Aki- I'm back! Okay, the busiest semester of my life is now over for summer break, so time to finish fanfictions. I am not feeling this chapter that much, but it is finally done. So finally, I present, Lily Potter.
1
Lily Luna Potter is a girly girl. This manifests itself young with her love of dolls and tea sets, of dresses, pink, and lace. This later will transform into a too early interest (in Ginny and Harry's opinion) in boys and make-up.
This was a bit disconcerting to Ginny, who had been a little more of a tomboy herself, and perhaps expected the same thing from her daughter. Ginny had been forced into dresses and pink and lace by mother who was trying to compensate for so many sons and an assumption that this what little girls liked to wear. So Ginny figures its best to let Lily be herself, even if that is not who Ginny thought she would be.
2
Owls, perhaps, are the practical types of pets in the wizarding world, but Lily could care less about them personally. They were service pets, ones that didn't spend much time with you, who flew around and brought dead field mice into the house, and were not cuddly at all. But cats…oh, cats were wonderful. Lily wanted a cat so badly. Maybe for her tenth birthday she'll ask for one.
3
Being sorted had always been something of a stressful milestone in each of the young Potters and Weasleys lives. There were a lot of expectations put on them, by parents and teachers and even themselves, to follow in the precise and well-beloved footsteps of their predecessors. (That basically meant Gryffindor.)
So naturally she is nervous as she stands in the queue of incoming first years waiting to be called up to sit on the stool in front of everyone else. 'How bad can it be,' a rational part of her brain says, trying to break through her nerves, 'Al is in Slytherin. Molly's in Ravenclaw. Louis is in Hufflepuff.' She seemed to have forgotten that the Weasely-Potter trend of being red and gold lions had been completely changed by the new generation of her family before her and she is not quite so nervous anymore.
4
Albus hated Quidditch and James loved it for more than his life was worth, but Lily found herself somewhere in the middle. It was fun to watch, a friendly game was okay to play, but she was not really into competition herself. But flying, oh, how she loved flying. It was the most freeing thing in the world to be up in the air on a broom. Suddenly, every concern and worried that had anchored her to the ground where gone and she was up, up, and away.
Flying was special, she knew that, and she felt that it was magic at its finest, giving them, mere humans, the gift to be like birds. But she also knew why flying was so special for her. She remembered the first time she flew on a broomstick, still little, her daddy seated behind her, whispering for her to hold on tight with a reassuring grin on his face. Her arms were around hers, gripping the broom above her small hands. Then Dad kicked up, and Lily's stomach flipped in a not-unpleasant-way at the feeling of weightlessness. And then they were zooming away, and it seemed so fast and high, even though now Lily realizes how slow and low they were flying, how safe Dad was being. But in the moment she felt happy and free and loved.
5
"She's a real Daddy's girl, isn't she?"
"You have no idea."
6
Lily thinks Aunt Luna is the most awesome person in the world (and it is not just because she inherited her name, though that is part of it). She knows that James and Albus find her a little weird and she is a little weird, but that is the thing… she doesn't care. Not about being weird, not what other people think about her, she is basically oblivious. And all Lily can think is that is just a wonderful way to live, the way you want, not only not letting the jokes, sneers, or opinions of others affect you, but not even letting them into your field of vision. So she emulates the woman, if not for her choices in jewelry or profession or even philosophy on life, but for how she lives, and how she seems to slide through life, completely content to be nothing but herself.
7
Lily gets frustrated that Hugo knows everything (or at least so it appears to the young first year Lily). He is the same age as her, and yet his wisdom is off the charts. And it is so not fair. She is technically older than him, and has had two older sibling to toughen her up and wise her up before getting to Hogwarts compared to his one.
But Hugo just sits there, maybe mulling over a chess board or a textbook or a copy of the The Quibbler or The Daily Prophet, nodding sagely, muttering out advice about life and love and school and everything else under the sun. And it is soooooooooo frustrating. Except, it is kinda nice to have a friend who knows everything.
8
James is the oldest son of Harry Potter and Albus is the second who looks like a spitting image of him, and sometimes it seems to Lily, who has either Weasely red or the original Lily red hair and doesn't look unlike dad but not strikingly like him either, that all those great expectations are given to her brothers and not to her. With all of James's pride over it and Albus's bitterness, she thinks she should maybe be grateful that she isn't being overestimated for the fickle reasons of lineage, but at the same time, it is kid of insulting. Why does no one expect anyone from her, some greatness that that they are awaiting from her brothers? She wonders if it is because she is a girl, or she seems flighty sometimes, or because she is the youngest, the baby, and everyone got over the whole heaping unfounded prospects on the Potter children by the time they got to her …because Lily feels she is smart and talented and compassionate and that should count for something.
9
Al and James are both very different types of brothers. They were both her big brothers, but James was The Big Brother. He was reckless and loud and just full of fun. He was also insanely overprotective, which usually manifested in him glaring (at the least) and threatening bodily harm (to the greatest) and sometimes hexing (in the rare extreme circumstances) any guy that dated her, flirted with her, or even looked at her the wrong way. This put quite a cramp on her dating life, leaving only the very brave, very stupid, or very dedicated getting within touching distance of her. It was annoying as hell, but it was also sweet, in an odd way. She knew James would always have her back.
Al was not like that. He was the quieter brother, more contemplative, more of a thinker. And it wasn't that they talked at great lengths all the time, but the fact is she could talk to him, if an occasion arose, especially when she had a problem she wanted to the support of a big brother from with a solution not involving violence. She trusted him (she trusted James too, but not in the same way). Lily hopes Al knows this, because she is not oblivious to how he treads lightly around corners, like he is not sure he wants to be seen.
10
There are a lot of benefits to being the youngest girl in a big extended family. How about all the clothes she gets to borrow from Rose, or how Victoire taught her how to paint her nails and put on make-up when she babysitted once, and how she's got brothers and a whole slew of boy cousins watching her back and making her laugh and letting her play Quidditch with them instead of excluding her. Being the youngest can suck sometimes, but it is also pretty great.
So, next chapter will be the second Fred Weasley, but I also think it will be my last chapter because the few other next generation characters I have nothing for at all (so the ones that I am not writing for will be Dominique and Louis-- Victoire's siblings-- and Percy's kids and Roxanne--Fred's sister).