Lily opened the envelope that Albus had given her. He said it was the mail from her old house.
Dear Lily,
I hope all is well by you in the world of magic. How's Harry and James? I'm sorry we haven't been in touch in a while, it's been busy through the Christmas months. How was your Christmas? Ours was good, Petunia and Vernon came over and I got to meet my new grandson, Dudley. He's a lot bigger than Harry, but I'm positive Petunia has him eating about 5 meals a day.
I'd like for you to come over for dinner soon. I've also invited Petunia. Sorry for the short notice, but it's in five days, March 24th. It'll be held at my house at 3:30. It would truly mean a lot to me and your father if you could make it.
Love,
Mum
Lily finished. She counted the days. Today was the 24, she realized. The mail must have taken a while to reach the wizarding world. She didn't want to go to this at all. She still hadn't told her mother that Harry almost died, became a hero, and was the reason they moved. She could imagine the smug look on her sister's face knowing that Lily lived in a school now. But... she couldn't let her mother down.
"James," Lily called and walked over to him, reading the daily prophet with Harry on his lap. "Yes, sweetheart?" He folded the paper and put it on the coffee table beside his chair. "I just got a note from my mother. She really wants us to come to dinner tonight. And you could meet my sister and family. My mother's told me she has a son near Harry's age."
James nodded, "Sure. What time?" Lily checked the note, "Uh, looks like 3:30. James raised his eyebrows and checked his watch, "Lils, it's 3:00 now." Lily's eyes widened. "Really? We have to hurry, you know my mother will hate it if we're late!" She swooped in and picked up Harry, hurrying to a dresser. "James, wear something nice!" Ever since they'd arrived at the castle about a month ago, he'd been wearing nothing but jeans and a t-shirt. "Okay, okay." He sighed and pulled out a sweater.
---
Lily checked James' hair one more time, and made sure Harry didn't have any milk on his face. "Lily, will you just ring the doorbell?" James asked. "Oh. Right." She turned around and pressed her finger on the doorbell. She looked over at James and checked his watch. 3:29. She smiled to herself knowing she was on time. Whether or not Petunia was already here, she didn't know, seeing the driveway led into the back, and, knowing her sister, Petunia would pull in all the way back.
"Lily!" Her father smiled as he opened the door. "Oh, it's nice to see you Jack."
Lily winced, "James." She whispered.
"James." Her dad corrected himself. "And look at you, Harry! You're such a big boy!" "Say hi to grandpa," James instructed. "Hi," Harry mumbled and turned into his father's pant leg to hide his face. "Oh, come in, come in." Lily's dad ushered them inside.
In the living room, Lily found her mother, sister, a man who must be Petunia's husband, and a very plump baby sitting on his mother's lap. "Lily!" Her mother stood up and embraced her. "Mum."
Lily made her way over to the couch, "Petunia, it's nice to see you." Petunia placed the boy aside and stood up, "Yes, I suppose. Just I'm not sure seeing a witch is exactly nice." Lily's face looked hurt. "Sorry you feel that way." She mumbled and returned to James and Harry without greeting her nephew or brother- in- law.
They talked for a while before dinner. Harry and Dudley were sitting on the rug, with some you blocks at their feet, but Dudley was hogging them, leaving Harry to play with the fringe on the edge of the rug. James wanted to tell Lily's sister and her husband that their son wasn't sharing, but only knew that would cause trouble for Lily. He was certain of this after the couple had already praised Dudley seven times in the conversation.
There was a dull in the conversation. They all just kind of looked at each other. "Oh guess what!" Petunia exclaimed. Everybody murmured 'what's. "We've decided to get a pet, haven't we Vernon?" The plump man nodded, "Yes. We're getting a turtle."
A turtle? James thought, fit for them, I guess. Boring.
Lily's parents pretended to gush over the turtle for a few moments. "Yes, well, James and I have big news too." Lily said slowly, eyeing James. He nodded, with a smile on his face.
Lily turned back to her parents, "Well, James and I... We're having another baby!"
