Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, the characters within that world, and the plot ideas in the Harry Potter series are all property of J. K. Rowling. I do not seek any profit from my take on her world, whether monetary or otherwise.
Without further ado, I give you...
About the Girls
Chapter One: How to Annoy Lily Potter
A bright yellow door opened onto an apple-green room. The walls and ceiling were the same shade of green, but the floor was covered with a red carpet the shade of an apple. The walls were decorated in red and yellow shapes: swirls, moons, handprints, stars, stick figures. The curtain covering half the window was red; the other half of the window was covered in a yellow curtain. The bed was across from the window with the feet facing it. On the green bed, lying on her stomach with her face smooshed into a red pillow was a sleeping child.
The two girls who had just entered the room had to stifle their giggles as they each took up position on either side of the bed. They leaned over the dreamer in between them. The brunette placed her mouth very close to her ear; the redhead had an owl feather. Almost simultaneously, the brunette yelled, while on the other end the redhead brushed the feather over the other ear. Their friend yelped and pulled the pillow over her head. "Five more minutes!" she pleaded.
"No!" the redhead said. "It's your birthday, get up and face it!" She skipped over to the window and yanked back the curtains. Then she whirled around again. "For it's your happy birthday! For it's your happy birthday! For it's your happy birthday, Larabell! Get up and face it or we'll see if you can sleep, when mighty water crushes you in the deep!" she sang, waving her arms from side to side.
"Go away," 'Larabell' grumbled, clearly not impressed.
"Fine!" the singer said with a huff. She stomped from the room.
The brunette grabbed a hold of the blankets. "Lara, you know who you just told to go away, right?"
"I don't care," Lara said, apparently not thinking straight.
"You will." The brunette yanked the covers off.
"HEY!" Lara yelled, bolting upright. Her blue-grey eyes glared accusingly at the small round brunette gripping her blankets. She too had dark brown hair, though hers was thicker.
"You'll thank me later," her friend said with a smirk as the redhead returned to the room. She was carrying a large bucket full of what Lara could only assume was water.
"No, Lily!" she shrieked, scrambling off the bed in a sudden panic. "Get away!"
"No!" Lily yelled back, a dangerous look in her hazel eyes. "You deserve it!" She chased after Lara, who tore out of the room. The third girl dropped the blankets and pelted after them both.
Doors opened as they passed. "What is going o – hello, Melody," said one room's occupant, a man in his late thirties. He had the same brown hair as Lara and a ruddy round face which was somewhere between awake and asleep.
"Hi, Mr. Longbottom!' Melody called over her shoulder, already past him.
"WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP!" screeched the girl emerging from the second room further down the hall. She looked a great deal like Lara, except that her eyes were brown like their father's.
"Sorry!" Melody shouted right back, not sorry at all as she wasn't even the one causing most of the commotion. She tore down the stairs at the end of the hall, emerging in the kitchen to find Lara and Lily feinting around the table. None of the water had sloshed from Lily's bucket yet, owing to a charm placed on it to prevent spillage.
Melody went straight for Lara. Lara had been focused so much on Lily that she turned too late and found herself falling backwards onto a chair, which then tipped over from the force of Melody's blow. "Quick!" Melody shouted, holding Lara down as best as she could as the bigger girl was squirming a great deal. Lily darted around the table and turned the bucket upside down, right over Lara's head. Water splashed everywhere, wetting Melody as well since she'd been in the path of it. She and Lily burst into giggles at the expression on Lara's face, which was somewhere between gaping fish and furious lobster.
pLara coughed up some water and glared at them. "What was that for?" she demanded.
"You were being a big meanie!" Lily answered.
"All right, break it up, ladies, break it up," came Mr. Longbottom's voice from the bottom of the stairs. He waved his wand a couple of times. The chair righted itself and the water around them vanished, though Melody and Lara were still wet themselves. "Now, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all this," he continued as Melody scrambled off of Lara. There was a twinkle in his eyes. "However, I think it would be best explained during breakfast, don't you agree? Lily, since you seem to be the one with the bucket today, why don't you go water my plants? You two can go change, then you are to help me make breakfast. Now, scat!"
"But Uncle Neville," Lily started, a whine creeping into her voice as the other girls headed for the stairs.
"No buts," Neville Longbottom said. "You did the crime, you do the time. Go on, get." He pointed out the back glass door towards his personal greenhouse.
"But Lody helped!"
"I didn't see her carrying a bucket. Besides, she's going to help me make breakfast without magic. Go on, Lily, or I'm telling your parents." While he was amused, he was also a grown man who had been awoken an hour earlier than he would have liked.
Lily scowled and stomped to the door.
"If you do it quickly, you can make your own breakfast!" he called after her.
Fifteen minutes later, the smell of cooking pancakes drifted through the house. It lured yet another person from a room, in this case an office rather than a bedroom. This person was a woman with dirty blonde hair and dreamy grey eyes. She drifted down the hallway and poked her head into the last room before the stairs. "Good morning, Asta," she greeted the girl who looked like Lara, who was running a brush through her thick hair as she stared into a mirror above her dresser. "I felt some Nargles drifting about, so mind you be careful."
Asta rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mum."
"Well, if you don't want to believe me, that's all right," said Asta's mum. "I can't make you think one way or the other. Would you like me to do your hair? I could braid some ribbons into it, or maybe streak it different colors?"
Asta loved this suggestion so much that she spun around. "Would you really? Could you do streaks in purple and blue?"
"Of course," her mum smiled, entering the room proper as she pulled her wand from the neon yellow belt around her waist. "But you'll have to hold still, or I'll paint your freckles purple," she threatened playfully.
Asta covered her speckled nose with her hands and turned to face her mirror again. She watched her mum in the mirror. They were a striking contrast in hair colors, but they did share the same round softness in their features that didn't quite match her dad's.
Sparks the colors Asta had specified trailed from her mum's wand as she streaked chunks of her hair. When she was done, Asta turned her head from side to side and held up a smaller mirror. "Thanks, Mum!" she said finally, turning to give her mother a hug over the back of the chair.
Her mum hugged her back. "You're welcome, Starling," she beamed. "Now come along, I believe I smell pancakes!"
In the kitchen, they found Neville supervising while Lara, Melody, and Lily tried to make the pancakes.
"Lody, yours is turning black," Lara pointed out as she flipped yet another well-made flapjack onto a stack to the side. Hers was the biggest pile.
Melody gasped and stuck the spatula under hers, yanking it off the pan and sending it flying over her head. It landed right on Asta's mum's foot. It was kicked off reflexively.
Melody whirled and saw. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Longbottom!" she cried.
"It's quite all right," Mrs. Longbottom said with her usual smile, pointing her wand at the pancake. It zoomed into the rubbish bin.
Melody shakily returned her smile and poured more batter onto her pan, quite a bit more than she needed, actually. Mrs. Longbottom went to sit on the table next to her husband. Asta was already perched in a chair, arms crossed over her grumbling stomach.
"There are some Nargles about, I felt them earlier," Mrs. Longbottom told Mr. Longbottom.
He glanced at her. "They're the ones that make your brain go a bit fuzzy, right?"
"Yes," she grinned at him. "You've been paying attention."
"Well, as I've been married to you for thirteen years or so, I'm glad I've picked up a thing or two by now," he chuckled.
She surprised him with a peck on the cheek. "I'm happy you have too," she said, but it sounded like she was glad for a lot more reasons than she was letting on.
"How much longer?" Asta demanded loudly.
Lily whirled about, spatula raised threateningly. Her mouth opened, but before she could get a word out, Neville silenced her with a look. "Solara," he said, and Lara turned her head. "As you've got the largest stack, I say you let your sister have a turn."
"Why should I?" Solara 'Lara' Longbottom asked belligerently.
Her father gave her a look. "She gets half your pancakes if you stay there."
"Fine," Solara huffed. She carried her breakfast over to the table as Asta stuck her tongue out and took her place.
Once Lody and Lily had decided that they had as many flapjacks as they were going to be able to make, they settled on either side of Lara and dug in. The other three soon had their own pancakes with a little help from magic. Lody, who was done eating first, explained that she and Lily had Floo'd in so as to surprise Lara for her birthday. When Mr. Longbottom asked if their parents knew where they were, Lily gave an affirmative, but Lody looked downcast. He didn't press the subject.
Lara had a lovely birthday. She and her two friends visited all the best local shops in the Longbottoms' home village Hogsmeade. They were even kicked out of Honeydukes when Lily started levitating chocolates that would send themselves flying at her friends. Lily hadn't really meant to do it as she didn't have a wand yet, but the result was so entertaining that she couldn't help but to giggle hysterically as they were ushered out the door. They eventually wound up back at Lara's home and spent the rest of the day annoying Asta, playing tag, and, in the early evening, watching Mrs. Longbottom work on that week's issue of the Quibbler, the magazine she had taken over from her father.
At six, a lot of whooshing sounds came from downstairs. Lily dropped her Exploding Snap card and jumped to her feet, Lody scrambled back as the card and its fellows blew up in her face, and Lara glanced up briefly, then returned to the article she was reading in her mum's magazine. She didn't get further than a couple of words, though, because Lily snatched the Quibbler from her and tossed it aside. "C'mon, Larabell! Your guests are here! You mustn't keep them waiting!" she said, grabbing Solara's wrists and dragging her out of Mrs. Longbottom's office. Melody, coughing and rubbing her eyes, caught up with them as they neared the stairs and she took a hold of Lara's feet. Together, she and Lily hauled their bookworm of a friend downstairs and into the yellow and orange family room, where a group of people now sat, stood, and gossiped.
"What is the meaning of this?" said a very elderly witch wearing a vulture-topped hat, staring down her nose at Solara, who lay sprawled on the floor between her friends. "I expected better of you, Solara! Stand up and greet your Great-Gran like the well-brought up child I thought you were!"
Blushing, Solara scrambled to her feet and hugged her Great-Gran. "Sorry, Great-Gran," she muttered, scowling to the side at Melody, who only smirked and pointed at Lily to shift the blame.
"You should be sorry, slumping on the floor like that! That's not what's due to your elders!" her Great-Gran continued, pulling back from the hug. She looked Solara up and down. "Well, you're dressed well, at least," she said of the pale green short-sleeved dress Solara was wearing. "You wouldn't believe the clothes I see young people today wearing. Why, some appear as though they are wearing no clothes at all!"
"Thanks, Great-Gran," Solara said, not sure what else to say. Her great-grandmother was notorious for going on a bit much on whatever currently seemed wrong in the world.
Fortunately for Solara, at that moment someone else caught her Great-Gran's beady eye. "Asta Longbottom!" she cried. "iWhat have you done with your hair/i?"
Asta quailed as her Great-Gran bore down on her. Lara couldn't help laughing. It was her sister's own fault for not remembering that their Great-Gran was coming over.
"Happy birthday, Lara!" cried a girl with bushy auburn hair. They hugged.
"Thanks, Rose," Lara grinned at her distantly related cousin.
"Mum wants me to extend her apologies. She and Dad had to stay late at work and Hugo wouldn't come at all. Said something about not wanting to be surrounded by a bunch of girls."
Solara rolled her eyes. "Course he would," she said, and they shared a look of understanding.
"Bullocks!" Lily cried.
"What?" Rose asked, raising quizzical eyebrows at her other cousin.
"I was so hoping to prank Hugo," Lily pouted. "I was going to knock him over the head and force him into this awesome dress, and this really pretty lip gloss, and I was going to paint his nails sparkly colors. All as a present for Lara, of course."
"And why are you telling them?" Melody asked. "You could have done it to someone else!"
"Oh, good point," Lily said. She suddenly pointed at the ceiling. "Look! A giant pink firefly!"
Mrs. Longbottom, Rose, an elderly couple sitting by the fireplace, and an old man with long white hair all looked up. Lara and Lody just rolled their eyes.
"I don't see anything," Rose said, returning her attention to Lily.
Lily shrugged. "It was probably frightened?" she tried.
Mrs. Longbottom, over in the corner with the white-haired man, said, "Oh, yes! Many of the most mysterious magical creatures are the most shy, hence the reason most people haven't seen them and therefore don't believe in them."
"Of course, my Luna. After all, seeing isn't believing. Quite the reverse," said the old man.
Lily looked surprised, but Solara thought she really shouldn't have been. Her mother and grandfather were the most open-minded people in the room.
"So, have you gotten all your school things yet?" Rose asked as way of conversation.
"No," Solara replied. "Mum's taking us tomorrow, though. We're going to meet up with Aunt Ginny and Al and James."
"Ah, good. Best not to leave things to the last minute. I remember last year we went on the twenty-ninth and most of the school books were almost out of stock. I thought we were going to have to get some of them through owl post. Fortunately, the manager found the last ones in the back." Even though the events were a year ago, Rose still heaved a sigh of relief.
"I can't imagine not having all of my school books," Solara said, feeling her stomach twist uncomfortably at the thought. "I would get so behind and then how would I ever catch up with everyone else?"
"Oh, don't worry!" Rose said. "You could always use a friend's book or borrow one out of the library. I know for a fact that Madam Higgins always keeps at least one copy of every school book."
"Who's Madam Higgins?" Just because Solara lived in the town next to her new school didn't mean she knew everything about it.
"Oh, the librarian," Rose said. "She's ever so nice. If you ever need help finding books, just ask her. Trust me, she won't bite, so long as you don't ruin any of her books."
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Solara said.
"ROSE!" Lily shouted from right behind her cousin.
Rose jumped and reached for her wand even as she whirled around. "What?" she asked warily and irritably.
Lily smiled innocently. "I was just wondering if you were going to keep with the boring book talk all day."
"Yeah," Melody chimed in. "I swear I was falling asleep on my feet!"
Solara sighed. As much as she loved her friends, they just didn't share the same passion for reading as she and Rose did.
Rose glared at them. "If you don't want to listen, then go talk to someone else!"
"No!" Lily said, almost nose to nose with her cousin. "Lara's my friend and I want to talk to her!"
"Well, she's my friend too!" Rose shot back.
"Ahem," Mr. Longbottom cleared his throat. "I believe it's time we sing to Solara, don't you all agree?" He emerged into the family room carrying a round chocolate-frosted cake with the words 'Happy Birthday Solara' written on it alternately in red, green, and yellow icing. He set it down on the coffee table in front of the fire. Solara went to sit beside the elderly couple already seated there.
Rose and Lily took up positions in the group as far from each other as possible. Mr. Longbottom lit the eleven candles on the cake with his wand. Then they started singing the familiar 'Happy Birthday' song. Well, except for the couple next to Solara. Solara was disappointed that they didn't sing for her. She blew out the candles dutifully, wishing that she could have a great first year at school.
"Would you like a slice, Grandmum?" she asked the woman seated next to her, offering her the first slice of chocolate cake.
Her father's mother took the plate with a thin, trembling hand. "Thank you," she whispered in a tiny voice.
"You're welcome," Solara smiled. "Granddad, would you like some cake too?" She leaned over to look at him.
He looked at her with confusion. "M-me?" he stuttered.
"Yes, you," Solara replied.
"B-b-but, I-I'm n-not a-a gran-gran-gran-grand-d-dad. I-I-I'm j-j-just a d-d-d-dad."
Solara didn't know what to say. The realization that her grandfather didn't know her as his granddaughter stung deeply.
Neville placed a placating hand on his shoulder. "Dad, she just wanted to know if you would like some cake."
"Oh. All-all r-right, th-then." He accepted his plate with hands as wrinkled and shivery as his wife's.
Solara just ate her cake. The sweet chocolate made everything better.
After cake, she opened her many presents. Her favorite by far was the first present she opened, from her Mum and Dad. It was a bright purple toad with pink spots all over its back and rather large blue eyes. She was about to pick it up when a thought struck her. "Is it poisonous?" she asked warily, glancing up at her parents. She'd read in a book somewhere that brightly colored amphibians often were.
"No, of course not," Mr. Longbottom assured her. "He's just been charmed to look that way."
"Oh, okay then," Solara said, turning back to her toad. She reached out a finger, and when the toad didn't react to it, started to stroke its back.
"Do you like him?" Mr. Longbottom asked anxiously. "We can get you something else if you prefer. An owl or a cat, it's your choice."
But his daughter beamed widely and jumped up to hug him. "I love him!" she declared as she released him and climbed into her mum's lap to hug her too. "Thanks, Mum! Thanks, Dad!"
When she had finished opening gifts, Solara got drawn into a game of wizard's chess against her Grandfather Lovegood, who was quite good. Rose struck up a conversation with Melody, who was worried about what House she would be in – she didn't want to be in Hufflepuff like her parents. Neville Longbottom and Luna Longbottom spent time talking quietly to Neville's parents by the fire, with Great-Gran joining them dragging Asta along with an insistence that she needed to learn from her elders. Lily kept harassing everyone and it was only Mr. Longbottom's hint that he would Floo her straight back to her parents that got her to settle down. In the end, though, they all wound up watching Solara and her grandfather as they made their final moves in the game. Grandfather won after a few tense minutes. In a fit of temper, Solara's queen actually stomped off the board after throwing her crown down. It took a while for Solara to coax her back into the box with the other chess pieces – she kept trying to throw herself off the table.
The first to leave were her paternal grandparents, who were starting to get quite excited and clearly needed to return to St. Mungo's hospital, where they lived permanently. After hugs all around, Luna Longbottom enchanted a piece of wrapping paper for them to use as a Portkey and she, her husband, and her husband's parents vanished together. Great-Gran insisted on staying until they got back, which was perhaps a good thing because Melody wandered into the kitchen to get a snack and let out a scream not five seconds later. It turned out that a Venomous Tentacle had broken out of the greenhouse and snaked its way into the kitchen through an open window. All it took was one slap from Great-Gran and it retreated.
Two popping sounds came from the family room indicating that Solara and Asta's parents were back. Great-Gran requested and got embraces from her great-grandchildren, then she strode into the family room and into the fireplace, where she disappeared after dropping a bit of Floo powder in the fire.
"Well, bye then," Rose said to Solara. She gave her a hug. "See you at Hogwarts!" She shot a dirty look at Lily and smiled and waved at Melody, Asta, and Mr. and Mrs. Longbottom. With her own pinch of Floo powder, she stepped into the green flames in the fireplace, shouted, "Number three, Maryon Grove!" and was gone.
It was, Solara thought as she climbed the stairs with her toad and her two best friends, an eventful eleventh birthday.
But then, hadn't all her birthdays been?
Please tell me what you think! Have random questions? Review! I won't post another chapter unless I get reviewed. :P