All right, my last update took forever, so, now that I have a free week from school due to Regents Week, I decided to give you guys a quick update.

Now, I must thank all of my WONDERFUL reviewers for making writing this story a pleasure for me. All your support for the last chapter really got me back into this.

Thanks to:

PoTtErMaNiAn87: Thank you for following this story. I hope it continues to get better for you. As you know, James and Lily right now are about the farthest thing from being a couple. So how will they get together ;)? We'll see . . .

Erica: Ugh, it is frightening isn't it? But according to Vernon, Petunia is the most beautiful (gag) woman alive, so apparently every man that looks at her for more than three seconds likes her. And though we all know there will be absolutely no chance of James liking Pet, Vernon doesn't, so you can bet there'll be a lot of tension between the two.

Sazuke: Ahh, Didi — nice pen name. I'm glad you liked the James-Sirius moment on the train. We've now reached Day One at the Evans' house. The only question is, "Will Sirius and James behave?"

RandomObsessivePsychoFangirl: LoL, poor James. His first meeting with Petunia and Vernon. You know right away that after that little incident, things will never be good around those three. I can guarantee there'll be more Vernon vs. James action in one of the upcoming chapters. As for James and Petunia . . . well, read on.

Kluvhp: Thank you very much for putting C.I. on your story alerts. Like I mentioned to RandomObsessivePsychoFangirl the action will be coming up, and then I can guarantee you things will only get worse for James and Sirius. After all, what did they expect, coming over to Lily's and everything?

Gjcooliio: LoL, it's disgusting — just the thought of James liking Petunia is enough to make one's brain implode. As for what happened on the train, I can only say that it foreshadows future events in the story.

Palomapotter: Thank you. I hope you continue to find this fic interesting as we dwell deeper into James' and Sirius' stay at Lily's.

Kybo: LoL,oh rest assured, there will be plenty of turbulence, in more ways than one. After all, the two leading Marauders are in the same house as Petunia Evans. . . yikes.

And so, we enter Day One at the Evans' home . . .

Previous chapter left off with James and Sirius finally arriving at the home of Lily Evans and seeing, for the first time, Petunia Evans and Vernon Dursley. Vernon, catching James staring at Petunia, is convinced that he likes Petunia.

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Crude Irony

Chapt 7 – Petunia's Fear

James awoke the following morning to the sound of the digital alarm clock that inhabited the guest room. He tiredly opened his eyes and, knowing nothing about how to work the Muggle contraption, threw his pillow over his head to mute it.

On the other end of the small dormitory, Sirius' loud snoring went undisturbed by the bothersome ringing.

After several lazy minutes, the languid boy had no choice but to rise and get himself ready.

By the time he dressed and was out of his room, however, it was only 7:30 in the morning. The quiet house led him to believe that no one else had risen.

"Excellent," James muttered to himself as Sirius let out another loud grunt. He ran his fingers messily through his hair in the mirror before leaving the room to see what he could grab from the refrigerator before anyone awoke.

But by the time he had gotten downstairs and walked into the kitchen, the person he had last anticipated to meet was sitting down with a plate of biscuits.

Petunia Evans' thin, long neck extended as she lifted her head to spy on whoever had joined her in the nearly vacant room. Her pale blue eyes met James' hazel ones and her bored look hardened to that of reproach.

"And just what are you looking at?" she breathed hoarsely, inviting the tension in the room to rise.

James returned her look of contempt and greeted her with a cold, "Good morning to you, too."

Petunia's lip curled at his arrogant tone. She tightened her grip on the biscuit until it was reduced to crumbs.

"So," she said bitterly, opening up her hand and allowing the remnants to fall back into her plate, "precious Lilykins has brought home a couple of strays . . ."

James's hatred for the girl suddenly deepened and a scowl made itself visible on his features. His lips tightened and he turned away before the urge to say something nasty overpowered him.

"So what are you now, her boyfriend?" Petunia continued, sneering now. She looked up at him and was satisfied to see that he was avoiding her gaze. "I wouldn't trust her, if I were you," she added with a sneer. "As soon as she finds someone better looking, you'll be yesterday's news."

And with the same nasty grin, she stood up and carried her plate to the sink.

James pressed his fists hard on the counter and reminded himself persistently that she was not worth arguing with. But he could not resist the urge.

Calmly, he looked around at her and asked, "If that's how you feel then I find it astonishing how little you know your own sister. She's a lot better than that; give her some credit."

"Credit?" the elder of the Evans' girls said haughtily. "Oh that's right! Let's praise the witch for turning this family into a freakshow, stealing away all my parents' love, and bringing two filthy leeches back with her from that place she calls a school! Is that what I am to be giving dear Lily credit for?"

"No," replied James testily. "You should be crediting her for spending more than sixteen years of her life in your presence."

Petunia's confident look slid off her face at once. Her bony hands, currently resting on her thin waist, curled into fists. James couldn't help but wonder how she and Lily were related. Perhaps one was adopted?

"I'm guessing the last person you said that to gave you what was coming," she spat, allowing her eyes to wander to the thick layer of bandages on his head. "That's a lovely little headdress."

And with a returning sneer, she strode past him, making sure to give him one last shove as she made her way out of the room. James' lips tensed, but he kept his mouth shut.

Christmas vacation suddenly became a lot darker to him.

Furiously, he pounded up the stairs, returned to his room, and slammed the door shut. He snatched his wand off the dresser and shouted out a very obscene word that he had been holding in for at least five minutes. It didn't matter if anyone heard him. James Potter was not going to be told off by some horse-face troll.

"Having a good morning, I see?" Sirius suddenly intervened. James broke off in his angry mutters to tell his friend to shut up.

"So, who's bothering you now?" Sirius asked, ignoring James' comment and getting out of bed.

"Take a guess," he replied darkly. "Honestly, how can Evans possibly be related to something like that?"

"I dunno, I think she's quite attractive," Sirius said with a smirk. He laughed at James' dumbfounded look and added, "I'll be downstairs. Try not to sneak into Evans' room while I'm gone, all right, mate?"

"I can't; she used an Imperturbable Charm on her door," James replied, unaware of Sirius' eye roll. "She always was good at Charms," he added silently as an afterthought while Sirius made his way out of the room, clearly unnoticed.

When his friend had left, James made his way to the long mirror and placed his fingers on his bandages. An uneasy feeling swept through him; he had grown so used to it that he completely overlooked the fact that he looked like an idiot.

Feeling a little irritated, James brought his hands up to the thick fabric and began untying it. He could feel his head become painfully lighter, but ignored the odd sensation.

Finally, his forehead became visible in his reflection, revealing a strange redness on the left side. The matching eye, too, was starting to look bloodshot. For a second, he considered putting it back on.

Instead, however, he strode over to the waste basket and threw the bandages in. He looked down at his wand and frowned. As much as he would've liked to hex Petunia into the next century, he knew that Lily would not approve.

A loud knock on the door disturbed his momentary train of thought and James looked up seeming very irritated. He walked across the room, wand still in hand, and pulled the door open.

Coincidentally, Lily Evans, who looked as if she was just about to rap again, stood on the other end of the threshold. She looked up at him and her eyebrows kicked up with inquisitiveness. James knew she was eyeing his visible forehead.

"Good morning, Evans," he said coolly, drawing her attention back to her original reason for disturbing him. "You needed something?"

"Yes, er, I-I heard a lot of noise. Is everything okay?" she asked, doing a decent job at hiding her concern.

"Everything's swell, thanks," James replied nonchalantly, stepping over the threshold and closing the door behind him. Lily crossed her arms and stared coolly at him, not too fond at all at the debonair tone he was using with her.

"Well then, next time, do try to keep your voice down when you're shouting out nasty things about my sister. You're fortunate my parents hadn't woken up or you'd have been on the next train back to Hogwarts within the next hour—"

"Looking out for me, are you, Evans?" James said with a smirk. Lily didn't seem too pleased. Light pink patches appeared in her pale cheeks and her startling green eyes (so unlike her sister's, James took notice) narrowed venomously. Angered by his continual arrogance, she ripped her wand from the waistband of her jeans and held it at his throat so fast that even he was unaware of what happened by the time its tip was touching his skin.

"Listen," she whispered through tightly clenched teeth, "to me. I've had just about enough of you and your friends and, while I respect that there is nothing I can do that will save you from the haughtiness that is bound to consume and destroy you in your future years, I intend to make it very clear that while you are staying under my roof, you will abide by my terms. You will leave my sister alone; you will not use your wand unless you are in utmost need of it; and you will stop hitting on me."

Lily hardly needed to ask whether he had understood. James had only spared a fleeting glance at the wand before redirecting his hazel eyes straight into her brilliant green ones. Although he had the intention of pointing out that it was Petunia who had begun the conflict since he first stepped foot into her home, he knew that Lily's temper was so close to the brim these days that he did not bother trying to get him on his side.

Instead, he brought up a hand and gently pushed hers away, nodding faintly. Her lapidified expression faltered for about half a second before she brought up the pretense again and turned on her heel.

It was then, however, that a loud, earsplitting cry echoed through the house's many corridors. Lily stopped at once and her head jerked up. She looked back at James (he was sure that, by now, she had grown so accustomed to turning to him in signs of turmoil that it had become involuntary) before sprinting to the stairs and skipping a few a time. James ran closely behind her.

When they reached the living room, however, he couldn't fight back a wide grin at the sight of Petunia Evans sitting, knees pressed against her chest, at the very top of the sofa. Sirius, visibly unarmed, looked very red in the face and James could tell he had been laughing just a second ago.

Lily shot him a glare before asking her sister, somewhat coldly, "What happened?"

James's grin grew wider at her lack of concealing her agitation.

"Tha—that monster!" Petunia said in between a petrified whisper and a furious shriek. She pointed a shaky finger at the Marauder and said, "That abnormal beast. He-He had fangs!"

Lily's eyes shot heavenward and she sighed exasperatedly, as if hearing this was of no surprise to her. James eyes darted swiftly to Sirius, but he was too slow in hiding his triumphant smile. However, it was gone by the time Lily had turned to him, looking much worn out.

"Black," she warned.

"Fangs, I ask you," Sirius cut her off.

"He sprouted them!" Petunia insisted, pointing a shaky finger at Sirius' face. "I swear it! I saw it, just before!"

"Petunia. . ." Lily sighed, taking turns in saying their names.

"James," James piped in with a grin, hands folded behind his back innocently. However, at the look he received, he hastened to wipe the playful grin from his face.

"How can I possibly have 'sprouted fangs'?" Sirius asked with a hint of deviancy in his voice that James was sure only he picked up.

"It's not even full moon yet," James added in spite of himself, and both he and Sirius howled mockingly.

Lily turned to him looking furious and astonished, as if wondering how he had managed to forget everything she just warned him about a minute ago.

"I guess I'm just missing the tail now, eh, Prongs?" Sirius said heartily, nudging James.

"I wouldn't put it past you," Lily barked, throwing a completely irrelevantly dirty look at James. "Out, the both of you."

"Put that mongrel on a leash," Petunia shrieked at her sister, but Lily either did not or chose not to hear her.

Mr. and Mrs. Evans awoke some time in the late morning to Petunia's continuing protests about Sirius. It wasn't until Mrs. Evans threatened to uninvite Vernon to dinner that the girl finally stopped complaining. At around half past ten, Mrs. Evans prepared a simple but delightful breakfast for her daughters and guests before leaving for work with a hasty "Good-Bye". Another hour succeeding, Mr. Evans received a call from the office and, apologizing for leaving on such short notice, departed as well.

"Hang on!" Lily called, abandoning her eggs and toast and dashing after her father. "You — you're not actually going to leave us all alone, are you?" she asked apprehensively.

"Well why not? I trust you entirely. And as for Petunia, well . . ." He paused a moment to look at his other daughter before whispering, " Vernon's coming tonight for dinner, but I'm afraid your mother and I might not be home by then. I'm trusting you to cook; remember, don't tell that to your sister. She'll go bonkers."

"Bonkers, Dad?" Lily moaned, but Mr. Evans merely smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Behave," he said to her. After planting a kiss on his daughter's cheek and saying his good-byes to Petunia and the two Marauders, the front door slammed shut, leaving Lily standing in the hall looking very disconcerted. As if the noise had been a sign, Petunia rose from her seat and escaped to the other room for sanctuary.

Inhaling deeply, Lily shut her eyes tightly and forced an odd sort of smile, trying desperately not to think about the situation her parents had just left her in. As soon as that door slammed shut, an ominous sign had inhaled the atmosphere.

But she was a gifted witch according to her professors. Whatever Black and Potter dared throw at her, she would return it tenfold. And with that confident thought, she turned around to face them, but the unnatural grin was wiped off her face as soon as her eyes rested on their malicious smirks.

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Aha, finally. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are out momentarily, so, of course, what better time for James and Sirius to let loose? Ahh, poor, poor Petunia . . .

Chapter 8 is already being written. Please review. I love to hear comments!