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Another HP DDD universe Ficlet
Another HPDDDverse ficlet for your perusal. Comments, questions and flames to the usual address (that button at the bottom that says 'Smart-Arse Remarks', see it?).
Ruairi House, April 2007.
There were some days when Lilyella just hated being a Potter. It didn't usually when she was at home with other Potters, except when Kitty had managed to get both of them into trouble with one of her Great Plans and Schemes.
Usually, Lilyella hated being a Potter when she was around people who were decidedly not Potters. Like Courtney Beaufoy, a girl a year ahead of her at Hogsmeade Primary School. Courtney had clearly vowed to make Lilyella as miserable as possible and worked hard at it. Not to mention Thomas Shilbottle, one of the boys in her class. He liked to annoy her by suggesting that she was a teachers' pet because the teachers were all scared of her dad. Thomas himself, of course, proclaimed that he was not scared of Harry Potter, but always ran in the opposite direction if Harry picked up the twins from school. People either tried to make friends with her just because she was Harry Potter's daughter or they hated her because she was Harry Potter's daughter.
If Kitty suffered from the same, she didn't tell her twin. On the contrary, Kitty thrived on the Potter legend and was one of the most popular girls in school. Lilyella wasn't sure if it was her surname or Kit's naturally vivacious nature that made her so.
She hated being a Potter at other times too. Like a few weeks ago, when her class was asked to write about their grandparents. She didn't have grandparents to write about. What was she to say exactly, that an evil wizard killed them, but don't worry, Daddy got his own back a few years later? Was she to tell them that she had no grandparents because the other two had come to despise the magical world for taking their daughter away from them? Lilyella wasn't supposed to know that, strictly speaking, but she heard things. She hadn't seen her Granger grandparents since she was two years old.
Again, Kitty didn't seem bothered by any of this. When called upon to write about an aunt, she wrote about Auntie Deanna who designed clothes or Auntie Angie who was a Quidditch star. An uncle? What about Uncle Bill the tomb raider or Uncle Charlie the Dragon man? When asked about grandparents, she wrote about Molly and Arthur. Lilyella couldn't do that. They were Weasleys and she wasn't.
Lilyella loved the Weasleys, she really did, but sometimes... it didn't really feel like family to her. Friends. Very good friends, but were they really family? She was sure that every time she arrived at the Burrow she had a big flashing sign above her head that said 'Not Family' or something. And tomorrow she was going to be surrounded by Weasleys. Her muddy brown hair would stick out like a sore thumb amongst all the red. It was Fred and George's big birthday party and all the Weasleys would be there. Despite knowing that her best friend Paul would be there, she was still dreading it. It was a family occasion, and surely she wasn't family?
The day arrived as days do, this one obscenely bright and sunny for April. Lilyella was woken up by her mother and half-heartedly dressed herself in her favourite blue robes. Then, as they always did, the Potters Flooed to the Burrow. Harry always went first, then Kit, then Lilyella and then Hermione went last with Richard because he was too little to go on his own. As always, the Potters were bombarded with greetings on their arrival. Lilyella hung back awkwardly before they were all herded outside into the garden. As she watched everyone else, she noticed with a miniscule smile that a couple of dizzy gnomes were already battling their way back into the garden.
Throughout the day, Lilyella's mood was quite dark. She wasn't even moved by Fred's spirited demonstration of the latest Wheeze.
"Ella dear!" Molly called to her. "Don't you want some pumpkin juice?" Lilyella shook her head. She didn't notice the worried look shared between Molly and Arthur, who had both been watching her all day. Arthur paused whatever conversation he was having with Sirius and came over to her.
"Ella!" he said excitedly. "I've got something I've just got to show you!"
"Really?" Lilyella's voice was curious if still toneless. Even in a bad mood, she loved the weird and wacky things he managed to acquire. She took his hand and they went into the new outhouse Arthur had built with money from WWW. In the centre of the room stood a television. Not just any television, but a particularly old one from about 1970. It had huge buttons and a dial for the volume.
"I've been trying to get it to work," said Arthur, looking and sounding a lot like mad professor. "I know it needs eckeltricity but I still can't get it to work."
"You need an aerial," Lilyella said in the knowledgeable manner of a seven year old.
"Oh.... Well it didn't come with one of those," he said, sitting down in a big red armchair. Lilyella remained standing by the television. Arthur smiled at her.
"What's up, chickadee?" he asked. Arthur had a nickname for all his grandchildren and this was Lilyella's.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? You've been walking around like the Cannons got beaten by Puddlemere all day."
Lilyella remained standing alone. Arthur sighed sadly, trying to think what he could say.
"You know, most people think I'm a little bit batty, what with all my Muggle bits and bobs. But I remember when you used to sit in here for hours watching Ron and I muck about with these things. I remember how proud you were when you first wired a plug. You came running over, jumped on my lap and bellowed in my ear 'Granddad! Look what I did!'"
Lilyella burst into tears. Without a second thought, Arthur pulled her onto his lap and rocked her gently until the sobs had quieted a little.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" he asked.
"You're... not really..." she stammered "my Granddad. I'm not really a Weasley."
Arthur did something quite curious. He laughed.
"Oh chickadee, that's not important."
"But..."
"It doesn't matter, love. You've been family since the day you were born. Probably even before that. The name isn't what's important. It's not even having red hair."
Lilyella hiccupped and giggled slightly.
"I met your dad when he was 12. He was a scrawny little thing, black hair sticking up all over the place and those glasses. He was Ron's best friend and then later that same year, he saved my daughter's life. It's things like that which make a family, not a name. It must be hard not to have James and Lily here, but even if they were, we'd all still be family," he paused for a moment. "You would've liked James a lot. And he would've loved you. But if it's all right with you, Molly and I would like to stand in for him and Lily."
"I..."
"Lilyella, you are a Potter. You always will be. But you're also a member of a big Potter-Weasley family. Have you ever heard the saying that 'you can choose your friends-'"
"But you can't choose your family," she finished.
"That's right. But we did. We all chose. And we are family. When we're all out there together, it doesn't matter what your surname is. You're Lilyella, I'm Granddad. Ron is Ron, Paul is Paul, Fred is George and George is Fred."
For the first time that day, Lilyella really laughed. Then, she thought of something.
"Granddad?" she asked. He smiled. "I could ask Daddy if he has an aerial for the television."
"Or..." Arthur grinned impishly. "We could try some magic on it."
Lilyella jumped up and began pulling at his hand.
"Come on then! Maybe we can get it to work by dinner time."
***
Harry had noticed Lilyella's mood. He had in fact, noticed her growing unease for some time. He worried about her sometimes, far more than he worried about her sister. She was more sensitive than Kathleen, who felt like she had all the answers to all the questions in her life. Harry made his way through the garden until he heard Lilyella's tinkling laugh- a child's version of Hermione's laugh. He turned the corner and smiled at what he saw. Through the open door he saw Arthur tinkering with a clapped-out old telly and Lilyella sat on the floor beside him calling out suggestions.
At dinner, Lilyella excitedly told Bill all about the television before getting into an ice cream eating competition with Paul, George, Ron and Maura. Harry caught his daughter's eye and she sent a blinding, happy smile his way. She had found her place in the family and now she understood.
*
The End
Ruairi House, April 2007.
There were some days when Lilyella just hated being a Potter. It didn't usually when she was at home with other Potters, except when Kitty had managed to get both of them into trouble with one of her Great Plans and Schemes.
Usually, Lilyella hated being a Potter when she was around people who were decidedly not Potters. Like Courtney Beaufoy, a girl a year ahead of her at Hogsmeade Primary School. Courtney had clearly vowed to make Lilyella as miserable as possible and worked hard at it. Not to mention Thomas Shilbottle, one of the boys in her class. He liked to annoy her by suggesting that she was a teachers' pet because the teachers were all scared of her dad. Thomas himself, of course, proclaimed that he was not scared of Harry Potter, but always ran in the opposite direction if Harry picked up the twins from school. People either tried to make friends with her just because she was Harry Potter's daughter or they hated her because she was Harry Potter's daughter.
If Kitty suffered from the same, she didn't tell her twin. On the contrary, Kitty thrived on the Potter legend and was one of the most popular girls in school. Lilyella wasn't sure if it was her surname or Kit's naturally vivacious nature that made her so.
She hated being a Potter at other times too. Like a few weeks ago, when her class was asked to write about their grandparents. She didn't have grandparents to write about. What was she to say exactly, that an evil wizard killed them, but don't worry, Daddy got his own back a few years later? Was she to tell them that she had no grandparents because the other two had come to despise the magical world for taking their daughter away from them? Lilyella wasn't supposed to know that, strictly speaking, but she heard things. She hadn't seen her Granger grandparents since she was two years old.
Again, Kitty didn't seem bothered by any of this. When called upon to write about an aunt, she wrote about Auntie Deanna who designed clothes or Auntie Angie who was a Quidditch star. An uncle? What about Uncle Bill the tomb raider or Uncle Charlie the Dragon man? When asked about grandparents, she wrote about Molly and Arthur. Lilyella couldn't do that. They were Weasleys and she wasn't.
Lilyella loved the Weasleys, she really did, but sometimes... it didn't really feel like family to her. Friends. Very good friends, but were they really family? She was sure that every time she arrived at the Burrow she had a big flashing sign above her head that said 'Not Family' or something. And tomorrow she was going to be surrounded by Weasleys. Her muddy brown hair would stick out like a sore thumb amongst all the red. It was Fred and George's big birthday party and all the Weasleys would be there. Despite knowing that her best friend Paul would be there, she was still dreading it. It was a family occasion, and surely she wasn't family?
The day arrived as days do, this one obscenely bright and sunny for April. Lilyella was woken up by her mother and half-heartedly dressed herself in her favourite blue robes. Then, as they always did, the Potters Flooed to the Burrow. Harry always went first, then Kit, then Lilyella and then Hermione went last with Richard because he was too little to go on his own. As always, the Potters were bombarded with greetings on their arrival. Lilyella hung back awkwardly before they were all herded outside into the garden. As she watched everyone else, she noticed with a miniscule smile that a couple of dizzy gnomes were already battling their way back into the garden.
Throughout the day, Lilyella's mood was quite dark. She wasn't even moved by Fred's spirited demonstration of the latest Wheeze.
"Ella dear!" Molly called to her. "Don't you want some pumpkin juice?" Lilyella shook her head. She didn't notice the worried look shared between Molly and Arthur, who had both been watching her all day. Arthur paused whatever conversation he was having with Sirius and came over to her.
"Ella!" he said excitedly. "I've got something I've just got to show you!"
"Really?" Lilyella's voice was curious if still toneless. Even in a bad mood, she loved the weird and wacky things he managed to acquire. She took his hand and they went into the new outhouse Arthur had built with money from WWW. In the centre of the room stood a television. Not just any television, but a particularly old one from about 1970. It had huge buttons and a dial for the volume.
"I've been trying to get it to work," said Arthur, looking and sounding a lot like mad professor. "I know it needs eckeltricity but I still can't get it to work."
"You need an aerial," Lilyella said in the knowledgeable manner of a seven year old.
"Oh.... Well it didn't come with one of those," he said, sitting down in a big red armchair. Lilyella remained standing by the television. Arthur smiled at her.
"What's up, chickadee?" he asked. Arthur had a nickname for all his grandchildren and this was Lilyella's.
"Nothing."
"Nothing? You've been walking around like the Cannons got beaten by Puddlemere all day."
Lilyella remained standing alone. Arthur sighed sadly, trying to think what he could say.
"You know, most people think I'm a little bit batty, what with all my Muggle bits and bobs. But I remember when you used to sit in here for hours watching Ron and I muck about with these things. I remember how proud you were when you first wired a plug. You came running over, jumped on my lap and bellowed in my ear 'Granddad! Look what I did!'"
Lilyella burst into tears. Without a second thought, Arthur pulled her onto his lap and rocked her gently until the sobs had quieted a little.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" he asked.
"You're... not really..." she stammered "my Granddad. I'm not really a Weasley."
Arthur did something quite curious. He laughed.
"Oh chickadee, that's not important."
"But..."
"It doesn't matter, love. You've been family since the day you were born. Probably even before that. The name isn't what's important. It's not even having red hair."
Lilyella hiccupped and giggled slightly.
"I met your dad when he was 12. He was a scrawny little thing, black hair sticking up all over the place and those glasses. He was Ron's best friend and then later that same year, he saved my daughter's life. It's things like that which make a family, not a name. It must be hard not to have James and Lily here, but even if they were, we'd all still be family," he paused for a moment. "You would've liked James a lot. And he would've loved you. But if it's all right with you, Molly and I would like to stand in for him and Lily."
"I..."
"Lilyella, you are a Potter. You always will be. But you're also a member of a big Potter-Weasley family. Have you ever heard the saying that 'you can choose your friends-'"
"But you can't choose your family," she finished.
"That's right. But we did. We all chose. And we are family. When we're all out there together, it doesn't matter what your surname is. You're Lilyella, I'm Granddad. Ron is Ron, Paul is Paul, Fred is George and George is Fred."
For the first time that day, Lilyella really laughed. Then, she thought of something.
"Granddad?" she asked. He smiled. "I could ask Daddy if he has an aerial for the television."
"Or..." Arthur grinned impishly. "We could try some magic on it."
Lilyella jumped up and began pulling at his hand.
"Come on then! Maybe we can get it to work by dinner time."
***
Harry had noticed Lilyella's mood. He had in fact, noticed her growing unease for some time. He worried about her sometimes, far more than he worried about her sister. She was more sensitive than Kathleen, who felt like she had all the answers to all the questions in her life. Harry made his way through the garden until he heard Lilyella's tinkling laugh- a child's version of Hermione's laugh. He turned the corner and smiled at what he saw. Through the open door he saw Arthur tinkering with a clapped-out old telly and Lilyella sat on the floor beside him calling out suggestions.
At dinner, Lilyella excitedly told Bill all about the television before getting into an ice cream eating competition with Paul, George, Ron and Maura. Harry caught his daughter's eye and she sent a blinding, happy smile his way. She had found her place in the family and now she understood.
*
The End