A/N: I'm trying to make my stories longer, so this is sorta a practice ring. The chapters won't really have anything to do with each other, just little heart-to-heart and friendship moments through the lives of random Harry Potter characters. Basically a trial-and-error way of learning to write. Reviews are appreciated, especially constructive criticism, but not required. Hopefully these won't be too bad.
Molly Weasley bustled around her kitchen hurriedly. Steam whistled from her pot on the stove as she tried, unsuccessfully, to cut a loaf of bread into even pieces. She huffed and puffed and sighed and groaned as she made her way around the small kitchen, trying to get everything done in the short amount of time she had. I am way too old for this, she thought, and then smiled. And that's just the way I like it.
Molly added a few more ingredients to the soup on the stove before taking the ham out of the oven. Her hand automatically reached out for her knife, but her hand was met with the rough, scratchy texture of her wooden counter. Molly's brow furrowed as her head turned toward the spot where she had put her knife only moments before. She looked around the kitchen for it, under the table, on counters, and even in the soup, but she just couldn't find it. After looking in the sink again, she turned and was shocked to see her granddaughter cutting the ham.
Lily lifted her head and smiled. "Hi, Grandma," She said, before turning back to her task at hand.
Neither Molly nor Lily said anything for a few moments. The only sounds that could be heard was the laughter and indistinguishable conversations of the guests outside, the whistle of the tea, and the clunk of Molly's knife as Lily cut the (rather large) ham.
"You don't have to do that, dear, it's your birthday," Molly said, reaching out for the knife, "I can do it."
"I want to do it, Grandma," Lily replied, lifting her head, and Molly could see Lily's mouth lift up into a beautiful smile. Molly realized that it was Harry's smile, and not Ginny's smile that graced her granddaughter's lips. There was an innocence to Lily's chocolate eyes, something that said that she really did want to cut a ham. "I want to do something except greet people from Dad's work that I've met a hundred times before, but who never remember and have to be introduced to me again. Honestly, it really gets annoying how they always go 'So this is Little Lily'. You'd think they have things to do except pretend they didn't meet me." Lily scoffed and cut the ham a little harder than necessary.
"I mean, I know why they do it," Lily said, her brow furrowing and her nose scrunching up in obvious anger, "It's because they want private information on my father. I mean, what are they thinking? That my Dad gave me all the four-one-one when I was six? Told me about all those…deaths?" She hesitated on the last word, looking up at her grandmother worriedly, realizing that she had just vaguely brought up the fact that Molly had lost a son in the war, before continuing hurriedly on to another topic.
"I really love that watch you gave me Grand-" But she never finished her nervous sentence.
"You know," Molly said wistfully as the old ache of losing Fred took its course through her. It hadn't gotten any lighter a burden for her to carry, the loss of one's child hurts the mother too deeply to ever really go away, but she had learnt how to live again. "You really remind me of your mother sometimes."
Lily opened her mouth to start protesting that she and her mother were two different people (no matter how much other people and the press believed they were), but Molly held up a hand while laughing at her granddaughter's way of jumping to conclusions when someone started a conversation a certain way.
Molly smiled at granddaughter and continued, in a motherly tone, "You need to let people around you finish their sentences."-Lily grumbled, but Molly could see one corner of her mouth turning up-"You are like your mother, no matter how much you don't want to admit it, but you are. You inherited everything the looks department from her, dear. And that's not a bad thing. You inherited her temper and-"
"Mum always said I got my temper from living with James and Al," Lily interrupted, smiling, "But mostly James." Molly and Lily shared a laugh at memories of James' (and, most of the time, Freddie's) jokes and pranks. Everyone in their family said that they both lived up to their namesakes.
"Yes, that could have helped," Molly said, turning back to the neglected stove, but still continuing the conversation, "But, truthfully, dear, when it comes to your personality, you are much more like your father."
"Yeah, people tell me all the time that Mum and I have similar- Wait, what?" Lily started out saying a well-rehearsed (or maybe, just overused) line about her mother and her being similar, but then her grandmother's words sunk into her head. "You think…you think I'm like Dad?" There was astonishment and doubt in her voice.
"Yes," Molly replied casually, as if Lily was taking Molly's words normally, "I think that. You have that aspect about having to protect everyone around you, and your father always got so annoyed at reporters and politicians who would either want something negative on him, or to climb the social ladder with name-dropping. In fact, I bet if you ask him now, he'd tell you he still gets annoyed with them, he's just gotten better with hiding his emotions."
Molly turned around smiling, her skin crinkling at the corner of her eyes, to find Lily staring at the now-cut ham with a radiant grin on her face. Lily had always thought of one of her heroes, but to be told she was like him made her heart leap and her pride swell.
"Lily!" Harry's voice rand through the kitchen, interrupting the relaxing silence that had bloomed in the small kitchen of the Burrow. "Will come here for a second? I have someone I want you meet."
Lily rolled her eyes at her grandmother to signal silently that this was just another one who "hadn't met" her. Molly smiled and laughed a little. Lily hopped off her stool and walked towards the decorated backyard. She hesitantly stopped when she got to the door.
"Grandma?" She said, biting her lip.
"Yes, dear?" Molly replied looking at her youngest granddaughter.
Lily's reluctant and hesitant face slipped away and her face broke into a half-smile, and she whispered, grateful and content, "Thanks."
A/N: Ehh, I'm not sure I liked how this one came out…Ah well. Better luck next time. BTW, its Lily's 17th birthday in the story. She mentions getting a watch from Mrs. Weasley, and I believe that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley gave all their grandchildren watches just as they gave their children. Constructive criticism is appreciated :).