August 19th, 2013
Late one night, Lilly Potter had a night mare. She had a choice to make. Did she run into her parent's room crying, shake her older brother James awake, or timidly call out her other brother Albus' name, who would bolt up like a rocket?
"Albus?" A five year old Lilly walked into her older brother's room.
"Yeah Lil?" Albus sat up, yawning, and put on his glasses. He was used to Lilly entering his room at night when she was still wide awake.
"I can't sleep." Lilly sat on her brother's bed. Her brother had a blanket that Lilly loved, it was so soft, and it smelt like Albus.
"Whatsa matter?" Albus asked.
"I had a nightmare," Lilly's eyes filled with tears. It wasn't unusual for Lilly to have nightmares, everyone said she had much too vivid imagination. And she would always look to one of her brothers for help. Scary nightmares was James' job, sad nightmares were Albus' job.
"What happened?" Albus asked, looking concerned for his sister.
"I had a dream that Mommy and Daddy weren't here anymore, and James left, and you left, and I couldn't find Grandma," Lilly started to cry. Albus hugged her.
"It's okay Lil," Albus said, holding her. "I'm here. We're all here. You don't have to worry." He waited for a response, and then looked down to see Lilly asleep in his arms.
August 31, 2017:
"Al?" Lilly walked over to her older brother. Albus was sitting on the couch, reading Hogwarts: A History.
"Sup Lilly?" Albus said, not looking up from his book.
"I don't want you to go to Hogwarts," Lilly said sitting down next to him.
"Aw Lil," Albus said, pulling her into a one armed hug. "I'll write every day."
"But if you go, I won't have anyone to play with!" Lilly cried. "Now who will teach me quidditch?" Albus looked at her oddly.
"Um, Mom?" Albus said, smiling. "You know the international quidditch player?" Lilly stuck out her tongue.
"Yeah, but it's more fun with my brothers," Lilly said, looking up at her brother with wide eyes.
"I know Lil," Albus said, smiling down at her. "But we'll always have summers together and sooner or later, you'll be at Hogwarts, and we'll see each other every day." Lilly smiled.
"Thanks Al" she said, happy that she had such a great brother.
"No prob," Albus said smiling. "Now go to sleep, it's already 9:00." Lilly rolled her eyes as she hopped of the couch and walked up stairs.
August 31, 2019:
"I can't go to Hogwarts," Lilly said, telling her brother as they watched an old muggle movie about witches, wizards, and rainbows, and laughed at how wrong the story was. It was based on when a muggle met the minister of magic, and accidently destroyed a witch who had turned green during an experiment gone wrong, but the writers messed up everything!
"Why not Lillipad?" Albus asked, as Lilly rolled her eyes at the ridiculous nickname.
"Because if anyone becomes friends with me, it will only because of Dad, right?" Lilly said, thinking hard. "Like the girl that James went out with for a while. She only dated him because of Dad and Mum." Albus shook his head.
"Matilda Cooke was a rude, selfish girl," Albus said, thinking of his brother's sadness when he found out. "The only reason people will become friends with you is because of your personality. And if not, you've got Hugo and Lucy. You'll do great." Lilly nodded and smiled at her big brother. He was seeker, popular, and very handsome. Lilly envied the amount of friends, as she was very unpopular at her muggle school, and she hoped it would change in Hogwarts. And her brother had convinced her that could.
January 27th, 2024:
"How you doing Lilly?" Albus asked his younger sister as he walked in the Gryffindor common room.
"Fine," she sniffled, her cheeks tearstained from crying so much.
"He's a jerk, you know that right?" Albus told her, sitting down next to her. Lilly laughed sadly, than started crying again.
"I just thought that for once, I was finally in a good relationship, a happy relationship," Lilly cried. "But apparently I was wrong."
"Me, Fred, Lou, and Hugo took care of it, don't worry," Albus smiled as Lilly's eyes widened.
"You didn't!"
"Afraid so," he said. "We threatened him when you started dating, and we believe there is no such thing as an empty threat." Lilly smiled than turned and hugged her brother.
"Thanks," she mumbled. Albus rubbed her back.
"No problem little sis," Albus said, smiling at her sweetness.
September 5, 2033:
"Congrats Lillipad," Albus said to his little sister. Lilly smiled. She twisted the diamond ring on her finger.
"Lys really excited," Lilly said. "He wasn't sure that I would say yes."
"Were you?" Albus asked his sister.
"Yes," Lilly said, smiling. "I was sure from our first play date, we were five, and we played princess and prince. The prince asked me to marry him, and that just felt…right." Lilly looked at him. "Is it just me? Am I crazy for saying yes?"
"No," Albus said with conviction. "I wasn't crazy asking Amanda to marry me. Rose wasn't insane when she said yes to Scorpius. And James was the only one who went mental when he asked Alice to marry him." Lilly laughed, remembering James' proposal. He was so nervous; he acted so odd that night, Alice wanted to take him to St. Mungos to get him checked out. "You can find true love. You've waited long enough." That was true. Lilly had had her heart broken three times, and when Lysander asked her out in seventh year, she hesitated, until graduation, when they walked out of the graduation hall, and everyone was talking about how you only live once, and she turned around and kissed Lysander, surprising him, her and everyone around them. Even after they started dating, it had taken him five tries until tonight to get her to marry him.
"I guess so," Lilly said looking at her gorgeous ring again. Every time Lysander had proposed, he ring was different, and more gorgeous, every time. "Thanks Al," she said, and hugged her brother. Albus hugged her back, knowing that Lilly was nervous; ad would need a lot of support. But she could handle it, so long as she had her family. Especially Albus.
June 17th, 2034:
"I can't do it," Lilly said tears coming into her eyes, and her stomach feeling horrible.
"Yes you can," Albus told her. "You're stronger than this."
"I can't," she said, starting to cry. Lilly hadn't cried in 10 years. "What if something goes wrong? What if he says, 'I don't'?" Lilly sat down.
"Lilly Luna Potter," Albus said firmly. "Do you love Lysander?" Lilly nodded. "More than anyone in the entire world?' Lilly nodded again. "Then go out there and marry him. If something goes wrong? So what? A muggle once said, 'It is better to have loved and lost, then to never have loved at all.'" Lilly smiled at him.
"Thanks Al," She said, wiping her tears. Albus nodded.
"Any time."
As Lilly said 'I do' that night, and she kissed her husband for the first time as a married couple, she turned and smiled at her older brother, who was holding his pregnant wife's hand, and they both remembered how amazing love could be, and how glad they were to have family to help them in their confusion.
March 15th, 2037
"How do you feel Lil?" Albus said, helping his sister sit down.
"I'm fine Albus!" she said, swatting him away. "Honestly, stop overreacting. I'm only 8 and a half months pregnant, is not like I was just bitten by one of Hagrid's plants!" Albus smiled. "Honestly, I'm surprised that you didn't murder Lysander when you found out. James flipped, but you were excited."
"Well, I figure that it will make you happy, but if Lysander hurt you or your child, I would hurt him more than his belief." Lilly didn't answer, just put her hand to her stomach, and shrugged. She knew Albus was dead serious. "You sure you're ok?" Albus asked again. "You don't look great." It was true, Lilly seemed pale and in pain.
"It's nothing I've just been having stomachaches every so often," Lilly said. "I'm sure I just ate something that-Oooh!" Lilly bent over, holding her stomach.
"Lilly!" Albus cried.
"Hey Al," she whispered, with a slight smile. "I think that there's a possibility that I might be having this baby now." Albus' eyes widened.
"I'll go get Lysander and Dad, and Mum, and James..." Albus looked at his sister.
"Hey Al?" she said to him. Albus nodded. "Thanks." Albus looked at his sister.
"Of course," he said, before he ran out the door.
May 28th 2039:
"Congrats Lil," Albus said, as he sat on her hospital bed. Lilly smiled weakly. "You got a name for the little guy?" Lilly nodded.
"Me and Lysander talked about it," she said, smiling at Albus as he held her second born, her first son. "And we decided on Harry Albus." Albus' face brightened as he looked up from Harry.
"Really?" Albus asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Really." Lilly said, smiling. "And we decided that you would be godfather." This put Albus over the edge. Tears welled up in his eyes, and, with Harry Albus still in his arms, he walked over and hugged his little sister.
"I love you Lilly."
"I love you too Albus."
October 31, 2083:
"They'll pay for what they did," a tearstained Albus said. Lilly didn't answer, just cried in her hands. James walked in, his face red like his siblings.
"If I get my hands on them..." James started to say, before being cut off by Lilly.
"Stop it you two! Would mum and dad have wanted this? No, Dad would have said to move on, death was only the next adventure, and mum would have told us to forgive the horrible people who killed them." James hung his head, as did Albus.
"You're right Lil," Albus said, wiping his eyes. "And hey, dad gets to meet Grandma and grandpa."
"Yeah," Lilly agreed. "And his grandparents and he gets to see Sirius, and Fred, and Tonks, and Remus, and…" Lilly stopped speaking, as she was crying into Albus' shoulders. Albus rubbed her back. All three of the Potter children were around seventy years old, but Harry and Ginny were so healthy, they treated themselves the way they should, and if it wasn't for the Voldemort Youth Group, they would probably still be alive today. But they weren't and in truth, it killed Lilly, and she needed her older brothers, especially Albus, in this time. Because without her family, Lilly felt as though she had nothing, and two of the most important people in her family had just been snatched away from her.
November 18th 2115:
A one hundred and two year old Lilly was crying. In her room. Her children had been knocking on her door all day, but she didn't let anyone in. Albus, Albus Potter, her brother, her son's god father, her Best Friend, was gone. He died. Sure he was 104, but it was killing Lilly. Lilly had always relied on Albus, especially after James had died the year before, and now he was gone from her life. Lilly was the last of her siblings left. Lilly knew she couldn't function without Albus, she loved him too much. Not being able to hear his voice, or see his face…it made her start to cry again.
"You okay Lillipad?" a voice behind her said.
"Al?" Lilly croaked.
"Forgot about this portrait you forced me to make?" It was true; Lilly had forced her entire family, including herself, to get portraits.
"How…How are you?" Lilly asked, smiling through her tears.
"Lilly, you saw me three hours ago" Albus said, laughing. Lilly's smile widened.
"I can't be sad without you here to rub my back," Lilly said to him.
"Don't not live your life without me, Lilly," Albus said, his voice growing stern. "Live your life, outlive us all, and when we see each other again, we'll be in the same place." Lilly nodded.
"Love you Al," she whispered.
"Love you too."
Ten Years Later:
"Albus!" Lilly cried running to her brother.
"Hey Lillipad," he said, smiling as she embraced him.
"I missed you," she said, looking up at him.
"I missed you too," Albus said smiling at his sister, as he pulled her in for another hug.