"Daddy!" Lily Luna Potter stepped down from the bus and ran to give her father a hug. Her red hair was gleaming in the sunlight, and Harry was strongly reminded of his wife, Ginny.
He gave her a loving kiss and picked her up. "Hello, dear!" he said. He carried her inside and opened the door to their home. "How was school?"
Tuesday was Harry's only day-off as an Auror. He had not chosen Sunday, Saturday or Friday; but Tuesday. He had no reason to; Tuesday simply happened to be his favorite day of the week.
Lily smiled up at him. "Now that you're here, it doesn't matter."
Harry dropped her on the couch. "Tell me what happened."
Lily shrugged. "Nothing."
"What happened?" Harry asked, running his fingers through her scarlet locks. "You can tell Dad."
"Okay, fine." Lily got up from the couch and sat down across him, by the coffee table. "Well...our report cards came out today."
"So I heard." Harry stared deeply into her round brown eyes, listening truly. "And may I see them?"
Lily rummaged in her schoolbag and emerged with a small, green piece of paper.
"Here, Daddy." She put it down on the table, patted it for good luck, and sat back down, to examine his reaction from the best angle.
"A...B...A...B minus...C...B...another B...well done, Lily." Harry smiled at her, put down the paper, and gave her a huge kiss on the cheek. "You can do better - " Lily's face fell "but you did very well."
Lily gave a huge cry of happiness, hugged her father, then rushed to the privacy of her room, free to do whatever she wanted, which, at the time, was to draw a beautiful drawing of a goldfish, her favorite animal.
Speaking of animals, the Potters' collie, Dynamo, pushed his way into Lily's room and jumped onto her bed. "Hi, Dynamo!" said Lily cheerfully, patting his broad head. "I'm sorry I forgot to say hi to you." Her face turned from pure gladness to horror as he walked, leaving his footprints, all over her hard-earned work of art.
"Bad dog!" yelled Lily, furiously grabbing the crumpled-up piece of paper. "Now my drawing is useless!" She plunged into her bed, crying.
Lily Luna Potter had always been sensitive. Most say too sensitive, and she was easily hurt at school and cried almost every day. "She'll be crushed at Hogwarts," the people would say. "Think about it! She's got feelings delicate as playdough!"
For a long time she did not move. She was too busy crying. But finally, Lily, eyes streaming, grabbed Dynamo by the collar and shoved him out the door. "I don't want to ever see your ugly doggy face again!" she screamed.
Harry, who had been reading a book about himself until then (you all know the name of that book), stood up to see what the fuss was about. He gave Dynamo the Dog a pat and knocked serenely on Lily's door. "Darling, what's the matter?"
Lily opened the door. Her eyes were red and puffy. "D—Dynamo destroyed m-my p-p-painting."
Harry pulled his daughter on the couch and patted her head. "Lily, I'm sorry." He gave her a kiss. "Let's make another painting, together."
"I was going to give it to Mummy," Lily sniffed. "It was my present to her."
"Don't worry. We'll make an even better drawing. C'mon, Lily."
Lily smiled up at her father. "Thanks, Daddy!" She gave him a hug and away she went. She returned from her room with a load of paper, crayons, colored pencils, mechanical pencils, paintbrushes and watercolors. "Let's get started!"
. . .
"It's beautiful."
"Good job, Lily." Lily's father patted her back and smiled at their project.
"One more thing." Harry grabbed a mechanical pencil and started to scribble something in the bottomleft corner.
"What are you doing, Daddy?" asked Lily curiously, craning her neck to get a better view.
"Signing it." Harry scrawled his signature. "You've always got to sign your work."
Lily grabbed the pen and began to sign, too.
Just then the door opened. "Mummy's home!" shouted Lily, running down the corridor to greet her mother. "Mummy! Mummy! Daddy and I made a surprise for you!"
Ginny ruffled Lily's hair. "Oh, you did, did you?" she smiled, kissed her daughter, then reached for Harry. "Lily says you've made a surprise," she said, lowering her voice. "That true?"
"You bet." Harry smiled as he kissed her cheek.
Ginny gasped as Lily lugged the huge piece of paper into her view.
"It's beautiful!"
Lily's face shined with joy. "We created it together," she said, eyeing Harry proudly.
"I love it." Ginny kissed them both. She held up two envelopes. "Guess what I found from Albus and James!"
Dear Mum, Dad and Lily,
Albus: Hogwarts is okay! Guess what—I got Sorted into Gryffindor!
James: He's lying, you guys. He got sorted into SLYTHERIN! Hahahahahahahahaha...just kidding, he's telling the truth. Anyways...
Albus: JAMES YOU LIAR! Love you, Mum Dad & Lily.
Thanks,
Al and James
"How about the other letter?" chirped Lily.
"It's my medical form," said Ginny. She and Harry exchanged excited glances. "You see, honey...I'm..."
"PREGNANT!" shrieked Lily, jumping up and down and clapping her hands. She felt herself fill up with joy. "I'M GOING TO HAVE A SIBLING!"
"Actually, yes," said Ginny and Harry.
"A boy or a girl?" Lily flounced around. She was on Cloud Nine.
"We don't know yet," said Harry.
"WOW!" screamed Lily.
THE END FOR NOW...
A/N: Thanks for reading, everyone! Please review! Thank you!
