I'll write another prequel in here, just to make sure everyone is getting this author's note:

I am currently not able to access the PM system. I will be able to access the PM system by approx. 4:00 East Coast time. For me, that means six. You can calculate from there.

I promise that I will get to everyone's characters as soon as I can, but since the PMs are so long I can only see a fraction of them on my email. I can tell you now that your character will be used somehow, but I can't tell you how until the actual application is right in front of me.

I have put this in the previous chapter, and edited it a few times, but no one's really noticed, so I thought I better make this clear.

So, here's a continuation of the story bit from the previous chapter, as a thank you for your patience.

James was in his garden that morning.

He loved being outside, and would take time down in his special garden whenever he could grab the time.

Really, he was extroverted (and he would curse Albus and his word-of-the-day calenders sometime for making him learn that word)...at least, he thought so. But he hated the fame with having Harry Potter for a father. Just his luck that's what happened.

Which meant that, in the wizarding world, James would have so many people being friends with him just so they could meet Harry Potter, or, less often, Ginny Weasley (his Mum had been a professional Quiditch player before James was born, after all). He liked his friends, but he thought the fake ones needed to get a life. After all, if all you did was manipulate people, then you would end up with no ties. His Uncle Draco had taught him that.

Here, at least, it was quiet. No reporter was going to come nosing around in his greenhouse, no fake friend was going to barge in here. Only a select few people even knew he liked to be in here.

"James." An olive skinned girl with bright red, wavy hair that was twisted back and eyes to match Al's, poked her head in. "Thought I'd find you in here."

"Addie, really." He layed on the sarcasm a bit heavily, but he knew she wouldn't take offence. "Where else would I be?"

She stepped fully inside the small greenhouse the family had built several birthday's ago for James, when Neville had mentioned that one day, plants were going to adore him. 'Addie', as was her pet name, sat down on a stool that was reserved for anyone talking to James while he was working. "I don't know. I thought you might have gone flying, at first. But your Mum said she wasn't letting you fly today."

James smirked. "Did you just come from the auto shop?"

She gave him a peculiar look. "How'd you know?"

He turned around, grabbed a towel, and handed it to her. "First of all, that's where you usually are when you're not with me or your dad. Second of all, you've got motor oil on your nose."

Her smile turned sheepish as she grabbed the rag and wiped her nose. "I didn't even do anything! He won't let me fix actual cars until I'm older. I was just lifting boxes..." She trailed off, then added quietly. "Of motor oil. Wow, I'm Einstein."

James laughed. She'd been doing that for years. "Oh come on, Addie. Not a big deal."

She shrugged. "My father wouldn't be proud."

"Hey, your father doesn't matter. You don't want the business, anyway."

She sighed and hopped off the stool. "I know."

She put his rag bag on the wall and leaned against it, watching James weed, water, and add soil to a number of plants that were unfamiliar to her. Sometimes she asked what they were, and James would explain. Today she didn't. Today she wanted to ask about something else. James's mother always let him fly. Unless..."there was another attack, wasn't there?"

James sighed. "I don't know. Dad was at the office all night. Mum refuses to say anything. But he flooed late, said he wouldn't be home." He shrugged. "That usually means something."

"It could have been...I don't know. Paperwork or something, right?"

As he worked on his plants, Addie had to strain her ears a little to hear him. "I guess. But then Mum wouldn't have cared if I asked to fly."

James was a good flier. He was also right. As long as he stayed within the grounds and didn't fly over to any muggle neighborhoods, his mother usually didn't mind. He was good on a broom, and she had a monitoring charm on it. Besides, she might have joined him, anyway.

They stood in silence for a while. Then he started smiling. "Hey Adalia, come check this out."

So she did. And she was rewarded with a gently opening, pink flower that shimmered a little. She'd long ago learned to suspend her disbelief on James's plants. "What is it, James? It very pretty."

He loved sharing his knowledge with anyone, and you could see it in his eyes. "Shimmer flower. When it gets a little more mature, it can be ground down into medicines. But right now, it just looks pretty."

"Cool." And it was. Adalia wasn't as fascinated as James seemed to be, but really, anything with magic was interesting. It was all so...Addie wasn't sure how to describe it.

Then Ginny poked her head in. "James, your father's back. We're going to have breakfast, and then take you and Adalia to Diagon Alley."

James nodded. It was only a few weeks before September 1st, after all. They needed to get school supplies, after all. "Alright. Just give me a minute."

She nodded and smiled at Addie before leaving. Addie noted the smile seemed a little strained. James saw it as well.

He looked over at Addie. "Well, you haven't seen Diagon Ally yet. It should be rather amazing. Ready?"

She looked down- she'd changed since the auto shop, so the simple shorts and t-shirt she was wearing had nothing coating it. Finally, she shrugged. "I think so. Do I need to borrow on of your robes to put over? We are still the same size, right?"

He looked her over- he had a bit more muscle than Addie, but not by much. "Yeah, I think. But you'll have your own robes after this. We can just stop at Madame Malkin's first if you really want to wear some. Still, Diagon Ally's not like Hogwarts. Muggle clothing's fine."

She bit her lip. "If you say so, then sure."

His smile grew larger. "Come on. You'll love it. You'll want to see everything all at once!"

All right, I'll cut it there and put the next part as a Diagon Ally chapter with all the characters. Keep sending in OCs!

Pink Phoenix Potter