I'm quite disappointed. 3 reviews. Tut tut. But thank you so much to those 3 reviewers :) you made my day!
Chapter two and I still don't own anything.
Rose was growing, and Lily knew it. Not just physically but magically. It was July 31st, her first birthday, and throughout that year alone she had caused two broken vases, three cracked windows and an explosion of paper out of the basket of work that James had at home. All because of her temper tantrums.
Luckily, she had these at very rare intervals. She was a relatively calm baby, other than these uncommon events. Ate when she was supposed to, fell asleep relatively quickly, the things that aren't supposed to go terribly smoothly.
That particular morning proceeded as usual, with the sun shining and Rose gently waking. Lily and James quietly crept into her bedroom with huge grins on their faces.
"Happy birthday, baby girl!" Lily giggled.
"On the contrary, love. She's a big girl now. My little princess is growing up," James pouted.
"James…she still can't understand a word you're saying," Lily pointed out.
"I know, but she will soon!"
"Not really James. You still have oodles of time to spend with your girl before she starts talking back, don't you worry," Lily smirked. James rolled his eyes and picked Rose out of her crib.
"And how does it feel to be one year old, missy?" James questioned. She stared at him with quizzical eyes. He smiled and spun her around, as he did almost every day, just to see her smile and laugh.
And he wasn't disappointed. He saw her face light up with joy and so did his.
"Come on!" Lily urged. "Everyone's waiting."
The trio walked (well, the adults did. Rose was still resting firmly in her fathers arms) out to the living room in their rather large cottage in Godrics Hollow.
Everyone was indeed waiting.
Doria Potter sat on the sofa with Albus Dumbledore, conversing about some Wizarding Law of some sort. Remus and Sirius were no where in site, but distinct crashed and slams could be heard from the kitchen. Lily's parents, John and Jasmine Evans, were lounging on the love seat, talking with the Parkinson's and the Longbottom's. McGonagall was just walking through the door, and Peter was sitting awkwardly on the arm chair.
Lily stopped dead in her tracks, staring at a site she was sure she wouldn't forget for a long time. Her sister, Petunia, was standing by the fireplace with her son Dudley in her arms.
"Tuney!" Lily cried. She ran towards her sister but came to a sudden halt at the site of her heated glare.
"I'm here only because Mum and Dad asked me to be. I am to wish your little brat a happy birthday, and then I can leave. Where is the little freak?" she asked harshly. Lily worked to keep tears from her eyes, but pointed mutely to her daughter still resting in James's arms.
Petunia walked over stiffly and took one look at her.
"You call that hunk of flesh a baby?" she scoffed. The entire room fell into a hush. Everyone was watching the sneering woman with a genuine feeling of dislike and unwelcoming. "That's just a rat with a mop on top. Do you expect her to grow into anything special? She will just be a freak like you. In fact-,"
"Get out."
"Pardon?" Petunia asked, affronted.
"Get. Out. Now, Petunia. I don't want you in my house."
Lily's voice was cold and cutting, a promise of what would come if Petunia didn't take a hint and split.
"Fine! I don't want to spend one more second in a house of FREAKS LIKE YOU!" she huffed. It took ten seconds for her reach the door, five to open it, glance back, and slam it, but it would take a lifetime for Lily to ever forgive her.
Lily grabbed Rose and cuddled her close to her chest. "Don't pay any attention to your terrible aunt, Rosie. None of those things are true. None."
Silence took over for a few more second before Cedrella broke the ice.
"So…that was Petunia, eh?" A few people chuckled uncomfortably before Jasmine rushed over to Lily.
"Oh, honey. You know she didn't mean it. She just hasn't forgiven you for being a witch when she couldn't be, you know that," she soothed. Seeing a fire start in her daughter's eyes she quickly corrected herself. "Not that it's your fault! No, it's absolutely wonderful that you got to have all this. It's just… you know she wanted it too."
"I know Mum, but why can't she just forget everything we've ever felt towards each other during the past ten years and just see Rose? It's her big day, but somehow Petunia had to go and make it about us. I just don't understand why she had to do that," Lily said sadly, shaking her head slowly.
"Well, as you said it's Rose's big day! Let's get on with the festivities, shall we?" Alice cheered, clapping her hands. Lily sent her a grateful smile, though it came out as more of a grimace.
Alice grabbed Neville from her husband and brought her over to Rose and Lily. "There!" she exclaimed. "Now Neville can teach her his days worth of knowledge on being one!" she chirped. Everyone laughed merrily and soon all thoughts of Petunia were forgotten.
************RLP************
"Ukle Siri!" a three and a half years old Rose cheered.
"Hey, Princess!" Sirius shouted, an absolutely brilliant grin lighting up his face. He picked up his favorite niece and spun her around, much like James does. She could never get enough of that.
Yup, they would make a flier and a Quidditch player out of her yet. Remus walked in seconds later, carrying a wrapped box.
"Hey, Padfoot, where's your gift for the little demon?" he asked good naturedly, sending a wink in his direction.
"Already under the tree, Moony," he answered, a mischievous glint in his eyes. James took that moment to walk in.
"Perfect. To the plan is in motion? You found the stuff ok, Moony?"
"Affirmative, Prongs."
Sirius's gaze snapped to the doorway that led to the kitchen. "Ah! Lilyflower!" he yelled nervously, glancing at James. His eyes widened considerably and uncertainly laughed.
"Hello dear! Um, how are you on this, um, cold day?" James was twitching now. If she knew what was going to happen, there was a good chance she would not approve.
"Hello James," she smirked, leaning on the doorway and crossing her arms. "May I ask what you are planning?"
"Um…no?" James replied wearily.
"James Potter, you WILL-,"
"OK TIME TO OPEN PRESENTS NOW!" Sirius shouted, slightly too conspicuously. Remus buried his face in his palms, wondering how Sirius could get any more obvious.
"YAY!" Rose cheered. She ran clumsily over to the tree and plopped herself down in front of the biggest looking box. She tore it open as the three adults took their seats around the fireplace, watching her in amusement. They heard a gasp of surprise and pleasure.
"A BEGINNERS POTION SET? TANK YOU MUMMY!" she ran over and hugged her mothers legs tightly before staring at the box a bit longer. It came with the basic ingredients and a small cauldron, a stirring rod, a few measuring cups of various sizes and test tubes to hold the finished product. She loved it.
"Here, Rose. Why don't you open this one now?" Sirius nudged a longer and thinner package towards her. She grabbed it eagerly and tore open the paper. This time two gasps were heard. One of delight and one of…possible anger.
Lily sent a glare over to her now least favorite best friend. "YOU GOT HER A-,"
"A BROOM! TANK YOU UKLE SIRI! CAN I RIDE IT SOON?" Rose asked. James chuckled at her anticipation and Remus merely shook his head. This could very well turn into a war zone.
"JAMES POTTER DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?"
"I sure did, sweetie," he grinned cheekily. "OK NEXT PRESENT!" he shoved his own into his daughter's arms.
Once more she eagerly ripped open the paper and another gasp of surprise echoed throughout the house.
"A LEARNERS SET OF QUIDDITCH BALLS? TANK YOU DADDY!" she ran over and hugged her father just as she had hugged her mother and her uncle.
"JAMES!" Lily roared.
"Now look, love. The quaffle is padded, and the bludgers are made of foam! And the snitch is twice its normal size! Not dangerous at all! AND they have restriction charms and speed control charms on the bludgers and snitch!" James reasoned.
Lily deliberated just long enough for Remus to give Rose his present.
"OH! THE GOALS POSTS! NOW WE CAN PLAY A REAL GAME OF QUIDDITCH! OH TANK YOU UKLE REM!" he was the last to receive a hug. Rose grabbed her four presents and opened the boxes in order to have all the components of all the presents lying on the floor.
"I gonna start a potion, and leave it to brew, and then Ukle Siri, Ukle Rem and Daddy can teach me to play Quidditch!" she decided.
"Wow Lils…she has your time management skills alright," Remus chuckled. James glare at his best friend at the blatant insult and Lily smirked.
"Oh yes, Remus. She knows exactly how to get things done."
********RLP**********
The inseparable trio of six year olds took their seats at the Parkinson's lunch table giggling madly. Their usual peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sat on their plates, smiling at them invitingly, but they ignored their food in favor of watching Pansy's mother, Cedrella, take her seat at the head of the table.
"So, kids, are you having fun today?" she chirped cheerily to the children. They nodded with a few more high pitched giggles.
"That's good! What crazy things have you been getting up to today?" she asked, unfolding her napkin and placing is smoothly on her lap.
"Just reading Uncle James's newest muggle book," Pansy explained calmly, hiding her true emotions quite effectively. Her pureblood parents may not mind muggles and muggle borns, but they were still adamant that they would raise a Slytherin.
"That's nice. Oh, Neville, your mother will be here in about one hour to pick you up for your Healers appointment," she told the small boy, picking up her spoon and started on her tomato soup.
The children watched with an extreme sense of anticipation as she took her first spoonful and put it to her mouth.
They waited until it was firmly in her mouth and silently counted down from three.
Bingo.
Right on time, Pansy's mother shot up from her seat, shrieking madly, waving her hand in front of her mouth. She swallowed as quickly as she could (Purebloods never spit out their food) and took a few mighty gulps from her iced water.
And promptly starts choking. She couldn't help it. She did an absolutely wonderful spit-take.
"DID YOU PUT HOT SAUCE IN MY SOUP AND SALT IN MY WATER?" she shrieked.
The children jumped to their feet, hardly able to make it out of the door as their laughter tried to bring them down to the floor.
"Chapter One, How to Simply Yet Effectively Ruin a Meal," Rose sang. She had been taught this long before of course, but now it was in book, so that made is ok to do.
"I THOUGHT YOU WERE TOLD THA-,"
Rose, Pansy and Neville didn't bother to stay around to hear the rest. Instead they ran quickly up to Pansy's room and closed the door firmly behind them.
The next chapter had to be read and the next prank planned. Lily Evans wouldn't know what hit her. And neither would her clothes.
*******RLP********
"Rose Lily Potter, pay attention!" Lily demanded. "You'd think at eight years old you'd have a slightly higher attention span!"
"Sorry Mum!"
"Right where were we? Ah yes, I want you to right down the entire 8 times table, multiplying it by everything from one to 13. You have one minute. GO!"
With a flick of her wand, Lily created a floating timer, and watched as her daughter got to work, sticking her tongue slightly in concentration and her quill speeded down the page.
"DONE!" Rose announced with a proud grin. Lily smiled fondly and corrected it in a matter of seconds, setting it down in approval.
"Perfect, now I want you to take out your reading book, and we'll read chapter eight together. Along the way I want you to write down ten words that you don't understand and we'll go over them afterwards," Lily instructed.
Rose eagerly reached under the table and brought up The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Together, she and her mother started reading and Rose started taking notes.
After the chapter was read, and the words defined, they moved onto History, and Rose was listening intently to her mum with a small smile on her face, taking in every note and drawing and map that her mother had drawn on the conjured chalk board.
She would never admit it, but she loved being home schooled by her mum.
*********RLP*********
"MUM!" Rose called over her shoulder, "YOUR DAILY PROPHET'S HERE!"
"THANKS SWEETIE! I'LL BE DOWN IN A SECOND," Lily responded from her upstairs office. Lily had decided to work again, when Rose had turned ten, and the day had finally arrived, almost twelve month ago. Eleven and a half to be precise. Of course Rose was still being home schooled, but thankfully her mum's job didn't require her to go in every day, and when it did it wasn't for large amounts of time.
Rose had almost completely turned around when another owl caught her eye. She quickly ran to the window again and looked in confusion. Their land was quite extensive; there wasn't another wizarding house for a while. What else would they be receiving on a Wednesday?
The owl landed gracefully holding a thick envelope in its beak. Curiosity overtook caution and Rose quickly untied it, letting the bird fly away. Her eyes widened as she took in the address, written in thick emerald ink.
Rose Lily Potter
Third bedroom on the left
The Lions Den
Godrics Hollow
"M…M…MUM!" Rose shrieked in absolute excitement.
"WHAT IS IT ROSE?" her mum called out.
"I GOT MY HOGWARTS LETTER!"
Lily ran into the room, hair slightly charred, wand in hand, to find an ecstatic Rose jumping up and down.
Following Lily's footsteps, James sped into the room and swept his daughter into his arms.
"Congratulations, Baby Girl!" he cried.
Lily quickly took out her camera to record this once in a life time moment.
The Potter's could not be more proud of their daughter, and when they found out, Sirius and Remus could not be more excited.
It was time for the Marauders legacy to be continued.
********RLP**********
Two 11 year old girls were lying on a queen sized bed on the night of August 16, in the year of 1991. It was a very special night for these girls, as it was the last sleepover these girls would have in a long time.
And they were heavily mourning their loss.
"Hey, Pans?" Rose asked in the dark.
"Yeah, Rosie?" Pansy replied quietly.
"Do you think that us being sorted into different Houses would affect out friendship?" the raven haired girl asked in a small, vulnerable voice.
"Oh, Rose," Pansy crooned, wrapping the girl in an awkward hug. Well, awkward in the sense that they were lying down neither had really mastered the talent of such hugs. "Of COURSE not! I know I will probably be in Slytherin and you'll probably be in Gryffindor, but I can promise you that nothing with change!"
"But Pans! If there are two Houses in Hogwarts that aren't particularly fond of each other it's those two! I know they don't hate each other like they used to, but none of them will go out of their way to help each other either," Rose protested, hoisting herself up onto her elbows.
"Rose, I promise. Just because the rest of the House doesn't do it does not mean we can't! I would make an unbreakable vow right now. We will never be torn apart. In fact, maybe the rest of our Houses will follow our example and learn to actually like each other. Think of it this way. Our mums did just fine, didn't they?" Pansy said softly.
This thought alone seemed to make Rose relax. A lazy smile overtook her features and Pansy let go of the other girl, sensing her comfort.
A few more minutes of silence ensued.
"Hey, Rose?" Pansy said.
"Yeah Pans?"
"What if no one besides you and Neville likes me?"
"And what's wrong with Neville and me?" Rose teased.
"NOTHING!" Pansy quickly assured. "Nothing, it's just as you said, we'll be in different Houses, and I will try and see you as much as I can, but we won't always have the same classes, and I have to live with people I don't know and it's just making me nervous, is all."
"Well, Pansy, if they can't see the beautiful, strong willed, smart, funny and amazing girl I see, then they aren't worth worrying about anyway," Rose announced firmly.
"Beautiful? Rose, I have a pug nose, and my hair is a mousy brown. Nothing about me exactly screams beauty queen. Not like you," Pansy stated sadly.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder Pans. And it's not all about what's on your face. And I quite happen to like your face. And I assure you that I am no beauty queen."
Pansy snorted. "Please, Rose. Your hair is curly and long and the deepest black I have ever seen. Your eyes are greener than a freaking leaf, and your lips practically scream 'HEY BOYS. I KNOW YOU WANT SOME OF THIS.' Just you wait; Neville and I will have to beat the boys off you with a baseball bat!" she promised.
"Well Pans, we'll just have to wait and see whose right," Rose replied, rolling her eyes. Pansy could be absolutely ridiculous when she wanted to be.
Both girls rolled over and closed their eyes. Tomorrow would be a long day and they had to be as alert as possible. They had almost gotten lost in Diagon Alley once and they did not fancy doing it again.
"Hey Rose?" Pansy poked the other girl from her half-asleep state.
"Yes, Pansy?" she groaned, burying her face in the pillow.
"My mother heard the Malfoy boy will be going to Hogwarts with us. What do you think he'll be like?" the pug nosed girl questioned.
Rose snorted into her pillow. "Please, Pans. He'll be a spoiled little rich kid who gets everything wants. I can't imagine him being a particularly pleasant chap."
"What makes you think that?" Pansy asked, affronted. She was rather looking forward to meeting this boy. "We're rich, and we aren't terribly spoiled!"
"Yes, but our parents like to remind us about the real world. Besides have you heard about the Malfoy's reputation?" Rose asked. Pansy shrugged her shoulders. She'd give her friend that. The Malfoy's were notorious for spoiling their child.
It wasn't that they were unpleasant people. Except maybe their son. That was to be discovered.
Pansy was deep in thought. The Malfoy's were said to be a dark family, or at least they used to be. And so did the Parkinson's. Actually, so did a lot of Slytherin families. But somehow that all seemed to change with their parents' generation.
Pansy was softly lulled to sleep by a single question that she couldn't seem to figure out: what happened that year that made such a huge impact on the Slytherin Pureblooded families?
She'd have to ask her mum one day.
********RLP********
The sun was actually shining the next morning, and two young witched and one young wizard were walking out of Gringotts. The adults had made a day of it and invited Sirius and Remus to go along. With three quarters of the Marauders there, it was sure to be a fun day. Unfortunately Peter had decided to move abroad and research plants.
"Where too first?" Alice Longbottom chirped.
"Robes?" Lily suggested. The adults nodded in agreement.
"Come on children, to Madame Malkins!"
"Forward MARCH!" Sirius commanded. The kids playfully turned in the right direction and simultaneously started marching in that direction. The adults laughed and followed.
Upon entering the store, the children saw one woman bustling about with a wand in her hand, looking really rather frazzled.
"Three more for Hogwarts?" she questioned in a warm voice. "Right, stand over there please. I'm just finishing up one batch of robes in the back and I shall be right out!"
She hurried away and Neville, Pansy and Rose all took seats on spindly chairs by the window.
Less than two minutes later, the same woman—presumably Madame Malkin—and her shop assistant came out from behind a curtain.
"Honestly, I don't understand why they had to make the robes so plain. I could have had such fun with them," the plump Malkin was prattling on to her assistant. The younger witch was merely nodding along, apparently having heard this all before.
"Well! Come now children, let's get you all measured!"
Many measurements later, Madam Malkin beamed. "I think I may have one set of robes that will fit you just perfectly my dear!" she beamed at Pansy. Pansy looked rather pleased and waited as they were retrieved. Once they were paid for she sat in the same chair she had previously occupied and waited for her friends to be finished.
Neville's robes merely required a few inched off the hem from the original set. Rose, however, had to have a bit more work done. Her closest fit was slightly too short, but the sleeves were slightly too long.
Once the robes were acquired, the group made its way to the wizarding equipment store to pick up their cauldrons, their telescopes and their scales. It was all a fairly standard shopping trip right through the trip to the Apothecary. It really took off in Flourish and Blotts.
"We're going to learn ALL THIS?" Pansy raged. "Imagine all the homework this is going to come with! This is child labor!"
Neville rolled his eyes and picked up all his school books as soon as possible. He paused when he saw the name of the Transfiguration text book.
"Uncle James! It's you!" he exclaimed, holding up his brand new copy of Transfiguration for Ickle Firsties. .
"Why, yes it is Neville," he responded, winking.
"DAD!" Rose squealed. "You didn't tell me you wrote the text books for school!"
"And why would you want a piece of boring information like that?" James demanded with a mischievous light in his eye.
"Um, because now your FAMOUS!" Rose explained.
"Oh!" James chuckled. "Now you love your old man just because he might be famous! Well, let me tell you something, young missy, you may not appreciate this as much when you're being assigned homework from something I wrote!"
"Oh…ew. Merlin, Dad, why would you do that?" Rose asked, wrinkling her nose. James let out a big appreciative laugh.
"Uncle James, did you write the textbooks for all seven years?" Pansy asked, growing more impressed by the second.
"Sure did, rascal," James announced proudly, a broad smile growing on his face.
"But that must mean you're really good!"
"I better be, I went to a Transfiguration Masters school right out of Hogwarts," James rolled his eyes. Seriously, they should have better things to talk about than their text-books and their authors.
"Well, we're impressed, no need to get huffy!" Pansy scolded. She grabbed the last of her books, gave them to her parents, her friends following suit, and they quickly escaped to the more entertaining section of the shop.
The adults were still laughing quietly to themselves when they heard an exasperated shout.
"Merlin, Rose. Your Dad is just EVERYWHERE!"
The group of older friends really started laughing then. They were even inclined to go check up on them, but decided against it. They went to go pay for the school books and let the kids do with their pocket money as they pleased.
What a mistake.
About thirty minutes later the children immerged from the shop and ran into their parents who were waiting outside in the sunlight.
"What'd you rascals get?" Remus asked.
"Not much," Rose replied innocently.
"Yeah, just Uncle James's books on pranks. All four of them," Neville added with a large grin.
"You all got a copy of them?" Lily asked incredulously.
"Of course not!" Pansy scoffed. "I got them, and Rose and Neville split the cost, seeing as they will probably be in the same House. I just hope they don't follow through with any of the pranks they plan and/or read up on without me!" Pansy gave a warning glare to the two potential Gryffindor's and they gave her a reassuring smile.
"Aw, don't worry Pans! We wouldn't dare without your express permission," Neville assured her.
"Yeah, what would a prank be without you?" Rose asked. Pansy smiled, fully comforted.
"Well, children, onto Ollivanders!" Frank ordered. Said children cheered. This is what they were really looking forward too!
The shops bell rung as they opened the door and an old man softly greeted them. The shop itself was quite old as well and had a certain musty scent to it. It was mysterious, yet somehow comforting. It was as if they were in an ancient, abandoned library. None dared to speak, but they were so fascinated by their surroundings that they had nothing to say either.
"So, your first wands." The children jumped at the sudden appearance of an old, soft-spoken man. "Let's see, you first Ms. Parkinson. Step right up here, that's it! Now let me measure your wand arm. Very good…here try this one."
Ollivander held out a wand. Pansy waved it and it was quickly snatched away.
"Alright then, not that one. Ah! This one should do it! Rosewood, 14 and a half inches, tail hair of a Unicorn! Beautiful wand for Charms and Divination!"
Pansy gripped the wand firmly and smiled brightly. A perfect match.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Now you, Mr. Longbottom! Try this one! Oak, 13 and a quarter inches, dragon heartstring. Wonderful wand for Herbology!"
Neville was quite fond of the wand before taking it but felt confidence and power flow through him upon gripping it.
"Perfect!" he crooned. Ollivander chuckled at his reaction, but nodded nonetheless.
"Now, Ms. Potter. I have a feeling you'll be quite tricky. Let's get started!"
Wand after wand was handed to her, but none matched. They all either tingled uncomfortably for were taken away before she had it in her hand for even a second.
"I wonder…yes it is certainly a very odd combination, but it certainly is a very powerful wand. Yes, try this one!" Ollivander handed another wand to Rose, and she took it willingly. It was perfect. It was wonderful it was-
"Holly, eleven inches with a Phoenix feather. Yes, very powerful indeed. Good for defensive and offensive magic. Wonderful! You all have your wands! I can imagine great things from all of you, I am sure. Especially with those wands. Yes, be on your way now! Your parents will pay, but you may take your wands. Shoo, shoo!"
The children obeyed and left the shop, too thrilled with their wands to say a single word. The wand felt like their best friend in their hand. Yes, they would definitely do very great things with these wands. Together.
I won't update again until I get over 5 reviews ^^ low expectations people, at least give me that :P
