Blood and Loyalties

by Philote

Everyone is looking forward to the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match except the one student who has a sibling on each team. But Albus is soon reminded that family loyalties should always outweigh school rivalries.

Title: Blood and Loyalties

Author/Artist: philote_auctor

Characters: Albus Potter, Lily Luna Potter, James Potter II, Scorpius Malfoy, Rose Weasley, Harry Potter and others in small roles

Word Count: 5,266

Rating: PG

Warnings: None

Summary: Everyone is looking forward to the Gryffindor-Slytherin Quidditch match except the one student who has a sibling on each team. But Albus is soon reminded that family loyalties should always outweigh school rivalries.

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of Harry Potter do not belong to me. I make no money from this story. Please don't sue.

Notes: Written for interhouse_fest. Prompt was: James (II), Albus, and Lily Luna - They end up in separate houses.

oOo

The air was too warm and sickly sweet. Albus Potter had no hope of keeping his mind on the lesson. He loosened his yellow tie as his thoughts wandered right out of the Divination classroom, down from the tall tower and across the Hogwarts campus to the Quidditch field.

The Gryffindor-Slytherin match would be held that weekend, and anticipation had reached fever-pitch throughout the school—to say nothing of Albus's family. Albus had always supported Gryffindor, especially with James playing Chaser. But this year Slytherin had a new Seeker, a first year with exceptional talent…Lily Potter.

Albus loved to play Quidditch. Unfortunately he just wasn't all that great at it. Good enough for the winning team in backyard games with his many cousins, but not good enough for his house team. James and Lily, on the other hand, had inherited the full force of their parents' combined talent. They were both amazing players and he wouldn't bet against either of them.

They had also inherited their Mom's fiery personality and their Dad's stubbornness. They were very similar in personality, and as such had always tended to clash. Albus had been a sort of bridge between the two of them since they were all little.

That was hard now, with them pitted against each other and each one vying for his loyalty and support over the other one.

Lily had seemed innocent enough when she started it by giving him a Slytherin button she had made. But she'd made sure James would see it. James, in turn, had given him a Gryffindor pendant. Not to be outdone, Lily had given him a green shirt with a writhing snake on the back. Then James had upped the ante with a Gryffindor hat complete with roaring lion. On and on they went until Albus had entire ensembles in each color with each mascot. Soon they were all three stood in the Great Hall with James and Lily locked in a shouting match and Albus trying to breathe through the two layers of scarves they'd just wrapped around his neck.

Albus was shaken from his thoughts by a fluttering sound and the sensation of something landing in his hair. He sighed and reached up to retrieve the little piece of paper, wondering what it would be this time. He'd been receiving them for days; little enchanted slips of paper in red or green aimed his way when he wasn't looking. The Slytherin ones were perhaps the most creative; little lifelike snakes that hissed or crawled up his arm before the enchantment wore off. It should be surprising here in a Gryffindor- and Slytherin-free environment, but his own house and Ravenclaw had gotten in on it too. Some had friends in Slytherin and others in Gryffindor; some simply liked betting on the outcome and arguing over the skill of the players.

Whatever the motivation, the entire school seemed to have boiled the great rivalry down to the Potter family. James represented the might of the Gryffindor team and Lily the skill of the Slytherins…and Albus was the ultimate fan. Who would he cheer for? Surely he had inside information, they seemed to think. Everyone wanted to know whose side he was on, and everyone wanted to influence that decision. It seemed to have become a game in and of itself. And for Albus it had gotten very old, very fast.

So it was with reluctance that he disentangled this latest message from his already unruly hair. He stopped short in surprise what he saw that it was blue. The little bird unfurled and flapped in front of his face a few times. A raven, he realized as it fell limp and he caught it in his palm.

He glanced around to where Rose was sitting a couple of tables over. She grinned at him, unrepentant.

"Mr. Potter? Are you quite all right?"

He jumped, his fingers inadvertently crushing the little bird as Professor Trelawney suddenly appeared right in front of him. Grey curls spiraled crazily in every direction, blocking out his view as she bent close to peer at him through her impossibly thick glasses. "Um…" he answered intelligently.

"Are you in a trance, dear? Experiencing a vision?"

"I don't think—" he started, but she'd already given up on him and focused on the crystal ball sitting on his table. As she pressed her face very nearly to the glass and began making distressed noises, Albus caught Scorpius Malfoy's gaze over the ball. His friend was biting his lip to hide a smirk.

The Professor abruptly pulled her focus back to him. "Potter. Have you spoken with your father lately?"

Albus resisted the urge to groan. Trelawney predicted doom and gloom for the whole Potter family on a semi-regular basis, but Albus's dad was still her favorite target. If she'd been at all accurate, Harry Potter would be dead about a thousand times over. Aloud he said, "He's fine. He'll be here for the game on Saturday."

She bit her lip and shook her head slightly, clearly not convinced. "I see danger surrounding him. You must warn him!"

Albus tried to look appropriately worried. "I'll be sure to do that."

As they descended the stairs several long minutes later, Albus flicked the somewhat smothered bird back at his cousin. "I know you're not so big on Quidditch, but surely even you know Ravenclaw's not playing this weekend."

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. But perhaps your safest choice of a team to support is the only one not represented under your roof."

Scorpius paused on the stair landing for them to catch up. "I still say you should just support both."

Rose shook her head, always up for an argument with Scorpius. "Isn't that kind of the same thing as supporting neither? They'd cancel each other out. Both sides would still be upset. And you don't know James and Lily like I do; neither of them will care for a draw. And neither will give up without a fight."

"You were the one who just suggested he should support neither."

"I was joking!"

Albus let their familiar bickering fade into the background of his thoughts. Rose, though she tried to be unbiased in his presence at least, was leaning towards Lily. Albus could tell. And she cared nothing for Quidditch—that was what really bothered him about the whole thing. Everyone got sucked into it, and it got personal.

Scorpius was the only one he knew who truly seemed not to care which team Albus picked. He didn't much care what the Gryffindors or the Slytherins thought of him. He did seem to be enjoying his self-appointed protective duties of his best mate, pulling his wand frequently and threatening to hex people who wouldn't leave Albus alone. He'd done more than threaten on a couple of occasions. They both still owed a detention for the frog incident in Potions.

When he had been silent too long Rose reached back and caught his elbow, physically drawing him forward and back into the conversation. He was grateful for these two, his best friends, even if he did still kind of wish he could go bury himself under his covers until Saturday was past.

oOo

Albus settled into bed that night with a heavy spirit. It was a ridiculous thing to be so stressed over, he thought, but he didn't know how to stop.

A soft growly meow preceded a warm weight landing on his chest. Albus brought a hand up to pat the large cat. "Hi, Smush."

"Rrow."

His proper name was Monster Smushface Potter. Years ago, when aunt Hermione's Crookshanks had mated with a stray tabby, Albus's mom and dad had agreed to take in one of the kittens. He resembled his father pretty closely. James had named him Monster while Lily proclaimed him Smushface. She'd shortened it to Smushy, which the cat seemed to find rather annoying. James refused to call him anything but his full name, which never failed to earn a hiss and haughty stare. Albus just called him Smush.

So Smush had a love-hate relationship with James and just tolerated Lily, who hadn't cared much for the responsibility involved once the cute smush-faced kitten stage wore off. His care had fallen to Albus, but he really didn't mind. And the truth was that Smush had become Albus's cat by his own choice—he'd decided his loyalty, and he was not a fickle feline. Albus was his, and that was that.

He stared down at Albus now, purring low in his chest. Albus stroked a hand down his back. "Don't suppose you have any advice in the James versus Lily debate?"

Smush started kneading his chest, a familiar comfort gesture that Albus interpreted as 'Who needs them? You've got me.' He smiled a bit.

Smush put up with him with only a few chastising growls as he tossed and turned for a while before he managed to drift off to sleep. But even then it wasn't peaceful. He was flying, the ground far below. James was on one side on his broom, hanging onto Albus's arm; Lily was on the other with a death grip on the opposite arm. They tugged him back and forth between them, neither willing to let go. Then his arms became golden wings and he realized he was the Snitch.

Suddenly there was something else up there with them, looming out ahead. It was a giant banana! It grabbed him, pulling him away from his brother and sister. He yelled and twisted from its grasp. But then he was falling, falling…

It wasn't until he hit the floor that he realized he'd been dreaming, the banana was actually a person, and he may have screamed aloud as he tumbled out of bed. Beds creaked and sheets rustled around the room as his dorm mates were rudely awakened as well, multiple voices demanding to know what was happening. A very distinct hiss sounded from his bed as Smush made his displeasure known.

Albus breathed heavily as his heart tried to recover its normal rhythm and squinted through the shadows. "Lumos," said the figure across his bed with a sigh. The wand in his hand illuminated and Albus could finally make out Derek Thomas's face. Their house Prefect was sleep-mussed and decked out in his Hufflepuff-yellow pajamas. He looked rather grumpy. "So much for not waking the entire house. Malfoy, put that away. No one is under attack."

Albus turned to the next bed to find Scorpius with his wand out, leveled over Albus's head at the perceived threat. He muttered something unintelligible under his breath, but he lowered the wand and settled for bleary-eyed glaring.

Thomas and Scorpius were not the best of friends; something about bad blood between their fathers. Scorpius seemed to run into that problem more than most. With that in mind, Albus hastened to push himself to his feet between them as he addressed Thomas. "What's going on?"

"Get dressed. You're needed in the Headmistress's office."

Albus was taken aback. "What? What for?"

"Her message didn't say."

Scorpius put in the obvious. "But it's after midnight."

"I actually noticed that," Thomas snapped. "It must be important then, wouldn't you say? Hurry up, Potter. Meet me in the Common Room in ten minutes."

He turned and walked out, taking the light with him and leaving Albus to stare dumbly in his wake for a moment before he shook himself and started searching for his own wand. "Lumos," Scorpius intoned, once again lighting the room. Albus nodded to him gratefully and turned to his trunk to search for clothes.

"Gee, Albus. What did you do?" asked Colin McCray from his bed across the dorm.

Scorpius got out of bed and made his way to Albus's side, wand held aloft. "Maybe she just wants to know who he'll be cheering for. It seems to be contagious," he suggested dryly. Albus felt his lips quirk despite himself. Scorpius returned the gesture as he knelt beside him and thumped his shoulder lightly, lowering his voice as he asked, "Want me to come?"

Albus hesitated, t-shirt and jeans in his hands. Whatever this was, it wasn't good. As he didn't think he'd done anything terrible enough to warrant a middle-of-the-night chastisement, it probably wasn't about him. He could imagine hundreds of possible scenarios, each worse than the one before. He clamped down hard on his imagination.

"Thanks, but no. I'm sure everything's fine."

He was lying through his teeth. Scorpius knew that, of course. He also knew as well as Albus that it wasn't really feasible for him to tag along to the summons. Thomas would never go for it for starters, let alone the Headmistress. But the offer's meaning was felt all the same.

Scorpius nodded. "I'll be here, then."

Albus offered him a shaky smile of thanks. "Look after Smush for me?" The cat had been known to slink around campus, looking out for Albus in his stealthy way.

"Sure." Scorpius eyed the cat. Smush eyed him right back. They had a grudging respect for each other though, so Albus was somewhat comforted as he gathered up his clothes and wand and went to get dressed.

Seven minutes later he was in the Common Room near the exit waiting for Thomas. The older boy appeared shortly. He'd put on his Hogwarts robe and his Prefect badge, though traces of yellow could still be seen beneath the robe's hem when he moved. Albus wondered if his street clothes were appropriate.

Thomas led him out into the hallway and into the main part of the school. "Sorry about this, Potter. If I knew what was going on, I'd tell you."

"Thanks," Albus replied absently as he spotted a familiar figure emerging from the staircase across the way.

"Al!" Lily called as she spotted him. She was accompanied by her own house Prefect, a tall dark-haired girl called Susan who tried to shush her as she shattered the quiet of the hall. But Lily had never been the type to shush easily. She also wasn't much for pretense—she said whatever she thought and let her emotions display plainly on her expressive face. Right then as she rushed up to him, she was scared.

"Do you know what's happening?"

"No. Just that the Headmistress wants to see us."

They trailed behind Thomas and Susan, who put their heads close to whisper to each other as they walked. Albus thought a little sarcastically that it was nice to see some Interhouse cooperation going on.

He very carefully did not react when Lily slipped a hand into his. It was a remnant of Mom and Dad insisting they stick together whenever in public, but it was a habit she'd broken before coming to Hogwarts. He didn't comment but rather gripped her smaller fingers tightly as they made their way to the Headmistress's office.

The two Prefects used the password to open the door, then left them to go in on their own. Albus glanced back to see them heading back down the hallway just before the door closed. Clearly, he and Lily weren't expected back out any time soon.

When they made their way into the office proper, James was already seated in front of the desk.

"Albus, Lily. Come in," said Headmistress McGonagall. The Headmistress was ancient as far as Albus was concerned (not that he'd ever tell her that, though he was pretty sure the rumors about her transfiguring students into slugs were totally false). But she still seemed sharp as a tack, and she'd always been kind and fair to him.

James stood. Albus had only seen his big brother truly afraid a handful of times in their lives. Right then, there was carefully controlled fear in his eyes.

Albus gravitated to him, pulling Lily along behind. "What's going on?" he asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

McGonagall nodded to James to answer. He forced a weak smile that Albus would have seen through any day. "Dad's had some sort of incident at work. They want us to come to St. Mungo's."

Dad was an Auror; work wasn't exactly a desk job. He'd been hurt in the past. But no one had ever woken them in the middle of the night to come to the hospital. "How bad?"

McGonagall stood and took over. "I'm afraid I don't know. Your mother simply requested that I send you." She gestured for them to come to the fireplace.

James placed a hand on each of their backs, steering them forward as a unit since Lily had yet to let go of Albus's hand. McGonagall took down a container of floo powder. "Someone will meet you on the other side to take you to your parents." She paused, gazing at them over her glasses. "May God be with you and your Mum and Dad," she added as she offered them the powder.

They took the floo one at a time. As promised, there was a pretty young witch at St. Mungo's waiting for them. She was all gentle smiles and no answers as she led them to the fourth floor, to a corridor outside the Spell Damage ward and had them sit in uncomfortable chairs. "Wait here. I'll have someone come out and get you in a moment."

And so they sat, James in the middle. Lily took up a grip on his hand instead, and Albus had to resist the urge to do the same on his side. He fidgeted, not realizing he was doing so until James reached over to still his bouncing knee.

Then something occurred to him. "Oh," Albus said suddenly, his stomach dropping as he recalled Divination class.

"What?" James asked.

"I forgot…Professor Trelawney, earlier today; she said something bad was going to happen to Dad."

"That doesn't mean anything; she used to tell me that at least once every class."

"Yeah, but…" he gestured helplessly towards the closed doors.

"Was it any different this time? Did her voice go weird or anything, like Dad's talked about?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Then she was just making it up as usual. She was bound to get lucky eventually."

"Maybe, but I said I'd warn him."

"Al, there was nothing to warn. She's a nutter, and you did nothing wrong."

"But what if…"

James grasped his chin, forcing eye contact. "But nothing. He's going to be fine."

Albus really wanted to point out that he couldn't know that, that he could be wrong. Dead wrong. But Lily was watching them with wide eyes, and James was holding it together the best he could. So Albus just nodded. "Okay."

They sat some more. James slung an arm around Albus's shoulders and left it there, a comforting weight that Albus appreciated more than he'd ever let on, especially since he was still thinking he'd never forgive himself if the unthinkable happened and he could have stopped it.

It seemed like hours, but it was probably more like ten minutes before someone emerged from the ward and came their way.

"Uncle Ron!" Lily exclaimed, jumping up and running into his arms. James and Albus stood and followed her. Ron worked in the Auror department with their father and was usually in the field with him. As he sat Lily back on her feet and reached for James's shoulder, Albus's eye caught on a dark stain across his uncle's pant leg. He stared, willing the too-large crimson spot not to be what he knew it was.

"Al."

He snapped his attention back up to his uncle's face. Ron reached for him and pulled him into a quick hug. "He's going to be fine."

"What happened?" James demanded.

"Oh, terrific feats of heroism and arrests of the bad guys. The usual."

He made it sound so easy, even cool. But when they stepped inside and around the curtain and caught a look at Dad, Albus stopped in his tracks. He looked horrible. He was nearly as pale as the white sheets, his dark hair and lightning bolt scar standing out in sharp contrast. Still, his smile was warm as he caught sight of them.

"He's all right. Everything's going to be fine," Mom was saying as she came around the bed to hug them, first individually and then all together in a sort of group smushing. When they'd recovered their balance, James led the way to Dad's side.

"Hey, Dad. Heard you tripped leaping a tall building in a single bound," he tried to joke.

Dad looked at Uncle Ron accusingly. "What have you been telling them?"

"Hey, I just told them their Dad's a superhero. Nothing they didn't already know. Anything else is your son's embellishments."

Lily crept up beside James. "Daddy?"

Dad reached for her hand, though it brought a pained wince that he couldn't quite hide. "I'm okay, Lil."

A disbelieving noise escaped Albus's throat. They all looked at him and Mom stepped over to rub his back as she addressed them all. "Okay, obviously he's not okay. He was in sorry shape for a bit there. But he is going to be just fine."

"But you called us down here like—" Albus cut himself off, unable to give voice to what he was thinking.

"There'll probably be a story in the Prophet, that's all. You know how they like to exaggerate. We wanted you all to see him firsthand so you wouldn't worry."

That brought the disbelieving noise again.

"Al, come here," Dad coaxed.

James looped an arm around Lily and pulled her around to the other side so Albus could get closer. He went, taking the hand his Dad held out for him. The grip was far weaker than normal, but a bit stronger than Albus had honestly expected given his pallor. "I'll be fine. I promise," he said firmly, looking straight into Albus's eyes.

Dad had never once given him cause to doubt his word. Albus held his gaze for a long moment before he nodded solemnly.

Uncle Ron broke the intense moment. "Also, the Healer said so. And she was a little scary, so we'd best all do what she says."

Mom huffed out a little laugh. "She was at that. And she insisted you all couldn't stay long; Dad needs his rest."

They all complained, but it was obviously true. As much as Albus would have liked to curl up on the side of Dad's bed and spend the night making sure he kept breathing, that was clearly not conducive to his getting better.

Dad settled things by saying, "Listen to your mother. Besides, I'll see you all on Saturday, anyway."

Lily perked up. "You'll be well enough?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Mom looked to their uncle. "Ron, could you get them back to school before you head home?"

"Sure thing, Gin. Harry, try to avoid danger for the night, huh? Don't take on any evil patients without me."

"No promises on that," Dad fired back with a tired grin.

Uncle Ron kissed their mother's forehead and patted Dad carefully on the leg as Albus and his siblings said reluctant goodbyes. As the others left the curtained area, Dad gestured for Albus. "Al, hang back for a minute."

Mom stepped out with the others as Albus went back to his Dad's side.

"How is everything going?"

Albus blinked at him. "Fine. You know, except for my Dad being in the hospital and all."

Dad flapped a hand like that was trivial. "I meant the buildup to the big game."

"Oh. That."

"You shouldn't worry about it."

If only it were that easy. "It's kind of hard not to with the entire school butting in."

"Al, trust me when I say that I know what it's like to have the school taking sides against you. You can't worry about it."

He nodded, if only because he didn't want his Dad worrying about it at the moment.

Dad considered him. "Aren't you glad you're not in Gryffindor or Slytherin?"

Albus stared back at him. He'd never thought about it that way. If he were in the same house with either James or Lily, the odd one out would be feeling all alone at the moment. As it was, they were on an equal playing field.

His Dad chuckled, and Albus looked at him in surprise. "I can practically see the wheels turning," he explained. "I'm proud of you, Albus."

"But I haven't done anything. I can't even make a decision."

"Yes, you can. You already have. And it's the right one."

Mum came back in then, oblivious to Albus's confusion as she gave him a one-armed hug. "Time to get going, sweetheart."

"Right." Albus squeezed his Dad's hand and told him he loved him. As he walked to the edge of the curtain with his mother he whispered loudly, "Did he maybe get hit in the head?"

She started to look a bit concerned, but Dad had overheard and just laughed. "Oh, and Albus?" he added. "I love your brother and sister dearly, but they don't have your sensitive personality. Consider that they like to joke about winning your loyalty because they both know there's no winning necessary."

oOo

Albus tried not to wake anyone as he snuck back into the dorm room. He thought he'd succeeded until about sixty seconds after he'd lain down. Then it was déjà vu—a growly meow preceded the pouncing of a warm weight onto his chest.

Scorpius perched on the edge of his mattress and kept his voice low. "I think your cat is nocturnal."

Albus couldn't help but grin. "Been restless, has he?"

"Crawling all over me. He pounced on my head at least twice." There was a pause, then, "Everything okay?"

Albus plucked Smush from his chest and encouraged him to curl up at his side, wrapping an arm around the furry body. "Dad had a 'work incident.' He's in St. Mungo's."

"Is he all right?"

"Yeah." Albus scratched Smush's ears until he got a contented rumble. "Everyone kept saying 'fine.' But they'd qualify it, like, 'he's doing fine now' or 'everything's going to be fine.' But he looked awful…and Uncle Ron missed some of the blood when he cleaned up his clothes. I think it was a lot worse than they'd tell us."

"Your Dad's tough. More important, he's a survivor."

Albus nodded, though he doubted Scorpius could see it in the darkness. "He is that. Thanks."

"Sure. Get some sleep; you've only got a couple of hours 'til breakfast."

But he couldn't sleep, not really. He managed to drift off, but then the dreams kicked in again. They were even stranger now. He was back at the Quidditch game, but all four houses were playing. James was in green, Lily red, and both his parents were flying around in Hufflepuff yellow. Then Trelawney showed up with a crystal ball and started proclaiming that the Snitch was going to meet a terrible fate.

He barely made it to breakfast on time. When he reached the Great Hall, he stood in the doorway for a long moment and blinked around blearily. Lily was there already, seated near her friends, but she'd left a couple of empty seats and wasn't participating in their conversations. She looked half asleep and kind of down.

Albus didn't really put any thought into his next move. He just went right past his house table over to Slytherin's and took the empty seat beside his little sister.

He could feel the eyes of the entire hall on him, like he'd made some speech declaring his undying loyalty to Slytherin and spat at the Gryffindor table while he was at it.

And he didn't care.

Really. He expected anger or embarrassment, but all he felt was tired and concerned for his sister. She was staring at him too, an expression of wonder on her face. It soon morphed into gratitude. She smiled a little as she leaned toward him with a hushed whisper. "Al, you realize you're at the wrong table, right?"

"Actually, I think I'm right where I need to be."

Then someone plopped down on the other side of Lily, and the room seemed to go silent as James grinned tiredly at his little siblings. "Room for one more?"

Lily recovered first. Her eyes were shining a bit (though Albus knew she'd never admit it). She reached for her silverware and started chatting about nothing of consequence as she ate. James reached behind her to give Albus a light punch in the shoulder before he followed her lead as if this were their family dinner table; as if Gryffindor and Hufflepuff and Slytherin were nothing more than strange, meaningless words.

The Hall had just began to buzz again with conversation with the mail arrived. Owls swooped in with copies of the Daily Prophet, one of which landed in front of Albus. He wasn't at all surprised to see Dad's face on the cover. He didn't read the article, but he knew most of the students in the Hall were.

A few minutes later a plate dropped onto the table beside his and he glanced up to find Rose joining them, Hugo in tow. Just as it was starting to resemble a Potter-Weasley family get-together, Scorpius plopped down across from Albus. Then a couple of James's Gryffindor teammates joined them. Soon some of the actual Slytherins arriving late were forced to choose seats elsewhere because their table was filled with other house members.

Hugo got hold of Albus's Prophet and read the cover story with wide eyes. "Is Uncle Harry all right?"

James shrugged it off. "He's just fine. He'll be here Saturday to watch me fly circles around Lil."

"Oh, right. You just keep flying your circles, big brother, while we score all the points."

Albus was quiet, taking in the good-natured teasing. His Dad was right, as usual. In a way Albus had long ago made the decision—he was never going to choose between them. Some part of him had always known that. Somewhere deep down he'd also known that they didn't really want him to choose. They liked to tease; they liked the thrill of the game and the jest of the rivalry, but truth be told they would undoubtedly be rooting for each other in every other game of the year. And, as Dad had also said, they could so easily play at winning Albus's loyalty because they both knew they already had it…and that they were in no danger of ever losing it.

So when game day arrived, Albus dressed in jeans and a neutral-colored shirt. Scorpius was gracious enough not to say 'I told you so' as he helped him paint the left side of his face red and the right green, and Albus was on his feet for the entire game cheering at the top of his lungs for both sides. When it was over, his voice was gone except for a hoarse croak and he slumped in exhaustion by his father's side. Dad beamed at him and squeezed him close with not a single wince of pain, and the actual winner of the game didn't so much matter.

But, for those who like to keep track of that sort of thing, the house cup that year was won by Hufflepuff. By way of a turned-up nose and purred demands, Monster Smushface Potter lorded this over James and Lily all summer, and all was right in the Potter household.

oOo