Well, The Potter's Daughter is continuing by popular demand. Happy Halloween everyone! I'll be trick-or-treating as Hermione tonight. Have a great day and remember to review!

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Age Eighteen, Leaving

At least she was moving out of her parents' house. So far, she had failed at everything since graduation. Today, Lily had a chance to redeem herself a tiny bit.

Auror training had not been her calling after all. A letter of acceptance did arrive by owl, just as everyone predicted, along with an enormous packet of information about training and the responsibilities of an Auror. This packet fed the doubt that had manifested when James had questioned her career choice. Thus, she should have started training already; moved into a dorm, received a roommate and training schedule. She hadn't, though. Instead, she had secured a full-time job in a book store in Glasgow, and was moving there forthwith.

Her parents had found her an adorable flat above a bakery to settle into.

Lily could not, under any circumstances, afford to rent this place out, but her parents insisted on paying the rent for her until she earned some money. Lily felt guilty about the whole situation, but her parents did not want her to live in a cheap little apartment full of bugs and peeling wallpaper.

Lily closed the flaps on the last cardboard box and taped them together to prevent all of her shoes from falling out. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. Packing was hard work. She had been completing this task for the last day and a half at high speed, and now she was finished. Her parents had been packing all of her luggage into a truck since early this morning. The three of them were going to drive to Glasgow together.

Since she graduated, up until a month following her eighteenth birthday, she had held a job at the local library, under the librarian, learning her skills. That job procured a more sophisticated grasp of the English language and skills in library science. It also put a few Galleons in her pocket, but it wasn't enough. She should, by now, have nearly a year of Auror training under her belt, preparing her for a secure income and a job that she knew would be there for her for the rest of her life. Sadly, her life was not going as planned.

The box of shoes was too heavy for her to lift so she pulled her wand from her pocket and levitated the package down the winding staircase and out the front door.

"Goodbye, house," she whispered as she followed the box outside and down the concrete steps to the moving van.

She had obtained her driver's license a few months ago, but she sat forlornly in the magically enlarged back seat of the van, allowing her parents to baby their little girl, their last child, while she was still technically under their roof. Lily watched her parents' faces as her father started the car and they began their journey to her new flat on Calgary Street, Glasgow, Scotland. Her mother was very obviously fighting back a torrent of tears, while her father spouted out useless advice merely to fill the air in the car with something besides nostalgia.

He fell short after a while, Lily now staring out the car window. She breathed onto the cool glass, drawing a smiling face in the condensation she had created. She contemplated it for a moment, watching the countryside flash by in the clear mouth of the face. With the side of her hand, she erased the smiling mouth; breathing on the window again and replacing it with a wavy line.

Lily wanted to be happy to be leaving, but, in all honesty, she was both terrified and sad. She loved living with her parents. She loved having them around all the time.

In a way, yes, she was ready to leave, as she had been at graduation time. All of her classmates had been making something of themselves since Hogwarts, and here she was, still living at home and acquiring skills in English and library science. Lucile was off in Greece, now living with Garrett and going to school to become a healer. Scott was off having a grand time in Edinburgh, Scotland, working with Bundimun and Dugbogs. Garrett was busy attempting to open his own art studio while holding a full-time job at a greeting card company.

And where was Lily's life?

She allowed a little excitement about her move filter in through the dread. Living alone would be fun. She could get a fresh pastry every day from the bakery she would live above, and she could finally begin the book she had been getting an urge to write.

Living alone would give her more freedom, which was also a good thing. She just did not fancy being lonely and without a constant support system. However, she no longer wanted to be a burden on her parents. Her brothers had both moved out, and now it was her turn.

Her mother was speaking to her. "Now be careful of the people, namely men, you bring back to your apartment, sweetie," she told Lily. "I don't want you getting yourself into any trouble. Get to know people before you give out any of your personal information. Mr. and Mrs. Mendlesson agreed to keep an eye on you."

That was just what Lily wanted: two elderly bakers reporting her every move back to her mother. That would make it rather difficult to acquire a beau, which was on the top of her priority list once she was settled into her new lifestyle.

As was expected, nothing had become of Lily and Scott after their graduation kiss. He had left for Paris the next day and only stopped back in England for a week before heading off to Scotland to begin his career. They had never spoken of the kiss after its occurrence, and Lily was not planning on speaking about it any time in the near future.

In his last letter, Scott told her of his new girlfriend, Maddy. Apparently, it was nothing serious, but Lily was angry when she felt the twinge of jealousy at this news. Clearly, Scott was completely over her and moving on with his life. Lily needed to follow in his footsteps very shortly.

It would be fun to leave alone, she decided. She would mostly support herself and provide for herself. She could have over whomever she wished, she could invite boys, no, men, back to her flat. She could eat whatever she wanted from the refrigerator at any time of the night. She could wear what she chose without her mum informing her that her outfit does not match. It would be an adventure, living alone would. She would make it an adventure.

Lily must have fallen asleep staring out the window at the quickly passing scenery, because the next thing she knew was the bright sign of Mendlesson's Bakery, four hours later. The grey stone floor with two front windows sitting above the sign must be her flat. Her heart rate increased. This was the moment.

"Wake up Lilykins, we're here," her mother told her, using her old nickname. It sounded as if she was trying to be cheery, but the tremor in her voice gave her sadness away.

Lily got out of the car and stretched loudly and languidly. As soon as Mrs. Potter stepped from the car, she captured her daughter in a stifling embrace. Her father began to unload suitcases and boxes from the truck and take them into the bakery. Lily and her mother followed with more luggages.

When James had moved out, Lily had been the one saddest to see him go. She believed that her parents were almost happy for their eldest to leave home because their house was always so full of activity and they were ready for one of their children to move out. Lily had cried over his departure for a week, while her parents nearly began plans to move Albus out of the house immediately after graduation.

As it turned out, two years later they were not as keen to see him go. Albus was the favorite child of Mr. Potter because he had always been, more or less, the black sheep. Lily had not shed a single tear when he left to seek a flat with a roommate.

By the time Lily's graduation occurred, her parents were not so eager to let their last child leave. They mostly supported Lily's decision not to attend Auror School and willingly allowed her to remain at home for over a year. Her mother loved mothering and her father loved to be a role model. Lily, however, not longer loved to be a child. She had prolonged the leap into adulthood long enough.

The flat had four rooms: a bedroom, kitchen, living area, and loo. The kitchen was equipped with utilities, and there were cable cords protruding from the wall in the far corner of the living room. The bedroom was a decent size; it had enough space for Lily's queen-sized bed, and that was all she cared about.

Her parents prolonged moving in her furniture as long as possible so that they did not have to leave their daughter. The sun was very low in the sky when they finally set the last end table in place. The flat was bathed in twilight because none of the lamps had been plugged into the electrical sockets.

Lily had always wanted to live in a Muggle area. Her job at the bookstore was in the Wizarding part of town, but her residence was in a neighborhood of Muggles. Muggles had always fascinated her (her mother told her that she took after her grandfather in that way), and now she would finally have a change to live among them, using electricity and not using magic in plain sight. Her father had always kept the family emerged in the magical world, save for the use of mobile phones, because he had grown up with the worst kind of Muggles. He associated everything good in his life with the magical world, despite the pain it had caused him in the past. Lily would be living in a completely new environment, in a totally new city, without a constant support system.

When her parents would delay their departure no longer, they approached their daughter for farewell squeeze. When Lily pulled away from them, she found tears were streaming down her face.

"We'll come and see you next weekend to make sure you're settling in all right," her mother said.

"Call us if you need anything," her father reminded her. "We're only seven hours away—less with my pull at the Floo Network.

"We love you, darling. I'll phone you every day. Good luck."

Tears were not inhibiting themselves as Lily watched her parents walk through the door of her new flat that was all her own.

At least she was closer to Scott this way. Her flat was only an hour from his on Dublin Street in Edinburgh. He would help her. She hadn't seen him in nearly a year and she missed him terribly. He traveled the countryside mostly, where magical creatures dwelled. He mainly studied around Lochs, though his company's offices were located in Edinburgh. Lily wondered if he wanted to see her as much as she was dying to see him. She currently had the yearning to receive a hug from him. Scott had always given fantastic hugs. That would be just the thing to cheer her up right now. Retrieving her mobile phone from the pocket of her cardigan, she dialed his number. The call rang through to his voicemail. Lily tried not to allow the tremble in her voice to transfer into the message she left for him.

"Hey, it's me…Lily. I've just moved into my new flat…you know…the one an hour away from you? I told you I was moving today, right? Well, anyhow, I was just thinking about you and I…" she tried to make up some lame excuse to tell him… "I wanted some unpacking advice. So um, call me if you feel like doing so." She closed the mobile and collapsed onto the floor. Unpacking could wait until tomorrow. Right now, she was entirely too tired to do anything. Her eyelids closed on their own accord and she began to drift off to sleep.

She was utterly alone.

An annoying, high-pitched, nearly musical noise awoke her from her slumber. Arising from the floor, she rubbed her eyes, trying to ascertain where the sound originated. It appeared to be coming from the door. Ah, the doorbell. The message that someone was ringing her doorbell took a moment to register in her brain; when it did, she took the few steps needed to reach the door and pulled it open, assuming to see the Mendlessons checking up on her.

Scott stood in the doorway, Chinese food containers in hand. The cobwebs of sleep immediately cleared from Lily's head, and she pitched herself at him. "SCOTT!" she cried. "I can't believe you're here! Come in, come in."

He set the food on a lamp-laden table and took in his surroundings. "So this is your new place, is it?" he said, reaching his hand out and putting a stray lock of Lily's hair back in its proper place.

"Why yes it is," she replied. "I obviously haven't done much; I've been sleeping since I phoned you."

"Sorry I didn't answer," he said. "I was getting my car started. I've just come from a site to help you unpack."

Lily's face fell into a loving, gracious grin. "I love you, Scott. Thank you so much. I obviously need help here."

Ever since she had told him that she was still in love with him last year, he always appeared to feel awkward when she told him she loved him over the phone. He appeared that way now, but tried to play it off.

"I figured that I haven't seen you in a year, so this was the best time to rectify that."

"Well, have a seat. Stay a while. Unpacking can wait until later. Tell me about everything."

Lily's boxes gradually emptied and furniture progressively moved as the night went on. The Chinese food disappeared and Lily's head ended up on Scott's lap for a good night's sleep.

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Reviews are welcome.