The Potters

Spells for a Flower

"Dad! Mum! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

Harry woke startled, with Lily jumping up and down on his bed and shouting at the top of her lungs.

"It's Christmas! Wake up!"

"We're up Lily. We're up..." Harry mumbled as he rubbed his eyes and felt around for his glasses. The cold metal was pressed into his hand and a warm hand came over with it. He fumbled to put them on and saw Ginny smiling at him before dragging Lily into a sitting position.

"Can we go downstairs? Please!? I want to see if Santa came," Lily crowed, fidgeting on the bed and looking longingly at the stairs through the door which she'd left open.

"Are your brothers up yet?" Ginny's voice was thick with sleep and she glanced at the clock. Seven. The sun hadn't even risen fully yet.

"I don't think so. Albus's light isn't on and I can hear James snoring. Can we wake them up?"

Ginny shook her head. "Let them sleep a little longer, flower. We went to bed late last night. They'll be tired."

Lily pouted. "But I'm not tired. And you're awake."

Harry and Ginny shared a look and they both started laughing. Lily looked at them in confusion then her face lit up again.

"Well, if we have to wait for them, can you do magic?"

Lily asked this often of them. Though she was nearing Hogwarts age, she'd only shown magical skill a few times. James mocked her for it, calling her a squib. It had made her determined and luckily, hadn't fazed her love for it. Ginny smiled and drew her wand from the bedside cabinet.

"Expecto patronum." A horse burst from Ginny's wand and galloped around the room. Lily giggled in delight and proceeded to chase it around the room until it disappeared.

"Again, again!" Lily cried in delight, running back towards them and throwing herself on the bed.

"Okay. Um... Orchideous." Ginny drew a heart in mid air and a flower wreath full of lilies appeared, falling onto the bed. Lily squealed in happiness and picked it up, smelling them and smiling.

One after the other, they produced spells for her and Lily looked at them in awe. She repeated their names and tried to copy their hand gestures. Eventually, her attention drew away and she glanced at the stairs every few minutes in hope her brothers would be standing there. Harry followed her gaze for the sixth time and Ginny nodded to him. He swung his legs out of bed and stood up. Lily's eyes lit up and she jumped off the bed.

"Are we going to wake them up now? Please!"

"I'm going Lil. Ginny, can you get James?"

"Sure," Ginny said, slipping on her dressing gown and tying it at the waist.

Harry made his way out of the room and walked down the corridor to Albus's room. There was a glimmer of light underneath the door which disappeared when the floorboards creaked under foot. He knocked and waited. No response. Harry assumed no news was good news and entered the room. Albus's bed was empty, the sheets jumbled and messy. The curtains moved slightly and Harry laughed under his breath, drawing it away to see Albus, wide eyed staring up at him, leaning against one wall of the window seat. Harry shuffled on and closed the curtains behind him.

"Merry Christmas Al."

"Happy Christmas Dad."

Harry followed his gaze out onto the fields, which were covered in fresh snow again. In the hills beyond, a windmill stood alone, the only suggestion anyone else existed.

"It's a great view isn't it? Like we're the only people on earth."

"I guess so."

"Any reason why you're hiding in a window on Christmas?"

Albus shook his head but didn't look at Harry. "No. I didn't know you were up and I couldn't sleep so..."

"Well, we got woken up by Lily. Your mum's just waking James up now."

"Are you going to tell her yet?"

"Not this year. Maybe before she goes to Hogwarts. If she sees the magic there, maybe she won't be so bothered by a magic man delivering presents." Albus smiled slightly and Harry felt relieved. He hadn't lost him totally, even if he acted grown up. "We better go downstairs though. She's been getting rather impatient."

Albus glanced over. "Can we... Can we just sit here? Just a little longer?"

Harry smiled. "Okay, Al. We can sit a little longer."

And so two Potters watched as the sun rose over the hills.