"Al! Where have you been?"

A shaggy brown head bounded into the door, nearly crashing into Albus. The tall form of James Potter came into view, mischievous smile and all.

"Walking," responded the younger brother shortly.

"Real shocker."

"Then why did you ask?"

James just shrugged and collapsed in a nearby chair.

"It's absolutely sweltering out there; you're sweating buckets."

Albus took the seat across from him, wiping his face. His legs had seized up from his exertion, and he was terribly thirsty

"I'm going to play some Quidditch later, want to come? Dad said he would let Lily borrow his old Firebolt… My new Lightning Streak makes that thing look ridiculous, but oh well," said James.

"Yeah, I'll come, but I need a shower first."

"I agree," said James, wrinkling his nose, "you smell the Apothecary in Diagon Alley."

Albus rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen to get a drink. The cool water was so refreshing after the heat of the day, and Albus gratefully gulped down three cups before going upstairs to shower. Thankfully his parents weren't around, because he was sure that they would ask questions, as his face hadn't been seen in nearly six days.

Once in the shower, the cool water beating on his sun burnt back, Albus could finally think more clearly, though no matter how hard he tried, Margot's name kept surfacing in his mind. Never had one girl occupied his head for that long, and it was disconcerting to him. Of course, Albus didn't have time for that kind of thing. Margot was a friend at best, and could never, would never, become more.

Stop thinking about it, Albus told himself firmly. Move on, she is just a girl.

When his hair was washed, and he was dressed in a clean shirt and shorts, he joined James and Lily downstairs. As usual, Lily was curled into a ball in her favorite reading chair, a book on her lap, and James was stretched on the couch, flipping through channels on the television.

"There's never anything interesting on this bloody thing," James mumbled, throwing the remote down. "Why Muggles fancy these things, I don't know…"

Lily raised her head as Albus sat down. She looked genuinely surprised.

"Oh, it's you," she said blankly.

"That's right. Missed me-"

"Are we playing Quidditch now?" asked James impatiently, cutting off Albus.

"No, Dad needs to be home so he can get the broom out, and we aren't allowed to go flying when Dad or Mum isn't home. Plus, I'm not that good of a flyer," Lily said, shutting her thick book and shaking her fiery hair out of her face.

"You're a Potter, how bad can you be?" asked James.

"I'm pretty awful."

"Probably not that bad."

"But I am," said Lily firmly.

"But you promised, so get up," responded James, stalking off to get his broom. "Al, I'll get your broom."

That summer, due to his good marks, James had gotten the newest broom, the Lightning Streak III. There was barely an hour that passed when James wasn't riding it. Albus, who had purchased his broom with his own money, didn't practice half as much as James, but still enjoyed the sport.

"I really wished I hadn't promised James anything," sighed Lily. "He kept nagging me about it; I mainly agreed just to shut him up."

Five minutes later, the three were making their way to the wide, open field that they used to practice, Lily dragging behind. She sat down on the yellow grass with a dramatic sigh.

"I don't even have a broom! So why did you make me come?" she asked indignantly.

"Because you need to do something other than read," said James, kicking off hard from the ground without a backwards glance. Albus gave her a small shrug and took off after his brother, thrilled to be in the air again. The two chased after each other, shouting and laughing like the best of mates. They tossed a soccer ball back and forth in lieu for a Quaffle, and baseball bats for Beater bats.

Lily enjoyed watching them, but soon the heat got to her and she returned to the house. But it wasn't long before she reappeared, however, this time she was accompanied by another figure. Sure enough, it was none other than their father, disheveled with a deep scowl on his face. It took about three seconds to realize how furious he was.

"JAMES SIRIUS!" he yelled. "ALBUS SEVERUS, GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

The two boys darted towards the ground immediately. Seldom did their father raise his voice, and when he did, they knew they were in serious trouble.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING?" he shouted, his glasses askew. "YOU KNOW FULL WELL THAT YOU ABSOULTEY CANNOT FLY IN OPEN DAYLIGHT WHILE GINNY AND I AM GONE! HAVE YOU LOST YOUR WITS?"

"Dad," said James quietly. It was hard to miss the note in panic in his voice, and the lack of his usual carefree composer. "I wasn't thinking, I just-"

"Well, that's obvious!" said Harry, chest heaving still. "I mean, if Lily hadn't told me, who knows what could have happened, the Muggles could have spotted you…"

James's frightened expression changed rapidly. His face flushed and the tips of his ears became red, which happened when he got extremely angry.

"Lily," repeated James, barely controlling his rage.

"Yes, your sister whom I see you care nothing about… You are in charge of her when we aren't home! And what do I find when I walk in? Her all alone, her brothers nowhere to be seen! Albus!" added Harry without warning as his eye caught sight of him. "I would have thought better of you… Wait until I tell your mother…!"

Lily, who was standing next to her father looking smug during this confrontation, started at the mention of her name and immediately tried to hide behind her father. The look of fury that James was directing towards her quelled any superior feelings she might have had.

"I am fed up with you," said their father, his eye gleaming. "James- you are grounded for a week- no leaving the house."

"What?" yelped James. "Albus was out too!"

"Both of you," said Harry sternly. "And that's just my punishment… Get in the house. Now."

Albus, whose insides were clutched in shame, immediately became indignant.

"But Dad," Albus started, gesticulating wildly, "I-"

"No, I have heard enough. Give me your brooms and its straight to your rooms, the both of you."

The boys, sensing defeat, reluctantly handed over their brooms. James made a point of shooting Lily a filthy look, with a rude sign that, in Albus's opinion, would have earned him a well-deserved summer in his room. Lily's wide brown eyes swam with tears.

"I swear, wait until Dad leaves," murmured James, clenching his fists.

"You're being a bit harsh on her though," said Albus fairly, though he was upset at her too. "I mean, she wouldn't purposely get us in trouble."

"Oh yes she would," answered James darkly as he pushed open the front door. "I found her diary last night and was taunting her about having a crush on some boy named Daniel in her year."

James smirked at this, but then looked solemn again almost instantly.

"What's mum going to say…" groaned James, branching off to his room distractedly.

Alone once more in his room, Albus laid down heavily on his bed as a thought crossed his mind.

I won't be able to see Margot for a whole week.

This thought was unfathomable in Albus's mind. So much could happen in that time: She could stop visiting the clearing, go on vacation, get grounded like him… The list was endless.

You've never broken grounding before, said the small, devilish part of him who desperately wanted to see Margot the next day. Why not, just this once?

Don't do it, answered the more reasonable part of his mind. If you get caught, who knows when you'll be let out?

Why did he have to listen to James? Why him, why now? Yesterday, a punishment like this wouldn't have bothered him one bit, but now the amount of time that he would be stuck in his room seemed impossible. One thing was sure, though: It was going to be a long week.