Disclaimer: If I owned it you would think I wouldn't be here on FANfiction.

A/N: 'ello people! I know it's a big surprise that I'm updating so soon. I usually update on a weekly basis, but I couldn't resist. Take it as a early holiday present! Enjoy!

"Just Found"

The train ride home was pleasant. Nothing big happened, just the usual chit chats between friends. As the train drew near to its destination students got their things together. They were ready to go home for a nice Christmas break where school was far in the back of their minds.

Lily, Alice, and Allie waited for the train to come to a hault before getting off. Students jostled each other, hugged each other goodbye, and wished each other a Happy Christmas and New Years. Lily dropped her trunk beside her and hugged both Allie and Alice.

"I'm going to miss you!" Lily exclaimed.

"It's only a couple of weeks," Allie laughed.

"Besides, we're meeting up later on right?" Alice asked while hugging Lily. Lily and Allie nodded.

"We'll plan something," Lily said. "Oh my God, I'm going to miss you guys." She hugged them again, and they laughed.

"Have a Happy Christmas, you guys!" Alice exclaimed as she grabbed her stuff and walked towards her mother. Allie looked around the platform and spotted Frank. She hugged Lily one last time before meeting up with her family. Lily was now all alone. She quickly grabbed her things and walked through the platform to get back to the Muggle world, where she was hoping to find her father.

"Lily! Lily!" She looked up to see her father waving at her. She stared at him and swallowed. She rolled her stuff over to him and smiled.

"Hi," Lily greeted. He looked down at her and smiled. Lily got a closer looked at him.

He's changed. Thinner? He has more gray hairs and there's this yellow tinge to his skin tone.

"Let me get that for you," he said. He reached for Lily's stuff and carried them. Lily followed behind him as they walked to the car.

The drive home was uncomfortably quiet. Occasionally, Lily caught her father looking at her and then swiftly diverted his eyes.

How strange?

"So how's school so far?" her father asked as he opened the door to their house.

"Good," Lily answered. He nodded his head in satisfaction. He handed the trunk to her.

"Why don't you take this upstairs to your room and get your things sorted out." Lily nodded and began her trip up to her room.

"Oh, and Lily when you're done can you come down stairs. I thought we could talk, you know catch up on old times." Lily watched her father silently. He was nervous, she could tell.

"Sure," Lily agreed. He smiled at her and walked away towards the kitchen.

Lily looked in the living room, no one was there. She then went into the kitchen and saw her father getting some coffee.

He looked up as she entered.

"You want anything?" he asked. Lily shook her head and took a seat at the table. She waited silently for him to take a seat. He slid his chair out and sat down. He looked at Lily as if examining her. Self-consciously she dropped her head and began twisting her fingers nervously. He studied her. He smiled at the thought that she resembled her mother so much. He remembered how much he loved her. How their relationship was before he became depressed. Tears glistened in his eyes. He wanted eveything to go back like it was when Lily's mother was alive. He wanted everything to go back to normal. That's when he broke the silent.

"I'm sorry." Lily's head jerked up and her eyes met her father's. His eyes sparkled in the light.

Are those tears?

"I'm sorry, Lily," her father said again. He dropped his head in shame. "I didn't handle your mother's death responsibly. I just..." His words were caught in his throat. Hot tears fell down on to his lap. "It just was so hard. I loved her so much. I'm sorry, Lily. I was stupid."

By this time Lily sat there emotions stirring. She badly wanted to cry out in anger at her father, but she also wanted to cry out of happiness. Her father was aplogizing. Maybe he was finally coming to his senses. Maybe he was really sorry.

"I know I did things to you. I'm so ashamed. If you were never to forgive me I would understand. I just needed to try. I already lost your mother I don't need to lose you too." He looked up at his daughter. He no longer tried to hide his tears, and neither did she.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Lily felt obligated to comfort her father. She reached out and placed her hand on top of his. She squeezed it.

"Daddy, I forgive you." He stared loving at her.

"I want you to know that you mean so much to me. I can't lose you. I love you, you hear?"

The first time in years Lily was really happy. Love was what she seeked for so long from her father, and she finally got it. Behind her tears Lily smiled. She laughed. She went over to her father and hugged.

"I wanted to hear that for so long," Lily sighed contently while being held close to her father. Her father kissed her forehead and closed his eyes. He still had her, still had his little girl. He wasn't going to mess up anytime soon.

"Wake up!"

Lily grunted in her sleep. She hugged her blanket closer to her and buried herslef deeper into her bed.

"Wake up, sunshine!"

Lily heard her curtains fly open and the early morning sun beat down on her. She groaned and tried to go back to sleep. She then felt her blanket get pulled away. Lily opened her yes to protest and saw her father standing over her smiling.

"Not a morning person, eh?" he laughed. Lily shook her head and groaned.

"To early."

"To early? For shopping?" he asked.

With those magical words Lily's eyes flew wide opened. "Shopping?"

"Shopping."

"I'm up, I'm up," Lily siad excitedly. Her father laughed. "I'll be downstairs waiting."

Lily ran into the bathroom. It's been awhile since she's been anywhere with her father. She was glad they had a chance to spend some quality time with each other after being apart for so long. Lily sighed happily. The past couple of days with her father were pure bliss. It seemed like a dream to Lily. Her father was showing some effort, showing a great deal of effort, and that made Lily happy.

He wants to spend time with me, like we use to.

Lily felt like a child again, being spoiled by her father. She smiled as she got dressed. She ran down the stairs to see her father reading the morning paper on the couch. He looked up.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Lily said.

As they walked down the streets, they would occasionally stop in a store and browes around. Lily got a couple of shirts and a pair of jeans. She even got a really pretty dress that her father bought for her. He said it brought out her eyes. Lily loved it! She evened helped him find a couple of things. He laughed when she told him he needed to update his wardrobe.

Time flew by, hours seemed like minutes and minutes seemed like seconds. By the end of the day, both of them were exhausted and carrying tons of bags to the car.

As they walked back it was silent, but not an uncomfortable silent. Out of nowhere her father struk up a conversation.

"So, Lily, is there a guy in your life right now?" her father asked slyly.

"Dad!" Lily cried out laughing.

Silence.

"If there was, I really should know," he said teasingly. She laughed.

"No, there's no one."

"A beautiful girl like you. I don't believe it!" Lily smiled at her father.

"Well, there is this one guy..."

She couldn't sleep. Christmas was the next day, and she knew she really needed to. It was late afterall. Lily crept down the stairs, hoping to get some hot chocalate. She opened the door to the kitchen and saw her father standing by the counter. He hadn't heard her come in. She stood there watching him and saw that he was taking some medication. She didn't know he was sick!

"Daddy, are you sick?"

Startled, he dropped the medicine container, and it rolled towards Lily. Lily bent down to pick it up.

"Lily."

Lily read the lable.

Leukemia.

Lily shook her head and blinked back her tears.

"Lily?"

"Tell me you don't have cancer, please!" Lily pleaded him. She looked at him hopefully, hoping it was just one big joke.

"I'm sorry, Lily."

"You can't have cancer! You just can't! We just resolved our problems, and you're sick now! It's not fair. I don't want to lose you." Lily cried. She was doing that a lot lately, crying.

"You won't lose me," he said.

"How long have you known?"

"Three months."

"Does Petunia know?" Lily asked.

"No, not yet."

"When were you planning to tell us? What would we do if something happened? We're your daughters. We need to know if our father is in the risk of dieing!"

"Lily, listen..."

"Daddy, maybe the Healers can heal you," Lily said hopefully.

"No. Even if they can I won't let them."

"What!" Lily asked confused and outraged.

"Cancer's taught me something, Lily. It taught me to appreciate life and what life gives me. You, Lily. Cancer taught me that you and Petunia mean the world to me. If I'm gonna die any second in my life right now I don't want to pass away knowing that I didn't try my best to fix my relationship with my daughters!"

"But you might leave us," Lily cried. "Don't you want to stay with us?"

Her father walked towards her. "Of course, but if it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

"Well, it's not meant to be then!" Lily cried. She wanted to throw a tantrum, to get all her emotions out in the open.

"Lily..."

"I don't want to hear it!" Lily's father went over to hug her.

"Daddy, you can't leave me," she sobbed into her father's shirt. She clung to him tightly, almost as if she was scared that he would fade away any minute.

"Shh..." He patted her comfortingly on the back like a child.

Lily tried to hold in her tears, but they just kept coming.

To Lily, Christmas day wasn't going as plan. She prayed for a miracle that maybe everything about her father was just a really bad nightmare. She had just found her father, she couldn't lose him again.

A/N: How was it? Was it good or bad? Opinions here please. I really want to know how I'm doing, but don't be so harsh, please!

Um...was this what anyone was expecting, the confrontation between Lily and her father?