What happens when Lily runs into James Potter while running around Diagon Alley after a fight with her sister?

Chapter Three: With Milk and Two Sugars

Lily Evans was a young, bright, and beautiful witch. She was well-known for her poise, grace, and her canning ability to keep a cool head under pressure. Right now, she was anything but that. She was a bloody mess.

Tears streamed down her face as she marched determinedly through Diagon Alley with only one destination in mind: away. The argument she had with her sister and her stepfather just over an hour ago kept replaying in her head.

"I'll have you know I'm not coming home for Christmas. And I'm certainly not coming to your wedding!" Lily yelled at her sister, Petunia.

Their argument started when Petunia barged into Lily's room and accused her of taking her precious necklace that her boyfriend Vernon had given her. A little tuff had soon escalated to a full-fledged shouting match. Before long, the girls were at each other's throat in a competitive battle to see who could hurt the other one more.

"Good, no one wanted you there anyway!" Petunia yelled back.

"I hope you and your husband have a happy life together," Lily told her.

"I hope you have a happy life alone," she spat.

"Girls, please stop yelling," the girls' stepfather, Joseph, said timidly. He had been watching their screeching match anxiously. "The neighbors have already called twice asking if everything was ok—"

"Like you're not glad to be rid of me, too," Lily said. She grabbed her bags and started for the door.

"We wanted you gone ages ago, but no one had the heart to tell you," Petunia said, following Lily. "Especially Joseph, but since you were Mum's favorite, he couldn't say anything.

Lily swallowed a big gulp of air to prevent herself from crying. What she was saying was true; Lily knew it, Petunia knew it, Joseph knew it; it just hurt to finally hear someone say it.

"I'm leaving," she said quieter this time.

"You said that already," Petunia pointed out. "Go! Leave! Your freaky friends are the only ones that want you if you can call them friends. I bet you're even a freak among freaks."

"You've never been able to accept me for what I am!" Lily screamed. "Either of you! If Mum was still here—"

"Yeah, well, she's not," Petunia said heartlessly.

Lily then gave them a departing glare and added, "Enjoy your Lily-free life."

Petunia's words still stung an hour later. True to her word, Lily had packed up her room and departed for London, knowing that she would most likely never see her sister or her childhood home again. Without having a real destination in mind, Lily made her way to London. The Hogwarts Express didn't leave for another week, which meant she needed to find a temporary home, which is how she ended up checking-in at the Leaky Cauldron.

She now found herself wandering aimlessly through the streets of Diagon Alley, wondering how she managed to get herself into such a mess.

Calm down, Lily thought to herself. You knew this was coming. Things between us have been rocky for ages, even before mum died.

It was true. Things with her sister had been in shambles ever since Lily first left for Hogwarts nearly six years ago. Throughout those years, the Evans girls lost both their mother and their father. Instead of bringing the girls closer together, it only drove them farther apart.

This is your last year at Hogwarts, Lily chastised herself. It's time to start looking forward to the future.

Hogwarts had always been a safe haven for Lily. She needed that now more than ever. Not only were things crumbling in her Muggle life, but things in the wizarding world were looking bleaker and bleaker every day.

Lord Voldemort and his followers were on the warpath, and Muggleborns were their number one target. Not a day went by that a murder wasn't reported about in The Daily Prophet. Lily's future hung in a delicate balance. Being a Muggleborn herself, she was always looking over her shoulder in both the Muggle world and the Wizarding world. Even at Hogwarts, she didn't feel completely safe. Not after everything that went down with her ex-best friend, Severus Snape.

Woah girl don't go down that path, Lily tried to calm herself as that fateful day from the end of fifth year came to mind. Screw Severus, screw Petunia, screw Voldemort. This is my last year at Hogwarts, and I'll be damned if it isn't the best year of my life.

With that thought in mind, she closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths to collect herself. Don't let them see they have gotten to you. Keep your head held high.

Feeling much more put together than she did ten minutes ago, Lily took a few steps forward to start back on her way. She didn't get very far when she ran straight into someone, nearly sending them both into the ground.

Two hands grabbed her shoulders, two very strong and sturdy hands. "I am so sorry, are you alright?" Lily's savior said, steadying them both.

"It's my fault. I wasn't looking at where I was going." Lily's arms were trapped in front of her, resting lightly on the man's chest as the stranger continued to hold her shoulders.

"Alright, Evans?" the voice said. She knew that voice. She knew that line. Lily's eyes snapped up, and she found herself looking at the face of the last person she would want to run into right now, James Potter. This is not how she wanted to see James for the first time since admitting her crush on him two months ago.

"Potter?!" Lily exclaimed. Lily felt a blush creeping its way up her neck and towards her cheek. She was still pressed tightly against his chest and couldn't help but notice how broad and firm it was. She found herself actively resisting the urge to run her hands all over it.

She cleared her throat and quickly straightened herself out. She stepped out of his arms and questioned, "What are you doing here?".

"Back to school shopping," he replied with a broad smile. His smile wavered when he got a good look at Lily's face, and she knew exactly what he was seeing. Her eyes were puffy and red, her hair was a tangled mess of curls, and the blush that was clearly visible on her cheeks, but that she knew had nothing to do with the events that happened earlier, but with the handsome man that stood in front of her right now.

"Seriously, Lily, are you alright?" James asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, just a little embarrassed at how clumsy I am. Sorry for nearly taking you down," Lily laughed, trying to lighten the situation.

"It was completely my fault," James said, which was a lie, but she appreciated it anyway. "It's good to see you."

Once again, Lily was reminded just how much James Potter had changed. All last year she watched and took note as James stopped hexing people, stop drawing attention to himself, and stopped his insistent unwanted advances on her. Because of this, they had been able to develop a tentative friendship that mostly involved awkward small talk when they found themselves sitting together in the Great Hall or in the Gryffindor Common Room.

Their newfound friendship had also led to them nearly kissing on several occasions. Occasions she had been fantasizing about all summer long.

"It's good to see you, too, James," Lily responded. "Fancy running into you here."

James laughed. "Literally. You don't seem alright though, Lily. Have you been crying?"

Dammit, Lily thought. Not only had James Potter stopped talking about himself constantly, but he had also started being an observant and sensitive person, much to Lily's dismay at this particular point in time.

"Is it that obvious?" Lily sniffled. It was clearly written all over her face. Lily hated showing weakness, she hated crying, and she hated doing both of those things in front of James Potter.

"Just a little," James offered a small smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she snapped. She felt bad after looking at the pain on his face. She was being unfair, and she knew it. "It's just family stuff. Thank you for offering, but I think I just need to get my mind off things. That's what I was trying to do anyway. Didn't really work out that well since I nearly took down the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

James laughed. "It takes a lot more than a pretty girl knocking into me to take me down." James looked at her thoughtfully, perhaps worried by calling her "pretty." James had lasted all sixth year without asking Lily Evans on a date, a personal record. However, they still ran into moments like this where James would drop an off-handed compliment, or Lily would catch him staring at her for a few seconds too long.

Lily quickly brushed the compliment off, "That's good to hear. I wouldn't want to take you out before the season even started. I would be labeled 'Public Enemy Number One' within Gryffindor Tower."

"McGonagall would have your head," they both laughed at this. It was safe to say their Head of House was more than just a little aggressive when it came to her Quidditch Team. She took a lot of pride in maintaining their claim as Quidditch Cup Champions.

While they laughed, she couldn't help but notice just how damn handsome he was. She had always known James was good looking, even when she despised him. But recently, she started realizing that he was drop-dead gorgeous. She found herself fantasizing about him more and more each day in more graphic detail. Friends can think about each other that way, right? God, I sure hope James Potter is not an accomplished Legilimens, Lily prayed.

"Do you want some company?" James asked shyly. That was new. James Potter was never shy, especially not while asking her out.

That's not what he's doing, Lily corrected herself. He's just being a good friend. That's what you are now, friends.

"Sure," Lily responded with a smile.

Together, they made their way down Diagon Alley until they found themselves seated at an outdoor table at a small café. Lily hated to admit it, but coffee was exactly what she needed right now. Her addiction was a real problem.

A waitress came out and greeted them. "What can I get you both?"

"Once black tea and one coffee with milk and two sugars," James responded.

"Great, I'll be right back," she smiled, and Lily couldn't help but notice how her eyes lingered on James for a few seconds too long. She narrowed her eyes at the waitress as she walked away.

"How did you know my order?" Lily asked, surprised. She was one of the few people at Hogwarts that preferred coffee at nearly every meal. She never thought anyone besides her best friend, Marlene, noticed. She was also impressed he noticed she took her coffee with milk and not cream.

"Please, I've been eating breakfast with you for six years now, you don't think I noticed that you drink nearly six cups every morning before class?"

Lily laughed. "My addiction has become a real problem. Marlene tells me it's going to put me to an early grave."

The waitress came back out with their drinks. They drank in silence for a few moments. Lily suddenly became aware of how date-ish this felt. She doesn't think she had ever spent this much alone time with James Potter. She was surprised by how comfortable the whole thing felt.

She watched James as he thoughtfully sipped his tea. His dark and unruly hair was just as unruly as ever, his hazel eyes twinkled in the early evening sun, his t-shirt was snug across his broad chest, and Lily once again found herself admiring it. She shook that thought quickly out of her head.

She didn't even want to think about what she looked like right now. But she could only imagine how her red, cried out eyes, dark circles, and mangled hair must look. She suddenly felt very self-conscious. If she knew she would be seeing James Potter today, she would have…

What? Lily thought. What would I have done? Would she have spent a little more time on her outfit? Maybe run a comb through her hair? Maybe put on at least a dab of mascara or something instead of walking out of the house with no make-up, and in the first clean articles of clothing she could find with a rat's nest on her head?

But why? Lily was hoping a summer apart would have set her mind straight, but instead, it only made things much worse. Instead of finding her feelings for him diminished, she found they had multiplied three-fold.

"Thanks for keeping me company," Lily said to break the silence. She was trying to slyly flatten her unruly curls with no such luck. She gave up and put her hair in a ponytail with the tie on her wrist, caving in to defeat.

The curls win today, she thought bitterly. They usually win.

"Anytime. I'm glad I ran into you," James said sincerely. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I hope you know that I'm always here for you, Lily."

She knew he genuinely meant it. She felt herself blushing again under his gaze. Dammit, pull yourself together, Lily scolded herself. It's just James Potter.

"Thanks, James. I really appreciate that" she smiled at him. When he smiled back, she swore her heart skipped a beat.

What was going on with her? She's never been so flustered in front of James Potter. She chalked it up to her unstable emotions after leaving her only living family and her childhood home behind. She felt her eyes burning as tears threatened to start flowing again.

She looked down and took a sip of coffee to try and cover it. James was being uncharacteristically alert today, though, and unfortunately took notice.

"I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but it might help," James suggested timidly. She could tell he was nervous about asking again, and she suddenly regretted snapping at him earlier.

"It's just my sister. We had a huge row today. She's never really understood the whole 'witch' thing. Ever since I started at Hogwarts, our relationship has been tumultuous. Then when our mother passed away last summer, it seemed like all pretense of civility went out the window. With mum gone, I feel like an enemy in my own home. Today was the boiling point for both of us. Words were said, things were thrown. So, I left," Lily sipped on her coffee while she waited for James to respond.

"Lily, that's horrible," James said. "I'm so sorry –"

"Please don't be sorry," Lily interrupted. "I don't want to be pitied. Honestly, this was a long time coming with Petunia. The more I think about it, the more I know I made the right decision. Why would I stay in a place where I am not wanted? Besides, Hogwarts is my home. At least for another year."

James reached across the table tentatively and grabbed her hand. For the third time today, she felt a hot blush creeping up to her cheeks. Her hand burned from his contact. It felt much like it did when his hand was on her lower back while they were dancing at the McKinnon's Christmas party. Like a million bolts of electricity racing through her body.

"Lily, I –" James started.

"PRONGS!" Sirius Black came sprinting towards them, with a woman trailing along behind him. "Prongs, we've been looking – oh hello, Evans."

Sirius smirked at the sight in front of him. "I hope I'm not interrupting something." He looked at their hands, which were still clasped across the table. They quickly broke apart. Lily could still feel James's hand on hers, even after she tucked it under her thigh.

"Not at all," James said. "Just two friends catching up."

James winked at her across the table, and she smiled and laughed. No, not laughed, giggled. Lily Evans actually released a school-girl giggle in response to a wink from James Potter.

"Right sure," Sirius eyed them suspiciously.

Leave it to Black to make a perfectly cordial situation completely awkward, Lily thought.

"Sirius!" The woman who had been trailing behind him finally caught up with Sirius.

She was an older woman with dark black hair in a neat bun, streaks of grey throughout. She also had kind hazel eyes and a warm smile. It was clear who she was because she looked so similar to the boy sitting across from her.

"Why on earth were you sprinting? You know I can keep up with you," she reprimanded him. She turned to us, as though just realizing we were at the table. "Oh, James, we were wondering where you had run off to. We were just coming to look for you. I hope we weren't interrupting."

She kept glancing between Lily and James with a broad smile and a knowing look on her face.

"No, mum, you were not interrupting. Why does everyone keep saying that?" James shot a dark look at Sirius. "Mum, this is Lily Evans, a friend."

Mrs. Potter was practically beaming at Lily by now. Lily stood up and offered her hand.

"Mrs. Potter, it's so nice to meet you."

"Oh dear, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you," Mrs. Potter accepting Lily's hand, cupping it between both of hers. "I have heard so much about you."

"Mum," James groaned. Sirius started laughing behind them.

"All good things, I hope," Lily smiled at the woman. Mrs. Potter was warm, friendly, and everything a mother should be. With a pain, Lily was reminded of her own mother.

"Oh, very much so," she replied. Mrs. Potter leaned in and whispered, "I think my son is quite fond of you."

"Mum!" James sighed. Sirius had his hands on his knees to keep from falling over he was laughing so hard.

Lily smiled but didn't say anything. She was secretly glad to hear Mrs. Potter say that. She had started to question whether James was even still interested in her, given his lack of advances last year. She then cursed herself for thinking that.

"James, sweetheart, we really need to get going. Your father will be expecting us for dinner," was all she said to him in response. She turned back to Lily. "It was such a pleasure to meet you, dear. I'll uh give you a moment to say goodbye."

With that, she turned on her heel, grabbed the still laughing Sirius by the arm, and marched back towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"I am so sorry about that," James said to Lily. "God, that was so embarrassing."

Lily laughed. "She wouldn't be a mother if she wasn't embarrassing. She seems very sweet. You're lucky, James."

James just smiled and said, "Yeah, I know." He started taking out coins from his pocket to leave on the table.

"James, you don't need to do that. I can pay –" Lily started.

"Don't worry about," he said, waving her off. "You can get the next one."

The next one. Lily's heart picked up and warmed at the thought.

"I'll walk with you back to the Leaky Cauldron," Lily offered. Together, they got up and started walking.

"Thanks for talking with me, and for the coffee. You're right, it is my weakness," Lily said as they walked.

James laughed. "Anytime. Now I know if you're ever angry with me again just to get you a coffee."

Lily smiled. "I do find that there isn't much a good cup of coffee can't cure."

Before long, they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and found Sirius and Mrs. Potter waiting.

"Lily, dear, do you have a long way home?" Mrs. Potter asked.

James tensed and shot Lily an apologetic look. He knew she just left home and probably didn't want to talk about it.

She found that with Mrs. Potter asking, she didn't mind much. "No, actually. I'm staying here until school starts."

"Oh," Mrs. Potter seemed surprised. "Well, then I insist you come join us for dinner tonight."

"I wouldn't want to impose –" Lily started.

"Nonsense, it's no trouble at all. Right, James?" Mrs. Potter sent a sharp look to her son.

James cleared his throat. "N-no, of course not. You should come, Lily."

"Great!" Mrs. Potter clapped her hands together. "Then it's settled."

And that is how Lily Evans found herself at James Potter's house.

"I'm going to go check on dinner," Mrs. Potter announced once they arrived. "Lily, dear, please make yourself at home."

Lily, James, and Sirius stood around in awkward silence for a few moments. Sirius was giving painfully obvious looks to James. It seemed like they were wordlessly communicating with each other. Lily was pretty sure she didn't want to know what they were trying to say.

"Tour?" James asked.

"Tour!" Sirius exclaimed. He excitedly turned to Lily and linked his arm through hers. "Lily, darling, you are going to love Potter Manor."

"Eww, please don't call it that," James said.

"This house has been around since the 1700s. You can really see the Georgian architectural style, which of course, the name is derived from House of Hanover and the King George's. Its styling was deeply inspired by that of ancient Greece and Roman architecture, which are just classics. Timeless one might even say."

Lily and James exchanged a looked and burst into a fit of laughter. "Sirius, I didn't know you were so into architecture."

"I think you'll find I'm a man of many talents, Miss Evans," he said as he continued to lead her around the house.

Lily had to admit that Potter Manor was beautiful. She didn't so much care about where the styling was derived from, but she was deeply impressed. She usually found homes like this stuffy, almost like walking through a museum exhibit. But the Potter's house seemed very lived in. It gave off a warm and welcoming atmosphere, much like the matriarch of the house, Mrs. Potter. Lily thought this was probably a very loving home to grow up in.

She glanced back at James, who had been suspiciously quiet during the tour with Sirius doing most of the talking. Her eyes locked with his. Those sparkling hazel eyes. His face was missing his usual arrogant smirk; instead, he flashed her a sincere smile. She couldn't help but smile sweetly back.

"Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Potter yelled.