A Peeping Potter || Lily & Amelia
The other woman’s scrutiny made Lily shift uncomfortably, knowing that she was being carefully weighed by someone who held her fate and her future in their hands. She resisted the urge to fidget with her hair and try to make herself look more presentable. That would just draw more attention to her disheveled state. Lily wasn’t the type of woman to spend a lot of time fussing with her appearance, but she did like to be presentable—more presentable than she felt right now, anyway. But cheap thrift-store clothing that didn’t really fit or suit her did nothing to help her appearance, any more than the dirt she’d just picked up from rolling across the dry grass.
The Ministry witch waved away the Aurors, which was a relief, but she still seemed distracted; Lily hoped that she was mentally composing a report that excused her actions, and not deciding on the best way to take Lily in without a fuss. Still, the fact that she’d dismissed the Aurors was a good sign…Lily held her breath hopefully and stifled the urge to beg.
Lily nodded along with a nervous smile at the other woman’s explanation; of course Harry was warded, and that was a relief really with all the hopefully-ex-Death Eaters running around. Lily should have thought of that, but she hadn’t really planned to come here—hadn’t stopped to think at all really, just charged in to take a look at her son without bothering with either logic or consequences. (James would be proud, she thought wryly.) She moved slowly toward the Ministry witch, trying to show that she was a responsible and civilized member of society who wanted to behave; someone who had just slipped-up in one tiny and totally understandable mistake, not someone who had to treated like a threat or a problem.
Then her green eyes lit up with recognition. “Oh! Amelia Bones! Of course—I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you. I was…my mind was a million miles away, honestly,” Lily admitted. She’d always had a hard time remembering that Amelia wasn’t Adam any more; it was really no wonder that she hadn’t recognized the woman right off the bat, when her mental picture of Amelia Bones still looked like the boy she’d known at Hogwarts. “I’m sorry to cause you trouble,” she began to say, but before she could stammer her way through more of an apology she was enfolded in a hug.
Lily stiffened initially, then relaxed into the embrace. She had never been what one would describe as close to Adam/Amelia, but right now, any human comfort was welcome. Besides, if Amelia was hugging her, she probably wasn’t about to drag her off to St. Mungo’s to be locked up—probably. “I…I…yes,” she said, nodding meekly as the other woman released her without actually stepping away. Lily had to resist the urge to wrap her arms back around Amelia and never let go when she mentioned arranging for Lily to finally see Harry again. She took a deep breath and managed a tremulous smile. “That sounds…really nice, actually. Thank you.”
Quickly she added, “I, er—I haven’t got a wand, though. So, um…you’ll have to…” Lily gestured helplessly, a motion meant to encompass the act of Apparition—unless Amelia had another method of transport planned, but Lily wasn’t really looking forward to trying to make non-Statute-violating small talk in a taxi cab, so she hoped Amelia was skilled enough to manage side-along Apparition. “Sorry,” she said again, and winced; Lily hated how weak she sounded with this repetitive litany of apologies, but she didn’t know what else to say. She was causing problems, after all; apologizing seemed the polite thing to do. Especially for someone who wasn’t dragging her in to the Ministry, but was rather offering a sympathetic ear and a cup of tea.
Lily was so cold she could barely feel her own fingers, let alone Amelia’s; a cup of tea sounded like the best medicine in the world right now. “After you?” she offered, with a sheepish little smile.
This incident was just an example of how unprepared the entire Ministry in general, and Amelia included herself in that group, was for the return to life of people who had died. Here was Lily Evans Potter, mother of the much-touted Boy Who Lived, who had, by all accounts, sacrificed her own life for her child’s. Yet she was all alone, she appeared to have dressed from the reject bins of a secondhand store, she wasn’t even dressed for the weather, and she was shaking either from nerves or the cold or both. Amelia wasn’t sure how she’d slipped through their system – it was new but surely not so ineffective as it currently gave the impression of being – but the letter Severus had written to Emmeline recommending she and James both be cut loose, as it were, likely played a large part in the current situation. Unfortunately, Severus was not currently close enough for her to yell at him and neither was Emmeline. She could yell at herself for not following through to make sure the stubborn git didn’t get to duck either Potter but at the moment, that would only serve to convince the two Aurors witnessing this that she needed another vacation in the Janus Thickey ward. She sighed and smiled back at Lily, squeezing her hand gently. “Nothing to worry about. I can Apparate us both.”
She got them both to her house without incident; which was a miracle, really, considering her whirling thoughts. She settled Lily in a chair at the table in the kitchen while she bustled around the room a la Molly Weasley getting tea underway, warming bowls of stew with a wand wave and cutting thick slices of homemade bread (which actually was made by Molly) to sop in the stew. She didn’t ask Lily if she was hungry, as the answer didn’t matter. Even if Lily claimed not to be hungry (which was a common refrain among the returned), it was time to eat. Amelia hadn’t had anything since early in the day. Lily could play with her food if she didn’t want to eat it.
She sat down across from Lily once their bowls and tea cups were filled. “So, Lily, what’s been going on with you since you came back?”
