Hello, all! It's me, Michael here! Since I lasted updated this thread, it has surpassed an awesome milestone. Lily Luna Potter and the New Era of Hogwarts has now surpassed 60000 views! :) Thank you to all men, women, boys, and girls responsible for giving me over 60000 views. Much love from Arizona. :)!
I always intended for my version of Lily to be a character that anyone would want as his or her friend. FWIW: Lily is actually one of my two favorite girls' names. (My other favorite girls' name is Heather.)
A quick thread keeping note:
I've realized a major inconsistency within this story: At some point, I suddenly made Courtney a year older. She was originally in the year three years below Lily but at some point, I slipped up and made her a year older so that she is in the year two years below Lily. As I've gone all in on having Courtney start at Hogwarts when the next semester begins, which is the start of Lily's third year, Courtney should now be considered to be two years below Lily's year.
On the evening of Saturday, August 28th, 2021, the same day the Circle of Eighteen had had their monthly meet up at Hogwarts in the afternoon, Devon, Dudley, and Debra visited Potter Manor and the Potter and Dursley families had dinner together.
On this evening, Dudley had brought along the meals and picked up the tab.
As Devon, James, Albus, Lily, Harry, Dudley, Ginny, and Debra all sat down six feet apart from each other at the dining room table, Dudley was carrying a large white bag with the words Mark's Marvelous Meals written on it in all caps bold black lettering that seemed filled to the top with rectangular boxes.
"Mark's Marvelous Meals, " explained Dudley matter of factly, "Is a chain of fast food restaurants owned by Mark Evans."
"The Mark Evans that lived in our neighborhood when we were teenagers?" Harry asked Dudley curiously.
"Yes, " confirmed Dudley, "That Mark Evans is the owner of Mark's Marvelous Meals. I haven't met or ran into Mark since he launched Mark's Marvelous Meals, but when Mark's Marvelous Meals first opened, there was a picture of the owner Mark Evans in our local newspaper, and I recognized the Mark Evans in the picture as the Mark Evans that lived in our neighborhood when we were teenagers."
"What kind of food does Mark's Marvelous Meals offer?" inquired Harry.
"Mark's Marvelous Meals offers a wide variety of meal types, but, as for tonight, I got all eight of us the three spicy white chicken tenders combo. This combo consists of three spicy white chicken tenders with sides of seasoned curly fries and biscuits. Each meal also includes a plastic bottle of Coca Cola Classic to drink and a slice of apple pie for dessert along with packs of ketchup and hot sauce, " answered Dudley.
"Sounds great!" chroused Devon, James, Albus, Lily, Harry, Dudley, Ginny, and Debra.
Next nanosecond, Devon started taking the boxes of the bag and sat one each down at everyone's place. The boxes were plain white with the name Mark's Marvelous Meals written on them in black lettering just like the bags.
Everyone opened up his or her box and the meal began with Devon taking the first bite of chicken.
"YUM!" declared Devon happily, "Tasty and spicy like we like it."
"Bold flavor, " agreed James cheerfully as he took his first bite of the spicy chicken.
As they ate, Harry asked Dudley, "So, how happy are you with Devon as a Hogwarts student now?"
"I'm a lot more pleased with his second year than I was with his first year, " said Dudley proudly, "He achieved an O in Charms for the second consecutive school year."
"Our whole year did!" said Lily proudly, "Flitwick is such a good teacher!"
"Flitwick was always one of the best teachers at Hogwarts in my time, " said Harry matter of factly, "I feel complexly content and confident with Flitwick being the one to teach our kids Charms."
"Agreed, " added Ginny, "If a Hogwarts student, especially in his or her first two years, doesn't do well in Charms, then he or she needs to take a look in the mirror."
"What I'm most proud of though, " continued Dudley glowingly, "Is that Devon improved his Defense Against the Dark Arts grade from E to O in his second year!"
"Devon talked openly throughout the year about how he had promised his dad that he was going to become an O student in Defense Against the Dark Arts and that he was going to make sure he kept that promise, " piped up James.
"I could see that look of determination in Devon's eyes when we were in Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, " said Lily brightly, "Devon can accomplish anything he puts his mind to because he's that type of person."
"We saw that with his successful weight loss and with his earning that Chaser spot, " said Albus briskly, "As long as he put his mind to becoming an O student in Defense Against the Dark Arts, he was going to become an O student in Defense Against the Dark Arts and he did."
"Devon, I'm so proud of you, " said Dudley radiantly.
"So I am, " added Debra glowingly.
"Thank you very much, mom and dad, " said Devon meaningfully.
"Ready for another goal then?" Dudley asked Devon.
"Bring it on!" replied Devon fiercely.
"I was happy you improved your Transfiguration grade from A to E, " said Dudley in a businesslike voice, "But, since you have an immensely powerful wand, I would like to see you become an O student in Transfiguration this upcoming academic year."
Devon looked his father straight in the eye and said fiercely, "Dad, I promise you that I'm going to become an O student in Transfiguration this academic year."
"I like the way you're acting as a parent, Dudley, " said Harry approvingly, "Give your son reasonable goals to shoot for without putting too much on his plate at once and encourage him without yelling."
"There needs to be more understanding in society of what an evil and inhumane thing yelling is, " said Debra in a crystal clear voice, "Any person who truly respects another person will never yell or raise his or her voice at him or her and will never get in his or her face."
"The other thing, " said Devon gratefully, "Is that mom and dad know how to keep their expectations in check. They set high but fair expectations for me that are always reasonable."
"I have to say, " said Debra sincerely, "That it warms my heart to know that my son is part of such a wonderful friendship group as the Circle of Eighteen."
"I give most of the credit for that to Lily, " said Devon kindly, "She was the one who brought Miles, Gary, and Todd back into my life in the first place and she was the one who first had the idea that Ainsley could still be a part of our lives even after she transferred from Hogwarts to the Ultimate University of Wizarding Healing. Not to mention, making sure that the Circle of Eighteen meets at least once of month was also Lily's idea."
Lily smiled contently without uttering a syllable.
"I'm just so proud to be able to say honestly and accurately that my own daughter is the GOAT of friendship, " said Harry genuinely.
"So I am, " said Ginny warmly, "What parent wouldn't be proud to have Lily as a daughter."
"I love how the Circle of Eighteen is gender balanced, " added Debra, "Nine boys and nine girls. I'm a big proponent of boy girl friendships. "
"Devon has told us multiple times that you disliked that he attended an all-boys elementary school, " supplied Lily matter of factly.
"Yes, " said Debra firmly, "My biggest pet peeve is sexism, and my second biggest pet peeve is gender segregation. As Devon had good friends and was academically successful, especially in English, math, and science in elementary school, Dudley refused to consider having him change schools while still in elementary school. Devon getting his Hogwarts letter was a godsend for me. I was so happy to know Devon would be attending a coed school once he started Hogwarts."
"There are no boys or girls, only people!" piped up Devon fiercely, "The only difference between a boy and girl is the pronouns used to refer to them."
"I'm glad that Devon understands that so completely, " said Debra approvingly.
"Hey, Dudley?" asked Harry curiously, "Are you still boxing?"
"Yes," said Dudley happily, "I'm no spring chicken anymore, but I'm still enjoying being a professional boxer, I'm still winning the majority of my bouts, and I'm still getting paid well to box. "
"No reason to quit then, " said Harry brightly, "If you're happy in what you're doing, are still good at, and being paid well into the bargain, no reason not to continue."
"Exactly, " replied Dudley simply.
"What have you been up to lately, Debra?" asked Ginny.
"While Devon was the Circle of Eighteen meeting this afternoon, Dudley and I rode our bikes around our block, " answered Debra.
"Harry and I did the same thing while James, Albus, and Lily were at the Circle of Eighteen meeting. We rode our bikes around our block!" exclaimed Ginny.
"Unfortunately, " said Debra sadly, "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Devon, Debra, and I didn't go on vacation this year."
"That sucked, " whined Dudley bitterly.
"Neither did we, " said Harry in a voice that indicated taking things in stride more, "But I'm grateful to have had my kids home for the summer."
"Hear hear!" agreed Ginny instantly.
"It's been nice to be home with mom and dad for the summer, " said Lily slowly, "But, and I hate admitting this in front of mom and dad, I'm ready to go back to Hogwarts."
"No offense taken, " said Harry in a voice that oozed both understanding and reassuring
"Harry and I were both Hogwarts students once, " Ginny reminded her, "Honestly, I'd be worried if you weren't ready to go back to Hogwarts."
Lily smiled and nodded.
"So, are you still an Auror then?" Dudley asked Harry.
"Yes, " said Harry proudly, "I took some time off work this summer so I could spend time with the kids while they were home, but I'll resume full time work on Wednesday. I'm going to stay until I physically can't handle it anymore."
"Good for you, Harry, " said Dudley appreciatively, "I respect you for choosing a profession where there are times you have to lay yourself on the line."
"Voldemort murdered my parents, " said Harry bluntly, "Fighting against Dark Magic, and Dark Witches and Wizards was the ONLY career path for me!"
"I'm still a sports editor for the Daily Prophet, " added Ginny matter of factly.
Once the food was gone, Dudley asked hopefully, "How did you all like the meal?"
"It was totally awesome baby!" said Devon ecstatically, "Everything was fantastic!"
"The spicy chicken was the best spicy chicken I've ever had, " said James cheerfully.
"Putting hot sauce on chicken that was already spicy to begin with was bold, and I loved it, " declared Albus brightly.
"So crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside too, " piped up Lily radiantly, "The best spicy chicken I've ever had."
"Totally agree, " said Harry glowingly, "The curly fries and ketchup were just as good."
"The prefect blend of texture and seasoning on the fries, " agreed Lily happily, "What a truly marvelous meal!"
"The biscuits were so soft and fluffy too, " said Ginny happily, "I'm not normally a huge biscuit lady, but I can't deny how good these biscuits were."
"And the apple pie was such a tasty dessert, " offered Debra, "And the cokes nice and cold."
"Agree with everyone!" declared Dudley, "I would order from Mark's Marvelous Meals again!"
Devon, James, Albus, Lily, Harry, Dudley, Ginny, and Debra all lingered and chatted for a bit and when it was time for the Dursleys to go home, Dudley spoke up, "Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily, thank you very much for having us come over for dinner tonight."
"It was our pleasure, " responded Harry, "And thank you for bringing the food, great food at that."
Dudley smiled and Harry smiled back at him.
It had nice meet up for the Potters and the Dursleys.