2 January 1977, King's Cross Station

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily has always, in some ways, been happy to go back to Hogwarts when term begins again. She misses Hogwarts, misses her friends, misses magic, misses that whole ever-more-significant piece of her life.

And, this particular break, she has also missed James.

(Speaking of ever-more-significant pieces of her life.)

So, as much as she loves her parents, as much as she enjoys being home and spending time with them, it's with a certain amount of relief that Lily steps through the barrier, two steps ahead of her father, and onto Platform 9 3/4.

She might be standing up on her toes, just a bit, trying to get a better look at the crowd of students and parents waiting next to the Hogwarts Express.

Comments

[lilium_evansiae]

"Yeah?" Lily asks, reaching out to take James' hand again. (The one that isn't, of course, occupied with her suitcase.)

"What are you going to worry my dad's going to tell him?

"Anything I should know?"

[alotofgood]

"I dunno," James admits, his thumb making small circle patterns on her hand. "It might just be the thought of the two of them ... conspiring.

"Parents talking about me make me nervous. It's automatic."

[lilium_evansiae]

James is entirely too good at giving Lily goosebumps, doing things like that.

(He is also ridiculously cute when he's nervous.)

"I guess we'll just have to conspire back, then," Lily says. "But maybe not right at this moment."

They have better things to talk about than their dads right now, don't they?

[alotofgood]

"No, not at this moment," James agrees.

But conspiring back? He can definitely get on board with that. He's a Marauder, after all.

He starts to smile.

"This break felt oddly far too long."

[lilium_evansiae]

"Like it was months or something," Lily agrees. "Even with Christmas in the middle of it, and everything that goes along with it.

"Speaking of which ... " Lily pauses to grin at her boyfriend " ... I saw in the Prophet that you didn't manage to escape the Minister for Magic's Christmas party, with the dancing ice sculptures and the special performance by Celestina Warbeck ... "

[alotofgood]

If James had a free hand to facepalm, he would.

He does groan.

"Don't remind me, Lily. It was ... a nightmare. An inescapable nightmare."

[lilium_evansiae]

"It can't have been inescapable; clearly you escaped at some point," Lily says, practically.

"Though I am now picturing that involving your having to be very James Bond about it all -- sneaking down corridors and disabling alarms and jumping out windows to abseil down the walls of the house and all.

"Did Black go with you, or did he talk his way out of that one?"

[alotofgood]

"Oh, no, he was there," James says, "... and then I think he disappeared quite early in. I saw him talking to a girl, so."

He shrugs in a very, 'That's Sirius' sort of way.

"That didn't please his family, of course. After all, he's supposed to set a proper example."

He's sure he doesn't have to explain what 'proper example' means in High Society during the midst of a blood war.

[lilium_evansiae]

"That seems very optimistic of them," Lily says. "Proper's not really the first word that comes to mind for Black, is it?

"Or the third.

"Or the thirtieth.

"Not in that way, anyway."

If Lily had to guess, she's guess that the eldest son of the House of Black goes a bit out of his way to be 'improper', honestly.

[alotofgood]

She'd be right in her guess.

James nods.

"Definitely not in that way," he agrees, stepping up to the train cabin doors and allowing Lily to climb up first. "I reckon they think he'll catch on eventually, have a 'change of heart' as it were."

He rolls his eyes.

"Right. As if that'll ever happen. The bloke is about as stubborn as anyone can be."

[lilium_evansiae]

"Well, maybe it's good to be as stubborn as anyone can be about some things."

Lily steps onto the train and just far enough down the corridor to give James room to follow her.

"We got lucky, didn't we, you and I? With our parents? Habit of embarassing us on train platforms, aside.

"But I mean, I could have a dad who didn't let me go off to Hogwarts, and you could have a dad who didn't accept when my dad offered to buy him a cup of tea."

There are a lot of pureblood out there who wouldn't have, after all.

Halfbloods, too.

[alotofgood]

James nods again, his expression remaining serious.

"My dad doesn't care about the whole blood purity thing," he says, shrugging. "He never really did.

"Your dad is obviously a decent bloke, and that's all there is to it."

He pauses.

"Actually, your dad's more than decent. He's brilliant. Because he did let you go off to Hogwarts."

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily smiles.

"He really is. He and Mum both. They not only accept that their younger daughter is a Witch, they think it's wonderful.

"And your parents seem brilliant, too.

"We got lucky."

[alotofgood]

"We did," he says, grinning.

He brings her hand up to his lips and presses a kiss against her knuckles.

"With more than just our parents, really."

[bound_to]

There is a very not-so-subtle sound of gagging in the background as Sirius makes his way up the corridor of their current train cabin.

"I see the happy couple's been reunited."

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily occasionally wonders exactly how Sirius Black got a reputation for being as charming as he is reputed to be. Because she can't see it, most of the time.

But he's her boyfriend's best mate, so she's going to make an effort.

Dammit.

"Hello, Black," Lily says, cheerfully. "Did you have a good holiday?"

[bound_to]

Sirius turns his grey eyes, the ones a number of girls have called 'smouldering' and even 'rather sexy', towards Lily.

He smiles a little.

"It was brilliant. 'Spent most of it at James', after all."

[alotofgood]

James smiles too.

"That's right," he says, nodding.





"Although you were a little moody for most of it."

Just saying.

[lilium_evansiae]

"Yeah, James mentioned you were there in his letters," Lily says, easily.

Sorry, Black. She's not all that impressed with the grey eyes, no matter what 'a number of girls' have thought of them. She's rather more partial to hazel.

[bound_to]

"'Course he did."

That's what James would do, right? He's his best friend, after all.

"So." A little awkwardly: "How was your holiday, then?"

[lilium_evansiae]

"It was lovely," Lily says. "Pretty quiet, but really lovely.

"Though I can't really say I'm all that sorry it's over.

"Though I also can't really say I'm looking forward to whatever Grindstaff is going to have waiting for us when we get back."

[alotofgood]

"Blimey. Grindstaff."

James shakes his head.

"It'll be all right, Lily."

[bound_to]

"He certainly won't have spent all holiday thinking up new ways to torture us, that's for sure," Sirius says.

"But if he did, I know there are probably some leftover dungbombs under my bed that we could use."

[lilium_evansiae]

Lily looks at him like he's gone mental.

Because ... well, it's Grindstaff. You don't do things like that in his class.

Not if you want to live to graduate.

"Right," she says. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two to that, then, and go check in with Fenton and Iphigenia."

Lily leans over to kiss James for maybe half a second longer than is exactly appropriate with Black standing there.

"See you soon, James," she says, taking her suitcase back.

She nods to his best friend. "Black."