Webs of Glass

Ring! Ring!

The door opened and the keys dropped into the smiling little leprechaun's pot-o'-gold trinkets.

Ring! Ring! Riiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnggg!

"Hello, fellow creatures of the universe. You have reached the house of Bugs Bunny and Tweety. We're not here right now, because we have better things to do than to answer the phone and listen to you babble on. If you still feel the need to leave a message, than by all means, do so. We make no promises to call you back. If you still feel that leaving us a message, or even listening to this message, is not a total and complete waste of your time, we will now provide the means to do so. P.S. We provide no warrantee or medical coverage for what you are about to hear. Eeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkk!"

"Bloody hell! You people are insane! That said, you have got to teach me how you got that noise, whenever you get home. I just called to let you know that I'm happy you're back at home, and I hope to see you sometime this summer. I hope you had a great year in school, and I can't wait to talk to you. Call me back - Leigh, you know my number. I love you. Dad."

"Well, the timing of that phone call was suspiciously eerie," Lily commented to her mother.

"He's a math geek."

"That explains my query...how?"

The two Evans tugged Lily's trunk up the stairs. "Well he knows what time your train gets in and about how long it takes to get from our house to the city... so, yeah. He's a math geek."

"A rebellious math geek?"

"Clearly," Leigh huffed as the two of them struggled under the weight of the trunk.

"You know," Leigh commented, "it's times like these I wonder why you couldn't have just picked the room on the ground floor."

"Because I'm a masochist." Lily balanced her half of the trunk on her knee, and fumbled with her doorknob. The door opened - only to send her and her mother flying into the room with the trunk landing partly on them and partly on the floor. The trunk opened immediately upon contact with the floor and sent a good half of Lily's items spilling across her bedroom. "We've got to work on that."

"Every damn year, this is what happens," Her mother agreed as she pulled one of Lily's socks out of her hair. "Maybe we should just get Matt to do it. I mean, he's strong. Then we wouldn't have to suffer through this every year."

"We thought of that last year," Lily reminded her mum, "but we discounted it, remember?"

"Oh, yeah...Wait, fudge! No! Why would we do that?!" Leigh cried in distress, sending her hand swooping down onto a pile of assorted knickknacks. This inevitably hurt her hand, and prompted a cry of "Ow, ow, owww!" Once this was finished, Lily was happy to accommodate her dearest mother with an answer.

"We didn't ask Matt for help because of all the magical items that pop out of my trunk whenever it accidentally opens." To prove her point, Lily tossed an item onto her mother's lap.

"Oooooh! That's so pretty!" Leigh exclaimed over the miniature spherical knickknack as it glowed a soft misty gold in her palm. "What is it? What's it supposed to do?"

"It forecasts the weather," Lily informed her mother with some amusement.

"No, really? But it's so pretty!" Leigh watched the device with fascination.

"Exactly. It will forecast the weather for up to three days in advance, but it's just as faulty as the weather forecasts in the morning paper or on the news. Well...maybe it's slightly more accurate. No matter what though, it's really pretty to look at."

"Honey, tell your mother what all the pretty colours mean." Leigh prodded her daughter as she unceremoniously pushed some of her daughter's clothes off of the bed and sat down to study the knickknack further.

Lily stepped over the relocated pile as she hung up a shirt. "Gold means sunny, green means rain... and that's the extent of my knowledge." Lily tossed her mother a thin pamphlet. "That should contain all the information about this device you need."

"It makes pretty colours..." Leigh sounded hypnotised.

"I don't suppose you'd care to stop looking at the pretty object in favour of helping your struggling daughter put away her things?" Lily asked dryly.

"Of course not!" Leigh sounded scandalised.

"Then why are you in my room?"

"I haven't seen my daughter for well over half a year and she wants me to leave already!" Leigh exclaimed in pretend agony.

"No... but that doesn't explain why you're here."

"My very presence fills this unpacking session with more life, so I, in fact, do not have to do anything."

"Bzzzt... Try again," Lily said playfully.

"Do I ever require an explanation?" Leigh inquired.

"All the time but none could ever quite cover it," Lily responded offhandedly.

"Hey!" Leigh protested, snapping out of her hypnotic fascination with the magical weather forecaster to glare at her daughter, who in turn, defended herself.

"It's true." Seeing that this explanation wasn't nearly good enough, as evidenced by the pillow thrown at her head, Lily elaborated. "Besides, it wasn't meant as a bad thing. Think of it as meaning you're an enigma. An insane, illogical enigma."

Leigh pouted at the redhead but desisted with her glaring. "What were you asking again?"

"Why you were here," Lily recapped as she threw a pair of boots into her closet.

"Oh, yeah!" Her mother shrugged. "To help, of course."

"How exactly are you doing that? You're sitting on my bed staring at an object!"

"Through my engaging conversation, of course."

"What engaging conversation?"

"The one we're about to start." Leigh made it sound as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alright..." Lily agreed distractedly, as she tried to figure out if she would need the book she was holding in her hand ever again in her life.

Unfortunately for Lily, this meant that she wasn't paying any attention to her mother, who sat up on her bed as soon as she heard the distracted tone of her daughter's voice and was now eyeing Lily with a scheming look on her face.

"Have fun this year?" She asked her oblivious daughter innocently.

"Yeah," Lily replied. 100 Magical Meals, had she even used this book?

"How were your classes?"

"Fine." Was it possible this book belonged to one of her roommates? It certainly wasn't a school book unless Flitwick decided to start teaching a cooking class.

"So...."

Absorbed in her thoughts, Lily completely missed the hinting tone to her mother's voice. Julie liked to cook; maybe this book belonged to her? "So..." She absently mocked her mother.

Leigh grinned mischievously at her unaware sixteen-year-old daughter. "Who was the cute boy at the station you were carefully avoiding any eye contact with?"

That shocking comment certainly snapped Lily out of her thoughts. Actually, that was a bit of an understatement. Lily wouldn't have been more shocked if a flying pink crocodile apparated into her room, and proceeded to proclaim to the world - in English, no less - that it was becoming a vegetarian. "What?!"

"Cute boy. Kings Cross. Any of this ringing a bell?" Leigh prompted.

She seemed extremely put out by the bewildered head shake her daughter was giving her. So, in typical Leigh Evans fashion, she decided that her daughter needed to be pressed further. "Glasses, very tall, messy black hair...?"

Wow. Could her mother be more wrong? And here Lily had been racking her mind to think of who her mother could possibly be referring to, and she chose him of all people! Well, sure, she was avoiding him, but for completely different reasons! "I was avoiding him for completely different reasons, Mum . It was definitely not because I have a crush on him. I'd have to be mental to have a crush on him."

"Well, you do sort of fulfill that requirement," Leigh gently teased. "So does this boy, the one you would have to be insane to have a crush on, have a name?"

"James Potter. And I was avoiding him because I was embarrassed."

"Why? Does he have a crush on you?"

"No."

Her mother was now understandably confused, and so when her daughter suddenly stood up and started heading for the door, she protested. "Hey, wait! You can't leave a story there! That's unfair!"

Somehow, she managed to untangle herself from her previous position on Lily's bed and beat her daughter to her door. Leigh blocked the door, "Why were you embarrassed?"

"Well...you see, there's a strong possibility, that I might have, possibly...yelled at him in front of the entire school." Lily ducked under her mother's arm and hurriedly rushed down the stairs towards the kitchen.

"What?!" her mother chased after her. "You cannot just leave a story off there. Details, Lily, I need details!"

Lily passed her mum a steaming cup of their patented, super strong black coffee, tolerable only for the two of them and Daniel. Pouring one for herself, she continued her story. "I was really frustrated. Kevin's leaving this year, and he's like my brother, and I was so stressed out about that.... Plus it was just after our Defence OWL exam. I was at my snapping point, and he was acting like such a bigoted arse, so I just...blew up. Sort of."

"Sort of? How do you 'sort of' blow up at somebody? The term 'blow up' in itself is pretty absolute," Leigh pointed out as she sipped at her coffee.

"Alright, fine," Lily conceded. "I blew up at him. Period."

"So, what's on your mind, Monkeybutt?"

"Monkeybutt?"

"I've just felt like saying that for the longest time, and this was the perfect opportunity. Anyways, what was he doing that was so bad?"

"Argh!" Lily fumed, "He was just picking on Snape for no reason, and then... Oh...and then! Then, he had the balls to ask me out in front of the entire school. He said it so condescendingly as if he would be doing me a favour."

"Isn't James Potter one of the kids who play all those brilliant pranks you occasionally write to me about?" Leigh asked. "And isn't Snape, in your words, that 'slimy prejudiced asshole?'"

"True," Lily acknowledged, "but that doesn't mean he had any right to pick on him simply because he could. Snape didn't even do anything, and being a world class arsehole isn't a crime. He was just so...conceited." Lily sighed. "Anyways, I was so embarrassed by what happened that I've just been actively avoiding him since then."

"Yes, because there's no such thing as inactively avoiding."

"When did you start to go on a grammar kick?"

"I'm not!" Leigh protested. At her daughter's look, she confessed. "It's really fun to bug people."

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my mother: A thirty-two year-old woman, who possesses the maturity of a five-year-old."

"Don't be snippy," Leigh admonished.

They both sipped at their coffee quietly for a moment before Lily broke the easy silence. "So, where are we going this summer?"

Her mother was an archaeologist. This meant that they were inevitably away for at least a part of each summer for almost every year, and Leigh was out of town for far longer than that ever since Lily began to go to Hogwarts.

"Well, this month we won't be going anywhere. Next month however...what do you think of Egypt?"

"Sounds great. Will Daniel also be on this dig? I feel like I never get to see him anymore," Lily complained. Daniel was her favourite archaeologist next to her mother, and was like family to them both. She hated that she only got to see him a few times a year, but she kept in touch with him with letters through her mother, so it wasn't that bad.

"He'd better be. It's his dig."

"Yes! Daniel's digs are always interesting. Plus, this means I'll definitely get to do things, help out, learn the language and history..."

"It's not like you've never been to Egypt before Lily. Quite a few of my digs have been there."

"But there's always more to learn. Also, they have great Wizarding and Muggle communities in Egypt, so I'm never bored. Unlike that dig in Africa three years ago..."

"Are you going to hold that over my head for eternity?" Leigh whined. "Was it my fault the dig director was an arse?"

"Or that we were away from all traces of civilisation at that location? Nope, not your fault whatsoever. I was just saying how happy I am it's Egypt this year," Lily said sweetly.

"Alright, I'm going to finish unpacking and then maybe we can get something to eat."

"Forget unpacking, you can do it when we come back. Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving, and Kat's missed you." The brunette tossed the empty mugs into the sink and headed for the door.

"Does this mean a free meal?" Lily asked hopefully.

"I don't think she's missed you that much."

"Free cake?" Lily persisted in her optimism.

"That one's a possibility," Leigh conceded.

"Really? Cake? I get cake!"

"Of course you get cake. You cannot disappear for half a year and not get cake. I'm serious kiddo, this year we are going to have a serious discussion about chaining you to our house so you don't have to leave."

"How would I go to the bathroom? Or take a shower?" Lily demanded.

"You'd live."

"Or going to the café to get coffee, my precious coffee, the elixir of life itself?"

Leigh paused at that one for a moment before revising her previous declaration, "Or we would just attach you to the house with a really long rope. The only condition would be you couldn't leave town...oh, I like that one!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "You're insane."

"No," Leigh protested. "Well, okay, maybe that's true, but the point is that I am brilliant."

"Brilliant? On which planet?"

"This planet, sweetest Lily," Leigh replied amiably.

"In your dreams."

"Alright, that's it. No coffee for you," Leigh cackled evilly as Lily protested.

"What?! No! Mu-um, that - you can't - you're evil!" the redhead huffed.

"I'm the queen of evil. Compared to me, you, my dear, are a mere apprentice."

"At the end of winter vacation I was a lifeline. According to you, I was your life's blood, which you simply could not survive without. Go back to that," Lily pleaded with the self-proclaimed queen of evil.

"Ah, but you see now you are trapped in my dungeon of doom for the entire summer," Leigh cackled once more.

"Quit with the cackling, it's just plain creepy," Lily advised her mother.

"Yeah, okay, Glinda."

"If I'm Glinda, then you're Momba."

"Noooooooo," Her mother whined like a four-year-old, and proceeded to stomp her feet on the pavement. "I want to be a Munchkin!"

"You are obsessed with the Munchkins."

"No, I am not!" Lily's mother vehemently denied.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"You're as obsessed with them as you are with the Oompa Loompa's."

"They're just so cute!"

"Ha!" Lily exclaimed triumphantly. "You admitted it!"

"Damn," Leigh swore right before they entered the café. Upon their entrance, Kat came quickly from behind the counter to wrap Lily up in a hug.

"Lily! I've missed you! Come, let me get you both some coffee and we'll chat..." Kat began to steer Lily in the direction of the counter, where her brother Jack was busy making coffee.

"Hey! What am I? Chicken soup?" Leigh grouched good-naturedly as she trailed after both her wayward daughter and her long-time friend.

"Of course not," Kat called over her shoulder. "That would imply that you're a good person to hang around when we're sick."

For the safety of their precious cake, it was a good thing Kat didn't see the tongue Leigh stuck out towards her.

X-X-X-X-X

"See you tomorrow!" Kat and Jack O'Riley, called out to them as they left the café.

"You bet! Where else are we going to get coffee?" Leigh called back as Lily waved goodbye.

"I'm going to head over to Lyn's house to say 'hi' and stuff; let her know I'm back, and catch up on the year and all that jazz," Lily informed her mother. "I'll meet you back at the house?"

"Either there, or at Matt's if he came back to town already."

"Are you going to see him about that strange noise in our car?"

"Hell yeah! The last thing we need is that car breaking down."

"True. So I'll see you at home, or at Matt's."

"Okay. Wait," Leigh stopped her daughter as she checked her watch. "It's after eleven, how are you going to get in to see Lyn? You know how strict her parents are."

"How else? I'm going to climb a tree and knock on her window," Lily proclaimed as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Oh, of course," Her mother mocked.

"Oh, of course." Her mother mocked.

"I'll see you later." Lily took off down the street.

"See you!" Leigh headed in the opposite direction.

Less than ten minutes later Lily was perched precariously on the roof and knocking on her friend's window. "Lyn!" she hissed quietly.

Lyn opened the window, and Lily slid into her room.

The brunette hugged her tightly. "Hey, I missed you!"

"I missed you too!" Lily whispered. They were both being very careful not to wake Lyn's parents up.

"So...what's been happening since I last saw you at winter vacation?"

"With that awesome party," Lyn pointed out to her.

"My mother is noted for them."

"That she is," Lyn laughed softly as they perched across from each other on the bed.

"So...spill all the juicy happenings in your life!" the vivacious redhead prompted her oldest friend. "You turned sixteen in February and after that I know nothing."

"Thanks for the gift by the way."

"What are friends for? I'm just happy you liked it."

"Really liked it," Lyn stressed. "I've been looking for that album."

"Well, you have it."

"Yeah," Lyn smiled. "I have a boyfriend."

That was definitely new.

"Do I know him?"

"No," Lyn's brown eyes sparkled. "He only moved here a couple of years ago, so I don't think so."

"What's his name? Is he cute? Since when do you have a boyfriend?" As Lily fired question after question at her friend, they talked about their years, swapping stories well into the night. It was almost four in the morning when Lily finally left.

"I'll come by later today...when your parents won't kill me."

"Yeah, you might get pounced on by my siblings," Lyn warned Lily.

"Believe me, I don't mind," the redhead said firmly. "And I'd better meet that boyfriend of yours soon!"

"You will," Lyn promised.

She gave her friend a quick hug, before darting out the window. Lyn made sure Lily was safely on the ground before she closed the window.

Down on the ground, Lily couldn't help but wonder what else she'd missed while away at a magic school. She missed her oldest friend turning sixteen, and getting a boyfriend. Hell, she'd never even met this boyfriend! She wasn't there for Lyn's younger brother losing his first tooth or for that funny incident at the spring fair. The stories she recounted in turn lacked detail, because how could she possibly go in to the magical side of her stories without betraying the laws of her world?

Her world. Was it really so different, magic and Muggle? When did she start to draw definite lines in the sand? After all, they were really all just people living on Earth.

Nevertheless, as she walked home, Lily couldn't help but think that she hadn't felt so alone in a long time. Sitting in her old best friend's room and listening to her talk, she realised that she couldn't share most of her life with her anymore. Not with Lyn, not with Kat or Jack at the café when they'd asked about school. She couldn't talk about the career she was going into or what electives she was taking.

Late that night, Lily felt a chill sweep through her body. It was a chill that had nothing to do with the nonexistent wind.