Chapter Text
August 3rd, 1977
Small feet tapped on the dark mahogany floor of the Leaky Cauldron. Green eyes scanning the rough faces of the various wizards and witches rushing between the gaps of the tables, occasionally accompanied by one child or more, until a specific man came into view. The joy was barely contained as the child flew into her father's arms, avoiding running into the passers-by.
The father bent to catch his dear child at the right time, spinning his delight in circles, his exhausted face brightening for the first time in a long day.
"Glad to see you haven't forgotten your good old dad in all this excitement," He laughed, finally placing her on the ground and pulling her in for a true hug, hand in her long brown hair and her arms wrapped very tightly around his torso. "I assume your dear mother is hiding around here somewhere, isn't she? Not quite finished work yet?"
She shook her petite head, glancing slightly around the room but her mum was nowhere to be seen. Her mother had taken up working in the Leaky Cauldron due to her first and only child receiving her letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and she did not want to be left alone in the house when her husband was working at the ministry and she finally went to school.
It was a low paying job, but also extremely rewarding in terms of her being able to properly witness the wonders of the magic around her as she unfortunately had been born non-magic to pureblood parents.
Her sharp little eyes panned back to the man in front of her. Eupheus Felicio was a tall, broad man dressed in a dark suit but with various pis and badges that his daughter had made for him that completely took away his edge. His hair was much darker than his child's and his beard matched, making him look slightly intimidating but all who knew him knew he was a gentle a soul as one could be.
His eyes were a sweet crystal blue, only having the fact they were striking in common with his child but there was no doubt that he was her father as they drew shocking resemblance.
"So kiddo, ready to go get your equipment? I'm sure she will join us soon enough Elvera," He reached down to grab the eleven-year old's hand when he sensed her hesitation to leave when she couldn't see her.
However, unable to contain the excitement coursing through her, she felt herself pulling her dad behind her towards the back exit before they found themselves standing in front of a brick wall. The stylish elder man stepped forwards and began to tap a pattern with his wand and brick by brick the wall fell away to finally reveal the bustling and beautiful streets of Diagon Alley.
A mix of old and young wizards filled the place to the brim, and Elvera was practically vibrating at the sight with an illuminated but anxious grin. She looked up expectantly at her father who was checking her list of needed equipment for her first year and he appeared to look up in the direction of a large bookshop. "You'll need a whole bunch of books this year Vera, but if you actually read them that's another case. Feel like I should mention I didn't read any of them in my first year."
Elvera preferred Vera, the formality being too much kindred to purebloods. The mix of parents made sure she did well to remember the struggles of both sides. Eupheus Felicio was a pureblood wizard, with a whole line of Hufflepuff's behind him including himself, but he had minimal quarrels with those of other houses, which was just pure compassionate Hufflepuff spirit. She knew her dad would definitely have been in trouble if her mother was there, admitting to his lack of reading during his time at Hogwarts.
He'd preformed exceedingly well in school despite a clear avoidance of hard work in his younger days, but this differed now in his older years as he became one of the finest aurors in the ministry. Vera didn't quite understand what this meant but she knew that she should be proud of her father being an agent against what people were now calling the darkest wizard since Grindelwald.
She always pressed to know more, as she heard the whispered hushes between her parents, but as she was a child she was often kept in the dark with instructions to be always cautious, reminded of the need to be clear of adults she didn't know. Speaking of adults she didn't know, her father was now approaching a older, dark haired wizard with a witch on his arm and a friendly look on both of their faces.
"Fleamont! Euphemia! The greatest pleasure to be seeing you!"
"Eupheus! Pleasure is ours, I promise! And you must be little Elvera," The man took her father's arm in a firm grip and his assumed wife stood forwards after and took her father into a brief hug.
The child put out forward her hand for both adults to shake, to which they exchanged a look of in no other real words to describe it than "that is literally the cutest thing ever" and shook the small girl's hand. "Hello madam, sir."
"Vera, this is Mr and Mrs Potter, they have a son in Gryffindor quite a few years older than you," Eupheus explained, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder as she stood in front of him. "Is he in his seventh year now?"
"Yes, seventh year, it's all very exciting. James and his friends will likely be causing just as much trouble this year as they did last, however you'll be surprised to know that he actually seems to be on his way to be recovering from his immaturity. Head boy! I can barely believe it!" Mrs Potter spoke with a great deal of what seemed to be surprisingly pride as she spoke of her trouble making son.
Vera supposed that her father would be just as prideful if she turned out the same if she were perfectly honest, but she knew with her mother's envy that she never got to go to Hogwarts, that her being troublesome was slightly unfair as she got her chance. She was extremely ambitious to do well.
"Well my Vera is looking forward to her first year and I'm sure she'll bump into James once or twice this year-" Vera had officially tuned out, looking at her surroundings as her dad spoke to the Potters. She noticed a group of four boys following two girls down a pathway slightly concealed by the busyness, but Vera could not miss the bright red hair of one of the girls and found her feet heading in the direction of the group.
"Lily flower, my dearest, if you could just stop for just one moment-"
Vera had come behind them just in time to bare witness to the ferocious expression on the redhead's face as she turned around to face the dark haired boy who spoke. The younger girl stared up in nothing short of awe as she watched "Lily flower" reprimand the boy who looked an awful lot like the Potters. She rightly fully assumed this was James Potter.
Behind him were three boys the same age. One was a curly haired boy with his lips curled into a smirk, he seemed familiar until she realised, he was a part of the Black family. Everyone knew the Black's, but due to her family's view on blood purity she was familiar through her father's friendship with Andromeda Tonks, who discussed her pride cousin, Sirius', blood treachery with pride. Andromeda had a three year old daughter who she had brought round recently to show Regina, Vera's mother, as she absolutely adored babies and had discussed the matter with her parents.
Vera wasn't overly aware of the gravity of being a blood traitor, but she knew her father had been called it many a time in front of her. She knew it had something to do with her mother being a squib and his interest in muggles, but she couldn't understand why someone could dislike someone else based on this fact. Maybe she was naive, but she didn't think so.
The next boy was a bit shorter than the others, but still clearly towered over her 4 foot stature, and he had warm features with a slightly mousy face. She wasn't sure she recognised him, he seemed to be finding the situation with the redhead funny, but he seemed slightly withdrawn.
The final figure she saw had a soft face graced with a few scars and an expression of slight exasperation but still a great deal of amusement. He was remarkably interesting looking, and Vera instantly felt the feelings of what she knew to be cooties. Gross.
She then had the sudden realisation that she wouldn't be able to see their faces if they were still in the situation she originally found them in. They were looking straight at her.
"Are you lost?" Asked the blonde girl next to the redhead. She was also stunning, and Vera found herself wondering if she would turn out as gorgeous as these people in her seventh year at Hogwarts. Vera shuffled nervously and realised that maybe she shouldn't have wandered off. In the current climate of the world, she was sure her father would have a heart attack.
"My dads over there, he's talking to your parents I think," She turned to the boy in rounded glasses and he raised his eyebrows.
"Prongs, do you know this kid?" The boy with curly hair snorted and glanced down at her and she had the suspicious that if she was any closer, he might have pinched her cheeks.
"Have we met?" He asked, looking back at her, and looked slightly puzzled when she shook her head.
"Well at least you're not going mad, Potter," The red headed laughed, not in her previous mood as it had lightened slightly due to the girl's appearance. She was beautiful, truly beautiful and Vera felt herself longing for her to be that cool.
"Elvera!" She heard the frantic voice and turned to see her dad rushing towards her with the Potters closely behind. He let out a sigh of relief and pulled her closely into him to which she cringed at despite knowing her was worried. She was in front of a bunch of teenagers, who she felt were already patronising her with looks.
"Sorry dad," She mumbled, trying to take in the weight of the situation, but all she could think of was the red headed girl looking at her thinking she was silly.
"Mum? Dad?"
"James," Mr Potter's voice greeted his only son and Vera felt a bit less embarrassed in the confirmation she was right at her guess. "We were just looking for Elvera here, you gave us a little bit of a scare there dear."
And she was back to being embarrassed.
"Elvera, is it?" The girl smiled at her, and she felt herself sheepishly smile back. "I'm Lily, are you going into first year?"
Eupheus, although still recovering from his brief panic attack, felt gratitude towards this girl from trying to save his daughter from the pre-teen embarrassment that was purely in her head. He remembered fondly when he was that age and simply everything was embarrassing for him.
Vera nodded.
"Well, if you ever feel lost or need a friend, feel free to come find me any time."
"Really?"
James let out a bark of laugh that somehow felt like it should have come from Sirius, nudged the boy with scars in the ribs and then threw his arm around Lily- who initially looked annoyed but gave herself away by her red cheeks and slight raises to the corner of her mouth.
He leaned forward, ungracefully pulling Lily with him. "Don't you worry kid, us Marauders will keep an eye out for you."
At this Lily certainly pulled away, shaking her head and the blonde girl she was with laughed. She turned more to face Elvera's father and gave a reassuring smile. "I wouldn't normally trust these idiots to do anything, but I can definitely say we'll all look out for her in Hogwarts, Sir." To this, Eupheus glanced at the boys with a tired look, but still trusting, then shared a knowing glance with the Potter's.
"I have no doubt-"
"But what if I'm in Slytherin?" Elvera interrupted, face crunching as the Gryffindor boys' face did, but Lily's and the blonde girl's (who she would later was Marlene) didn't.
"There aren't good or bad houses, it's what you make of it. Don't hesitate to ask if you need something," Lily smiled, and then nodded at the Potters. "Mrs and Mr Potter, it was a pleasure but I think we.re going to make a move. Mr-"
"Felicio, Eupheus Felicio."
"A pleasure, sir. My name is Lily Evans, I feel like your daughter and I are going to be good friends," Lily winked.