When Black Met Blue (Marauder Fanfic)

chapter 38 *Edited*

‘Sirius? James? Dad?’

‘In the kitchen, love,’ Mr Evans called. Lily bounced in. ‘How’d you go?’

‘Fine,’ Lily said, hugging James. She wasn’t quite sure how her father would react to her kissing him. ‘Oh, hi, Sirius.’

Sirius shrugged. ‘Hey where's Fawkes.’

‘Coming, have they been behaving?’ Lily asked her father.

He smiled in a way that made her dread the answer. ‘They’ve discovered the refrigerator-’

‘It’s brilliant!’ Sirius said. ‘Did you know the light turns off when you close the door?’ 

‘I had noticed, yes,’ she said, smiling.

‘I used the doorbell!’ James said proudly. Lily bit back a laugh; they were just like she had been upon discovering Diagon Alley, except she’d been eleven, and James and Sirius were seventeen.

‘Sirius answered the phone,’ Mr Evans continued, ‘and accidentally hung up on Vernon.’

‘You didn’t?’ Lily said. Sirius nodded guiltily. Lily burst out laughing. ‘Oh, I wish I could have heard his reaction! You hung up on him! He would have hated that!’

‘You’ll find out,’ her father said. ‘He’ll be here soon.’

‘Vernon’s coming over? Tonight?’

‘Petunia invited him.’

‘And I’m hearing about this now?’ Lily asked. Her gaze flicked to James and Sirius. Vernon was... difficult to get along with, even for her and she considered herself fairly patient. She could swallow comments about his weight or his dress sense – the man wore suits everywhere – and she could ignore comments about her being a freak or about her hair, but she doubted James and Sirius would be able to do the same.

‘I only found out an hour ago,’ her father said.

Lily chewed her lip, thinking. ‘Lily!’ her mother called. ‘Can you help me bring the shopping in, please, love?’

‘Sure,’ Lily called back, resigned.

‘Here, we’ll help,’ James said, getting up. Sirius nodded copied him. Lily smiled at the pair and lead them outside.

‘Oh, you’ve recruited helpers!’ her mother said. ‘Hello, I’m Heather, you must be James.’

‘Yes, ma’am,’ Jamess said.

‘Here, Lily, put these in the fridge. Petunia, get out of the car, please. Orla you take these and follow Lily, you two take these and give them to Harold’ Lily took the bag from her mother in time to see James' eyes brighten at her sister’s name.

‘James-’ Lily began, but he’d already bounced over the car window and rapped his knuckles on it. Lily hid a smile as her sister’s eyes widened; Petunia’s definition of a wizard Snape or Dumbledore. To Petunia, wizards were either young and greasy-looking, or old with long, white beards. To Petunia, wizards did not look like James Potter.

James tapped his knuckles on the window again. Petunia rolled it down looking extremely uncomfortable. James – and Lily suspected he knew it – had managed to place Petunia in a corner in a public place; her sister would either have to ask James to move, which went against everything Petunia lived for, or, she would have to make a big fuss and climb out the driver’s side of the car and risk the neighbours seeing.

‘Hello,’ Petunia said stiffly.

‘I’m James Potter. It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ James said huskily, kissing her hand. Petunia flinched and pulled her hand away. ‘Oh, don’t be like that,’ James said. ‘I won’t bite...’ He winked. Lily almost swallowed her tongue to keep from laughing. Sirius had disappeared back into the house but she thought she could hear him laughing with Orla.