"Albie, darling, remember to pick up a new spell-o-tape today! I don't want you to break your wand this year, okay?" Ginevra Potter said, mussing up the hair of her son, Albus, as she poured some pumpkin juice in the tall glass before him. Now a fifthyear, Albus was fifteen, and embarrassed of his mother, even when he wasn't in public. But he nodded, taking a sip as his fourteen-year-old sister, Lily, hurried down the stairs, brushing her newly tamed hair ferociously. She had just finished about twenty minutes in the lavatory, spraying and charming her hair so that it wouldn't frizz and trying on her mother's makeup. Her face was finally done up; her locks of red were in place, and she hurried down the stairs of the Potters' sprawling manor in Godric's Hollow. James, a seventh year, could finally get into the lavatory to shave his newly growing beard, as his mother asked of him. As he passed her on the stairs, his jaw dropped.
"Bloody…. Lily!" The liner, enhancing her blue eyes, had made her look at least two years older than 14. She sucked in a breath as he watched her in shock.
"Does it look that bad?" She asked in an abashed tone. She didn't at all, and James, a good big brother, smiled.
"No, you just surprised me is all. You look like a right, er, woman." Lily beamed even though James's compliment had been ten times too awkward. But a woman, wow. She looked like a woman! Not that Lily wanted to be a woman completely; she just wanted to be mature and beautiful and, well, the perfect girl. No pressure or anything. James gave her a pat on the head and locked the door to the loo, as Lily tried her best to flatten down the spot he'd touched. As soon as he was alone, James picked up his dad's razor and vigorously shaved the fuzz that he called a beard off of his face, until it was clean and clear. He stared at himself in the mirror for a moment, making different faces, and then slid his square, black wire rim glasses over his blue-green eyes. Slipping his gray jumper on over his collared shirt, he glanced at himself once more before returning down to the dining room to eat with his family.
Soon, they were all sitting around the table, passing eggs, beans and toast, while a pragmatic house elf scurried about. Harry Potter, an auror at the Ministry of Magic sat close to his lovely Ginny, a Quidditch reporter as they read the daily prophet together.
"Oh, brilliant! They're taking some new students at Hogwarts this year." He gladly exclaimed to his kids, and they leaned over with interest to see the article. Albie read further.
"Manyara and Masozi Krag, 14, 11 are coming from the Young Sorcerer's School in South Africa, and Jezebel Calverton, 16, will finish schooling Hogwarts this year after coming from The Salem Institute for Witches and Wizards in the United States of America. Hogwarts headmaster Minerva McGonagall has taken these three students in after they exceeded the expectations of learning in their previous institutions. Wicked.I've never met anyone from South Africa before. Maybe they'll know some quidditch players." By that year, South Africa had won the quidditch world cup, leaving everyone raving about them.
"Don't be silly, Albie. Just because they're from South Africa doesn't mean they immediately know the quidditch team. South Africa is a big country, and if you paid any attention in History of Magic, you would know that. Don't you remember studying the wizarding war of Cape Town in second year?" Lily scolded, giving him a judgmental look.
"No, I'm sorry I'm not a walking remembrall." Albie shot back with a witty smile.
"Cheeky git." She said under her breath and he lightly thumped her on the back of her head. Her hand shot up once again and immediately began to pat it down. "Can't anyone stop touching my hair? I worked really hard to keep it nice!"
"Finally you're doing something, Lil, because it looks like a bird's nest every other day." Albus joked, laughing, and she punched his arm.
"You're such a wanker, Albie!" She cried, hitting him again. He flicked her back.
"What an insult, Lily, I'm absolutely crushed." He grinned cheekily, and ruffled her hair again, and she shrieked.
"You two, stop that now!" Harry said, giving his children a look. Reluctantly they halted their spat, and the three kids turned to him and Ginny. "Now listen up. Today you all go back to school, and we expect you to behave. Mum and I have to head to work this morning and we won't be there to help you buy your supplies in Diagon Alley. We'll see you off at 9¾, but we expect that you three are old enough and responsible enough to cooperate, and especially to listen to Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, or Bill, or Fleur, or whoever is there. Understand?" Lily, James and Albus nodded vigorously.
"Albus," Ginny added, "that means no quarrels with anyone. And Lily, be kind and helpful to your aunt. Don't get cross with your brothers. James, please, please pay attention to the time this year. I don't want you to be at Kings Cross a moment before the train sets off." At this, Albie rolled his eyes, Lily continued to nodded with vigor, and James half-smiled, crossing his arms. Ginny grabbed her purse and her wand, and she and Harry took hands, disapparating to their rightful posts, not before smiling lovingly to their children and wishing them good luck
"Right then, bye!" They each said warmly as Harry and Ginny departed. Ginny was a great mum- she was successful, but also present, and firm, but also very loving, just as Harry. On top of that, they were very, very in love. Lily always admired how in love they were. She had heard the stories about them when they were young, brought together by love and torn apart by a horrifying war, only to be reunited in true young love. She dreamed of that all the time. She had seen all the older years in school snogging in dark corridors and dancing at the rare Yule Balls and Holiday gatherings, which she had not yet been old enough to go to. Too often she pictured herself in a long silvery dress, dancing with her true love, or whoever was closest enough to that, while everyone else watched in awe. She just wanted to feel beautiful…she wanted to feel-
"HELLO! Lily!" James clapped her awake from her daydream.
"Sorry, what?"
"We have to get going. We don't want to be behind schedule again." He said, hurriedly shoveling a handful of galleons into his rucksack, and putting on his big jumper over his corduroys. Albus tied up his white trainers and grabbed his list, and Lily carefully put her baby pink cashmere jumper on over her jeans and slipped her Hogwarts letter into her back pocket. She followed her brothers to the fireplace, taking one look back at her big, cozy house, and sighed. This year was going to be a whole new year. She held onto James' arm as he clutched Albus, who slammed the floo powder to the ground, hollering loudly, "DIAGON ALLEY!"
And off they went.
Falling into the dusty fireplace of their uncle's newly renovated Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (Rest in Peace Fred Weasley I) joke shop, the three Potters brushed themselves, off, and proceeded to exit as casually as possible, right after Albus purchased some dungbombs and an extendable ear.
"You won't need those at school, Albie. Don't waste your money." Lily warned, as they exited onto the street.
"You don't know that, Lil." He said, grinning. She sighed, leading the way to Flourish and Blotts Book Shoppe. She checked her lists, immediately searching for a Standard Book of Spells Level 4 and a text on Unfogging the Future.
"You're doing divination?" Said Albie, and James chuckled.
"Not the best class." They both said harmoniously.
"It's actually quite interesting, you dimwits." A voice said, and the Potters turned to see their cousin, 5th Year Rose Weasley approaching with her younger brother Hugo.
"Rosie!" Lily exclaimed in excitement and the cousins all embraced.
"When did you all arrive?" She asked.
"Just moments ago, actually." James said, "Where are the others?" By the others he meant the other cousins; Bill and Fleur's daughters, the beautiful Victoire(7th year) and Dominique(5th year), and their son Louis(3rd year), and Percy and Audrey's daughters, Molly(6th year) and Lucy(4th year), as well as George and Angelina's children, Fred (4th year) and Roxanne (6th year). They were a big family, but they all got on extremely well.
"Oh, they're all scattered around. I think Roxanne and Victoire are off with some of the other 6th and 7th Years at the Leaky Cauldron if you want to find them, but Molly and Dominique are buying dress robes together, Louis is with Fred getting new quidditch gear and Lucy must be somewhere around here…"
"Hi!" Lucy popped out of an aisle, where she had picked up a new copy of Witch Weekly. She wore her hair flowing down her back, and a flannel shirt that had been tightly tucked into her pleated skirt. She looked like she was in school all the time; Percy was strict about clothing. She skipped up to her cousins.
"Lily Potter you look like a dream!" She said aloud, grabbing her chin in her hands, and tilting her face to look more closely. Rose leaned forward to look as well.
"You're wearing makeup! You look even lovely than usual. Didn't know that was possible." Rose cooed.
"If only I were allowed makeup…" Lucy said, distraught. In truth, she didn't need it. Sure, she looked younger than most girls, but as a fourth year like Lily, she was a beautiful girl. Everyone told her so all the time.
"You don't even need it, Luce. Don't worry about it." But on the inside Lily was feeling like a million galleons, receiving compliments for her enhanced beauty. She and her brothers purchased their books and materials quickly and easily and followed her cousins out through the crowds, to the Leaky Caldron where her cousins sat awaiting her.
"Potters!" Roxanne called, and the others at her table "Hooray'd" as they all came in. She and Victoire popped up to give the new arrivals a warm hug. The two of them looked stunning and radiant, standing next to their group of friends. Victoire stood with her boyfriend of a year, Caldor Thatcher, a raven-haired Ravenclaw. As she returned to his side, he put his arm around her and squeezed her shoulder affectionately. Her cousins could sense the discomfort that she felt, but she straightened her shoulders and smiled at Caldor with a forced affection that he seemed oblivious to. Roxanne was seated with a few other kids that were in 6th and 7th year and James walked up to them humbly. He greeted them each with a "hey, mate", or a handshake or hug. He too was oblivious, but to the fact that many of the girls in his year, some of his closest mates even, found him quite attractive…and sweet, and polite…well basically everything they all wanted in a boy. But he was just James, and he was insecure and unsure of his place often, and would not open his eyes to their affection. He had never experienced love, and the closest he had come was snogging a few girls in his lifetime. But he wasn't cocky, wasn't aware, and to be completely frank, didn't seem to care.
"You look really nice today, James…As always, I mean." One of Vic's close mates, Imogen Crumbey gave him a blatant compliment, giggling loudly. Albus snorted and Lily gave him a 'be quiet, idiot' look. James just smiled.
"Thanks, Imogen. You too." He said, and as Imogen lit up like a chandelier, he sat down next to the girls and his other mates, and began to converse with them nonchalantly. Albus's jaw dropped. How could James just carelessly take a compliment from a girl like Imogen Crumbey? By Merlin's Beard, she was quite fit. Albus knew if she threw a compliment his way he'd have snogged her in the blink of an eye.
"Hello Imogen!" He said with much enthusiasm, startling her enough that she nearly jumped out of her pale pink skin. This time, Lily let out a snort, and Albus blushed profusely. She looked at him halfheartedly, giving him a motherly smile.
" 'Ello, Albus. You've, erm, grown a lot this summer." This time, he lit up like the Great Hall, and, full of hubris, strolled over to James and winked at him. James rolled his eyes, chuckling, and then turned to his mates. "So, what's been on with you this summer?"
The Hogwarts Express trotted along as smoothly as usual, as Dominique Weasley and her brother Louis weaved through the train, trying to find seats. Already the carriages had filled up and they had yet to see any sign of their relatives, who had been spread all over the place.
"This is stupid, Dominique. Why do I have to sit with you and Vic? I've seen nobody but you two all summer long."
"You don't have to, Louis, but don't you think it'd be nice to see your family who you haven't seen all holiday?"
"I haven't seen my mates all holiday, either." Louis whined. Dominique stopped walking abruptly, huffed a sigh, and turned in his direction. Sick and tired of babysitting him, she composed herself, counted to ten and gave him a halfhearted smile.
"Fine, Louis. Go see your mates. Anything to get you to stop being such a git." He thanked her quickly and off he went towards a carriage where a group of rowdy third year boys were trying to see who could stuff the most fizzing whizzbees into their mouths. Dominique turned back, pushing through the groups of buggering idiots who just stood in her way, making small talk about their summers. She shoved a few gossiping Hufflepuff girls out of her way, and barely noticed their angered reactions. Noni Cronk, a girl in her year leaned out of one of the carriage doorways, and called out to her.
"Dom! Hey, Dominique! Come sit!" Dominique walked on, and a perplexed Noni turned her head and slid the door shut. Dom was not usually like this; she wasn't usually an antisocial prat. If it had been another day, she would've gone to sit with Noni and her other mates in a heartbeat. Today was different. She felt something different. She looked different too; she looked an absolute wreck. Her strawberry blonde hair that usually shined and shimmered was rough and unkempt, strung back into plaits that were done with absolutely no effort, and she wore a large Holyhead Harpies jumper over a pair of jeans that were a size too big. Any other day she would've cared, especially the first day of term. But today, she didn't even stop to look at her reflection in the windows.
"Looking good, Weasley!" A voice sneered, and Dominique lifted her head to see three cold faces smirking back at her. She was in the dining carriage; Slytherin's territory. It wasn't as though all Slytherins were a dreadful sort, but just a fair few in particular had to be. She attempted to smirk back, trying to hide her low spirits. Marius Zabini began to snicker. "I thought veelas were supposed to be pretty!" He nudged the girl sitting next to him, Portia McCrae, a pig-nosed girl who began to snicker with him.
"I'm not a veela, Zabini, so get that into your tiny brain. And your joke isn't funny if you have to get other people like pig nosed Portia to laugh as well." Portia's hand shot up to her face, and through her fingers she tried to ward off the angry Ravenclaw.
"Piss off, Weasel. Nobody wants to see your ugly face he-" She snapped, but was cut off by another voice, the voice of a tall, brooding blonde who sat with his arms crossed, his head leaning against the window. Scorpius Malfoy.
"Oh, come on Portia, that's not true. Everyone likes to look at you, Dominique. Especially when you look so beastly. It's kind of refreshing, really."
"Ha-Ha, Malfoy. You and your friends are such comics, honestly. " The sarcasm that floated off of her mouth barely bothered them at all. In fact, it got Scorpius so amused that he slid out of his seat and stood up, towering over her slightly.
"Do you really think so? That's too kind of you." He retorted in a devious tone.
"Anything to boost your ego until it matches up with the size of your head, love." She shot back, giving him a look. He stared her down contemptuously, about to say something nasty, when yet another voice called out to her.
"Dominique, what're you doing? Vic's been out of her mind with worry that you didn't make it on the train!" Lily Potter ran towards her from the other side of the snake-ridden dining carriage, and grabbed hold of her arm. Scorpius turned his hateful gaze from Dominique over to Lily, and his face suddenly became ever so curious.
"Who's the friend, Weasel?" He asked. Lily looked at him, with eyebrows raised for a moment and then she rolled her eyes and smacked her lips together.
"Oh come off it, Malfoy, you know me just as well as the rest of the Weasels-er, Weasleys…and Potters?" She said, as though trying to jog his memory that seemed to have escaped him. But he scanned her face, and soon recognized the fiery redheaded girl who used to be so small and shrimpy, scared and timid. He gave her a smug smile.
"Nice to see you, Miss Potter," He greeted in a tone mimicking a good-mannered old woman, "You've certainly grown."
"Er, you sound like a creep, you know…Dominique we ought to go, then." Lily felt a strange flipping in her stomach as she watched him watch her, and she was quick to tug on her cousin's arm so that they could leave.
"Alright then, bye now! Get back to the tribe safely!" He called, chuckling. As he sat back down with Zabini and McCrae, he couldn't help but turn back and watch those locks of red fly behind their owner, staring with an awestruck expression. She was not just a Potter, no-in fact, she was something else. But Scorpius Malfoy could not place his finger on it.
Lily dragged Dominique by the arm until they were safely back weaving through the compartments of the train. "Stupid gits. Arse faced arseholes." Dominique muttered, causing her cousin to stop her in her tracks.
"Really Dominique, you shouldn't let a few stupid insults from someone like Marius Zabini or Portia McCrae. You know you're so much better than that."
"And what about that sly prig Scorpius Malfoy? Are you saying his insults can easily get to me? Because they don't, you know, he's just a right arse."
"N-No, No, of course not. None of them can get to you, Dom." Lily stammered. When Dom was mad she was mad, having a hint of Veela in her and all,and Lily didn't really want any part of that at the moment. She smiled and brushed a lock of her cousin's hair behind her face. "I know that something is getting to you, though. You can always talk to me, if you like. I mean, if you don't fancy talking to your mates, or your sister or, like Rose or-"
"I've got it, Lils. Duly noted. And thanks, really, means a lot. But truthfully, I've had a horrible feeling the past few days and I don't know what it's about. If I ever figure it out, you'll be the first to know. Deal?"
"Deal! Of course!" Lily cooed warmly. "Now come along then. We ought to get changed soon, and our robes are with your sister and Rosie." The moved forward, Dominique brightening up a little bit by her sweet younger cousin's-well- sweetness. She turned her head to look where she'd left the glowering Malfoy and his cohorts, noticing him still looking at them...or at one of them in particular. She put her hands on Lily's shoulders and nudged her forward, hoping that the look he gave her was nothing more than just a look.