Lily's fingers tapped a calm rhythm that defied her highly-irritated mood. The other customers – including Henry – chatted obliviously, enjoying the warmth of the café. Suddenly, it was all too much.
Slam. The handbag was ripped from the table, causing a chair to fly and fall. Lily ignored this.
"I'm sorry," she declared, "but if you can only see me as Harry Potter's daughter, I'm afraid this relationship isn't going to work."
Henry stood and tried to stop her.
"Potter – I mean, Lily, wait –"
She laughed, shook her head once, and disapparated, leaving a sheepish Henry behind her.
Not fifty miles away, Lily's brother James was on a blind date. She was blonde, beautiful, and only interested in –
"Harry Potter. Wow. What's it like? Did his involvement with Voldemort affect your childhood?"
"Not re –"
"You kind of look like him."
"Well, I –"
"Except for the scar. Hmm. That's sort of disappointing."
"Umm… you do realize scars aren't hereditary, right?"
"Oh! Well that's too bad. You're pretty smart. Is your dad smart?"
Fifteen minutes later, James decided that he'd stayed long enough to be polite. He forced a grin as he escaped, internally vowing never to go on a blind date again.
"Mum!"
"Mum!"
The brother and sister glanced at each other, shocked.
"What are y –" they both started.
"Advice," they said in unison. James chuckled and Lily grinned. This was just like old times.
"Did my kitchen get smaller, or is it just me?" In the doorway stood Ginny Potter – hand on hip and grin on lips.
"It's just you," James assured her.
"Hi Mum," said Lily.
"– and his name was Henry – like that one guy on the cover of Witch Weekly – and he had such dark, soulful eyes."
James snorted and grabbed another biscuit.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, lips pursed. "Go on, Lily."
Lily sighed, took a sip of tea, and continued. "But of course, as soon as he found out about Dad, he might as well have looked like Kreacher. It was 'Ooh, you're famous' and 'Is it true that the Potter ward is named for your dad?' and 'Why are you ginger? I thought Harry had dark hair.' It was ridiculous."
"And you, James?" Ginny said after a pause. She turned to her oldest son, looking calmly concerned.
"Much of the same. My date only came in the first place because she knew I'm Harry Potter's son. The first thing she said to me was, 'Can I have an autograph?' I was confused for a second, until she added, 'of your Dad's'. I play Quidditch, Mum. And I'm a nice guy. But did Daniel mention this to her? No. He had to resort to the old James-knows-someone-famous fall back." He sunk into the cushions and pulled a sulky expression.
Ginny thought for a moment, staring at the floor. "All right. Stay for dinner, and then we'll talk. I think I've got a plan."
"Al, would you pass the butter, please? Al? Albus!"
"Hm?" The man in question looked up, barely aware that he was being spoken to.
"Pass the butter."
"Oh. Okay." He did the favor, and then went back to grinning at his fiancé.
James and Lily looked at each other, both wondering the same thing: How did he do it?
Not that Al had never had any luck with the ladies, he just never had as much as James. James felt practically naked without a girl by his side, especially since his kid brother did. And she was a babe.
"So Brenna; what's your version of the proposal?" Ginny asked, smiling at her future daughter-in-law as she piled mashed potatoes onto Harry's plate.
Brenna flipped her dark hair over her shoulder as she giggled. "Well, I thought we were going hiking, so I didn't bother with my hair or makeup or anything. When he showed up in a suit, I was a little shocked, to say the least." Here she laughed again, apparently lost in the memory.
Al threw his arm over her shoulders. "Ah, Bren. You looked gorgeous as usual."
"Stop it, Alb!" They both grinned and stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds.
Harry cleared his throat. "So… have you come up with a date yet?"
The evening continued on like this, until the women gathered in the living room, and sent the men to do the dishes.
"Al, I'm glad you found a girl as lovely as Brenna. I think you'll do really well together," said Harry, patting his son on the shoulder.
"I know we will," Al half-sighed. "She's… She's brilliant: funny, kind, gorgeous. And her eyes! They're dark and exotic, but at the same time wide – like a doe's –"
James interrupted, "Stop it, Al. I think I'm gonna throw up." But he sniggered as he flicked his wand at the plates, making them zoom towards the sink.
"Ha ha. So, how did your date go?"
"Great! In fact, I was wondering if you would give me some tips, just to help our relationship really blossom."
"I wouldn't know. All I know is that Bren had me wrapped around her finger from day one." He gazed dreamily into the distance.
"Maybe you're trying too hard, James," Harry said with an air of wisdom. "You should just let the women find you." He pointed his wand at the sink, and a jet of hot water poured into it.
James rolled his eyes. "And I s'pose that's what you did to win Mum over?"
"Not really. I mean, I was living with her family at that point."
"Exactly."
Just then, the exotic-yet-wide eyes of Brenna appeared in the room. "I'm sorry, Al. I've got to go – work's really early tomorrow." She smiled in her alluring way. "Thank you so much for having me, Mr. Potter. You'll have to tell me more about that new Quidditch stadium next time."
"I think I will. We barely scratched the surface tonight. It's so complex." James could see it on his father's face – he too had been won over by her charm.
"All right then. See ya, Dad, James," said Al abruptly.
With that, he practically zoomed over to Brenna. He wrapped his arm around her small waist, and they were gone.
"What happened?" James asked, still watching the doorway. "I'm the one who's supposed to get girls."
"Grandma Molly was supposed to get tired of Celestina Warbeck after fifteen years, and look at her now." Harry raised his eyebrows meaningfully and exited the room.
Maybe Dad's on to something… James thought, as he too left the kitchen.
The four of them sat around the coffee table which was littered with posters and pie charts. James and Lily stared at the smallest poster, mouths wide.
Ginny was in full-on lecture mode. "In conclusion, you'll return here at the end of the three months with your soul mate. Any questions?"
Silence.
"Uh, if you're worried it won't work you can look at the pie chart. Twenty percent of the participants ended up married to someone they met. It's quite amazing, really. Right, honey?" She not-so-discreetly elbowed Harry.
"Right. And I hear the Muggle world has lots of blondes, James."
The siblings were now staring at their parents.
Finally, Lily spoke. "You're telling me that you want to send us into the Muggle world for three months and come back in love. In the Muggle world. For three months."
"Yes. All expenses paid. It'll be like a holiday!"
"But –"
"But what about Quidditch? Training starts on the fifteenth of August. I can't miss two weeks of training!"
"Mum, I have a job; you can't expect me to just –"
"Maybe I don't mind being single. It's –"
"What about my friends? What about my –"
"Oi!" Harry interjected. "Your mother's trying to speak."
The two protesters fell silent.
"This is a ministry-funded project. Essentially, you're being paid to research Muggles for the summer. Think of it as a working holiday."
"Oh."
"I've already contacted your boss, Lily. Apparently you've earned yourself a break. And James – training is only a couple of hours a day. I'm sure the Muggle world won't miss you for a little while. Don't worry kids," she said gently, "I'll take care of everything else."
She handed them each a folder filled with papers and forms.
"When do we start?" they both said.
"Tomorrow afternoon."
