A/N: I know this chapter is kinda late, but my ACTs are done (thank goodness!) and this week is our prom week, so my next chapter won't be up until sometime after May 9th, but it probably won't be until around the 13th, give or take a few days. Thanks again for everybody's reviews, but don't stop now!
The "Car Crash"
Lily, James, and Sirius walked down to Hogsmeade on the first day of the break as snow was lightly falling on the streets. They were suppose to have taken the Hogwarts Express to London, but they all overslept (Lily and James had very a different reason for being late than Sirius), so they had decided to walk down to the village around midday to apparate home. Lily and James were planning on meeting each other sometime over the break.
Once she apparated home, Lily dragged her trunk up the drive. But Lily noticed an extra car in the driveway. Oh shit, Lily thought, please, please don't let that be Vernon.
Lily finally made it to her house. She opened the door without knocking, lugging her trunk behind her. "Mum! Dad!" she called though the house as she walked down the hall.
Then Lily saw her dad walking out of the family room, smiling down at her. Harold Evans instantly hugged his youngest daughter.
"What are you doing back so soon, Lily? We weren't expecting you back for a few more hours."
"Oh, well" Lily started to blush furiously – she obviously couldn't tell her father the truth. "I kinda slept in this morning, so I just walked into Hogsmeade and disapparated from there." She really hoped he'd buy it.
"Listen, Lily, you need to be forewarned before you go there," he said in a whisper, gesturing to the living room behind him.
"I take it Vernon's here," said Lily dully. Both her and her father had the same feeling towards Vernon – that is that they both disliked him. But while Lily could barely stand to be in the same room with that fat-ass for more than two minutes, Mr. Evans had somehow found the secret way to tolerate Vernon Dursley.
"Not only that" he continued in a whisper. "But he brought his sister, Marge."
"Thanks for the warning" Lily said sarcastically.
"But first, lets put your trunk away to buy us some time" said Mr. Evans with a wink.
They walked as slowly as they dared up the stairs, into Lily's room and back into the living room. She took a deep breath as she entered the room.
Just as she had expected, Petunia and Vernon simply glared at Lily. Then Lily saw who must be Vernon's sister. She was a large, beefy woman with very little neck that greatly resembled her brother.
Mrs. Evans stood up and hugged her daughter. "I'm so glad to have you home sweetheart." Once Mrs. Evans released her daughter, her turned to Vernon's sister. "Lily, this is Vernon's sister, Marge."
After a quick introduction, Lily realized how very much like Vernon Marge really was. She had the same snooty attitude that Vernon had.
Lily spent the rest of the day receiving dirty looks from Petunia and having to listen to how absolutely wonderful Vernon and Marge were. Apparently, Vernon had just gotten some job with some company that made drills or something like that and Marge raised some kind of dogs – bull dogs maybe.
Lily spent the rest of the day thinking of some way to get out of this. Maybe James would send her an owl asking her to come and visit him. But apparently, when she thought of James, a stupid grin unknowing came across Lily's face; soon Marge started glaring at Lily too.
But apparently, Lily's father became bored with the conversation as well. Mr. Evans turned to his daughter and asked her, "So, Lily, what have you been up to at school?"
Lily started to turn a bright shade of red. "Well...I'm kinda dating someone"
"Well, tell us about him!" said Mrs. Evans, sounding rather excited.
"His name is James Potter, he's very smart, funny, and extremely good looking," Lily said, with a small smile.
"Isn't he that horrid boy that you were complaining about only two summers ago?" said Petunia snobbishly.
Lily turned a deeper shade of red and threw Petunia a nasty look that told, quite plainly, her to mind her own damn business. "You know Petunia, some people can change for the better" Lily said, sounding like she was talking to a three year old.
Mr. Evans, seeing that this conversation could only end with his two daughters screaming at each other from opposite ends of the room (not to mention that Lily may hex Petunia), hastily asked, "So, Marge, where did you say that you lived, again?"
The rest of the day passed excruciatingly slow for Lily. She had to endure Petunia, Vernon, and Marge rant and rave about this and that. But the most important topic for most of the day was the larger than life Evans–Dursley wedding. From the bits and pieces of the conversation that she caught (when she was actually listening), Lily understood that Petunia wanted everything pink, from everything to the bridesmaid dresses, to the flowers, to the cake. And because pink clashed so horribly with Lily's bright red hair, she was thankful that she wasn't asked to be a bridesmaid. Lily had worried that her mother would force Petunia into making Lily a bridesmaid, if not the maid-of-honor.
Today had been the longest amount of time Lily had spent with Petunia and Vernon, and she didn't understand their relationship at all. They just sat next to each other all night, no physical contact of any kind. Vernon hadn't even kissed Petunia as they said good night. Maybe they just didn't show any affection because they were around Mr. and Mrs. Evans, but they were acting like an old married couple and they weren't even married yet! Petunia and Vernon simply didn't have any heat in their relationship what so ever; they were very unlike Lily and James. Even when Lily and James were just hanging out in the Heads' common room, they were always making some kind of contact.
Finally, Lily could sneak off to her room after Vernon and Marge left. She flopped down on her bed and was considering writing to James when she heard a soft tapping on her window. A large, snowy white owl that she knew was James' was trying to get in her room. She quickly got off her bed and opened the window. Lily took the note off the owl's leg and read it.
Lily,
What are you doing on Christmas Eve? I asked my parents and they said it would be okay if you wanted to come over sometime during the day. Oh, yeah, and Sirius says it's okay for you to come over, too. Anyway, let me know.
James
Lily quickly ran down the stairs to talk to her parents. She found them sitting at the kitchen table, having a cup of tea.
"Mum, can I ask you something?"
"Sure dear"
"Can I go over to James' on Christmas Eve?"
"What do you think, Harold?" Mrs. Evans asked her husband.
"I'm not sure Sarah, I mean, we've never even met this boy"
"Look, you guys made me put up with Vernon and his sister all day and I didn't even get into a fight with Petunia once! Can't this be a reward for good behavior or something?" Lily pleaded with her parents.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans still looked skeptically at one another.
"You can go if it's alright with your father," said Mrs. Evans.
"Please, daddy" Lily begged, turning her full attention to her father. Lily could almost see the answer forming in his head.
"I guess it'll be fine," he muttered. Lily kissed her father's forehead and ran off to write back to James.
"But your not spending the night!" he called to Lily as an afterthought, as Mrs. Evans rolled her eyes at her husband.
Lily woke up early on Christmas Eve, highly anxious about the day. From everything that she had heard about James' parents, Lily was sure that they were great people, but this didn't calm her nerves.
Petunia and Mr. and Mrs. Evans were to meet Vernon in Edinburgh to start looking for houses. Around noon, Lily disapparated to the Potter's house, which looked even larger and very forbidding than she remembered it from this past summer.
Lily took a deep breath before knocking on the door. James quickly answered the door, smiling.
"Hey" he said, ushering Lily inside. After a quick kiss, James asked, "So how's you break so far?"
"Well, the first day back, I had to sit and listen to my future brother and sister-in-laws and my sister talk about how great they all were. And, I got to hear every detail of the big wedding. Lucky me," she said sarcastically.
James laughed at her; he knew that Lily and her sister did not get along whatsoever. James led Lily into his kitchen, where Mr. and Mrs. Potter and Sirius were sitting. They all stood to greet Lily.
"You must be Lily," said Mrs. Potter, with a very warm smile that calmed Lily's nerves.
"Yes," said Mr. Potter, just as friendly as his wife. "James has told us so much about you." It was almost spooky how much James looked like his father; they had the same thin face, the same mouth, and the same eyebrows, even their glasses were similar.
The day passed rather quickly, especially with James and Sirius joking about everything. They were all sitting in the living room when the fireplace burst to life with green flames. Something was spinning very fast in the grate. Then the heavily scarred head of someone started talking to Mr. Potter.
"Daniel, I'm sorry about disturbing you on your day off, but there has been a big Death Eater attack just outside of Edinburgh, and we need all hands on deck for this one"
"No problem, Moody, I just need an address"
Moody gave Mr. Potter an address in Edinburgh before his head disappeared. Mr. Potter turned to his wife, "I wouldn't wait up if I were you, Marie."
"Just be careful, Daniel." She kissed her husband's cheek. He then turned to Lily.
"It was wonderful to meet you, Lily. I hope to see you again soon."
After everyone said their good-byes, Mr. Potter disapparated. His wife's eyes brighten as she muttered something about needing to get something from the kitchen.
Lily leaned over to James and asked him, "Your dad's an Auror, right?"
"Yeah," said James, almost sounding upset about it.
Lily's heart had risen in her throat when Moody had mentioned the Death Eater attack near Edinburgh: that was were her family was suppose to be today. Maybe they're already at home, Lily thought desperately. She glanced at James. He was staring into the fire, looking throughly upset.
James could feel her eyes on him. He looked into those gorgeous green eyes that were full of concern.
"Come on..." he said to Lily, "I want to show you something"
Lily narrowed her eyes in suspicion, but followed James anyway.
He grabbed her hand and led her up the stairs.
"Oh, fine, leave me here all by myself!" Sirius laughed at his friends.
James lead Lily up the stairs, down the hall, and into the first room on the right. As Lily had suspected, this was James' room. There was a four-poster bed in against the right wall, every bit as big as the ones at Hogwarts. There was a poster of James' favorite Quidditch team, the Caerphilly Catapults, hanging to the right of his bed. But what surprised Lily the most was the fact that James had a whole bookshelf full of Transfiguration books, many of which had to do with Animagi.
He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a palm-sized box, wrapped in shiny red paper.
"This is why I wanted you to come over today; I wanted to see you face when I gave this to you."
Lily took the box from James and unwrapped it to reveal a navy blue velvet jewelry box. When she opened it, she gasped. Inside was a white gold, heart-shaped and diamond pronged necklace. Lily looked up at James, her eyes wide.
"James, I – I don't know what to say – I – "
"Don't say anything. Turn around and I'll put it on you"
James took the necklace from Lily, who turned around. He moved her hair away from her neck; Lily shivered as his strong hands touched her neck. After James had clasped the necklace, Lily looked down at it. She turned around and threw her arms around him.
"I'll never take it off," she whispered before she kissed him. They kissed passionately before they found their way to the bed.
But their moment was short lived.
"James! Lily! You'd better get down here!" called Sirius.
"This had better be good, or I'm gonna be short one friend" said James through gritted teeth.
Lily laughed, "Come on...he didn't sound like he was kidding." Lily kissed his forehead. "We can always pick this up later" she said seductively.
Lily tried to fix her hair as she and James left his room and went down stairs.
There were quite a few people in the living room, many of which Lily didn't know. A wave of relief swept over Lily and James as they saw Mr. Potter talking with none other than their Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore.
Sirius found Lily and James almost immediately after they entered the room.
"Why is Dumbledore here?" Lily asked Sirius.
"I have no idea, but from what I've heard, it sounds like there were quite a few deaths tonight."
Lily could feel eyes following her as she, James, and Sirius crossed the room.
"Lily, could I have a word with you?" She spun around to see who was speaking to her, and received a shock to see that it was Dumbledore.
James did not follow Lily until Dumbledore added, "James, you should probably come as well."
Dumbledore led his two students into the kitchen, which didn't have anybody in it.
"You may want to sit down for this, Lily" Dumbledore began somberly. Lily and James sat down at the table, holding hands. "As you both already know, Death Eaters attacked a small, mainly Muggle town just outside of Edinburgh this afternoon. I hate to be the one to have to tell you this Lily, but someone must...Your family was in the attack"
Lily's breathing seemed to stop. The room was spinning. She tightened her grip on James' hand.
"What happened to them?" she asked, even though she was dreading the answer.
"Your mother, Sarah, sister, Petunia, her boyfriend, Vernon, were all subjected to the Cruciatus Curse. They are, however, expected to make a full recovery, and are currently being treated at St. Mungo's. They will have their memories modified to believe that they were in a car crash."
Lily's stomach tightened as she asked Dumbledore, "And what about my dad?" She feared that she already knew the answer.
He lowered his head somberly before looking into Lily's bright green eyes. "I'm very sorry, Lily...your father did not make it"
Before Lily could stop herself, tears were pouring from her eyes, and her head was buried in James' chest. His strong arms were wrapped around her waist, trying to comfort her. After what seemed like an eternity, Lily looked back at Dumbledore.
"I need to see my family" she said tonelessly.
"Of course," he said, nodding his head in agreement. "If you feel that you cannot apparate due to your emotional state, I will be more than happy to set up a Portkey for you, and if you would like, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black."
"I think I can apparate"
"Now, if you will excuse me, I need to have a word with Alastor Moody."
Almost as soon as the door closed after Dumbledore left, Sirius came in.
"Lily, I just heard what happened," he said. "and I'm really sorry"
Lily tried not to cry again. "Thanks Sirius"
With a lot of help from James and Sirius, Lily managed to get into the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Potter insisted that they go to the hospital with them, and since Lily really didn't feel like arguing, she allowed them to go with her.
Once inside the waiting room at St. Mungo's, Mrs. Potter asked the witch at the register where to find Lily's family. The group made its way up to the fourth floor, spell damage.
They reached the ward where Lily's family was, a Healer stepped out of the ward. She asked everyone, "Are any of you related to the Muggles in this ward?"
Lily stepped forward, "I am"
The Healer's voice seemed to soften. "Ministry officials have already modified their memories; they will remember tonight as a tragic car accident. The ward has been charmed to resemble that of a Muggle hospital. They should been released tomorrow morning, in the afternoon at the latest. Do you have any questions?"
"No"
The Healer gave Lily a kind and encouraging smile before she went to see another patient.
Sirius, Mr. and Mrs. Potter said they would stay outside while Lily and James went in.
Lily took a deep breath, grabbed James' hand, and opened the door. The Healer was right; the room looked exactly like that of a Muggle hospital. Lily was relieved to see that everyone was sitting up, although they did have a slightly glazed look about them. But this didn't stop Petunia from glaring at Lily when she entered.
"Oh, Lily," said Mrs. Evans when she saw her daughter. "Did the doctor tell you what happened?"
"Yes, the He – er – doctor, told me everything" Lily would have cried, but she was beyond tears at this point.
Lily suddenly remembered that James was with her. "Mum, this is my boyfriend, James. James, this is my mum, Sarah, my sister, Petunia, her fiancé, Vernon Dursley," said Lily, naming the people in the beds.
Under the given circumstance, Lily thought that introducing James to her mother went fairly well. Except for Petunia, of course. Once she received confirmation that James was, in fact, Lily's boyfriend and therefore a wizard, Petunia leaded over and whispered something to Vernon, then the pair of them glared at Lily and James the rest of the night.
Lily spent the rest of the night listening to what little of the "car crash" her mother could "remember". It was killing Lily to not tell her mother what had really happened, but she didn't have a choice.
Finally, at around eleven thirty, Lily's mother insisted that Lily go home and get some rest.
Lily and James found the rest of their party on the fifth floor, drinking tea. Lily told them that she was going to go home, but everybody protested.
"Lily, dear, you are not going to go home by yourself after all that you've been though tonight" Mrs. Potter was said kindly. "You can stay at our house tonight, and I won't have it any other way."
"Thank you,"
Once they got back to the Potters' home, Lily and James walked up stairs so James could show Lily where she would be sleeping.
"Hey, James," said Lily, laughing slightly, "Do you have a sweatshirt and a pair of boxers I could sleep in"
"I'm sure I could find something" he said, putting his arm around her. It felt great to see Lily smile.
They stopped in James' room so he could find something for Lily to sleep in. He then showed her the room across the hall from his own. It was every bit as big as James', and also had a huge bathroom connected.
"If you need anything, I'm right across the hall, and Sirius is in the room next to mine."
Lily suddenly threw her arms around James. "Thank you for everything"
"It's no problem"
She kissed him before they said good night.
The last thing that Lily wanted to do was sleep, so she went into the bathroom and took a long, hot bubble bath. While this did help calm her, she still wasn't tired. Lily tossed and turned in her bed for a good hour, but still could not fall asleep, even though she was exhausted both physically and mentally.
She got out of bed, walked across the hall as quietly as she could, and opened James' door.
Lily crawled into James bed. He woke up and did not look the least bit surprised to see her there.
"Can't sleep?" he asked her.
"No" she said sadly.
James gave her a small smile and wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her forehead softly. For the first time since she heard about her father's death, Lily felt safe and it was all because she was in James' arms. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep.