"Abigail Evans was well known as a kind woman. She was also well known for making the best chocolate chip cookies in Britain. I remember she would always send some with John so we could have some, as well. She was a caring soul-" Suddenly, Mr. Evans' coworker's voice was drowned out by loud cursing, coming from outside the door.
"PADFOOT! DON'T SWEAR! IT'S A FUNERAL!" James shouted exasperatedly.
"Well, your shouting is just as bad as my swearing," Sirius retorted from outside the door.
"Let's just get inside, alright? We don't want to delay the funeral any longer!" hissed Remus, in a how-did-I-become-friends-with-these-prats kind of way.
Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked the four marauders. Lily's eyes widened in surprise when she saw them there. She had only told Whitney and Paige about the funeral. She figured no one else would come, anyway.
"Sorry, er…excuse me, pardon me," James muttered while walking through the farthest aisle, blushing a deep red. He quickly looked up and saw Lily staring at him curiously. He smiled, and waved, giving her a sympathetic nod. "OUCH! PADFOOT!" he howled, as Sirius stepped on his foot. Sirius grinned maliciously, always loving the attention. The marauders finally found seats in the back row, Remus giving Lily an apologetic look, almost as if he were saying, See what I have to deal with every day?
Mr. Evans' coworker cleared his throat. "Right. Well, John was a wonderful chap himself. If anyone in the office needed help, he was always there. Why, when I was hard on money a few times, he was always there to chip in a bit…well, more than a bit. More like he chipped in a lot. He was a great man, he was. So was Abbey. Except, er…she was a great woman. They will be strongly missed. Er…I think Miss Evans would like to speak about them, now?" the man asked, looking around for Lily. She took a deep breath, and got up. Paige squeezed her hand encouragingly as she walked away, up to the platform with her parents' coffins.
"Erm…hello, everyone. Thank you for being with us today. I know we all share a strong love for my parents – even if you've never met them, you'd have to like them, from what people are saying about them. When I first learned about my parents' death, I was completely shocked. It was all so sudden. I didn't know what to do. Luckily, my friends Whitney, Paige, and Pot-James, were there to guide me. I sincerely thank them for being with me at that hard time. After the shock of my parents' death sank in, I have to admit, I was really angry with them. I was so angry with them, I did this horrible thing that put my friend's life in danger. But I couldn't help but be angry at them. They left me here, all alone, an orphan. My father will n-never walk me down the aisle, and my mother and I will never have those special bonding moments teens and their mums should have. But that's okay. Because when I was thinking about all this, I realized how lucky I was to have such great friends and relatives, who will always support me, no matter what I do. I realized that my parents would have wanted me to be happy after they died. They wouldn't have wanted me to sit around crying. They would have wanted me to celebrate their lives, regardless of how short their lives were. So I am here with you today to celebrate th-their lives. To relive only the good memories, which are the memories I am hoping I will keep forever, long after I forget their voices and appearances. I want to hold on to that river of memories that is running through my head right at this moment. My parents would have wanted us to remember the good memories. So I just thought I would sh-share some with you today. I remember when I was accepted into Hog-I mean, boarding school. My parents were so proud of me that day. I remember when I became Head Girl at school. Mum was jumping up and down when I told her the news. She was so proud of me, you could see it in her eyes. I remember when Dad brought me to work, and let me press all of the buttons in the elevator, without even getting frustrated with me. I remember when my parents actually let me dye my hair black four summers ago, because I was so ashamed of my red hair-"
"SHE DIED HER HAIR BLACK?" James said in awe, louder than he had planned.
Lily grinned. "Yes, I dyed my hair black. It took ages to go back to my normal hair colour. I remember playing horrible tricks on Petunia – dumping a bucket of fudge on her head, making her sit on pizza, switching her shampoo with pink hair dye, you name it, I did it. And even though these were horrible things to do, my parents laughed. Because they enjoyed life, w-which is exactly what they would want us to do right now, instead of grieving. S-so instead of missing their p-presence, remember all the great times you shared with them. Remember the w-way they laughed, the way their eyes had a merry t-twinkle in them. Th-that is h-how m-m-my parents would w-w-want to be re-remembered," Lily finished, finally giving up on holding back her tears. She quickly made her way back over to Paige and Whitney, and let them hug her as she cried.
Soon it was time for the reception. Lily sighed, then walked away from Paige and Whitney to thank her relatives for coming. The marauders hastily made their way to Paige and Whitney, James in the lead.
"Thanks for coming, guys," Whitney said in a sad tone. "It means a lot to Lily. Especially the fact that you came, James. You can tell she was happy you came. She needs you right now."
James ran his hand through his hair awkwardly. "Er…yeah. Sure, no problem. I'm happy to help."
"Speak for yourself," Sirius groaned. "Funerals make me depressed."
Paige rolled her eyes. "They make everyone depressed, you twit. But some of us are able to hide our emotions, and help our friends get through their grief. And didn't you listen to Lily's speech? We should be celebrating their lives, not grieving."
"I didn't even know the people! How am I supposed to celebrate their lives?" Sirius exclaimed in protest. Paige sniffed indignantly.
"Padfoot, if you want to snog Paige ever again, you'll hold your tongue," Remus muttered warningly. Sirius scowled, but remained silent.
James smiled, then quickly made his way over to Lily."You pulled pranks? I can't believe it!" He gasped, figuring it would do her some good to think about something other than her parents' death.
She grinned. "I use my power for good, Potter. You ought to consider doing the same."
"Oh, but Evans! We could be such a great team! Together, you and I could take over Hogwarts! We could overthrow Peeves! We could-"
"Nice try, but it is not going to work. Besides, I save all my good pranks for Petunia. Thank goodness she's not here, otherwise I would have gotten a lot of dirty looks for that prank thing I mentioned."
"She sounds horrible."
"Yeah, she is. She definitely deserves a bucket of fudge falling on her head every time she takes a step," Lily smiled, her eyes twinkling.
"I never thought you had it in you, Evans."
"Yeah, well, there are a lot of things about me that would probably surprise you."
"Like?"
"Like I would tell you, Potter. It is much more fun being secretive, and watch you get all excited trying to figure out what it is," Lily smiled.
"Well, I do have one other question for you," James smirked.
"Oh, God, you're not asking me out are you?" Lily sighed exasperatedly.
James grinned. "Well, no, I wasn't planning on it. But if you want me to, I will-"
"Never mind! Just ask your question, then," Lily said hastily.
"Did you really dye your hair black? For an entire summer?" James smirked.
"Yes."
"And?"
"And what?" Lily asked amusedly.
"What did it look like?"
"Absolutely horrible. I looked like a murderer who escaped from Azkaban," Lily blushed.
"Oooh. Picture, please."
"Like I would ever actually give you blackmail!" Lily retorted playfully.
Suddenly, James turned serious. "Erm…listen. Your parents sounded like really great people. And you're right – they would have wanted you to celebrate their lives."
"Er…thanks. And, well, thanks for being here…with me. I really do appreciate it," Lily said awkwardly.
"Erm…yeah, sure. I'm always there for you, Evans," James replied sheepishly.
Lily blushed, then checked her watch, and gasped. "Listen, I've got to go talk to everyone else before we go to, well…we go to…the cemetery."
James nodded, giving Lily a sympathetic look. "Right. Well then, I guess I'll just see you at…er…school?"
"Yeah. See you. And thanks again for coming," Lily said, giving James a quick hug, before running off to some relatives, blushing.