Hello everyone! Quick note: All the faceclaims for this Next Generation series are in my bio. Check them out maybe, thank you!
The Potter Home
"Welcome to our home!" Albus echoed through the foyer to his friends.
The Potter house was large and elegant, yet clearly old. James said that it belonged to Harry Potter's godfather, Sirius Black, as Basil and Anna placed their things on the polished flooring. The house was full of moving pictures from their family and their cousins; everyone was laughing or smiling in the pictures. It was a pleasant sight, except the house elf was clearly annoyed that there were so many people in the house.
"Why must Master have so many people….too many people." Kreacher growled as he gathered up the suitcases.
"Is he always that grumpy?" Anna asked. Her eyes were scanning the curtains that covered some large object..
"Only when people come over; most of the time he's a little more pleasant." Albus replied and pushed Anna from the curtains. "Don't touch. Mrs. Black wakes up when you open them. She likes to scream."
Basil didn't quite know what to say about that, but it didn't matter once there was a sudden smell of roast and carrots traveling into the room. Basil instantly thought of Persephone and her love for food. A small ache started in her heart as she remembered how much she missed her friends from their Ravenclaw dorm room. She couldn't wait to see her friends again. Albus led the group into the kitchen that held Ginny Potter. She quickly turned away from her food and went to her sons.
"Welcome home sweetie. Oh, this must be Anna and Basil! I've heard lots about you." Ginny greeted as she hugged her son. The two girls greeted back.
"Mum, why don't we show them Al's old baby pictures? You have-"
"James, I know you're trying to embarrass your brother. Go help Kreacher with the bags." Ginny ordered and ruffled her older son's hair. James rolled his eyes to his mother.
"What's the point of having a house-elf…" James muttered and trudged from the room. His frown was present.
"Don't let Aunt Hermione hear you." Ginny quipped.
Albus laughed and gave a full tour of the house to Basil and Anna. The rooms were vibrant with pictures and beautiful furbishing, which was a bonus because some of the other rooms looked untouched. Each room had some sort of coloring of red and yellow; probably homage to their Hogwarts house. The first floor bedroom was Albus's room, decorated in red and gold with pictures of the three from the previous year. It was fairly clean with the exception of books and parchment that laid upon his desk. A poster of the Holyhead Harpies was hanging over his desk; Ginny Weasley in her chaser uniform stood out with her bright red hair. Then another poster of Brazilian chaser, Goncalo Flores, which hung right next to the one of his mother.
"My mum was an amazing chaser. My dad was an amazing Seeker too. I think that's where James gets his talent. I can't even throw the quaffle." Albus sighed and they left the room.
"Quidditch sounds fun to me. I might try out this year." Anna stated as they went up the level.
The first floor, where they were before, only held Albus's room and the entrance to the Drawing Room. The second floor held Lily's room and the master bedroom. Albus began talking about something that hung beside the wall but Basil was staring at something else. There was glowing lights from Lily's room. Basil peeked inside the younger girl's room; it was decorated with all the House crests from Hogwarts and pictures of Lily and her family. Lily was sitting on the floor reading something from an old looking book.
"What are you reading?" Basil asked and revealed herself in the doorway.
Lily jumped and slammed the book closed. The young red head turned to Basil with a meek smile and shrugged. Albus moved in front of Basil and looked back at his younger sister then the book. His face turned red as he ran towards her. Basil knew he was holding a curse back on his tongue.
"Lily! Why are you going through Teddy's things?" Albus yelled and snatched the book.
"I was just reading-"
"This is from Teddy's collection. You know how he is about these things from his parents." Albus scolded and held the book under his arm.
"I just wanted to know what a Patronus is." Lily whined then sat on her bed.
Lily gave Albus a pout, which he ignored, then the trio left the room. Albus sighed as they went up two more floors. They skipped over James's room, which Albus made a remark of the mess, and continued to the fourth floor.
"This is where you'll be staying. This was Sirius's and Regulus's rooms when they lived here. Dad said you can stay here." Albus explained and showed the conjoining rooms.
The rooms were partially cleaned out with brand new looking furniture. Albus explained to not touch anything on the desk and in the old drawers. These things contained old pictures and clothes from the past residents. Both girls laid out their things for the two days that they were staying while Albus clumsily tried to tidy up the rustic rooms.
"Come down for dinner in five. We have to go straight to bed because in the morning we're going to the Malfoys straight away." Harry Potter instructed.
When the trio entered the dining hall, Kreacher was placing all the necessary plates and utensils for dinner. Harry and Ginny sat next to each other on one side of the table with Lily and James on the other side. Albus sat down with Anna then Basil next to him.
"Thank you Kreacher." Ginny acknowledged. The house-elf excused himself immediately.
The dinner was simple with a meat course and salad for sides. The family began simple talking while Basil kept quiet; Anna joined in a few times with some clever quips. The Potter's laughed at all of them. Anna made an instant impression on the family.
"Dad, what's going to happen at the trial?" Albus questioned.
"They'll probably bring out Arnold Sweets and say what he is accused of. We'll bring out the victims to say their story. Hopefully, we'll have you three and Scorpius to explain the final battle." Harry clarified.
"While that is happening, Fleur, Hermione, and I will go out to Diagon to shop for your school things." Ginny added with a flashy smile.
Anna thanked for both her and Basil. Basil kept her silence and nodded to the older women. The little voice inside of her head nagged at her. It kept telling her to keep her mouth shut, but at the same time, to say something. I almost killed their cousin. A voice screamed from the back of her mind. Shut up, it wasn't my fault. Anna abruptly stood up with the rest of the family. They gave their plates to James, as it was his turn to clean up, and returned to their rooms.
"Goodnight Anna! Goodnight Basil." Albus sighed and closed his door.
Anna and Basil arrived to their rooms and dressed into their night attire. Anna said her goodnights and went straight to bed. Basil exhale noisily and tossed over and over again in the foreign bed. Her mind was not in the right place for sleep that night. I'll see Scorpius tomorrow. A voice reminded as her eyes closed for a second. It was a sudden rush of adrenaline that kept her awake. Her brain seemed to be fighting with itself.
"They all hate him. He's very bad."
"But he promised to be nice and be our friend."
"Malfoy's don't keep their promises. James told you that."
"He says a lot of things."
Basil hushed the voices in her head, hoping that the quiet would place her mind to unconscious bliss. It didn't quite work as her eyes scanned every corner of the room for something focus on. Nothing seemed of interest or importance to her in this room. That was until there was a loud squeaking coming from the door. Basil flipped from her bed and fell to her knees on the floor, wand in hand.
"Sorry to startle you Basil." Harry Potter calmly apologized. Basil placed her wand away.
"It's alright. Why are you up here though? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Basil asked curiously. Harry let the door open wider.
"I wanted to check up on everyone. I see you're doing fine." Harry chuckled. Basil nodded as she remembered her quick response.
"Mr. Potter, should I be worried for tomorrow? The Malfoys are-"
"You're going to be fine."
Basil looked to the older man for a moment, she didn't know what to say next as she was expecting for a response of explanation or a story of his past. She knew Mr. Potter had a few bad run ins with the Malfoys, why was he so sure this wouldn't have any bad consequences?
"What about the trial?" Basil shyly looked at the older man.
"You'll be fine. I know what you're going through and it's not pleasant, but you'll be fine. After the trial, your whole family will back to normal." Harry assured.
Basil murmured a thank you and a goodnight then Harry did the same. Basil crawled back into her large bed, mind wandering and twisting into new worries about her family. Deep down, Basil knew it wouldn't be normal; it was never normal. Thankfully, a peaceful sense of sleep washed over the brunette leaving only blissful dreams to wash away the fears that would reappear tomorrow.