This is the result of a challenge by mommaXbear, called "Feel In Color". You get a color and a feeling, and you base a story around it.

Hope I did it justice... this one is called "Brick-red Crushed". Enjoy!

Life at the Potter residence was peaceful, quiet, soothing and normal…

Yeah right.

A better choice of words would include such vernacular as "fast-paced", "chaotic", "stressful", or "generally-dangerous-for-anyone-unlucky-enough-to-visit". After all, it was the home of three rambunctious, playful children with Weasley blood. If one were to find Potter Manor quiet, they'd probably call the Aurors on suspicion of murder.

All three Potter children got into trouble on an almost daily basis - most of it caused by the eldest, James. He certainly lived up to his namesake and his genes, pranking his siblings and causing his parents to tear out their hair in frustration. Whether it was hexing Albus to swell up like a balloon and nearly float into a Muggle village, or swiping his dad's Invisibility Cloak and sending his family into an uproar looking for him, James knew how to push buttons and spark tempers.

Today, it was Lily's turn.

Lily loved the sunshine; it felt warm and soothing on her skin, just like Mummy's hugs. She loved Mummy's hugs, because her mother always smelled of freshness and lilacs and love. So it was no surprise that summer was her favorite time of the year; barbeques outside with her family (Daddy was still trying to teach Grampy how to use the grill), days by the lake with her cousins, and nights filled with the sounds of nature to be her lullaby.

And Mr. Tubby, of course.

The worn, frayed teddy bear was a baby gift from Aunt Hermione, and Lily cherished it with all her heart: the tattered left ear which had to be sewn back on every week, the corduroy overalls that were faded from numerous washings. He was Lily's constant companion in everything she did, and no day would be complete without Mr. Tubby by her side.

Until that day, of course.

Lily was playing out back under the Potter's enormous climbing tree, with her tea set and Mr. Tubby acting as the maitre d'. She had just pretended an exhausting game where she was the Queen of England and Mr. Tubby was serving her, as well as acting as her secret chief of all spies. But the sugar had run out, and so Lily dashed into the house to raid the pantry.

"Don't move, Mr. Tubby," she called over her shoulder at the bear. "I need to hear your reports when I get back!"

However, while Lily was shoving grains of sugar into her tea cup, she heard a very loud thump from outside, followed by a triumphant yell from James. Terror gripped her; she'd lived all her life with James the Hooligan, and if he had done something to Mr. Tubby…

She ran outside, and stopped dead by the back door.

A very large, very heavy red brick lay across half of the tea set. From underneath poked Mr. Tubby's arm. Lily doubted very much that the rest of her precious bear had survived.

Now, most of the time Lily didn't cry; after all, she was almost six, and big girls didn't cry. But it was Mr. Tubby that had received the brunt of James' mischief.

Lily scrunched up her face and started bawling her eyes out.

"MUMMY! MU-MM-Y! JAMES… MR. TUBBY! DAD-DY!"

Harry and Ginny Potter rarely heard the sound of Lily's tears; normally they dealt with trying to pull their murderous daughter off of James when she fell for one of his stupid jokes. So when they heard their daughter crying her little heart out, both assumed that something horrible had happened.

The scene in the backyard explained everything: James crowing with laughter from the climbing tree, Lily sitting by the crushed remains of her teddy bear, sobbing.

"James Sirius POTTER!" yelled Ginny, after reassuring herself that her daughter hadn't come to any harm via the brick. "You'd better start writing your will, because I'm going to KILL you!"

Harry, confident that his wife would be able to handle the punishment side of the situation, crouched next to Lily, who immediately engulfed him in a teary hug.

"He's dead, Daddy! Poor Mr. Tubby!"

Harry sighed. James should have known better than to mess with Lily's prized possession. He looked over at Ginny who was soundly berating his very abashed son, still sitting in the tree. He looked back into the tear-filled eyes of his youngest, and gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Lily-lune. See, Mr. Tubby can be fixed."

So saying, Harry pulled the broken pieces of brick off of the wrecked teddy, which was looking almost irreparable: gashes in the fur exposed his stuffing, and both eyes were torn off. But Harry was a wizard, so he simply waved his wand and before Lily's astonished eyes Mr. Tubby became whole again. Giving a squeal, the red-headed girl picked up her teddy and hugged it tightly.

"Thank you so much, Daddy!" she cried, giving her father a big squeeze around the neck before trotting off to tear James limb from limb.

Life at the Potters was, granted, unpredictable and eventful. However, it was full of love and life, something that is worth more than anything.

I decided to take this particular challenge literally. How'd you liek? Reviews make my day :)