AN: Hey gang, I know this update is very late, it's been almost a month! Anyway, no one feels worse about it than I do. When I said I was busy with school, I meant it :(

Thank you so much for the follows and favourites and I found out that this story has been put in a Community as well, how cool is that?

I love all of your reviews, and also,

ATTENTION:

I did change the name to the story, a MAJOR thank you to Qoheleth who pointed out the flaw and was so kind as to offer a solution:)))

I won't keep you too long, enjoy :)

14th April 1991

Potter Manor

"HARRY, TIDY YOUR ROOM!" yelled Lily for the fifth time that morning.

"Why though?" her son whined, "It's only Viscenya. She doesn't mind it." he said back for the fifth time as well.

Lily swerved from her trajectory to the gardens where she had planned on having a stress-free morning, Fleamont and Euphemia had gone to school, James had gone to the Ministry. There was only Harry left, and since he would have friends over, he'd be occupied. Normally she'd be at work too, at the Olde Society of Alchemy and Potioneering. But she had taken two days off to just have them to her own.

She wasn't a proper alchemist, not yet. She had given and passed all Ministry issued exams, still, Alchemy was such a wide-ranging subject that it took years and years of hard work to build a proper career out of it. She had started with this field in '83 after things had relatively calmed down. And in the eight years, she had levelled up significantly at the Society. From writing reports and following other researchers, she now gave classes and mentored the newbies. She still wrote reports and assignments, but those she gave to the higher-ups. Her works now went for reviews where a couple of editors would go through them before it got published. She did all of this while conducting her research and occasionally teaming up with others to help them on projects of their own.

No doubt, doing all of this left her tired and in need of a break. It had gotten so very worse, to a point that she had begun to take out her frustrations on everybody in the house. That was when James advised her to take a day off and to relax for a while. And after hearing that idea, she immediately sent in a message to the supervisor and asked for a couple of days off. Seeing how hard she worked, her supervisor Ian wasted no time in allowing it. When she had gotten that letter, she planned on having two days to herself with no one and nothing to disturb her. She was wrong.

"Amazing," she said as she entered his room- "What's amazing?" her son asked- "Amazing how every part of that sentence was wrong." She snapped.

Harry opened and closed his mouth indignantly and was about to retort when Lily explained to him what he had done wrong. "It's not just Viscenya who is coming; Nev' is going to be here too. Besides, her not minding it is not an excuse, you live in a pigsty! Clean it up Mr or no more ice cream for a week." She warned

The warning didn't have the effect Lily wished it would, as Harry just shrugged. Despite that, he moved and started picking up his splayed out journals and clothes. He'd just get the ice cream from dad.

Considering this dealt with she went inside the room, pulled Harry into a half hug and placed a kiss on his forehead. "I'm going to be outside for a while, I asked Reya to lay some snacks and drinks on the table." She said as she carded her hands through his hair, trying to clear some knots.

"Okay," Harry mumbled

She left the room with a small smile on her face as she said, "have fun!"

Harry smiled a bit too, now over the slight scolding his mother had given him, "yeah… you too."

As soon as the door closed, the pile of clothes in his arms dropped.

Neville and Viscenya had arrived almost at the same time, with Neville coming in first. Harry had led him to his room, and just a glimpse of it was enough to make Neville go around the room and start tidying it up the best he could. He was a bit of a neat freak. No matter how good of a friend Neville was, Harry sure as hell wasn't going to let him clean his room. So that prompted him to join in as well. Just ten minutes in and they were done with the entire ordeal. That was when Viscenya came in.

And she was surprised, never had she seen Harry's room this neat before, it was unnerving. But then she saw Neville and got her explanation. Harry had expected her to question him over the condition, but when he saw the amusement in her eyes, he just mouthed 'Neville' and she replied with an 'I know'

"You should've asked Ron to come over if you wanted to play Quidditch Harry," said Neville miserably, "You know how bad I am at it, and I'll be of no help."

"That's not true," Viscenya put in immediately, even when Harry was about to agree with Neville. "You just don't practice as much since your Grandmother's so very protective of you."

The trio was making their way to the grounds where a mini Quidditch pitch had been cleared out. It wasn't an original part of the estate, but seeing how much of a fanatic James was, Fleamont and Euphemia had decided to go ahead and put a little something up. That one decision was something that Harry was thankful for. He didn't have a lot of hobbies. He occasionally listened to music, sometimes watched a movie, rarely read a book. So for him, Quidditch was the perfect reprieve. If he didn't have the sport to keep his mind off things he would've been bored out of his mind. The only good thing in his life would've been Viscenya then. And he was sure, no matter how much she liked to spend with him, even she wouldn't want to spend every bleeding moment trying to entertain him. To summarise that, Harry James Potter loved Quidditch.

Neville Longbottom didn't.

"She's protective of me because I'm terrible at it. She knows that if I go even two feet within a broom, I'm going to somehow hurt myself." He bemoaned.

Viscenya looked at Harry with pleading eyes, trying to get him to improve their friend's morale. If she was being honest, she didn't think that Neville was a bad Quidditch player just because he didn't practice that often. While that certainly played a major part in it, it was majorly the fact that the boy wasn't made for the sport. And she didn't think any less of him for it. After all, not everyone can be good at everything. And he not being at Quidditch was not at all a testament to his worth as a person.

She had tried explaining this to him before, but to the boy, inherently not being good at the sport was worse than not being good because of a lack of practice. The sobbing that had followed Viscenya's statement, made it clear for her to never try to lift Neville's spirits in her own way.

Harry saw the look she sent him, and just sighed, "Look Neville, you're not good at Quidditch yet. Doesn't mean you won't get better. Just drop that attitude and come play with us!"

"You really think so?" he asked after a while.

"Yes Neville," Viscenya said as she put a hand at his shoulder and shared a meaningful look with Harry, "We really think so."

"Now, since we're only three people there's nothing more we can do then try to block goals as the other person tries to shoot in the Quaffles." Viscenya said strategically. "I'll go first, Harry and Neville you'll have to block me. Everyone gets ten chances okay?"

Whenever it came to Quidditch Viscenya was just as passionate as Harry, if not more. And while Harry seemed content to play his own game, Viscenya automatically assumed command of the group of people that were playing with her. It wasn't as if she bossed her way around and bullied people into submission, it's just the fact that she was so confident in her knowledge and the 'leader voice' that she adopted made everyone naturally want her to be in command. And as she did her magic, this time as well the two guys couldn't help but agree.

"Great!" she said and clapped her hands, as she started mounting her Cleansweep 7. As much as she and Harry were excited for the release of the Nimbus 2000, she couldn't help but feel at home with her Cleansweep. It had been her first proper broomstick, and no matter how many times she had fallen off it, it would be more special to her than the fastest brooms.

She settled on to the broom as a familiar homey feeling washed over her. She looked to the side towards Harry who also seemed comfortable on his broom; it was only the next sight that made her wince slightly. Neville didn't look as accustomed to the contraption. He too was sporting a wince as he took in his awkwardness and compared it to the ease with which Harry and Viscenya both held themselves.

But when he met her gaze, he saw nothing but support in them, and that helped. Oh, he knew that he was bad, and no matter how encouragingly Viscenya smiled his awful Quidditch skills wouldn't change but it helped in knowing that she didn't judge him for it. He sighed in resignation and kicked off shakily from the ground.

His attempt at a good lift-off was sub-par at best, and that made Viscenya cringe. She kind of felt bad now for suggesting a game of Quidditch, but she thought that with enough practice he might actually become better.

"Hey, let's get going. Neville's looking very unsure." Harry said and broke her out of her reverie.

"Yeah," said Viscenya dejectedly, something that Harry picked up on and stored away for interrogation later, "Lets."

All the kids were in Harry's room now. The three of them too tired from all the flying to do much else than to play Exploding Snap. Viscenya's dejected behaviour had improved greatly after she scored her first goal and did wonders to lift everyone's spirits. Seeing their resident Quidditch fanatic feel let down while in the air had somehow made everyone feel uneasy. Neville's pessimism also didn't help.

It all changed with Viscenya's excitement though, her whoops of joy at every successfully scored goal made the guys laugh and become a bit more enthusiastic. Since then their moods had improved ten-fold and even Neville didn't feel that bad over not getting a single shot in.

A race had ensued between Viscenya and Harry after the game at Harry's behest. He claimed that Viscenya was bound to win the first game so he might as well play to his strengths. He won the race of course. What Harry lacked in precision, he made up for in speed, and his father said that he'd make a great seeker. Viscenya on the other hand was as precise as a hawk, but she wasn't the fastest. They balanced each other out.

Of course, they couldn't spend the entire time on the field. So it was suggested that they go back inside and wait till Neville's grandmother sent a message calling him back.

That decision found them sprawled on the floor of Harry's bedroom as Neville once again dealt everyone their cards. A bit of smoke was emanating from the sleeve of Viscenya's shirt, while Harry sported a singed eyebrow. Neville was the only who remained unharmed. What he lacked in Quidditch skills he more than made up for in Exploding Snap. He was yet to lose a single round, and with every win, his grin only grew wider. And Viscenya's scowl deepened. He could at least try to feel bad at their losses. Little did she know, her scowl only spurred him on further. Neville was by no means a vain person but Viscenya looked too adorable with the smoke incessantly blowing from her sleeve and the scowl in place. Besides he'd just lost amazingly at Quidditch, he deserved a win.

The cards had been dealt and everyone was beginning to start the game when a knock sounded through the room. Harry made a non-committal grunt as a way of allowing the person to come in, he was too busy going through his cards to do much else. He did not want to lose another round.

Lily peeked her head in, "Neville, your grandmother called through the Floo, I'm afraid it's time for you to head back home dear." She said sympathetically. She then looked at Harry, "Oh dear, what happened to you?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah… it got singed, I lost." He answered.

"Evidently," she said drily as she entered the room and began waving her wand as she came near Harry, as spell later he was as good as new. She moved her gaze to Viscenya whose sleeve hadn't stopped smoking, "Seriously, how bad are you guys at this game?" she muttered as she set on to fix the problem.

When that had gotten out of the way, her eyes naturally flitted across the room, and the neatly placed toys and the properly folded and piled clothes made her raise her eyebrows appreciatively and regarded Harry with an impressed smile. "See?"She asked, "Cleaning up wasn't so difficult, was it? It looks so much better now."

Viscenya just snorted into her newly fixed sleeve as Neville coughed a bit. Harry just looked around awkwardly, as he did best.

On hearing his cough she realized that the boy still needed to be sent home, "Come on Neville, it's getting late and I don't want to be on Augusta's bad side." She said, "Yeah… Neither do I." Neville muttered drily, something that he rarely did. The comment made Lily stop in her tracks as she turned around and looked at the ten-year-old boy with a fond smile, "Yeah, you're Alice's son alright." She said with a smile.

A faint pink colour dusted Neville's cheeks, not in embarrassment but rather in pride, pride at being a bit like his parents. His grandmother never missed an opportunity to remind him how brave his parents were. And while she didn't intend for the comments to hurt Neville, they did. For they only served as a reminder to him, a reminder that told him that he'd never be as good as them.

So, for the constantly insecure boy, Lil's comment made to improve his dwindling esteem. He smiled at her and she reached out a hand to ruffle his hair. "Okay come on now," she turned to look at Harry and just then she remembered, "Harry, dad's here. Go meet him, he was looking for you."

"Yeah… I'll be there." He said distractedly since he was now busy trying to defeat Viscenya (he needed a win damn it!).

Lily just looked at him unsurely but turned around nonetheless.

"Bye Nev'!" Viscenya called out as the door swung shut. She heard a faint goodbye sounding from the other side.

"Aren't you going to go downstairs and see Uncle James?" Viscenya asked in a drawl as she picked around her cards.

A moment of silence followed that as Harry put a card down on the floor, he answered, "Yeah I will. In a moment…" his tongue peeked out a bit as he scrutinized his deck of cards. That was exactly the moment when Viscenya decided to look up at him.

Harry's hair still had the windswept look from before, only adding to its messy state, the pitch of black colour of it contrasting perfectly with his pale skin. The flush in his skin was now gone but she could just imagine how well it would add on to the picture. The glasses were slowly slipping down the bridge of his nose, and every so often his hand would brush against it to push it back up. The attempt would only be futile for the glasses would slip back down again. Viscenya thought he looked oddly… cute.

And she decided she quite liked this look.

Harry looked up and met her gaze and said something that she didn't register. She was about to ask him to repeat what he had said, but then his expression turned into a panic frenzy as he waved his hands around in front of her. She just looked confusedly at him. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when a low sizzling sound emanated from the deck of cards that were below her. Just as the situation clicked into place, they blew up.

"Okay, stay still pup." James said softly as he struggled to keep Viscenya from fidgeting. Harry was looking from his left at his best friend with concern. He felt bad for not have been able to stop it, but in his defense he reminded her a lot of times, only she didn't listen to him, seemed as if she was in a trance of some sort.

What had happened was that the cards in the deck below her had exploded after Viscenya didn't play her round. Harry had laid his card down and it was the other person's job to locate it's identical from the deck below. When Viscenya didn't do that, the cards promptly lit on fire and singed both of her eyebrows. It wasn't anything that she hadn't faced before (after all you don't just play Exploding Snap for most of your life and not get some part of your body singed), but still the shock of it all made it worse.

Just as the ordeal had gotten down, they made their way downstairs and located one of Harry's parents. James was the conveniently heading towards Harry's room, so it was easy to find him.

That found them in the dining room, it was seven o'clock and dinner was about to be served. James had sat Viscenya down in one of the chairs and promptly began to fix the mess. It proved difficult as she squirmed and fidgeted. Harry laid his hand on her shoulder to get her to calm down, which worked wonders. Initially it was the unwarranted touch that made her go still, but after a few mini-seconds the familiarity of the touch weighed down on her and she let her uncle fix the damage much more easily.

A few spells later, her eyebrows were back to their original form, and she felt loads better.

James sat back down and rubbed at his forehead, harry too pulled up a chair and sat next Viscenya. This of course brought the memories of what she was thinking of before back to her mind, yeah… Harry had looked cute then. She looked at him again and traced her eyes over his hair, it was somehow even worse than before (courtesy of James ruffling it up, for god knows what reason).

He picked up a glass from the table and tilted it slightly upwards to drink the water. So Viscenya did the most obvious thing one does when their friend drinks water…

… "Ow! What the hell Viscy?!" He exclaimed as water dribbled down his face and dampened the shirt he was wearing. She had merely forced some magic to tip the glass a bit more upward.

Viscenya laughed raucously and was soon joined in by James. Harry looked on in annoyance; the wet of the water on his neck was making him squeamish. He was about to speak up and exclaim at her further when he was interrupted by another, wave of fresh laughter that bubbled from Viscenya lips even when she had tried to keep it at bay. It stopped just as abruptly as it had started.

Harry sort to speak up once more, but then a heard a loud squeak come from Viscenya's side. Her face was red from having kept the laughter in. Her shoulder was shaking uncontrollably, and her mouth was set in a thin line as she willed herself to not let loose. Harry sighed…

… And that set her off again.

The water had not dried off from his body but his now wet shirt still clung to him. He gave her a deadpan look as he waited for her to stop. And as he waited, he saw how, her cheeks were flushed a very light pink. Her eyes, whose colour was visible even from the longest distance, were now closed as Viscenya clapped her hands every so often, clearly not over the god-awful prank she had played. Some of her pitch black hair escaped from the clips that they had been styled into, and now covered parts of her face. A short lock of hair covered one eye; some other stray strands marred her right cheek.

The raucous laughter from before had now subsided into soft giggles, but every so often she would imitate Harry's reaction and it would come back. By this time his annoyance was gone, as his eyes kept flitting across her features. The picture she painted was certainly not neat, more hair had escaped the clutches and now some of it clung to her neck because of the sweat that had accumulated.

Yeah… sweat, messy hair, raucous laughter… That was Viscenya alright.

And she looked oddly… cute