"Ugh." Al hit his head on the Slytherin table in the Great Hall.

"Come on, mate," said his best friend, Scorpius from his right. "It wasn't that bad."

Tracey, who was on Al's left, shot him a dirty look. "You weren't there, Scor. It was bad. Very, very bad."

"Why do you two take that class?" he asked.

"It was supposed to be an easy O," Al mumbled into the table.

"I'm not sure what's worse," Tracey said wide-eyed. "Trelawney or Firenze. They're both horrible. At least the class was easy with the old bug-eyed bird. Now we actually have to work!"

Scorpius smirked. "You should have taken Runes. Much more interesting."

Al raised his head to smirk at the blond boy. "You only took Runes because Rose was in it."

Tracey laughed, covering her mouth with her arm when Scorpius glared at her. When he turned back to eating, she let out a not-so-inconspicuous "Loser" that she hid with a cough. He smiled as Scorpius reached around Al to thump her on the head. She stared angrily at him, which he replied with a smirk reminiscent of his father's best.

Al ignored his friends' antics and looked at the Gryffindor table. Most of his family had been sorted into Gryffindor, with the exception of him, in Slytherin; Dom, who graduated a few years back year in Ravenclaw; Lucy, also in Ravenclaw; and Hugo, who was in Hufflepuff. He was able to spot James, Fred and Molly sitting and joking about something or another. A little ways down, he saw Rose sitting with her friend, Tanya, comparing notes. He was also able to see Louis flirting with a pretty brunette and little Roxie, the baby of the family, writing a line for her essay, which she scribbled out and rewrote half a dozen times. The only person he couldn't see was Lily.

Normally, this wouldn't bother him, but this wasn't the first time it had happened. Lily had been absent from breakfast, lunch and dinner for three days now. He hadn't seen her in the halls, either and her friends had been alone the last time he saw them yesterday.

"Al, are you alright?" Tracey asked, her green eyes concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Albus," she said sternly.

"Tracey," he replied.

"Leave him alone, Tracey," Scorpius mumbled through his mouthful of food.

Tracey continued to stare at him, like his mum did sometimes when he had done something wrong. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "Have you seen Lily lately?"
Her face softened. "I haven't seen Little Red in days."

Scorpius stopped eating. "Neither have I, now that I think about it. Why? Is she okay?"

"I don't know." Al got up. "But I'm going to find out."

Leaving the two blonds behind, he walked over to James, Fred and Molly. The three of them were the most notorious pranksters in the history of the sport, including the Marauders and the Weasley Twins. With James' immense imagination, Fred's sense of humor and Molly's brains, the trio could come up with pranks and jokes that were out of this world. It was expected of Fred and James, names for the three best pranksters before them, and Molly just kind of went with it. The three of them were all born within a week of each other- James was born March 12, Molly the 14th and Fred on the 17th- so it was inevitable, much to the dismay of Molly's father, Percy.

James and Fred sat facing away from the Slytherin table and Molly across from them. She was showing them a piece of parchment, pointing and presumably explaining for their next prank. When she saw Al coming, she snatched the paper away and stuffed it in her bag.

"Oi," James exclaimed. "What was that for?"

"Hi, Al," she said. Fred and James turned around. "Hi," they mumbled.

"Wow, calm down, it's just me," he said sarcastically.

James snorted. "Go away, Mr. Prefect. You are unneeded in this general area."

"Ha ha," he retorted. "I'm not here to ruin your big scheme; I just wanted to know if you guys had seen Lily."

'Nope," said James.

"Don't think so," said Fred.

"She's in her room," Molly told him.

James and Fred looked at her like they didn't know what she was talking about. "Really? Is that where she's been?"

"Why is she in her room?" Al asked.

Molly motioned for him to sit down. He did.

"Hey, snake, get up," James said. "We don't allow your kind here."

"Fred," Molly ordered. "Hit him for me."

"Why?" Fred said as he hit James.

"I can't reach him," she told him.

"So, why is Lily in her room?" Al asked again.

"Because, she had a really bad breakup with her boyfriend."

"Is that it?" Fred asked incredulously.

"It?" Molly yelled. A few of the people nearby looked at her funny. "'It,' Fred," she said in a slightly lower voice, "Is a very big deal. That shitty excuse of a boyfriend she had dumped her, with no explanation, and not nicely, I might add, for a bloody, airhead Hufflepuff."

"The man can't help who he likes," Fred told her, pushing he dark red hair out of his eyes.

"Normally, I'd agree with you, if it weren't for the 'with no good explanation and not nicely' in that last sentence."

"Exactly how 'not nicely' are we talking about?" James asked darkly.

Molly leaned forward as much as her uniform would allow, with its top buttons undone. "He said, and I quote, 'It's over, Lily. Deal with it.' End quote."

"Even James isn't that much of arse," Al stated.

"Hey."

"That's not the half of it, Al," Molly continued. "Before that, he told her they were through and she wanted to know why and he replied 'Because,' so she asked him for a reason and he told her that they were none of his business and she said that she deserved a reason to which he replied 'I don't have to tell you if I don't want to.' Then came the 'it's over' bit."

"And you know this because…?" Al asked.

"I was doing a chart for Arithmancy when they were arguing outside the protract hole. I heard the whole thing."

"Dawson, right?" James growled.

"Yeah."

"She's fourteen," James said. "I should kill him."

"Let's not go around committing murder, James," Fred said softly.

"No," Al said. "But you could do something worse." He looked at James, who caught the twinkle in his little brother's eye.

"What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that once, just this once, you three should use your misplaced talents to, how to put this right, get him back."

"So, you're giving us permission?" Fred asked hopefully.

"Just this once." He turned to Molly. "Do you think it could be ready by tomorrow?"

She shook her head. "I don't know, Al, it would be pretty trick-"

But James interrupted her. "Wait, guys, do you think we could, you know?" He pointed to her bag.

Molly's eyes lit up. "Definitely."

Fred rubbed his hands together and chuckled. "Excellent."

"Molly," Al said. "Get Lily out by the lake at about two o'clock, if that works. I'll make sure everyone's there. Can you do it?"

"Me and the girl's'll work it out," she answered sneakily.

"See you then," he said getting up. "And, by the way, this conversation never happened." He turned back to his own house table and informed his friend's in on the devious plot.

Molly walked into her cousin's dorm the next day, followed by Rose, Roxie and Lily's friend, Lyrica. It was a Saturday, so everyone was relaxing. It was noon and Molly only had two hours before the final unveiling of what was to be her, James and Fred's greatest achievement; she was determined that the person that had caused it all to play out was there to witness it.

"Hey, May-flower," Molly said, using her old pet name for the girl from when they were small. "How are you?"

"Shitty," the third year replied. Her brown eyes were red and her face was blotchy.

"Lily, it's beautiful outside," Rose tried. "Don't you want to spend it outside?"

"No," she said turning over in her bed.

Lyrica sat down beside her. "I know it hurts, but this isn't how to deal with it."

Lily's reply was muffled by her pillow, but the message rang loud and clear. "Fuck off." Lyrica sighed and got up to stand by the rest of the unit. They all turned to Roxie. The first year sighed and said, "Sometimes I have to do everything," before walking to Lily's side. Everyone expected her to comfort her in the way only Roxanne Weasley could, but instead, she grabbed the quilt that was over her and tugged off in one clean swipe.

Lily, clad I only her shorts and a tank top, instantly drew up into a tight ball as the coolness of the air touched her exposed her skin. "Hey!" she exclaimed to Roxie. She younger girl looked down at her with her hands on her hips. "Get up, Potter," she said none too kindly. The resemblance between her and her mother, Angelina, at the moment was quite astonishing.

"I beg your pardon?" Lily stuttered. Roxie was usually very sweet and kind. This new persona was very shocking.

But Roxie kept it up. "You heard me, Lily, up. Now." She went into her cousin's trunk and pulled out a clean uniform and threw it at her. "Get dressed. If you're not downstairs in five minutes, I'm setting Lolita on you." At the mention of Molly's mean and aggressive owl, Lily reluctantly climbed out of bed and proceeded to put on her clothes. Satisfied, the others headed down stairs.

Molly ran ahead of the others, skipping the last three steps with a jump, and hurried over to Fred and James, who were bent over something on the floor. "Is it ready?" she asked.

"Maybe," Fred replied.

"Maybe?" She turned onto her cousin and best friend. "What do you mean by maybe?"

"There are still a few kinks," James muttered as he flipped through a charms book.

"Can they be worked out faster?" She asked. She stole the book out of James's hand and flipped through a few pages until she reached the one she wanted. "Will this do?"

James looked at it and scanned it. "It should." He pushed his black hair away from his face as he looked back at her. "I don't see why it shouldn't."

Molly smiled. "And that, boys, is why I am the brains of this operation, and not you."

"What would we do without you?" Fred asked sarcastically.

"Die slow and painful deaths in detention."

"Yes!" James yelled. Few people looked in his direction; they were used to James's moments by now.

"Brilliant," Molly said, surveying their masterpiece. It didn't look like much, just a small pin shaped like the Hogwarts crest. There was nothing extraordinary about it. At least not at first. Molly, James and Fred had stayed up half the night working various spells and charms into it, and though it wasn't completely finished, they were rather confident that it would do what it was supposed to. The only thing left to do was test it.

Fred heard someone coming down the stairs that lead to the girls' dormitories. "Come on," he said to his cousins. "We need to go." The three of them left the common room and headed down to the courtyard.

Lily came into the common room and expected to see Molly waiting for her, but she had gone. She did, however, spot Rose and Roxie talking to Lyrica. Her friend was the first to see her.

"Hey, you. How does it feel to actually get up?"

She scowled at the brunette. "I get up, Lici."

"To go to classes. That doesn't count. Come on." She grabbed her friend's hand and led her through the portrait hole and into the hallway, with Rose and Roxie behind her.

"Where are we going?" Lily asked halfheartedly to fill the silence.

"You'll see," Rose said. That wasn't a good sign. Whenever Rose was acting cryptic it meant that trouble was nearby.

Her cousin's and friend led her into the courtyard, where she was hit with a bright ray of sunlight. She put a hand up to cover her face. Once her eyes had adjusted enough to take her hand away, she was assaulted by a heartbreaking scene.

Marcus Dawson, her boyfrie- scratch that, ex-boyfriend, was flirting with Molly. He grinned her favorite grin at his cousin and twirled a piece of her brown hair around his finger. She smiled at him and rubbed her hand on his chest. Lily's eyes filled up with tears and she looked away. She didn't even see the small pin that Molly pinned to his school robes without him noticing. She felt too betrayed by her older cousin's act. "Can we leave?" she asked with a cracking voice. Before they had a chance to answer, she turned away.

"No, Lily," Roxie said firmly. "We're staying."

She looked at her younger cousin with absolute anger. "You can stay if you want but I'm not ready to handle this." She unconsciously looked back to her ex and her cousin just in time to see Molly back away. She told him, "Sorry, I have a boyfriend," before walking over to join Fred and James who had been watching the whole time.

Dawson shook his head. "Shame. She was pretty. But give me a break. Boyfriend? When has that ever stopped me? Or her, for that matter?" The words rang around the courtyard in Dawson's voice, but his mouth hadn't moved. A couple of his friends looked at him like he was a loony.

Of course, it took Dawson a few moments to notice this. "What? Are you two alright?" he asked them in a concerned tone. But the voice rang out again, saying, "What's wrong with those idiots?" His friends stared at him even more dumbfounded than before. "Is there something wrong?" "With your heads?" The second part came out as the un-vocalized voice. His friends looked at him with open mouths now. Dawson just rolled his eyes.

"Hey Dawson!" Someone shouted. "I think something's wrong with your head!"

"What the hell is he going on about?" His mouth still didn't move.

"That's a pretty special talent you have going there, Marcus," Fred called from where he was standing. "Not many people can talk without their mouth. Are you a ventriloquist?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" "Stupid bastard. Probably on some illegal potions."

Dawson's Hufflepuff girlfriend came up to him. "Are you alright?" she asked, putting a hand on his arm.

"Yes, love I'm fine." He said it in such a sweet tone, but the voice from nowhere commented, "Sometimes I wish she would just shut up. Serves me right for shagging a Hufflepuff." His girlfriend pulled away as though she'd been stung. Dawson gave her a quizzical look. Her eyes blazed and she slapped him with all her might. It caused him to reel a bit, but he regained his balance and looked at her. "Bitch." Her mouth opened is disbelief. She snapped her mouth shut and walked away with her head held high, an accomplishing feat from somebody of her house.

Students around the courtyard were now pointing and whispering. Lily had watched the whole exchange and was gaping at her ex-boyfriend. She watched as his face went red and his face went blank with shock. "Can they hear me?"

James answered his question for him. "Yes, yes we can." The smirk on his face was impossible to miss. Lily knew that smirk. James was behind this.

"What have you done?" Dawson asked.

"We haven't done anything," Fred said.

"Liar!" "I know you did something. What is it?"

"Honestly, we haven't done anything to you, but whoever did was a bloody genius!" Molly said laughing. Lily was slightly amused to see her fingers crossed behind her back.

Dawson looked around in horror. "What are you staring at?" "Stop looking at me!" "Stop it!" He grabbed his head and ran towards the hospital wing. Everyone laughed at him as he ran.

The other students filed inside, presumably to tell their friends in the castle what had just happened. Lily stayed outside. Roxie, Rose and Lyrica had disappeared, leaving her on her own. She saw her brother laughing with Molly and Fred. She stormed over to them, but Al reached them first.

Al, who never really approved of the jokes his brother and his friends played, had tears of laughter streaming down his face. He took off his glasses to wipe them away before telling James, "That was brilliant. What was it?"

"Oh, just something we've been working on for a little while," James said. "We were hoping to test it soon. Looks like it's pretty good."

"It was simple, really," Molly said. "A few charms on the pin and it puts the wearer's thoughts into actual sound."
"Those weren't just charms," Lily said, "Those were Ligilimency spells. Advanced magic."

"Come on, Lily-"

"No, James, you could be expelled for this. Can you even begin to think about what dad will say? Or Uncle George and Uncle Percy?" She looked at the three pranksters. "What possibly could have possessed you? And you." She turned her wrath on Al. "Why are you egging them on? That was cruel."

"Not as cruel as what he did to you," Al said angrily.

Lily's mouth formed an "o" as she looked between her brothers.

To break the silence that had ensued, James said, "Come on, Lily, you have to admit that it was pretty clever. Maybe a little funny?"

She looked at her oldest brother with a small smile on her face. "Maybe a little."

Sensing that her work was done, Molly took Fred's arm and lead him away from the Potters, talking about ways to improve on their latest idea.

"Why did you do it James?" she asked.

"It actually wasn't my idea."

She shook her head. "But, then- who?" James jerked his thumb at Al, who looked down at the ground, the infamous Weasley blush creeping up his neck. "Why, Al?"

"You were just…out of it. We hadn't seen you for days. I thought that maybe…And then after Molly told me, erm, I mean us, I kind of asked James and Molly and Fred to…" he waved his arm lamely to indicate the scene a few moments ago.

"You did it for me?" she asked. She looked between her brothers. Al's gaze was still locked on the ground and even James had the dignity to look away, so neither of them saw it coming. Lily jumped forward and hugged them both, wondering when they had both gotten so tall.

She let them go and looked at both of them again. She covered her mouth with her hands, but she couldn't hide the smile that had appeared on her face. "I didn't know you two cared so much."

James brow furrowed. "Of course we care."

"You're our little sister," Al added. "No one's aloud to hurt you."

"Except us," James said.

Lily wrapped her arms around Al's neck and held him tight. Al hugged her back. After a moment she let go and did the same to James. "Thank you," she whispered.

"No problem," James answered. "It's our job to look after you."

Al put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, that's what brothers do."

Lily took Al's hand of her shoulder and held it in her own, leaving the other arm around James. "You're right, and I have the best." She leaned her head against James's shoulder and continued to hold Al's hand while smiling at him. Al smiled back. He was glad to see the smile on his baby sister's face again.

For most of his childhood, Al had complained about Lily, how she would follow him when they were younger, copy him, cry when she didn't get her way. He despised it. He couldn't ever believe that she would become so important to him, as his uncles had told him over and over. But seeing that smile on his sister's face made him reconsider. She was important to him. And he would do anything to keep that smile on her face.

Because that's what big brothers are for.

Thanks for reading. Review and tell me what you think! Please!