Work Text:
Family parties were always an awkward ordeal – cosying and catching up with people you had little else in common besides blood.
But, Lily Evans thought wryly to herself, it certainly didn’t help being a witch and having to keep nearly everything about your life a secret from your Muggle relatives under the penalty of law.
It made her smile all the more fixed, her small talk all the more stilted, the lies covering up this whole other magical part of her life tasting foul on her tongue, necessary as they were.
At the moment, Lily was stuck answering her second cousin’s polite enquiries and hating every second.
Petunia, on the other hand, was positively glowing, pressed into her dear Vernon’s side, making rounds to introduce her boyfriend to everyone.
Lily escaped her second cousin’s clutches and rolled her eyes, but almost bumped right into her cousin’s wife – Violet? Vivian? Valerie? Something along those lines – and fixed an empty smile right back onto her face and said hi.
Their small back garden offered no hiding places, and Lily cast a longing look at the house.
Where was her mother? She’d be out soon, Lily hoped. If she had to play hostess for much longer her head would explode. Petunia might’ve been right in her element but Lily so wasn’t.
Oh, there was her mother now, waving at her. Lily swallowed a sigh of relief and excused herself from the idle meaningless chatter she’d beleaguered to maintain with Violet/Vivian/Valerie, and crossed the garden.
“Need help in the kitchen?” she asked hopefully as she reached her mother.
Her mother gave her a look. Something about her smile was making Lily nervous.
“There is a boy,” Mrs Evans said, the kind of speculation in her voice that all mothers seemed to excel in, “in our sitting room. He rang the doorbell just now, asked for you.”
Lily groaned. If it was Remus, she’d be okay, but if it was Sirius Black she would be well and truly doomed – a reckless pureblood in a party of Muggles was much the same as the infamous bull in the poor china shop.
She went inside with a trepidation her mother’s meaningful glances did nothing to alleviate, but when Lily entered the sitting room she found neither Sirius nor Remus.
Stiffly perching on the sofa, his eyes round and wild and his black hair as impossibly messy as always, was none other than James Potter.
Lily paused in the doorway and blinked, as her hands fussed with her sundress.
What the heck was Potter doing in her house? Just the sight of him in their sitting room was utterly bizarre – like in that very moment the two worlds Lily lived in overlapped and collapsed into one another.
She must’ve made some strangled sound because James looked up that moment – and immediately sprang from the sofa and strode to her, his face scrunched up in an expression close to panic.
“Did you get it?” he demanded, stopping to stand in front of her.
“Get what?” Lily asked, getting more confused by the second.
“Your Hogwarts letter!”
Lily flinched. “Ssh!” she hissed instinctively, glancing back towards the garden full of Muggles. “I did, got it this morning,” she replied in a lowered voice. “Now what’s this all about?”
James grabbed her shoulders, and Lily grew even more alarmed. He peered at her, his eyes pleading.
“Please tell me you made Head Girl.”
“I – well, I did, actually,” Lily stammered, her cheeks flushing as she remembered the pin that had rolled out of the envelope.
“Oh thank Merlin.” James’ grip of her slackened as his shoulders slumped in relief. He took a step back, then nervously ran his hand through his hair. “At least we have one competent head student, then.”
This piqued Lily’s curiosity. “You know who’s Head Boy? It’s not some Slytherin is it? Oh, is it Remus?”
James shook his head. “No, it’s not a Slytherin and it’s not Remus.” He swallowed, grimaced, then went back to mussing his hair.
Lily wanted to grab his hand and force it to stay still.
“It’s me,” James finally blurted. “They’ve gone and lost their marbles and named me Head Boy. Ridiculous, isn’t it?”
“Oh.” Lily blinked. “That’s… unexpected?” she offered mildly.
And it was – the thought of James as the Head Boy had honestly never crossed Lily’s mind.
Yet, the news didn’t surprise her. James wasn’t the same immature git he’d been when they had been fifteen; he’d really changed last year, for the better; he’d become more responsible, become more humble, become friends with Lily.
“Unexpected?” James snorted. “Is that a polite way to say they’re all bloody barking – no one in their right mind would make me a Head Boy.”
Lily arched her eyebrow and crossed her arms. She’d had quite enough of that, thank you very much.
“Why not? I think you’re going to be a brilliant Head Boy.”
James gaped at her. “You – I…” he sputtered, then blushed.
Mrs Evans chose that moment to return to the sitting room.
“What are you two still doing, all cooped up in here?” she asked, her eyebrow rising. “Go out and mingle!”
“Mum,” Lily wailed, desperation creeping into her voice. “It’s all right, Pot – James just needed to over some school stuff with me –”
“Well since he’s here, he might as well stay for the party,” Mrs Evans cut in and levelled a friendly, somewhat expectant smile at James. “Won’t you, dear?”
“I – er… That is…”
“It’s a family party, mum, James wouldn’t wish to impose. In fact, he was just leaving,” Lily said hurriedly, trying her best to convey “please go” with a rather panicked glance at James.
“Yes,” James said, instantly catching on and looking rather alarmed himself. “Thank you for the invitation, but I couldn’t possibly –”
“Nonsense!” came Mrs Evans’ unyielding reply. “It’s no trouble, and Vernon is attending too so of course you are welcome to stay. Go on, have fun!”
James undecidedly looked from Lily to Mrs Evans.
Lily sighed, recognising their defeat.
“Come on,” she said to James in resignation even as Mrs Evans beamed at the two of them. “The party’s out in the garden.”
James followed her with uncharacteristic meekness.
“Er,” he began as soon as they were out of earshot, visibly flustered. “Vernon’s your sister’s boyfriend, right?”
“Unfortunately yes.”
“So… does your Mum maybe think that you… and I…?”
“Of course she does,” Lily huffed, covering her embarrassment with irritation. “If any bloke my age shows up asking for me he just has to be my boyfriend, hasn’t he?”
“Yeah I guess… My mum would probably jump to conclusions, too,” James replied, rubbing his neck sheepishly.
“Just remember my family’s all Muggle, okay? So no breaking the Statute of Secrecy.”
“Got it,” James said, though his nervous tone didn’t particularly cheer Lily up.
“Don’t feel the need to impress anyone,” she told him sternly. “You’re not actually my boyfriend after all – and it’s not like I get along well with everyone, either. I spend more time at school than I do at home so I don’t really see my extended family much.”
“All right,” James said softly.
“Right. Here we go, just take a deep breath and smile.”
With James right beside her, Lily stepped back out to the sunshine, and the party in their back garden.