Title: A Mother's Advice
Author: Firstflier
Characters: Lily Evans, James Potter, mentions of other MWPP era.
Rating: PG
Short summary: Based on the song 'Sunscreen' by Baz Lurhmann. A set of short drabbles about the way Lily tried to live her life keeping her mother's words of wisdom in mind. And the few times she ignored them completely. Cute, fun, fluffballs. Angst kept to an absolute minimum (for a change).
Author's Note: This is my first multi-chapter fic and the drabbles really are just that; drabbles. Some of them will only be a few lines long others may be pages. That's just the way the cookie crumbles. Feedback and concrit appreciated. Enjoy!

Dislcaimer:: I do not own Harry Potter or anything affiliated with it.

The Woes of Being Pale

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.

Lily Evans was a red head and, as such, had been blessed (or cursed depending on your point of view) with unblemished, ivory skin. It was flawless; the colour of pearls with the occasional smattering of freckles across her nose and cheeks in the summer. Which is why, during the summer months, she burnt like toast. It was an ugly sight of red markings which peeled and left her, as a young girl, crying and wailing in the night. This lead to her mother, Poppy Evans, having epic battles with her youngest daughter about sunscreen.

"Young lady, you put this on right this second."

"No! I don't want to! It smells icky!" The 8 year old whined loudly and danced out of her mother's reach once more as she darted round the kitchen table. "None of my friends have to wear that stuff." She wrinkled her nose at the extra high factor bottle Poppy was wielding.

"Lily Marie Evans! You will put this sunscreen on or, so help me God, I will have to tell your father what a naughty girl you have been today and you know how upset that makes him." Poppy stopped chasing the determined redhead and placed both hands on her hips with a mournful, overly dramatic sigh at the end of her ultimatum.

The 8 year old skidded to a stop and turned wide, innocent jade eyes on her mother and Poppy had to resist the urge to do a jig of victory. Lily's father had always been something of a soft spot; she was a Daddy's girl through and through. If the argument had been put by her father about upsetting her mother the reaction would have been the same but probably less profound and much more grudging. At this age, Lily saw her mother as the authoritative parent, whereas her Dad worked fulltime and never really seemed to tell her off. She allowed her mother to get hold of her summer dress and sit her on a kitchen chair. Poppy slopped handfuls of the smelly sunscreen on the little girl with only minimal protests after that.

"Honestly, Lils. You've got beautiful skin and this will just protect it. Do you remember the man on the telly talking about it? You'll thank me for this one day when you're not a wrinkled old prune." She tapped the redhead's nose with a finger still covered in sunscreen and managed to steal a smile from her daughter.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

~*~