"Hey Lily! This house is so cool!" Lily smiled at her friend. She also took a look around her grandmother's house. This was where she grew up.
"So what's the deal with this house?" Maeve said inspecting a painting on the wall.
"Well my grandmother and grandfather bought this house and my mum grew up in it. When my mum met my dad they decided to give them this house until they found their own. They offered to buy this house and buy my grandparents a smaller one. My grandmother didn't want to but she let my mum stay in here. I lived here until I was six, seven. My grandparents lived by the sea. When my grandfather died though my grandmother came to live with us. My mum couldn't stand her so we got a house a little outside the town. She died and she left us the house. My mum likes this house a lot so we moved back." Lily stared at the painting opposite her.
"So where's your room?" Maeve asked. Lily led her up the stairs. Her room was the fifth door on the right. It was an en-suite with a bathroom. The walls were plastered with paintings that looked like a five year old drew them.
"Your grandmother paid a lot of money for painting that look like a two year old drew them" Maeve said looking at a painting that looked like a family in a field. Lily laughed.
"They're my drawings. This used to be my old room." Maeve formed and 'O' shape with her mouth.
"This was my old room" Lily told Maeve.
"Well we'll need to go shopping for furniture won't we. I doubt you can fit on that bed now." Maeve said pointing at a kid's bed. Lily shook her head.
"Shopping?!" Maeve said screaming the word. Lily laughed at her friend. She was acting differently. Maeve hated shopping.
"Don't worry, I'm not becoming like those girls that like shopping. I just want to make up your room." Lily laughed at her friend's happiness.
They went down the stairs to tell Lily's mum where they were going.
"Mum!" Her mum appeared from the kitchen door smiling.
"Yes Lily, Maeve?"
"We have to go shopping for furniture for my bedroom. It's all kid's stuff in there."
"Yes you do need things. It is your first day back so I think you should make it nice." Lily's mum took out her purse and gave Lily her credit card.
"Mum!" Lily said shocked. Her mother smiled.
"You're old enough. Just don't go over the limit." Lily shook her head. She and Maeve ran out of the room.
They arrived downtown and started shopping.
"Lily look at this bed!" Lily looked at the bed that Maeve pointed at. It was a princess style wooden, double bed. Lily shook her head.
"Nah. I've grown out of the girly phase."
"Yeah now you're all about black, black and would you have guessed, more black" Lily smiled at her friend and looked around for more beds.
"How about this one?" Maeve pointed to a steel, single bed. Lily look mortified.
"I do not live in prison!" Maeve snorted.
"Yeah you do. Petunia is the torturer." Lily laughed.
After a while more of looking for a bed Lily found a perfect one. It was in the back of the room, alone. It was a double bed with curtains. The curtains were a bright yellow. The bed was made out of mahogany wood.
"Maeve, take a look at this bed!" Lily said to her friend. Maeve came to see what Lily was pointing at.
"Oh look here are the blankets to match the curtains." Maeve held up florescent coloured sheets. Lily shook her head in disbelief.
"Maeve, look the bed is perfect…"
"Have you seen the curtains Evans? They're brighter than your hair. Or are you colour blind? You know I always thought you were colour-blind. You never did anything with your hair." Maeve interrupted her.
"Maeve!" Lily said more sternly this time, "This bed is perfect. We can charm the curtains another colour." Maeve opened her arms.
"Then it's all yours." Lily asked the assistant how much it was. It was on sale because no one wanted to buy it.
"You know what, that bed has been here for a year. No one wants it because the curtains can't be dyed. It's twenty-five percent off but for you we'll make you an offer of fifty percent off." The sale assistant told Lily.
"Why can't the curtains be dyed?" Lily asked him curiously
"Well you can't get them off or else you ruin the bed." He swiped the card and soon Lily exited the shop with Maeve. The bed was going to be delivered to her house before nightfall.
"Now we want paint." Maeve said. "What colour do you want?" Lily thought for a while.
"How about you decorate my room and surprise me? Use your special powers." Maeve smiled secretly. She had the perfect plan.
They arrived home. Lily had to push Maeve off the tube because she wanted to go in circles.
"But it's so cool! Look!" Then Lily had to stop Maeve from buying a thousand tickets just to see the machine eating it up.
"It's cooler than magic!" Maeve said after the machine ate her fifth ticket. Lily yawned. It was a tiring day.
She unlocked the door and they both went to the kitchen. There were two notes on the fridge stuck on with magnets.
'Lily dear, you father and I have gone out.'
'Mum, dad, Vernon and I are going to dinner.'
"We have the house to ourselves!" Maeve squealed happily opening the fridge.
"Yeah we do. Ok look I'll stay and make us dinner. You fix my room and then we'll eat and watch a movie. How about that?" Lily had already explained to Maeve about movies and electricity. Maeve nodded and made her way to Lily's room. The bed was already there. She pushed in one of the corners. She took out her wand and muttered some spells. Photos from all their years at Hogwarts appeared. She found the 'annual photos'. Lily and Maeve took at least one photo together each year in front of the lake. There were six but the most recent one included three boys. Remus Lupin, James Potter and Sirius Black. They had insisted on being photographed with them. Maeve smiled at the thought. She took the six photographs and lined them all one below the other in chronological order. She put these photos on the wall with the door. She took out more photos. Her and Lily during second year Christmas opening presents, her and Lily making funny faces at the camera, her and Lily playing chess, her and Lily playing in the snow and many more. She made three lines with five photos on one wall. On another wall she put three photos in a line but one a little below the other. The last wall, where her bed was, she left it empty. She was going to write some lyrics on it. She then decided that she didn't like white walls so she waved her wand and the walls were instantly a deep purple. She saw a battered desk another corner and waved her wand again. The desk had a nice colour and it was polished. It was a little higher than before. With another wave of her wand strange marks appeared on the desk legs. She waved her wand again and a chair appeared. She looked around and noticed a big space in Lily's room. She waved her wand and pouf balls appeared in two colours. Red and gold. She saw books scattered on tatty bookshelves. She waved her wand, again, and the books tidied themselves. The white bookcases got their old wood colour again. It was a deep brown colour. She looked at the bed and shook her head in disapproval. She changed the curtain colours to purple and added a canopy. She took Lily's snake teddy bear and wrapped it around a column. She looked around the room.
"and now for the final touch." She muttered. Black writing appeared on the empty wall. It was the song, 'I'll be there for you' by The Rembrandts. After Maeve was completely satisfied with the decoration she went down.
"Hey Lils!" Lily looked up from the pot she was peering into.
"Hey Maeve! Finished?"
"Yup. You?"
"Yeah. Hang on let me serve it in two plates. I'll take a look at my room and we can watch a movie."
"Ok." Maeve watched Lily spoon pasta into two deep plates.
"I want the Snow White bowl" Maeve said grabbing the left bowl. Lily smiled.
"Ok. I'm stuck with Bambi." Leave the food here and let's go see my room." Maeve took Lily's hand and took her anxiously to see her work of art. Lily gaped in awe when she saw her room.
"There's us playing in the snow! We were soaked through by the end of our game." She would exclaim. Or she would say, "There's us playing chess. I never did manage to beat you did I?" She looked at all the photos and made small comments. Lily came to a halt in front of the three photos.
"Maeve!" she yelled in outrage. As if Maeve was expecting this she got up from the pouf chair looking all innocent.
"Yes Lily dear?"
"What's this?" Lily pointed at a photo on the wall. Maeve grinned. It was a photo of when Lily was dared to give James a peck on the lips. It ended up as a one minute snog until Lily remembered her 'hatred' for James.
"Well it is a memory." Maeve said and walked away. Lily looked at the picture again and smiled at the memory.
"Lily, food?" Maeve reminded her. They went downstairs to watch TV and eat the wonderful food Lily made.
"Our movie for tonight is 'Grease'" Lily said holding up a tape.
When the movie was over Lily and Maeve washed up and went upstairs.
"Hey Lily! 'Look at me I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity, won't go to bed till I'm legally wed, I can't, I'm Sandra Dee!" Maeve jumped on Lily's bed and started singing into a hairbrush.
"I hate that song!" Lily said over Maeve's screeches. They both had equally good voices.
"Toughy Lily!" Lily jumped on her bed and pulled Maeve down.
"Ah! You're asking for it Evans." Maeve dropped the hairbrush and held Lily's hands behind her back.
"Let me go!" Lily screamed and kicked Maeve until she let go.
"Ah! I got you!" Lily grabbed Maeve. She soon let go because Maeve slapped her cheek.
"You little imp!" Lily yelled. Maeve laughed and got up. She ran out Lily's room and into the hall.
"Come and get me!" Lily got up and chased Maeve. They did a couple of laps around the living room when Maeve ran out. She opened the front door and ran out in the snow.
"Haha, you can't get me." Lily chased after her. Thankfully the street was quiet but there yonder by their front fence two boys were kicking a football without knowing what to do. They heard two girls laughing and screaming.
"Come on Lily! You can't get me!" The boy looked at his friend and they both climbed the fence to look at the girls.
"Blimey, it's Evans!"
"Padfoot, it's Maeve as well. Look at them." Sirius looked at his best friend. His eyes suddenly widened.
"Prongs, you don't think the Evans' are coming for Christmas dinner do you?" James looked at Sirius. They both ran into the house.
"Mum!"
"Mrs Potter!" They both yelled at the same time. Mrs Potter came and looked at them both.
"What boys?"
"Mum who's coming for Christmas dinner?" Mrs Evans screwed up her face to remember the name.
"I think Marietta's daughter married someone called something Evans. Why?" Sirius whooped while James hugged his mum really tightly. Sirius and James looked at each other and started dancing around the house.
"Evans is coming! Evans is coming!" Mrs Potter looked at her son and his best friend for a minute before deciding that she was indeed seeing two males dancing around her house singing 'Evans is coming'. She decided that it was normal for them. She continued humming and putting flowers in vases.
"Lily, I'm cold" Maeve said after a while. Lily hugged her to keep her warm until they arrived at the door. The kicked open the door because their hands were hugging each other.
"Lily! Do we have to go to this Christmas dinner?"
"Maeve you asked me a million times. Yes we do have to go." Maeve sighed.
The night came.
"Lily! Meave! We have on hour until we have to go to dinner"
"Ok Mum!"
"Ok Ms. Evans" Lily and Maeve yelled from the top of the stairs.
"Lily, what are we wearing?" Maeve looked through Lily's cupboard.
"Well the two dresses we bought." Maeve looked at Lily.
"Three days ago?"
"Oh those dresses!" Ok.
"I shower first!" Lily yelled.
"Damn it."
The girls got ready for the night.
"How do I look?" Maeve twirled. Lily took a look at her. She was wearing a purple dress that went well with her purple hair. It was a short, dancers dress that when she twirled the hem went in circles. She had no make-up except for eyeliner that was heavy on her eyes. She looked very pretty.
Lily was just as pretty. She wore a red dress. It was long and swishy. It was strapless with a gold hem.
"Lily I can't find my shoes!" Maeve looked everywhere for her shoes. She was bending over and looking under the bed. Lily held up some shoes.
"These?"
"Oh there they are." Maeve put on her shoes hobbling about. They were a lighter purple with a small heel. They wrapped around her ankle and shins. Lily wore gold heels that went well with her dress.
"Come on girls, we have to get going." Lily's mum shouted from below.
"Shit! I didn't do my hair!" Lily took her wand out and attempted several styles.
"Lily! Hurry up!" Maeve moaned.
"Lily, Maeve, hurry up!" Lily moaned and in the end she chose a high ponytail. She put on some lip-gloss and they were ready to go. They went down the stairs.
"Oh girls, very pretty. Now here are the presents you will both give the boys." Mrs Evans passed presents around.
"What did you get them?" Lily said fingering her present.
"A scarf for both of them." Lily and Maeve looked at each other.
"All ready?" Said Mr Evans
"Where's Tunia?" Lily asked looking around.
"She's not coming." Lily and Maeve high fived behind the Evans' backs.
They were all waiting for someone to open the door.
"I'm freezing my arse out here." Maeve mumbled just as a man opened the door. He looked oddly familiar.
"Welcome, welcome." The man opened the door so they could all go in.
"Hello." Maeve said politely.
"Good evening." Lily said shaking the mans hand. He looked a lot like…
"Potter?" She heard Maeve say. She looked sharply to her left, and there he was. James Potter was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans.
"Hey Lily! Hey Maeve."
"James I told you to dress." Mr Potter said sternly to James.
"I did dad. I was wearing a red t-shirt before. Now I'm wearing a black one" James grinned while his father shook his head. Mr Potter led the Evans to the dining room.
"So, you're our neighbours." Lily said.
"Too right you are Evans. Nice dress. Both of you." He looked at Maeve as well.
"Yes well, if we knew YOU were Lily's neighbours we would have dressed the same way.
"Prooongs!" Sirius came running down the stairs. He missed the last step and fell on top of Maeve.
"Ow" They both groaned.
"Black, get off me!" Maeve said in a muffled voice. Sirius looked down at her and grinned.
"Hey there Smith! How are you?" he got up and extended his hand to help her up.
"I was bloody fine until you knocked me down." She said as she dusted off her skirt.
"Who else is here?" Lily asked hearing music coming from the dining room.
"Oh some people from my dads work. You on the other hand are the only kids that we know so…"
"So we get to eat in the kitchen." Sirius finished, grinning.
"Oh joy" Maeve said flatly.
"Oh Smith, you're killing me. You're so enthusiastic. Stop it!" Sirius said. Maeve just glared at him.
"You guys want to change?" James asked Lily.
"Yeah but we'll have to be real quick." Maeve and Lily ran out the front door. They came back five minutes later dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.
"Damn," Lily said panting. "We forgot sweatshirts."
"If I freeze my arse off I don't care. I am not going back." Maeve went up to the boys' room.
"Hello!" She said opening the door. The boys hugged her and Lily.
"You guys are freezing!" Sirius gave Lily his jumper and James gave one of his to Maeve.
"Black? I don't wear black Potter. So thanks, but I'll pass." Maeve handed over the jumper.
"Give it here. I am not wearing grey." Maeve and Lily exchanged jumpers.
"You guys look ridiculous. The jumpers are huge on you" Sirius said surveying Lily and Maeve's petite figure.
A while later they were sitting on the floor talking.
"So Maeve what's with you and you have to keep going out of classes once a day?" Sirius asked her.
"Um…" She looked at Lily. Lily nodded.
"Well here's the story…"