Hey all Pupparoux here, OK in case it isn't clear this is Lily and James's 7th year at Hogwarts. So once again, as always, thank you all so much! You rock! YAY!

Lol. SO SAT's are Finally OVER! YES! So here's your chapter. I hope you like it.

Thanks.

R&R

Hmm…lots of you think that Lily's Gram is a witch…I thought I should clear this up…author giggles evilly to herself…but not until Later chapters…MUAHHAHAH lol.

P.s I don not own anything related to The Harry Potter franchise. Well duh, why would I be writing here if I did right? All hail the genius that is J. K. Rowling.

Right onward! ;) Pupparoux

Here we go, I hope you like it.

Chapter Four: Nothing Personal

She turned the handle, and opened the door.

Once through the threshold she called "Hello everyone! We're here…"

About ten people were sitting or standing in the kitchen where Lily and James had just walked. All the talking stopped mid-sentence and everyone looked at Lily, then everyone's eyes flicked to James and settled on him…

Uh ohh, James thought. Is it hot in here or is it just me… he gulped…

Then the muttering started.

"Who's he?"

"Why's he holding her hand?"

"Why's he here?"

Lily looked at James and grinned.

So this WAS going to be fun…

She pulled him a few more steps into the kitchen. All eyes flickered back to Lily.

"Everyone," started Lily, "this is Pott…" James gently squeezed her hand and she checked herself. "Uh, I mean James Potter. He's my friend...my boy…friend." She said slowly and with great effort. "I thought I'd bring him home for the holidays to meet you all." She smiled

Everyone looked back at James, sizing him up, seeing if he was good enough for their Lily.

Then a tall man, who was lounging by the stove, walked over to Lily and James. He had on a muggle police uniform and a gun was at his side. James noticed this as he walked over them the man kept a hand on his gun.

"Chris!" squeaked Lily, throwing her arms around the man's neck. He smiled and returned her hug, though his eyes never left James' face. When Lily let go of Chris she turned to James and said, "James, this is my cousin Chris."

James stepped forward and put out his hand. "James, James Potter."

Chris took James' hand, gripping it firmly. "Evans, Chris Evans." Chris was looking at James in a way that suggested that if anything should happen to Lily, he'd know who he'd have to deal with.

James let go of Chris's hand and stepped beside Lily again.

"Right introductions…" started Lily. "Ok, you already met Chris. Starting by the sink, Auntie Terrie, Auntie Norma, Auntie Scooch...uh, I mean Jean." Lily indicated the three women by the sink. "Next my cousins, Ryan, Joe, Luke, and Ben." She pointed to four boys sitting at the scrubbed oak table playing cards. They all looked up at James, nodded at him and simultaneously went back to their card game. "Oh and Chris…of course. Can't forget him."

"No, you can't..." said James quietly, looking over his shoulder at Chris who was standing menacingly behind them.

"Brandon, he's over there," she pointed to a man standing with his back against the frame of the door leading into the next room. "And Shawn." She indicated the man sitting in the stairs next to Brandon. "Is that everyone?" asked lily.

"Yup," said Joe from the table.

"Right. Well…" she paused then whispered to James, "Well…say hello…"she nudged him rather hard in the ribs.

"Hello, everyone." He winced.

"Ohh Lily, a boy!' cried Terrie, rushing over to Lily and hugging her. She was a bigger woman with a round cheerful face. When she had let go of Lily she turned and pulled James away from Lily and into a hug as well.

James turned red, he'd never been hugged by someone he'd just met before and surprisingly he wasn't uncomfortable, the hug made him feel like he was part of the family already. Even though he'd only just arrived…

"Welcome James, I'm Terrie, as you know, and I hope that you enjoy our somewhat crazy family! I know I do." She let go of James.

"Thank you. I'm sure I will." James beamed, looking around for Lily. She had ambled over to the table where her cousins were and attempting to kiss each of them on the top of the head. She grabbed each one of them around the neck when she reached them and held them still while she kissed them. They squirmed and twisted but couldn't, or wouldn't, get away.

After she had kissed each of them she walked back over to James. Taking his hand again. I have to be convincing…I have to be convincing… Lily looked up into James' eyes and smiled. He has such beautiful eyes…what did I just think? Lily's stomach did a flop Oh my goodness…I must still be feeling sick from that bus ride…my head isn't thinking clearly… Lily looked away and let go of his hand.

Well, thought James. She is being very convincing. Maybe she does have slight feelings for me as well.

The boys at the scrubbed oak table were occasionally looking over their shoulders at James and then sniggering. Then Joe, the oldest of the bunch, blurted out, "So you're dating our cousin?" he looked back at the others again, a renewed wave of giggles passed over them. "What's your problem?"

"I beg your pardon?" asked James, quiet surprised. Little urchins…

"Do you actually know our cousin?" asked Ryan.

"Cause if you did, I don't think you would be dating her…"continued Ben.

"Yeah…she's weird. And a GIRL!" finished Luke, the youngest. He was still disgusted with girls.

"I happen to love the weird things about her," said James, looking into Lily's big green eyes.

She blushed and looked away. The three aunts smiled at one another, the older male cousins straightened and glared at James and the boys burst out laughing.

"Who are you four calling weird?" asked Lily still red. "Have you looked in the mirror lately?" she shook her head. "C'mon James, let's go put our stuff upstairs."

"We can do that..." started Brandon, moving forward.

"Yeah," said Shawn.

"No need for you two to go up alone…" continued Chris, putting emphasis on the word alone.

It was James' turn-to-turn red.

"Get your minds out of the gutter…I have to show James his room and where everything is," said Lily, glaring at her cousins. Ugh…I don't even like him. Lily checked her thought. Well, I guess he is growing on me… She looked back at James, his tousled hair sticking up in strange direction and his brown eyes sizing up her cousin's muscles. It does take guts to meet my cousins.

"We could do that," said Shawn

"Yah and talk to him," said Brandon.

"Or maybe rough him up, just a little," said Chris quietly, almost in James' ear. "Just so he doesn't get any Ideas…"

James took a step toward Lily and she took his hand. He grabbed the trunks and Lily pulled him across the kitchen and to the hallway leading to the winding staircase.

"See you in a bit," she called around the corner.

"If you're gone for more than a half hour I'm coming up," Chris called back.

"Hmm…what we could do in a half hour," said James suggestively, raising an eyebrow and looking at Lily as they rounded the corner.

"OOOOOKKKKKKK…" Lily said, getting annoyed at her cousin and at James' stupid remark. Just when I thought he was different…She sighed. "C'mon Potter. Follow me," said Lily, dropping her voice and James' hand and walking up the stairs in front of him.

Lily had changed tactics so fast that James was just starring after her with his mouth open. What an actress…. so I guess she really doesn't have feelings for me. I bet that comment didn't help too much though, I am so stupid!

Lily turned to him. "Well?" she asked. "Coming?"

James could only nod as he walked up the stairs behind Lily.

"Oh and watch your..." started Lily just as James cracked his head on a low beam.

"Ow…"

"Sorry…should've warned you sooner," said Lily smiling sideways at James. "That's for the Knight Bus and that little comment downstairs."

"Hey!" exclaimed James, rubbing the spot on his head with his free hand. "I was nothing but sweet to you on the bus. No snide comments, no remarks, no jibs, nothing. I even helped you feel better once we got off! And I was only joking!" He said, somewhat indignantly as he continued to drag the trunks up the seemingly unending staircase. "Sheesh, it doesn't look this big from the outside…"

"Ok, here we are." Said Lily as she reached the top of the staircase. She pushed open a door to the left of the staircase. They both went in. It was a very large room with two medium beds and a makeshift partition running through the center of the room dividing it in half. The room was painted a dark red and had two huge windows. The walls were covered in framed photographs.

"We have to share…" said Lily. "The house, as you can see, is really full…" she wasn't looking at him. "But we each have our own bathroom and bed, obviously." She was turning slightly pink, indicating the two doors leading to the bathrooms and then the beds.

"I have to share a room…with you?" asked James. Uh oh…do her cousins know about this?

"Yeah….sorry…late notice. I usually only bring my girl friends home and since this is my room, well, we share it."

"Well," said James enthusiastically. "This should be fun." He looked at Lily and his smile faded. "Do your cousin's know about this?" he asked apprehensively.

Lily just shrugged.

James took a deep breath; thought of what Lily's cousins would do to him if they found out he was sharing a room with Lily, and started inspecting the room.

Lily took her trunk to the left side of the room. She paused, opened the window to let in a cooling breeze and then threw open her trunk. She took out her pajamas and threw them on the bed. Then she took out Hogwarts a History, flopped on the bed and started to read it, pretending not to look at James.

James was looking at all her smuggle photographs on the walls. Most of them contained family, James guessed. In all of them Lily was beaming and had her arm around someone.

She's so happy with her family… James looked sidelong at Lily, hoping she wouldn't notice.

James looked at a picture of Lily holding a small baby. It had unruly jet-black hair, just like his, and her eyes. He looked at it a second longer and just as his eyes started to shift to the next picture, out of the corner of his eyes James saw the baby wink at him. His eyes moved to the next picture, then slid back to the baby one. The picture was no longer there.

"What the?" asked James out loud. He looked around the wall for the picture but couldn't find it anywhere. "That's strange." He said aloud.

By this time Lily was actually reading her book and effectively ignoring James. So she didn't hear his exclaim of surprise.

James looked at Lily.

"Lily?" he asked.

She didn't hear him. Well at least she pretended not to. There was just something about the way he said her name, she like to hear it.

He tried again. "Lily?" he said softly. "… Lily?" Her first name wasn't working so he decided to try her surname. " …Evans…"

He walked over to her and still got no response. So he jumped on her bed, landing next to her and stealing the pillow she had been using.

"What Potter?" asked Lily annoyed, trying to take back her pillow. But James wouldn't give it to her.

"I was just looking at you photos." started James.

"And you couldn't help notice how fat I've gotten?" asked Lily, not looking at James.

"What?" asked James, surprised.

"That is what you were going to say isn't it? Just to spite me for the beam thing?" she asked looking over at him.

"Well, no." He started to laugh. "That would've been a good one…"

"Ha," said Lily rolling her eyes and smacking James. "What then?"

"No, I don't think I'll tell you now. So there." Said James as he stuck his tongue out.

"Fine. It was your question anyway." Said Lily going back to her book.

They laid on the bed in silence. Then James said, "So when should I meet your gram?"

Lily sighed. "I think I should say hello first. With all this company she's probably tired and I don't want to overwhelm her, ya'know?"

James nodded and rested his head on her shoulder.

Lily looked over at him, well his head. That's sweet… she sighed. Aah! No it's not! Lily got up, allowing James' head to flop onto the bed.

"Hey!'

"Potter," started Lily.

"Evans…"

"You know there is nothing personal about this, right."

James' heart slipped a few notches, he was careful not to let it show.

"Of course," he responded in a business like tone, sitting up straight on the bed. "Strictly Business."

"Exactly," said Lily. "So just make it believable, no real feelings. Agreed?" She held out her hand.

James reluctantly shook it. "Agreed."

"Well, I'm going to say hello to my grandmother. You can shower if you want. Everything you need should already be in the bathroom." She turned and started for the door.

She stopped when she reached it and turned to face James, who was getting g fresh clothes out of his trunk.

"And Pot…James," she called.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Thanks," said Lily quickly and she left the room.

James just smiled.

So? What ya think? Reviews please!

Thanks all and until next chapter…

Keep a sharp eye ;)

Pupparoux