disclaima: i am right-less. :)

characters: Lily Luna Potter (9), Teddy Lupin (19), and Ginny Potter.

Lily sat with her back to the kitchen door, listening to the voices from within. She didn't quite know how she'd done it, but she could hear everything being said, although Teddy and Mum were whispering.

"Aunt Ginny, I'm sorry. I didn't want to have to come to you about it. But I have to," Teddy was saying hesitantly.

"You know you can come to me about anything, Ted," Mum said, a smile in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"It's... It's about Lily," Teddy said slowly.

"Is something the matter?" Mum asked immediately, worried.

"No, no. Of course not. Well. It's more about, er, you. And Lily. Both," Teddy tried to explain. Lily bit her lip. She knew what he was talking to her about, and she was terrified of what Mum would think. Lily didn't want to make her sad.

"Go on," Ginny said from the kitchen.

"Look, Aunt Ginny, things have changed in the past few years. I asked Uncle Harry, but he said not to worry about it. And I wouldn't, except for Lily." He paused. Lily could picture him examining his hands, as he often did when nervous. "It's... It's your drinking, Aunt Ginny."

"Teddy. Listen to Harry. It's not your concern," Mum cut in, her voice hard.

"No, no, I have to finish!" Teddy said, stronger now. "You're scaring Lily. A lot. It's bad enough for the boys, but at least they have school. And Uncle Harry spends all his time working, so a lot of the time it's just you and Lily in the house now. She can't spend every day with Roxy or the others."

"Theodore," Mum said warningly. But he didn't stop it.

"It's not healthy! She's basically alone here all day, because you spend all your time getting loaded! It's wrong, Aunt Ginny! You're her mother, you can't abandon her like this! I'm worried about her, okay? She's like a sister to me, and you're not taking care of her." He took a deep breath. "If things don't get better, I'm going to have to notify someone from the Ministry. Uncle Harry is blind to it, he doesn't want to admit you have a problem -"

"Because I don't! Theodore Lupin, it is not your place to tell me how to raise my children," Mum shouted. Lily could hear them perfectly now without her accidental magic.

"Raise them?" Teddy laughed harshly. "Aunt Ginny, I walked in today and Lily was making you a hangover remedy! She's nine! Last week she was locked out until three in the morning because Uncle Harry was on a raid and you were out drinking! Can't you see how wrong that is?"

When Mum spoke again, her voice was cold. "Get out of my house. You can't come in here and try to tell me how to raise my daughter! It's none of your business. And don't you dare turn this into a child abuse thing. I love my kids with all my heart and soul!"

"I know you do," Teddy said quietly. "That doesn't make this okay. You can get help for alcoholism, Aunt Ginny. I'm scared for you, too, not just Lily. You're ill. You're killing yourself."

Mum said nothing, but Lily heard her swish to the kitchen door. Lily scooted out of the way just in time as Mum banged open the door. Teddy sighed, stood, and exited. He stopped by Lily.

"It's going to get better," he said. Then he gave her a swift hug and left.

Mum waited for the front door to shut before kneeling by Lily. "Lils. You know I love you, right?" Lily nodded silently. "I would never hurt you, okay? I love you so much. And..." She sighed. "I'm going to stop drinking, okay? Things will get better. It will be like when you were little." Then she hugged Lily and walked upstairs, probably to try and Floo Dad.

Lily didn't bother mentioning that she was only nine, and were little until you went to Hogwarts, anyway. Or that it wasn't the first time Mum promised to stop drinking. She meant well, but Lily knew how much drinking mattered to her. Maybe more than anything else.

a/n: I know there's nothing in the books to hint at this. But that's the way it goes. Also, the next few chapters might revolve mostly around this particular plotline while it's still fresh on my list of inspiration. :)

p.s.: Sorry for any Ginny-lovers out there. She's one of my favorite characters, to be honest with you, but this is the way she has to be.