Chapter 2 Comfort and truths

Lily Apparated in front of Meagan's house, an old brick facade, with ivy growing along the walls. The plant did not cover the windows, thanks to magic, and the windows themselves were giant, although seeing through them from the outside was not possible. It made watching people outside without their noticing far easier than in Lily's neighborhood. The house sat on a large green lawn, and there was a walkway and a car park (Lily didn't think that the Kings had any vehicles or had visitors with some, but then again, she could have been wrong), which was paved with stones. Exotic flowers, trees and bushes that might not have been able to grow normally in England were spread out over the yard, and Lily could see the side of their greenhouse peeking out from beside the house.

All in all, the house was lavish and well taken care of, but then again, that wasn't hard. Meagan and her family were wealthy; that was the reason they lived in that neighborhood... everyone who was anyone of importance lived there.

Lily sometimes envied Meagan for having so many nice things. Her friend had offered to give the red-head some of the things she did not want, and she accepted, although she felt ashamed and embarrassed at being a charity case.

Lily knew she would not be able to buy her own things, for her father never gave her money and the small amount of money her mother gave her was just enough to buy a few chocolate bars. Lily's father was very cheap and had a hard time keeping the same job. She wondered sometimes if one day they would wake up and find that the bank had repossessed all of their belongings.

Lily walked up to the door and rang the door bell. After a few minutes of waiting, a small house elf came to the door. "Hello," squeaked Lola, the house elf. She wore a pink pillowcase and had on a green apron. Presumably there was a charm to tell the elf that the visitor was a witch before she opened the door, because a Muggle would be very surprised to be greeted by an elf.

"Hi Lola. Is Meagan home?" asked Lily.

The small house elf shook her head. "Masters have gone to visit someone at hospital in France," squeaked the house elf. "Masters won't be back for a few weeks," she added.

Lily sighed and thanked the house elf.

Lily walked back towards the road when it started raining. "Damn it!" she said, sighing.

She placed her trunk sideways and sat down on it. She took off her long sleeve shirt, revealing a white tank top, and let the rain fall on her. The coldness of the rain felt nice on her bruised sides and the lump that was now forming on her head. She closed her eyes, enjoying the cool sensation.

"Lily?" asked a deep voice. Lily opened her eyes and saw none other than Sirius Black looking curiously at her.

She groaned. "What do you want?" she asked, closing her eyes again.

"Um... well I notice that you were sitting here in the rain and I thought you might catch a cold."

Lily opened her eyes and looked at him quizzically. "When have you ever given a damn about me?" she asked.

"Since my best friend fancies you," he said, matter-of-factly.

He helped Lily up, much to her distaste, and took her trunk. He couldn't use his wand to levitate it, of course, because they were outside and Muggles might see. "Come inside."

"Inside what?"

"James lives just around the corner. Didn't you know?"

"No."

"Mrs. Potter can make you a nice, hot chicken soup," said Sirius.

Lily walked the half-block but ended up groaning in pain. Her sides were still hurting and she had a suspicion that her ankle might be broken.

"You look like hell Lily, do you need a hand?" asked Remus, coming out of the house with an umbrella.

Lily smiled at him gratefully. "Thanks, both of you," she said genuinely.

Remus helped her into the house while Sirius dragged her trunk. "What the hell is in this?" he asked. "Everything but the kitchen sink?" he added, using a phrase he had heard on a Muggle television show.

"Actually, you're pretty close." After as seconds pause she added softly, "I'm running away from home."

Sirius looked shocked. "But I thought you had the perfect life at home," he said.

Lily snorted. "Yeah, okay then."

"I understand," said Sirius.

"So do I," said Remus.

"What, both of you have gone to refuge at Potter's house?" asked Lily.

"I have. I couldn't stand my mother's insults, my father's disappointment and my brother's constant reminders that he was the loved one," said Sirius. "And don't get me started about Cousin Bella. Plus, they don't like the fact that I'm going to become an Auror and hunt down family members," he added with a laugh.

"What about you, Remus?" asked Lily.

"Well, I just couldn't stand the way my parents seem to talk to me as if I'm going to turn into a werewolf at any second and bite their heads off," he said. Lily had known that Remus was a werewolf since the year before.

"Where's James?" asked Lily, as they walked into the marvelous mansion.

"Hey, you're not calling him Potter!" said Sirius.

"Well duh! If I called him Potter in a house with 3 Potters in it..." said Lily.

Sirius pouted; he was outsmarted. He was just about to add something though, but Remus cut him off. "He's in the drawing room," said Remus.

"Oh, and er... where is the drawing room?" she asked, looking around the room she and two of the Marauders were standing in. It had an enchanted ceiling, just like at Hogwarts, and had many painting and pictures of family members. "Here, I'll show you," said Remus, leading Lily down a hallway.

She glanced curiously at the form of James Potter, sprawled on the sofa and asked, "It's obvious your friend isn't asleep." Seeing that neither Remus or Sirius were going to come up with a lie, she added, "How much has he drunk?"

His black hair seemed to be sticking out in every direction more than usual. Many firewhiskey bottles were on the table, which confirmed Lily's suspicion that James was indeed passed out. "He drank too much," said Remus.

"Is that not the reason people pass out in the first place?" said Lily, who was annoyed that Remus seemed to be avoiding her questions. "Why was he drinking so much?"

"Because he had a bloody awful birthday," said Sirius, coming up behind Lily.

She jumped a bit. "But his birthday was two weeks ago," she said.

"Ya and he's been waking up every morning with a hangover."

Lily looked at the black-haired boy again and a wave of guilt washed over her again. She went to sit next to him and pushed a strand of hair out of his face. Lily noticed that he seemed to have lost weight.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Lily. His face seemed to light up. "Too bad this is only a dream," he muttered, closing his eyes once again.

"It's not a dream," whispered Lily.

"Right, the fact that you're showing up at my house with a wet t-shirt is not a dream," he said. Lily looked down at her shirt and realized that James was right. Lily was wearing her white tank top and an orange bra, which was appearing very well thought her shirt. She took out her wand and dried her shirt. She turned around to glare at Remus and Sirius for not telling her, but they were not there.

"Sirius must have liked it not to tell me," thought Lily.

James, with his eyes still shut, said, "Okay, if this is not a dream, kiss me."

Lily rolled her eyes. "James Potter, if you don't want me to smack you, I suggest you take that suggestion back," said Lily.

James smiled and shifted, but no sooner had he done that, he groaned and put his hand to his head. "Throbbing... Headache," he mumbled.

His eyes suddenly opened wide, as if a shock had ran through his body.

"Lily, what are you doing here and why are you covered in scratches and bruises?" he asked.

Lily's eyes grew wide. She had forgotten that she looked like she had just been thrown down the stairs, which she had. "I, um... fell," she lied. Quickly picking up her long-sleeve shirt from off the floor, she put it back on before he noticed any other cuts.

James eyed her suspiciously. "Maybe you did for some of these bruises, but Lily, these cuts and bruises look at least a week old," he said, running his fingers around her bruises.

Lily flinched at James's touch, but surprisingly, it felt comforting. She felt calm.

"Um... if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it right now."

James nodded. "Come on, I smell chicken soup cooking and I'm starving," he said.

----

"James! You're up, that's good. Oh, and you must be Miss Evans! Remus and Sirius told me that they saved you from the rain," said Mrs. Potter, a plumb but tall woman. She had clear blue eyes and brown hair. Lily guessed that James got his looks from his father.

Lily smiled. "Yes, I was being attacked by the rain and Remus and Sirius were my knights in shining armor," said Lily sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! That rain was hard!" defended Sirius.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sure it was." After a moment, she added "By the way Sirius, did you enjoy looking at my wet t-shirt?"

Sirius laughed uncomfortably.

James glared at Sirius. "Padfoot, where you checking Lily out?"

"Prongs, don't worry," Sirius said. "I was just looking, not touching."

"Sirius Black, I sincerely hope you were not checking out our house guest!" said Mrs. Potter, coming into the dining room, her wand soundlessly gliding the hot soups towards the table.

"Don't worry Mum, I wasn't checking Remus out," said Sirius.

Mrs. Potter rolled her eyes at her adoptive son. "I meant the other house guest and I really hope you were have never checked Remus out," she said, biting back her lip, trying not to laugh.

Sirius had a grin on his face and winked suggestively at Remus. "Well, never is a long time..."

Remus, who looked completely disgusted, moved his chair closer to Lily.

"Boys," muttered Mrs. Potter. With a flick of her wand, she set down the plates in front of everyone.

"Thank you Mrs. Potter," said Lily.

Mrs. Potter smiled. "Your welcome dear," she said, then left the teenagers alone.

----

"James, where am I going to sleep?" asked Lily.

"Mum told me that the house elves put your trunk in the room next to mine," said James. "It's the only one that looks half-decent at the moment."

As they walked around the house, James giving Lily the tour, she exclaimed, "Your house is so big! How do you remember where everything is?"

James chuckled. "It's not that big. Just gotta pull out the maps that we've left lying around," he said, jokingly.

Lily smiled. "Thanks, James."

"What for?"

"For being so nice to me."

James grinned boyishly. "You're welcome."

"I also want to say I'm sorry for making your birthday so bloody awful," she said, her voice low.

James gave her a shy smiled. "It's okay," he said. "Now, about those bruises..."

"Let's talk in private," said Lily, feeling like the paintings and pictures were listening in on their conversation.

"Okay," he said. He pulled her into his room. She lay down on his bed and felt overwhelmed by the sweet smell of James's bed sheets. They smelt so comforting. "Um... Lily?" asked James, unsure if Lily had fallen asleep.

"Mmm?"

"Are you going to tell me?" he asked. Lily sighed and rolled onto her back. James came and lay next to her.

"My dad's an abusive drunk," said Lily, in one breath hoping James did not hear anything she said.

He looked shocked. "Lily, how long has this been going on?" he asked.

"A few years," Lily replied somberly, but shrugging as if it was nothing.

"But...but..." stuttered James, completely lost for words. "Okay, you can stay here for as long as you want. Lily, I promise you this: I will protect you from any harm."

Lily looked in his eyes. He seemed so much more mature than he was a few weeks ago. He looked tired also.

"Thank you James," she said, before burying her head into his shoulders and cried like she never cried before.

Author's note: How was this chapter? I liked it personally. More reviews please! Re-written for typos and such.