"Ariana!"
"No! It was my idea first! Ariana!"
Albus and Aberforth raced into the house, trailing mud and broken grass from the garden, each holding a different flower that they'd found. The had forgotten to leave their muddy shoes outside in their haste to find their sister. It wasn't the first time. It wouldn't be the last time either, not until Ariana could follow them out into the garden herself.
Still, Kendra fought to keep a stern expression: she had warned them not to trail dirt into the house since cleaning the floor by the door had to be done the Muggle way lest someone see them using magic. Watching them stumble over themselves, making sure they protected their respective flowers along the way, was endearing, even if she wanted to sigh at their constant need to compare themselves.
Ariana rarely reacted to anyone unless she was hungry or dirty, but even she blinked awake slowly at their antics. Kendra put her down so her boys could huddle around their sister, before sharing an amused smile with Percival as she stepped away.
Albus and Aberforth had been enchanted by Ariana almost as soon as she had been born, only six months ago. Her cries often brought Albus running from his room, book clutched in his hand, to check on her; and no matter how far away Aberforth was, Kendra always saw him race through the door minutes later.
Both boys thrust their flowers towards Ariana, who giggled at them, reaching for both the flowers. They had been plucked from Kendra's flower patch; Kendra could tell by the hastily torn stems that she'd have to visit her flower patch to see the damage before the day was out.
"Ariana likes mine better than yours!" Aberforth argued, pushing a yellow daisy closer to Ariana, making her reach out for it with her chubby fingers.
"No, Aberforth. She likes mine better," Albus insisted, pushing the lily closer, catching Ariana's attention with his fluttering flower. Aberforth frowned when Ariana started reaching for Albus' Lily instead of his daisy.
Kendra was forced to stop the two when it looked like they would come to blows. She had banned them from actively trying to use magic around Ariana – Kendra wasn't about to risk accidents around Ariana – so the two often resorted to Muggle fighting instead.
"I'm sure Ariana likes both of your flowers," Percival interrupted. "If you two want to fight, take it to the training room, otherwise calm down – or better yet, now that Ariana's awake, the two of you can entertain her and give your mother a couple of minutes of rest. How about that?"
Rest sounded great, but Kendra knew she would be more worried if she left to do something else. As much as she knew Albus and Aberforth would do nothing to harm Ariana, they could still make a mistake; just a little bit of carelessness could get Ariana hurt.
They glanced at Kendra for a moment, before nodding excitedly. Albus knew more techniques from all his reading, but Aberforth was always more creative.
Between them, Ariana never lacked entertainment. Kendra never did either.
But Albus and Aberforth didn't need to know that.
The Golden Snitch [Uagadou, Biloko]: 12 Days of Christmas – 7 possums playing: Write about someone from the Marauder's era or older as young children
