Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter or Harry Potter related copyrights.
"Prongs isn't in his bedroom," Sirius told Peter and Remus early Christmas morning. Christmas was the only day that he ever got up early and once he was up, he made it his job to wake everyone else up, including Mr. and Mrs. Potter.
"Really?" asked Remus. "He was there early this morning when we left him."
"That dog," muttered Sirius with a grin.
"Do you think…?" asked Peter.
"I guess so…" said Remus.
"We had better get him up before his parents find him," said Sirius. "Come on lads; let's just hope we aren't scarred for life."
Remus shook his head but followed Peter and Sirius anyways after checking that the Potter parents hadn't left their bedroom yet, even though they had been awakened by Sirius already.
Sirius cautiously opened the door to Lily's room and poked his head in. Peter opened the door wider so he and Remus could get a look as well.
"Well doesn't that just make you want to vomit," remarked Sirius as he looked at James and Lily.
"What did you do to poor Lily?" came the sleepy voice of Christopher, causing all three boys to jump.
"Uh! Nothing! Nothing to see here! Let's go open presents!" shouted Sirius, trying to lead Mr. Potter away.
Unfortunately, Mr. Potter had already seen everything he needed to see. "James Christopher Potter!" he thundered, waking Lily and James up and putting them both in a panic.
"Uh oh," James whispered to Lily before he quickly sprang out of bed.
"You come with me," said Mr. Potter to his son sternly.
"Lily, I think it's time you went home. I'm sure your family is wondering where you are," Mr. Potter added as Lily crawled out of bed.
As James passed his friends, not one of them smiled or laughed; this only made James feel worse although he knew that he hadn't done anything wrong.
After James and his dad and left, Lily looked to the guys who were still standing there.
"We didn't do anything," she said quietly.
No one said anything.
"I'm just going to go then," she said as she grabbed the clothes she had worn the day before and went to change in the bathroom.
"You think she's telling the truth?" asked Sirius quietly.
"Why would she lie to us? She couldn't gain anything from it," Remus reasoned.
"They both still had their clothes on too," said Peter.
"Let's just see what Lily says about it; maybe she has an explanation," said Remus.
"Merlin, I haven't seen Mr. Potter that angry since he found out about what happened at the end of sixth year. He's pretty scary," said Sirius.
"I wouldn't want to be a Death Eater up against him," said Peter shivering.
"I wouldn't want to be James right now either," said Remus.
"I wouldn't want to be Prongs ever," joked Sirius loudly. "I am much better looking than him."
"Than explain to me why he has a girlfriend and you don't," challenged Remus.
"Because… I am simply too attractive for girls to handle!" pronounced Sirius. "I suppose I'll just tone it down a bit from now on."
"Oh because dating a bald guy is every girl's dream," said Remus sarcastically as he rubbed Sirius' shiny head.
"I think we're starting a new trend," said Sirius confidently. "You'll see. Once we get back to Hogwarts, all the guys will be bald. Then once our hair grows back we'll laugh at all of them because they're bald and ugly. And we'll make off with their girlfriends who want guys with hair."
Peter and Remus just shook their heads at Sirius' twisted logic.
Just then Lily emerged from the bathroom that adjoined her bedroom. She waved her wand to make the bed and then laid the neatly folded pile of borrowed pajamas on top of the coverlet.
"Well, I guess I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks then. Happy Christmas," said Lily as she gathered her cloak and purse. "Say good-bye to James for me, please. Tell him that I just didn't want to make things worse so I left."
"I am not saying good-bye to James like you would. He's one of my best mates and all, but I just don't swing that way," Sirius quipped.
Lily smiled faintly and gave each of the guys a hug. "Bye."
"Wait Lily, can we have your side of the story before you go?" asked Remus suddenly, remembering his earlier plan.
"I guess," said Lily shrugging. "I was having a nightmare and I guess James happened to be walking by and heard me yelling, so he came in and woke me up. I was still terrified from my nightmare and so I asked him to stay with me. He was planning on leaving after I had fallen asleep, but I guess he fell asleep too. So it was entirely my fault and you can tell Mr. Potter that if you get a chance."
"What were you dreaming about Lily?" asked Sirius seriously.
"What would have happened to me at Malfoy Manor if I hadn't been rescued," Lily said dully. "I guess seeing Lucius Malfoy last night surfaced those memories."
The guys didn't know what to say or do, so they all just shifted uncomfortably.
"Bye guys," said Lily as she walked out.
As she walked down the hallway, she met Mrs. Potter.
"Lily dear," said Marilyn. "Christopher just told me about this whole thing. I think he may have overreacted; he tends to at times."
"It wasn't James' fault," said Lily hurriedly. "He was a gentleman as always. It's just that I was having a nightmare and he was there and I asked him to stay. He meant to leave after I fell asleep I swear."
Mrs. Potter was silent for a moment and then said. "That was exactly what James said, and I believe you both. I'm sorry that Christopher reacted like he did; he's not at his best in the mornings."
"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble," said Lily sincerely. "I didn't mean to."
"I know dear. Besides, I've always been told that you are a very sensible person and not prone to rash decisions," she said kindly. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you like."
"Thanks for the offer, but I had better get home. My sister can only cover for my absence for so long," said Lily lightly.
"You mean your parents don't know you're here?" asked Mrs. Potter with a furrowed brow.
"No," said Lily sighing. "They probably don't care either. They'll just think I'm with some friends or something."
"They don't know you're dating James, do they?"
Lily shifted her gaze to the floor and replied in a small voice, "No. They wouldn't approve of me having a wizard boyfriend. They're hoping that I'll just 'grow out of magic,' 'come to my senses' and 'marry a nice normal boy as soon as possible.' If they don't know I have a wizard boyfriend then they won't try as hard to make me 'come to my senses.'"
"Oh," said Mrs. Potter in surprise. "I see."
"Anyways, thank you for everything. I had a great time," said Lily as she looked up at Mrs. Potter. "Please thank Mr. Potter for me too."
"I will. Happy Christmas," said Mrs. Potter as she pulled Lily into a hug. She was very concerned about Lily and determined to do everything she could to help.
"You too," said Lily as she pulled away and left the house.
Meanwhile, James and his father were still arguing loudly.
"Will you just listen to me?!" shouted James. "I'm telling you we didn't do anything!"
"James! Look at the evidence! You were in bed with her!" yelled Mr. Potter just as loudly.
"And we were both dressed!"
"That doesn't mean anything!"
"If you can't trust me can you at least trust her?! You've met her; does she strike you as someone who would break any rule at all, ever?!"
"I don't know that! And besides, your mother says that she's one crack away from falling to pieces! We're not sure we want her around you because obviously she's a bad influence!"
"She's a bad influence?!" asked James in shock as he looked at his dad as if he were crazy. "You have no idea what's going on in my life! She's the reason you don't get twenty letters a month from McGonagall about me getting into fights, setting up pranks and sneaking out of bed! Mum knows that; Sirius, Remus and Peter all know that. Hell, Lily's little sister, the Hogwarts house elves, and Dumbledore know that the only reason I'm not an arrogant bullying prat is because Lily didn't want me to be! Do you really just not care?! Are you really so busy that you can't take the time to find out why I was made Head Boy even though I was never a prefect?! You just care about the results so you can brag to your friends. I can't believe I ever looked up to you."
And with that last biting remark James flung open the door and stormed away.
"Bravo Christopher," said his wife sarcastically. "You managed to alienate your son and his wonderful girlfriend in one smooth move. Are you ever going to learn to control your temper?"
"But Mary," began Christopher.
"Don't 'Mary' me," said Mrs. Potter fiercely.
"But the evidence was all there. I caught them snogging last night; he had her up against a wall! Then this morning they're in bed together? What would you have thought?" said Mr. Potter in his defense.
"Maybe I would have asked them what was going on before I jumped to conclusions!"
"And how would you know that they were telling the truth?"
"Because I trust them!" cried Marilyn. "They aren't Death Eaters or criminals to be interrogated! It's your son and his girlfriend!"
Christopher sighed. He hated being wrong. "I know Marilyn. You're right and I'm sorry; I shouldn't have overreacted like that."
"No you shouldn't have," she said, slightly mollified.
"I'll go apologize to James and Lily."
"It's a bit late for that," said Mrs. Potter sternly. "Lily already left because you made her feel unwelcome and I suspect that by now James knows Lily already left and he is out on his broomstick letting off some steam."
"I really have been neglecting you and James for a long time now and I'm sorry," said Christopher quietly.
"I know that your work is important," said Marilyn softly. "I have always understood that, but James still can't figure out what he has to do to get your attention. And now it looks as if the tables have turned; you're going to have to work to get his attention and respect."
"I don't how I could let things get this bad," said Mr. Potter morosely. "But he's never said anything to me before."
"That's because he was trying to be brave and strong like his dad," she said quietly as she stroked his arm. "It looks like Lily is not the only one who is one crack away from falling apart."
"I'll make it up to him Marilyn I promise."
"You had better," she said sternly. Then in a warmer tone she added, "Let's go gather the boys and open presents. It is Christmas after all."
From that day on, Mr. Potter did make a greater effort to get to know James, and he found that the little boy who had hugged him when he came home from work had grown into a witty and lively man whom he liked to spend time with. He couldn't help but wonder where the years had gone. When did James start to realize that girls didn't have cooties? When did he first figure out how to get into the kitchens at Hogwarts? When did he stop hexing that Snape kid twice a week? For the life of him, Christopher Potter could not figure it out, but he was determined to learn.
-----
Very quietly Lily let herself in by the kitchen door. Luckily for her, all of the servants were accustomed to her coming in at random hours, so no one was startled when she arrived and none of them even thought of alerting the house's mistress.
"Happy Christmas everyone," said Lily.
"Happy Christmas Lily," they all responded in unison as they paused momentarily in their work.
"I'll be back later with your presents," she promised.
"Your family are all in the breakfast room; they haven't unwrapped any presents yet," one of the cooks informed her as she left the kitchen.
"Thanks!" she said as she smiled and went to her room to change into one of the bland outfits her mother insisted on.
"Good morning everyone," said Lily cheerily as she sat down at the table.
Her father briefly looked up from his paper and said, "Morning honey."
Petunia looked at her snidely from across the table and returned to her breakfast.
Clarice said, "Good Morning Lillian."
Daisy just grinned at her from her seat next to Petunia, not trusting herself to open her mouth for fear that giggles would tumble out.
The usual silence at the breakfast table was, for once, okay with Lily because it allowed her to daydream. She couldn't help but smile to herself as she thought about the feeling of James' warm chest on her back the night before.
"So, Lily," said Petunia spitefully. "Where were you last night? Your freakish owl woke me up last night and when I went to tell you to quiet it; you weren't in your room. What could you have been doing at three o'clock this morning?"
Lily's smile instantly turned into a frown. "None of your business Petunia," she muttered hoping that everyone was too self-absorbed to have been listening.
Unfortunately, Clarice had overheard. "An excellent question Petunia," she commented. "Lillian, why don't you entertain all of us with the explanation?"
"I was visiting with Jess and Mary when I fell asleep," she lied smoothly.
Clarice raised a perfect eyebrow, "I thought I had told you not to associate with them anymore because they are beneath you now."
"You know what they say about teenagers, in one ear and out the other," said Lily sweetly.
"That's funny," said Petunia. "Because yesterday after you left, you got a letter from Jess and it asked if you were still planning on meeting up with them on Boxing day."
Lily glared at Petunia. "She probably sent that before I called her and changed our plans," she said stiffly.
"Why don't you just admit that you were with your freaky wizard boyfriend doing who knows what all night long?" asked Petunia cattily.
"I won't admit that because it isn't true! I don't have a boyfriend; Richard and I broke up months ago."
"That's not what the letter from Jess said," sneered Petunia. "Last I checked, she wouldn't make up things like that out of thin air."
"I can't believe you read my mail!" shrieked Lily. This only served to show that Petunia had trapped her; if Lily had been telling the truth she wouldn't have changed the subject and Petunia knew this.
"I knew it! This just proves it! You were off with your freaky boyfriend!" crowed Petunia.
"Oh shut up!" yelled Lily.
"Lillian, that is no way to talk to your sister," her father reprimanded her. "Apologize at once."
"Sorry," mumbled Lily as she rolled her eyes.
Satisfied, Mr. Evans turned back to his paper, having listened to none of the conversation before he heard Lily tell Petunia to shut up.
"Lillian, who is this boy you're dating?" asked Clarice. "I thought your father and I made it perfectly clear that we don't approve of you dating any of those kind of people."
"Richard was a wizard and you loved him," Lily pointed out snottily.
"Well that was different. He comes from a respectable, normal family."
"So what does that make me?" asked Lily angrily. "Am I a freak or normal?"
"Of course you're normal," laughed Mrs. Evans. "You're just going through a phase right now. Don't worry; it'll pass and then you'll be normal again just like your sisters."
"This seven year phase is not going to just pass! It's nothing something I'm going through; it's a part of me just like art is a part of Daisy and being nosy is part of Petunia. I don't ever plan on giving it up. Do whatever you want to me because you can't change me! It doesn't matter how many dance lessons or 'normal' guys you throw at me; I am NEVER going to be your perfect pet that you can just marry off!" yelled Lily in frustration.
"I am not going to tolerate you speaking to me in such a fashion! I demand an apology and I don't think it's such a good idea for you to return to that abnormal school of yours after the New Year. Obviously it has had a very negative impact on you," announced Clarice.
"And how do you plan on stopping me?" asked Lily smugly. "Are you going to lock me up? Good luck with that."
"I'll take away that wand of yours!" said Clarice with her head held high.
"I don't need a wand to get away from you."
"I won't let Daisy go back to art school," said Mrs. Evans with a sudden stroke of evil step-mother genius.
Lily and Daisy both paled and looked horrified as Clarice looked triumphant.
"Now I believe that is the end of that," she said briskly. "Unless you do as I tell you, Daisy will not be returning to her school. You wouldn't want to take that away from her now would you?"
Lily slumped in her chair.
"Don't slouch," commanded Mrs. Evans. "And I'm still waiting for an apology."
"I'm sorry," said Lily angrily.
"For what?"
Lily was about to loser her temper again, but then saw Daisy's pleading face and decided to just play along for the sake of her sister. "For being insolent."
"Now put it all together."
"I'm sorry for being insolent."
"Perfect," said Mrs. Evans smiling to show her chemically whitened teeth. "Now let's all adjourn to the parlor to open presents."
Gloomily Lily trailed behind her family as they all followed Clarice's orders.
"I'm sorry Lily," said Daisy as she sat down next to Lily on the floor in front of their fake Christmas tree.
"Don't worry about it Daisy," said Lily. "I'll figure it out; I promise. This is only a minor stumble."
Then the two sisters turned to their pile of presents. Lily quickly sorted out which ones were from her friends and which ones were from her family. She opened the gifts from her parents and Petunia first. As usual it was all clothes and make-up. Lily muttered her polite thank-you's and moved onto the presents she knew had some actual thought behind them.
From Daisy she received a set of four framed original pictures. One was of Lily sitting on a railing overlooking the ocean as the sun set. Lily was surprised to see that Daisy had perfectly captured the wistful expression on her face as she gazed out at the sea and the independent gulls flying above it.
The next was of Sirius and Lily as Sirius put an ice cube down Lily's shirt. Lily was again surprised by how well her little sister could capture emotions in her paintings. She could see the pranking glint in Sirius' eye and the grin on his face showed his impulsive nature. The shocked expression on her own face as she felt the cold ice cube hit her skin was also masterfully done.
The third picture caused tears to come to Lily's eyes. It was a picture of all four of the Evans sisters. Daisy had somehow figured out how Violet might have looked had she not died. The four were sitting together at a towel on the beach laughing and having fun. Lily gazed at Violet's face until she couldn't see it anymore because tears blurred her vision. She looked a bit older, but was still the same person Lily remembered; she had the same dimples, the same smile in her eyes, the same vivid red hair thrown up in her usual messy bun.
Petunia also looked happier than Lily had seen her in years. There was no trace of cynicism or jealousy on her features. She just looked relaxed and carefree.
With a sniff and a quick wiping away of her tears, Lily moved onto the last frame. It held a picture of her and James kissing in a field in the middle of a rainstorm.
Lily laughed and asked Daisy, "Where did you come up with this idea?"
"When I thought about the two of you, that popped into my mind," said Daisy shrugging.
"I'm not sure I have a dress that would swirl around in the wind quite like that," joked Lily.
"You might want to think about trying something like this out," advised Daisy. "Look at how that dress clings to you when it's drenched."
Lily laughed softly again. The wet look certainly did flatter her and it definitely didn't diminish James' attractiveness either.
"Thank you Daisy, I love them," said Lily sincerely as she hugged her sister.
"I was glad to do it," said Daisy grinning as she turned back to her presents.
As Lily progressed through the rest of her presents her smile grew and her gloominess faded. As usual she got charms for her charm bracelet from Marlene and Alice, a heart and an arrow. Both of which caused Lily to giggle; it seemed as though her friends had had the same idea about recent events in Lily's life- Cupid had gotten her with one of his unique arrows and a new love was in her life.
From Sirius she got a book entitled, "How to Live a Little." Peter got her an assortment of Honeyduke's chocolate and Remus also gave her a charm, a little silver stag. James gave her a beautiful silver necklace with a delicate cursive 'L' pendant. Lily immediately put it on as she smiled.
After the gift wrap was cleaned up and the presents put away, Lily's smile dimmed. Little did she know that her whole holiday would only go downhill from there.
-----
Shortly after the New Year began, all of the Hogwarts students trudged back to King's Cross Station to return to school.
Lily, however, rejoiced in the fact that she had finally convinced her mother to let her finish up the school year at Hogwarts to avoid questions they didn't want to answer. She considered herself lucky to be at Platform 9 ¾ for another reason, one that she tried to hide with her cloak.
"Lily!" called Sirius as he spotted her on the platform.
"Hello," she said as he walked up to her.
Then he hugged her tightly. She couldn't help but hiss in pain.
"Are you okay?" asked Sirius with concern as she leaned heavily on her trolley.
"Fine," she managed to say as she grimaced.
"What happened?" asked Remus and Peter as they came up behind Sirius.
"Nothing, I'm fine," said Lily as she straightened up. "Could one of you help me with my trunk though?"
"Why don't you just levitate it?" asked Peter curiously as Sirius rushed forward to help.
"Just because," said Lily. "Where's James?"
"Right behind you," answered the guy in question.
Lily tried to smile as she turned around to face him, but she was still in a lot of pain from Sirius' hug and was kind of afraid of James' reaction to what she was about to tell him.
"What's wrong?" asked James as he searched Lily's face for an answer. "What happened? And why is Sirius levitating your trunk?"
"Because I can't use my wand," said Lily.
"Sure she tells him," muttered Peter.
"Why not?" asked James as he knit his brow in confusion.
"Because my wand arm is broken and I never quite got around to becoming ambidextrous," explained Lily as she pushed aside her cloak and showed him the cast which already had a few signatures.
"How did you break your arm?" asked James suspiciously. "And why is it in that thing?"
"It's a long story; let's get on the train first," said Lily tiredly. She was dreading the next conversation.
Silently James and the other Marauders followed Lily to the Heads' compartment, where Sirius stowed Lily's trunk and then left with Remus and Peter to go to their usual compartment at the other end of the train.
"So what happened Lily? Why are you acting so strange?" asked James as he sat on a bench across from where Lily gingerly lowered herself.
"I was in a car accident," she said slowly.
"Was anyone else hurt?"
"The driver of the car I was in has a broken leg and a concussion and the two people in the other car both have similar injuries," Lily said as she looked at her hands.
"Why are you so hesitant to tell me this? You weren't driving; the accident wasn't your fault," said James.
Lily thought for a moment how best to put what she had to say and then explained, "The two drivers were drag racing on a dark and deserted strip of highway near my house when the car I was in slid on some black ice and through a field before finally crashing into a tree. Since my car was ahead, the other car had to try and swerve to avoid an accident, but he ended up crashing into a boulder on the side of the road too."
"Why were you in the car with a drag racer?" asked James, finally catching onto why Lily was so nervous.
"James, I had no choice; Clarice made me," said Lily, her tone begging him to understand.
"You were on a date with a guy, weren't you?" asked James angrily.
Lily just nodded.
"I can't believe you cheated on me!" he shouted in outrage.
"I didn't have a choice James!" she cried.
"You always have a choice!" bellowed James.
"She wouldn't have let Daisy go back to art school if I didn't do what she wanted! I couldn't think of any way to get around it! I didn't want to go out with that guy, I swear!" said Lily, trying to make him understand.
James couldn't even bear to look at Lily at that moment. While at her birthday party he had heard some rumors about her reputation of never settling down with one guy for long, up until that moment he hadn't thought of the rumors as being true.
"I don't know Lily, I just don't know," he said as he shook his head.
Then he left.
Lily leaned back in her seat and tried to keep herself from crying because she knew that it would hurt terribly. Simply breathing hurt her bruised ribs; she didn't even want to imagine what shuddering breaths that came along with crying would feel like.
However, she couldn't help it; soon the tears spilled out and Lily was plunged into a world of physical and emotional pain as the words 'he doesn't trust me' echoed in her head constantly.
-----
"So how bad are the rumors?" Lily asked Alice and Marlene hours later.
It hadn't taken them long to find Lily and get the whole story out of her. After comforting her for a few hours, they set out to find out how many people had heard the shouting match between James and Lily and what they were saying.
"Pretty bad," said Marlene honestly. "Apparently several big mouthed people heard your conversation."
"We tried to set them straight, but they continued to believe outrageous things," said Alice.
"Such as?" asked Lily dully.
"That you had some crazy party at your house for all the guys on the Quidditch teams, except James of course, and that you snogged all of them. Then some guilty guy confessed to James and he confronted you and you defended your actions," said Marlene.
"Ugh," moaned Lily.
"It's alright Lily," said Alice as she gently put an arm around Lily's shoulders. "We know the truth and that's all that matters."
"You didn't happen to come across any of the Marauders, did you?" asked Lily.
"No," Alice lied quickly. "We didn't see them at all."
In fact Alice and Marlene had run into Sirius and Remus during their tour of the train. Sirius had had some choice words for them to repeat to Lily. Marlene punched him in the face in retaliation. If Alice and Remus hadn't been there to tear them apart, it would have become a brawl.
-----
"What happened to you?" asked James as Sirius entered the compartment with a bloody nose.
"McKinnon," muttered Sirius darkly.
"We met her and Alice while we were coming back from setting up the prank in the loo. Padfoot just had to open his big mouth and Marlene punched him for it," Remus elaborated.
"Was Evans with them?" asked James in what he hoped was a casual tone, as he pretended to be absorbed with catching the snitch he had pilfered many years ago.
"Nope, guess she is too scared to come out," said Sirius as he rummaged around in his trunk. "But I think I know what will make her come out," he said darkly as he held up a pair of dungbombs.
"Sirius," said Remus sternly. "Don't. Leave her be."
"Why? Why are you even sticking up for her? She doesn't deserve it," said Sirius angrily.
"We don't know the whole story," said Remus fiercely.
"What more is there to know? We know that she cheated on our best friend; that's good enough for me and I don't know why it isn't good enough for you," remarked Sirius angrily.
"Have you forgotten that quickly all that Lily has done for you? How can you turn on her so fast?" Remus questioned. "Isn't she your friend too?"
"Guys, stop arguing; this is ridiculous. Padfoot, just leave her alone and Moony, don't be so quick to take her side. She is the one in the wrong here, not me," stated James.
"Whatever," muttered Sirius as he returned the dungbombs to his trunk and threw himself on one of the benches.
Remus rolled his eyes at Sirius' theatrics and sat down in one of the unoccupied seats and pulled out a book.
-----
Back in the girls' compartment, Marlene was digging through Lily's trunk to find Lily's deck of exploding snap cards when she found the picture Daisy had painted of Lily and James.
"Oh my Merlin," breathed Marlene. "Did Daisy do this?"
Lily looked at the picture, nodded quickly and then looked away.
"It's beautiful," said Alice as Marlene passed it to her.
"She is such a wonderful artist," Marlene murmured. "I'm so jealous."
"I wish I had just half of her talent," said Alice.
"There are others in there," Lily said monotonously.
As her friends praised the other paintings she felt her mood decrease even more. It felt as if she would never get to live out the moment in Daisy's painting now. For the hundredth time Lily cursed Clarice. She had ruined everything.