'Teenagers complain there's nothing to do, then stay out all night doing it.' – Bob Phillips

….

Lily smiled at Anne in encouragement as they walked up her front steps, their heavy bags in tow.

Anne was extremely nervous, she worried that Lily's family wouldn't like her… and that thought scared her more than a lot of things.

Lily knocked on the door twice, and then shot Anne another encouraging look.

Anne heard voices from the other side of the door, and then it opened, a smiling woman with hair as red as Lily's appeared, a wide, welcoming smile on her face.

Lily grinned back at her mother and started inside with Anne close behind. Mr. Evans was standing not far behind Mrs. Evans, and Petunia was standing on the stairs, surveying Anne's appearance with squinted eyes.

After Lily hugged and greeted her parents and sister, she returned to Anne's side.

"Mom, Dad, Tuney," she said, smiling at each as she said their name. "This is Anne."

"It is simply lovely to meet you, Anne dear." Mrs. Evans said happily, stepping forward and hugging a surprised Anne tightly. Anne surveyed her appearance briefly; the woman was a good amount taller than five foot four Anne, with long fiery red hair that matched Lily's, only it had small streaks of grey scattered in it. The lines around her kind, doe-brown eyes were of laughter.

"It really is." Mr. Evans agreed, stepping forward and shaking Anne's small hand. She took a moment to observe him, as well. He was even taller than Mrs. Evans, but he had laughter lines around his bright green eyes to match his wife's. His hair was completely grey, but it didn't make him look too old. He still appeared to be in his mid to late forties, similar to his wife. Anne smiled brightly at the two kind-looking adults.

"And that's my sister, Petunia." Lily continued, looking cautious. Anne turned, expecting to shake another hand, but Petunia kept her distance, acting like Anne was a wild animal that could pounce at any moment.

"Charmed." The thin, blonde girl said, her voice was bored, with a hint of scorn behind it. Anne was hurt, but she smiled all the same.

"It is wonderful to meet you all." Anne said, her words slightly slow to keep her accent in check. "My name is Anne Belhumeur, as you know. And you have a beautiful home."

The Evans seemed pleased by Anne's polite behavior. "Thank you, darling." Mrs. Evans said happily, straightening her dress slightly. "Lily has told us so much about you. We're so happy to finally see the face behind the stories."

Anne was surprised, what stories could Lily have possibly told her family? "I hope they were all good stories." Anne said softly, with a small chuckle, remembering her manners after a small silence.

Mr. Evans chuckled as well. "Nothing but, Anne, nothing but." He assured.

"Joe, why don't you help the girls get their luggage upstairs?" Mrs. Evans suggested, smiling fondly at Anne. Mr. Evans nodded, and swiftly lugged the bags upstairs, grunting all the way.

Anne was intrigued by Lily's room; it was just as she'd imagined it. Poster of people she didn't recognize covered some of the wall, they didn't move, so she knew that they were Muggles.

There were wizard pictures as well, from one Anne and Lily laughed at a table at the ice cream parlor in Diagon Alley, they were eleven or twelve. Severus was off to the side, almost glaring at the camera. Anne noticed that he glanced sideways at Lily several times.

The room was rather sensible, clean, with everything organized. It was so Lily, Anne couldn't help but smile.

A small cot with a twin-sized mattress was next to Lily's wooden-posted bed. Anne smiled at the covers, they were bright, clownish colors, and they probably belonged to Lily or Petunia when they were younger.

The shy girl set her things down on top of her bed, and turned to look at Lily, who was smiling contently.

"Lily, Anne, come down for some lunch!" Mrs. Evans called up the stairs. Lily turned to Anne, linked arms with her friend, and then headed down the stairs.

Mrs. Evans smiled as the two girls entered the modest kitchen. Anne glanced in wonder at the methods Lily's mother was using when cooking, though they weren't so different from a wizard's way.

"What's for lunch, mom?" Lily asked pleasantly as she picked up the plates sitting on the counter and started to set the table. Anne stood by and watched as the task that was so easily done with magic, took ten minutes to finish by hand.

Anne decided to help set the table with Lily, and picked up the strange, flexible glass bottles on the counter and set them on the table with the jug of lemonade.

Lily laughed as she noticed Anne's expression. "That's plastic, Anne." She said in an amused voice, her eyes sparkling. "And it holds soft drinks."

Anne was confused by the term 'soft drinks', but 'plastic' was familiar from her Muggle Studies class. "Soft… drinks?" she asked, the words sounding strange together. "What makes them soft?"

Lily's mother laughed. "Oh, sometimes I forget that you wizards don't have a lot of the things that we do." She said, her eyes twinkled. Anne blushed at her own ignorance. "But soft drinks are just a term for carbonated sodas or such. Try some, it might taste a bit different, but I'm sure you'll like it."

Anne nodded as she helped put the silverware down.

"Lily, go get your sister. She's upstairs on the phone with that Vernon boy." Her mother said after a few minutes. "And Anne, dear, could you please go get Mr. Evans? I believe he's in the family room."

"So much more polite to Anne." Lily mumbled good-naturedly, and sprinted off to get her sister. Lily's mother looked amusedly irritated.

Anne nodded, and walked calmly off in the direction she hoped the family room was. She found it after a bit of wandering; a device called the 'TV' was on. She had learned of it in Muggle Studies. She stared at the moving pictures in wonder; they were like wizard pictures… but in a larger box!

"Um, Mr. Evans?" she said quietly over the roar of the TV. He turned and smiled at her.

"I suppose dinner is ready?" he asked, and Anne nodded. He smile grew wider as he got up and stretched.

"Wonderful. Let's eat, shall we?" he said happily, and led the way back to the kitchen. Anne entered the room to find Mrs. Evans, Lily, and Petunia all already seated at the table.

"Well it's about time!" Mrs. Evans joked, smiling. "I'd thought you had gotten lost, dear."

Anne blushed and shook her head 'no'.

Mr. Evans tsked. "Now, don't tease the poor girl, Marsha." He said, sitting at his place next to his wife at the table built for six

Anne sat between Petunia and Lily on the other side of the table. Petunia shot her a blank, but rude look.

"Dig in, everybody. Hamburgers, chips, salad, and potato salad." Marsha Evans said happily, reaching for the bowl of potato salad first.

Anne looked uncertainly at Lily; three of the four foods were very unfamiliar to her.

Lily gave her a reassuring look, helping herself to a hamburger.

Anne reached for the salad bowl and scooped herself a generous portion of that, as well as a few of these 'chips'. She placed a patty of meat into two pieces of bread, as she saw Lily do, and added a few of the strange sauces and some lettuce and tomato onto the sandwich. She looked uncertainly at the potato salad, but took a bit of that, as well.

She slowly took a bite of her 'hamburger', and was surprised to find that it was simply delicious. She tried the other foods, and smiled at the strange, yet tasty flavors that flooded her mouth.

She took a sip of her 'soft drink' and found that it was also lovely, and drained her glass in seconds.

Mrs. Evans laughed softly. "I suspect that you've never had most of these foods in the wizarding world, Anne?" she said, smiling at the fact that Anne was enjoying herself so thoroughly. She refilled Anne's glass with soda.

Anne nodded, also smiling. "These foods are simply wonderful." She said graciously.

Petunia was staring at Anne in disbelief and distaste, but said nothing.

….

A bad ending, I know. But I couldn't think of anything else to finish with. Sorry.

I'm also sorry for the delay in this update! I started school, and it was so hectic for a few days. I actually have a shitload of homework today. But I'm such a procrastinator.

So, I will try to update everyday this week. Except Thursday, of course. And this weekend, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I will not be able to update. It's my 16th birthday on Monday, and I'm very, very busy this weekend.

So please please please review! I love them! And PM me with any questions or ideas, or just to say hi!

I love you guys!

Jess