Different

Lily Evans slumped on her bed, rubbing her face in frustration. She had tried, once again, to get Petunia to talk, to say anything, but it was pointless. Sometimes, she didn't even know why she still tried. Petunia wasn't going to forgive her. She sighed. She had cried, yelled, and cried some more over the matter, but now, she stared up at her ceiling in silence. A sharp tapping on the window brought her back to reality. She stood, and opened the window to let a familiar owl in.

“Howard!” she exclaimed, rummaging around her desk for some owl treats, as she greeted Remus’ owl. The name had been a joke, but had stuck. The strangely formal owl seemed to suit it. Howard gently nibbled up the treats she offered, then stuck out his leg politely. Lily untied the mass of letters. It was a wonder that he’d been able to fly, what with so much tied to his leg. She gestured over to the perch she’d nailed to her wall (much to her father’s dismay), and Howard fluttered over, drank some water, tucked his beak under his wing, and was asleep within seconds. Lily shook her head. She’d have to tell Remus to be nicer to his poor owl. How much could he have possibly written her? She piled the letters on her bed, and picked up the first one. She opened it, and read from Remus’ neat cursive
______________________________________________________________________

Lily,

Hope your summer is going well! Good luck with your sister, but don’t worry too much about that. I apologize for all the mail, everyone wanted to get a letter in when I said I was writing to you. Which brings me to the point of the letter (not that I don't like talking to you, of course).

James’ parents are out of town for the next two weeks, and James and Sirius want to have a party. Peter and I are here, as well as Marlene. We’ve just owled Mary and Dorcas. James thinks he can put us all up for a couple nights, so we can all hang out a bit before school starts. We all hope you can come!! (especially James). See you soon hopefully!

Remus

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Lily sat up, biting her lip thoughtfully. She didn't see why she couldn't go. Potter lived about a half-hour train away, and it wasn’t like she had any friends in the neighbourhood. Not anymore, at least. It could be fun. It would be nice to see Remus, Peter and Sirius, and she definitely wanted to see Mary, Marlene and Dorcas. Potter… Well, Potter was an unfortunate downside to the matter, but she wouldn't let him ruin her fun. Anyhow. It had been, how long? A month? Since she’d last spoken to him. Maybe he’d changed, gotten over her. She moved to the next letter on the stack. She rolled her eyes as she recognized the messy scrawl
______________________________________________________________________

Evans,

Hope you didn't miss me too much (I know, it can be hard sometimes). I’ll let Moony do the explaining, but you have to come! It’ll be so much fun!

See you soon! Lots of love,
James

______________________________________________________________________
Lily rolled her eyes. She took it back. He clearly hadn’t changed a bit. She threw the letter to the side, and moved onto the next one. From Sirius.
______________________________________________________________________

Evans,

Please come to the party. James is gonna lose his fucking mind he’s driving us crazy. Siriusly Evans (Ha- see what I did there-), you gotta save us. You're our only hope and stuff.

Our lives are in your hands,
Sirius

______________________________________________________________________
At this, Lily chuckled. She pawed through the remainder of the letters. Peter’s saying essentially the same thing as Sirius, just more timidly, and Marlene begging her to come save her from the testosterone. Lily carefully folded the letters up and placed them in the large cardboard box she had been using since second year to keep her friend’s letters in. She sat at her desk, pulling out a scrap piece of paper and a pen.
______________________________________________________________________

Remus (and everyone else),

I’d love to come! I’ll take the 9 o’clock train, and see you all tonight! Don’t have too much fun without me!

Love,
Lily

______________________________________________________________________
She rolled up the paper carefully, and seeing how tired Howard seemed, decided to let him rest a bit longer while she packed her things and told her parents. She opened her door, careful not to disturb the sleeping bird, and padded down the stairs. She found her mother and the kitchen table, reading a magazine.

“Mom,” she said. Her mother looked up from the magazine, and smiled “Can I go to a friend’s house for a week?” Now that she said it, she realized how likely it was that her mom would say no. She waited, as her mother seemed to think it through.

“You know the rule, Lily. Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How?” Lily sighed. She should have seen that coming.

“My friends from Gryffindor in my year will be there. You know them. Potter, Black, Pettigrew and Remus, and Marlene, Dorcus and Mary. They want me to come visit for the next two weeks, at Potter’s house in Godric’s Hollow. We’re just going to hang out, maybe go into town and see a movie or something. I’ll take the 9 o’clock train tonight.” Lily said, counting on her fingers. She looked up expectantly.

“Will there be adults?”

“Yep.” Lily didn't like lying to her parents, but she knew that if her mother knew that Potter’s parents were away, her chances of going would decrease significantly.

“I suppose so. I’ll call your father at work, but it sounds fine to me. Sounds like fun!” Lily smiled.

“Thanks mom!” Her mother smiled back.

“Why don’t you go get packed, and I’ll drive you to the train station once I get off the telephone with your dad.” She instructed. Lily gave her mother a quick hug, and dashed upstairs to send off Howard with her reply. She reached the top of the stairs quickly, then froze, as she locked eyes with her sister, who had been coming out of the washroom. Lily offered a quick smile, which Petunia did not return. Lily shrugged, and brushed past her sister, closing her bedroom door a bit faster than was strictly necessary.

“Howard!” she called gently. The owl woke up, fluffed his feathers, and looked around. Lily held out a treat, which the bird took politely. Howard, being a very observant bird, noted the scroll Lily held in her hand, and stuck out his leg. Lily tied the scroll on, and opened her window.

“Back to Remus, buddy. At Potter’s house. I guess I’ll see you soon!” she smiled at the owl. Howard hopped off the perch and flew out the window. Lily looked around. She had the unfortunate habit of not really unpacking her Hogwarts trunk, and assorted articles of clothing and books were strewn across the floor. They were all clean, but they just hadn’t made it to the drawers. She grabbed a duffel bag, and began stuffing it with clothing. This only took her a couple minutes, until she recalled Remus’ letter saying there would be a party. She opened her closet, and tugged out a dress. Her mother had bought it for her sometime during the year, and it turned out to fit perfectly. It was an emerald green halter neck that was tight around the torso, then relaxed into a loose skirt that fell to just above her knees. She carefully folded it in, and packed it in the bag. She rummaged in her Hogwarts trunk for her wand, and placed that in too, wrapped in a sock. She left the room to go pack her toiletries, when her mother called up the stairs.

“Your father says it's fine and to have fun! I’m ready to leave when you are!”

“Just a second mom!” Lily replied, hastily gathering her toothbrush and toothpaste. Within moments, she was ready to go. She grabbed a book to read on the train, turned off her lights and closed the door.