We May Not Have Been Able To Save Brandon. But The Fight Is Far From Over.

Next Gen’s New Year’s Resolutions

Teddy: find a place near Uncle Harry’s, because he spoils him

Victoire: binge watch all the Disney movies in one night ( “That’s impossible, Vic.” “Go die in a hole, Scorpius.” )

Dominique: disarm Aunt Hermione in the family duels

Louis: eat an entire pizza in 3 minutes ( “Does the Weasley-Delacour family have any realistic resolutions?” “SHUT UP, SCORPIUS, I’M GONNA DO IT!” )

Molly: get better grades

Lucy: learn how to speak Punjabi with Molly and mum to hide stuff from her dad

Fred: drink nine bottles of firewhisky and not pass out ( “Fred, you’re not even of age.” “WATCH ME.” )

Roxanne: go viral on YouTube with a video of her “miraculously moving things with her mind” ( “Against the law, Roxy.” )

Rose: get better grades, become a prefect, learn how to speak Gobbledook, defeat at least two of Hogwarts’ Quidditch records, write an award-winning book, skip a few grades, beat Uncle Harry out of his Head Auror placement, singlehandedly join the wizarding and Muggle cultures together… ( “Dammit, Rose…” “I’m gonna do it, Scorpius. Watch your mouth, you’re gonna wanna stay on my good side.” )

Hugo: make the Quidditch team

James: get good enough grades to get into Auror training ( maybe even find out what his sexuality is ffs )

Albus: spend more time with his boyfriend ( “That’s sweet, Al.” “Also, learn how to make you less grumpy all the time.” “I’M NOT GRUMPY!” “Of course, Scorp.” )

Lily: jump while simultaneously doing a handstand on a broomstick. while it’s in the air.

Scorpius: find a new boyfriend (this one’s family is exhausting)

okay, well not that.

he really likes his.

crazy, unnecessarily large family and all.

Tomorrow marks Eid al-Adha, and this is the second Eid that passes without happiness for children and adults.

The best gift that makes everyone happy is a donation to this family Best wishes for a Happy New Year

gofundme.com

Donate to Please Help Evacuate Fadi's Family from Gaza, organized by Fadi Sharif

With a heavy heart and a plea for urgent assistance, I am reaching out to you… Fadi Sharif needs your support for Please Help Evacuate Fadi'

This feels like a giant pidgeon crapping on my heart.... 

'I lost someone special to me, too. Her name was Costia. She was captured by the ice nation, whose queen believed she knew my secrets. Because she was mine… they tortured her, killed her, cut off her head. I thought I'd never get over the pain, but I did. By recognizing it for what it is… weakness.' 'What is? Love?'

Next Generation Headcanons

- Scorpius was Lilys very first crush, she gave him up after figuring out that he’s into Albus

- Lily is super empathic but also very manipulative. She can get everyone to do whatever she wants. Most of the time they don’t even notice.

- Lily’s Gryffindor. No one understands it, they suspect that she somehow managed to trick the hat into putting her to Gryffindor

- Lily and James have a bet about who Scorpius will date. Lily says Albus and James thinks it’ll be Rose

- There’s actually a lot betting going on in the Weasley/Potter family. They literally bet about everything. “Which team will win Quidditch game?” “When will Teddy and Victoire finally get together?” “Who gets the next detention?”

- The loser punishment is always the same. They have to be the winners servant for a whole day. Any day.

- They love to win against Teddy, most of the time he has to go to detention for them.

- Everyone quickly learnes that Lily and Rose always win. Well, everyone except James.

- James and Fred (jr.) are in the same year. They’re probably worse than the marauders and the twins together.

- George secretly provides them with whatever they need for pranks, he’s very proud of his son

- Of course Angelina knows what George is doing, but she pretends not to notice

- James and Fred are the masterminds of their pranks but they’re only successful because they have friends or family in every single Hogwarts house who are more than willing to help them execute their plans

Note: English isn’t my first language, I’m sorry for any mistake I made

Harry James Potter, head of the DA and protégé of Albus Dumbledore himself, did not become a career Auror. -Sure, he worked with them after the war-everyone did. -Harry and Ron led the charge in rounding up old Death Eaters and Hermione researched and wrote crazily, making sure no stone was left unturned in their hunt and no memories were lost of the new history they’d made (her writings were eventually compiled into what is largely considered the most comprehensive history of Voldemort and his attacks ever written. Madame Prince has three copies in the school library). -Even Neville and Luna lent their respective plant and animal (however strange) based abilities towards getting past old defenses and remaking allies. -These children were born and raised in the midst of war, and it took a while for most of them to learn the ways of peace. But once they figured it out (sort of) they settled into their new roles. -Hermione rose rapidly amongst Ministry ranks, Ron returned to family, the only truth he’d ever been sure of, and Harry went back to his first (real, remembered) home. -The Defense Against the Dark Arts position had been rid of its curse for two years by the time Harry applied for the job, and the teacher who held it for those years was only temporary anyways. McGonagall had been hoping Harry would return to Hogwarts, and return he did. -Harry Potter’s Defense lessons were notorious for their seemingly random schedule, where one day the class would be practicing spells normally, the next running obstacle courses in the Forbidden Forest, and the day after that having a class wide discussion on the power of emotions and their use in spells -His first lesson of every year was on the power of chocolate and conversation to comfort, just as he had learned from Remus Lupin years ago. Like his old professor, Harry rewarded students with chocolate for good deeds and correct answers. -Seventh Years got to choose personal research projects, ranging from meticulous dioramas of various battles to the best way to make a pile of dung explode -Sixth Years learned more complicated traditional spells, including the Patronus and healing charms (Harry’s stag never failed to draw gasps the first time he showed it to a group) -Fifth Years combined lessons from all their other classes to find ways to fight without traditional spell work, including stories from Harry about using Wingardium Leviosa to fight a troll his first year and Neville using his plants during the Battle of Hogwarts. (Often, Harry would bring in Hermione, Ron, and Neville to assist in the telling of these tales and the teaching of their techniques.) -Fourth Years got lessons in love and death and ancient theories and stories, along with turns for everyone to go under the Invisibility Cloak on the day devoted to the Deathly Hallows -Third Years learned defense against other species with a final like an obstacle course similar to the one given to Harry by Professor Lupin -Second Year was for most traditional dueling spells, started with Expelliarmus. (Any students that complained about the “boring” spell would have him reply calmly, “this is what saved my life against Lord Voldemort” and shut right up) -First Years started with basic theories, and continued to shielding and camouflaging charms (because Harry never really signed up to fight, and would rather his students never have to) -every year ended with huge tournaments between the years, which he used to help houses bond with each other and to assess skills. They changed between magical paintball or laser tag, scavenger hunts, or temporary prank wars (the other professors’ least favorite), and the winners got to camp on the grounds for a night for s'mores, swimming, and a midnight Quidditch game -His first students were mostly old enough to have been his classmates, just like those of the DA had been, and so his first years of teaching were to war-torn children like himself, who had gaps in their normal seating arrangements that their friends, now dead, had sat in, and the occasional blank stare that Harry was never offended by, as he was accustomed to seeing them on his friends and himself when they were revisiting horrors they’d witnessed -as he continued teaching though, his students came in excited to learn from the famed Harry Potter, and he had to persuade them early on that to them, he was just a teacher who’d show them a trick on the Quidditch field or the location of a secret passageway, nothing more and nothing less -eventually, students would get more excited when Harry announced that Hermione, the Minister of Magic, was coming to visit and chat with them about research, or Ginny, his Quidditch star wife, was arriving soon to show off her Bat Bogey hex than when he mentioned his own history -and as time went on, Madame Pince’s copies of Hermione’s history book stayed on the shelves because students realized Harry was more likely to engage in a snowball fight than a duel and was happiest tucked into a Weasley sweater with a cup of tea, chatting with friends about anything other than defeating Dark Lords; and he was recognized in Diagon Alley less by adults wishing to shake his hand and more by children wanting to say hello to their favorite professor -and students came to love him, not for his fame as the Boy Who Lived, but as a professor who cared, and sought to teach in a way that everyone could learn from, and Harry wouldn’t have it any other way

Professor Lily Potter

Imagine if Lily Potter had become the Potions professor at Hogwarts. If Voldemort had killed James, but she and Harry had survived, both shielded by the power of her love. 

Imagine how Lily Potter would encourage the Weasley twins in the things they were good at, instead of scolding them like everyone else in their lives, because she remembers what it was like growing up with the Marauders. Imagine how seriously they would have taken their studies with just a little bit of praise for the things they were doing right, because they were clearly smart boys. Imagine how much smarter they could be if only somebody realized their intelligence and encouraged it—somebody like Lily Potter. 

Imagine how gently Lily Potter would correct little Neville Longbottom, whose face looked just like his mother’s and whose eyes were filled with fear. Imagine how many of her lessons she would try to relate back to Herbology to help him understand, how patient she would be if he was having trouble. Imagine how she would praise him and boost his confidence, how she would help him with his other studies as well because, after all, Alice and Frank were practically family. 

Imagine Lily Potter teaching Nymphadora Tonks. One powerful ex-auror teaching an outspoken, quirky, auror-to-be. Imagine how much respect those two women would have had for each other, especially when Lily heard Tonks’ aspirations and Tonks heard of Lily’s time in the Order. 

Imagine how Lily Potter would have protected Harry whenever he was in danger, like nobody else in the school could. Imagine her specifically forbidding Harry from going anywhere near the Philosopher’s Stone, but knowing that he won’t listen because he’s his father’s son. Imagine her finding out that Harry had gone missing in the middle of the night, and rushing past all of the spells to get to where he’s battling with Quirrel. Imagine the fury that would have erupted from her wand. Imagine how safe and loved Harry would have felt. 

Imagine how nurturing Lily Potter would have been to little Ginny, who she recognizes as a little lost and scared. Imagine her keeping a very close eye on the only Weasley girl and becoming rather concerned, deciding to send Molly and Arthur an owl. Imagine how quickly she would have found out about the diary, because little Ginny finally has someone to confide in other than the dark lord, and shutting it down completely in the name of keeping her honorary neice safe. 

Imagine how proud Lily Potter would have been of Hermione, another muggle-born girl facing prejudice, yet rising to the top of her class. Imagine her appreciating the disadvantage that Hermione had, having not come from a wizarding family, and admiring every answer the girl could provide. Imagine how encouraging she would have been of Hermione’s intelligence rather than dismissive, how often she would assure her that blood status had nothing to do with a person’s character. 

Imagine how fond Lily Potter would have been of Luna. Luna may not look like much but she was a free spirit and a kind soul, the kind of person that a woman like Lily could appreciate in the dark ages they were living through. Imagine Lily giving Luna a fond smile every time their eyes met, and glaring down anyone who made fun of her differences. Imagine how protective she would have been of little Luna Lovegood, who had few friends and reminded her of herself before she had met Severus. 

Imagine how fond Lily Potter would be of the pranksters, but not too fond to keep them in check while they were in her class. 

Imagine the points Lily Potter would deduct from students she caught saying the word ‘mudblood.’ Imagine the detentions she would give, the long conversations she would have with the offended and offensive students, the letters she would send home to both parties’ parents. Imagine how proactive she would be in spreading tolerance throughout the younger students and stopping intolerance in the older ones. 

Imagine how much Lily Potter would have helped Ron Weasley, who was forever copying off of Hermione’s notes and essays. Imagine how thoroughly she would explain the things he wasn’t understsanding, how hard she would work to keep his attention on the lesson during class. 

Imagine how many different styles of teaching she would explore in an attempt to reach each and every one of her students, something Snape never attempted. Imagine how many great potions masters were just waiting for an opportunity to discover their talent and were provided that opportunity by Professor Lily Potter. 

Answers to the Questions You Refuse to Ask by @the-ships-to-rule-them-all

Happy Birthday, Abby! God bless the wonderful person you are on this day and in all others. May you continue to spread your beautiful words and art that inspire us for many, many years to come.

The Train

The last train out of Newcastle was almost empty. It rattled across the large bridges over the black water of the Tyne, and for the most part was quiet, just one or two people per carriage, snoozing in their seats or tapping away on laptops, ignoring the ping of the intercom and the Geordie-accented voice announcing the stops.

The exception to this was the very last carriage, where a large family was making a lot of noise indeed. Dressed head to toe in green and draped in scarves and flags and badges with words like 'Harpies rangers!' and 'These witches have talons!', they stretched across two table seats and the aisles behind too, the tables themselves laden with drinks and tubs of food bought last minute from the M&S in the station.

'-And then I can't believe you just openly told me it's rude to stare!' Albus was bursting out furiously at his father. The rest of the family was roaring with laughter, and Al was occasionally laughing too, though his face was as red as his mother's hair.

'It is rude to stare!' Harry replied, holding out his hands helplessly.

'I wasn't staring!'

'You WERE!' several people shouted back at him, pink faced with laughter.

Scorpius adopted a vacant, dreamy sort of expression, staring into the middle distance. 'H...ello,' he croaked, which only made the rest of the family laugh even more. Teddy's stomach ached from it, and he could see Lily wiping tears from her eyes.

'I didn't say it like that!'

'You DID!'

'I said it normally! A normal hello!'

'You absolutely did not, and you stared for so long - I have never seen you look more like your mother,' said Harry. 'I was transported back to my first visit to the Burrow.'

'Oh!' said Ginny, with mock crossness, and she leaned over the table to place a protective hand on her son's shoulder. 'Ignore them, Al, they don't know what it's like to meet your heroes-'

Albus rested his forehead on the table, between the tub of flapjacks and bottles of butterbeer, his shoulders shaking in despairing laughter. 'Mum, it's your fault, springing that on me... Can't believe I just stared at him... Why didn't you warn me he was their coach?'

'I thought it would be a nice surprise!' said Ginny. 'I thought you'd always wanted to meet Gonçalo Flores!'

'He did,' said Scorpius, 'but I bet he always imagined he'd be very suave and witty, not just... "H...ello...", didn't you, Al?'

'I hate you all, I hate Quidditch, I hate Gonçalo Flores-'

'No, you don't.'

'No, I don't,' admitted Albus, still hilariously red in the face. 'He was so nice about it... just makes it worse...'

'Al,' said James above the family's laughter. He was grinning evilly. 'Is he on your list, Al?'

'Oh my God, shut up-'

'He is!' said James gleefully, as amused 'ooh's' filled the carriage and Scorpius nodded enthusiastically, looking positively elated. 'He is on your list!'

'You know, I was worried for about half a second when I saw him,' said Scorpius. 'But fair's fair, you gave it your best shot, Al, I'm happy for him to stay on the list.'

'What list?' asked Harry, frowning. 'I don't get it.'

'Oh, sweetheart, you're so innocent,' said Ginny sympathetically, leaning back to squeeze Harry's knee. 'You're probably on loads of lists.'

'What lists?' he asked, apparently entirely flummoxed. 'What for?'

'No one tell him,' said Teddy quickly. 'No one explain.'

'Is it a list of people to kill? If someone's on your list you want to kill them?'

'Oh my God, Dad, get more mind healing,' said Lily, which made Ted snort with laughter.

'Al definitely doesn't want to kill Gonçalo Flores...' said James, with a grin that looked eerily like Uncle George.

'Stop it; I don't want to discuss this with my parents-' hissed Al.

'Who else is on your list?' asked Ginny. She looked at Scorpius. 'Who else is on it?'

'Well...'

‘You know who’s on mine?’ said Rowan, who seemed drunker than Ted had ever seen him, ‘Cerys Twycross. That actress from that play we saw last year.’

Lily snorted. ‘In your dreams, love.’

‘Well, yes, precisely,’ said Rowan, which earned him a shriek of laughter from Ginny.

‘You know what,’ said Scorpius, with a brief smirk at Lily. ‘I could arrange that for you. I know a guy who knows her.’

‘Shut up!’ said Lily, sitting up so fast in her seat that the pack of crisps in her lap went flying. ‘You don’t, you’re winding me up, you’re as bad as James sometimes.’

‘Tell me more,’ said Rowan, leaning forward.

‘Yeah, good luck, Ro…’

'Hazel,' said Harry, leaning across the aisle.

'No,' she said at once, shaking her head frantically. The others laughed.

'What does it mean?' he asked. 'You'll tell me.'

'Don't tell him, Haze!'

'I - ask your son-' she babbled.

'Tell me, I'm your boss-'

'Not any more...'

'I'm good friends with your boss, come on-'

'Hazel, don-'

'It's a list of people you're allowed to sleep with,' she blurted out, and then her cheeks flushed pink too.

'Ahh,' said Harry, leaning back. He turned to Ginny with a grin that Teddy did not like at all. 'Like our agreement about Madeleine Marlborough?'

'I beg your pardon?' spluttered James, as Al and Lily both howled in revulsion and the others burst into renewed laughter.

'The Australian singer.'

'Yes, I know who she is, I wish I didn't.'

'Horrible,' Teddy said. 'She's my age. You're both horrible. Who - no I don't want to know.'

'It's not serious,' Harry assured them.

'Excuse me, speak for yourself,' said Ginny.

'Stop!' pleaded Albus, burying his face in his hands. 'The pair of you... I am about to leap off this train.'

'This is terrible,' James agreed. 'This is... deeply traumatising.'

'It's all right for you,' said Ted. 'You'll forget it in about five minutes.'

'Well, that's five minutes too long.'

'You all need to toughen up,' said Harry with a shrug. 'Scorpius, Rowan and Hazel don't mind.' Indeed, they were all spluttering with laughter, Hazel and Rowan exchanging shocked but amused glances.

'They're not related to you!'

'And anyway, sadly I can't imagine we'll ever meet her, our concert days are over and I don’t think we run in the same circles.'

'I think this whole experience demonstrates that just because someone is on your list, doesn't mean that you'll actually enjoy meeting them,' said Albus flatly.

'Oh, Ally, you poor thing, no wonder you were so star-struck,' said Ginny. 'You should have told me he was on your list-'

'GOD-!'

'Back in the day, when-'

'Yes - we know - you met Dad and you couldn't speak in front of him, but you were a little girl, I'm a fully grown man-'

'So's Gonçalo Flores,' said Scorpius, with an exaggerated wink.

Albus screamed into the tub of brownie bites.

The shrieks of laughter and jeers continued as the train snaked through the darkness, swaying slightly as it turned corners. Teddy liked travelling this way; they had known that several of them would be too drunk to apparate after the match, and the Knight Bus and Portkey points would likely be too full of journalists and people staring to be worth it. But Teddy liked the slowness of muggle transport, he liked the conversations that arose from lack of anything else to do, the way that they were cramped in together. He blew across the top of his butterbeer bottle to make the funny hooting noise before remembering his young daughters were not there with him, but at home with Vic, but Lily laughed and seemed to appreciate it anyway.

'If I get an emptier one,' she said, 'and someone else gets another - we should try and make the theme tune to the Bowmans.'

'Ooh, yes, let me help,' said Ginny, seizing a bottle. 'Hazel, you take this one - if we get good enough, we can save some money on the wedding band.'

'Did we book a band?' James blurted out suddenly, and he seized his notebook and began rifling through the pages. 'Did we-?'

'Yes,' said Hazel soothingly. 'It's all arranged.'

'Which one, I don't remember-'

'It's all right,' said Harry patiently, for James was starting to look a little frantic. 'No one expects you to remember everything involved in planning a wedding.'

'OK, I've found it - I wrote here that I booked them - but I don't remember doing it-'

Teddy exchanged a dark glance with Ginny, who picked up a tub of caramelized peanuts and shook them at James in offering. ‘That’s what you write things down for, isn’t it? Grab a handful of these before they’re all gone, I can’t stop picking at them.’

He must have known he was being distracted, for he gave her an irritable sort of look, but he did take a handful and returned to looking through his notebook in a much calmer sort of way.

‘Is your list in there?’ Ted asked, nodding at the full pages. ‘So you don’t forget?’

James’s brown eyes flicked up at him a narrowed slightly. ‘No,’ he said firmly.

‘You said that pretty quickly,’ said Al.

‘Almost too quickly.’

‘I don’t have a list,’ said James. ‘I’m not a pervert like the rest of you.’

‘Everyone’s got a list, Jim,’ said Scorpius. ‘Even if they don’t realise.’

‘Your father and I aren’t perverts!’ exclaimed Ginny.

‘You are, and I won’t hear any more about it-’

‘Hazel -’ began Harry, ‘obviously you both have lists, don’t you? I’m your boss-’

‘I am absolutely not talking to you about it,’ said Hazel.

There was a great, rhythmic ‘ooh’ from the amused family, and James grinned broadly at her, but Harry was also grinning, unfazed and unoffended. ‘So there is a list, then?’

There was another round of whooping, howling laughter, Rowan clapping his hands in delight. ‘He’s got you there!’

Hazel was laughing, her head in her hands, but James, still amused, was leaping to her defence. ‘Don’t twist her words - thank God you’re not an auror now, that wouldn’t hold up in court, would it? Don’t-’

‘He’s so defensive - I bet it’s because their lists are filthy!’ insisted Al.

‘Absolutely not, there’s no list!’

The train began to rattle and sway even more, slipping between towering concrete covered in graffiti. The tannoy chimed and the Geordie accent from before announced that they would soon be arriving into Kings Cross.

‘Excellent,’ said Harry happily, although Teddy felt oddly glum that their journey had come to an end.

They staggered off the train together into the almost empty station, still bedecked in green, still laughing and shouting loudly at one another, their voices echoing off the grubby white tiles. Harry, though Lily had not permitted him to drink much at all, threw open his arms and looked up at the great glass ceiling as he walked. ‘Isn’t it good to be back here, kids?’ he called loudly. Then he span and pointed at Teddy. ‘A few more years and you’ll be here every September again too!’

Ted grinned at him, though the prospect of Dora and Celeste starting school mildly terrified him. He kept walking, and as he reached Harry, his godfather slung his arm around his shoulders. ‘Watch out,’ he told Ted, ‘it goes by in a flash.’

‘Already is.’

‘Bring the girls next time, it was lovely having everyone together. They’d love it - you know it’s no problem getting tickets.’

‘I told you - it’s well past their bed time.’

‘Ah, who cares - the odd late night never hurt anyone.’

‘Easy to say when you don’t have to deal with them the next day!’ said Ted, laughing.

The ticket gates were wide open; the family walked through without reaching into their pockets for the little orange cards. ‘Right,’ Ginny was saying briskly, ‘who’s coming to Ron and Hermione’s with us? Al and Scorpius - are you still going with Ted to Grimmauld Place? Or - no, Lily, was that you two?’

But Lily was ignoring her, pulling urgently on Rowan’s hand and gesturing frantically at the others. ‘Hurry - the night tube isn’t running tonight!’

‘Ah, we’ll get a cab-’

‘Thank you,’ said Harry’s voice, much quieter now. Ted stopped watching the rest of the family chaotically argue over getting the tube or taxis, and looked at Harry. He was watching his son and Hazel; James was pointing at the barrier between platform’s nine and ten, recounting some story. ‘For joking about it all with him, for keeping it light.’

‘Of course,’ said Ted. ‘Wasn’t that what we all agreed?’

‘Yes, but I know it isn’t easy, but you always find the right words.’

‘Sort of my job,’ mumbled Ted awkwardly. ‘He seems to be doing so much better though, so it is getting easier, isn’t it?’

‘It is. It’ll be a good wedding.’

‘TED!’ Lily bellowed. ‘Come ON! We’re going back to yours!’

‘Chill out!’ he shouted back to her, and then looked once more at Harry with great exasperation. ‘What’s she like?’

Harry smiled, though it seemed slightly strained. ‘I mean it. Thank you.’

‘You don’t need to thank me for looking after my brother.’

Harry hugged him, one hand gripping at the silky Harpies flag draped round Ted’s shoulders, the other at the back of his head in his emerald green hair. ‘Good luck with writing the speech,’ he said. ‘Send my love to Vic and the girls.’

‘Will do. See you Sunday.’

They broke apart. ‘Jim! Hazel!’ Harry called across the wide expanse of the station. ‘Let’s go, if we’re too late back Hermione’ll tell us off.’

Beneath the great glass ceiling of Kings Cross, the family hugged, and made their hasty, happy farewells.

“Sirius told me,” James said, letting himself be dragged down the eleventh-floor corridor, “that you’re going to blow me in McGonagall’s office”

Lily snorted, pulling on his hand. “McGonagall’s office does it for you?”

James took two strides to catch up with her, still holding her hand. “You do it for me,” he said into her neck, jumper pressing against the thin fabric of her top. 

She rolled her eyes, goosebumps where he’d touched her, and pushes his head away. “Not in McGonagall’s office I don’t”

She could hear the grin in his voice. “Spoilsport. If I’ve left my party so you can show me the stars or some shi-“

“I can’t believe you hate stars.”

“I don’t hate stars” they’d started up some stairs towards a door, Lily still dragging him,

“I wouldn’t have started going out with you if I knew you were anti-star.“

“What I’m anti is my girlfriend showing me the stars and passing it off as a birthday gift.”

Lily stopped dead in front of the door and wheeled around, standing a few steps above him, head cocked. “Wait, it’s your birthday?”

James flashed her a grin. “Yeah, you didn’t hear?”

She shook her head, mock disbelief palpable. “No! how old are you turning?”

“Twelve.” He shot back.

She smiled. “Wow, hope the second-year course load isn’t hitting you too hard.” She opened the door without turning away from him, slowly pulling him into the old astronomy tower.

“It’s the girls that are gonna get me actually,” James said, still joking but not quite, dropping back to shut the door.

“You think it’s bad now,” Lily stepped closer, backing him in, “just wait till you’re in seventh-year and they refuse to blow you in McGonagall’s office.”

“Hmm,” she was close enough to see the piling on the terrible jumper he was wearing, his face angled towards hers, “and forget my birthday.”

“Unforgivable.” She said, quietly.

“Have you actually brought me up here for the stars?” he looked a bit worried, “Cause, like, if you have I was totally kidding before.”

She laughed, stepping back. “No, relax. I’ve brought you up here to show you this.” She brandished her wand and gestured to the far corner of the room. “Lumos”

James starred at the corner, confused, taking a second to get it, only then it clicked. “is that-“

“All the Quidditch brooms of the Slytherin team, yes.”

James gaped at the brooms, then back at her, eyes wide. He swallowed. “Not stars then”

She smiled, “Not quite.” She inched closer, still not touching him, save her mouth almost on his, “Happy Birthday Potter.”

can you believe that we have fanfiction. that we have websites dedicated to fanfiction. that there is a place that you can go and read tens, hundreds, thousands and thousands of pieces of writing that strangers have made. people who are not "writers". people who come home at the end of the day and have feelings and say, i am going to put that into words. i am going to share those words. short, long, sweet, sad, horny, funny, wonderful words. we are all just human and we all love to make and remake and share that with others. can you believe that.