Hey all! I have a few things to say before the story is continued…

On food: Good guesses, everyone! The food I was thinking of that was mentioned in both Au Pair and A Hogwarts Tale was actually fudge pops (Tabitha bought one for Harry in Au Pair and Peter accidentally ate a cursed fudge pop in A Hogwarts Tale). Special thanks to ERMonkey Burner Of Cookies (cool name, btw) for correctly guessing first! Also, thanks to Zabeth0322 for being even more specific, and to Tsar Kelsey for giving an alternative answer that I didn't even think of! You guys rock!

A lot of people have written that Harry did too well on his Astronomy O.W.L. Well, I'm not so sure about that. Harry did pretty well on the theory part, as the book says, "the Astronomy theory exam on Wednesday went well enough; Harry was not convinced that that he got the names of all of Jupiter's moons right, but was at least confident that none of them were inhabited by mice". And, he also got 2/3 of his star chart completed on the practical exam, so given the circumstances, that's not very bad at all. I really don't think he would have failed the exam, but he sure didn't get an Outstanding. (FYI: the passing grades on the O.W.L.s are Acceptable, Exceeds Expectations, and Outstanding. The two other grades, Poor and Dreadful, are not considered passes. I gave Harry an Acceptable, the last pass grade.) In total, Harry received seven O.W.L.s.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to the master, J.K. Rowling!

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The small interior of the church house was covered in so much white fabric, some of the guests believed it to be magical snow. White drapes hung loosely from the ceiling and white curtains were strung up against the walls. A long white carpet ran straight through the rows of wooden benches, forming an aisle. And on the aisle, walking slowly and proudly towards the front of the room, was the blushing bride.

Lily stared ahead, trying to ignore the scores of eyes upon her. The only ones she cared about were the hazel ones ten feet in front of her, gazing back. Those were the eyes that she fell in love with, and those were the eyes she was going to marry that day.

She reached the altar in what seemed like years. Turning to face James, Lily took a deep breath and waited for him to pull down her veil. James did, and revealed the mass of red hair that was hiding underneath. They both turned to the priest, smiling, and listened to his speech. To Lily, his words blurred together to form some meaningless haze. What really mattered was the large, strong hand she was holding; the hand that was so skillful with a wand, so steady with a broomstick, and so gentle in hers.

Lily watched James say, "I do", and then looked back at the priest and repeated his vow. It was time for the kiss that would officially make them husband and wife. Lily turned towards James, smiling, and- stopped. Her bouquet fell to the ground, a soft thump on the cushiony carpet. Her mouth opened and she started to scream when she saw- not James- but a towering figure in a dark cloak, with evil, blaring red eyes like flames. Laughing menacingly, he let go of Lily's hand and whipped out a wand. He pointed it at her heart and the church room went green.

Lily bolted out of bed. Gasping, she snatched the wand on her bedside table and held it out in front of her like a weapon. After searching all corners of the guest bedroom, she exhaled, and lowered her wand. A dream, she told herself firmly. It was only a dream…Lily took several deep breaths and wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead. She looked at the clock sitting on the table. It read 11:53 PM. Rolling her eyes and swearing, she heaved herself out of bed and touched the cold wooden floor of the bedroom with her bare feet. It was pointless to try to go back to sleep; that nightmare had pretty much ruined any chances of more slumber. She thought she might as well go down to the kitchen and get a glass of water. Slipping into her shoes and robe, Lily walked quietly out of her room and down the stairs. She pulled the thin robe close to her as a chill traveled up her spine. She felt cold, although it was a warm mid-July night.

The Dursleys had come home earlier that evening, shortly after Harry had retired to bed. Lily had just enough time to whip them up a fast dinner before they came marching back into the house. As they had eaten it, they had grilled her on what she did all day, if Harry had really stayed in his room like he was supposed to, etc. Petunia had commented on the clean house, apologized stiffly for the inadequate condition of the first floor, and then trudged up to her room where she claimed she would take a hot bath (her doctor had recommended she take one every other night, explaining how good it was for the undeveloped baby). Vernon and Dudley had followed her soon after, and Lily was left alone with her thoughts and the dirty dishes. She had finished most of them when she decided to call it a night and get to bed.

Just as she was about to enter the kitchen again, post-nightmare, Lily stopped. A light was coming from inside. Tightening her grip around the wand in her robe pocket, Lily searched for the source of the light. There, in the corner, was Dudley leaning into the open refrigerator. His entire torso fit miraculously inside, and the only way Lily could tell it was him was from his massive behind.

"Dudley? You're up late." She relaxed her wand hand and removed it from her pocket.

The large boy removed his face from the refrigerator and squinted at Lily. "Yeah, so?" He said in a gruff, rude voice.

Lily clicked her tongue at him and said nothing. She really did not like this boy. She busied herself by taking out a glass from the cabinet and pouring water from the tap into it. While she was doing this, Dudley took out a massive chocolate cake and cut off a small sliver. He placed the sliver onto the platter and put it back in the fridge. He then began to shovel the rest of the cake into his mouth (A/N: Got that from Garfield comics…). By the time he was finished, he had huge blobs of icing and crumbs spread around his face like a disgusting beard. Dudley didn't bother with a napkin. Licking his mouth, he said, "My parents told me they're paying you to be their servant." He belched loudly.

Biting the inside of her lip, Lily replied, "That's not quite what my job is."

Dudley shrugged as is he couldn't care less. "You're an auper, right?" He scrunched up his face at her.

"Au Pair." Lily corrected him.

"Whatever. Aren't aupers all from, like, Brazil?" Dudley asked stupidly.

"No, not that far east." Lily waited to see if he caught her sarcasm.

Dudley grunted, but said nothing. He obviously believed that Brazil was in Asia. Lily refused to accept that she was related to someone so thick.

Dudley went back to the refrigerator and took out a pint of cola. He chugged it all in one nauseating gulp and looked at Lily again. "So, if my parents are paying you to do stuff for them, does that mean I can boss you around?" He asked her in an irritatingly superior tone.

Lily scowled. "No, it doesn't." She spoke sharply, seething.

"Hmm." Dudley didn't notice her anger. "You look pretty old. Why don't you have a family back in Brazil? Didn't anyone want to marry you?"

Lily was red-faced and shaking. She couldn't believe she was supposed to put up with this! Just as she was about to raise her hand to smack Dudley across that dumpy face of his, an odd thing started to happen. The kitchen lights started to quiver and shake, dimming off and back on again. Sparks flew off the bulbs and through wires. All the appliances on the Dursleys' countertop trembled; the coffee maker, microwave, toaster and can-opener seemed like they were coming to life. And, unexpectedly, the cola bottle exploded in Dudley's hands, blasting tiny fragments of plastic into his face and drenching him with sweet carbonated water.

"Aaarrgghhh!" Dudley shrieked. He flung the liquid and plastic bits off his arms and large body. Dudley always seems to be covered in some kind of food, Lily thought amusingly. "Don't just stand there! Get me a towel!" Dudley yelled at her. This time, Lily couldn't control herself. She grabbed the dishtowel hanging over the sink and flung it at Dudley's face. To her satisfaction, it left an angry red mark on his cheek. Dudley mopped himself up and dropped the towel on the linoleum floor indifferently. He glared at her again, although this time his eyes looked afraid.

Lily realized that she was supposed to look afraid as well. She plastered an intimidated expression on her face and, eyes wide, whispered, "What was that?"

Dudley looked towards the ceiling, trembling. "Potter…" he said inaudibly, but Lily heard him. She pretended not to, though. Dudley was pale and his teeth were clattering. A silence filled the kitchen before a clanking on the floor made Dudley jump and shriek and run up to his bedroom.

Lily looked to see where the noise had come from. A spoon, which had been sitting on the edge of the counter, had started to wobble when her accidental magic was set off. It had fallen moments later, and scared the living daylights out of Dudley.

Chuckling quietly, Lily picked up the dishtowel Dudley had been using and put it back in the sink. She knew it wasn't very aunt-like of her to laugh at her nephew's expense, but he was such a rotten boy. Nothing like Harry at all.

o-o

When Lily woke up the next morning (at a proper hour this time), she was surprised to find a letter addressed to her sitting on her dresser. She recognized Dumbledore's seal on the back, and realized that Fawkes must have left it for her while she was sleeping. Lily ripped out the letter and read it to herself.

Tabitha,

Harry's O.W.L. results were sent to him last night at around 8:00. Hopefully, you didn't already know this. I thought that, as Harry's mother, you would like to see how he did. His scores were as follows:

Astronomy…………………………………………A

Care Of Magical Creatures…………………… O

Charms…………………………………………… E

Defense Against The Dark Arts……………… O

Divination…………………………………………D

Herbology…………………………………………A

History Of Magic…………………………………P

Potions…………………………………………… E

Transfiguration………………………………… E

Harry did very well on these tests, just as I expected. You should be very proud of him.

Albus

Lily grinned widely and held back a cheer. Harry had gotten seven O.W.L.s! That was amazing; it was the exact same amount that James and Sirius had gotten twenty years previous! Although it was not the first time she'd felt like this, it was great to be a proud mother.

"What do you think, James?" She whispered to the ceiling, and went off to make breakfast.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Okay, so: nightmare, Dudley, O.W.L.s. A productive chapter, no?

Trivia Question: A pickle goes to anyone who can name the other item(s) that exploded at the Dursleys' house (from the books, I mean).

Well, I'm off to get ready for my dance recital! Wish me luck! And review!

Ta ta!

LaRohaZeta