#home is a mistake i meant the dursleys

[izharmilgram]

u versus the victorian vampire that emerged from ur cupboard (harrymort au)

[iamnmbr3]

Do you think Dumbledore was evil?

Because I do not. I don't say, that he did not make terrible mistakes, because he totally did, but I don't think it was intentional.

I think Albus should not have gone to the orphenage, becaue he still was full of Grindelwald trauma. Grindelwald convinced Dumbledore that they were special, and therefore deserved to rule. Albus now understood that this was wrong, but Tom calling himself special reminded him of that.

Grindelwald "seduced" Albus to follow him, so Dumbledore assumed that Tom did the same thing to his teachers and followers.

I don't think Dumbledore was evil or had creepy intentiones, he was just totaly not over what happened with him and Grindelwald and never wanted to be fooled again.

Do you think I could be right with this?

I mean ultimately everyone is entitled to their own opinion and interpretation. I personally think Dumbledore is very convinced of his own goodness. Not only does he believe he is justified in pretty much everything he does but he also, I believe, has a deep NEED to believe this. He needs to feel that he has changed, that he's a Good Guy TM now and all the stuff he does is Good TM and for the greater good and that the parts he dislikes about himself are successfully cut off. This leads to a lot of mental gymnastics because he can't acknowledge that any of the things he does are still bad or that he still enjoys having power over others and manipulating others for the sake of it and struggles to admit when he is wrong etc. If he could accept these parts of himself more he might actually be a humbler and better person. But he's not.

Now from an out of universe perspective a lot of this comes from plot holes and hypocrisy on the part of JKR herself, so the character that she meant to be the human and flawed but still ultimately deeply moral and good voice of reason in the story, is wayyy more self serving, cruel, and wildly hypocritical and manipulative than she intended. I actually like that. I think it makes Dumbledore a much more interesting and engaging character. But I also think it was mostly accidental on her part.

I think the fact of the matter is, Dumbledore does a lot of evil things. Just look at his treatment of Harry. He kidnaps him illegally instead of letting him go to his legal guardian Sirius. He places him in an abusive home. (And then disgustingly justifies this by saying it's good because it will make sure Harry doesn't get a swelled head from his fame. That was not Albus's decision to make. And abuse is not beneficial. Except in the sense that it makes Harry isolated and easier for him to manipulate and ultimately send to his death). He does nothing to shield Harry from the abuse he suffers even though just a few threats from wizards would certainly have kept the Dursleys in line, nor does he allow Harry and contact with the wizarding world. There's no reason he couldn't have been raised knowing who he was or had visitors. Also, the Fidelius Charm could have protected him in any house. It didn't have to be that one. In fact at the height of Voldemort's power he stays safely at Grimmauld Place in book 5 and with the Weasleys (protected just by wards) in book 6.

Out of universe this is because JKR wanted the cool setup of Harry being raised in an abusive home and then discovering this whole secret world and backstory that he didn't know about. The problem is due to the introduction of various plot elements in later books it becomes increasingly clear that Harry did not need to stay with the Durselys and that even if he did he certainly could have been given access to the wizarding world and his wellness and safety could have been assured. This is a plot hole. However, in universe it means that Dumbledore allowed this to happen and the logical conclusion is that he did this for his own purposes to give himself more control over Harry and to make him more primed to die. Which is absolutely immoral and wrong.

This is just one example but there are many like this. I think in terms of Dumbledore's relationship with Tom there were a number of factors that fed into his instant dislike of and bias against him, none of which were particularly fair. And I think him seeing echoes of Grindelwald in Tom was probably one of several factors. That's really a whole separate post though and I don't want this to get too long. I keep meaning to do a meta series on the Riddle memories so maybe I'll get into it there. I will say that whatever his reasons, perceiving an 11 year old as being "seductive," assuming that other adults will see him that way and then blaming the child in question rather than the adults in that situation is...appalling and repellant. And also I think deeply revealing about Albus himself.

Again I don't think JKR meant it to come across that way. The narrative presents Albus's actions in the orphanage memory in a positive light and the purpose of that scene is for us to see how the villain of the series was always evil and to give some fun and relevant backstory for him. Unfortunately, JKR fails again and the result is that in-universe Albus's actions in that scene are wrong as I have detailed elsewhere.

It is kind of hilarious how 80% of the plotholes and bad writing decisions are fixed by assuming Dumbledore is about 450% more evil than JKR intended lol.

[greyeyedmonster-18]

(we are doing some cleaning before the term starts and i looked at this fic for the first time in months. all dressed up and...not going anywhere. and after reading through it, decided its going to stay that way, but i still really like this...first chapter.

so here tumblr. for you <3)

Work In Process (a raising harry AU, post-POA)

about 6k

--

Something about time.

The clock on the mantle of Number 12 Grimmauld Place ticked an eerie rhythm, acting as a metronome, counting the beats of passing time where Sirius Black did nothing but stare at the wall. Sirius remembered hearing that clock as a child, counting the tick, tick, ticks as he studied over summer holidays with his father over his shoulder or else when he was sent to stand in the corner, staring at the wallpaper, knowing nothing but the ticking clock and the pain on the back of his thighs. 

And now Sirius counted the ticks for a different reason, needing a reminder that time was passing at all, after spending years in a cell wondering about the day or the month--even the year--let alone the minutes and seconds going past. 

For years, time didn’t matter. It meant nothing. It was something elusive that just was. Something Sirius only checked in on via the morning paper when a prison guard was generous enough and brave enough to hand it through the bars of his cells. But everything had changed and suddenly having time was the most important thing in the world. 

It had all happened so fast. This period of time, Sirius feeling like he was standing still as the world spun on it’s axis around him at record speed. The Earth, in theory, rotated once every twenty-four hours, but Sirius felt like days were combining into one at the beginning, creating new days of the week for himself.

Wursday, and Fraturday.

Lets not forget, Smonday. 

They blended into one big blur, Sirius barely able to make sense of the walk back to Hogwarts the night of the full moon, Wormtail in a body-bind and all the way up to Dumbledore’s office.

An explosion. 

A confession.

A trial.

A quite possibly inhumane amount of veritaserum and memory investigation later. Something about he’s a Black, certainly he knows Occlumency, Legilimency, all Sort of Tricks up his Sleeve and the Ministry, for once, wanting to triple-check their work. The first time around, Sirius was tossed into a cell without care, thrown into a corner like a crumpled sweet wrapper that missed the bin. This time though? Invasive. Overkill. Exhausting. 

Do you treat all your potential criminals like this or am I just special? Sirius had asked to a room full of uptight ministry council members, unamused entirely. Until the charges were clear anyway, and suddenly they remembered Black could make their lives miserable, the key to the Gringotts vault being passed to Sirius after a wand, not used to having them around at all. 

They asked Sirius if he needed any provisions, the Minister suddenly the most upbeat host of a party, offering to show Sirius around, offering up a room at the Leaky Cauldron until Sirius was able to sort out his finances, offering an arm and a leg and his soul in exchange forgiving a mistake. 

“My godson,” Sirius told Fudge, the last time he had been summoned to the Minister's office. As a courtesy to make sure Sirius was adjusting.

If adjusting was spending time in his childhood home--the place he had run from so many years ago now acting as the only place of refuge Sirius could think of without accepting charity-- lying on the floor in the dark and listening to the clock tick, then yes, he was adjusting swimmingly.. 

“Harry is with Petunia Dursley, Lily’s sister,” the Minister explained.

“I know exactly where he is,” Sirius said, “And I believe, he belongs in my custody.”

Perhaps it was foolish, because Sirius had been cleared and able to walk around the wizarding world free for exactly two weeks, and half of him knew he wasn’t equipped to take care of a teenager any more than he was equipped to take care of himself at that particular moment. His dark curly hair had been matted and tangled for 13 years, after stopping trying to finger comb it around year two or maybe year three, he couldn’t be sure; he was still struggling to feed himself meals, used to surviving on so little despite knowing how emaciated his frame looked. Sirius had work to do, and had he been anyone else--had he not been named Godfather and Sirius Orion Black-- Sirius would hope a teenage boy wouldn’t have been so hastily handed over. 

But as it was.

As he was.

“Then we can get the paperwork started.”

--

Sirius’s nails were brittle and falling apart as he worked on climbing his way out of the pit found himself in. Cracking under pressure, leaving fingertips bruised and bloody. Even as the end of the school year approached, Sirius was only halfway out, somedays falling to the ground once more and having to spend the first two hours of the day getting back to where he started. Like muggle-board games, he remembered playing with Lily one Christmas holiday--the first they had spent together at James’s house, the redhead nervous and giggling the entire time she met James’s parents--when a single dice roll could send you back to the beginning.

Most days, the roll was unlucky in Sirius’s case. 

Snake eyes led to sleepless nights; doubles led to hearing sounds in the hallway that weren’t there. 

Which was why Sirius took advantage of the rolls that weren’t entirely awful, hanging onto the side of the cliff for dear life with one hand as he sent out post to anyone and everyone from his old life.

Hello?

Is anybody out there? 

Can you hear me? Do you care?

There was a knock on the door to Number 12, reminding Sirius that someone did care, the only sound that was able to jar him from his catatonic state, staring at the wall of the sitting room in an armchair. Sirius scuffled down the hallway, single candle lit, feet dragging on the floor to prove a point to a portrait upstairs that would occasionally yell. The only time his mothers screams felt welcoming. 

Sirius opened the door, his wand raised.

“Get that thing out of my face,” Andromeda responded quickly, “Invite me over and already greeting me like a criminal?” she teased, “It’s me, Sirius. And what’s your plan with that anyway? Blasting me to bits? Leaving only my finger?”

“Did you prepare these jokes?” Sirius stepped out of the threshold, letting his cousin step in past him, absently wondering if she had gotten taller. The last time Sirius had seen Andromeda was when he was in his seventh year at Hogwarts, when she showed up to graduation and Sirius fought back tears when he heard someone cheering as his name was called. He recalled his head being able to see the top of hers, unlike the times before where Sirius would stand on tip-toes trying to reach the heights of his older cousins. He couldn’t see the top of Andromeda’s head, only the idea of it, back hunched over and so used to folding in on itself for protection and warmth.

“No, I’m terribly clever. See you’ve forgotten,” she said unbuckling the strap of her shoe and placing it on the floor, the two of them standing barefoot in the foyer.

In or out, Sirius. Do not linger.

“Memory’s a bit foggy these days.”

“I would imagine so. Remembered my address alright.”

“I found…it upstairs,” he shook his head, heavy hair moving around his chest. 

“Lucky you,” she told him, “Are you going to invite me in? Or are we to have a very overdue conversation on the landing.”

“I…always thought important conversations should take place at entryways of homes. Sitting rooms are overrated.”

“Dining table?”

“Dusty.”

“You should clean, Sirius.”

“Kitchen?” he offered, “Tea?”

“That would be lovely,” she said, confidently leading the way down a home she had grown up in, though she had been separated from it for even longer. She was wearing jeans, he noted. Denim. Pockets. A blouse tucked into them and her brown hair in spiral curls down her back, not a thing out of place. 

Except for them. Andromeda waved her wand, lighting up the hallway and opening curtains as Sirius ducked his head, squinting as he stared at floorboards following her to the kitchen. Sirius managed to beat his cousin to putting the kettle on, watching as she sat at the small kitchen table Sirius had been using to eat his half-meals alone, sitting primly with her legs crossed. 

“I hope you take full offense when I say this, Sirius, but you’ve looked better.”

Sirius snorted out a laugh, “That might be the first honest thing anyone has said to me in two weeks.”

“What have the other things been?”

“Uh..well there’s the infinite number of we apologize deeply for the circumstances of the past 13 years and… let us know how we can support you in getting back on your feet and restoring the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black--”

“Oh, is that Fudge? You’ve met him, piece of incompetent drivel isn’t he? I’ve seen better leadership from a cream cracker. Excellent impression though.”

“Him and the wizengamot.”

“What? Are they worried you might try to seize their assets?”

“Or murder them.”

“I’d go with that,” she shrugged, giving Sirius a smile, “I was expecting you to be a little bit more…incoherent,” she leaned forward to rest her chin in her hand, “Don’t get me wrong, this is a very pleasant surprise, I was just prepared to talk to a wall.”

“Don’t get too confident just yet, give me an hour or so,” he said, pour water over two teabags, levitating cream over to the table. “Do you take sugar now or will milk do just fine?”

“Remembered that too. Impressive.”

Sirius flourished grandly, a big ta-da at how he was being praised for remembering how his cousin took her tea. Andromeda shook her head in amusement slowly taking a sip. 

“I didn’t believe it, you know,” she said.

“Andromeda, we don’t--”

“No, I need you to know that I didn’t believe it. Sirius, you should have heard the fit Nymphadora threw when she found that out, met you and James exactly once when she was so young and was adamant. You need to know that I tried, and they were content to keep me out. Tried to drop my maiden name in there but they wouldn’t hear it.”

“It’s….what it is,” Sirius said, keeping his distance from his cousin as he leaned against the kitchen counter, back to the window so he was only looking at reflected light. His cousin, his favorite older cousin, so comforting and yet so unnerving all at once. Like trying to interact in a foreign language that hadn’t been used in years, tongue slipping around the vowels and consonants, ears drifting in and out, only every other word being recognizable, leaving Sirius wondering how to respond at all. 

What do you say to someone who was apologizing for how things ended up when it wasn’t her fault in the slightest? When you didn’t want the apology in the first place?

“Why’d you write me?”

Sirius cleared his throat, “Uh…I’m a godfather,” he explained, hands gripping his mug tightly, hot liquid burning large, frail hands, “I have been, but now I actually get to make good on it and…uh, Harry--that’s his name, James and Lilys--I mean, I suppose you know that…Boy Who Lived or…something,” Sirius shifted his weight on his feet, “I get to be a godfather now and I’m sort of realizing I might have been a bit too hasty and…don’t know a damn thing about what to do. He’s thirteen, he’s a whole person. It’s not like when he was a baby and all I had to do was show up and hold him.”

That was the last thing Sirius did, and he spent thirteen years regretting leaving. Sirius should’ve stayed at Godric’s Hollow, in the shambles of the house, next to the bodies of his two best friends, and held onto Harry for dear life, with the same finger grip strength he was using now to climb an impossible cliff. Someone should’ve had to pry Harry from his hands.

“I don’t know what I’m doing and I probably shouldn’t be doing it,” Sirius said, “But I have to do it because I’m not going to let Harry down anymore, and--Andy he jumped at the chance to live anywhere else but the Dursleys. Knew I wasn’t a murderer for a total of an hour and was packing a bloody trunk. I know what that’s like…and--”

“Sirius…”

“I just know. And…I have to be better. And you’re my cousin, and you’ve kind of…already done this bit of raising a child. Raised me sort of…”

Andromeda looked at him, brown eyes narrowing behind heavy lids--the same ones Sirius had though his were grey and more haunted these days--setting her cup of tea on the table, “Do you want me to respond to this logically or do you want me to give you a hug?”

“The first, I think.”

“You want a kid? You want to be better? Clean this house or find a bloody different one that you want to clean. We have properties scattered around the country and you’re holed up here? Come on, use that big brain of yours to think and go someplace if you don’t want to stay here. Harry needs a room, probably one with windows. And, you need to sort yourself out. Your hair, your clothes, probably…everything else. I don’t imagine Azkaban was fun, and I know you’re not used to taking care of yourself but you have to at least pretend to know how for the sake of that kid. So shower, take care of your hair, your teeth, you can come to my home every day for dinner if you’d like so you can start eating again, I make a brilliant shepherd’s pie. You have to start somewhere.” 

“Where?”

“You smell like a donkey, Sirius. Go shower. That’s where you start and…I’ll help you with what comes next. One thing at a time.”

“One thing at a time.”

“You were always the one who made the checklists….I remember when we packed for France? Were you like…maybe 10, and you’d have this perfectly written checklists so we’d all remember the appropriate number of pants and…you know, Cissa would follow it perfectly, and Bellatrix wouldn’t pay you any attention and you always got so frustrated with Regulus when he would throw in extra things just because,” she smiled a bit sadly, at the memory of their small family. What once was. “Make a checklist.”

“You’ll…be here?”

“While you shower? If I can do some dusting, this place is awful.” 

“Just how I remember it.”

“That would be funny if it wasn’t so true…” she mused, leaning back in her chair.

“I meant…that you’ll be here. Harry needs some sort of cool-Aunt…one who throws tantrums at the ministry. And a cousin with…what color is her hair?”

“She likes it a sort of magenta these days,” she said, and paused, “I’m not going anywhere, Sirius.”

Andromeda cut his hair in the kitchen that night, shorter than he had had it since he was sixteen, and Sirius watched as it fell to the ground in unkempt tangles, suddenly able to think clearly for the first time since the world had started spinning around him. 

--

Sirius didn’t announce his presence or his visit, still unsure whether every trip to Hogwarts warranted alerting Harry or if he could simply pass through like a ghost in the wall without him ever knowing. Doubting whether or not Harry actually would want to see him or if he had simply agreed to living with Sirius for the summer because it was better than The Dursleys. Which was an easy feat. Sirius knew the feeling of thinking a cardboard box on the side of the road in the middle of a hailstorm was better than going to a place with four walls and a roof but filled with people who couldn’t stand the sight of you; Sirius remembered what it was like to live in a place you were not welcome or wanted. 

Bare minimum, Harry at least knew Sirius wanted him.

Bare minimum, Sirius at least knew Harry trusted him enough to live in a house with him. Though that didn’t necessarily mean Harry wanted to see him if he came to Hogwarts. 

Besides, it wasn’t a social visit, despite Dumbledores attempts to make it one, Sirius biting back eyerolls when the older wizard called him my boy. Because Sirius, of course, wasn’t a boy when he was locked away in a cell at 21. Only now at 33 with a clear name was he worthy of the term. 

Sirius went after classes, during dinner, so there wasn’t a chance of being spotted. Sirius saw the way witches and wizards on the street eyed him--unsure of the rumors published in the paper; wanting to form their own opinion on Sirius’s NOT GUILTY charges and WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT; A MAN SCORNED--and knew students would be worse. Sirius didn’t mind scaring stuck-up shit’s; he cared about scaring student’s though.

He knocked on the door to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, the door magically opening, and he stepped in. Remus had made a home in that room, the better part of Sirius relieved that he wasn’t having to pack up for the summer. The Grindylow tanks and tiny bookshelf with “Take One for Fun” in the corner in Remus’s handwriting could stay and welcome Remus back in the Fall. 

“Looks like you in here,” Sirius said, carefully walking into the room, avoiding cracks in the floorboards subconsciously. Remus turned around over his shoulder, slightly taken aback at Sirius--this version of Sirius standing in his classroom.

“Old and messy?”

Sirius laughed softly, scanning Remus’s appearance in new light. They hadn’t spoken since his trial. Sirius looked different now, with his short hair and skin that started turning golden olive the second he stopped spending all his days inside, integrating sunlight back into his life the same way he was with people. Perhaps Remus looked different in the early summer light compared to the dark of the ministry hearing room. 

Oversized teaching robes were on the back of Remus’s desk chair, and he stood in front of Sirius in an off-white shirt, and brown waistcoat. Brown trousers. Loafers that should’ve been thrown away 12 years ago but Remus held onto.

Among other things. Unlike other things. 

“Something like that,” Sirius shrugged, keeping his hands in the pockets of his jeans and stopping his walk in the middle of the room.

Sirius had never moved more unsure in the world than how he moved now as a recently freed man. Unsure of where he stood with his godson. Unsure of where to go with an ex-lover-boyfriend-almost fiance. Sirius wondered if the ring would still be in his old dresser. 

“Thanks…for responding to my owl.”

“I haven’t heard from you,” Remus said, pulling down the sleeves of his shirt, though they were already at his wrists. They couldn’t go any further, but Sirius watched as worn, nimble fingers tugged, turning red at the tips. But the material wasn’t the same as all of the ragged knits from days passed, starched cuffs staying put no matter how much Remus pulled and wished it otherwise. 

“That’s nothing new,” Sirius responded, unable to stop the barb from escaping his lips. Remus had spent 13 years not hearing anything from Sirius. Sirius disappearing again should’ve been a relief for Remus, a re-establishing of natural order. Homeostasis. 

“You know…what I meant.”

“I did.”

“Where have you been?”

“Sorting out some things,” Sirius said tapping his fingers on top of one of the desks in Remus’s classroom. In another life, Sirius was already across the room with his arms around Remus, unbuttoning shirt sleeves, and holding fidgeting hands; in another life, Remus’s hands were in the pockets of Sirius’s jeans and they weren’t standing awkwardly across five, no six, rows of desks apart. Sirius could practically hear the blood running through Remus’s veins it was so quiet in the room. “Figuring out where to live…getting my vault back, paperwork.”

“I’ve also been…doing paperwork,” Remus gestured to the stack of what Sirius could only assume were exams or essays on top of Remus’s desk.

“Different sort, I think.”

“Was…yours as interesting as a third-year using the phrase “pissed off” in an essay?”

Sirius gave a weak smile, “Not quite. Number 12…had to take trip into my father’s study for where he kept the ledgers and books.”

“Riveting.”

“Mm. Nostalgic.”

“So you’ve…got money again.. That’s good.”

“I forgot how terrible you were at small talk.”

“I forgot how much you used to save me from my misery. Where have you been?”

“My Uncle had a property on the seaside that he left to me…It’s quaint,” Remus snorted--a Black’s version of quaint was different than most people’s, “and I’ve been cleaning it out and…decorating. Getting things in order for a teenager to come stay.”

“Harry?”

“You’ve got another one for me?”

“No,” Remus said, a smile tugging on his lips, “Are you sure?”

“I checked in with those muggles, Remus. I…went to get his things only to discover how little he owns and they are lucky I didn’t actually get myself sent to prison for murder.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It wasn’t a joke. Did you know?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not arguing with you about--”

“Its a question.”

“And I don’t have an answer you want to hear,” Remus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “So you have a place?”

Sirius exhaled through his nose, “Yeah, we do. It’s nice, I think. I’ve been outside..a lot. By the ocean, just…walking along it.” 

Sirius had spent years listening to waves crash on rocks surrounding Azkaban. The only sound he could hear apart from rattling of the other prisoners and the footsteps of the guards.Screams. Maybe that's why Sirius chose that property in the first place--how odd was it to have to find a new home that reminded you of an entirely other home? What else could he call Azkaban but….home? 

“It looks like it…you look good, Sirius.”

“Least I could do,” Sirius shrugged, dismissing the comment entirely. Sirius was largely avoiding his reflection, knowing that he still looked like a shell of someone he used to know despite having made changes. Despite the hollows of his cheeks filling out and the dental work that restored a straight smile and the jewelery that made Sirius’s tattooed hands recognizable.

“You’ll be there for the summer?”

“And longer, I think.”

“Okay.”

“I just…wanted to let you know. Where we would be and…”

“That’s it?”

“I can’t do this alone, Remus,” Sirius said finally closing the space between them. He sat on a desk closer to Remus, studying the new wrinkles on his face alongside freckles, “I…am…holding myself together, trying to anyway, and I am going to need all the help I can get, even if its help I don’t necessarily want…or from a person I…don’t know what to do with.”

It’s not about me. It’s about Harry.

“You want me to live with you?”

“Merlin, no. I…want you to answer my post.”

“I did that today, didn’t I?”

“Okay.”

“Funny thing about answering, Sirius, is….someone has to write it first.”

Sirius smiled a little, silently admitting to his own stubbornness before flicking his wrist, thankful for Black magic that lived in his veins, permeating his bloodstream and never losing strength even after thirteen years of lack of use. Wandless magic was the easiest thing that came back to him aside from brushing his teeth. A bit of parchment and a quill flew through the air, Sirius bending over to write out a short memo onto a desk before folding it into an airplane and shooting it the short distance to Remus.

“Really? You’re such a shit…”

“Yeah, they tried to beat that out of me in Azkaban but…didn’t exactly work,” Sirius shrugged and inclined his head, “Open it.”

Remus’s hands opened the note, Sirius only slightly aware of how those hadn’t changed at all. Long, slender, bitten and bruised. The same hands that used to brush Sirius’s hair off his forehead and cup his face for kisses; the same hand that would tangle into Sirius’s dark curls and fall below the waistband of his briefs. “Do you want to go have dinner? There’s a smaller place in the village that has a great glass of red wine.” Remus looked at Sirius, raising an eyebrow, “Are you buying?”

“Don’t I always?”

“Then yes.”

“And I’m the shit? Alright then.” 

--

Usually, Harry got off the Hogwarts Express and was greeted, in the loosest sense of the word, by his Aunt and Uncle. Uncomfortable, scowling faces, looking around at the world Harry was beginning to plant roots in with distaste and disgust, and perhaps a bit of fear. Harry would struggle to lift his trunk into the back of the car, then would sit in the back seat, quietly looking out the window as they drove back to Surrey, ignoring the bumps in the pavement the same way he ignored comments from his Uncle and complaints from his cousin. He could feel every single bump in the road, but he couldn’t do a thing about it, so why bother? 

This year, Harry stepped off the train and was scanning the crowd for something--someone--entirely different. He had a letter folded neatly into his pocket, that he took out to read more than a few times during the ride back to Kings Cross. To make sure it was real. As proof that someone would be there at all.

Harry,

Everything has been arranged with your Aunt and Uncle. I’ll be on the platform tomorrow to pick you up, assuming the train still runs on the same schedule.

Looking forward to the summer.

Sirius

They had been writing back and forth, nearly every day, the feeling of seeing an owl heading straight towards him and opening a piece of parchment to neatly scrawled cursive handwriting never getting old. Harry bit back smiles around his breakfast and continued as he thought of how to respond in the evenings. Harry was beginning to know a man through paper exchanges, but that was…not the same as knowing someone when they stood in front of you and the last time Harry had done that, the stakes were much higher. 

Would he still care when everything had settled? 

Sirius wasn’t hard to spot on the platform, and not only because of the space around him, other parents on the platform eyeing him with uncertainty, but because Sirius was perhaps the tallest person Harry had ever met. Harry gave a goodbye to his friends and walked towards Sirius, dragging his trunk behind him on the uneven platform, the grooves and knots in the surface mimicking how his heart felt. A bit seasick, a bit excited. As Harry got closer, images of the last time he had seen Sirius faded and a new man stood in front of him.

His dark hair had been cut short, though long enough that Harry could see curls and it was pushed out of Sirius’s eyes effortlessly; he wasn’t so pale, his once stick-thin frame filled out more. Sirius looked healthy, resembling more of the man from his parent's wedding photos, but this time he was in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and Harry was mesmerized by tattoos covering his arms and hands. Caught off guard by the jewelry on his fingers and the earring in his ear, but mostly by the way Sirius smiled when he saw Harry, his teeth a bright white and welcoming. 

Harry was never given a smile on the platform when he got off the train, let alone one that was so kind and eased some of the anxiety pooling in his stomach. 

“Hey Harry,” Sirius said when he was close enough.

“Hi,” he said, giving an awkward half-wave, unsure of how to proceed. 

“All set?” 

“Uh, I think so.” 

Sir? Was Harry supposed to be polite? Was he being rude? Was Sirius’s smile going to fade quickly and be replaced with a frown Harry was accustomed to?

“Then we’ll get going, we do have a bit of a drive, but I’ve got dinner ready for us when we get there,” Sirius offered, “Mind if I help you with your trunk?”

What are you going to do with it?

“Uh…sure,” Harry watched as Sirius smiled again and bent down to grab the trunk handle from Harry. He had so many questions buzzing in his mind--where are we going? Where are we going to live? Do i have a room? Did i pack too much stuff? Do you have space? How are you? Can my Aunt and Uncle find me? How are we getting there? 

Sirius started talking though, putting sunglasses over his eyes as they left the platform, and ventured out into the busier portion of King’s Cross. One hand on Harry’s trunk, one hand free and Harry wondered if that was going to be used to grab him the same way Uncle Vernon did. “Stay close to me, yeah? It’s always so busy here, never understood it…” he said, and he was still smiling, even after the weight of the trunk, slowing down his pace so Harry wasn’t running to keep up with long legs, “The house is on the beach, about an hour away. My Uncle bought it, the decent one, I’ll tell you about him if you’d like, it’s a muggle home but he put the magic in there, somehow. He did that with all his properties, there’s one tucked away in Greece and another one in London…” Sirius said, “It’s clean, not too big. I’m used to smaller spaces, and I thought…you might like it too. You’ll get your own room, of course.”

“Sounds…great.”

A house on the seaside. A room of his own. 

“There are muggles that go down to the shore, but it’s removed enough that it’s quiet.” 

A quiet house sounded like a specific brand of paradise. 

Harry nodded, unsure of what to say, settling on, “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Harry,” Sirius said but Harry just shrugged, continuing to listen as Sirius filled in answers to questions Harry didn’t have the courage to voice out loud. It felt too good to be true. An entire summer with a man who had tattoos and a house on the seaside that was quiet and carried his trunk for him and--

“Is this your car?” Harry asked, eyes growing wide as a sleek black sports car came into view, Sirius flashing him a grin as the car let out a woop as it unlocked. 

“That it is. Cool, isn’t it?”

“You drive?”

“Legally even.”

“It’s…not by magic?” Harry asked, watching in disbelief as Sirius loaded his trunk into the boot of the car, before opening the door on the passenger's side for Harry.

“I didn’t say that now. Your grandfather taught me to drive when I was seventeen, got the bike after but, I figured it didn’t hurt to have more than one means of transportation. I know the bike takes some getting used to.” His Uncle had driven something sensible. Something unremarkable. Harry slid into the passenger seat, taking stock of the leather seats and the center console with so many buttons Harry was afraid to move. Sirius got into the seat next to him, his smile never faltering. 

“This,” Sirius gestured to a dial, “Is for the radio, whatever you’d like. If you get hot or cold, adjust the temperature…”

“Do I need…to…do anything?” Harry asked, feeling stupid as he did so, looking down at his lap, his face flushing. Suddenly the hem of his t-shirt was the most interesting thing in the world.

“Nothing at all. Enjoy the drive…take a nap if you want, I was always exhausted after the train rides, don’t ask me why though.”

Harry settled back against the seat, just enough to look comfortable, not enough to actually be comfortable as Sirius started the car, a tattooed hand reaching over to start the radio. It was quiet, some sort of classical station that made Harry bite back a grin.

“What?” Sirius asked, apparently noticing the half-smile, “Laughing at my music choice?”

His tone was light. Sirius wasn’t scolding him. It…sounded like a question.

“A…bit. Stuffy, isn’t it?”

Sirius gasped, and Harry lifted his head, Sirius still smiling as he kept his eyes on the road, sunglasses covering his eyes, “Stuffy? No. Posh…absolutely. I’ll teach you a thing or two about taste, Harry.”

Harry hid another smile, turning his head to look out the window, a piano melody in the background. 

Quiet.

-- 

For me? This whole thing?

Harry’s words echoed in Sirius’s mind the following morning after their first night in their new home. 

His Uncle had installed stain glass windows in the kitchen, that casted shades of aquamarine and a pale teal onto the white tile floors. Their kitchen was an ocean in itself and Sirius had come to find the sunlight a little less harsh with a barrier. Sirius had woken up that day practically floating, willing himself to take a few breaths and calm down before proceeding, reminding himself to take it one step at a time with rebuilding this life and rebuilding it alongside Harry. Harry’s bedroom wasn’t anything huge--something Sirius had fretted about briefly when deciding which property to live in--because no room could be big enough in Sirius’s mind. No size bedroom could ever make up for lost time, the clock in the kitchen ticking the same as the one left behind at Number 12. 

This one though was handsome. Emerald green and gold, the ticking not so robotic. 

The whole room was for Harry.

The whole house was for Harry.

Sirius prepared breakfast that morning, watching as the hands of the clock moved past half-seven and started drifting towards eight. He had written Andromeda that morning, as well as Remus, letting them know that the hour long car ride hadn’t ended in disaster, and Harry had gone to bed easily, Sirius walking into the average bedroom to see his godson asleep with the light on and his glasses on his face. Asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, just like James. Sirius was sitting at the table by the time he heard footsteps down the hallway, muffled by socks and Harry appeared, rubbing the back of his neck and stifling a yawn. 

“Sorry for sleeping,” Harry said, walking into the kitchen, large t-shirt hanging around his frame and Sirius wondered how soon was too soon to force his teenage godson to the shops to buy some better clothes. Less than twenty-four hours? Would it feel like a criticism? Would it be welcome or simply just embarrassing? 

“Don’t be sorry. Breakfast?”

Harry nodded hesitantly, waiting for a cue from Sirius to sit at the small rectangular table in the kitchen, across from the Sirius was in. Sirius gave him a small nod, hoping that was enough, silently cursing muggles in three different languages in his head. 

“Did you sleep okay?” Sirius asked, “Everything comfortable?”

“Everything’s great,” Harry told him, “Thank you.”

“Think you’ll want to keep that room?”

“I promise it’s great, Sirius.”

Sirius paused, trying a different tactic, “See, I prefer it dark when I sleep because if theres too much light, I wake up. Now…your Dad? At school? Loved the curtains flung wide open so he could wake up with the sun--” at mention of his father Harrys face started changing. Illuminated by a small smile, “Professor Lupin? Somewhere in the middle. I suppose…I’m just asking if you’d want to change the room at all. Because you…can have preferences.”

Harry nodded slowly and Sirius stood up from the table to start preparing breakfast. 

“I…like the sound of the waves.” Harry said after several moments of silence, Sirius half wondering if he had fucked this arrangement up already. 

“I do too.” 

[saintlike78]

Ok so... I have a little request : Bill is not with Fleur, but he meets Harry's cousin (Dudley's sister, who is the complete opposite of her family and loves Harry as her own brother) and she arouses his interest, and from here you can continue as you wish, if you could do a little smut if you are comfortable.🤗🤗🤗

I know Dudley doesn't have a sister, but I like the idea. And sorry for the mistakes, but I don't speak English so well.

Never seen anyone like you [B.W.]

A/N: Thank you so much for your request! I’m so sorry for the long wait, but I loved this idea so much, but I just didn’t know which direction to go with it, but I hope you like what I came up with. Reader is the same age as the twins and is also a muggle. This is also kinda paired with another request, where the person just wanted a Bill Weasley smut, which is also included.

Pairings: Bill Weasley x Fem! Muggle! Reader

Words: 3.6k

Warnings: NSFW 16+, vaginal sex, fingering, unprotected sex, age gap (7 years), mention of death, mention of nightmares, mention of injury.

The wind hit your back and made a chill run up your spine, making you shiver. Standing in the driveway of nr. 4 Privet Drive, you and Harry were watching your mother, father and brother leave because of the wizarding war threatening their safety. Your mother had tried but failed to get you to leave as well, but you couldn’t imagine leaving Harry behind and not being able to be there for him and to protect him, even if you had no magic yourself.

You had always loved Harry and saw him as a closer family than your actual family. You never understood what the problem was with him or why your family seemed to despise him so much, that was until he got his letter and he left for Hogwarts. You were so happy for him, but not being able to see him and only during the summer was tough because without Harry there to take all the slander from the Dursleys you, unfortunately, became the family's punching bag. When you turned 18 and finally moved out, you let Harry stay with you in your flat instead of going home to your family.

The house seemed eerie with only you and Harry and no future. You sat on the kitchen counter, Harry was pacing around the kitchen whilst you were waiting for the order to come and transport you both.

“Are you sure you want to do this? It’s not too late to leave and go into hiding yourself,” Harry said looking at you with worry.

“I’m sure, Harry, I want to be here with you and make sure you’re alright.”

A knock sounded on the door and you jumped down from the counter, following Harry to the door. Harry opened the door and inside stepped many familiar faces and some you hadn’t seen before. Having had Harry stay with you, you had met all the Weasleys (except for Charlie and Bill), when you had gone to visit The Burrow.

They all stepped inside one at a time and greeted you. The twins had made a huge show about picking you up and spinning you around telling you how much they had missed their ‘favorite muggle’, you slapped both their arms lightly and let them pass you. The last two people to enter was Arthur Weasley who you greeted, and one person you hadn’t met before. He had red hair, letting you know he was a Weasley as well, he was tall and had scars running down his face like Remus Lupin. You were almost at a loss for words when he stepped inside, your mind completely blank after looking at how handsome he was. You could already feel a little crush starting to form and you got butterflies when he made his way to you and stuck out his hand for you to shake.

“I’m Bill Weasley, a pleasure to meet you, at last, my family has told me much about you.” He said as you shook his hand. “Y/N Dursley, lovely to meet you too,” you said knowing you should be letting his hand go, but letting it linger a little longer.

You both just stared at each other, completely forgetting where you were and that you had things to do. That was until Fred and George came up on either side of you, each placing a hand on each of your shoulders, prompting you to let go of Bill’s hand.

“Well, now you’re just missing Charlie and then you’ve met the whole Weasley-clan,” Fred said with a laugh.

You just laughed and nodded your head.

“I’m going to go find Harry,” you quickly smiled at Bill and got out of the twin’s grasp, leaving them alone with Bill in the hallway.

“Blimey, why did none of you tell me!” Bill exclaimed in a low voice.

“Tell you what?” the twins said in synch.

“Tell me about Y/N,” he said as if his statement was obvious.

“We did, we said she was really nice and that she came round the shop and by the house a couple of times,” George said, still not really understanding what their brother meant.

“Yes, you said she was nice, but you didn’t tell me she looked like that.”

Both Fred and George let out a laugh, “Well mate, we didn’t think it was important to say that she doesn’t look like the other Dursleys.”

Bill hmphed like a child, “you could have told me. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

“Alright alright, calm down Bill,” Fred laughed.

“But if you must know… she’s the same age as us, so a bit young for you eh? But she’s also single, from what we’ve gathered,” George informed their brother.

Bill just nodded and was about to ask more about you, but Moody’s voice was heard from the lounge telling everyone to gather around.

Entering the lounge, Bill spotted you and came to stand beside you, but slightly behind you. You felt his presence and turned your head slightly to give him a smile, one that he returned.

Moody briefed you all on what was going to happen, not without an objection from Harry. When Moody told everyone that he wanted there to be seven Harrys’, you had volunteered, since you felt kind of useless, being a muggle and all. This also didn’t go over well with Harry, telling you that this was out of the question, but you being just as stubborn as he would not let him talk you out of it. You told him that you wanted to help and that this was the only way for you to help with this situation.

After much convincing from not only you but everyone, he finally agreed.

“Alright, all the Harrys’ have a companion to ride with except for you Y/N.. you can ride with Bill,” Moddy informed you.

You nodded and felt a hand fall on your shoulder and giving it a squeeze. You looked back at Bill, whose hand it was, and smiled again. He kept his hand on your shoulder as a form of comfort and encouragement, squeezing once in a while. You could feel the butterflies swarming around in your stomach and you felt all warm and tingly all over, just because of his small touch.

Not long after, you were clinging on to Bill as you made your way to The Burrow. You didn’t know what you were thinking volunteering, since you couldn’t really protect yourself against the swarm of death eaters that followed you through the sky. Bill was trying his best to steer and fight back against them all. Moody was trying to shield you from the other side, but then suddenly a green spark hit him, and he tumbled towards the ground.

You let out a scream and buried your head into Bill’s back.

“Don’t worry, the worst part is over, we’ll be there soon,” Bill shouted against the wind so you would be able to hear him.

Arriving at The Burrow you were met by Molly attacking both you and Bill with a gigantic hug.

“Are you alright?” she asked looking between Bill and yourself.

“We’re alright mum, but Alastor… he didn’t make it,” Bill said looking down.

You put a hand on his back, slowly rubbing up and down trying to soothe him. You knew everyone was close with Moody and that his death would hurt the Order.

“How is everyone?” You asked Molly, hoping she would bring you some sort of good news.

“We’re still missing Fred and Arthur, but it would be best for you to come with me inside… George was hurt, he’ll be fine, but I need to keep an eye on him,” Molly informed you both.

___________________________

You were startled awake by the image of Alastor crashing towards the ground. You were trying to catch your breath, your hands shaky and sweat running down your back. You decided you needed a glass of water and perhaps some fresh air to calm down. You quietly got out of your makeshift bed on the floor and tried your best not to wake Ginny and Hermione, as you made your way out of the bedroom and down the creaky stairs towards the kitchen.

The cold water slid down your throat and you instantly felt better, but you still needed some air. You quietly opened the door to the garden and walked outside, the cool summer air instantly lowering your body temperature and relaxing you. Finding a nice spot, you sat upon the grass looking up at the stars, you hoped everything would turn out alright, but you weren’t so sure with how intense everything had been last night and that was just a tiny mission. Your head raced with millions of thoughts you didn’t notice the scar-faced ginger looking at you from the door and making his way over to you when he noticed the number of clothes (or rather lack thereof) you were wearing.

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly as to not startle you with his presence.

You looked up at him and nodded. You patted the spot beside you, indicating for him to sit.

You couldn’t help but admire how handsome he looked in the moonlight, even if he was just wearing some casual plaid pajama pants and a knitted jumper, which you could tell was a Molly original.

You sat in silence as you both stared at the moon, the cool air having finally cooled you down, your temperature was now a bit too low, and you could feel goosebumps rise on your bare arms and legs. Bill who had been watching you making sure you were comfortable quickly removed the knitted jumper and handed it to you.

“Here, you’ll get ill if you don’t warm-up,” he said and you didn’t argue, pulling the jumper over your head. It smelled good and was already warm from leftover body heat from Bill, which made your stomach do a flip and fill with butterflies.

“Thank you,” you said with a smile, “please tell me if you get cold and want your jumper back.”

“No problem, and it’s fine, I don’t really get cold,” Bill said.

Putting his hands behind his head, he laid down looking up at the stars. Your eyes were instantly drawn to the way his muscles flexed in the grey t-shirt he had worn underneath the jumper. Your mouth watered a little, but you quickly pulled yourself together and laid down as well.

You laid in silence and looked at the stars, it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable, it was like you had known him your whole life, it felt so right.

A couple of minutes passed before Bill broke the silence.

“Why’d you decide to go with Harry instead of your family?”

You were a little taken aback by the bluntness of the question, but nevertheless answered quickly, not needing time to think about your answer.

“Harry is my family, and I couldn’t just leave him, especially now… I want to be there for him, even though I’m just a muggle, I..I’m going to be there until this war is over.”

Bill nodded turning his head towards yours, your head already turned towards him meeting his eyes. Your breath caught in your throat when you realized how close your face was to his, the way his eyes flicked between your eyes and your lips made your stomach do flips. Suddenly he started leaning in, “I know this is very sudden, but may I kiss you?” Bill said lowly, almost a whisper.

You nodded and leaned in the rest of the way connecting your lips with his. You knew it was so cliché, but you felt instant sparks of electricity shooting through your entire body.

The kiss was slow and gentle, but then you felt Bill’s tongue on your bottom lip asking for permission to enter your mouth, which you granted. He leaned upon one of his arms, so he was above you, his free arm cupping your cheek and keeping your face towards his.

This went on for a while, but begrudgingly you pulled apart for air.

You stared at each other, both taking deep breaths trying to regain a normal breathing pattern.

“wow,” Bill sighed out, “you are unbelievably beautiful.”

Your cheeks turned red with the heat of the blush settling on your face.

“Thank you,” you whispered and reached a hand up to caress his cheek.

You ended up talking until the sun rose on the horizon, the morning dew settling on the grass, making everything damp.

Your head was on Bill’s chest, hugging him to keep warm, but also just to be close to him.

“You don’t think I’m too old do you?” Bill asked, gently stroking your back.

Your headshot up from his chest to look into his eyes, “of course not,” you laughed and shook your head, laying it down again. Bill just chuckled and mumbled “alright.”

___________________________

You ran across the lawn as the black smoke figures landed around you. You tried to find Harry or Bill.

One of the figures shot a spell towards you and you ducked and covered your face, even though you knew that wouldn’t help. You waited for an impact, but it never came, instead, you were yanked by your arm into a broad chest. You looked up and saw Bill already looking at you, a concerned look on his face.

“Okay get ready, love,” he said quickly.

You didn’t get a chance to ask for what before the air was knocked out of you and the world spun around you.

You landed with a ‘thump’, eyes closed, still holding on tightly to Bill, afraid you were going to be sick.

“It’s alright now, you can open your eyes now,” Bill said quietly.

You opened your eyes, and you were met with the bright sun shining down on you. The light breeze caught in your hair and the smell of the ocean met your nose.

You looked around, the ocean was in front of you, and behind you was old, but cozy-looking, cottage.

“Where are we?” you asked, still not letting go of Bill.

“Shell cottage, it’s my family’s place… I took us here because we’ll be safe here,” Bill explained.

You nodded, but the relief was quickly replaced by worry and fear.

“But what about Harry and the others? They’re not here!” you rushed out, also leaving Bill’s arms to pace in front of him.

He pulled you back and pushed a strand of hair out of your face.

“The rest of the family is fine. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all went somewhere, where I’m not sure, but Ron promised he would let us know that they’re safe.”

You sighed out, still very concerned, but relieved that you were safe and hoped that Harry would be as well.

“Let’s go inside, love,” Bill whispered, taking your hand and leading you inside.

He first showed you around the house and then showed you to your room and let you freshen up or take a nap, just letting you calm down in your own space.

___________________________

You were startled awake by the images that played behind your closed eyes. You focused on the room, the moonlight bleeding in through the window, lighting up a part of the floor.

Your breathing was heavy, and your body was sweaty.

You tried to calm down for about 10 minutes, but you just couldn’t find a peaceful enough state to let yourself go back to sleep.

Your feet hit the cold floor and the wood creaked beneath your feet. You made your way out of your room and across the small hallway to where Bill had let you know his room was.

You opened the door slowly, peeking inside.

Inside you were met with a sleeping Bill, his shirtless figure on his back. You closed the door behind you and tip-toed your way over to his bed.

“Bill,” you whispered, already feeling guilty for disturbing him.

He stirred a little, not opening his eyes, but letting out a little “hmm?”, indicating that he was awake enough to hear you.

“I can’t sleep,” you mumbled shyly.

He didn’t say anything further, he only moved his blanket to the side and opened his arms for you to crawl into. You didn’t hesitate before crawling into the bed and curling up close to his body, already feeling calmed by his steady breathing.

“thank you,” you whispered, breathing in his calming scent.

He wrapped his arms around you and held you close, you could feel his breathing even out and you knew he had drifted off again.

You closed your eyes and listened to the steady beating of his heart, lulling you back to sleep.

You woke up, your entire body warm from being wrapped up in Bill’s arms. Your legs tangled with his, his arms still holding you tightly against him.

You looked at his calm sleeping face, you felt so at home with him, and you let out a content sigh.

“I can feel you staring, you know,” Bill said, startling you.

“I’m not staring,” you fired back too quickly to sound convincing, causing Bill to slightly smirk.

“Whatever you say, darling,” he said and hugged you closer.

He opened his eyes, looking over your face and smiling.

Bill leaned in and pecked your lips slightly, gauging your reaction. You just smiled and leaned in again kissing him longer.

Bill deepened the kiss, moving so he was above you. You spread your legs slightly allowing him to get between them on top of you. The kiss turned more passionate and heated as Bill slowly ground his hips into yours, causing you to softly moan into his mouth.

Bill broke the kiss and looked into your eyes, “Is this okay? Do you want this?”.

You whimpered slightly, “please Bill, I want it.”

Bill let out a groan at your words and reconnected your lips, hips grinding into your own.

The small whines and whimpers that left your lips egged him on and went straight to his cock.

Bill reached one hand between you feeling your wetness through your panties. “So wet for me and I haven’t properly touched you yet.”

You whined at his words, craving more of his touch.

“what is it you want, pretty girl?” he asked, teasing you.

“please touch me, Bill,” you whimpered out, eyes big and begging.

“Such a good girl,” he praised before moving your panties to the side and finding your clit drawing slow circles on the nub.

You moaned at the feeling and grabbed his arm that wasn’t working on you.

His fingers moved down, and he slowly pushed a finger into you causing you to let out a small gasp.

“I just need to get you ready for me,” Bill said softly, leaning down to kiss your forehead. He then added a second finger, creating a delicious feeling because of the slight stretch. Bill used his thumb to rub your clit bringing you closer to your release.

He curled and scissored his fingers making you clench around his fingers, Bill’s lips curled up into a slight grin.

“Cum for me, my beautiful girl.”

His words made the coil in your belly snap and you came on his fingers as you shook and closed your eyes in pleasure. You were panting as Bill worked you through your orgasm. He removed his fingers and brought them up to his lips sucking them clean and releasing them with a ‘pop’.

“absolutely divine.”

He made haste work of removing your panties and the shirt you had slept in, as well as his own boxers.

When you were both completely naked, he stroked his cock a couple of times before running it through your folds to gather your arousal as a lubricant. Bill slowly started pushing into you and you both released simultaneous gasps at the feeling. He pushed all the way in and bottomed out in you but didn’t move as he waited for you to adjust.

“I’m okay, you can move,” you said and moaned when he pulled back his hips and snapped them back into yours, and set a steady and pleasurable pace.

Leaning down so your chests were pressed together, he sloppily kissed you drinking up all the moans that spilled from your mouth to his.

He broke the kiss and leaned up slightly to snake a hand between your bodies to rub your swollen clit. You didn’t have time to process before you came for the second time that morning. Your whole body shook, and your legs tightened around Bill’s hips.

“Such a pretty sight… think you can take one more?” Bill panted out.

You whimpered and nodded.

“Ah, use your words angel.”

“Yes, Bill, I can take another,” you moaned out as he kept pounding into your sensitive cunt.

“Good girl,” Bill said as he pulled out of you and laying himself down, guiding you by your hips to straddle him.

He positioned you above his cock and guided it into you again.

“There you go, my pretty baby, go own ride me,” Bill encouraged, and you wasted no time in obeying him.

You rocked your hips, circled them, and bounced on him until you felt yourself nearing another release and you moaned loudly.

Bill’s hand found your clit again and rubbed it until your knees quivered as you came again.

When you had finished, Bill grabbed your hips and angled you so he could fuck up into you, chasing his own release.

Not long after, his thrusts faltered, and he stilled as he emptied himself in you.

You collapsed onto his chest trying to catch your breath. Bill rubbed your back slowly, before pulling out of you causing a whimper to fall from your lips.

“You did so well,” Bill praised, kissing your forehead.

“I’m never going to let you go, my pretty girl.”

[k-s-morgan]

Hi Kat, what do you think of Dumbledore? IMHO, he's one of the most fascinatingly morally grey characters I've ever read about.

A lot of fanfic writers love to bash him and portray him as an idiotic senile old man who likes to poke his nose in others' business. They conveniently forget that he outwitted the most Slytherin out of all of Slytherin House. Granted, Voldemort was amazingly short-sighted and JK could have written a more terrifyingly cunning Dark Lord.

Well, there was Dumbledore’s Wizard Nazi youth with Grindelwald. Perfectly understandable because Ariana's childhood was completely ruined and he learnt just how Muggles can be dangerous. I don't think he ever forgot this epiphany.

For a long time, I wondered how Dumbledore, knowing perfectly well how the Dursleys were pre-disposed to magic, would think they would welcome Harry with open arms. He must have known that emotional abuse and neglect could make Harry an Obscurial. No blood-protection could have ever saved him from that. It's only Harry's innate stubbornness and his contempt of the Dursleys that saved him from what Ariana went through. This is quite possibly the worst thing Dumbledore could have done, along with sending Tom Riddle back to Wool's during the Blitz. Even though it was Dippet who made the decision, he was heavily influenced by Dumbledore and could have, at the very least, arranged to have Tom live in The Leaky Cauldron.

Many times I wondered why Dumbledore didn't simply threaten the Dursleys to treat Harry better. Thinking about it, I could only come to the conclusion that the power disparity between him and the Dursleys made him uncomfortable. As it comes down to, he is a strong wizard who coerced Muggles to look after a child they didn't want.

Another fascinating thing about him is his fear of power. Dumbledore didn't trust himself to hold power and he extended the same mistrust to many others, making himself rather emotionally detached from even those who sincerely loved and admired him. I think Dumbledore trusted himself to do right by the Wizarding World as a whole but not enough for personal gain. Dumbledore was weak to temptations personally (keeping the Invisibility cloak for nearly 10 years and falling prey to the compulsions on the Gaunt Ring when he saw the Resurrection Stone). So I think the only person Dumbledore truly admired and envied was Harry who was strong-willed inna way Dumbledore and Voldemort could never hope to be.

Related ask: I'm very curious if you have any headcannons about grindelwald and dumbledore's relationship that you'd like to share. I've always been drawn to the grindeldore ship for similar reasons that i like tommary (ex: enemies/lovers, moral angst) and i've always been disappointed that so many tommary shippers resent dumbledore, so I really like to hear you talk about the moral complexities of his character (and to hear that someone other than me can sympathize with him lol)

---------------

Hope you both don't mind that I combined your asks because parts of them concern the same topic!

First, about Grindelwald and Dumbledore. I like the idea of their relationship, but for some reason, I'm not really interested in them, so I don't have any specific headcanons.  I do enjoy the idea that they were It for each other and that they could have made it if given another chance, but both had to be more mature and less obsessed with their life goals. I also tend to think that Dumbledore locked himself away for a while after their duel and cried from heartbreak.

As for Dumbledore as a character: I understand what drives him, the decisions he makes, and I have respect for him and his brilliant mind. I can't say I like him a lot, but I also don't dislike him - in my eyes, his worst actions clash with his most vulnerable moments, and so they balance each other out and my attitude is neutral.

@anyariddle, I fully agree with you about Dumbledore being one of the most fascinating morally grey characters. I'm in awe at how excellent his long-term thinking is and how he's capable of calculating everything years, if not decades, ahead; how coldness co-exists with empathy and deep sorrow.

Personally, I have no doubts that Dumbledore left Harry with the Durlseys deliberately to break him down. He heard Minerva's concerns, he must have conducted his own research. He also had Arabella watch Harry for years, and she definitely saw the abuse and reported everything back to him. But this time, unlike how it was with Tom, I believe Dumbledore tried to make sure it's a controlled abuse. If Harry proved to be a sullen boy with dark displays of magic, like Tom was, Dumbledore would have likely removed him from the Dursleys early and tried another approach before it's too late.

But Harry showed the response Dumbledore had been hoping for: he was the perfect material just waiting for someone to show him love and acceptance, eager to give them all his fierce devotion in return. Dumbledore needed someone who'll be ready to sacrifice himself for humanity, someone who never had a home, who'll see Hogwarts and people there as the only light in his life, and who'll cling to it with desperation only lonely and neglected children could show. Dumbledore started early: all the letters he sent to Harry were meant to humiliate the Dursleys and make his first contact with magic pleasant. Harry started to laugh and feel a little bit more powerful; then he got a room, and he quickly linked the letters with something good and welcoming. After getting a home and meeting friends, Harry would die in an instance to protect them.  

Every year, Dumbledore tested Harry to see if he'd be ready to sacrifice himself at the end. In CoS, I believe Dumbledore tried to remove the Horcrux from him via the fang, but it didn't work and he realized Harry would indeed have to die. I have no doubts it broke his heart because he was still harboring hope that one day, Harry would live freely and happily.

In regard to Harry, most his decisions were manipulative in nature, and it's horrifying. In regard to the rest of the world, though, it makes sense because if Harry's death helps save many other people, then it's worth it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Obscurials came later, in the Fantastic Beasts? I don't really consider these later additions canon - to be honest, there are so many plot-holes there that it drives me mad, and I have no doubts stuff like this wasn't planned from the start, so I don't take it into consideration in my interpretations and analysis. With Blood Magic, it's pretty ineffective as a whole. It doesn't protect Harry outside, and since he spends half of the day (if not longer) there, anyone interested could grab him. Him living at Hogwarts or with one of trusted Order Members would have been far more safe, but in my opinion, Dumbledore wanted a broken child with low self-esteem, and it affected his decisions.

At the same time,  I have no doubts Dumbledore hated himself for this. He sacrificed people, but it was never easy for him. He was confident that he was doing the right thing, and this confidence helped him go on, but it tormented him all the same.

And I agree with you that he didn't trust himself with power and this affected some of his choices. He never became the Minister; he was wary of powerful people. This partly explains his mistakes with Tom: instead of helping a traumatized (albeit creepy) child, Dumbledore kept his distance and remained suspicious. He didn't lift a finger to help, not even when he could (and he had to know Tom was the heir of Slytherin after hearing about talking to snakes yet he still left him in he dark). I don't think Dumbledore hated Tom himself from the first sight, but rather he saw a mirror to himself and Grindelwald - someone young, powerful, and eager for public recognition. And it horrified him.

I think after Grindelwald, Dumbledore dedicated himself to protecting the world from this specific threat so thoroughly that he gave up everything for it. He sacrificed others, but he also sacrificed himself. I doubt he even hoped for Harry's forgiveness, but he still got it because that's who Harry is.  

[hpdabbles]

MORE FOR MAGICAL RAMEN PLEASE! I WOULD LIKE TO SEE NARUTO'S DEDICATION IN SEEING REMUS AGAIN

Naruto- who refuses to go by Harry no matter how much it would have meant to his new parents- allowed himself to laugh as yet another bully stumbled away. His cousin had attempted to have him jump but the civilians were sadly way over their heads if they thought they could take on Naruto, who had finally worked his body up to chunin levels. 

He flexes his hands, fingers thumping in the familiar ache of his knuckles releasing the tension they had been placed in for throwing punches. He leans back on his heels, his chakra humming and causing extensive amounts of energy his young body couldn’t control yet, which has him in consent movement.

His aunt hates that he can’t keep still but so did many of his instructors back at the academy and like then he merely sticks out his tongue, all while keeping his sunny disposition. 

The Dursleys are at their wit's ends with him. His uncle had tried to be big and intimating but Naruto has taken down foes just as large and twice as strong. His aunt tried to lock him in a cupboard with no food, but Naruto picked the lock and hunted his own meal- though it was rather hard with nearly no forest near him. 

They threaten to throw him out in the street which he cheerfully informs them, that would be nothing he couldn’t handle and he would be taking his dead parents money with him. Naruto had learn how to save his funds, and budget from a lifetime of being a scorn orphan, which meant he knew just how much power gold really held. 

He wasn’t sure how he would go about getting the child services to give him the money that belong to the Potters since this new world had ridiculous child protection laws but he was sure he find a way. His uncle and aunt knew it too, after seeing his never wavering stubbornness.

It didn’t stop them from spreading rumors about him and his parents, rumors that turn him into a trouble making burden but again, Naruto was used to the sneers and looks of distain. It hurt but it wasn’t going to stop him from finding the three men who were more like family then the two adults and chubby child he was dumped on.  

It finally came down to a a agreement. The Dursleys pretend Naruto didn’t exist if he keep up with his chores- D rank missions really- and they turn a blind eye to everything off about him.

Like the fact that while “unusually” intelligent for his age he detested any paperwork and especially classwork, he self-taught himself his personalize Taijustu in the park under the amazed eyes of the neighbors impressed despite themselves  and out of many preying eyes he regain his Justus. 

The chores were much easier to do with his shadow clones. Though the first time he summon them his Aunt threw a fit, trying to tell him “magic” would not be allowed in her house. 

Naruto and his clones had laughed at her,  simultaneously until she fled back to her room, urging Dudley to stay in his until Naruto finished with the chores. He agree not to use it in public- as even he knew civilians didn’t react well to ninjas making a prolong stay among them especially when they used Justus. It made them unlikely to hire the Leaf for missions.  A ninja that couldn’t get missions was a ninja that failed his village. 

It was a bit strange to be the only ninja with a functioning chakra system for miles and miles. Naruto tried to find others like him for years but no matter where he went none of the people had tapped into their chakra’s. Sometimes it felt like they didn’t even have a system which went against everything he was taught as Naruto Uzumaki. 

Naruto did not let any of this get in the way of his search for ‘Emus, Dog-man, and Rat-man. He created flyers from the foggy memories, and placed them everywhere. He asked random people in the street. He sent out clones to near by cities and broke into any government building he could find- their security is terrible- but nothing had come up.

His attempt to gather information from his guardians yield the same results though he got the sense they knew more then they let on. Back in the Leaf village Naruto’s team had always been more of front line combat then information gathers or trackers and his lack of support from those departments were making his search that much harder.

He finally understood what Iruka-sensei meant when he used to say every role a Leaf Ninja played was a role needed for the success village.

It was during one of his daily on foot searches that Naruto had a owl land before him carrying a letter. He paused from where he was stapling a poster of  Dog-man, a terrible drawing and a brief description of the last time seen, were the only thing on the poster with his house number as a place to contact should anyone have any information. 

The owl hoots, sticking out it’s leg at him. 

“A messenger bird...” Naruto breathes stun. It’s not much but it’s been so long since he had something familiar like what his life as a Leaf Ninja in this new world that he thought he would never see a messenger bird again. It feels like a small part of him, of his old life, had been return.  

Carefully, while licking his dry lips, he reaches out to take the letter. Years of animal care kick in as he gently unwarps the string holding the envelope, and hands over bits of the granola bar he had in his pocket for the bird to eat. 

He waits until the Owl finished picking the bits form his palm, smiling when it climbs onto his arm and runs up his forearm to rest on his shoulder. The talons are digging into his skin, the dull pain a breath of fresh air as he suddenly remember the same type of feeling when he send back reports to his village. 

Carefully he opens the letter.

Naruto reads the lines over and over again. It’s a letter congratulating him on his acceptance to a magical school, a list of supplies and a map to where he can find them. He tries to search for lies but he can’t figure out what is and isn’t though written form. It’s only because they sent a messenger bird, a form of communication he knows is not common place, that he doesn’t crumble up the strange paper and accepts the fact.

Harry Potter is a wizard and Naruto is Harry Potter.

He sends back a agreement to be present the first day of school and races home, his stack of posters flying behind him in his red wagon. He doesn’t bother with letting his aunt and uncle argue that they won’t allow him to go because this may be the closest he’s ever been to finding  ‘Emus, Dog-man, and Rat-man. 

He stares them down, unwilling to back off or crumble until they agree. He is bouncing all over the place, excited even when his aunt takes him to a strange pub hands him a wallet of money and tells him to buy what he needs before speeding away.

Naruto likes the Leaky cauldron even though it goes dead salient when he walks in. His eyes run over the stun customers down right gleeful he has finally, finally , found the chakra users.

Sure the systems feel slightly different like the samurai felt different but not exactly the same as the honor based sword swingers. The people in this establishment had tapped their chakra’s and that alone gave him new found hope. 

“I say, Harry Potter! As I live and breath! Sir it’s a honor” A gruffy old man says stepping into his line of sight and shaking Naruto’s hand. The dark hair boy- still after all these years he was not used to not seeing sunshine bright hair- blinks up at him but he smiles anyway.

He likes meeting new people, after all a stranger could be his new friend and his new precious  person . 

“Hi there!” He chirps signature grin springing to life on his lips. The man looks blinded. “It’s nice to meet you. Call me Naruto please.”

As if though that was a signal everyone around him leaps to their feet racing over to introduce themselves as well and Naruto can’t fandom why. He always wanted a warm hero’s welcome like this but he hasn’t done anything to earn it yet. Not here. There was no war or grand fight he part took in to earn the kind of awe and devotion of the population like the aftermath of Pain’s attack did.

It while he meeting everyone that his eyes land on a family of red heads half sitting and half standing in the corner, looking as if they all want to get closer too but aren’t sure if they should. There is a woman, a man, five children- four male on female- and Naruto has to crane his neck to keep them in sight as the crowd around him grows. 

He doesn’t know what about them caught his attention but his eyes zero in on the one in the glasses.

Or more specifically on the rat resting on the teenager’s shoulder. A quick scan with his chakra confirms what he already knew. He pushes the hands trying to shake his own and breaks though the crowd faster then what the people are expecting. Ninja speed is still faster then what these wizards are used to.

Before the red-head teenager knows what is happening Naruto has reached out and taken the rat, holding the squealing creature to his face smiling widely. Maybe even madly. “RAT-MAN I FOUND YOU!”

Everyone stares at him. 

“Um...that’s Scabbers” The red head around his age says slowly.  “He is Percy’s pet.”

“No this is Rat-man!” Naruto corrects breezily, he pulls the thrashing animal closer gently petting it’s head. “He used to visit me as a baby. I never forget his chakra. Rat-man have you seen ‘Emus or Dog-man? I can’t find them anywhere!”

The boy is staring at him with the kind of look one would give a screaming man in the street. Weary and unable to look away.

“Stop shaking Scabbers!” The red-head with glasses Percy he thinks, yells. He holds out his hand. “You’re scaring him! Give him back!”

“No! I just found him! I’ve been looking for years for him.” Naruto yells back pressing the animal to his chest and sticking out his tongue at the rapidly red face turning teenager.

“I think there may have been a mistake.” The man who looks like all the children, their father, says stepping in and holding a stick. “Scabbers has been in our family. He isn’t a man.”

“He is!” Naruto argues. 

The man has the kind of look Kakashi-sensei used to wear. The one that says he only agree to amuse Naruto. “How about I cast Animagus reversal spell. Then we can see if he is a man or my son’s pet.” 

Naruto fingers tighten around the suddenly much more violently thrashing rat. “It won’t hurt him? He is my parents’ friend.”

“He won’t feel a thing.” The man swears and Naruto nods keeping a weary eye on the man’s chakra in case he tries anything but feeling nothing but good intentions from him and holding out the rat. A light blue light zaps out of the man’s wand landing on the Rat-man and at once his features change. Naruto doesn’t let go, not even when the body out grows his hands and the man turns back into a human.

He keeps a tight hold until the man is sitting before the gasping audience. Naruto doesn’t care for the rapidly paling face of the red headed family or the scrambling of people who try to get away. He throws himself around Rat-man’s neck and squeezes.  “I knew you were okay! I knew you haven’t been caught even when Mom and Dad got killed. Where have you been? Why are you hiding like a rat? Do you like ramen? Hey hey, do you still have that skull and snake tattoo?”

His celebration and rapid firing questions is cut short by a couple of wizards in red robes called Aurors body slamming Rat-man into the ground.

Naruto finds them very rude.

[halothenthehorns]

All in the Family

Chapter 132: The Lost Prophecy

The circular office was strewn with bits of broken odds and ends like glittering tears embedded in the carpet, Fawkes was watching them all steadily from the ashes and made a silly little squeaking noise from his baby beak, and the portraits were calling and yelling at them in surprise when reality finally settled back.

Regulus shook his head slowly like he was still trying to get water out of his ears rather than that noise. He couldn't believe it had come from Sirius of all people. It was the most humanizing moment he'd ever seen in his life from his big brother, no longer the confident adult akin to dad. Just a scared teenager who had no idea how to deal with all of this like him.

He still didn't particularly like Potter, he seemed as arrogant as Evans always said, but at least acknowledged it as a good thing he'd been replaced. He certainly hadn't known what to do to help his brother. He'd thought Sirius was helping himself by keeping his emotions at a distance, and he'd obviously been wrong about that.

Sitting up slowly and having to dig a bit of something from out of his fingers from the wreck of this office, he took in the rest of this place with even more unease. If someone had broken in to steal something of worth in the Headmaster's absence, they hadn't done a good job of it as the Sword of Gryffindor was still visible in its case next to the Hat, and the Pensieve was still in its cupboard, as Longbottom proved when he cracked it open and bathed them all in blue light. Clearly valuables hadn't been the goal then, but why just upend all of the headmaster's trinkets? It certainly hadn't been them to do it, nobody had landed close enough to be the source.

The girls opened a door and came out of Dumbledore's adjoining room. A grand bed with plum sheets looked rumpled from one of their landing, Evans was rubbing her head from whatever she'd hit in there.

"Can you imagine how much knowledge must be in that thing," Peter surprised him by saying right beside him, hand outstretched. He was looking from the Pensieve and back with a teasing smile, but Regulus had no desire to stick his head in that. He took the offer reluctantly, surprised he stayed on his feet for as shaky as he felt. "This whole room even, wonder if he's working on another use for dragon's blood somewhere."

Regulus couldn't think of anything to say to that, biting down hard on his cheek as he tried to figure out what to do now. He did want to talk to Sirius, but the image of his big brother in his head had been shattered as much as these items, what was he supposed to say?

"He'll be alright, honestly," Peter told him gently. "Prongs will keep him in order, he just needed to, you know, be serious for a moment," he smirked at his own joke.

Regulus gave a surprised smile, and Sirius full-blown laughed. It wasn't a small office after all.

"Who else would I be Wormy?" He shot back, still slouching comfortably against the door like he hadn't tried to leave, Potter beside him rolling his eyes and audibly grumbling at Peter encouraging that stupidity.

Lupin was failing to hide a smile at the exchange as he grabbed the book from Dumbledore's desk. "The Lost Prophecy," he read with such surprise he actually dropped the book again, making a crunch as it smashed something into even more pieces.

The room stayed frozen for several long moments before Lupin shook himself and grabbed the book back quickly with an uneasy look at Potter, who had frozen up as if another death had been announced all over again. Sirius moved instantly, rubbing at his arm and muttering something for their ears alone. He relaxed, just a touch, and jerked his head away from the book, glaring out the window with very forced obvious disinterest.

"What, no bets on how Harry magically managed to come across this thing again?" Sirius offered weakly, but when his best mate didn't react, Sirius just gave Lupin a weary look of preparation. "Go on then Moony, let's get it over with. I'm still more worried about Harry than that stupid thing anyways."

Lupin didn't seem to agree, but he took a breath and started.

Harry was in pain. The kind of pain nobody would ever ask for, the loss of his only connection to his parents he'd ever known, or ever would again apparently. Regulus didn't know why Lupin was reading this, as if to spotlight how he once again was absent in Harry's life when needed. He kept going though, as the explanation came readily that it was Harry who had destroyed all this stuff in a rage to Dumbledore. Lupin just kept going though, his tone apologetic and full of sorrow as he kept watching his two mates, but there was something in there Regulus didn't understand, he just didn't know the guy well enough.

Then he looked at Peter and saw how he was studying Lupin and alternately eyeing the surrounding office, and thought he may be able to guess. Dumbledore had let a werewolf into this school when many a headmaster wouldn't dare, and Lupin had been big on defending the Headmaster back when all this had started. That had waned out a bit with each passing book, now he may in fact be doing this as an act of contrition.

The Boy Who Lived wasn't getting much comfort from the old man either, the explanation now coming in droves about his own hand in this horrible scheme of Occlumency and secrets put in him the desire to walk out of this school and never return, it was a wonder Sirius wasn't following in his godson's footsteps and destroying everything in sight.

Potter was the one crying now though, his arm tight around Sirius who wouldn't dare move away as his best mate seemed to have all the energy drained out of him to never return for every dirty crime listed. That it was Kreacher's doing, and the wise leader of the Order told Sirius only had himself to blame for it.

Regulus wanted to be sick at the idea. He wanted to scream like Sirius had and hope that made him feel better but knew it wouldn't. If he could plug up his ears and forget this one thing he knew he would in a heartbeat, that it was his beloved house-elf to be the death of his brother. Sirius looked infuriated beyond belief, it was hard to believe he'd ever hide any emotion again as he bellowed at the top of his lungs for Kreacher to be here right now, but no such summons was acknowledged for the first time in his life.

"Sirius, that's not helping," Regulus pleaded. "You can't just, he didn't mean-"

"Don't you dare Regulus!" Sirius snapped. He didn't take one step away from Potter as he turned all that fury on him now. "He meant to do exactly what happened! Injuring Buckbeak, trying to get Harry killed because of me! He's a worthless piece of shit just like your parents always wanted!"

Regulus winced at every blow, especially the 'your.' Did he already consider himself so unlike him? "Just listen, please," he didn't have an attic to hide away from his brother shouting. If he stopped arguing and pretended he didn't care like Sirius had then maybe he might do something worse than just scream. He'd always learned from his brother's mistakes, and he didn't want to pretend this wasn't horrible to him. To his complete surprise, Sirius really looked at him for a moment, then Peter, and closed his mouth.

The expression was still terrifying, no one could glower like a Black, but Regulus deliriously whispered, "he doesn't know better Sirius! You hate him, I know that, but he's got good in him, just like everybody! Haven't you wondered why he wasn't at home, why the house-elves aren't here at Hogwarts! You can't just want him dead because he's like our parents anymore than-"

He stopped as a soul deep cold whispered in his ear maybe Sirius had changed his mind and didn't care if he died anymore.

"I'm not asking you to like him," he finished in a miserable whisper. "Just, don't, hate him without giving him a chance to try."

Sirius slowly dropped the glare and kept watching him. His eyes flickered around the destroyed office and to his three friends then back to him and Regulus counted silently in his head all the different ways Sirius could kill him in this place just to be rid of his commentary.

His brother slowly eased the tension out of him though, and went back to leaning against his best mate without taking his eyes off of him. His voice was rough, but he sounded like he was actually trying to joke, "am I allowed to hate anyone in this future without that being thrown in my face?"

"Voldemort," Potter said at once with his own glare still held upon the world beyond.

"Bellatrix," Longbottom and Alice spoke at once, a word beyond redemption needed for her.

"Umbridge," Peter and Lupin spoke together with looks of distaste.

"Those Dursleys," Evans finished quietly but calmly.

"I accept that," Sirius finally forced a grin. He didn't really look like he meant it, but the fact that he stopped at all to even hear Regulus out meant the world to him right now, he wasn't going to keep pushing. Kreacher could be better if he just had some other influence, he just knew it! Not everything with their name on it had to end in ruins, surely.

Lupin finally kept going and he watched Evans pace in stark contrast, clearly furious her son was trying to futilely blame all this on Severus when Dumbledore offered explanation for where he'd been, but nobody needed to tell her how flimsy it felt. That Snape had really spent the whole night just wandering around the Forbidden Forest, and hadn't come across the centaurs and Grawp himself to figure all this out, he was more accomplished than that and surely should have been able to join the Order rather than conveniently being left out of the whole instance and not forced to pick a side. It seemed cruel nobody around here was getting the answers they so desperately wanted while Dumbledore explained Harry's life in painful detail to him.

The Prophecy that had set Voldemort after the Potters was issued by one now very familiar Divination teacher to them all.

"It would be her!" Sirius said with such ferocity the woman should have been ducking for cover no matter when she was now. "Bloody her that ruined my life the first time, now we're at round two!"

"I know Padfoot," James agreed patiently, "we'll lock her in a closet for the rest of her life when this is over so she can't be making any more of them, but please-" his voice broke at the end, and Sirius needed no further prompting to keep his mouth shut, a feat only James Potter had ever accomplished. Sirius knew he'd go mad without help if he had to wait any longer to hear this.

James felt like his ears were still ringing long after Remus had stopped reading that prophecy. This one was somehow even more vague than the one that had apparently been Sirius's doom, the only factor that related it to Harry was his birthday, but nothing at all for him to work with, fix some way out of this except possibly being a little choosy when they had their firstborn if that even worked. For all he knew when the prophecy was spoken again it would just change to that month. If he'd had any hope left clinging to his and Lily's son it was gone now, he couldn't condemn a child to this future that had his name in that Hall of Prophecy with no foreseeable way out of it for him.

There was nothing else to do. He couldn't not defy Voldemort, he couldn't stop any of that.

Sirius didn't have to imagine what Harry looked like sitting in this office, his future in ruins, because he was seeing it live. He'd never seen James look so defeated, not about any problem in the world. It had been him to come up with the animagus plan, his brilliant idea to keep Remus and Peter around when Sirius hadn't even originally wanted anything to do with them. His persistent optimism Evans would say yes any day only rivaled his absolute assurances there was more laughter to be had around the next corner if they just followed him.

He would not just sit here and let the fight drain out of James.

"Hey Prongs, I've got a secret," Sirius said at the top of his lungs. "We figured out Voldemort's weapon before him!"

James tried to smile for him, but it didn't feel real, Dumbledore had known this in its entirety this whole time and it hadn't helped Harry a lick, what good was he?

He saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye, and he chanced a glance up in confusion what Fawkes would have swooped over here for, before his heart stuttered in surprise to see Evans staring down at him, hands on her hips. He couldn't guess at the look on her face, she'd never looked at him so directly with anything other than contempt.

"So, this thrice defined bit," she said airily, "you think it was three times each, or I did it twice more than you? I personally hope it's not something as silly a technicality as not joining Death Eaters, it should be something much more direct like actually hitting him with a curse or two."

Ironically, before, it was like he was trying to watch her without his glasses on, blurry and only the color easy to focus on. She'd always been such a constant fiery presence in his life. Now he really just sat here and looked at her, that this was like a new language to him, just seeing her speak as a normal girl.

"I'll take that as a challenge," he told her casually.

"That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say," she nodded, already turning back away. "Wouldn't be any fun if you just gave up."

Sirius now looked like the one who was dumbstruck as she walked away, but James could only shrug without answer and smile.

Remus kept going gently, some ingrained part of him still hoping Dumbledore would have another answer than this obliqueness, and finally his wish seemed to come true as the headmaster magically gifted them with the smallest ray of hope.

"What does he mean it might not have been Harry? That one we saw at the Ministry, it had Harry's name on it," stringing words together seemed to be paining Prongs greatly, but he latched heavily onto this.

"There was that odd question mark on it though," Peter corrected. "The rest all makes sense now, those were Dumbledore's and Trelawney's initials, but this must mean someone didn't put that in there until after-"

He stopped with a wince, and they didn't need him to finish anyways.

It still didn't feel like much of an answer, especially with the news that Neville could have been the other child!

Alice turned gray and Frank let out such a yelp it was as if he'd dodged his own deadly curse.

Lily instantly began hugging her friend, she wanted to do the same to Frank but he was already moving. He walked almost calmly to Dumbledore's desk, not even looking twice at Lupin or the book until he found a quill to load up with ink and a bit of parchment, then offered his hand that only just slightly trembled if one were watching for it. "May I?"

Lupin wordlessly passed it along and they watched as he copied down the prophecy and stuck it very purposefully in his pocket before handing the book back, then going over and taking his girlfriend's hand. It didn't matter the words now felt seared into their brains, he was now determined every chance they got he'd look at them every day until he found some way to break out of this and stop any Dark Lord from ever darkening their lives again.

"Is that it then?" Alice asked into the ever growing silence.

"No," Lupin whispered, still holding the book and watching Sirius and Potter. "Just, not sure how much more of this I can take."

"That's okay Moony," Sirius still managed a grin, now of all times. "Voldemort's been tormenting people before and after these two boys, but now Harry's given us a way to fight back. That power the Dark Lord knows not, maybe it's his self-destruct button!"

Potter laughed, even Lupin and Peter managed quiet snickers for the idiot.

The two would-be mothers watched him with something close to disdain for trying to make light of this, like they'd be slapping him all the way out of Hogwarts grounds if they could, but there was something in watching the Marauders now holding them back from retaliating. Frank felt it too in the way Black spoke, this wasn't really a joke to him as he played off, he'd do whatever he had to protect his godson again while keeping their focus on how to keep going rather than just dwelling on these awful moments.

Regulus recognized the same, but he wasn't so sure he could live with the outcome. He already feared going back to the world where his parents would hate him, what would happen if then the world just took his only family left away.

Harry was living through the same, as Dumbledore finally ran out of explanations for now and his thoughts returned to his lost godfather. He couldn't imagine how to get through it. So Regulus finally said the only thing he could think of to him. "I don't want you to die."

Sirius flashed him that smile he'd missed so much. "Lookie there, we can agree on two things."

[sweeethinny]

Dissecting Billie Elish's Ilomilo song, because that song makes me think of Harry Potter

Told you not to worry But maybe that's a lie

This part reminds me so much of that scene in HBP, where Harry tells Ron and Hermione not to worry about him, but then, when Dumbledore is dying in his arms, and he asks him not to be afraid - Harry is afraid - Dumbledore says he won't, because he's with Harry.

As we all know, Dumbledore dies and Harry blames himself for it.

Honey, what's your hurry? Won't you stay inside?

In the fifth and second years, when Harry is unaware of news from his friends, and thinks he has been abandoned. Especially in the second year, when Dudley points out that he has no friends.

Remember not to get too close to stars They're never gonna give you love like ours

All the people Harry loves, especially friends who are like his family. Harry is afraid of losing them, just as he has lost so many people already. In DH, when he walks to his death because no one else he loves is going to die for him again... 

Where did you go? I should know, but it's cold And I don't wanna be lonely So show me the way home I can't lose another life

this is all about Sirius.

Sirius promised him that he would take care of him, fed on rats to stay close to him, escaped from jail to get revenge on Peter for killing the Potter ... Sirius who died for Harry.

When Sirius goes to the Blacks' house, Harry is afraid to leave him alone (he is happy again). Harry doesn't want to lose him, doesn't want him to die.

Harry doesn't want to be alone, again.

Hurry, I'm worried The world's a little blurry Or maybe it's my eyes

Again about Sirius.

In that scene where before going to the Ministry, he tries to call Sirius. Sirius doesn't answer, he is worried. So, Harry goes to the Ministry to save his godfather, he doesn't even have a plan, he just wants to save Sirius. Again, he doesn't think he can take it if something happens to his godfather.

The friends I've had to bury They keep me up at night

The psychological terror that Harry suffers when Cedric dies, and everything that follows. Cedric doesn't let Harry sleep, because the memory of him dying is just too horrible to take

Said I couldn't love someone 'Cause I might break If you're gonna die, not by mistake

Here is a mix of things; all the insecurities that the Dursleys planted in Harry. His conflicting feelings for Ginny. And when he gives the potion of luck to Hermione, Ron and Ginny, because he knows something is going to happen, and he just won't let anyone he loves die.

Then Ginny tells him that if it weren't for that, they would have died. Various spells passed through them, but they always managed to dodge. Harry knew that, he knew they could have died, and Sirius had already died from a mistake, doubting Bellatrix's power.

When Bellatrix tries to kill Ginny (Was she? I don't remember guys, sorry) and Harry protects her, that's exactly why. He won't let anyone else make the same mistake as Sirius. Never.

So, where did you go? I should know, but it's cold And I don't wanna be lonely So tell me you'll come home Even if it's just a lie 

In DH, when they run away and Ron tells Harry that he doesn't know what he's doing, where they're going, that his parents can die. So Ron leaves, and leaves Harry, and as much as he is hateful, he expects Ron to return. When Ron comes back, and saves him, he doesn't get mad at him, he says ''He (Dumbledore) knew you would come back'' Harry always waited for Ron to come back. Ron also meant home to him.

I tried not to upset you Let you, rescue, me the day I met you I just wanted to protect you But now I'll never get to

This part is about Molly and Arthur.

Harry has both, as parents. They are the greatest source of parental love that Harry has ever had, Molly gave him a Christmas present, without even knowing him!

Harry blames himself for Arthur being attacked, if he blames Fred for dying, Harry would blame himself if something happened to Molly too... It's not because he loves them, period. No. Harry has them as parents, he wants to protect them as much as Ron does. He knows they can die, so much so that, he didn't even want to take Ron on the hunt, because that would put a target on the Weasley.

Harry blames himself for the harm he did to the Weasley family, even if it wasn't his fault.

He just wanted to protect them, in the same way that they did him.

That family welcomed him every vacation and Christmas, gave him gifts, included him at dinners, weddings (Ron says: You can't miss going to Bill's wedding!). Molly fought with Dumbledore for not being able to take Harry to live with her. That family was the first source of love that he remembers receiving.

Where did you go? I should know, but it's cold And I don't wanna be lonely Was hoping you'd come home I don't care if it's a lie

When Sirius dies and Harry goes after Nick to see if he can come back as a ghost. When he thinks it was better to have died with his parents. When he asks if they will stay with him until the end. When he sees the stone bringing ''back'' those people that he love so much. He knew it was a lie, that they were dead, but Harry just wanted them around, just wanted their protection. Harry just wanted to be with the family.

When Harry asks Sirius if it hurts, because, maybe he can't take it if it hurts a little more than it already did now. Maybe he just failed. But Lily reassures him: You have been so brave.

And with that, he finally walks to his death with his family.

[fanfictionfortheappreciative]

It's a Hard Knock Life

Drarry, oneshot, fluff, 1k

Ao3 link

"Love, you're drunk", I told him. It was kinda endearing, I had to admit that. A grown, tall and handsome man, on a couch, our couch, with a half glass of wine, belting along to the Annie soundtrack. The process of getting Draco to enjoy Annie had been a strange one, and surprisingly enough, he was absolutely sold after the first song. The little red hair of the small girl made him think of the Weasleys, still not his easiest connections, but after she sang her melancholic ballad out of the window, he loved it. We watched it completely, and it was just like the first time I'd watched it through the window on the neighbors television, just less alone. It was a classic for me. As far as you could call Annie a classic.

I always did, but when I first said that to Draco he had to fight all his impulses which would have punched me in the face. At that moment, our third actual date, he didn't tell me that, but a few months later, when we watched Annie again, he confessed his feelings from that evening. Apparently, if you're a high class pureblood with an extensive education on like, the history of everything, "classics" mean the Greeks and Romans. And the Egyptians. Or something. Not really sure, cause I wasn't the one with the extensive education.

It'd been an interesting mistake, though. I really wanted to talk to him about my favorite movies, and knew that when we were in 8th year, he started watching some muggle movies (who'd have thought). So, with my thoughts set on discussing Annie, Die Hard, and one of those movies with Jack Nicholson (the DVD cabinet of the dursleys wasn't big, and these were the only ones I could safely steal) I said to him, "how do you feel about classics?". Well, worked out differently then I'd expected. I got so much information about how Hellenism resembles the current ways of studying magic in parts of Europe, which Greek heroes were actually wizards, if Homer was secretly a vampire... And I thought I'd messed up so hard. Maybe we weren't meant to be together, and I know that it seems like a silly thing to question your relationship about; what movies do you like and why, but for me it was more. I wanted him to like me. Our history, our parents and friends, everything seemed to be against us.

It always did. We were sworn enemies from the moment we set foot in the castle. But when 8th year happened, after the battle, we tried, really tried, to see past the differences and look at the similarities. Two boys, traumatized, scared, scarred, and sexually confused. Well, you give it one year of school and secret sleepovers, and then you start dating. But it felt fragile. It felt like it could fall apart any second. We were both nineteen years old, freshly out of school, and madly in love but too scared to admit it. So, one day, after another sort of romantic sort of casual night we shared, I miraculously grew some balls and told him "We're going on a date. A real one. With a restaurant. And wine. And those fancy napkins that you're not really allowed to use." And we did. And it was fun. So we did it again. And again. That was when Annie happened, and when I, intoxicated, more drunk on bread sticks than on wine, said: "yeah but I mean like... Muggle classics.. Like... Annie, or Home Alone or something", and then burst out laughing, I thought I had screwed up pretty bad. I didn't. He thought it was endearing. And he really wanted to see Annie.

I should have known. Showing Draco Malfoy a movie-musical with easy sing-alongs, one and a half bottle of red wine, and the comfort of closed blinds and only me to see him. It was bound to happen. If I'm being honest, I got more time than I expected. I got 7 full minutes of couch, before he pushed me off and started screeching Hard knock life through our apartment. He didn't even throw me on the ground during the intro song. I'd consider it progress.

Here's the thing. Draco, I love him, honestly I do, but he can't sing. Not. At. All. I know you'd expect it, with the Fancy upbringing, and the robes and the classical music and the hair, but it's just, terrible. He, as expected, does not care. I'm not sure if he doesn't believe me, or that he does not at all mind how he sounds. It was fun, in the way 4 year olds singing Mary had a Little Lamb was fun; it gets less fun after a while. And four year olds, they had parents to tell them to shush, and go play with a doll or something. Not me. No, I, I had a drunk almost 20 year old in my small apartment screaming out that the sun would come out tomorrow. He wasn't wrong, of course, but the movie had ended half an hour before, and he was still "performing".

"Harry Harry Harry" he stated, with an air of confidence that made it seem like he did not acknowledge the fact that he was drunk. "This," he begun, "is a masterpiece. The sadness, the emotion, the yearning, the music. It's moving, I love it." After that proclamation, he finally sat down on the couch, and started mumbling It's a hard-knock life. I fell in love with him in that moment. Real, honest love, undisputed and deep. The little things, people always said.

And Draco did many little things that made me fall deeper and deeper in love with him. The precious tea ceremony he did every Sunday, the careful arrangement of a hundred different shower products, how he made my favorite Mac and cheese with mostly cheese when I had had a hard day at auror training, how the house smelled after his little potion experiments (don't get me wrong, he had very impressive potions that I would never call little, but the ones he did at home were mostly magical shampoos and baking products). It was everything that made Draco more Draco, and bad singing to children's musicals was a part of that too.

I then had the worst and also the best idea of the year. "Sweetheart, have you ever seen Mary Poppins?"

Ao3 link

Comments are the best, and so are reblogs and likes <3

[gabriellewebb]

The Dark Lord, The Witch and the Time-Portal - Chapter I

This fic has mature content, just read if you are + 18!

I - The Room of Requirement

“New Beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.”

― Lao Tzu

Sirius was dead. It happened just two days ago at the battle inside the Ministry of Magic. Holly Potter never felt so angered by her own stupidity and couldn't put away the feeling that her godfather's death was entirely her fault ���in the heat of the moment, she always acted before thinking, like a moron. But now was too late to fix that mistake; from now on, she will have to think twice before doing anything too risky. She also felt miserable after it dawned on her that she had put the lives of her friends in danger as well. The outcome of the battle could have been so much worse if they were dead too.

The small witch was brooding inside the Room of Hidden Things, laying down on an old couch, surrounded by lots of curious and mysterious artifacts — most of them junk or undesirable trinkets.

All she did these last days was mourn, curse herself for her rashness, and weep a lot. She cried her heart out to the point where her body wasn't capable of letting her cry anymore; her tears dried, leaving her with a puffy red face and an intense headache. Her chest tightened in pain, as if she were stabbed by a knife that still lingered inside her. It was too painful. Sirius was her world and the closest person she had as a family, at least in the way that the meaning of family truly mattered —Aunt Petunia could be a blood relative, but Holly was only a burden to her.

Voldemort's presence had cursed her life since she was a baby — he killed her parents, so she was raised by her mother's sister and her husband. The Dursleys were muggles who hated wizards, witches, and everyone different. Since she was a baby, Holly felt in her own skin the discontentment of the Dursleys for her being a witch, although she had no idea about it until she turned eleven and met Hagrid, who gave her Hogwarts letter and explained what she really was, just like her parents. Holly had been mistreated her entire childhood, growing up in a home without love where her relatives treated her like a freak.

Well, even among wizards and witches, Holly was considered a freak sometimes, being the only known survivor of the killing curse and a parselmouth.

'Thanks again, Voldemort!'

According to Dumbledore, Holly was only able to understand and talk to snakes because Voldemort somehow transferred some of his powers to her when he tried to kill her. Probably the Headmaster was right, but who knows for sure? Truth be told, Holly wasn’t sure anymore how much she could trust Dumbledore, especially after everything that happened in the fifth year.

Her years at Hogwarts were always difficult, and her life was threatened so many times that she lost count. But the real hell began in her fourth year, after most of her House 'friends' and the rest of the school turned their backs on her after her name was sorted on the Goblet of Fire. Holly was forced to compete in a magical contest, and at the last task, Wormtail, a faithful servant of Voldemort, killed her boyfriend, Cedric Diggory, who she started dating just after the first task. And of course, Voldemort was back again to torment her life, this time with a real body!

The fourth year and Cedric’s death were so painful that she didn't expect the fifth year to be ten times worse. She was nearly expelled from Hogwarts and mistreated by almost the entire school again, being considered a delusional liar for affirming that Voldemort had returned. She had painful migraines on her scar, was tortured and scarred by Dolores Umbridge with her freaking Blood Quill and was completely ignored by Dumbledore. Holly never felt so alone in her entire life — and that meant a lot, considering she grew up inside a fucking cupboard!

And now, to 'ice the cake', her dear godfather Sirius was dead. She felt so hopeless, with a hollow inside her chest instead of a heart. Who else would she lose in the future battling against Voldemort and his followers? Would it be possible for her to be truly happy someday, or would she always have to face losses or be forced to make sacrifices to help ungrateful people?

Sirius Black was her only hope of finally being free from the Dursleys, as soon as they could prove his innocence. These last two days of the term, she used to grieve her loss and reflect on all the things that had happened to her until now. She was tired of suffering and feeling lonely; it seemed whenever she was truly happy and with a good prospect for the future, her life suffered a twist, as if she was supposed to be miserable forever, the best moments never lasting.

Holly thought about Voldemort, the root of her misery, and it didn’t take long for her mind to drift into the memories of her second year at Hogwarts and the flawless image of Tom Marvolo Riddle, the teenager’s version of the Dark Lord. Model student, tall and handsome, Prefect of Slytherin, and future Head Boy. So young he was the responsible for the death of Myrtle Warren, but was able to blame Hagrid instead, using him as a scapegoat.

Tom Riddle was a wolf in sheep's clothing and, unfortunately, Holly's first crush. Of course, the first time she saw him in the memories of the Diary, she had no idea who he actually was; she was only twelve years old and very naive.

The witch began to question if Tom Riddle was always a true devil or if he could have been saved from the darkness that tainted his soul. According to Dumbledore in her first year, Voldemort never experienced love in his life or understood it because he never had friends or family. Was Dumbledore so certain of it or just being presumptuous?

Holly recalled the facts she discovered about Voldemort in the Diary memories. Tom Riddle was a half-blood orphan just like her, raised in a muggle orphanage. He asked the Headmaster at that time if he could stay in Hogwarts during the summer, just like she asked the same thing to Dumbledore in her first year. She had the feeling that Tom didn't like the place where he lived, just like she didn’t like the Dursleys’ home. It could be because of the world war, but her mind wandered about the possibility of his childhood being similar to hers: mistreated by adults and other children, treated like a freak, maybe also feeling hungry, scared, and lonely. The Dursleys always found excuses to let her starve or skip meals. That was why Holly was tinier than other children her age and didn't grow up so much, even after eating all the food she could in Hogwarts. Ron constantly mocked the fact that she could pass as a third-year or a taller second-year, but he was oblivious to the cruel truth behind her short height.

Unlike Holly Potter, Tom Riddle was very tall, so he probably didn't have the same problem with food and meals as she did.

Besides the height difference, she remembered the Diary pointing out that Holly and Tom shared some similarities and coincidences between them — half-bloods, orphans, raised by muggles, both dark-haired with pale skin, Parselmouths...

And Diary Tom had no idea that Holly was almost sorted out in Slytherin or that their wands were twins. Oh, and a crazy prophecy entangling their fates together.

Holly knew Tom was poor, and considering he had his father's muggle name and surname, he most certainly had been called 'mudblood' in Slytherin. If he indeed had no friends, he probably suffered hell in his first years, counting only on himself and his wits. He needed to be really sturdy to not be chewed and spat away in a House that valued blood purity, status, wealth, influence, and power. That's probably why he was so obsessed with the latter.

Tom Riddle was responsible for lots of evil deeds; however, Holly could relate even with the scarce information she possessed about him. She felt pretty similar to Riddle until her eleventh birthday —without friends, without love, and consumed by bad feelings like sadness and anger. If she didn’t meet Ron, Hermione, or Hagrid, how would her first year at Hogwarts have been? Of course, she still had money, fame, and status; after all, she was 'the girl-who-lived', the heroine of the wizarding world. But what if she was like him in every aspect? Would she become corrupted as the years passed by?

She remembered Hermione crying alone in the bathroom in their first year. Until today, Hermione was only close friends with her and Ron, and lots of people still consider her an annoying know-it-all. If Hermione didn't have Holly and Ron to watch her back, would she have cried inside bathrooms until her fifth year as Myrtle did?

Ron was a pureblood who had a loving family consisting of both parents alive and six siblings. He was also very good at making friends and talking to other boys —except Slytherins. He had his own insecurities about being poor, although people in Gryffindor never turned their backs on him like they did with Holly or Hermione.

Both Hermione and Ron grew up being loved by their families. Holly would easily give up all her money and status just to have the same as them. What about Tom Riddle, who had neither? Even with her friends, Holly felt so lonely and misunderstood sometimes...

Holly knew well how it felt to be unwanted and undesired, living most of her life with the Dursleys, and she also knew well how people could be flickery and untrustworthy. In her first year, lots of people wanted to be friends with "the girl-who-lived". In her second year, after they discovered she was a parselmouth, that was the first time people she considered friends avoided her and whispered bad things behind her back. Even Ron and Hermione appeared wary because she could speak with snakes. It was when Holly discovered she was a freak, not just among muggles but also among wizards and witches.

There was lots of unfounded prejudice towards parselmouths, Holly learned that the worst way. Tom was a freak like her, capable of talking to snakes and understanding them. She wondered if he kept that a secret until he grew older or if he always liked to scare people. If he was considered popular and charming in his younger days, the answer was very clear to her.

The second time that people turned their backs on her was at the Triwizard Tournament. The last time was this past year, as people gossiped that Holly was delusional and a liar. And now Sirius was dead. Was it really worth risking her life and her friends’, to fight Voldemort to save a world full of people who once considered her a heroine and then started to despise her for no good reason a second later?

She thought about Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys, Hagrid, and Lupin. If she didn't have their love and friendship, would she be corrupted and evil like Tom Riddle as well? Wanting revenge on everyone who’d hurt her?

Holly Potter discovered that she had a dark side in her as well after what she did to Bellatrix Lestrange, the witch who killed her godfather.

After Sirius' murder, Holly ran after Bellatrix Lestrange through countless corridors and rooms inside the Ministry until she cornered the Death Eater. Holly used the Cruciatus spell, an Unforgivable curse, with all her will. She felt a lot of pleasure seeing that bitch squirming and trembling on the ground, screaming and begging her to stop. Death wouldn't be enough for Bellatrix after what she did to her precious godfather! She wanted to watch Bellatrix lose her mind the same way she did with Neville's parents.

Voldemort was the one who caught her in the act. He saved his faithful Death Eater after appreciating for a few seconds the grave sin committed by Holly Potter. She couldn't forget the predatory grin plastered on his snake-face.

Holly couldn't stop ruminating that she wasn't so different from Voldemort now, as she only stopped torturing Bellatrix because she was interrupted. It was rubbed in her face that she was perfectly capable of doing evil acts as well as enjoying them. She also had no regrets besides not having more time alone with her godfather's murderer.

Holly asked herself if her soul was condemned forever. She still saw herself as a good person, always trying to do what was right. This particular case was the only exception to that. Since she was just a small kid, Holly had a lot to carry on her shoulders and suffered a lot in her life; however, she always ended up doing the right thing, even when part of her wanted to do the opposite.

This time she snapped and let her hot temper take the reins, punishing Bellatrix for taking away someone so precious to her.

Voldemort ruined her life and the lives of lots of people, but who was Holly to judge him now? What if the burdens of his life led him down a dark path and he had no one to take his hand to show him another way or at least give him company or support in difficult times? She couldn't judge him if one day he just had enough and did something bad the same way Holly did when no one was there to stop her.

Holly was almost sixteen years old. Would the fifteen-year-old Tom Riddle, the one who never opened the Chamber, causing Myrtle Warren's death, be so beyond repair? Would he become a Dark Wizard if he had experienced some goodness in his life or at least had support or a company that could make him feel safe, like a true friend?  What if he had someone who opposed the darkness in his soul and his bad actions but could also give some comfort to his heart?

Hypothetically, if Holly could intercede, would she be capable of saving him or at least preventing him from committing his first crime? Obviously, she can't control the feelings or actions of people, but would she be able to guide him on a better path or at least stop him?

She never thought that Voldemort was a good guy; after all, he brought pain and misery for years on the path that he walked. Because of him and his Death Eaters, lots of lives were lost, including the ones of her parents, Cedric and Sirius.

Would Tom Riddle follow the same path if he had a glimpse of light or goodness in his life? She snorted, thinking about the possibility of being close friends with him if they were in the same year. She could also be in Slytherin, just like the Sorting Hat advised her on her first day at Hogwarts. Did Tom like Quidditch? She let out a laugh at that thought.

Holly Potter and Tom Riddle, best friends forever!

Well, if he were truly evil, she could still intercede by preventing him from opening the Chamber of Secrets and killing Myrtle Warren in the process. Hagrid wouldn't be expelled either, at least not for this. He was raising an Acromantula in secrecy, for fuck's sake!

To keep up with Tom Riddle, Holly would need to learn much more and be stronger. If they were the same age, would it be possible for her to stop the rise of Voldemort or at least oppose him directly? Voldemort was as strong as Dumbledore, but Holly survived all encounters with him when their paths crossed, being only a baby the first time that happened and eleven on the second. In her view, the task of saving the world from Babymort was so much easier than opposing an older, wiser, and more experienced Dark Wizard. If she confronted Voldemort himself and remained alive, facing a student with the same age gap as she seemed doable in her opinion.

Holly thought about a world without Voldemort. Lots of lives would be spared. Holly would have grown up in a house where she would be loved by her parents and would live happily with them, being visited frequently by Sirius and Remus. A world where she would maybe still be with Cedric, or if they didn't work out, she could find another boy or even stay single. Without the fame of defeating a Dark Wizard, Holly would probably be just another witch living a normal life where she wouldn't be noticed by so many people.

Alastor Moody would still have his eye, nose, and leg, and Neville would be raised by his parents. Voldemort had tormented the world for years, what else would change without his influence?

If she could go back in time and meet Tom Marvolo Riddle, would they be friends or enemies? It was a difficult decision to make, especially for her, to extend the olive branch to the past version of the man who only brought pain and misery to her life.

Her mind wandered to hypothetical scenarios when a noise caught her attention.

A strange structure materialized a few meters away from Holly. At first glance, she thought it was a mirror, on second glance, she thought it could be a portal.

Chapter II

Notes:

English is not my mother language, if you spot any errors, please let me know! :3

I'll use my poetic fanfic license to make some alterations. I'll put Myrtle and Hagrid in the fifth year, among other small changes or adaptations.

I'm considering Tom Riddle began his fifth year in 1942.

Holy Lily Potter doesn't use glasses. She is practically Lily Evans with black hair and shorter in height (due to the poor treatment the Dursleys gave her during childhood).

I hope you enjoy the story and stay healthy and safe! :D

[likehandlingroses]

What You Love

Summary: As Harry already knows, a tremendous amount can happen in seventeen years. But the seventeen years after the war bring him something he once never thought possible: contentment. (Inspired by “Daylight”--Taylor Swift)

Read below or on Ao3

~

“I want to be defined by the things that I love. Not the things I hate, not the things I’m afraid of, not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night...I just think you are what you love.” 

1999

Harry’s hand hovers over the pastries in the breakroom. He shouldn’t...but then, it is Clara’s birthday--

He snatches up a pumpkin pasty, repulsed the utter banality of his own thoughts.

Ron pops in beside Harry, scooping up a muffin without hesitation.

“Lucky thing we’re on desk duty this week.”

“Is it?”

Harry still fights with himself other whether or not he’s simply become another Ministry shill. Too complacent and far too forgiving.

“Hermione’s starting tomorrow,” Ron says, grinning. “Remember?”

And with Hermione joining them for lunch every day, things don’t feel as out of place as they did before.

~

2000

The Monument to the Fallen at the Battle of Hogwarts is up within six months of the war ending.

Harry’s fight to memorialize the Order of the Phoenix is trickier, and in many ways more painful. The old guard is hesitant to legitimize the organization--and even more hesitant to admit their past mistakes.

But Harry--who still averts his eyes in certain halls of the Ministry, who does anything to avoid being the last to leave for the evening--refuses to relent.

He almost smiles when he first sees the incredulous looks of the crowds as they notice Sirius’s warm, lively grin.

~

2001

Harry collects the letters he finds in Grimmauld Place--under beds, in dresser drawers, even under mattresses--in a box up in his attic. Every so often, he’s tempted to read them: after all, what does it matter to Sirius now?

But each time he opens the box and procures a faded letter off the top, his desire to read the words wanes.

That they exist at all is the main thing. That Harry or anyone else might someday decide to sit on the attic floor and pore through each and every line justifies their existence.

He won’t today. But someday, perhaps.

~

2002

Ginny flies in a dramatic loop on her broomstick, playing to the crowd as the Harpies conclude another shut-out.

She could play for England, if she had a mind to.

“I know that,” she tells Harry. “But international play is a nightmare.”

In any case, she’s a star right where she is. In the sanctuary of the Harpies stadium, Harry has more than once been summarily ignored while Ginny is shouted down for her autograph.

“Besides,” Ginny says with a coy smile. “It wouldn’t be quite fair for me to run off and become more famous than you, would it?”

~

2003

Harry still can’t quite believe Dudley said yes to the invitation. Tea or lunch is one thing...an entire wedding--wizarding style-- is quite another.

But it’s now well into the second hour of the reception, and he’s still here, making passable conversation with Oliver.

“Alright?” Harry asks, joining their table.

Dudley nods, but Oliver leans forward in his seat, looking manic.

“He suggested swimming for conditioning,” he says, as if he’s just handed Harry vital trade secrets. “No one’s doing that! I’m telling Reynolds on Monday...”

Harry shoots Dudley a knowing grin, and Dudley ducks his head with a laugh. 

~

2004

“--we’re here with Harry Potter, who has brought along a very special guest to the program. Harry, would you please introduce us to this lovely fellow who is currently eating his own fist?”

“Thanks, Lee. I have James Sirius Potter with me today, making his airwaves debut.”

“I was talking to James before the show...he was just babbling away.”

“Well, he gets very excited sometimes.”

“Is that the best part of being a dad?”

“No, the best part is he’s got this tiny little nose, and you can just...boop it whenever you want.”

“You heard it here first!”

~

2005

Percy tosses the agenda on Harry’s desk. “They’ve put it on after all.”

Harry scans the list in disbelief. The proposed legislation to officially close the Ministry’s Werewolf Registry and reopen its services under the umbrella of St. Mungo’s would be heard by the Wizengamot a week from Tuesday.

“But how--? We’ve been trying for months to get it in front of them....”

Percy smiles, rolling his shoulders back. “Well, I’ve been putting in words with some of the more established members...I don’t know if that helped at all…”

Harry laughs, shaking his head.

“We both know it did.”

~

2006

“He has the prettiest eyes,” Mrs. Weasley coos over Al, bouncing him on her knee as he gazes up at her intently. “Arthur, just look at his eyes! Aren’t they stunning?”

Ever the doting grandfather, Mr. Weasley drops down beside his wife, eagerly agreeing that he’s “glorious,” before reaching out a finger for Al to grasp in his fist.

“They’re just like his daddy’s,” Mrs. Weasley says, smiling at Harry. She’s not the first to mention how much Al looks like him.

It makes Harry all the more grateful that Al won’t ever need to wish for love or family.

~

2007

“Can you help me, Harry?” Teddy doesn’t normally bring Andromeda’s schoolwork over to Harry’s, but today he’s already kneeling at the coffee table, quill and parchment in hand.

“Well, I can try,” Harry says, sitting down beside him. “But if it’s division again…”

“No, none of that!” Teddy says with a grimace. “I’m learning about persuasive essays now, and Gran says if I write a very good one, we might be able to get a cat!”

“A cat? Well, that’s serious business, isn’t it? We’ll have to go about it carefully…”

And with Harry’s help, Teddy wins his new cat.

~

2008

“Skeeter will be poking her head in where it doesn’t belong once I’m gone,” Elphias Doge says, pressing a bundle of letters at Ginny, his wizened face beaming. “And what do I care what anyone says, really? Only I detest the woman, and if you got the story out first...oh, the look on her face!”

The ink on some of the letters has almost faded, but the most important piece remains.  The valedictions: effusive, undeniably romantic...with “Albus” signing his name to all of them.

“It’ll be out before she’s decided which stone to turn over first,” Harry promises.

~

2009

“Daddy!” Alice Dursley pulls on Dudley’s hand as the Potters gather at the door. “The present!”

“Yes, right! Before you go…” Dudley hastens back through the house, emerging with a carefully wrapped package.

“Alice helped me with everything…” Dudley presses it into Harry’s hands. “Even the paper--”

“--and the bow!”

“And the bow.” Dudley smiles in the face of Harry’s bemusement. “For Lily’s birthday next week. I’ve meant to get the dates straight for years...but I’ve got this calendar on my phone now, and...well, anyway. I’ll remember now.”

Lily hugs her teddy from “Duh-dee” the whole way home.

~

2010

“D’you suppose they might only let me on the team because they feel sorry for me?” Teddy asks as he and Harry settle on the grass.

“Of course not.” Harry shades his eyes from the sun before looking off into the distance. Ginny is still trying to teach Albus how to mount his training broom…

“What about because you’re my godfather?”

Harry claps Teddy on the shoulder. “Listen: if you make it, it’ll be you’ve got a great arm and a sharp eye.”

“You really think so?”

“I really do.”

Teddy beams at Harry before lying back on the grass.

~

2011

“Oh, she’s beautiful--hi, Harry!”

Despite Parvati and Hermione’s smiles, Harry feels as if he’s intruded. He’s used to finding Hermione poring over something or other when he enters her office: she even spends her lunch hour wrestling through her Beedle translations.

“Padma’s baby came Saturday!” Hermione explains.

“I have pictures!”

Harry hasn’t considered before that Hermione’s move from Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures might have been motivated by something other than her career progression.

Now that he thinks of it, he understands why Hermione’s joined half of the DA in Magical Law Enforcement.

They make the work more worthwhile.

~

2012

“No! No kids behind the bar,” Hannah good-naturedly prods James out from behind the counter at the Leaky Cauldron.

“Even me?” James says, fixing Hannah with a doe-eyed stare.

“ Especially you,” Harry quips, patting the stool next to him as Hannah fixes James a consolation soft drink. “Sorry about that, Hannah…”

“Oh, I don’t mind!” Hannah pauses to tie back her hair with a colorful ribbon. “Only if the wrong person comes in and I’ve got an eight year old with his paws on the firewhisky…”

“What’s firewhisky taste like?” James asks.

“You’d hate it,” Hannah and Harry both say.

~

2013

“--so that’s where we put all our files for uhm...anything that needs filing.” Harry taps the filing cabinet next to his desk, looking into his nieces' rapt faces. Molly and Lucy are with Percy for the day, and “Uncle Harry’s work” is a key portion of their tour.

Harry privately thinks nothing could be duller for two little girls than exploring different people’s desks.

“Does it ever get full?” Molly asks.

“Er--sometimes.”

“So you get a new one?” Lucy’s eyes are wide as she scans the wall, perhaps picturing mountains of cabinets.

“Sometimes. Mostly we just toss things.”

“Wow!”

~

2014

“He’s going to do it!” Fleur grips Harry’s shoulder from her seat behind him as the crowd roars and Viktor closes in on the Snitch. “He has to, after all this time, he--YES!”

Harry hugs her first as their box cheers the Bulgarian victory. Fleur apologizes for the tears she’s burst into, but Harry’s own eyes are stinging.  

Viktor throws his arms around both of them upon landing in the VIP box, tears still running down his cheeks.

“He would be so proud,” Fleur says, calling Cedric to mind so powerfully that they might have been children fighting dragons again.

~

2015

“And this one doesn’t like parties because she’s shy…” Lily sets her stuffed rabbit in front of Luna. Harry’s warned Luna about Lily’s “tea parties”--how they involve more profiling of stuffed animals than tea.

“Well, some people are like that, aren’t they?” Luna says agreeably.

“Yes,” Lily agrees. “And this one--she’s so funny, but she doesn’t eat anything green.”

“Not even green sweets?”

“No!” Lily says conspiratorially, whereupon Luna puts on a shocked expression.

“But how does she get her vitamins?”

“Uhm...carrots and the sun, I think!”

“Oh, well, that’s alright, then,” Luna says before smiling at Harry.

[romioneflufffest]

Sitting Here

Title: Sitting Here

Creator: @insufferableknowit-all 

Prompt: The Burrow, middle of the night

Description: It’s the night before the seven-Potter plan to retrieve Harry from the Dursley’s, and Ron Weasley can’t sleep. How could he, when everything is about the change? Lucky for him, the one person in the world who is able to calm him down, also can’t sleep.  

Rating: G-PG

Warnings: N/A

It was the middle of the night and Ron Weasley could not sleep. 

How was he expected to? It was the night before everything was going to change. In less than twenty-four hours, he'd be flying on a broom disguised as his best friend. Seven of them would be disguised as it best friend. And despite reassurance from all the members of the Order, Ron thought the plan was absolutely barmy. 

Of course, he wouldn't dare say that aloud, and especially not in front of Hermione. Every second word from her mouth over the past few weeks had been laced with worry and doubt. "What if something happens to us?" "Oh, you know that Harry is going to absolutely hate this plan." Ron tried his best to reassure her, but that was proving rather difficult, because 1) It was Hermione Granger, the queen of worrying, and 2) He was starting to doubt the plan himself. 

Ron knew that he needed sleep. His body was practically begging for it - he had spent the entire day bidding his mother's housework, and then was persuaded into a Quidditch match with his brothers and Ginny in attempt to distract themselves from worry. He had even enjoyed some of the chores during the day – along with Ginny, he taught Hermione how to de-gnome a garden, which resulted in the Weasley siblings laughing hysterically, mostly at Hermione's offense. 

Hermione. His chest warmed as he thought of her, the way she tried to keep her expression stern while he and Ginny were laughing, the way she tripped and stumbled into his arms after one of the gnomes nearly bit her finger off. Ron had been savoring the past few weeks. He knew that once Harry arrived, everything would be different. Not that he didn't want Harry to arrive - he knew that the wizarding world was breaking at the seams, and they had a job to do - but the hours he'd gotten to spend with Hermione, alone, had felt sacred. And soon, they'd be gone.

"Ron?" He almost thought he was imagining the sound of his name, but then Hermione's voice squeaked again. “Ron?” Slowly, she nudged his bedroom door open. "I can't stop worrying about tomorrow," she whispered, her voice barely loud enough for Ron to hear. 

He was worried too. But he knew if he admitted that to her, it would only make her worry increase exponentially, so instead he sat up and patted the spot next to him on his bed. "C'mere."

Her eyes were damp, just barely, and her hair stuck up in more directions than usual, likely due to sleepless tossing and turning. She sat cross-legged on his bed, her skin just inches away from his, and then pulled her knees to her chest. 

"Were you asleep?" she asked. 

"Nah."

"Are you worried too?"

Ron didn't want to lie to her, so he simply shrugged, and tried his best to smile at her without giving himself away. "'M alright."

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother anyone, it's just, you're the only one who...who can calm me down." Even in the dark, Ron could see her cheeks turn pink. He scooted towards her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to ignore the burning feeling in his ears. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” he told her, and he meant it. He meant it with every ounce of his being, because if there was one thing he could say for sure, it was that he would make sure things were okay. For her. 

Hermione shook her head and sniffed. “I don’t mean just tomorrow. I mean…everything. Even if tomorrow goes to plan, what happens next? With…with the horcruxes, and V-Voldemort – oh, don’t wince every time I say his name, Ronald– and even if Harry defeats him, what…what about my parents? What if I made a mistake?” 

Hermione began crying in earnest, though she tried her best to wipes the tears with the hem of her shirt. “Here,” Ron said, grabbing an unfolded shirt off the ground and handing it to her, “Use this. It’s clean.”

She stared at him for a moment, something in her eyes that Ron had never noticed before – was it affection? He couldn’t tell – and then she took the shirt from his hands and used it to dry her eyes. “You should really invest in a handkerchief. Or at least some tissue.”

“Only you would find a way to chastise me while I’m comforting you,” Ron smirked. Hermione giggled in response, and Ron added, “You know, I’m sure I’ve got a handkerchief somewhere. Just gotta dig it out of my mess. I’ll find it, just for you.” He squeezed her shoulders and winked at her (which surprised even him), and she shook her head and smiled, then leaned against his shoulder. He was glad she couldn’t see how red his cheeks had turned. 

“I wish we could just stay here,” she whispered. He wasn’t sure wheether she meant here as in the Burrow, or here as in with him, in his room in the middle of the night, but either way he replied, “Me too.”

“It’s all going to change after tomorrow, isn’t it?” she whispered. 

“Probably,” he said. He turned towards her and took her hands in his. “But I’ll tell you what. I promise you, if I make it out of this madness, we can stay here all we want. We won’t have to be anywhere, or do anything, and you can come in here and sit with me like this. Er, I mean, you know. If you want to.” Silently, he cursed his burning cheeks. 

She squeezed his hands and smiled, then suddenly, her smile turned to a frown. “What do you mean if youmake it out?”

He grimaced. “Well, you know…you’re better at magic and stuff than me, and if anything happens, I’ll…you’re more…more important, right?”

Her frown turned into a glare. “Don’t you dare say you’ll sacrifice yourself for me in this war, Ronald Weasley.”

“Erm – ”

“How would you feel if I said I’d sacrifice myself for you?”

“That’s not the same!”

“It’s exactly the same! And you know it!”

They glared at one another for a few very long seconds, and then Hermione flung her arms around Ron’s neck and buried her face in his shoulder. “Nothing will happen to either of us,” she whispered, although her voice shook with worry and Ron knew better, “We’ll get Harry tomorrow – even though I think the plan is absolutely ridiculous, it’s really not safe, and – ”

“Your point?”

“Right. And…and we’ll make it out of this war, with Harry too, and then we’ll come right back here and everything will be okay.”

Ron wanted to believe it. He needed to believe it. “The first step in all that is probably to get some sleep,” he whispered. 

She laughed and released him from her hug. “I’ll get you some tea,” he said quickly, because he was afraid of what would happen if he sat there, looking into her eyes, any longer. He was afraid that he might kiss her, and if he kissed her, then he could throw out all hope of being any use during the war. He was already hopelessly distracted. 

By the time he came back to his room with a piping hot cup of tea, Hermione had already fallen asleep, curled up on his bed. He pulled a blanket over her and climbed into the camp bed that had been waiting for Harry. He fell asleep to the sound of Hermione’s quiet breathing. It was the only thing that could calm him down. 

 Several months later:

It was the middle of the night when the Weasley family finally returned home. The house was empty and quiet, yet loud with grief. Around every corner was a memory of someone they lost in the battle. Slowly, members of the household dispersed – George walked straight to his room, like a zombie. Percy paced in the kitchen, trying to put together something to eat. Arthur took Molly by the arm and led her upstairs. Their sobs echoed through the thin walls. After hours of talking, eating, and crying, Ginny bid Harry, Ron, and Hermione goodnight. The three friends hadn’t left one another’s side since the battle. They shared a bond that nobody else could understand. 

Harry fell asleep instantly – he had already slept in the Gryffindor Common Room the day before, but that had been no cure to the exhaustion that had accumulated from months on the run. Ron and Hermione sat, late in the middle of the night, listening to Harry’s snores from the camp bed. “Don’t know how we survived eight months in a tent with this,” Ron whispered. 

“I don’t know how you shared a room with him for six years,” Hermione whispered back, and they tried their best to stifle their giggles. 

Hermione snuggled into Ron’s chest and closed her eyes. He buried his face in her hair and let her curls tickle his nose. “I told you we’d come back here,” he whispered into her ear. 

“Hmm?”

“That night, before we went and got Harry. I told you, after it all, we’d come back here and just sit for as long as you want.”

“Are you trying to turn this into an I-told-you-somoment?”

Ron smirked. “I can’t let you have all of them.”

“Well…can we do more than just sitting? Here?”

Ron didn’t even care how red his face had turned. He kissed her on the lips, and then added, “Maybe when Harry isn’t snoring below us.”

She laughed and kissed him again. “We’re okay,” she whispered, the statement still unfamiliar after the horrors of the last months. 

“We are,” he said, “And we will be.” And he meant it.  

[andystanberg]

Red Hair and Hand Me Downs: Chapter 1

No Longer Ordinary

A/N Read on AO3. Read on Wattpad. Read Chapter 2 now. No drarry in the first year, but the endgame is drarry. Based off of @sadfishkid ‘s art of a red headed harry: x

Summary:

Harry James Potter still has dead parents, a scar, poor eyesight and a horrible aunt, uncle and cousin. He still lives in a cupboard under the stairs (until the letters start arriving, that is) and for the most part, he's the same hero everyone's grown to love.

However, instead of James' hair and Lily's eyes, a burst of red sits on his head and underneath his cracked glasses lie a warm, deep hazel.

And so, everything changes.

(Or in which Draco mistakes Harry for a Weasley in Madam Malkin's, resulting in Harry revealing who he is and an unlikely friendly being born.)

-

Harry Potter, for most of his life, believed there was nothing special about him. He knew that his parents were killed in a car crash (or at least, that’s what he was told) and that same car crash gave him the lightning-bolt scar etched onto his forehead. He knew from when his aunt and uncle had had a bit too much wine that he looked almost exactly like his mother, with his freckles and wavy, bright red hair that covered the mark on his head. Aunt Petunia used to tell him when he was younger that his hair was the reason he was so “abnormal” (at least, until Dudley had brought home a friend with red hair too). He also knew that he had that “nasty Potter’s eyes”, to quote her directly. The only other thing he knew about his parents were their names; Lily and James Potter.

Harry James Potter had red hair, brown eyes, a lightning bolt scar, dead parents and slept in the cupboard under the stairs, and, for the longest time, he believed that that was all there was to him. But then the letters started arriving and he was given Dudley’s small second bedroom that held all his old toys (a lot were broken). Then he was whisked off to the hut on the rock where he met Hagrid and learnt that his parents weren’t good-for-nothings, as the Dursleys often had him believe, but rather Lily and James Potter, who were brilliant in everything. He learnt that they weren’t killed in a car crash but rather by a dark wizard (who he later learnt was called Voldemort) and he, Harry James Potter, a boy who was nothing special, was one of the most famous wizards for defeating him. His scar was from where Voldemort’s curse had hit him and rebounded and suddenly, Harry James Potter was no longer ordinary.

Hagrid told him about Hogwarts, the wizarding school who had been sending all the letters and gave Harry one to read at last. Then he gladly went with Hagrid as he was whisked off to the Leaky Cauldron, where everyone wanted to shake his hand, and off they went to Diagon Alley. Harry learnt that he had a small fortune to his name and watched as Hagrid removed a suspiciously small package from a heavily guarded vault.

They then continued going around and buying Harry’s school supplies and Hagrid patiently answered Harry’s many, many questions about the wizarding world and the likes. Harry, never having been allowed to ask questions before, took full advantage of this.

Hagrid had just left to calm his stomach from the Gringotts cart ride with something from the Leaky Cauldron, leaving the boy to walk into Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions on his own. As he entered, a friendly-looking witch hurried over, and Harry figured that this must be Madam Malkin herself.

“Hogwarts, dear?” she asked, just as Harry opened his mouth to speak. Glad that he didn’t have to say anything, as he really didn’t know what on earth he was supposed to be getting, Harry just nodded. “Got the lot here – another young man being fitted up just now, in fact.”

She led him over to the back of the shop and Harry spotted a pale boy with slicked blond hair who was currently being fitted by another witch. Harry stood on the stool Madam Malkin gestured to, which happened to be right next to the boy, and then she started her work.

The boy barely gave Harry a glance. “Hullo,” he said, “Hogwarts too?”

Harry replied with a short “Yes,” too busy looking at the boy with interest. Harry, having only attended school with his cousin Dudley who bullied anyone that so much as looked twice at Harry, had never really had a person his own age to chat with.

As the strange boy continued to talk, Harry noticed that he had a drawling voice, almost as if though everything bored him. The boy explained that his father was buying books and his mother was looking at wands. “Then I’m going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don’t see why first-years can’t have their own. I think I’ll bully Father into getting me one and I’ll smuggle it in somehow.”

Harry barely stopped a frown from spreading over his face when he was reminded of Dudley. It was such a shame, really, because the boy, although rather stuck-up and demanding, was the only source of semi-decent conversation Harry’s had in years, aside from Hagrid and that snake from the zoo.

“Have you got your own broom?” the boy asked, attempting to bring Harry back into the conversation after noticing he was rather silent.

“No,” was Harry’s short reply.

“Play Quidditch at all?”

“No,” Harry said again, curious as to what Quidditch could be. He figured it was a wizarding sport, or perhaps a game.

“I do – Father says it’s a crime if I’m not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Funny though, I thought even though the Weasleys were poor, they’d at least have the decency to let their kids play Quidditch. Wait till my father hears about this!” The boy said all of this in a rather disgusted tone, finally looking at Harry. His expression was one of disdain as he took in Harry’s flaming red hair and Dudley’s huge old clothes.

“I’m sorry,” Harry began, truly and utterly confused now, “but what do you mean Weasley?”

“Don’t play dumb. Red hair and hand-me-down clothes? My father told me all the Weasleys have that unnatural hair colour, freckles and more children than they can afford.” The boy said nastily, shooting a pointed look at Harry’s clothes. “The whole lot of them – blood traitors! My father told me so. And judging by your muggle clothing, it seems they also have appalling bad taste.”

It was then that Harry figured that the Weasleys must be a wizarding family of some sort. A wizarding family with the same sort of appearance as Harry, if what the boy said was to be relied on.

“I think you have me confused with someone else,” Harry said slowly. “My parents are dead.” The boy didn’t go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. “Besides, they weren’t Weasleys, that’s the one thing I’m sure about.”

“Oh, sorry,” the boy looked ever so slightly embarrassed, before something registered in his mind. “What do you mean, that’s the one thing you’re sure about? Surely your new guardians would have told you about them.”

“Ah, well,” Harry’s cheeks heated up as he mumbled “my aunt and uncle didn’t like the fact that my parents had magic very much. Or at all, really.”

A scowl settled across the boy’s face. “Muggles, are they? That explains a lot. Who were your parents, anyway?”

“Uh, yeah,” Harry replied, not liking the way the other spat the word muggles, however, he assumed, from what Harry’s told him, he supposed the boy had a reason for saying it like that. “My parents were Lily and James Potter.”

At this, the boy’s eyes widened. “You’re joking. You can’t be Harry Potter! Prove it!” he demanded, in a disbelieving tone.

“How do I prove it?” Harry questioned, absolutely bewildered. How did people prove these things? “I don’t have my birth certificate on me.”

“Birth certificate?” Draco frowned. “What does that matter? If you’re really Harry Potter, then all you have to do is show me your scar!”

“Scar? Oh you mean –“ Harry, still not used to this treatment, brushed his hair out of the way so the boy could see his lightning bolt scar. Madam Malkin had stopped to check this for herself. His robes would take forever, at this rate.

“You are!” The boy cried happily. “I’m Malfoy. Draco, Malfoy.” Draco seemed to expect Harry to be impressed by this, as he looked rather confident. He held out his hand but Harry just stared at it. Draco, who didn’t seem one for patience, let out a huff of annoyance before grabbing Harry’s and shaking it. “Why didn’t you tell me straight away that you were Harry Potter?”

“You didn’t exactly give me a chance, now, did you?” Harry snapped, before flushing and mumbling out an apology.

Draco, at least, had the decency to look sheepish. Harry watched as the boy shuffling about uncomfortably on his stool, opening and closing his mouth several times before finally saying, “I- I didn’t mean- well, you see, Father’s always told me that purebloods were to only associate with other purebloods and well, the Weasley family doesn’t exactly do that, and –“ he broke himself off. Harry got the impression that he was trying to apologise (or something along those lines) and that Draco wasn’t exactly used to doing so. “You’re halfblood, I forgot, I shouldn’t have said that. Besides, you’re Harry Potter so I guess there isn’t anything wrong with halfbloods. It’s the muggleborns you have to be cautious around.” This was all said very fast and Harry had a hard time keeping up.

There was a stunned silence for a few seconds. “Forgot to ask earlier, do you know what house you’ll be in?” Draco asked, eager to change the subject.

“No,” Harry replied, once again feeling down-heartened by his lack of knowledge. He wasn’t even sure what the boy meant by house, let alone which one he was supposed to be in.

“Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I’ll be in Slytherin, all our family have been – imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I’d leave, wouldn’t you?” Harry must have looked as confused as he felt, because Draco immediately backtracked, remembering what Harry had let slip about his limited information earlier. “Just so you know, there are four houses in Hogwarts. There’s Slytherin, the cunning ones, Gryffindor, the ones who brainlessly rush into things, Ravenclaw, the smart ones, and Hufflepuff, the fool-hardy idiots who don’t know the difference between a quill and a broomstick.”

“I bet I’m Hufflepuff,” Harry muttered glumly.

“Nonsense, you defeated the Dark Lord when you were a baby! You’re a Potter, too. That ought to count for something, I just know you’ll be Slytherin.” Harry still didn’t feel convinced. “Oh, cheer up. By the way, I know you said you’re relatives don’t like the wizarding world too much, but what is with those clothes? You’re most likely the sole heir of the Potter fortune, one of the oldest wizarding families alive, alongside Malfoy, of course. Surely you can afford some decent clothing.”

“I- well, they, uh… My aunt and uncle don’t really want to waste their money on me, so they give me my cousin Dudley’s old clothes. I don’t exactly want them, but it’s all I have. And besides, I don’t want to spend all the money my parents left me on clothes when the booklist is so long.” Harry was staring intently at his lap and fidgeting with his fingers as he said this.

Draco processed this information and realised that Harry was implying that he paid for all his school books and materials with his own money, which was rather odd since Draco had never know a parent (or guardian) to force their child to pay for school supplies before.

“Are they poor?” He asked tentatively. Or, as tentatively as Draco Malfoy could get, in any case.

Harry scoffed. “Nope. If you saw how much presents Dudley gets for his birthday and Christmas, you’d think the Dursleys’ were the richest family alive.”

“Then why..?” Draco prompted when it didn’t seem Harry was going to say anymore.

“They prefer pretending I don’t exist. What I said about them not liking my parents’ magic goes the same for me. They’re not fond of any kind of magic,” Harry said in a rush. Draco swore that he heard an “or me” at the end there.

Although rather furious with the muggles and having quite a lot he wanted to say, Draco let the subject drop.

“I say, look at that man!” Draco exclaimed suddenly, nodding towards the front window. Hagrid was standing there and grinned at Harry before tapping his wrist, indicating that he had been standing there for a while now. To Harry’s great delight, he saw Hagrid had two large ice-cream cones, topped with brightly coloured sprinkles.

“That’s Hagrid. Since the Dursleys would never come, he’s helping me buy my Hogwarts stuff. He works as the gamekeeper at Hogwarts.” Harry was rather pleased to know something Draco didn’t.

Draco once again had a disdained look on his face, but this time, he refrained himself from saying anything nasty. “I’ve heard of him.” From the short reply, Harry felt that the things Draco had heard weren’t exactly pleasant.

“Hagrid’s brilliant! Before you, he was the only one who told me anything about Hogwarts and what to expect.” Noticing that Draco still had that expression, Harry continued on, determined to convince Malfoy that Hagrid was nothing but good. “You should’ve seen what he did to Dudley when he caught him eating my cake Hagrid brought me! It was the first time anyone’s ever stood up for me.”

At this, Draco’s frown finally let up. He shot a curious glance at Harry and took in his small frame, big clothes and broken glasses. “Well, there’s no other choice,” he spoke, capturing Harry’s attention. “Let’s be friends.” Draco was determined to protect Harry Potter from that point onwards, and if it meant going against his father’s beliefs, then so be it. (Of course, he wasn’t going to tell Lucius Malfoy about Harry, because Draco’s a – or will be a – Slytherin, thank you very much, and unlike Gryffindors, he was going to be smart about this. When he made the decision to protect Harry that meant from his father, too.)

Harry nodded and was positively beaming by then, but before he could say anything else, Madam Malkin piped up, “That’s you done, my dear.” Harry gave one last smile at his first friend ever before hopping down from the footstool and leaving the shop.

“See you at Hogwarts!” Harry called over his shoulder, just in time to see Draco grin too.

“What’s got yeh so happy?” Hagrid asked, smiling at Harry’s sudden happiness.

“Nothing,” Harry hummed, before gladly accepting the ice-cream he was handed. “Just excited for Hogwarts.” They continued on with the list of supplies, stopping to buy parchment and quills. Harry was once again fascinated by all of the magical inventions (he had spotted a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote) and was going over the conversation with Draco in his mind when he remembered something. “Hagrid, what’s Quidditch?”

“Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin’ how little yeh know – not knowin’ about Quidditch!” Hagrid had seemed truly offended by this, much like Draco had. Harry said as much.

“The boy I was talking to in Madam Malkin’s said pretty much the same thing,” Harry began. He told Hagrid all about the pale boy called Draco who had a drawling voice, grey-blue eyes, and blond hair, smooth and slicked back. He also told him about being mistaken for a Weasley and making his first friend (conveniently leaving out a lot of the negative things Draco had said, because the boy did apologise… kind of, and besides, Harry really wanted Hagrid to like him too.)

“Knew yeh’d be makin’ friends in no time! It’s true though, yeh do look like a Weasley! Not tha’ there’s anything wrong with ‘em. In fact, I knew Molly and Arthur from Hogwarts. O’ course, I know their twin sons, Fred and George, well enough from all the times they’ve tried ter sneak into the Forbidden Forest. Troublesome pair, tha’ lot.” Hagrid chuckled. Harry quite liked the sound of the twins, they seemed like a rather amusing duo.

“So what is Quidditch?”

“It’s our sport. Wizard sport. It’s like – like football in the Muggle world.” Hagrid explained, then went on to say the equipment used in it. (Harry, personally, was incredibly interested in the flying broomsticks, but Hagrid told him he wasn’t allowed one until next year.)

“And what are the school houses? What are they for?” Harry asked. He knew from Draco’s explanation that there were four, but that didn’t explain what they did or why they were so important.

“There’s four school houses. You have Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. They’re like, ah, they’re the group o’ people you share a dorm and eat with. Yer parents were both Gryffindor, so I figure yer’ll find yer way in there too.”

Harry didn’t get a chance to ask any more questions, as they soon arrived in a shop called Flourish and Blotts. From that point onwards, the few remaining daylight hours were spent going from shop to shop, buying books, cauldrons and supplies for Harry’s future Potions lessons.

Once they were done there, Hagrid checked the school list again. “Just yer wand left – oh yeah, an’ I still haven’t got yeh a birthday present.”

Harry blushed and went to tell Hagrid that he needn’t get him anything, but Hagrid cut him off.

“I know I don’t have to. Tell yeh what, I’ll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh’d be laughed at – an’ I don’ like cats, they make me sneeze. I’ll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they’re dead useful, carry yer post an’ everythin’.”

About half an hour later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium; Harry carrying a large birdcage with a beautiful snowy owl that was currently fast asleep in it. “Thanks, Hagrid!” Harry said for the umpteenth time, staring at the bird in wonder. Something for him! This was the most Harry’s ever received in his life, and in one day too!

“Don’ mention it,” Hagrid said gruffly, hiding a pleased smile. “Don’ expect you’ve had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now – only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand.”

–

Hagrid and Harry were eating hamburgers at the nearest muggle train station, waiting for the train that would take Harry back to the Dursleys until the start of term. Ollivanders had been a dusty, run-down-looking shop, filled with wands in shoe boxes lining the walls in stacks that reminded Harry of Flourish and Blotts. It was rather dim in there. Ollivander himself had been a peculiar fellow that made Harry feel a bit uncomfortable at times, though Harry didn’t mind too much as he had learnt more about his parents.

He was once again told that he looked almost exactly like Lily with James’ eyes, but he was far more interested in learning what kind of wands his parents had had.

After the introductions were over, he started to wave wands about. He felt rather stupid when nothing happened and stupider still as the rejected wands piled up. (Imagine his surprise when he found out that the wand that had “chosen him”, as Mr Ollivander would have put it, shared the same core with Voldemort’s wand.)

“You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet,” Hagrid spoke up, breaking Harry’s train of thought.

“Everyone thinks I’m special,” Harry said at last. “All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Draco, Mr Ollivander… but I don’t even know anything about magic! How can they expect great things when I can’t even remember what I’m famous for? I don’t know what happened when Vol- sorry – I mean, the night my parents died.”

“Don’ you worry, Harry. You’ll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you’ll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it’s hard. Yeh’ve been singled out, an’ that’s always hard. But yeh’ll have a great time at Hogwarts – I did – still do, ‘smatter of fact.” Hagrid reassured him, leaning across the table to do so.

The train arrived then, and Harry was sad to see Hagrid go, but, as Hagrid reminded him, they would see each other again soon enough. He was handed his ticket for Hogwarts and told that if there were any problems with the Dursleys, all he had to do was send Hagrid a letter using his owl, which he had yet to name.

Harry left London with a smile on his face and his mood only brightened when the Dursleys ignored him almost completely instead of dishing out chores, like they usually would. In fact, they seemed rather afraid of Harry; Dudley ran out of any room Harry was in and Vernon refrained from yelling constantly. And if telling the Dursleys that he wasn’t allowed to do magic outside of school slipped Harry’s mind, well, what was the harm in that?

[negativereader]

My Critique of Harry Potter

So, there are people asking why I get critical, so I’ll explain. So, first of all, I’m not saying I hate the series. It’s an immensely important one, and I maintain the fact that we can thank if for the fact that YA is the monster genre that it became. Prior to it, YA was mostly coming of age stories (mostly about boys) and stupid drama. 

So, why am I critical of some elements of the story? 

My issues with the series can be wrapped up in Snape, Dumbledore and Harry himself.

Note: I’m not taking any of Rowling’s later revelations into account. I didn’t keep up with them.

Dumbledore

So, I would argue that one of them major themes of Harry Potter is to trust the schools. Yes, there are themes of love, tolerance, growing as a culture and accepting change. However, the one I want to focus on is this one, and how Dumbledore is wrapped in it. 

This is not a critique of Dumbledore himself. I have less issues with the character than many, what I do have issues with is how the narrative treats him.

Throughout the book, we learn that the Ministry of Magic is corrupt. It’s thoroughly compromised by blood purists, and filled with incompetents who only care about furthering their own power. Harry, understandably, grows to distrust and dislike their ideals. 

Hogwarts, on the other hand, is different. Hogwarts is treated like it’s nearly perfect, other than the exception of the Slytherins who are conveniently sectioned off into the dungeons so that we know that they are bad people and a few bad teachers who are the exception to the rule. This is wrapped up in Dumbledore himself. 

While Dumbledore is acknowledged as being morally ambiguous, having had an involvement in his sister’s death, and a friendship with Wizard Hitler 1.0, his actions, beliefs and behaviors are always portrayed as the enlightened ones, the progressive ones, the ones that we are expected to admire and approve of, and Harry never questions Dumbledore. 

Throughout all of Deathly Hallows, Harry might distrust everyone else, but never Dumbledore’s instructions. He is, as he admits, Dumbledore’s man through and through. 

This leads to a theme that I honestly don’t like: “Don’t trust the government, but completely trust the intellectual elite. They will never steer you wrong.”

There is no critique of Dumbledore’s frankly isolationist policy towards the Muggles, nor is Dumbledore forced to explain his actions, and the narrative never seems to expect the reader to have anything but complete faith in Dumbledore. This isn’t Harry calling into question what he’d believed about the man and then accepting that, while flawed and broken, Dumbledore was actively trying to make up for his mistakes. While the Hat is unsure about the Sorting System, it remains, and is thus justified. Dumbledore and the system of Hogwarts itself (which arguably allows blood purism to fester given that Slytherins are never forced to work with Muggleborns in a friendly sense) goes unquestioned.

Harry is rewarded for this complete faith, and the world continues as it was, separated from Muggles, Hogwarts in tact, with no sign of anything other than the government having changed.

 What’s more, the Wizards are given no reason to change their opinion of the Muggles, so therefore, blood purism is going to be able to fester until someone else rises. Because Rowling, at least in the books, gives us no Muggle who is any better than the Dursleys, or the Prime Minister, who seems incompetent.

Snape

So, Snape is another character that I have little against personally. While I think that his fans tend to ignore his flaws, he’s a fine example of a character with a failed character arc, or who does good things for the wrong reason.

However, the narrative treats Snape in a very strange way.

Now, we all know Snape’s backstory, how he comes from an abusive home, suffered bullying, had a crush on Lily that eventually developed into an obsession that left her and her husband dead, and how, in repentance for her death, he turned spy. However, there are things about him that the narrative doesn’t tell.

We see everything from Snape’s perspective, so naturally we see him as a victim of circumstance. However, we never see if Snape actually gave up his blood purist views or if he retained them (as his treatment of Hermione could be argued to imply) and remained against Voldemort purely for Lily’s sake. We know that he despises Harry for being James’ son, but that’s it.

We don’t see what he did as a Death Eater, though it’s implied through his curses that it wasn’t good. Maybe that would make him less sympathetic, but that’s part of the problem. 

The narrative and Harry, treat him as a complete hero by the end. And, again, we are expected to agree with how brave Snape was. We are supposed to see his obsession with and idealization of Lily as romantic.

What’s more, Lily and James are weirdly voiceless characters despite being so important. We never really hear Lily’s point of view, and Snape’s perspective makes her seem unrealistically perfect. We never see just what is meant by James ‘deflating his head’. It’s all Snape.

And for a character Rowling argues as being wrong, she certainly does her best to justify him.

Harry

So, I don’t have the issues with Harry that most people do. I don’t think that he should ‘just rebel’. I don’t think that he was ‘rude’. I think that he was a deeply traumatized boy who latched on to the first adult who acted in a kind way towards him and refused to allow that to be shaken. 

However, I do have questions about some of his actions in Deathly Hallows. Particularly with how free he was with Unforgivable curses and how the narrative treated it.

It’s clear that what makes the unforgivable curses so, well, unforgivable is the intent behind them. You have to want to torture someone when you cast Crucio. You have to want to dominate someone when you cast Imperio. And you have to want someone dead to cast Avada Kadavra. However, when Harry casts Crucio, we’re supposed to cheer him on in Deathly Hallows. We’re supposed to see the fact that our hero cast a torture curse as a good thing, because it was against a bad person and not to consider it further.

Now, I have no objection to the scene with Bellatrix. Because Harry is angry, hurt, grieving and is reacting. He is also faintly horrified once he does it. That’s fine. Heroes doing questionable things is fine, but I want to see it acknowledged that it was a questionable action, rather than completely justified so don’t think about it.

The narrative, again, expects us to not even question if Harry throwing Crucio around is really a good thing for him. 

Now, some of this could be attributed to Hype Backlash, and the fact that people I know tend to treat the series like it is completely flawless, but I think I do have grounds for a critique. I’m not saying that it’s not a good series, with a lot of good ideas. I just feel that it’s not the perfection that people tend to make it into nowadays.

I have other critiques, but those are mostly nitpicks.

[lucianalight]

The Harry Potter Elements in Thor Ragnarok You May Not Have Noticed

There were elements of Harry Potter books/characters in Thor Ragnarok. You may have noticed the similarity of Thor's vision of Odin, with Harry's vision of Dumbledore when they were on the brink of death. But it was more than that.

Odin in the previous movies was a cold, cruel and stubborn king, but TR changed him to a lovely and funny mentor. He was meant to be like Dumbledore. Someone who made some mistakes in his youth with his close companion(Grindelwald/Hela). Then there was a disagreement between these two, a fight happened and Dumbledore/Odin won.

Odin seemed wise in the eyes of Thor. He was Thor's mentor and his father. But in reality Odin was an abusive father, even to Thor. He lied to Thor, hid his true extend of powers from him, and controlled him by Mjolnir. Somehow like what Dumbledore did to Harry(his lies and secrets and how he left him to grew up with an abusive family). Despite all this and even after finding the truth, Harry/Thor still looked up to Dumbledore/Odin.

The fact that in TW's mind Loki as a child was like Draco(his version was actually a combination of Draco and Snape) is also saying sth. Because Draco was always jealous of Harry and his popularity and it bothered him that Harry was favored by Dumbledore and he was never seen in comparison. Another similarity is Draco couldn't actually kill Dumbledore. Loki didn't kill Odin when he had the chance.

The way Thor saw Asgard through Heimdall's eyes to see its state was similar to how Harry could see through Voldemort's mind and eyes and know his plans.

When Thor was about to surrender and die, he sees a vision of Odin. Just like how Harry sees Dumbledore when he sacrifices himself. Thor's vision is in the same place Odin called home, the same place that they all felt like a family for the last time. Harry's vision is in King's Cross station, the place that brought him to his first real home. There is sth about Thor's vision that I think people have misinterpreted. Odin says that Thor is stronger than him. People thought this strength was about his powers. It was not. Later we see that Thor is unable to defeat Hela, someone Odin had defeated, and he knows it. So what did it mean that Thor is stronger than Odin? Odin meant Thor's a better person. Probably because he has a great heart and is kind and forgiving. Like how Dumbledore told Harry that his love made him stronger and it could defeat Voldemort. So why you didn't get this meaning? Because TR did a terrible job in case of characterization, especially for its main hero. There is no sign of love and kindness in TR Thor's character(unlike our old Thor) when he acts more like a bully: dismissing other people, using them for his plans, doesn't care about their feelings, inflicting pain happily and despite all this, think himself right and a hero. You have every right to misunderstand Odin's true message.

I don't know the reason behind all these similarities. Lazy writing? Or they were out of ideas? Maybe I'm looking too much into it, but I know that a lot of fans saw the similarities between Harry and Loki in the first Thor movie. Because Loki was different and used magic and his family was somehow abusive, kind of like Harry's situation with Dursleys. I don't know whether it was another attempt to break an image of Loki from previous movies and replace it with Thor, or it was just a coincidence.

[halothenthehorns]

TLTNL- NUMBER TWELVE, GRIMMAULD PLACE

"I'm sorry," Harry said at once, dying to know the name of this brother as he felt entirely sure he'd heard of for some strange reason. It was odd though, as he was confident he'd never even met another Black besides his godfather, but there was something he was missing in that connection-

This was clearly the wrong response though, as Sirius snorted softly and shook his head, waving the apology off and muttering, "nah, just surprised me a bit. We were only close before I started school, then I think we never had more than one proper conversation." His face twitched for a moment as 'conversation' was not the right word to describe his last real meeting with his brother.

Quickly forcing himself to stay on track he smirked, "Thinking about making a toast my deranged parents have finally gone beyond the veil though. Just, you know, thought my brother really was smarter than what I knew he was going to do." Really, the blow wasn't hitting anywhere close to him finding out he was going to lose James. It wasn't even that hard to imagine, as Sirius had told Regulus this was his fate when he went to join Voldemort's crew. Still, the thought wouldn't quite hit the smug feeling he thought he'd have at being right. He'd said a lot of harsh things to Regulus during their last meeting, and he had in return. Now there was a highly likely chance they'd never even make up for it.

What he was really left wondering was how soon until it happened? Had someone in the Order already done him in without even realizing it? They didn't always take off those Death Eater masks when they did a body count as more often than not they were in a hurry after those kinds of fights happened.

Remus wouldn't let him linger on the thought long though, an odd twisted smile in place as he said, "I'm trying to figure out how this even came about? The last place on earth you'd have a poke around after you got out was this place to even realize you were now the only heir.”

  Sirius could only shrug for that, almost wishing Remus was joking, but even now he couldn't imagine the point in looking up where his Death Eater of a brother was staying, Sirius couldn't imagine he'd have bothered looking him up after twelve years in Azkaban.

James was watching Sirius' face become steadily more drawn with confusion as he kept thinking about this, so he butted in saying, "no offense Sirius, but I still can't imagine why the Order wound up there. Last I heard, you weren't even in line to posses such a treasured object as the Black house." The way he said treasured object made it sound like a bomb about to go off.

"I've no clue," Sirius shrugged. "She may have disowned me and blasted me from that stupid wall, but maybe the blood magic binding that house never left, or she couldn't figure out how to erase me from it." Then his eyes brightened as he truly grasped what he was saying, and he full out laughed. "Merlin's Holy Socks, that place is the Order of the Phoenix's Headquarters! Oh this is brilliant! That woman's surely having fits in her grave!" He dissolved into insane giggling that James quickly joined in on.

Remus passed Lily the book and Lily quickly gave her child to James as she went to start, trying to ignore the boys while Remus still had an unfocused gaze. Sirius may enjoy the irony for now, but he'd seen his friend the last time he'd been at that place, and he wasn't looking forward to hearing how Sirius was going to be acting inside that house. He found it funny from the outside, where the description had fallen so far none of them would have even guessed it as the same grandeur place of Sirius' childhood home, but even knowing what it's usages were, he was sure old Padfoot was trying to spend more time out of that place than in it. He probably wasn't even there now when Harry arrived, or maybe he would brave those dank walls again to see his Godson. It was an honest coin toss.

Harry began to ask what the Order was, but Moody cut him off to wait till he was inside.

"Which reminds me," Lily butted in before they could go too far into the story and she could question this now after Sirius had gotten over his shock. "What even was the point of Dumbledore writing you that note just as you were outside the house? Surely if he wanted you to know the address they'd have just given it to you at the Dursleys. What's the point of the note at all?"

"Hope I ask Dumbledore," was all Harry could say.

Moody took the parchment back and set it on fire while Harry reexamined the houses. There was an eleven to his left, and a thirteen on his right, but no twelve in sight.

Sirius blinked in confusion as he again recalled such a disgusting neighborhood that seemed to have fallen well out of shape from his time there. Surely that had all happened after everyone was dead, but what on earth was happening to make the house completely not there? There was already a ton of enchantments set in place so that no one could enter unless they were invited in, how much more had Dumbledore done to the place to make it safe?

Harry again began to ask where this place was, but Lupin whispered for Harry to think of the note he'd just read.

Just as he finished, a battered door appeared from nowhere right in between the two existing places.

"What in the world?" Remus demanded as he studied the book like it too would suddenly grow its own house.

"That sounds like the Fidelius Charm,"* Lily wrinkled up her own brow as she tried to understand this magic she'd never seen used. Her hand automatically sought out her husbands and they held tight to each other for a moment as they remembered all that spell would lead to for them.

Sirius' face had screwed up with the force of his trying not to automatically start screaming and shouting at the mention of that Charm again, what he'd lead his best friend into all because of his mistake. He couldn't fathom a second how he'd ever worked out that rat was in any way a better option than Remus or even himself, this is what he got for trying to be clever with some decoy, his friends death. Merlin they should have just used Harry since he couldn't have given the location to anyone!

Remus gave Sirius' shoulder a sympathetic squeeze, whispering some words of comfort, but still waiting for Sirius' terse nod before waving Lily to continue.

Like someone was inflating a house, walls and struts began spanning into sight, pushing the other two houses away to make room, but the stereo in elven kept thumping on, not a light flickered anywhere, no one seemed to notice such a thing but him.

Then Moody was prodding Harry in the back to get him moving again.

Sirius was now in far less of a good mood as he imagined going back into that house for even a second, not even the thought of his old hag of a mother's angry face could make this amusing anymore and now he hoped he'd just spot Harry coming in and drag him right back out for some quality time.

Harry uneasily followed up the crumbling steps to the shabby black door that only had a serpent doorknocker with no other decoration.

Lupin pulled out his wand and tapped it to enter, and then Harry was pushed inside while being whispered at not to touch anything.

"You guys were starting to freak me out." Harry hadn't meant that to come out as a whisper, but the mention of that charm had seemed to sap all life from the room and he couldn't think of anything better to say.

"That's sound advice though," Sirius ground out for Remus. "That place is a walking death trap if you don't know what you're doing." It wasn't even entirely the house's previous occupants, there were a lot of objects in that place even Sirius had never fiddled with too much after he'd once seen Regulus stick his nose into a box and come back out with it almost scale covered. His mother had fixed him right and then scolded Sirius for letting his brother play in that room.

Sirius couldn't help it, his original good mood on the subject had vanished, and the more he thought about it the more he realized he didn't care of how much good use it was being used for, he really didn't think it was worth it just for all the memories that were sweeping him he'd thought he'd repressed because of this place.

Harry stepped over the threshold into the almost total darkness of the hall. He could smell damp, dust and a sweetish, rotting smell; the place had the feeling of a derelict building.

Harry was watching Sirius growing more and more agitated as this carried on, and Harry was starting to feel the same way. Harry could just feel the emptiness and hatred pouring out of the walls of that house and something of thinking about Sirius in there cut him deep, which was odd when he blinked again and felt like he'd grown used to the old building...

The rest of his guard piled in behind him, though none moved past towards the stairs or the entrance to a lower set of stairs. Instead they waited for Moody to release all of the lights back to the street, and come back inside to break his Disillusionment charm. Then they all still remained quiet and still while Moody got some light going.

"Why are they still whispering when they're inside?" Lily asked in confusion, her own voice sounding a little loud in the suddenly eerie quiet of this room, but she wanted to at least try and keep some level of normal about them.

Sirius wasn't helping, for once he seemed to have no need to voice his opinion about anything as he just shrugged and kept his eyes on the fireplace instead of that book.

The others hushed voices were giving Harry a feeling of foreboding as he kept trying to pick out details in the gloom, from the dusty creaking floorboards do the dust covered chandelier above and the multiple picture frames that hung crooked on the wall.

James watched a smile creep back across Padfoot's face, but it was a twisted looking thing full of mocking hatred that his mother's precious house had clearly fallen into such disrepair.

He could also detect soft scuttling of little feet just out of sight and more serpents shaped into legs of tables.

Then he heard distinct footsteps, and Molly Weasley arrived from the bottom hallway.

Harry at first felt a smile flash across him at her reappearance again, then he blinked and all of those feelings he'd felt over that summer began simmering just under the surface as he muttered, "so Ron's really there, right at Headquarters."

Remus gave Harry an uneasy look for that tone, but had no real response for him. He wanted to say more than likely that their kids were all old enough to be home alone at the Burrow, but even that wouldn't have felt like much comfort to Harry as he could have just as easily been there with them as well.

She beamed at the sight of him, though Harry noticed she looked much more pale than the last time he'd seen her.

Lily sighed in sympathy, she knew she often looked just as strained after Order meetings.

She greeted him at once with familiar kindness, already saying he looked too peaky,

"He always looks peaky after he leaves that place," James grumbled.

after releasing him from a forceful hug, but he'd have to wait for dinner. Then she turned to the others and said that he'd arrived, the meeting had started.

"Finally," Sirius muttered, "I'll consider this whole place worth a visit if you go give Dumbledore a good telling off for your summer."

Harry made some frustrated little noise both in agreement, and depressed that he wasn't even a little convinced this happened.

The trope began heading down the hallway, but when Harry tried to follow Lupin Mrs. Weasley caught him.

"Hey," they all suddenly pouted. Harry'd been left with nothing for a month, how long was he going to keep being held back?

She told this was for Order members only.

"You mean Harry isn't automatically one?" Sirius began glaring at once. "I mean, he's kind of the whole reason the Order exists again, I think that automatically qualifies you."

Lily watched the boys around her automatically agree, but suddenly some of her protesting dimmed as she glanced down at her infant. She of course would be going crazy not knowing what was going on, she certainly was during school with no way to help. That didn't mean she wanted to toss her son into this though, she was fighting now so her little infant never would have to. She couldn't claim she was really against him sitting in on this either, but she just wished he didn't have to.

Ron and Hermione were upstairs and he would wait with them. She'd show him the way, and insisted he keep his voice down.

Harry asked why, and she said she didn't want to wake anything up.

"I meant why can't I come, but that's odd too," Harry rolled his eyes.

He tried to ask what, but Mrs. Weasley said she'd explain later, she was in a hurry, she'd just show him to the rooms.

"So he's going to stay there the rest of the summer?" Lily blinked in confusion, not really wanting to imagine her son sleeping in that place, couldn't he just Floo to the Burrow from there?

Her question was drowned out by Sirius' louder one though.

"Why is Molly even the one doing this at all?" If Sirius' face got out any more sour, he'd have that puckered expression made permanent. "I should be the one up there greeting my godson, and I'd let him down there. What's she think she's doing?" No meeting should be important enough it would stop him seeing Harry again.

Remus could only offer his original idea, "Maybe you're not even there, even now imagining trying to get you inside there would be a living nightmare. It would be easier to train a niffler."

Sirius just huffed and grumbled something as he didn't find this a better answer.

Pressing her finger to her lips, she led him on tiptoe past a pair of long, moth-eaten curtains, behind which Harry supposed there must be another door,

James blinked in confusion at that as he told, "I don't remember that." True he'd only been over once, but it had been vivid enough the place had lingered and that object hadn't.

Again, Sirius only shrugged without a trace of care.

and after skirting a large umbrella stand that looked as though it had been made from a severed troll's leg they started up the dark staircase, passing a row of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall. A closer look showed Harry that the heads belonged to house-elves.

Lily's face squished up in disgust as she glared at the book, trying to resist the impulse to turn the same look on Sirius as it's not like he'd been the one to do this, but suddenly she realized that Sirius may have taken something from his parents though he'd never claim to. If this was how they treated their old servants, than she suddenly wasn't as surprised if Sirius learned to treat them that same way.

All resembled each other through the same nose.

Harry's confusion for the place grew, what were they doing in a place that look as if it belonged to the darkest of wizard dwellings?

"Well you've got that one right Harry," Sirius huffed.

Harry tried to ask another question, but again Mrs. Weasley cut him off saying Ron and Hermione would explain. She left him at a door on the second landing, and he'd only just turned the doorknob, again a snake heads, and got a glance and more dim walls two twin beds and two owls fluttering overhead before a mound of bushy brown hair tackled him.

"I missed hearing about this," Remus managed to find a smile again at the mention of Harry's friends.

"About time," Sirius seemed to be refusing any good mood right now.

Hermione was squealing in delight, shouting at Ron that Harry was here! Already babbling on about how furious he was with them? She knew he would be, there letters had been useless,

"Well at least she admits it," James actually did get in a grin for this.

but they'd sworn they wouldn't tell him anything because of Dumbledore, and oh those dementor attacks and the Ministry hearing! She'd done her reading on it, and they just couldn't expel him, he was allowed to use magic under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction-

"I've missed hearing about Hermione like this," Lily grinned again for that little first year who'd babbled herself silly about books on their first train ride.

Ron cut in to let him breath. Harry at once noticed he'd gained a few more inches in their month apart.

Hedwig landed softly on his shoulders from the wardrobe above.

"And just where has she been?" James demanded with an eyeroll.

Sirius though narrowed his eyes as he insisted, "no, that's a good question, did someone there really lock up your owl and not let her back? Why! It wouldn't be that big of a difference just to allow Hedwig to come back so at least Harry-"

"Sirius," Lily cut in.

"What?" He barked back.

She met his scowl with a sad little frown before telling him, "it was wrong of them to keep Hedwig away, but I don't know what you're yelling at us for." She thought she did though, when she noticed his eyes tighten at the 'them.' He was clearly wanting to strangle someone for whoever kept messing with his godson, even himself as he clearly wasn't doing any good.

Ron watched the snowy owl with unease as he told his best friend she'd been in a state since she'd been here, pecking their fingers off.

Harry was ashamed to see a deep cut on his index finger.

"Ouch," Lily winced in sympathy. She hadn't actually expected Hedwig to follow through on Harry's threat, but at least was relieved to see Harry looking just as repentant.

Harry began to apologize for that, explaining he just wanted some answers.

Ron agreed at once they wanted to give them, Hermione had been going spare saying Harry would do something drastic if they held back news,

"She was almost right," Harry sighed, knowing if those dementors hadn't attacked he still wouldn't have lasted there much longer.

but Dumbledore had-

made them swear not to say, Harry finished coldly. Suddenly the happy warmth at seeing his friends again had been dumped right out again.

"So I'm guessing this won't be your next Patronus memory about them," Remus muttered uneasily as Lily flipped the page.

All of a sudden - after yearning to see them for a solid month - he felt he would rather Ron and Hermione left him alone.

"Well I get that you're pissed at them," James cocked his head to the side, "but that was just a little cold. They explained themselves in the only way they could."

"Yeah," Harry grumbled, "that didn't make me feel better."

There were all starting to watch him in a way they hadn't before, but they'd never seen this bubbling anger before either. They'd only gotten a hint of it when he was arguing with Dudley, now they were all getting a bad feeling it might make a reappearance, maybe worse if that look on Harry's face was any indication...

There was a heavy silence before Hermione kept trying to say Dumbledore was doing what he thought best.

"And everyone always does what Dumbledore thinks is best," Remus murmured as he watched Sirius already growing as angry as Harry, though still at himself for not having disobeyed Dumbledore already and thinking his pup deserved far more than the Headmaster seemed to think.

Harry gave a snappy agreement as he kept petting his owl and now looking anywhere but at them. Suddenly he looked at the marks on both their fingers again and didn't feel as sorry.

"Harry!" Lily snapped at once.

Harry felt like he'd just been snapped between two worlds, the anger he remembered feeling so vividly at his friends suddenly drowned out by the sound of Lily's voice and now replaced with plenty of real shame for that nasty little comment.

"I really am sorry," he whispered, but it seemed more to himself than her as an aching stronger than ever reared up in him and he wished he had his friends here with him now instead of having no clue where, or even when, they were.

Ron began to say Dumbledore had told them he was safer with the Muggles, but Harry snapped back didn't do him much good when the dementors had showed up.

Ron agreed that's what the Order following you had been trying to stop,

"They knew I was being followed!" Harry suddenly barked, then he groaned in misery as his emotions were leaving him feeling torn in half. At fifteen and angrier than he ever had been in his life at them, and now with a longing so deep it hurt more than he ever would have believed.

"Harry," Sirius sighed at his side. He forced himself to concentrate on his godson rather than his own equally foul mood and instructed, "take a deep breath pup, and just remember it all does work out for you. You'll get your grievances with Ron and Hermione out and then everything will be fine."

Harry struggled for a moment to get his lungs working normally again, but the confident tone to Sirius' voice truly did ease him back and he forced himself to concentrate on one mindset only, this time here and now, and push down the anger for his now absent friends. Then he gave Sirius a winning smile for the reminder.

Sirius returned the grin at once and waited until Harry looked away to throw a guilty look at James, knowing the father would have much preferred to have been able to do this, but then James surprised him by smiling right back with only the smallest bit of tightening around his eyes for having to watch. James had forced himself to come to terms at watching this for some time, and it honestly warmed him seeing Sirius was good at it.

Harry felt a jolt shock him as he realized everyone knew he'd been followed! He had to fight every bit of him to stop from yelling the words that it hadn't done any good, he'd still had to look after himself.

Hermione whispered how angry she'd seen Dumbledore when he heard, it was scary.

Harry blinked in confusion as he remembered back to how Dumbledore had looked at the end of last year, both at the realization of what had been done to his friend and when he'd defended Harry from Fudge. At the time he'd been warmed beyond belief to see his headmaster come to his defense, now it wasn't computing with the same cold man who'd abandoned Harry all summer. What had he done so wrong to change his headmaster's opinion of him?

The others didn't notice Harry's burning silent questions, they were too busy shivering as they easily pictured their anger quantified to Dumbledore's levels over that instance.

Harry snapped back he was happy Mundungus had left, otherwise he'd have probably been left there all summer!

"He, he wouldn't really," Remus tried to protest, as Dumbledore must know how miserable Harry was at that place, surely Sirius would have been vocally against that enough...but there just wasn't anything in him to say any of that was true. He could easily picture Dumbledore doing this if he thought that was what was safest, and if he was using that argument to keep Sirius quiet, well that could actually have worked.

"That's not what happened though," Lily tried to pacify for everyone around her, even herself all going grim at the statement.

"Only because I did what I wasn't supposed to," Harry raised a brow at her, "that hardly makes it any better."

Lily made a disgruntled face at him for the tone but couldn't argue that point.

Hermione's voice lowered significantly as she asked if he was worried about that Ministry hearing?

"Was that an attempt to change the subject?" James cocked his head to the side as he gazed at the book. "Hermione truly needs to read a book on how to do that."

Harry instantly lied no, as talk of that would not put him in a better mood.

He began examining the rest of the room, but the only stand out was an apparently empty painting that Harry swore he heard snickering as he walked past.

Sirius made a noise of disgust, so quickly trying to find any excuse to put off what Harry could just feel pounding through him Harry asked, "what's that?"

"His name's Phineas Nigellus," Sirius rolled his eyes, "you might have spotted him in Dumbledore's office at some point, cause he was once a Headmaster of Hogwarts. There's also a portrait up of him in that house in one of the guest rooms."

Topic of the inside of that house hadn't seemed to make Sirius feel a lick better so Harry let it go, but he still wondered why he felt something significant about a painting of all things.

Harry demanded why Dumbledore had thought he should be kept in the dark? Did they bother to ask?

He glanced over at them just in time to see them exchange a look.

"Wouldn't make anyone feel better to feel looks behind your back," Lily sighed even as she was gazing wearily at the next page where she saw a lot of capitalized letters. She forced her eyes not to skip ahead and tried to pretend like she didn't know where this was going.

Ron insisted they'd told Dumbledore they wanted to tell him, but he's been busy and made them swear not to write anything important in letters because the owls could be intercepted.

"A very real threat," Remus tried to say in hopes to keep the logic up front for them all, but clearly no one agreed as it shouldn't have even been needed.

Harry snapped back owls were the only way to talk to people now?

Sirius wanted to snark that had been his point all along, or even messages shouldn't have been needed and Harry should have properly been with him, but further grumbling of that just wasn't going to do anyone any good.

Then Harry decided no one had trusted him,

"Now you know that's not it," Lily said at once.

"Sure felt like it," he grumbled back.

or that he couldn't take care of himself.

"I still don't see what that has to do with anything," James sighed. "He won't be sending you out on any missions that you're thinking of while you're still in school."

Harry sighed with frustration as his school was mentioned again, so many feelings for that place all jumbled into one a migraine was already threatening to break again.

Hermione tried to interrupt no one thought that, but then Harry blasted then how come he'd been left at the Dursleys while they'd been here all along?

Ron insisted they didn't know much of anything, his mum kept them out because they were too young.

Ironically they might have agreed, fifteen was too young to be dealing with anything involving Voldemort. They hadn't really even known there was anything to do against him until they'd left school, and hadn't started questioning it until their sixth year. Problem was, Harry would be involved, and so would his friends by default. It was just sad all around to realize both how young they were, and how it couldn't be avoided.

But before he knew it, Harry was shouting.

Lily sighed as she looked at what Harry was fixing to belt out, but she just couldn't bring herself to shout that all out. She couldn't even bring herself to raise her voice that much, she knew the others already grasped what level Harry was at by the boys sheepish look at all the feelings pouring out of him at once on his friends.

Every last thing he'd ever been thinking over the past month about how much he'd handled, like the Philosopher's stone, and the basilisk, and the dementors!

"Harry," Lily groaned as she rubbed at her temple, letting the book dip slightly so she could eye him better.

"I know," Harry mumbled without being able to meet her eyes. First his dad, now his mum, he just kept disappointing everyone lately.

She kept staring at him though until he looked up and met her eyes while she told, "it's not as if I can blame you for your temper snapping, no one can control that, I just wish you weren't taking it out on the ones who don't deserve it."

Harry gave her a bleak smile as he still forced himself to concentrate on his every breath, on Sirius at his side shaking his head at Harry's display even while he wanted to do a bit of shouting of his own, to absolutely not think about how angry he'd been at the time so he wouldn't get lost in his mind again.

Every bitter thought that had lingered in him came pouring out now at his loudest volume, causing Hedwig to take flight in shock and Pig to begin zooming around the room even faster.

"You have a knack for scaring your owl away, don't you?" James muttered like he hoped that would stop Lily from continuing for a moment, but it didn't.

He'd been the one to get past every foul thing in that tournament last year, he'd escaped from Voldemort with his life!

Lily's voice hitched as she once again was forced to remember all that Harry had been through, all on his own, always with no one there to help him. It really was no wonder he lashed out because of the summer he'd had to suffer after all that.

Ron was standing there with his mouth half-open, clearly stunned and at a loss for anything to say, whilst Hermione looked on the verge of tears.

Harry kept sinking farther and farther into his cushion as shame managed to burn out any ill will he'd once held towards his friends, for now at least keeping his mind level in the here and now. His mum was right, this really had come out on the wrong people, he couldn't believe he'd done this to his friends.

But why should he be told what was happening!?

Hermione tried to cut in she'd wanted to tell him,

"Brave little one," Lily murmured, it took a lot for someone to interrupt someone else's shouting.

but Harry wasn't done as she howled back that Dumbledore had made them swear! Four weeks he'd been on his own trying to find out anything, and they'd been having a laugh without him!

Hermione tried one last time to cut in how sorry they were, she understood he was furious and she'd be as well if it were her.

"I think I'd fear for my life to hear of her in a furious state," Lily sighed in relief before telling them, "least you seem to be done shouting for now."

Harry hardly looked over at her as he kept flattening his hair and trying to vanish from sight, or more preferably go hunt down his friends and properly apologize to them.

Harry continued glaring furiously, his chest heaving while Hedwig hooted glumly down at him.

When the silence rung though, he demanded what this place was?

"A torture chamber," Sirius grumbled, which seemed to be true even for Harry. He hadn't been inside there five minutes when he was already showing his worst. Sirius had often wondered if that place was enchanted to bring out the worst of people, and this wasn't disproving his theory.

Ron instantly answered Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry began tartly that no one was going to bother explaining to him what the Order of the Phoenix was.

"Well you've hardly given them the chance to do that," Lily couldn't completely stop her rebuke. "You did just walk in there and start this up."

Hermione cut off his sarcasm by explaining it was a group founded by Dumbledore to fight back against You-Know-Who.

Harry demanded who was in it, and she returned a lot of people, probably even more than they'd seen around here.

Then Harry just stood there glaring at them, demanding 'well?'

Ron hesitated before asking hesitantly, well what?

"You really can't start so open ended Harry," James at least tried for a smile while he corrected Harry in a less harsh tone than Lily had managed. "Even I'm not sure what you're asking for and I'm following your head."

"Thought it was obvious," he rolled his eyes at James, honestly wanting to make the father laugh for a moment as just days ago Harry had seemed too afraid to speak to him, now he was literally mouthing off. It was quite a turn to see such a change coming through him so quickly, though it just made him all the more sad this was the closest he'd ever seem to get to watching his son grow up, years taking place over days.

Harry shouted Voldemort at once! What was he doing, what had he been up to?

Hermione reminded they didn't know, the Order was keeping them out, but she had some ideas she finished quickly at the look on Harry's face.

"You weren't really going to start shouting at them for that?" Lily couldn't stop a frown at him now. "It's not their fault they aren't allowed in."

"They certainly made their letters feel a lot more obnoxious than for 'we don't know.'" Harry grumbled back, still not entirely able to replace the bad mood this book was reminding him of it seemed.

Fred and George had invented some Extendable Ears,

At the word invented, everyone finally felt their spirits lifting again. The twins had always been a foolproof way to make them feel better, and their adventures in inventing was the most entertaining thing going on in the background of Harry's life.

and they could be used to eavesdrop on conversations. Only problem was their mum had found out about them and went berserk on her twins, tried to bin the lot of them.

"Really?" Lily demanded, finally turning her sharp eyes off of Harry and onto the book in disapproval. "She's still doing that to them? Mother yes, but I can't really say she has a right to be trashing their things like that."

"I can't believe she's still trying to," James sighed. "At some point it really does boggle the mind how she's still fighting them on something they so clearly want to do, I'd like to think she'd start encouraging them when she realized how badly they want this."

Harry had to resist the temptation to tell them both to knock off Mrs. Weasley, instead he put as much conviction into his voice as he could, "I'm convinced she'll ease up on them in no time." He truly felt it in him the mother would be proud of her boys, but he was weary of saying that in case it caused another spur of pain. He'd managed to keep anyone else from continuing on this for now though.

But they'd gotten some usefulness out of them before they'd been found out, like how the Order was following some known Death Eaters keeping tabs on them, some were trying to recruit more members to the Order, and they talked a lot about guard duty, though they weren't sure what exactly.

"I guess I should be flattered I get discussed at these meetings," Harry scowled, even as deep down he could feel something about that was off...

Harry snidely said that last one couldn't be about him?

Ron agreed that made sense with a look of dawning comprehension.

Sirius couldn't help a mean little laugh Ron really hadn't put that together? What exactly had he really been thinking about all summer for not having realized that? Had he and Hermione been that cozy?

Harry gave him a hard nudge to get him to stop, he already felt bad enough for how he'd reacted to seeing his friends, he didn't want to hear the others picking on them now.

Harry just snorted at him as he resumed his pace, still demanding answers that if that's all they knew, what had those letters been about with them being so busy?

Lily was still frowning at him, wishing he'd drop the tone already.

Hermione insisted they had, they were trying to make this place livable again. It had been empty for ages and now they were trying to decontaminate all the things that had been breeding in here.

Sirius snorted in surprise before starting to giggle like a maniac as he imagined the look on his mother's face if she heard that. It seemed Kreacher had passed away, a blessing he was more than happy to hear as well.

They should be starting on the drawing room tomo- she cut off with a squeal of surprise.

Lily hadn't meant to shout that so loud, but she'd yelped it more in surprise than anything causing the others to jump as well.

With two loud cracks, Fred and George materialized out of thin air in the middle of the room.

Harry just couldn't shut off his spikes of annoyance lately as he grumbled, "is it just me, or is the system really unfair towards Muggleborns? Just because you've got magical parents they can't tell you're doing magic during your summer holidays, but when I do it," he finished with an obvious enough look.

"To be fair," Lily tried, "it is intentionally biased. There's just no way possible to detect a single person's magical energy, though studies have tried. The trace is only set to detect that of magic for underage people, not even individuals. So instead they have to do it by location, and just trust that parents aren't allowing their kids to do so during holidays."

Something of what his mother said tickled in Harry's mind, and suddenly he snapped his fingers and said, "that's it, that's why Tonks and Moody could use magic at my place. Lupin was talking about that to Kingsley when I was coming back into the kitchen, but it didn't make any sense at the time. He said something about how because Mr. Weasley had been using magic before at my place it was going to be overlooked. I didn't know what he meant because Mr. Weasley wasn't even there."

Remus blanched and avoided all eyes for a moment to pretend he hadn't just heard Harry automatically slip back into calling him by his last name again, now right in this room.

"That, kind of makes sense," James frowned in thought, "he was there to pick you up last time, and so long as he forewarned the Ministry again he was going to pick you up, they'd just ignore magical energy at your house for that time period because they'd just assume it was Arthur doing it."

"I wonder why Arthur wasn't there?" Sirius frowned, "he couldn't have been at work, otherwise that wouldn't have worked."

Harry just shrugged for answer, though something of what Ron said tried to bubble to the surface. Guard duty? Had Harry been watched even more closely after the dementor attack? No, that didn't make sense, there wouldn't be a guard on the house while he was being picked up, so what-

"Well I'm just happy you won't be in even more trouble for that," Lily sighed in relief as she went back to the book.

Hermione clutched at her chest in surprise as she snapped at them to stop doing that!

She was ignored as George grinned at Harry, saying he'd thought he'd heard familiar dulcet tones.

"I'm sure it was hard to miss," Sirius grinned.

Fred agreed it wasn't good to have all that bottled up, and be sure to let the rest out. There might be people fifty miles away who hadn't heard him.

Harry gave a sheepish smile while everyone around him laughed, though it did make Sirius wonder if the Order had heard this and no one had come up to check? They might have blocked out the noise outside of the room though in an effort to keep the kids out.

Harry just grumpily surmised they'd passed their Apparition tests then.

"You've been saying everything grumpily lately," James told him pleasantly.

"Can't seem to shake it off when I keep getting annoyed," he snipped.

Fred agreed with chipper, while Ron grumbled at them it only would have taken them thirty extra seconds to walk down the stairs.

"I would just like to take this moment to remind that they were complaining of Percy doing this last summer," Sirius grinned.

"I'm positive the twins have flamboyant answers for that," Remus snorted.

James suddenly blinked as he eyed his two friends, before cracking up laughing.

"You going to share the joke?" Sirius demanded when he'd subsided enough but the baby was still giggling in his arms.

"I'm honestly just picturing their reactions when they realize who they're in the same house with," James stated with a stupid smirk in place.

It only took them a minute before they exchanged impish grins with each other, but Harry shot down the idea at once as he said, "well I never told them that I knew who the Marauders were, so unless Ron did, I don't think they even know."

Sirius was suddenly pouting at him as he demanded to know why.

Harry answered simply, "when would it have come up?" The only scenario he could see was if Sirius or Remus had referred to the other as their nicknames, and while they swapped between the two often enough in here, Harry hadn't once heard Sirius or Professor Lupin do the same in his time.

Sirius and Remus were starting to look disappointed now, after the twins had gone on about them when the Map had first been introduced they'd love to think they got a chance with a real chat to their follow up pranksters.

Harry grimaced as he realized he was just killing everyone's mood of late, and insisted to his brain to cut it out already at least in here. What was it about this year that was putting him in such a foul mood no matter what?

Fred waved that off as he turned to Harry and scolded he was interfering with their reception.

"Harry, how dare you!" James mock outraged as he wagged his finger at him.

Harry forced a smile he didn't really feel at the picking, now struggling with himself to understand why he couldn't just laugh along like he had in the past. This couldn't all be because of his rotten summer and lingering shame for what he'd done to his friends. What on earth was happening to him this year to cause such a resurgence of these bad feelings he was having so many problems shaking?

He showed Harry a long, flesh colored string and better described their new Extendable Ears, that they were trying to use to hear what was going on downstairs.

Ron warned they should be more careful with those, if Mum caught sight of them again-

Fred waved his brother off, saying it was worth the risk as they were having a major meeting.

Sirius sighed in disappointment Fred had skipped a perfectly good opportunity to use his name. Harry clearly needed the laugh he was sure it would have given.

The door opened and a long mane of red hair appeared.

Harry suddenly smiled for what felt like the first time in hours as he chuckled at his own description for seemingly no reason, and the others didn't even care enough to question it, they were just happy to see him fighting to get past whatever mood he was in.

She greeted him casually enough, saying she'd thought she'd heard his voice.

"Apparently everyone could." At least this time his voice had come out more self deprecating than angry. Then his face managed to brighten even more as he said, "I think that's the first time she's outright said hello to me like that."

"Only took her three years to do so," Sirius grinned, "maybe by next summer she'll carry on a conversation."

Then she turned to Fred and George and told it was pointless with the Ears, Mum had put an Imperturbable Charm on the kitchen door.

"Darn mothers who think ahead," Remus pouted.

George pouted as he asked how his sister knew that.

Ginny explained Tonks had told her how to tell,

"Tonks keeps getting better and better though," Sirius smirked at the idea of that little kid growing up to teach kids such valuable things.

just throw stuff at the door and if it bounces off the Charm's in place. She'd flicked a few Dungbombs around but it was a no go.

Fred gave a disappointed sigh as he said he'd wanted to know what old Snape was up to.

"Snape?" They all chorused in disgust. Lily broke free of that first though as she thought back to wondering just what Snape did for the Order, and Dumbledore's rather interesting instructions to him at the end of last year. She remembered distinctly Dumbledore's words in saying Snape had turned spy for them and that's what had kept him out of Azkaban, and while the boys had initially dissed the idea as they refused to trust anything by him, Lily could almost feel hopeful for it even if it didn't make sense. What reason did he have to do this that hadn't been there when he joined in the first place?

Harry yelped his surprised while George agreed that he was downstairs giving a report now, while Fred added on he was a git.

Hermione reproved them, saying he was on their side.

"Doesn't make him not a git," James scowled.

Ron snorted that didn't stop him being a git.

"Here I was wishing Ron would appear here," Sirius smirked, "now I don't have to miss him."

James just chuckled as he agreed, but also said, "honestly though, any sane person but Hermione would say the same."

Ginny agreed Bill still didn't like him like that settled the matter.

"I wonder which brother Ginny looks up to the most," Remus snorted.

Harry wasn't sure if he was still angry or not, but the thirst for information was keeping his continued shouting held back.

"Whatever works love," Lily sighed, still wishing he'd apologize rather than just deciding to blow the matter over.

Harry asked if Bill was around, and Fred agreed he'd officially moved back from Egypt to get a desk job, with benefits.

The grin on his face made Harry question what that meant, and Fred asked if he still remembered Fleur Delacour?

"Oh?" They all muttered with intrigue, having thought nothing of the casual flirt mentioned in Harry's last year.

Well she'd gotten a job at Gringotts to eemprove er Eenglish, George mocked in a fake French accent, while Fred snickered along that Bill had been giving her private lessons.

"Well congratulations to the two, I hope they enjoy those lessons," Lily smirked while the boys outright began giggling as well at the news, or at least the way the twins had delivered it.

Charlie was technically in the Order to, George added on, but he was still in Romania as Dumbledore still wanted some foreign wizards out there and Charlie was making contacts when he could.

"I don't see why Bill couldn't have done that?" Remus said innocently enough, "I don't see how he needed to come back for just a little desk job."

"I'll explain it to you later Moony," Sirius smirked as he patted his friend's shoulder.

Harry asked wouldn't Percy be better for that job.

"Oh yeah," the three Marauders muttered, seeming to forget about him more often than not.

Harry though tensed all over again, a sudden blackening trying to shroud all memories he had of Percy.

Harry had last heard of that Weasley working for the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry.

"Well I'm happy you brought him up," Lily smiled, "I was curious if he got to keep his job in the department, I'd be really happy for him if he got something so young."

Harry just gave her a sad little frown as he resisted the impulse to start bracing himself for some very bad news.

At Harry's question though, all the Weasleys and Hermione exchanged darkly significant looks.

"Uhoh," James frowned in confusion as he tried to lean around Lily and see what that reaction was. He was no fan of Percy's but that hadn't been a pleasant start.

Ron at once told Harry not to mention him around his parents, while Fred told it was because Dad broke whatever he was holding and Mum started crying.

"What did he do?" Remus struggled to get out in a non-accusing voice, but it was hard to imagine him doing something to cause that reaction in his parents that wasn't terrible.

Ginny sadly agreed it's been awful to watch.

"Look Sirius, she is technically having a conversation with me," Harry muttered just to try and keep that bad feeling from washing over him any second.

"One on one then," Sirius corrected, his eyes still trained menacingly on the book and not to be distracted, even by this.

George agreed they were all shot of him now.

Harry insisted what had happened? Fred explained that his brother and Dad had a row, it was pretty out there, since Mum was usually the one who shouted.

Lily's eyes flipped wide in shock, she couldn't imagine having such a terrible fight with her child it caused that kind of reaction.

Ron went back a bit and said this was during the first week of their vacation, and they'd just been fixing to head over here. Percy had come home all smug because he'd been promoted.

"Wouldn't that be a good thing though?" Sirius' tone was still more icy than confusion, he'd never liked hearing about Percy and he wasn't at all liking how this was starting considering the last thing he'd heard about the Ministry hadn't been a good thing.

Harry was stunned at the news, since Percy's first job hadn't gone over well since he'd managed to neglect the fact that his boss was slowly going insane. (Though the Ministry and Harry differed on why that was.)

"No one noticed, I'd hardly think Percy had been blamed for that," Remus huffed.

George agreed they'd all been surprised since Percy had gotten in trouble for not reporting what was going on with Crouch, he'd gotten a hearing saying he should have told a superior.

"I guess I can kind of see that," James sighed, though he still didn't see how this had to do with having such a terrible fight with his parents.

Harry was still confused why he'd been promoted now, and Ron was almost eagerly explaining this to Harry just to stop him continuing shouting it seemed.

Harry winced with renewed chagrin at what he'd done to his friends, now realizing how his friends had felt all the more because of how his dad had shouted at him this morning.

Explaining he'd been all pleased that Percy was now working right in Fudge's office,

"Oh bollocks," Sirius groaned as he ran a hand miserably down his face. "Fudge didn't really try to do this did he?"

"Percy didn't really fall for this," Remus countered with a calculating look. "It's been made obvious Harry favors the Weasley's, and if Fudge really hates Harry now, then doing something like this for a Weasley doesn't make any sense."

Lily was fidgeting uneasily with the pages before she pressed herself to go on, now sincerely hoping this fight hadn't really been about what she was thinking.

as Fudge's Jr. Assistant.

"Really?" James demanded. "That, that's just so-" he cut himself off as he seemed to run out of words for how idiotic that felt. What was Fudge's game here?

He'd thought his parents would be proud.

"Well yes, if he'd earned it," Lily sighed.

"I don't get it," Harry frowned at them. "Yeah it's weird, but what's so bad?"

"If Fudge's attitude is anything like we last saw," Lily patiently explained, "than Percy getting something at a time like this should raise a red flag for him and his family that the Minister's up to something, putting someone so close to Harry Potter in his office."

"What?" Harry wanted to laugh, though his sinking gut was confirming she was right on point. "You think Fudge wants Percy to spy on me and report my favorite dessert?"

"Not in so light of questions though," Remus agreed grimly while Harry looked back to the book with worry.

They weren't, because Fudge had already been going around the Ministry telling anyone who was in league with Dumbledore to clear out their desk.

"Oh, and now Dumbledore's involved to," James groaned, this going from bad to worse.

Dumbledore's name had been tarnished in the Ministry lately because he kept trying to convince people that You-Know-Who was back.

"I can not believe any sane person would think like that," Sirius sneered.

"I don't understand why they wouldn't believe this," Harry ground out, trying his best not to shout another grievance that had been plaguing him that summer. "Ron said they were all ready to believe it when the Philosopher's Stone was nearly taken from Gringotts."

Lily looked at him sadly as she explained, "The concept is a bit skewed. There's a difference between people speculating and fearing, and outright saying it. I'm sure that if Dumbledore had declared that yes, Voldemort had been the one to do this, then people would have reacted the same then."

Harry still didn't think that made any sense, but stopped arguing the point.

George told how their dad explained Fudge was making it clear Dumbledore was just trying to destabilize their life, and anyone who was in league with Dumbledore could join him in not being welcome here.

"In league with him?" Lily demanded. "He's not the one trying to destabilize life!"

Fudge suspected Arthur of being close to Dumbledore, he always had been friendly, and that dad was a weirdo because of his obsession with Muggles.

"Which really shows more about Fudge than anything," James snapped in outrage, he found Arthur's fascination perfectly understandable and honestly compelling when Lily and Sirius treated him to Muggle education. It really showed how a person thought though when they'd hear the same things and look down on the whole civilization for not being as good as theirs.

Harry still didn't understand what this had to do with Percy, and so they told that their dad thinks Percy was only promoted to spy on the family and Dumbledore.

Harry gave a low whistle as he muttered about how much Percy would love that.

"But, Percy should know that?" Sirius forced himself to phrase it as a question. "He's smart enough to know when he's being played."

"The twins would have done it to him enough," James agreed.

Lily was just blinking slowly down at the pages now, she didn't even want to continue to what she now truly knew the fight had been about, she didn't want to hear about Percy fighting with his parents about this because she knew without a doubt Percy was wrong. The saddest part was though, some part of her still pitied the poor boy. She'd long since noticed he'd always felt ostracized from his family, and earning a promotion like this and going off his past experiences should have taught him his parents would praise him for this like always. Then they went and dismissed him, and Percy would feel shunned. It didn't excuse such a fight it left his parents in the mess they were at all though.

Ron gave a hollow laugh as he agreed, that Percy had started shouting at their dad all sorts of terrible things like how his dad had been holding him back in the Ministry.

"That sounds like completely the opposite though!" Sirius snapped. "Every time we've heard of Arthur he's out there helping someone out and on first name terms with a lot more people than Percy when his own boss didn't even know his name!" Sirius was breathing rather hard at the end, but he couldn't help it. Percy wasn't his family, but he could still feel the reminding sting of betrayal that rat had caused him as he heard of this. It was a different kind of betrayal, but choosing that Ministry over his family could not be worked out in his mind!

Harry was having trouble picturing Percy shouting such a thing when he could far more easily recall Percy splashing into the water just last year in concern for his brothers welfare. What had changed in that time to make Percy like this?

That Arthur was going to go down with Dumbledore's bad name and Percy was going to make it known he was no longer associated with that disloyalty to the Ministry.

Harry wasn't the only one scowling by the end of all that, no one could believe what they were watching Lily spit out in frustration. Of all the times they'd been agitated of hearing about Percy, they still would never have called this!

So now he'd made it clear he no longer belonged to their family.

"It's a good thing they don't know your real last name then, Weatherby," Remus sneered in disgust.

He'd packed his bags and left that night.

Harry swore under his breath at the end. He'd always liked Percy the least of the Weasley's, but even he wouldn't have called this.

"I still can't picture it," James whispered. He'd never imagined that Voldemort's return could manage to pull yet more families apart like it had his own. His eyes flickered to Remus briefly, unable to think yet again what it had implied they'd all be thinking about him in the coming year, and forced himself to listen to Lily go on.

Ron sighed as he explained their mother had been crying so much lately because of it, she'd tried going up to his place but all he'd done was slam the door in her face.

Lily couldn't stop a little hitch in her throat, even with Ron describing it she couldn't force the image into her head of any child turning on their mother like that. Molly did not deserve that for anything, especially as she was most likely only there to let him know she still loved him despite this decision.

Harry still couldn't understand why Percy would do this, he must know Voldemort was back and his dad wouldn't talk like this without proof.

"You would think," Sirius agreed nastily, "but I've never met someone so ignorantly stupid they wouldn't understand the word's Voldemort's back either."

Ron winced as he said Harry's name had been dragged in, that all the real evidence was what Percy had said, and that just wasn't good enough.

Harry watched those around him yelp furiously on his behalf again, making him smile just slightly at the defense.

Hermione sniffed Percy took the Daily Prophet seriously.

Before Sirius could even open his mouth to make his recurring joke, James suddenly half screamed, "how much was Percy told!?"

The baby in his lap let out a wail of protest at something so loud, but even while James began soothing him he had worried eyes on his best friend.

It only took but a moment for the others to realize what that implied, and Sirius lost a shade of color before he got out, "I'm sure if Percy knew anything new about me he'd have gone badgering that right to his new master."

Harry was saddened to see them all so easily flip on Percy, Sirius instantly resorting to those kinds of insults, and then confused at his own confusion as Harry was very sure Percy deserved it for the rest of his life. He was still trying to recall the time Percy had weaved himself through an angry crowd to fight back against those Death Eaters last year as the same guy who'd done this to his family. Something in him was trying to insist Percy must regret this...

"No, most likely it would have been an introduction type thing like what happened with Molly, so if I hadn't been around to their place yet, I'm sure he knows nothing about me."

It was comforting at least for the moment that Percy hadn't gone so far into the Order he would likely know more current whereabouts on Sirius at least. Did he know anything about the Order? Ron had said this had happened right before they'd been going to Grimmauld place, so surely Percy knew his family was fixing to relocate out of the Burrow and where they were headed? Maybe it had been like Harry though, and they'd only been told of the location right before they'd entered, so Percy had no clue of anything.

Harry asked what she meant by that?

Lily had to go back and reread what Hermione had actually said to set her husband into a panic, and then they were all just as baffled as Harry by the comment enough no one interrupted her in hopes Hermione would just explain.

Hermione's anxiety grew as she kept watching Harry, asking how thoroughly he'd been reading the paper?

"Why would he?" Remus began with his eyes narrowed.

Harry defended not cover to cover, just the front cover where any good news would be.

Hermione flushed as she tried to say that once a week they slipped in his name.

"Mention him how?" The others could already hear a growl beginning in Sirius' throat.

Harry tried to protest he'd have seen that, but Hermione corrected not if he'd just been glancing at the front page. They weren't big articles, just little things they'd slip in like he was a standing joke.

"A standing joke about what?" Lily began nastily, but forced herself to continue as she didn't even want to imagine what all was being said about her baby, what was being said would be bad enough.

They were all building on what Rita had said.

"Oh no," James began furiously ruffling up his hair at once. "Please don't tell me-"

Lily cut him off as her voice continued rising in sharpness.

Harry was confused, as he'd thought she wasn't writing anymore.

Hermione had a satisfied smirk in place for that, saying she was keeping to herself for now, not that she had a choice.

"I want to know if she's mentioned that to the twins, earn her a lot of respect in their book," Remus muttered bleakly, looking for anything good for just a moment.

But Skeeter's work was the foundation for what the Prophet was doing, which was how his scar had been hurting and he'd been collapsing last year.

"Could hardly forget," Harry muttered as those articles still stung him now thinking about.

She began saying all of this very fast, like hearing this quickly would hurt less,

Harry felt some distant part of him want to laugh for his friend which was not coming to him now at all of the grim, wide eyed faces.

that the Prophet was taking those old stories, and now every time someone got hurt, they'd make the snippy comment they hoped he didn't have a scar so they'd have to worship him next.

Harry really had been trying to keep himself under control, so it surprised him when his Mum didn't and she exploded a mountain of diatribe on that Prophet and what they were doing to her Hare Bare. The boys watched her vent like they just had about Percy, agreeing with every word she said so much they were just a bit disappointed when Harry gently cleared his throat and tried to cut her off.

"Really Mum, it ticked me off too, but-"

"It's disgusting," she insisted like she thought Harry was trying to argue that point. "The Ministry I work for would never force the Prophet into pulling these stunts, but clearly the editor's right in Fudge's back pocket and I can't believe anyone would do this to you!" She wanted to keep pressing her point right up into Fudge's face, but as Harry continued to look sadly at her she instead turned burning eyes back on the pages.

Harry half began shouting at once he didn't want anyone doing that!

Hermione quickly cut him off, saying they knew that, but the Ministry was telling the Prophet to say all that to keep Harry as a discredited little boy who just wants to keep being famous.

"Has he completely lost whatever a mind he had!" James gaped. "He's only famous because of what Voldemort did to him," clearly the act of saying his own murder still couldn't really get through his mouth, "what possible reason could Fudge think Harry would make that up for!?"

"If I find out, I'll be sure to let you know," Harry sighed, now feeling even more guilty for his earlier anger as he kept trying to curb theirs without success.

Harry spluttered with pure indignity that Voldemort had killed his parents!

Lily too couldn't manage to quite get that out in her tempered voice, but it hardly cooled her either as she kept going venomously.

Ginny cut in saying they knew that, and Hermione flipped to mentioning she was surprised they hadn't mentioned that dementor attack yet.

Remus' brows shot up in surprise at this turn of circumstances.

Some thought they would, because not only were out of control dementors a big deal, but Harry's doing magic would tie in perfectly with this whole image they were painting of him being so above it all. They were probably just waiting until after the trial though so they could really go to town with the scene.

"But he's not going to be expelled," Sirius snarled at once. "So apparently they're just going to sit on that story forever, poor them."

Harry managed a smile for his godfather's utter confidence in that, managing to increase his own in that outcome and increasingly improving his mood about that at least.

Then she corrected herself that's what would happen if he was expelled, but he wouldn't be, the law was on his side.

"If they abide by their own laws half the things I've heard them doing lately wouldn't be done," Lily snapped.

Before Harry had to think of a response to that, conversation was cut short by soft steps on the stairs, and the twins instantly vanished with another crack, their Extendable Ears in hand.

"Because Molly wouldn't be at all suspicious why the twins would choose to vanish as someone approached," James sighed as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose, wishing he could put more energy into the comment but already feeling strained from so many stressful chapters in a row now. How was this one already worse than the last?

A second later and Mrs. Wesley poked her head in, saying dinner was almost ready and the meeting was over.

Harry still huffed with one last tick of annoyance he'd been left out of that.

They could come downstairs now, though she did ask why there were Dungbombs all across the door?

Ginny said Crookshanks at once.

"I'm so proud," Sirius blinked more in confusion than actual pride though. "She's come so far already."

"Ginny's getting more interesting as time goes by as well," James agreed at once, hoping to stay on a pleasant topic for just five minutes now felt like a miracle.

Mrs. Weasley instantly bought it, though she at first thought it had been Kreacher,

"No!"

The sudden outburst from Sirius had Harry and Remus nearly leaping from their seats in shock, which he clearly took no notice of as he kept going hatefully.

"Of all the rotten luck! My parents kicked the bucket but that nasty little blighter couldn't have gone with them! Just what did I do to deserve having that thing in my sole care!"

"I'd think you'd find it a good thing," James tried to offer up some happy suggestion for this. "Now you can clothe him and just have him out of your life for good." The odd part was though, if Sirius was going to do that he'd have done it already.

Sirius didn't offer up any more suggestions though as he huffed and grumbled a bit more under his breath while Lily tried to ignore the outburst she found uncalled for.

he kept doing odd things like that. Then she reminded they all keep their voices down in the hall.

"Still haven't explained why they have to do that," Remus grumbled as he massaged his ear and glared at Sirius, at least he understood his friends consternation a little better, but now his ear felt like it was starting to ring from all the shouting going on so recently.

Then she spotted Ginny's hands and how dirty they were, and commanded she go wash up before eating.

She made a face at them as she left behind her mother, and then Ron and Hermione exchanged an uneasy look, as if fearing Harry was going to start shouting again now that they were alone.

Harry's mouth went dry as he ducked his head all over again for causing his friends to ever look at him like that, now wishing he could give himself a good kick in the rear.

"At least you clearly regret it," James tried to pacify him, Harry had suffered enough guilt it was time he be comforted at least a bit. "I've only ever had one really bad row with Sirius, and we didn't exactly hug it out when all was said and done. You apologize to them, I'm sure they won't think on it any more."

Harry looked up towards the book hopefully.

The sight of their unease left him feeling ashamed, and he tried to begin saying something, but Hermione cut him off saying she'd expected him to be angry, but they'd only been doing what Dumbledore had thought was best, even though they did try to tell their headmaster-

Harry cut her off shortly.

"Well that could have gone better," Remus chuckled.

"But at least you seem on equal ground again," Sirius sighed as he tried to get that old problem out of his head.

He looked around for something else to say, as talking of the headmaster only made Harry want to shout some more.

"Not a good thing to be lingering on for now then," Lily muttered as she knew that if Harry's temper did break again, it really should be on him.

Then asked who Kreacher was?

"Well that's not helping," Sirius grumbled, wondering what he'd done to have so much of his family being pushed back into his mind all of a sudden.

Ron explained he was the house-elf of the place, a nutter.

Hermione tried to correct he wasn't one, but Ron said back that his life's ambition was to have his head on a plaque with the others.

"At least Walburga taught him something then," Sirius' teeth flashed with that grin in an almost predatory way, "I'm sure I can help with that."

"Sirius, you're disgusting me," Lily snapped at him before reading loudly in hopes he was kidding.

She tried to defend if he was a bit strange it wasn't entirely his fault.

Ron rolled his eyes and told Harry she still hadn't given up on her SPEW stuff.

"I think I'd be worried for her if she had though," Remus chuckled. "Little fighter that she is, I can't imagine she will until she gets what she wants."

"Least she could do is leave that elf out," Sirius huffed.

Hermione at once began defending her Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. Even Dumbledore said they should be more kind to Kreacher.

Harry suddenly felt an alarm bell going off in the back of his head, leaning just that little bit closer to Sirius and suddenly very worried for his godfather's behavior towards his house-elf...

Ron brushed her off and lead the way downstairs.

Then he held out a hand on the landing, stopping them all in place as they spotted the crowded hallway below, they might be able to hear something.

Finally they all felt themselves focusing on something they all wanted to hear about again, even the current Order members were insanely curious what was going on in this future.

The three peeked over the banister to see Snape leading towards the door.

James suddenly realized at the beginning that it had in fact ben Snape Molly must have been referring to as having arrived, and his agitation only increased as he realized Dumbledore really wasn't there to give some kind of explanation to Harry for leaving him like that for so long?

Harry leant further over the banisters. He was very interested in what Snape was doing for the Order of the Phoenix . . .

"Well all are," Sirius begrudgingly agreed, his mind still trying to work out just what exactly that was and when it would start taking place. If he started seeing Snivellus at his meetings, Sirius wasn't going to be a happy camper with his Order much longer.

Trickling down in front of their face was a flesh-colored bit of string, and Harry glanced up to see the twins had the same idea and were trying to listen on the whispers.

"Have I mentioned how brilliant those two are?" James' eyes brightened with excitement as he fully appreciated this fascinating device. "As if I needed any more proof they're set for life with all we've heard so far, this is such a cool idea I'd buy a dozen!"

It did not work though, as just as they were in range Snape and most of the others exited out the door.

Ron muttered that at least Snape didn't eat here as he grudgingly took to the stairs.

"As if there isn't enough filth in that house," Sirius sneered even as his mind tried to boggle Snivellus in his childhood home. Well the two did go hand in hand with how filthy they were.

Hermione hissed another reminder at Harry to keep himself quiet as they reached the landing where the drapes were.

"Is anyone going to explain that?" Lily grumped as it just kept being mentioned.

Mrs. Weasley, Lupin, and Tonks were bolting the door shut after the left members and were turning to head towards the kitchen with the younger ones, when CRASH.

"So that quiet thing didn't seem to work out," Remus blinked in confusion.

It was Tonks, who instantly started apologizing she kept tripping over that umbrella stand from the ground.

"She really is a clumsy little one," James chuckled at the thought.

"Best use that troll's foot ever came to, getting knocked over by that girl," Sirius smirked.

The rest of her words were drowned by a horrible, ear-splitting, blood-curdling screech.

Lily suddenly recoiled into the cushions in shock, and some honest fear as she glanced at her boy and back to the pages with concern. Before anyone could demand, she kept reading anyways.

The curtains behind them had flown open, and the noise was coming from a life size portrait of a horrifying looking woman.

"Oh she didn't," Sirius began, looking almost faint from the overwhelming disgust he could feel at such a thing existing.

Her skin was yellow and stretched tight, with rolling eyes and flyaway black hair, and all along the hall beside her more drapes were flying open to reveal other portraits that began shouting just as loudly.

Mrs. Weasley and Lupin jumped forward at once to try and close the curtains back around the screeching noises and multiple insults.

Remus was almost concerned this didn't seem to be new to him, how many times had this happened? He had a horrible idea who this vile woman was actually a portrait of, as he kept watching Sirius' face as he seemed to be in a living nightmare.

Such things as scum, half-breeds, mutants befouling her father's house!

Tonks was apologizing incessantly behind them, while Mrs. abandoned the large one and began trying to stun the smaller ones instead, while a dark haired man came charging up the stairs behind Harry.

"I think I found Sirius," James whispered to no one as Sirius' mouth was starting to drop open with horror.

He began howling right back at the portrait to shut UP!

The woman's face blanched when she saw him, doubling up her insults to blood traitor, and abomination of her flesh!

Sirius began opening and closing his mouth wordlessly, apparently too appalled for words back, for now.

He roared again for her to shut up, as he and Lupin finally managed to get the curtains closed. Now that her noise had been cut off, the others began silencing as well, as Harry's godfather turned back to face him as greeted him grimly, saying at least now he'd met his mother.

"Chapter's done," Lily sighed as she passed the book to James and took her baby back, all of them still braced for Sirius to crack and some kind of reaction to burst out.

HPHPHPHP

I did not mean to dramatically end with Sirius twice in a row, but I can't resist cutting these chapters off either because I'm a terrible person like that.

*I've had a few people ask me to explain why Lily and James weren't their own Secret Keeper, and I promise I'll bring that up in book seven when Bill mentions he's his own, but for now I couldn't think to make the same rules apply to an empty house that didn't belong to Dumbledore in any way.