"You win," he said, "I give up!" Harry James Potter threw his arms open as Lily Luna Potter tackled her father, giggling and gurgling, a silvery cloak fluttering off her shoulders and onto the grass. "I win," she smiled triumphantly, burying her curly head of hair in her father's shoulder. Hide and seek was easy to win if you were Lily Luna and you had a cloak of invisibility. Especially when your daddy wasn't really trying to win.
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"You win, Lily," he sighed, "I'm giving in." Lily Luna leaped up and gave her father a huge bear hug, trying not to drop her new pet pygmy puff. "Just promise not to name it something silly like your mother always does, alright? You know how she named Arnold, and Pigwidgeon?" She nodded, her bouncy red curls nodding with her. Getting what you wanted was easy if you were Lily Luna and you had your mother's eyes. Especially when your daddy loved you best.
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"I give up! you girls are too fast for me, you win!" Harry laughed, as Lily Luna and Rose Weasley ceased their seemingly endless tickling. "So you'll join our tea party?" Lily asked innocently, as only she could, while Rose nodded eagerly beside her. "Yes," her father smiled, "but no make-up. That's where I draw the line." Harry Potter would do anything if you were Lily Luna and you had the fastest tickle-fingers in Britain. Especially when you had fresh cookies and tea to boot.
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"I give up, I guess I have to let you go," her father had only been joking, but Lily hugged him anyways, her Hogwarts letter clutched in her left hand. Ginny Potter leaned over and planted a kiss on Lily's forehead, and then one on her husband's lips. And Lily Luna smiled because her parents put any prince and princess to shame when it came to true love. Going to Hogwarts was a given if you were Lily Luna and you were your parents only daughter. Especially when you were the last to go and your parents wanted more time alone together.
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"Time to go," Harry said, "the train's going to leave soon and your brothers are already on board. Rose and Hugo are too." But Lily Luna didn't want to let go of her father, not yet, not now. "You win, daddy," she said, "I give up, I don't want to go yet." Her father knelt down next to her and patted her Weasley-red curly hair. "We're going to write you everyday, Lily," he said reassuringly. Lily Luna sniffed, "Everyday? Promise?" Harry smiled lovingly at his daughter, "I promise, now get yourself on that train, you hear me? And remember what I told you about Hagrid inviting you for tea next Thursday." She nodded and wiped away the invisible tears before she got onto the train.
Leaving home wasn't always easy if you were Lily Luna and you loved your parents more than anything. Especially when you didn't really want to go at all, you had only wanted to win.
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END.