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Lily opened her eyes and saw two people standing next to her. Dumbledore said, "Hello John and his lovely wife Maria," Dumbledore shook their hands. Lily trailed behind uncertainly. "This is Lily Evans. Lily, this is John and this is Maria."
Lily walked over, "Hello Lily!" Maria said, "I am so glad you could come stay with us. It will be great to have another girl in the house," Lily stared up at the brown haired woman, feeling more comfortable already.
"Hello Lily. Nice to meet you. I'm John Potter." Lily was in the middle of shaking his hand when he introduced himself. She spun around at Dumbledore. Her headmaster looked decidedly uncomfortable.
"Lily, I would have told you…" he started.
"Told her what?" Maria said, confused.
Lily blushed and looked down. It was very awkward, so Dumbledore explained, "Lily knows James from school. They, um, don't exactly get along…"
Maria looked surprised, "Well," she said, "Maybe this summer you will get to know each other better!" Mrs. Potter said in tones that sounded as though she really wanted things to work out.
Lily forced a smile on her face, though inside she felt like throwing up. "I'm sure James and I just got off on the wrong foot," she said, acting as though they were not very good acquaintances.
"Oh, and James has two friends over. Maybe you know them, Sirius and Remus?"
Lily felt the tension growing, "Yeah, we've met," Lily said, keeping her voice light and cheerful.
Dumbledore saw through her and said, "Mr. and Mrs. Potter, may I bid farewell to Lily alone?" The confused Potters nodded and left to stand alone by the front door.
The Headmaster put a comforting hand on Lily's shoulder, "I truly am sorry. There is no other way,"
Lily nodded, not trusting herself to speak. How was she going to explain her lack of family to the Marauders? No one knew about her home life. If anything, they thought she had it perfect. Seeing Lily's face, Dumbledore consoled, "You don't have to tell the boys anything. I'm sure you will become good friends. Goodbye, my Lily." He conjured a white lily out of thin air with his wand and winked. She smiled; tears banished and said, "Goodbye," Her headmaster and adoptive grandfather Disapparated.
Lily took a sniff of the lily and tucked it behind her ear instinctively. She saw that the Potter's were waiting with her bags at the front door. She looked up and saw the biggest house she had ever seen. The mansion was white with blue-black shutters. The Potter family crest hung over the large doorway. There was a rose garden in the back and forests on all sides. She strode confidently over to the Potter's and said, "Thank you,"
Maria patted her head and said softly, "Let me show you your room. You will see the boys at dinner. They are currently unpacking," Lily smiled gratefully and followed Mrs. Potter upstairs. Lily's room was on the third floor and, as Maria explained, the Marauders were on the second and the adults were on the top and fourth floor. "Dinner is at seven. You may wear everyday robes or, if you prefer, Muggle clothes."
As she showed her the door, and magically wrote Lily's Room on it, Lily watched Potter's mother. She was a tall, brown haired lady. She had Potter's hazel eyes and the Marauder's nose. "Err… what should I address you by?"
Mrs. Potter smiled warmly, "Silly me. You may call me Maria and my husband John. May I call you Lily?" she asked.
Lily grinned for the first time in a long time, "Lily would be great." Maria dismissed herself, explaining she had to supervise the house-elves making dinner. Lily walked into her room and was blown away. It was huge! It had a large king-sized bed. The room was white and gold. The white was a warm color, not a sterile hospital type. Gold paint swirled around the spacious room. A note was laying on the fluffy pillow on her huge bed. 'We chose the color white in honor of beautiful lilies. From the Potters.'
Lily had been thinking and she had come to the conclusion that Potter had no idea that she would be staying at his house. He would have mentioned it. No, they must not have told him her name, assuming they hadn't met. She unpacked her things. She put her lily on the bed and put a spell on it to make it stay fresh. Lily got out her flute. She was far enough away from everyone that no one would hear. She played one of her favorite Muggle tunes called "My Favorite Things". Lily loved hearing it on the flute.
It made everything feel better. She also loved singing it, but for her first day with the Potters she felt more comfortable playing it. She stopped after that and decided to finish her homework. She went over to a white ivory desk and settled down. It struck her that she had done the exact same thing that morning, but in an absolute different environment.
When her watch said 6:45, she changed out of her school robes and changed into a pair of robes Dumbledore had gotten her. They were such a dark green they were almost black and she swept her dark auburn hair into a ponytail. Her hair was naturally in loose ringlets, but not many people knew due to its being in a messy bun normally. Lily gazed at her reflection in a spotless mirror beside her. It was thankfully not one of the talking varieties. She had clear unblemished tan skin. She worked outside a lot with Dumbledore on the castle and decorating Headquarters. The Order stayed in an apartment like building in London, close to the Ministry.
She had large emerald eyes that were surrounded by naturally curled black lashes. Her eyebrows were not plucked, but they stayed in a thin shape. Lily frowned at herself in the mirror. At least she could prove she didn't try to enhance her looks for the guys. She wore comfortably loose clothes and had never touched makeup in her life. She fixed up her robes, her stomach lurching due to her nervousness. Today was the day Potter would discover that Lily had no family and that his flower, as he called her, would be spending the rest of the summer with him.
She groaned and made her way downstairs. She knew the Marauders wouldn't be down yet for dinner was in ten minutes. She went to the kitchen to see Mrs. Potter standing there, watching the food being laid out on large platters. Lily knocked on the door and Maria turned. "Hello Lily! I was just going to call you and the boys down. You look lovely in those robes dear,"
Lily looked down, blushing. She was unused to compliments on such a regular basis. "You look very lovely yourself, Maria," And that she did. She was wearing her long hair in a half ponytail and had a pearl necklace that went well with her dark aqua robes.
"Thank you dear. I know this will be very uncomfortable for you. I expect you didn't tell the boys of your situation?" Maria asked kindly. Lily nodded, grateful of Mrs. Potter's generosity. "I am going to introduce you properly, alright?"
Lily nodded again. At least she wouldn't be facing the Marauders alone. "May I help you with anything?" Lily asked politely, wanting to help this kind lady in any way she could.
"Only by telling me what kind of drink and dessert you like!" Maria said cheerfully.
"Water please, and I don't need dessert," Lily said, flustered by the extreme motherliness.
"Well, if you change your mind just let me know. We are having wonderful chocolate cake for dessert and I do not want the men to get it all," Maria said, knowing that no one could resist her special chocolate cake. "We can wait until all of the boys are seated before you come up. I don't want this to be anymore awkward than it already may be."
After five more minutes talking, they heard the noise of what was unmistakably the Marauders coming down for dinner. "Let's go," Maria said, taking hold of Lily's hand. Maria went through the dining room door first. Lily heard the sound of their greetings. Sirius and James said, "Hello, mum!" while the shy Remus muttered a quick, "Hello Mrs. Potter,"
"John is working, and will be down in a minute," Maria informed them after instructing Remus to call her Maria. "Now, I would like you all to meet our guest for the summer. Boys, this is Lily Evans."
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Please review! I need five more reviews to update! Thank ya very much! In the next chapter awkwardness will ensue when Lily has to eat dinner with her least favorite people.