Disclaimer: None of the characters in this fan fiction belongs to me. They're owned by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. The only ones that belong to me are those that you don't recognize.

A/N: Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews!

To Brittny: 1. I've been updating as much as possible. 2. I know…that's why I made this chapter extra long. 3. Fine, fine, fine. I'll pay my debt. If you must know, my name's Vivian, okay?? But I don't like it! I'd rather be call "Dances With Wolves" or "Swimming With Dolphins" or something.

To DracoNGin527: Like I said, I'm open to suggestions and I accept people's opinion. I can take flame, criticism, whatever. And I really appreciate your suggestion. Yes, I tried very hard about the tenses thingy, but I have major grammar problems. I'm so sorry for that. I promise to try my best. = )

Chapter 5

The week went by quickly. The Marauders, Lily, and Bella had really a lot of fun. The goofed on James' neighbors, playing Quidditch, and basically having the time of their lives. Well, almost all of them. Lily really loves being with James. But…she realizes that she hasn't written to Petunia all week. She knows that Petunia won't reply…it just makes her feel a bit guilty not doing it. So that Saturday…

"James?" Lily knocked on his door.

"Come in!" he called.

Lily pushed open the door and saw James, lying in bed reading a Quidditch magazine.

"What's up?" he said. "Where're the others?"

"They're outside playing Quidditch. Can I borrow some parchments?"

"Sure; they're in the third drawer, right there," he said, pointing to a certain spot at his desk. "What for?"

"Well…I want to write to Petunia…I mean, she doesn't reply…and I'm pretty sure she hates me…but she's still my sister…"

James looked at his sad girlfriend and his heart melted. He hate seeing her so miserable. "She doesn't reply?"

"No…"

"Do you want to visit her? I can take you if you want to."

"Really?" Lily's face lighted up.

"Really."

"Okay, let's go."

They got permission from James' mum and apparated in front of Lily's house. But all they saw there were ruins, bits and scraps of the house.

"Oh my…" Lily said. James gave her shoulders a squeeze. Then they went over to Lily's next-door neighbor and knocked.

"Lily!" old Mrs. Henderson cried. "I haven't seen you for so long! Your parents said that you went to boarding school, so I knew you weren't in the accident that…that…"

"That killed my parents," Lily finished for her quietly.

"Y-yes. What are you doing here? Do you want to come inside for a cup of tea?"

"No, thanks, Mrs. Henderson. I just want to know where my sister is."

"Petunia? Oh, you don't know? She got married already and moved in with her husband. Mister…Mister Vernon Dursley, I believe it is. Yes…I was at their wedding."

"She got married?" Lily repeated, very surprised.

"Yes…you don't know? Weren't you at her wedding? As…as the bridesmaid? No…no wait. I'm sorry, my memory is slipping. It was Miss…Miss Marjorie Dursley."

"Y-yes…I was at school and couldn't make it…" Lily lied. Heck--she didn't even have an invitation!

"Oh, well that's too bad…"

"Erm…Mrs. Henderson…do you happen to know Vernon's address?"

"Why yes…yes, in fact I do. I've got it around the house somewhere…hold on." She walked away.

James looked at Lily worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Fine…I just can't believe that I missed my sister wedding…"

"Here it is!" Mrs. Henderson had returned. She handed Lily a small sheet of paper.

Vernon and Petunia Dursley-- #4, Privet Drive

"Thank you, Mrs. Henderson," Lily said.

"No problem," she said. "See you around."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

James and Lily apparated in front of number four, Privet Drive.

"James…I'm nervous," Lily said.

"Don't worry, Lily," James said soothingly. "I'm here."

"Right." Lily took a deep breath and knocked.

Petunia answered the door. She saw Lily, gasped, and was about to slam the door in her face, when James' reached out a blocked it.

"Come on! She's your sister! Just let her talk to you!" he said.

Petunia opened the door hesitantly. "Come in."

"Thanks," Lily said timidly. She and James entered and found a very neat house, full of pictures of Petunia and a very large man.

"This is Vernon, I assume?" Lily said, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Yes," Petunia said stiffly. She led them into the living room.

Lily and James were about to sit down on a couch, when Petunia cried, "Wait! Don't sit there!"

James and Lily stood up quickly and watched as Petunia placed some towels on the couch. "There," she said rudely. "You can sit now."

James was about to speak up, but Lily interrupted him. "So…Petunia…I heard you're married…"

Her sister just nodded coldly. If it weren't for James, she wouldn't have Lily in her freak-free house.

"Erm…so why haven't you been answering my letters?"

"I don't want to have anything to do with a freak like you."

James was really about to blow up, but Lily put a hand on his arm. "Don't," she whispered. Then she turned to Petunia.

"But Petunia, surely mum and dad won't--"

"How dare you mention mum and dad?!" Petunia cried. "If it weren't for you, they wouldn't have died."

"Your parents' deaths have nothing to do with Lily!" James said.

"Whatever…" Petunia said. "Hold on." She went to a cabinet and pulled out a letter. "Here," she handed it to Lily. "Mum left this for you before she died. Take it and leave."

"You know--" James started.

"James!" Lily said. "Let's just go. Bye, Petunia…"

Petunia just holds the door open for them.

"I believe your sister just said bye to you," James said through gritted teeth.

"Bye," Petunia said icily.

"Bye…" Lily said sadly.

Then she and James just walked down the street, hand in hand.

"It's still early," James said. "Do you want to go anywhere? We can go to…"

But Lily wasn't listening. She was looking at the letter in her hand. She opened it and read:

Dear Lily,

I'm sorry that I didn't pick you up at King's Cross, honey. When you are reading this, I am no longer home. I'm sorry, honey, but I just can't take it anymore. I'm leaving your father. I can stand him no longer. I guess it's just been boiling in my blood for a while now. Please don't hate me, Lily. I just did what I had to do. Also, please don't try to find me. You'll just be wasting your time. Remember this always, though: I still love you.

Always yours,

Mum

Lily suddenly stops walking. James stopped talking and turned to her worriedly.

"Lily?" he asked concern. "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine," she managed. "Erm, James…I don't want to go anywhere anymore. Can we just go home?"

"Erm, sure. Lily, are you sure you're okay?"

"Y-yes, James. Let's go."

And they apparated back to James' house. They saw the rest of the Marauders and Bella coming down from the sky.

"Hey, guys," Remus said.

"Where've you been all day?" asked Sirius.

"We just visited Petunia," James said.

"Lily, are you okay?" Bella asked, eyeing her friend. "You look really pale."

"I-I'm fine. I'm going to go lay down," Lily said, letter behind her back. "See you guys later." And she disappeared inside.

"What's wrong with her, James?" Bella asked.

"I don't know…she's been acting weird since Petunia gave her some letter from her mum…"

"Letter?" Remus asked. "What letter?"

"I don't know," James said. "She didn't show it to me."

"Hmm…" Bella said. "I wonder what it says."

"Should I go talk to her?" James asked.

"No," Bella replied at once. "Leave her alone for awhile. She'll tell you what's wrong when she's ready."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: Pretty long chapter…find out what's bugging Lily in the next chapter…it's something besides the fact that her parents have marriage problems…please review!