Tuesday December 15th

Potter house, kitchen

10:27 am

- - -

It had snowed last night. Big heaping piles of white, fluffy, powdery snow. The minute Lily had woken up and peeked out her window, she knew exactly what she needed to do today.

Unfortunately, her mother didn't agree.

"Lily, stop moving," her mother commanded as she grabbed Lily's bright pink winter coat and held it up to her. "I can't help you when you fidget like this."

"But Mu-um," sighed Lily in protest as she started putting her arms through the sleeves of the coat. "I need to get outside. The snow's going to disappear."

Ginny Potter smiled faintly at her youngest child as she began to button up Lily's jacket. "The snow's not going to disappear. I promise."

"Yes it is," grumbled Lily, watching her mother button her as she started to slide her blue, polka dotted gloves onto her bare hands. "And then I won't be able to make my snowman."

"So you're making a snowman today huh?"

"Yep," nodded Lily as she finished with her gloves and then threw her pink beanie on her head, crookedly of course. Ginny simply sighed and straightened the hat, making sure it completely covered her daughter's ears. "A special snowman," Lily added with a grin.

"Well then," her mother smiled kindly at her as she stood up, indicating that Lily was now all ready to go play in the snow. "Do you need any help," she asked as Lily started eagerly towards the door.

"Nope," threw Lily over her shoulder as she ran out the door. "I can do it all myself."

Twenty minutes later Lily was starting to regret that statement. She had tried to roll the snow into three balls for the body and head, but all she accomplished was just the head. But the head wasn't perfect like she'd seen on other snowman. Instead it was lopsided and leaned to one side. Lily, having never made a snowman by herself before, didn't know how she was going to fix it. And her little arms were tired from pushing and she was cold. Angrily Lily kicked at the snow, frustrated with the whole thing.

"Hey Lily."

Lily turned to see her two brothers, each armed in their respective snow gear, walking towards her from the house. James reached her first.

"What are you doing?" he asked as Albus came up slowly behind him.

"Trying to make a snowman."

"That sure doesn't look like any snowman I've ever seen," remarked Albus as he observed the lopsided ball of snow.

"I know that," said Lily with a glare in his direction. "I'm not done yet."

Albus and James exchanged similar glances. After a moment of secret conversation, Lily hated how they could talk sometimes without saying a word; James turned back towards Lily and said, kindly, "You need some help?"

"Uum," Lily glanced down at her faux attempt at a snowman head and then back up at her brothers. Despite her previous wishes, she knew they was no way she could make this snowman alone. "I suppose. If you're offering," she added.

"We are," said James as he turned towards his younger brother and commanded. "You make the middle, I'll make the bottom." Turning back around towards his sister, he caught the look of surprise on her face and said, "Me 'n Al' have done this before."

After ten minutes, Lily had to conclude that her brothers were right. During that short time frame each of her brothers had whipped up a ball a snow and set them on top of each other. Lily finished her designated job –fixing her monstrosity of a snowman head- and added it to the pile and completing the snowman's body.

"Now what should we do Lil'?" asked James as they surveyed their work.

Lily was shocked. Her brothers rarely ever asked her what she wanted to do. As the youngest and only girl, she usually had no say in anything. Her cheeks tinged pinked from a combination of cold and embarrassment, Lily shyly said, "Well, I was thinking of making him look like Daddy."

"Like Dad?" echoed Albus as he and James stared thoughtfully at the unadorned snowman. "You know," he added, "that just might work."

"I was planning on getting his robe from his study," said Lily.

"And he left his hat in the foyer," said Albus, his voice lit with enthusiasm.

"He did, didn't he?" remarked James. "Okay Al', you go get his hat. And Lily, you go get his robe," commanded James in his best older brother voice and, for once in their life, Lily and Albus obeyed him.

Lily dashed back into the house with Albus fast on her heels. By the time she got outside five minutes later (for their mother refused to let her and Albus enter the house until they had brushed all the snow off their pants, jackets, shoes and gloves), James had already added black yarn for hair and was holding a pair of glasses in his hand and was starting at the snowman intently.

"It's missing something," he said as Lily and Albus approached.

"Yeah, a face probably" scoffed Albus as he threw the hat on and Lily added the robe.

James glared at him, "I know that you nit-wit." James turned back to the snowman and said, "But what can we use for the eyes? What do we have that's green?"

"Oh I know!" shouted Lily excitedly. Turning back towards the house she started to run, shouting, "Hey Mum! Do we got any peas?"

Two minutes later Lily was back, equipped with two peas, a carrot for the nose and handful of red gumdrops which her mother insisted they could use for the mouth. James added them all -along with the glasses- and then the three siblings stood back, examining the now Dad-like snowman.

"It's still missing something," remarked Albus with a frown as Lily nodded on in agreement. "It doesn't look quite like Dad yet."

"I got it." said James with a mischievous gleam in his eye. Reaching down, he grabbed a tree branch off the ground and used its sharp end to draw a small, lightening rod shape above the snowman's eyes. "Perfect," he said as he stepped back to examine his work. "Now it looks like Dad."

Author's Note: Yes, I'm aware that I'm a day behind in posting. I have finals this week that are keeping me more then occupied. As soon as they are done, tommorow morning in fact, I will make sure to do a double post. Thanks for the continued reads and reviews!