Albus Severus Potter had been sleeping soundlessly in his room for the whole entire night. He had had his father put a Muggle electric fan in his room due to the middle-of-July heat. But even that was no match. So, there he was, sleeping on the floor of his room with all of his sheets pulled off of his bed, sleeping still soundlessly.

In the room next door, there was no disturbance. Unless, of course, you count James Potter's snoring. It was really, very loud and made him sound as if he was congested. He wasn't. He just snored every night, having his father put Muffliato on the door so he wouldn't wake anybody.

But, unfortunately, his father had forgotten to do the spell the night before. Across the hallway, Lily Potter woke up, still keeping her eyes closed. She didn't like waking up early. It was her least favorite thing. So she groaned and turned over in her bed so she was no longer facing the wall. She opened her eyes and looked at the clock.

Six thirty.

Lily remembered how, when she was five, she used to always wake up at six thirty. Then, she would proceed to wake her brothers up. And then she would wake her parents up. And then she would wake up their dog, Padfoot, who was her best friend in the whole entire world besides Hugo Weasley.

Padfoot was a big dog with shaggy black hair. Her father, Harry Potter, had named it after his godfather who had died in battle. Lily had heard the story plenty of times before. His real name had been Sirius Black, but he had become an illegal Animagi and had earned the nickname Padfoot from his friends. He had also been apart of the Order of the Phoenix. And he had died at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.

The initial thought of Bellatrix Lestrange had caused Lily nightmares for weeks and weeks. The dreams, though, had finally ended when Harry told her that Bellatrix Lestrange had died at the hands of her grandmother, Molly Weasley. And after that, Molly became Lily's hero.

Lily was the youngest out of her brothers. In two years time, she was expected to go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and expected herself to get sorted into Gryffindor. Her mother, father, both pairs of grandparents (two of which are dead), her God brother, Teddy, and her oldest brother, James, had been or are in Gryffindor. She had no doubt in her mind that it would be the same for her.

James's snoring grew louder and louder. The more Lily heard it, the louder it got. She groaned again.

His snoring continued in a pattern. In…out…in…out.

Lily groaned one more time, mumbling to herself, "Why won't he just shut up?" as she sat up in her bed.

James was still snoring.

"That's it!" said Lily as stood up, grabbed her pillow, and walked into James's room. She started hitting him with the pillow continually, even after he was awake.

"Hey—what—what was that for?" James asked, sitting up in his bed after trying to dodge the blows.

"You won't shut up!" said Lily. "When will you stop snoring?"

"Never," said James. "Get used to it, Little Lily."

Lily glared, hit him with the pillow once more, and walked out.

She remembered hearing her father tell her stories of his parents. Both she and James were named after them, so technically they were Lily Potter Junior and James Potter Junior. Apparently, when her grandparents had been in school, Lily had despised James. She had thought him an "arrogant toerag" in the exact words. James, though, had continually asked Lily out, while Lily continually rejected him. That was, until seventh year, when Lily apparently agreed. And they had ended up married.

Lily Junior and James Junior were the same. They always got into fights. But, then again, Lily also admired James. He was both funny and smart.

His mother, Ginny, had told him that she was like her twin brothers, Fred and George. The only one James had met, though, was George. Fred had died in battle, with "his last laugh etched on his face" according to Harry's words.

According to Harry, James was just like his father James. James Senior was both funny and smart as well. He had been great in Transfiguration, like James Junior, and a great Quidditch Seeker, like James Junior. The only difference, though, was that James Junior had long, straight and silky red hair and brown eyes. He was the only one in the family with brown eyes.

And that was why Ginny said he reminded her of Fred and George.

Lily, according to Harry, was very much like Lily Senior. She was smart and knew where her loyalties lied. She also had red hair and emerald green eyes the shape of almonds, exactly the way Lily Senior had looked.

It was then, seventeen minutes later at six forty-seven, that James walked in to Lily's room, where Lily was lying in her twin bed, staring at the ceiling. Lily looked over to James, sat up, and raised her eyes. James pointed a finger at her.

"Because of you, I can't get back to sleep," he said. Lily smirked.

"Too bad."

James wanted to hit her. He wanted to hit her hard with a pillow at the side of her head. That would really hurt her. But the unwritten rules were very important these days, and the unwritten rules clearly stated that you can't hit a girl. James had even checked with his uncle, Ron Weasley, if the unwritten rule about not hitting a girl applied if said girl was your sister. Uncle Ron had simply laughed and had said that yes, that rule applied if said girl was your sister. He had also said, "Don't look for loopholes, because there aren't any. I checked with my twin brothers back when I was your age and told me the same exact thing."

James desperately wanted there to be a loophole in the unwritten rule.

"I'm going to get you for this, one day," said James, walking out of Lily's room. "Mark my words."

"Oh, I'm so scared," said Lily sarcastically, laughing. The door closed with a slam that Lily was sure would wake up Albus. James was inconsiderate sometimes.

Yet Albus never let anyone know if he was awake or asleep.

Lily lied back down on her bed and looked around at her room. It was a really nice room, about fifteen feet by ten feet big. The walls were painted lavender, her favorite color, as well as the color of her sheets. Her dirty clothes hamper was next to the door. Her bookshelf was in the corner, over filled with books. Her desk was at the foot of her bed, which was in the other corner of the room.

"Why do you need a desk?" James had once asked. "You haven't even started school yet."

"Well, Mum and Dad were planning on giving it to you, but seeing as you do no work, it went to me instead," Lily had answered smugly.

Finally, it was eight o'clock. That was the one time in the house that you could count on everyone to be awake. That morning, the smell of chocolate chip pancakes was throughout the house, bringing Albus downstairs immediately.

"Morning, Mum," said Albus, yawning and stretching.

"Good morning, Al," said Ginny.

"Is Dad still asleep?"

"No, he's just answering a letter that came this morning. He should be down any minute."

"M'kay."

Albus sat down at the table. His Hogwarts letter was due to come any day now. But yet, it still hadn't come. He was starting to wonder if he hadn't been accepted, if he wasn't a wizard but was, in fact, a squib. What if he was a squib? What would everyone say? What would James say? And what about his cousin, and best friend, Rose?

James was downstairs next. As a morning greeting, he held up his hand to Ginny in a way to say hello. Ginny smirked as he sat down. James then looked across the table at Albus.

"Still not going to Hogwarts as of now?" asked James.

"I am," said Albus. "I just haven't gotten my letter yet. And neither have you."

"But I already go there, therefore, I'm already accepted," said James.

"You know, Neville said the school's a bit slow this year," said Ginny, flipping a pancake with her spatula as she spoke. "He said that there are so many new first years to send letters to that they don't have enough owls."

"Is the Defense Against the Dark Arts job still jinxed?" asked Albus.

"Ask James," said Ginny.

"Yup," James answered. "Last year, the teacher hung herself as a way to get rid of all the pressure."

Albus's eyes widened in fright. "W-what?"

"Yeah," said James. "I hear he forced his whole entire class of first years to watch it, too. Those poor first years are scarred for life."

Albus started taking deep breath. "Oh, no."

"James, for once, could you keep your mouth shut?" asked Ginny. "You're scaring your brother."

"N-no, he's not," said Albus.

"Yes, he is," said Ginny. "James, treat Albus with respect. You treat Teddy with respect."

"But Teddy's cool," said James. "Al is…Al."

"Yes, but Al is your brother."

"So? Teddy's my God brother!"

"Blood relative."

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry, Al."

Albus shrugged. "It's okay. But did the…did the teacher really hang herself?"

"No, she didn't," said Ginny. "Neville says she's a fantastic witch."

"Does she still work at Hogwarts?"

"Yes. It's going to be her fifth year."

There were footsteps heard coming down the stairs. Harry then walked into the kitchen.

"Morning, Ginny," said Harry, kissing her on the lips.

"Morning, Harry," said Ginny, smiling brightly.

"Ew, Mum and Dad, please," said James.

Harry smiled as he walked over to the table, ruffled James's hair, and sat down at the head of the table. Just then, an owl flew in with the newspaper.

"Thank you," said Harry, digging his hand in his pocket until he found a knut. After he gave the knut to the owl, which flew away, he started to read the paper.

"Any mail for me, Dad?" asked Albus hopefully. Harry looked over at his son thoughtfully.

"Al," he said, "the Hogwarts letters don't come with the newspapers, you know that."

"Yeah, I guess."

"It's sure to come soon," said Harry. "James hasn't got his letter yet, either."

"I know," said Albus.

"Hey, where's Lily?" asked Ginny.

"I made her take a bath," said Harry. "Apparently, she had been up since six thirty and, at seven, she started to play with the dung bombs that George gave her for her birthday. It exploded on her and…well…she doesn't look her best."

Ginny gave a chuckle. "Lily," she muttered. She flipped two more pancakes before asking, "Does she need me to wash her hair?"

"Mum, I think she can handle it," said James. "She's eight."

"I know, I know," said Ginny. "Are you sure she's all right, Harry?"

"I'm positive," said Harry.

Soon, another owl flew in. It was carrying a letter for Harry.

"What is it, Harry?" asked Ginny.

"A letter from the Ministry," said Harry. The Ministry had become a very pleasurable place to work over the years. He, Ron, and Hermione all worked at the Ministry and found it to be very nice after the war with Voldemort. He, Harry, was an Auror.

"What's it say, Dad?" asked James. "Is it the letter saying that Albus is a squib?"

"Hey!"

"No…it's from Ron," said Harry. Ron was an Auror as well and liked to use the Ministry letters to feel official. "He wanted to know where we should go to get lunch today."

Ginny giggled. "Ron can be so stupid."

The pancakes were finished by the time that Harry had written back to Ron, saying that they should go to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. As the pancakes were laid on the table, they heard running footsteps down the stairs.

"Morning, Mummy!" said Lily once she entered the kitchen. She walked up to Ginny and hugged her around the middle.

"Good morning, Lily," said Ginny. Lily skipped over to the table, her wet hair rising up and down with each skip. So far, she was the only person that was fully dressed that morning besides Harry. Everyone else was still in their pajamas as she sat down next to Albus, but not before hugging Harry.

"Morning, Daddy," she said.

"Morning, Lily," said Harry.

Lily turned to Albus, who was sitting right next to her and putting pancakes onto his plate. "Did you get your Hogwarts letter yet?" she asked.

"No," said Albus, looking down at his plate of pancakes.

"It'll come," said Lily. "James probably got his already, right, Mum?"

"No, James hasn't gotten his yet either," said Ginny.

"Oh," said Lily. She hated being wrong.

"Dad?" Albus whispered under his breath. "What if…what if my letter doesn't come?"

"Why wouldn't it come?" asked Harry.

"What if I'm a…I'm a squib?" Albus even had trouble hearing what he was saying.

Harry smiled. "Al, you're not a squib. Remember when you were eight? James was dangling by his foot!"

"Hey, Dad, what's this?" asked James, who had taken the paper from Harry. "Hot male wizard seeking size 2 female witch with blonde hair and blue eyes—"

"Stop reading that, James!" said Ginny, laughing.

"Who would get that desperate?" asked James. "I know I wouldn't."

"Oh, and please, share with us about your girl at Hogwarts," said Albus, smirking while James's ears went red.

"That's none of your business," he snapped.

"James has a girlfriend?" Lily asked loudly. "Wow! Is she pretty?"

"Shut it, Lily," said James. Now his face was turning red as well.

"But I wanna know!" said Lily, stamping her foot. Apparently, Padfoot took that as a sign that she wanted him, so he walked over to her, barked, and panted while Lily started to scratch behind his ear.

"Well, you're never gonna!" said James.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Because I'm not going to tell you!"

"Save it, Lily," said Albus. "He's been faking it the whole summer."

"Have not!" said James heatedly.

"Have so!" said Albus.

"I have a girlfriend!" said James.

"Then what's her name?" asked Albus.

James sighed. "Fine, I don't have a girlfriend. Now just leave me alone, will you?"

Harry patted James on the back. "Its okay, James. I didn't have a girlfriend until I was in my fifth year at Hogwarts."

"And I didn't have one until my fourth," said Ginny.

"Great, my parents are losers," said James, smiling jokingly.

Ginny was now hovering over the chair that James was sitting in. "Scoot over, James."

"Why?"

"Because my spot is next to your father."

James sighed and scooted over one chair, taking his plate of pancakes with him, while his mother took her spot next to Harry.

"When do the Hogwarts letters usually come?" asked Albus.

"In the morning," said Harry. "Don't worry, Albus, you're going."

"That is if he survives the Sorting Test," said James.

"W-what do you mean?" asked Albus, leaving his fork with his pancake in front of his face while he stared intently at James.

"I mean, the test is very hard," said James. "Six students were injured. And the ones who were injured had to go back and take it again!"

"W-what happened to them?"

"They got injured again. And it kept going on until—"

"Stop it, James!" said Ginny. "That's not how the Sorting Ceremony goes."

"Will you tell me how it goes then, Mum?" asked Albus.

"It will have to be a surprise to you," said Ginny.

Harry looked at his watch as he took a bite of his pancakes. "Ah, I've got to go to work. Bye, Gin." He kissed Ginny on the lips as he stood up. "Bye James, Albus, Lily." He kissed each of them on the top of their heads as he said their names. And then he walked out of the house.

"Hermione's taking a day off of work," Ginny explained. "I'm going to be late too if she doesn't show up soon."

"Yay! Aunt Hermione's coming!" said Lily.

"Yes, she is, and I want you to behave," said Ginny. "Most importantly you, James."

"Why me in particular? Why not Albus?"

"Because Albus doesn't put Nifflers in my room."

"Why not Lily?"

Ginny looked over to Lily. "Well, Lily, I want you to behave nicely as well. No playing with dung bombs, okay?"

Lily sighed. "Okay."

The doorbell rang. Ginny got up from her seat and ran upstairs. She had forgotten to get dressed.

"I got it!" Lily yelled, running to the door and opening it. "Aunt 'Mione!"

"Hi, Lily," said Hermione as Lily hugged her around the middle. "It's nice to see you too. Where's your mum?"

"She'll be down in a minute," said Albus, who had just entered. "Is Rose with you?"

"What about Hugo? Did you bring Hugo?" asked Lily.

"Relax, you two, Ron's dropping them off in a couple of minutes," said Hermione.

"Hey, Aunt Hermy," said James as he entered the entrance hall.

"James, what did I tell you about calling her that?" asked Ginny as she ran down the stairs. She was putting in her earrings rather quickly while her hair was up in a messy bun. "Thanks, Hermione, I owe you a bunch."

"It's okay, the office owed me a day off anyways," said Hermione. "Write up your best!"

Ginny had become a writer for the Daily Prophet. Her stories were the top rated because she always put in the truth. She added in the extra details that no one ever bothered to really put in and always checked with the Ministry if her information was correct.

"Will do!" said Ginny as she ran to the fireplace and flooed herself to work.

"So…what do you want to do first?" asked Hermione.

"I'm going to go hang out in my room," said James.

"He's going to go send a letter to his imaginary girlfriend," explained Albus. James's face reddened as he left the room to go upstairs.

"Aunt 'Mione, can we bake a cake?" asked Lily.

"Bake a cake?" asked Hermione. "I'm not sure if your mother would be okay with it."

"Puh-lease?"

"Not today, kiddo, I'm sorry."

There was a tap on Albus's shoulder from behind. He turned around to see a girl with shoulder length straight red hair in a side-part and brown eyes was standing behind him. She was decked out in a pair of jeans (regular, not skinny) and a gray-and-white striped shirt with a white camisole underneath.

"Did you miss me?"

It was Rose Weasley, Albus's cousin. She was very smart (his Uncle Ron said that she definitely took off of Hermione) and was very interested in the Muggle fashion.

"Rose!" said Albus.

Rose smirked. "That's all you can say?"

"For now, at least," said Albus. "Have you gotten your letter yet?"

"No, I haven't," said Rose, disappointedly. "I take it you haven't either, since the time that I'm going to get it will be when you get it as well."

"I guess," said Albus. "I just—"

"Want to go to Hogwarts?"

"Of course. Who doesn't want to go to Hogwarts?"

Rose shrugged. "Come on, let's head up to your room."

As the two cousins headed up to Albus's room, a boy was talking to Lily, the newly present Ron, and Hermione. This boy had red hair as well and brown eyes. He was shorter then rose by about an inch or two and was wearing Muggle jeans and a Chudley Cannons shirt.

"So, anyways, Dad said that the Chudley Cannons wouldn't win because of their new Keeper, Brozarian," the boy was saying. "But then I said that Brozarian was the best Keeper that they could get, and apparently Dad took it the wrong way and thought that I was insulting our team. But the Cannons ended up winning. And I was right!"

"Of course you were right," said Hermione. "Your father doesn't always pay attention to everything."

"Well, I try to," said Ron. "He's just so smart."

"Dad, you should try harder then," said the boy. "But anyways, since the Cannons won the game, Dad bought tickets to their next game just to see Brozarian's form! He was a Keeper when he was at Hogwarts, you know."

"Really?" said Lily. "Wow. Uncle Ron, is Hugo right? Were you really a Keeper at Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," said Ron.

"He was a really good one, as well," said Hermione.

"He says that when he played, he won the Quidditch Cup!" said Hugo, puffing out his chest proudly. "I'm going to make the Quidditch team when I get to Hogwarts."

"Of course you will!" said Lily. "Want to go play some Quidditch outside right now?"

"Yeah!" said Hugo. "Mum, do I have my broom?"

"Ron, do you mind flooing back to get his broom?" asked Hermione.

"I'll go right now," said Ron. "But if I'm late for work because of this, it's on your head!"

"Bring Rose's as well, if she decides to play later on," said Hermione. Ron saluted her and Lily and Hugo laughed. Ron disappeared in swirling green flames.

"How about you two go upstairs to Lily's room?" asked Hermione.

"Okay!" said Lily.

"Race you upstairs!" said Hugo, running up the stairs.

"No fair! You got a head start!" said Lily, running after him.

"Do you think he was lying?" asked Rose. "Do you really think that's how the Sorting Ceremony goes?"

"I don't know," said Albus. "Mum said he was lying, but she wouldn't tell me how it was done. She said it was a surprise."

"Yeah, my parents won't tell me either," said Rose. "It's really annoying."

Just then, James barged into the room and started looking in Albus's closet.

"Uh…come in?" said Albus confusedly.

"Ah, here they are," said James, taking out a box.

"What are you doing?" asked Albus. "My closet's a mess now because of you!"

"It was a mess earlier," said James, shrugging.

"What's that, James?" asked Rose. James turned to her.

"Ah, Rose," said James. "Long time, no see."

"It's been less than a week," said Rose, raising an eyebrow.

"It's been much too long," said James.

"What's in the box?" asked Rose.

"Nifflers," said James, smiling from ear to ear.

"Didn't Mum tell you to behave?" asked Albus.

"So?"

"What are those doing in Albus's closet?" asked Rose.

"You expected me to hide them in my closet?" asked James. "You are so dumb."

"What else have you got in my closet?" asked Albus, getting up off of his bed to search through the closet. He was throwing clothes everywhere until he came up with another box. "What's this?"

"Careful!" said James, dropping the box of nifflers to the floor and running to grab the box from Albus. "That's my stash of Dung Bombs!"

"Is that why my room's been smelling lately?" asked Albus.

"Most likely," said James. "I've got to go. See you later." He walked to the door.

"I want you to stop putting your stuff in my closet!" said Albus. But it was too late, he was gone.

"I can't believe him!" said Albus. "He hides his stash in my closet? How thick can you get?"

"Its okay, Al," said Rose. "Calm down."

"He's just been pushing me so much lately!" said Albus. "I wish he would stop."

"He's an older brother," said Rose. "That's what older brothers do."

"I'm an older brother and I don't do that to Lily," said Albus.

"Albus Severus Potter, calm down!" said Rose. "We're going to Hogwarts where we most likely won't see James as often as we do now. Everything will be different at Hogwarts."

"Yeah," said Albus. "I hope your right."

Hermione was sitting down on one of the comfortable lounging chairs, reading a book. She was quite relaxed and wasn't expecting anything at that moment.

So when there was a knock on the door, she flinched and jumped about a centimeter up off of the chair.

She took a breath, got up, and answered the door.

"Teddy!"

Indeed, it was Teddy Lupin. At this moment, his hair was a punk-looking black with some red streaks in it. His nose was a bit small and his eyes were green. He was wearing a pair of Muggle black skinny jeans that he kept hanging low with a chain on the side, and his shirt was gray with a black guitar on it. He truly acted like the son of a Marauder.

"Hey, Hermione," he said, smiling at her reaction to his new look. "What do you think? I'm trying out different styles now."

"Oh," said Hermione. "Well…uh…wow."

"Okay, so the skinny jeans feel just a tad tight," said Teddy. "But everything else is great with this outfit."

"Teddy," said Hermione. "If you're here to visit, I'm going to have to ask you to change."

"Why?"

"Because you'll scare Lily!"

Just then, James was passing through from the kitchen holding two boxes when he noticed Teddy. "Hey! This must be the new look you were telling me about! It's awesome!"

"See?" said Teddy. "Jamie here likes it."

"My name's James," said James.

"Well, that's my new nickname for you," said Teddy.

"Teddy, I mean it, you need to change your outfit," said Hermione.

"Okay, okay, fine," said Teddy. "But I'm keeping the hair."

With a loud CRACK Teddy was gone.

"Aunt 'Mione, why did you tell him to change his outfit?" asked James.

"Because the look didn't suit him at all," said Hermione.

"I think it looked great," said James.

"We'll see how his new look turns out in a minute," said Hermione.

As two minutes passed, there was another loud CRACK and Teddy appeared wearing jeans and a blue-and-white striped polo shirt. His hair was now blonde and his eyes were now green.

"Better?" he asked.

"Much," said Hermione. "Kids! Teddy's here!"

"Teddy!" Lily was the first one down the stairs and the first one to hug Teddy around the waist.

"Aargh, Lily!" he said, picking her up and swinging her around. She laughed.

"So you are here then," said Hugo as he ran down the stairs.

"Is this Hugo?" asked Teddy. "I haven't seen you in a week. Oh, Merlin, you grew! How tall are you? Six feet?"

"I'm barely over four feet tall!" said Hugo.

"Well, you look much taller," said Teddy. "Come here." Hugo ran up to Teddy and hugged him as well. Once he let go, Teddy turned to Hermione. "So, where are Albus and Rose? I haven't seen Rose in a while either."

"They probably didn't hear me, I'll call for them again," said Hermione.

"No, don't bother," said Teddy. "I'll go surprise them."

"So, Dad says that the Chudley Cannons have their worst Keeper yet," said Rose.

"I hear he's pretty good," said Albus. "Brozarian, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one," said Rose. "Hugo's right. He is probably the best Keeper that the Cannons can get. And to think, this came from the mind of an eight-year-old!"

There was a boom from outside. Both Albus and Rose flinched and stared at the door.

"What was that?" asked Rose.

"I don't know," said Albus. There was another boom, followed by another. "Probably James trying to set off fireworks or something."

"Yeah, you're probably right," said Rose.

The door slowly creaked open. And then, it opened so fast that it slammed against the wall. Someone with a ski mask walked in. "I have you now!" he yelled, and then he imitated an evil laugh. He jumped over to Albus and pinned him to the bed. "I have you now!"

And then, he pulled the ski mask off.

"Teddy!" said Albus.

"Ha-ha, I got you there," said Teddy. "I'm the best." He started flexing his muscles.

"Teddy!" said Rose.

"Rose? Is that you?" asked Teddy. "Wow, you've grown!"

"I'm not Hugo, you don't have to fake the act anymore," said Rose.

"Yeah, but I've been saying that since you were four. Why stop now?"

"Why're you here?" asked Albus.

"What, can't a God brother visit his God brother?" asked Teddy. Albus rolled his eyes. "Come on, Hermione says we can all go into the backyard and play some Quidditch."

"Yes!" said Rose. "Do I have my broom?"

"It's downstairs."

Albus wasn't the biggest fan of Quidditch, but he liked it enough. He smiled, grabbed his broom out of his closet, and walked out of his room with Rose and Teddy.

The day passed quickly, and soon it was dinner. Teddy decided to stay for dinner (again) and Harry invited the Weasley's to stay for dinner as well. Ginny expanded the table to seat ten.

"How's your job going, Teddy?" asked Ginny.

"I quit," said Teddy. "Couldn't stand it at all."

"So what are you doing now?" asked Hermione.

"George gave me a part-time job at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I start tomorrow."

"Will you still be stopping by for dinner?" asked James.

"I guarantee that he'll be bringing George to dinner as well," said Ron.

"You can come to dinner tomorrow as well, if you want," said Ginny.

"Oh, that would be—" Ron was saying but was cut off by Hermione.

"We can't, I'm going to teach Ron here how to drive a car."

Rose smirked. "Dad's going to drive a car?"

"Harry, Ginny, would you mind having Rose and Hugo over for dinner tomorrow?" asked Hermione. "I'm sorry for the short notice, but would it be all right?"

"Of course," said Ginny. "They're welcome here any time."

"Yes!" said Lily. "Could Hugo sleep over after dinner tomorrow?"

"We'll see," said Harry.

"What about Rose?" asked Albus. "Could she sleep over as well?"

"We'll see," Harry repeated.

"Hey, Dad?" said James. "Could you go in the backyard with me after dinner and practice some Quidditch?"

"Trying out for the school team this year?" asked Ron. "What position?"

"Either Seeker or Chaser," said James. "Maybe Beater."

"When I go to Hogwarts," said Hugo, "I'm going to be a Keeper!"

"That's my boy!" said Ron.

"I'm going to be just as good as Brozarian! I'll practice every day!"

"I'll help you practice!" said Lily. "You'll be amazing! And I'll be a Beater when you're a Keeper!"

"Just like George," said Ginny.

"Al, are you going to try out?" asked Hermione. "You're good at Quidditch."

"I don't know," said Albus, shrugging. "Maybe next year. Besides, first years aren't allowed to have brooms at Hogwarts."

"Dad did when he was at Hogwarts, didn't you?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, but that was under special circumstances," said Harry. "Other than that, only second years and up are allowed to have brooms."

Albus blocked the rest of the dinner conversation out of his head. He didn't even know if he was accepted to Hogwarts yet, he still hadn't gotten his letter. Well, on the bright side, if he wasn't accepted to Hogwarts, he could just spend the rest of the year playing Quidditch in his backyard with Lily and Hugo. And Rose would leave him here all alone while she went off to learn magic.

No, he thought, I'm going to Hogwarts and I'm going to learn magic. I just haven't gotten my letter yet.

But what if he never got his letter?

His thoughts still bugged him in his bed while he was trying to go to sleep. It was eleven o'clock and he couldn't fall into a slumber. He was going to get his letter, wasn't he? It might even come in the mail tomorrow. In fact, he bet it would come in the mail tomorrow. He knew it. Why wouldn't it come in the mail tomorrow?

Albus sighed and closed his eyes preparing to actually fall asleep. There was nothing keeping him up anymore, except for the occasional thought that he wouldn't get his letter and he would never go to Hogwarts. There was no sound in his room and everything was completely quiet.

Tap-tap.

Albus opened his eyes the moment he heard it. What was going on?

Tap-tap.

Albus got out of his bed and looked to his window. An owl was sitting on the tree-branch nearest it.

Tap-tap.

The owl tapped its beak against the window. That's what was making the noise. Albus walked over to his window and opened it. The owl flew in. Tied to its leg was a letter. Albus untied the letter from the leg carefully and looked at the yellowish, thick and heavy envelope while the owl still sat there, as if waiting for a reaction.

Mr. A. Potter

Second Room Upstairs

7 Mames Drive

Charlwood

Surrey

It was in a slanted green writing and gave Albus a feeling that this was it. This was definitely something important. He turned the letter over to see a wax seal bearing a coat of arms with a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter H. It was the Hogwarts coat of arms, Albus knew it.

He smiled to himself as he opened the letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,
Neville Longbottom

Deputy Headmaster

Albus grinned from ear to ear. He had been accepted, and all of that worrying over nothing. Why had he worried so much? There had been no need at all.

"MUM! DAD! I GOT MY LETTER!"