Toying with Potter

Chapter 9: Of Introductions and Jealousy

A/N: I know. There is absolutely no excuse for not updating sooner. Forgive me please!

Disclaimer: Seriously, you all give me too much credit. I only own the plot.

"Damn train ride. Seven hours of Snape being a bastard. Why must I always be the tortured, innocent victim?"

"Oh James, stop complaining! You provoked him. Anyway, it wasn't so bad. I was with you during those 7 hours, remember?"

"Yeah, how could I forget?"

"Stop being dumb. I see my mother. Mom! Over here!" Lily waved her hand and jumped up and down until her mother caught sight of her.

"Oh no, what if she doesn't like me? What if I do something stupid? What if I insult someone? What if-"

"James, you'll be fine. Stop worrying. They'll love you!" They made their way over to Mrs. Evans who was waiting for them. Mrs. Evans wasn't at all what James thought she would be. Mrs. Evans was a tall, elegant woman with an air of friendliness around her. She had red hair, similar to Lily's, but her eyes were brown.

"Lily, I've missed you so much! How's my little witch?"

"I'm fine, Mum," Lily said, embracing her mother in a tight hug. They pulled away and Mrs. Evans eyed James.

"Lily, come now, introductions are necessary."

"This is James Potter, Mom. This is the one I've been telling you about."

"How do you do?" James said, taking one of Mrs. Evans's graceful hands and kissing it lightly.

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you James. Lily, why didn't you tell me he was so handsome? Or so charming?"

"Cocky bastard," Lily whispered while her mother's back was turned.

"You know you love it," he replied.

"Well, come along now. You're father probably has gotten home before us. No, no, leave the luggage, James. Alexander will take care of it."

"Alexander?"

"The chauffer," Lily answered simply. James gave her a puzzled look but followed her to the awaiting car; it was a sleek, black limo.

"Um…ok," James said uncertainly before climbing into the car after Lily. They were on the road for more than an hour before James finally asked, like a child, if they were there yet.

"No, but it shouldn't be long now," Lily replied.

"Well, it seems as if we've been on the road forever! Can't we use magic to speed this up?"

"No! We aren't even of age yet!"

"I will be in a few days. The Ministry won't mind!"

"James! You are not getting in trouble with the law when you are with me!"

James pouted. "Party-pooper!"

"You know you love it," Lily said smiling.

"Yeah, I do," James said quietly, leaning in slowly. Just as his lips were about to touch hers the limo suddenly jerked to a halt and James was flung forward. He hit the ground, hard.

Lily giggled and stepped out of the limo. James followed; wincing slightly, but then he froze at the sight of Lily's house. No, it wasn't a house it was too huge. It was just as big as his house; it was a mansion. James was speechless; it wasn't that he was unaccustomed to mansions; it was just that he never realized Lily lived in one.

"James, come on." Lily's voice brought him back to reality. He followed her inside her house and was not surprised to find the house bustling with the various activities of maids, butlers and cooks.

"Daddy! Daddy where are you? I want you to meet someone!" Lily's voice rang throughout the house. James gulped.

"Meet me in the parlor, dear," his voice called back. Lily took James's hand, because he was rooted to the spot, and dragged him into a very well furnished room. Lily seemed to notice James's nervousness.

"James," she said severely, "re-lax! Everything going to be fine." She brushed some hair out of his eyes and smoothed his shirt. "My mother liked you, my dad will too."

James smiled slightly, "Whatever you say, Lily-flower."

"Don't call me that!"

"Lily-flower!" A deep, male voice rang into the room. Lily's eyes brightened.

"Daddy!" She ran up to hug her dad. He picked her up and twirled her around; his green eyes were alight with merriment.

"How's my favorite little witch?"

"I'm not so little anymore."

"Ah…but you'll always be my little girl."

James watched this affectionate exchange between father and daughter. He found himself smiling slightly and found himself relaxing. The two parted and Lily motioned for James to come forward.

"Daddy, this is James."

"James, how are you? I've heard so much about you."

"I'm fine," James said, shaking his hand firmly.

"Lily," Mr. Evans addressed his daughter. "Why don't you get settled back into your room while James and I have a little talk?"

James paled but Lily smirked, "Ok, daddy."

She left the room and her face became set in a fixed frown. She headed up to her room and threw the first thing she saw, in this case a picture frame, across the room. It smashed on the opposite wall and shattered into many pieces. She jumped on her plush bed and screamed into a big fluffy pillow. She laid on her back and stared and her ceiling, thinking hard.

Stupid James! She thought bitterly. Stupid, arrogant, cocky, bastard. Ugh! Infuriating jerk! Why is it that everyone thinks he's charming? Why did he have to be so handsome? With that stupid smile and those hazel eyes. His stupid messy hair and that air of easiness. What have I gotten myself into? I wasn't supposed to fall for him! Stupid, stupid, stupid thing to do. Dumb plan. Why do all my plans backfire?

Why isn't he the arrogant bastard I've come to hate these past six years? Why did he have to change?

I need a diversion. I need to make take his mind off of me. I need him to go back to the way he was. I need a reason to hate him again.

Lily suddenly smiled. I'll take him to meet Sam… Her thoughts were punctured by a blood-curling scream that rang throughout the house and echoed off the halls.

"Oh no!" Lily said, fearing the worst. She ran down into the dining room where she was sure the scream had originated from. She skidded to a halt in front of the door and looked at the scene in front of her. Petunia, her sister, stood there shrieking at a bewildered James who was frantically trying to calm her down.

"Petunia! Calm down!" Lily yelled. Petunia's eyes grew wider, if possible, and she rounded on Lily.

"YOU!" She shrieked, "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN! WHO IS THIS FREAK?" Lily inwardly giggled at James's shocked expression.

"Petunia, this is James, my boyfriend." She emphasized the last word and laughed at Petunia's shocked expression.

"James," Lily said, slightly amused, "this is my sister."

Both James and Petunia stared at each other with a mingled look of fear and disgust.

"Well that went well," Lily said into the silence.

Later that day

"Lily, I'm bored, let's go take a walk," James whined. Lily smirked, perfect.

"Ok, why not." They grabbed their jackets and headed outside. The cold, winter air stung their cheeks and the snow fell into their eyes. Lily took James around her neighborhood, telling him a brief summary of every snob who lived there. There was much laughter in their walk and Lily finally took James into town. They entered a small but fancy café.

"Lily darling, how are you," a voice called. Lily smiled, and James frowned. A tall, handsome looking young man of about 18 came towards them. He had sandy-brown hair and dark blue eyes. Lily let go of James's hand, which had suddenly tightened around hers, and wrapped her arms around the man. He gave her a tight hug and spun her around, just as her father had done.

"I'm fine, I've missed you so much!" Lily exclaimed. He smiled at her and then noticed James. Lily's smile widened.

"Sam, this is James. James, this is Sam, a childhood friend of mine." Sam made to shake James's hand, but James took it reluctantly with a hard nudge from Lily. He gave Sam a forced smile and Lily was pleased to notice that James couldn't conceal the green tints that suddenly appeared in his eyes.

A/N: I hope you all liked it. I realized that it's a lot harder to update without school. Summer does not have boring classes that I can write and daydream in. Oh well. Ok, on to my fantabulous reviewers.

Dweem-angel- Again, thank you so much for reviewing. I'm really liked the fairy-tale theme too and I really like all your suggestions. I'm also glad you liked the towel scene.

Oceandreamz- Thanks for reviewing chica! I really don't want this story to be very long. I'm working on another one, but I don't want this one to get really complicated or any longer than 15 or 16 chapters. Thanks for all your help, though.

IdUnoXx- Thanks for reviewing. Sorry this took so long to put up. Hope you liked this chapter.

Sheyana- I'm so sorry. I took a really long time to update. The next chapter will not take as long. Thanks for your review!

Akasha of Night- Thanks for your review. It seems as if everyone liked the towel scene and I'm glad that they did. I'm glad you like my ramblings; I do it all the time.

Amandinka- Thanks for your review.

Anonymous- Thank you so much for reviewing!

Laura- Thanks for your review.

Renthead- Thanks for your review. I hope you keep reading it.

JeNnIfEr88- Thanks for reviewing.

Ohepelss Oramtnci- Thanks for your review. Of course I know something you don't know, and I can't tell you. You will know what it is soon enough though. The climax of the story is very near. And then everything will go downhill from there. And Amy will be taken care of.

Arizona- Yeah, I know, it was cliché. That's how you spell it. And the whole grinding thing was to show that Lily's kinda changing and kinda crazy too. Anyway, the next chapter will be up soon.

Thank you to all my reviewers. I'd really like to break 100 reviews this time. If everyone who is reading this fic reviews, even if it's a couple of words, than we'll be well over 100.

I've decided to do a chapter for Christmas, the wedding and New Years. This chapter was kinda leading into something big that's going to happen. You'll see in the next chapter but I'll need reviews and suggestions people!

Coming up in the next chapter:

Um…everyone attends the wedding.

James's jealousy is made known.

Some other things too, I just don't know what they are yet.

Please, I need reviews!

I love you all!

ArtemisPotter