Chapter Five: Snuffy and Sniffy
Author's note: Apology in advance, I didn't really want to write this chapter because I am much more interested in the Evans family than the Potter family. I'm hoping to show some Lily/James stuff, but I don't know how well it goes here. Sorry.
As soon as lily got home she noticed that there was a letter for her from James. She sat at the table and ripped it open excitedly, ignoring Petunia's half hearted wailing from upstairs.
My dearest, most cool and perfect Lily,
Go on and wear robes, there won't be any muggles where I live anyway, Bring an overnight bag of course and your most revealing PJs…you know what I like! Sirius is reading this and laughing. He's just jealous, because I have the hottest coolest girlfriend ever and he doesn't have one at all. Now he's laughing and saying some things about me and him that I can't repeat. Shut up Padfoot.
Anyway, I'll pick you up on Christmas Eve at noon, in a car. Isn't that normal for muggles? I never bothered to take muggle studies, sorry. And what's wrong with brooms? They are only the best things in the universe. I know you want to ride one with me…hint, hint. Anyway. I love you and miss you and can't wait to see you again.
Lots of Love and Kisses,
James
Lily laughed. She had never looked forward to Christmas more than this.
The days at home dragged by longer than they ever had. Even summers seemed like a flash compared to waiting to leave. But like always, waiting ended, and she found herself packing for her stay at the Potters. Petunia had ignored her mostly, which was fine with Lily, but she did feel a bit bad, and she was nervous about meeting James's parents. What if they hated her? What if they didn't like muggles? She would just have to find out.
There was a knock at the door and Lily rushed over, opening it widely. Sirius Black and James stood there grinning goofily, fully robed and out on the doorstep for all to see.
"Come in," Lily said, hugging Sirius and Kissing James. Mr. and Mrs. Evans walked into the foyer to see their daughter off.
"Mum, Dad, you know James, this is our friend Sirius." Sirius bowed his handsome head to Lily's mother and shook Mr. Evans's hand. "Oh and thanks for that awesome hair dye Sirius! It was a life saver!" Lily said louder than necessary, and smiled at the answering yell of loathing from the kitchen. Sirius smiled sweetly.
"Any time, Lily." He said.
Lily kissed her parents goodbye and headed out the door, arm in arm with James.
"James, where's the car?" Lily asked nervously as they headed to the end of her driveway. There wasn't one in the street that she didn't recognize.
"Oh, I forgot that my dad needed it. Ministry business I guess."
"James!" Lily said. No way. Impossible, and yet… There he was, pulling a pair of broomsticks out from behind the tree in her yard.
"No. I refuse to get on one of those things. They are dangerous and horrible, and I have seen the way you fly! Besides, there are so many muggles around here you'd get shot down by one of my neighbors and get in trouble with the ministry!"
"Relax Lily, we're taking the bus."
"Oh no. Not that bus."
But James had already stuck out his wand, grinning at her apologetically, and with a loud bang, a giant purple triple-decker appeared before them.
"Ohhhhh" Lily groaned, and Sirius grabbed her arm firmly and pulled her onto the Knight Bus.
Lily got off the bus, face green, leaning on James's shoulder.
"If I barf I'm aiming for you James." She said. The boys were both fine, swinging their broomsticks happily over their shoulders and helping Lily to recover from the violent ride.
"I could carry you piggy back," James said, and Lily stood up straighter and turned pink.
"I do have some dignity Potter." She shot.
"You didn't back there on the bus. Green isn't a very dignified color for someone's face you know." Sirius said in his smooth, cool voice. Lily shot him a glare, motion sickness forgotten, and told him quite rudely to shut up.
"We're here." James said. They had been walking for about a minute, and stopped in front of a large white house, several times bigger than Lily's. It was very pretty and fresh looking, well kept and well loved.
Sirius opened the door and just barged into the house, calling that they were home and setting his broom and Lily's bag in the hall.
"Come on in." James took Lily's hand and led her into the warm hallway of the house and into a messy and inviting looking kitchen where Sirius and someone, presumably James's mother, were sitting at a large wooden table drinking hot chocolate.
"Lily, this is my mum. Mum this is the one true love of my life."
"Lily," Lily provided, shaking the woman's hand. She was very pretty and looked a lot like James, disturbingly familiar features and dark hair. (Combed though, unlike her son's)
"So nice to meet you." Mrs. Potter said. She reminded Lily of her own mother, until she turned to James.
"James! Be a gentleman and ask her to sit down. What do you think you're doing, leaving the young lady to stand there? So inconsiderate." James made a face as she turned around, muttering something, but asked Lily if she would like to sit down, and offered her some hot chocolate.
"If he is ever rude to you, just tell me. I thought I taught you better than that James. Honestly sometimes you don't seem anything like the son I raised."
"Aww mum you're embarrassing me." He said. Sirius snorted, but James ignored him. "You know that I would never be rude to such a lovely girl, and if I did, she's perfectly capable of punishing me herself you know."
Lily was silent through this conversation, sipping her hot chocolate highly amused at James's lack of tact when talking to his mother. But the next sentence had her coughing up hot chocolate all over the table.
"...Besides, you know that Lily only came over here so that we can more private making out time, without teachers all over the place stalking us like hawks. You'd think they want their students to become adults—"
"JAMES!" Mrs. Potter screeched, already hurrying to wipe up the spilled drink, "That is very inappropriate. I will not hear you talk like that! Go on, get off to your room!" James looked surprised.
"Mum, you know if I go up there Lily and I are only going to do things you don't approve of and—"
Sirius was laughing hard and not hiding it at all. Lily's face was bright red. "How can he say those things to his mother??" Lily asked Sirius.
"Oh, this is mild. Once he went into detail about some book he read where the characters were doing…things. Then he asked her what she thought about people acting out that sort of thing, as if it were a play. She went ballistic."
"You drive me crazy!!" Mrs. Potter said. James was grinning, and then he walked over and gave her a kiss.
"Love you too mum. Off to make out with my lover. See you at dinner. C'mon Lily, Sirius. You gotta see my room."
Lily followed him out of the kitchen and up flight of stairs, noticing the numerous Christmas decorations on the walls and wreaths on every door. It was very cheerful. James led them to a door with a big wreath with lots of flowers, more flowery than any of the others.
"My room." He said, welcoming Lily. She was impressed. James was always the slob, but his room was…spotless. "Cleaned up just for you!" he said cheerfully. It looked like a typical boy room, Quidditch posters and broomstick magazines, schoolbooks in a dusty but organized corner of his desk. The bed was against one wall by the window, and a bookcase held trophies and awards. The walls were off white and the bedcover scarlet with a Gryffindor lion on it.
"Wow!" Lily said. James stuck out his chest proudly.
"His mum cleaned it." Sirius said. He was sitting on the bed. "My room too. She was going crazy all week getting ready for you."
"For me??" she asked. She hadn't done all that for James…
"Yeah. She likes you, so she yelled at James. It was the same the first time she met me. But she'll warm up."
"Dunno why she's got to yell at me for." James muttered. "Seeing as you're the one she's all worked up about."
"Motherly love," Sirius suggested. "Come see my room."
Sirius's room reflected his low profile style. It had similar furnishings to James's, but was so different. It reminded Lily of her and Petunia. While James was simple, Sirius was anything but. On the walls were several pictures of them at Hogwarts, the marauders, Sirius and James, one of Lily and James together, one of everyone doing homework. Lily looked amused at that one, her picture self was scribbling away intently while everyone else looked over her shoulder, copying. Whenever her picture self looked up they all pretended to be researching. The bed had a Gryffindor lion on it also, and on the pillow…
"Aaaaughh!" Sirius leapt across the room and tackled something, shoving it under the bed. James, seeing this, smiled and tackled his friend, wrestling something out of his grip. Lily, unused to seeing this display of roughhousing, was amazed. James eventually won, pinning Sirius to the floor and proudly tossing something to Lily.
It was a stuffed dog, black and incredibly worn out. One button eye was missing, and the pink tongue had holes in it.
"That's Snuffy." James said. His hair was more tousled than ever. "Sirius's stuffed animal."
"Oh! That is so adorable!" Lily got down on the floor and attempted to hug Sirius, but seeing as James still held his arms behind his back, it was kind of difficult. "You are so cute Sirius!" she said.
"James, get off me! And it isn't cute. I got it when I was little. James has one too."
"Yeah, but I don't leave it out when I know my friends are coming over. And mine is named Sniffy." He let Sirius up, who dusted himself off and grabbed Snuffy from Lily.
"Don't tell anyone, aright?" Sirius muttered. Lily nodded and turned to James.
"I wanna see Sniffy." She demanded. James shook his head, smiling.
"I think not my dear. You'd never survive the horror of James Potter and his stuffed animal. He's staying hidden this time. Maybe when we're married." He said. Lily rolled her eyes.
They all went outside, and James gave Lily a tour of the grounds. It was very nice, much bigger than Lily's own suburban home. She supposed that James's family was well off. And having only one kid sure made a difference too, although they were having Sirius stay with them now.
"James, I never knew you were so rich." Lily commented finally, smiling. James laughed.
"We aren't rich at all. Now, Sirius here, he's got a fortune in his family."
"Useless though," Sirius muttered. "My family is crazy."
"All families are," Lily said, but Sirius just shook his head.
"Me and Snuffy just couldn't take it anymore. Had to leave. Lucky for me James is richer than he thinks he is, so I had someplace to go."
"That bad?" Lily asked. She couldn't imagine just up and leaving her own home, no matter how bad Petunia was. Her parents loved her and that was what counted. Besides, home was home. She remembered meeting Sirius's brother once, and she was reminded of her own sibling predicament. He was a creep.
"Our family will be perfect though Lily." James said. He pulled Lily close and winked at Sirius, who disappeared at once. The air was cold, but bearable. The pond was frozen over and very pretty.
"Who said we're going to have a family?" Lily demanded, but James just smiled and kissed her.
Christmas Eve at the Potter's was very nice indeed. Lily felt like a part of the family and couldn't blame Sirius for loving to stay there. Mrs. Potter did warm up quite a bit to Lily, but still screamed and nagged at James continually. James humored her for the most part, but he obviously exasperated her to the last straw many times, and was threatened with curses that Lily had never heard of before. "They're actually really close." Sirius told Lily at one point of more aggressive threats. "And she never actually punishes him. In fact, I never saw a parent let a kid get away with more."
Mr. Potter was a very kindly man, short and thin with very gray hair, but a broad smile that was easily James's own. He was very welcoming, and made sure that Lily felt comfortable.
They were all sitting around the living room, Lily and James very snuggly on the loveseat, Sirius in and armchair and Mr. And Mrs. Potter on the couch. A fire burned in the fireplace and the Christmas tree was lit magnificently. James was so happy at that moment; nothing could get his spirits down. Lily was there with him, Sirius, his parents. They were all safe and somewhat happy, and right with him.
"This is the best Christmas." He said softly to Lily. She nodded in agreement, leaning her head on his shoulder, eyes half shut. With a yawn and a mutter, she was asleep.
"Party pooper." Sirius said. "I was hoping to see some major Potter/Evans screaming fest."
James carried Lily up and tucked her into his bed. He would be in Sirius's room tonight, so that Lily could have the privacy of a wall between her and two seventeen year old boys. She looked so cute in his bed, James was absolutely certain that he wanted her to be there for the rest of his life. No matter what.
"In a few years you'll be Lily Potter." He whispered, kissing her cheek and leaving, closing the door behind him.
Sirius was waiting up for him in his room, unpacking the sleeping bag on the floor for James. He smiled when he looked up, noticing that James had a dreamy expression on his face.
"You didn't take advantage of her being asleep did you?" he asked indignantly. James shook his head.
"Never Padfoot. And I got Sniffy too." The stuffed animal in James's hands looked, if possible, more worn out than Snuffy. Its ear was torn on one side where James had once attempted to pierce its ear, and one paw was chewed off by…something. Stuffing leaked out of it.
"You love her more than you love Sniffy?" Sirius asked. James nodded.
"I know that our first year at Hogwarts I told you there was nothing I loved more than Sniffy, but I think I've found someone. Poor Sniffy."
"Oh, he'll live." Sirius said, there was something that was bothering him though, and James knew it didn't have anything to do with their stuffed animals.
"You miss your family on Christmas?" he asked.
Sirius stiffened. "No. Not really. I've been disowned. I don't have a family."
"Even Lily loves her sister, although I have to say I would find that feat rather hard."
"But her sister isn't a death eater." Sirius mumbled. James was the only one who knew this bit of information, and he knew how it tormented Sirius. Fifteen-year-old Regulus Black had joined the rampage of evil wizards, even though he was still just a kid. That was what had driven Sirius to leave home last summer. He felt guilty, as if he should have a kind of control over his younger brother and stop him, protect him, love him. James, sibling-less, could identify with neither Sirius nor Lily in this matter. Family was family and friends were friends. Love everybody and be happy.
Somehow, as he lay in the sleeping bag on the floor, he didn't feel quite as optimistic and certain of his future as he did back downstairs. After all, if Regulus Black, the little boy he had seen moping about the Black family's living room years ago could be a death eater…anyone could, right?
Author: Questions? Comments?
