Anthony looked pleased as she observed the house elves scurrying about doing chores, mops and brooms moving by themselves, candles floating in the air, and his mother apparating in front of them.
"Anthony," his mother said looking at him curiously, "who is your guest?"
"Oh, mum. This is Lily."
"The girlfriend you've been gushing about?"
"Yep," he replied.
"The muggle?" she asked suspiciously now. "Umm, why?"
"Why what?" Anthony asked, confused.
"Why did you bring her here?" Mrs. Schoel clarified.
"Oh, she's a witch. She got accepted to Hogwarts. I found out right after I broke up with her. She didn't think it was real," Anthony said.
"Well, dear, I assure you this is not a trick," Mrs. Schoel said.
Lily merely nodded, still staring at the house elves.
Mrs. Schoel followed her gaze, "Oh nevermind them. Those are just the house elves. They serve our family."
"I'll be frank with you dear," Mrs. Schoel said. "I didn't like the fact that my son was dating a muggle, but he convinced me to let him. I was only swayed because he isn't particularly fond of muggles either, so there had to be something special about you. None of this means I am going to like you. One thing I can say for sure is that Mr. Schoel is going to take a while to adapt, if not an eternity, so don't expect a miracle. We're not used to these types of situations to say the least."
"Thank you ma'am," Lily said, unsure what an appropriate response would be.
"No reason to thank me," Mrs. Schoel said. She turned to Anthony, "Why don't you get your brother?"
"Sure mom," Anthony started walking but turned to look at Lily, "Care to come with me?"
"Sure," Lily said relieved. She was thankful to get away from his mother.