The six of them apparated on the spot and landed just outside Number 4, Privet Drive. Dorcas and Emmeline immediately went to go marvel at the so obvious muggleness of it all. Remus and Sirius stood back, looking slightly reserved, but James went to go put his arm around Lily's waist. She liked it there. It gave her support, and comfort, and she knew that with James, and all of her wonderful friends, she could do this.
Lily went up to the front step with the rest of them following her, and rung the front doorbell. The door swung open and a tall, skinny, aged, but beautiful women stood behind it.
"Oh, Lily!" she cried, wrapping her arms around her youngest daughter, "How wonderful!"
Lily smiled, "Hello, Mum. It's great to see you too."
Lily's mother stood back to survey the rest of them, and her eyebrows went so high that they almost disappeared in her flaming red hair.
James stood forward before the rest of them could speak and extended his hand, "Hello, Mrs. Evans. I'm James Potter, your daughter's boyfriend."
Lily's mother gave him the once over, and once proving herself satisfied, she shook his hand energetically, "What a pleasure to meet you, after all Lily's written about you in her letters."
James smiled back at her, "It's very nice to meet you too after all that Lily's said about you."
Lily wrenched James's hand out of her mothers' to nip any further prolonging embarrassment and turned to introduce the rest, "Mum, these are my friends, Dorcas, Emmeline, Sirius, and Remus."
Mrs. Evans smiled at them all, and welcomed them into their home, "Unfortunately, I don't think we'll have enough places for you to stay a few days more after the wedding."
Sirius held up a hand, "Oh, no, we can't miss any more classes, once the wedding's over, we're going back to Hogwarts."
Mrs. Evans nodded, "Well that's reasonable. Come sit in the kitchen, Petunia will be down in a minute."
The six of them lounged around the wooden table, looking completely at ease in such a muggle-like atmosphere, all except the one person who actually grew up in a muggle home, Lily. She fidgeted in her chair, looking worried.
Finally after about ten minutes a tall, bony girl who looked on the verge of womanhood flounced down the stairs and into the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw all six of them, staring straight back at her.
"Lily!" she screamed, grabbing her sister by the ear and dragging her into the hall.
All of Lily's friends looked horrified, but leaned towards the door so they could make out the conversation.
"Tuny, they'll just be staying for the ceremony and then all of us will be gone! It's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal?!" hissed Petunia incredulously, "It is too a big deal that six...six mutants, six freaks will be attending my wedding!"
Lily growled, "Petunia, they're staying, and that's that! Now leave it be!"
"Lily, if they mess up one thing on this day, if they ruin one napkin, I swear..."
"Tuny, calm down! They'll be perfect ladies and gentlemen."
Petunia sneered, "they better be, and you better be, too! Now get out of my sight, I don't want your freakish stench ruining my perfume for the big day!"
and with that she flounced back up the stairs, and Lily, swearing, entered back into the kitchen.
Her five friends stared at her, openmouthed in horror. She was very tired and frustrated, but at the looks on their faces she had to laugh.
"All of you look as though you're fish out of water!"
James stood up to go stroke her hair, "How do you let her treat you like that?"
Lily sighed and went to sit down, "You get used to it. She's my sister, what can I do?"
"Some sister." snorted Sirius, but silenced himself at the look on Lily's face.
Lily shrugged, "All I can say is that I'm glad I'm not alone."
--
Lily walked through the yard, loving the feel of the wet grass underneath her bare feet. She went over to her makeshift swing hung from a tree branch. Her mind flashbacked to when she was a child and she used to be so exhilarated just by the feeling of the air rushing underneath her and by her. She remembered, with a pang, how she and Petunia used to swing, and how they were inseperable.
Things had changed so much. Now Petunia wouldn't so much as look at her. Lily wouldn't even be here if her mother hadn't insisted on it. Petunia was her sister. Her sister! Lily fought back tears as she remembered how the two of them ran through the yard together, how they used to swing on the same swing Lily was sitting on now. How Petunia loved her younger sister, how they used to tease each other, how, when Lily was scared of an insect or the other, Petunia would take care to brush it away so that Lily's path was clear. How Petunia cared about Lily and how Petunia would never let anyone do anything to hurt her little sister. How ironic it was that, now, Petunia herself was the one doing the hurting.
"Lily?"
Lily turned her head around to see Sirius standing in the grass, a few feet away looking worried. Lily smiled, and shifted over on the swing to make room for Sirius.
He went over, but remained standing hesitantly before the swing, "You sure it'll hold both of us?"
She shrugged, "We'll just have to find out, won't we?"
He grinned, and sat down carefully. It creaked slightly, but held.
"Are you ok?"
Lily was surprised to hear the concern in his voice, "I'm fine. Why?"
He averted his eyes from her, "Well, just, you seem kind of pensive ever since..." though his words remained unspoken, she knew that he was obviously worried about the complete display of hate in the kitchen earlier that day.
Lily rested her head on his shoulder. James was wonderful in every way, and he was more than she could ask for, but he just, couldn't understand this feeling of sibling abandonment. He was an only child. But Sirius got it. He understood. And not just because he had a brother, but because his family was estranged from him, just as her sister was from her.
"It's just...I can't help thinking how much things have changed."
"Changed how?" Sirius, though he may have seemed blunt, insensitive, and annoyingly conceited and popular, could be very caring and affectionate really. Lily was glad that her future husband's best friend cared about her. He was her friend, too.
"Changed...we used to be so close, and ever since that fateful day, seven years ago, she's hated me. I just wish we could go back to the way things were."
He rested his head on top of hers, "I know how it is. You feel that it's wrong, it's...unnatural. She's your kin. She should love you."
"That, and also...I know what it's like to have a protective, loving older sister, but now it's like that wonderful sister has been replaced with a demon one who doesn't...who can't love me."
Sirius nodded, "I know. It's hard. But Lily, you know that she doesn't matter anymore if she doesn't care enough to love you, because there are a lot of people who do."
Tears leaked from Lily's eyes, "Like you, you mean?"
He shifted uncomfortably, but made no move to move his head, "Not exactly. I meant, like Em, and Dorcas. They love you like a sister."
"And you don't?"
"I suppose being your brother wouldn't be too agregiously horrible, either."
"OI!"
Sirius and Lily turned to look in surprise at the direction the yell had come from. James was standing on Lily's back porch, looking utterly betrayed.
Sirius stood up immediately, "Prongs, it's not like that?"
James took a few staggering steps toward Sirius, "Not like that, eh? Don't pretend like I don't know what you were doing! What about Emmeline, huh, mate? She just wasn't enough for you?"
Sirius looked at him in horror, "Prongs I'm your best mate!"
"Exactly why it's so terrible!"
Lily looked from James's face to Sirius's, and comprehension dawned when she realized what it must have looked like to James when he saw the two of them, close together, in a restive position.
"James, Sirius didn't, I didn't!" she cried, determined to stop it before it started.
Sirius looked mad now, "I'm your best mate! I'm your best mate! Can't you trust me?"
Lily stood up and moved to go stand by James, "And can't you trust me? James, I love you, sweetheart."
James gazed over her head to stare at Sirius, "So, you didn't...you weren't..."
Sirius shook his head in disgust, "Of course not."
James's shoulders sagged in relief, "Oh. Sorry, padfoot."
Sirius shook his head once more, "Normally I would get mad, but now's not a good time." and with that he walked into the house.
James looked down at Lily and said, "Sorry." sheepishly.
She rolled her eyes, "It's ok. Just, dont, ever freak out like that again. I don't like you over protective."
He laughed, "So what were you talking to Sirius about."
"My sister."
James narrowed his eyes at her mention, "Do you want to talk about it?"
She smiled, and pulled his arm over her shoulders, "That's ok, we hashed it out good enough."
He looked pained for a moment, "You know..."
"I know what?"
He shrugged, "You do know that...you can talk to me about these things too."
"No I can't, James. You just, you don't understand. You've never been abandoned by a sibling. You grew up in a place of warmth, wealth, and happiness. You never had to suffer like this."
"I guess not, but, Lily, I wish I could be there for you."
She kissed his cheek, "You are, love, more than you know."
--
a/n: read and review, please please please! Chapter 12 coming soon, so check for updates!
as I walk down the road
I think of how you showed
me and how to see
the whole new world there could be
so excuse me if I sound cliche
but you took my breath away
you kept me next to you for days
with all your unbelievable ways
you can change all that I think is true
yes it's all because of you
as I amble down a dirt path
I think how I fell under your wrath
yes so easily I fell
under your enchanting spell
for you I'll stick around
because without you I'd be lost and not found
don't worry because I'll always be there
to wipe your unwanted tears with care
so here I'll sum it all up
I shiver when my face you cup
with your hands and I love you
and the way you turn my grey sky blue
so over the next few chapters I'm going to show some of my poems and I would really appreciate it if you would review those too. Thanks! Lily...you've probably already seen most of these, so just review on the story and not the poems.