Lily Potter and the Shadows' Misfortune

Chapter Three

Following his instructions, Lily quickly slid on a pair of her sandals, which were sitting in the corner of the kitchen, and ran over to the hearth in the den with her father, where her mother and two brothers were waiting.

"Ready to go?" her mother asked, handing over some Floo Powder to Lily.

She nodded and carefully moved her hands around, so the powder wouldn't fall all over the carpet.

"James, you first," her mother nodded, pushing her oldest child towards the hearth.

"THE BURROW!" he yelled, throwing the Floo Powder at the ground and being engulfed by a wreath of green flames.

"You next, Lily," her father said, nudging her towards the fireplace.

Lily ducked into the opening and took a deep breath before repeating James's actions and being taken away by the green fire.

A few seconds passed by, and before she knew it, Lily was spat out onto the floor of the Burrow's living room, still lacking any sort of grace.

"You really aren't getting any better with using the Floo Network, are you, Lil?" James asked as he helped her to her feet; Lily could tell that he was stifling a laugh.

"Evidently, practice doesn't make perfect," she sighed, flicking some of the ash off of her t-shirt.

"Are you alright, Lily?" an old, worrisome voice asked.

Lily looked up from her dirty shirt to see her friendly-looking Grandma Weasley entering into the living room. The wrinkles in her face seemed to have deepened, and her hair seemed to have grown a little less flaming orange since the last time Lily had seen her grandmother.             

"I'm fine, Grandma Weasley," Lily smiled, giving her aging grandmother a tight hug. "I'm not spectacular when it comes to using the Floo Network is all."

"Everyone who's here is out front; you and James should head out there," she smiled, ruffling James's hair much to his distaste.

Obeying their grandmother, the two siblings left the living room of the Burrow and started towards the front door. They were about to step outside when Lily spotted the familiar Weasley Wall as her family had begun to call it affectionately.

The Weasley Wall chronicled everything in their recent family history, and though it was mainly photographs, the wall also included a few newspaper clippings and copies of awards, which Weasleys had won. The most recent addition looked to be a copy of Victoire Weasley's Hogwarts diploma as well as a photograph of her walking off of the Hogwarts Express for the final time.

"Grandma and Grandpa are so nostalgic," James commented, shaking his head. "It looks like you gained that gene as well, Lil."

"There's nothing wrong with being sentimental, James," Lily sighed, rolling her eyes. "I really love looking at all of this. Like look, there's a picture of you, Freddie, and Dom in a timeout when you were little."

Sure enough, in a small frame, there was a photo of the three cousins, all about six years old, pouting on a couch that had once sat in the Burrow before a seven year old Roxie had accidentally lit it on fire after a screaming match with her mother.

"I remember that day," James laughed. "Freddie, Dom, and I had tried to put a frog in Molly's soup, and Grandpa Weasley caught us. We were in so much trouble."

"It's not nearly as bad as the time when Roxie burnt the couch down," a voice laughed from behind the two siblings.

They turned around to see a bemused Fred Weasley II along with his irritated-looking younger sister standing beside him with her arms crossed.