A/N: Woo! Another update. And I'm disappointed that more of you didn't participate in the poll. However, we did have one vote for George Weasley, a vote for Lupin, and I think I would want Harry to live. He's not my favorite character or anything, but I think that after he defeats Voldemort he should be able to enjoy his stress free life. Anyhoo. Here's another chapter.
Chapter Forty-One: To the Evans' House We Go
The next few days at the Potter mansion were some of the best Lily had ever experienced, she, James and Sirius went to bed late and got up late, they spent hours just playing games in the field behind the home, and Lily even managed to get some long over due flying lessons from James. They ate chocolate eggs on Easter Sunday and searched for real dyed eggs around the house. Together, they went to several magical villages and shopped around, or just went to lunch. Lily took Sirius and James to Muggle London and picked out some Muggle outfits for James, as well as a suit to wear to her sister's wedding and a nice collared shirt to wear to the rehearsal dinner. By the time Wednesday had come, Lily was sorry to have to leave the magical world and almost fairytale-esque atmosphere of the Potter home. She was however, looking forward to seeing her parents, but she still dreaded having to introduce James to Petunia, and her over-sized fiancé.
"Drive safely." Mrs. Potter said early Wednesday morning as she handed James the keys to the Mercedes.
"I still don't see why we just can't apparate." James stated. "But I suppose I don't mind the drive."
"For the last time…this goes for you too, Sirius. Will you quit looking at your watch? Charlotte comes at twelve, and it's only six thirty." she focused her attention back on James. "For the last time, apparation to Muggle neighborhoods is being closely surveyed these days. It will just be safer for you to go this way.
Margaret Potter gave Lily and James both a hug before sending them on their way.
The drive over to Lily's house was fairly long, but the time seemed to pass by quickly to both Lily and James when it was spent with the company of the other.
"Is this it?" James asked as he turned into a neighborhood.
Lily smiled as she looked around at the matching houses, mailboxes, cars, and lawns.
"Yes, just go down here a ways and take the first left. It's the first house on the right."
They pulled in and James got the luggage while Lily went to go tell her parents that they had arrived.
James walked into the Evans' home. He had never been through the front entrance intrigued him. It was homey, the foyer was simple yet classy, with pictures of Lily and Petunia hung on the wall. James smiled as he saw a young Lily with missing front teeth, smiling broadly at the camera. Even as a child, Lily's green eyes were enchanting. As he studied the portrait, Lily snuck up behind him, putting her hands on his waist.
"I need to show you your room before dinner is ready." she said.
James sniffed the air. "I smell pork chops! And your hair smells really good, Lily." he grinned.
Lily laughed as she led James up the stairway to the guest room.
"Can't we just go to your room? I know it so well." James said playfully as he followed down the hall.
Petunia just happened to be exiting her bedroom at that time, and raised her eyebrows at both Lily and James.
Lily blushed. "Hello, Petunia. This is James Potter, and don't pay attention to him, he was joking…my room at Hogwarts looks exactly like this and James has seen it a couple of times when he comes and gets me for dinner."
Petunia narrowed her cold blue eyes at her little sister. "Please, save me the details of that freak school and the freaks you're there with."
She looked pointedly at James before walking down the stairs. Lily let out a sigh, and she felt James behind her.
"Don't let her bother you, Lily." he comforted.
Lily shrugged, it seemed that even James's words couldn't quite comfort her when it came to Petunia, she opened the guest bedroom door and showed James in.
"Here's your room." Lily said as she turned on a light. She opened a door. "Here's the closet. And Petunia and I have a bathroom just across from my room that you're free to use."
James nodded as he enveloped Lily in his arms. "When does Petunia shower?"
Lily looked up at him by reaching her neck back. "Why?"
"Well I don't fancy walking in on her naked." James explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Lily laughed. "I think she showers in the morning. Yes, she does. Because I remember her banging on the door when I'm in there."
James laughed too. "Well then, I guess I'll just have to shower at night."
"Better safe than sorry." Lily replied as she kissed him lightly on the lips before pulling away from his grasp, although she still held his hand.
"Let's go down to dinner…my mother made pork chops especially for you." she said quietly.
James bobbed his head in response and followed her back down the stairs.
Mrs. Evans had prepared a large meal, complete with pork chops, mashed potatoes, boiled carrots, and green beans. James smiled as he took a seat after pulling out a chair for Lily to sit in.
"This smells wonderful." James announced. "Compliments to the chef."
Mrs. Evans smiled she spooned potatoes on to James's plate. "Tell me when."
After a decent portion filled his plate James politely told her that was enough for now, and Mrs. Evans moved on to the next plate. Mr. Evans was now seated at the table, and he seemed to be studying James.
"So what have you two been up two these last few days?" Mrs. Evans asked as she took her seat.
"We explored around James's house for a bit." Lily said between bites.
"Lily took me shopping for some proper Muggle attire." James stated.
To his surprise, Patrick Evans chuckled.
"I'm sure that was quite the adventure. Lily is difficult to shop with, I gave up years ago." he commented.
James smiled him. "Well, it wasn't too bad, I have to admit, If I had gone by myself I would have been done in about ten minutes, but I wouldn't have matched."
"Spoken like a true man." Patrick replied, taking a sip of his water. "Tell me, James. What do you plan to do when leaving school?"
James swallowed the pork he had been chewing and thought for a second of the words to use. "I am planning on becoming an Auror, so I will be with the Auror Academy, Auror's are sort of like soldiers, but they go through more training, I believe. I also plan on getting a summer job filing for the Ministry so I can pay for a flat of my own."
This response seemed to please Mr. Evans, and he continued to eat. "I went into college, then medical school and became a doctor, so I don't know much about fighting and all. but I respect that career."
James nodded. He was beaming on the inside, he had earned Mr. Evans's respect, to an extent, at least.
The rest of the meal passed by smoothly, to say the least and it ended with Lily and James's favorite, cherry pie.
Before bed, James visited Lily in her room.
"Today was good." he stated as he stood in his long pajama bottoms and white shirt. "Your father seemed to like me."
Lily nodded. "Of course he did, I told you he'd warm up to you. And my mother thinks you're absolutely amazing."
"Now to work on Petunia." James joked.
Lily had to laugh at that. "My sister hasn't yet warmed up to me, if you have a chance, I applaud you."
James grinned and hugged her. "It's okay. What's on the agenda tomorrow?"
Lily let out a long groan. "If I heard my mother right, and I was hoping I hadn't…Vernon is coming over for brunch.
James pulled away and grinned madly. "So I finally get to meet the charming bugger."
Lily frowned. "Don't pull anything, James."
"I won't, if he doesn't harass me." James replied before hearing footsteps. "I better go, good night."
"See you in the morning." Lily replied before falling into her bed.
"Lily?" came the cold, domineering voice of Lily's older sister.
Lily looked up from her under her covers. "Yes?" she asked.
She heard Petunia take a breath.
"I told Vernon about you and your kind, and the wedding is still on." she said.
"Well let's have a party." Lily sarcastically replied to her odious sister.
"He wasn't happy at all, but I convinced him I was different, that are parents don't support you or anything." she explained.
"But our parents do support me." Lily replied, beginning to really get angry with her sister.
"He doesn't have to know that. Good night." was all Petunia said before closing the door behind her, not even giving Lily a chance to respond.
Lily huffed and folded her arms, now she had to worry about how Vernon would treat her, and more importantly, James.
"Lily, would you take this bowl onto the dining room table?" Mrs. Evan's asked the next morning.
"Mum, it's going to be crowded in there…James has long legs and Vernon…is well the size of a whale."
Mrs. Evans waved her daughter away. "Nonsense, that dining room is big enough for ten whales."
Lily smiled at her mother, who was grinning as well.
"I just wish we could have eaten outside…" Lily stated.
"I do too, but it's absolutely wretched out there. It's raining cats and dogs." Beverly replied, handing the cutlery to Lily.
"Where's Petunia?" Lily asked. "It's her fiancé that's gracing us with his presence."
"Don't talk like that, your boyfriend is hear as well, you know." Her mother retorted.
"Yes, but I'm helping." Lily remarked. "Where is James, anyways?" she asked, any topic including James could distract her these days.
Mrs. Evans smiled at her young daughter. "He's out in the den reading the paper with your father."
"Dad's probably chewing him out; I better go see what's up." Lily stated, drying her hands rather unnecessarily on a kitchen towel before walking out into the den.
James saw her enter and smiled excitedly. "These pictures don't move!" he exclaimed.
Lily smiled at him and shook her head.
"James says he'll show me a magical newspaper next time he visits, so I can see the pictures move." Patrick stated as he read The London Times.
"And your dad says that after brunch I can watch the tellie." James added enthusiastically.
"Why don't you turn it on now?" suggested Lily, but as if just to frustrate her, the doorbell rang. Vernon Dursley had arrived.
"I've got it!" Petunia yelled from the top of the stairs in a shrill voice.
"But I wanted to greet the whale." Lily said sarcastically, loud enough for only James to hear. He chuckled.
"Let's go get a seat." Lily whispered. "I'd hate to watch them kiss or anything."
James jumped off the couch and followed Lily to the dining room.
"I just got the mental image of a walrus snogging a horse." he muttered. Lily giggled and her mother looked at her, but she and James just continued and took their seats.
Patrick Evans joined them soon with a disgusted expression on his face, telling Lily and James that Petunia and Vernon had indeed, kissed.
Petunia walked in hand in hand with what James assumed was Vernon Dursley.
Vernon cast a very sinister look to both Lily and James before taking a seat beside Petunia and opposite of Lily and James with the parents at the heads.
The meal began quietly enough, with the sounds of eating ringing throughout the room. But there comes a point in every meal, where conversation is deemed necessary and hence brought up.
"So, James, is that it?" Vernon started, almost glaring at James from across the table.
"Yes that's it." James replied, his voice on edge as his grip seemed to become tighter around his fork.
"You go to that ruddy school with Lily?" he asked.
James nodded. "I go to Hogwarts, if that's what you mean."
Vernon huffed as he stuck a piece of roast into his flabby mouth, barely missing his gaudy, overgrown mustache.
"And your…you're a wizard." he continued, his voice bitter.
James nodded. "Yes, that's what we learn how to be when we go to Hogwarts. What do you do, Vernon?" James tactfully changed the subject.
"I work for Grunnings, it's a drill company, I'm in line for Assistant Vice President." he boasted, casting a glance at Mr. Evans, who just continued to eat.
Petunia nodded robotically, as if to say, "It's true."
"That's nice." James replied, rather pleasantly, Lily thought giving the situation. Vernon was practically trying to start an argument with James.
"What does your kind do for leisure?" Vernon asked again a few moments later.
"Well there's cards, and Quidditch, and just, you know, normal things…flying, reading." James explained.
Vernon screwed up his eyes in confusion; Lily highly doubted he had ever heard of Quidditch, or even reading, for that matter.
"Don't you have any sports like tennis or golf?" he asked, bewildered.
James raised an eyebrow. "We don't particularly play them, but we know what they are."
Vernon nodded. "You and me, then. A round of golf, Friday morning."
Lily couldn't let James do agree to golf with Vernon, it was a calamity waiting to happen. She piped up.
"Why don't you two just watch the news together or something." she tried. She knew Vernon was the type of man to watch the news, and James was eager to see how the television worked.
"No, I'd rather see how James fairs at golf. It's a true man's sport, after all." Vernon stated.
James smiled. "Sure, I'd love to play with you."
Lily sighed; this was going to be a disaster.
Much thanks to hoolihoopgirl131, Harry and Ginny 4eva, MissMrprk, 2005girl, Zippy-Wings, and chikichiki for being absolutely splendid and reviewing. Thank you!
Also, a thank-you to my beta is in line. Thanks hcgolfinfool!