Lilyâs heart flooded when she heard his words, and she gently reached out, letting a hand fall on his shoulder. âI can take care of myself,â she said, gently. âBut, thank you, though. I appreciate the kindness. After everything, itâs nice to be reminded that people still care.â She smiled, a graceful thing that lingered on her lips even after her lips had moved back to their neutral position. Just saying those words wasnât particularly enough in Lilyâs opinion, but she hoped that Peter would understand that she meant it.Â
Sometimes she felt like her words were taken as being fake, especially recently. Lily was intelligent, and sometimes her intelligence hid her true feelings. In the best way, that meant she could get away easily with lying to those who didnât know her quite well enough to know she was hiding something. On the other hand, it also meant that those who didnât know her quite as well might not understand how she really felt. As a person who was quite connected to people, Lily sometimes hated the way that her own words could get in the way.
âOh, completely,â Lily said, a grin spreading across her lips. âHarryâs a monster but I love him with all my heart. And Iâll make sure not to tell James. He doesnât need any bigger of a head than heâs already got, you know?â
She looked down as they walked, feet stepping on broken cobblestones in the moonlight. âOh, tell your mum I said hello. Sheâs so lovely. I mean, Iâve only met her a couple of times, but, I just thought she was lovely. Oh, has James invited you and the other lads to Christmas yet? I mean, Remus lives with us, so heâs going to be there, but. If youâd like to bring your mum, Iâm happy to cook for one more.â
Peter chewed at the inside of his cheek, not sure if Lily was trying to be patronising or not. He knew she was far more capable than himself of battling someone, but still. If Lucius Malfoy could be taken down... what hope did anyone have? Not even he was safe now, being on both sides. No one was safe. Still, he nodded and offered her a tight smile of his own. âN-no problem. Just... want to make sure youâre safe.â And he did. Lily didnât deserve to die for being a muggleborn. She was a better witch than some purebloods he knew, if not most of them. Maybe thatâs why they wanted her dead though. Peter didnât know, and frankly didnât want to. Â
Chuckling, he nodded. âYeah, no, sâpose he doesnât. I miss the little guy though,â Peter sighed. Kids might not be his favourite thing, but they always looked at everyone with so much love. There was something special about that, that Peter didnât really understand, but he liked it. Which, was why heâd admittedly avoided little Harry. He hadnât wanted to be reminded of the times James looked at him with no judgement, only acceptance. Â
Stumbling over his own feet, Peter quickly righted himself, face flushing. He couldnât remember the last time anyone spoke of his mum without trying to push him to move out or hang out more in spite of her wishes. Something about Lilyâs offer, while also stunning, made him think maybe sheâd been genuine earlier, rather than patronising. âUh, Iâll see what she thinks. She's, you know, not a big fan o-of going out and stuff.â Peter swallowed. The others had met her a few times, in an attempt for Peter to get her to see that they werenât bad people, and heâd be well taken care of despite not being under her roof. It hadnât worked, though she had liked Lily and Remus. âB-but yeah, Iâll tell her you said hi as well.âÂ