Summary- Going into second year. More pranks, spilled secrets, and major problems. So is the life of Lily Potter and her friends as she continues her adventure at Hogwarts. This year could be a little more exciting than they had expected. Be sure to keep a light on. Sequel to The Next Generation.
Disclaimer- I am not J. K. Rowling, and I never will be. I am merely a poor 15-year-old that writes fanfictions in her free time. Although I do claim all characters/settings you have never heard of before. And I own the plot.
Aludra- Well, you're just too picky about that stuff. An AN inside the story is just a little helpful reminder. You have to admit, I don't do it very often. Besides, the s'/s's thing is something I always do. That's the same way I've always done it.
Luna Lovegood8- Yup. : ) Fun, fun.
"What do you want for your birthday?" Allie asked.
I laughed. "A little late to be asking, isn't it?"
"Nope," Allie said. "Your birthday's not until tomorrow. I can get it today when we go to Diagon Alley."
"I want a broom," I said. "But that'll be my Christmas present. If I make the team."
"I bet you will," Allie said confidently. "I'm not sure how much that means since I don't get the game, but Sirius thinks so too. Have you already gotten your supplies?"
"That's why we're going," I replied. "Have you?"
"No, my sister couldn't find the time." She sat down on the cot she was sleeping on while she was visiting. "Had an interesting dreams lately?"
"Nothing worth talking about," I said with a shrug. I'd been having dreams the year before about things that happened in the past. Things that had happened to my dad instead of happening to me. (Occasionally other family members, but it was usually Dad.) "It'd be nice if I had a dream of when Dad got on the Quidditch team. Or Mum or Sirius. Then maybe I'd know that I was going to make it."
"You will," Allie said. "You worry too much. They won't even have try-outs for at least a week after school starts, will they?"
"Probably n-"
"Lily, Allie! Are you two ready to go?"
"Coming," I yelled back. "Let's get this over with," I said to Allie.
"Do you not like floo powder?" Allie asked.
"I like it more than James," I said with a grin.
&-&-&-&-&
"That's what I want for my birthday," James said, pointing to a broom. Allie and I walked over to where he was standing in front of Quality Quidditch Supplies. "Golden Arrow. It's a remake of the Silver Arrows with better speeds and-"
"I know, James," I interrupted. "You've only got about five pictures of them on your bedroom wall."
"What's a Silver Arrow?" Allie asked.
"A really old broom," I said. "First made over a hundred years ago. One of the first brooms to-"
"Reach a height of over a hundred feet and speeds greater than seventy miles per hour with a tailwind," James finished, turning around to face us. "They're better than Stars. Well, the remake anyway."
"Not better than Firebolts, though," I said.
"No one except for international teams can afford Firebolts," James said. "We'll probably get Nimbuses. Not that I'm complaining."
"Can we talk about something I actually understand please?" Allie asked.
We laughed. "Let's go in here," James said. "Please? Five minutes, I swear."
"When was the last time you only took five minutes in Quality Quidditch Supplies?" I asked.
"I could ask you the same question," James said. He grinned. "Be right back." He disappeared into the shop.
"I hate it when he does that," I muttered, leaning determinedly against the outside wall of the shop. I figured if I didn't look into the shop, I'd be less likely to go in there and leave Allie outside.
"Oh, come on," Allie said, grabbing my arm and pulling me inside. "I have find you something. Why not start here?" I didn't put up much of a fight as she pulled my inside the shop. Okay, I didn't put up a fight at all. She let go of my arm when we got inside. "So what kind of stuff do you Quidditch people like?" she asked.
"Almost anything you find in here," I replied. "Unless it's just for a certain position, like just for beaters or keepers. Anything for chasers is fine though."
"And for James it's anything for a… seeter?"
"Close enough. Just don't ask anyone that works here if they have anything for a seeter. You'll get laughed out of the store."
"Why?"
"You'll look like an idiot."
"Lily!" someone called. I turned around, grinning, to see my cousin John pulling a very reluctant Amanda. Amanda brightened when she saw us.
"Never thought I'd see Allie Freck in Quality Quidditch Supplies," Amanda teased when they got closer.
"Birthday shopping," Allie said simply.
"Lily, Lily!" John exclaimed happily, pulling my arm to get my attention. "Did you see the new broom? Are you going to get one of those?"
"Maybe," I said, laughing. I looked up at Amanda. "Sugar high?"
"You could say that," Amanda said. "Do three chocolate frogs and a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans count as a sugar high?"
"It would for my brother," Allie said. "My little sister too."
"Can I look for James?" John asked Amanda. She nodded and John disappeared behind one of the shelves.
"He is in here, isn't he?" Amanda asked. I nodded. "Good. I didn't want to be sending him into the hands of a death eater or something. So what do you want for your birthday?"
"I dunno," I said, shrugging.
"How about a book of pranks?" Amanda teased.
"That's probably what Sirius'll get us," I said.
"Are my five minutes up yet?" James asked, coming up beside us with John. "Oh, hey, Amanda."
"Your five minutes are, but Allie's not done yet," I said.
"I can't do that while you two are in here," she said.
"How about you two take the little monster for a while and let us get you birthday presents?" Amanda suggested.
"Oh, let's go get some ice-cream!" John exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"Meet you at Fortescue's in fifteen minutes," James said. "Come on, Lils."
I shrugged. "See you in a bit."
&-&-&-&-&
"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" someone yelled in my ear the next morning.
"Oh, my head," I moaned, putting a pillow over my head. "If it's before 5:30, go away."
"It's not," James announced happily. "It's 6:30, plenty of time. Come on, it's our birthday. Everyone wakes up early on their birthday."
"But I have a friend over," I groaned.
"All right, but you better get up soon," James threatened, running out the door and down the hall.
"Jeez, Lils, he's worse than you," Allie said after he had disappeared. She yawned. "At least you wait until at least seven."
"It runs in the family," I said, getting out of bed and shutting the door.
"Obviously," Allie said as she crawled out of bed. "I didn't get up early on my birthday."
"I woke you up on your birthday," I said, turning from my chest of drawers to face her.
"Hmm…" Allie said, thinking. "I think you did."
"If it was a school day, I know I did."
"My birthday was a Thursday this year, so yes, you did wake me up on my birthday."
"Told you."
We walked into the kitchen about half an hour later to find James already sitting at the kitchen table with a small pile of presents in front of him. Dad was sitting across the table from him and Mum was running around the kitchen, getting breakfast ready.
"Can I now, Dad?" James asked. "She's here. Can I, please?"
Dad laughed. "Don't you want to wait until Grace and Sirius get down here?"
"No," James said. "Lils, tell Dad you want to open your presents too!"
"What if I want to wait for Sirius and Grace to get down here?" I teased, knowing how much it was torturing him.
"You are an evil twin sister, Lils," James said, glaring at me. "Very evil."
I giggled. "Alright, alright. Dad, can we open our presents now?"
"If you want to."
I slid into the seat next to James and Allie sat on my other side. James passed me a lumpy package. "Grandma got us sweaters again. Mum, why does she give us sweaters in the middle of August? Then she gives us another one for Christmas and-"
"It might not be a sweater," Mum said, turning from what she was doing to watch us. "In fact, I'm almost positive it isn't a sweater. Open it and see."
I ripped the paper off and looked at the mittens in my hand. "It's not a sweater," I said cheekily.
James groaned. "You can't wear mittens and a scarf in August!"
Mum and Dad laughed. "I think your grandfather's present makes up for it," Mum said.
James pulled a box off the pile. He took off the lid and he grinned. "Yes!"
I leaned over and took the box from him. "It's a miniature broomstick," Allie said. "What's so great about that?"
"Watch," I said, taking the tiny broom out of the box and setting it on the table. I looked at Dad expectantly. He pulled out his wand and tapped it (I couldn't do it since we aren't allowed to do magic outside of school.). The tiny broom rose up a few inches off the table.
"See, if you get a complete set, you can play Quidditch with them," James explained happily. "We have enough brooms, all we need now are the balls."
"And this is how wizards entertain themselves," Allie muttered under her breath. I just grinned.
&&&&&&&
Attention everyone! If you want, we can play a little game called 'Guess the Birthday'? You up for it? All you have to do is guess Lily's (and James') birthday. Just to make it easier, I'll narrow it down a little. It's between August 15 and September 1. Extra points if you can figure out the year.
Work with me here. I'm starting high school, I'm extremely tired, and I'm trying to write two fics and edit another one while maintaining a life. Let me know if there are grammatical errors so that I can fix them for future reference, but do it nicely (not that you don't normally, just you know). I know there are mistakes. Just tell me and I'll fix them later.
Most importantly, leave a review. One word, basic, simple, short reviews are great. Longer reviews are absolutely awesome. As long as there is a review.
