A/n There's something about this that I'm not completely pleased with, but I can't put my finger on it. So if you could give me constructive criticism, then that would be great.

Disclaimer: Of course Harry Potter isn't mine, hence fanfiction.

House Guest

Chapter 1: Cliché in its Purest Form

"I swear, I could have been there by now if you two had let be take my broomstick," I complained as I sat in the back seat of my parents' car. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out the window and let my anger radiate of me in waves so they would now how pissed I was at them.

"James," my mother sighed, "You are going to a muggle house. You can't just show up flying something that they use to sweep their kitchen floor." I closed my eyes at those words and tried not to think about someone using my Cleansweep as something to clean with.

I blame Sirius for all of this. He was the one who started all the joking around about muggles. I just followed along, and who gets in the most trouble. I'll give you three guesses.

That's right. Me.

It's not like we have anything against muggles either. It's just that they make it so easy to pick on them. They are so ignorant of everything around them. If they would just open their eyes they would see how much magic is in their lives.

Anyway, mom caught us and thought it would be a good idea for me to find out how muggles live. Apparently she had to do it when she was my age. Dad was on my side. He thought the idea was ridiculous—because it is—but mom had made up her mind. I was spending a month as a muggle, in a muggle home. Damn those muggles and their foreign exchange programs. Mom was able to get me into a home only several towns away, yet far enough away so I couldn't run back home.

The car pulled to stop outside a cliché cookie cutter house. It had a perfect green lawn with flowers along the walk that led to the house. The house was two stories and perfectly white with light green trimming and gold numbers above the door. When I got out of the car I saw the mailbox, which was also white and had the house number painted on the side. I felt like throwing up.

"James," dad said quietly as he walked up to me, "I know you don't like this, and to be honest, I didn't either, but please be pleasant. I don't expect you to stay completely out of trouble but if the ministry has to get involved—"

"Dad," I interrupted, "Calm down. I won't screw up that bad." He stared into my eyes for a few seconds as if judging whether I already had some kind of plan or not. "I'm not gonna blink," I said. Finally he laughed and shook his head.

"Right," he nodded, "Sorry son. I'm just not so sure about this. I know your mother thinks it's a fabulous idea, but…"

"Ready you two?" Mum asked. She was standing on the sidewalk, having just gotten my trunk out of the back of the car. I looked at my dad, who raised his eyebrows at me. I forced a smile and nodded, taking the trunk from my mom and leading the way up the cemented walk. Each step closer I felt more like dropping my things and bolting.

Alright, I thought, one more step and then go. But before I could work up the nerve to run from my parents, I was at the front door and mom was ringing the doorbell. Damn.

A lady with red hair who looked to be around her late 30's answered the door.

"Ah," she said, smiling brightly, "You must be James. Please come in." She stood aside and I led the way into the house.

It was just what you would expect it to be by looking at the outside. The tan carpet looked newly vacuumed and there were family pictures lining the walls. About halfway down the hall was a closet that probably held coats. To the right was a staircase.

"I'm Mrs. Evans," the lady greeted and I shook her hand politely.

"Hello," I said, "This is my mum and dad, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," I gestured to them. They were polite and perfectly formal. I could tell my dad was uncomfortable in the muggle home. He probably wanted to get home and change back into his robes.

As my parents chatted with Mrs. Evans I turned to look at all the pictures. The first picture that caught my eyes was a family photo with Mrs. Evans standing next to a black haired man I could only assume was Mr. Evans. There were two girls. The one that caught my eye was the red head. Lily Evans. My spirits instantly lifted.

I would be spending the summer with Lily Evans.

"We have to get going," mom said. I turned to face her and she pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged her back, tapping her back lightly with one hand. When she finally took a step back I saw that she looked teary eyed. Just like whenever I go off to school. I suddenly felt sorry for my mom and any anger I felt towards her instantly vanished.

"It's only for three weeks, mum," I patted her on the back, trying to cheer her up.

"And before you know it, he'll be back and you won't be able to wait till he goes to school again," dad added.

"Thanks dad, I love you too," I said sarcastically. Mom laughed.

We all said our goodbyes and my parents left. Mom wanted to get out of there before she couldn't hold the tears back anymore.

"Would you like me to show you to your room?" Mrs. Evans asked. I nodded and she led the way up the stairs. My room was the first on the left. The entire room was entirely blue. Blue blankets and blue pillows, the walls were blue, the carpet was blue, and the curtains were blue. They were all different shades of blue, but they looked nice together. The only thing that wasn't blue was the wooden furniture. The window was open, letting in a nice ray of sunlight and gentle breeze.

I dropped my trunk at the end of the bed.

"I hope you like it. It's not a very big but we tried to make it as comfy for you as possible."

She was right. The room wasn't very big. You probably couldn't even fit a desk in the room with the dresser there. But it was cozy. I wouldn't mind it being my room for a few weeks. "It's perfect," I told her with a smile. She beamed and offered me a cup of tea.

I followed her to the kitchen. She put a pot of boiling water on the stove and sat with me at the counter. I kept looking around the room, finding it odd not to have a house elf making the tea for us.

She then led me into the next room, which was the dining room. I sat across from her at the table.

"My daughters should be here soon," she told me as she smoothed out the white tablecloth, "Petunia went out with some friends this afternoon and Mr. Evans took Lily to get her drivers liscence. She's very excited about it."

I smiled and opened my mouth to speak but the teakettle started whistling and Mrs. Evans left the room to get it.

"Oh, my God," I heard behind me. It was a very familiar voice that I would have recognized anywhere. I turned around.

"Hello Evans," I greeted, putting on the smirk I new she hated.