Cruel Summer
The first half of the summer went extremely fast to both James' and Lily's disapproval. Lily's mother had insisted on cleaning the house thoroughly against her daughters' orders not to.
`Lily, I'm not having the first wizard to enter this house seeing it as a t!'
`He's not royalty Mum!' she had shouted at her Mother, but the decision was fixed.
Lily's parents were delighted with the fact that James was staying with them. They knew that Lily was a witch, but this, they felt, would help them understand it a lot better. James was a pureblood and knew nothing really about the muggle life that surrounded the wizarding one. It would be a lesson for him as much as it would be for Lily's parents.
The one member of the family that despised the idea was Lily's sister, Petunia. Both sisters were completely opposite when it came to appearance and also mentalitly and values. Where Lily's features were delicate, exuding charm, Petunia's seemed constantly distorted in a way of a bull-dog chewing a lemon. This was most probably due to the fact that there was always something that she had a problem with. The number one thing being that Lily was a witch. They did not get along at all and it seemed that Petunia was also finding it hard that her younger sister was having boys over before her.
`You and that…that freak,' Petunia had barked, `will not go near my room or touch anything of mine! Do you understand?'
Lily rolled her eyes, `No I don't, but please tell me again because it was so captivating.'
Petunia boiled as her sister walked away from her into her own room.
James would be staying in the guest bedroom to the order of Lily's Father. He had tried to tell her the reason but she dodged the embarrassing talk quickly. The last thing she needed was her Father assuming that there was something going on between her and the biggest prat in the school.
Lily was glad that James was staying in the guest bedroom as it was right next to Petunia's and she thought it was wonderful punishment for both of them. He had been expected to arrive at the Evans household at 10 o'clock that morning but Lily wasn't that surprised when he didn't turn up on time. She had tried to persuade her Mother not to take it personally and that he would be here soon, but she secretly hoped that he'd conveniently forgotten or something else just as stupid.
It was just gone 8 o'clock that night when there was a series of knocks on the door.
Lily sighed, `Huh, that must be him, probably can't figure out how to use the doorbell.'
Lily had ordered her parents, and her nosing sister, to stay in the lounge and she smiled at her Mother who was fidgeting nervously. Moving towards the front door, Lily took a deep breath and reached for the handle.
*****************************
James apperated gracefully into the alien street of the muggle housing estate. He looked around the identical houses all in a row and frowned, `This is so weird.'
Lifting up his wand he muttered a quick spell and the wand hovered in the air, awaiting its next command. Shooting a last glance around the strange and unfamiliar neighbourhood, he looked back at his wand.
`Which one of these things is Evans in?'
The wand just floated in the air for a few seconds then span around to point its tip at a large house in the corner of the street. James followed the direction with his eyes and walked towards the gate of the white picket fence.
Stopping in front of it he looked at the mechanism, he cringed, `Ok, Muggle Studies. Think!'
James glanced at the house and imagined her laughing at him, just because he couldn't open a stupid gate. Looking around and acknowledging there was no one about, he apperated to the front door.
`Oh no,' he mumbled, looking at the doorbell as if it were the enemy, `What the hell is that?'
Ignoring it and swallowing, he rapped on the door 8 times; like it said to do on the piece of paper that Dumbledore had given him. James paused and looked around the front garden.
****************************
Lily opened the front door and looked at the scruffy haired boy who was looking dubiously at her Mother's garden gnomes, wand poised.
`James!'
`Yeah,' he yelped, looking at her and continuing in a hushed voice, `does that man always smile? It's weird!'
Lily rolled her eyes and bent down to pick up the ceramic ornament, holding it in front of him, `It's a gnome…it's not real ok?'
James frowned at her as if she was an idiot and she rapped her knuckles over its artificial hat for emphasis.
`Never mind,' she sighed, putting it back on the grass, `you don't have to curse it though.'
`Lily!' her Mother trilled from the lounge.
James' head snapped to the sound, `Who's that?'
`My Mother, she wants to meet you. Don't know why.'
`Funny,' he replied sarcastically.
`Oh shut up,' she spat, glaring at him, `what was with all the knocking as well?'
James frowned as Lily shut the front door behind him and he walked into the hall.
`I knocked the amount of times it said,' he told her, holding up the parchment.
`What?'
It was Lily's turn to frown as she looked at the piece of paper that he was holding. She looked back at him as if he was a complete and utter moron.
`James,' she said flatly, `that's the house number.'
Lily was so annoyed with having him staying with her, that she failed to see the humour of his mistake. But seeing the blush that crept over his usually arrogant face did make her feel better.
`Why are you so late?' she asked, stopping by the lounge door.
`I can't tell stupid muggle time ok!'
Lily restrained a laugh and opened the door, ushering him through it.
`James!' Lily's Mother smiled, standing up from the sofa and walking to him, `Come in dear.'
Lily's Dad followed his wife to welcome the young wizard into their home, greeting him though he was a spectacular being.
`Okay!' Lily interjected, quickly grabbing James' cloak, `We'll be going now.'
`Hold on Lil',' her Mother exclaimed, `the boy's just got here.'
The little mutters and coughs from Petunia's direction were getting louder and louder until when she coughed again, Lily snapped.
`You should really get some cough medicine Petunia… otherwise you could end up loosing your voice.'
The promise in Lily's statement caused Petunia to shut up quickly.
James looked at the lanky girl sitting on the sofa, watching…
`Merlin, what's that?'
`It's a television, you idiot,' Lily snapped at him harshly, `don't you do Muggle Studies?'
`Lily!' her Father scolded.
James looked at Lily who was now blushing and a smirk gracing his features quickly that only she caught sight of.
`Don't be so hard on the boy,' her Father continued, `he doesn't know about our ways.'
Lily looked at the floor as her parents inspected the foreign being in front of them. She would have liked nothing more to seize the idiot and chuck him out of her house, away from her family…but she knew this would be…frowned…upon by a lot of people.
`I'll help him unpack,' she said through gritted teeth, grabbing him and pushing him back into the hall and up the stairs.
*****************************
`Naughty Lily, do what Daddy tells you,' James snickered as Lily pushed him up the stairs.
`Shut up James!'
Lily moved in front of him and walked towards the end of the landing. She stopped in front of the guest bedroom and opened the door, walking inside. James followed her inside and looked around his new space. The bedroom was quite girly with plush cream curtains, carpets and bed covers. Without giving time for Lily to speak, James reached for his wand and transformed the room to more of his liking.
`Much better,' he grinned, looking at her.
Lily just looked at him, she knew he wanted to piss her off and unfortunately it was working.
She folded her arms, `I. Hate. You. So. Much.'
James shrugged, smiling impishly `Wouldn't want it any other way babe.'
Lily fell silent as James removed a tiny box from his robes and placed it on the old writing desk that sat by the wall. She watched in curiosity as he transfigured it back into a black trunk.
`Show off,' she remarked.
`Oh really?' James answered sarcastically, `And here I was, certain that that little stunt would make you pine for me.'
Lily flushed at his comment and all hopes for a witty comeback were dashed quickly.
`Yeah, you wish,' she said, mentally kicking herself at how lame that was.
James didn't seem to actually be paying attention to her as he opened the trunk and started removing his clothes and other items.
Realising she was still behind him after a few moments, he turned around to face her, `Are you going to stand there and watch me unpack everything?'
Lily didn't answer him though; she was looking at the clothes he had brought with him.
`Have you just brought robes?'
`Yeah.'
`I live in a muggle community,' she said looking at him, `you have no muggle clothing?'
James wrinkled his face with distaste, `Why would I bring muggle clothes? Should I have?'
`Well, yes actually!'
`Why's that?'
`For the reason I just said!'
James sighed again, collapsed onto the bed and laid down suggestively; causing Lily to feel uneasy. He watched her squirm and he grinned, `Like what you see Lily-kins?'
Lily glared at him defiantly and he sat up, his eyes still twinkling with amusement.
`The bathroom is opposite my room, down the hall.' she said slowly, `I suggest you don't go into Petunias room, but definitely, definitely do not come into mine.'
With that, Lily walked straight from the room, causing James to snigger and flop back on the bed.
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