Chapter 7

The two girls hadn't even stopped arguing when Marcus Potter showed up. He was tall, 6 foot 3 or 4 his black hair was messy like his son's but you could tell he at least attempted to keep his straight. His round face was kind and a permanent smile was glued on his face.

"Uncle Marcus!" Gemma shrieked launching herself into his arms. The man laughed, wrapping his arms around her and picking her up off the ground, spinning her slightly.

"Hello there, Gemma-bear. Did ya miss me?" He set her down on her feet gently, his blue eyes sparkling. "And this must be the lovely Lily." He said turning and looking at her affectionately. "It's nice to meet you Lily. My name is Marcus Potter, but you can call me whatever you want."

Lily was still slightly rattled by this man. How could James, that arrogant toe rag, be a descendant of him?

"Th-thank you, sir, it's very kind of you to take me in over the weekend." At this Marcus's eyes tightened a little,

"Looks like I lied" He made tsking sounds with his tongue. "You can call me anything but sir" he faked a shutter and Lily laughed, her pain attack temporarily forgotten. "As for taking you in, the pleasure is ours entirely." Reaching down he picked up their bag that they had dropped when Lily fell, he swung it over his shoulder and headed down the wooden steps. Lily and Gemma followed behind him and soon the three were walking side by side down the charming streets of Godric's Hollow.

"That house belongs to Bathilda Bagshot, it does, "

"Bathilda Bagshot?" Didn't she write a text book, Lily? A History of Magic I think." Lily and Marcus nodded

"Yes, her family has lived here for centuries, ever since it was founded."

"And how long have the Potters?" Lily asked before she could stop herself.

"Since it was founded, in fact, my ancestors were some of the first to settle here."

They past more cottages, a park, a church, a graveyard and finally thy arrived in front of the Potter house, Were Lily stopped dead in her tracks.

The house was huge; At least 3 stories with and attic and a basement. A deep porch showed how long the house was. The exterior was painted a light brown color with golden hinges and frames over the door and windows, a white picket fence ran across the edge of the front lawn that embraced the house and wrapped around the back, where Lily thought she could already hear children's laughs and screams of delight. She had no idea that James came from such a palace. Her own home consisted of 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a cluttered kitchen and living area.

Shaking her head slightly, she jogged a little to catch up with Marcus and Gemma who were now trotting up the front porch steps. Going into the house, they entered a small entre with a drawing room off to the side, everything in homey shades of gold and maroon. After passing through another door, they entered a room that took up most of the ground floor. The open room was U shaped since it bent around the staircase. In one corner was a long dining table, a short ways down the room from that was a large kitchen. At the other side of the room was the door they had come through, and then an area Lily assumed was an entertainment corner.

"Were heerrreee" Marcus said in a sing song voice parading into the entertainment area where 3 other adults were sitting, 1 man and 2 females who were sitting down. Lily recognized one of three people as Nathan Collins, Gemma's dad. He was standing closest to them; leaning against one the back wall. Gemma hugged him quickly and then went over to stand by one of the girls. In her arms she was holding a bundle of blankets which Lily assumed was a baby.

Kneeling down, Gemma moved a piece of the blanket out of the way so that she could see the baby's face.

"Oh my goodness, Aunt Julie! He is absolutely adorable."

"Thanks" said the woman who Lily assumed was Julie Potter. She gave the bundle of blankets to Gemma and stood up. She was a strong looking, 5 yet still pale from childbirth. Her light brown hair was tied back into a lose bun, and when Lily looked at her hazel eyes she was surprised to see that they were looking over her like she was looking over was.

"Hello Lily" She said, her voice was soft and sweet and comforting "It's so good to have you here" She held out her arms for a hug and as lily hugged her back, she was once again confused how someone like James Potter could have been related to these amazing people. Pulling away, Julie smiled at her and looked her over again, a small smile on her lips. "Well now, you're even more beautiful than imagined."

Lily blushed, a pick color radiating from behind her cheeks. "Thank you" she said quietly

"Oh sure, don't even look at me, I'm just the little sister" At the sarcastic voice behind her, Lily looked over at Isobel Collins, Gemma's mom. She was shorter than her sister, but not by much, her hair was also light brown but was curlier and her eyes reminded Lily strongly of Gemma. When she walked she practically bounced over to Lily to give her a big hug.

"Nice to finally meet you, Gemma has told us all about you."

"Yeah that's what I keep hearing." Lily responded with a slight laugh. Isobel laughed to, opening her mouth to say something when a tired looking 15 year old boy came sliding down the stairs, his black hair was messed up and his glasses were lopsided.

"This weekend is going to suck! Sirius insane parents won't let him stay over here!"

Julie turned to look at him. Her eye brows knitted together. "That's too bad honey, looks like your actually going to have to bond with your family this time"

James lifted up his eyebrows, clearly not impressed. "Sure, whatever." He turned to look at the people. "Hey, Uncle Nate, Dad, Aunt Izzie, Gemma, Lily- wait LILY?" His eyes that had been moving off her not focused with a look of disbelief.

"Lily is going to be spending the weekend with us" Marcus said from where he was talking about the latest Quidditch match.

"You're…. staying here?"

A little bit worried about the glint in his eye. Lily nodded

"Well then, this weekend might not suck anymore."

I like having that as the last line, sounds cool. Sorry it was so short, I'll try to make the next one longer but I don't know. Please review!

Peace

LIZIES