Jily Oneshots (pt2)

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Lily rose from her chair and embraced her mother. "I understand, Mum." She pulled away and tried for an actual smile this time. "I just feel sorry for you, having to deal with Vernon."

Mary let out a soft laugh, and Lily thought she'd never heard a more beautiful sound. "Oh, Lil, I'm so proud of you, and your dad was too."

Sniffing, Lily took her mum's hands, "I know, Mum, thanks."

"You don't have to say anything tomorrow," said Mary, as she eyed the blank paper on the table. "Your dad wouldn't have minded."

"He would've thought the huge thing was an unnecessary farce, anyway."

Mary squeezed her daughter's hands. "Can't you just imagine him rolling his eyes at all of the preparations?"

Above everything, that was how Lily remembered her dad when she thought of him: rolling his eyes with a smirk on his face, complaining about the frivolous life he was forced to lead living with three females. "He'd hate it, but he deserves it."

Both Evans' lifted their hands to their eyes, wiping stray tears.

"He does, doesn't he?"

The pair embraced again, both murmuring comforting words to each-other. Strangely, Lily felt her heart lift. It was so wonderful to hug the woman who'd brought her up, even if the circumstances were dire.

A tapping noise came from the window. Lily detached herself to her mother and turned towards the familiar sound. She was surprised to see her own owl on the other side of the glass.

"Betsy?" exclaimed Lily as she made her way to the window. After she'd unbolted the window and let the snowy owl hop onto her arm, she turned back to her mother, who was stood with a faint smile on her face. "I swear she was in her cage today, did you let her out?"

Mary pulled her coat tighter around her torso. "I thought she might fancy some fresh air." Before Lily could reply, her mother bade her goodbye and left the room.

Lily was still petting Betsy's head curiously when the front door closed.

"I'll let you back out tomorrow," Lily told her owl as she carried her up the stairs to lock Betsy in her cage. When she returned downstairs she felt the chill of the house more keenly and she rubbed her hands over her arms as she lowered herself into the straight-backed chair she'd been sat in all day.

She didn't even bother picking up the pen.

How could she even begin to try and say goodbye to the man who raised her, who'd accepted her, who'd laughed with her? It seemed like an impossible task, but no matter what her mum had said, Lily had to speak at the funeral. She had to let everyone know just how much he'd meant to her.

She wished her friends were here. She could almost see Hestia wandering around the room, inspecting anything that was non-magical. Mary would be lounging in the chair opposite Lily with her feet up on the table, laughing whenever Hestia pronounced something incorrectly. Remus would be frantically scribbling an essay he hadn't had time to do due to his time in the hospital wing the week before. Sirius would be cursing Merlin as he lost game after game of exploding snap to Peter. And James…

Well, James was a whole other story. Lily could see two James' in her mind's eye. One was sat between Sirius and Peter, flicking his wand occasionally to add to the explosion, making party streamers and fireworks erupt from the cards every time Sirius lost. The other was sat next to Lily, leaning forward occasionally to poke her in the stomach or plant a kiss on her cheek despite her half-hearted protests. She didn't know which James she liked best: the one who made her laugh, or the one who made her smile. What she did know was that she could do with both right now.