Chapter Text
Lily was panicking. She hadn’t spoken to her sister in over a year, not since she’d written to tell Petunia about Harry’s birth. It had been even longer since they’d seen each other in person—nearly three years now—and on a whim, Lily had invited Petunia, her husband, and her son over for a small Halloween gathering.
She hadn’t expected them to say yes. She hadn’t even expected them to respond. But three days after she’d sent the letter, they had called to say they were willing to visit. For no longer than thirty minutes. Okay. Thirty minutes. She could work with that.
Lily had spent the better part of the afternoon cleaning. She wiped down the kitchen counters for the third time, stepped back to inspect them, and frowned.
“Too much clutter.”
“What clutter?” Lily turned sharply.
James was standing in the doorway, Harry balanced comfortably on one arm. His curly hair was even more untidy than usual, and his glasses were slightly crooked from Harry’s enthusiastic attempts to grab hold of anything his little green eyes landed on.
“Harry,” James said patiently, catching his son's hand before it reached his face. “Those aren't for eating.”
“Da!”
“Exactly.”
Harry grinned, the sort of smile that usually had Lily melting on the spot, but she couldn't focus right now.
Lily turned back around and pointed at the counter. “That.”
James looked. There was a wooden bowl filled with Floo powder, a stack of letters, two mugs, and a small vase containing several branches and autumn leaves Harry had collected from the garden that morning.
“Ah,” James said solemnly. “The terrible clutter.”
“James.”
“I see it now. How could I have missed it?”
Lily gave him a look that clearly said he was being stupid. He smiled.
At least he had managed to change that horrid worried expression she'd been wearing all day. James hated seeing Lily worried. It made something inside him feel the need to make her smile and never stop.
Harry, of course, knew none of this, so he squealed and immediately began bouncing in James's arms. “Da-da-da-da-da!”
“Yes, I know,” James said. “Your mother is very frightening right now.”
“I am not frightening,” Lily said, though the corners of her lips finally began to tick upwards.
Harry reached toward her as if sensing the change. “Mum!”
Lily's expression softened despite herself. “Oh, hello, darling. Are you excited to meet your cousin?” James lowered him slightly, allowing Harry to lean toward her. Harry immediately grabbed a fistful of her hair. “Ow!”
James laughed.
“Don't encourage him.”
“I wouldn't dream of it, my love.”
Lily carefully disentangled Harry's fingers and kissed the top of his head. He smelled faintly of soap and the biscuits she'd caught him trying to steal before lunch.
“He's been restless all afternoon,” James said.
“He knows something's happening,” Lily said in the high-pitched, sing-song voice that always soothed the small child.
James only chuckled. “He's one.”
“Well, he's very perceptive.” Lily brought her son up to her face and rubbed their noses together. “Isn't that right? Aren't you just my perceptive little baby?”
Harry babbled happily between them, apparently unconcerned with the discussion.
Lily looked around the room again. The sitting room was spotless. The cushions had been straightened, the fireplace cleaned, and the few photographs scattered around the mantel had been arranged neatly. She had even taken down the photographs of the Marauders after Sirius had suggested—quite seriously—that Vernon Dursley might find a moving photograph of Peter dancing on a table unsettling. She had replaced them with ordinary family photographs.
Not that Petunia will appreciate those either, Lily thought. But maybe if she could see that they weren't so different, she'd want to be sisters again one day. She sighed.
“Lily.”
“What?”
“It's going to be fine. And if she decides to be a wicked bitch, then I'll hex her.”
“James! You will not hex my sister! We may not get along, but I still care for her.”
“What about her husband?” James asked, mostly joking.
Lily opened her mouth, then closed it. “We'll see. Nothing dangerous, though.”
James laughed before settling into a gentle smile. “You don't have to impress her.”
“I know,” Lily said.
She looked over at the staircase. Near the top was one of the only photographs in the house of her as a child. It was also one of the only ones of her and Petunia where they were both holding each other and smiling.
James took Harry into his arms and stepped into Lily's eye line. She looked up slightly to meet his eyes. “She agreed to come,” he said. “That must mean she wants to see you.”
Lily looked away. “She only agreed to half an hour, James. That's barely worth the trip for Muggles.” She sighed. “I just want it to go well.”
“I know, love.”
“She thinks everything we do is strange,” Lily lamented.
She could still remember when she and her sister had done everything together. When Petunia thought she was perfect and she thought Petunia was perfect.
“She thinks everything I do is strange,” James said.
Lily could tell he was trying to be comforting, but it didn't work. She was too stuck in the past. “That isn't helping.”
James reached out and brushed a stray piece of hair away from her face. “She'll see that we're happy,” he said. “She'll see Harry. Maybe she'll even stay longer than thirty minutes.”
“Vernon won't.”
“No. Vernon won't.”
There was a brief silence. Harry, as usual, decided to fill it. “Da-da-da! Mum! Mum! Ba!”
James looked down at him. “Very insightful.”
Harry answered with another string of enthusiastic noises. Lily laughed despite herself.
James smiled. “See?”
“What?”
“You're smiling.”
She rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “Fine. I'm smiling.”
“Excellent. Crisis averted.” Harry suddenly leaned forward with such determination that James had to catch him around the middle. “Whoa, there.” Harry squealed. “Apparently the crisis has returned.”
Lily held out her arms. “Give him back.”
James passed him over, and Harry immediately settled against her, though only for approximately three seconds before twisting around to investigate the room again.
Lily sighed fondly. “You're going to be exhausted by the end of tonight.” Harry responded by pointing toward the front door. “Outside?”
“Da!”
“You want to go outside?” Harry answered with more pointing and nonsensical gibberish. Lily glanced toward the clock. Then came a knock at the door.