Herbology.

Lily had been dreading this day since she first received the invitation: Hogwarts' Annual Equality Gathering. The concept of having an annual celebration in which old and new students of Hogwarts could gather with their family and friends and celebrate the liberty that came with the defeat of Voldemort was something that Lily had initially adored and still did. But, it meant that she would face some unwelcoming faces again. At least she had arms to cling on to.

Lily had suspected that Sirius would be at the forefront of James and Remus' jokes all day, having announced his wife's second pregnancy, this time with twins, earlier that week. Ever since Isabelle had announced their first pregnancy days after their wedding, James and Remus and crudely referred to Sirius as "The Sniper". The jokes had died down when Elsie was born and Sirius was forced to grow up. Now that they were expecting two more, James and Remus were more childish than ever.

At the Hogwarts' Annual Equality Gathering, Lily watched her boys poking fun at Sirius with content amusement. Around her, people were filing in and mingling. Kids ran in packs around the chairs, wives clutched the arms of their husbands and some of the more bitter singletons stood sulking around the edge of the viewing arena, staring glumly into glasses of firewhisky. Lily spotted Agatha Leeroy-Jones, a beastly girl from her year at Hogwarts, scowling at passing couples. Although Lily felt sorry for her, she couldn't help but he relieved that she wasn't her. In the seat next to her, Isabelle groaned.

"I'm never going this again, Lily. Never. Again."

"I can't understand why you were so desperate to come, Belle!"

That was only half true. Lily knew that nobody would have missed this night for the world. It was sure to be a spectacular show. However, Lily knew that although Isabelle was a naturally theatrical person, being eight months pregnant with twins couldn't possibly be a walk in the park. Even if it did mean missing Dumbledore's firework display, Lily would've stayed at home.

"Who's that?" asked Isabelle, pointing to Lily's left.

"That is a tree, Belle. I know you're suffering but there's no way you're hallucinating..."

"No, I mean look!"

Lily feared for her own eyesight for a few seconds before noticing a little boy sitting slumped against the base of the tree, his face in his hands.

"Is that your Harry?" asked Isabelle in a low voice. Lily turned and searched the crowds. She quickly spotted Harry talking animatedly with a couple of ginger-haired boys.

"Nope, not Harry. I'll be right back. Do you think you can manage five seconds without me?"

"Less of the sarcasm please, Dear," replied Isabelle to her friend, rubbing her belly. Lily hopped off her seat and made her way over to the boy. As she got closer, she heard him crying.

"Excuse me..." she began in a quiet voice. Apparently, he hadn't heard her. He started to cry louder. Lily bent down beside the boy and put a hand on his shoulder. "Shh... it's alright, sweetheart! Don't cry! Shh..." she rubbed his shoulder until he looked up. He was an unfortunate looking child, with a chubby face and crooked teeth and beady eyes. He couldn't have been older than Harry.

"What's the matter, darling?" she asked him, brushing a tear from his wet cheek. He cleared his throat.

"It's not f-f-fair! All the other children have got p-p-parents and I d-d-don't!" when he was finished speaking, he gave a great wail and threw himself into Lily's arms. She was certainly taken aback, but stroked his back none the less.

"What's your name?" she asked him quietly.

"Neville," he sniffed. Lily blinked a few times as she realised. She'd caught a glimpse of Augusta Longbottom when they'd arrived. The poor boy was five years old.

"You don't mean... The Neville Longbottom?!" she sounded astonished. He looked up and nodded, wiping his nose on his sleeve. She gasped and stared at him in awe.

"Mr Longbottom, it is such an honour to meet you! I have heard so much about you!"

Neville stared at her. "You... you have?"

"Of course I have! Everybody knows how brilliant you are at...erm..." she looked around frantically. Mercifully, she saw that he was clutching a clumsily-drawn picture of a flower.

"at... erm... HERBOLOGY!" she blurted. Neville's eyes widened.

"I'm brilliant at... what?" he asked, amazed at his ownership of a talent.

"Herbology! You know an awful lot about plants!" she explained. Neville peered down at his drawing of a flower.

"I mean, look at this wonderful sketch here!" she gestured to his drawing. "What type of flower is this?" she asked. Neville smiled.

"It's a Daisy," he replied fondly.

"Wow. A Daisy. And... is it a big flower or a small flower?" she asked.

"Small! Very small!" he squeaked.

"Really?! My goodness, and does it grow in trees?"

"No, no! They grow in grass!" Neville was sitting bolt upright, smiling brightly to her. Lily grinned back at him, pleased that his eyes were no longer watery, but still sparkling. Someone behind them cleared their throat daintily.

"Mrs Potter?" called a dream-like voice. Lily looked up. Janina Lovegood was standing patiently beside the tree, clutching the hand of a raven-haired little girl.

"I found your daughter. She was kidnapped by gnomes, but I bargained with them and managed to have her released from their captivity."

Lily gasped. "Alice! What on earth is that round your mouth?!" Lily pulled at her own sleeve and wiped the purplish muck off of her daughter's face.

"It's blackberry juice," began Janina Lovegood. "Gnomes know a spell that can make them grow on the bushes around their lairs. It's to lure in children."

"Yes, thank you Janina!" Lily said quickly, turning her attention back to Neville while still holding Alice close. It was such a strange situation to find herself in. Here was her daughter, face to face with the boy whose mother she was named after. It was so sad, not being able to tell Neville about his parents. She grabbed his hand.

"Come along, Neville. You can sit with us when the fireworks start."

Lily walked back to the viewing arena with the two children in tow, receiving an questioning look from Isabelle.

"Look who it is, Mrs Black! It's Neville Longbottom! You know, The Herbology Genius!" Lily widened her eyes as she emphasised her white lie. Isabelle's confusion was almost obvious, but she played along anyway.

"My goodness! It's wonderful to meet you, Sir! Oh, please come and sit by me, so that you can tell me what you think about the fireworks!"

True enough, after Dumbledore's speech, the fireworks were astounding. However, there was no sight more beautiful than the one that followed when the fireworks were over: Harry and Alice Potter, Elsie Black and Neville Longbottom running around together, blissfully unaware of the horror and evil that had occurred years before, allowing them to be as free and happy as they were. Lily made a mental note to speak to Augusta and the end of the evening and arrange a day for Neville to come over and play.