Chapter Forty Four
“Does this look alright?” Lily asked as she held her dress out to her parents and James. “Are you sure?” she checked again after she had received a number of approving answers.
“Yes Lily!” her father chuckled as he all but pushed her out of the door.
“Now darling you won’t forget where you’re meeting them will you? It’s a restaurant called Smith’s on New Street; Petunia assured me that it’s very easy to find and promised to meet you there,” her mother babbled as Lily and James struggled to absorb all of the information she was piling onto them. After a momentary pause she said, “Look sweetheart are you sure you don’t want me to take you? I’m really not sure that I trust this… evaporating thing? Are you sure you’ll be able to get there? You know what your sister’s like; she’ll be livid if you’re late for this and I’d hate for you to be lost in Cokeworth.” James barely stifled a chuckle when she repeated herself saying, “What if you evaporate to the wrong place?”
“It’s Apparating Mum,” Lily sighed, “and we’ll be fine as long as we know where it is. James Apparated here, I’m sure we can manage Cokeworth.”
“Oh well I was close, I knew it was something like that!” she giggled. “Okay well if you’re sure that you’ll be fine then I guess you two had better go or you really will be late.” Lily and James stood on the doorstep and the last thing she saw before the door shut on her parents, levying her out in the cold to face her sister, was them smiling at her.
“Right well I guess we’d better find a quieter road to Disapparate from then,” James said as he took her hand and tugged her gently off the top step. “There’s one not too far away which I Apparated to this morning.”
Their breath rose in white puffs as they wandered through the darkness, feet trudging through the thin layer of snow which had fallen earlier that afternoon; a few lone flakes were still clinging on to life and drifting through the air but most of the snow was on the ground, barely covering the oath beneath their feet. It only took a couple of minutes for them to find a darkened road to turn down and leave from; they stood together and Lily took one of James’ hands. “You’re not really going to take me by Side-Along Apparation are you? I’m perfectly capable of Apparating by myself Lil; I did do it this morning.”
“Well I wasn’t planning on it. I know you can James but actually now you mention it I guessit might be easier because I know Cokeworth better than you. If you don’t want to it’s fine but…”
“Nah it’ll be fine, we’ll just both Apparate together,” he shrugged nonchalantly. “So, Smith’s on New Street right?”
“Yeah.”
“”New Street sounds like it will be busy so it’s probably not the best place to go to to.”
“I know,” she sighed, “but I don’t know whether there are any smaller side streets to aim for. I mean there’s one but it’s possible that it’ll have people on.”
“I suppose we’ll have to risk it,” he sighed. “Should I go first in case we actually do end up breaking the International Statue of Secrecy?”
“No don’t be stupid, I’m not going to let you go off and possibly get in trouble by yourself.”
James cheered and grabbed her shoulders, his voice echoing through the empty street. “Yes! I have finally done it! I have cracked Lily Evans!”
“What do you mean you strange child?” she exclaimed.
“My awful influence has rubbed off on you! You’re actually prepared to get in trouble!”
YOU ARE READING
The Next Great Adventure (A Marauders Fan Fic)
Fanfiction(Companion piece to Dwelling on Dreams) James Potter has been Lily's enemy since the first day that they both started at Hogwarts. She has never been interested in his being his friend but, when they and their friends return for their fifth year at...
