"…and this is Suzanne, but I call her Suzy." Lily said confidently, her big blue eyes sparkling with pride as she showed off one of her many pretty porcelain dolls. This one in particular had icy white skin and a petite frame, It's raven coloured hair flew perfectly over its shoulders, and was styled into intricate little curls. Its eyes were like black orbs, and seemed to absorb very little light, but still managed to look angelic.
Lucy looked at the doll presented in front of her in wonder, taking in all of its features.
"You can play with her if you like," Lily said sweetly, after a moment's hesitation. Lucy could tell by the difference in care taken between "Suzy" and Lily's other toys that she treasured this one most of all.
Lucy reached out to take hold of the doll with vigilance, all the while unknowingly holding her breath. The porcelain was cold to the touch, and Lucy noticed that Lily hadn't quite let go of the doll yet, her small, pale fingers gently grasping hold of the dolls small, intricately painted shoes. Lily seemed to have noticed this, and quite quickly let go, and averted her attention to the rest of her toys placed in a small pile next to them.
"I'll take good care of her," Lucy said quietly, running a finger over the dolls laced pinafore.
Lily nodded, and smiled brightly, as though she trusted her cousin whole heartedly with her most prized possession.
"My dad got me that a few years ago," Lily started, as she was searching through the pile for a potential toy to play with, "He said he put a little piece of his heart inside, so if ever we were apart, I would always have Suzy…" Lily stopped suddenly, and snapped her head up to look at Lucy, her face horrified. "Oh Lucy, I'm so sorry, that was-
Lucy shook her head, blinking her eyes numerous times to stop herself from crying, and gave Lily a comforting smile. "It's fine, don't worry about it,"
Lily proceeded to look through the pile, a moment of awkward silence passing between them.
Lucy placed a hand over her chest during this moment, and then from underneath the cloth of the top part of her dress, she pulled out her silver, heart shaped necklace that she had never once removed since the day her dad died.
"This was one of the last presents my dad got me," she said sadly, "I haven't taken it off… since…" Lily who looked up from what she was doing, leaned in to get a better look.
The light of the summer sun, which had just begun to set, illuminated the diamantes on the heart, giving it the light of a thousand stars. Lily gasped with admiration.
"It's beautiful," she whispered, clearly impressed, then she paused, thinking carefully about what to say next.
"I am really sorry, Lucy… about your daddy," Lily said, clearly nervous as she had never had to talk with anyone this carefully before.
"My god Lily, don't make the poor girl play with your baby toys," Roxie said rather humorously, who had just appeared from the back door of the burrow, and was making her was over to the other end of the garden to take shade under a rather large oak tree.
Lily frowned, glaring at her cousin, her anger resulting in her grabbing hold of one of her others dolls, "Annie," she had choses to play with from the pile with a vice like grip.
"Just because you try to act like a grown up all the time, doesn't mean we have to as well!"
Lucy, who never liked people arguing, especially over something so silly, attempted to intervene, "It's fine, Roxanne, I rather like dolls anyway,"
Roxie's face softened, and she smiled at Lucy, "Fair enough," she retorted, "You can call me Roxie, by the way, Roxanne's dead boring." She said, rolling her eyes.
"It suits you then," Lily mumbled under her breath, and Lucy couldn't help but laugh.
_
About a half an hour later, Molly called the family in for tea. One by one everyone took a seat at the dinner table, and the children who were playing outside had to be called several times before responding.
Molly Weasley sat at the top end of the table, a mug of tea in hand as a sigh of relaxed context let out of her lips. She smiled as she was greeted by the beaming faces of her grandchildren, although none grabbed her attention more that little Lucy, who stood nervously next to her mother amongst the hustle and bustle.
"Lucy, you sit next to me!" Lily said, looking proudly upon her new found friend as she sat on her favourite chair on the burrow dining table, one she had claimed as her own from the age of three.
Ginny, who was sitting to the other side, couldn't help but smile with pride at her only daughter's natural caring nature.
"I would like to propose a toast," Arthur Weasley said after a good twenty minutes into the meal, he stood up from his seat and raised his wine glass into the air. "To family," he said, after a moment of silence.
"To family!" the rest of the Weasley/Potter clan chanted in suite.
"Mum?" Lucy said quietly as she looked towards her mother, who's eyes had started to well up with tears.
Audrey gave her daughter a comforting smile, and inhaled deeply, "Please, excuse me," she said, as she removed herself from the table.
So… apologies for the long ass wait. I have been so busy lately. I have started my A-Levels, and school has me physically drained. Sorry the update was a bit short, was gonna postpone it for a bit longer so I could write more. But aw well, hope you enjoyed!
Xxxx