B/A/N- I’m sorry to discontinue thanking you all in the chapters, but I will send e-mail thank yous upon reviews.  I’m afraid I can’t take the time to thank the ff.net and Portkey.org people separately when Portkey finally reaches where ff.net is…it will just be too much of a hassle.  I apologize…really!

 

Chapter 25- One Hell of a Dinner Party

 

“Mmm….lovely cooking, Charisse,” said Emilia with a smile.  Charisse smiled back, one of those true smiles that make you feel extremely lucky to be on the receiving end of.  Lily managed a soft smile from her spot at the table.  Mrs. Potter’s potion worked, but not without cost.  Lily had been drained of all her energy, and felt like sleeping right then and there, but at least she didn’t feel sick anymore.  James squeezed her hand, and she caught herself before she fell face first into the mashed potatoes.  She had been periodically dozing off all dinner, but James had been helping her stay awake (at her request, she really wanted to make a good impression on his parents) However, the Potters were preoccupied with other matters.  Vernon and Petunia had been making snide comments rather loudly all of dinner, and it was starting to irritate Thomas Potter.  Why would a muggle ever hate the wizarding community so much? Thomas asked himself.  It’s simply ridiculous…poor Lily, having to grow up with such a prat for a sister. Around the table, many thoughts were flying about.

Charisse- Dear God, I hope he doesn’t judge us on Petunia!!!  

Lily- Two hours until I can go to bed at the Potter’s house…not too much longer of this torture…why does blasted Petunia have such a squeaky VOICE!?

 

James- Lily’s about to fall asleep again…what potion did Mum GIVE her? I hope the house-elves remembered to put the flowers in her bedroom, like I asked. 

 

Petunia- All eyes are on me!!! Everyone is so interested in what I have to say!! How exciting!! (All eyes really WERE on Pet, but most thought she just happened to be a convenient place to stare while they tuned out completely)

 

Vernon- Petunia’s so pretty…those high cheekbones…what will our kids look like? Hmm…

 

Hayden- Char woke me up from a good nap for THIS? Emilia and Thomas are great, but Pet and Vernon are ruining the dinner for chrissakes!! And I have to put up with those two ALL BLOODY NIGHT!! Not to mention tomorrow!!

 

Emilia- I hope the potion I made for Lil is working…she seems to be experiencing the side effects though…we need to get her to bed before she collapses. How much longer!?!

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“WELL…” said Charisse loudly, clearing her throat and breaking the silence.  Well, actually, it wasn’t silent.  Petunia was babbling about her makeup and the sale they had at her favorite mall the other day.  But nobody cares about Petunia.

“Well…how has everyone’s day been?” asked Lily, desperate to start some sort of conversation..

“I had a GREAT day, DEAR sister,” Petunia began with effect, “I managed to listen to some music, get my makeup done, and meet Vernon here all by this afternoon.”

“Wow. I was REALLY talking to the Potters, DEAR sister,” Lily replied through clenched teeth.

“LILY! Don’t be RUDE!” hissed Charisse.  Char hated rudeness; though she could tell her youngest daughter had a reason for being so angry to Petunia, she felt her motherly duty would be to yell at Lily anyway.  Lily knew that Charisse didn’t really care, however.

“Well, Lily dear, we had a lovely day…we were putting the finishing touches on our house.  The Christmas decorations look spectacular,” said Emilia, with stars in her eyes.

“You waited this long for them, Mum?” asked James curiously.

“Well, yes, Christmas is really when you and Lily arrive,” said Emilia with a laugh.  Lily looked at her with amazement, she and Charisse sure did think alike.

“What sort of decorations?” asked Petunia with a sneer.

“Oh you know, the regular, huge ice statues, trees all over the house, holly, mistletoe, reindeer in the living room…” said Thomas with a glint in his eye.

Petunia was taken aback.  “W- What?!! REINDEER?!”

“Oh yes, they’re all the rage,” said Emilia with a laugh.

Petunia looked contemplative.  “Wow…alright then,” she said, satisfied with the explanation.

Just then, an owl swooped in the window and landed on James’ plate.

“Lysander!” he said with a smile.  Then he noticed the horrified expressions on Vernon and Petunia’s faces.  “O-oops,” he said.  “May I be excused?”

Charisse nodded.  “Me too?” asked Lily quickly. Charisse nodded again, and Lily quickly grabbed Lysander and James and went to her room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Who’s it from?” asked Lily nervously, pacing her room.

 

“Sirius.  He’s having trouble taking care of Lysander, and sent him to me because he’s afraid the poor owl won’t last much longer.”

 

“But WHY did he have to send him NOW? I’m going to get yelled at now! Bloody hell…” whined Lily.

 

“Why’s it such a big deal?” James asked, confused.

“Petunia doesn’t want her boyfriend to know anything about my … ‘capabilities’. She already thinks I’m a freak and stuff…I’ve been trying my hardest to get Vernon to like me…maybe if he does, Pet will finally accept me.”

“Lil…how many times do I have to tell you?  If she doesn’t accept you for who you are, she’s not worth it.  A friend you have to win over shouldn’t be a friend in the first place.”

“I just really want her to like me.  You wouldn’t understand.”

“Oh? And why not?”

“You’re an only child, and everyone loves James Potter anyway.  Everyone wants to be your friend…it’s contagious.  The famous Potter charm attracts girls to you in droves, and you’re certainly not at a loss for guy friends, either.”

“Lily, Lily.  I don’t see any other girls but you.  You have plenty of friends, the entire Gryffindor dorm is absolutely nuts about you.  I hope you realize how truly amazing you are.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You ARE, Princess.  Now let me see a famous Lily smile, and let’s go back downstairs for dinner.”

“I can’t face Petunia after THIS!!”

“Yes you can.  You’re better than her…you want her to accept you, and she doesn’t.  Big deal.  It’s her loss.  Everyone else loves you, and they all want you back down there.  Petunia is probably boring them all to death with babble.”

Lily laughed, and she walked with James back down to dinner.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So Lily dear, how are you doing in school?” Emilia asked with a smile.

“Oh, pretty good,” Lily answered, smiling as well, and passing around the after-dinner mints.

“That’s great! And you, James?” asked his father.

“Alright.”

“Where do you go to school, anyway?” cut in Vernon snottily.

“W-what?”

“You heard me.  You can’t be a nun, so…”

“WHAT?” (Remember, James has no idea Petunia lied to Vernon that Lily was at a nun’s school…)

“Um…he goes to YPA,” cut in Charisse smoothly.

“YPA?” asked Vernon stupidly.

“Yes…Young….Priests…A-A-…Anonymous.”

“Oh.  That’s nice.  You get grades on how good of a priest you are?”

“Yep,” answered James, catching on, “it’s all in the prayers, man.  You have to use emotion, you know.”

“Oh…wow.”

“Yup,” said James, fighting back the urge to laugh hysterically.

Emilia noticed James’ laughter and quickly stood up.  “Charisse, dear, this has been a wonderful dinner.  Thank you so much for having us, and for allowing our son to stay.”

“It was a pleasure, Emilia.  We need to do this again, and thanks for taking Lily tonight. Vernon’s staying here, so we have a full house.  It’s very helpful for you to take her.”

“We’ll have fun, it’ll be great. She looks a bit tired though, so we’ll get her to bed.  We’ll be in contact with you to let you know when she’s coming home,” Thomas said with a smile.

“Okay, thanks for the help.  Good night, Emilia, Thomas!” Hayden said enthusiastically.

“Night Char! Night Hayden!! Bye Petunia, Vernon,” said Emilia, her smile rather strained as she spoke to Pet and Vernon.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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