Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Not that I haven't tried.
The Fourth Year
7-year old James ran around the house cocking maniacally while Ginny attempted to get him into a pair of pants. Every time she caught him he would disappear and pop up a few feet away in the oddest places, like the cookie cupboard. Harry, on the other hand, was at the fireplace attempting to communicate with Molly Weasley with information of how she had dealt with 7 Weasley children when they showed signs of magic. Albus had been trying to complete this trick as well; his best progress by far had resulted in what had almost been a concussion. He had tripped over an ugly vase sent by his daddy's cousin, Dudley Dursley. This resulted in him flying into the air and flailing his arms wildly. His mother stopped for a brief moment to magic him safely to the ground and then resumed her chase after her eldest son. Albus, who still felt quite dizzy, spent the rest of the afternoon trailing after his mother and brother insisting he could fly.
But if you look close enough you might be able to spot a petite, 4-year old girl with luscious red hair that just reached the middle of her back. She had sparkling, green eyes with, as her mother would proudly say, just a hint of hazel. Right now her eyes were dull as she realized what was going on. James her older brother was using magic. She, Al, and James would sometimes sit on their beds together and discuss what they would do once they found their magic abilities and got the most awaited letter of all wizard children's lives. The Hogwarts acceptance letter. As James was due to turn 8 any day now, he had become increasingly worried that he would be a Squib. His fear was only enhanced by their cousin Fred Weasley's taunting. He, already being a second-year Gryffindor, obviously knew more about the magical world than the three Potter children. The little girl, Lilly Luna, was happy that James was finally getting what he wanted most in the world. But, she thought, he could be a little less rude about it. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him. She watched the sun pas through its phases that day, not really paying attention to the happenings in the house anymore. Eventually, she tucked her head onto her folded hands, and in her little hidden nook that no one but she and Al knew about drifted to a dreamless sleep.
Soon enough Harry came back with a, Children's Magic Dampening Potion, that Mrs. Weasley insisted, "worked wonders". Ginny waved her wand and the cork unstoppered itself; the potion tilted itself down James crowing throat. The next second she flicked her wand and his red pants wrestled themselves onto him. Sighing in disappointment he marched up to his room, and lay in his bed staring at his Quidditch themed ceiling until his mother called him down for supper. Albus, meanwhile, was tucked into bed, delirious, with fever. He was served stew in bed, while Harry, Ginny, and James ate meat pie at the kitchen table. Although Lilly's stomach growled with hunger, she ignored it for these rare moments when she was alone were quite appreciated by her.
Drifting upstairs one by one all members of the Potter family, albeit one, were sound asleep. Ginevra Potter waited patiently until she heard her husband and sons' snores reverberate throughout the house. Slipping off the suede sofa, she made her way to the front window, pulled back the lace curtain, and running her dainty fingers along the wall below the frame, found a latch, and pulled it open. Inside a small, dark space she found a petite, red-haired, little girl, curled up, and snoring softly. Ginny's mouth curved up to form a small smile. She was so like Harry. Bending down, she picked up the small form of her only daughter, and carried her up the stairs to her room, papered with moving pictures of her family, smiling and waving back at her. Once she was snuggled up under her blankets, Ginny exited the room, a sense of warm peace growing over her, as she crawled into bed with Harry.
As soon as she exited the room, the little girl dreams turned into fitful, never ending nightmares. Her mother's presence was gone. It was the only thing that could calm her down.
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