While Petunia complained bitterly all afternoon ("This is a family vacation. Shouldn't it be just the four of us?"), Lily spent that time bracing herself for the collision between her two worlds. It was surreal to imagine James and Sirius at the same dinner table as her family, simply because her muggle and magic lives didn't often overlap. James and Sirius being here in a muggle town felt unfair; it was invasive. As strange as it was for Lily to find herself agreeing with Petunia, she didn't want them at dinner either.

"Well, we can't uninvite them!" her mother said, throwing her hands up in the air.

At six o'clock, Lily waited outside of the bed and breakfast with her family, her anxiety steadily mounting. Witches and wizards weren't known for conforming to muggle fashion sense. She didn't recall Sirius and James wearing anything too embarrassing on the street, but what if they changed into something ridiculous for dinner, like pyjamas? She dreaded what Petunia would say then.

It wasn't that she was ashamed, she told herself. Neither part of her was shameful, not the muggle or the magical. After all, she longed for the wizarding world while she was away from it, just as she guarded parts of her muggle life jealously. Her family wasn't something she should hide away, nor was her life as a witch. Still, this dinner, she knew, would only serve to highlight the plight of a muggleborn witch. In trying to hold onto both parts of herself, muggle and magical, she couldn't shake the feeling that she truly belonged to neither. At least when she kept her identities separate, she could pretend that she belonged somewhere.

Five minutes passed, then ten.

"Late," Petunia sniffed. "How rude."

She was dressed all in white. Ever since her engagement, Petunia's wardrobe seemed to have mysteriously morphed into white, as if by magic.

"Maybe they aren't coming," Petunia added hopefully.

Lily didn't share her optimism. Based on how often James and Sirius had wandered late into class, she suspected they would still come.

"We'll give it another few minutes," her father said.

Even as he spoke, James and Sirius appeared at the end of the street. They'd been running, but now that the Evans family was in sight, they slowed to a walk. Lily looked them up and down, relieved to see that besides being dressed at varying levels of formality, they could easily pass as muggles. Sirius wore a black leather jacket, and James had changed into a button down shirt that looked quite formal, or would have, had his hair been less messy. James was holding a small bouquet of flowers, which was in disarray thanks to James's running; some flowers were visibly missing petals, and several of the stems were broken so that the flowers dangled sadly.

"Sorry we're late," he said between gasping breaths.

He held the bouquet out to Mrs. Evans, who took it with a warm smile.

"I'll just put these in our room, and then we'll go," she said.

"We're in a hotel," Petunia muttered. "It's not like we have a vase to put them in. They'll just die."

James's own smile slipped, and Lily shot Petunia a dirty look.

"Lily can conjure a vase," Sirius said.

Petunia winced, and from the slow smirk spreading across his face, Sirius had noticed. Lily felt her heart sink.

After some awkward small talk, Mrs. Evans came back, and their group made their way towards the restaurant.

"It's a lot like Hogsmeade, isn't it?" James said, looking around with interest.

Lily frowned at him, unsure if he was joking. "Not at all."

"It looks similar."

"It's nothing like Hogsmeade."

"Why?"

"There's no magic," she said.

James shrugged. "Makes it interesting. I think I could spend weeks here and still find new things."

"Speak for yourself," Sirius said.

Lily still wasn't sure if James was making fun of her. Then something in a muggle shop window caught his eye, and his face lit up, and she realized that he may actually be telling the truth.

Sirius grabbed his arm and pulled him away. "I've been dealing with this all day, Evans. All day. I've had to keep him from spending his life savings… not that he could, since we don't really understand the money…"

"Perhaps you can help us?" James said hopefully.

It was such a relief to see James acting more like himself that Lily found herself agreeing.

The restaurant was on the edge of town. It was a beautiful summer's evening, and so the six of them sat outside, in a back garden filled with flowers and shimmering candlelight.

Lily's parents sat at either end of the table, and Lily sat beside James, while Petunia sat beside Sirius. This meant that Lily had a full view of Petunia's scowl, before she hid her face behind the menu. As Lily slid onto the bench besides James, her eyes were drawn to his back. Was it her imagination, or had his shoulders broadened since she had last seen him? Perhaps it was simply that he was wearing muggle clothing, which showed his form more fully than his usual robes. She tore her eyes away and focused on her menu instead, hoping that the heat colouring her cheeks would go unnoticed.

Despite the beautiful evening, the garden was nearly deserted. This was fortunate, because the first words out of her father's mouth would have seemed strange to any muggles.

"What made two wizards choose somewhere so normal as a vacation spot?" he asked.

"I closed my eyes and pointed at a map," Sirius said with a grin.

By the time they ordered food and drinks, Lily felt that things were actually going rather well. Mr. Evans and Sirius were now talking (over Petunia) about motorbikes, while Mrs. Evans was asking James about quidditch, who was responding with great enthusiasm.

Lily should have known it was too good to last. A glass of wine in, the conversation began to—at least in Lily's eyes—decline.

"I hope you won't find this question rude," Mr. Evans said, "but can't a wizard heal eyes with magic?"

James looked momentarily taken aback, but then he said, "from what I understand, eyes are too delicate for magic to tamper with."

"It's a branch of healing that's still being developed," Lily added.

"He's lying," Sirius whispered loudly to Mrs. Evans. "He wears them for style only."

Everyone—except for Petunia—laughed.

"It's so nice to meet friends of Lily's," Mrs. Evans said. "Lily doesn't bring them around too often. We were started to think she was embarrassed of us."

"Of course not, Mum," Lily said quickly, ignoring the look of surprise James sent her way.

"We've met a few friends over the years," Mr. Evans said. "Marlene, Severus..."

"Severus?" Sirius repeated with a scoff. "Snape?"

"Haven't seen him for some years now. Lily and Severus had a falling out, although she won't tell us why," Mr. Evans said.

"Because he's a filthy, muggle-hating-"

Lily kicked Sirius under the table, but the damage was done.

"Muggle-hating?" echoed Mrs. Evans. She looked at Lily worriedly. "Oh no. Lily, you didn't tell us that you stopped being friends with Severus because of us."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"It wasn't just because of you," she assured her mother. "He hates all muggles and loves dark magic."

"Is this a common view?" Mr. Evans said, all earlier joviality gone.

James and Sirius were now both looking at her perplexed expressions. She desperately hoped that they would keep their mouths shut.

"No. Definitely not."

To her great relief, while both Sirius and James looked like they were biting their tongues, they stayed silent.

Petunia interrupted with a shrill laugh. "I always knew he was no good."

"Petunia," Mrs. Evans said warningly.

Dinner arrived, and that particular nightmare of a conversation ended, only to be replaced with a new disaster.

"I hope you'll indulge me once more," Mr. Evans said. "I'm just always curious about a wizard's career. What do your parents do?"

Sirius and James exchanged a look.

"My parents sit around on old money and do shit all," Sirius said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "I suppose if you can call being racist snobs a career, they do it quite well."

Petunia's eyebrows were almost at her hairline.

"My parents were potioneers," James said.

"Were?" Mr. Evans asked.

"They died in June."

"I'm so sorry," Mrs. Evans said quietly.

James's eyes were bright. "Thank you."

"I'd like to return your question," Sirius interrupted.

James shot him a grateful look.

"What do muggles do for a career?" Sirius asked.

Her parents looked taken aback.

"I'm an accountant," Mrs. Evans said.

"What's that?"

Petunia choked on her dinner. When she had recovered, she scornfully asked, "You don't know what an accountant is?"

"No," Sirius said, looking at Petunia with extreme dislike.

"Neither do I," added James.

Mrs. Evans hid a smile. "Oh, it's not very interesting, really. I deal with finances. Does this mean that wizards do their own taxes?"

"Magic helps," James said.

"I work at a bank," Mr. Evans said.

There was another awkward silence, this time with James and Sirius looking at Mr. Evans oddly.

"Oh for goodness' sake," Petunia said, rolling her eyes. "Do you not have bankers in the wizarding world either?"

"No, we do. Just, they're usually goblins," James said matter-of-factly.

Mr. Evans's face went red, and for a moment, Lily thought he would lose his temper. Instead, he laughed.

"Goblins," he repeated. "Goblins!"

"What are you doing now that you've graduated?" Mrs. Evans asked. "Lily is very vague about her plans, and now I know that careers aren't secret in the wizarding world, you'll all have to tell me, including you, Lily."

"Well, Lily could do anything she wants," James said, giving Lily a smile that made her feel strangely warm inside. "She was so good at every subject. She's probably not telling you what she's doing because it's top secret, like she's going to be the youngest Minister for Magic."

Lily was spared having to answer by the worst possible means.

"Magic?" the waiter said from behind them.

Her hand immediately went to her wand in her skirt pocket. Oh God, was she going to have to obliviate the waiter later?

"I'm a magician," Lily said, struggling to remain calm. "There's a position for head magician at the circus-"

Sirius snickered.

"If you believe in magic, you must know about the legend of the stones," the waiter said with a wink, ignoring her desperate attempts to justify her strange conversation.

"Stones?" she said.

"At Craigh na Dun, there's a magical stone circle. They say magical things happen there, that time is thin there."

Sirius was now shaking with suppressed laughter.

Suddenly, Petunia stood.

"I, for one, have heard enough nonsense for one night," she said coolly.

"Don't be rude," Mr. Evans said.

They had a silent standoff, and Petunia sat back down, her face white. The waiter muttered a rushed apology and assured them he would bring the bill promptly.

"I wouldn't mind seeing that stone circle," Sirius said. "Maybe we could even have a circus performance, Evans?"

James snorted.

"Yes, you should all go," Mrs. Evans said. "Make a night of it."

Lily considered. After the many disasters of the dinner conversation, she was feeling reckless.

"Yeah," she said. "Why not? You up for it, Potter?"

He smiled crookedly. How had she never properly noticed that he had dimples when he smiled?

"With you? Always."