Author's Note: This is just a sort of feeler, seeing if I thought the plot line could go anywhere. It's post-prologue of HBP. This fic deals with the possibilities of being gayyy in the Wizarding World.
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Chapter 1
Lily Potter could pinpoint exactly when it was she had realized something was up. Summer hols started normally enough, with a graduation party for Rose, Louis and Al at the Burrow. The whole family was there, as they had been for Teddy and Victoire and Dominique and James' graduations in previous years, as they would be for Fred and Molly's next year and Hugo, Roxanne, Lucy and Lily's own the year after. The Weasley-Potter family was not a family that celebrated in quiet, nuclear groups. Since the fall of the Dark Lord whenever celebration had been warranted, celebration happened. Often, this included not only blood relatives but also family friends, occasionally even retired minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt, an aspect that always seemed to thrill Lily's friends when she happened to forget it might seem like bragging to mention it.
At the moment she realized something might be up, Lily was sitting in a corner of the back yard at the Burrow, eating a sandwich and trying to mend the tail on her broom which had been unceremoniously bent by her cousin Hugo in a rather vicious game of Quidditch. A series of small popping sound signaled the arrival of more guests just outside the gate and she groaned, internally, at that thought of more noise, more people in the already crowded yard.
She took this opportunity to glance around and assess the crowd already assembled. The three graduates were hanging out together, bearing the shell-shocked expression of those newly spat out of the safety of regularly scheduled classes and prepared meals. Each of them- including Al, which was slightly shocking- had a small glass in hand and a bottle of firewhiskey sat on the table, which meant that Grandma could not possible be outside as well. Sitting with them were James and Fred, the latter sneaking covert sips from a glass he kept concealed under the table lest his mother see him. The rest of Lily's cousins were spread out over the yard- Hugo nursing a sprained finger, Lucy reading (reading, of all things, how could she with this noise?) Molly and Roxanne debating animatedly with Uncle Percy about magical restriction laws (Roxanne had more to say than Molly, but Roxanne usually had more to say than anyone anyway) Victorie, Teddy and their kids Analise and Abivole were sitting with Lily's dad, her Uncle Ron, Uncle George and Aunt Angelina at the food table and Lily's mum and her Aunt Hermione were having what appeared to be a private talk on the backyard swing, Aunt Hermione dabbing her eyes carefully, mum's arm around her shoulders. Louis was nowhere to be seen, but neither was Grandpa and Lily assumed they had probably crept off to his workshop together to fuss over the new car engine Grandpa had acquired, somehow, a week or so ago. Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie had both excused themselves for different reasons- Uncle Bill to nip over to work "for a quick moment" to help his assistant with something and Uncle Charlie- who had been up late the night before for work- to nap in one of the bedrooms left unoccupied by the Weasley children, who were now adults with their own homes and had no need for single beds and walls decorated with Quidditch Posters.
The pop of apparation had been Lily's cousin, Dominique, accompanied by two witches Lily had never seen before, ostentatiously also members of the Hollyhead Harpies, the team for which Lily's own mother had played and to which Dominique now belonged. There was a high-pitched, exaggerated shriek as Aunt Fleur and Grandma came out of the Burrow levitating a full coffee pot and enough mugs to accommodate everyone. It did not take long to discern the reason for Aunt Fleur's cry: Dom's hair- which had always been a blonde braid spiraling down her back and occasionally whipping unfortunate opponents in the face when it came undone during matches- had been cropped into a chin-length bob with heavy bangs hooding her bright blue eyes. None of Aunt Fleur's children had ever cut their hair- it was Veela tradition for women to let their it grow, perhaps occasionally trimming it if a trim was warranted but never, NEVER cutting it.
"What. Ave. You. Done?" demanded Aunt Fleur, tossing the mugs onto the table with a flick of her wand and storming across the lawn to the gate that one of Dom's friends was now closing.
"Mum" Dom warned, her eyes dangerously narrow and her lips set "We'll talk about this later."
Fleur flew into a flurry of French, parts of which Lily understood and parts that were much too fast for her elementary language skills. Dom replied in a terse, slow enough tone for Lily to translate "We'll talk later" and "Not in front of my friends, please." Before she spotted Lily and headed over, friends in tow.
Dom was easily one of Lily's favorite cousins. Three years older than Lily, she was nonetheless interested in the younger girl's thoughts and ideas and was by far one of the coolest members of Lily's family. Aunt Fleur had very outdated notions of what was and was not proper for young witches and more often than not, Dom fell into the category of "improper." Because of this, she had a tempestuous relationship with her mother who, despite loving her dearly, did not understand her. Luckily, Dom had allies in her father and older sister, both of whom frequently intervened on her behalf when, for example, she had been invited to play for the Harpies or (only a few weeks ago) had declared her intention to move into her own apartment, something Aunt Fleur did not believe single young witches should do. Dom also spent a lot of time at Lily's parent's house, at first mostly to hang out with Lily's mother so they could talk about playing Quidditch, which was quite male-dominated, and so Dom could bemoan her mother's strict rules. Lily had started to sit in on these conversations a year or so ago, to the point where Dom expressly sought out both Ginny and Lily when she visited. The three of them would sit around in the back yard, sometimes with Lily and Dom's brooms across their knees, doing repairs and talking about any number of things, only infrequently interrupted by Lily's dad bringing them tea. So it made sense for Dom to seek Lily out now, as well.
"Hey Lily." She said as she got close enough, kneeling to hug her younger cousin before sitting in the grass beside her. "Wasn't sure if I'd see you tonight or if I'd have to wait for Al's birthday in July."
"Hey Dom!" Lily said, giving her cousin a one-armed hug as her other hand was preoccupied with holding two pieces of straw in place on her broomstick. "I only caught half of what Aunt Fleur said but she doesn't seem particularly happy. I think the hair looks great, though."
"What happened to your broomstick?" Asked one of Dom's unnamed witch friends, a thin person with close-cropped dark hair cut unevenly over her brown eyes.
"My cousin Hugo grabbed it in our family Quidditch game." Lily explained "And I can't get it fixed properly. He bent the hell out of it."
The witch smiled crookedly and held out her hand "Here, let me look at it. I dabble in broomstick design and repair. Plus, during our last game one of the guys from the Cannons killed half my tail and I had to repair it myself, mid-game. I'd pretty good at handling broomsticks, if I do say so myself." Lily could have sworn Cyrus accompanied this with a wink and felt her neck get hot.
"Sorry, Lil, I should have introduced you." Dom said, seeing Lily's hesitation to hand over her broomstick. "This is Cyrus" she pointed to the witch who had just spoken "And Amara." Amara had longer, curly hair and a nice smile. "They play on the Harpies with me and they're my new flat-mates."
Lily handed her broom over to Cyrus and, watching what the witch was doing out of the corner of her eye, asked "Where is your new flat? I'd love to come see it sometime, since I'm out of school for the summer."
Cyrus looked up "You're still in school?" she asked, a frown on her face. "What year are you going into?"
"Sixth." Lily told her. Cyrus coughed and Amara, laughing, patted her on the back. Lily didn't see what was so funny but apparently Dom did, though she appeared to be unsure whether she should laugh or frown at Cyrus.
"We're living in Phoenix Village" Dom continued, finally giving in to a small grin. Phoenix Village was close to Muggle London, a popular spot for young wizards and witches. Many professional Quidditch players lived there, as well as several prominent up-and-coming wizards and witches from the ministry,the music business, and other impressive places. It was known as the spot for the young and hip, housing very few families or people over the age of thirty but plenty of restaurants, pubs, and cafes. Lily had never been, but she had heard about it. She was quite shocked that Aunt Fleur had allowed Dom to move there.
"Dad intervened." Dom said, seeing Lily's question. "It's one of those old-fashioned, women only lodgings left over from Great Aunt Muriel's era. Most of the Harpies live there, along with a few others from different sectors in the ministry.
"Gives the Harpies a good public image." Amara said, then laughed "Which, quite frankly, we need at the moment."
Lily looked questioningly at Dom again. "It's nothing really." her cousin said, shrugging "Only a small romantic scandal resulted in a fight at one of our games. And a player being replaced. But she wasn't great anyway."
Cyrus snorted, concentrating on Lily's broomstick with deliberate attention.
"Well, whatever." Dom sighed, and leaned heavily on her cousin "The point is, mum ran out of reasons I couldn't go and dad negotiated a deal. It's better with me out of Shell Cottage anyway, and I think she realizes that even if she's too proud to admit it."
Both of them glanced at Fleur, who had joined the group of adults (plus two youngsters) at the table and was being talked into calm by her eldest daughter.
"Victoire's so good with her." Dom sighed, sounding as though she rather regretted not being able to talk to her mother in the same way "But Victoire also chose babies and a husband over a career, and I'm not interested in that right now. I mean, mum's one to talk. She worked for a few years before she married dad, but after the war she gave it up to raise us three. And she forgets, sometimes, that there are other options."
"Mum says that Aunt Fleur means well, but she was brought up in a stricter household." Lily said "She says she and Aunt Fleur used to get into rows all the time about how mum raised me, because Aunt Fleur was always offering advice mum didn't want."
"Aunt Ginny is so cool, though." Dom said, and turned to her friends "Lily's mum's maiden name is Weasley. As in, Wingtips Weasley? The all-star chaser for the Harpies years ago?"
Cyrus whistled and Amara gasped "Really? Like, really really? Is she here? Can I meet her? I'm a chaser too and I studied her technique for months and months before my try-out for the team."
Lily scanned the crowd to see if her mum was still talking to Aunt Hermione. Spotting Ginny at the table, filling her wine glass, she waved her over. Unlike most teenager girls, Lily did not feel the need to separate her friends and her mum. In Lily's opinion, Ginny was easily one of the coolest mothers who had ever lived.
Catching Lily's eye, Ginny squeezed her husband's shoulder and headed over, sweeping her still-long hair back into a bun as she did and straightening out her shirt. Ginny was never fully-composed, and though she was in her fifties now still managed to look like she had just come from Quidditch practice half the time.
"Hello Dom." she said when she reached them, leaning over to touch her niece's shortened hair. "I'm loving the style, and, even if I'm not supposed to say so, the look on your mother's face when she saw it was incredible. Only don't mention that to anyone else."
Dom seemed to perk up at Ginny's compliments. "Aunt Ginny, these are my teammates Cyrus- she's a beater- and Amara, who's a chaser like you. In fact, she's sort of-"
"A fan! A huge fan!" Amara had lost any pretense of cool. "You're an amazing flier, seriously seriously amazing. We still learn the Weasley Loop at practice. I mean, I grew up with your posters on my wall!"
Ginny laughed, though Lily could tell she felt slightly uncomfortable at the enthusiasm. "Wow, well, I know you're certainly an up-and-coming player yourself. Don't think we haven't been following the Harpies closely at the Quidditch desk of the Daily Prophet. I think we're going to be profiling your team soon- I want to do a weekly piece about women in Quidditch, seeing as our numbers have dropped even further these days."
Amara's eyes were saucers and she appeared to be about to say something when Cyrus held up Lily's broom. "Finished. Damn the end was bent, though. You'll want to smack your cousin good for that one." She smiled crookedly again and Lily felt her stomach twinge in a not-entirely-unpleasant way.
"Aunt Ginny, could we possibly get you to climb on some brooms with us in the back field? Just for a bit? Cyrus brought this prototype she designed and we're going to try it out." Dom glanced at Cyrus, who tore her eyes away from Lily and nodded enthusiastically.
Ginny looked hesitant, but gave in quickly under the pleading eyes of her niece. "Alright, alright. Let me go tell Harry and I'll meet you girls back there." She said, heading off to talk to her husband.
"Want to come, Lil?" Dom asked, getting to her feet. "We'll probably fly for a bit and then head off to our flat. I don't think mum and I need to get into another argument today."
Lily shook her head. "I'd love to, but I promised Hugo I'd go to the Muggle Village with him to pick something up soon, and he wouldn't forgive me for breaking it."
"Alright, well, I'll send you an owl about visiting." Dom said, hugging her again before standing up.
"It was nice to meet you." Amara said, reaching out to shake Lily's hand before she followed Dom.
"It really was." Cyrus said, reaching her hand out as well. Lily clasped it and temporarily forgot that she knew how to talk. Finally, mentally shaking herself and still clutching the older witch's hand, she managed to speak.
"Thank you! I owe you a butterbeer or something for fixing my broom." She said, grasping at some form of repayment that would seem even remotely cool.
Cyrus laughed "Come see me in a few years and we'll talk." She said, and turned to follow her friends.
And that's when Lily, sitting on the lawn with her newly-repaired broomstick and her hand still tingling slightly from contact, realized that something was up, though she didn't quite have a word for it. Not yet, anyway.