Okay I'm starting something new: In the beginning of each chapter, I'll say what happened in the last chapter, and characters that were introduced. At the end, I'll say what will happen in the next chapter.

Last Chapter:

Lily recieves her letter from Hogwarts and learns that she is a witch. She goes to Diagon Alley and gets supplies.

Introduced characters:

Aurora

And here is Chapter Four... please enjoy.

"Lily, get up!" Nora shouted, knocking loudly on Lily's bedroom door. "Your father is going to be here in a few hours and the house isn't clean! Get up now!"

"Make Petunia do it!" Lily yelled, groggily turning over in her bed.

"Petunia just got back yesterday, but you've been here all summer and you haven't done anything!" Nora yelled. "Get up! Do you want me to make you get up?"

"I'm getting up!" Lily rolled out of bed and stumbled to her dresser. "What to wear…" she mumbled to herself as she pulled out a pair of navy blue shorts and a white tank top.

"Hurry up!" came Nora's insistent voice from behind the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Lily responded. "Bitch," she muttered under her breath. He's not coming until five anyway, and it's just ten thirty right now, she thought as she picked up her brush and stepped in front of her mirror.

It's no wonder Nora always makes fun of me, Lily thought as she brushed out her hair. I definitely fall short of pretty. Red hair, too-big eyes, nose a bit too big, too-thin lips, extra weight. Who would like me?

"Come on!" Nora said, opening the door. "I don't see why you even bother with a mirror in here. You're not much to look at. I have a list for you to do on the counter," Nora said as she walked out of the room. "Follow me," she said coldly. Lily followed.

"The list is right there," she called over her shoulder, pointing into the kitchen. "I expect everything to be done by four thirty."

"Where are you going?" Lily asked.

"I am picking Petunia up from her friend's house, and then we're going out," Nora said, picking up her purse. "I'll be back at four thirty."

"So you and Petunia are just making me do all of the work, while you go out and shop and get your nails done or whatever it is you do?" Lily cried, outraged.

"Yes," Nora said, looking up. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Wh- Yes!" Lily exclaimed.

"Oh, well I wasn't aware of that, and I don't really care. I'll see you at four thirty." Nora slammed the door.

Lily ran to the window, waited until Nora's car pulled out of the driveway, and screamed. A few moments later, she was calmed down.

"I'd better see what I'm supposed to do," she said out loud, sighing.

As usual, Nora had thought things would take longer to do than they would. She had written on the list for Lily to clean the kitchen, living room, dining room, bathrooms, and her own room, and to pull the weeds in the garden.

Lily looked at her surroundings. Nora had left the kitchen a mess from her breakfast, and also had not cleaned the kitchen the night before. She started by putting all of the dirty dishes into the sink, washing them and setting them on a towel spread out on the counter, then drying and putting them away. Next she wiped off the counters and then swept and mopped the floor.

The living room wasn't hard to clean. All Lily had to do was put Nora's magazines on the coffee table, dust the furniture, vacuum the rug, and rearrange the pillows on the couches and chairs. The dining room was also easy. She wiped off the table and vacuumed the rug and put placemats on the table.

Lily pushed her hair behind her ear. I'd better go get something to pull my hair back, she thought. I'll just take a break. I have plenty of time. She wandered into the kitchen and looked at the clock. "One fifty-six?" she said aloud. "That took way more time than I thought!"

She ran upstairs to her room. Oh no, she thought in dismay. Her room was in worse condition than she had thought. She frantically shoved things into drawers, all the while looking for a hair tie. Finally, she collapsed onto her bead. CRASH!

She sat up. "Fuck!" she moaned. Her bedside lamp had fallen over, and shattered on the ground. Sighing, she stood up and began picking up the pieces. "Ouch!" she said, dropping the piece clenched in her hand under the bed and opened up her fist. A crescent of blood was blooming on her palm. "Bloody lamp," she muttered, and knelt to pick up the piece she had just dropped.

Laying it next to it, in the dust under the bed, was a solitary hair tie.

"Dad!" Lily cried as her father rolled up the tinted windows and stepped out the passenger seat of the taxi.

"Lily, come here and give me a hug," he said, opening his arms. She rushed over to hug him, wincing as he crushed her ribs against him—a memory of one of Nora's episodes.

"Now, as I understand it, you have a birthday coming up tomorrow," he said, kneeling down and looking into her eyes. Lily nodded, laughing. "Well, in that case, I have a few surprises for you," he briskly said, standing up and walking to the taxi.

"What are they?" she asked, playing along, though she knew that he was going to take out his luggage and then a few presents.

"Well, for one, I'm staying for about two and a half weeks, until you leave for school," he said.

"Really?" Lily gasped. If her father was there for the rest of the summer, it would mean that she was free from Nora's hold.

"Yes, and that's not all," he said, setting his suitcase on the ground. Lily smiled; the presents were about to follow. But instead, he shut the trunk, and opened the door to the backseat. Something flew out, crashed into Lily, and knocked her to the ground.

"Lily!" Aurora cried. Lily squirmed out from under her friend, and blinked.

"Aurora?"

"That would be me," she said, standing up.

"Why are you here?" Lily asked stupidly.

"Well, for one, it's your birthday. Your dad called Aunt Gemma and asked if I could come back with him for the rest of the summer. I'm staying for about two weeks, Aunt Gemma's coming up on the 28th, and we're going back home with your dad on the first."

"So that means," Lily said, counting in her head, "You'll be here for nineteen days?"

"Yep," Aurora said, grinning.

"Why don't you help Aurora get set up in the guest room, and let me say hello to Nora and Petunia," her father said.

"Come on," Lily said, grabbing Aurora's arm.

"Hold on, let me get my suitcase," she said, picking up the duffle bag sitting next to Lily's father's suitcases. As they walked up onto the porch, Petunia shoved Lily out of her way, giving them a dirty look and flipping her dark blonde hair.

"She doesn't talk much, does she?" Aurora asked, staring after Petunia's figure.

"She hasn't been home for most of the summer, but when she's been home, I doubt she's said a word to me at all," Lily replied.

"She's a bitch," Aurora said agreeably, then continued up the stairs and into the guestroom. "Damn, this thing is heavy," she panted, dropping the suitcase onto the bed in the guestroom.

"Start putting your stuff away while I get sheets," Lily said. Aurora unzipped the suitcase and began sorting folded clothes on the bed.

Lily walked down the hall, staring out the window as she passed. She's really laying it on thick, Lily thought, watching Nora greet her father. Snorting in disgust, she closed the blinds, opened the linen closet, and selected a set of sheets.

When she reentered the guest room, Aurora was closing the second drawer of the bureau. "Back so soon?" she joked.

"Yep," Lily responded. "Can you move the rest of your clothes so I can make the bed?" she asked.

"Sure," Aurora obliged, moving the piles of clothes on top of the dresser.

"So what's new?" Lily said as she made the bed.

"Oh, not much," Aurora said nonchalantly. "It's no fun talking during the day. I'll sleep in your room tonight and we'll talk. Okay?"

"All right," Lily said, smoothing the comforter over the bed.

"Girls?" Lily's father called up the stairs.

"Yes?" Lily said.

"We're going out to dinner in about fifteen minutes, so you'll need to dress up."

"Okay, we'll be ready," Lily said. "I'm going to go change, okay?" she said to Aurora. "After you've changed, just come to my room."

Lily walked across the hall to her room, and shut the door. For the second time that day, she stood in front of her closet, surveying its contents. Finally, she dressed in a knee-length white cotton skirt and pale violet sleeveless blouse.

"Can I come in?" Aurora asked, knocking on the door.

"Yeah," Lily said, tugging the blouse down over the top of the skirt.

"Do you have any shoes I can wear?" she asked.

"Let me see," Lily said, taking in Aurora's outfit. She was wearing a V-necked emerald green shirt with a cream colored skirt.

"Here," she said, handing Aurora a pair of platform sandals, and taking out a pair of beaded sandals for herself.

"Oh my god, I'm so jealous!" Lily exclaimed, looking at Aurora.

"Why?" Aurora asked, brushing out her hair with Lily's brush.

"You're gorgeous," Lily said. And she was; Aurora had long, straight, dark, almost black, hair, and grey eyes with a slight blue tint. She was tall for her age, and was already beginning to develop breasts. "And you look older," she added.

"Thanks," Aurora said. "I don't think I've heard that one before…"

Lily started, wondering if Aurora was being sarcastic. But one look into Aurora's eyes told Lily that she was completely serious.

"Lily! Aurora!" came Nora's voice up the stairs. "We're waiting!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Come on."

A week went bye. Lily and Aurora spent the time walking around the town, buying clothes—Aurora's aunt had supplied her with plenty of money and Lily's father had given her money—for the next school year, talking about anything and everything. But the whole time, Lily fought with her secret—she didn't know how Aurora would react, but she didn't like keeping secrets from her best friend.

Finally, one day while they were sitting by the pond at the park, Lily decided to tell Aurora.

"I have to tell you something," she said.

"I'm listening," Aurora said, not looking up from the family of ducks that was swimming around in front of them.

"It's something serious," Lily said. Aurora looked up, shocked.

"Are you all right?" she asked, alarmed.

"No, it's nothing like that," Lily said hastily. "I don't know how to tell you this, but—"

"You're gay, aren't you?" Aurora interrupted. "Just so you know, its fine with me if you're a lesbian. I'll always support you. It's great that you're admitting to it. Did you know that Aunt Gemma's best friend, Nichol, is gay?"

"Aurora, I'm not gay!" Lily said. Aurora stopped. "It's just—Imawit"

"I didn't catch that," Aurora said.

Lily exhaled. "I'm a witch," she said slowly. Aurora paused, then started laughing.

"I'm serious!" Lily protested. "I got a letter; I'm going to a school called Hogwarts. It's for witches and wizards."

"No, you don't understand," Aurora said, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. "I'm not laughing because I think you're joking. I'm laughing because—well, I'm laughing because I'm a witch too! So is Aunt Gemma. She's a teacher at Salem Institute, the school I'm going to!"

"Oh," Lily said, still trying to process what Aurora had said.

"So, does your family know?" Aurora said more seriously.

"My dad does, but Nora and Petunia don't."

"Well, they're going to have to know at some point."

"I know. My dad said that he'd tell them," Lily said. They're not going to take it well, she thought dryly. "Wait, you said you're going to Salem Institute?" she asked.

"Yes," Aurora said hesitantly.

"So there are other schools besides Hogwarts?"

"Of course!" Aurora said, looking at Lily as if she was mad. "There's Hogwarts; that's for the United Kingdom, then Durmstrang, that's for Bulgaria and Romania and the countries around there, then Beauxbatons for France, Italy, and Switzerland and countries near there, there's one in Russia but I can't pronounce the name, then there's one in the Middle East, some in Asia, some in Africa, one in Australia called Callamada or something, one in Canada, and a few in South America. There are probably some smaller ones too! But Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, Salem, and Callamada are the most well-known."

"Oh," Lily said, feeling rather insignificant compared to the size of the world. "That's a lot."

"Lily! Wake up! Wake up!"

Lily rolled over in her bed, burying her head in her pillow. "It's too early to get up!" she mumbled.

"No it's not. It's almost eleven! Get up! Aunt Gemma is going to be here soon!"

Lily wearily rolled over onto her back and sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "What time does her plane get in?" she yawned.

"Oh, she's not taking a plane," Aurora said casually.

"How's she getting here, then?"

"She's Apparating."

"Appa—what?"

"Apparating," Aurora said patiently. "It's when you disappear from one place and appear in another. But you have to get a license to do it, and you can't take the test until you're seventeen."

"Oh," Lily said. For the past week, she and Aurora had discussed magic, and there was so much about it she didn't know.

They sat in silence for a few moments, then jumped up at the sound of the doorbell.

"Aunt Gemma!" Aurora shrieked, rushing downstairs and opening the front door.

"Aurora, darling!" she said in an American accent, sweeping Aurora up into a hug. Lily stood behind Aurora, silent.

"Oh, Aunt Gemma? This is Lily," Aurora said, finally introducing them.

"Hello, Lily dear, please call me Gemma," she said. Gemma was a tall woman in her early thirties, with sand colored hair tied into a messy knot on top of her head, and thin, wire-rimmed glasses covering brown eyes. She wore dark, straight leg jeans and a pink button down shirt.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," Lily said.

"Guess what, Aunt Gemma?" Aurora said. "Lily's a witch!"

"Oh, really?" she said, her gaze brightening. "Do your parents know?" she said briskly.

"My dad does, but Nora doesn't," Lily explained.

"Well, it looks like they've prepared a nice lunch for us. We can tell her then," Gemma said, walking to greet Lily's father.

"Hello, Thomas, it's so nice to see you again! She said, hugging him.

"You two know each other?" Lily asked.

"We do. My husband, God rest, and your father were roommates in college," Gemma explained.

"Yes, we were," her father said.

"So, Thomas, I've just heard that Lily's a witch," Gemma said casually. Lily's father shot her a warning look. "Oh, don't worry. So are Aurora and I. In fact, I'm the Charms teacher at the school Aurora is going to be going to!"

"Oh. Well, then," Lily's father said.

"So Lily was telling us that you're wife doesn't know. Would you like me to explain it to her at lunch?"

"All right," he said, relaxing. "I wasn't looking forward to telling her, but you might have better luck." Gemma nodded wisely. "Speaking of Nora," he said as she walked over.

"Hello, I'm Nora. You must be Aurora's aunt!" she said.

"Yes, I am. Please, call me Gemma," she said kindly.

"Welcome to our home. Please sit down, you must be hungry. I know how those airplane flights are," Nora said, leading the way into the dining room. "Have a seat," she said, gesturing to the table. "Let me just call Petunia down… Petunia!" she called. "It's time for lunch!"

Lily heard some thumping on the stairs, then Petunia appeared, her blue eyes narrowing at the sight of her half-sister. Seeing everyone else sitting down, she sat down between Nora and her father.

"This is delicious," Gemma said after swallowing a mouthful of soup. "I'll have to get the recipe from you." Nora smiled, enjoying the praise of her cooking.

"Well, now that we've eaten," Gemma said, leaning back in her chair, "there are a few things I'd like to say." Nora looked at her expectantly; Petunia stared at the ceiling, rolling her eyes.

"Lily is… special to say the least," she began.

"We've always known that," Nora said warmly, then glared at Lily.

"Well, she has some special talents," Gemma continued delicately. "She's a witch and she'll be going to a magical school this year."

Petunia looked down from the ceiling and stared at Gemma in horror. Nora paused, looking startled, and laughed.

"Oh, I'm serious," Gemma said. "In fact, Aurora and I are witches too!"

Nora looked at Gemma with a patronizing look that one might give a misbehaving child. "Don't be ridiculous," she said.

"I'm not being ridiculous," Gemma said as she pulled a wand out of what looked like thin air. "I'll prove it to you, if you like."

"What's that?" Nora said, now sounding slightly disturbed.

"It's my wand," Gemma said casually. "Accio Candlestick!" A candlestick that had been sitting on top of a cabinet zoomed over in front of Gemma. She picked it up in her hand, examining the candlestick.

Nora leapt up. "I don't know who you are, but I want you and your niece out of my house right now! Never bother my family again!" No one moved. "Thomas, back me up!" she cried desperately.

Lily's father cleared his throat. "They're staying," he said.

"Wh-what?" Nora said.

"They're staying," he repeated firmly. "Yes, I already knew that Lily was a witch. And I trust Gemma. I've known her for years."

"You freaks!" Everyone turned around. It was the first time that Lily had heard Petunia speak all summer; she had almost forgotten the sound of Petunia's voice. "You bloody freaks!"

"Petunia, I won't tolerate that kind of talk in this house!" her father shouted.

"Fine, then," Nora said in a broken voice. "If that's the case, I'm not staying here while they are in my house. I'll come back when they're gone!"

"Nora-" Lily's father said.

"Just stop it! If you'd rather have them here then me, then so be it! Petunia, I want you to pack a bag. We're going to a hotel."

Petunia gave Lily one last glare and stalked upstairs to her room. Nora gave Lily, Aurora, and Gemma a haughty stare before leaning over to kiss Lily's father.

"I'll see you in a few days." She went upstairs and a few minutes later, she and Petunia emerged, bearing suitcases.

"Freaks," Petunia muttered. Nora gave her a small smile, and then the two wordlessly walked out the front door. A few moments of silence ensued.

"Well," Gemma said, clearing her throat and breaking the silence. "That went well, didn't it."

All right, that was chapter four. How did you like it?

Next Chapter:

Lily will go to King's Cross and board the Hogwarts Express. She will go throughtheSorting.

New characters will obviously be introduced.

All right, please review with feedback.

Also to readers that are interested:

I'm looking for a beta. I want someone who can edit chapters and give me criticism and feedback. Emphasis on the criticism--come right out and say it sucks. Constructive criticism is good. You don't have to have a fanfiction account. Just email me if you're interested. Please email me.

Also if someone wants me to do the same in return (edit/give feedback) I'll gladly do so. Just email me.

Thank you!

Throughthemist