Harry Potter Isekai - Marauders Era

Chapter 20: Mrs. Potter

Chapter 20

Marlene's POV

I nervously smooth out my winter coat before taking a handful of floo powder.

"Potter manor." I yelled as I released the powder, transporting me to my destination.

I was surprised to receive an owl from Mrs. Potter the day after the Yule Ball. She invited me back over to have tea with her.

"Oh, it's Miss Marlene! Miss is with young master, Mr. James!" Hoppy greeted me as I stepped into the drawing room.

"Hi Hoppy." I smiled softly at the cute house elf as I bent down to her level.

"Hi pretty Miss. Are you here to see the young master? I'll call him now!" Her doe eyes look up at me.

"Oh, no, Hoppy! Please don't! I'm actually here for Lady Potter."

"Oh! I'll go-"

"It's ok, Hoppy. I'm here." We both look up to see Mrs. Potter. "Hello, Marlene. Welcome back. You look amazing, my dear."

I blush lightly as I quickly get up, "Hello, Mrs. Potter. Thank you for inviting me."

"Come!" She beckons me to come towards her, before walking deeper into the manor. "Hoppy?"

"Yes! I'll prepare tea and snacks now!" Hoppy exclaimed excitedly before she disapparated away. Mrs. Potter giggled softly and mumbles "Thanks."

She leads me to a little green house where a small table and two chairs are set up in the middle. She motions for me to take a seat as Hoppy shows up with warm tea and different varieties of ginger foods and small desserts.

"Thank you Hoppy, that will be all. Milk, sugar or both?" Mrs. Potter asks me as she picks up a tea cup.

"Just milk, please." I smile.

"Don't be so nervous, dear. James would not be so happy if I ever did anything to his precious cute girlfriend. I only want to get to know you a little. You are my boy's first girlfriend he invited home, you know." She smirked at me as she handed me my cup.

I looked down and let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "I'm sorry. I've never done this before so I'm not sure what to expect."

She chuckles, "That is reassuring. I'm glad you have never met the mother of your past boyfriends before. That means it's never been this serious before."

"Um, actually, James is my first." I admitted.

Mrs. Potter's eyes widened, "I must say, I'm surprised. You are a very beautiful young lady. You must have had boys at school chasing after you at least?"

I shake my head at her. "No ma'am."

"Marlene, what do you see in my boy?"

There it is. The questioning begins now, I guess. I took a deep breath and a moment to gather my thoughts before I decided to answer. "To be honest with you, Mrs. Potter, when I first met James, my first impression of him wasn't the best." I giggled as I thought back into the past, "he was overly confident, always playing pranks, disregarding people's feelings and their personal spaces. But the more I got to know him, the more I got to see that he's actually the opposite of everything I thought he represented. He's charming, considerate, and a great friend. He makes me laugh. I truly am lucky to have him see me the way that he does."

"You love him." James's mother stated rather than asked.

"What?" I looked at her surprised at her conclusion.

She smiled brightly – a smile that reminds me of James's. "I'm glad I invited you over today." I tilted my head to one side and blinked in slight confusion. "I'm sure you'll realize it soon enough, but I'm positive in my evaluation. The way you talk about James... you say you are lucky to have him, but I would say he's also lucky to have you as well." She reaches over and squeezes my hand in hers.

"Lizzieeee! Lizzieeeee!" Both Mrs. Potter and I turn our heads towards the voice calling out my nickname – the nickname only 1 person calls me.

"Ah James, so kind of you to join us." His mother teases the boy.

"Mother!" He panted heavily as he arrived in front of us. "I heard Marlene was here. Why didn't you tell me you invited her?"

"And why would I do that? I wouldn't have had the time to talk to her alone if I had informed you." She huffed.

"But mum! She's my girlfriend! It's only right that I know she's in our house!"

"But James! Just because she's your girlfriend doesn't mean you can monopolize the poor girl! I want to talk to her too!"

"But Marl-"

I couldn't help but to laughed out loud, watching the mother son duo converse with each other. They both turn to look at me. "I-I'm s-s-sorry." I tried to speak in between my giggles. "For reasons unknown, I always assumed James took after his father but I'm only now realizing he takes after you more."

"Well of course he does!"

"That's ridiculous, I do not!"

Their replay only furthers my amusement and makes me chuckle once more.

My visit to the Potters ended shortly after. It seems James's mum got what she had hoped for from me. Before leaving, I did not forget to mention my concern over her and her husband's health as cases of dragonpox had been increasing as of late. She promised me to continue taking preventative potions as James has warned them for a couple of years now to watch for their health.

James wasn't so happy about my departure as he only knew of my arrival moments ago.

As I arrived back home, I noticed a note on my desk in Reggie's handwriting. Nervously, I open it up and it read:

HE returned Kreacher in a terrible state. We move the day after New Years. Be prepared.

-RAB