Chapter One-
The sun was shining bright, beating down on the summery green pastures of east England. The air was fresh and clean, a soft breeze bringing the smell of new daisies. The horses grazed in the meadows, their ears twitching, and tails flicking. In the distance, the large Potter Manor sat regally on the horizon, its massive size and majestic structure showing off the status of the family inhabiting it. The thin, winding dirt road that led up to the house was abandoned except for a small cloud of dust, kicked up by the racing feet of a small girl. The smile on her face grew steadily the farther she ran. Her mane of deep red hair flew behind her like a flag, and her bare feet nearly blurred. The elated bubble of a young child's laugh fell from her lips and she ran even faster. Her mind didn't even register the slight sting of the pebbles pricking the pads of her feet. The pain paled in comparison to the excitement racing through her veins. Today was the day she received her acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Finally, the young girl with the prominent red hair and gleaming emerald eyes, trademark of her father, reached the end of her family's property. She climbed to the top of the fence in one swift movement so that her feet swung over the other side.
"Come on, come on," She pleaded. Her eyes scanned the azure sky, looking for the flash of tawny that signaled her owl's return. She waited, and waited, but no returning screech reached her ears.
"Lily?" Even growing up around Apparating wizards and witches, new Ministry workers seeking advice from her father, Lily still jumped. It was shocking to see a person appear right beside you with no warning except a slight ripple if you looked close enough, and a loud cracking noise that came after the fact. Her dad, the most famous wizard in the world, appeared beside her. Even after aging, he still couldn't keep the tufty tousled jet black hair to stay flat on his head. His signature round glasses were pushed up on his nose, and the faint lighting scar that made him both easily recognizable and nearly killed him many times over in his past stuck out to Lily.
Every since she was old enough to hear the story of her father, young Lily Potter ha felt mixed emotions about that scar. Though her father and mother said it not only brought them together, but also made Harry Potter who he was, Lily had never thought of it as the blessing they described it as. That scar only appeared on the skin of people who survived the Killing Curse. Being the first and only, her father was the only one who possessed one. Most people envied her family for their money and power, for their clearly powerful magical abilities, and for their ancestors, but Lily wondered at times why she had to be the one to land in this family. Not to mention that her namesake was her long dead grandmother who had been killed by her father's nemesis, Lord Voldemort. Lily always found that unsettling. Even worse, her eldest brother shared the name of her dead namesake's dead husband. Ew. No matter how many times she was told it was an honor, she could never quite believe it.
"Where's Alaric Daddy?" Lily complained to her father in a small voice. It wasn't like her trusty owl to be late with a delivery. Her Dad scoured the sky, his hand held up to block the sun from penetrating his vision. "He should be here by now."
"What's all the rush for sweetheart? He'll only be bringing the mail." Lily rolled her eyes. Her Dad knew very well why she was excited for today's mail. She'd only been rambling about it for the past three years, ever since James got into Hogwarts.
"Because! He's bringing my letter!" She explained to him anyway. Her father looked down at her, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, the same color as his daughter's.
"You mean… these?" He held up three letters from behind his back. His daughter's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.
"THEY'RE HERE!" She screamed, giddy and giggly.
"Alaric brought them around the back." Harry explained. Lily snatched them right out of her father's hand and took off towards the house again. She ran even faster back to the house than she had on the way out, not slowing down until she plowed through the front door. Her mother, Ginny Potter, was serving breakfast to her two sons, Albus and James. They three all looked up at her loud entrance. Lily ran right up to the edge of the table and slipped into her seat. Her mom laughed.
"Hogwarts letters?" She asked knowingly. Lily nodded, flashing a smile her mother's way.
"Gimme!" Albus demanded eagerly. He was on his second year at Hogwarts now, and the excitement still hadn't vanished from last term. "Oh, Lil, you'll love it! The grounds are so beautiful, and the dark forest looms over, but we can't go in there under any circumstances, but Uncle Ron told me he had to go in for detention once!" He blabbered. His kid sister's eyes started growing rapidly. "The teachers are kind of strict, but they just don't want us to get hurt. Except, try to avoid Professor Slughorn, he'll try to adopt you just because he liked Dad and-."
"Hush Albus, you're going to make her head burst." Ginny shushed her son affectionately, dishing a few eggs and a slice of bacon onto Lily's plate. It was true though. Both her brother's had crammed her head full of important things to remember about her first year at Hogwarts, and she didn't need any more. James took his letter less excitedly.
"Aren't you excited James?" Lily bubbled, cocking her had at her brother in confusion. Hogwarts had always been described to her as a magical place full of fun and wondrous new adventures. There was no reason for her brother not to be excited.
"Why? I've been there three times before; I knew I was going to get in again, why should I be bouncing all over the place?" He growled sullenly. James was fourteen, and going through his sullen teenager period where all he thought about was girls, which Lily didn't get at all. But her mother always told her to drop it whenever she tried to ask a question. Ginny gently smacked her eldest son on the back of his head.
"Don't hinder your sister James. Let her and her brother be excited." She chided, wandering back to the stove where she was cooking. James fiddled with the food on his plate boredly, his letter sitting untouched on the table. Lily's fingers were trembling so badly she couldn't tear the paper.
"Yeah Lil, he's just upset 'cause he'll have to talk to Valerie again!" Albus cackled devilishly. Lily knew fair well about James and his girlfriend, who'd broken up with him right after the term ended. James' eyes flashed with anger, and he dove towards his brother in an attempt to start a wrestling match. But Albus saw him coming and darted away, up the stairs, a piece of toast dangling from his mouth. Lily watched with amusement as James grumbled something and took off after his younger brother. She remembered how shy Albus had been when he was going to Hogwarts for the first time, and how much he'd changed. James hadn't changed much. He was still a prankster, and was endlessly taunting Albus, but he remained kind and brotherly to Lily. Ginny always called him an exact replica of Harry, from his hair, to his personality though his eyes were more of a duller green than Lily's and her father's. Albus was somewhere between them all. He had Ginny's brown eyes, and his ashy brown hair was a mix between Ginny's flame orange and Harry's obsidian black, balancing out at a brown. Lily was in the middle too, though her belonging in the family was clear. She had her father's eyes, and her hair was a more saturated color red than her mother's. Less orange, a deeper red, and much longer. She had the same pale skin as her mother, and the lanky shape of her father. Albus used to have to be reassured several times that he wasn't adopted.
"Boys! James if you lay a finger on your brother, you won't be going to school this term! Albus, leave James alone about Valerie!" Ginny hollered up at her sons, frowning at the mess they'd left on the table. Then she shook her head and turned to her only daughter. "This is why you're my favorite." She joked, sitting down on the couch and patting her lap. Lily ran over immediately and crawled up, bringing her letter with her. She was afraid that if she let go, it would fly away and she'd never get to follow her bothers to Hogwarts, even though that was ridiculous.
"Can I open it now?" Lily begged. Ginny laughed musically, nodding. Lily forced her fingers to stop shaking and ripped through the envelope. Her eyes eagerly ate up every word the letter said. She'd waited for this moment since she was seven years old, and it was finally here.
"Well? Read it dear." Ginny prompted. Lily cleared her throat proudly, shaking out her hair.
"Dear Miss Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary supplies. Term begins September 1st. We expect your return letter by August 14th." Lily read out. Ginny took the letter out of her daughter's hands, checking and triple checking for the supplies list and school uniform list. She started to speak, and proud smile gracing her lips, but was interrupted by a loud crash from upstairs. Ginny's head snapped up, her smile gone, replaced by an angry half scowl.
"James Perseus Potter and Albus Severus Potter! If I come up there and you have your hands on each other, you'll be cleaning up supper for the next year!" Ginny glanced apologetically at her daughter, shifting the young girl off her lap, and then Apparating upstairs. Lily slid off the couch, her bare feet padding softly against the smooth wood floor. Harry entered, returning from his long walk to the house. His usual crooked smile was on his face.
"Lil, where's your mother?" Lily rolled her eyes, and pointed at the ceiling, where her mother's angry voice could be heard through the floor. Harry shook his head, chuckling under his breath.
"Daddy, can we go see Hugo and Rosie? Maybe they got their letters too." Lily asked, blinking up at her father.
"I suppose. I'll tell your mother." He Apparated away, and was back in seconds, dragging James by the collar. Lily wrinkled her nose. Her brother had what looked like purple paint splattered across his face and the front of his shirt. It smelled like old cow manure. He was scowling angrily. He shrugged Harry away, and crossed his arms over his chest, huffing. Lily giggled.
"What did you do?" She demanded, falling back onto the couch in a heap of little girl giggles. James' features softened at his sister, and he swiped a finger through the thick purple stuff on his cheek, teasingly running over and threatening to put it on his sister. She laughed harder, kicking him away and smiling like crazy.
"Alright children. James, when we get to the Weasleys', you be sure to ask Aunt Hermione for her best stain removing spell." Harry smiled fondly at his eldest and youngest child. He offered his arms to them. Lily obediently went over, grabbing onto her father's arm. James did the same on the other side. You didn't learn to Apparate until young wizards and witches were seventeen, so James wasn't old enough to do it on his own. Harry Apparated and Lily felt her stomach rising into her throat. Apparating was something she'd done since she was even smaller than she was now, and it still was unsettling. All around you, you saw the areas you were passing by, much like with Floo powder. Your stomach was in knots the whole time, and your feet felt unnatural, like they were hovering a few feet above the ground but couldn't ever touch. It felt like your body was being twisted and folded into a tiny little box. And then, a heartbeat after it began, it was over. Lily, James, and Harry appeared on the table in the center of the Weasleys' kitchen, disrupting a rather cheerful breakfast. Lily's Uncle Ron let out a high pitched squeak when his best friend's foot landed in his plate of oatmeal that sent his children into a fit of bubbly laughter. By the sink, Aunt Hermione laughed under her breath, her hand floating up to cover her mouth.
"Aw, Harry, mate, couldn't you have landed a few inches that way? Land in Hugo's breakfast!" Uncle Ron complained. Harry grinned and stepped down from the table, helping his daughter down. Hugo sent Lily a lopsided half smile, subconsciously pulling his own bowl of oatmeal away from the center of the table.
"What's that smell?" Rose, the oldest child of Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione and Lily's favorite cousin, wrinkled her nose.
"That would be my son." Harry cuffed James on the back of the head. James looked at the floor, and scuffed his shoes against the floor.
"Another one of your brother's exploding paintballs Ronald?" With a sweep of her wand and a muttered spell, Hermione removed any trace of the purple substance from James' clothes, hair, and skin. She was used to cleaning up the shenanigans of her nephews and son by now, and her magic had always been particularly neat. Lily wanted to be like her aunt when she grew up. Contained, polite, beautiful, and talented with her power. Uncle Ron laughed boisterously.
"I'll call up George; see if he made any last minute deliveries to the Potter residence. Did you know he was closing up shop?" Harry and Ron immersed themselves in a conversation referring to Ron's nearest in age brother, Lily's Uncle George.
"Lil, did you get your letter today?" Rose asked, holding up her own. Lily nodded eagerly and went over to take the seat beside her cousin. James plopped down on the couch and started scrawling something on a piece of paper. Hugo brought his chair over to talk to his sister and Lily. He'd always gotten along better with the two of them, being gentle at heart.
"Oh Rosie, I can't wait! It'll be great, all five of us at Hogwarts together!" Lily cooed happily.
"And we'll all get Gryffindor together!" Hugo added. So far, all three kids already enrolled in school had made Gryffindor. Lily sighed, just thinking about it. It was a shame that September 1st was so far away. The deadline for return letters was in a week, and then there was only a little less than a month until term began.
"What if you're the only one who doesn't?" Rose teased, poking her brother in the stomach. Hugo became solemn in under a second.
"I will!" He vowed. She rolled her eyes. Even though Rosie was the most quiet of the five of them, she still enjoyed teasing with her brother, like any other sister. Aunt Hermione watched her kin fondly form the counter in the kitchen, her chin resting in her palm as she observed their hushed exchanges about how they would spend their afternoons at Hogwarts. She knew what a magical, literally, experience Hogwarts was, and she was so glad her children would be able to experience it untarnished as hers was. Though she wouldn't trade a second of it, because those eight years made her and her family who they were today, she did wish she had one year to just live life at Hogwarts. Well at least her children would get to.
Or so she thought.