I (sadly) do not own Harry Potter, all of it belongs to the affiliates of J.K. Rowling, her publishers, etc. who I think are really amazing.
I reeeally really hope you guys like this fanfiction! I spent a ton of time writing just the first chapter, and I'm sure it's going to be in the works for a while longer. So please let me know what you think, I'm eager for any sort of criticism you can give me! Or if you really like it you can let me know too! :)
Yours in writing,
Gigi
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Chapter 1: The New Year
Harry Potter spun on his heel and began to walk out of King's Cross Station. He had just left his two sons, James and Albus, who were not on their way to Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardry. Albus was a first-year, and worried Harry greatly. The boy was not much of a fighter; he probably wouldn't stand up for himself if anything happened. Having James there really didn't make Harry feel any better. Even though the boy was Albus' brother, James was a little trouble maker, especially now that he was a second-year. At least Rose was there to keep him company. The two acted more like brother an sister than cousins.
When Harry stepped out of the station, the autumn sun shining warm on his skin, Lily began to tug on his sleeve.
"Daddy," she said, her voice edging on a whine, "what was the surprise you were going to show me?"
Harry caught his wife's eye, and Ginny winked, telling him to wait a little longer.
He crouched down so he was at eye-level with his daughter. "Well," he said, "We're going someplace very special. We're going to see your Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione where we're going. And I think you're gonna love it a lot."
"But where IS IT?" she asked.
"I told you, it's a surprise!" Harry winked at his daughter, then led his family to their car. He started up their small sedan, and immersed themselves into the excruciatingly slow midday traffic.
Ginny turned and looked at Harry. "Buckle up," she snapped at him, spinning around and ensuring her daughter did the same.
"Why?" Harry asked in reply, "We're wizards, an accident can't hurt us."
"But it can delay us."
Reluctantly, Harry pulled the belt across his chest and locked it in place, returning his eyes to the road.
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When the Potters reached their house - a small two-story abode amidst a quiet block of other wizards, Lily was practically bursting with excitement. "How are we gonna get there, Mommy?" she asked as Harry unlocked the door. Ginny met her husband's eyes, a bit worried. But he just nodded in reply, confident in his wife's ability to break the news gently.
"We're going to Apparate," she said.
"What's an a-afferate?" Lily asked, testing out the word in her mouth.
"Basically, we're going to disappear from here, and then appear there. It's very quick."
"How do you do it?" she asked, literally bouncing on the balls of her feet.
This was the part Ginny was a bit worried about. Apparating, especially for first-timers, was painful. Apparating used to be only allowed for those who passed their Apparition test. However, when it was proven that the younger a child Apparates, the easier it is in the future, the ban was lifted under the condition that two overage wizards were present.
"You just hold on to me and Daddy's hands," Ginny replied, "And stay very still. It's gonna feel like we're giving you a really tight hug." She leaned over and captured her daughter in a hug, in an attempt to emulate the terrible, compressing feeling of Apparating without actually hurting her.
But Lily just giggled.
"Are we ready?" Harry asked, lining up the trunks and gripping all three at once.
"I think so," Ginny replied. She hoisted Lily up onto her hip, and asked, "Do you want to count down for us, darling?"
"Okay! Five...four...three...two...one...BLAST OFF!"
And they were sent twisting through the black nothingness, being squeezed and spun, until finally they landed on their feet.
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The air was cold, the snow crunching beneath their feet. Harry breathed it in - the fresh air mingling with the scent of fresh pastries and butterbeer. He smiled at Ginny, reminiscent of when they were younger, but then quickly turned his attention to his daughter, who looked on the verge of crying.
"Are you alright?" he asked Lily, taking her from his wife's arms and brushing her hair behind her ears.
"That was s-scary, Daddy," she shivered, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. Herry felt terrible, but he knew that this would make learning to Apparate so much easier in the future.
"But just think," he began cheerfully, "Most people don't Apparate until they're in Hogwarts for a few years. But you got to do it before you even get there!"
Lily began to smile. "I guess that is pretty cool," she conceded.
"Are you kidding? That's awesome!"
But before his daughter could reply, two loud popping noises were heard just ahead. Harry looked up to find Ron and Hermione standing in the cold a few feet ahead. Lily hopped out of her father's arms and ran to her aunt and uncle. Ron scooped her up with a "hows my girl?" as Hermione leaned over and planted a kiss in her hair.
"Guess what, Uncle Ron? I Apparated!" Lily cried excitedly.
"That's so cool!" he replied, holding out his hand for a high five. Lily slapped it very hard, to which Ron feigned pain.
"Shall we go?" Hermione asked, with a small chuckle at her husband and niece. The group nodded emphatically, and set off down the snow covered path.
When they reached the bottom of the hill, at the point where the snow was receding, their destination was in full view. The five stopped to admire it.
They were here at last.
Hogwarts.
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Harry took out his letter and read it one more time:
Staff meeting will take place at 6:30 in the evening. Please report beforehand in order to settle yourselves. Directions to get to the teacher's dormitory can be found on the reverse of this letter.
Best wishes for your traveling,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress
He put the letter back in his pocket and ascended the stairs to the Entrance Hall with Ginny. Ron, Hermione, and Lily were behind them - they were stopped at the lake so Lily could admire the giant squid. As the doors opened, his breath was nearly taken away. His memory had not done this place justice. The size of the hall, the great marble staircase, the huge paintings covering every wall. Oh how he had missed it.
"It's beautiful," whispered Ginny, resting her head on her husband's shoulder.
"It sure is," he replied, turning and giving his wife a kiss. She returned it, and slowly wound her arms around his neck.
Harry's mind went back, back to one of the happiest days of his life - the day he and Ginny got married.
It was a beautiful day. The sun shone down like a warm smile, celebrating in the day along with every other wizard. It was five years after Voldemort's demise, and news was still going very slowly. So it was no wonder that Harry Potter's marriage made headlines. The Weasley's backyard was decorated so beautifully - they had figured that the place that held some of their fondest memories would be the perfect venue to join the two together forever.
Harry was standing under the white, ivy-covered arch in front of all of his friends and soon-to-be family. Dozens of faces were smiling at him, from Professor McGonagall to Percy Weasley, even a journalist from the Daily Prophet. But even with all of these people, all that Harry could think of was the woman standing inside the house, the love of his life, Ginny Weasley. Soon he would be seeing her, gorgeous Ginny, the one who he would be spending the rest of his life with.
Ron, his best man, clapped him on the shoulder from behind, Harry turned and caught his eye. His best friend just nodded as though to say, "you've got this." Harry nodded back tentatively, and then turned his attention back to the door that she would be coming out of any minute. Suddenly, the unmanned band to the side of the arch began to play. The door opened, and the procession began. Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom, Bill and Fleur Weasley, George Weasley and Hermione Granger. Then the whole congregation stood and turned towards the back door. Out stepped the most beautiful woman Harry had ever seen. She wore a white dress that wrapped around her top half, and slightly billowed out around the waist. She held onto her father's arm, her face spread into a nervous smile as she slowly walked down the aisle. Once she reached the small platform upon which Harry stood, Arthur Weasley turned his daughter to face her, then went to sit down. Ginny stepped up so she was next to Harry, turning her head slightly to smile at her groom.
"Dearly beloved," Charlie Weasley began, " We are gathered here today to join Ginevra Weasley and Harry Potter in hold matrimony..."
He spoke for a while longer, and Harry held onto every word, soaking in the day. They exchanged rings, and finally came the part he had been waiting for forever.
"Harry Potter, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
Looking deep into her beautiful brown eyes, Harry replied so that all could hear, "I do."
"Ginevra Weasley, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
With a dazzling smile, she replied with equally as much force, "I do."
"Then if there are no objections, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Harry beamed. He took Ginny's hands and pulled her to him. With one hand supporting her back, he pressed a kiss on her lips, and everyone cheered.
"Hey, what's going on in here?"
The two broke apart at the sound of Ron's voice. He had just entered the Entrance Hall, his hand now clapped over Lily's eyes. Hermione was only a step behind, a half disproving, half amused look on her face.
"What, are you eating each other?" Ron asked. Harry just looked at Ginny, who was blushing to match her hair, and smiled, feeling like a young boy again. Ron would often catch the two of them kissing during his time at Hogwarts - in the Gryffindor common room, in secret passageways, under their favorite beech tree by the lake - and his reactions were always quite comical.
Hermione was silently laughing. "Uh...alrighty then. Let's get going!" Characteristic of herself, she had the directions to the teacher's dormitory memorized and took the lead.
"I always thought professors slept in their offices," Ginny noted.
"It must be new from when McGonagall became headmaster," Hermione replied.
Lily ran to her mother's side, shouting "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"
"Yes, darling?"
"So am I gonna get to stay at Hogwarts the WHOLE YEAR?" she asked with a sort of fascination in her voice.
"Absolutely, sweetie! The whole year. You won't be a student until you're 11, but you get to be here before anyone else your age!"
Lily was positively bursting with excitement, looking around her in awe at the magnificent building. Hermione walked up to a tapestry on the wall and traced a pattern, then walked right through it. The rest followed quickly behind.
"Whoa!" Lily exclaimed, though the sight wasn't all that spectacular. They had walked into a dark hallway lit by candles on the wall. At the end of the hall was a door, which Hermione opened, and that was where the true beauty lay. It even amazed Harry, who was used to Hogwarts' splendor. A huge room, similar to the Gryffindor common room but about four times as large, was opened before them. A fireplace lit up the room, a great fire crackling in its stone hearth. Covering nearly every other free spot on the was was a rainbow array of books: wide and narrow, tall and short, and all in sections. There was "History A-F", "Quidditch", and "Advanced Magic, along with hundreds of others.
Hermione walked over to the "Advanced Magic" section. "Wow!" she exclaimed, extracting from the shelf a book wider than her head, "This is from the Restricted Section of the library!"
"That's right!" Rom replied, his voice thick with sarcasm, "And now that you're a teacher, you can write yourself a pass to borrow books from there any time you want to!"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Alright, who wants to go see our rooms?"
They opened the dormitory door to reveal a small spiral staircase. Each of their letters indicated their dormitories to be on the third floor. The hallway was long and carpeted there, with bright white walls. Paintings were hung every few yards, their subjects saying things like, "Welcome, new teachers!" and "Harry Potter. So honored to reside on your floor". The latter piece of art was on the wall opposite a door reading "Mr. Harry Potter and Mrs. Ginevra Potter".
Ron and Hermione continued to their room as the door swung open for the Potters.
A huge room was revealed, a king-sized bed against the wall opposite them with a red down comforter on top. To the left was a twin bed with a yellow cover. Along the same wall was a door, presumably leading to the bathroom, while a mirrored door (the closet) rest on the wall to their right.
Lily ran to her small bed, tore off her shoes, and began to jump on it, chanting "I'M...AT...HOGWARTS!" with every jump.
"Careful!" Harry warned, but he couldn't help but chuckle at his daughter's enthusiasm. He walked past the huge white vanity towards the closet door and opened it to reveal a room about the size of the Dursleys' kitchen. Ginny ambled over, floating the trunks alongside her.
"Wow," she breathed as the trunks dropped softly on the carpeted floor. Here they were...at Hogwarts...teachers. Harry looked over at his wife that he loved so much, and couldn't help but beam at his wonderful life.
But their moment of happiness was again interrupted by Ron, this time knocking at the door, calling "Anybody home?"
Ginny scowled. "It's open...you git," she added under her breath.
"What did you call him, Mommy?" Lily asked from the other room.
"Nothing, darling!" Ginny replied with just as much innocence as the question. Well hidden from her brother in the closet, she turned to her husband. "Why is he always here?"
But Harry just shook his head, unable to find an answer. Suddenly his eyes brightened. "Hey, there's still time before the staff meeting. What say we go take a little walk?"
As they walked towards the hall, Ron sat down with Lily saying, "Now I'm going to tell you about all of Hogwarts' secrets."
Harry turned and gave his best friend a warning look, and then walked out. "Shall we go see the Gryffindor tower?" he asked. "As Head of House, I really would like to see it again."
"I wonder if it's changed," Ginny said, looking around at the school's unchanged walls and floors. The high windows still let in the same warmth, giving off light to the building's stone interior. Harry still knew his way around the building, especially every way to get to Gryffindor tower. As he pushed away a tapestry to take a shortcut, a flood of memories came back to him, and he began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Ginny asked as they stopped walking for a moment.
"I remember," he began, leaning against the wall, "I was a sixth year, and Ron and I came down this way...it was right after that one quidditch match, and do you remember what happened?"
Ginny's face flushed a deep red. Of course she remembered. She was a fifth year at the time, still madly in love with Harry Potter - ever since she had first laid eyes on him. But how could she not be? He was kind, incredibly handsome, and very modest too. But when he walked into the passageway with Ron, they had seen something very different than a lovesick little girl. Ginny had been caught very passionately kissing Dean Thomas, a sixth year in Gryffindor. Ron had thrown a fit, calling her some nasty names, while Harry's face went slightly red.
"You know," said Harry, twisting a strand of his wife's hair, "that was when I first realized that I was in love with you."
Ginny blushed an even deeper shade of red that she already was, if that was possible. "Really?" she asked, looking up at him with earnest eyes. Harry nodded.
"Well then I have a confession to make as well," she said boldly.
"Oh?" Harry replied with a slight chuckle, as he pulled his wife to him.
"The truth is...I was never really in love with Dean," she whispered in his ear, pausing to laugh at her husband's bewildered expression. He was rightfully confused - the two had looked as though they were locked together. "I told you that I was in love with you since I first laid eyes on you. You were handsome, sweet, perfect, unstoppable Harry Potter. But you probably though I'd gotten over you by my fifth year.
"But honestly, why would I snog a guy in the shortcut that my brother ALWAYS comes down? I may have been young, but I was smart. I wanted to make you jealous," she ended with a sly smile.
"Well it worked," replied an astounded Harry, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. "I wanted to kill Dean in that second. I was worried for weeks about what Ron might do if we had started dating. But by the time the next match came along, I was pretty set in what I was to do...if you know what I mean." He winked playfully at his wife, took her hand and continued walking, still gazing lovingly at her. That night had been when he first kissed Ginny.
She was playing Seeker in his place against Ravenclaw when Harry had detention. He had returned to the common room hours later to find a massive celebration - they had won the final game of the season. But Harry needed only one more thing to make his evening perfect, and she was running towards him at that very moment. Harry thought of nothing else, just took Ginny into his arms and kissed her.
"Why Mr. Potter! Welcome back!" exclaimed the Fat Lady, pulling him back into the present, where they were standing in front of the entrance to Gryffindor tower. "McGonagall told me that you would be coming this year. I've chosen a special password, just for you. The new password is 'Firebolt'. Now I know I'll be seeing you again soon," she said, as the portrait swung forward. "In you go!"
The pair climbed through the portrait hole, and were yet again flooded with memories. They had spent seven years in this room. It had been the venue for endless amounts of studying, kisses, arguments, worrying, and more studying during their time at Hogwarts. The exquisite circular room, with its crackling fireplace and dozens of squashy armchairs, bore no sign of wear from the countless number of burdens - not to mention games of Exploding Snap - that were left in this room.
"It hasn't changed a bit, has it?" Ginny whispered. Harry shook his head in reply, both of them feeling as though speaking too loud might shatter the moment. Harry was careful not to move, sure that if he did, he would find himself back at home, instead of the at the first place he ever really belonged...Hogwarts.
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It was nearly 6:30, the bewitched ceiling in the Great Hall was streaked with pink across its otherwise brilliant blue. The table at the front of the hall was already bustling with people as teachers made their way to their seats for the staff meeting. The four long house tables stood in their usual spots, set with gold plates that, in a few hours' time, would be magically filled with food. As Harry sat down in his seat, he peered down the staff table, trying to see who his colleagues were for this school year. At the very end of the table was Hagrid, still as large as usual, but his hair and beard were now grey. The few spots next to him were empty as of yet, next to which sat tall, pointy-nose Snivella Malfoy, Draco's wife. Fittingly, her nasty counterpart sat to her left, his white blond hair parted unnaturally perfect, but the top of his head was darker where the hair had thinned. The chair separating him and Harry was that of Professor McGonagall, who had just stood up to greet two incoming teachers.
Ginny took her seat to Harry's left, beyond which sat Ron, Hermione, Neville, and a few other people whom Harry had never met. One, Harry noticed, was tall and dark-skinned, with straight, black hair, while the wizard to her left was a short, plump man with a cheery round face. He was watching the woman on his right, who suddenly screwed up her face and suddenly her hair turned into a short pink bob.
Harry remembered that there was a name for someone who does that, but he couldn't think what it was. He also recalled that he knew someone who could do that...someone very significant. The name danced on the edge of his mind annoyingly...why couldn't he remember it?
However before he could spend any more time on the subject, Professor McGonagall took her place in front of the staff and called for quiet.
"Welcome back to another wonderful year at Hogwarts! To all our new teachers, a few notices. Do not forget that the forest is forbidden to all students. Also, the list of prohibited items is pinned to the door of Mrs. Norris' office."
Harry turned and raised his eyebrows questioningly to his wife. Mrs. Norris was a cat who assisted Argus Filch, the caretaker who was always roaming the halls yelling at students, during their time at Hogwarts.
Animagus? Ginny mouthed back, looking slightly confused as well.
"Now in a few moments," McGonagall continued, the Hogwarts Express will be pulling into the Hogsmeade station. Remember that it is your duty to teach your students everything you know. You mustn't be too strict, nor too lax. Think back to when you were at Howarts; remember what it was like to be a student of magic, how happy you were. Think like a child, and open your mind, for they may also teach you more than you could imagine."
She paused for a moment, listening. "I think I hear the train. So prepare your minds, and get ready for the new year!"
END CHAPTER 1
A/N: What did you guys think? Please please please please please review; it's my first shot at a long fanfiction. Any suggestions to make it better, please tell me, I'm open :) Chapter 2 will hopefully be up soon, it's kind of a major work-in-progress. :)
Yours in writing,
-Gigi