A week into holiday, and already Lily was quite bored without James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter about to be pulling pranks and cracking jokes. She missed Ali, Frank, Marlene, and the others also. It was just so quiet and boring being back in her muggle home, and it was abysmally lonely, too. It had been over a year – very nearly two now – since her dad had been killed and it was still odd feeling being in the house without him there, as though he'd just run down to the market and would be back any time.

It seemed this feeling was mutual among the remaining Evans – coping was not the strongest trait in the family. Mrs. Evans constantly needed to be busy or else she sat staring out the window at nothing as though watching for her husband's return, and so she spent a good deal of time cooking so many dishes that she had to give them away to the neighbors to keep them from stacking up in the kitchen. If she wasn't baking, she was in the yard, gardening, and the backyard looked akin to the Royal Gardens.

Petunia, meanwhile, seemed to be coping by replacing Mr. Evans with her boyfriend – Vernon Dursley. Although it was quite a poor replacement, as there was nobody less like Mr. Evans than Vernon.

Lily was laying on a reclined lawn chair in the back yard of the Evans house, reading a book, surrounded by buzzing bees and the sweet smell of her mother's garden flowers. It was sunny, and she had on her bathing suit and was soaking up some of the sun, hoping to get rid of some of the pasty white skin. She imagined seeing James Potter again in a month at the disapparation classes, pale as milk, while he stood there all bronze and beautiful, fresh from Costa Rica. She had to do anything she could to at least get a faint glow before that day.

Suddenly a shadow passed over her and she rolled, squinting to look up, and found Petunia standing over her, clutching a towel and wearing a pair of heart-shaped sunglasses. "You're in my chair," Petunia grumbled.

Lily said, "You weren't using it."

"Well I want to now."

"Sorry, occupied," Lily answered, turning back to her book.

Petunia's voice became whiney, "I'll tell mum."

"Go ahead," Lily replied. "She'll tell you to share." She kept her eyes on the text.

Petunia clearly knew Lily was right, for she didn't go to fetch Mrs. Evans. Instead, she petulantly kicked her foot against the earth, like a small child not getting their way. "Give me back my chair."

Lily murmured, "You can have it when I'm done with it."

"I need it now," Petunia said. "I need to sit in the sun."

"There'll be sun later," Lily said.

"But I'll be out with Vernon later, and I need to tan a bit before I go." Petunia looked at a clock on a chain about her neck, then looked back at Lily. "You're the one that can use it later. It isn't like you've got anywhere to go."

"Perhaps I do," Lily replied, even though she didn't. She still didn't look up from her book.

"Don't be ridiculous," Petunia hissed, "Of course you haven't got anywhere to go. You haven't left the house since you got back from that stupid school of yours. Scared off all your mates, did you? Even that filthy haired boyfriend you had?"

"You're quite welcomed to leave Severus Snape out of this," Lily replied. "And besides, he doesn't even go to my school any longer."

Petunia looked interested in this. "He doesn't? Why not?"

"He goes to a different school," Lily replied flatly.

"A different school? There's more than one?" Petunia's voice lifted – if Lily didn't know better, she would almost think that Petunia was interested in the subject.

Lily tried to hide her amusement. "Oh, loads," she answered.

"Loads?" Petunia repeated, "Of magic schools?"

"Yes, magic schools," Lily replied. "Loads and loads of magic schools. My kind isn't as stupid and rare as you act like." She glanced up at Petunia for just a moment and saw a frown on her sister's face. "We're all around you, every day, everywhere you go, and you don't even know it," Lily added.

Petunia hovered, hugging her towel. She sniffed and glanced off across the lawn at the fence. "Ridiculous," she muttered.

Lily turned the page on her book and kept on reading.

Then Petunia did something most un-Petunia-ish. "Will you please let me use the chair?" she mumbled.

Lily looked up again. "I'm sorry, what did you just say?"

"I said –" Petunia took a deep breath, as though this was a painful phrase to utter, "—will you please let me use the chair now and you can use it later?"

Lily thought for a moment, then closed her book and sat up. "Since you asked nicely, and I do know that was rather hard for you..." She got to her feet and stepped away from the chair, waving her hands to offer it up.

Petunia merrily threw her towel down across the chair and crawled onto it, flopping down so that the sun could tan her back while she read her magazine. Then, grudgingly, "Thank you."

Matching her grudge, Lily replied, "You're welcome."

Inside, Mrs. Evans was in the kitchen – baking. "Hey honey!" she sing-songed as Lily came in the back door, carrying her book. "I saw you and your sister talking just now..." She smiled hopefully. There was no bigger advocate for the Evans Sisters to get along than their mum. "Maybe you two could make some plans and go out this weekend. I'm sure Vernon wouldn't mind you going along with them to the cinema or something...?"

Lily made a face. "Gross. Mum, I don't want to go along with Tuney and Vernon Dursley anywhere." Lily wrapped a towel around herself and sat down at the table while her mother bent over it, rolling out what looked suspiciously like gingerbread cookie dough. "...er, mum? What's that?"

"Gingerbread," Mrs. Evans replied. She smiled, "Perfecting the recipe! Not long until Christmas."

Lily raised an eyebrow.

"To have the best cookies – you have to work on them diligently. Recipes are incredibly important, Lily." Mrs. Evans took a little bit of the dough and nipped a taste of it. "I put in apple pie spice to this lot." She held out the little piece. "You want to try it?"

"Raw?" Lily made another face, "I'm alright."

Mrs. Evans turned back to the rolling and then opened a drawer to get cutters.

Lily fiddled with the edge of the towel. "Mum, do you actually like Vernon?"

"He's a very nice boy," Mrs. Evans replied, "Smart with money. He takes very good care of your sister." She shrugged, "I agree he isn't the most... engaging boy... rather dull, really, but –"

"Rather?" Lily laughed, "Try extremely, more like."

"—But what matters is that he makes your sister happy," Mrs. Evans finished. She pressed a pumpkin-shaped cutter into the dough and pulled out the little piece, laying it on a sheet pan. Then, "Whatever happened to that boy you were seeing?"

"Severus? He went to another school."

"No," Mrs. Evans answered, "No, not Severus. The other boy. The one that came when your father –" she stopped and swallowed back the anxiousness in her face, then looked back to the dough and cut another pumpkin out resolutely. "He was a nice boy," she murmured.

Lily looked at her knees. "That was James."

"And are you still seeing James anymore or ... nawh?" Mrs. Evans put her second pumpkin cut out on the sheet pan.

Lily picked at the towel. "No. We never were really seeing each other, though, mother, we're just friends, really. I'd like it to be more, but I think I waited too long, honestly. I think James has... moved on." She looked up at Mrs. Evans, who was putting pumpkins three and four on the pan now. "I suppose it's what I get, making him wait so long for me to pay him any mind... I was stupid."

Mrs. Evans said, "I made your father wait."

Lily, who had never really heard her parents talk about when they met, looked quite surprised. "How?"

"Oh he chased me for years," Mrs. Evans laughed. "By the time we finally got together, everyone we knew said 'Its about bloody time'!" She smiled sadly and fixed a broken stem on one of her pumpkin cut-outs. "We put it on our wedding invitations, even, that's how much people said it to us."

Lily smiled, and she thought of Frank and Ali and all the others at Hogwarts. "If it were ever to happen with James and I – it would probably be similar to that. If I hadn't been stupid and let him get away."

Mrs. Evans reached across the table and cupped Lily's chin in her palm, getting flour on her daughter's face, and she stared into the bright green eyes and said, firmly, "If it's true love, if it's meant to be, there's no greater magic in all of the world than that. We both know that – and," Mrs. Evans laughed, "And you know about real magic, my girl."

Lily felt tears sting her eyes. "Thanks mum."

"Of course," Mrs. Evans said and she kissed Lily's forehead and turned back to her gingerbread.

Lily stood up. "I'm going to go upstairs."

"Alright dear," Mrs. Evans smiled. "I'm making shepherd's pie for dinner."

"Great," Lily replied, even though what she really wanted to say was – again? – as Mrs. Evans had cooked Shepherd's Pie twice already since she'd been back from Hogwarts.

Upstairs, Lily grabbed her writing pad and quickly penned an invitation to Marlene to go shopping on the weekend.

I really need a break from being at home and thinking all of the time. Plus I really need some of your advice about something. Something important. I know Ali's busy with Frank and Wedding Stuff, but perhaps we could go to Diagon Alley and see Florean Fortescue's or get some new dress robes for next term? Owl me back. I miss you.

Lily.