LAST CHAPTER

"Sure." She was glad and grateful for the opportunity and seized it immediately. "Right this way."

"Come on, James." Albus offered.

"No, thanks." James said, rudely.

"Come on, James." Albus said again. This time a hint of bossiness in his voice.

Many a times, James didn't realize the delicate or the emotional aspects of the situation…..oddly, it was Albus who was emotionally intelligent.

"Let's see if they have muggle gnomes." He said, as he saw Petunia Dursley came into the room.

"Fine!" James followed them outside.

"I am going to check up on dinner." Dudley quickly disappeared in the kitchen.

It was Petunia Dursley who had asked for some time alone with her nephew and his daughter.

"Melissa…." Lily called out as she saw Melissa go back upstairs.

"Be back in a sec." Melissa said, without looking at her.

"Lily, come here."

"Who…me?"

"Yes." Petunia said, calmly.

Lily sat next to her on the sofa. It was odd. She knew this was her grandmother's sister but……..

"I am sorry for what happened." She took Lily's hand.

"Yeah, I know." Lily smiled. "It doesn't matter, everything is fine, Mrs. Dursley."

"Are you sure?"

"I am sure." Lily's eyes shone as she smiled.

Petunia felt as if her heart stopped. Ever since Harry came back into their lives, it felt as if everywhere she looked she saw her sister. Lily….the girl sitting before her had her sister's face, her eyes, her sparkle….even her name. The guilt came rushing back each time.

"I hope you can find it in your heart…" She said, "To forgive my granddaughter."

"I have."

"And, you…Harry?" She addressed Harry for the first time in the whole conversation.

"I have nothing against her." Harry said pleasantly.

"Please, don't….don't let this get between her and Melissa." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Aunt Petunia?" Harry was startled.

"Don't let it happen….not again." She whispered, "Not again, Harry. Forgive me."

"Aunt Petunia?" He sat on the floor in front of her. Quite helpless.

He didn't know what to do or say.

"I was jealous." She cried, "I was jealous of her…..and I drove her away."

"I won't." He promised.

"Don't let the girls be jealous of each other, not because of this." She sobbed. "I hated myself for a long time when I lost Lily."

This was probably one of the rarest times when she mentioned Lily Evans-Potter, the woman who died almost forty years ago.

"I can't let that happen to my girls."

"I promise, Aunt Petunia." He said, firmly. "Nobody hates Mavis. Nobody is shunning her from our lives…..What she has later on in life only depends on how she treats us."

"She'll be good." She said, "She'll be good….to you, to Lily…to All the magics."

"Then, we'll be good to her." Lily interjected.

"Oh, thank you."

"Dinner's ready!" Martha popped out. "Oh, what happened here?" She said, looking at the tear streaked face of her mother-in-law.

"Everything is fine." Petunia said, quickly wiping her face.

"Okay, then." She nodded. "Dinner is ready. Mavis! Melissa…Dinner."

"James." Ginny called her kids. "Al…come inside."

The three of them came inside just when Melissa came down the stairs. Albus took a deep breath of relief at everything seeming normal.

"Before everyone sits down to dinner," Mavis started, shyly. "I just wanted to say…."

"That I'm sorry!" Lily and James chorused along with her.

"Seriously," Lily said, "If you apologize one more time, Mav….I will hex you."

"But, I…."

"I had the most fun first year anyone could dream of!" Lily waved her apology away. "I am not sorry."

"But, I am,"

"Where's my wand?" Lily demanded.

"Okay, okay…" Mavis raised her hands, as if to admit defeat. "No more apologizing."

"Good."

"Now, let's dig in, everyone!" Martha said, sitting down next to Ginny.

The Potter family sat down to their first ever dinner with the Dursley family ... .It was sure ... .a first dinner. But, Albus was sure it wouldn't be the last.

(This is the end! That's all folks. (For now, at least. Check out my new stories ' And With A Death Began A War' and 'For The Love Of All The Women In My Life'.)