Chapter Fifty
When they arrived at the other platform Lily found herself being embraced tightly by the majority of her year, even some people she had barely spoken to. She could barely move for being grabbed by people until the last person left after a short conversation. Alone with James she glanced around, searching for her parents.
“Your mum’s over there,” James said, levitating her trunk and striding forwards, one hand holding hers. He tugged her through the crowd until they reached May and he set her trunk down gently.
“James,” May said, greeting him with a weak smile. “How are you?”
“I’m alright thank you Mrs Evans. What about you?”
Her smile faded and she nodded once. “I’m… I could be better.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replied as he glanced swiftly at Lily. “But I should probably go… Sirius will be looking for me.”
“Of course, don’t let us keep you,” May said. “We’ll see you at the wedding then?”
He looked at Lily and frowned. “Wedding? I don’t remember proposing?”
“Petunia’s,” she replied with a chuckle. “Sorry, I must have forgotten to tell you about it. Mum convinced her to let us come so if you want…”
“I can think of better things to do than be insulted by your sister,” he muttered with a grin, “but I would never leave you to that hell by yourself. Anyway I really should go but owl me with the details and I’ll come.”
“Okay,” Lily said as she hugged him, pressing herself against his solid build. “Stay safe,” she whispered.
“Course I will,” he winked. “Bye Lily, goodbye Mrs Evans.”
“Have a lovely summer James; we’ll see you at the wedding.” He strode off into the crowd, his trunk bobbing along behind him, and it swallowed him up. “He really is such a lovely boy,” she said as she began to move towards the exit.
“Hang on Mum,” Lily said as she followed her, “where’s Dad?”
May shut her eyes and turned to face her. “He’s really… he’s not very well.”
“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I’m sorry Lily, I’ve been spending all my time with him and trying to organise your sister’s wedding; I barely had time to call Petunia, let alone write a letter to you-"
“You told Petunia?” she exclaimed.
“I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to tell you sweetheart but you know I couldn’t ring you and-"
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
“I had to ring your sister because of the wedding plans… I didn’t want to worry you in the middle of your exams,” she mumbled.
“What is it?” May kept walking and Lily, racing to catch up with her, tugged her arm. “What is it?” she repeated. “What happened to him? He was fine when I left; you can’t just tell me that and then not tell me what’s happening; I’m not a child anymore Mum I want to know-"
“They don’t know!” she snapped. “They don’t know what’s wrong with him, Lily! I’m sorry I didn’t contact you, I know I should have told you I just… It all felt too real and I couldn’t- I just- Oh god can we please just get out of here?”
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “I shouldn’t have…”
May pinched the bridge of her nose, looking down and scrunching her eyes shut for a moment. “Come on,” she sighed, “let’s get you home.”
“I could have just Apparated,” she said as they entered the main station, barely taking a second to look back at the station she wouldn’t return to until, or rather unless, her children began at Hogwarts. Behind her the chattering crowd vanished, replaced by a single brick pillar which separated the two worlds, and the weeping seventh years became instead a throng of travellers, a few commuters scattered amidst the other casually dressed Muggles. A couple of Muggle-born Hogwarts students wrestled with trunks as they struggled onto other trains travelling to various parts of England but, for the most part, the teenaged rabble dispersed as they headed home, accompanied by their parents.
“Don’t be silly Lily,” her mother replied, speaking so quietly that she had to strain to hear it, “you couldn’t have managed your trunk. Anyway I wanted to pick you up…”
Their drive home was utterly silent, with not even the radio to alleviate its heaviness. Lily spent the majority staring out of the window and ignoring the occasional glances that she could see her mother’s reflection give her. When they arrived home Lily seized one end of her trunk and wordlessly helped May carry it up to her room. “I thought Petunia would be here,” she muttered as she stood on the threshold of her room and glanced around. It all seemed so normal, so unchanged, and yet everything else in her life felt completely off. It was strange, too, to think that this room was her home again; she had been split in half for so long, had had two homes for so long, that she wasn’t sure what to think about it. Every time she had come home for the past seven years it had been a temporary trip; now she could live here for as long as she wanted…
“No, Petunia’s very busy with Vernon planning her wedding. She barely has time to visit your father or to travel over from London these days… I get a hundred calls from her a day and yet we never seem to get anywhere. I can’t keep doing this and I certainly can’t do this over the phone. She seems to expect me to plan her wedding for her! Still, she’s coming up to stay in her old room next week until the wedding; it took me the best part of a month to convince her to have it up here and not down in London.”
“I’m sure it will all turn out wonderfully,” Lily sighed, her mood already darkening at the thought of having to deal with Petunia. Not only would she be in a foul mood because of Lily’s continued existence, but she’d be shriller than ever because of the stress of her wedding. “You know Mum,” she began, “Petunia won’t really want me here-"
“Nonsense, of course she will.”
“You’re so ignorant it’s almost amusing,” Lily muttered.
“Lily you two are sisters; I really think this is the one thing which could get you two back on course. I know you’ve had a few spats over the years-"
“Spats?” she exclaimed. “She basically moved out to avoid me! The last time I was here she told me she never wanted to see me again! Besides, Vernon hates me anyway.”
“Vernon doesn’t hate you.”
Lily rolled her eyes and ignored her weak protest. “Regardless Mum, if you two are going to be going on about flowers and cake and seating plans all day I’m only going to get under your feet. Plus Petunia will probably want her bridesmaids here with her… I’ll go and stay with Cassie or someone when Petunia gets here.”
May sighed and fiddled with one of the old glass bottles on Lily’s dresser. “This is your home Lily… It feels like you spend more time at school or at your friends’ than here. At least stay a day or two; you two will never make up if you both run in the opposite direction any time you so much as hear the other’s name.”
“Fine,” she conceded with a huff of irritation, “I’ll leave one day into Petunia’s visit and come back the day before the wedding.”
“Is that the best you’re going to offer me? Won’t you at least stay to try and control your sister’s insanity?”
“I’ll only make it worse Mum,” Lily replied, “I’ve learnt that now.”
“Well I suppose that sounds like a fair compromise,” she said eventually. “You finish unpacking, I’ll put some dinner on to cook.”
Halfway through her unpacking, when Lily reached her school supplies, she sat down to write to Cassie. The hastily scribbled letter read:
Cass,
Urgent request (please, please, PLEASE don’t forget for two weeks like you did last time!) Petunia is coming home next week before her wedding and I need a place to stay. Can I come and visit you? (Please say yes!) Mum has twisted my arm into staying for her first day (something about making up which I think even she knows isn’t going to happen) and coming back the day before the wedding so your grandparents only have to put up with me for about three days. If you say yes I will love you forever. If not I will just go to Alice or Mary (thank god I have more than one friend!) If they say no then I’ll probably end up with James and Sirius and I think everyone would come out of that situation worse off…
Lots and lots of love,
Lily
When it was finished she folded it up, grabbed her purse, and Apparated to a back alley outside the Wizarding Post Office; not for the first time she wished she’d listened to Cassie and bought an owl instead of a cat in Diagon Alley. It would have saved her a lot of trouble. With that done she Disapparated and reappeared in her bedroom, telling herself to buy an owl next time she was in London. Hopefully she would do well enough on her N.E.W.T.s to make it onto the Healing course and then she would be able to pay for it herself.
Hi everyone, sorry about the massively long wait in between updates for this... I've probably lost loads of readers now but oh well, exams are (unfortunately) more important.
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