Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter JK Rowling does.
Chapter 27 Dinner…
Lily and Mrs. Evans returned from their shopping trip around two o'clock in the afternoon. Mrs. Evans was glad to see that the roast was fully thawed and began to gather the things she would need to make dinner. Lily, who enjoyed cooking with her mother, had volunteered to help. However, dinner would be prepared the muggle way because as Mrs. Evans said and Lily agreed, "Cooking is fun."
Lily and her mother spent a good portion of the afternoon working on dessert once the roast had been placed in the oven. Lily loved helping her mother make fancy desserts.
Around four thirty Lily excused herself to go get ready. She wanted to be finished before James arrived, as he would be apparating into her room. She showered and put on her favorite skirt and sweater. She missed muggle clothes when she was at Hogwarts.
As she put the finishing touches on her hair and make-up it occurred to her that she and James had never seen each other in anything other than wizard robes accept for briefly on the train before they changed. This didn't really count though as she usually wore a pair of baggy jeans and usually a baggy shirt or sweater and James was usually in jeans and a T-shirt. It was just a ruse for the Muggles after all. There was never any need to get dressed up.
When she finished she still had at least twenty minutes until James would arrive. She found that she was both very excited and slightly nervous and decided that sitting around waiting was not an option. Leaving her door open so that she would hopefully hear when James apparated in, Lily went downstairs to see if there was anything else she could help her mother with.
It was four o'clock and James was nervously pacing the living room. He and Sirius were currently playing a game of Wizard Chess and it was Sirius's turn. In fact it had been Sirius's turn for the last twenty minutes. Normally James really wouldn't care but as this was supposed to be distracting him from his upcoming visit to the Evans' house, and instead was giving him ample time to obsess, he was more than a little annoyed.
Oddly enough the thing that was bothering him most was what to wear. He had no idea what Muggles wore to this kind of thing. He'd seen pictures in Remus's Muggle studies books, in fifth year, of Muggle men dressed in something called a tuxedo, but if he remembered correctly those were for very formal affairs. He didn't think that was what this was. He wanted to look nice; he just didn't know how to do it. He didn't often wear Muggle clothing anymore, and none of the Muggle clothing he owned were things he would consider wearing for something that he had to look respectable for.
"How long has he been pacing like that?" Mrs. Potter asked walking into the room that James and Sirius were in with a bag in her hand.
"Off and on for about an hour," Sirius said not looking up from the board.
"Dear, you need to relax," his mother said. "The Evans seem like lovely people and you made a fine first impression at the station yesterday," his mother said reassuringly.
"Yeah, I know," James said. "But what am I supposed to wear?"
"I'd recommend clothes," Sirius said. "Her father seems like a reasonable man, but I think he might be a bit put off if you showed up naked."
James rolled his eyes and Mrs. Potter smiled at Sirius indulgently like he was an especially silly toddler.
"What would you do without me?" his mother asked reaching her hand into the bag she was carrying.
"I went to see my friend Sarah," she began. "Her husband, Mark, is Muggle born and I asked him what you should wear. He's about the same size as you," she explained.
"He gave me these. He says to make sure you don't undo the tie as it takes Muggle males years to learn to tie them. In fact why don't you put the pants, shirt, and shoes on and then I'll put the tie on you. He showed me how to do it," she said taking out the tie and handing James the bag.
James took the bag and went off to change. He spent much more time getting ready than he normally would, largely do to his trying, unsuccessfully, to get his hair to lay flat. Finally he gave it up as a bad job and went back to the living room.
The shirt and pants were a little big for him, but he knew that his mother would be able to fix them up in a jiffy.
Upon entering the living room his mother smiled. She walked over to him and straightened the shirt and then with a quick flick of her wand adjusted the shirt and pants so they fit properly. She then took the tie and carefully adjusted it making sure it was straight and that his collar lay neatly over top, just like Mark had showed her.
"Now, Mark said he wasn't sure if the tie would be necessary, but not to worry if Mr. Evans isn't wearing one. He said that it makes the outfit slightly more formal and that Mr. Evans will be most impressed that you are wearing one, even if he's not," his mother explained.
James nodded and pulled gently at the knot. His mother had put it on rather tightly.
His mother stepped back to admire her handiwork. "Well, I think it looks nice," his mother said.
"Very Muggle," Sirius said. "It's your turn by the way."
"Finally," James said.
James looked at the board and realized with a jolt that Sirius was only five or six moves from winning depending on how fast he felt like beating him. However, despite seeing inevitable defeat, he still had forty-five minutes until it was time to leave and he needed something to do.
At five twenty-seven Lily decided it was time to go upstairs. She walked through her door and jumped as a loud crack split the air.
"James!" she said somewhat startled.
"Hi, Lily. I know I'm a few minutes early but I didn't want to be late," James explained running his hand through his hair, which Lily knew, was a sure sign that he was nervous and trying to hide it.
Lily smiled at him. "It's okay."
Lily looked James over checking to make sure there wasn't anything in his outfit that screamed incompetently dressed wizard.
"Where'd you get the outfit?" she asked.
"One of Mum's friend's husband is Muggle born, he gave it to her for me to wear. Don't know what I would've done if Mum hadn't asked him," James said sheepishly.
"Well, who ever it was, you look excellent, just like a Muggle," Lily grinned.
Once Lily told him that he could pass for a Muggle James relaxed slightly and took a better look at Lily. He had never really seen her in Muggle clothes before. One look and he decided there was something to be said for Muggle clothing
He really wanted to kiss her but he was also mildly concerned about where her parents were and how they would react. Lily, however, resolved his internal conflict for him by bringing herself closer and kissing him.
James's hands instantly went to her waist and he found another benefit to Muggle clothing. Unlike wizard robes Muggle clothes were not connected at the waist and allowed his hands contact with the soft skin of Lily's midriff. He found that he had to exercise rather strong self-control to keep his hands from exploring much farther. Besides the fact that they were in her parent's house, James also wasn't sure how Lily would feel about it. She really did look amazing in her Muggle clothes. They showed her curves much better and fit in a way that was more flattering than Wizard robes.
Lily felt James's hands come in contact with her skin and a chill ran down her spine. He really looked quite good in his navy blue button down shirt and khaki pants. She also was pleased to see that he had worn a tie. Not that it was necessary but she knew her father would be impressed. She reached up to play with James's hair, trying to maintain her focus both on kissing James and at the same time keeping her ears open for the sounds of footsteps in the hallway.
Suddenly James broke their kiss and stepped back from her, just slightly, looking rather annoyed with himself. Lily looked at him curiously for a moment in surprise and was about to ask why he had pulled away when she figured it out for herself. She felt her face flush slightly. What if one of her parents chose now to walk through the door. She was also aware that despite her concern and the potential embarrassment it would probably cause all parties involved she was rather pleased with herself and that despite James's continual verbal compliments about how beautiful she was she had never felt quite as attractive as she did at that moment. This last thought made her flush slightly again.
James kicked himself mentally. It wasn't that he was embarrassed. It wasn't like it hadn't happened before. It was just less conspicuous when one was wearing robes.
He was also slightly concerned about how Lily would interpret it, especially after their conversation shortly before the start of the Holidays. He worried that, despite his reassurances, she was worried that he wanted more than he let on. This wasn't really true, sure he'd thought about it, what guy didn't, but that didn't mean he had any intentions of acting on it. It had taken him a long time to convince Lily he wasn't a bad guy, and that he genuinely liked her, and he wasn't about to screw that up by moving too fast, even if she would have agreed to it.
"Sorry," James apologized.
Lily giggled slightly in spite herself. "Quite alright, I take no offence," Lily said flirtatiously running her hand through his hair.
James smiled and stepped back a little more now looking sheepishly at Lily.
"Sorry," she grinned.
Touching him probably wasn't the best approach right now. She really didn't want to think about what her father would say if he walked in, or her sister for that matter, as she would probably go tell their father. She knew her mother would take it in stride but she didn't feel like having the conversation that would, inevitably, come later when they were alone. Once was quite enough.
After a few of minutes James took a couple of deep breaths, stuck his hands nervously in his pockets, and looked at Lily.
"You ready to go downstairs?" she asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," James replied looking out the door apprehensively.
"Don't worry," Lily said comfortingly. "My father's really a big softy. He just enjoys terrifying, well, Petunia's boyfriends. I've never actually brought one of mine home. Which makes you a bit of a novelty," Lily said smiling.
"Alright, well let's go, before you father decides to start questioning how long we were up here," James said.
Lily laughed and took James's hand leading him out of her room and downstairs.
They found her father in the living room half-watching the latest football updates half-watching for Lily and James coming down the stairs. When he saw them he turned his attention away from the television.
"Hello, James," Mr. Evans greeted standing up and giving James's attire an appraising look.
"Hello, sir," James said pleasantly shaking hands with Mr. Evans, keeping in mind what he had said yesterday about a firm handshake.
"Any trouble finding us?" Mr. Evans asked.
"No, sir."
"Good, good. Lily why don't you go tell your mother that James is here," Mr. Evans said.
James looked at Lily who gave him a reassuring smile.
"Okay, but, Daddy, be nice while I'm gone," Lily said smiling sweetly at her father.
"I make no promises," Mr. Evans said, though he looked as if he were trying to suppress a smile.
"So, James," Mr. Evans began once Lily had disappeared, "You're Head Boy, is that correct?"
"Yes, sir," James said.
"And after graduation, what are your plans?" he asked.
"Well," James began, feeling slightly nervous but fighting not to show it. "I haven't decided entirely but I think I would like to work for the Ministry."
"The Ministry? I didn't know wizards worked for the government," Mr. Evans said.
"Not the Muggle Ministry, the Ministry of Magic," James explained.
"Oh, right, I remember Lily talking about that. I believe she called them a bunch of bunglers," Mr. Evans said.
"Well, the politicians, definitely," James agreed. "But I'm not really interested in the political aspect, not that you can escape it entirely working for the Ministry of course," James explained. "I want to work in the Department of Magical Games and Sports, I'd specifically like to be involved in Quidditch."
"And why do you want to work in this particular department?" Mr. Evans inquired.
"Well, I enjoy sports and there's plenty of opportunity to move up within the Department of course, plus it is one of the few Departments that doesn't consume your whole life."
"I see," said Mr. Evans. "And will it give you financial stability? A job is no good unless you can support a family with it. It's not necessary to be rich, of course, but it is necessary to pay the bills, provide your children with clothes, and put food on the table," Mr. Evans said.
"Of course, sir," James said. Mildly confused as to why Mr. Evans was talking to him about a hypothetical family when he and Lily hadn't even been dating for two months yet. Perhaps it's a tactic to make me him more nervous.
Mr. Evans sat quietly for a moment studying James. James took this opportunity to look around the room; he'd never been in a Muggle house before. He spotted a strange box sitting slightly to his left. The pictures were moving and talking sort of like wizard portraits but instead of showing the same background and the same person the view kept changing. James must have looked confused because Mr. Evans asked.
"Are you all right?"
"What is that?" James asked pointing to the box.
"It's a television," Mr. Evans said also sounding confused.
"How do you get the picture to change like that?" James asked fascinated.
"You've really never seen a television before?" Mr. Evans asked equally fascinated.
"No, I didn't take Muggle Studies," James explained.
Mr. Evans spent the next several minutes trying to explain to James about video cameras, antennas, and electricity. James had heard of electricity before but never really understood how it worked and he still wasn't sure if he did. The television, however, completely baffled him.
"So, it's not magic?" James asked. "'Because it looks like magic."
Mr. Evans laughed at James's complete fascination with the television. "No, it's not magic. At least not in the sense that you are thinking," Mr. Evans chuckled.
"And it doesn't get boring?" James asked. "Watching the same thing over and over?"
"Oh, we don't watch the same thing over and over. There are a couple of different channels and each one shows different shows at different times of the day," Mr. Evans explained. "Here, I'll show you."
James jumped slightly as Mr. Evans turned a dial on the box and with a crackling noise the picture changed. James looked at it curiously. It looked like some sort of sport. There were a bunch of guys kicking around a ball on a field.
"What are they doing?" James asked.
"Football," said Mr. Evans. "Don't tell me you don't know what football is?"
James bit his lip and tried to remember what he had heard about football before.
"I…I've heard of it," he said slowly. "But I have no idea about the rules or anything."
"You really don't play football?" Mr. Evans asked.
"No," James replied.
"What kind sports do you have?" Mr. Evans asked.
"Well, lots," James replied. "But the most popular is definitely Quidditch."
"Quidditch…I think I've heard Lily mention it," Mr. Evans said.
"Probably," James replied. "The four Hogwarts Houses each have a team and the competition can be intense. And it's just as popular outside of Hogwarts. Most countries have their own leagues and every four years we have a big international competition called The Quidditch World Cup," James explained.
"Sounds a lot like football," Mr. Evans said. "Including the big tournament every four years."
"So how does football work?" James asked.
Mr. Evans launched into an explanation trying to keep it as simple as possible.
Lily walked into the kitchen to find her mother putting the finishing touches on the salad for dinner.
"Mum, James is here," Lily said.
"Oh good. Where is he?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"In the living room with Dad. He told me to come in here and tell you that James had arrived," Lily explained.
"Well, I'm glad he did," Mrs. Evans said. "Could you give me a hand and set the table please?"
"Okay," Lily agreed though somewhat reluctantly. She really didn't want to leave James alone with her father for too long.
"So there's only one ball and the whole thing is played on the ground?" Lily and her mother heard James ask as they walked into the living room carrying a tray of tea and biscuits.
"Yes," Mr. Evans replied. "We don't have brooms after all."
"Oh yeah, good point," James said grinning.
"I wish we had that colored card thing in Quidditch," James said. "It would discourage people from trying to cheat more than simply giving the other team penalty shots."
"It doesn't always," Mr. Evans said knowingly.
"I see you boys are getting along," Mrs. Evans said with a smile.
Lily smiled at James who grinned back.
"I was just explaining to James here about football," Mr. Evans said. "He said Wizards don't play football. Later you're going to have to explain to me about Quidditch," Mr. Evans told James.
"Of course, sir," James replied.
"Well, James, I must say you seem like a fine young man," Mr. Evans said.
James grinned, "Thank you, sir."
Mrs. Evans passed out the tea and the four of them settled down in the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Evans sat in two chairs next to the fireplace while Lily joined James on the couch.
The Evans' spent the next forty-five minutes asking James about his family and the Wizarding World in general. Mrs. Evans was quite surprised to learn that most wizard born children were home schooled.
"So all your parents teach you at home?" she asked.
"Pretty much," James replied. "Sometimes families will work together, especially if both parents work. Like my mother tutored me and a couple of her friends' children because she was retired and their parents were still working," James explained.
"So you don't go to school at all until Hogwarts?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"Well, sometimes children from families where one of the parents was Muggle born or if a Wizard marries a muggle they might, but not usually," James said. "Wizards and witches that young don't really have control over their powers and so we tend to attract a bit more attention then we'd like."
"Like that time I turned Alice Turnstans hair fire engine red when she was making fun of my hair," Lily put in.
"Stuff like that happens with wizard born children too?" Mrs. Evans asked.
"Oh, yeah," James said. "Wizard parents always get really excited the first time their children do magic by accident," James explained grinning.
"Really?" Mr. Evans said curiously.
"Yeah, if you haven't shown signs of magic by around six parents really start to worry because it might mean that you're a Squib," James explained.
"Squib?" asked Mr. Evans.
"A non-magical person born to magical parents. They're not very common at least when both parents are a witch and wizard, though in families were one parent is a Muggle they happen more often. In those families some children might have magical abilities and some might not."
"Interesting," replied Mrs. Evans and Mr. Evans nodded in agreement.
"When was the first time you did magic?" Mrs. Evans asked James.
"I was around one," James said. "Mum had just baked some cookies and I really wanted one but it was almost dinner time and she told me I had to wait. Well, apparently I didn't want to wait, she said she turned her back to finish the last batch and when she turned around there I was sitting in my highchair eating a cookie," James laughed. "Dad said she was so excited she gave me two more cookies," James grinned at the memory.
Lily smiled. She was glad that her parents liked James. She knew they would but she still hadn't been able to keep from worrying a little bit.
At 6:45 Petunia returned interrupting their conversation.
"Hi, is dinner almost ready?" Petunia asked her mother.
"Petunia," said Mr. Evans. "Where are your manners? Can't you see we have a guest?" Mr. Evans asked.
"Oh, right," Petunia said eyeing James darkly.
Although James wanted nothing more than to hit Petunia with a good hex he figured that now would not be the best time, so instead he decided to be insufferably polite, so as to annoy Petunia and further please Lily's parents. James had a feeling the more Lily's parents liked him the more Petunia would be annoyed.
James stood up and reached out his hand for Petunia's.
"Hello, I'm James Potter. I go to Hogwarts with Lily. You must be her sister Petunia," James said smiling politely.
Petunia gave James a look that clearly communicated that she felt she was lowering herself by being polite to him. However, under that watchful eye of her parents James suspected that she knew she had no choice.
She took his hand, holding it as though he had some sort of contagious disease and said, "Yes, I'm Petunia. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
It was obvious that it was not, her pleasure, but James chose not to comment. Instead he smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you as well. And congratulations, Lily tells me that you got engaged over the summer, you must be very excited."
"Quite," she replied curtly.
The look in her eyes made James quite glad that looks couldn't kill. At least he didn't think they could. Though as Petunia was a Muggle he supposed it didn't really matter if they could or not at this particular moment.
"Petunia, why don't you come help me finish up in the kitchen," Mrs. Evans said in a tone that made it clear that it wasn't a request.
Lily smiled at her mother appreciatively, knowing that it wasn't so much that she needed help but to get Petunia away from James before Petunia decided to be openly rude.
Lily also took the opportunity to excuse herself for a moment to use the restroom. As she walked past the kitchen she heard her mother's voice.
"I don't care if you and your sister don't get along, James is Lily's boyfriend, and our guest, and you will not speak to him in that tone. Do I make myself clear!" her mother lectured Petunia angrily.
Lily stopped in her tracks. She had never heard her mother speak in a tone like that except the one time Petunia had angered Lily so much that Lily had put a silencing charm on her.
"But mother, how could you invite him?" Petunia whined. "Letting her go to that school is bad enough, how can you let her bring another one of them into our house?!" Petunia said sounding exasperated.
"Petunia, I don't care how old you are, or that you're engaged or that you don't live here anymore, so help me God, if your attitude doesn't change within the next ten seconds, I will call Vernon and tell him that you ground you!" Mrs. Evans said angrily.
Lily heard Petunia sputter and had to work to suppress a laugh. Not wanting to be caught eavesdropping Lily quickly took off towards the bathroom where she was supposed to be.
Although Lily normally would have helped her mother put the food on the table she had the feeling that it was best to leave her alone with Petunia until she was invited into the kitchen. When Lily returned from the bathroom she found James trying to explain to her father about Quidditch.
A few minutes later Petunia appeared in the doorway.
"Mum says that dinner is ready," Petunia said.
"Excellent," Mr. Evans said with a grin. "James, you're in luck. Rose has made her world famous pot roast this evening."
"She makes excellent pot roast," Lily agreed.
"I'm sure it will be fabulous," James replied.
Lily thought that dinner went surprisingly well. Petunia had apparently been forced into submission by their mother's threats earlier and while she wasn't exactly friendly towards James she was at the very least polite.
Around ten o'clock Petunia excused herself stating that he had get up early in the morning to meet with her Maid of Honor to go over plans for the wedding. Once she had gone James decided that he should probably get going as well.
"Mr. and Mrs. Evans, thank you so much for inviting me for dinner. Everything was excellent," James said smiling.
"It was our pleasure, James," Mrs. Evans replied.
"Yes, it was wonderful to get a chance to meet you," Mr. Evans agreed. "You'll have to come over again so you can explain Quidditch in more detail. And if you ever want to go to a football game I'd be happy to take you."
James grinned, "That would be great."
"Well, have a safe trip home. We hope to see you again soon," Mrs. Evans said.
"Thank you, again," James replied.
Lily walked James back up to her room so that he could disapparate. As they left the living room she glanced at her father and concluded that they had at least five minutes before he would come upstairs to get something he needed from his bedroom, a route that would take him right past Lily's bedroom.
"Well, that went well," James said as they entered Lily's room.
"Yes, quite," Lily agreed smiling and wrapping her arms around James's neck.
James grinned and leaned in kissing her gently on the lips, his hands finding the smooth skin of her mid-riff once again.
James broke their kiss after a few seconds and glanced nervously towards her door.
"We have at least five minutes until he comes up to check on us," Lily said bringing James's head towards hers again and capturing him in another kiss.
This one lasted much longer than the first one. It started out innocently enough but soon James's tongue was begging for entry into Lily's mouth and Lily was more than happy to oblige. Lily's tongue sought out James's and Lily moaned softly as James ran his tongue across hers. James pulled Lily closer to him his hands sliding under her shirt, slightly higher than before, though James forced himself to keep them from going as high as they wanted to. He wrapped his arms around her back so that she was pressed as close to him as he could get her and still easily reach her mouth.
Part of Lily's mind knew that they were being slightly reckless, her father could come upstairs at any moment, but she found that this added to the excitement.
Suddenly he pulled back slightly, loosening his grip though still resting his hands on her waist. He rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. She smiled at him and he grinned back. It was amazing how that grin of his could make her melt into a pile of mush. They stayed like that for a minute both trying to slow their breathing back to a more normal rate.
"Why'd you stop?" Lily whispered.
"You said we had five minutes, it's been at least that," James replied.
Lily looked over at her clock. "You were timing?" she asked with a grin.
"Yes," James replied. "They like me, I don't want to go messing that up."
Lily smiled back. "Good point," she said pulling away from James completely. James tried to stop her, but Lily just moved farther away, although she really wanted to move closer.
"As much as I would love to continue, you do need to get home at some point, and if you apparate without calming down a bit you're bound to splinch yourself. And I for one don't fancy having to explain to your parents, or mine for that matter, why parts of you are at your house and parts of you are at mine."
James nodded and sat down on Lily's bed, sighing deeply.
"You really are beautiful you know," James said smiling at her.
"You're not so bad looking yourself," Lily replied smiling.
"Oh, I have a Christmas present for you. I meant to give it to you earlier," Lily said suddenly.
James grinned. "I got one for you too but it hasn't arrived yet. I sent away for it through owl order and they're always a bit slow at Christmas time."
"Well, why don't we wait until it comes and exchange presents when we see each other next," Lily suggested.
"I really did order you one. I didn't forget," James said suddenly looking worried.
"I believe you," Lily replied smiling.
"Oh, speaking of forgetting," James said. "My Mum says to invite you over for dinner sometime during vacation. I'll send you an owl tomorrow so you can ask your parents what a good day is."
"Okay," Lily replied. "Are there any nights that aren't good for your family?"
"Mum said pretty much whenever. The only nights she said aren't good are New Years Eve and Christmas of course."
"What's on New Years Even?" Lily asked.
"The Ministry Christmas Party," James replied. "My parents go every year. My father has quite a few friends who work at the Ministry," James explained.
"What did your father do?" Lily asked. "You've never said."
"Do you know what Sleekeazy's Hair Potion is?" James asked.
"Yeah. Katie waxes poetic about it. I suppose I can't really blame her. Her hair is quite bushy before she uses it in the morning. Only don't tell her I told you that," Lily said grinning. "Why?"
"My father is the one who invented it," James said. "He sold the company shortly before I was born though."
"Really?" Lily asked surprised.
"Yes, really," James said grinning.
"What about your mum?" Lily asked.
"She was a Healer at St. Mungo's. She worked in the Permanent Spell Damage Ward for like thirty years. Don't know how she did it," James replied.
"Permanent Spell Damage Ward?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, for people who are injured by spells and require long term care. Like if their brains are addled or transfigurations gone horribly wrong that take a long time to correct, things like that," James explained.
"Oh," Lily replied.
"Not always a happy place. Some people are there for years. Mum was talking to a friend of hers who still works there and she says they actually might have to expand it. Apparently, Voldemort and his followers are keeping them quite busy," James said his eyes darkening.
"I still don't get why the Ministry didn't put a stop to him sooner?" Lily said unable to hide her exasperation.
"Well, as Dad says, they're well meaning, the Ministry, but some of the politicians are too concerned with keeping the voters happy in the present and don't consider the future enough. That's why it took so long to acknowledge him as a threat. They were afraid people would panic and they were too worried that they might create panic over nothing and anger the public for causing undue worry. Admittedly, Dad also says that, had the Ministry realized earlier just how far Voldemort was willing to go to achieve his goals, they probably would have paid him a bit more attention. Unfortunately, he had the good sense to keep his true intentions hidden until he had enough power to resist the Ministry. Which, of course, makes him even more dangerous. And of course, at first he left the Pure-Bloods alone so…" James scowled.
"Why do mad men always have to be smart?" Lily said.
"I don't know," James replied. "Sure as hell would make things a lot easier if he were stupid."
Their conversation was interrupted when Mr. Evans stuck his head in the doorway.
"It's getting a bit late, Lily," he said and then disappeared down the hall.
Lily glanced at her clock; it was after ten thirty.
"I suppose I should get going," James said. "Mum will start to worry if I don't get home soon."
Lily nodded.
"I'll send Merlin over sometime tomorrow with the dates and times my mother says are good for you to come over for dinner. I'll tell Merlin to wait so you can send your reply back with him."
"Okay, and make sure to include an address so I know where to apparate to," Lily said.
"Will do."
James glanced at the doorway and then leaned over and gave Lily a quick, chaste, kiss before moving to the center of her room and disapparating with a loud crack.
Mr. Evans appeared in the room a few seconds later. "What was that noise?" he asked.
"Just James disapparating Dad," Lily replied. "It's not the quietest way to travel."
"I never realized it was so noisy," he replied. "Well, I must say, Lily, James certainly seems like a fine young man. I have decided to give you permission to continue dating him."
Lily gave her father a skeptical look and they both laughed.
"Dad, I love you, and I'm certainly glad that you approve of James, but I would have kept dating him anyway even if you didn't approve," Lily said grinning.
"You know I only want what's best for you and your sister," her father said smiling.
"You're letting Petunia marry Vernon," Lily pointed out.
"Petunia loves Vernon, and while you may not be that fond of him, you can't deny that he and Petunia are a good match," her father said.
"No, I suppose not," Lily agreed.
She did not like Vernon but her father was right, Vernon and Petunia were perfect for each other. They were both boring, stuffy, loved order and hated anything they considered to be abnormal. It was why she and Petunia had drifted apart. Petunia tried to hide her jealousy with disgust instead and if you pretend something long enough...