Who: Lily Evans and James Potter When: The evening Lily invited James over to spend the night. Where: The Evans Household Rating: TBD Summary: Since her mother is staying with her sister, Lily is a little unnerved at staying alone with all the news in the papers and invites James over to stay the night. Goodness only knows what will happen.
Lily wasn't anxious about James coming over or staying the night. He was almost a constant fixture in her house; her mother had gotten fondly used to him being there and Lily was glad for the constant distraction. With the house empty and no distraction to be found, it was hard not to think about how her father had sat in one specific chair all her life and read the paper and watched the television there. She couldn't keep herself from biting her lip hard when she remembered how her dad would always pop into the kitchen and sneak a dinner roll or something else from whatever mum was making, and how she would always playfully swat him with the spatula. Even more so, it was painfully difficult to forget how he would stop at both Lily and Petunia's door, step inside briefly, peck them both on the forehead, and bid them each goodnight before going to bed himself.
The memories ate at her heart and stomach. The wounds were still fresh and sometimes it felt difficult to breathe. With her mother there, Lily could concentrate all her effort on the older woman, but in her absence, there was nothing to distract her with. The television didn't work, cleaning didn't work, and practicing her charm work didn't work. Nothing worked. Nothing could make her stop forgetting that her dad was never coming back, no matter how much she wanted and wished for him to.
To make matters worse, she read about the muggleborn attacks and killings in the Daily Prophet daily. Even though she knew she was a capable witch, she still worried that someone would come after her soon. She wasn't exactly quiet in her opposing views and she sincerely doubted that those purist purebloods thought highly of James dating her. There would be a time when she had to fight, of that she was certain because of her affiliation with the Order of the Phoenix, but she didn't want to be alone when it happened. She didn't want a bunch of no good, cowardly Death Eaters showing up at her father's house and damaging a single thing. So that was why she had written James.
Having James there would give her another wand. It would also give her the distraction she needed to temporarily forget about her father. He knew, after a year now, how to properly keep her mind off certain things and how to get her relaxed. He knew how to make her smile when it was difficult nowadays. And it was with him that she remember she was still loved.
Therefore, when the familiar knock sounded on the front door, Lily hopped up off the couch. She was at the door within a dozen strides, checking the peephole, and unlocking and unwarding the house in an instant. "I was wondering when you were planning on getting here," she said to her boyfriend, glancing behind his shoulder and noticing that it was already dusk out.