Festivities

I found it very odd, having Lily home for the Christmas holidays, because she hadn't been home at Christmas for three years running. But we all adjusted, even me, eventually. I just felt a bit left out when Mum and Dad cooed over Lily's stories of the freak school. They never did that with me!

Lily was actually quite nice to me, although I couldn't help feeling just a little bit bitter that she was getting all the attention. Just because I was younger! It wasn't fair.

We both got money as our main Christmas present, so, two or three days later, we went shopping together. It was a good chance to get out of the house, which was starting to feel like a prison, and the Christmas sales were on.

We were laden with shopping bags by the time we reached our street, and I thought my arms were about to drop off. Lily couldn't do a lightening charm on the bags, either, because someone tried to blow up their cousin during the last holidays, so the freak school had stopped letting the pupils do freaky stuff outside school.

When we reached our street, though, my head felt light and I just dropped the shopping bags.

"Lily," I whispered, ashen-faced, "what's that?"

She looked up at the Dark Mark. Floating above our house.

I ran through the rooms, hoping against hope that Mum and Dad wouldn't be- wouldn't be-

But they were.

In the kitchen, Dad kind of crumpled beside the back door, and Mum near his shoulder. The back door was hanging open and the kitchen was freezing. Or maybe that was just me, looking at Mum and Dad, lying there like scrunched-up paper dolls.

Lily had learned some sort of freaky transport – Apparating, she called it – and was using it to get help. I heard a crack, followed by Lily's voice at the front of the house.

"Come in the back door, Professor…" she trailed off at the sight of me, tears streaming down my face, desperately checking Mum's pulse for signs of… life.

"Oh, Petunia!"

"Lily!"

We collapsed into each other's arms, trying to hold the world off, and crying floods.

The man Lily had brought back with her was the Headmaster of her school, and he quickly arranged for us to stay with some family that Lily knew. It was actually the home of James Potter, someone Lily hated. He was, and I quote, "arrogant, stupid, scruffy, lazy and generally git-full". I didn't think he was too bad, although he was obviously smitten with Lily.

His friends were staying there too – Sirius Black, an impulsive and disgustingly handsome young man, Peter Pettigrew, who was rather shy but friendly, and Remus Lupin, who was nervous and jumpy, and unnaturally thin.

Lily spent the start of the holidays avoiding the four boys, who she suspected were trying to prank her, but after a while she joined me, James, Sirius, Peter and Remus in our plans for pranking at Hogwarts.

Obviously I couldn'tgo to Hogwarts, being a Muggle, but the boys said I cast a different perspective on things, and was really good at spotting mistakes. Once Lily joined us, James didn't seem to take part in the conversations any more, staring instead at Lily. And Lily would just stare back.

I approached Lily one day, and asked her why she and James didn't get together.

"I hate him!" came the reply. "He's a thoughtless, tactless git and I hate him!"

I shrugged and left her alone, but I noticed her expression become rather thoughtful as I left.

Before long, Lily and the others had to go back to Hogwarts. I had resigned myself to several weeks of incredible boredom, although Lily and Remus both promised to write as often as possible. Sirius and Peter had also promised to write if one of my pranks went well, but they all had their NEWTs, and I didn't expect frequent letters.

Two days after Lily left for Hogwarts, Mrs Potter introduced me to the wonders of Floo Travel – an experience I never wished to repeat – and took me back to school.