Disclaimer: Everything from the Harry Potter world belongs to J.K. Rowling and company. I am only just borrowing them.

Lily Evans, according to the rest of her neighbourhood, was completely normal. They didn't get to see much of Rose Evans' youngest daughter, since she went away to a boarding school. But she always came back for summers, Christmases, and Easters, and the general neighbourhood consensus was that she was perfectly and sanely normal.

That was why, one day, when one boy on a motorcycle, (Not even wearing a helmet!) came driving into their little cul-de-sac, they were all astounded to see perfectly normal Lily Evans, babysitter of all their children at one point or another, who used to sell them cookies and lemonade, sneak out of her house, very shifty-like, give the boy a long kiss, and climb right onto the back of that motorcycle, not even looking back.

Something must be done, they all decided. How could she have pulled the wool over their eyes for so long? They contemplated together, for a while, on what was to be done and before the next morning, they decided that the only thing to do was inform Rose.

Rose Evans, homemaker extraordinaire, mother of two lovely girls, chairperson on the PTA (Parent/Teacher's Association), and the owner of one very lovely garden, usually participated in these meetings that the neighbourhood women liked to have. She had not, however, been invited to this one (mainly because it was about her dangerous and trouble-making daughter). Because of this fact, she felt very hurt and offended when the other women of the neighbourhood told her that not only had they not invited her to their last meeting, it had been about her Lily! "How dare they," she exclaimed, "March into her home and declare that her Lily, pride and joy of the family, was riding around on one of those motor-cycle contraptions!" It was outrageous!

But just then a loud roar of an engine was heard by all and Lily herself walked in the door, hair askew, big grin on her face, holding hands with That Boy. After a slight pause where Lily gaped at the neighbours, the neighbours gaped at the Boy, and Lily's mum gaped at Lily, chaos erupted.

Amid all the screaming and yelling in that room, James Potter and Lily Evans quickly opened the very door they had just entered through and ran out of the house, laughing hysterically.

They quickly jumped upon James' bike, (which was really Sirius') and drove until Lily deemed that they were far enough away. They ended up sitting on the grass inside a small park several blocks away from Lily's house (aka Ground Zero).

"I told you that it would go wrong!" Lily said.

James, still laughing, couldn't say anything back or else he would choke. "I - Oh Merlin! You poor soul! How could you live with muggles for so long and still be almost sane?"

"Hey!" Lily laughed, playfully punching him on his arm. "Muggles are just like us! Only there's more of the muggles, so they can't just lock everyone up who's insane, like we do."

"Is that how they missed you?" James teased.

"I've always been perfectly normal, thank you very much," Lily said and then poked him on the nose. "It's you they should worry about."

"Hey!" James protested, holding his nose. "You punched me in the nose!"

"I didn't punch you," Lily laughed, "I poked you, there's a difference."

"It still hurts," James whined.

"Aw poor baby, want me to kiss it?"

"Yes please," James said, thrusting his nose into Lily's face.

Lily laughed and went to kiss it, but James strategically moved and Lily kissed his mouth instead. "Hey, you cheated."

"No I didn't," James said, "you just missed."

"Cheater."

"I bet you purposefully missed, just so you could kiss me," James teased.

"Yes," Lily confessed, extremely serious. "I did."

"Do it again?" James asked, putting on that look he knows Lily finds most attractive, and Lily, nodding her head, obliged.

Petunia Evans, walking home from a neighbour's house, was thinking about rather trivial things, like she usually did, when she, out of the corner of her eye, spotted a young couple kissing - no making out - right in the middle of the Children's Park. So angry, on behalf of the children, of course, she walked closer, trying to see who it was.

Petunia, while known for being the neighbourhood's gossip, was very intelligent. So when she saw a girl whose hair was exactly the same shade of red as her younger sisters' - even though her sister should be off doing Heaven-Knows-What with Those People - she knew immediately that it must be her.

She was immediately outraged. How dare her sister come back and infuriate her so! Of course she came back to brag about what a good young man she had - or some other such rubbish that would no doubt cast shame and suspicion onto her family.

Her mind was so clouded by her anger, she didn't even think before she yelled out, "Lily!"

The girl immediately entangled herself from the boy and looked back, shock plainly on her face. "'Tunia?" she asked.

Petunia knew immediately that this was, indeed, her baby sister, fresh back from That Terrible School. "Lily!" She shrieked, walking quickly closer. "How dare you snog this Freak in the middle of my neighbourhood!"

Lily's face, Petunia could tell, was very red. She couldn't tell, however, whether it was from embarrassment or anger.

"'Tunia," she began, standing up and walking closer to where Petunia stood on the outskirts of the playground. Her Freak followed.

Petunia, however, did not want to hear it. "You don't need to explain anything to me, Lily Evans, I have eyes. I can tell what you're doing here. But I suggest, if you do not want Mum to find out what you've been doing, that you leave immediately."

Lily nodded. "Alright," she said. She had a sad sort of glint in her eye that Petunia couldn't seem to figure out.

Lily whispered something to the boy, he nodded, and she took his hand and led him out of the park.

Petunia, her job done, attempted to put the incident out of her mind, and continued on walking back home.

"I'm sorry," Lily apologised for the umpteenth time. "I didn't even think she would be there, I'm so sorry."

James laughed. "Lily, it's okay. I forgive you."

"I know, but I still feel awful," she said. They were walking back around the park to where James had left Sirius' motorcycle.

"Lily, it's okay." James smirked. "Or, it will be if you give me a kiss."

"No. You're silly," Lily protested, but she did it anyway.

After several seconds, James let her go and said, "See, now don't you feel better?"

"No," Lily said, but smiled at him anyway. "I'm sorry this was so horrible."

"Don't be sorry," James protested. "It wasn't that horrible. Personally, I think it was rather fun." He smiled, ruffling her hair.

Lily gave him a Look and fixed her hair, but continued anyway: "I don't know how I'm ever going to face my family after this."

"Don't worry," James said, "We'll just introduce your mother to Sirius, and then she'll think I'm an angel."

Lily laughed, but said, "No, she would think I'm an even worse daughter - hanging out with those that hang out with the likes of Sirius."

James chuckled, "Yeah, I suppose you're right." He paused. "What about Remus?"

"He would be a very good idea - if it weren't for that scar on his face. She might think he was part of some gang or something." Lily laughed.

"Well then maybe I can win her over - you never know."

"Yes, I suppose you're all we've got - you'll have to do," Lily teased.

"Just watch," James said. "I'll amaze her with my charming wit and smile."

Lily laughed out loud. "Ha! I mean, erm, of course you will, love."

James humphed. "That's right."

Rose Evans, once she had managed to calm all of the neighbourhood ladies down, calmly explained to them that once her daughter came back, she would be dealt with by her, her mother, and her alone. The rest of the ladies, extremely offended, (they were only doing a good deed, and all) left the house. Promptly after, Rose collapsed on the couch.

This is where Lily and James found her when they came strolling back into the house (nobody locked their doors in this neighbourhood), James' (well, Sirius', really) motorcycle, shrunk in his pocket. "Erm," Lily said while James quickly adjusted his shirt to make himself more presentable. "Hello Mum."

"Lily," her mum said. "I would be very mad at you were I not incredibly tired from dealing with the neighbourhood ladies."

Lily, immediately sympathetic, walked over and gave her mum a big hug. "I'm so sorry, mum. I didn't know they would be here - normally the meetings are at Mrs. O' Sullivan's house, right?"

"Oh, I don't want to talk about that now, Lily, especially since I still do not know who that gentleman is that you have with you."

Lily blushed. "Mum, this is James."

Jams walked forward and shook Mrs. Evans' hand. "James Potter, Mrs. Evans. I'm so glad to finally meet you."

"Oh?" Mrs. Evans asked. "So you went to school with Lily, did you, James?"

"Yes Ma'am, I was in her year. I also-" James began, but Lily nudged him and he was silent.

Sensing something unspoken, Mrs. Evans kindly said, "I don't remember Lily mentioning you."

Lily blushed and opened her mouth to speak, but James answered for her, "The fact is, Ma'am, that Lily and I were more rivals than friends for most of Hogwarts."

Something clicked in Mrs. Evans' mind. "Lily, dear, is this the boy you were always complaining about? Something about a lot of frog-spawn and the colour purple?"

Both Lily and James blushed, but Lily managed to stutter out: "Yes, mum."

Mrs. Evans laughed so loudly it vibrated throughout the house. "I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Mr. Evans enquired as he walked through the door, home from a hard day of work. "Who's that?" He asked, looking at James. "The new Milk Man? Rosie, didn't I talk to you about that?" Mr Evans' voice sounded serious, but it was obvious on his face that he was making a joke.

Mrs. Evans, instead of blushing, went over and harmlessly hit her husband on the arm. "John, He-" she began, but was interrupted by Mr. Evans, who had just caught sight of his daughter.

"Lily! What are you doing there, hiding behind that hoodlum? Come over here and give your Da a hug!" Lily blushed and, as soon as she could get over by the door, was enveloped in a large bear hug.

"Da, can't breathe," she managed to choke out, and her father released her at once.

"So sorry about that Lil," he apologised. "Now, who is that dashing young man you have with you? I assume he's with you, that is." He sent a fake angry glare to his wife, who winked at him.

"James Potter, Sir," James said, stepping forward.

"Hmm," Mr. Evans said, looking at him as if sizing him up. He then said, while shaking James' hand, "Yes, I suppose you'll do."

James looked terrified. "D-do?" He stuttered out.

"For now. We'll have to see how you measure up on the exam after dinner, of course," Mr. Evans said. "And the obstacle course, of course."

"Yes sir," James said, trying to appear confident. He jutted out his chest, but was surprised when Lily started laughing.

"He's only teasing, silly," Lily laughed. James reddened and both Mr. and Mrs. Evans laughed.

Feeling sorry for James, Lily reached over and grabbed his hand."Mum, Da, James and I have something," she started to say, but was interrupted by the sharp, obnoxious beeping of a buzzer.

"Oh!" Mrs. Evans cried, running into the adjourning kitchen. "My meatloaf!" In her haste, she accidentally spilled a glass of water on the floor.

"I'll get it," Mr. Evans said, walking away to get a towel, but Lily said, "No problem, Da, I got it," and whipped out her wand. James, who had some water spilt on him had taken out his own as well, preparing to dry himself off.

Just as Lily was preparing to cast the spell, Petunia walked in the door. "Mum! I'm home!" She yelled, placing her bag on the ground and light jacket on the brown coat-hanger by the door. "Sorry I'm late, I had to drop by the Lewandowskys after the Cunninghams. Something smells delicious! I have the funniest story to tell you-" she paused, mid-word, as she laid her eyes upon a mid-spell Lily and that Freak she had seen her with at the park, both with wands out. Petunia was just about to shriek when Mrs. Evans came bustling back into the room.

"Was that Petunia I heard? Ah yes! Petunia, love, have you met James?"

Petunia, her eyes locked on both wands, nodded the affirmative.

"Lovely! Supper is ready, everyone. Lily dear, please put your wand away, you know how Petunia hates that - Charles! Don't even think of turning on that radio! We have company! Is that water? Oh dear. What did you do this time?"

"That's why I had my wand out, mum," Lily said softly. With a wave of her wand (and a twitch from Petunia) the water dried up.

"I think I'm going to go," Petunia said, grabbing her coat and moving to open the door.

"Oh," Mrs. Evans said, sadly. "If you feel that you must ..."

"Yes, I think that would be best," she said, walking out onto the porch.

"Bye," Lily said, sounding equally sad. James didn't know what was happening, but he decided that staying still was the best thing to do.

"Wait one minute!" Mr. Evans said, loudly. "Petunia, get back in here. Your sister just got back from school" (Lily blushed even brighter red and looked down at the floor) "So you will stay and be civil!"

Petunia, now almost as red as Lily, said, "Dad! The door was open!"

"Yes, well. It shouldn't have been. Now close it and come inside." Turning to his wife, he said, "What was it we're having for supper, chicken?"

"Meatloaf," She said, softly. James realized that Mr. Evans must not get angry very often, because no one seemed to know what to do.

"Right, meatloaf," he said gruffly, but not as loud.

Everyone was quiet for a few minutes, looking everywhere but another person.

"Well, what is everyone waiting for!" Mrs. Evans said cheerily, breaking the ice. She shared a look with Lily, who said, with a smile on her face, "Yes, James, you have to try Mum's meatloaf."

"I can't wait," James said politely to Mrs. Evans. "Lily has told me how amazing your cooking is, Mrs. Evans."

The first crisis averted, the Evans family and James moved into the kitchen, where they sat around the dining table.

John Evans, a family man who worked for a large corporation nearby, was not used to awkward silences around his dining table. Or any table, for that matter. Awkward silences unnerved him so much that he had worked for most of his life on learning new ways to combat them. He had been so successful that he had quickly risen to the top of his company, simply because he was able to make other people feel at ease with only a quick conversation. This ability was evident now, even though Petunia was studiously avoiding Lily's looks and James was avoiding his and his wife's, as Mr. Evans managed to successfully keep the awkward silences at bay during dinner. After dinner, however, was a different story.

"So ..." Mr. Evans said for the fifth time. He, his wife, and James and Lily were all sitting in their small living room drinking tea. Petunia had left right after dinner, saying she had plans and whatnot - plans he was pretty sure she had made up on the spot simply to get out of there. He did not consider himself a very perceptive person - he left that to his wife - but even he could tell that Petunia and Lily could not stand each other.

He also could tell that Lily and James were attempting to talk to each other through complicated gestures and mouthing when they thought no one was looking. Something they were doing unsuccessfully, if James' confused face and Lily's frustrated one meant anything.

So far he liked the young man. He and Rose, his wife, would have, of course, preferred some warning and a couple years to process the startling fact that his youngest daughter was seriously involved with someone, but for the circumstances, he thought the boy handled everything well.

He couldn't help but notice, however, how snug the two were on the couch, and the way the young man's hand seemed to rest possessively on his daughter's knee. She was only right out of school, after all, this boy had no right to touch her like that.

He remained calm and in his seat, however, because he knew that if he made a big deal out of nothing, again, Rose would be angry with him and probably take away his pudding privileges away. He liked his pudding. It wasn't his fault that his blood pressure and cholesterol were high. She didn't have to take away his pudding for goodness' sakes. As a result of this threat, he remained calm and reminded himself that he wanted his daughter to be happy, which he did. He did generally like the boy too, which helped. He seemed a nice sort.

Although he liked the boy, he wished the two would just say whatever they were attempting to say. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class, Lils?" He asked.

"Huh?" She said, startled out of the gesturing she had been frantically attempting to use to convey a message to James. Honestly, for all of his good points, the boy needed to learn how to read lips.

"I think what your father is trying to say, dear, is: is there anything you two would like to tell us?"

"Well, mum," Lily began, fidgeting nervously in her seat. She was the one who had originally wanted to tell her mum that she and James were engaged as soon as possible, so she didn't find out from someone else. Now that the moment had come, however, she found herself thinking it maybe was a bad idea. She had only just come back - maybe James was right, she should have given them more time with her.

Not that she was planning on moving out. As much as she wished she could move in with James, she knew that if she even suggested this idea to her mum, her mum would have an aneurism. Besides, she had missed living with her parents during school -it'd be nice to live with them for a while before marriage.

Marriage. The word sounded terrifying to her. When James had proposed (during Graduation, like the horribly cliched person he was), she had said yes immediately. James had a ring with him and she hadn't waited long before allowing him to slip it onto her finger, (the ring was now hidden away in her pocket, ready to be pulled out to show her mum and da when needed). Now, however, with some time to think it over, she got the strangest butterflies in her stomach and felt feverish all over whenever she thought about it.

She just felt so young. After all, they had both just graduated. The only reason she still considered marrying James was because of the war. She was terrified that James would die before she was able to be with him. She knew that he wanted to go off and fight - knew that he secretly dreamed of being an auror. As selfish as it was, she couldn't handle him being away from her like that. The only way she knew how to keep him from doing that was marrying him. Thus, she prepared herself to speak.

"Mum, Da, I know this feels very sudden, but please keep it in mind that James and I spent a lot of time together at Hogwarts."

"Lily, what are you trying to say?" Her mum asked, setting down her tea on the table.

"Well, mum, um, James asked me to marry him, and I said yes!"

"You what?" Her dad said, dropping his cup on the table as well.

"Well, Da, James and I, we just realized that we loved each other and didn't want to wait any longer to be together! Isn't that exiting?" Lily was perfectly aware that her voice was rising in pitch as she continued. This was not how she imagined it happening. She knew her parents would be upset, but she couldn't imagine they'd be this upset. Her mother looked like she was about to faint, for goodness sakes! And she knew that if her father's face got any redder, it would match the exact shade of a tomato.

Her mum then looked over to her father, who seemed to be struggled to speak, before she said, in a strangely calm voice: "Lily dear, will you give your father and I some time to think this over?"

"That's an excellent idea, Mrs. Evans," James quickly said after a pregnant pause revealed Lily's inability to say anything else. "Lily and I will go take a walk and be back soon."

"Yes," Lily found herself able to speak agin after she wrenched her face from the extremely red one of her father, "A walk sounds like a wonderful idea."

Lily and James quickly made their way out of the house. As soon as she closed her front door, she could hear her father's loud, robust voice saying something indistinguishable.

She laughed nervously. "What were you saying earlier about that going well?"

James laughed too and said: "Well, at least nothing blew up," just as they heard a loud thud from inside the house. Both winced.

"A very long walk," Lily said.

James agreed. "A very very long walk."

A/N: The end! I know that this is rather a very cliche idea, but I really wanted to try it out and I rather liked the results. Please let me know what you think, I would really appreciate it.