It didn't really hit me right away. I just sort of stared at them, stunned into silence.

"You're the nanny, Lily?" James asked, his hazel eyes wide, though he smirked at the last two words, since it made me sound like an old lady. He looked like Christmas had come early this year. As much as I hate that phrase, it described him perfectly.

"Oh, you know each other? Good. Maybe my worries of you scaring her away with your pranks and mischief won't come true after all." The person who I realized must be Mrs. Potter said, the relief in her voice being obvious. Not that I blamed her. Going to school with James for the past six years made me wary of him too, and I didn't have to be exposed to him his whole life! Though to be fair, she didn't have to deal with him the entire year. Still, it was enough for me to pity her. Suddenly, something came to me, and no matter how rude it might sound I just had to voice it. Though I didn't really care about how good of an impression I made anymore, now that I knew whose mother Mrs. Potter was.

"Erm, Mrs. Potter-" Here she interrupted me to tell me to call her Elaine, "Elaine, if you are Mrs. Potter, then why is Amy Chapman staying here?" The minute it came out of my mouth, I regretted it, because the expression on Elaine's face looked as if she had just eaten something sour. Suddenly, I remembered something. On the letter, it had instructed me to bring formal black clothing. Did that mean what I thought it did? Foot, meet my mouth.

"You know what? Forget I asked." I said quickly.

"Right. Your room is on the third floor, fourth to the left." Apparently, Elaine was no longer up to showing me to my room. She did, however, flash me a smile (though it was a sad one) so I knew she didn't hate me.

I jumped up the stairs two at a time until I got to my room. As I opened the door, my mouth dropped open at the sight that greeted me. The first impression it gave was of old-fashioned glamour. The second impression was the color blue.

Wrapped in aged blue floral wallpaper, the room was rather small and square, with two windows, one larger than the other. I walked in, a hand running along the wall as I paced the room to the larger window, which was flanked by a desk and rocking chair covered in white and blue fabric.

Outside my window was a different world than anything I'd ever seen. A small expanse of trees led right up to a crystal clear pond that had several pool elements, like inflatable rafts and a metal-framework table with matching chairs, on its banks.

I tore myself away from the view and sat down in the rocking chair, facing into my blue, blue room. Barely five feet from my outstretched legs was a funny little wooden stool, topped with a blue cushion, which stood at the foot of a four-poster bed. Blue curtains hung from the corners, and a bed skirt that was the same color blue as the curtains covered the dark wood of the bed frame. Off to the side, just on the edge of my sight line, a tall wardrobe with mirrors engraved into the doors dominated the wall farthest from my door. I sighed, relaxing more into the plush exterior of the rocking chair. I quickly shed my flip-fops and buried my toes in the thick Oriental rug that covered that half of the room. I didn't know why I felt the desire to paint my room yellow before - the blue theme was so comforting. And relaxing.

In most cases by now I would have jumped on the bed by now, but it was too pretty to destroy, and I was quite comfortable where I was. Now I had some serious thinking to do.

What should I do? Should I quit my job? As soon as I thought that (In my head, of course. I only thought out loud when I was absolutely desperate. Living with people most of the time did that to you, you know?) I quickly shook my head 'no.' I was never one to quit a good challenge (and dealing with James was a challenge), Mrs. Potter depended on me, and she had just been so nice to me so far, as this room proved. Far nicer than I deserved. Besides, I still needed the money and I had to admit it gave me a small amount of pleasure thinking I was taking the money that could be spent on James. You could even say that I was taking his money. Thus proving that I wasn't deserving of such nice treatment.

'I'm going to definitely keep this job then. Maybe if I stay civil to him, he will behave.' I thought, finally gathering the courage to pounce on the bed.

Who was I kidding? This was James Potter I was talking about. Behave definitely wasn't his middle name. Trouble was more like it. Which figures, seeing as trouble follows me no matter where I go.

&&&

Fortunately I had enough time to take a quick nap before dinner. Though I wasn't usually one for naps, today I was especially exhausted. Since dealing with an energetic little kid and James Potter needed a lot of energy, it was probably for the better. I had just woken up when there was a tap on the door of my room.

"Come in!" I called as I leaped out of my covers. Elaine entered the room, surprising me a bit because I had been expecting a house-elf. From the way Potter had bragged about it, you'd think that he had a million.

"It's dinnertime. Amy will be there so you can meet her." She said, smiling at me. In my sleepy haze I had to remind myself that Amy was the girl I was being paid to watch.

"Okay, I'll be down there in a minute." I wouldn't spend an hour getting ready (which I never did anyway. What a waste of time) or even change for dinner, but I'd run a comb through my hair and straighten out the clothes I had foolishly slept in. It was important to look at least somewhat organized, but I also didn't want to encourage Potter's feelings any more than I had to. He probably would think I dressed up just for him. When my hair didn't look like birds could live there anymore and my clothes were somewhat straightened, I took one last glance at the mirror and then leaped out the door. As I mentioned before, I hated being late for anything.

I got there just as Potter did. I hoped that with his mother and small cousin around, he wouldn't do anything too stupid. But then, men are unpredictable idiots, so who knows? When he opened his mouth to speak, my stomach clenched a bit. 'Please Merlin, don't let him say anything that will embarrass me.'

"So, ah, Lily. What do you usually do during the summer? Or do you always work?"

Only he could make a simple question like that seem like a mixture between an insult and an odd version of a pick up line.

"I usually like to find some sort of hobby to occupy my time." I didn't mention anything about needing money. I had always been taught that it was bad taste to discuss money with your employers. Other than requesting raises, that is, and it usually isn't a good idea to ask for one before you've even started working.

"What kind of hobbies?" Elaine asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"Oh, all sorts. Writing, arts and crafts, stuff like that." I took a bite of the food that had just arrived (chicken pot pie and steaming hot rolls of bread with butter) hoping that having my mouth full would keep them from questioning for a while.

"That sounds fascinating. You're a writer? I used to write. Poetry mostly, but that was a long time ago. I wasn't very good, I'm afraid," Elaine looked almost wistful for a minute. "Ah, here's Amy."

I looked up, and I saw a little girl with blonde hair in a braid that barely went past her shoulders and a pink and purple striped dress. The end of her braid had a ribbon at the end of it, and she was clutching her doll as if the world would end if she let go of it. Her brown eyes were wide and looked as if she had suffered greatly and was forced to grow up way before her time. I didn't know what caused her such grief, but my heart immediately warmed towards her. Perhaps later when she knew me better I could give her a hug. For now, I settled with a warm smile. "Why hello there," I said, and winced as the "little kid" voice that adults often used slipped out. I always hated that voice when I was younger and had vowed to myself I would never use it. So much for that.

"This is your new friend, Amy. She's all for you! Her name's Lily, just like the flower." Elaine said, giving Amy a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi," Amy whispered shyly, looking down at her feet.

"What's your doll's name?" I asked.

"Charlotte. She's five years old," Amy announced proudly.

"Five? Wow!" I exclaimed. Yes, that vow was officially out the door. Fortunately, I was saved from humiliating myself anymore when a man entered the room. He came over to Elaine and whispered something in her ear, something that caused all of the color in her face to drain away.

"Does it have to be now?" She whispered harshly. The man nodded and Elaine reluctantly got up.

"I'll be home as soon as I can. Lily, when you're done, maybe you could play with Amy in the nursery?"

I nodded to her and, with a loud sigh, Elaine left.

Since little kids are supposed to be good at detecting tones, I tried to keep my voice civil and low as I addressed James. I didn't want to upset Amy. "Look Potter, I honestly don't have the energy or effort right now to deal with you. I have enough of it at school and since we're living in the same house, I suggest a truce. You'll leave me alone, I'll leave you alone. That means no flirting, no bothering me, nothing like that. Deal?" I told him. I felt kind of bad for bringing it up since he was looking a little worried, but I figured it was best to talk about it now.

"Fine, whatever. Deal. But you should call me James. You're in the Potter house, it seems funny of you to call me James. When we're back to school, you can go back to hating me and calling me Potter," he said a bit bitterly. He stood up to leave.

I don't know what made me say it. Maybe it was how serious and worried he looked, maybe my nap had caused me to have some sort of brain damage. Whatever it was, I called after him, "I don't hate you, you know."

His slight pause was the only sign that he had heard me, but he continued walking out of the room