Disclaimer: I still don't own anything…
A/N: Well thank you guys for reviewing! I hope y'all have a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and a Happy New Year's… Hope you like this chapter…
I rolled out of bed very late on the day after Christmas. I went downstairs to find that it was half past eleven. Oliver, Sirius, and James were all in the kitchen plotting. I know they were plotting against me because the second I walked in they all stopped talking and pretended they had not been talking before.
"Oh, morning Lily," Sirius said, "Lovely hair," He said, referring to my pigtails.
"Morning James, Oliver," I said, ignoring Sirius.
"Morning," Oliver said as James gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"When are we leaving for your house?" I asked.
James handed me a package.
Dear Sirius, James, and Lily,
Hope you three had a lovely Christmas! I'm looking forward to seeing you this afternoon! Your father arranged a portkey set to work at three.
Hugs, kisses, and love,
Mum
"A portkey?" I asked.
"And open the bag," Sirius said.
I opened the bag to find an empty wooden box.
"What is it?" I asked them.
"It's a portkey. At the specified time—three this afternoon—we all touch it and it'll transport us to my house," James said.
"Interesting," I said examining it, "Where is everyone?"
"Mum's shopping—she'll be back in a couple of hours—and Petunia's out with one of her friends, she wouldn't say who. I bet it's that creepy boy, you know, the fat, pink one? What was his name?" Oliver asked.
"Vernon something or another. From what I've heard from you, he's not the world's greatest guy," I answered.
"Oh! Lily! Can I curse him?" Sirius asked, excitedly.
"No!" James and I shouted at the same time causing Sirius to pout.
"I promise it won't cause permanent damage!" Sirius argued.
"NO!" James and I shouted again.
"Fine I'll just point and laugh—you can't stop me from doing that," Sirius said defiantly.
"Number one," James said, pulling the all too familiar scroll out of his back pocket, "No pointing and/or laughing at anyone."
"You guys bloody suck," Sirius whined.
"Don't worry, we can point and laugh together," Oliver said.
"Will not," I argued, "Would it kill you to be nice to them?"
"Yes," Oliver answered plainly.
"Besides, she's not nice to your friends AKA us," Sirius added.
"And does that mean you have to stoop down to her level?" I asked.
"Yes," Oliver, Sirius, and James answered in unison.
"Whatever, I'm going pack," I said, getting up and going upstairs.
Packing turned out to be quite a task. It took a long time. Somehow, all of my clothes, shoes, makeup, books, and personal items had scattered themselves all over my room. I also realized that I have way too many pairs of shoes. It took almost an hour to find all of my shoes and their mates. After this hour, I still had not found the mate to my favorite pair of black heels. My books turned up in the oddest places; under my bed, in a pillow case, in my sock drawer, and underneath my trunk. After two hours of packing, I had everything packed neatly into my trunk and was almost ready to leave.
"I'm ready," I said walking into the den. Oliver, Sirius, and James were in there.
"We're leaving in," James looked at his watch, "Half an hour."
"Groovy," I said, sitting on the couch between he and Sirius.
"It took you two hours to pack?" James asked me.
"Yeah," I answered.
"More importantly, can I have my wand back now?" Sirius asked.
"No, you know the deal. You can have it back when we're at James' house," I answered, "So, Oliver, you're coming for New Year's Eve?"
"He can't," James cut in.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Well, as mum pointed out to me when I asked; there will be over a hundred of witches and wizards there, if any of them were to perform magic in front of him—which they probably will—we'd be in serious trouble," James told me.
"Yep," Oliver chimed in.
I was not able to argue because at that time Petunia and Vernon something or another walked in. Oliver was right, Vernon was insanely ugly. He was short and fat, but that was not the worst of it; his head seemed to come right out of his body, as though he did not have a neck. Standing next to my tall, slim sister, he looked even uglier.
"Oh, the freak circus is still here," Petunia said disappointedly.
"Yeah, the freak circus just walked in the room," Sirius said cockily.
"Freak," Petunia hissed to him under her breath.
"I'm sure you'd be singing a different tune if you knew just how many ways I knew to make you suffer," Sirius replied.
"Petunia, who are these people?" Vernon something or another asked. He obviously did not sense the tension.
"Well, you've met my brother and this is Lily, Sirius, and James. The other freaks," Petunia said with her nose turned up.
"Is it really necessary to be rude to our guests?" Oliver asked, gesturing to Sirius and James.
"Yes," Petunia said, pretending to be sweet, "Come on we're going upstairs," Petunia said pulling Vernon something or another out of the room.
"She's a treat now, isn't she?" Sirius said with a sarcastic tone.
"She'll be getting her well mannered person of the trophy in any day now," James said.
"It's time to gather our things," I said looking at the clock. It was five minutes to three.
We all made a mad dash around the house to gather our trunks and owl cages. Three minutes later we were all standing in the den. James was attempting to hold Little Girl Blue's cage, his trunk, and the portkey box, Sirius was holding Little Boy Green's cage and his trunk, and I was holding Shweetie's cage and my trunk.
"Oliver, I'll see you over the summer!" I said.
"Hope to catch you soon," James told Oliver.
"I'll write you," Sirius told Oliver.
"Ok, bye guys," Oliver told us.
"Love you," I told Oliver giving him a hug.
"You too, and you, be good to my little sister," Oliver said.
"Lily, come on it's about to be three," James said, looking worriedly at his watch.
I touched the wooden box and before I could tell James "Ok" the room around me started spinning around. I felt nauseated like I had never felt before. I did not dare to open my eyes. I could no longer feel any floor underneath me. Just as soon the spinning began, it stopped. I hit ground and the impact of it caused me to fall over and drop my trunk and Shweetie's cage.
"You ok?" James asked helping me up.
I opened my eyes to find Sirius trying to get Shweetie back in her cage.
"I guess what was that? Where are we?" I asked, confused.
"That was a portkey and welcome to Potter Manor," James said, smiling, "Don't worry about the owl we'll put her outside in the big owl cage thing," James told Sirius.
As I stood up, I looked around we were in what appeared to be a large study. It was very well decorated and looked like it's owners were very wealthy.
"Oh James," A petite woman with black hair and blue eyes said, running into the room and pulling James into a tight hug, "And Sirius," She said, finally letting go of James and pulling Sirius into a tight, motherly hug, "And you must be Lily. It's good to meet you," She said when she let go of Sirius. She then caught me off guard and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Lily, incase you still haven't figured it out, this is my mum," James said, smiling at me.
"It's good to meet you too, Mrs. Potter," I told her.
"Please, call me Audrey," She told me, "Now stand back and let me get a good look at you."
I awkwardly pulled out of the hug and stood there.
"Well, aren't you just the prettiest thing," Mrs. Audrey exclaimed, causing me to blush.
"Mother," James said.
"And Sirius, I swear, you've gotten even taller since I last saw you," She said, ignoring James.
"Lily, let me show you to your room," She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room, leaving James and Sirius.
I went to grab my trunk, but she stopped me.
"No, dear, the house elves will get it for you. I'm so happy to finally meet you. Tell me a bit about yourself," She said as we walked down the hall.
I did not say anything; I can be quite shy with strangers.
"Don't be shy dear, I'll help. What's your full name?" She asked me.
"Lily Genevieve Evans," I told her.
"What a pretty name. Do you have any brothers or sisters?" She asked.
"Yes, I have an older brother named Oliver and a younger sister named Petunia," I told her.
"That's nice. What about your parents?" She asked as we walked up a flight of stairs.
"Well, my mum is my mum and well, my dad is my dad. He just got married on Christmas Eve, so I have a step mum now, too. Her name's Beth," I told her.
"Well, it sounds like you have a lovely family. Your parents are muggles right?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am," I told her. I had been worried about this question, what if she did not approve of James dating a muggle born, but she did not seem to think anything of it.
"What did they think when they found out you were a witch?" She asked me.
"Everyone was pretty happy, I guess," I told her.
"That's nice. Well, here's your room dear," She told me as she showed me into a room.
"Thank you, Mrs. Audrey," I thanked her.
"I'll give you a bit of time to yourself to unpack," She said, walking out of the room.
I looked around the room. It was huge and simply gorgeous. It had an attached bathroom. The walls were a deep, rich shade of red and bedspread was a shocking white, as were the pillows and linens. All of the furniture was a deep, mahogany oak. There was a huge dresser and a desk and the bed was a four-poster bed. A quick glance in the bathroom told me that it matched exactly.
She was right, the house elves had already brought up my things. I hummed as I unpacked my things and put them in the closet and dresser drawers. After an hour of unpacking, James and Sirius came in.
"Hey," James said, flopping down on the bed.
"So, how do you like Potter Manor?" Sirius asked.
"It's huge. I think I'll get lost if I try to leave this room," I exclaimed.
"We'll show you around later," James said, laughing.
"You guys wanna go downstairs? I'm hungry," Sirius said.
"You're always hungry," I told him as he, James, and I walked out the room.
We had to go down two stories and through a couple of halls before we got to the living room area. Looking around I noticed that the entire house was just as amazing as my room. It was also humongous.
"Where's the kitchen?" I asked.
"Right through that door," James said, "But we never go in there. Just ring that call and one of the house elves will come out and ask what you want."
"What's a house elf?" I asked.
"You'll see—Emmy!" James called.
"Yes, master?" A high-pitched voice asked.
When the kitchen door opened, out stepped one of the ugliest creatures I had ever seen. It was a short and skinny with golf ball sized brown eyes and a head that seemed too large for it's body and large ears poking out of its head. It was wearing what looked like a piece of material draped over it's body.
"Can you guys make us some french fries?" Sirius asked,
"Yes, master," Emmy said, turning and walking back into the kitchen.
"Sirius," Mrs. Audrey said walking into the room, "I'm going over the guest list for the party and I thought I should tell you, I do have to invite your family."
"But—" Sirius started.
"I'm sorry, sweetie, but I have too. They're important members of the wizarding community," Mrs. Audrey told him.
"Fine, but I don't have to talk to them," Sirius said.
"Be that as it may, but they're still going to be here. James, did you invite your school friends?" Mrs. Audrey said, turning to James.
"Yes ma'am, Remus, Peter, Eden, Anne Marie, and Gwen," James told her.
"Good, are they all coming?" She asked him.
"Yes, by the way, Gwen is Sirius's girlfriend," James told Mrs. Audrey.
"Sirius, why didn't you tell me you were seeing someone?" Mrs. Audrey asked, "I'm sure you're parents will want to meet her."
"No they won't," Sirius said bitterly.
"Sweetie, I know that the three of you don't get along, but I'm sure they'd want to meet her," Mrs. Audrey argued.
"She's muggle born," Sirius told her.
"I'm sorry, they probably won't want to meet her after all, but I still want to meet her," Mrs. Audrey said, sympathetically.
Mrs. Audrey left the room leaving me alone with James and a very sullen looking Sirius.
"Sirius, why don't you live with your parents?" I asked him.
"Because they're horrible people," He said sadly.
"They don't think that he should be friends with muggle borns and that him being in Gryffindor is a disappointment," James told me.
"Oh, I see," I said, feeling uncomfortable.
"They're obsessed with being pureblooded," Sirius added sullenly, "And they find me a disappointment."
Fortunately, the awkward silence was broken by Emmy walking in and giving us french fries and drinks. We all ate and then hung around. After a while, Sirius seemed to be back to his usual self. Sirius and James showed me around the house, which was by all means, amazing. It was three stories and had over two dozen rooms. The gardens outside were even more amazing than the inside. There were flowers and animals everywhere. The flowers were absolutely breathtaking. When they finished showing me around, James and Sirius decided to play quidditch while I watched from the sidelines. They played until the sun went down. We then headed inside for Sirius and James to change before supper.
"We're going to teach you how to play quidditch before vacation is over," Sirius said.
"No, it's alright. I like watching," I argued.
"Oh, yes, we will," James told me.
The guys then went upstairs to change. I decided to make my way towards the dining room where I found Mrs. Audrey deep in conversation with a brown haired, brown eyed, middle aged man.
"Oh, Lily, there you are," Mrs. Audrey said when she noticed me standing in the doorways, "This is James' father," She said, gesturing to Mr. Potter.
"Nice to meet you, Lily," He said, standing up and shaking my hand in a fatherly manner.
"You too, Mr. Potter," I told him, sitting down.
James and Sirius joined us and we all ate dinner and talked.
"So, James, how's school going?" Mr. Potter asked James.
"Great," James told him stiffly.
"Keeping your grades up?" Mr. Potter asked.
"Yes sir," James said shortly.
"I've been tutoring James here," Sirius said.
Everyone laughed.
"How'd the quidditch season go?" Mr. Potter asked.
"Great, school champs," James told Mr. Potter, avoiding his eyes.
"I still don't see why you want to waste all of your talent," Mr. Potter said.
"Dad—" James started, annoyed.
I do not think I had ever seen him get so annoyed so fast before.
"I've been tutoring him in that too," Sirius said quickly, breaking up what I could have only assumed would have ended up being an argument between James and his father.
It worked too, everyone laughed and Mr. Potter dropped the subject.
"May I be excused," James asked.
"But—" Mrs. Audrey started.
James did not let her finish, he got up and walked out of the room leaving us.
"I'm sorry, Lily," Mrs. Audrey told me.
"It's quite all right," I told her.
She looked unconvinced.
"No, really," I insisted.
We finished dinner without much conversation.
"What's wrong with James?" I asked Sirius as we walked out of the dining room.
"His dad doesn't seem to get that James wouldn't be happy playing quidditch forever," Sirius told me.
"I see," I told him, "Where's his—"
"Up one flight, third door to the left," Sirius told me, "I'm going write Gwen a letter."
I walked upstairs and knocked on the door that Sirius had told me was James'.
"Come in," James said.
I opened the door to find him on lying down on his stomach on his bed, reading a something, and petting what appeared to be a white ball of fur.
"Hey," I said, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"Hey," He said.
"What's up?" I asked him.
"Nothing," He said, sighing, "I'd like you to meet Maggie," He said, gesturing to the white ball of fur.
When I pet her I realized that she was, as a matter of fact, a puppy. A gorgeous, striking white, blue eyed puppy. She had thick white fur and was insanely soft and tiny.
"A puppy!" I exclaimed, excitedly.
"Yeah, I got her for my birthday last year. Isn't she great?" He asked.
"She's so cute and soft!" I said.
"I think she likes you," James said when Maggie left her spot on the side of James and curled up on my lap.
"I like her too," I said, petting her.
"Sorry about earlier," James told me.
"It's alright," I insisted.
"No, it's not, you're my guest and I shouldn't have left you," James argued.
"What's happened?" I asked him.
"I don't feel like talking about it," James told me, sighing.
"What does your dad do?" I asked James.
"He's the Minister of Magic," James said with a sigh.
"Oh," I said.
"Yeah, it's great," James said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, I guess I'm going to go to bed now," I told him.
"Goodnight," James told me, leaning over to kiss me.
"Love you," I said, standing up and walking towards the door.
Maggie followed me to the door. James laughed.
"I guess she likes you better," James said smiling, "I guess she can sleep in your bed tonight."
"Love you," I told him, bending over to pick up Maggie who curled up in my arms.
"Love you guys too," James said as I walked out.
~~Sorry this chapter was so long… Or is that a good thing? Lol! Go Review!~~