My One and Only
Chapter One- Unexpected Guest
I was lying on my bed trying to get to sleep. It was only three in the afternoon, but I figured the most boring day of my life deserved a nap. I'd spent the entire summer hanging out with my three best friends, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Today, every one of them had their own plans. I had spent it hanging around my house. Yes, it was a HUGE house, but it wasn't any fun without people to enjoy it with.
Then the doorbell rang. I ran down four huge staircases (my room was the only one on the 5th floor) and opened the door. Standing on my porch was an average height, emerald eyed, auburn red haired beauty. My good friend: Lily Evans.
"Lily! What are you-" I asked. Then I noticed her face was wet and tears were streaming from her lovely eyes. "What happened?" She broke down into huge sobs and bigger tears. I'd never seen her like this. Lily was usually the girl who helped the Marauders with our next prank, and was always the one for a dirty comment or nasty comeback. I picked up her gigantic bag that was sitting next to her and guided her inside. We sat down in my living room on her favorite couch and suddenly I was engulfed in a humongous hug from the girl I knew to be so strong that she could take any pain.
"My-my…" she stuttered.
"Petunia?" I asked knowingly. She nodded and nuzzled her face into my neck. I calmly stroked her hair until she was ready to talk. When Lily pulled back from my grip I couldn't help but notice that she still looked beautiful even when her eyes were so puffy and bloodshot.
"How about a game of Foosball? Then I'll tell you," Lily suggested. I wiped the tears away from her cheek and nodded. She smiled back at me. Then all of the sudden we were up and sprinting to the Games Room on the 4th floor, closest to my room. This was a little game Lily and I play. We never have to count, we just know when the other is going to, and then run to wherever we're supposed to.
I took the stairs three at a time, I had long legs and was very tall. When I would go to Muggle grocery stores total strangers would ask me if I played basketball… whatever that was. Lily says it's a game with two teams and you put a ball through a hoop. Sort of like quidditch, but there's no bludgers trying to give you a concussion. Muggles have it made, I tell you!
Lily, being shorter than me could only take them two at a time. She was faster running than I was. We each reached the door at exactly the same time and scrambled in. We both struggled to keep the other from getting to the Foosball table first. I pushed Lily down and she grabbed my leg. Then we were crawling, grasping for a piece of the table!
She reached for it but I grabbed her arm and all of the sudden I was laying on top of her. There was a moment's silence and I smiled. She raised her eyebrows questionally. Then I lunged for the table and grabbed a post before she even had time to react.
"That wasn't fair!" she shrieked. I smirked.
"You're just pissed because I didn't let you win. Sorry Chick, rules are in this house, that there's no mercy."
"Fine. C'mon James, let's play. I'm gonna whoop your big Potter arse!" she challenged.
"Language Evans, language," I said while wiggling my pointer finger back and forth at her. "and my arse isn't that big." She rolled her eyes and laughed. Then we played… I lost.
"Oh would you stop!" I said to Lily as she continued her victory dance.
""Not until you admit that I'm better at Foosball," she exclaimed with a laugh.
"You sound drunk." I pointed out, sitting down on my favorite royal blue chair and gazing out the window. The chair sagged where Lily sat. She snuggled into me. This was a normal thing; we were very close friends. We could touch each other, unlike most people, but there was no extreme physical interaction, such as kissing or sex. We held hands sometimes though, and I could kiss her forehead or cheek.
"What are you thinking about?" she said softly. I didn't answer. "She kicked me out." My attention was there again.
"What?"
"Petunia. She kicked me out of the house…said it was my fault my parents are dead. She made me leave…gave no money." I simply nodded. Lily's sister was a total and complete bitch to her. The people who supported the rising Dark Lord, Voldemort, had killed their parents when Lily was away at Hogwarts last year. Why they had attacked the Evans' was unknown to everyone. "James…" she again said softly.
"What?"
"Uh…never mind," she said nervously. I let go of her slightly and held her back.
"What is it?" she sighed.
"Can I stay here with you for the rest of the summer?" I pretended to think about it for a while while I rubbed my chin thoughtfully.
"Well, of course!" I said cheerfully. She sighed once more. "Oh, did you really think I was going to say no?"
"Well, I wasn't entirely positive."
"Actually, it will cost you I suppose," I said slyly as I moved my hands down to her waist.
"What do you want, Potter?"
"Oh, you know what I want," I grinned. She slapped my hands, then my face. "Shit Lily!"
"What was that?"
"I was joking. I meant I wanted a snack!"
"Oh."
"That's right, oh," I fumed. She was always one to jump to conclusions.
"I'm so sorry James," she gently touched my cheek where I knew a red mark from her hand was going to be. "Does it hurt?"
"Like hell." she kissed me softly on the cheek and brushed her hand over it again.
"Are you okay?"
"Uh-" Wait, weren't you just mad at me?
"Let's go get that snack shall we?" she said smiling widely and hopping up from the couch. I muttered a short,
"Girls," before following after her.
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I tied a bright orange apron around my white shirt that said, 'We all have issues, mine are just more important than yours' and my blue, low rise, hip huggers. I loved the color orange. Whenever people would call me a 'redhead' I'd correct them by saying my hair was orange. Now that I'm almost seventeen, I've accepted the fact that no one would take me seriously if I told them to call me an 'orange head'.
"What're you thinking about?" James Potter's voice asked from behind me. I realized that I had been gazing, glassy eyed out of the window and shook my head, and then I turned around to see one of my best friends. His messy jet-black hair was sticking up everywhere, except one tiny piece that fell into his piercing hazel eyes.
"Oh, nothing."
"That orange head thing again?" I gave him a confused look.
"How did you do that?" He shrugged.
"It's a gift."
"Oh, I see." I said sarcastically. "Now, what do you want? Macaroni and cheese with hotdogs in it, I presume?" He nodded guiltily. I giggled, always the same exact thing. James had become infatuated by Muggle foods, Mac and cheese with hotdogs being the best in his mind.
I walked over to the refrigerator after starting the macaroni and pulled out a package of hotdogs. I'd only been to the Potters' house a few times, but I always felt like I belonged there. The very first time I had stayed for a three-day weekend. By the time I left, I already knew here everything was in each room. It was not getting lost trying to find the room that was the trick.
I carefully cut the hotdogs into equal pieces and tossed them in the pan. I always added the cheese last so it would seep into the hotdogs. I started stirring it when two strong hands grabbed me by the waist. It was James of course. He kissed my cheek.
"Thank you."
"No problem-" I started but was cut off by a loud voice from behind us saying,
"Oh Lily! You didn't actually fall for the Potter charm did you? I thought you were stronger than that!" This was Michael Potter, James' dad. James jumped away from me as I turned around.
"Actually, no. I didn't. Nice to see you again Mike."
"Jeez James, little jumpy today. Hello Lily. You too. How long will you be staying with us?"
"The whole summer Dad. And I'm not jumpy. You startled me," James said, finishing in an annoyed voice, which Mike and I laughed at. We're always ganging up on James when we get together, his parents are so much fun!
"Yep, I believe you son," his blue eyes twinkled.
"Here James," I said, handing him a bowl with my freshly made goods.
"Lily, could I-" Mike was cut off when I shoved a bowl in his hands also, "Thanks. How did you do that?"
"She's gifted Dad. Spooky isn't it?" James said through a mouth full of food.
"Chew with your mouth closed will you? And don't talk when you have food in your mouth," I said sternly, "and what's with the spoon?" I hate when people eat Mac and cheese with a spoon, it's a pet peeve of mine. James instantly dropped his utensil in the sink and grabbed a fork from the drawer, and then he muttered an apology, which was soon followed by whipping noises from Mike.
"C'mon Lils," James said walking out of the kitchen. Instead of following him I decided to straddle one of the kitchen chairs and look at Mike.
"So, how have things been lately?" I asked.
"What things?"
"You know, order things," I said slyly. Mike grinned.
"He tells you everything, doesn't he?"
"Yep."
"He's whipped. Bloody brilliant Lily, I tell you." I laughed. "Okay, so here's the things, we've been trying to gather evidence that suspected Death Eaters are Death Eaters. Unfortunately, we've only been able to get the cleared ones. So far we've got Cahontic, Barns, Malfoy-"
"Wait, Malfoy is cleared?" The slimy git was two years ahead of James and I at Hogwarts. He tried to hex me my very first day because I was Muggleborn.
"Yeah, there was nothing against him. Shame really, but there's nothing I can do," Mike shrugged.
"Lily! What're you doing?" James called from the living room. I rolled my eyes at Mike who shrugged again, waved me off, and reached for the newest edition of the Daily Prophet. Getting up I walked into the living room. It was large with cream-colored walls, pictures of the Potters' everywhere, blue furniture, a mega stereo, and a very wide screen television. For the Potters' to be a Pureblood family they sure knew a lot about Muggle appliances and technology. Mostly because of me, but never the less, it worked.
James was lying on my favorite couch, right in front of the telly. I stood behind it, just looking at him. Then, out of nowhere he reached out his arms and grabbed my waist, and pulled me over the couch and top of him. After this he situated us so that I was on the inside on my side and he was on his back on the outside. A bit of me was on him, as was my left arm, which was wrapped loosely around his neck and my head was in between his shoulder and chest. His right arm was holding my waist as the left one started to play with my hair.
"Okay. So, whaddya wanna watch?" he said, grabbing the remote.
"Don't care. I'll probably fall asleep anyway."
"Okay," he clicked to a channel where a movie neither of us knew the name of was playing. I was right, ten minutes later I was asleep.