A/N: Okay, I know I repeat myself all the time, but, sorry for the long wait. School has been very hectic lately and family life isn't exactly going 'smoothly' so I'm doing my very best. In my last chapter I noticed I said " Mr. Potter was dead" That was one of my big mistakes, Mr. Evans is dead, not Mr. Potter. I will eventually get to fixing that and everything but that takes time, which I have very little of lol. So Thanks for hangin in there with me and thanks to all of you guys who read and review! I love you all! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.. soon the sadness will be over and happy things will replace the hard times! Okay ... go read!
Chapter 16
Visiting
The day started off bad, continued bad and would most likely end bad for Lily. She woke up late, the showers wouldn't work, and she couldn't find her favorite shirt. After an hour of complete chaos Lily gave up, she didn't care today, there was no reason for fussing. She put on an old pair of jeans, some brown sandals and a green T-shirt. Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she didn't even bother with make up. There was no need for make up at a time like this, the few blemishes and spots of ache that she did have would just have to show.
When she walked into the kitchen she expected to have to make breakfast herself since it was way past noon and everyone would surely already be finished with both breakfast and lunch, but to her relief the whole gang was sitting at the table talking animatedly with white and blue porcelain plates sitting in front of them. Mrs. Potter was at the cast iron stove behind their custom bar-top, fixing the meal herself instead of having one of the elves do it for her, but of course her wand was out for some assistance.
Everyone stopped talking when she sat down next to James, and began to give her small fake-forced smiles which was something Lily absolutely couldn't stand. Amanda and Sirius did this worst of all. Amanda looked more like she was constipated than attempting to smile and Sirius just looked like a little kid being told to smile for a picture that he really didn't want to be in. She didn't even acknowledge it when they did this, Lily just looked down and started adjusting her shirt.
Hannah walked over to the table with her black heals clicking on the tile floor and began serving her pancakes with a very concerned motherly smile on her face that reminded Lily of her own mother's expression she knew all too well.
" Good morning dear, did you sleep well?" asked Mrs. Potter as she slipped two eggs, three slices of bacon and a piece of fresh buttered toast onto the thin breakfast plates.
She nodded, but didn't attempt even the smallest grin." Yes, just fine. The food looks wonderful."
Mumbles of agreements filled the room and another broad smile spread across her face, this time out of actual happiness and appreciation. Hannah continued to dish out food to everyone else while explaining how she prepared the meal. No one seemed to really care very much but they all listened and acted sincere, knowing she meant well. Sadly enough, Mrs. Potter seemed to fall for it too.
When she finished serving the large meal she sat down at the end of the long dinning table and started on her own breakfast. Conversation started up immediately, and about the thing Lily least felt like talking about.
After stuffing a piece of toast in his mouth, Mr. Potter turned to his son who was sitting by Lily, also currently stuffing food into his mouth.
" When will you two be leaving? After breakfast?"
James shifted uneasily in his seat, " Er... maybe this isn't the right time..."
Hannah sipped her pumpkin juice and shook her head, " All we're asking is when you're leaving, it isn't like we're talking about her - father."
James winced," Yes, after breakfast. Soon I expect, - whenever Lily's ready." answered James in an aggravated tone.
It was clear to everyone but Mr. and Mrs. Potter that anything slightly involving Lily's parents was a delicate area of discussion at the moment, both of them knew about the death of her father but it didn't seem to them that she wasn't over it yet. After all it was only the night before that the horrible incident had occurred.
Lily raised her head from the position it was in before and glanced across the table at the expression on everyone's face. Sirius and Remus were looking at James, struggling to tell him something without saying anything. Amanda and Mallory weren't looking up at anyone, they both had their heads down and seemed to be concerned only with eating their meals. Mr. and Mrs. Potter were looking across the table at each other with obvious expressions of confusion. Lily was beginning to get seriously annoyed with all of this, everyone seemed to bee walking on eggshells around her, as if she couldn't handle being treated like a normal person. Even though she had never felt this lost, upset, or vulnerable before in her life, she wished everyone would just get a grip.
A few moments of silence passed before Harold started to talk again.
" Well, your mother and I will be leaving in an hour, around 2:30. We were hoping to be able to stay a bit longer, but things at the Ministry seem to be in an uproar yet again... our boss, Mad-Eye, owled us this morning telling us to be in as soon as possible."
Hannah nodded, " Yes, it seems we are going to Romania, there's been a series of violent murders there and we have to go check out the crime scene."
At the word 'murders' Lily winced and James noticed. He nodded quickly to show his parents he understood so they wouldn't continue.
" That's fine, we'll be okay on our own. You guys just be careful, I think Lily and I are going to get going now." He looked over at Lily, " Are you finished?"
She nodded and got up from the table extremely grateful that he had said something to end the awkward conversation. James joined her and smiled at everyone again.
" We should be back in a few hours I think,"
Hannah and Harold stood up from their spots and walked over to the two of them. Hannah gave James a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and smiled.
" Be careful... apparation isn't the safest type of transportation anymore you know..."
James smiled and hugged his mother again, " Mum, we'll be fine. It's not very far anyway."
She nodded and turned to Lily and sighed as she gave her a tight hug, " I'm so sorry Lily, if you need anything at all I'll always be here."
She flickered a dull smile back at Hannah with appreciation and nodded, " Thank you."
Harold then took her hand and shook it firmly, " It's been lovely getting to know you, and I'm extremely sorry we didn't have more time to talk."
She shrugged, " I'm sure we'll see each other sometime soon, do be careful over in Romania."
He nodded, smiled, and turned towards James. Mr. Potter clasped his hand on James' shoulder and looked him in the eye very seriously. It looked very odd seeing James and Harold standing so close to each other, it was as if they were almost identical twins.
" Treat her well, let nothing harm her, you hear?" he said in a low whisper so that no one but James could understand what he was saying.
James nodded and gave his dad a quick hug, " No worries Dad, she's gonna be fine with me."
With that James took Lily's arm and walked out into the front room. Everyone from the kitchen except Mr. and Mrs. Potter got up and followed them.
They all took turns giving Lily and James hugs and wishing them a safe trip there and back. All of them knew everything would be fine but they also knew that it would be hard on Lily to go back home so soon afterwards.
After several attempts to leave, James and Lily finally apparated away from everyone successfully and landed on the path to Lily's small home within seconds.
XxxxX
At the sight of her home, Lily's stomach churned uncomfortably and she could feel the blood drain out of her face. She couldn't help but wonder if coming home immediately after finding out about her father's death was a bad idea.
James eyes could be felt baring down on the back of her neck. To avoid questioning as to why she was standing stock still and turning pale she cleared her throat and started up the stairs to her door. Lily pressed the door bell and waited for her mother to open the door, but unfortunately her mother was not the one to meet her there.
" What are you doing here, freak?" said Petunia with a look of sheer disgust bare on her face. But something was missing, that urge to be evil was dulled down, her hurtful comment didn't have the effect it had in the past... she was like a badly sharpened knife...
Lily looked down at her feet and back up at her sister. For once in her life she didn't send a glare or a quick wit pun back at her.
" I came to see Mum, Petunia."
Her sister squinted her eyes and looked from Lily to James and then back to Lily again before stepping aside and letting them in.
" She's in her room." Petunia said shortly before returning to the kitchen with an expression of slight disappointment hardly even noticeable to the 'untrained' eye.
Even though Lily caught this almost immediately she ignored it with ease, while on any other day she would have been quite proud of herself. Instead, completely un-phased, she started up the carpeted stairs without a sign of sadness or hesitation showing. Lily left her feelings deeply covered by the blanket of shock that had fallen over her the previous night.
James' hazel eyes could be felt on the back of her neck again and she could sense he was worried about how extremely calm and quiet she had been this entire time, so, still ever so quietly she spoke up.
" Mum's room is right up ahead, just follow me."
Lily passed her room and turned to the right only to see the last door of the hallway facing her. Her stomach suddenly lurched and she wondered once more if she shouldn't just turn back and return to the Mansion.
Meanwhile James took notice of how she had abruptly stopped at her mother's door and waited patiently, anyone could clearly see she was having some sort of internal battle. He shifted his gaze from her locks of red gold and onto the blue and gray striped walls where many family pictures had been framed and hung.
One in particular made him beam, it was a picture of Lily, smiling and obviously laughing - something he hadn't seen her do all day, which was enough to sadden him.
The picture took place on a beach, probably during a family vacation. Lily looked about the age of eight and was just as cute as ever. A wave stood permanently still in mid crash and seagulls flew above in the blue sky. She stood in the middle of the shot with her famous million watt smile that made James' insides turn to goo, Lily was dressed in a bright green and white one-piece bathing suit. She looked so happy, and peaceful, as if nothing could ever make that smile even falter in the slightest, he looked back at present day Lily and his smile vanished completely.
He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around, even though no one would have been able to tell from the back she had been crying. Tears had rolled down her cheeks and onto her shirt leaving spots on the soft material and making her face sparkle in the lighting.
" Lily, don't cry. Everything is going to be alright," assured James as he pulled her into a hug.
Lily hadn't realized she was crying until he had mentioned it. She normally never cried, it just wasn't like her, Lily was a strong person, since she was a child. Crying was not an option. She took a deep breath and wiped her tears. All of this depressing stuff was enough to kill her.
As James pulled away he looked into her eyes and shook his head sadly, " Maybe we should come back another time, maybe it's just too soon."
Lily answered quickly with force that seemed to shock James, " No, I need to see my mother. She is the only one who I know feels the same way I do."
He nodded and with an unreadable expression took his hand off his shoulder and stepped back, she took this as a sign to open the door so she turned the knob and came face to yet another depressing sight.
Her mother was sitting in a rocker by the bay window asleep and, standing in the doorway, Lily could see the definite tear stains on her mother's face. A blanket that she had sewn while pregnant with Lily was wrapped around her waist and her normally goddess-like hair was frizzy and no longer sparkled. What upset Lily most of all was the picture of their wedding day that was clutched hopelessly to her chest, as if it were the last thing she had to live for.
James put a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder in reassurance, but removed it as Lily started towards her mother.
Lily walked over to the window and sat down, now that she was closer she could see dark bags underneath her mother's eyes and clutched in her hands along with the picture frame was a locket that he had given her the previous Christmas.
Her mom began to stir so she quickly made sure she had no tear stains on her face and waited for her to wake up.
Rose's bloodshot eyes snapped open and she jerked.
" Lily? ... Honey is that you?"
She nodded and flickered a faint smile towards her.
" Oh, Lily... I guess you've heard about your..." Without finishing the sentence tears brimmed her eyes and she had to stop.
Lily leaned forward and captured her mom in a tight hug.
She sighed heavily and bit her lip," Mum, I'm so sorry... I wish I would have been here... I might have been able to help..." then she started to sob uncontrollably along with Rose.
James shifted uncomfortably and then turned to leave the room, Lily needed this time with her mother alone, so he decided to wait outside the door.
When the door shut her mother really went crazy, while still sobbing she started to ramble incoherently.
" It's all my fault! We had a fight and I left, I took both sets of keys so he wouldn't follow me! Petunia was gone with Vernon so he was home all alone, I didn't even turn my cell phone on... just left it off... he could have called me! So ... selfish... stupid woman... and now he's gone! All my fault... allmyfault!" She took a breath and wailed loudly, then started up again, " I'm so stupid! Why? Why, did I have to leave! At least I could have gone with him! I can't believe it! Oh, Lily why does life have to be so hard!"
Lily looked at her mother as if she were almost completely insane before shaking her and making her stop howling.
" Mum, it's not your fault, whether you were there or not, Voldemort ... would have done it anyway."
" I don't care! I was horrible,... the things I said- I... I'll ... just ..." her sentence ended in another sob, she let go of Lily and put her face in her hands.
XxxxX
From outside the door James struggled not to listen, but Lily's mother was crying so loudly that it was hard not to hear. He caught bits and pieces of the conversation and put the puzzle together quickly. Everything was a buzz, the ball, the letter, all the tears... he found himself second guessing and questioning everything- wondering if there would have been some way to save him.
No, there was no way.
James sat there, outside the red oak door, and listened to the two cry for and hour and a half before it all stopped. He guessed they had either given up on crying or their tear ducts had run dry. James checked his watch, 4:17, he sighed sadly and waited for Lily to come out, but for another half hour she stayed in there, he could hear them sniffling and talking quietly, but couldn't make out anything they were saying.
Since his butt was beginning to go numb from sitting on the hard floor so long he stood up and stretched. Just as he did this, the door knob turned and very sad and tired looking Lily walked out.
" Is... everything okay?" James said, his voice slightly hoarse for not talking for such long period of time.
Lily nodded and leaned on the wall next to him, " Sorry it... took so long. I had a hard time calming her. She decided to take a nap."
He shook his head, " Really, there is no need to apologize. I understand."
They were quiet for a minute before James spoke up again.
" Well, It's almost five, if you'd like we could go get a bite to eat... or if you aren't hungry we could just go back to the Mansion."
Lily looked down at her feet and cleared her throat. She had been thinking of staying here with her mother for a few days, at least until the meeting with Dumbledore, but she didn't want to tell James this. It would be hard for her to leave him... she felt like she was being ripped in two different directions.
Her green eyes connected with his, " James... I would love to go out to dinner, but my Mum... I was thinking about staying here until Monday... I mean, it would be great and ... Well we co-"
James shook his head and smiled, " No, really that's fine. That's completely understandable. At times like this I would want to be with my family too. Just owl me if you need anything. I'll come get you on Monday evening... we can go to dinner then."
Lily put her arms around him and kissed his cheek.
" Thanks, for everything."
James kissed her forehead and looked down at her, " No problem, love."
They let go of each other and James waved at Lily quickly before disappearing with a loud crack.
XxxxX
The next two days were very hard for both of them.
Lily spent her time at home cleaning the house and tending to her mother - who had decided staying in her room was the best choice, since now she had 'no reason to live' as she had said many times. Frankly Lily was getting quite sick of doing everything for everyone. Petunia was always with Vernon... in the basement, doing things you shouldn't even be thinking about after a death in the family. And it was extremely annoying, and not to mention gross, to hear it all. During the small amount of time that she had to herself over those two days she spent looking through old photo albums and remembering all of the good times she had with her father. Lily avoided sad thoughts and instead focused on all the positive ones, this helped her to keep from crying or being depressed. She actually loved remembering everything she had done with him, even though those sad thoughts would always be there nagging at her in the back of her mind, but she tried her best to ignore them.
James on the other hand did nothing but sit in one of the libraries on the second floor with his friends playing Exploding Snap, and Wizard's Chess. He missed Lily more than anything, so he tried to keep himself busy with his friends. The day before he Remus and Sirius went to a local pool hall designed especially for Wizards. They had a few drinks played a few games of Wizards Pool and returned home soon afterwards. The girls had went out shopping and had thoughtfully picked up a cute pair of trainers for Lily. Everyone was excited to have her back, even though her normal spunky self seemed to be lost in the midst of everything, they still missed her and couldn't wait to see her again.
XxxxX
It was about four o'clock Monday when James began to set off for Lily's home. The two and a half days they had been separated were extremely boring without her, so he was thrilled to see her again.
James put on a white and brown stripped shirt that buttoned up, but since he had a beater on beneath that he left it unbuttoned. He then stepped into a pair of chocolate colored pants and slipped on his shoes before he walked into the kitchen.
All of his friends were gathered at the table playing a game of exploding snap while basically inhaling bottles of butterbeer. Sirius screamed and Amanda threw her hands up excitedly as one exploded right in Sirius' face leaving an ashy residue on his forehead, nose, and chin. James grinned and shook his head as Sirius glared at Remus.
He cleared his throat just as Sirius started to stand up, " Alright, hold off on the row you're just about to start, Sirius. Blimey it's just a game!" Everyone looked up at James and smiled except Sirius who shot a some-what defeated glare at Remus before he sat back down. " I'm going to go get Lily and we're going to head out for dinner. Do you guys want me to bring anything back home with me?"
They all looked at one another and shook there heads while saying " No," in unison.
"But, do hurry, I miss Lily and I want to see her too so don't hog her!" Mallory said seriously with force that James hadn't heard in quite some time.
Amanda nodded her head so quickly James thought it might just fly off her neck and knock him out, " Yeah, and tell her I said 'hi',"
He furrowed his brow and looked at the guys who shrugged and laughed, " Um, Mandy, she's going to be back here in probably two hours... can't you tell her 'hi' then?"
" No," Amanda said as if it were a dumb question. She then sighed and waved at him with her hand, " just go and tell her we say hi, okay, it's not that hard, James."
" Sure, whatever," said James, eventhough he knew it was a stupid idea, " Well we will be back later probably around seven.
They waved and turned back to their game without any sign of them caring.
James rolled his eyes as he walked back into the entrance hall. He grabbed a bag of coins and his wand off of one of the coffee tables and snatched two mints from the bowl of candy resting beside where his gold had been. The mints and moneybag were shoved in his pocket as he concentrated on Lily's home and turned. James knew he had apparated successfully when the uncomfortable sensation of being suctioned through a thin straw ceased and the flowery essence and relaxed air of Lily's home replaced it.
He opened his eyes again and realized he was standing outside of the house on the front porch. He extended his hand and pressed the doorbell. Almost immediately foot steps could be heard. James expected to see Lily, but was disappointed to find that in place of her was her sister with her expression just as snooty and proud as ever.
The corners of her thin lips curled upwards into a smirk that made her features perhaps even more crude and unappealing than before, it was as if she was turning into a female version of Voldemort.
" I expect you're here for my disgraceful sibling?" asked Petunia, looking very pleased at this.
James shook his head and smiled back politely, holding in many offensive and hurtful things he had been dying to say to her for ages.
" No."
She sent him a look of resent, disgust and maybe a hint of confusion, " What the bloody are you talking about? ... Then who do you want?"
" Lily," James said simply as he slipped between her and the door, " I hope you won't mind if I come in."
" Didn't really give me many options, did you?" Petunia mumbled as she slammed the door shut and drug her feet over to the steps. " Your boyfriend's here," she yelled half heartedly in the direction of her sisters' room.
James swore he could hear her saying curse words and things about Lily under her breath as she shuffled her feet back into the kitchen.
As he waited, he glanced at the framed pictures and awards that hung on the walls. Very few had Petunia in them, and when there was a picture of her she was always blocking Lily from being in the shot with that smug grin on her face. James couldn't help but wonder if Petunia was adopted and was somehow related to the Malfoys, even though they were quite popular because of their straight silvery blonde hair and Petunia had the exact opposite : bushy and charcoal black. James wondered how Lily could be so extremely attractive while her sister was so repulsive.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Lily coming down the stairs, she entered the living room and the second she saw him a true smile spread across her face, something that hadn't happened in three days. She ran into his open arms and squeezed him.
" I missed you." whispered Lily into his ear.
James pulled away from her tight grip to kiss her - as well as get some air.
" I missed you too," he looked down at her and noticed she was dressed in a snug emerald colored dress, it was form fitting but no where near slutty. " you look fantastic."
Heat rose in Lily's cheeks as she thanked him " You look wonderful as well."
James checked his watch and then looked around the room, " Are you ready to go?"
Lily glanced around and then put up a finger, she walked into the kitchen and grabbed her hand purse, which matched her evening dress, and returned to his side.
" I'm leaving, Petunia," Lily shouted into the kitchen politely.
Petunia returned her kind gesture rudely, " Good, I hope you two get hit by some curse on your way to your little freak-show dinner."
Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes up at James, " Are we apparating?"
He nodded and put out his arm for her to take, she did and closed her eyes, the same uncomfortable sensation rushed into their ears. The feeling was terrible, it felt like their eardrums were about to burst and just as they thought they were going to die from a lack of oxygen a loud pop sounded and the next thing they knew they were standing in front of a Wizard pub in the middle of London Square. It of course was bewitched so the average muggle passerby wouldn't be able to tell the difference nor be able to enter the building.
James let go of her hand and opened the door for her, Lily thanked him and breathed in the exotic smell of Wiloby juice Canabari steaks which originated in South America.
A Wiloby plant was commonly found growing underground in dark, dank caves, muggles had never discovered their existence because of the depth they grew at. They slightly resembled a cross between a squash and a watermelon, they were shaped the same as the average squash but were over sized and normally were different bright colors, the most common were blue and violet, but the color options were endless.
The Canabari was found deep in the rain forests of Brazil, they were often mistaken for a moose or large buck, but the Canabari had very different traits that only Wizards would be able to notice; Wizard's have proved in the past that they pay attention to detail much more so than muggles do. First off its eyes were normally a light purple color or were a misty blue, on some occasions when it had bred with an actual moose its eyes would be a brownish color but there would always be a yellow ring around the pupil in this case. This was extremely rare and never occurred in Brazil because moose did not live in that particular habitat. Their hooves would leave odd shapes in the ground, and they had small wings on their backs. Unfortunately, for the Canabari, the wings were so small that they were completely useless. But the taste of the Canabari was delicious, tender like chicken but an exotic taste that no other meat could ever even attempt to match. Both of these South American foods were favorites of Lily's, and somehow James had discovered this.
She smirked up in his general direction, but he didn't notice, he was too busy searching for an open table. Finally he spotted one in the back of the pub. James took her arm and drug her over to the table and just as they were ready to sit down an elderly couple approached the table and seated themselves.
James ran a hand through his already ruffled hair, making it , if possible, worse.
" Great." he sighed.
Lily shrugged, " Well, maybe we'll have to have an outside table. I mean that wouldn't be a bad idea, it's nice out tonight."
He looked down at her and nodded, " Yeah, I thought about that, I didn't want to have to eat outside though, but if you don't mind I guess that's what we'll have to do."
She shook her head as she said, " Oh, no, I love being outside, it's quite alright."
With that being said the two teenagers left the pub and seated themselves comfortably outside of the building at a small two person table made out of what looked like weaved aluminum. Hanging above Lily and James were three bewitched candles that spilled light onto the table and flooded the ground surrounding them.
" This is nice, the candles are a cute little touch." said Lily as she watched a waitress approach their table.
The girl was a little taller than Lily and had straight black hair that reached just above her shoulders, she was slightly overweight and had a rude air floating about her. Instantly Lily felt resistance between the each other and wondered to herself if she had seen her somewhere before.
The girl sighed heavily and tossed them two menus, " Okay, my name's Esmalda, I'll be your waitress this evening ... blah blah blah, you know the drill. What do ya want to drink?"
James raised his brow at her crude attitude and thought to himself how he would love to slap some badly needed sense into her.
" I'll have a glass of Gillywater, and Lily.."
He looked over at Lily and noticed that she was squinting slightly open-mouthed at the waitress.
She pointed her finger at her as she said, " Esmalda ... Dodgens? Is that you?"
The girls' large chocolate eyes widened and her lip curled up in a disgusted manner, " Lily, Evans! Merlin, no."
" So, it is you," Lily hissed, closing her mouth tightly and shaking her head.
James cleared his throat and looked from Esmalda to Lily, " Will someone please tell me what's going on here?"
Lily nodded, " Yeah, this is my sister's old friend, clearly we hated each other, Esmalda here isn't the nicest person, a bloody Doxy would be nicer."
Esmalda glowered at her and hissed, " What do you want to drink?" Through gritted teeth.
" Single-malt wisky, and if you don't hurry up I'll personally speak with your boss."Lily gave her a dirty look combined with a satisfied smile as Esmalda turned on her heel and walked back into the pub, mumbling as she went.
There drinks came within three minutes of Lily's threat and by that time they were ready to order. Lily ordered a Canabari steak, of course, with a side of fresh tossed salad. James ordered a Diricawl burger platter, and Esmalda quickly scampered away, but did pause to send Lily a nasty look.
" So, what exactly did you two do to each other that made you hate each other so much?" asked James as he sipped at his Gillywater.
Lily rolled her eyes, " Okay, well my sister and her decided to cut off all of my hair in the middle of the night, naturally anyone would be angry at that. She got in loads of trouble... by both her mother and my own. Then as pay back I unintentionally set her on fire, she didn't know I was a witch at the time, and I didn't know she was one either. Esmalda graduated from Hogwarts two years ago." finished Lily, sighing and taking a drink.
" So, did it grow back okay?" asked James as Lily wrenched her neck around to see if she was coming back with the food.
" What? Did what grow back?"
" Your hair."
Lily laughed, " Oh, yeah, I happened to have bought some hair growing stuff from Zonkos, it was some kind of cream, before I went on summer vacation. I had planned to rub it on Petunia's legs when she was asleep, I never got to it though. The cream was supposed to grow six inches each application. So, I just put it on twice, mum took me to the salon afterwards to get it trimmed up and everything was okay."
James chuckled and shook his head, " Oh, there she is,"
Lily turned and sure enough their waitress was walking quickly levitating a tray in front of her with her thin wand, which looked to be made of birch, held straight out in front of her. When she reached the table she sat the plates down roughly in front of the two while she mumbled something about, " Bloody buggers..." and as soon as she had came she was gone.
They ate their meals quickly loving every bite of the fresh meats and crisp greens, it all tasted wonderful. While they devourer everything they discussed the following day and what Dumbledore would have to say about Lily's new type of protection. After finishing, Lily and James left the table with the plates and everything on it, they knew it was rude and would never think to do something like this in any other situation but they believed she deserved it regardless of how quickly she served them. James paid the owner at the front desk and didn't bother to leave a tip, not even a single knut.
Lily took James arm and within seconds they apparated back to James' Mansion, everyone was up waiting for Lily to come back in the entrance hall so as soon as they stepped a foot into the room Lily had vanished underneath her best friends.
" Lily!" Squealed Mallory as she hugged her, " I missed you so much!"
Amanda joined in and started to squeal and jump up and down, Lily stood in the middle of it with a slight grin on her face.
In the back ground James, Remus, and Sirius were all looking at them as if they had completely lost their minds.
When she had finally escaped from their grasp she started up the stairs, " I'm going to bed, I want to leave in the morning, and I'm exhausted."
Everyone said goodnight and left so that only Lily and James were in the room. He stepped up onto the stair case and motioned for her to come over to him.
Lily wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder as she mumbled, " Thanks for dinner, it was delicious."
He shrugged, " No big deal. What time are we leaving tomorrow?" asked James.
" I was thinking about leaving around 10, is that too early?"
James laughed and shook his head, " No, that's fine. Well I better let you get to sleep I'm sure they worked you to death back there."
Lily smiled slightly and nodded, she kissed him lightly on the lips before saying goodnight and retreating to her room.
XxxxX
It had been an extremely long day for Lily so, with her nighties on she collapsed onto the bed and within seconds she was drifting off. Her mind was full of haunting memories of her father and the letter, but regardless of it all she allowed herself to fall asleep and forget about everything... even if it was for a mere nine hours.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it... soon things will go back to normal, but in the following chapter the plans for the Funeral will be brought up. Please review! You all know very well I greatly value your opinions and views on my story, so why not tell me of them?
Click the button below and even if you only have a single word to say, then say it! It really isn't hard:D Thanks again!
Always,
Lissa