A/N: So sorry for the delay! I took a family vacation and did NOT have the time to write that I anticipated. Anyway, here's the update. This one focuses on Lily's break at home - not super thrilling, but I wanted to explore some of her family relationships we don't often get to see at school. I hope you enjoy! Please please review :) Truly appreciate you taking the time to read and let me know what you think.
Chapter Nine: Christmas Holiday
After the stress Lily had endured throughout her first couple months of second year, being back home with her mum and dad brought her more comfort than she could have expected. Seeing her mum waiting at the platform, standing beside her Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron, had brought a smile to Lily's face and comfort to her weary spirit. Her dad had been stuck at work, but had been home in time for dinner that evening, and after dinner when the family sat around the living room drinking tea and coffee and discussing the kids' school year so far, Harry promised his kids he was going to work as little as possible over the holidays so they could have as much family time as possible.
"What sort of things would you kids like to do over the break?" Ginny asked the three.
Albus glanced up from the letter he was writing to a friend he wouldn't name and shrugged. "I'm good with whatever you all want to do," he said. "I do have some homework to do at some point."
James rolled his eyes. "Al, we've been home like an hour. You'll have plenty of time to ruin your holidays with studying."
Ginny and Harry exchanged amused looks.
"What do you want to do James?" Harry asked his eldest.
"I've got some plans with Eli and Rex, and Dom and Roxie too," he said.
"And Bea?" Albus asked meaningfully.
"Who's Bea?" Ginny asked, not missing the strong hint in Al's tone.
James glared at his brother.
"James' girlfriend," Lily said, feeling no loyalty to keep her brother's secret, though she hadn't particularly realized he had been keeping it a secret from her parents.
"I didn't realize you had a girlfriend," Ginny said, glancing briefly at Harry.
James hesitated and shrugged. "Yeah, kind of."
Albus snorted and shook his head.
"Kind of?" Harry asked.
"I mean, it's not serious or anything…" James said.
Ginny turned her eyes to Albus and Lily for more information and their silent smiles and glances confirmed it for her.
"Alright, perhaps we should discuss this later, James," Ginny said. "And perhaps you should have Bea, was it, over sometime this week to meet us."
James rolled his eyes, but nodded noncommittally to his mum's suggestion and then returned his attention to the Quidditch magazine he was reading.
"What about you, sweetheart? Do you have any plans with your friends?" Ginny asked Lily.
Lily shrugged. "Louis says he'll be over a lot, and I was hoping to have a sleepover with Leona and Julianne for New Years," she said.
"Of course," Ginny said. "Teddy will be here tomorrow. He's been on assignment so we haven't seen much of him lately, but he's excited to have you lot back for the holidays."
Lily smiled, always eager to see her oldest brother.
"Can we go shopping sometime this week, mum?" Lily asked. "I have a few gifts I'd like to find still."
"Sure thing, sweetheart. I was planning to meet up with Hermione the day after tomorrow to do some shopping. How about I have her bring Rose and Hugo along and we can all go?" Ginny suggested.
Lily nodded at the arrangement and returned her attention to her potions' book.
"How are your Potions' lessons coming along?" Harry asked.
"Really well," Lily said. "It's been so wonderful to have extra lessons with Professor Willoughby."
James seemed horrified by the idea. "I still can't believe you are voluntarily taking extra classes."
"I like Potions," Lily said. "And I like having lessons with Professor Willoughby. He's great."
James shrugged.
"Even you have to admit he's a good professor," Lily said.
James nodded though somewhat curt. "He's okay," he said.
"Just okay?" She asked. Lily knew Professor Willoughby was widely thought of as one of the best professors at Hogwarts.
"Yeah, I mean, you know…" He said, dropping off his words as he glanced at their parents.
"You mean for a Snake," Lily said, feeling instinctively what he wasn't saying in front of their parents. When James only shrugged, she rolled her eyes. "He's a professor, James. It shouldn't matter what house he represents."
"James," Harry said with a warning tone.
"I didn't say anything," he said.
"Anyway, lessons are going really well," she said, resuming her conversations with her parents and choosing to ignore her brother. "He lets me work on really advanced potions and has me do independent research on them and decide on any additions or adjustments I want to make on my own."
"That's great!" Harry said. "I'm really glad you found something you get on with so well. What are you working on now?"
"Veritaserum," Lily said.
"Really?" Albus's eyes widened. "That's very advanced."
"I know," Lily said. "It's been loads of fun. I've been reading up on it all month, and we brewed it together last Wednesday, and now it's sitting for a lunar cycle until it's fully ready."
"And then what?" Albus asked. "What are you going to do with it?"
Lily hesitated. She wasn't sure why, but she wasn't entirely comfortable telling her family the rest of the plans she had with Willoughby to use the potion on herself. For some reason it didn't seem like something they would understand or entirely approve of. "Then I guess he'll bottle it up for his collection. He does that with lots of the things we make."
"That's great, Lils, really," Harry said. "Being good with Potions will open up lots of career options for you."
Lily smiled. She wasn't really ready to consider career options, but she appreciated the praise from her dad.
"Neville says you're doing well with Herbology, too," Ginny said.
Lily was surprised to hear she was being discussed by her professors, though since it was Professor Longbottom, she realized it was normal. He and her parents were good friends and likely wrote to each other frequently keeping tabs on the Potter kids' activities at school.
"I like Herbology," she said. "Plants are fun, and I like using my hands and learning what they all do. It helps with Potions too, knowing what the plant properties are. Sometimes I go and help Neville during my free periods or on the weekends with Leona and Hugo."
"You're so weird," James muttered.
Lily ignored him.
Albus seemed impressed. He glanced at her and then his parents. "She's good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, too."
Lily was surprised to hear her brother praising her.
Harry glanced from his son to his daughter. "Are you?"
Lily blushed a little, suddenly feeling that she'd had enough attention for one night.
"Professor McGregor has started dueling clubs with all the different years. Lily's excelling," he said.
Lily thought back to the time she had visited Albus's dueling club the previous month and all the chaos that included with Scorpius. She returned her eyes to her book pretending to focus, completely unwilling to relive that experience.
"Oh?" Her mum asked, clearly trying to encourage Lily to talk about it.
She glanced up and nodded briefly.
"She's being modest," Albus said. "She even came to one of our clubs and dueled Lorcan."
"I lost though," Lily said.
"Yeah, but you fought well," he said. "Lorcan's really good. And McGregor mentioned you have been helping others with their defense skills…"
There it was. Albus hadn't forgotten that comment. It had never come up between them, but she had always wondered if he had heard McGregor compliment Scorpius on benefitting from Lily's help. Of course he brought it up now. She avoided his eye contact, hoping he wouldn't say anything else about it.
"I'm so proud of you for taking your studies so seriously, Lily," Ginny said. "You too, Al. I know you've been excelling at all your classes again this year."
Albus nodded, seeming to forget what he had been about to divulge regarding Lily's defense tutoring, and quickly jumped into a discussion with his mum about all the high marks he had received on his midterm tests and essays.
A slate gray owl flew through the window above the front door that was always kept open for owls, and dropped beside where Lily sat in the armchair. She recognized it as Julianne's owl, Darling. Lily removed the rolled letter from the ribbon around the owl's foot and gave the bird a quick snuggle before the owl flew off.
"I'm going to head up to my room and read my letter from Jules," Lily said, glad for an excuse to be alone. "I'll see you all in the morning."
"Alright, sweetheart," Ginny said. "Sleep well. It's so good to have you home."
Lily gave her mum a quick hug and her dad a kiss on the cheek, then nodded to her brothers before gathering up her potions book, letter, and cup of tea to take up to her room.
"Come on, Styx," she called to her cat who had found himself a cozy place in front of the fire. He lifted his head and blinked at her lazily before stretching and following her out of the room.
…
"Okay so I only have to find presents for Hugo and Albus and I'll be done!" Rose announced happily as she and Lily wandered the snowy streets of Diagon Alley. Hugo had chosen not to join the girls for their shopping day and Ginny and Hermione were off together finishing Christmas shopping away from the girls' eyes.
"Good luck. I never know what to get Albus," Lily said.
"I know. He's impossible," Rose agreed. "What did you get him?"
"A new quill and one of those pots of invisible ink Uncle George started selling," Lily said. "Not exactly personal, but…"
"That's good," Rose said. "He'll like that."
"Rosie, can I ask you something?" Lily asked as the girls walked towards a small peddler cart selling toasted chestnuts.
"Of course," she said, shifting her bags to one hand so she could retrieve some coins from her pocket.
"Why are you and Al friends?"
"We're cousins, Lil, of course we're friends," Rose said.
"I know. I mean, I like all the cousins too, but I'm not best friends with everyone. It's just…you and Al are so different in so many ways. When you were younger, the two of you never got along. You squabbled over everything. And then suddenly you guys started school and you become best mates," Lily said. "I was just wondering how that happened."
Rose sighed. "First year was a trying time for both of us," she said. "We both struggled with stuff, and then we sort of just were there for each other…"
"You're being vague," Lily said.
The girls paid for their bags of chestnuts and walked over to a bench to have their snack break.
"Look, first year was challenging. At the time, Al and I were the new youngest to join the cousins at school. Everyone else fit in so well and already had their place all sorted. James had joined Quidditch first year and was adored by everyone already. Dom and Roxie were his sidekicks, and they had a flock of friends who worshipped James. Victoire had her older friends, all elegant and intelligent. She was prefect already that year. And even Molly and Lucy had their little worlds. Albus and I didn't feel like we fit in anywhere. He threw himself into his lessons, and I tried to throw myself into Quidditch, but I didn't make the team first year like James did, and I didn't quite know how to fit in with the other girls in my year. They were all so…girly." Rose told her story in a rush, speaking more than Lily was used to hearing from her. She was talking quickly and enthusiastically, but Lily knew she didn't particularly like sharing this personal stuff. "Anyway, we both had some trouble with other students. Albus tried hard to stay at the top of the class, but it cost him some skills in socializing and he didn't make friends well that first semester. I on the other hand, was so determined to fit in with James and his crowd that I didn't really figure out how to be a first year. And you remember how awkward I was then…still am I guess, but it just doesn't bother me anymore, but I was teased sometimes."
"For what?" Lily said, unable to keep quiet.
"Oh, this and that," she said. "My hair…my behaviors…my laugh…my failure at Quidditch…"
"Who teased you?" Lily asked, shocked to hear of that behavior from any of the Gryffindors that she had come to know through her family.
"Well, Slytherins usually," Rose said directly, trying to keep any emotion or accusation out of her tone.
Lily understood instantly. "Malfoy," she said. "Malfoy teased you."
Rose nodded. "And his friends. His little herd. Malfoy made Quidditch first year," she said.
"I know," Lily said.
"And he never let me forget that I didn't," she said.
Lily was surprised to hear of this side of Scorpius who was always so quick to stick up for her when someone gave her a hard time at school.
"He also surpassed Albus at certain subjects," Rose said. "Al hated that."
"Really?" Lily asked. She knew Scorpius was bright, but she also knew he struggled in certain areas.
"We had double Charms and Astronomy with Slytherins first year and he and Albus always seemed to be in some sort of competition," Rose said. "Unfortunately, Al never quite won. Malfoy is actually quite brilliant in those subjects and he enjoyed gloating."
Again Lily felt surprised.
"Who teased you about your hair?" Lily asked. Inheriting her mum's unmanageable curls but with her dad's flaming color had never been particularly easy for Rose. She grew up complaining about them and though she didn't seem to be as bothered anymore, clearly Lily wasn't as perceptive as she thought.
"Delia Thorne a lot of times," Rose said. "She's awful."
"She is," Lily agreed.
Rose smiled briefly, seeming relieved that Lily shared her opinion on at least one of her fellow Slytherins. "But once Thorne started something, everyone else tended to join in. She teased me about my freckles too," she said. "I never used to care about them honestly, but it was so constant and irritating, and so one day I tried a charm to get rid of my freckles all together."
Lily's eyes widened. It was unusual to hear of Rosie talking about appearance. It had never been one of her main concerns. Rosie was the one who would often leave her hair unbrushed and untamed, wore her brother's tee shirts to family dinners, and refused any undergarments besides a sports bra that would appropriately bind her womanly curves, which she claimed "got in the way of life."
"Well, I had only been at school a few weeks, and let's just say my charm work was not my best," Rose said.
"Oh no!" Lily said.
"Oh yes," Rose said. She shook her head at the memory.
"What happened?" Lily asked.
"Instead of getting rid of my freckles, they multiplied so much that I could barely see any of my face left," Rose said. "I went to Madam Rougal and she let me stay in the hospital room until the charm wore off, but it took three full days. During that time I saw no one except for Malfoy. He came in once to get something from Madam Rougal and he saw me. He didn't say anything right then, but I could see the amusement in his eyes, and when I came out the next morning everyone was talking about it at breakfast. I was so mortified."
Lily frowned. She was yet again surprised to hear that Scorpius would do something so seemingly uncharacteristically unkind. "I'm sorry that happened to you, Rosie," Lily said. "That's not fair at all."
Rose shrugged. "Albus had my back. He was by my side constantly and tried to make people stop talking about me," she said. "He was great, and I realized that he was the friend I needed to get through school. And I helped him revise for charms, even though I hated it, so he finally beat Malfoy on an exam, and that made him realize that I was his best friend, and we've sort of been stuck together ever since."
Lily smiled. She liked hearing about that side of her brother. She knew he was caring and sweet, as he always had been with her, but she didn't know much of how he interacted with others at school. She was glad he and Rosie had each other to rely on, in the same way she had Louis.
Speaking of Louis…
"Lily! Rose!" Louis waved from across the street near Sugarplum's.
The girls stood and walked towards him. Lily and Louis met with a hug, while Rose greeted him with a smile.
"Is Dom here?" Rose asked, glancing around for Louis' sister.
"Yeah, she's at Uncle George's shop with Roxie. They're trying out his new line of Christmas products," Louis said, helping himself to the rest of Lily's bag of chestnuts.
Rose smiled. "Sounds fun!" She glanced at Lily. "Want to go take a look?"
Lily glanced at Louis and saw his eye roll; of all the cousins, Louis was possibly the least interested in the silly gags and pranks sold at their Uncle's shops. "You go on ahead and I'll meet up with you there. I'm going to chat with Louis for a bit."
Rose nodded and ran off down the street.
"We could have gone with her," Louis said.
"I know," Lily said. "But you and I hardly get enough time together these days, at least not without Jules and Leona and Hugo and Daniel and everyone else…and I miss my best friend!"
Louis grinned. "Glad to hear I still rank number one," he said. "I thought Julianne might be edging me out."
Lily laughed. "You've been my number one since the day you were born, you ninny." Lily squeezed his hand reassuringly and nodded towards the sweet shop. "Were you going in there?"
"I need to get a couple more Christmas things and was going to get those peppermint sticks you and Vic like so much," he said. "But now that you're here and I just ruined the surprise…" he shrugged.
"I'll pretend to be surprised," she said. "Let's go! I'll get some things too."
…
Two days later, after a couple of lazy days around the house, most of which Lily had spent with Louis, the Potters gathered at the fireplace, prepared to floo to their grandparents' for Christmas Eve dinner. Lily liked Christmas Eve with her grandparents. It was a much smaller affair than Christmas Day at the Potters' home, because it was the night when the Weasley children scattered to their various in-laws' homes for celebrations before all coming together the next day. Lily knew Louis would be with his family visiting his mum's parents in France; Roxie and Fred would be visiting their mum's parents in Wales; and Molly and Lucy would be visiting their muggle grandparents in London. The only other family who attended Christmas Eve at the burrow was Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron's as well as her Uncle Charlie who had never chosen to marry and start a family.
The night was as pleasant as always. Lily helped her grandmum prepare the dinner and set the table while Rose and Albus caught up over a game of exploding snap, then after dinner while Albus and Hugo challenged each other to a game of chess, Lily and Rose sat with Uncle Charlie on the rug by the fire drinking cocoa and listening to his stories of dragon training and exploring far off lands. Lily had been obsessed with her Uncle Charlie's career since she was a little girl. She thought he was the most interesting of all her uncles, except perhaps Uncle George who let her help with many of his inventions growing up. She loved hearing Uncle Charlie talk about the dragons he worked with though, and she desperately desired to see them one day.
After a while, Rose headed over to join James and her dad and Uncle Ron who were discussing the Gryffindor's Quidditch history and chances for the current season. Lily watched them for a moment, not realizing that her expression had turned sad listening to her dad and older brother talk with excited animation about Quidditch and her dad's own experience in his days at Hogwarts.
"You okay, Little Flower?" Charlie asked her after a moment.
"Hmm?" Lily turned to her uncle. "Yep, fine," she said.
He studied her face for a moment and then gave her a soft smile. "You can't fool me," he said. "I work with dragons remember? My whole job is studying the undecipherable."
Lily laughed. "Uncle, did you just compare me with a dragon?" She asked.
He shrugged. "You've always been the little fireball of the family," he said. "Now tell me what's bothering you and I'll tell you a big secret of my own."
"You have a secret?" She asked.
He wagged his finger in front of her face. "You first."
She sighed and tucked her feet up beneath herself before proceeding. "They never include me anymore," she said.
"Who?" He asked.
Lily nodded towards her dad and James. "When they talk about things like Quidditch or Gryffindor things…they don't include me. It's like they just assume that since I'm not a Gryffindor I won't want to talk about it with them, or maybe they don't want to talk about it with me, I'm not sure…" She said. "It's just not the same anymore."
"Well, to be honest, you're not the same anymore," Charlie said.
Lily was a little surprised to hear him being so blunt. "I am the same," she said.
"Not really," he said. "Being in Slytherin has made you different from all of us…"
She prepared to retort, but he held up his hand to continue.
"Not in a bad way or anything, but you have to admit that it does make you different from the rest of us," he said. "You have an experience that no one else in the family can really claim or relate to."
"Molly was a Hufflepuff," Lily protested.
"That's different, and you know it," he said. "Her mum was a Hufflepuff, besides, you're in bloody Slytherin."
Lily scowled at her suddenly not-so-favorite Uncle.
"You are the only one in the history of our family to have inside knowledge of what it's like to be a Slytherin! That's special, Flower," he said.
Lily rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious Lily," he said. "You've always been a little bit more unique than the rest of us…"
"Why are you so intent on insulting me tonight?" Lily asked.
"I'm not trying to insult you, Lily, I'm trying to compliment you," he said. "You're special, and you're a hell of a lot braver than the rest of us to be so willing to stick it out in a different house like you have."
She blushed slightly. "Oh, well…thanks then, I guess."
"And if you're really upset about being left out of conversations, then just march over there and tell them," he said. "There's a good chance they don't even realize you're feeling left out. They might not think you want to be included anymore."
Lily realized he was absolutely right. "Thanks Uncle Charlie," she said. She flung her arms around his neck suddenly. "I appreciate you talking to me like this."
"Anytime, Little Flower," he said.
"Your turn!" Lily said instantly turning the conversation around.
"My turn?" He asked, pretending to not understand her meaning.
"You promised me a grand secret!" She said.
"Well, I'm not sure I said it was grand…" he said.
"Uncle Charlie, you have to tell me!" She said.
He grinned at her. "Alright, well, if you must know…next Christmas there just might be a new face joining our crowd."
Lily raised one eyebrow in question, waiting for more detail.
"Little Flower, I have fallen in love," he said.
"You?" Lily gasped. She had never even known her uncle to date before. Love was quite a big leap.
"Yes me," he said. "I know it probably seems shocking to you, but I swear it! I am completely gone over her."
"Well who is she?" Lily asked. "Where did you meet? Tell me everything!"
And so he did. For the next half hour, Lily sat enraptured at her uncle's knee, listening to him divulge all the details of his first real love.
…
Christmas Day was bright and bustling, as always. The various Weasley households began arriving during the breakfast hour, some sitting at the long kitchen table to grab pancakes and sausages, others who had eaten at their own homes before, simply picking up mugs of coffee and cocoa before moving into the spacious living room to wait for everyone to gather for gift opening. Snuggled up in her favorite overstuffed chair close to the nine foot Christmas tree she and her brothers had helped their dad cut down the day they returned for break, Lily held her mug of cocoa and stroked Styx behind the ears as he purred contentedly in her lap while she watched the large family take seats throughout the room.
"Lils, you look deep in thought," Louis said, dropping onto the arm of the chair where she sat and leaning against her. "You can't have deep thoughts on Christmas. It's against the rules."
Lily laughed. "I'm not in any sort of deep thoughts," Lily said. "I'm just enjoying the moment. You know how much I love Christmas." She reached over and grasped his hand. "I missed you last night. How was France?"
"Oh alright," he said. "You know I'd rather have been with you all. Dom was insufferable as usual, and Victoire brought Teddy along, and you know how they are together. It was nice seeing Grandmaman and Aunt Gabrielle though."
"How is Gabi?" Lily asked. "I haven't seen her in ages!"
"Oh, you know, she's so often off doing her own thing," he said, shrugging. "This was the first time I'd seen her in quite some time. How about you? Did you enjoy yourself at the Burrow?"
"I always do," she said. She felt a desire to share with Louis about Uncle Charlie's love, but she knew he had sworn her to secrecy and Louis was not known as the best secret keeper. Charlie had promised to tell everyone about his girlfriend, Sasha, when he felt more confident in her feelings for him. Apparently they had only been dating for a couple of months, and most surprising of all was that she was a muggle. Though she knew he was a wizard and was comfortable with it all, he wasn't ready to bring her around the family yet. Glancing over to where Charlie was currently sitting on the large sofa between her mum and Uncle George, Lily smiled and felt excited for next year's Christmas when her uncle might for the first time have his own date joining the family fray.
Lily's attention was drawn away as the unwrapping began. Roxie and Dom dove right in, grabbing the first packages they spotted with their names on them and tearing away the colorful wrappings. Following their delighted responses, Hugo and James dove in to retrieve presents for themselves.
"Here Rose! This one's for you!" Hugo shouted, tossing his sister a small package wrapped in bright red paper.
Albus and Fred soon joined the others on the floor around the tree, tossing packages back and forth, laughing as the presents soared through the air towards their intended target. The parents watched from their perches on chairs and sofas around the room, smiling and laughing at their kids' antics. Louis, who was much too reserved for the silly behavior of his cousins, eventually slinked off the arm of Lily's chair and moved into the bustle. Finding a couple packages with his and Lily's names, he returned to her chair and handed hers over. And so the morning continued, a flurry of activity, laughter, and squeals as gifts were opened. With everyone participating, and pausing to comment on gifts or shout thanks to the givers, unwrapping took nearly two hours.
After gifts, the group moved as one outside to prepare for the traditional post-Christmas Quidditch match. Lily took her bundle of gifts up to her room, depositing them on the bed along with the sweets and little things her parents had left at the end of her bed that morning, then retrieved her warm black woolen coat and the new beautiful scarf Julianne had sent her for Christmas; it was a thick, soft knit of deep emerald green with brilliant silver threads woven throughout. It was the first real Slytherin colored item she owned, and looking at herself in the mirror, she felt eager to acquire more.
Joining the others outside, Lily saw everyone had retrieved brooms and coats and were gathering around Hermione to draw the names for the teams. Lily joined the group and Rose handed her a broom.
"Everyone ready?" Hermione asked, holding a bowl filled with scraps of paper with everyone's names written down. When everyone nodded, she began to draw. "The Captain for team one is…"
…
Three hours later, after an exhausting and fairly well matched game, Lily won for her team after her dad narrowly missed the snitch as it swept low to the ground. Her dad had pulled up, but she hadn't, and just like at school, though she had to skim the ground to grab it, she won for her team, and happily received hugs and cheers as her reward.
While the others put away brooms and warmed up with coffee, tea, cider, and cocoa in the large family room, Lily moved into the dining room to set the long table for dinner. She loved the dining room in their home. She loved a lot of things about their home. Though she knew that at one point her parents had almost chosen not to live in the Black family home due to bad memories of times before, she was glad they had ultimately decided to keep the home. With some significant changes to make it homier and more Weasley than Black, it was now, in her opinion, decidedly comfortable and beautiful. She took her time setting the long oak table with their family china and the Black family's crystal goblets and golden flatware. Then as usual, she proceeded to decorate the table with a combination of pine branches, holly berries, and white winter lilies and snow drops. While she was working, Victoire joined her, first watching Lily work quietly, and then joining in to help.
"You do such marvelous work with the table every year, Lily," Victoire complimented.
"Oh, thank you," Lily said. She always enjoyed compliments from her eldest cousin. Though growing up, she sometimes had thought Victoire a bit silly and vain, as she had grown, Lily started to appreciate the care Victoire took with all aspects of her life, and she knew that she didn't give compliments without cause.
"Your scarf is lovely," Victoire said, pointing to the green scarf Lily had left around her neck even after removing her coat.
"Thanks, it was a gift from my friend Julianne," Lily said.
"Yes, I remember her," Victoire said. "She's sweet."
Lily nodded.
"The green looks good on you," Victoire said.
Lily shrugged. "James doesn't think so," she said without entirely meaning to. She had never confided much in Victoire, since Louis had been her confidant of the family, but for some reason she felt like Victoire was inviting conversation.
Victoire rolled her pale blue eyes and smiled. "Pish posh darling," she said. "You look stunning in green and you should embrace your house's colors. Goodness knows the rest of them do."
Lily fixed a sprig of holly in the center of the table, not answering her cousin.
"I have an idea!" Victoire said. She came closer to Lily and ran a hand soothingly across the younger girl's red hair. "You and I are going shopping."
"Shopping?" Lily asked. She had never been shopping with Victoire before.
"Yes absolutely," Victoire said. "We'll go tomorrow. I am going to help you find your true Slytherin style, sweet Lily."
Lily wasn't entirely sure if she was ready to fully embrace her Slytherin style yet, but she had to admit it was kind of her cousin to offer, and she did need at least a few pieces in her wardrobe so she could stop borrowing from Julianne all the time.
And so the next morning, after a quick breakfast of tea and toast, Lily met Victoire at Diagon Alley, prepared to allow her cousin to guide her at will. Victoire arrived promptly, as always, holding a detailed list she had written out of all the shops she wanted to visit and the items she thought Lily needed to acquire for her wardrobe.
"Do you at least have school robes with the Slytherin crest?" Victoire asked as they approached Madam Malkin's.
Lily nodded, "I do. I got those this year."
"Good," Victoire nodded and crossed something off her list. "Then we'll start with accessories."
Lily wasn't entirely sure what all her cousin had in mind, but followed her obediently to a variety of clothing and accessory shops, half of which Lily didn't even know existed, two of which they had to floo to from a different shop, and three of which were in the muggle part of the city. She quickly realized Victoire knew everything about fashion and shopping and it was best not to question her.
They didn't finish until it was tea time, which Victoire insisted they took at a tea shop towards the end of the alley, that again, Lily had never been to. They sat at a corner table by the window, shopping bags gathered around their feet and tucked into the corner behind the table. Lily was exhausted. She had never shopped so much in her life, but Victoire seemed somehow more energized after all they had accomplished.
"Today was brilliant," Lily said. "I really appreciate you taking time for me like this, Vic."
"Of course," Victoire smiled. "Goodness knows if not for me, you wouldn't have anyone to help you with this sort of thing. It's not as though Rose, bless her, or your brothers would be much help."
Lily laughed. It was true. Apart from Victoire, and maybe Lucy, the other girls in the Weasley clan were hopelessly unconcerned with fashion and beauty. When she was younger, Lily had assumed she would be more like Rose, and uninterested in things like style and makeup, but over the past year at school, perhaps influenced by Julianne and even the glamorous Regina Zabini, Lily knew she had more interest in becoming like Victoire than Dominique, Roxie, or Rose.
That morning before leaving the house, Lily had discussed it with her mum, who admitted she had never been great with things like fashion growing up, undoubtedly due to having all brothers, but she told Lily she was truly happy that she had this chance to both bond with Victoire and learn from her. She had also given Lily a generous purse of gold and some muggle money as well.
"The makeup looks good on you," Victoire said. Lily had been convinced to get a quick makeover at a muggle makeup shop in the city and was now wearing more eyeshadow and rouge than ever before. It wasn't much but it made her feel fancy and older; she knew Julianne would approve. "Tonight, I'll come back to your place and teach you how to use all that we purchased, as well as some more tricks for your hair. It is getting ever so long!"
"Do you think it's too long?" Lily asked, fingering the ends of her nearly waist length locks.
"Not at all," Victoire said. "With that color and length, you'll likely be the envy of every girl in Slytherin. I doubt there are many others with red hair there."
Lily shook her head, confirming her cousin's comment.
"You do realize that you are a beautiful girl, don't you, Lily?" Victoire asked suddenly.
Lily felt her cheeks blushing and wasn't sure how to answer.
"Don't be embarrassed. Beauty is never something to be ashamed of," Victoire said. "You will appreciate it more as you grow up and start looking at getting a boyfriend."
Again Lily blushed.
"Have you thought of boys at all yet?" Victoire asked.
Lily shook her head quickly.
Victoire smiled slightly, seeming to not quite believe her, but she shrugged. "Well, you will, and trust me, you'll be highly desired."
Lily sipped her tea without responding.
"Do you know I was thirteen when I first fell for Teddy?" She asked.
"So young?" Lily asked. "You two didn't start dating until later…" Lily tried to remember how her brother and Vic had actually gotten together."
"Not until I was fifteen," she said. "At thirteen though I knew. I knew he would be the only one for me." Her eyes and smile were both soft as she remembered that time from her past.
"Are you two every getting married?" Lily asked suddenly.
For the first time that day, Lily thought Victoire looked less than happy. "I'm just waiting for him to ask," she said.
Lily nodded, realizing it wasn't Vic's fault the two weren't engaged yet. This was a conversation she'd have to have with her brother. "He will," she said "And then we'll be sisters."
Victoire smiled again and placed her pale hand over Lily's almost paler one. "That will be truly wonderful."
Lily smiled. She realized that she had possibly misjudged Victoire throughout their childhood. She was pleased that her older cousin was taking time to grow their friendship and wasn't just treating Lily like some little girl. And though she knew that Victoire wouldn't actually be her sisters since Teddy wasn't actually her brother, in her mind and everyone in the family, he was as good as, and that was all that mattered.
"Do you know him?" Victoire asked suddenly while Lily had lost herself in a blueberry scone.
"Hmm?" Lily looked up slowly.
"Him." Victoire pointed one perfectly manicured finger towards the window. "He keeps looking over here like he knows you."
Lily glanced out the window and couldn't entirely hide the surprise she felt at seeing Scorpius standing outside the window. Cassie stood beside him, currently engaged in a conversation with a the tall dark blonde woman who Lily knew was their mum. Scorpius glanced at her in that moment and gave her a slight smile and nod of the head. Lily returned the slight smile and waved. Cassie glanced at her brother and then followed his gaze towards the tea shop. She glared hard at Lily, motioned to her mum and flounced away quickly. Scorpius gave Lily one quick wave before following after his mum and sister.
When Lily returned her eyes to Victoire, after unintentionally watching Scorpius walk away, her cousin was smiling.
"What?" Lily asked.
"Oh, nothing," Victoire said. "He seemed nice."
Lily rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well his sister is my roommate and she's awful."
Victoire shrugged and didn't say another word. They finished their tea and Victoire apparated them back to the front steps of Grimmauld's Place.
"Lil, is that you?" Ginny called out as the girls entered the home, depositing all their shopping bags in the front hallway.
"Yeah, mum, we're home," Lily called back as her mum's head appeared over the upstairs railing.
"Did you girls have fun?" Ginny called down to them.
Lily nodded up at her. "It was great, mum. We got loads done. Vic's going to stay for a bit and help me with some stuff."
"All right," Ginny said. "Dinner will be ready in an hour and Teddy's already here."
"Teddy's here?" Lily asked. She smiled. Apart from Christmas, his presence had been scarce during her holidays.
"Yes, he's been here all day, upstairs, but I can't say another word about it," Ginny said.
Lily frowned. Glancing at Victoire, however, she saw her smiling.
"We have one more surprise for you," Victoire said. She took Lily's hand and the girls started the climb to the fourth floor where Lily's room was. Teddy had also had a room on the fourth floor when he used to live at Grimmauld's, but he had since moved out into his own flat in an attempt to become a more independent adult; his room, however, still remained his for when he came back for holidays and visits.
"What's going on?" Lily asked as they climbed the stairs. Ginny followed behind them.
"You'll see," Victoire said. "This one was Teddy's idea."
At the top of the steps Teddy was standing in front of Lily's closed bedroom door.
"Hey there Little Flower," Teddy said, pulling Lily into a hug. "Did you girls have a good time today?"
Lily nodded. "Very much, but are you going to tell me what's going on here?"
Teddy grinned and glanced at Victoire. "Well, Vic and I knew that you've been having a hard time embracing your placement at school, and we also know that your brothers haven't exactly been the most encouraging with everything…so while Vic helped you today with your style stuff, I wanted to help you with this…" He pushed open the door and motioned for her to approach.
Lily stepped into her bedroom, followed by Teddy, Victoire, and her mum, and gasped.
Teddy had clearly spent the day decorating her room in Slytherin colors. He had replaced her old childhood floral quilt with a new beautiful emerald green velvet cover with matching pillows and throw pillows in silver. There was a large Green rug covered the wooden floor, and the previous white lace window hangings had been replaced by shimmering silver ones. There was a new bright green robe lying on her bed embroidered with a silver L on the upper left. On the wall across from the window above where her mirror was mounted, he had hung a large green and silver Slytherin banner.
"Teddy!" Lily said, feeling a little breathless with emotion.
"Do you like it?" He asked.
Instead of answering, Lily threw her arms around his neck, jumping to reach. Teddy squeezed her in a hug, lifting her off the ground.
"We just wanted you to feel more at home here away from school," he said. "We all had our rooms decorated in Gryffindor colors since before the day we went to Hogwarts. It's only fair you feel as free to decorate with your house's colors."
"Thank you, Teddy," Lily said. "I love it. Truly. Thank you!"
"You're welcome," he said, giving her one more hug.
"All right now, Lily and I have some more girl things to attend to before dinner. So clear off!" Victoire said to her boyfriend, shoving him playfully towards the door. Teddy stopped himself with his palms on either side of the door frame and puckered his lips towards Victoire.
She rolled her eyes, but laughed and gave him a quick kiss before he left the room, giving them their desired girl time.
"I'll have Thatchet bring up the bags," Ginny said, referring to the young elf they had started to employ the previous year as their old house elf, Kreacher, had become quite aged and they hadn't wanted to continually ask him to do work that would strain him. Kreacher still lived at the house with the family though, in his own room on basement level, and still received a wage, and still insisted on doing some of the house things in his stubborn way he had. Thatchet likewise had his own room and wage.
…
The night of New Years' Eve was a fluster of activity in the Potter's household. As Lily's parents dutifully dressed and prepared themselves for the annual Minister's Ball, Lily and her siblings prepared for their own festivities at home. The three Potter's kids had been running to and fro all day, prepping overseeing snack prep, decorations, and for Lily, perfecting her outfit and makeup. It would be the first time seeing her friends since leaving for holiday and she was eager to show Julianne and Leona how much she had learned from Victoire.
As Lily placed yet another platter of biscuits on a side table in the large formal drawing room, which had been fully transformed with streamers and balloons in shades of silver and gold, her mum hesitated.
"How many friends exactly are you all expecting tonight? I had thought it was just a small sleepover with your best mates…" Ginny said, warily eyeing the excess of treats that had been set out.
"It is," Lily said. She shrugged. "We just want there to be options."
"You three are going to behave tonight, right?" Ginny asked.
"Of course, mum! We always do." Lily smiled.
"Gin, you almost ready?" Harry called down the stairs.
"I am ready," she called back. "Waiting on you, dear." Lily grinned at the slightly sarcastic tone in her mum's voice. Ginny winked at Lily. "Your dad takes forever to get dressed!"
Lily laughed. "You look stunning, mum!" She said, eyeing the floor length deep blue gown her mum was wearing. For the first time since she was a little girl, Lily felt excited for when she would turn sixteen and finally be allowed to dress up and join her parents at the annual ball.
Ginny did a small twirl and laughed. "I feel a little overdone, but I think your Aunt Fleur will approve. At last year's ball she informed me I didn't try hard enough and I should put more effort into my attire since I was a Potter after all." She rolled her eyes slightly.
"Well, she won't be able to say anything after seeing you tonight," Lily said, thinking of how similar Louis and his mum were.
Harry hurried down the stairs, straightening his black bow tie and adjusting his velvety dress robes. "Have a good time tonight, Flower," he said to Lily as he helped Ginny into her long velvet cloak. "Try and get along with your brothers."
"Boys!" Ginny called up the stairs.
"I think they're in the kitchen," Lily said.
Ginny moved to the back steps and called down to the kitchens. A moment later, both boys came running upstairs.
"Your father and I are leaving now, and I expect the two of you to be on your best behavior. Be respectful of our house rules, be kind to your sister and her friends, and don't do anything you wouldn't do if we were here," Ginny said.
The boys both nodded solemnly.
Their parents left, and only moments later, their friends started arriving through the floo in the living room. In less than an hour the drawing room where the Potter kids had set up for their party was full of cousins and classmates, indulging in sweets and dancing to the music that James had set up to magically amplify throughout the house. Though Lily had only invited a couple people, her brothers, particularly James, had certainly taken liberties with his parents' guest list rules and the house was quickly overwhelmed with young Gryffindors.
Standing in a corner, sipping a Butterbeer and chatting with her friends, Lily eyed the crowd of her brothers' friends feeling strangely uncomfortable.
"What's wrong, Lil?" Julianne asked intuitively.
"Oh, nothing," Lily said, trying to shake away her discomfort.
"Lily, we know you better than that," Leona said.
"It's just a lot of Gryffindors here," Lily said, trying to laugh about it.
"Well, yes…" Leona eyed the group without concern.
Julianne seemed to understand her friend's feelings though. "We don't really fit in, do we?"
Lily shook her head. Apart from Rosie and Hugo, no one had even said hello to the girls. Hugo had stayed with the three for a while, but now he was, like his sister, conversing with a fellow Gryffindor. Louis hadn't come, much to Lily's disappointment, but Dominque had told her he wasn't feeling well and had stayed home.
"It'll be different when we're older and go to parties of our own with our own housemates," Julianne said.
Leona shrugged. "I'm not sure I'll ever be much of a party person," she said.
Lily smiled, wondering if she would be when she was older. She had a feeling Julianne would certainly be. "Let's go upstairs," she said. "We'll have more fun alone. Then we can hear ourselves talk without all this noise!"
The girls agreed and followed Lily out of the room, leaving the large crowd of dancing and laughing Gryffindors to their own party. They nearly ran all the way up to the fourth floor to Lily's room. She had wanted to show them the new decor anyway. Once there, the girls oohed and awed over the changes to her bedroom, complimenting the Slytherin colors. Lily called for Thatchet and asked for some drinks and food to be brought up to her room for her friends. The elf vanished in a snap and returned in one ya few moments carrying a tray with plates of mini sandwiches, pies, and biscuits, as well as three bottles of Butterbeer.
The girls spent the evening sharing stories of their Christmases, exploring the clothes and accessories Lily had bought with Victoire, and doing each other's makeup. They chatted until almost midnight, at which point they agreed to head back down to the party and join the larger group for the transition to the New Year.
James had passed around glasses of what Lily thought looked suspiciously like some of her parents' champagne and wondered what her parents would say. The Gryffindors were still dancing and chatting boisterously, though Lily had noticed a few of them had coupled off into corners of the room where they were snuggled up together on chairs and couches. She spotted Roxie with a tall, dark haired boy, and blushed when they started to snog. She had never seen any of her cousins besides Teddy and Victoire in a relationship and wasn't quite sure how she felt about it.
"Girls!" James shouted, hurrying over to the three second years with a grin. He looped his arms around both Leona and Lily and pulled them in for a hug. "Where've you been? You're missing all the fun!"
"Upstairs," Lily said. "But we thought we'd come down for midnight."
"Good!" He said. He quickly retrieved three glasses of the champagne and passed them around to the girls. "Join us!"
Leona and Lily stared at the drink skeptically, but Julianne smiled slightly and took a sip.
James grinned at the girls again, then ran off to join his girlfriend, Bea. Lily again felt a little embarrassed when he and Bea started snogging, right there in the middle of the room. No one else seemed bothered by it, though a few of James' friends did laugh and throw confetti at the couple.
"That's so sweet," Julianne said.
"What is?" Lily asked.
"James and his girlfriend," Julianne said. "It's sweet how he's kissing her right there in the middle of everything like she's the only person that matters."
Lily frowned slightly. She hadn't thought of it in that way. She had just assumed that snogging was something done in secret. "But everyone can see them," Lily said.
"Yeah, that's what makes it sweet," Julianne said. "They're not embarrassed or ashamed who sees them. That's how you know he really cares about her."
Leona smiled at that and nodded her agreement.
Lily realized she still had a lot to learn about relationships, and she wondered how her friends seemed to know so much more than she did.
At midnight, magical lights illuminated the room, a charm that Ginny had helped the kids arrange before leaving that night. Everyone cheered and raised their glasses to the new year. Lily realized many people kissed and she couldn't help wonder if she would have someone to kiss on the next New Year. Though she still thought she wouldn't be ready for something like that for a long time to come.
After midnight, the girls returned to Lily's room and changed for bed. Lily put on a movie on the television her parents allowed her to have in her room, and Julianne watched it in complete fascination as the girls all squeezed into the large bed together.
Lily didn't hear when her parents came home, nor did she know the extent of the trouble her brothers got in for the much larger-than-anticipated party they had thrown, but she did know they were both on restriction for the final three days of break before they all returned to Hogwarts, while she was allowed to have Julianne stay with her for the remainder of break.