I Hope You Dance

Lillian Longbottom stretched her arms out in front of her and closed her eyes, a smile playing on her lips. A hand fell onto her shoulder and, without looking up; she opened her eyes and smiled brightly. "Mother." The woman nodded and Lillian smiled. "What kept you? I thought we were going to do something together. Now it's too late." There was no disappointment in her voice, however. Just curiosity.

"Dinner." Mother looked over the dark azure world stretching to the horizon and tugged her daughter's hair playfully. "Has my little one taken an interest in the ocean?" she asked, a smile gracing her pale lips. Lillian nodded seriously, but Mother noticed a slight tremor run through the small body and frowned. "What are you afraid of?"

"I'm not afraid," she said thoughtfully. "More like . . . awed." Mother nodded and Lillian smiled, satisfied at her explanation.

"Well, it's quarter to six. We should go in," Mother finally said after minutes of water watching. Lillian nodded and obediently followed her mother into their cottage. Father was reading something, muttering under his breath and occasionally making marks with his quill. Lillian's large grey eyes watched her father's fingers skillfully shuffle the papers. He looked up at his family and grinned, leaning against the couch and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Father," she said happily and his once pudgy arms picked her up and swung her around. When Neville Longbottom had finally matured his body had chiseled out and his face had thinned. He had also shot up, but not as gawkily as Ron Weasley.

"Neville, how's the Quibbler coming?" Luna Longbottom asked, after receiving a kiss from her husband of thirteen years.

"Fine, but this one bloody git keeps misspelling simple words," Father grumbled, causing Lillian to giggle and Mother to frown.

"Neville!" she exclaimed, shocked. He shrunk back and muttered an apology just as a tawny owl flew in and landed on the arm of the very couch that Father sat. The very second the letter was removed from its talon; the bird ruffled his feathers importantly and flew off. Lillian scanned the letter and nodded.

"It's my acceptance letter," she explained, handing it to her parents. None of the Longbottoms were very surprised because they were a completely Pureblood family, though it wasn't like they cared about blood heritage, but they were very happy.

"I wonder if you'll get in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," Mother mused. She had been a Ravenclaw while Father had been a Gryffindor. Lillian grinned slyly.

"What about Slytherin?" Lillian suggested. Father yelped, remembering the taunts and jokes he had been the butt of in his Hogwarts years.

"Lillian, don't even joke about that," Mother scolded lightly as she pulled dinner from the oven. Lillian just laughed.

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A month later, Lillian and her parents flooed to Diagon Alley to get her supplies for her upcoming school year. "We'll get you robes first and then you can wear them the rest of the time, if you want," offered Father. But Lillian shook her head, smiling.

"It'll feel so much better on the first day, all crisp and clean. New," Lillian replied dreamily, already envisioning it. Mother nodded seriously but Father snickered. Both females glared at the man and Lillian turned haughtily on her heels and walked into the store.

"We'll be right back," Mother called as the two drifted off. Lillian nodded as a woman bustled over.

"Ah, a first year," she said, smiling, and then pulled Lillian onto a stool. "I'll be right back. You can talk to the other dearies while I'm gone." Then she exited, leaving a thin scent of perfume.

"Hey, Dad, do you recognize her?" two voices chimed in at once and Lillian blinked. Then she noticed them, two boys with wild black hair and bright blue eyes; twins. A man, with the same hair but bright green eyes, studied Lillian carefully, though what he must have thought was discreetly, before shaking his head.

She walked right over to them, smiled, stuck out her hand, and said," I'm Lillian Longbottom." He nodded and shook her hand.

"And who are you?" she asked as her gaze rested on the father.

"Harry Potter," he replied. Lillian couldn't help that her eyes flickered towards his famous scar. He had defeated Voldemort several years before, the year Lillian was born, in fact.

"We're Sirius and James," one of the boys piped up.

"No," corrected the other one," we're James and Sirius."

"Sirius and James," the other argued.

"James and Sirius."

"Sirius and James." The one that Lillian now presumed was James opened his mouth but Harry cut him off.

"How about we say the Potter twins and call it even," he suggested and both boys groaned.

"But I'm so much better at Quidditch than him so we shouldn't be classified as twins," James whined. Harry grinned teasingly.

"No, it's individuality you care about," he said.

"Like a girl," Sirius threw in.

"What is so wrong about being a girl?" Lillian demanded. "I mean, you'll marry one when you're older and your father already did."

A bell tinkled and Mother and Father walked into the shop. "This is your daughter, Neville, Luna?" Harry asked, surveying Lillian. Father nodded proudly. "She's got a mouth on her, doesn't she?"

"I don't. But I can't help it if your sons are sexist," she replied haughtily.

"Lillian," Father warned.

"Yes?" she asked brightly, flashing a smile at him. He sighed and Lillian grinned at him.

"So, how's Faye?" Father asked, changing the subject. Lillian cocked a single eyebrow, a talent she had always been proud of, at her father. How well did he know Harry Potter?

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The two men chatted for a while before the woman came back in and shooed out the adults. As Lillian was getting measured, she pretended she was a regal princess getting measured for a ball, during which a handsome prince would ride onto the dance floor with a black horse and scoop her up. Then they would ride into the night together and-

"Ouch," Lillian exclaimed, drawing her leg away from the offending pin.

"If you didn't move around so much . . ." the woman left the semi-threat trail off and went back to fixing pins. A different woman was fitting James while Sirius watched, snickering. Since they were the same only one needed to get measured and James had lost the Sickle toss.

Since Lillian's fantasy was lost, Lillian prayed. There really was no reason; she just liked talking with God. She didn't go to chur, or read the bible, but she thought it was nice to have someone to confide in; to ask forgiveness from. She had heard that God was like a second father and the idea of having two great fathers was mind-boggling. Father was already wonderful, but another one that was even better . . . it hurt her head just to think about it.

"There you go, dearie," the woman announced after scribbling something down on a clipboard.

"Thank you," she said happily, once again remembering that she was going to Hogwarts. For. The. First. Time.

Lillian couldn't suppress the happy squeal that slipped through her mouth but she didn't try to take it back. She leaned against the cool glass window and waited patiently for her parents.

James, meanwhile, was still getting measured. The woman seemed to be taking a rather long time. "Hey, James, I think she fancies you," Sirius snickered, which caused both to blush and the worker to hurry up.

"That's not nice," Lillian said, tilting her head slightly. Then, deciding she liked her head in this position, smiled. The two boys exchanged glances but didn't say anything. Perhaps they were remembering how she had reacted to them before. The door opened and Lillian turned, expecting the sight of her parents but instead she saw a girl with curly hair and sparkling brown eyes.

"Lillian!" Adeline exclaimed, her eyebrows rising.

"Adeline!" Lillian returned, equally shocked. "You're a Witch."

"Malfoy always did call me that in school but I thought he meant the other kind," Adeline said thoughtfully.

"Well, it's good to see you," Lillian said brightly, hugging her best friend.

"I know. Now that I've seen you I know this whole thing isn't just some joke," Adeline agreed.

"Oh, Adeline, are you the first Witch in your family?" Lillian asked.

"Yes. Is that bad?" she asked, concerned.

"No, no," her friend assured her. "At least, not to most people. But, take Malfoy for example, he's a Pureblood and he things people who aren't shouldn't be allowed to go to Hogwarts. I'm a Pureblood, too, but it doesn't bother me."

"Malfoy's going to be there?" groaned Adeline. Lillian nodded, her eyes sparkling.

"But, come on, what would life be without someone there to be mean?" she replied. Adeline laughed.

"Honestly, I don't know where you get this stuff," Adeline teased. The youngest Longbottom tapped her temple with a grin.

"It's all up here."