Till Forever Falls Apart

Chapter Eighteen: 4 Privet Drive

July 3, 1992

"Oh, bless it! How do I do this again?" Sirius swore.

    It was the day after Remus' suggestion that they come with the Potters to the Dursley home in Little Whinging, and Lily had laid down the ground rules: no magic of any kind, and they were to act as if they were a proper, respectable group of fine upbringing.

    This meant that they were not going to apparate to Lily's house, and had to use the car James had bought a few months ago while the children were at school. Lily, who Val noticed was smoothing out the flowery fabric of the new white summer dress she had bought for the occasion, was beside herself with nervousness as she fidgeted with the paper of the present tied with a large red bow. She was too nervous to drive, and James had grown up in a world where magical transportation was used greatly over other methods. This left the role of being the driver up to Remus or Sirius, and Sirius had accepted the offer far too quickly for anyone's liking.

    And, as could be expected, Sirius was a tad bit reckless while driving the vehicle.

    "This isn't your motorcycle!" James' knuckles were white as he gripped the leather of his seat.

    "I'm doing just fine!" Sirius said as he made another sharp turn. Val had heard about car sickness before, but never expected it to be as bad as nausea rolled over her body in steady streams of unease. Harry seemed to be feeling the same way, turning a sickly shade of green as he leaned his head against the window in an effort to calm his nerves.

    "Sirius, slow down!" Lily scolded, sitting in the passenger seat next to him. "The kids look like they're going to be sick!"

    Sirius looked at his daughter in the rear-view mirror, and without meaning to, he pushed down on the breaks with such force that all of their bodies lurched forward, thankful that their tight seatbelts restrained them from hitting their heads.

    "I've always considered myself to be a somewhat good driver," Sirius defended himself as he pushed back his hair, looking over his shoulder to make sure no other cars were coming as he continued down the street. Lily held her tongue, giving him directions every five minutes so they would not end up lost in the town.

    They finally came to a row of cookie-cutter homes, each blending into the other with the same exterior and palette of browns as they drove further. People who were tending to their gardens outside their homes stopped their work and turned to see who was passing by. Hardly any outside visitors came to the peaceful, undisturbed part of town, causing a few of the neighbors to wonder who they were and what their intentions were.

    "This is it right here," Lily pointed to a house near the end of the refined drive and tapped Sirius' shoulder, motioning him to pull over between the two cars near the home. Sirius drove a few feet until they were right outside the driveway, shifting the gear so he could fit the car between the already parked vehicles. His first attempt had been anything but successful, and after numerous tries, Sirius still could not parallel park.

    Cursing under his breath, he backed out and shifted the car's gear again, putting one hand on the wheel and the other on the back of Lily's seat as he looked behind him to maneuver into the empty space.

    "Am I close?" Sirius asked as he steered.

    James, sitting closest to the back window, nodded. "Just make sure not to hit the-"

    BUMP.

    Sirius slammed the break again, this time butting Val's head against the back of his seat. Rubbing the spot the chair had hit, she surveyed the harm that had been done to the car behind them.