Lily Potter had watched her brothers, her cousins, her family friends' wave goodbye from the scarlet Hogwarts train, watched them all swan off in their robes. She had read the letters they sent home and heard how Albus was on the Qudditch team and how Rosie was top in transfiguration and Roxanne had three detentions already and was living up to her father's name.
Sitting in her room, she slowly and deliberately drew a fat X over the August 31st square on her Appleby Arrows calendar. Her dad had laughed endearingly at her when he had seen the calendar, and told her that crossing off the last square was the best feeling in the world. And it was.
Suddenly from downstairs, there came a chorus of loud, laughing voices, shocking Lily awake. Eager to see her family, she took one last look at the calendar, biting her lip happily. She placed it atop the folded clothes in her open trunk, zipped her trunk shut and thundered downstairs.
"Hey Lily," several voices called out, as herd of relatives unbuttoned coats and put down bags. There was a family gathering at the Potter house that night, a send-off for the new first years, Lily and her cousins Dominque and Hugo. Immediately, the adults were sitting in their usual places, downing butterbeer and reminiscing. They were a motley crew, mostly red haired, and fiercely loyal to one and all.
The famous Harry Potter grinned lazily sitting beside his son James and his good friend and brother in law, Ron Weasley. Harry's friends had come become his family, not just by law, and although it went unspoken, Ron certainly knew of it. Ron's hand rested on top of that of another great friend of the Potters, his wife Hermione who wisely ignored the tales of her husband's exploits and instead talked politely to her brothers-in-law, George and Percy. Percy's wife Audrey listened but her eyes were wandering, keeping an eye on her daughters Molly and Lucy, who stood by the doorway chatting with their cousins, Roxanne, Fred, Rosie and Hugo. While Roxanne and Molly argued over Qudditch teams, Lily sipped hot chocolate and smiled, her brother Al rechecked his homework and added little fragments of story his father had forgotten, and James laughed and proclaimed the lot of it to be a load of ol' codswallop.
"Dad, you so did not come up with the Gillyweed idea!"
"I never said I did," Harry grinned. "I'm just saying it was a good idea."
"The night before the task," Hermione said, shuddering so that a few strands of curly brown hair slipped out of her elegant bun. "I should have drown him myself for that. The very last minute!"
"Like father like son, eh James?" Harry and James bumped fists together, both of them identical in their casual slouching positions.
"Actually, James, I noticed you spent a remarkably small amount of time on that fabled holiday homework," Ginny frowned, "that did get done didn't it?"
"Mum, honestly, do you think I would dare go into Professor Longbottom's class without his essay done? You know how intimidating he is..... With those large Armenian daisies..."
"They were rare Arizonian Marigolds and it was so sweet of him to bring them when he came for tea the other day, giving you peek of what's coming ahead in fourth year! You will not take Neville's sweet nature for grant-"
"Mum, cool it, Herbology is like, simple."
"Well, then if you get a P in it again, I'm sure we'll take great pleasure in shunning you as the simpleton you really are, James Sirius."
"It was a surprise test, how many times, a surprise test! Only like three people got Es and no one-"
As the rest of the family egged James on and offered their comments, Lucy Weasley caught her youngest cousin's eye.
"You all right, Lil?" she asked quietly.
"Yup," Lily fake smiled, feeling like a dragon's egg had lodged in her stomach. Lucy was calm and sensible like her dad, Percy only with a neat red ponytail, tortoiseshell hair clips and Pumpkin Juice coloured nails.
"Course she is!" answered Roxanne. "Weasley blood runs in her veins and red hair graces her head!"
"Not to mention her dad is literally the boy who lived," added Fred, Roxanne's twin and mirror image.
"Nah, that Chosen One things a load of rubbish," dismissed Roxanne. "Daddy Potter spins stories."
"Daddy Ron endorses those stories," Rose joined the conversation, nudging her father with a sharp elbow.
"I do. The whole thing was me actually but I'm not really one for the spotlight," Ron said, winking at his young nieces and nephews. Uncle Ron was the kind of guy who everyone liked. H would drink too much fire whiskey at Granddad Weasley's birthday party and tell the young ones how to get into the kitchen at Hogwarts or get overexcited at New Year's Eve and weave them a tae about a hidden room on the fourth floor.
"It's true, squirts, it's all true," he said indignantly as Fred rolled his eyes. "Why else would you're mother have even looked twice at me? Popular, pretty and with a reputation for dating international Qudditch players- I didn't have a chance. But once I defeated the dark lord, all the girls were after me."
"Daaaaddd," Hugo face-palmed, embarrassed. Lily could tell Hugo was nervous too but he hid it well with his natural Weasley exuberance.
"Just you wait, little Lily," his eyes twinkled.
"Hey Lil, c'mere," Albus shouted, having just answered the door. "Charlie's here!" Lily hurried out to the hallway.
"Hey little flower!" Charlie grinned, unwinding a knitted scarf from his thickly scarred neck. The scars were from a Hungarian Horntail he had gotten on the wrong side of and the scarf was from his young goddaughter Lily, who had taken up knitting on the advice of her Grandmother, Molly.
"Hey Charlie," James said, sliding into the room. "They're all in the kitchen." Lily went to follow her godfather but Albus blocked her with his arm.
"Hey Al-" Lily began to complain. Albus' green eyes implored her to be quiet.
"So Lil," James said quietly. There's something we need to discuss. Just as I told James in his first year-"
"You didn't tell me, Uncle Ron told me and I demanded a fair share," Albus snorted.
"What?" Lily asked.
"Dad's cloak. And map and firebolt, everything that makes Hogwarts all the more navigable." He grinned cockily. "Everything that Dad doesn't know we have."
"I'm working on my game this year," Al said, as if reminding us for the billionth time how he had been made keeper in his second year. James and I rolled our eyes. "I'm taking the Firebolt, you've got that old Nimbus of Colin's, James and Lily, you're not allowed your own broom anyway."
"Fine," James said and Lily nodded in agreement.
"And the map stays in my possession," James said. "That's given seeing as I was the one to find it and sneak it out of Dad's desk drawer," James grinned. "You can borrow it obviously, but I'd think it wise to learn the secret passages anyway."
"And so, little sister," Albus exchanged grins with James. "We gift you the finest Potter heirloom, handed down from the first generations of Peverall and made by Death and all that- the invisibility cloak."
"What?" Lily asked, astounded as James unwedged the expanse of material from his tight pocket.
"A cloak. That makes you disappear. You know, invisible? Like gone?" James turned to Al, "With brains like that, it's wasted on her."
"Ha-ha. Why do I get it?"
"My disillusionment is pretty magnificent," James said nonchalantly. "And Albus is too much of a coward to use it."
"Sor-ry, King James of Bravery."
"Knew you should have been in Slytherin, coward!"
"Well, you should have been in Hufflepuff, simpleton!"
As her brothers argued, Lily ran her hands through the fine gossamer material. Something she had heard of but never seen. She ran her and under it and watched as it disappeared completely. Some people had chipped crockery but the Potters had rare magical artefacts as family heirlooms. Brilliant.
*
"LilyAlbusJames!" Ginny Potter called up the stairs in one breath. "You seriously have ten minutes to be ready! Seriously! You know how slow your father is at muggle driving!"
After last night's party, James and Albus were still lying in bed, groaning at the sunlight. Lily had been up for at least an hour, but had not yet braved the downstairs world. Instead, she had fought with her permanently messy cloud of red hair. Her arm ached from brushing and the floor was littered with wrappings from various hair potions (recommended by her aunt Hermione who knew a thing or two about this struggle) and at last her hair fell down her back in a smooth, vibrant waterfall. She dusted imaginary dirt off her jeans and pulled a long knitted cardigan on. A gift from Luna Lovegood, her godmother, the cardigan was knitted in at least twenty colours of wool, lined with grey fur and reached her knees- and somehow it managed to look cool. She bent down to face the family cat, Argo, locked tight in a carrier cages and meowing pitifully. Argo had been a present for the three siblings and so, he was to accompany them to Hogwarts. Despite being an ancestor of the famously hideous Crookshanks, Argo was a good looking kitten with a sleek black and white body and green eyes, "Lily's eyes" Dad liked to joke. It was Lily's biggest disappointment that she had not inherited the famous irises of her namesake.
"Meow to you to, Argo. I'm finally going," she whispered to her cat. Hermione often talked about Crookshanks' intuition and Lily knew Argo was just the same.
"Ready hon?" Ginny smiled as Lily sat at the table. She placed a hand on her shoulders for a fleeting moment as she stacked some pancakes on her daughter's plate. "My sweet Lily off to Hogwarts!"
Lily dug into her pancakes, refusing to indulge in sentiment.
Running into the barrier between platforms nine and ten never felt as sweet to Lily Potter than it did that day. Finally, not to wave any one off but for herself. She wheeled the trolley holding her belongings over to the cluster of red heads she knew to be her Uncles Ron, Bill, George, Percy and for some reason, Charlie. Hugo was standing tight next to his dad and he gave Lily a strained smile as she approached.
"Hey Lily."
"Hey Hugh. What are you doing here, Charlie?" she asked, not being able to help but smile. Seeing Uncle Charlie was like that, you started to smile before he even opened his mouth.
"Came to see you off, little flower," he grinned. "And to grill Bill as to why he and his brood weren't at last night's dinner."
"I toldya, important business. Dominique had a photo-shoot for Drooble Bubble advertising" Bill protested.
"Bloody hell, the quarter-veela child strikes again!"
Dominque blushed, hiding behind her perfect blond fringe. She was otherworldly pretty and no one in the family ever stopped teasing her about it
"Hi Niqua."
"Hey Lily. You all ready?"
"Uh-huh. Wanna get a compartment together?" Dominique's affirmative reply was interrupted by a familiar yell.
"Lily!"
"Mum's calling," I said, hugging Charlie. "Seeya."
"Stay out of trouble. No, wait, your mother can't hear me- stay in trouble. Stay out all night, hide in secret passageways and make Filches life hell. Cannot believe that man is still there. He's gotta be hitting ninety, right?" Charlie shook his head. "Bye-bye flower"
"Charlie, you're so irresponsible," Percy shook his head. "Goodbye Lily."
"Seeya on the train," Dominique smiled.
Ginny was standing with Teddy, our close friend and his girlfriend, Victorie, Dominique's equally pretty older sister.
"Niqua's over there," Lily pointed, as Victorie opened her mouth.
"Oh great, thanks, she'll be freaking it," Victorie said, pulling Teddy with her as she ran over.
"Where are Al and James?" Mum said frantically her head whipping around.
"Oh god!" Dad exclaimed. Is that them over with Colin Dunne's firebird?"
"What?!" They both hurried off, ignoring the pointing and staring that followed Harry's scar where ever he went. Lily felt herself pushed right to the side of the track in the swell of people. She could see Rose chatting animatedly with some other third years and was just going to wave when an ear piecing whistle was emitted by the Hogwarts Express. For the first time, Lily really looked at, a gargantuan steam train. Beautiful. Unconsciously she took another step towards it. Then another, stepping right over the edge of the platform. She flailed wildly, about to drop into the chasm at the side of the track. Brilliant, she thought, now she would die before ever stepping foot in the castle. I'm gonna die before ever stepping foot in the castle.
At the last second, a hand reached out and grabbed her back on to the platform roughly. She stumbled as the hand released her but mercifully fell backwards this time, clunking her hip off the stone pathway and landing on her wrist.
"Thank you," Lily gasped as the hand pulled her up again, her fringe falling into her eyes and obscuring the mysterious rescuer.
"Watch where you're going!"
Lily pushed her hair back and saw him, a lanky boy with messy hair, a shade between white and blonde.
"Um thanks," she stuttered, put off by his scowling ice-blue eyes.
"Be more careful next time!" he snarled.
"You don't have to be an ass about it," Lily rebuked. With two brothers and a large number of older, male cousins, she didn't take any sort of nonsense from boys. To her surprise his fierce frown melted away a little.
"Be an ass about saving your life, you mean? Yeah I don't. Just watch out okay?" he said, and dug his hands into the pocket of his oversized blue hoodie, leaving with a smile. Lily smiled back.
"Lily!" Mum called, "Where've you been?"
"Just nearly dying," Lily tried to make light out of it. "I nearly walked off the platform, and some blond kid with an attitude problem pulled me back and gave me a lecture."
"Could have been one of Malfoy's boys," Harry grinned behind his round glasses. "I think that younger one is starting this year."
"One of Malfoy's boys would have pushed her under the train," Ron murmured under his breath with a sly look at Harry. He pointedly ignored Hermione's look of disapproval.
Harry grinned back, shepherding the Potters towards the train. Students were boarding the train, Ginny was frantically kissing Albus and James as they wriggled out of her grasp. Dominique slipped up beside Lily and offered her a nervous smile, as they stepped onto the train. The sliding door slammed shut.
Harry and Ginny waved to their children and Lily waved back, to them, to the uncles and aunts and Victorie and Teddy. She could almost imagine the small red haired her desperately running along with the train. Lily waved to that little girl too and watched her smile back at her in the window.