To say the very least, it was quite a sight indeed. Though this delusion, she thought, was quite vivid. It frightened her at how intricate it was, actually. It looked as though the fireplace had exploded; there was black soot everywhere from across all of the furniture to the dark footprints in the white carpet. There were two boys standing curiously in the middle of the room, staring back at her, and she vaguely wondered what part of her subconscious her mind had drug this scenario out of. For, though these two boys were covered in ash, they oddly resembled familiar faces. She couldn't quite place them until the taller of the two grinned widely and the other threaded fingers through his long, dark curtain hair cockily.

Yes, she had gone mad. Completely bonkers. And as she stared dumbstruck at the scene before her, her brain connected several things at one time and she looked towards the source of the commotion, which she couldn't possibly have imagined, for Maggie had heard it too. It was the fireplace tools, of all things, strewn across the floor and scattered from their original placings in a neat rack on their black, metal stand. This was the reason she couldn't pass this whole thing off as a dream. This was the reason for her impending doom, her ultimate demise. This was the reason why she strode over to the tools that lay on the ground and one by one chucked them out the open window and onto the front lawn.

"She's taking it better than I expected," Sirius Black commented lightly, watching her with a bemused expression on his face.

James Potter's brow was furrowed anxiously, though his lips were upturned slightly in a smile. "Yes, Padfoot, that's exactly what I would call 'taking it well.'"

Maggie leaned against the doorframe that led to the kitchen, the glass of water still in her hand. "Let her have it out. Can't last much longer—she'll run out of things to throw." She also looked slightly entertained by Lily's performance, but guilt shown through her brow. "Clean up a bit, will you?"

James nodded, eyes moving from Lily and hand drawing his wand out of his back pocket. One glare at Sirius and he did the same, but not before he said, "I think it gives the room quite a woodland feel. Cabins and all, yes?"

"You are incorrigible." Maggie commented, smirking slightly. She took a sip of her glass and turned her back to enter the kitchen.

"Get back here Maggie." Lily said quietly, though her voice carried to the kitchen regardless. It was an angry tone; a menacing tone. Yet oddly calm and collected at the same time. It was a tone that frightened James immensely, intrigued Sirius, and caused Maggie to know that she was in for whatever wrath Lily had built up over the summer, which she did not find very appealing at the moment. Or at any moment, really.

Lily walked calmly over to Maggie, who had reentered the room and once again leaned against the doorframe. "Yes, Lily?" She said as soothingly as possible, a tone that was ruined by her cocked eyebrow.

"I noticed you failed to mention which cousin you were bringing." Lily said, smiling quite politely yet at the same time frighteningly. Her arms were by her sides, fists scrunched into balls, knuckles white. A vain was throbbing in her forehead and it looked just about ready to explode all over the freshly cleaned room, which simply wouldn't do at all.

"You didn't ask," Maggie replied simply, shrugging. Her eyes were slightly wide as though she was slightly apologetic about this predicament, but that eyebrow was still quirked, ruining the expression and coming off more sarcastic than anything else.

"Shall we make ourselves at home, then?" Sirius said, gesturing around. He lounged (for Sirius Black never sat, he always lounged) against the maroon sofa and set his arms along the back of the cushions, looking quite elegant indeed. "Lovely," he commented as he 'settled in.'

James followed his lead and perched on the arm of the sofa and ran a hand through his untidy raven hair, an action which succeeded in not only mussing it up even further, but spraying more ash on the carpet that had been nested within. He met Maggie's eyes over Lily's shoulder with a questioning and slightly worried expression; Maggie wrinkled her nose in response.

"Kitchen." Lily ordered, pointing her arm in that direction before the two girls left the sitting room, the door closing behind them.

"Now, perhaps this is a bit presumptuous," Sirius drawled, and James looked at him, "but it seems to me like she is quite pleased to see us."

James groaned, rubbing his hands over his eyes. "For once, Padfoot, behave yourself. Moony isn't around to keep you in check, so please don't make me stoop to his level."

"I haven't a clue what you mean, Prongs." Sirius quipped innocently, eyes narrowed mischievously.

"Don't make me confound you."

-...-

"You said yourself it was all right if I brought a cousin!" Maggie argued, the fact she was pointing out was completely pointless though, and she knew it.

The vein in Lily's skull throbbed. "You have about fifty cousins, Maggie. How the hell am I supposed to know which bloody one you're talking about unless you specifically tell me! You made it sound like they were around thirteen!"

"Well, technically speaking, I didn't lie to you," Maggie tried again. "I—I thought you would be so cheerful to see me, James and Sirius would just be a—a perk!" Maggie grinned at her wording. "They're both frightful good at Trans, and that homework McGonagall left us is bloody torture—"

"I've already finished the homework!" Lily exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "But that's off the point—"

"Listen, Lily," Maggie began, cutting her off. "James is family. I—I didn't want, well he didn't want to tell you this...but—but his dad is sick. He's not doing well. He hasn't even told Sirius about it yet...so can't you just try to be a tad hospitable? I'm not asking you to suddenly become mates, but—but I thought if I got him out of the house for a week, in a different setting, he'd—he could get his mind off it for a bit." Maggie half smiled. "I know you must think I sprung this on you, but I knew you wouldn't agree any other way, and—and I don't know what else to do. James and his dad...they're quite close, and he's just been—"

Lily put a hand up to stop her. "All right." She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "All right."

Maggie broke into a wide smile, taking this as the most positive answer she could possibly receive, and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'll keep them in check, all right?"

"Or at least attempt to," Lily said dryly, but her slight smile said that she was on board with the situation. And she was. Maggie was like family to her, and if James was family to Maggie, then that made James sort of like family. This thought intensely frightened Lily, and she quickly shook it from her mind. Maggie seemed desperate, though, and her heart wasn't made of stone. "Just make sure to feed them twice a day and keep them off of my mum's flowers."

Maggie laughed gratefully. "Thank you so much, Lily." Her voice was as meaningful as her eyes, and Lily knew she meant it.

Lily smiled. "Yes, well...I can't say I won't regret it. Ask me in about a week."

"Once you're through the first twenty-four hours, the rest is a breeze." Maggie promised, winking. "We should probably go and make sure they aren't pissing on the carpet, though. I haven't quite got them housetrained."

Lily laughed, though if it was out of exasperation or that she sensed impending doom, or just because she sincerely hoped Maggie was joking about the boys urinating in her sitting room, was not to be determined. The two exited the kitchen and found James and Sirius just where they had left them on the sofa.

"Evans," Sirius grinned. "I don't believe we've said our greetings yet."

Everyone in the room ignored this, and James got to his feet, putting a hand behind his head. "Evans—"

"Don't." Lily said firmly. "Please, don't." His expression was sincere, which made red slowly creep up her neck and onto her cheeks, for she had just chucked items onto her front lawn like a lunatic. This made her temper rise slightly. She did not know what else to say, and he did not look about to speak, so she said the only thing she could think of: "You have ash in your hair."

James's hand jumped up and he brushed his hair around, allowing several clumps of ashes to graze the white carpet. "Sorry about that..." He waved his wand and the ashes disappeared; she had a feeling he wasn't just apologizing for the ash, but rather the week from hell that was ahead of her.