If You Give a Boy a Lily

Chapter Four: Back to Work

I ended up staying with the Lupins for four days before I finally went back to Diagon Alley with Remus.

"Don't you think you ought to go home first?" Remus asked me while I was sitting with him in Fortescue's.

"What? Are you trying to put me out or something?" I asked with a hint of playfulness in my voice.

"No! No! I was just thinking that maybe your sister--"

I cut him off. "Remus, Petunia could care less about where I am right now. She'd probably be happier if I disappeared from her life forever. And as for my dad, you know he's still in the hospital. I visit him everyday!"

"Yeah, I know. But doesn't he want you to go see Petunia? Maybe Petunia needs you. I'm pretty sure you don't need reminding Lily, but your mum DID just pass away. Don't you think Petunia might need you now more than she ever needed you before?"

I thought for a moment. Maybe Remus was right. I was finally getting off of my arse and going back to work. Maybe it was time to go home too. Or at least go visit Madison. Her punishment wasn't quite up yet, but I was sure that Mrs. Gilbert would let me in. She's never really that strict with Maddie.

"Okay. Maybe I will go home tonight. Well, I won't be hanging out at your house anymore, no offense. I don't know how much more of Peter I can take. That boy eats like an animal."

Peter, James, and Sirius had been coming over to Remus's house everyday since I'd gotten there. James had learned to stop pestering me but I was forced to eat with them and just watching Peter (and Sirius, though he wasn't nearly as bad) eat made me sick to my stomach. I honestly understand why he's only had about two girlfriends in his life. He's not exactly unattractive but he's not the cutest kid, either. It's just…his mouth. How could anyone stand KISSING that thing? Just thinking about it makes me want to toss my cookies.

"Whatever makes you happy, Lils. I can't exactly tell you how the rest of the Marauders will feel. Wait, yes I can. I doubt Peter will care much, Sirius will be sad about not being able to see you daily at my house but then he'll get distracted by a girl or something shiny, and James will be somewhat devastated."

"It's nice to know I'm loved, Remy."

"Don't call me Remy. And you know, James has been trying really hard to change for you. He looks at this little list just about every day. I nicked it out of his pocket about a week before you came and you know what it was?" he said in between bites.

"I think I might have a sneaking suspicion."

"It was a LIST, Lily. A list entitled, 'Things Lily Hates About Me.' I looked it over and he's been trying to change every single one of them. For YOU. Don't you feel at least a little bad that you won't go out with him after he's been doing all of this for you?"

I thought about it a minute and licked my ice cream cone. "Remus, it's sweet that he's doing that but I'll have to see it to believe it. And I don't want him to change so I'll go out with him and then if I say yes have him revert back to his old ways."

"I doubt he'll do that, but I understand your point."

By then we had finished our delicious frosty desserts and I deemed it time to get back to work. I said goodbye to Remus and made my way down the street to the coffee shop. As soon as I entered, I saw Lucas wrestling with the cappuccino machine and I knew everything would go back to normal.

Lucas had yet to figure out that Mum had died and I'd rather he stayed in the dark. I don't want him feeling as though he's treading on thin ice around me all the time. I just want him to be normal, even if normal means asking me out all of the time. For the last four days he just thought I was out sick, which in a way, I was.

"Hey Luke. How was your lunch break?"

"Lunch break? How on earth could I possibly have a lunch break when I have to stay here and make sure this thing doesn't explode?"

"How tragic. Lukie didn't get his muffin today, I presume?"

"No, I did not. And now I'm a total crab. If I say something really jerky, just hit me." I looked at him skeptically. "No, Lils. I'm serious."

"If you say so," I agreed. I put my green apron on and went behind the counter to start setting up the cookie plate and the croissant display.

Fifteen minutes later, Lucas turned the sign over from "Closed" to "Open." Business was slow for the first few hours and I ended up making a total of about four coffees all day long, three of which were for Mr. Thorsby.

Around four, the third customer since lunch came in. "Can I have a Honey Vanilla Latte please?" she asked.

"For here or to go?" I asked.

"Here," she answered. "And I'd also like a mulberry muffin."

"Or course. Six sickles, please."

The woman paid and Lucas gave her the coffee. No sooner as she had taken it, the door to the shop opened again. It was James Potter and, surprisingly enough, he was alone.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Um…yeah. Can I have one of those oatmeal cookies?" he asked. I handed it to him.

"So where's the rest of your posse? No Sirius, no Peter, no girls? That's not like you, Potter." He flinched when I said that, perhaps because of the disbelieving tone or perhaps because of the use of his surname.

"Yeah. I decided to come alone. It's not like I have to have people with me everywhere I go."

"Some people would beg to differ."

He chose to ignore that. "So I hear you're leaving Remus's tonight."

"You heard right," I answered.

"Where will you be going?"

"Home…Maddie's…I don't know exactly. I'm just tired of imposing upon Mrs. L and Remus thinks Petunia might need me to be there for her, but I don't know if he's right or not."

That was where Lucas interjected. "Why would Pet need you to be there for her?"

"Were you eavesdropping on my conversation?" I asked him.

"…Yeah. Sorry." I hit him over the head. "OW! That's hurt Lily! When I said you could hit me, I didn't mean hard. I thought you would give me one of those wimpy girl hits!"

I hit him again. "SHIT, Lil! Okay, I deserved that one. So why would your sister need you to be there for her?"

"What, are you stupid?" James asked. "Lily's mum just--"

I interrupted him. "--She just got sick. She caught my cold. You know, the one I was just out with? Yeah. Mum caught my cold and now she's stuck in bed, sniffling up a storm. It's all very emotionally wearing on Petunia. She probably needs me to take over tissue duty or something."

James shot me a look as if to say, "What the fuck? Your mum's DEAD. She can't catch colds!" But I shot him one right back as if to say, "Shut up! He doesn't know!"

"Oh." Lucas said. "That's…weird."

"Yeah. I know." I said and then turned to James. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Not right now," he replied. "You know, if things get to unbearable at home and you don't feel like going back to Remus's, you can always come to my house for a while. My mum won't mind."

"Thanks for the offer, but I highly doubt I'll be taking you up on that."

"Just thought it was worth a try. But I was serious, you know."

"I know."

James gave me a galleon, which was way more than that single cookie was worth, said, "Keep the change," and turned his back on me to walk out the door.

"Thanks!" I yelled after him.

"No problem," he yelled back.

After I got off of work and said goodbye to Lucas and Remus, I went to the Leaky Cauldron and hailed a taxi to go home. As soon as I got there and opened the door, I heard a screech and a dark figure came flailing at me with what looked like a bat.

"Petunia! It's me! It's Lily! Get that thing away from me, damn it!"

"Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Is it really you?"

"What do you think, Petunia?"

"Well, I can't exactly tell. It's very dark in here, you know."

"Well turn on the lights, dimwit."

"I can't find the switch!"

I reached over to the wall and flicked the lights on. "Better now?"

"Much. God, I was so tired of living in the dark."

"So you mean to tell you you've been sitting here in the dark for SIX DAYS?"

"Really? I thought it was only five."

"Pet, you need help. Professional help. Have you at least eaten?"

"Yeah, pretty much everything in the house. We're out of bread, chips, oranges, cookies, oatmeal, breakfast cereal, and loads of other stuff."

"Okay, I'm going to go look in the kitchen for what we need and then I'll go to the shops, okay?"

I didn't even wait for an answer and immediately went to the kitchen to inspect the cabinets. Petunia was right. We have almost no food left.

I made a list and went to the stores in search of groceries.

Later, I stumbled into the house with my arms full of paper bags. I set them down on the counter and went to go find Petunia. I checked the living room, her room, the bathroom, the basement, outdoors, my room, my parent's room, and even the closet below the stairs.

Petunia was nowhere to be found.

I looked all over and finally found a note from her stuck under a cup of tea in the upstairs bathroom.

Lily,

I know you went out for food, but while you were gone, Vernon came over and asked me to go on holiday with him for a few days. I'll be gone for a week. I have my keys with me so you can feel free to leave the house. Just don't bring any of your freak friends here. If you do, trust me, I'll know.

Petunia

"That's just great," I sighed. "Well, I guess I'm off to Maddie's." I went upstairs and filled a bag with everything I'd need for a few days and took a taxi back to the Leaky Cauldron where I flooed to Maddie's house.