Hello, everyone! I'm really excited to be back and moving! Thank you for sticking with me while I sort myself out. Thank you to the anonymous reviewer who pointed out my inconsistency! You can see that despite my insistence on editing last chapter, I did not. Please, though, I love reviews, especially when you guys point out what I did! Don't feel like you have to be on anon, though! I won't hate you for it- in fact, I really appreciate positive feedback, whether it's a "love the story" or whether you point out my seasonal inconsistencies. Thank you so much for staying with me, and please review! I am so inspired by your reviews, and I hope you will drop me a line!

James hadn't been this nervous since the first time he kidnapped Sirius from Bitterwood. But as he watched Lily's pale little hand reach up to knock the bright red door, his throat seemed to close up, and his hand darted out to grasp her wrist, stopping her just before her knuckle hit wood.

"Are you sure about this, Lil? I don't want to make you lie to your dad. Is getting Petunia worth it? We really don't have to, I can just say I was walking you to the door-"

"Potter, I didn't peg you for a wimp. Don't back out now."

"I wasn't-"

She laughed, she moved his hand off her wrist and interlaced it with her own. "I know, Potter. It's only a couple of weeks, then we can stop. Now, let me have the satisfaction of parading you about in front of my lovely sister."

She knocked, and James smiled. "I know you used to be this competitive and smug around me, but I had no idea it was with everyone. Guess I'm not as special as I thought I was. Ah, the fall from grace of the great Lily Evans…"

She elbowed his side, but still laughed. "I guess it's just you two who bring out the worst in me."

"I can't wait to see what the two of us together do, then."

A voice sounded from the behind the cherry door. "Is that my Lily-flower I hear? You needn't knock, just barge on in! Don't be a stranger in your own home, mon chou!"

"I lost my key, Dad."

"You never change, do you?" The door was wrenched open, and James caught a glimpse of a thin, balding man in a wheelchair before a mane of red hair obscured his face. A deep, throaty chuckle came from behind Lily's small form. "Lily, let me go so I can meet your guest!" Lily removed herself from the wheelchair and blushed.

"Oh. Right. Um, Dad, this is James."

"And is James your 'special friend'?" Mr Evans said, wiggling his eyebrows emphatically.

"Um, yeah."

Mr. Evans maneuvered himself around so he could face James directly. "Mr. Potter, I have heard perfectly dreadful things about you over the years. However did you convince my ridiculously stubborn daughter to date you?"

"Um…"

"Dad, don't make him uncomfortable in his first five minutes, he might decide I'm not worth it," Lily laughed, dragging James through the doorway into a small but cozy kitchen. James, still in shock, murmured, "You don't have to worry about that, Lily,"

Mr. Evans gave a great shout of laughter. "James, when I heard Lily was getting a ride home from college from you, the boy who gave a standup Van Halen concert in the middle of an exam, and the boy who skywrote a message himself to ask her out, and the boy who she had done nothing but nonstop complain over holidays for the past three years, I thought she was a lunatic. And I suppose I was right. You left over three days ago for a five hour journey, and you show up the day before Christmas Eve in a beat-up old van with a suspicious-looking character still inside. Who is he, anyways?"

"His name's Sirius. We sort of kidnapped him. But it was for good reason. He'll be going soon, the has a train to catch in Exeter."

Mr. Evans gave another great, booming laugh. "I'm glad you're expanding my daughter's horizons. Although, she's not all good, herself-"

Lily broke in. "Dad! We are not here to talk about my life in crime!"

"Another time, then. Normally, this is the point where the father asks about the boyfriend's intentions, but I trust my Lily-flower completely, and any man she picks is good enough for me. Welcome to the family, Mr. Potter." He reached out to grasp his hand, and James felt himself being enveloped in a warm hug. Unfortunately, this air of familial love ended with the click of heels on a hardwood floor.

"Um, who is this?"

James was released from Mr. Evans' tight grip and straightened his glasses. A bony, blonde woman wearing a pale pink dress came into view, and James repressed the need to wrinkle his nose at the amount of perfume she was wearing. The clicking came to an end as she planted her feet and turned to face Lily.

"You heard me. This was supposed to be a family Christmas, not you galavanting over Cokeworth and the surrounding county making mischief like you used to. We're supposed to be together. Who is he?"

Lily pursed her lips angrily. "I seem to remember a conversation with Dad where he mentioned Dursley coming over. What happened to 'family Christmas'? And since when have you cared about spending time with me?"

"Excuse me, Vernon is my fiance. We don't even know who he is, he could be a murderer, and we'll find ourselves dead in our beds!"

James butted in. "Considering you would be dead, I doubt you'd find yourself anywhere. Unless, of course you were in-"

He was cut off with another great laugh from Mr. Evans. "I knew I liked you, boy. Petunia, please be polite to Lily's guest and boyfriend, as well as her plus one to your wedding."

Petunia's mouth fell open. "B-b-boyfriend?"

James smiled winningly and stuck out his hand. "James Potter, at your disposal. Or to dispose of you, I suppose."

Petunia did not take his hand.

Lily, choking back laughter, tugged at his sleeve. "Come on, James. I'll show you your room."

"Vernon is going to sleep in the guest room, you'll have to put him in the garret!" Petunia yelled up the stairs after them.

Lily huffed angrily and stomped up. "Unfortunately, we have to heed her, because the spare room is going to be the only room in the house that'll actually fit Vermin in it. It's a good thing she's a stick, or they'd have to get a plus-sized bed."

She led him up a ladder, tugging his suitcase behind her. "It's chilly up here, I'll get you a couple of extra blankets later." She sat down on the ledge in front of the window. "You, my good sir, are brilliant. Petunia bought it completely- and you scandalized her to know end. Unfortunately, she'll start to think you're too attractive for me, and then the questions start."

James waved her aside. "Let me handle the questions. More importantly, you just said I was handsome."

Lily's face seemed to match her hair. "I did not! It was just sort of… implied."

James chuckled. "Even more importantly, how did you neglect to mention that your dad is literally the coolest guy to ever grace the face of the earth?"

She laughed. "Yeah, he is quite the character."

As if on cue, Mr. Evan's booming voice echoed up the staircase. "Lily, mon fleur, the shaggy-haired child has exited the van! I can would normally shoo him, but he looks distressingly like I did at his age, so I haven't the heart. We could feed him-"

"We'll be down to take him to the station in a moment!" Lily sighed. "Where is Sirius going to go?"

James shrugged. "He'll probably crash at my place."

"Why don't you ask him to come over on Christmas Eve? He can stay the night and actually have people to spend time with."

James studied her. "I think he'd enjoy that."

"Lily, this boy is a miracle! He found my guitar, and he can play anything! He's saying that he has to go, but we can't let him! Clear out the closet, we're stuffing him in!"

Lily laughed. "We'd better go stop my dad before Sirius is kidnapped for the second time this week."

"Yeah, probably."

The two stood up, and James bowed and gestured to the door. "You first."

"Nah, go ahead. I'm going to call Marlene, and this is actually where you get the best cell reception."

"As you wish."

Lily waited until James was thundering down the stairs before she dialed Marlene.

"Lily, my love, did you finally make it home?"

"I did, Mar. And there's been an interesting new, ah, development."

"Fill me in on all the juicy gossip, sugar."

"James and I are dating."

"WHAT?! How did I MISS this? How long has this been going on?! Why idn't you tell me immediately? WHat-"

"It's not legit, Mar."

"What?"

"He offered to be my fake date to Petunia's wedding so she'll get off my back."

"Well, that was completely decent of him."

"I'm telling you so if Pet steals my phone and calls you to fact check, you know."

"Cool. Alan is coming over, so I'm going to hang up."

"Speaking of the Alan issue, how's that going for you?"

"He's been working on his frickin' robot at all hours of the day and night. Any time I see him he's programming, or building, or eating, or sleeping. There hasn't been any time."

"Been watching him as he slept, eh? As soon as I've gone, you escalate to stalker level. I guess I really am the moderating figure in our life."

"Shut up. He fell asleep when we were reading King Arthur in the library, and I didn't have the heart to wake him up."

"Sure. Or you thought he was cute."

"Toff it, sister, or we're going to start talking about how you literally slept with a man you hated four days ago."

"Goodbye, Marlene."

"Goodbye, sugarplum. Don't do anything I wouldn't."

"That's really not a good guideline. Marlene."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

Lily hung up and sat on the windowsill. She could hear the first strains of Ain't Talkin' Bout Love from her dad's music studio and smiled. He must have successfully deterred James, because she could hear a drumset accompanying Sirius's guitar riffs and her dad's piano. Setting off to look for a sleeping bag for Sirius, she smiled at the comforting feeling of home.