Lily Luna Potter gazed up at the moon. She lay on her back in the grass in the garden, flowery cents of lilies and Jasmin drifting around her. The moon looked pearly white. Like a lily. Like Lily's own skin. Clear and vibrant…
But she was tired. Very tired of trying. Very tired of everything.
She tried to be brave like her father: Facing the terrible nightmares she had always had since she was a small child with a perfect silver leopard patronus.
She tried to show talent like her mother: A brilliant chaser on the Slytherin quiddich team; ensuring that they won every match since she joined, even if the seeker didn't catch the snitch.
She tried to show loyalty like her uncle Ron: Even if she became angry with her friends, she would always support them in the end, even if she was hurt in the process. Not to mention; she was brilliant at chess!
She might try to be clever like her aunt Hermione: top of her class in all of her subjects.
She might try to be funny like her uncle George: Always playing pranks and making everyone smile.
She might try to have attitude like her aunt Angelina: Flipping her hair back, never caring about what anyone thought of her when she strode past them in the corridors, retorting cleverly when they said anything snide, ignoring them when they said anything hurtful, laughing when they acted as if they were better than her.
She might try to be politically active: Keeping up to date and making uncle Percy proud with her informed opinions at the dinner table.
She might try to be adventurous like her uncles Bill and Charlie: Riding dragons during the holidays and exploring dark caves when visiting Shell Cottage, secretly hoping she would find treasure.
She might try to look beautiful like her aunt Fleur: Dazzling all the boys at Hogwarts with her long shiny red hair, her bright cat green eyes, her clear creamy skin, her long black lashes, pink lips, and delicate bone structure shown off by the tight little dresses she wore.
But she was also a little insecure like her aunt Fleur: Would her beauty help her to keep a man? She could flaunt it all she liked, but would anyone ever judge her on anything else besides that?
She was also a little scared of adventures like her uncle Ron: Was that a spider at the back of the cave?
She was also a little overbearing with her opinions like her uncle Percy: People ended up leaving the table when he and Lilly got into a heated debate.
She also had a big mouth like her uncle George: Never quite knowing when to shut up.
She also was a bit stubborn like her aunt Hermione: Hating to admit when she was wrong.
She also was a bit quick tempered like both her parents: Saying things she didn't mean, sulking, … feeling stupid later.
And Lily loved fiercely like her mother. There was only one man who ever really mattered to Ginny, and there was only one man who ever really mattered to Lily. Ginny waited patiently, and eventually married Harry, Lily's father, the man Ginny had loved since she was ten. Lily waited patiently, and she was still waiting. Waiting for Teddy Lupin to think of her as more than just a little sister. She had loved him as long as she could remember. But Teddy loved Victoire, and Victoire was perfect. She had no flaws. And Victoire didn't have a long nose like her uncle Ron.
Lily was tired of trying to shine. Tired of trying everything to make Teddy notice. She was exhausted. But Lily was a dreamer like her aunt Luna. She would never give up.
She gazed up at the moon; the pretty silver ball that shared a name with aunt Luna and herself. The orb that Teddy had once told her had been his father's boggart, as he had been told by Lily's dad. It looked so close. Almost like it was resting in the top branches of the oak tree a few metres away.
She sprang up suddenly, running to the tree and swinging up on a branch. As she climbed, she remembered doing this as a little girl. A teenaged Teddy would watch her from below, trying to hide his amusement and convince her to come down, or else he would be in trouble for letting her climb so high when Harry had asked him to babysit. Lily would refuse, arguing that she wasn't a baby and eventually reaching the top, only to realise that the moon had gone higher. She had always been particularly annoyed that the moon insisted on running away from her.
Seventeen year old Lily eventually reached the top branch, as she remembered doing so many years ago. It was trembling under her weight, in a way that it never had when she was little.
At that moment, she glimpsed a falling star. Precariously standing up on the branch, she grinned, and whispered her dearest wish to the star as it tumbled through the sky.
Just as the last word left her lips, she overbalanced, and, like the star, tumbled through the air. Limbs flailing, she tried to grasp at branches as she fell past them, but failed.
A strong pair of arms reached up and caught her, just before she reached the ground.
"Lily!" A familiar voice scolded in shock. "Of all the stupid things you could do!"
But Lily wasn't really listening. She found herself looking into a pair of sky blue eyes that were very close to hers. Without thinking, she silenced Teddy's scolding's by pressing her lips to his. At first he didn't respond, but when Lily tried to pull away, he leaned forward and recaptured her lips with his in an even more passionate kiss.
Much later, as Lily sat at her bedroom window, once again gazing at the full moon, she reflected on wishing on falling stars. Somehow, she had never expected it to result in falling out of a tree. Also, she had certainly never expected the latter to result in Teddy Lupin admitting that he had fallen in love with her.