'How did it get so late so soon?

It's night before it's afternoon.

December is here before it's June.

My goodness how the time as flewn

How did it get so late so soon?'

-Dr. Seuss.

…..

Anne was busily trying to tidy up her room, it was nine fifty nine in the morning and Lily was due to arrive at ten. Anne looked around her spotless room, trying to find something to keep her busy until Lily arrived.

But just as Anne basically lunged for her desk, to rearrange it once more, her mother called up the steps.

"Anne! Lily is here! Come down and greet her with the rest of the family!" she called sweetly, and Anne was shaking in excitement and nerves as she forced herself to walk calmly down the stairs.

The whole of Anne's family were all in the foyer, milling about, excited to meet Anne's friend as well. Odette was the only one with a sour expression on her face.

Anne opened the door as soon as she heard the knock, and grinned widely as she saw her red-haired friend at the door, her two trunks resting on either side of her.

"Anne!" she said happily, and quickly tackled her best friend into a hug. Anne hugged her friend just as vigorously, and the whole family let out a collective 'awe' around them. Except for Odette, who made a gagging noise in the background.

"Welcome to our home!" Anne's father said merrily, shaking Lily's hand as soon as Anne and she broke apart. "I am Christophe, and it is wonderful to have you in our humble abode, Lily."

Lily smiled back at Christophe, though a disbelieving look passed across her face when he said 'humble abode'.

Anne's mother stepped up next. "And I am Simone. It really is a pleasure to meet you, Lily. We have heard so much about you." She said kindly, and wrapped Lily up in a gentle, welcoming hug.

"And you already know Alphonse and Odette, I am sure." Christophe said, motioning to Anne's siblings. Odette shot Lily a poorly disguised smug smile, and Alphonse waved at her and winked, much to Anne's embarrassment.

"And this is the rest of the family." Christophe continued, motioning to the great crowd of people. They all shouted welcoming words, some in French, and some in English.

Lily laughed. "It's wonderful to meet you all!" she said to the crowd, and Christophe translated it into French for those that were not sure what she had said.

"Let us all head outside so we can properly welcome Lily." Simone suggested, and the whole crowd of Anne's family moved through the house, out to the backdoor.

Lily was amazed at the great expanse that was Anne's backyard.

"You never told me you were loaded, Anne." She whispered as Anne led her to the comfortable chairs on the patio.

Anne shrugged and smiled sheepishly. "I did not think it mattered…" she whispered back.

"It doesn't, I'm just surprised at just how loaded you guys are." Lily laughed.

Lily and Anne sat next to each other, talking with the adults as the boys and younger cousins played around.

Predictably, all the boys old enough to be interested in girls came up and introduced themselves to Lily.

Anne found it embarrassing, but Lily found it endearing. Even Anne's five year old cousin, Victor, came up and told Lily that she was pretty, and gave her a flower.

The whole family seemed to take a shine to the smart, kind girl that was Anne's best friend. Except Odette, of course, but she was the only exception.

The day went by in a flash, and then it was time to say good bye to her family. It was a tear-filled parting. Everyone hugged and kissed, saying rapid good byes, and leaving for their respective Port Keys to take them back to France.

The Belhumeur family, plus Lily, all waved one last time, and then filed into the house for dinner.

"Hello, Miss. Lily! Mitzi is glad to meet you!" Mitzi squeaked, bowing to Lily as they came back into the house.

"Hi, Mitzi." Lily answered kindly, smiling.

"Mitzi hopes that Miss. Lily likes dinner. Mitzi made it special to welcome Miss. Lily to Miss. Anne's home!" she said, leading the family into the dining room, where everything was beautifully set up.

"Let Mitzi know if anything else is needed!" she said, and walked back into the kitchen.

The whole family sat at the table, Anne between Alphonse and Lily, and Odette sitting with the parents on the other side of the table.

"Oh, Lily dear, I feel so rude. We should have invited your parents to dine with us, as well!" Simone exclaimed, looking at Christophe. "I am very sorry; please extend our apologies to your parents once you return home."

Lily smiled gratefully. "Oh, it's alright, Mrs. Belhumeur. Though my parents would have loved to meet you and the rest of your family, I'm not sure that they're completely comfortable in the magical world just yet." She explained. "My parents are Muggles, you see." Odette snorted into her soup, and Alphonse shot her a nasty look.

Simone nodded sympathetically. "Yes, it must have been very hard for them to adjust to such a world." She said kindly. "And for you, as well, darling."

Lily smiled and nodded gratefully again, then the table was silent as spoons clattered against bowls, and forks against plates. Everybody was famished.

After dinner, Lily thanked Anne's parents and Mitzi for the wonderful food, and the pair dashed up the stairs to Anne's bedroom.

"Anne, whoa…" Lily whispered, looking around the expanse that was Anne's room. "Is that my bed?"

Mrs. Belhumeur had bought a brand new bed for Lily to sleep in. It was the same model and color as Anne's, but it had an 'L' carved into the head frame, as well as a carved lily next to the L.

"Did you guys buy this for me?" she asked, testing out the feather-soft mattress.

Anne nodded sheepishly and blushed. "Yes, my parents insisted. They expect you to be sleeping over as much as possible over breaks now." She said with a chuckle. "My whole family took such a shine to you."

Lily smiled. "I'm glad they liked me! Your cousins are so fun, all fourteen of 'em!"

Anne blushed even deeper. "Those were not all of my cousins." She whispered.

Lily blinked. "What?"

"Those were only two aunts' worth. I have twelve aunts and ten uncles that are blood related to my mother and father. Each of them has at least five children, so…"

Lily looked awestruck. "That's one hundred and ten cousins, at least." She whispered.

"And that is first cousins alone." Anne said.

"You have a huge family, Anne." Lily laughed, and Anne nodded in agreement.

Zosime screeched as he flew through Anne's open window. He held the cylinder. Anne's heart nearly stopped, if Lily opened that, Anne would be caught. Lily would never let her live it down that she had let Sirius copy nearly all of her homework for months.

Anne quickly snatched the cylinder, and threw it into a drawer in her dresser. Lily eyed her suspiciously.

"What's that?" Lily asked nonchalantly, leaning back on her bed. "Letter?"

Anne smiled and nodded, and hoped the guilt she felt wasn't etched on her face. "Yes, from my friend Diana from Ravenclaw." She lied.

"Why don't you read it?"

Anne's smile stayed frozen on her face. "Because I would much rather catch up with you. I missed you these few weeks, Lily." She said, trying to cover up her guilt and lies with a compliment. "How are Severus and Petunia?" Anne thought fast to try to distract her,

Lily was effectively distracted. She scowled. "Severus is… Severus. He's been acting kinda weird lately, like all he wants to do is talk about how much he hates James Potter, and when he's not, he wants to read these shady-looking books and practice with potions." She seethed. "It's so irritating!"

Anne nodded sympathetically. "I suppose he just wants reassurance from you that you also do not like James. Those four certainly bully Severus enough anymore, he just wants to make sure that you do not fancy him back."

Lily faked gagging. "Potter? That git? Like I would ever consider him. Ever. Seriously, Anne, if I show any signs of liking that toerag, please, punch some sense into me." She said, her face was disgusted.

Anne laughed. "Of course, you have my word on that." She said happily. "And if I ever show signs of liking…" Anne dropped her voice. "Sirius Black, then please, point your wand at me, because I am probably an imposter."

Lily laughed along with Anne. "Deal." She said, and then went into a full-blown conversation about what boys Lily did like.

….

Ugh, this chapter was a filler more than anything. It's boring, I know.

Next chapter, Anne and Lily are going to venture into Diagon Alley. And I promise, this time they won't run into any slave businesses. Haha

So, not much to say beyond this. Don't forget to review. And also, if you have any ideas, any at all! Please, contact me via PM. I'm sure that I'll take your ideas into consideration!

So hit that review button, or click my username to review the story or possibly submit ideas to said story!

I love you all! Thank you all for reading!

Jess