A Generation We Can't Forget

Harry and Ginny Potter:
James Sirius Potter - 21 - Healer
Albus Severus Potter - 19 - Undecided
Lily Luna Potter - 17 - Gryffindor Head Girl
? ? Potter

Neville and Hannah:
Demetri James Longbottom - 17 - Gryffindor Head Boy

Ron and Hermione:
Rose Weasley - 19 - Healer in Training
Hugo Weasley - 17 - Gryffindor Student
Emma Weasley - 11 - Gryffindor Student

Percy and Audry Weasley:
Molly Weasley - 22 - Ministry Official (Magical Law Enforcement Department)
Lucy Weasley - 17 - Ravenclaw Prefect

Bill and Fleur Weasley:
Victoire Weasley - 23 - Dragon Trainor
Louis Weasley - 20 - In Romania with oldest sister
Dominique Weasley - 18 - Undecided

Fred and Angelina Weasley:
Roxanne Weasley - 15 - Gryffindor Prefect
Fred Weasley - 15 - Gryffindor Prefect

Draco and Astoria:
Scorpius Malfoy - 19 - Ministry Official (Auror)
Mancy Malfoy - 17 - Slytherin Student
Mindy Malfoy - 11 - Gryffindor Student

Newt and Luna:
Lorcan Scamander - 11 - Ravenclaw Student
Lysander Scamander - 11 - Hufflepuff Student

Robert and Emma Kain:
Elliot Kain - 17 - Gryffindor Student
? Kain

Dean and Julia Thomas:
Heather Thomas - 17 - Ravenclaw Student
Olivia Thomas - 11 - Gryffindor Student

Seamus and ?? Finnigan:
Seamus Finnigan Jr. - 17 - Gryffindor Student

Summary: Most girls have petty problems like: their hair isn't perfect every morning, their make-up makes them look like sad clowns, or their boyfriend isn't paying much attention to them. Lily Luna Potter's problem? Her father is Harry freaking Potter. If only that Longbottom boy could step in to make her life that much more stressful, she'd be grand.


Lily Luna Potter ran down the stairs to wish Lorcan and Lysander Scamander, two younger identical twin boys that served as cousins to her and her two brothers, an early happy birthday. School was about to start and no one would be home for their birthdays, which was on the third of September. On her way down, however, she ran into Demetri Longbottom. Looking at him, she felt a stab of irritation. He was Neville and Hannah's son, but he was nothing like them. They tried to raise their son as a well-mannered boy growing up, but he didn't seem to take their lessons to heart. He always slacked off and enjoyed picking on her far more than he should. As for Lily, she actually cared about what her parents said, let alone about other people's feelings.

Like his father, he had chestnut brown hair with eyes to match. She, on the other hand, had dazzling emerald eyes like her father, and flaming red hair like her mother. He was tall and gangly (having refused to gain the weight his father did in his teen years) and she was slightly shorter and thin in frame. Her size would come into play in just a moment when he would speak, she just knew it.

"Well, it seems I've run into a Lil something again." Said James with a dazzling smile. Just as predicted, he used her height as a part of her name. She hated that nickname! Most people simply called her Lily, or even Lils, but he stuck with Lil. It wouldn't be a problem if it didn't sound so incomplete.

"I'm pretty positive I've expressed how much I hate that nickname, Demi," she sighed, but a small smile crept onto her face. The nickname had no double meaning like hers, but he despised the name just as much as she hated hers.

"OK, we're even." he said, admitting defeat as he moved to let her pass.

"Are you giving up that easily? I never knew something like this was capable of someone like you!" exclaimed Lily in true shock as she was free to step onto the main floor.

"If I were you, I'd go now before I change my mind," he warned her with a small smile which meant he was completely serious. Lily smirked as she walked past him and then pushed the swinging door to the kitchen open without another word.

Out of the seventeen years Lily had known Demetri, she never knew him to back out of an argument once. Not even when they were at school in their younger years and in the lunch line. He always cut in front of her and denied ever doing so whenever she would tell. She noticed that his behavior had been changing slightly since the end of their sixth year at Hogwarts, however. Demetri actually let her onto the Hogwarts Express first before they took off for school. Of course, the gesture was followed by a rude sound behind her and he then ran off with his friends, but the fact still remained that he had let her go first.

He's still a git.


Demetri watched Lily as she walked through the kitchen door. He didn't notice earlier, but Lily was wearing a dress that matched her eyes perfectly. It was a little late in the season for the dress, but it definitely highlighted how very pretty she was. The two teens didn't get along most of the time, but that didn't mean he was ashamed to admit how pretty his friend was. As to why she hated him so much, he didn't know why. He only played a prank on her every once in a while and even then they weren't that bad. She just had a tendency to overreact around him.

No doubt about it, Lily was a very pretty girl rather she was in a green summer dress or not. She had beautiful red hair and the most gorgeous pair of emerald green eyes he'd ever seen. (Of course he had seen those same eyes on her father, but there was no way he was going to gaze into her father's eyes like that!) Her frame was so slight that she looked far younger than sixteen. He was a couple months older than her, but their families had always been close friends ever since his father helped hers defeat Lord Voldemort.

He remembered why he was going upstairs in the first place and ran up to Albus' room to get the boys' presents. Every time he came to the Potter house to celebrate, he always ended up staying the night. Somehow, he always ended up with Albus as a roommate. Albus was the middle Potter kid and not exactly the most talkative. The oldest, James, moved out in the beginning of the summer holiday and was not able to attend today's festivities because he was training at St. Mungo's. Albus was also finished with school, but he wasn't prepared to move out any time soon by the looks of it. His sorting astonished the entire wizarding community when he first came to Hogwarts. How could the son of the famous Harry Potter be a Slytherin? Though his sorting did not matter to the Potters. They embraced the concept and let the entire wizarding world know about it.

Albus was laying on his bed, staring idly at the roof. He looked up when Demetri entered the room, but said nothing. That wasn't a surprise.

Demetri grabbed Lorcan and Lysander's presents and started for the door. An attack of good conscience gnawed at his mind and he decided to be polite and talk to Albus, even if he didn't make an initiative to talk first.

"Shouldn't you be getting down to the party? I mean, they're like family," he said as he made his way out the door. He heard a grunt and the sound of something being slammed shut before he was followed by Albus. Demetri looked down at the parcels in his hands and, being a Longbottom, he tripped over the last two steps and crashed into the Potters' side table in the hall. He dropped the twins' presents, cursed loudly, grabbed his knee in pain, and still no one came to see what was the matter.

The table suffered more than he had, however. It was now missing a front leg, but Demetri didn't worry about it much. It was ugly anyway, Mrs. Potter always said so, and Harry agreed (it was a gift from his his aunt).

Albus ran down the remaining steps, a look of concern on his face. He pulled Demetri up straight and looked him up and down, glancing at the table.

"I'm fine, thanks." Said Demetri, sarcasm filled his voice.

"I can see that, but I don't think Lily will like that you broke the table," said Albus.

"Why should Lily care? You all hated the damned thing."

"Oh, so just because we hate it, you think you have the right to go smashing all of our things?' retorted Albus, raising an eyebrow, but Demetri could see a hint of laughter in his eyes.

There was a lot of loud commotion and chattering in the kitchen, and Demetri remembered the party. When he looked up, Albus already restored the table and returned to his serious looking self. Demetri sighed and followed (more like limped) behind him into the kitchen.


Lily sat at the table between Lorcan and her father. She glanced at the door right as Demetri and one of her older brothers entered, and both boys looked rather irritated. Demetri looked at her, mouthed the word Lil and added a smile for her sake. She shot him a poisonous glare. Shrugging, he took the seat directly opposite her.

She looked around, surveying the assembled guests. All of their friends and family turned up for the party and were crowded into the relatively small kitchen. Soon they would have to advance into the dining room. She sighed with content and relaxed into her chair. This was the last get-together with her her entire family around she would have until Christmas. Even though there were times that she thought everything was overly stressful, and Demetri really passed her boiling point at times, she would miss days like this at home. With the enormity of her family, she would be missing out on numerous birthday parties while away at school.

Lily was the youngest of three in her household family at the age of sixteen. She, like her oldest brother James (who graduated four years ago) was a proud Gryffindor student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her other brother, Albus, was also a Hogwarts graduate, but he grew up in the Slytherin House. It didn't make him any different from the other two, but he was definitely a lot more reserved than the other two. When he was sorted, it came as quite a shock to the entire wizarding world that a Potter was ever put in a House affiliated with dark magic and wizards. They expected Harry Potter – their father – to throw some sort of fit, but he did the exact opposite. He was the first to tell all of the world and exclaimed how proud of his son he was. It definitely put a lot of pressure on Lily when it came to her sorting, but she was rather happy with her Gryffindor friends and family.

Lily smiled as she caught sight of her boyfriend, Elliot Kain, a little farther down the table. The two of them started dating in their third year and have been together ever since. Demetri made sure to do nothing but tease her about it all these years, and even Albus made comments about it every now and then, but she didn't care. Elliot was the love of her life.

Her mother entered the room carrying a giant cake with twenty-six candles (thirteen for each boy). The crowd started singing the birthday song, and Lily handed over her presents. She was never good with shopping for other people. It was like she realised everything about a person as soon as she walked into Diagon Alley and couldn't decide what they'd like best. Last year she bought the twins posters of the Dirty Boggarts band, but they were no longer 'in' this year so she bought something she thought would be more suitable for this year.

The boys accepted their gifts thankfully and tossed them aside quickly as they were already reaching for the next best thing. Everyone laughed cheerfully as they weren't really watching the boys open their gifts, and even though Lily didn't mind, she couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of guilt. Maybe they really did want something more and they were just too polite to say so.

Why do they have to be so bloody modest? thought Lily. Demetri caught sight of her wondering glance and smiled faintly, blushing somewhat when she spotted him. That wasn't Demetri-like behavior. The one and only time Lily could remember Demetri blushing was when he failed at performing a charm on E.J Zabini in front of the entire class last year. She quickly turned away and watched as the boys each opened their very own copy of Hogwarts, A History: Second Edition from Aunt Hermione.

Lily wasn't thinking about the twins anymore, nor their really interesting books. If anything, her thoughts were scaring her, and she wanted them to stop.

Demetri does have a nice smile. Was her last thought before she jerked her attention from the twins entirely and tried to focus solely on Elliot.


Demetri watched Lily from across the table. He knew she was dating Elliot Kain, but he could not help but be attracted to her. His feelings didn't start developing in such a way until somewhere in the end of their fourth year, but sure enough, they were there. There was something about her that caught his attention. She was very pretty indeed, and she was incredibly book smart. If it weren't for her absolute hate towards him, and her lack in interest, he was sure he could pursue her. Of course, he would have to get rid of Elliot first.

Get a grip, Dem! You have feelings for Lily Potter and she doesn't feel the same! If you want to make the year any worse, just tell her you fancy her and you're sure to be hanging by the Quidditch goal posts before the first Hogsmeade trip!

After the twins opened their posters from Lily (Willow Smashers this year), he handed them his own presents. He bought each boy a sneakoscope and a remembrall. Unlike Lily's gift, they gave his a second glance. He felt a wave of guilt overcome him when Lily glowered at him and her eyes shined with tears.

Oh, and if she wasn't so damn emotional all the time. Demetri added on to his list of reasons why he shouldn't pursue Lily.

Given the current circumstances, Demetri most definitely did not want to see Lily cry. She was sure to blubber around the room until Elliot paid attention to her. Not wanting to see this, and absolutely hating the sight of Lily crying, he decided to help her in her time of helplessness and threw a roll at her plate. The gesture enraged her as it landed right on top her slice of cake, all signs of crying forgotten.

All girls look helpless when they cry! He reminded himself, having an internal battle with himself. Worst of all, he was battling over Lily Potter, the girl that couldn't stand him. Even though he was attracted to her, it didn't mean he was going to knock at her door with candies and a rose any time soon. Why did she have to stick up for him last year when he lost that duel with Zabini? (Most importantly, why did she have to begin showing her curves at the end of their fourth year?) He didn't mean to use the wrong curse, and when he realised what he had done, Zabini figured it out first and blocked it, causing it to hit back at Demetri. Lily told the professor off for not docking points off of Zabini when he clearly used a verbal spell to block it when they were supposed to be practicing nonverbal spells. She earned the both of them a detention and they haven't said a word to one another since. Well, not until this party at least. Surprisingly, it was not Lily who was the one avoiding him. Demetri went to Romania for the whole summer, but the real reason he went was so he could get Lily, long time foe and friend, out of his mind.

When the party was over, everyone was meant to stay the night at Potter Manor since tomorrow all the kids would be going back to Hogwarts. He packed his trunk as quickly as possible, not bothering to check if he had everything like Lily warned him to do every year. She always said he would regret not checking it one day, and he had. All summer long, when he was without the presence of his friends, the one he missed the most was Lily, and he forgot to bring her picture.

That should have taught me.


Lily just finished packing her Head Girl badge when the usual knock came at her door. Every year she had a gathering with all the Hogwarts kids before they went their separate ways. She opened the door and the group filed in. She watched Demetri carefully as he walked into the room.

"Did you check your trunk?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Demetri turned around and looked at his buttocks.

"Yep, it's all there." He said, laughing as he plopped down in her comfortable chair.

"You're a pig!" she shouted, wrinkling her nose.

"All for you, baby." He smirked, but he felt his cheeks redden slightly. Lily rolled her eyes and stomped over to the bed where Elliot was and sat right on top of his lap. She pecked him affectionately on the lips to show she had no interest in Demetri.

Elliot wrapped his arms tightly around Lily's waist and she smiled knowingly. She was his, and he was making sure the message cut across to Demetri. Though she had assured him many times that Demetri and her would never be an item, she couldn't help but feel proud that she was wanted by Demetri. Wait! I'm not wanted by Demetri! He's just my friend. We tease each other, we bicker, and we talk like everyday friends. He doesn't think of me as anything more than that. Surely he meant the trunk comment as a joke. It would be unlike Demetri if he walked into her room without making a rude remark. Elliot wanted her, and she wanted him. They loved each other.

"OK, so this year, like we all thought, I am Head Girl," Lily started, looking excitedly around the more less enthused faces around her. "Who is the Head Boy this year? Does anyone know him?" she asked, trying to start up a conversation as everyone had taken to their own around the room. Everyone stopped chatting and looked up at her, some highly bored with the conversation, and others shrugging in reply to her question.

"Prefects?" she said quietly, a little embarrassed. Fred and Roxanne raised their hands for Gryffindor, causing Lily to nearly fall out of her seat at the sight of their hands.

"I bet Uncle George had a fun time with the two of you this summer!" said Lily, not at all surprised when the flashed a big smile and agreed. Their father was practically still a kid in an adult body. Poor Lily had already received some of his letters expressing how ashamed he was to hear that his favorite (he always said that to all of his nieces) niece wasn't living her life to the fullest if she was Head Girl. Now she would be stuck being stuffy all the time.

"Why do we bother meeting like this every year?" Albus said with a wry smile. "It always turns into a staff meeting of some sort – which is not what they were intended to be."

"You don't have to bloody come anymore, Albus!" Lily snapped. He was the one who thought about the kids having one final get-together before leaving. When James and Albus were younger, they would get all of the kids together to prank the household. Now that both of them have graduated, and Albus stopped caring after James graduated, Lily was in charge of their meetings. She wasn't so keen on the pranks being pulled, but she thought they were all having fun.

"Do you not want me to be a part of the group anymore, Lils?" Albus asked, raising an eyebrow at her. If she didn't know her brother, she would have thought he was being serious.

"That's not what I meant," she mumbled, blushing. She felt the heat on her cheeks and started to worry that the others might see. Honestly, every single person in this room has seen Lily blush hundreds of times, but she absolutely hated it when they did. Lily was self-conscious of her blushing because it made her look like a hideous radish or something. It would always start at her chest, blotchy and unworldly pink, and then slowly crawl up her face (though the process wasn't that slow when someone noticed it). To her misfortune, Demetri noticed and started to laugh at her hideousness. It was past the point of ridiculous when he nearly fell out of the chair.

"Watch it, Demetri! I can give you detention!" she threatened, feeling a prick of annoyance.

"I-I'm so sorry, Your Majesty. I couldn't help but notice how lovely you look in that shade of pink." He chortled.

Lily felt her cheeks burn even brighter at his comment. Everyone in the room chuckled nervously along with him. It was family fun, she understood, but this was Demetri making fun of her! When it comes to him, all joking must come to stop or else it would continue to get worse.

"All right, that's enough!" she growled, willing her cheeks to stop burning.

"Aw, what's wrong? Is Lil getting upset?" Demetri mocked, getting a few real laughs out of the others in response. Tears of anger and hurt welled up in her eyes, and Demetri's laugh started to die down and everyone's laughter started to dwindle to nothing once their leader was finished with Lily.

"Lily, I'm sorry. Don't cry please," Demetri pleaded, his voice quiet and shaky. He was really going to need to figure out when he was upsetting her and when he could joke around with her. It seemed like he was unable to make up his mind about what he wanted to do with her. If he joked around with her, he always begged her to feel better when he upset her. If she was angry at him, he would decide to make her even angrier by goofing off and being a total git.

What is wrong with the male mind? Lily wondered.

"Get out. Get out, Demetrius James Longbottom! I hate you! Everyone, please, just get out!" she added to the rest of her friends and family, hiding her face in her hands. Perhaps she was overreacting a little bit, but as of now, with her humiliation, she didn't care. All she wanted was for the meeting to be over and to cry in Elliot's arms.


Demetri felt really bad. He hated seeing Lily cry. He knew her too well and too long to think of her as anything else but a friend with . . . with feelings. He went too far with his joking this time. Admittedly, it was an incredibly lame joke, and she really shouldn't be having such a conniption fit over blushing, but the point is she actually is crying and he felt extremely bad about it. Everyone left her and Elliot alone to go to their assigned rooms, leaving him to be the only one still outside her door. He knocked. When no one answered, he walked in.

Lily and Elliot were standing in the middle of the room and kissing far too passionately for Demetri's taste (not because he was jealous, but because no one should show that amount of PDA). The not-so-lovely couple broke apart when he entered and turned to glare at him. Of course, glaring in Lily's case meant shooting daggers with her eyes straight into Demetri's head.

Acutely conscious of the awkwardness of the situation, he started. "Ummm... I'd just like to tell Lily I'm sorry. So um, sorry Lily."

Lame.

"I'd better be going," Elliot said suddenly, giving her one last kiss before quickly leaving the room. As he passed the other boy in the room, Demetri couldn't help but see the look on Elliot's faced seemed somewhat relieved?

No, Demetri assured himself. Though, it wouldn't be the first time he noticed strange things about Elliot. The Kain family were extremely close to the Potter and Longbottom family. Elliot's dad helped find all of the remaining Death Eaters when Hogwarts was over. They never actually heard of each other during school, but Harry and Neville were not going to deny his help. He was, after all, a Slytherin that had grown up with most of these people.

For the most part, Demetri got along with Elliot's younger sisters, but Elliot himself was . . .different. Demetri warned, teased, and even plain out told out Lily about her choice in a boyfriend, but she disagreed with every word that came out of his mouth. Truth be told, if it was anything negative about someone that wasn't Demetri, she didn't believe it.

"Why do you always ruin everything? Couldn't you see we were busy?" Lily shouted at him, interrupting him from his thought process.

"Oh yeah, I see you were real busy. Tell me, is it hard to stand and snog at the same time, Lil?" he shot at her, his temper rising fast at her crude words. He couldn't believe that after he apologised (which was a rare occurrence) she would come back at him like that. If anything, he deserved a thank you for saving her from dying of suffocation while playing tonsil hockey with Elliot.

"Don't call me that!" she yelled back, sitting down on her bed where Elliot had been sitting just moments before.

"Look, I just wanted to say sorry!" Demetri said, turning to leave. He didn't have to take her crap today. He had to admit that his second apology sounded no where near as apologetic as the first time (which is saying something since it was a terrible excuse of an apology). This didn't seem to phase Lily, however.

"Wait! Uh, I'm sorry too," Lily muttered quickly, obviously tired of fighting with him. He looked at her with one hand on the doorknob, not able to go any farther. This was a historical moment.

"Wait – did you just – apologise?" he asked looking bemused. He advanced in her direction and then tripped gracefully (sarcasm) over the small rug in her room. She didn't even bother laughing at his blunder.

"Well if you don't appreciate it-" she started, but he quickly cut her off.

"You don't need to apologise. You have nothing to be sorry for. I started it..." His voice dropped as he realised exactly how stupid he was beginning to sound. He turned around and tried to leave again, but deep down inside, he hoped that she would stop him. If she stopped him, then maybe he could admit to her with sincerity how pretty he thought she was.

"Well, I'm sorry anyway. I suppose you'd better go check your real trunk?" she suggested awkwardly. He thought about his comment from earlier and smirked at the not-so-clever clever remark (it was enough to get Lily riled up).

"I've already got everything I need," he said dismissively, trying his best to stay in the room with her. He wanted to stay with her for some, strange reason. His back was still facing her, but some part of him was hoping that she was slowly inching toward him while he wasn't paying attention.

"What if you forget something?"

So much for that idea.

"I guess that means I have less to do during the school year," he retorted, a little annoyed now. It was amazing how quick she could irritate him when all he wanted to do was calm her down.

"I'm just trying to help," she shot grumpily, noticing the change in his behavior. He rolled his eyes. So, yet again, all that was proven in this conversation was how irresponsible Demetri was and how she would have to constantly scold him until he listened to her. Thoroughly annoyed with her tactics, he snapped at her.

"Well, don't. All you ever do is nag." He glowered, a little unsure if his pick of words were exactly his best choice.

"Get out!" she shouted at him and her small hand made contact with his back at last, but not in the way he wanted as before.

"Wait, I didn't-" he started, not sure what to do. He hated seeing her upset like this, and he was ruining all chances of staying.

"Just go!"

You ruined it. He mentally scolded himself.

He turned on his heel and stormed out, rushing to Albus' room and slamming the door behind him. With his anger, he didn't even notice anyone else was in the room. He was unsure as to who he was angry at: Lily, because she overreacted like she normally did and kicked him out, or himself because he couldn't get a hold of his own feelings. He never thought of Lily as anything but a friend he could tease, and on an occasional notice, poke. She never seemed to think of this as anything but an annoyance. That is how things have been between the two of them ever since he could remember. That is the way it is supposed to be.

"Girls!" He hissed angrily, plopping onto his bed (well, the extra bed that was put into Albus' room for the times when Demetri would come to spend the night). That was when he noticed Albus and his girlfriend Mancy for the first time. They were staring at him. Demetri didn't particularly care, but he was pretty positive they had been snogging before he entered the room (Mancy's hair was tousled, and they were both laying on Albus' bed while strangely entwined with one another). Mancy muttered something to Albus before she left without so much as a hello to Demetri.

"What happened between you and my sister?" Albus asked knowingly and slightly concerned.

"How did you know my behavior has anything to do with Lily?" Demetri asked, trying to sound bigger and less embarrassed then he really felt right now.

"Because it's always you two," Albus replied with an air in his voice that suggested Demetri was an idiot if he thought otherwise. Demetri opened his mouth to retort, but then quickly shut it and nodded in agreement. He blurted the entire story to Albus and, when he finished, the other boy looked at him with amusement.

"What?" Demetri shot quickly at the other boy, not too keen on his good mood.

"Lets face it," Albus smirked, "You two are the 'Terrible Two'."

OK, so this is another story I wrote years and years ago (back in 2006). I finished it sometime in 2007 or 2008, so I am definitely revamping it. The main characters used to have different names because it was written before book seven came out and I knew who the actual children were. To make it more today friendly, I am revamping it. I hope you like it. It was really popular back in its day. I will try to keep everything the exact same as it was written back then (except for a few of the names that need changing, Harry will remain Headmaster, and I may change future challenges). Anyway, now that the long author's note is done, I hope you have remembered that you want to leave me some awesome feedback!

Lily was nudged awake by Elliot, who was standing over her bed and looking down at her sweetly. He then kissed her so gently on the lips that it tickled. She opened her eyes and crawled up out of her bed and smiled sheepishly up at him.

“Morning sunshine,” Elliot said, kissing her on the lips once more. He was just about to sit down on the bed next to her when her bedroom door opened.

“Oh, no! Not again! Can’t someone walk around this house without seeing you two snogging?” Demetri moaned, opening the door with a tray of breakfast.

“It is called a room, and that’s called a door. You knock on it so we can tell you to go away.” Said Lily looking at the tray of food.

“That makes matters worse,” he mumbled under his breath so the other two didn’t hear him. “I came to apologise for last night, if that helps." Neither Lily nor Elliot seemed very enthused with his presence, but when Demetri showed no sign of leaving, Elliot decided it was his time to go.

“I’ll just go,” Elliot said, kissing her hand before passing Demetri on the way out and shutting the door behind him.

The encounter would not have bothered Demetri so much if it weren't for the fact that he swore Elliot just winked at him. Elliot was always a suave character and even though he wasn't too good for Lily, it was hard to believe he stuck around just for her. While at school, girls swooned over the blond and said rather rude things about Lily simply because she was his girlfriend. They have been together ever since the third year, and while some people could find that admirable, Demetri couldn't help but feel there was no way Elliot could be that faithful. He never caught him doing anything wrong, but Elliot was just too calm when Lily wasn't around. Then again, some would call that a healthy relationship, but Demetri thought it was odd behavior.

Shrugging it off, Demetri walked toward Lily and set the tray down by her bed. He spent all morning making the breakfast, and it admittedly was not just for her, but everyone in the household. He just felt he should do something special for her since he royally messed up last night. After hours of no sleep last night, he realised what he should do and spent an hour trying to write some sort of apology letter before deciding to get some sleep and try again in the morning.

Being sentimental was one of the hardest moments of Demetri's life. He sat at Albus’ desk for another hour before making breakfast and everything he knew about Lily poured out on him. She was caring, sweet, annoying, stubborn, pretty, smart, a know-it-all, and she always tried her best to get along with Demetri. It was him who wouldn’t let her get near him. Not since they were four at least.

How could I have been so stupid? Thought James as he placed a flower on the tray for a finishing touch. After all this time, you were worried Lily hated you, and what have you done to make it up to her? Absolutely nothing but make her mad and tease her! She probably thinks you hate her! Lily, as he pointed out so many times, was like a sister to him. They loved each other in a family way and would do anything for each other.

“Thank you for the food," she said, snapping him out of his memories from this morning. "But I'm not hungry." Then she shooed him away. She watched him leave without complaint and turned around to look at the tray of food next to her bed and noticed a yellow tulip tied to a note. She walked over, picked up the note, and read:

Lily,

I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about last night. You are right whenever you call me a big git and tell me that I should learn to keep my mouth shut. I realised that when it is shut long enough I spend more time thinking about all of the things you do for everyone. You probably don't want to know every thought that came to my mind while trying to think of ways to describe you, but I promise a few nice things came to mind. Even though I think you can be an annoying little pest (I told you everything that came to mind wasn't the greatest), you also care about the people around you. You try your best to make sure everyone is involved and are feeling all right. I could probably take some lessons from you and work on not making you feel so bad all of the time.

Anyway, sappy and apologetic me is going to go and cook breakfast. Don't worry, I'm not volunteering to do so, it is just my turn to help today. I would hate for the image you have of me to be spoiled. Though, I do know how much you like tulips, so I picked one from your mother's garden and included it as a part of your breakfast this morning. It made me remember when we were four and how you didn't hate me so much. Do you remember those days? Probably not. Well, I suppose if I don't get breakfast to you soon Elliot will be up there with you and spoil my whole good mood, so I'll hurry up and close this so your food doesn't get cold.

Your friend,
Demetri

Lily rolled the note back up and put a hand up to her lips before realising she had been smiling the whole time. There was a time or two while she was reading that she was sure she even laughed. She tried the grits he brought up but nearly gagged and started laughing while she spat them back out. Demetri was a terrible cook.

She glanced at the note one last time, and then looked over to her dresser where her best pictures were. One of them was a picture of her sitting in a yellow garden full of tulips. It wasn't her mother's garden, so it wasn't where her tulip derived from, but it made her remember the time Demetri spoke of when they were four.

The whole family went to Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's house where there was a giant garden that belonged to Aunt Fleur. Lily couldn't remember what the occasion was for. It could have been Victoire's birthday for all she knew, but she remembered being completely captivated with the garden. It had what seemed like a million yellow tulips, just like the one Demetri gave her today.

She and Demetri wanted to play a game they were told about in a book called The Secret Garden. They roamed all around the garden and chased one another. Of course they played their respectable parts: She as Mary and Demetri as Colin. When they had been running around for a while, she stopped and looked all around her. Demetri came up from behind and caused her to giggle. Then he did the, "Most adorable thing ever!" as her mother put it, and picked one of the tulips out and gave it to her while he kissed her on the cheek.

“I like tulips," she had said, a strawberry coloured blush covering her childish face.

“Why?" he asked, a matching blush on his face as she took his small gift.

“Because you gave me one,” she giggled, holding the tulip between two chubby little hands.

“Then I guess that means you like me too?” he asked her with the same silly grin he always had. She thought about it and nodded her head, the red curls her mum spent a few seconds on bobbed up and down.

“I love you James,” she exclaimed, throwing her little arms around his neck and then planting her own kiss on his cheek. He blushed to a point that his cheeks were bright red and he looked absolutely ridiculous. When he was at a loss of what to do next, he stepped back to get away and accidentally stepped on a tulip in the garden. Then, without any warning, Lily cried.

“I hate you, Demetri! How could you do that to a flower? You’re mean and a murderer!” Lily cried some more, picked up the squashed flower, and ran into the house to show her mum what Demetri had done. Of course, her mother didn't see it exactly the same way as she had done.

Lily laughed at the memory. How did he remember that from all those years ago? Demetri didn't have the impeccable memory like she did. If he did, then she had no idea why he struggled in so many of his classes. She sniffed the tulip and then put it in her hair behind her ear. She ate, more liked forced, most of her breakfast down her throat before heading down stairs with her trunk, owl, and Firebolt 3000. One thought was on her mind while she dragged all of her school things down the stairs. His note said she didn't hate him back in those days. As she recalled it, she did say that she hated him.

But was it true?





Demetri sat and wondered if he was too lame this morning and if he would ever be able to redeem himself if word got out. He could remember when he was four so well. It was one of his favorite memories because it was the first time Lily Potter said she loved him. It was a bonus time in his life because he spent the rest of it with her hating him.

He took a bite of his breakfast and immediately spat it back out. It was absolutely atrocious! Everyone took their sweet time in teasing him about it, too, and told him how great it was while they tried giving it to an old Crookshanks and respective pets. Even that old thing wouldn’t eat it!

He perked up when Lily came down the stairs with the tulip he provided her in her hair and she smiled at him. That was a good sign. She wasn’t mad at him anymore.

At least I did something right.

Once she was down the stairs everyone started getting up and grabbing their own things. Apparently he missed the cue that it was time to go. He stood up, took her arm, and led her out to the Ministry official vehicles and opened the door to one of them. She slid in and he was just about to go in to sit next to her, but someone else practically jumped into the car. Demetri, thinking it might be one of her cousins being funny, he slid in next anyway.

When he shut the door, he noticed that it wasn’t one of Lily’s cousins, but it was Elliot in the car. Now Elliot was sitting beside Lily and Demetri was stuck on his other side. It hurt him to see them together but he never said a word about it. He knew if he did she would be mad at him and he didn't want to ruin her good mood.

She doesn’t deserve someone like him. He thought. She needs someone who will treat her right. He couldn't really recall a time Elliot didn't treat her right, but he was sure he could be a much better boyfriend than Elliot ever could be. Not that he really wanted to be Lily's boyfriend, either. Get a grip on yourself, mate!

He was glad to see Harry, who was definitely beginning to show his age, along with his wife in the front seats. He knew Lily and Elliot wouldn’t snog in front of her parents.

“So nice to see you two not fighting for a change.” Harry said, and Ginny nudged him in the ribs.

“It’s lovely to see you again, Demetri.” Ginny said sweetly, ignoring her husband's comment.

“Uh, thanks, Mrs. Potter, but you saw me this morning and just yesterday,” he said slowly, looking away from her to Harry in hopes for an explanation. Harry sighed and looked over to his wife for a split second before returning his attention back on the road.

"Ginny is just a little over excited this morning is all," he said merrily. "She received some mighty big news today."

"What is it, Mum?" Lily asked, leaning across Elliot and forgetting either boy’s existence at the moment. "Are you back on the team?"

"What? Oh, no dear!" Ginny laughed, "I'm done with playing Quidditch. It is just the simple writer's life for me now, I'm afraid. Though, it does lead to a much safer environment for pregnancies..." She turned around in her seat and flashed a huge smile in Lily's direction. Demetri could see Harry's expression in the rearview mirror and he couldn't help but smile himself.

“Well, Lil, what would you like? A brother or a sister?” Harry asked cheekily.

“Oh, daddy, really? Mum you’re pregnant? Oh my!” she jumped up and hugged her parents as best she could, which wasn’t easy considering she had to crawl over Elliot, squeeze between two seats, be mindful of her driving father, and manage to retain her balance. She tripped once, and Elliot made sure he grabbed her in an inappropriate place. Demetri glared at him and then poked him very hard in the ribs with his knuckles. Elliot let go right away and Lily fell back into her original seat. "How far along are you?"

"Just a couple of months. We still have a while yet to come, but your father and I are hoping for another girl." Ginny replied sweetly.

"Do the others know?"

"We told them this morning while the three of you were in your room." Harry raised an eyebrow in the mirror and made a point to glare right at Lily. She was too busy grinning ear to ear to notice and she let out a small squeal.

“Hey, how come you didn’t yell at your dad?" Demetri asked, trying to keep Elliot and his hands all over Lily out of his mind. "He called you Lil and you didn't say anything about it.”

“Because he’s my dad," she answered smartly. "Does that answer your question?”

“I’m the one who made it up!”

“Then I guess you’re the one I should hit for getting me stuck with it all these years!” She reached over and punched him playfully on the arm.

“Well you call me Demi. Does that mean I get to hit you back now?” he asked hopefully. She silently shook her head and flashed him a toothy grin.

“I told you it wouldn’t take long for them to start arguing again.” Harry said, and everyone laughed.




Lily was so happy that when she smiled from ear to ear for so long, her cheeks began to hurt. The day was going by perfectly and it all started because Demetri dropped of some disgusting breakfast. The note helped too, of course. The only thing that felt wrong about this wonderful day was the seating arrangements. There were other Ministry cars taking everyone else to King's Cross Station, but the one person she wanted to be with was in her car. Demetri had her in such a good mood, she just felt it was necessary to try and be friends with him today. Instead, she was sitting between Elliot and the door.

Wait, what am I thinking? I don’t like Demetri like that. He’s only a friend. I’m going out with Elliot. He is the one whom I love. But did he ever give you yellow tulips?She asked herself in her head, confused as to which side in her head she should take.

“No,” she said out loud, not realising it until everyone looked at her.

“No what dear?” her mother asked, straining her neck to turn back and see Lily sit in her seat nervously.

“No I- I don’t want another sister!" she lied quickly, kicking herself mentally as soon as she said those words. Of course she wanted a baby sister! "I think it would be nice to have another baby brother.”

Demetri was looking at her oddly but she blushed and turned away to avoid his gaze. She stole a quick glance at Elliot while doing so and felt a tinge of guilt. He squeezed her shoulder and she caught sight of Demetri turning away as well.

She leaned into Elliot some more in hopes of feeling less guilty, but just as she did so, the car came to a stop and her father got out to let the rest of them out. When she stepped outside Demetri was already outside her door to help her out. She took his hand gratefully and straightened up in the fresh air, smiling at him politely.

When they all got past the barrier, and waved goodbye to their parents, they found a compartment big enough for all of them. This wasn’t an easy feat considering there was only one like it in the whole train. Lily sat in Elliot's lap not only to make some room, but for reassurance as well. Demetri sat across from her, and everyone else known to the Weasley and Potter clan sat across wherever there was a free space.

Elliot, always with his sense of bad timing, kissed her and she slightly pulled back before remember he was her boyfriend and what he was doing was perfectly alright. She turned to Demetri for the millionth time (something she would really have to stop doing) and noticed he was staring out the window once more. Everyone else was laughing at the couple's display of public affection.

“What?" she snapped for the first time all day. "It is not like most of you aren't in a relationship." Something was bothering Demetri and she hated not knowing what it was.

"Everyone but Demetri, of course!" her Hugo jeered, jabbing the said boy in the side with his boney elbows. Demetri rolled his eyes and continued to scowl at the window. She sighed and thought about his behavior some more. If he would actually work at controlling his mood half the time, she was sure he could have a girlfriend in no time. Demetri was a catch, that was for sure, but he has never had a girlfriend yet. It didn't bother Lily in the slightest, but she did wonder why. He could have any girl if he wanted. Well, any girl that looked at personality more than they did muscles. So maybe Demetri was a little more average than other guys their age, but Lily would have dated him if the opportunity ever came up.

I did not just think that! Lily thought, half terrified of her own mind. I did not just agree to date Demetri Longbottom! Well, technically I didn't agree, but.... STILL! Did I honestly just think that?

After she calmed herself down a bit, she relaxed in Elliot's lap. Of course there wasn't a problem with admitting someone was a nice catch. It was a compliment toward him if anything. She could say she would date him all she wanted to, but that didn't mean she was going to. If someone came up to her right this instant and wanted to know if Demetri would make a good boyfriend, she would say she would date him just to give him credibility because that is what friends do. It wasn't a lie, but she definitely wouldn't date him.

You're fooling yourself.

He told Lily once that he didn't date because girls were just too complicated at Hogwarts. They try acting older than they are, they wear too much makeup, they are never act the way they would act if they were at home, and they make everything way too serious. The boys on the other hand, try to sit back and relax.

She didn’t do that. Did she?




Demetri was looking out the train window thinking about Lily. Something about her in these last few years - these last few days! - kept her continuously on his mind. The thought of love crossed his mind a time or two, but then he quickly dismissed that idea when each time the word came up he had to stop himself from gagging. He was watching Lily out of the corner of his eye and sighed. There’s no denying it. He thought. You’re in love with the girl. Infatuated with her! Admitting it was hard, but he knew it was true. He couldn't have her though, because Elliot was in his way. He may not like Elliot (though he never really had a problem with him until very recently), but that didn't mean Lily had to stop seeing him. No, Demetri needed something to get Lily off of his mind. Moping after someone you can't just isn't healthy.

He looked away from the window as a sudden idea came to him. What if I ask someone out? Would it make her jealous? Would she be so jealous that she'd break up with Elliot to get to me? No. She has admitted it a thousand times over. She is in love with Elliot. He's her soul mate. Bluak! Though there was a good amount of dejection his thoughts, he was also doing a pretty good job at convincing himself that he could win her over. I have to do something! He concluded. I can't lose her!

He immediately thought about what the group had been talking about and decided it was high time he dated someone here at Hogwarts. Who was there for him to date though? He couldn't date just any girl. It had to be someone he at least semi liked.

He glanced up at the compartment doorway and noticed a familiar looking seventh year Ravenclaw girl walk by. It was Heather Thomas. She was a pretty enough girl, with her black hair and dark coloured skin; she was actually one of Hogwarts' prettiest girls. She was a bit of a long shot for Demetri, but last he heard, she was pretty nice, too.

“I’ll be right back,” he said to the compartment while standing up. He quickly glanced at Lily and noticed she was watching him. Her eyes followed him as he walked all the way toward the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked once he reached for the sliding door's handle.

“Well, Mum," he was going to regret that one later, "I don’t think that’s any of your business.” He immediately saw hurt in her eyes and she turned away with a huff. She really had to start getting used to his harsh remarks. Teasing was part of Demetri’s life, rather he wanted it to be or not. Without it, people might actually be able to read him like a book.

He stepped out of the compartment anyway in hopes he would miss Lily's waterworks and feel less guilty about being rude to the girl he only openly admitted to himself that he was in love with five minutes ago. He hated upsetting Lily. She was used to him always telling her everything. Even if he randomly decided to go out for a drink, he would still tell her because, normally, she would stop him and he would let her. Forgetting about the whole thing, he sighed and turned to find Heather.

He found her in a compartment full of more Ravenclaw girls. Looking around he recognised them as some of the school’s worst gossipers. They were definitely not his type. Heather would just have to do. He walked in and all of them instantly went into profound giggles.

Why do they all have to giggle? He thought, his self confidence shooting in a downward spiral.

“Um, may I speak to Heather alone, please?” he asked, and they all released a high pitched squeal at once.

“Anything you want to say to me, you can tell me in front of the girls,” Heather said sweetly. She had a big grin on her face and an extremely misty gaze aimed right at Demetri. She didn't expect him to follow her did she? Demetri realised whatever he said in front of these girls would be spread through Hogwarts faster than he could say Quidditch. It would really come to him as an advantage if Lily heard about it and broke up with Elliot immediately, but he also thought about the repercussions. What if the gossip hurt Lily? He knew that even though rumours started out as the truth, they didn't always end up staying the truth, either. By the time it reached Lily, the whole school would think he was married to Heather and they've been together since day one at Hogwarts. That is not what he wanted Lily to hear.

“Uh, w-well,” James stuttered, not exactly prepared to spill this question out in front of all of these girls, “I was just wondering if- Where you got that great looking scarf? My friend wanted one for her birthday.”

Liar.

Heather looked a bit shocked that she wasn’t going to be afforded a coach full of laughter at Demetri's expense and pursed her lips together.

“Oh,” she said coyly. “It was a gift from my great aunt.” She sensed, as did everyone else, he’d wanted to discuss something entirely different with her, but she blew it with her flippant attitude. Her smugness disappeared immediately after she didn't get what she wanted and Demetri frowned.

“Oh, well that’s no help," he said. He started to leave, hoping to show that he wasn't so easy to get, but decided to duck back in to leave a quick, "Thanks anyway though.”

He quickly turned, closed the compartment door, and headed down the aisle. Maybe Heather wasn't the best idea in a girl anyway. She was a nice girl. Demetri experienced her behavior first-hand on many occasions, but she had a way of changing attitudes once she was with certain people. Her group of cackling Ravenclaw cronies was a good example.

Enough of these stupid ideas! I have to win Lil over! I can’t stand being without her anymore, but this is not the way to win her over. BAD IDEA! It is Lil or no one. I know she has to like me, too. Even if that like is somewhere deep down inside her. She's been acting strangely these last few years and I know it. There’s got to be a way... The yellow tulips? She really liked the fact I remembered that memory from all those years ago. The yellow tulips! That's how I'll win her over! Demetri was lost in complete thought on his way back to the compartment. He sat back down by the window and intently watched the land go by. He avoided looking at Lil and making any eye contact, he needed to think clearly. So, he closed his eyes in thought until sleep mercifully swept him away.

He woke up to Lily shaking him awake. When he looked around he noticed both Fred and Roxanne were missing. Lily seemed to read his thoughts.

“They’re doing Prefect duties. They’re a bit late coming back though. I woke you up because we should be changing into our robes now. Not that you need me to tell you. I’m not your mother.” She said, rolling her eyes.

He blushed a bit but decided to quickly forget about it and put his robes on over his clothes.

“Why aren’t you doing Head duties?” James asked, trying to change the subject.

“The Head Boy didn’t show up, the stupid git. I had to make the meeting short because I couldn’t do it on my own. He was supposed to give the other half of our speech. I hope there is still time for McGonagall to do some serious reconsideration on her part.” Lily responded sounding irritated. Demetri rolled his eyes and then continued to tie his tie properly.

When he sat back down there was a knock at the compartment door. Lily sighed dramatically when she noticed who it was but Elliot didn’t agree. He wrapped his arms protectively around her waist and Lily’s eyes bulged out at the light tug he did to show Demetri that she was his.

“What’s Heather doing here?” Hugo asked as Lily got up to let the other girl in. The Lysander twins just looked up un-expectantly and watched as Lily shot Demetri a hurtful look before she sat down on top of Elliot again. Obviously she already knew what was going on, so why the look?

“Hi, um, you wanted to talk to me?” Heather asked, twisting her scarf nervously as sets of Weasley, Potter, Lysander, and Longbottom eyes stared up at her in disbelief. He wondered if he should still do this. He looked at Lily, who was already snogging happily with Elliot and purposely trying to ignore the situation going on in the room.

He bit his lip and trudged on with his slightly idiotic scheme.

“Yes." Don't be an idiot! You can stop this now! You don't have to do this! Go back! Go back! "I was wondering, if you aren’t currently seeing anyone, if you would do me the honour of going out with me?” You're an idiot. Demetri planted a positive smile on his face and hoped it looked convincing.

Heather blushed fiercely and Lily stopped snogging Elliot immediately with a look of pure shock and hurt on her face. Elliot flashed him a smile, probably relieved that Demetri wouldn't be after his girl anymore, with a big thumbs up.

“Well?” he asked when Heather didn't give him an answer right away. He getting a bit nervous and all eyes were now on him.

“Yes!" Heather exclaimed at last. "Oh, wait until I tell the girls about this. I’m going out with Demetrius Longbottom!” She shrieked and, without waiting for any word from Demetri, headed for her own compartment.

He couldn't help but smile and feel somewhat accomplished that he was able to follow through with his plan. He was so proud of himself in fact, he felt like retelling the whole story to Roxanne and Fred when they came back, just to spite Lily.




Lily didn’t exactly know why she was so jealous. She should be happy for Demetri. He finally found himself a girlfriend. It was a bit odd that she was only thinking about how he had remained single all these years only an hour ago and now he was dating Heather Thomas, but sometimes that was just the way things worked. She congratulated him like everyone else did, but turned away as soon as she felt a single tear fall down her face.

I have a boyfriend. She thought. I can’t let one thing that he did this morning win me over.

The train finally came to a stop. The aisles were flooded with students in black robes and pointed hats, all excited to get off and return back to school. As soon as she made it outside and felt the cool air on her face, she heard the normal yell of her favorite professor.

“Firs’ years over 'ere!” shouted Professor Hagrid, giving a cheery wave to the group once he spotted them.

Then, everything went dark as a pair of warm hands went over her eyes. She laughed at this silly tradition. Demetri turned her around, not to him, but slightly to the left and made her stop before he took his hands off her eyes and whispered in her ear:

“Welcome home.”

The words were enough to send chills down her spine, but his whisper was warm and welcoming. She closed her eyes, looking away from her home for a moment longer.
She knew it right then, that she would have to stop her strange obsession over Demetri and concentrate on what she had.

He hugged her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and Elliot was standing right in front of her, blocking her view of Hogwarts. Afraid he would get jealous, she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him lightly on the cheek. He didn’t seem upset at all. These past four years of tradition grew on him. He knew it was something the Demetri and Lily came up with all those years ago, and that's what made him a wonderful guy. He understood.

They were separated from the Lysander twins when they had to go to the carriages and the twins went to the boats with Hagrid. Lily wasn't too enthusiastic with the group in her carriage: Demetri, Elliot, Roxanne, Fred herself, and Heather. It wasn't that she wasn’t happy for Demetri. She just was never able to stand Heather in the first place. Heather always seemed to be uptight, and rather rude to less fortunate girls that weren’t her.

She stared at Heather and couldn't help but grow even more envious of the girl. She had long black hair with big, watery brown eyes, and of course a beautiful, dark face. Her father, Dean Thomas, married a part Veela girl so it wasn't a surprise their daughter turned out to be absolutely stunning. It was no wonder Demetri liked the girl; she was much prettier than Lily herself.

Demetri was one of her best friends, and if he was hoping to have a girlfriend, then she was going to be friends with Heather. Even if her definition of friends wasn’t the same as everyone else.

“So, Heather, can you see Threstrals?” Lily asked, knowing that the girl probably wouldn't even know what a Thestral was.

“Um, no, sorry to say I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” She said, laughing nervously with everyone else so she didn’t feel quite as left out.

“So, Lil, how many detentions do you think Elliot and I will get from you this year?” Demetri asked with a bemused look on his face. He was really laying it on thick, too.

“Well I don’t know," she said slyly, "Elliot has a special pass, but you, I don’t know about. Maybe I’ll give you one for snoring too loud or something.”

“I don’t snore,” was his last feeble attempt at sticking up for himself as the others laughed around him before the carriage came to a halt in front of Hogwarts.

This was going to be an unusual year that was for sure.

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