a picture she had taken of James just before Christmas. She looked at him, and smiled, then looked at her ring, and smiled even more.

"So what are you doing now?" she asked.

* * * * *

"We brought over all your stuff, and all of you're parent's things. Your belongings are in the guest room, your new room, just down the hall from Sirius," Jen said to James as she took him to his new room. He tried to look happy about it, but he wasn't. It was still hard to believe that his mother and father weren't waiting for him across the street. He didn't like the new empty feeling that was filling his insides, but there wasn't anything anyone could say to assuage it.

"I know what you must be thinking," Jen said to him, "And it will take some getting used to, but in time you'll feel much better. You know the rules, you've spent half of your life over here, anyways, just don't set the house on fire, or the neighbors, and try not to blow up anything," She smiled at him, and he returned the favor, but still couldn't say anything. "Help yourself to anything you'd like, James. If you need me, or Mitch or anything at all, you know where to find us." She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek before she left.

James looked around at his new room. Clearly the Blacks had taken all measures necessary to make this room look like his old one, and he appreciated it. It was still hard to believe that his parents weren't across the street waiting for him in his own house. What he would give to see them for just one last time, and say goodbye. But he couldn't, because Voldemort had ripped them from him, taken his family, and he would never forget that.

"Oh my," Sirius said sighing as he came in and threw himself on the bed. "What a day it has been. So much excitement and the summer has yet to begin. So this wedding of yours, I'll be the best man, of course."

James smiled, "But of course. No one else could fill the bill."

"So it's a lack of options, then. It's not because you have known me since forever?" he asked grinning.

"That's right Sirius, it is due to lack of options. Who else would I have do it? It wouldn't be right if you weren't up there with me, telling me I am doing the right thing."

"How do you know that's what I'll say? Maybe I'll tell you to run for it an move to Iceland," he joked. James laughed.

"I'll be so nervous I might just do that. But running across the Atlantic ocean will prove difficult. But that's not for a while. I am so glad that she said yes. For a moment I was thinking she would say no, and I would have keeled over right there."

"My parents would have a coronary if I told them I proposed to some girl I had been dating for less than a year. Way less than a year, mind you. Of course I can't even keep a girl for that long. For that, I congratulate you and honor you."

"Thanks," James said smiling, sitting down on a chair and staring out the window. He beamed as he thought of his life with her, almost wanting to skip the seventh year of school.

"So where are you going to live?" Sirius asked as he sat up.

"I have no idea," James replied.

"That's good. Maybe a box on the street, then you wouldn't have to pay rent, and you could move easily from place to place."

James snorted with laughter. "Are you ever serious, Sirius?" he asked.

"You know, that would almost be funny if I hadn't heard it all the time. And yes, I can be. Ok, this is me being serious. Why did they have to name me that? Ok, I digress, what are you going to do for a living? Some how I just can't see Lily wanting you fighting the Dark Arts in Africa, like you father did, so what are you going to do?"

James looked at him a while and thought to himself. What was he going to do? He had never really given it much thought. He liked to play Quidditch more than study, well, he never really studied. He was certain that Lily wouldn't like him traveling all over the world playing for an international Quidditch team, so that was out. He was best at Transfiguration, but what could he do with that?

"I have no idea," James said to him. "What am I going to do?"

"How can you expect me to be serious with an answer like that?" he asked strait faced.

"Well, they left me a huge sum of money, more than I could ever imagine, so it's not like I need to decide right away. And I have decided to sell my house, I want to start a family in a different one, and selling it will give me more money. I don't have to decide on a career right away. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, probably the same thing as you. But I don't have a wife to support. Oh, and then there's the other thing."

"What other thing?" James asked.

"Come on, James. Don't be naive. You know Lily's going to want kids. Then you'll have them to deal with. Stinky diapers, late nights, no more time alone with her, you can count on that."

"Do you not like children?" James asked, "I wouldn't mind. Actually I think it would be great."

"Yeah, that's what you say now, just wait till they pee all over you, and cry all the time. It's not that I don't like kids, I love them actually, just as long as I don't have to care for them personally. I don't want to change a diaper."

"Who does want to change one. I can hear Lily now, 'Oh please, please let me change it this time, you go to do it last time' it's a conversation that is neither spoken nor heard. Besides, it's a little early in the game to be thinking about that. I've been engaged for a good hour, and you are talking to me about babies. Just wait a minute, till next summer anyway."

* * * * *

Two uneventful weeks passed, unless you want to count Lily throwing cautions to the winds.

"No, James, you cannot come over here. If my father sees you, he'll kill you, and I am not exaggerating."

"I think you're being a bit jumpy. He hasn't even met me yet, what if he likes me?" James responded.

"He almost ran into a lamp post when I told him about you, people were honking at us for the reckless driving. Just imagine if you walked into his house. No, I appreciate the fact that you want to see me, but my 17th birthday will be much better if I know that you are breathing."

When her birthday did arrive, an official letter from Hogwarts came, it read:

Dear Miss. Evans,

Congratulations on your 17th Birthday! Today marks an important time in your life, when you can step into the legal wizarding age, and look back onto your childhood. Being a legal witch as you are now, you can preform magic at home, being careful around muggles. Any illegal spells or careless use of Magic will result in various reprimands from large fines to prison Terms.

Again, congratulations,

Minerva McGonnagal

Lily decided that she would master her great natural talents, the magic she could preform without a wand, which was greatly improving. When she awoke in the morning, she could open the curtains without lifting a finger, and the doors opened before she reached for them. In the morning she could brush her teeth, while her hair brush took on a life of its own and brushed her hair. At the breakfast table the salt and pepper shakers flew into her hands before she could even utter the words, "would you please pass the salt." And when some neighborhood teenagers asked her if she wanted to play basketball, she of course accepted the challenge, and amazed all of them with her perfect shots. Her parents were very pleased with this talent, and smiled all the while.

You could say that things were going swimmingly for Lily that summer, she was planning on taking the Knight bus to Godric's Hollow to visit James very soon, but then something came up.

"Lily dear," her mother said, as she came into her room one after noon, "We're going out to dinner this evening, as a family."

"Alright," she said, "I'll just get a dress ready." But Amanda didn't move. She looked as though there was something else that she needed to say. "What is it, mum?"

"Well," she hesitated, "it won't be just the three of us, this evening, I fear."

"Petunia's going isn't she?" Lily asked, Amanda nodded, "and Vernon too, then?" Again, she nodded. "That's it, right?" Lily dreaded what her mother was going to say.

"And his family is also going. Sorry, dear," she said, but it was clear that she was also feeling sorry for herself.

"How many family member does he have?"

"Just his parents, and his sister. Just one big happy family," she said sarcastically.

"What's his sister like?" Lily asked.

"Just like him, I fear."

Gross! She thought, but didn't say. A female Vernon was something to make your nose wrinkle, and Lily's did just that. It was quite clear that they didn't like Vernon and his family, but Lily found it honorable that they wanted to keep some kind of connection. Never the less, this was going to be a horrible evening. She was going to have dinner with 8 people, five of which would hate her guts, and if they didn't right away they would by the time the salad came.

"Are you going to be alright?" Amanda asked her.

"Yeah," she responded weakly. If only there was a way to get out of this. But there wasn't. She would just have to keep a stiff upper lip and do it. But my God, what a hassle. There had to be some way to make it more interesting, there just had to be.

"OK," Lily said slowly, rolling her eyes a bit. "I'll get a dress ready then. Where is it, the restaurant, I mean?" Maybe it would be a really nice place, with lots of paintings on the walls, and an orchestra to drown out the boring, mindless, senseless chatter.

"The Elegance, in Norwich. It's a very nice place, suit and tie. We have reservations for 7:30, and the orchestra will be playing."

"OK," she said, with the same drone of a voice.

"Your father and I are going to the store to pick up some things, would you like to join us?" she asked.

Surely James would know how to spice it up a bit, he could make anything more interesting, yes, if only...wait, that's it! James! She would call him! Oh yes this is a good idea!

"No," Lily said with a sudden smile, which simply shocked her mother, "You go on ahead with out me, I'll just stay here and try to make myself look presentable."

Amanda squinted at her, and wanted to say something, but assumed that the old adage was true, "Ignorance is bliss." Amanda left without saying anything, but shaking her head as she joined her husband and headed for the garage.

Once the dust stirred by the Mercedes had settled, Lily ran to her trunk, opened it and rummaged to the bottom to find a small glass flask which was filled with dark metallic purple powder. This powder enabled her to talk to people in the wizarding world through fire, it was how she talked to James and all of her friends. Jade had given it to her on the train back home. She took it in her hands and ran downstairs to the living room. With a snap of her fingers, a roaring fire emerged, she pinched some of the powder, and threw it in. "James Potter," she spoke clearly. In a rush of flames, Lily could see a living room, empty for the moment, but some one had to pick up.

Lily sat on the coffee table while she waited momentarily for James to answer. When someone did come, two minutes later, it wasn't James, but Sirius.

"Why it's Lily!" he said smiling, "How are you?"

"I could be better, you?" she had to go with the pleasantries, Sirius was a good friend.

"I'm fine. My parents stepped out a bit. What's on your mind?"

"I need to talk to James," she said. To her surprise, Sirius frowned.

"You can't," he said suddenly.

"Why not?" he had never refused to talk to her.

"You just can't. He can't talk to you right now."

"Is he mad at me?"

"Don't be silly, he just can't talk."

"Sirius, what's wrong, did you do something to him?" she asked suspiciously, after all, his parents were not in the house, anything was possible.

"He's out of commission for the time being."

Out of commission? What did that mean? Was this some secret phrase they used around each other, like those weird nick names?

"What do you mean he's 'out of commission?'" she asked slowly.

"He's having some problems, with....well...you know..." he said quietly, almost a whisper.

"No," she said, "I don't know. What's the problem?"

"Well, he's having some difficulty with his, well...reflexes....maybe."

"Sirius," Lily said loudly, "Is this some male thing, or what? I'll be living with him in a year from now, I think you can tell me what's wrong with him."

"He's ill."

"Ill, how so?" she asked.

"He had a bad reaction to my mother's cooking, and he's been puking all afternoon," he said bluntly.

"Puking?" she didn't know if she had heard it right.

"Yeah, Puking," Sirius said, "you know, up-chucking, vomiting, spewing his guts out, tossing his cookies, worshiping the porcelain god, bar-"

Lily held up her hand, "I know what puking is Sirius, you don't need to give me all the English expressions for it. Is he going to be alright, does he need to see a doctor, should I go over there to be with him?"

"Yes, no, no," he answered. "He was like this last week, it's just sensitivity, he'll get over it. But my god, you should see his face. It's as green as I'll get out. But not to worry, in a few hours he'll be as good as new. Well, maybe not new, maybe old. Maybe used, even. How can you look as good as new?" he asked sharply.

"I don't know," she said dismissing it quickly. "So you're sure he'll be fine?"

"Positive. Now, what did you want to say to him, I can relay the message." Now Lily's cry for help didn't seem so desperate, with him being so violently sick. She would just deal with them on her own.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she said waving her hand casually, but Sirius had known her long enough to know when she was fibbing.

"You can tell me Lily, you can tell me anything, you know that, right?" he said soothingly. Lily looked into his face.

"Well, it's just that....oh, never mind, it's not a big deal."

"If it wasn't a big deal, then why did you call? Come on, spill it out."

"I am having dinner with my sister and her husband's family, and I know that they will all hate me, and they are all boring, and rude. And I wanted to talk to James to ask what to do with the whole mess, if there was anyway that I could do to make it more interesting," she said quickly.

"You wanted him to go with you, didn't you?" he asked with a devilish grin. "Show all of them what you could get, in comparison with your sister, right?"

Lily hesitated as she looked back at him, then a smirk crept onto her lips. "Maybe just a little," she admitted. Sirius laughed loudly, Lily giggled a bit.

"Well," Sirius said, "James definitely can't go, unless you want him to puke on everyone. But if you want some help, I would be only to happy to comply. This situation of yours has many possibilities."

Lily thought about it for a little while. What would be the harm? Sirius was the next best thing, and did know a lot about messing with peoples minds.

"Yes, I would love it if you helped me out of this. What do you have in mind?"

Sirius grinned, "This is what we can do..."

It was a somber journey on the way to the Elegance. It was quite clear that no one, even her parents, wanted to have this dinner, but saw it as a very necessary precaution between families. Many times Robert opened his mouth and raised his pointer finger to say something important and diplomatic, but words failed him; unmistakable grunts came out of his mouth instead.

Robert was dressed in one of his best suits, Amanda was wearing a dark green dress, almost black, with a black wrap to match. But Lily was dressed the best of all. She had made some magical adjustments to a simple dress that she had in her closet, and it looked spectacular.

When they pulled up to the front of the restaurant the valet opened the doors. First Amanda's, and she got out as if she had never done this before. She nearly tripped on the red carpet that lined the small entrance way. Then he opened Lily's back door. When he reached in to take her hand, he stopped breathing at the sight of her, as did the crowd that was gathered around the entrance. He lifted her out of the seat an onto the carpet, she rose like a Queen, and looked like an enchantress.

She wore a pure white dress, made of the finest silk in the world. The sleeves fit snugly around her upper arms, leaving her shoulders and neck bare. Her tiny waist was accentuated, and a slit on the left side exposed her leg up to just above her knee, but was very tasteful. Around her neck she wore the opaline pendant that James had given her for Christmas, and her hair, which usually fell to her waist, was up in a curled bun. She looked like a goddess, no man could resist her mesmerizing looks.

"Here you go, my boy," Robert said to the valet, who if his mouth were opened just bit wider it would touch the ground; he was speechless. Everyone else in the restaurant reacted the same way. The doorman nearly slammed the door on an elderly couple as he watched Lily glide by him. The man taking the reservations had to be pinched by one of his waitresses, who was not so impressed by Lily's appearance, before he could take them to their seats.

Petunia and the Dursleys were already seated at a very long table very close to the orchestra. Petunia had her blonde hair curled, as her lips were: savage. Vernon was looking very round indeed, his buttons on his grey suit were causing tension marks around his stomach. There was a plump woman and a very large man sitting next to him, they must be his parents. Well, the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? They both had mousy brown hair, and there noses were sticking high in the air. Then there was a very large woman sitting near the other end of the table, wearing an obnoxious purple dress, and a funny looking hat. She had flushed cheeks and lots of eye makeup, perhaps to distract the viewers eye from what looked like a mustache above her upper lip. She was grasping a full wine glass in her thick fingers, the wine bottle close by her.

Petunia stood up when she saw her parents enter the dining area, as did the others at the table. She smiled at her mother and father, but when she saw Lily, she looked down at her feet, and then scanned her entire body till she reached her face, with which she stared into. The whole process was much like a General inspecting his troops before battle.

"Hello, Petunia," Lily said politely to her.

"Hello," she responded formally. Then she moved to her in-laws, "Mom, Dad, you remember Cindy and Victor from the Wedding, and Vernon's sister, Marge." Marge got up half way and raised her half empty wine glass to them.

"I don't remember meeting this beautiful young lady," Victor said to Petunia as he reached out to shake her hand. Lily smiled, Petunia just walked over and sat down next to Vernon.

"This is our youngest daughter, Lily," Robert said, coming to the rescue. He smiled proudly as he put his hand around her waist. Victor recoiled a bit, but took her hand.

"Well, Petunia did mention you a few times," he said, though looking increasingly uncomfortable with the subject, "But she never mentioned how lovely you are."

"Imagine that," Lily said lightly. Once the introductions had been carried out, poorly I may add, they sat down. Lily sat across from Marge, and next to her father, who seemed like he wanted to keep close tabs on her.

"The bulldog is one of the finest breeds Great Britain has," Marge said informatively about half an hour into the dinner. Lily started picking at her salad, and swirling the croutons around the plate, like they were racing. "I have ten dogs right now, but Maurice is my champion. He travels with me everywhere, insists on coming. He's also a great protection for when I travel, no one breaks into my car when he's in the passenger seat. I was telling my neighbor just the other day about Maurice and his battles against people who are parked next to me," she laughed greatly, as she filled her wine glass to the brim. "Oh, well. My other dog, Betty, she's just the opposite of Maurice, though she is also a champion," Bla, bla, bla, Lily thought as she watched Marge's five chins wobble incessantly as she gabbed about her dogs. No one cares about you dogs! SHUT UP! Please, for the love of God, SHUT UP!!!

"The pedigree is so sacred, don't you agree Mr. Evans? May I call you Robert?" You can call him Bobbie if you shut up already with the dogs! But Robert was staring into a painting that was just above Marge's head. Lily pinched his side.

"Yes, yes, of course. Absolutely right you are!" he said suddenly. Lily bit her lip to keep from laughing. Marge didn't find this funny at all, so she poured herself some more wine. Down at the other end of the table, Cindy was boring Amanda with Vernon's accomplishments at business school. Lily didn't think that her mother was actually listening, but just nodding and smiling to keep her happy. Victor and Vernon were discussing the bulls and bears of the London stock exchange, while Petunia smiled and nodded with the conversation. Where is he? It's already eight o'clock and this woman in the violent purple has been talking about her stupid dogs all night! HELP ME!!!!!! she screamed in her head. She decided to turn back to Marge, she was still on about dogs.

"So, Libby," she said to Lily.

"My name's Lily," she corrected her politely. Marge gave her a cold look.

"Whatever, do you like dogs?" Of all the things she could have asked, she had to bring it around to herself? How can anyone be so self absorbed? How could you be that shallow and still breath?

"Yeah, I like some. Small ones, mostly," she said.

"Some?" Marge asked disgusted. "Have you ever had a dog?"

"Well, I wanted one when I was younger, but Petunia isn't fond of dogs, so we didn't get one, isn't that right Daddy?" she pinched him again.

"Oh yes, yes of course. You're absolutely right!" he said. "I was just looking at this painting here," he said, pointing to the piece just above Marge's hideous hat, "Isn't it lovely." It was. The painting was of a very mountainous place, Yosemite to be exact, a tourist place in America. There was a large glass lake, and a family of deer were crowed around a small section of the painting. The light pierced the clouds and reflected on the lake and the snow capped mountains. "I would love to see a place like that some time," he said.

"It's beautiful," Lily said thoughtfully. "Don't you think so, Marge?" But Marge wasn't paying any attention. She was looking at a point between Roberts' and Lily's heads, and smiling widely. Then she made some very funny gestures and facial expressions. First she winked and giggled, then she pursed her lips as if to kiss someone, then she waved with her sausage like fingers to whoever was over at that end of the room. Lily had to say something.

"Marge, who are you looking at?" she asked.

"There is a very hansom young man, sitting alone at that table. He has been looking at me!" she giggled again. Lily turned around slowly to get a look at this man, who must be blind to be flirting with Marge. As she turned in her chair and saw the man, she felt a warmth pass through her body, it was Sirius. He was wearing a tuxedo, with a dark grey vest underneath it, and a black bow tie. A crimson carnation was delicately placed on his left breast. He was seated alone, with a small glass of white Chardonnay in his hands. When he saw Lily, he winked. Lily turned around quickly.

"He is very hansom, Marge," she said, very much enjoying the irony of the situation.

"Isn't he though," she poured more wine. "Oh my goodness, he's coming this direction, no wait, he's going to the Orchestra, now he's coming over here, he's coming over here! Oh Lily, how do I look?" she started putting on more eye make up. Lily couldn't help but laugh.

Sirius came to the end of the table with a majestic presence. All of the conversations stopped, as everyone at the table looked at the young hansom man with a impressive physique. Marge was beside herself with joy.

"Good evening," he said warmly, then he turned to look at Robert, "I was wondering, if I may have your permission to ask you daughter to dance with me?" Lily looked at her father surprised but happy all the same. Robert looked again at the young man and smiled.

"Yes," he said jovially, "yes you may," he liked people who asked for his permission to dance with his daughter.

Sirius extended his hand for her to take, and bowed to kiss it as she slowly got up. Lily looked quickly at Petunia, who was cold faced, then to Marge who was looked as though she could fry a steak on her face. Sirius escorted her to the middle of the floor, a good forty feet from her family's table.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, as he placed one hand around her waist, and the other in his, "it took me forever to find a Duxeto, and Mum had to give me a quick lesson in dancing."

"You're doing very well, like a professional, but Sirius, it's a 'tuxedo' not a Duxeto. How is he?" she asked.

"Oh, well he tried to drink water, but apparently he's not ready for that step yet, so he tossed it."

"Oh my, the poor thing!" she said sadly.

"Well, he was feeling well enough to laugh at me when he saw this penguin suit that I am wearing, of course then he threw up again. You should have seen how pale and green he looked, oh he felt like bloody hell, poor devil. So why don't you tell me about all of these characters," he said nodding over to the group, who were all watching Lily and him waltz across the floor.

"Well, the one across from me and my father, that's Marge, Vernon's sister, she's been talking about dogs the entire time, and thought that you were flirting with her."

"The sister of the idiot that married your sister, got it."

Lily laughed, "That's her alright. The one sitting next to her is Cindy Dursley, Vernon's mother. She's been talking to my mother about her son's accomplishments and boring her to death. Next to her is Petunia and Vernon, who has been discussing the London Stock Exchange with his father the whole evening."

"Stock exchange?" Sirius asked.

"A muggle currency system. It's very complex, not even I can understand it. So now you are up to date."

"Excellent. So what do want to do to these poor saps?"

"I just don't want to go back to that table, they are driving me mad. Just dance with me for now, they are tiring me with their boring, condescending yip yap." She sighed and closed her eyes. Sirius was a very good dancer, it was almost rhythmic. "And you just learned how to dance, today?"

"Yeah, I'm a fast learner."

Lily leaned her head against his chest so that her face wasn't looking in the direction of her table. Sirius looked down at her and smiled weakly, his heart rate increasing steadily. "Tired?" he asked.

"Yeah, you don't mind do you? I'm not trying to tell you anything, or pull a fast one, you know that, right?" she asked, making sure he understood her motives.

"Yeah, of course!" but afterwards she could hear his heart slowing to a normal rate. It was nice being away from that horrible situation, with those horrible people and with a friend. When the music stopped, Lily reluctantly pulled away and applauded with the rest of the dancing couples. Lily looked over to her table and saw that her parents were smiling. Robert was signaling for her to bring Sirius over to join them.

"They want to meet you," she said to him, "Are you ready?"

"Born ready, but you're not going to tell them who I really am, are you?"

"No way. This is how it's going to work. You are Sylvester Black, a pre-med student at Oxford University studying to become a pediatrician."

"Wait, can you go over that again, in English. I don't know anything about the muggle way," he said nervously.

"I told you four that you need to take muggle studies years ago, but you just didn't listen. A pre-med student is one who is studying medicine to become a doctor. You are studying at Oxford University, a very prestigious school, to learn how to be a pediatrician, a doctor for children," she explained slowly.

"A doctor? Lily, I can't stand the sight of blood, can't I be something else?"

"It's just for fun, Sirius, you know, make believe," she said clearly mocking him, but he was still uneasy. "Ok, what are you good at besides finding all possible ways to break rules?"

"Quidditch, testing, dating women, transfiguration and making funny noises with my teeth."

"Do you know anything about Shakespeare?" she asked.

"What's Shakespeare?" he asked.

"Then you're definitely a doctor. Don't worry about it, just play along, my parents will love you. You can do this Sylvester, I know you can, you pull this stuff all the time."

She took his hand and started for the table, smiling all the while.

"Isn't your father a doctor, won't he piece it together?" he whispered just before they reached her table.

"Everyone," Lily said very loudly to all who sat at the table, "This is Sylvester Black. Sylvester, this is Marge, my father Robert and mother Amanda Evans, and Cindy and Victor Dursley, and that's my sister Petunia, and her husband Vernon."

"Nice to meet your acquittances," he said politely, his usual confident air was absent. Sirius sat down on a chair next to Lily which was provided by Mr. Evans who was glad to see a young man that wasn't going to be kissing his daughter in a haunted bathroom.

"So," Mr. Evans said, "Tell me about yourself, Sylvester."

The moment of truth, Lily crossed her fingers under the table.

"Well," Sirius said, "I'm not an extraordinary guy, really. I am still going to school."

Already impressed by his modesty, Mr. Evans pressed on, Amanda smiled brightly, Petunia shot Lily a nasty look. "Really? A college man, excellent. Where are you attending?"

"Oxford," Sirius said nonchalantly. Mr. Evans smiled with delight.

"Oxford! Well done! Well tell us more, what are you studying?"

Sirius cleared his throat, "Medicine. I hope to be a pediatrician not to far off, and work with children."

"A Doctor!" he said excited, "A Doctor! You're going to be a Doctor! Well, we go out one night and my baby girl finds a doctor, good job sweetie," he said to Lily just before he kissed her. Lily saw the look on Petunia's face and wanted to laugh. Marge's was even greater, her eye was twitching, yet she never stopped drinking. "You know," he continued, "I am also a doctor, vascular surgeon to be precise. Just the other day I had to preform an operation the other day on a man who had obviously been on a bad diet. His arteries were very badly clogged, the lining was caked with garbage. It'll make you think before you eat a piece of pie, that's for sure. Doctor Simmons and I had to preform. We cut standard incisions and took out the old artery and cleared it out, the blood spilling everywhere, it was a mess, but he's fine now."

Sirius grinned, but took a huge sip of water. He couldn't help but think of an man being strapped against his will to a table as doctors sliced open his leg and yanked out his artery, blood spilling everywhere. "That's... fascinating," he said.

"What made you want to be a doctor, Sylvester?" Amanda asked, very curious about this young man. Petunia rolled her eyes, Cindy and Victor examined him more carefully.

Sirius smiled at them for a while, thinking of what to say. "Well," he began, "I really don't know why. I have always liked helping people, especially people that can't help themselves: children. There's just something about looking into their innocent eyes and saying, 'don't worry, everything's going to be fine,' and know that you can help them. So I guess that's why I am going to Med school."

Amanda could have melted, Robert beamed at him, everyone else tried not to hurl. Lily was very pleased with her choice, though she was confident that if James didn't have his head hovering over a toilet, he could do just as well.

"So have you preformed any pre med operations, Sylvester?" Robert asked enthusiastically.

"Actually," Sirius said, reflecting on the last September, "I have. It was just last September, I was out hunting with my friends, and my friend...William," he thought quickly, "mistook my friend John for a young buck, so he shot him on accident. It was a bloody mess, let me tell you. We were miles away from the hospital so I had to yank the arrow out myself and mend it up the best I could. It all turned out for the best, he's fine."

Robert and Amanda looked at him with admiration and respect, Petunia looked as though she could spit.

"But enough about me," Sirius said, "I would like to hear about all of you. So Marge," Sirius said looking at her. Marge, however, looked daggers at him. "I hear you like dogs."

"Have you?" She asked bitterly. "Is that what, she, told you? Is that what the two of you were talking about the whole time? I did think that you two were having a great conversation for people who just met."

"As did I," Petunia agreed. Lily gave her a stern look which resulted in glass of red wine spilling in her lap. Sirius had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing. Petunia started mumbling to herself, but no one could understand her.

"Actually," Sirius continued, "She did. She mentioned that you bred dogs as a matter of fact. Said that you had been talking about it the entire time. Must be important to you."

Marge gave a very fake smile to him as she refilled her wine glass.

"Let me ask you something, Sylvester, did you say?" Petunia asked full of malice. "You say you are joining the Medical profession for the pleasure of it, you're not doing it for the fast cars, the nice house and the vacation house in Majorca?"

"No, I'm not. Money doesn't buy happiness, as I am sure you know, Mrs. Dursley," Sirius said with a smile. Petunia recoiled.

"Are you meaning to say that my wife is unhappy with me?" Vernon spoke finally.

"I never said that," Sirius answered, clearly getting the effect that he wanted.

"Well," Robert said, "Isn't it lovely weather were having?"

"I don't believe your story," Marge said with disgust. "The both of you are liars." And then it happened. The anger inside of her had finally reached it's limit. Lily looked at Marge, but did not hear her, though she was clearly speaking. The wine glass in her hand, full to the brim with expensive red wine, burst into a hundred tiny pieces. Marge screamed, Petunia stood up, Sirius, Amanda and Robert all remained silent, but Lily laughed, loud and long and clear.

Marge stared at her, mystified by her lack of insanity. "You!" she said to Lily. She stopped laughing but stared at Marge.

"What?" Lily asked snottily. "You think it's my fault that your glass burst? Maybe you shouldn't accuse people of lying, especially when you don't even know them."

"I don't like your tone," Marge said.

"Tough," Lily replied as she got up and left the table. Sirius got up and ran after her, when he caught up with her, she was laughing. "Did you see the looks on all of their faces?"

"Yeah, Marge's panties are all in a wad," he said.

"Eww. That's a horrible mental picture, those are awfully big panties."

"You got that right. Look, I am sorry that I caused so much turmoil here. I know that wasn't your intention. Things got a little out of hand."

"It's not your fault. I was the one who lost my temper. I don't like being called a liar by some fat ugly woman who raises bulldogs and yaps about them. I'm just glad that you came. Imagine if I had to take them on by myself."

Sirius smiled at her. "One last dance?" he asked, raising his hand.

"Sure," she said putting her hand in his, "one last dance." Even in the middle of the dance floor, they could still hear the arguing coming from the table. Lily tuned them out and just danced. It was one thing that she just loved to do, ever since she was a little girl. Sirius twirled her around and brought her back to him.

"I have to go, I don't want to be hanging around to long as to blow our cover," he said winking.

"Thanks so much for coming, you saved me."

"It was probably better that I came, instead of James. He would have been scared to death of meeting those people and thinking, 'I have to see them on the holidays.'"

"No," Lily said firmly, "he won't. We'll never see them, ever. I hate them, and I don't hate anyone. I look at my sister and her husband and I just feel so sorry for her. There just doesn't seem to be any passion there. There isn't magic in her eyes when she looks at him, or talks of him."

"You don't think she loves him, do you?"

"I don't know. She and I are very different. Perhaps she does, but she doesn't love the same way I do. We'll just have to see what happens."

"Well, I must go," he said. He bent his neck to kiss her cheek lightly, "Goodnight Lily. You come and see us soon, you hear?"

"Yeah. Would you tell-"

"Yes. I will tell Sir-Barfs-o-lot that you love him and la la la, all that romantic stuff you two say to each other."

She smiled. "Thanks. You're a great friend, Sirius."

"As are you. I'll be seeing you." And with that, Sirius smiled one more time, and left out the main door. Lily turned back to her table and let out a deep sigh. They were all up in arms, fighting over Lily, she just knew it.

She walked slowly back, her feet falling heavy on the tile. Before she even reached the table, however, Petunia stomped over to meet her. She looked simply like a bursting volcano.

"You evil bitch!" she said to her, spitting accidently on Lily's face. Lily wiped it off with her the back of her hand.

"Oh that hurts, coming from some one as close as you. Thanks for inviting me to your wedding, it was very considerate of you," Lily said sarcastically.

"I know that was you, with your freak like abnormalities, shattering her glass and spilling mine. I know that you are a liar, you know that man. He's a friend of yours at that freak school, isn't he? You can play into Mommy and Daddy's hands but you can't fool me for a second."

Lily watched her intently, letting her vent and fume at her, silently. But once Petunia was done raving, Lily laughed.

"No, I didn't know him," she lied, "And what if it was I who shattered the glasses? Are you going to tell her? Or are you going to leave it to fate? Wouldn't it be fun to tell her who I really am, that I attend a school of magic, and delve into the world of the unknown, of deep philosophy, which has been hidden for centuries. That people like you, who are so clouded and visioned so blurred that you can't even see past you noses. Go tell her, Petunia, tell her that the reason you hate me with so much passion is because I am a witch, literally. Go on, I dare you."

Petunia looked at her with total loathing. "I hate you."

"Yes, I have noticed." But Lily wasn't going to end like this. She had to come out as the better person, as the one on top, the one who could forgive. She smiled pleasantly at Petunia. "But I am sorry, for losing my temper with your new sister-in-law. I should have tried harder to contain my temper, and not have let my emotions get the best of me. Please accept my sincere apology." Lily smiled at her, and continued on to her parents. Petunia stood silent and uncomfortable. She turned to watch Lily go, and gave her a strange look.

"Don't you dare speak that way about my daughter!" Robert yelled to Victor and Cindy who were voicing that she was an abnormal teenager with a horrid temper. Amanda was also quite upset by this, and stared at them with evil eyes. Other guests in the restaurant were looking very entertained as they watched the drama unfold.

"THAT'S IT!" Robert said loudly, "We're leaving!" And he grabbed his coat, took Amanda and Lily by the arm and led them out the main double doors. The valet brought the car, and stared at Lily as he handed Robert the keys.

"Why don't you take a picture, it'll last longer!" Robert yelled at him. He got into the car, slammed his door, and floored the gas pedal, cursing all the while. "How dare those selfish, rude unpleasant people insult my daughter! Look what they have for children! Fat slobs who talk of nothing but themselves and their damn businesses. Oh how I hate the lot of them," he yelled.

Amanda was too angry to speak, she just stared out the front windshield with out saying a word. It was a while, about ten minutes actually, before they calmed down enough to ask Lily a question that had been weighing on their minds for quite a while.

"Lily?" Amanda asked. Lily decided right away there that whatever they asked, she would tell them the truth, it was what they would expect and would make matters ever so much easier.

"Yes," she said, looking up at her.

"Did you know that young man? Mr. Black, that is." Robert looked in his rear view mirror at her, with kind eyes. Lily took a deep breath before answering.

"Yes, I know him," she said, truly relieved. Robert nodded, showing some disappointment, but seemed to expect it. Amanda smiled weakly. Lily decided to tell them everything. "He's James' best friend. I called James earlier to ask for some help; I didn't want to have dinner with them, I wanted to hear what he thought I could do to keep myself occupied. But he was taken ill, so Sirius, that's his real name, said he'd help me out instead. I told him where to go and what to wear. I told him to lie about being a medical student, and going to Oxford, he doesn't even know about muggle ways. I didn't mean for all of this to happen, to divide our two families like I did. I'm so sorry." But to her amazement, they were not mad, not at all, not even just a little. As a matter of fact, they smiled. Then started to laugh. This upset Lily, for it was very strange behavior.

"What's so funny?" she finally asked, for their humor didn't dissipate over time.

"You're so very clever, Lily," Amanda said. "You really made things so much more interesting. If I had to hear one more word about Vernon from his mother I would have exploded. Thank God for you."

"Oh, and if Marge had continued on with her damn dogs all through out the night, I would have considered suicide in the most horrible way. You added spice to the dinner, Lily, there is no way we could be angry with you. You have saved our lives!" he exclaimed, Amanda agreed. Lily was still shocked.

"But I have severed our link with them, isn't that bad?"

"You haven't known them long enough, my dear," Amanda explained. "If only you had been present for the wedding planning. We wanted to sever our link, but didn't know how."

"Then you came and saved us," Robert added. "We owe you the world. Now I don't have to worry about seeing those people all together ever again. We will of course be having Petunia for Christmas, but without her in-laws, thank God."

Lily was surprised by their reaction but certainly not disappointed. Once they arrived back home, they separated. Robert and Amanda went upstairs, but Lily ran to her room, threw off her shoes, and grabbed the vial with the magical purple powder. Then she went down stairs to the fire place. With a snap of her fingers the fire roared, and she added a pinch of the powder to it.

"Sirius Black," She spoke clearly. In a rush of flames she saw the same living room, but this time another took the call.

"Lily, what a very pleasant surprise," James said, though feebly. Lily smiled, glad that he had answered.

"How are you feeling?"

"Well, as you can probably tell, not so hot, but much better than earlier." Lily could see that he looked a bit pale, and there was perspiration on his forehead. He slumped down in a chair, looking very weak. "But you had a much more...interesting night, I daresay," he smiled.

"Yes, so you've heard. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting, but didn't lack any flare."

James chuckled. "That Marge sounded a bit testy."

"She was. A bit of a snotty women, her and her blasted dogs all evening. What a nightmare she was."

"Sirius told me everything, with in depth analysis and commentary. I really wish I could have been there. Sirius had a blast with them."

"It is quite funny now that it's all over. I must admit to you that I can see why the four of you run around the school driving everyone mad. It is rather enjoyable," she giggled.

"So the mighty tree has finally fallen! I think I've had a bad influence on you," he smirked. "At least I think I should be given the credit for the corruption of your once-so-innocent mind. Perhaps you'd like to join us in our...plundering next year."

"Not so fast, lets' just take this one step at a time."

"Fair enough."

"So, what did you eat that caused this sickness of yours?" she asked.

"Curry. I don't know what I was thinking. Sure it was worth it while eating, but not after that. I am just not used to it. Sirius is running around just fine, and he had seconds."

"Well, I am glad that you are at least feeling better."

"How are you parents handling this?"

"Rather well. They called me a hero for splitting us into two very separate families. They hated them just as much, or more, than I did. They were a bit stuck up."

"From what Sirius told me, I wouldn't send my worst enemy on them," he said. "Well," he thought, "Maybe Snape. Oh, definitely Snape, and McClintick. Ok, all of Slytherin house."

Lily laughed. Just then she heard footsteps on the stairs.

"I've gotta go," she said to him, "see you later."

"Ok, goodbye," and with a 'poof' the fire extinguished.

"Who were you talking too?" Robert asked.

"James," she said cautiously. "I told him about tonight, and asked him how he felt. You know, just stuff." Robert looked at her, but said nothing.

"I'm going to bed, then," she said, "It's been a very busy day, and I'm tired. I'll see you in the morning daddy." She bent down to kiss him, which he returned, and then she skipped off to bed, remembering the look on Marge's face, as the red wine trickled onto her dress.