Christmas with Vernon

A/N: Whoots! Second chapter up and I can post it before the deadline! :) I think this is a rather short chapter so apologies! But I promise the next one will be a lot longer... There's the Potter Manor tour, Christmas at Hogwarts and hintings of Miami...

Okay, I should stop here. Next chapter up before 15th. Hopefully...

Anyways, happy reading! 

“So…welcome to the Potter Manor,” I looked around the room James had Apparated me into.

“Wow…” I turned slowly in a circle. The living room we were standing in had to be one of the most elaborate living rooms I had ever been in. The fireplace was about double in size to that of a normal one, probably for Flooing, and was done in elegantly carved marble. The furniture was very old-fashioned; there were ornate tapestries, rugs, moving pictures, and odd magical things all over. I smiled, this place was completely magical and I was fascinated.

James just laughed. "Most of the decorations and furniture have been around for generations; my parents didn't do much updating as a vigil to my grandparents and…well, for other reasons. It's really not that different from any other house except for its size. The East Wing is usually completely unoccupied so technically, we use only half the house and the first floor."

“And that’s where you can find me,” Sirius had Apparated directly onto one of the couches in the sitting room. “Later, Prongsie.” Then he grabbed his bag and dragged it up the stairs.

“I should get going,” I said softly. “My parents are waiting.”

James nodded and captured my lips for a few seconds then he let go, “Tomorrow night, dinner with your family.” He said it like he couldn’t believe it and a goofy smile appeared on his face.

“Tomorrow,” I gave him one last smile and spun on my heel.

And with a crack, she was gone. James sighed as he looked around the now empty living room with sad eyes. It was odd being home for the holidays without his parents here to greet him. He supposed he could be here alone which would be way worse. At least he had Sirius to keep him company.

He was about to plop down on the couch and wallow a bit when there was a sudden crack behind him. James immediately glanced over and saw Reeny the house elf beaming up at him. "James is finally home! Master Harold and Miss Judy wish to speak with you at your earliest convenience."

James sighed. He had forgotten about his parents' portraits. How awful of him. They had been sleeping when he had been home for the funeral. It took a couple of weeks for portraits to awake the first time. He supposed he was luckier than most people, to have portraits of his parents and family that were gone so that he could still talk to them whenever he wanted. However, nobody could understand that it sometimes felt worse because it was more of a constant reminder that they were gone. He supposed the feeling of loss would lessen eventually. James nodded to Reeny. "Tell them I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Thank you, Reeny."

Reeny nodded and disappeared with a crack. James reluctantly made his way up to his room to drop off his satchel and mentally prepared himself to talk with his dead parents. He only had wanted to come home to check over the work the house elves had been doing and their progress with going through his parents' things. Well, that and to go through his Dad's study some more to finish learning about his family history just so he was positive about what would happen if something were to happen to him and he could make proper arrangements.

Now with his parents' portraits and the date tomorrow night, it looked like the weekend would be more mentally exhausting than he had originally thought. Hopefully, Sirius would keep things from getting too serious around here.

I Apparated at the cramped storeroom at the back of the flower shop with a crack. I peered out to the shop and saw dad behind the register, waving goodbye to a leaving old lady. I waited until the lady had gone and walked out, “Hey dad.”

“You’re back!” Dad smiled at me. “Mum’s upstairs.”

I froze halfway to the stairs, “Wait, Tuney’s not back yet, right?”

Dad sighed, “See for yourself, Lils.”

My hope was ill sated. As soon as I walked in, I saw both Petunia and Mum sitting at the table discussing something over tea. "Hi Mum. Tuney."

Her mother leapt up to hug me while Petunia just nodded curtly. "My little girl! I'm so excited to have you home!"

I forced a smile at my mother and tried to avoid looking over at Tuney, who never responded to my letters. "It's good to be home, Mum."

Mum smiled cheekily at me, “If you’re so glad to be home, why aren’t you staying for the whole break?”

I stole a quick glance at Petunia, and said, "Oh, it's just better for the Heads to be at school over break. Besides, a lot of my friends are staying so I thought, as it's our last year there, we could spend Christmas together."

I wasn't exactly lying, but when I saw Petunia smirk behind my mum, I knew that this was going to be a longer weekend than I thought. I sighed before continuing, "So what were you meeting with Petunia about Mum? The wedding?"

Mum immediately poured out a fresh cup of tea and pulled out an empty chair so I could join the discussion properly. "Of course, dear! So much to plan. Petunia, why don't you tell your sister about some of the things we were talking about?"

I reluctantly shifted my gaze to Petunia, who was now frowning. Petunia sighed before speaking somewhat forcefully, "Well, I already told you about how I wanted pink for my bridesmaids. Eileen, you know my best friend, is going to be my Maid of Honor, and you will be a bridesmaid with Marge, Vernon's sister. Vernon has three of his good friends as his groomsmen. We were just discussing flowers, but I think I want pink rosebuds. I think the majority of the wedding will be in pink and white."

I met her snotty gaze, knowing that the main reason for so much pink was to make me look as ugly as possible with my red hair. I forced myself to refrain from taking out my 10 inches of willow and shoot her a good Stunner. "That sounds lovely. You could even do a vanilla cake with pink icing. I remember you always liked strawberries, and you could use them on the cake as well."

Mum nodded, smiling. "That would be perfect, Lily! Don't you think so, Tuney?"

Petunia frowned. I smiled to myself, for once, Tuney had to agree with me something. Score one for the Lilster! "Yes, I think that would be fine. I'll have to speak with a baker."

The rest of the afternoon was more of that. I was pretty sure that my fake smile would be permanently stuck to my face as we chatted about wedding plans. It was mainly a huge show of respect for Tuney. It was her big day, after all. I’ll just do her this one last favor.

There were a bunch of snotty remarks and when Petunia brought up that she wanted to see no magic whatsoever occurring on her special day, I was sorely tempted to pour hot tea all over my sister.

At dinner that evening, her father was the first to bring up James, seeing as I had mentioned that I was bringing a date to the dinner the next night in my reply letter a while back. "So Lilypad, tell me about this boy we're meeting tomorrow."

“Dad, it’s James,” I sighed. “He came over last year Christmas as well. While you were…” Hospital. Heart attack. Hazelnut coffee. Powdered donuts.

“He’s quite a gentleman,” Mum said with a knowing glint in her eyes like all mothers have. “Ran the shop with him last time, right?”

“Yeah, I did,” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “He’s Head Boy now.”

“Really?” my mother smiled. “He deserves it.”

I chuckled at my mother who was completely oblivious to James Potter’s feints at Hogwarts, “Yeah, I guess he does.”

[The following day]

“You have to ruin everything, Lily!” Petunia stormed up to my bedroom. I was smart enough to have cast a Silencing Charm around my bedroom just for occasions like this. “This was supposed to my moment. This was supposed to be my wedding! Now everyone’s acting like it’s yours and that freak’s!”

“Shut up, Petunia,” I seethed. “Only Mum and Dad know about James. Don’t jump to conclusions. Who knows, maybe Uncle Frank is more interested in your wedding.”

“Yeah, right. Like no one would care about beautiful Lily and her new mysterious boyfriend from some posh boarding school. Don’t sugarcoat it, freak.”

I sighed. I think I’ll just apologize, just this once. “Look, Tuney. Listen, I didn’t mea-”

“No, you stupid little freak. You listen to me. You’d better keep that guy freak of yours on a leash. Don’t you even dare to mention your mental asylum in front of them,” Petunia snarled. I sharply turned my back on her and faced my window, concentrating on the glass, still covered with frost.

“Don’t call me a freak,” a lump was already forming in my throat. If only she knew what we did. “I’m just like you.”

Petunia laughed harshly, “Please don’t relate me to your being. I might just disintegrate on the spot.”

“Whatever, Petunia. Why are you in my room? I don’t suppose you’re here to bring me tea?” I hoped my sister didn’t hear my voice tremble.

“Just reminding you to behave tonight, in front of everyone else. Including your date. You know what I mean,” I could see her eyes flashing dangerously in the reflection in the glass. “I’d hate for Auntie Ally to run out of the restaurant screaming about your abnormality.”

“I’M NOT A DOG, PETUNIA!” I snapped and so did my window. A large crack had formed across the window. I spun around and looked her in the eye, not caring that mine’s were clearly red and watery. I didn’t wait for her response as I called down my ladder, “Mum, I’m going out.” I added quietly to Petunia, “And neither is James.”

Then I Apparated right on the spot in front of Petunia.

The Potter Manor.

Although I had just been there once, it seemed like the most ideal place to go after a row with Petunia. Magical and…old, like Hogwarts. And after all, James was there.

As soon as the large sitting room materialized in front of my eyes, I fell onto a couch and tears immediately started to fall.

“Lily?” I nodded, hot tears still running uncontrollably down my cheeks.

“Now why would someone so beautiful be crying?” and I felt familiar arms slid around me.

“Row with Tuney,” I choked out.

“Shh, I’m here,” like his mere presence would solve everything. (Technically, it did. I was feeling a lot better now.) He started to rub my back comfortingly.

I chuckled, “Thanks.”

After a while, the tears stopped and I glanced up into his hazel eyes, “Do we have to go back?”

“Unfortunately, we do. But this time, you’ll have me,” I recognized one of his James Potter game face playing on his face.

“Conceited git,” I smirked.

“Prat,” he muttered good-naturedly as he hugged me.

“Wait,” he suddenly let me go and looked me over from head to toe. “Don’t you need to get ready for a bit?”

“Oh, damn,” I grumbled. “I forgot. I don’t want to go back home though.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” he smiled and lead me up the stairs to the second floor. “My mum’s got a huge closet in her room. I’m sure we can find something.”

After a few steps down the long corridor and a push of a large door, I realized that James’ definition of ‘huge’ was on a totally different scale than mine’s. His mother’s closet was, in fact, the size of a large sitting room. It had racks and racks of outfits for all sorts of occasions. I swear, I think I saw a sari somewhere there. In the middle of the closet were glass cabinets of shoes and jewelry. Of course, there were also various mirrors at different angles for trying out clothes.

It was every teenage girl’s fantasy.

“Mum was an Auror, she had to attend all sorts of functions,” James ruffled his hair as I took in the room. “Have your pick, I’ll just fix it with my wand.”

“Okay…” I was still overwhelmed by Mrs. Potter’s collection of clothes. “But I have no idea how to find something in this…” I waved my hand at the numerous racks of dresses.

James frowned for a moment then said brightly, “I’ve got it.” He walked to the left side of the room. “If I’m not wrong, then Mum’s younger line of clothing should be around…here.” He skirted a large cabinet of heels and gestured to a rack of dresses that were slimmer and more colorful.

It would probably be pointless to describe how bipolar I was while choosing my dress. Apparently, Mrs. Potter had great taste. 

“I can’t believe anyone can be so rich,” I mumbled, still dazed as I carefully took out a purple dress.

“Erm…yeah. According to Gringotts, the Potter estate is the biggest. It's because we have never spent money on extravagant, useless things like the other pureblood families. My family has always held jobs of some kind unlike the aristocratic, 'I'm too good to work' purebloods so the money just keeps collecting. Don't tell Sirius though. He likes to think the Blacks have more money,” James leaned back on his heels. “Now because of my inheritance, I have stupid meetings with Gringotts about ‘financial assets’ and other rubbish.”

“Then what are you going to do with all those Galleons when you, you know, leave?” I asked as I pulled out a gauzy blue dress.

James shrugged, “It’ll go to my kids, perhaps?”

“So…you have no concern, whatsoever that someone might snatch it now?” I said playfully.

“Well, there has been some evidence that Voldemort has been targeting certain people or families. If he manages to kill me, then the entire Potter estate would revert back to the closest living relative that is bound by blood not marriage. I'm pretty positive it would be the Blacks, according to the family tree in my Dad’s study. So I am the last true Potter heir,” James said like it was no big deal.

“So what you’re saying is that you’re filthy rich and the Death Eaters are out to get you?”

“You could say that. The Potter estate is massive and in the hands of, well, Slytherin types, it would not be a good thing. It would give them quite a helping hand to buy anything they could ever want or need to have influence on wizardkind without ever spending any of their own money,” he explained.

“How massive?” I wondered then I glanced back at him. “Genuine question. I’m not greedy.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he smirked. “I guess besides the vaults at Gringotts, there’s a summer home in the South of France- that’s why I know a bit of French, a chalet in the Swiss Alps, an apartment in Paris, this Potter Manor and an old cottage in Godric’s Hollow.”

“Don’t you ever get lonely in this huge place?” I stopped looking at the shoes to gaze him in the eye. “It’s huge and it’s just you and the house elves. You have house elves, like all powerful and rich families, right?”

“Yeah, Reeny and Potts. I’d auction off the apartment and the chalet, never liked those places anyways. Then I’d I want to move to Godric’s Hollow when I get married or something. It’s really too empty and cold in this manor, especially since my parents were always out on missions. I wouldn’t want my family to live like this,” James said softly, like he was immersed in his memories of living alone in the manor house.

“That’s nice of you,” I replied. Then I said brightly, “Okay, I’ve got it!” I held up a simple green dress with matching flats. “What do you think?”

“Absolutely stunning,” James smirked then jabbed a thumb behind him. “There’s a changing room at the back, I’ll go change in my room for a bit then I’ll wait outside.”

“Prongs, you are so whipped,” Sirius grumbled. “Stay away from red-headed vixens.”

I laughed, “Jealous, Pads? Don’t worry, you can see your Debbie when we get back to Hogwarts.”

He smirked then said, “Debbie’s nowhere as…” he let out a low whistle.

“Shut up,” I punched him good-naturedly on his arm.

“Thank you, Sirius Black,” I recognized that tone of voice- Lily only used it on me, the arrogant toerag. I turned around and let’s just say, ‘Get Sirius Black away from my girlfriend.’

“So?” she looked expectantly up at me. “What do you think?”

“Gorgeous,” I replied suavely. But ‘gorgeous’ didn’t cover it. The green dress was calf length and fitted her curves snugly. She had added a touch of eye shadow and makeup to her face. Hair was pulled half-up so her neck wouldn’t get cold in the December air and showed off her cheeks spectacularly.

“You two are going to give me a toothache,” Padfoot grumbled. “My inheritance can only pay for so many visits to the dentist.”

Lily huffed and pulled out her willow wand, “Say, Black, do you want a haircut? I’ve been out of practice lately, you are perfect to practice on.”

Padfoot’s hands immediately shot up to his prized locks, “Get that thing away from my babies, Evans!”

“Excellent,” Lily smirked and put her wand away.

Sirius laughed, “Right, you lovebirds go enjoy yourselves. I’ll go get sloshed at the Leaky Cauldron.” With that, he Apparated away to Diagon Alley.

“Come on,” I slid my fingers between Lily’s. “Let’s go.”

“So I can’t do anything magical at this dinner? That’s just sad,” I grumbled as we sat on one of the stone benches in front of the flower shop. Lily was briefing me before we went in.

“It’s a Muggle restaurant, James! My extended family doesn’t know about me either,” Lily explained.

“But Vernon knows, right?” I asked.

“Yeah but don’t mention or perform magic in front of him. Petunia says he thinks we’re freaks as well,” Lily answered dejectedly.

I smirked. I could already see a loophole in her instructions. But I didn’t say that out loud, “Anything else?”

“Since no one outside my immediate family knows I go to Hogwarts, we have a backstory that we tell other people when they ask about me. You need to know this as well and come up with your own. I have a bad feeling that Petunia’s going to try and trip you,” Lily said.

“Okay, so what’s your story?” I said it like a Witch Weekly interviewer- snappy, flirty and definitely not genuinely curious. (Trust me, I’ve seen them a couple of times trying to get a story out of Dad. I know them quite well.)

“Umm, well, I supposedly attend a boarding school called Oundle School, which is an actual Muggle school that is co-ed. After I graduate this year, I will be attending Cambridge University to study English. I don't really give out many more details about classes and such, but I do have to read some Muggle texts once in a while to make it more believable.”

“Shouldn’t be hard for you. You’re always reading,” I teased.

Lily laughed, “Right. So what do you want your backstory to be?”

"Well, to keep things simple, I should also be going to Oundle too, and we could've met in your literature class or something. What do most Muggle guys go to a university for?"

Lily frowned. "Medicine? Law? You could do English too so I could cover some of the questions directed to you."

I frowned and shook my head. "No, they'll expect me to answer my questions. I could do medicine. My parents taught me a few things about Muggle medicine and science. I could answer questions about that. Does Cambridge University have a medicine program? I could just be going there too."

Lily nodded. "It does."

I sighed and took Lily’s hand in mine, "Well, that's that. Is there anything I should know about Oundle?"

Lily looked up at the foggy sky, "Not really. The set-up is similar to that of Hogwarts, no Houses though. I can say you might be asked whether you play a Muggle sport, seeing as you are a guy."

I laughed. "I know a bit about football I guess, but I don't know enough to pretend that I play the game. Sirius and I used to try it, but we got bored and played Quidditch instead."

Lily smiled at him. "If you're asked, just say you have played football before, but decided not to at Oundle because you were more dedicated to your studies or something."

I nodded. "Okay, this shouldn't be too bad."

Lily sighed. "Don't say that. It hasn't even started yet."

I kissed the back of her hand that I was holding and gave her a reassuring smile. "It will be fine, Lily…even if I have to silently Obliviate a whole lot of people after you explode and cause bad things to happen."

Lily laughed, her eyes twinkling amusedly. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

“Lily!” I recognized Claire Evans as she leapt up from the dining table where she was sitting with Petunia and who I guessed was Mr. Evans. “You're back! Don’t worry me like that, running off alone. Promise me you won't do something like that again, young lady.”

“I said I would be back,” Lily murmured in her mother’s embrace. “I’ll try not to leave so suddenly next time.”

“Well, if there is a next time, it better be under less stressful circumstances,” Claire was still frowning at Lily.

Mr. Evans had stood up and put his hands on Claire’s shoulders. "Leave her alone, sweetheart." He turned his attention to me. "Now, you must be the James Potter we have heard about."

“Yes, sir,” I firmly shook his hand when he offered it to me. Then I nodded at Claire and Petunia, “Claire. Petunia.”

“I heard that you were with Lily when she came back last Christmas. Thanks for that,” he smiled warmly at me.

I grinned. They liked me already. “At your service, sir.”

“It’s good to be able to put the face to the name,” he glanced at the clock on the wall. “Nearly time! Let’s go. Is Vernon downstairs yet?”

“As a matter of fact, he is,” a new voice sounded from the door. The voice in question belonged to a man standing proudly at the doorway with a mustache. Well, I guess you could call him a man, if you were a humpback whale.

“Mr. and Mrs. Evans, Petunia, my car is waiting downstairs,” he tugged at his tie proudly like he was expecting a round of applause. And not to mention the fact that he had completely ignored Lily and I. Lily had noticed it too and squeezed my hand, giving me a look that said, ‘Play nice. It’s only for one night.’

“This model’s brand new,” Vernon patted his dashboard proudly like it was a thoroughbred horse as he drove. “Volkswagen and a seven-seater. Largest car you could find on the market.” I snorted, who’d need cars if you could Apparate?

Obviously, Petunia seized the chance to point out that I didn’t have a car. I bit back the retort since it was related to magic and coolly stated, “Cars are impractical when I’m still in school. It would be a total waste of money.”

I spotted Claire and Mr. Evans’ eyes light up with respect. I smiled to myself, they clearly preferred me over Vernon. I noticed Vernon and Petunia sitting up front. One was a thin as a toothpick and the other was practically a walrus. They just didn't…fit. Vernon didn't even hold Petunia hand nor do anything remotely affectionate ever since he had picked the Evans family up.

I know what you’re thinking, Lily gave me a meaningful look, jerking her chin to the odd couple in front. I really don’t want her to marry him.

I shrugged. If Petunia really wants to be with him and he treats her nicely, then I guess he’s quite a valid candidate.

I know. Lily’s shoulders sagged. But they aren’t romantic AT ALL! And they’re only two years older than us!

Well, not everyone can be as dynamic as us. My arrogant smirk tugged at my lips.  

We reached the restaurant and introductions were thrown around. Besides Lily’s aunt and uncle, her three other cousins were there as well with dates of their own but none seemed serious. I spotted Petunia giving a hostile look to Lily, I was pretty sure it meant something about magic since Lily’s eyes narrowed.

“Easy there,” I muttered and used my thumb to caress the back of her hand that I was holding.

Unfortunately, the youngsters somehow ended up at the same end of the table while the adults on the other. That meant if Lily had a full-out argument with Petunia, her Mum and Dad probably wouldn’t notice that much.

“This is madness,” Lily complained quietly. “Tuney should’ve dumped Vernon ages ago. All he does is boast about his stupid Muggle drilling thing.”

“Too proud for his own good,” I mumbled, thinking back to the time when Lily still called me a ‘big-headed prat’. I must’ve acted exactly like Vernon. That wasn’t very comforting.

“And Tuney’s probably thinking we’re stealing her thunder,” Lily scowled at her sister who was still glaring daggers at her.

“I wouldn’t disagree with her on that,” I whispered back.

“What are you two whispering about?” Petunia’s voice was loud enough to pull everyone’s attention on to Lily and I.

“We were just discussing out Lit project, I was asking Lily if I could handle the presentation when term starts,” I lied smoothly.

“Interesting,” Petunia’s voice oozed with false pretenses as she spoke sweetly, "So James, tell us about what you do. I'm afraid we all know so little about you." Lily’s expression soured but I tugged on her hand, saying that I could deal with this.

“Oh, well, I go to Oundle with Lily. The two of us met in our class on American Literature."

Petunia just smiled snottily. "Oh? What has been your favorite story so far?"

I laughed lightly, having fun playing her game. "What isn't a favorite? I love to read. We started with Moby Dick, which was fascinating, but I really like Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck. He just has a way with words, you know?"

I enjoyed the frustrated look on Petunia’s face. It paid off to be a pro that could emulate innocence without really trying, which was something that was necessary when you were a Marauder.

"What about after school? I imagine you will be attending Cambridge with our Lily here?" Petunia was obviously aware that the story we were using had been concocted together so it was likely to be similar.

I shrugged, dragging things out a bit longer for shock value. "Probably, although I'm keeping my options open. I'm looking to go into medicine."

Petunia's eyes seemed to gleam like she had caught an annoying rat. I knew what she was thinking— surely, a wizard knew nothing about Muggle science. And I have never been more thankful that his parents insisted he learn as much as possible about both worlds when I was growing up. She smiled cruelly. "Medicine is completely different from literature… What keeps your interest in that direction?"

I sighed, pretending to be unsure about the draw. "Well, I do love to read and write, but there is just something that pulls at me with science. It's always…changing."

Petunia smirked. "Like what specifically though?"

I could feel Lily tense up, but I kept my eyes on Petunia. I couldn't wait to finish this little stunt. "Well, I'm fascinated with biochemistry. It's completely amazing that all life is made up of nothing but cells that do nothing but countless chemical reactions. I suppose I'm most interested in research that centers around enzymes, which are proteins that help the cells carry out functions. I've read a lot of research about enzymes that has led to helping fight disease or how the lack of an enzyme could be the cause a disease. I'd probably focus on that…"

Vernon had not understood anything that I had said so he tried to compete instead, turning the focus back onto himself. "Well, I've been in the drilling business forever, just like my father. It's amazing how much I could tell you about drills. It's definitely a man's business."

“Mm, yes,” I said with mock thoughtfulness. “Screwing the ground isn’t it?” Lily’s cousins and dates all erupted with chuckling.

Vernon’s mustache twitched in anger, “Well…if you put it that way, James.” He sneered my name out.

“Very manly job to do,” I added with false respect and one of the cousin’s date snorted out his soda. Even Lily was laughing. Petunia, on the other hand, was breathing hard to keep her temper under control.

Once the attention was turned away from me, Vernon sneered, “Be quiet, Potter. You don’t even have a car.”

I shrugged, “I told you, cars are impractical to me as a student.” Vernon was smart enough to know I was referring to Hogwarts. “Besides, I have my own broom. I can clean my room in a blink. I bought it at Nimbus Supplies. Care for a trip?”

Vernon and Petunia knew exactly what I was talking about.

“I even have this long stick made out of mahogany. I use it to poke things and they will automatically do whatever I ask!” I grinned. Okay, maybe that was a bit too over the top.

And I’m happy to say that I Banished someone without using my 11 inches of mahogany. Once Vernon had got up and stormed away, Petunia hurriedly apologized to the crowd, “Sorry, he has indigestion problems. I’d better go check on him.”

Lily’s face fell and she stood up, “Wait, Tuney…” but Petunia had already left the restaurant.  Dejectedly, she slowly sat back down in her chair, her green eyes dim and troubled. Something guilty twisted in my chest and I sighed.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I’m an arrogant toerag.”

“I know, you git,” Lily replied softly but there was no malice in her tone. Like she had given up everything. I held Lily’s hand tighter, hoping to make her smile a bit but I had no success.

Women love to dance, James. It makes them happy. Look how happy I am right now!

I jerked my head up, “Mum?”

“What?” Lily’s gaze flickered to me, the sad look still fresh on her face.

I shook my head, “Nothing. I thought I heard something.” The something in question was an ancient piece of advice from Merlin knows how long ago when I was just a kid. Mum was teaching me how to dance in the middle of the marble dining room with Dad cranking up the radio. 

Were there dance floors at Muggle restaurants? Amazingly, this one had. In fact, the grand piano had been playing for almost half the night before I noticed it tucked away in a corner. I glanced at Lily and said, “Want to start a trend?”

Lily frowned, “What do you mean?”

I grinned, “Would you, Lily Evans, grant me the honor of dancing with you?” I stood up and offered her my hand.

“Only if you don’t mind…” she raised an eyebrow cockily.

"Now, why in the world would I mind dancing with a beautiful girl? Let's go, and you just watch how many people follow from the table."

“Darned Potter charm,” Lily grumbled good-naturedly but she got up and I lead her towards the dance floor.

“You should’ve seen my Dad on Saturday morning,” I said into her ear as I slid my arms around Lily’s lower waist. “Flirting shamelessly with Mum. I guess that’s where I got all my lines from.”

Lily laughed softly, “And just where you learnt to dance*? If not, genetic?”

I cringed, “Mum taught me. It was awful. Mum used to make me dance with her everywhere. I was never more embarrassed in my life.”

“I can see that now… A 10 year old boy with messy, dark hair, forced to wear a suit and tie, being dragged by his mother onto the dance floor as all the important wizards in the Ministry stared.”

I rolled my eyes but smiled down at her, “That’s not far from the truth, you know.”

Lily seemed to have forgotten about her sister leaving abruptly as she smirked and nodded at the table, “You were right. My cousins and their dates are coming up to dance.”

“Good on them,” I muttered.

“You know, they’ve been staring at you for the whole night,” Lily said. “I noticed.”

“And why would that be?”

“You’re handsome, you git.”

“Really?” I shook my head in amusement. “But I don’t think that’s it.”

“Jealousy, I guess,” Lily smirked again, green eyes glimmering.

I chuckled, “Well, that’s just petty.” I spun her around and dipped her. “Let’s make them jealous, then.”

“You’re crazy,” Lily rolled her eyes.

“Only on occasion,” I replied.

*A/N: In the previous Fanfiction, I know they had dance class in Muggle studies. But they were learning waltz at Hogwarts while this is just…I don’t know, normal social dancing? So yeah, get the difference (if you can but I can’t ‘cause all dances are the same to me).