*smirks* Enjoy :D

Chapter 4 - Of Sisters, Dates, and Letters

"But I don't understand why Lily can't go pick up my dress from the dry cleaner's!" Petunia complained loudly, visibly trying to stare her mother into another dimension. "Why do I have to do it? Vernon said he'll be here at eleven. It's already half past ten. You know how important this is to me, Mother. You know!"

"Yes, I do, darling, but as you said – it's your dress that you decided to bring to the dry cleaner's. I offered to wash it myself when you refused to do it on your own with your own laundry, but you declined. So, it is your responsibility to pick it up again and pay for the service, and not make your sister do so."

"But that isn't fair! She never has to do anything!"

"That's not true and you know that, Petunia!"

"She's never here when we do the full house cleaning or the renovations or whatever you come up with during a year! Why can't she do more when she's actually around?"

Lily sat at the kitchen table, still a bit drowsy at the early hour – at least for her – and sipped her coffee contently. She was following the conversation – or fight, yes, it was a fight – intently, highly amused at the prospect of everything her sister came up with. Ever since she had come to the conclusion that this wasn't her home anymore, she'd gotten more patient with the whole situation.

And with Petunia, especially.

"I always have to do everything! Let that freak work for her right to stay!"

"Petunia! I will not have you talk about your sister like that! Apologise this instant!"

"Why should I?" her sister yelled hysterically, and tiny red splotches appeared on her gaunt cheeks. "It's the truth!"

"Lily does not have to do more chores to be allowed to live here, just as you don't have to do either! She goes to school and isn't even at home for most of the time, so she can't help, even if she wanted to. You, on the other hand—"

"What? Just because Vernon and I aren't married yet and can't move in together until we have done so is a good enough reason to treat me like a servant?"

Their mother scoffed and turned away from her fuming daughter to finish the dishes. "You know very well that we don't treat you like a servant, Petunia. Everyone who lives in this house does their part in keeping it tidy and everyone inside it happy. That goes for Lily when she's here, that goes for me and your father, and that also goes for you. Now, I don't want to hear any more backtalking from you. Go, grab your purse and pick up your dress because I won't be the one who will pay for the fine they'll charge if it stays there for one more day."

With one last angry yell, the blonde whirled around and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Lily glancing over her nearly empty coffee mug to her mother, who threw a fork back into the soapy water and rested her hand on her waist.

The front door slammed shut a few seconds later.

"I don't understand her sometimes," her mother said tiredly and shook her head. Her eyes were focused on the spot her eldest daughter had been standing in just moments before. "Why is she behaving like this? Both of you were the best of friends when you were little. Petunia loved braiding your hair and put daisies into it during the spring and summer months. I don't understand why she changed so much."

"Maybe it's me who changed."

Her mother turned towards her, a frown on her face. "Now, Lily—"

"I don't mean that in a self-deprecating way. Everything changed on my eleventh birthday. A strange woman came to our house and made the cookies you and Petunia had made fly through the room. She gave me money that looked like it was made out of pure gold and silver, with odd symbols on it, and took me to a location that I returned from carrying a cauldron, books on things we only thought were tales, and a literal wand. And then, I was gone. For months. And what happened to her?"

Lily raised her eyebrows and chugged the last bit of coffee. It was cold. "She stayed behind. Without her sister."

"That doesn't give her the right to act like a fury."

Sighing softly, Lily nodded. "That's true," she said and placed her cup on the table in front of her, pushing it around with her index finger. "But I'm getting used to it. Maybe I'm already used to it. I don't know."

"Lily…"

The redhead looked up and smiled at her mother. It felt false, almost like a grimace, but apart from the already worried look she had on her face, Katherine Evans didn't show any sign that she could see through her daughter's facade. I'm getting too good at this, Lily thought, feeling almost numb.

"It's alright, Mum. It doesn't bother me anymore."

The older woman looked at Lily for a few seconds longer before sighing and shaking her head. "You girls will end up giving me grey hair, honestly. Why can't you just behave around one another?"

This time, Lily's eyebrows shot up as her eyes widened and her hand that had been playing with the empty mug stilled on the table.

"Excuse me?" she asked, shocked at what words had just left her mother's mouth. "I'm being perfectly civil around Petunia. It's her who can't control herself, or have you already forgotten what she just called me? Or should I say what she always calls me? On a daily basis?"

Katherine huffed out a lungful of air and turned back to the sink to pick up the sponge once more. "Oh, don't be so dramatic now, Lily. You know what I mean. You may be quiet when Petunia is complaining, but you don't back out of the argument either, giving your best to better her."

"Well, what else do you want me to do? Accept it when she calls me a freak?"

"No, of course not!"

"But that's what you're saying, Mum! That's exactly what you're telling me to do!"

Katherine stilled at the sink, head bowed and shoulders lifting and lowering in a measured pace. She was trying to stay calm, Lily realised. She had the same breathing mechanism as Lily, or should she say Lily had the same way of calming down as her mother? After all, the woman had raised her, even if she had always been more of a Daddy's girl. Her mother had done all of the girly girl things with her sister while she had helped her dad dig out a big hole in the garden to install a small pool.

"I just want my girls to get along again," she said softly, almost helplessly, and all of a sudden, Lily felt horrible. That was yet another thing that her mother was good at – making her see her every flaw like it had just punched her in the face and stayed around to watch her nurse her broken nose. "That's all I ever wanted."

Lily slowly, awkwardly, stood up and walked over to her Mum. She reached out a hand and wrapped her arm around the older woman's shoulder. "You know that that will probably never happen." Saying it bluntly like that was the only way to make her see, Lily figured and squeezed her mother's shoulder in a silent gesture of support. "No matter what you end up trying, nothing will work. Mum, Petunia, and I live in different worlds. Literally. And they couldn't be more different. Petunia changed, I changed, the world changed, and so did our relationship. Hell, she has a whale for a boyfriend who never talks about anything interesting. That alone says a lot!"

"Lily!" Despite her harsh tone, her mother giggled softly. "Vernon is… Well… He is…"

"He likes drills."

"Oh, don't even start," Katherine groaned, causing Lily to laugh. "We invited him and his parents over for dinner before your holiday started, and I have to say that there has never been anything that I have regretted more. And all I wanted to do was be polite."

She shook her head and looked very disappointed in herself, which cracked Lily up even more. "And your father even warned me of them, but I wouldn't listen. Well, that will never happen again. The next time I'll see those people is when they get married, then for the christening of their children, and then never again."

Lily started coughing almost as soon as she heard the word 'married.' "You want them to get married?"

"Oh Lord, no!"

"But you expect them to?"

Katherine sobered before answering softly, "Not expect them to, necessarily, but I know that it will happen eventually. For some reason, she is happy with him. He gives her the stability that she wants and I guess that his… how should I say it?"

She didn't need to put it into words as Lily knew exactly what she was getting at. "You mean that he is the epitome of being normal and boring."

Her mother smiled at her sadly before nodding. "Exactly that, my dear. But if he makes her happy, no matter how much we don't like him, then he's the one for her. The only thing that I want for each of you is to find that special someone that you want to spend your life with, who makes you feel like the princesses both of you are and treats you with love and respect. Apparently, Vernon is that someone for Petunia. So, I won't say anything against it. As long as Petunia is happy with her choice, I will learn to be as well."

Lily tilted her head, eyebrows raised, and her mother immediately rolled her eyes. "I know that I won't be learning to like him anytime soon, I know, I know." She smiled lovingly at her daughter, reached up, and cupped her cheek gently. "I know, my sweet girl. Say, how are you? We barely have time to talk lately, and you seem quiet. Quieter than usual."

Lily paused and blinked up at her stupidly as her heartbeat picked up speed. There was no way that she was going to tell her mother that there were people out there hunting down people like her just because she had parents like hers. "Everything is fine," she said instead and forced a smile onto her face, one that was even more false than the one before. And this time, her mother's eyebrows drew together just slightly, having seen right through it. "No, really, couldn't be better."

Katherine's eyes narrowed. "Now, why don't I believe you?"

"Because I'm lying." Lily sighed and turned around slowly, allowing her feet to carry her back to the kitchen table. "But I don't really know what to answer you if I'm being honest."

Her mother hummed softly before slowly sitting down across from Lily, elbows resting on the table between them. "I'd hope you were honest with me as that's the way your father and I raised you. What's going on?" she asked after a short moment of tense silence, her eyes scrutinising her daughter intently.

Lily bit her lip and tried to calm her heart before answering in a way that would distract her mother enough to forget her slipped facade, "I might have a date later this week and I don't know what to do."

She had never heard her mother squealing before in her life – definitely not when Petunia had announced she was in a relationship with Vernon Dursley –, but as the woman jumped up off her chair and ran around the table to hug her, Lily was more than overwhelmed by the situation. But she had needed to say something for her mother to let off her! She'd do her best to keep everything that was happening in the wizarding world away from her parents. No matter the costs! And stuff like dates and potential boyfriends usually excited her mother.

"Who is it?" Katherine asked excitedly before pulling her chair up next to her daughter's and sitting down on it, visibly trying to restrain herself. "And how did he ask you? And when? And what will you do? I need all the details, Lily!"

"Um, it's James Potter," her daughter answered hesitantly and forced herself not to grimace at the elated grin that lit up her mother's face. "We've been getting along better last year and have been writing letters over the holidays, and yesterday he asked me whether I'd like to save his day by distracting him from his parents' summer party guests."

"He asked you to accompany him to his parents' summer party?"

"Well, yeah. Kind of."

"Oh, Lily, I'm so happy for you!" Katherine reached for her daughter and hugged her tightly. "And what will you wear?"

"I have absolutely no idea!" Lily exclaimed, feeling real anxiety climb up her spine. That thought had crept into her mind shortly after she'd Apparated away from the mysterious square with the old man that hadn't shown any sign of having seen them. "I mean, what do you wear when you're on a date with someone? And what do you wear when you're invited to a summer party? I have no idea; I've never been to one!"

"But you've been on dates before, sweetie, I know you have. Or have you lied in all of those letters from your fourth and fifth year?"

"Well, no, of course not." Lily blushed lightly but to her mother's delight. "But those weren't… Well… Those were different."

"Those boys were only boys, am I right? You didn't necessarily want it to work out with them. Unlike with James."

Lily stared at her mother, who just laughed softly.

"Sweetheart, I know you. Ever since you spend so much time of the year at Hogwarts, I might not see you as often as I used to, but you're still my daughter and I like to believe that I know at least half of what's going on inside that pretty head of yours. And despite what you might think, you haven't changed that much after accepting the magical part of yourself. You got more serious, yes, but deep inside, you're still my sweet little girl. And I know that look on your face," her mother added with a knowing smile. "You really care about him."

Lily took a deep breath before saying something that part of her had still refused to accept. Until now. "Yeah, I do." Her voice was barely louder than a whisper, but the wave of warmth and elation that filled her after she'd muttered those three words were so overwhelming that she felt herself go dizzy. "I really do."

"When will you introduce him to your dad and me?"

The redhead blinked. Slowly but surely, she regained her sight and the buzzing inside her head died down. "Mum, we're not even dating yet. He just asked me to make his stay at his parents' party less painful."

"Promise me that you'll introduce him to us, though, love. I'd honestly like to get to know the guy who makes my sweet girl feel so special and actually worry about what to wear for once!"

*~*Take Me Home*~*

"I can't believe that you actually agreed to go to the party!" Marlene exclaimed later that day.

The girls were all sitting in her room, Marlene perched on the bed, Dorcas rolling around on the big rug in front of it and Lily standing in between her wardrobe and her desk chair, which she had just gotten off of.

"I'm still in shock," Lily said softly before sitting down next to Dorcas. "But I'm looking forward to it. I mean, it was me who's to blame for this, really."

Dorcas rolled onto her side to look up at Lily with big eyes. "Really? How come?"

"Well," the redhead hesitated shortly before continuing, "I kind of insinuated that I wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him."

"You did what?"

"Oh God, Marlene, be quiet! Do you want Mum to come up and check on us because you're yelling like a banshee?"

"Sorry, not sorry, very serious here. You, Lily Evans, told James Potter that you want to go on a date with him?" Marlene asked disbelievingly and stared at her friend with her mouth hanging wide open. "I don't believe it. It's finally happened. You have either lost your mind, come to your senses, or fallen for James' charm."

"Probably a bit of all of that." Dorcas grinned. "Well, although she didn't directly say it, I'm sure Marlene supports your decision. And so do I, by the way. I'm honestly happy for you two! It's about time that you see reason."

Lily blushed at the sentiment and squeezed Dorcas' forearm softly. "Thanks, Dorcas," she muttered before looking to Marlene. "I still don't know what to wear, though. I asked Mum, but she wasn't of much help."

Marlene scoffed and waved the question away, as if the answer was obvious. "Anything that isn't too scandalous will work," she said. "The Potters aren't that strict with etiquette and thus don't expect their guests to be, either. Some of them are, of course, which causes drama almost every year, but most of the people they invite are good chaps and don't really care. And the drama is what makes those parties worth going to."

"Wait a minute, you've been to one before?" Lily asked incredulously and one glance at Dorcas showed her that she hadn't known either. "And you haven't told us?"

Marlene shrugged. "It's not really a big deal. The Potters always invite my family as my parents are friends with them. So, I always had to go as well. You know – to set an example and show that the McKinnon family held together." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "Completely ridiculous. I mostly hung out with James and later, when Sirius joined, also with him. It was fun enough, I guess. The food's always great, though. Their house-elves really know how to cook!"

Lily blinked, unable to formulate her thoughts, but Dorcas apparently could read her mind and was still capable of the English language. "Will you go this year?"

Marlene scoffed. "Oh, no. I convinced my parents that, for once, I don't need to tag along. Anyway, I have a date with Steward on Friday evening, and I don't want to rush."

"Steward?" Lily scowled. Her brain felt as if it was slowly turning to mush with how often the brunette changed the topic. "What happened to Marc?"

Marlene frowned. "Marc? Oh, Marc!" She laughed brightly, which only confused the other girls more. "Ah, it's over with Marc. But I met Steward on Monday and he asked me out, so I figured why not? He's cute enough."

"Didn't you go on a date with Marc on Monday?" Dorcas asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

Marlene nodded innocently. "I did. I had fun; it was a nice evening."

Lily stared at her friend, who had gone over to play with a loose thread from her duvet cover before shaking her head aggressively. "On a different note," she said, quickly changing the subject before her brain exploded, "did anyone of you receive your Hogwarts letter yet?"

Dorcas perked up and rolled onto her stomach. "So, you haven't gotten yours either, then? Thank Merlin, I was starting to worry."

"Yeah, same." Marlene pulled on the thread, and it snapped. "There's probably a reason why they're being sent out later than usual."

"I thought they had a spell of some sort installed to do it automatically."

Marlene raised her eyebrows. "A spell? Really?"

"Well, why not?" Dorcas shrugged. "It seems reasonable, doesn't it?"

"I haven't heard of a spell that deals with that sort of mail distribution, but it would be interesting to look into," Lily offered, already picturing herself at Hogwarts' library. "I mean, I'm sure there is one."

"Well, they still do it by hand, if you must know. Mum said it's got to do with the protection of privacy and such." Marlene shrugged. "So, something must've come up for them to be so late."

"Do you think it's got something to do with the Order?" Lily asked quietly as if there were dark wizards hidden in her closet, listening to what they were talking about.

"The Order?" Dorcas slowly sat up and looked at Lily. "In what way?"

"Well, I don't know, I'm not part of it. Obviously. I only know roughly what they do from what James told me, but it could be that they ran into something that's connected to the disappearances, right?"

"So, you think McGonagall is part of the Order?"

"Ha, of course, she's part of the Order!" Marlene exclaimed, sending Dorcas a look that clearly showed how stupid she thought that question to be. "Almost everyone from Hogwarts' staff is in the Order."

"That could be an explanation then, couldn't it? With McGonagall usually sending out the owls, and now something came up which is of a higher priority than telling students what books to buy for the next year?"

Dorcas nodded excitedly and Marlene shrugged. "I don't care either way," the latter said before stretching and getting up off the bed. "As long as we'll get the letters at least a week before the new term starts. Because I won't be rushing through Diagon Alley when everyone is shopping for school supplies. I want options."

"I wonder who the Head students will be this year," Dorcas said as they were walking down the stairs and towards the front door. It was rather late already, Lily's father was due home any moment, and everyone knew that that meant instant dinner. Even without Petunia, as she still hadn't returned from her date with the whale. Ew.

"I'm guessing Lily and Remus." Marlene winked at the redhead, causing her to blush.

"I wouldn't mind being Heads with Remus," Lily admitted as she followed her friends out the door for a last goodbye. "If I have to be Head Girl, I can at least enjoy it, right? But it's not sure that I'll get it, so I won't get my hopes up."

"Oh, you'd enjoy it more if James got the second badge, though, and you know it." The smirk on Marlene's face was so wicked that a nervous laugh escaped Lily.

"Do you really think James is a candidate, though?" Dorcas asked, head tilted slightly as she thought it through. "He got into so much trouble during the last couple of years."

"Oh, there's no way James will be Head Boy." Marlene scoffed. "But," she raised her index finger, "Dumbledore is known to do the unexpected. So, there's honestly no way to know for sure. For all we can guess, old Dumbles thinks it's a brilliant prank on McGonagall and will make James Head Boy just to annoy her."

"I can actually see him doing that." Lily snickered and hugged the two girls. "To be honest, it would be kind of funny to see her reaction. And what James would make out of it."

"If he were to get the badge, that is," Dorcas interjected. "It would be hilarious, but I still think it's rather unlikely."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Anyway, get home safe, okay? See you guys next week."

"Oh, and don't you dare to forget," Marlene indicated quotation marks with her fingers as both she and Dorcas went down the pathway leading to the Evans residence, "to tell us all about the summer party! We want all the juicy details, even what happened when he kissed you and how he—"

"Ah, ah, ah, don't even think about finishing that sentence, Marlene! That puts images inside my head that I do not need." Dorcas clasped both hands over her ears, causing Marlene to roll her eyes and Lily to laugh.

"I already planted the seed, dear. You won't be able to stop trying to imagine James ki—"

"Stop!"

"Okay, see you!" Lily called over their bickering and quickly closed the front door before Marlene had any chance to pull her into her argumentation. With a last look through the stained glass of the door, she saw Dorcas hit Marlene playfully, only for the latter to laugh out loud and spin on the spot.

A second later, both of her friends were gone.

I can't even tell you how much I love Marlene xD

Until next time - see ya! :D