Lily pushed through the crowd until she found her father, who opened his arms for a hug that she was too distracted to give him. She put her bags at his feet and said something offhand about grabbing a trolley, then skittered away, shoving through people and peering over heads for a glimpse of black, messy hair. When she finally thought she saw him she moved swiftly forwards and broke through the line of people.
James was a mere ten feet from her, his arms wrapped tightly around a pretty blonde girl who was squealing against his shoulder. He picked her up and shook her slightly, then set her back down on her feet. He left his hands on her shoulders and started saying something about how he hadn't expected her to be there. Lily didn't stay to hear the rest. She turned on her heel and left as quickly as she had arrived.
How dare he kiss her and then twirl a girl around not four hours later! She had known that he could be a right prick but she never expected him to grab her face and, well, kiss her like that. Only to grab a completely different girl and look at her in a way that- Lily shook her head and shouldered through the crowd.
When she saw her father again he looked at her curiously but only asked, "So, how was your year?"
Fine," Lily answered, grabbing her rucksack and swinging it onto her shoulder. She scooped up Harvey's cage and her father latched onto the handle of her trunk. "Great."
"That's good, sweetheart." He smiled and leaned over to run a hand over her hair. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened at Easter-"
"Don't worry about it, Dad." Lily smiled back, forcing the happiness into her eyes and pushing away the growing doubt and anger. "It's okay;'Tuney was just angry, she'll come around."
"Of course she will, flower," he answered, using the childhood nickname she had begged him to never utter again, "but there's something you should know." He paused in front of the wall that would lead them back out into the Muggle world and Lily moved through first, bursting out smoothly into the hustle and oblivious bustle of ordinary folk.
"What's that, Dad?" Lily turned to watch him emerge from the wall, too and he shook his head.
"I'll tell you once you're settled." He patted her arm. "Come on, love, I'm parked right outside."
The drive back Lily's childhood home was a long one, the majority of which she spent sleeping against the window so she didn't have to think about James and the smile he had given that girl. She knew that if she said anything to her friends they would remind her that earlier that day she had rejected that same boy when he kissed her; that she didn't have any right to be jealous. Yet, she was and she was also angry and confused. Was she some girl that he had had a relationship with in the past? Was he finally going to move on from Lily, right at the time that she was thinking she had been wrong in always saying no? Their car stuttered to a stop and she jerked upright, reaching up automatically to smooth down her hair.
Her father gently patted her knee. "Come on; let's get you inside and unpacked."
It took only one trip to move the entirety of her things into the they were all in her bedroom, she closed the door behind her and leaned heavily against it. Her trunk lay open on her bed and the contents of her rucksack were sprawled across the floor. An ink pot, a quill, her textbooks, a few sheets of crumpled parchment, and a pack of Muggle gum she had picked up in King's Cross before she left lay on her floor, which she pushed to the side with her foot, before gingerly removing the top layer of wrinkled clothing from her trunk.
Underneath lay the thin layer of moving magical posters she had brought with her from school. She pulled out the first, which showcased her favourite witch-only band, Witchy Charms, and peeled it from the front of the one beneath it. There were still some traces of the sticking spell on the back of it and she pressed it into its customary spot on her wall. Following that there were pictures of her and her friends – she secured them onto the cork board above her bed – and a few thick novels that were shoved onto her shelves. All of the clothing in her suitcase was thrown into the laundry room and soon her trunk was empty and all remnants of her magical year at school were hidden away amongst her Muggle home.
She spread out on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Staring was not a good activity for Lily, because then the creative, intelligent grey mass of her brain started spouting crazy theories and confusing her in the worst possible way. So, after lying on her bed for all of five minutes, she got up, changed and went for a run.
That was essentially how everyday of her first two weeks of summer vacation played out. She would wake early, eat breakfast and run all the way down to the lake. Roseville was situated against Sampton Lake, and during the summer the water was surprisingly warm and still. Lily would wear her bathing suit down underneath her clothes and spend the entire day there, then run back home for dinner and sleep heavily into the night. It kept her busy and when she had time to think, she was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. It was a good system, she thought, and it kept her from pondering James and the mysterious blonde.
Lily tightened her ponytail with a huff of breath and turned to leave, grabbing her towel from the end of her bed. That was when she heard the harsh knocking on the front door and her father's rushed steps down the stairs. She scurried to her bedroom door and pulled it open, standing in the empty space and listening.
"Petunia! Vernon!" Her father said brightly, "Come on in. How are you both?"
"Fine, thanks Dad." Petunia's stiff voice floated up the stairs and Lily stiffened. Since when was her sister visiting? The last time they had seen each other hadn't ended well and she assumed Vernon Dursley hadn't changed his mind about Lily or "what she was."
"Lily, dear," her father called up the stairs, "Come on down and see your sister!"
Lily took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway, trotting down the staircase and pausing on the landing. She watched as her sister and Vernon got to the top of the entry hall's steps and Petunia turned with a blank expression towards her.
"Cheers, Tuney," Lily chirped, "Hello, Vernon." She nodded politely towards the large, pig of a man. His only response was to grunt and look away.
"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Petunia wrinkled her nose. "It's childish."
"Sorry," Lily said slowly, "Anyways, I'll be off." She lifted her towel off her shoulder. "I'm going down to the lake."
"No, no, not today." Her father appeared at the top of the steps with two bags in his hands. "Your mum's birthday is on Tuesday, Lily."
"I know, Dad," Lily said breathlessly. "Why does that affect whether or not I can go to the lake?"
"We've got to be a family." He cleared his throat. "Everyone into the kitchen, I'll make breakfast."
"I already ate," Lily said softly. "Dad, we had eggs a half an hour ago."
"We've already eaten too," Vernon chipped in gruffly, "Stopped for some food on the way."
"We told you that, Dad," Petunia murmured, looking down to the ground.
"Right, right," he said quickly, and then lifted the bags slightly. "I'll just take these up then?" He hopped up onto the landing and disappeared up the steps.
"Have you even been paying attention, Lily?" Petunia snapped when he was out of earshot. "Dad's not doing well."
"What do you mean?" Lily snapped, turning back to look at her sister. "What are you talking about?"
"He's becoming very forgetful," Petunia said through tight lips. "God, you haven't even noticed, have you? Didn't he tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Lily hissed. "What the bloody hell are you on about?"
"He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's just after Easter," Petunia huffed indignantly. "You're supposed to be taking care of him."
"I didn't know!" Lily insisted, "He never told me! He-he mentioned telling me something when I got off the train, but I forgot to remind him about it..." She trailed off. "Alzheimer's? Really?"
"Yes, God, Lily, don't you pay attention to anyone but yourself?" Petunia shook her head quickly. "You come back from that disgusting school and only think about going back again when the fall comes! Then you wonder why I don't speak to you!"
Lily opened her mouth to argue but then her father was there behind her, arm looping around her shoulders. "So, what are we doing today?"
"I'm going to the lake," Lily snapped, pushing past Vernon and Petunia. She hurried down the stairs and out the front door, slamming it harshly behind her.
When she arrived back at the house it was only Petunia and Vernon sitting in the front room. Her sister stood as she entered but Lily ignored her, running up the stairs and pushing into the bathroom.
"Lily!" Petunia thundered up the stairs after her as Lily slammed the door hard enough to shake the mirror hanging above the bathroom sink. "Lily, you upset Dad!"
"I upset Dad?" Lily screamed through the wood, slipping the lock into place with shaking hands. "What about Easter? What about the extreme lack of you at Easter?"
"That's different!" Petunia yelled. "I couldn't exactly bring Vernon here after what he had learned about you!"
"I'm not a bloody murderer, Petunia!" Lily retorted, yanking her hair from its tie and letting it fall down onto her shoulders. "I'm a witch, not a rapist!"
"It's weird, Lily," Petunia hissed, her voice dropping to almost a whisper, which she could just about hear through the door. "Besides, that's not what we're talking about. You disappeared all day! Dad just wanted us to be together as a family."
Lily yanked the door open. "We stopped being a family the day you left! We stopped being a family the moment you started dating that judgmental, rude, pig-headed man downstairs!"
"Mom would be disappointed in you, Lily," Petunia said softly, "She really would be."
"No," Lily snarled, "She'd be disappointed that you became a racist bigot in her absence." Petunia's eyebrows rose, "Please leave now." With that as a goodbye, Lily slammed the door and listened as Petunia's footsteps disappeared down the stairs.