James leaped up from his chair the moment he heard the knock and went to open the door.
All night he'd been up, worrying about her. He couldn't talk her out of it, no matter how hard he tried, and Narcissa hadn't managed to get his invitation to the ball reinstated. When he learned Lily was going, that was the one thing that made him actually want to attend as well. While he'd considered party-crashing, he also thought dear cousin Bellatrix would have had the house warded against gate crashers, and her wards wouldn't be the fluffy kind just designed to keep people out. He'd be doing Lily no good if he had himself incinerated.
No, the best he'd been able to do was obtain her promise to come by immediately after. He feared what would happen if Bellatrix knew a Muggleborn had dared come to her gala.
When he opened the door and saw her there, intact and alive, he sighed and reached out to pull her in and kiss her.