The Boy Next Door—Chapter Two

Potter and I stared at each other for approximately two seconds—two long seconds—then I forced a smile and shut the door in his face. Oops. Was that rude? Well, it was Potter. I'm sure he'd get over it.

With a sigh I returned to the kitchen and rinsed off the spoon formerly sporting peanut butter—I didn't have much of an appetite anymore. 'Potter knows I'm here,' I thought despairingly. Then I grinned. I made it sound like he was some murderer out to get me! It wasn't that bad…I hoped. But still… I had hoped to lead a nice, peaceful rest of the summer. Now I had Potter (and most likely one or more of his friends) to deal with. I sighed again and plopped down into a chair, my face in my hands. Oh, joy.

"Lily Evans!" Uh oh. When my mum used that tone, it meant trouble. What had I done?

"Erm… Yes, Mummy?" I said meekly, still racking my brain for the offense I was supposed to have committed.

"Lily Evans, whatis this I hear about you shutting the door on a charming young gentleman by the name of James Potter?"

Oh. That. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Mum, if you only knew—"

"Lily." Her voice cracked like a whip. "I want you to go over to the Potter residence and apologize to James."

"What—? Mum!"

"And don't even try any 'buts', Lily, you know how I am when it comes to politeness!" Ugh. Mum's policy for good manners was strict, and the punishments if you ignored common courtesies were harsh.

About half a minute later I was out the front door and on the sidewalk in front of my house. I glanced hopefully back at my house, but I could see my mum peeping through the curtains. 'Damnit,' I thought. 'She's actually checking to make sure I go.' I sighed.

No traffic was coming—good. I ran across the street and slowly, warily approached the front door of James Potter. With any luck he'd be out, and I wouldn't have to face him.

Fate was not on my side. Potter himself opened the door. He seemed more composed than he had at our last meeting.

"Oh—Evans."

I inclined my head. "Potter." There was a short pause and then—

"Er—Why are you here?"

A light flush stealthily sneaked up my neck and cheeks. "Erm… Yeah. My mom sent me over here to apologize. For, um, the door incident…"

There was another pause, and then Potter gave a playful grin. "Well?"

I glared at him. "I apologize. But let it be known that it was by force!"

He grinned lazily, choosing to ignore my latter comment. "There now, Evans, that wasn't so horrible now, was it?"

"Oh," I shuddered, "If you only knew!" His grin widened infuriatingly. I reluctantly let a little smile slip. "Hey—now that I think of it… How did my mum know I shut the door on you?"

"Er—" A crease formed between his hazel orbs. "Well I—I didn't mean for her exactly to find out… But, well, it just kind of… slipped out?"

"You tattled on me?" My mouth fell open in exasperation. "Geez, Potter, just when I thought you were starting to—"

"To what?" He pried, eyes searching.

"Nothing. Just—just leave me alone Potter."

"But Evans! I didn't mean to…" His voice trailed off as I turned my back to him.

My frown only deepened as I distantly heard, "Bad luck, mate…" His friends had been listening in to our conversation as well? I gave an impatient sigh and quickly crossed the street back to my house.

My mother looked me up and down as I entered our house. "Well, Lily?"

"I apologized Mum. It was lovely," I could barely keep a sharp, biting sense of sarcasm out of my words. "I'm going to my room."

I started up the stairs, consumed with my own vengeful thoughts on Potter. Who honestly tattletales at seventeen years old? I reached the second to last step, and my toe caught the edge. I tripped flat on my face. 'Lovely,' I voiced again.

Two days later, I hadn't seen Potter at all, and my anger had started to ebb. I had gotten over his snitching. That was how I was—My temper was quick to rise, but I didn't hold a grudge for an incredibly long time. Unless it was something major.

I was stretched out over a couch in the living room, reluctantly working on my summer homework. Term was just weeks away, and with all the work the teachers had piled up on the former sixth years, I didn't want to end up rushing it all in on the last day of summer.

Ding dong.

Just because I was working on my homework early didn't mean I was opposed to a break. As the doorbell rang I rose gratefully from my sunken in spot on the couch.

"Who is it?" I called, pulling open the door. Ugh. Who else? Potter.

"Hi, Evans."

"Hello, Potter," I replied warily.

"Um, okay, Evans, the thing is… You know quidditch, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, Potter, it's only the obsession of every single guy in the whole wizarding world."

"Right." He looked bemused. "Well, you see I was playing a game, with my dad, and my friends. And my mom. And the teams are uneven. So, since everyone else around here would faint at the sight of someone flying on a broom, we were wondering if you might be interested in playing…"

"So basically you asked me because I was the only one you could?"

James warily looked at me. "C'mon Evans, don't go picking a fight with me. Do you want to play or not?"

I became miffed for a moment, but then I slowly shrugged my right shoulder. I would come to regret this. "Uh—sure. I'll play."

James grinned. Er—Potter grinned.

There we go for chapter two.

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Also, please point out even the smallest typo to me. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and I'd be happy to know where the mistakes were so that I could correct them.