December 28th, 1976

Lily Evans had spent most of her vacation time spending it with her family. She and her mum did a lot of christmas shopping and cooking together; her father and she watched marathons of Dr. Who and Sherlock Holmes; and she rarely saw Petunia, which was good because that meant less screaming matches. On her own, she spent a good deal of time reading romance novels and writing in her journal. She spent most of her time trying to avoid looking at the Daily Prophet; she decided a few days without worrying about the state of the nation would do her some mental good. It was a relatively relaxed vacation, which she sorely needed. The only time it was not peaceful was when she and her father were discussing New Year's Eve plans.

"Dad, it's called Portkey," Lily clarified as she trotted down the stairs behind her father, "and it's completely safe. Wizards use it all the time as their usual mode of transportation."

Mr. Lucas Evans did not look so convinced. He appreciated the magical world that his daughter lived and breathed in, but a flying book that would magically lead her to Scotland sounded a little outlandish. "You don't have your broom to take you?" He taunted.

"I hate flying," Lily said logically.

Mr. Evans turned and raised an eyebrow. "But don't all witches use-"

"No, Dad, not all witches use broomsticks to fly," Lily said curtly. "But seriously, there is a portkey that the McKinnons set up so that I could go. It's on the outskirts of town and it's the easiest option. It's that or I go through the chimney."

"Not the chimney!" called out Mrs. Penelope Evans from the kitchen, working on the family's budgeting. "I cleaned that just yesterday, and I don't want any magical substances in there!"

Lily looked to her father with a pleased grin. "Portkey it seems-"

"No, Lily," her father bellowed. He gave her a final sort-of look; the one that meant don't pester him anymore unless she was looking to be grounded for a week. "You told me that there is War going on right now, correct? I don't like the idea of my youngest, under-age, daughter walking around and traveling through books alone. And that's final. If these McKinnons are so well-known in the Wizarding world than I'm sure they can find another way for you to get to their party."

Lily was about to protest, but even her mother gave her a look as she peered up from her filing. It looked Lily was not getting out of this one. She trotted back up the stairs and muttered under her breath, "fine, fine."

She resorted to her room, or her safe haven; it was truly a lovely space for the sixteen year old witch. It was filled with stacks of novels that she's collected over the years, and magical textbooks lay strewn around the floor. She even had her own fireplace that was now burning dully. The top of her dresser had moving pictures of her friends at Hogwarts. There was one of her and Marlene at the end of their first year, another one of her, Marlene, Emmeline, and Mary at the end of the fourth year, and an old one of her and Severus when they were off to Hogwarts together that she could never seem to throw away. She had a lovely view of the backyard with the garden, the apple tree, and the rose bushes. Her bed was a double with lavender satin sheets and flower embroidery, and that was where she collapsed.

Lily thought long and hard about how she was going to get to the McKinnon party. Portkey was the safest and most accessible option. She rather be damned than fly her arse to Scotland in the cold wind; no one needed a case of vertigo before getting drunk. Her mother said no to the Floo Network. This just seemed downright impossible.

But, of course, nothing was impossible in the eyes of Marlene Kenna McKinnon. And she also had perfect timing.

The flames in her fireplace grew tall and for a second, Lily thought of using a water charm. But, she soon realize that it was not just an increase of ashes or flames, it was just imply Marlene. The outline of her face appeared in the ashes of the fire. You could see her round cheeks and big eyes; you could even see the outline of some of the curls closest to her face. "Oy, Lily!" She called out, embers bursting beside her.

Lily crouched down and smiled at the fire-face of her dear friend. "Happy late Christmas, Marls," she smiled.

"Happy Christmas, Lily," Marlene said cheerfully. "Now, what did your parents say about New Year's? I can only do this fire-charm for so long."

Lily shook her head doubtfully. "I don't know. My dad says no to the Portkey idea-"

"Portkeys are literally the safest way to get anywhere," Marlene deadpanned.

"I know, I know," Lily dismissed, "but he doesn't get it. My mum also doesn't want me to use the Floo Network."

"Bloody hell," Marlene cursed, "muggles never make it easy."

"Watch it, those are my parents," Lily warned.

"I know, Love, but muggles just don't get how easy our magic makes traveling," sighed Marlene. Lily could see Marlene's ember eyes roll backwards.

"My parents are afraid of the War," Lily explained rationally. "They're afraid of what might happen to me."

"Ah," her friend said shortly. "Well, that makes a lot of sense. Muggle-borns can't be too careful these days. You read about what happened in Edinborough? There was a full out battle between some Death Eaters and some members of the Order."

Lily bit her thumbnail and took a deep sigh. "How many?"

"Two were injured, no one died though," Marlene said in a tone that was somewhere in between grateful and tired. She could tell how anxious the War made Lily, so she switched topics. "All right, all right, back to the festivities. What will your parents allow? How can I be of service?"

Lily hesitated before responding. "I'm not sure, Marlene. They'll let me go if I'm with someone. But the way it's looking now… maybe I can't come," she ended dejectedly.

"No!" Marlene shouted, causing Lily to jump a little when she saw a few ashes fly up in rage. "Lily Evans, you are coming to this party. You will not leave me alone. Mary cancelled because she has something called 'the flu,' whatever the fuck that means. And Emmeline's family stole her on a surprise vacation to Seoul, so you ma'am, have no choice but my date and that's final. Am I clear?"

"How are you going to get me there then?" Lily countered hotly.

Marlene paused for a moment. An flaming hand came up to twirl a curl before a surprised and elated look came upon her face. "Ah! I'll get you a chauffeur! Perfect."

Lily raised a brow. "You know a Chauffeur?" She asked skeptically.

"One of my cousins are bound to be available to pick you up on the way," Marlene said coolly. "This'll be perfect. I'll tell whoever it is to pick you up at 9pm, does that work for you?"

Lily couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. She loved Cokeworth, but a chance to party with Marlene was too good to be true. "As long as it's not too much trouble for whichever cousin it is," Lily said. "I don't want to cause a hassle."

"No, don't worry about it, Darling. I'll have to make some calls. I'll see you soon!" Marlene said hurriedly.

"See you!"

Marlene's face popped away, and the dim flames returned. Lily sat back on her bottom and thanked whomever it was up there for blessing her with such an accommodating friend. She wondered which cousin Marlene would send. The McKinnons were vast in number so there could any one of them. She just hoped that Marlene wasn't sick enough to send the most loathed cousin of them all.

"James! James!"

Marlene popped through the Potter's sitting room chimney, walking though green flames. Marlene's mother and James' mother had set up a Floo System between the two houses when the kids were young. The mothers would often have tea together and borrow cooking ingredients this way seamlessly. James often used it as a child when he felt lonely, and Marlene would use it when she wanted to feel lonely.

Without thinking much of the layout of her home away from home, the blond ran through the living room and into the backyard and into the large glass green house. It was similar to the one at Hogwarts and very spacious. There were plants from all over the globe: China, Morocco, Thailand, the Swiss Alps, and the Dead Sea. Serena Potter cared for her plants tenderly, saying that loved are the key to an effective potion. Marlene opened the door and quickly shut it so that no cold air would enter for too long.

When Marlene turned around, she almost rolled over laughing at the sight. Her dear cousin was in pink plaid apron with his foster brother on his shoulders with a matching apron on. Sirius was trying to cut down some leaves off a purplish-brown vine that wrapped around the walls of the Green House. Mrs. Potter watched carefully, supervising the event.

"Marlene, give them a second," Mrs. Potter called out. "They're concentrating very hard right now. I need this leaf."

"Yeah, shut it, Marlene," grumbled James, doing his best to concentrate on not falling or letting his best mate fall.

"Oy, be nice to her," Mrs. Potter glared at her son. She turned to Marlene who approached and smiled, "Hi, Darling." She kissed her younger cousin on the cheek.

"Fucking finally!" Sirius shouted as he clipped the last troublesome leaf, trying to wiggle itself away from the teenage boy. He plopped the foliage into its container and patted James' forehead. "Put me down, Potter. I don't feel comfortable with your head in between my legs."

"Oh, yes, Sirius," grunted James as he tried to bend down slowly. "This is exactly where I want to be too."

Once Sirius was close enough to the ground, he slid off his friend's shoulders. He patted himself clean, as if he had just survived a dangerous climbing exhibition. "What does this do?" Sirius asked as he glared at the still-squirming leaf.

Mrs. Serena Potter owned a small at-home apothecary. All around England, even all around western Europe, she was known. Considering the immense wealth of the Potters, she didn't necessarily have to work but she enjoyed brewing medicinal potions ever since she was a young witch herself. "This," Mrs. Potter said as she took the container, "will help me in creating a very efficient and mild sedative for HitWizards and Aurors who are suffering from night terrors or delusions."

"Oh, so like a sleeping potion?" inquired Sirius. The young boy always found Mrs. Potter to be a rather interesting woman - considerably kinder, warmer, smarter, and gentler than his own.

"Sort of," She laughed as she tucked it away in her storage cabinet. "It just isn't for sleep. It's for daily functioning. I'm still working on it." She looked at the clock and immediately jumped at the sight. "Oh, Merlin's Beard, I'm going to be late again," she moaned. She looked back at the three young teenagers and said, "I have an important meeting with the Head Healer at St. Mugno's. Cheers, everyone!" She kissed each teenager on the forehead before running at the door of her GreenHouse. "See you at New Year's, Marlene Dear. Say hi to your mum for me, and that'll bring my Pumpkin Pie!"

"Will do, Aunt Serena," smiled Marlene.

James, who was still cracking his neck from the weight of Sirius, looked over to his cousin. "How is the planning going?" He asked. "Your parents must be going bonkers."

Marlene rolled her eyes. "You have no idea," she said ghastly, "mum is on a rampage and is taking the rest of us down with her. We have quite the musical guest list too."

"Will The Beatles be coming?" Sirius asked coyishly, knowing that they were the Blond's utmost favorite band.

"I wish," Marlene sighed dreamily. "What I would to Harrison if he were there-"

James smacked his entire hand over Marlene's mouth and said, "No one's interested in your sex life, Marlene."

Sirius looked up for a moment, but thought better of it, and proceeded to snoop around the Green House in hope that Mrs. Potter still kept that muggle Marijuana plant.

Marlene removed James' hand from her face as if it were a disgusting rag. She let his hand drop and said, "I actually wanted to talk to you about the party."

James looked at her cautiously as he cracked his neck one last time. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Who said I wanted something?" She asked hotly.

James scoffed. He had heard this winning tonal combo before one too many times in his short life. First, Marlene would act sweetly, and then defensively when someone would call her out on her true intentions. "Because you sounded actually nice to me," James revealed knowingly as he slipped his Golden Snitch back in his pocket.

"I always speak kindly towards you, James," Marlene said as she put her hand over her heart, offended that her dear cousin would say such a thing.

"No need for dramatics, Marlene," he insisted as he began to head out of the Green House. He looked back for Sirius and called out, "Come on, Pads, she doesn't have it anymore, remember!"

Sirius popped up from behind a metal table with pots of wolfsbane growing on top if. He glared and stated surely, "I know she has another plant. Who would just discard a plant with such high value like that!"

James shrugged, "If she doesn't want you finding it, Sirius, you won't." He had known that for living with his mother for almost seventeen years. Sirius, on the other hand, was just figuring that out. Years of living with a neglectful father, an erratic mother, an indifferent brother, and a vulnerable house elf taught Sirius he could find anything within a household if he looked hard enough for it. After another quick search, Sirius shuffled out of the Green House, kicking stones in frustration.

"Now," James said as he directed his attention back at his cousin, "What do you want from me again?"

"It really won't be any trouble," insisted Marlene, trying to sound as diplomatic as possible. "But, I was wondering if you, and Sirius - I guess - could pick someone up on your way to the party. Her father is pretty stubborn when it comes to her traveling alone, and she's also just barely underage. I was thinking, that since you're relatively close to her, that you'd be able to pick her up and bring her?" Marlene batted her long eyelashes at him as if she were a puppy. She continued to try this technique despite it not working in the past ten years.

James raised an eyebrow because he knew that Marlene Kenna McKinnon always had an agenda. Before he could interrogate her further, Sirius spoke up from behind them. "It'll have to be a solo escort mission," he said coolly as his friend and his housemate looked back at him.

Marlene gawked at him. "Black, are you not coming?"

Sirius put his hands up defensively and gave her a charming smirk. "Of course I'm coming, McKinnon," he said obviously. "I'm just going to be coming in late. I have to go to a dinner with my Uncle."

"I thought your family hated you," Marlene said tactlessly, not that she even noticed.

Sirius nodded in agreement, unaffected by the bluntness of the statement. "Oh, they do," he agreed indifferently, "uncle Alphard is the only one in the family with sense. He wants to talk to me about my future."

James raised an eyebrow and thought of investigating the circumstance further, but he didn't want to do so in front of Marlene. When Sirius discussed his family, he either became extremely indifferent or would go on a two-hour long in-depth rampage. Also, he didn't like doing the latter outside of Marauder company.

The tallest of the three looked to Marlene and adjusted his glasses. This escort mission sounded less and less appealing. "Do I have to?" asked James. He thought of many things he'd rather be doing instead of picking up a guest. He would rather be drinking fire whiskey with Remus and Peter, smoking a cigarette while listening to David Bowie to calm his nerves, or wanking off to thoughts of girls he shouldn't be.

"I'll tell your mum that you were the one to destroy the china set back in '74," Marlene smiled devilishly.

James glared at her. "That's low, Marlene, even for you."

She smiled proudly. "So, that's a yes?"

He rubbed his chin as they walked back into the Main House. He wiped his feet and held the door open for his comrades. "Who's the bird?" asked James. This would be the deciding factor. Maybe it would be a pretty bird like the Gryffindor seventh year, Amara Hunt, or Marlene's maternal (so not his) distant cousin, Olivia Copper. That would be fine. Better yet, a french beauxbatons girl would be exceptionally lovely. He would even be okay with picking up Dorcas Meadowes; that way he could finally ask her how she mentally hijacked Parkinson's mind and turned him cool for once.

Marlene looked down to her feet. "Uh, she goes to school with us," she said evasively. They entered the sitting room and skimmed through the latest edition of Witch Weekly.

"Do I know her?" James asked, sensing the blond's sudden mood shift.

"Most likely," Marlene hesitated.

"In our house?"

"Yes," she added slowly. "Oh! Look, horoscopes! Let's see what they say in store for the New Year. What's your star sign, Black?"

"Scorpio," Sirius informed as he scooted closer to Marlene, peering over to see the magazine.

"Don't indulge her!" James demanded. "She's hiding something. Who's the girl, Marlene?"

Marlene pointed to the magazine and said in a overly chipper voice, "It says for Aries that you should expect some exciting surprises for 1977."

James glared. "Marlene." His voice became impatient.

"Come now, James, don't get harsh."

"Come now, Marlene, don't get shady," he said in a louder voice. Despite Marlene being his favorite cousin and one of his best mates, the girl always had an agenda.

Marlene sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, it's Lily."

Without even looking up from the article, Sirius let out a low whistle.

James, on the other hand, just stared for a long moment. He didn't blink, and it didn't even look like he was breathing. He simply glowered at his cousin. He reached for his wand, but she pointed hers at him first. "Who's the legal one, James," Marlene threatened.

"Why on earth should I bring Lily Evans to your family party?" James hissed. "What're you trying to do to me? Have her blow me up? Have us clawing at each other before we even stepped over your threshold?" Make me have a hard-on into the new year? His brain wanted to add, but his conscious would't.

"Oh come off it," Marlene scoffed, "you and Lily were talking just fine at the Prewetts' party. You two will be just fine."

James shook his head fiercely, letting his black hair rock back and forth. "That's because we were both drunk. You are asking us to be alone and sober."

"Alone for literally fifteen minutes!" insisted Marlene. She nearly threw the magazine at him, but Sirius snatched it away just in time. She looked at him as if he were mad.

"What?" He asked casually. "I'm interested in horoscopes." He returned to his reading as the two cousins resumed their spat.

"Fifteen minutes is a long time, Marlene," James argued. "Evans and I have nearly taken out first year bystanders when arguing. Imagine what we could do alone in a muggle town... for fifteen minutes!"

"Then be on your best behavior!" shouted Marlene. "Be a decent person in front of Lily Evans for once in your life. Show her the James that we see! Who knows? You two may even get a long."

Sirius let out sharp bark of a laugh. "Yeah, show Evans the one we see in the locker room after a long and hard game. Shower James. She'll love that."

Marlene smacked him upside the head, which caused the friend to yelp. She then looked back at James. "Now, listen. I wouldn't ask this of you if I had another reasonable choice. Max is picking up Great-Aunt Blair; McKinley and Merna are coming in from Spain; and I have to help Mum set up the food. Also, Lily only lives in Cokeworth, so it'll be very easy for you to grab her, portkey with her, and then come to the party. Is that so bloody difficult for you?"

James's face softened. "Cokeworth?" For all the years that he's known Lily Evans, and of all the years he's been madly obsessed with the ginger, he did not know that she only lived a village over. He had been so close to her that he could even take muggle transportation to get to her. Something coiled in James' stomach that even his mother's medicine could not settle.

"Yes, Cokeworth," Marlene repeated tiredly. She plopped back on the couch beside Sirius. "Now, will you do it?"

James contemplated this. His cousin wasn't making it easy for him to avoid Lily Evans, which had been his academic resolution for the sixth year. It would be easier to forget about her if he didn't have to come into contact with her, and Marlene knew that was his objective. He rubbed his forehead and said, "You're the most annoying cousin ever."

"But I'm also your favorite," she said proudly.

James looked up to Marlene with almost pleading eyes. "Why are you making me do this?" He asked softly. "This doesn't make the whole moving on business particularly easy."

"Because," Marlene started as she leaned forward and placed a hand on James' knee tenderly. She gave him a genuine smile and said, "she needs to know that you're a respectful human being. She needs to see that for herself too. Also, as I mentioned, this is a pretty reasonable request."

"Why do you think she needs to see that?" James insisted. "She hasn't seen that side to me ever. I don't reckon she'll be looking to, or be able to see it now."

"Because I want this New Year's to be pleasant," Marlene said. "This is the first one Lily's coming to, and I want the New Year's to be absolutely perfect. And it would be easier if my cousin and my best friend could get along decently enough to enjoy a damn good party and the new year, don't ya think?"

James ground his teeth. He didn't expect this to go as well as Marlene had planned, because when it came to Evans, nothing went well. His nonexistent relationship with a girl should never be this complicated. Hating her and adoring her made him so stupid. But, the baddest part of James, the part that wanted taken Lily Evans, all to himself spoke first: "where's the portkey and what's the bloody address?"

December 31st, 1976

James didn't live in a town, ever, or even a village. He lived in a large estate alone with his parents and an absurd amount of land, close to a village. He was not used to having neighborhoods or navigating in towns where every bloody house looked the same. The only time he did adjust was when he stayed with his family at their cottage in the quaint village Godric's Hollow. As he walked through the barely lit streets of Cokeworth, he couldn't help but think of how dismal the town was. But then again, he was still in a state of shock (and adrenaline) that he would be picking up Lily Evans for a party.

At some point in James' life, probably around the age of thirteen, this was most definitely a wonderful fantasy he'd indulge in to make the time pass. He would pick up Lily Evans from her house and take her on marvelous date. He just didn't expect her to live in glum place like this. The weather even seemed chillier here.

James wrapped his dress robes around him a little more tightly as he turned a corner onto BlackSmith Lane. He looked dashing, according to Mrs. Potter, and less of a slob, according to Sirius and Mr. Potter. He sported on black slacks, a crisp white shirt, shined dress shoes, and crimson tie. His hair was even slicked back, as much as the disobedient follicles could be. And if he were honest with himself, he knew that he looked good. Maybe Lily Evans would agree with him.

Probably not, the rational half of his brain commented.

Lily Evans would never admit that, except she already had once. In the astronomy tower, she had told him that he had beautiful eyes and well, it's not like he was ever going to forget that moment in his life. But realistically, she was definitely inebriated that night and barely knew what she was talking about. Still, just thinking of that made his heart spin in his chest.

James came to 21 BlackSmith Lane, which was supposed to be Lily's house. It looked like the rest of the houses he had seen in Cokeworth thus far. A two-story house with dark paneling, a dark roof, and a white picket fence. However, James couldn't help but smirk at the large blinking Christmas sign plastered against the side of the house. A blow-up doll of Saint Nicholas in his carriage with reindeer greeted James on the other side of the fence too. He never took cool Lily Evans as the festive type, but maybe it was her family.

James passed through the fence and arrived at the front door. He knocked on the door a few times and waited with his hands stuffed in his pocket. After a few moments, he heard a rather screechy voice call, "Coming!"

If you had a met James a year ago, he would have vocalized a rather nasty remark.

The door opened by a smiling young woman who James immediately identified as the elder Evans sister. He had known that Lily had a sister; it was common knowledge amongst the Gryffindors that she had a rather nasty sibling. He managed them to at least look similar though. There was something soft, delicate, and sweet about Lily's looks, while the elder sister looked rather striking. She was beautiful too, one could say. She had thin shoulder-length dirty blond hair, sharp cheekbones, and dark cold eyes. They looked completely unrelated, but according to the rumor mill known as Marlene McKinnon, their personalities were also completely unrelated.

The sister stood a little taller at the sight of James. The smile faded, and James could tell that she expecting someone else. She looked at him appraisingly before asking in a short tone, "Who are you?"

"I'm… a friend of Lily's," James said, trying to sound sure of himself. It would be best if the Evans parents didn't hate him upon arrival. Lily must've had at least told one horrible incident involving him. He acknowledged that they probably would not be pleased knowing that their daughter was being picked up by the idiot boy who annoyed the shite out of her.

The sister stiffened as if she had seen a dementor. Her eyes widened into saucers, and she stopped breathing for a long moment.

Did I fucking kill her? James thought. Or did she already know it was him? Merlin, what had Lily Evans said about him?

The sister pointed a finger at him and frowned, "Are y-you a freak like her?"

James really tried his hardest not to smile because Marlene had been right to call the girl "an ostrich-looking Salem skeptic." So, he cleared his throat and leaned forward a bit so that they were at eye-level; the sister nearly yelped at that. He smirked and said, "Love, I'm the freakiest of them all." He wiggled the band of his glasses, causing them to shake. "I charmed these with X-ray vision."

The girl let out a nearly deadly squeak of terror causing James to immediately step back, regretting his actions immediately. She wriggled his ear cavity with his finger once he was done.

"Petunia!" shouted a loud female voice. James saw a middle-aged redheaded woman in a black wrap dress come down the stairs. "Why are you screaming at the guest?! Please come on, excuse my daughter."

"Mum!" Petunia Evans squealed as she looked back at her mother desperately; she tried pointlessly to cover her body with her long limbs. "Lily brought back one of her freak friends! He has X-ray vision."

Mrs. Potter raised a skeptical eyebrow and looked past her eldest daughter. "Are you the wizard that's bringing my daughter to that party?" asked Mrs. Evans.

He was surprised that Mrs. Evans didn't kick him right out the door. So he tried to the charming tactic. "Yes," James said in his most gentlemanly voice. "They're not really X-ray, I promise. I just have a nasty speech habit; it's how I attempt to make friends with magic-skeptics." He hoped his honesty would be well-received.

Petunia cursed while Mrs. Evans chuckled. She gave her daughter a small shove and said, "Good, keep doing it. Maybe she'll realize that she's too prejudice towards wizards and witches. Hi, I'm Penny Evans. Nice to meet you."

"James Potter," he said, taking Mrs. Evan's hand firmly.

Mrs. Evans' face lit up at the name. "Oh, so you're the boy who annoys my Lily so much, huh?" she asked jokingly.

"I'm doing my best to withdrawal, ma'am," James said honestly.

Mrs. Evans laughed. "No, no, keep annoying her. She's too snappy. Maybe you'll finally tame her smart mouth."

James couldn't help but smirk. "I don't think that anyone can tame your daughter, Mrs. Evans."

"Well, as long as you're not one of those magic supermascits she rants about, come sit down." It was obvious that Lily updated her parents about the mess of their world. That was probably why James was in this mess, but he didn't blame the Evans parents to be protective of their vulnerable daughter.

"Mum, is that one of the McKinnon's?" James immediately recognized the voice as Lily Evan's. He immediately gulped. Had Marlene not told Lily that he was picking her up? As he instantly thought of hexing Marlene's room full of spiders and cursing her hairbrush, he just let out a long breath.

"No," Mrs. Evans called out, "it's James Potter."

There was a pause, and James swore he heard something drop upstairs. He heard feet running down the stairs, and he turned around to see Lily Evans in a white satin bath kimono with her hair tied up in a messy bun. Her green eyes were wide with terror and it looked she was about to break the banister the way she was gripping it. Their eyes connected, and James swore he nearly came at the sight of her like that. He had seen her in nightgown before once during a night prank in their fourth year, but this was a whole different situation.

"She sent you?" Lily asked after about two or three minutes of silence. She composed herself and tried to seem as relaxed as possible.

James nodded, trying his hardest not to stare, "She sent me."

Lily let out a scoff of disbelief and wiped her hands over her face. "Oh, I'm gonna murder her," she mumbled loudly as she headed back up the stairs.

"Only after me, Evans," he called back. Fuck, James nearly gasped when he saw the outline of Lily's soft breasts through the thin material of the robe. Get it together, Potter, his mind shouted, while his body shouted something very different.

"Don't break anything, okay?" Lily called back dully, despite being out of sight. "Watch out, Mum. This is one is a kleptomaniac and egomaniac."

James sucked his teeth as Mrs. Evans' let out an amused laugh. "Oh, I knew Lily would make fun friends at that school."

"Yes," James said awkwardly, "that would be one way to put it."

A little snapshot of Jily and you will see more in the next chapter, I promise! Please review, favorite, and follow. Hope you enjoyed and are having a fabulous new year.

- Rose Yu