I don't own Harry Potter.

Thanks for reviewing and favoriting!

Chapter 25 "Moving Out"

Lily stood on her tiptoes until her fingers could reach the handle of her suitcase that rested on the top shelf of her closet. She pulled it down and placed it on her bed, running her hand over the tough green fabric. She remembered when her mother had gotten it for her for a trip they were going on years ago, smiling because she said it matched Lily's eyes. Lily glanced around her room and studied the surroundings; the neatly made bed, the night table with its hooting owl alarm clock, the jewelry and makeup scattered across the dresser, the open closet where her old Hogwarts robes hung, the picture of Severus tacked to the wall near the table.

She sighed, and zipped open the suitcase, its bare insides like a giant maw gaping at her and demanding her to fill it. Lily reached for the top dresser drawer to open it, but before she could there was a light knock on the door.

"Lily, dear?" Mrs. Evans called. "Are you awake?"

Lily shot a glance at the suitcase; she would have to tell them eventually, she couldn't exactly hide the fact that she was moving out..she might as well get it over with now.

"Come in," she replied, opening the dresser drawer and taking out a stack of blouses.

"I was making breakfast and I wanted to know if you wanted pancakes or eggs-" Mrs. Evans said cheerily, but the smile slid from her face and she stopped short when she saw the suitcase on the bed. "Where are you going?"

"I can't stay here anymore," Lily tapped her wand on the suitcase so that the interior magically enlarged itself, and dumped the blouses in.

"Of course you can! What do you mean?" Mrs Evans said, a definite note of panic in her voice.

"I'm moving. To Severus' apartment." Lily explained nonchalantly.

"Lily, please think about this," Mrs. Evans said, touching her daughter's shoulder. "Please, I think you should stay here, at least for now, until Severus gets back."

Lily continued throwing clothes into the suitcase. "I need to leave."

"No, you don't!" Mrs. Evans let out a wail, panic enveloping her now and she hugged her daughter close to her bosom. "Stay here, we can help you!"

"Mum," Lily gently pushed her mother away. "You don't understand."

"Then help me to. Please talk to me, tell me why you're doing this. I know you need to talk after everything that happened, Kingsley said to let you come to us, but I can't let you leave-"

"No! I don't want to talk about what happened!" Lily said hotly, then instantly regretted it after seeing the hurt look that quickly spread across her mother's face. Lily swallowed, trying to rid herself of the burning lump that was at the back of her throat. "I'm sorry."

"Lily, we just want to help you." Mrs. Evans reached out and squeezed Lily's arm lightly.

"If you want to help me, then let me go." Lily didn't want to explain to her mother how it made her feel being in Severus' home, she wouldn't understand. It had upset Lily, but it had given her a sense of comfort, a feeling that she was close to him, and that is what she needed now.

Mrs. Evans studied her daughter, obviously fighting some furious internal battle within herself. She sighed in a defeated way and her face contorted as she asked her next question. "Will it help you to move into Severus apartment?"

"Yes, it will."

Mrs. Evans gave her daughter a soft kiss on the forehead. If Lily refused to talk to them, and this was a way to help her forget and heal, then maybe it was the right way to go. "Then I'll help you pack."

She swept a few tubes of lipstick off the dresser and placed them carefully into the suitcase, not looking at Lily. Would her daughter accept her help?

Lily felt happy for the first time in weeks as she observed her mother. She loved her mother dearly, and she could see that her mother was very upset, but the fact that she was giving in to Lily, supporting her decision and treating her like an adult made her feel lighter and happier.

Lily joined her mother and silently continued packing, while the room became emptier and emptier.

"Do you want help unpacking at Severus' apartment?" Mrs. Evans asked softly, clearing the last of the items from the closet.

"Unpacking at Severus' apartment? What are you talking about?" Mr. Evans had just been passing by Lily's room and heard the snippet of their conversation through the open door.

"She's going to be moving into Severus' apartment above his shop." Mrs. Evans explained, and Mr. Evans quickly cut her short.

"You can't move there; you'll be alone. You're staying here with us."

"Dad, I can't," Lily said softly, willing herself not to cry. She knew she would if she kept talking. Leaving her home was harder then she thought it would be, but she knew it was the right decision.

"You will stay with us." Mr. Evans stepped into the room. He would not allow his daughter to go wandering off on her own when she was in this fragile state.

"I don't have to listen to you, I'm overage!" Lily said angrily, staring her father in the eye. Her father was not going to stop her from leaving. "This is my decision, not yours."

"You're not well right now, Lily." Mr. Evans struggled to keep his voice steady; the look Lily was giving him was unnerving. She had changed so much in these past few weeks. "You need people around to-"

"To remind me of how miserable I am? I see the way everyone looks at me, alright? Maybe that's part of the problem." Lily snapped. "Something terrible happened, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm broken. I know I've been depressed lately, and wouldn't anyone? I'm trying to heal, but you're not helping. What will help right now is moving to Sev's apartment until he comes back. I just need him, he's the only one who can help me."

Mr. Evans face dropped significantly; even his mustache seemed to droop a little, and Lily felt terrible. She had the sudden urge to smack herself upside the head for the way she was acting towards the people who had raised her. She leapt up from her bed and lunged at her father, who took a step back in surprise, as if expecting an attack; but she simply looped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. He smiled after the shock wore off and returned his daughter's hug, holding her protectively in his arms.

"I'll be fine, Daddy. Because you raised me, and I know right from wrong. You showed me what to do when I was in trouble, and I know that right now, this is what I have to do. It will help me." she gave him a light kiss on his stubbly cheek, and tears glistened in his brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, Lily. Sometimes I forget that you're not a little girl anymore, although you'll always be my little girl." He patted her cheek. "Are you sure this is what you need to do?"

"Yes." came Lily's trembling reply.

"Go on, then."

Lily's heart swelled with love for her father as she gripped her suitcase tightly. Her mother watched her with sad eyes, and Lily gave her a hug too.

"I'm sorry, Mum for yelling at you. I know you just want to help."

"Lily, dear, just be careful. And if you need anything at all, please tell us." Mrs. Evans wrung her hands together to stop herself from grabbing her daughter's arm and holding her back.

"I will."

Mr. Evans put an arm around his wife as Lily pulled her suitcase after her as she left her room. She knew her mother was going to start crying, but that was normal. She was moving out. It would have happened eventually, even under normal, happy circumstances.

"Lily?" Petunia poked her head out of her room. "You're leaving?"

"Yes." Lily looked at her sister through the crack in the door. Petunia studied her for a moment before opening the door wider and coming out into the hallway. She raised a hand as if to reach out to Lily, then lowered it again. Lily was disappointed; she had thought her sister would get over this wizards-are-freaks thing to show her some support. Just as Lily turned to go, Petunia wrapped her arms around her younger sister.

"Oh, Lily, I know I've been horrible, and I've caused us to grow apart, but I still love you!" Petunia wailed. "I don't want you to gooo!"

"I'll be fine," Lily grinned in spite of herself; was Petunia actually coming around?

"I'll miss you, Lily. You better come back and visit Mum and Dad!" Petunia said threateningly. "Especially since I'll probably be moving out too."

"What?" Lily looked at her sister, startled.

"Vernon asked me to marry him," Petunia said smugly. "And I said yes."

"You're serious?"

"Yes. He treats me well and respects me. I think we're made for each other, like you and Sev."

"Yes, but we can't be married." Lily said quietly, the subject touchy for her now. "We tried to get married, Kingsley was going to do the ceremony, but the potion James gave to me prevented it. So we can't."

Petunia looked thoughtful for a moment. "Was it a magic ceremony?"

"Yes," Lily wondered where this was going.

"Why don't you try getting married the normal way?"

Lily let her sister's words flow over her. Would that work? They would be bound together, just not magically, so James' potions couldn't prevent that, could it?

"When he gets back, that's the first thing we'll do." Lily smiled, happy that her sister was accepting that she was marrying, or wanted to marry, a wizard.

"Well don't you go elope. I'm expecting to be the maid of honor at a proper wedding." Petunia said. That certainly sounded more like Petunia!

"Maybe I can be the maid-of-honor at your wedding as well." Lily smiled at Petunia, suddenly feeling a bit shy. Maybe this was the start of a renewed sisterly love.

Lily hugged her sister again, and dragged her suitcase after her down the stairs. She pretended that she couldn't see Petunia wiping away a tear. Now that she had just apologized to her parents and made up with her sister, she had the urge to go back to her room and unpack everything again. But she knew that she had to leave; it just felt right.

When Lily stood in front of the potion shop it seemed to glow in the bright daylight as opposed to last night, where it hulked in the darkness. It beckoned to her like a source of comfort.

People milled through the Alley, walking around her as she stood looking at the shop, green suitcase in hand.

Lily pulled her wand out and performed the unlocking charms on the shop again. The suitcase's wheels made tracks in the dust upon the wooden floor inside, trailing behind her footprints. She re-locked the front door behind her before continuing on the same path she took last night.

As Lily entered Severus' neat apartment, she felt a sense of calm seep through her; she was with him again. The trail that she made with her fingers through the dust on the bookshelf the previous night caught her eye as she made her way to the bedroom; maybe she would do some cleaning while she was here. She heaved the suitcase on top of the quilt that lied in a rumpled heap on the bed; she had never made it when she left early that morning to go back to her own house.

Severus' robes were still there on the bed, and his closet still ajar, so she decided to start there. After carefully folding Severus' rumpled robes and placing them on the pillow, she began hanging her clothes in the closet next to his. She worked quickly, mingling her belongings in with his, and when she was done, she took a look around.

Her makeup sat on the dresser next to his pile of change, scraps of paper, extra quills, and other odds and ends. Her colorful clothes looked blinding next to his drab black robes, and she quickly closed the closet door on them. The pile of his letters sat on the beside table in their box, and the picture of Severus that had been on her wall was now tacked on his.

Lily felt a bit funny, moving in without Severus' permission, but she knew that he wouldn't mind; he would understand why she had done it.

Lily felt satisfied, and somewhat relaxed, as she sat on the bed and took the box of letters in her lap. She fingered the crinkled edges on the letters as she watched the Severus in the photo. It was an old picture of him when he was younger. Lily had taken it with his mother's camera, which produced moving photographs. He was laughing, dancing in the old leaves that covered the forest floor, as Lily snapped his picture. He flipped his hair back to look at her, and grin widely.

"Oh, Sev," Lily said quietly, touching the photograph. "I can't wait until you come home."

Really sorry for the late update. I have been writing, but not posting, currently have several chapters written, just have to edit them. I'll be posting a chapter about Severus soon, too, so stay tuned.

Until next chapter, Dementors ;)