Meet the Parents

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I will never ever be able to own Harry Potter, so don't sue. I own nothing.

A/N: This idea popped into my head at around two a.m. so I had to write it down. If you are a Miss Cinderella reviewer, don't worry. The 12 chapter will be up soon.

Dear Lily,

Since we've been going out for eight months now, my parents have been asking to meet you. They invited you to dinner tomorrow night at eight o'clock. I'll come by to pick you up.

Love,

James.

Lily Evans' eyes went wide as she re-read the letter over again.

Her boyfriend, James Potter, just asked her to meet his parents!

That was a big step in Lily's book. It was number three behind saying 'I love you' and 'will you marry me?'

"Who's it from Lils?" Emma Hensley, Lily's roommate and good friend asked from the kitchen, where she was doing dishes.

Lily found her voice.

"James."

She could hear the smile in her friend's voice. "What does lover boy want?" Emma teased. "Some alone time?"

"No. He wants me to meet his parents."

The sound of running water halted and Emma stepped into the tiny family room.

"He wants you to meet his parents?" Emma gasped. "Already? Jeez! It took Jasper one year to introduce me to his folks!"

Jasper Nesbitt was Emma's boyfriend of two years.

"Wow." Said Lily.

"When's the get-together with the Potters?"

Lily glanced at the letter. "Tomorrow night."

"Good grief! They're not giving you much time, aren't they?"

Lily shook her head.

"Well, that's typical Mr. and Mrs. Potter. They always try to catch you off guard—oh no, they're really nice people," Emma said hastily, noticing the look on her friend's face. "Trust me, I know."

Emma would know too. The Hensley's were an extremely old Wizarding family and so were the Potters. At one time, it had been hoped that Emma and James would get together and marry but they put their foot down. James had fallen for Lily Evans and Emma had fallen for Jasper Nesbitt. The two were now close friends.

"Are you sure?" Lily asked.

"Positive. Don't be intimidated by how huge their manor is—the Potters are down to earth and extremely kind."

"Okay then." Lily said nervously. "Since they're pureblood, do you think they'll mind that their only son is dating a Muggle born?"

Emma shook her head. "Nope. To tell the truth, Mr. Potter is fascinated by Muggles. He'll probably bombard you with questions."

Lily couldn't help but smile. "Well, that'll be interesting."

Suddenly, Lily's face dropped. "Do you think that Sirius Black will be there?"

"Sirius?" Emma asked. "Why? Do you have a crush on your boyfriend's best friend?"

"No! James always had said that Sirius was a part of the family. Do you think he'll be there?"

"I think he will." Emma said, returning to the dishes. "I mean, besides. What's the worst thing Sirius Black can do?"

--

"So," Sirius Black said, grinning at his best friend. "Your parents invited Lily to dinner?"

James Potter groaned and ruffled his jet-black messy hair. "Yes."

Sirius snickered. "Thank god that I'm disowned. Otherwise, I'd have to bring home each and every one of my girlfriends. Fortunately for me, most of them aren't the pureblood breed that dear old Mother and Father want."

James heard the bitterness in Sirius' voice and immediately switched the subject.

"Do you think Mum and Dad will like her?" He asked.

"Lily's nice, smart, and pretty and managed to charm the entire teacher population. I think your parents will definitely like her. By the way, am I invited to this dinner? Your mum was describing what she wanted to be cooked to the house-elves and it sounds delectable."

James looked at Sirius as if he was crazy. "I don't know, Padfoot."

"Your mum said the entire family," Sirius pointed out, "and after all, I am apart of the family—right?"

James grinned. "Of course you are. I just hope you don't do anything stupid."

"Of course I won't." Sirius stood up, stretched, and walked to the kitchen to grab himself another piece of pecan pie. "Do you honestly think I would make an embarrassing comment about you or Lily?"

James nodded. "Yeah, I think you would."

--

"There's no reason to fret Lillian." Emma said boredly as she tried to figure out how to use the T.V. again. "You look beautiful."

Lily made a face. "My name's not Lillian. It's just plain old Lily."

Emma raised her eyebrows and tried to turn the T.V. on.

"Damnit! How hard is it to work a stupid contraption like the clicker?"

Lily tore her gaze away from the curtains and frowned. "It's not a 'clicker,' Em. It's called a 'remote control.' Get it right."

"It makes a clicky noise," Emma argued. "Therefore, I call it a clicker. Now, how do you turn this damn thing on?"

Lily rolled her eyes and pressed a red button.

Instantly, the T.V. went on.

"There you go." Lily replied.

Emma looked at the screen and then looked at the remote control. "How do you change the channels?" She asked sheepishly.

Pop!

Lily and Emma turned around to see James Potter Apparate into their Family Room.

"Evening ladies." James said.

"Hi James." Emma replied, flicking through the channels.

James' eyes landed on the T.V. "Hey!" He cried out in excitement. "It's the V.T.!"

Lily rolled her eyes. "It's called the television James," she replied. "Or, for short, the T.V."

"I knew I should have taken Muggle Studies," James muttered.

"Load of crap anyway," Emma called. "The teacher had no idea what Muggles were all about."

Lily rolled her eyes and glanced at James.

He could clean up pretty good, she thought. He wore a white button up shirt with a collar and black pants.

"Are you ready to go?" James asked his girlfriend. "By the way, you look beautiful."

Lily blushed. "Thanks."

She didn't want to get too dressed up so she decided to wear black pants with a scoop neck green sleeveless blouse. Her hair, normally in a ponytail, was loose and around her shoulders.

"See you guys around." Emma called watching a TV show.

"So, how are we going to arrive at your parents place?" Lily asked James as they stepped out into the warm night air.

"By Apparation. How else did you think we would arrive there? Walking? It would take us two days to walk."

Lily rolled her eyes.

"Hold onto my left arm," James said.

Even though Lily had passed her Apparation test (with excellence), she obliged. After all, she really didn't know where the Potter Manor was.

She felt James' arm twist away and with a 'pop', they Disapparated.

They soon appeared in front of a huge brick mansion on the outskirts of town.

Lily's eyes widened.

"Welcome to my childhood home." James said sheepishly.

"This place is huge!" Lily gasped.

"Yeah well, it's even bigger on the inside. Just follow me. You can't get lost."

Lily and James walked up several flights of stairs to get to the main door, which was also enormous.

James knocked on the door three times and Lily heard someone come.

Her heart was pounding in her chest when the door opened to reveal a woman with long blonde hair pulled into a chignon. She had large hazel eyes and Lily instantly knew where James got his eyes.

"James!" The woman cried. "How nice to see you again! And this must be Lily. Hello, I'm Caroline Potter, James' mother."

"Pleased to meet you Mrs. Potter." Lily said, shaking her hand.

Mrs. Potter smiled in a motherly way. "Please—call me Caroline. I feel so old when people call me 'Mrs. Potter'."

"It's because you are old Mum." James teased.

Caroline Potter crossed her arms and playfully swatted her son. "Stop it you or I'll tell Sinky to hold the treacle tart."

James' eyes widened and Lily realized that that must be James' favorite dessert.

"Yes Mum."

"Good boy. Now, come in, come in. I'll go find Mr. Potter. James, you and Lily go into the parlor. I'll be back soon."

Caroline walked away and James turned to Lily. "What do you think so far?"

"Your Mum is very nice." Lily said as James led her past rooms filled with antique and expensive furniture. "I can see where you get your good humor from."

"Oh haha."

Lily soon began to get dizzy from walking around so much. "How big is this house James?"

James shrugged. "I used to get lost when I was a kid. Not good for playing hide and go seek you know."

"HI EVERYBODY!" Shouted a voice and Sirius Black came walking out of another room, eating a piece of filet mignon.

"Sirius!" Lily and James cried at the exact same time.

"That's my name, don't wear it out." Sirius sang as he ate the last bit of meat. "Where are you two lovebirds going?"

Lily blushed and James scowled. "The parlor Sirius. Mum and Dad want us to meet them in the parlor. Would you care to join us?"

"Sure." Sirius said and bounded into the next room.

James held the door open for Lily. "This is the parlor."

Lily stepped inside and gaped.

The room was enormous. The entire room was white, except for a couple shades of yellow strewn around the room. Priceless vases had been placed in some corners and luxurious couches and chairs were carefully placed in a rectangle around a glass table that had a few magazines and a flowering plant on it. A white fireplace near the back of the room was not lit as large windows were opened up to let the warm night air in. Lily watched as the starched white curtains blew lightly in the breeze.

Sirius was sitting down in one of the loveseats and waiting for the couple to sit down.

"So, Lils," Sirius said once the two had sat down. "What do you think of James' manor?"

Lily didn't need to think.

"Big."

Sirius laughed. "Yeah, I know. I got lost a couple of times."

James snickered. "Padfoot, you got lost everyday when you came here for the summer! The only place he knew where to go was the kitchen!"

Sirius stuck out his tongue. "It was the biggest room!"

"I always wondered why there seemed to be less food that summer." James teased.

"Why I oughta—"

"Ahh, there you are! Sirius! We're so glad you decided to join us!"

Caroline Potter entered the room with a tall, distinguished man with messy black hair and brown eyes.

"James," Mr. Potter smiled. "Sirius." His eyes landed on Lily. "Oh, is this Lily, James?"

James nodded.

Mr. Potter stuck out his hand. "David Potter."

"Lily Evans." Lily said meekly. "Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you too. We've heard so much about you from Ja—"

James cut his father off with a nervous chuckle. "Uh, Dad. There's no need to say anything."

"Of course there is," David Potter sat down next to his wife and looked at Lily with interest. "I'll tell you Lily, the first time James came home from Hogwarts, the only thing he could talk about was some girl named Lily Evans."

Sirius didn't know whose face was redder. Lily's or James'. Either way, he was enjoying this immensely.

"He talked a mile an hour about you," David went on. "Why, in his third year, I caught him staring at a picture of you!"

James thought he was going to die from embarrassment. "Dad." He hissed. "No embarrassing stories!"

Fortunately, James' mother took pity on him and changed the subject.

"So, Lily," she said with keen interest. "James told us that you are a Muggle born."

Lily nodded, relieved that the subject changed. "Yes, I am."

"What kind of work do your parents do?" Caroline asked.

Lily paused for a moment and thought. "My mother used to be a chiropractor."

"A what?"

"It's a Healer in some way." Lily explained. "And my father is am accountant."

"Oh," Caroline said, "I've heard of those. They're people who count out Muggle money."

Lily nodded. "Yes."

There was a small noise and everybody turned around to see a small house-elf.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter," the elf squeaked, "I is here to say that dinner is served."

Caroline and David started to stand up but Sirius beat them. "Yay! Food!"

He raced out of the room.

David chuckled. "That boy is a garbage disposal. All he does is eat, eat, and eat."

James stood up too. "You should see him at Hogwarts."

Lily nodded and rolled her eyes. "He loves to eat—but never gets fat."

"Ahh, one of the many mysteries of Sirius Black." Caroline said. "Follow us so you won't get lost."

"I can show her Mum." James argued.

"Yes, but last time you got lost dear."

Lily snickered slightly. "You got lost?" She mouthed.

James crossed his arms in a 'Don't push it' way.

--

Five minutes later, the Potters, Sirius and Lily were seated around the large mahogany table in the Potters main dining room.

As they started their first course of vegetable soup, Sirius asked, "Soo, how long have you two been together?"

James and Lily glared at Sirius. "You know how long!" James hissed.

"Good question Sirius," Caroline exclaimed, laying down her soupspoon, "Lily, what made you finally go out with my son? Heaven forbid he always moaned that you would never go out with him."

"Well," Lily swallowed a piece of noodle and looked at James, who was staring at his soup in determination. However, his ears and the back of his neck was bright red.

"I guess I started to notice James when he didn't start off with that 'Will you go out with me Evans'? In addition, he stopped calling me 'Evans' and started calling me Lily."

"We can't forget how you guys started to become 'friends'." Sirius sniggered.

Lily gave Sirius a death glare. "He also stopped hexing people for the fun of it and I realized he was a really nice guy."

"See James," Caroline said, "I told you. Always act like yourself when around girls," she turned to Lily in an almost apologetic way, "I'm sorry if James ever did anything cruel to you."

"It's okay," Lily said, "Now as I look back, the pranks were funny."

"He gets that from his mother." David smirked at his son whose face was turning the same color as Lily's hair.

"Daad." James hissed.

David smirked again and turned towards Lily. "So, tell me about the felly tone."

"You mean the telephone?" Lily asked.

"Is that what they call it?" David said in confusion. "It's that Muggle contraption that lets you talk to somebody miles away."

"Yes, a telephone."

"Interesting," David mused, taking a bite of his soup.

"You'll have to excuse my husband. He's quite addicted to Muggle items. Why, some years back, he tried to persuade me to let him bring in a metal box that he claimed had pictures in it. What did you call it? A T.B.?"

Lily had to smile. Wizards don't know a thing about Muggle devices.

"It's called a television. Or, for short, a T.V."

James cleared his throat suddenly, and the table lapsed into silence.

As soon as everybody finished the first course, house elves came in and started serving the main dish.

As they ate Lily said, "You have a very lovely house Mr. and Mrs. Potter."

"Why thank you Lily," Caroline beamed. "That's the first time I heard one of James' girlfriends actually say that!" She turned to her son, "Remember that red-head that looked exactly like Lily? What's her face—Cleo?"

Lily looked at James, amusement etched onto her features. "Exactly like me?"

"Yes," Caroline nodded reverently, "Most of his girlfriends had red hair and green or blue eyes."

Lily gave James a funny look who returned it with a cocky smile.

"Anyway, Cleo was James' girlfriend when he was fifteen. We invited her over to dinner and the first words that came out of her mouth were 'Wow. You guys have some serious money.' Needless to say, we weren't very pleased with her."

"If it helped, I dumped her three days later." James muttered, picking through his mashed potatoes.

Caroline shook her head.

Sirius, on the other hand, was plowing through his food as if it was about to be snatched away. He wasn't even paying attention to a word that they were saying.

"Sirius Black!" Caroline cried. "For goodness sake, calm down!"

However, Sirius was not to be calmed down. He continued to eat like there was no tomorrow. The only time he finally laid down his fork was when he went to grab seconds.

Another five minutes of silence.

As Lily took a bite of peas Caroline asked, "So James. Have you proposed to Lily yet?"

James started to choke as Lily's face went bright red.

Sirius—well let's just say Sirius lost his appetite. He was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt.

Caroline waited until James' coughing spell ended before she said, "Well?"

"Mum!" James gasped, coughing slightly, "Why'd you ask a question like that?"

"Will there be any children?" David asked interestly.

Lily suddenly noticed how hot the room was.

"Yes!" Caroline clapped her hands in glee. "Any children? Goodness, I'd love to have a grandchild to spoil."

"Mum!" James hissed.

"Oh come on James. You've said you wanted to marry Lily ever since you first laid eyes on her."

"Dad!"

"Aww," Sirius cooed. "Is Ickle Jamesie embarrassed?"

"Watch it Black."

"What?"

"Don't push it."

"You know," Caroline cut in. "I haven't heard anything from Lily on this subject," she turned to the pretty redhead.

"Lily, has James proposed to you yet?"

Lily's face turned redder than a tomato. "Ahh—no, he hasn't."

"Do you want children?" Caroline asked. "If so, boy or girl? Have you chosen any names?"

"You know," Lily said, trying desperately to switch the subject, "I believe it is a little early to be discussing marriage and children."

"Not really," Caroline contradicted, "It's never too early to think about children or marriage. How old are you Lily? Eighteen?"

Lily nodded. "I turned eighteen three weeks ago."

"And James is eighteen too. Why if you get married when you're nineteen, you could have your first child when you're twenty!"

"Mum," James said quickly, "I don't think Lily is quite comfortable with this conversation."

"Nonsense! Are you okay with this conversation Lily?"

"To tell the truth, I'm a bit uncomfortable discussing this."

"Oh. Okay then."

Lily thanked the heavens that Caroline got off the subject but Sirius would not.

"You really want to marry Lily don't you Jamie?" He teased.

"Sirius," James flashed him a 'you're dead' look.

"What?" Sirius asked in the picture of innocence. "I'm just asking. Didn't you already buy a ring?"

There was a pregnant pause as everybody's eyes went straight towards an uncomfortable James.

"James Tristan Potter!" Caroline squealed, "Did you buy a ring and not tell us?"

Lily's heart sped up as she stared at James, her emerald eyes wide.

"I didn't!" James cried out desperately. "Cut it out Sirius! You know that I didn't buy a ring!"

Sirius cocked an eyebrow that meant 'Yeah right.'

The rest of the meal passed in blissful silence until dessert when David brought up the subject of work.

"What job do you wish to have Lily?" He asked.

Lily spooned a tiny piece of chocolate ice cream and said, "I would like to work as a Healer."

"Good choice," David said approvingly, "I worked as an Auror for thirty-two years and then retired. My wife worked at the Ministry."

Caroline patted her husband's hand affectionately.

"Now, this boy right here," David pointed towards his son, "Wants to be a professional Quidditch Player."

"Or an Auror." James hastily put in.

"I want to be an Auror." Sirius proclaimed. "Or a Professor."

James and Lily snickered.

"And what may I ask, is so funny?" Sirius demanded.

"Sirius," James laughed, "You couldn't pay attention during class! Who's to say you'd even teach your students a lesson?"

Sirius scowled. "So I'll be an Auror." He snapped.

"Good choice for a field Lily," Caroline said, "Are you working as a Healer right now?"

"Yes. I'm in Healers Training right now. I should be licensed to be a full Healer in six months."

"Already?" David asked in amazement. "It usually takes two years to be a licensed Healer!"

"I know. During my fifth and sixth year, I studied the work of a Healer. I took a test when I first started and it showed that since I knew so much about Healing I should be moved up the advanced."

"Excellent." David smiled. "That's what I like to hear. Always pre-plan everything."

"What about seventh year?" Caroline asked. "Did you study that year too?"

Sirius snorted. "Nope. She was too busy wrapped around James."

"Sirius!" James hissed.

Lily, however, smiled. "Actually no Sirius. I couldn't find any other books on Healing."

"Sirius," Caroline scolded. "Don't tell lies like that."

James smirked. "Busted."

--

Thankfully, there were no other embarrassing conversations for the rest of the evening.

Lily was definitely relieved.

At around ten o'clock, Lily looked at the clock.

"Oh. I must be getting home soon. My roommate, Emma, will be worried."

"We understand," Caroline stood up and embraced the red head. "It was so nice to meet you Lily."

"It was nice to meet you too Mrs. Potter."

Caroline waggled a finger. "Caroline."

"Yes, sorry."

David Potter shook Lily's hand. "Feel free to come back anytime."

"Thank you."

"I'll take her home," James offered, "and don't give me that look Sirius."

As the couple walked to the door, Caroline called for James.

"Go on ahead Lils," James said, as Lily turned around, confused. "I'll be out soon."

Lily nodded and exited.

James turned to his mother, who motioned him to come closer.

"James," she asked, "Tell me the truth. Did you really buy Lily an engagement ring?"

James sighed. "No, I didn't."

"Are you sure?" She whispered.

"Yes Mum."

"Okay then. I'm warning you though. I like Lily a lot. She's very nice and has good manners. Don't let her slip away."

James' face turned red. "I won't Mum," he kissed her on the cheek. "Now, I'll see you later."

"Come back to the house after you drop off Lily," Caroline said in a louder voice, "I'll wrap up some food for you. We have so much of it and you will need it. All I think you boys eat at your flat is pie!"

--

Lily waited outside until James appeared, jogging out and promising his mother to come back.

"What was that all about?" Lily asked as they walked down the path.

James was tempted to tell her about Caroline asking about the ring but stopped himself.

"She wanted to tell me to come back to the house and pick up some food for Sirius and me. She thinks we can't cook for ourselves."

"Well you guys can't." Lily teased. "All you boys eat is candy and pie!"

James scowled as the two Apparated with a pop.

Soon, they arrived in front of Lily's home and James kissed Lily good-bye.

"So," James said, before Lily entered the house, "What did you think of my parents?"

"They're nice people." Lily said, "Very nice."

"I'm glad. I thought you'd say they were embarrassing."

"No, they just asked normal parent questions. It's okay."

James breathed a sigh of relief.

"James?" Lily asked.

"Yeah?"

"Since I met your parents, it's my turn. You have to meet my parents Thursday night."

--

Ok. This story is done! Whee. This story was fun to write.

--Greekchic.