Sarah Dowd English

November 5, 2011 Book project

The Potters were proud to say they were perfectly strange, thank you very much. Mr. Potter, being who he was, would involve himself in anything mysterious and magical. Mrs. Potter was home all the time, though she visited different countries almost every other day.

They were happily married with three children named James, Lily, and Albus. James, being the eldest of the three, tormented Albus and protected Lily from, well, everything. Lily, being the youngest and only daughter, had Albus and James wrapped around her little finger. And so after telling James that Albus had stolen her wizards' chess board, the three children had come running down the stairs and turning the corner, only to run into their mother.

"Mummy!" Lily yelled, running up to her and hugging her waist.

"Did you win" James asked, not hugging his mom since he – thought – he was too cool.

"Yeah, two-hundred-thirty to eighty."

"Nice job, Mum." Albus grinned, hugging Mrs. Potter.

"Well, we have got to be off!"

"Where?" Lily asked her mum, eyes gleaming in excitement.

"To the Weasleys for a special dinner since tomorrow is the first day of the first year for Lily and Hugo!" Everyone grinned down at Lily; all excited to see what house she would be sorted into.

Lily had turned eleven two weeks ago, and when she's gotten her letter, she nearly exploded from excitement. She worried, though, that she'd be classified a hero like her dad, or a fantastic, adventurous Quidditch player like her mum, or a good Slytherin like Albus, or a smart, helpful Gryffindor like James. She was Lily. Just Lily.

Lily and Albus dashed upstairs to change out of their pajamas. Lily dashed into her room and threw open her dresser.

"What to wear…" She rummaged through her drawers and found a pair of light blue short denims and a pretty navy blue blouse. She pulled her fiery red hair – inherited from the Weasley side of her family – into a high pony tail with a black bow. Before leaving her room, she grabbed the butter beer cap necklace Mrs. Lovegood had given her only weeks before for her birthday. She walked to Albus' room, knocked on the door, and she said,

"Albus give me back the board or I'll tell mum."

In nearly a second, Albus opened his door and held the board out to her.

"Put it in my room." Albus did so, and Lily, with a smug look upon her face, walked down the stairs to find her parents and brother in their lawn. She rushed out with Albus in her wake, and as they were walking their father asked,

"Are you kids ready?" With an assortment of 'yes's, Lily and Albus grabbed their father's arm. James and their mother though, stood there, and Albus asked,

"Aren't James and you coming, Mum?"
"Yeah, we'll meet you there." She responded, and with a tug at their stomachs and a nauseous feeling, they arrived at the Weasley household.

Rose, the older of the two Weasley children, popped her head out of one of the upstairs windows and yelled,

"We'll be right down! Let yourselves in!"

The three of them walked to the front door which with a flick of Mr. Potter's wand. The Weasley house itself was inherited from Mr. Weasley's parents who had passed away not a year earlier. The house was nearly ten stories, and each story looked as if it was added on by a different house. Although most people would think it was strange, all of the Potters, including both parents, had grown up seeing or living in it.

Hugo ran down the stairs, his brown hair still in a mess from sleeping, his brown eyes highly excited to see his cousins and uncle, even though he saw them almost everyday. He gave his uncle a hug and grinned at Lily and Albus, and said,

"Wait 'til you see what uncle George got me." They smiled back at him when Mr. Weasley walked through the door.

"Blimey, Harry! You could've at least announced that you were here! You nearly gave me a heart failure! And Hermione'll be angry at you—you're early and the food's not ready."

"Thanks for the greeting, Ron, and we've been early before, we'll find something to do." Harry – Mr. Potter – grinned at the man, and shook his hand.

"And no, Hugo," Ron turned to his son, "You won't show Lily what George got you because she's getting the same thing, I'm pretty sure. Now, go out back and get the broomsticks or something. It's a beautiful day out and I'm sure Hermione will go ballistic if you're not out there. Just make sure not to fly too high."

"Yeah, sure, Dad. We'll be careful." Hugo told him dismissively, and as he started walking, he yelled up the stairs, "Rose, whenever you're done doing what you're doing, we're playing a game of Quidditch!"

Rose then came rushing down the stairs, the auburn-red bush that she called her hair flying behind her.

"I'm done with what I'm doing."

"Great, c'mon now."

The four children trekked across the lawn, all of their hair whipping in the strange summer wind. Albus tried to do something with his messy black hair, but nothing was keeping it from flattening in into his eyes. Smart as they were, Rose and Lily had thrown their hair into tight ponytails, and Hugo didn't really care what his hair was doing.

Rose walked into the broom shed, grabbing four brooms, all Nimbus 4000s, and handed one to each of the kids. Lily started to think that this was a bit unfair. Albus had made Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team and Rose had made a Chaser, and was one of the best the Gryffindor house had seen in a first year. Hugo was exceptionally good at playing keeper, and Lily was a great chaser as well, but she believed she was nothing compared to any of the three others.

Finally after a few minutes of walking and chasing after fallen broomsticks, the four children mounted their brooms and went on each side of the clearing. Hugo had been placed on James' team, and Lily had been placed on Rose's. The four had decided that each person would play their weaker position, so it ended up with Rose and Albus were to play Keepers, and Lily and Hugo playing Chasers.

Before Lily knew it, Rose had thrown the ball into the air and Hugo had already caught it. Speeding towards him, Lily knocked the ball from his hand and raced towards Albus with a determined look on her face. Unlike a real Quidditch pitch, there were only two goal posts instead of three, but luckily they were at least three meters away from each other. Lily flew to the left only to turn around and throw it into the right goal, Albus just nearly missing it.

"Yes! Great job, Lily!" Rose called from behind Lily, grinning excitedly for her cousin; she barely ever made a goal.

The next thing they knew, Hermione had apparated and told them that lunch was ready. After landing and getting off their broomsticks, Lily walked up to her aunt and said,

"Hi Auntie!" And gave her a large hug. "What'd you make for lunch?"

"It's a surprise, but I'm letting you know it's your favorite." Lily pondered what her 'favorite' happened to be.

Suddenly, Lily's aunt dropped from beside her, and in seconds, so did her brother and cousins.

"And so, the only daughter of the Potters. I wonder what they'll do for you…" And then the world went black.