Chapter 4

The news wasn't good. No the news wasn't good at all. When Lily, her mother, and her sister arrived at the hospital they found their father having a nervous break down and their grandmother in surgery. When the doctors came out the family found that Laurise Evans was going to live but she wouldn't be able to live alone again.

The Evans family was relieved of course, but they now had to find a place for Laurise Evans to live. The family had discussed many different options such as having her be a permanent hospital patient, various rest homes, her tying to live on her own, and the last one her living with the Evans family themselves. This option seemed the most probable and the most logical considering the circumstances. Lily would be away 10 months of the year and during the summer and on vacations she could just share a room with Petunia. Everything would work out perfectly. So as it was 2 weeks after Laurise Evans had been checked into the hospital she was checked out and was headed to the Evans home which would be her new home.

Lily was very happy to have her grandmother come to live with them and was more then willing to give up her room. Her parents were very relieved about this and they quickly had Lily move her clothes and things into a hall closet with which she would store her belongings until the start of the school year.

The only thing Lauren and Nathan Evans were worried would be a flaw would be Petunia sharing her room with Lily. The two sisters had always gotten along usually until Lily had gone off to school. Petunia had then decided to not recognize Lily as a sister and the sisterhood of the two had gone down hill. Surely the two sisters could put away their differences for such a good cause they thought, but as usual the sisters could not. Lily tried her hardest to work with the sleeping arrangements, but the rude remarks such as;

"Don't touch my pillow! I don't feel like catching Freak any time soon!"

and

"Can you do anything right freak? Oh yea I forgot you can't you're too much of a Loser!"

Were really taking there toll on Lily physically and emotionally. Lily kept her feelings inside but she knew she was going to burst soon.

One morning after Petunia had left leaving Lily in tears she decided to call Elaine and Brook. So without further ado Lily threw the floo powder into the fire place and soon was looking at the living room of the Stringer mansion.

"Elaine!" Lily called, "Brooklyn?"

The house was completely silent but then Lily heard loud footsteps and soon Elaine and Brooklyn appeared.

"LILY!" they both joyously cried.

"Hi," Lily said shyly," How have you guys been?"

"How have we been? Lily we should be asking you how You have been!" Elaine said flipping her hair behind her shoulder.

"Oh I've been okay you know I'm sorry I haven't been able to floo sooner. Petunia is driving me insane to the point I'm about to sleep on the couch instead of in her room." Lily said smiling for the first time that week.

"Lily! This is a perfect excuse for you to come and live for the rest of the summer here!" Elaine shouted happily.

"I'm not quite getting what you are saying." Lily said quirking an eyebrow.

"Lily you know the last time you flooed and I was about to tell you my idea that would help with the plan. Well my idea was for you to come live here for the summer so we could all go shopping together and accomplish all that we have to do together. Now that you are so sick of your house you want to leave you can just come and live here for the summer it would be perfect!" Elaine shouted jumping around in circles.

"Elaine… I don't know if I could… I mean I really would like to come and live with you, but are you sure it's okay if I come?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"Oh Lily of course it's okay! You know my brothers don't care at all and my dad has come home 2 from the Ministry in the 3 weeks that summer break has started. Come on you have to otherwise you might not survive the summer." Elaine said now looking at Lily with the puppy dog look.

"You guys I want to but I'm not sure if I …….

Lily started to say, but was cut off by someone again pulling her out of the fire place. Lily's eyes once again filled with soot and she could barely see anything.

"What do you want?" Lily asked angrily.

"Vernon is coming inside the living room in 2 minutes freak and I don't want him to see you in here doing the freak things you freaks do!" Petunia screeched in Lily's ear.

That was the final straw for Lily. She was so sick of this house, so sick of not having any privacy, and so sick of having to deal with Petunia.

Lily marched into the kitchen and saw her mother putting away some groceries.

"Mum!" Lily practically shouted so she could get her attention. "We need to talk!

"Okay honey" Lauren Evans said sitting down at the table and pulling out a chair for her daughter; a little surprised at the urgency in her daughters voice.

"Mum, for the past week I've tried to deal with all that has been going on," Lily paused for a moment and then began to go on but was interrupted by her mother saying,

"Lily it has been hard for all of us, but we just need a little more time…."

"Mum, hear me out." Lily said, " But I'm just not sure I can handle it anymore. I mean I can usually stand Petunia, but she is really starting to get to me. I know it is hard for all of us to adjust for this but Mum I have no privacy, no place of my own, and I can't do anything here that I can consider fun."

By this time Lily had broken down to tears and tears were streaming down her soot stained face leaving their own little paths.

"I'm sorry Mum," Lily continued, "But I can't handle this anymore. I mean I really want to stay, but I don't think I can."

Lauren Evans pulled her daughter close and whispered, "Why didn't you tell us before honey we would have listened?"

"I didn't want to worry you. I know you have been a bit preoccupied since Grandma Evans moved in and I didn't want you to have more to worry about." Lily said trying to wipe the tears of her face.

"Honey you should have told us." Lauren Evans said, "What do you want us to do? You could always go stay with you're cousins in Cambridge if you like?"

"Well that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Lily said sitting up and looking at her mother once again. "You see while I was talking to Elaine just barely she said that her dad and mum were away for the summer and that they said she could invite friends over for the summer since she is the only girl out of 5 kids. So she invited Brooklyn over and she invited me to come. Oh Mum I really want to go it would be so much fun and she and Brooklyn said that it was perfectly fine. Oh can I go please?"

Lauren Evans looked into her daughter's pleading emerald eyes that she had never been able to say no to and said, "Of course dear I think that is a great idea."

"Oh Mum can I really?" Lily asked smiling.

"Yes of course, but you better get packing if we are going to drive you out there tomorrow." Lauren Evans said smiling.

"Oh no mum I'd go by floo powder." Lily said correcting her mother.

"Oh yes I forgot." Lauren Evans said beginning to put away groceries again, "But you still better get packing."

"Oh thank you so much mum I love you so much!" Lily said running over and giving her mom a back breaking hug. "I'm going to go write Elaine and Brooklyn right now and tell them the good news!"

Lily began to skip out of the kitchen but before she was out Lauren Evans said, "Oh and Lily don't forget to tell you're sister that you won't need to sleep in her room anymore."

"Oh I won't forget Mum!" Lily said smiling mischievously. And with that Lily skipped off to the beginning of the fun she would have that summer

hey everyone! thanks for all the reviews i'll try to update alot but this is really my only free week in july so i'll be gone next week and the week after that but i'll try to update at least 3 times during that because there are 2 authors to this story so ginny will be doing the updating while i'm gone. both of us hope you like it and please keep reviewing it gives us both inspiration to write. PLEASE REVIEW! thanks again everyone! luna