So I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. It's been hectic here. College and stuffs… But yea. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the wonderful, terrific, and much moneymaking Harry Potter franchise. If I did I why would I be writing this here and not making millions more? So all hail the genius that is J.K Rowling.

Many thanks to all my readers! And review please. A craftsman is always glad to here that her work is appreciated.

Chapter Nine: Dinners Ruined

James opened his eyes; the room was fuzzy, someone had removed his glasses. He reached out a hand and fumbled around on the nightstand next to his bed, feeling for his glasses. He found them on top of a book; he grabbed them and put them on; the room came into focus.

He looked across the room to where Lily was still sitting on her bed, reading. He sighed; she looked tired. She was wearing herself down.

Marie Evans' health was steadily deteriorating and Lily was taking it more and more upon herself to care for her Gram. Lily would sit with Marie until one or two o'clock in the morning, just to make sure that if Marie needed anything, she got it.

But it was not only Marie that was keeping Lily busy, she was also comforting the younger boys, trying to keep them happy and looking on the bright side of things and she was making sure that he, James, was having a good holiday.

James tried to help her, whenever she'd let him. He'd play board games with Ryan and Joe; play tag or hide-and-go-seek with Ben and Luke; and he even made cookies with the boys for a distraction while Lily was sitting with Marie. The aunts and cousins did their part too, but Lily just didn't want to leave her grandmother's side.

This was a difficult time for Lily and James knew it. He also knew that Lily would never ask for help, not until she really needed it. So he just helped her whenever he could, he knew it drove her up the wall…besides, he knew that she was grateful, even if she would never admit it.

James yawned, stretched, and sighed.

Lily looked over at him and smiled, her face lighting up. "Well look who's awake." She called sweetly.

James grinned. "How long was I out?" he asked.

"About thirty minutes." Said Lily, sticking her nose back into the book she was reading.

"What time is it?" asked James.

"Umm..." said Lily distractedly, not looking up from her book.

"Lilllllllly…." Called James in an annoying voice he knew would get her attention.

"Hmmm?" she asked, looking up from her book again.

"Time? What's the time?" he asked again.

"Oh, It's," she looked at her wristwatch. "It's half-past two." She said, looking over to James. She smiled and then yawned, diving back into her book.

"I think you're the one who needs a nap." James said matter-of-factly, as he grabbed the book off his nightstand, opened it to the page where he had left off and began to read.

"Psh…" was all Lily said in reply. She looked up and over at James again.

I could use a nap… she thought. But she shook that thought from her mind as another popped into her head. What if gram needs me?

From somewhere below their room, Lily and James heard voices and a door close.

"All right…" said Lily almost to herself, as though she had just decided something.

"All right?" asked James. "All right what?" he continued, looking up from his book, confused by Lily's sudden speaking.

"I need to do something," said Lily, looking over.

"O…kay…" said James slowly. "Like…what, for example?"

"I'm going to make dinner." Lily said. The she nodded her head once and stood up. "Yea, I haven't done that in ages." She walked closer to James.

"Really? You're going to make dinner…" started James, a smirk slowly sliding across his face. "So I should order the pizza for seven then?" he asked seriously.

"OH shut it!" cried Lily, grinning in spite of herself and smacking James softly in the arm. "I'll have you know that I'm a good cook!"

"Yup, sure you are." James said skeptically as he rolled his eyes. "And I'm the potions master."

"Well Professor Slughorn, hold on to your cauldron then, because I'm going to whip up a feast…the muggle way!" Lily said. "So there." She stuck out her tongue.

"All right… I'm intrigued." James admitted as he put the book on the nightstand and stood up too.

"I'll make it for the whole family and it'll be my surprise!"

"I'm sure they'll like that." Said James, smiling and watching, as Lily got more and more excited.

Lily nodded. "But first I have to practice piano." She headed for the door.

James did a double take. "You…you're the one? That music, wafting gently and soothingly up the stairs…that's you?" he asked in disbelief.

"Surprised I have so much talent?" asked Lily a little woundedly as she turned slightly pink about the ears.

"Yea…" James exclaimed slowly, his mouth hanging open as he looked at her.

Lily glared at him.

"Uh I mean…NO!" he recovered quickly. "Of course not! I always knew you were talented. I just…never knew how talented." He finished as he strode over to Lily and put each of his hands on her shoulders.

Lily turned a darker shade of pink.

"May I…listen?" asked James slowly.

"Well…" Lily began, hesitantly. "I don't really like to have people watch me when I play."

"Aw. C'mon. Please?" James gave Lily his best big-eyed puppy dog look, the same one that Sirius had taught him. "Please?" he looked into Lily's deep green eyes.

"O…fine."

"Yes!" James, punching the air.

"But you have to be super quiet and not make a sound and not move and just stay out of my line of vision…ok?" asked Lily quickly.

'Fine by me..." said James, ginning complacently.

"And I'm only doing this because I like you." Lily looked at her feet.

"You like me?" asked James hopefully, peering into Lily's down-turned face.

"As a friend," Lily continued quickly, looking back up and meeting James' eyes. "Just a friend."

"Right…" James said slowly and with masked disappointment.

James opened the door. "After you." He said, holding the door open for Lily.

Lily left the room and waited for James and together they ambled down the stairs. The emerged into the warm kitchen and looked around. It was empty and quiet.

Lily and James listened. There wasn't a sound.

Lily looked around and spotted a note on the kitchen's scrubbed oak table. She walked over picked it up and read it. It said:

Lily and James.

We are all out shopping today. We left around quarter to three and should be home for half past six. We'll see you then. See to Gram if she needs anything.

Love,

Us

"Perfect! So I can have dinner ready for them when they get home." Lily smiled.

James grinned by her side, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Such a thoughtful girl."

"I know," sighed Lily sweetly, turning her head to look at James.

They walked into the now spotless living room and past the oriental screen divider.

There was the piano, gleaming in the soft light cast by the fireplace. The mahogany wood was polished and the faint light made it look impressive and grand.

Lily and James continued to walk over to Marie.

"'Lo gram." Said Lily softly, kneeling by the bed and giving Marie a soft hug and a kiss.

"Good day Marie," said James walking over and kneeling also by the bed, next to Lily. He leaned over and kissed Marie's forehead.

Marie Looked from Lily to James, both kneeling side-by-side next to her bed, and smiled weakly. Her eyes, her vivid green eyes, were lacking sparkle. They were slightly glazed (no doubt from the muggle medication) and though they showed joy, it was a very tired joy.

It hurt Lily, it physically hurt her, to look at her Grandmother like this; to remember how strong she was, how bright, funny and fun-loving; to remember that Marie was her port of comfort and solace during the storm of her parent's deaths. But Lily pushed these thoughts from her mind, she had not time to think about how she felt, she needed to concentrate on her gram, that's who needed comfort. Lily looked over at James.

James looked back at Lily; he could tell that she was keeping her emotions buried deeply in her heart; being careful to keep them hidden behind a mask of optimistic happiness and a smile. He sighed quietly.

Lily looked to Marie and smiled. "I'm going to practice piano now, all right?" asked Lily as she gently touched Marie's shoulder.

It took Marie a moment to respond after Lily had spoken, as though the words had reached her ears on a delay. She nodded sluggishly. "Y...yes dear," she rasped softly, weakly. "That would be nice."

Lily stood up, and so did James. They walked away from the bed and over to the piano. James picked up a chair and waited for instructions.

"Sit over there, James." Said Lily, as she pointed to a dark, shadowy corner. "I can't see you…I'll mess up." she finished quietly.

James went to the shadowy corner and sat down. "Can you see me?" he asked her.

"No…" Lily sighed, "but I still know you're there…"

"Just try ok? You'll do perfectly."

Lily sighed. She opened the piano bench and took out her books. She closed the bench and sat down; she adjusted the distance of her self from the piano until she was comfortable. She picked up a book, opened it to page 13 and placed it on the ledge above the keys.

Lily took a deep breath and placed her fingers on the respective keys at middle C.

I can do this… she thought. I can do this. James is not in the corner. He is notlistening to me. He won't care when…if…if…I mess up.

She began to run scales, to warm up her fingers and calm her nerves.

CDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFGABCDEFGABCGFEDCBAGFEDCBAGFEDCBAC

Ok...first scale down.

Lily continued to play her scales, playing chords and arpeggios.

Once she had sufficiently warmed up her fingers, she looked to page 13 of her already opened book and began to play. It was a piece by Bach, Andante, and her favorite.

By the third measure in she had completely forgotten that James was in the room and listening to her. She was playing her best for her Grandmother; the music, Lily desperately hoped, eased her grandmother's suffering.

Lily played each chord, each note, by pressing expressively into the keys, leaning with her weight, transferring it to her fingertips. The song was slow, yet not sad, and in a minor key.

James watched awed as Lily rocked unconsciously back and forth, transferring her weight from her torso to her arms to her fingertips and finally, to the keys, to produce a deep, rich sound; a sound that seemed to reverberate inside his ribs, inside his very heart, mirroring his emotions. He let the music surround him, let it penetrate his very soul; he was surprised that anything could affect him the way that Lily's music was. This song seemed to voice every emotion that he had ever felt, but could never express.

And so it went on for an hour. Lily played her best and James listened. He glanced from Lily to Marie.

Marie was watching James with a small smile on her wrinkled face. When she saw James look at her she nodded, showing her approval of him.

James nodded back, expressing his thanks to her for accepting him, only hoping that Lily would do the same.

Marie closed her eyes and fell gently asleep.

James watched her sleep for a while, still listening to Lily's music. Lily seemed partial to playing minor pieces, pieces that sounded sad but always resolved into…something quite peaceful. James thought that she played these songs because they were reflections of how she felt, reflections of what she felt in her heart.

James closed his eyes.

Lily glanced over her shoulder and saw that her grandmother was asleep. She also peered into the shadows at James. He had his eyes closed and a smile on his face. Lily continued to play, not wanting to disturb her gram or James.

Lily ended the song and kept the damper pedal down, allowing the soft final note to die slowly. Once it had, she took her slippered foot off the pedal, closed the book and stood up.

Lily decided to let James rest; he had stayed up last night, waiting for her. Lily had been up with Marie and hadn't gone up to bed until after one o'clock in the morning…

"Lily?" James asked blearily.

"James… you shouldn't have stayed up for me." Said Lily, looking at James who was propped against his headboard in what had to be an uncomfortable position.

"I wanted to," he replied, smiling simply. "Is everything all right?" he asked through a yawn.

"Oh yes. Gram was just having a bit of trouble falling asleep." Said Lily with a sigh as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She turned away from James and went to her dresser.

"Mmm," mumbled James, struggling to stay awake. He wanted to listen to Lily, he could tell that she need to confide in someone, to talk about what was happening with her gram…but he couldn't keep his eyes open.

"It's just…" Lily began hesitantly. "I don't like seeing her like this," she muttered. "I hate it!" she continued passionately. "She's always been such a …" Lily turned back to face James again, only to find him asleep, his head drooping against his chest.

Lily sighed again, struggling to hold back tears. She impatiently whipped them away. She had no time to be weak. If you were weak, you failed…and Lily refused to fail; she must be strong, for all their sakes.

She walked over to James' bed and helped ease him down onto his pillows.

His eyes flickered. "Lily," he murmured.

"Shhhsh James," Lily said soothingly. "Sleep..."

James' hand slip slowly out from under the covers and covered Lily's. "It's going to be all right." He slurred sleepily.

Lily's breath caught in her chest as she gazed down at James. She removed her hand from underneath James', walked over to her bed and crawled into it.

Lily walked into the kitchen and put the kettle on the stove. Then she turned to the refrigerator and opened the door. She peered inside to see what she could cook up for dinner.

The fridge was completely and utterly…empty.

"Typical," Lily muttered. "Everyone waits until the fridge is bare before they go shopping…"

Lily walked quietly back into the living room and to the shadows where James had his eyes closed. She hesitated and then put a hand softly on his shoulder.

James jerked awake. "I'm not sleeping!" he exclaimed in a slightly garbled voice as her blinked furiously.

Lily giggled. "Right…James I have to run to the store to get stuff so I can make dinner. Will you stay with Gram?"

"Of course!" he said quietly. "You don't have to ask. GO." He said.

"Right I left the kettle on if you want tea, Gram usually likes a cup when she wakes up.

"Ok." Said James.

Lily walked to the kitchen, grabbed her coat from the closet, put it on and headed out the door. "I won't be long," she called and closed the door behind her.

James got up and walked slowly to the kitchen. The kettle was steaming at the spout and starting to emit a low whistle. He removed it so the sound wouldn't wake Marie. Then he found a teapot and two cups, and placed them on a tray. He inserted a teabag into the teapot and then filled it with the hot water from the kettle. He walked back through the living room and placed the tray softly on a table near Marie's bed. Then James got his chair from the shadows and sat by Marie's bed, waiting for her to wake up.

About ten minutes later Marie opened her eyes and drew a great shuddering breath.

"James, an extra blanket if you please." She said as she pointed behind James to a blanket on a rocking chair.

James immediately got up, retrieved the blanket and placed it over Marie.

"Ah, my boy, you warm an old woman's heart." She smiled weakly.

James grinned too. "Not old, never old. You don't look a day over thirty." James continued with a smile

"Oh posh, James. You flatter me." She winked at him. "I know what I look like. My body is failing, James, and I know it."

James shifted in his chair, slightly uncomfortable.

"I know, you think this is my muggle medication talking, don't you?" Marie asked shrewdly.

James blinked in disbelief. "What?" he asked. "You know what muggle means?"

"Oh James," replied Marie with a mysterious glance. "What I know would surprise you. And I think it's about time that I tell you…"

But the front door opened and Lily walked in.

"I'm back," she called.

"Come back tonight," said Marie reaching out and taking James's hand in hers. "You can sit with me and we'll give Lily a break."

James nodded in wonderment; what is she going to tell me? James wondered.

He got up and walked into the kitchen where Lily was already chopping up vegetables.

"This is going to be so good." She said to him. "Everyone will be surprised, coming home to a hot dinner on the table."

"Mmmhhmmm," said James distractedly, though Lily didn't seem to notice. She was too focused on her cooking; she wanted to get every thing perfect. Her gram had said that she wanted a good meal.

Maybe she only knows the term muggle because of Lily. Yeah! That must be it… pondered James. James pushed it from his mind and decided to watch Lily.

"Want any help?" he asked her, as she simultaneously stirred something on the stove and tried to cut up peppers.

"Oh…all right." Said Lily. "I guess I could use some help."

"Just a little," smirked James.

"Come here and stir this." She called, smiling back good-naturedly.

James walked over to the stove, took the spoon from Lily, and started stirring.

"No, like this," said Lily, placing her hand on top of his and helping him stir.

Time seemed to stand still. Lily looked at James and James looked at Lily. They both smiled, going red and locking eyes. Lily took her hand away from James' and moved to the counter to chop peppers.

They continued to help one another. Lily told James everything that he needed to do, and James got the impression that Lily liked the help…and liked bossing him around. He smiled to himself. He snuck up behind Lily, filched a slice of pepper from the board, and bit it in half.

Lily looked at him. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "That was going to be my slice…"

James held out the half he hadn't eaten to her. She took it from his fingers with her mouth and turned back to chopping.

Wait, though James. Did she just do what I think she just did? He ginned broadly and seemed to hover at least a half an inch off the floor.

It was quarter to seven. The sky outside the kitchen windows was dark and Lily's family still wasn't home.

But that was fine with Lily; she was still making some finishing touches on her dinner while James set the table.

Together Lily and James had created a creamy vegetable pasta with chicken. It was in a huge pot on the stove, staying warm.

They waited.

"Any minute and they should be home." Said Lily as she fixed her gram a plate and brought it to her.

It was seven o'clock.

Seven thirty.

Eight.

Quarter past.

Lily and James sat down and ate, alone.

The pot of pasta was starting to get sticky.

It was half past eight.

Where were they?

I could really use some reviews, I need it.

Well that's all for now. This chapter originally had more…but I've decided I want to put it in later chapters. So, there you have it.

I'm hopefully going to update sooner next time. If all goes according to plan…

Until next time

Keep a sharp eye ;)

Pupparoux