To Lily's memory, it was the oddest dinner she had ever attended. Ever.

Kathy and Matthew Potter had arranged to have dinner with Lily and her family at their home in Godric's Hollow. At one end of the table sat her mother and the Potters. At the other end of the table, Lily and Petunia sat on one side while James and Joe sat at the other. Dinner was being held at the Potter home. The adults seemed to like each other, but the others sat in an uncomfortable silence.

"So, er, Petunia," Kathy Potter said kindly. "Where do you go to school?"

Petunia just gave her a horrified glance and went back to her potatoes.

Lily rolled her eyes. "She goes to the local public school, Kathy." Last year, when Lily had met the Potters, Kathy had told Lily not to call her Mrs. Potter, as Mrs. Potter was her husband's mother. Lily simply adored her.

"Lily," James said suddenly. "Come with me to get some fresh air."

Lily stood, glad for the excuse to leave. They were sitting in a large dining room, and dinner was being served by an ancient looking house-elf.

"Would you like to see the rest of the house?" James asked once they were out of the room.

"Sure!" Lily had never seen such a house before. It was huge. After the front door had been answered, she had caught a glance of a large hall with a sweeping staircase and crystal chandelier before the Evanses were escorted to the dining room.

Now she was back in the hall, and free to look around. The floor was black and white, the large staircase made of white marble. There was a sitting room to the left, and the dining room was on the right. James took her into the sitting room. It was a light shade of peach, with white sofas and hardwood floors.

"This is the sitting room," he said, grinning. "My mother had to put charms on these couches, and now they repel me and Sirius. See?" He went to sit on one of the couches, but something invisible was preventing him from touching it. "She was tired of buying new furniture. You try."

Lily sat right down and laughed, deciding not to ask what James and Sirius did to destroy the old furniture. "Where is Sirius tonight?"

"He had a date, he'll be home later. Anyway, onward."

They went back through the hall, to a large kitchen. Everything was stainless steel, and there was a small nook in the corner with a table and bench. Apparently most meals were served in the dining room.

"Let's go upstairs, this is boring," James said with a grin. He led Lily up the staircase. There were framed pictures on the wall of James as a child: in one, he was very small and sitting on a broom, in another, he was sitting between his parents, and in a third he was about eleven and wearing his school uniform. All of the pictures were moving.

He narrated as they walked up a long hallway. "That's a bathroom... My parents' room... Sirius's room... another sitting room... the library... door to the balcony.. And this," he said, grinning and stopping before the last door in the hall, "is my room." He pushed open the door and Lily followed him inside.

The floor was covered in a plush navy carpet, and the walls were white. A twin sized bed was against the far wall, and the walls were covered in Quidditch posters. It was a mess, clothes everywhere. There was nothing lavish about James's room at all; it may as well have been in a different house. Lily immediately felt at home.

James flopped down on his bed. "Fancy a quick snog before dessert?"

Lily rolled her eyes and walked over to James's window, looking out and grinning. "Shut up, Potter."

He laughed. "Hey, did you ever get that date with the giant squid? You must have, you said you'd date him before me, and surely you wouldn't lie."

"Yes, but it didn't work out," she said jokingly. "See, he was too touchy-feely. I couldn't keep my eyes on all of his tentacles at once. So I settled for you." She sat in a chair next to his closet, now looking at the top of his dresser. There was a picture on it of the two of them, taken on the last day of school, right after James had proposed. Lily was grinning and waving at the camera while James had an arm around her and was whispering something to her.

"Hey," James said suddenly. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That we should go raid Sirius's room?"

"But of course," he answered grinning, and the two of them ran out of the room.

Sirius had a style much unlike James. His bed was a huge wood four-poster, and the floors were marble. There was a fountain in the corner, and a sunroof.

Lily walked into the room and burst out laughing.

"What a bachelor pad!" she said, stepping over a large fur rug and examining the curtains, which appeared to be made of red dragon's skin.

"Yes," James grinned, "the girls really love his room." He flopped down on the huge bed. Lily ran over and jumped up on it, then proceeded to jump on it until she tripped and landed on James, who grinned and leaned over to kiss her.

Sirius apparated in as James was kissing Lily, his face horrified.

"Augh!" he yelled. "You're SHAGGING in my bed!"

This just made Lily laugh harder. She laughed so hard that she fell off of the bed and landed on the fur rug.

"Sorry, Padfoot," James said, laughing a bit himself. "We were just having a tour of the house."

"In my bed?"

"We weren't doing anything," Lily said, composing herself. "I wanted to jump on your bed, and I fell. That's all, I promise."

Sirius smiled. "Yes, Evans, I always have trouble keeping the girls out of my bed."

James threw a pillow at him.

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When they finally made it back to the dinner, Lily was looking suspiciously ruffled, and James's cheeks were very red. Joe gave them both a searching look, and Lily cracked up again.

"Hello," Sirius said happily, sitting next to Petunia and grabbing a chicken leg, which he barbarically began to eat. He turned to Petunia, of whom he had heard nothing. "Hey, sweetheart, I'm Sirius Black, god of love. Who are you?"

Petunia looked like she was going to faint. Joe looked like he was trying not to laugh. James had to turn around in his seat, and Lily bit her lip. The Potters were smiling.

Merci Evans sensed danger. "Right, are you kids ready to go? It's getting late."

James walked them out. Lily stayed on the step to talk to him for a bit.

"So, have you seen any nice houses?" James whispered.

"No, but I'll keep looking," she said, standing on her toes to kiss him goodbye.

In the car, she did a lot of thinking during the long drive home. James was a big kid; he couldn't keep his room clean, and it was covered in sports posters. Yet he was also so grown up. She was just as much of a child as him; her room was covered in fairies, and she refused to throw out her old dolls. Were they really too young to get married? It seemed like they were two kids playing house.

'But I love him,' she said to herself, smiling. 'And we're buying a house. We're getting married. We may still act like children, but it's time for us to grow up. Especially with this war.'

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When James got back to the dining room, he helped his mother clear the table.

"So, mum, what did you think?" he asked.

Kathy Potter smiled. "Lily's mother is just as delightful as she is. And her brother was polite. But that sister of hers... Poor Lily; they don't seem to get along."

"They don't," he said, frowning. "Lily said her sister doesn't like magic. She calls her a freak."

Kathy shook her head in sympathy.

"Never mind Petunia anyway," James continued. "We're buying a house; Lily won't have to ever see her sister again if she doesn't want to."

"James sees himself as her knight in shining armor," Sirius offered, coming in and helping them clean.

Kathy snorted. "That girl can save herself."

James grinned. Yes, yes she could.

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A/N: Short, I know. I just wanted them to have one more happy chapter before doing what I have to do in the next chapter. Eeek, I don't want to write it. Review... please?

-Ria