Disclaimer: I DISCLAIM HARRY POTTER! I DON"T WANT IT ANYWAY!

Chapter 1:

Favorite Places

A man stood outside the dark abandoned house, staring at the front door, as if waiting for something. Finally he pulled out his wand and pointed it to the door. "Alohamora." The spell didn't work like it should have but he was not surprised. He grinned and whispered, "Nexeat." It worked as a password and the door automatically creaked opened. He took one more glance around to make sure he hadn't been followed. Then he tightened his cloak around his shoulders and disappeared into the dark hall of the house.He swept down the corridor, following the sound of voices. At the end of a path of long winding hallways he finally saw a door that was cracked opened with the pool of light spilling out. He hesitated. Then he walked forward into the packed room. Everyone quieted down when he entered. He looked around at all of them and then smiled.

"The time has come for revenge."

"I just have to be in Gryffindor," Albus said for what James thought was the hundredth time that day. He rolled his eyes at his younger brother.

"There is nothing wrong with Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff," Rose told him reasonably.

"Yeah, but then there's Slytherin," James said.

Rose shuddered but said, "It can't be that bad."

Before James could reply the compartment door slid opened. "Hellooo!" The new comer slid in gracefully and slid in next to James in a flurry of silver hair.

"Hi Victoire!" Rose greeted their cousin.

"How's Teddy?" James asked.

"He's fine if you must know," she replied hotly. "Mind your own business next time. It's rude to interrupt people."

James snorted and got up. "I'm going to look for Marcus."

"Watch out for the Prefects patrolling the halls," Victoire called after him.

"Oh are Penny and Pat here?" Rose asked, jumping to her feet, "I think I'll go say hello."

Victiore muttered something in French under her breath. The she looked at Albus and smiled cheerfully, "Excited?"

He shrugged, "Nervous."

"What's there to be nervous about? Hogwarts is great! It's my favorite place in the whole world! Wait till you see your first Quidditch match."

"What if I'm not in Gryffindor?" he blurted out.

She laughed, "Is that what this is about?" He nodded. She sighed, "Listen, no one is going to be angry with you if you're not in Gryffindor. James may pick on you and Penny and Pat will look at you sympathetically like it's a bad thing but let's face it, none of us like them much anyway. Except Rose, but let's face it, that poor girl is destined to follow in their prefect footsteps." She shook her head sadly, and then realized she had strayed from the point. "Anyway, if you do end up in a house other then Gryffindor you need to show everybody that Ravenclaws of Hufflepuffs, or even Slytherins are just as good as us Gryffindors. If your put in another house, I'm sure it will be for a reason. But, I don't believe you will be anything bit a Gryffindor." She turned and looked out the window.

"You don't?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

"I have a theory."

He gaped at her. "A theory?"

She nodded." Mhmm." She looked back at him and grinned, "Wanna hear it?"

He nodded.

"Okay. I've never told anyone else this, so you should feel special."

"Not even Teddy?"

She laughed, "Not even Teddy. Okay, I think we'll all be in Gryffindor. I am, Penny and Pat are, James is, you and Rose will be, Hugo and Lily will be, and if Charlie and Jenny decided to move here when it's time for Liza to go to school then she will be and if George ever marries and has kids then his kids will be."

"Why though?"

"Because of who were are. Our parents were in Gryffindor and their parent's were in Gryffindor…well for the most part…the Potter and the Weasly side of the families anyway and they did great things. Well, from what I can tell Uncle Percy was kind of a git there for a while but he came through in the end…the very end." She stopped herself and shook her head before she got too far away from the subject, "The point is, our parents game from Gryffindor and they did great things. I think that means we're destined to do great things as well."

Albus thought for a moment, letting everything his cousin said sink in. "I don't understand." He said finally.

She smiled. "Maybe when you're older then. This school, Gryffindor, greatness, it's our legacy."

"Come on Harry, please!" Hermione begged. Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny were sitting in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, not bothering to clean up the dinner dishes.

"Hermione," Harry groaned, "Why?"

"You better give in Harry," Ron said, "She'll keep nagging until you do."

"I do not nag!" Hermione cried.

"Hermione, aren't there enough books about me?" Harry reasoned.

"Oh but this would be different! None of the other authors know you like I do. I was there. It would be so much more accurate then other books!"

Harry looked at Ginny and Ron for help. Ron looked away and pretended to suddenly be very interested in his pumpkin juice. Ginny shrugged, "She's right, it would be more accurate."

Harry sighed, "Fine."

"Oh thank you Harry! You won't regret this!" Hermione insisted happily. "I'm almost done the book about Dumbledore and then we can get together so I can interview you and—,"

"Interview him?" Ron said, "Hermione, what else do you need to know? You just said so yourself, you were there."

Hermione sighed, "Yes but not for everything."

"What did you miss?" Harry asked.

"Well…I wasn't in the chamber of secrets….and I did miss most of the fight in the Department of Mysteries…and what about…"

"I told you everything about all of that," Harry pointed out.

"Oh come on Harry! All I've written about the past couple of years are dead people. It will be nice to have a life subject to talk to." She looked at Ron and Ginny, "I'll want to talk to you too…and Neville and Luna…everyone involved really. Will you do it Harry?"

"Alright."

"Thank You! I'll get started as soon as I'm done with Dumbledore's."

Suddenly they were all distracted by the sound of an owl pecking at the window. Ginny jumped up, "That must be from Neville; I asked him to send an owl as soon as the sorting was over."

She opened the window and a large barn owl flew in and landed on the table. He held out his leg and Hermione untied the letter. Ginny found a small bowl and filled it with water for the owl who hooted appreciatively when she put it in front of him.

"They're both in Gryffindor," Hermione announced.

"Good," said Harry and Ron together.

"We would have been fully supportive if they weren't in Gryffindor," Hermione said.

"Oh come on Hermione, if you would have been put in Slytherin, what would you have done?" Ron asked.

"I would have made the most of it," she insisted.

"I would have cried," Ginny said.

"I would have run away," Ron said. They all looked at Harry now.

"I…would have been friends with Draco Malfoy…"

"Ew," Ginny said.

"Don't say that mate! That's a scary thought!" Ron said.

Hermione sighed, "It's true though, once your put into a house, there's nothing you can do about it. Although, I don't think I would have liked the other common rooms as much as Gryffindor. It was my favorite place in the school." She looked at her watched. "It's getting late, we should go. Where are the kids?"

"They're probably in Lily's room, let's go see." Ginny said and she and Hermione went to find Lily and Hugo.

They found them in Lily's room, asleep on the floor, curled around a forgotten exploding snap game. Ginny laughed softly, "I don't know what she'll do without either of her brothers around."

Hermione grinned. "Hugo's ecstatic that he's alone now. A few days without Rose and he'll be bored to tears though. You can bring Lily over to play whenever you want. Except tomorrow, he's going to my parent's house. He'd love to have Lily over a lot."

Ginny nodded, "Oh absolutely, I think they're going to end up relying on each other this year. Come on, let's get them up."

It took them a moment to rouse the children from their sleep. Finally Hugo got up and moved out of the room like a sleepwalker. "G'night Lil," he muttered.

"See you later," Lily replied sleepily, not bothering to look at her friend as she climbed into bed.

"Bye Hugo," Ginny whispered after him, "Lily will come over and see you in a few days.

Lily sat at the kitchen table watching her mother eat painfully slow. Lily herself was already done her cereal and was patiently waiting for Ginny to finish. Ginny was deeply absorbed in that morning's issue of the daily profit and didn't notice her daughters stare. Finally Lily sighed and asked, "Mummy, can I go play with Hugo today?"

Ginny looked up and smile apologetically, "He was going to see Hermione's parents today."

"Oh." Lily looked out the kitchen window in disappointed. It was her first full day without an older brother to trail and she was already bored.

"You'll have plenty of fun with me," Ginny assured her.

She made a face, "Why can't I go to work with daddy?"

Ginny sighed, "Sorry. You would be completely bored at the ministry." She stood up and started clearing the breakfast dishes away. "I thought you liked coming to work with me?" she said pretending to be hurt.

"I guess."

Ginny gave her daughter a look of understanding. She remembered how she felt when she was the only one left and all her siblings were gone to school. "How about this," she suddenly thought of an idea, "Come to work with me for a little while and I'll send an owl to George and see if you can go to the shop for a while."

Lily's face brightened, "Okay!"

Lily had a careful list of her favorite places. She had compiled it one night when she couldn't sleep. The fourth place on her list was the office of The Quibbler. People were running around, writing articles, making corrections, arguing, and trying to meet deadlines. There were hangings on the walls or great articles, past issues, pictures of the staff, and of crazy creatures that no one could prove existed.

Ginny loved The Quibbler as well. It had been quite popular since the war when it was more reliable then the Daily Prophet. It's ratings had gone up drastically since Ginny and Luna became co-editors. With the two of them at the head, it held a nice balance of relevant news that Ginny thought was important and…interesting articles that Luna thought people should read.

When they reached the office by floo powder they immediately made their way through, weaving in and out of people and desks to Ginny office. The whole way they both were greeted by just about everybody they passed. Lily greeted them all happily and Ginny smiled to herself. Despite Lily pretending she didn't want to go to work with her mother, Ginny knew that Lily loved going to work with her. She had practically grew up there and knew her way around almost better then Ginny. Whenever she was sick of her brothers she begged her mother to bring her to work. Ginny wouldn't be surprised if she ended up working there when she was older.

When they reached Ginny's office, Lily sat down in the swively chair in front of the desk. "What's your theme for this month's issue?" She asked her mother.

"New beginnings," Ginny replied, "The new school year has begun. A fresh start for all students. Why can't everyone have a fresh start if they want it?"

"Hmmm…" Lily put on a thoughtful look. After a moment she nodded, "I like it."

Ginny laughed, "Thanks for you approval."

"Hello," a vague voice floated into the room.

"Hi Luna!" Lily said brightly.

"Well hello Lily, nice to have you here."

"Nice to be here." They said the same thing every time Lily was there and she loved it.

"I took these from Rita's desk," Luna held out a hand full of twitching quills.

Ginny sighed and gritted her teeth, "Isn't about that time that woman retire?" She took the quills and dropped them in a trash can.

"What's wrong with them?" Lily asked.

"Quick-Note Quills. We banned them but Rita Skeeters seems to think the rules are above her," Ginny explained.

"Is Rita here? I'm gonna go say hi," Lily said.

When she was gone Ginny smiled at Luna and asked, "How's your father feeling?"

"Better, he thinks it was an allergic reaction to an invisible Horned Telapan. They're very hard to find especially since they're invisible. I think that's what I'll write about this issue."

Ginny nodded, "That sounds interesting."

"Mrs . Potter? An owl just arrived for you," a young witch said from the door way.

"Thank You, Nina," Ginny said, taking the letter, "Will you get Lily for me?"

"I spent the day in Hogsmeade with Neville Longbottom yesterday," Luna said suddenly while Ginny was reading.

Ginny looked up, "Oh did you?" she asked with interest.

Luna nodded earnestly, "I like spending time with him."

"He likes spending time with you too," Ginny told her.

"Why did he say something?" Luna asked, her eyes wide and gleaming with hope. She reminded Ginny of a school girl with a crush. She just smiled and turned to look at Lily as she entered the room.

"I sent an owl to the shop this morning. Lee answered. George isn't there, he's at the burrow. Do you want to go there for a while?"

Lily nodded earnestly. The burrow was her third favorite place.

When Lily stepped out of the fireplace at the Burrow, she heard a squeal of delight and was immediately scooped up into a hug. It was how Molly always greeted her grandchildren and Lily was the only one who never got sick of it.

"Grandma! I can't breath!"

Molly let her go and sighed. "Okay, okay. I was wondering when you were going to get bored and come see me!"

"It's only the first day grandma," Lily said rolling her eyes, "And I came to see Uncle George."

"Hmph, I see how it is, on one wants to see their poor old grandmother."

Lily giggled, "Grandma! I'll come see you this week. I'll bring Hugo."

"Well that's good I guess. Come on, your uncle is in the kitchen." Molly led the way and called ahead, "George, look who came to see you!"

George looked up from the plate of eggs in front of him and grinned. "Hey kiddo. Did your brothers get off okay yesterday?"

Lily nodded, "I was sad that I can't go yet."

"Just a few more years. It's worth the wait. Do you know what house Albus and Rose are in?"

"They're both in Gryffindor," Molly said proudly.

"Too bad, I always wanted to see how everyone would react if one of the cousins didn't make it into Gryffindor."

Lily grinned. "I'll have to try it out for you. Mum said I can go to the shop for a while if it's alright with you."

"Of course it's alright with me! I'd love to have your company. I was just about to be off." He stood up.

"Wait! Don't you want to eat something before you leave hun?"

"I already ate breakfast."

"Yeah mum, don't try to force food on people. It's not nice." George gave his mom a kiss on the cheek and then said, "Quick Lily, to the fireplace before she tries to fatten you up enough to roast you for dinner."

Once they reached the joke shop in Diagon Alley Lee left to run some errands, leaving Lily and George alone to man the store. It was a slow day and Lily was sitting at the front counter with George helping him put together mystery joke bags.

"You should have seen it two days ago," he said to her, "All sorts of last minute shoppers. The place was packed."

Lily shrugged, "I like it better like this."

George nodded, "Me too."

Lily made a face, "That's stupid."

"Why?"

"More costumers mean more money for you."

"That's true, I guess I forgot that detail."

"You know, your store is my second favorite place."

He smiled, "Oh yeah? I'm flattered. What's first?"

"Grimmauld Place."

He nodded and watched Lily for a second. She had on a very serious, concentrated expression, which did not match with her task of grabbing random joke objects and stuffing them in a bag. She looked at him suddenly and her eyes fell on the patch that he used to cover the spot where his ear used to be.

"Does it hurt?" she asked. All the other kids (except for Liza because she was too young) had asked him at least once but this was the first time she had the courage to do so. She knew the answer because he said the same thing every time. This time she said it with him.

"Only when I listen too hard."

He grinned sheepishly, "I guess I've used that one before huh?"

She nodded and went back to stuffing backs. "Do you think Albus and Rose will be good at school? I think Al was scared."

"They'll be fine. And if they're less stuck up Pat and Penny then they'll even have friends."

He spoke without thinking because next thing he knew, Lily was asking, "How come you don't like the twins?"

"Of course I like them; they're my niece and nephew. I like you all the same."

She looked at him and narrowed her eyes, "That's a lie." She looked away from him and went back to her work.

He'd never tell, because it was unfair, but he couldn't stand Percy's kids. They reminded him too much of Percy. Lily was his favorite.

"Is it because you hate Percy?" she asked.

"I don't hate Percy." He said quickly.

"Yes you do. Is it because Percy was with Fred when he died and you weren't?"

Although, sometimes he hated Lily because she was the only one who would bring up conversations like this. He didn't answer her and knew that she wouldn't keep asking if he kept quiet.

After a while Lily spoke again. "Today mum said everyone should have a fresh beginning if they wanted. Do you ever want one?"

"I think everyone wants one sometimes," he replied carefully.

"What about right now? Right this instant?"

"Right this instant? I'm pretty happy."

Lily smiled. Then her smile faded and she asked, "How come you never got married."

He shrugged, "I guess I never found the right person."

"Hmmm…that Angelina girl comes around a lot."

"Um…yeah I guess she does."

"Do you like her?"

"I like her fine; I've known her a long time."

"Does she like you?"

"She likes me fine."

They worked in silence for a moment until George sighed and put down the bag he was stuffing. "Fred liked her."

"Did she like him?"

"Yes, I think so. I don't know if she liked him as much as he liked her and I don't know if she knew how much he liked her. He might have married her."

"Why don't you tell her?" Lily said.

"Tell her what?"

"How much Fred liked her."

"Why would I do that? That would just make her sad."

"But she would like it."

"And how do you know that?"

Lily was thoughtful for a moment. Finally she explained, "You were Fred's twin so you knew him best right? You're probably the only one who ever knew what he was really thinking or what he really felt. Angelina would like it if you told her because she would know it's true. It wouldn't be the same if anyone else told her."

The bell over the door rang suddenly, announcing visitors. "Costumers," George said, "I'll take care of them. Why don't you go look for joke gifts to send your brothers."

Lily grinned and hopped off the stool to skip to the back of the store. She was so caught up at looking at something to send to James (to get back at him for the lizard he put her bed last month) that she didn't even have time to scream.