Fiancé

Chapter 7

"LILY!"

My head landed with a bump onto the hard carpet as the pillow was removed from underneath my head.

"Ow!" I hissed as I involuntarily reached for the sore spot forming near my occipital lobe. "Bloody hell."

Petunia grabbed my arms and forced me to my feet. Powerless to her unyielding will, I stumbled as she yanked me out of my room and into the bathroom. She turned the water on in the shower before smashing a towel into my face. "Shower," she ordered roughly before briskly turning around and slamming the door behind her. "Don't make me come back in there and strip you, because I will!" she threatened shrilly.

I let out a huge sigh that caused my shoulders to slump downwards. Stepping out of my clothes, I got into the shower and let the water spray gently at the muscles in my back. I yawned and rested my weary head against the tile as I waited for my brain to kick in.

About the time when I had lathered my hair completely with my sudsy, strawberry shampoo, I remembered that James had spent the night with me. I supposed that he must have slipped out sometime earlier because he hadn't been there when I had woken up and I was fairly certain that the sound of a gun firing would have made me wake up.

So, most likely, he was fine then.

Wrapping a towel around my freshly cleaned body, I stepped out of the shower into the humid bathroom and wiped away a small patch of condensation from the foggy mirror so that I could make out my blurry reflection. Grabbing my wand, I quickly removed any unwanted hair from my legs and underarms. Against my will, I would mostly likely be forced to have my picture taken, and I did not want to be immortalized in film looking like a wildebeest.

I brushed my teeth and then combed out my long, wet hair as I let the excess water drip into the sink. I heard a loud knock on the door, and I banged my hand against the sink as I jumped in surprise.

I hissed in pain. "Yeah?" I called through gritted teeth.

"Are you going to get out anytime soon, Lily Marie? Some of our bladders don't work the way they used to, and we need to use the loo when our granddaughters aren't building the Great Wall of China with matchsticks inside."

Sighing heavily, I secured my towel, grabbed my pajamas, and then opened the door to see Grandmum Rose waiting outside with her fist raised to knock and a slacked jaw on her face.

"It's all yours," I told her.

"Thank you," she replied before stepping inside. "You should really wear a robe, love. Only tarts walk around in towels. It sends the wrong message. Dear Lord, look at how stuffy it is in here. Even my glasses are fogging up."

Shaking my head, I walked into my room and exchanged my towel for a pair of baggy shorts and a t-shirt. I walked over to Calypso's cage, where she was still snoozing, the lucky bird, and I filled up her water dish and left a few owl treats out for her.

Calypso must have heard the rustle of the bag of treats as I opened it because she opened one eye to peer at me blearily.

"Hey, girl," I whispered to her softly. "Go back to sleep. It's only," I paused as I looked at the clock on my nightstand and groaned when I read the neon green numbers staring back at me, "five minutes after seven."

Callie hooted softly as she nipped my finger affectionately and staggered to hold out her leg.

Surprised, I removed the small yellow piece of parchment from her leg before I kissed the dozing owl on the feathers near her face and walked over to my desk to read the note.

My Lily,

Thank your mum for the fudge. It's wonderful, as usual. I had to hex Sirius to keep his grubby fingers away when he came home last night. Don't worry. He'll be fine in the morning.