03. I Couldn't Help But Overhear You... Thinking?

Lily awoke next morning to golden sunlight streaming in through her window, slightly blinding but pretty all the same. Squinting a bit and covering her eyes, she pushed back her covers, got up, and walked over to where her calendar hung on the wall opposite her bed. When she arrived there, she picked up a red marker that her grandfather had given her and crossed off another square, meaning it was one less day until she would board the Hogwarts Express.

When she had finished, she entered the hall and sighed when she saw that James, Albus, and her father were still asleep. Figuring her mum must be up, Lily made her way downstairs where, just as she had suspected, Ginny was standing in the kitchen making breakfast.

Lily had never told her, but she thought of her mother as the most wonderful person she knew. She was beautiful, with her straight, silky red hair and brown eyes. Lily's hair matched her mother's, but her eyes were a clear blue, like Ginny's brother Ron's were. Still, Lily was almost a miniature of her mother, and when she thought about how kind, brave, and caring she was, Lily hoped that would always be true.

"Good morning," she finally said.

Ginny whipped around at the sound of Lily's voice and grinned. "Good morning, sweetheart! I suppose your brothers are still sleeping, are they?"

"Yeah. Was it like this when you were growing up, with your brothers?"

She smiled a reminiscent smile and replied, "Oh yeah. Except I had about three times as many brothers as you've got, Lily, so count your blessings." She and Lily both laughed. "Anyway, are eggs and bacon all right for breakfast?"

"Yes."

"Good, because we are going to have company today," Ginny announced, cracking an egg into a bowl and flicking her wand to mix it in.

"Hugo?" Lily asked excitedly. Hugo was her favorite cousin, so fun-loving and energetic. He was the same age as her, and his hair and eyes were brown. They both couldn't wait to set foot in Hogwarts castle.

"Yes, and Rose," Ginny confirmed. "Your aunt's got to go in earlier today so I've agreed to watch them while their parents are at work. I've got good reason to think that Teddy may be dropping in also," she added, smiling. "Or at least, his words of 'Hey, I'll be dropping in' gave me nice false hope. Anyway, I'll watch you guys, you can play Quidditch or whatever, and then around three, when your father gets home, we'll all go eat somewhere in Diagon Alley."

Lily grinned. This was shaping up to be a fantastic day. She could beat everyone at Quidditch (she was an exceptional player, if only, as James said, "for a girl"), see her cousins and Teddy (whom she loved as a cousin), and, when things died down, ask Hugo about her mystery.

"Mummy, can I wake James and Albus and Dad? They shouldn't sleep through breakfast," Lily stated.

"Sure, Lily, I'd appreciate it. Tell them to dress quickly, too, and if you can't get them out of bed, tell them who's coming, that should get them moving. Besides, your father's got to go to work," Ginny said.

Lily agreed, skipped up the steps to yell at her brothers and gently shake her father awake, and within 15 minutes they were all sitting around the table, waiting for their cousins.

Lily looked at James as she waited, wondering what was on his mind. She began to stare at him, penetratingly, and suddenly...

... she could hear James's thoughts. It felt like it had the previous day; both times her mind had been wiped clean and presented with another's thoughts. Except this time, the thoughts were perfectly clear, not just shown in bits and pieces.

Teddy's coming... oh, God, I've got to figure this out... Tricking my little sister is one thing, but killing her...

"KILLING me?!" Lily exclaimed, shocked at what she had just heard, and the fact that she had read someone's thoughts.

"What?" James looked perplexed. "How did you..."

At the exact moment James's astonished face morphed into one of recognition and disbelief, there was a loud knock on the door.

Rather than jumping up to greet her cousins as she normally did, Lily retained her position, mystified by what had just happened.

She heard her mum say, "Oh, it's no problem" and her aunt reply, "Thank you so much, I really appreciate this! Oh, I've got to run... have fun!" but none of it registered or mattered.

A few minutes later, Hugo's cheerful voice shattered Lily's thoughts. She looked at her cousin's happy face. "Hi," she replied lifelessly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, and Lily sighed. Hugo knew her better than anybody; of course he would recognize her feelings!

"Fine, I'll tell you," she said. "James told me he knew a way to do magic early, and he showed me these objects, a cup of water, a Chocolate Frog card, and a glass ball. Anyway, when I was leaving his room, I spilled the -- well, I'm not sure it's actually water, and at dinner I could involuntarily read people's minds." She glanced back at her cousin and viewed his face as astounded.

"Whoa... reading minds... wicked!" he exclaimed.

"I suppose," Lily said, unsure, "but I haven't finished yet. Anyway, so when I was in James's room last night, he accidentally broke the glass ball, and now I can read minds anytime I want."

Hugo gasped. "You're kidding!"

"I'm not. I'll read yours right now if you want."

"Don't read my mind, Lily, I got your point," Hugo grumbled. "Let's talk about this later, and play Quidditch now. James and Teddy are already out there."

Lily agreed... for now.

She was beginning to think she could have a lot of fun with this...

For Quidditch, the kids divided themselves into two teams: Lily, Hugo, and Albus on one side, and Teddy, James, and Rose on the other. These were the teams they always played with; Lily (who had inherited her parents' fantastic Quidditch ability; she even played Seeker, like her father had) and Teddy were great, James and Hugo were good (although James considered himself better than everyone), and Rose and Albus were both awful, so it was fair. They even made up for their too-small teams by having their best players take multiple positions.

They played four short games (Lily's Team--3; Teddy's Team--1) before getting tired and going inside, where Ginny served them lunch. As they were eating, Lily amused herself by shooting random glances at Hugo, widening her eyes and pretending to read his mind. He scowled each time, but it always got a giggle out of her.

When lunch was over, the group split into twos, as they often did. Rose and Albus went into his room, probably to engage in intelligent conversation or discuss a book or something; James and Teddy headed outside; and Lily ushered Hugo into her room so that they could talk a bit more.

"So," Hugo said, leaning back in Lily's wooden desk chair, "what you're saying is that you can read minds. And... if you don't keep giving me that annoying look, at least, I don't really see a problem. "

Lily groaned. "Hugo! I'm obviously not supposed to be able to read minds!"

"I guess not." He grinned. "But still, it's cool... as long as you don't use it on me."

"Well..." Lily couldn't help it. She grinned too.

When Lily heard her father walk in, she ran and gave him a hug. She'd had a great day teasing Hugo, and was eager to see her aunt and uncle for dinner.

"Hey, Lily!" her dad said, hugging her back. "How's it going, Hugo?"

Hugo gave his cheerful grin in response and said, "Good."

"Well, your parents will be here soon, and then we'll all go out and get dinner."

"Great," Lily said brightly. "I can't wait to try this out on James..." she muttered to Hugo, who laughed and nodded. "Come on..."

And they went back upstairs to scheme.