A\N: Hello! This is a one-shot I've had in my mind for a while and I hope you all like it :) Andd to my 'You're My Angel' readers, check out my profile page to find out why I haven't been updating. Oh, yeah, also, I don't own Harry Potter JK Rowling does.
It was a cool, gray-clouded morning outside the town Little Whinging. Everything and everyone seemed calm except middle-aged Harry Potter who awoke early this morning with memories attacking his mind. Today is Halloween. It is fun and exciting for most but to Harry Potter, it only brings sorrow and hurt.
"Come on darling, it's five in the morning. You need your rest because we have a long day ahead of us," Ginny Potter told her husband softly as she stepped beside him. Today they were traveling to the Burrow were Molly and Arthur Weasley had planned a big family gathering to celebrate the holiday. It was a Sunday so the Hogwarts children could attend as well.
"I know and I will but it's just hard to forget and move on sometimes…," he sighed and looked from their kitchen window down to his beautiful wife. Her eyes started to sting from the emotion written in her husband's green eyes. The death of his parents was always a sensitive topic to be discussed with Mr. Potter because it was only one of very few things that would make him feel emotionally drained and sad.
"You'll probably never forget and I don't blame you. If you want some time alone, I'll be heading back upstairs but be quiet, alright? I don't want the children to wake up and start asking questions," and with that she left and moved swiftly up the stairs to their bedroom, careful not to step on the squeaky pieces of wood. Harry looked back out of the window and noticed that the sun was just beginning to rise.
"I guess I should just go to bed. Standing here moping about what happened 35 years ago won't solve anything." So Mr. Potter headed up the stairs and gently opened the door to his and Ginny's bedroom and climbed right in next to his sleeping beauty. He was, however, unaware of the other two people who also awoke early this morning.
James and Al Potter were truly two different people. Al preferred books while James preferred pranks. James was in year six while Al was in year five at the prestigious Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Everything about their personalities were different but in the end the got along just fine.
"They're both asleep now," James whispered to Al in a hushed voice. Today, these two were taking their thirteen-year-old sister, Lily, to a place she has never been before. James and Al had only been there once before themselves and that was with Teddy back when James was in year two and Al was in year one.
"Good, now lets go wake up Lily before they do again," Al said quietly as he picked up the letter he and James had cleverly wrote last night explaining to their parents were they will be this morning. Even though sneaking out would be fun, their mum's angry side isn't one to mess with and they've known that since they broke their bunk bed a few years ago. It was an honest mistake but the pillow feathers from the pillow fight they were having said otherwise.
"Okay, so you go put the letter on the kitchen table and get the brooms. I'll go get Lily and meet you by the shed. Clear?," James asked gently opening their bedroom door.
"Right, got it."
"'Kay, break," James said tip-toeing to their sister Lily's room. Al began his sneaky descent down the creaky staircase to do his part of the 's door was creaked slightly so James pushed open the door to find a sleeping Lily snuggled in her yellow comforter. Her vivid red hair stuck out like a sore thumb amongst her yellow pillow-case and her hand hung off the bed. Slowly, James made his way to the side of the bed where she was facing. He gently shook her until she responded with her morning voice "Go away James."
James however had other ideas and pulled the comforter away from her body. Her brown eyes shot open and a scowl formed on her mouth. She opened her mouth to begin yelling at her pesky older brother when his hand found her mouth before she could even say a word.
"Don't yell, Lily. Just listen, okay? Al and I are taking you on a broom-ride to a surprise location. Now doesn't that sound like fun?," he asked taking his hand away from her mouth. She fixed her hair and angrily looked at James.
"Oh yes, waking up at five in the morning to go on a broom-ride with my two idiotic older brothers to an unknown location sounds like the high-light of my day," she answered with sarcasm apparent to her words. James smiled his signature smile and ruffled her already crazy hair.
"Good, then get dressed in something warm because it's quite chill outside and we wouldn't want you to get a cold now would we?," he remarked heading for the door. Just before he was about to leave, however, he turned around and added, "Oh, and be quiet coming down the stairs. Remember what day it is. Dad needs his sleep." Lily nodded and got out of her bed heading to her closet to find suitable clothes for the adventure.
"I hope I'm not going to regret this later on," she spoke to herself as she pulled her mum's old Holy-Head Harpies sweatshirt on over her head.
Down in the kitchen, James found Albus munching away on an apple. "I thought I told you to meet me by the shed," he told Al reaching for his own morning snack.
"I forgot my jacket in the kitchen and I thought it would had made more sense for me to wait in the heat of our home instead of freezing to death outside."
"I guess I didn't really think of that," James replied taking a bite from his apple.
"That's why I'm in Ravenclaw with Rose, Jamesie," Al responded smiling like an idiot. He knew James hated the nickname their grandmother had given him. It was just funny to see how riled up he got.
"Well, I would had gotten the brooms and placed the note myself, Albus, but I have the bravery from Gryffindor, unlike you, to wake up our monster of a sister instead," he replied hoping to annoy Al just as much.
"At least I think things through before I do something completely idiotic that I consider bravery when in reality it's just a stupid-"
"At least I get out in the world and try new things unlike you who stays hidden in the library all day-"
"Hey! I get out plenty-"
"If you two ladies are done arguing about who has a life and who doesn't, can we get on with your little adventure before mum and dad wake up," Lily interrupted reaching for a granola bar from the cupboard. The two boys looked at each other with hard eyes before James held his hand in front of Albus.
"How 'bout we call it a truce, ya? I have my strengths and you have yours. It's pointless to fight over something like this," James said waiting for Al's reaction. Without breaking eye contact, Al shook James hand and cracked a smile on his face.
"Truce, now lets get going. Ready Lils?," Al asked his amused sister, reaching for the door handle that would lead them outside to the broom sticks.
"As ready as I'll ever be for whatever you two have planned," she said walking out behind Albus. James double-checked the kitchen's surroundings before gently shutting the door behind him. While walking to the shed with his siblings, James couldn't help but say a silent prayer that everything worked out. Because, like his parents and their friends, nothing ever went right for James Potter no matter how well thought out his plans were.
"Who do you want to hitch a ride with today, Lillian? Me, the captain and spectacular seeker for the Gryffindor quidditch team, or Al mister 'books are more important then flying around a field all day' Potter?," James asked her obviously trying to get on Al's nerves. They always gave each other shit, it wasn't anything new, so he knew Al wouldn't be too offended.
"Well, now that you put it that way, James, I think I'll go with Al," she said looking at Al as his expression changed from one of annoyance to one of shock.
"Are you sure, Lils? I mean, James may had been a little over-the-top with his speech but what he said was partially true. He's a better flyer than I am."
"Nonsense, Al. Remember when we younger and I couldn't fly so you would let me fly with you when we all played Quidditch? I trusted you then and I trust you now," she said looking at him with a sparkle of youth shining in her eyes. Remembering things clearly was one of Lily Potter's greatest gifts. Some of the Weasleys even placed bets on what she would be when she graduated from Hogwarts. Most betted on either a Healer or Teacher. Harry and Hermione, however much she despised Divination from her youth, saw Lily's ambitions and talent in that class to be great and both placed bets on a Seer.
"Alright, whatever floats your boat then," James said mounting his broom stick and kicking off from the ground. Lily hopped on behind Albus and followed in pursuit of James. They had been flying for a few minutes when curiosity began filling Lily's mind so she finally demanded answers from both of them.
"At least tell me where we're going," she half-shouted through the noise of the wind. James gave Albus a nod and loudly Al gave her a short explanation, "Have you ever heard of Godrics Hollow?" Of course she had heard of Godrics Hollow. It was, like, one of the most known villages in magical history. But why would we be going there? To visit a destroyed house?
"Everybody has heard of Godrics Hollow but why would we be going there?"
"You'll find out soon enough, Lils, just hang in there okay?," James told her slowly lowering his broom towards the ground. Al followed his actions but not as gracefully. As stated before, James was the best flyer between him and Albus, so of course he was a little clumsy landing next to James on the leaf covered ground. They had landed in a very tiny village a few minutes away from their home.
"This doesn't look like Godrics Hollow to me," Lily said looking around at the familiar site.
"No shit, Sherlock. We're gonna catch a lift on the knight bus from here. If we were to fly all the way there we wouldn't be back on time for the celebration," James stated drawing his wand from his pocket. Within a few seconds of raising his wand, a giant red bus pulled up in front of the three teens. The conductor waved them in. After getting situated and telling the driver where they were heading, the bus started up at high speed and the Potters were flung back on to a seat.
"Do you think Hugo would survive this thing," Lily asked trying to settle herself as well. Hugo Weasley was their cousin and one of Lily Potter's best friends. However, when they enjoyed the opportunity to go to a muggle carnival last year, Hugo got motion sickness from a contraption called a 'rollercoaster'. He could barely walk straight and Lily was trying to help, honest, but she couldn't stop laughing for long enough to help him walk even two steps.
"He probably would had passed out already," Al responded with a laugh remembering the day as well. Soon James caught on and we were all in stitches laughing. The conductor gave us an odd look before he called out "Godrics Hollow!". The Potter children got off the bus still trying to recover from their laugh attack. The cherry atmosphere was soon replaced with gray clouds and even more gray people. Everybody looked as if they were half-dead and the trees barely had any colored leaves. It seemed colder here, too, as if the village had been sucked completely of life.
"This way, Lils," James said tugging on the sleeve of her sweat shirt motioning for her to follow him. She did as she was told and walked side by side with James. He kept sending her glances, wondering when she was going to start asking questions again. Eventually, after ten minutes of walking, the trio stopped in front of a cemetery. Lily's face meshed up in confusion while James and Albus shared a knowing look.
"On October 31st, 1980, Lily and James Potter were murdered in their home because they were betrayed by a man named Peter Pettigrew," Al began while walking through its doors with Lily and James following in pursuit. Lily listen intently while James scanned over grave markings looking for a specific one. Albus continued, "That night, the monster named Voldemort, had also one more victim on his list, young Harry Potter," Lily gasped at hearing her father's name but Al continued anyway, "He, however, fired a killing curse at the child and it back fired making our father famous being known as 'The Boy Who Lived'," Al said stopping when James did. They were in front of a grave stone that read the names 'James Potter' and 'Lily Potter'. Lily's eyes were beginning to water from the sudden knowledge she obtained.
"This is where are grandparents are buried, Lils. We thought, you know, that you'd like to visit it and find out why dad is always so strange on the day," James said placing lilies on the grave stone.
Lily shook her heard and spoke, "He should open up to us about this…I mean, this is a big deal. We deserve a little history about what happened, even if he doesn't give us the whole truth."
"I couldn't agree with you more, but James tried talking to them about it and mum just grabbed our hands and lead us out of the room to urgently make cookies in the kitchen. We've tried, believe me when I say this, but it's no use. So, we thought, that if he wasn't going to tell you, that we should," Albus finished giving his little sister's hand a squeeze. She squeezed back and dropped down to her knees next to her eldest brother.
"What are you thinking, James?," Lily asked searching his face for an answer. He sighed and looked at her with soft eyes. He may act tough and make sarcastic comments all the time, but James can be serious, especially with his baby sister. He's always had a soft spot for her so if were ever honest with anybody, it would usually be with her.
"It's just…I mean you and I are named after them even and he still won't tell us the story himself. He's just so confusing, our father. He names us after them so that they can kind of live on and be honored in a way and yet he's too much of a coward to ever say anything about them," he finished looking at his sister for support. They were silent for a minutes, gathering their thoughts.
Albus finally broke the silence, "Maybe he does keep quiet about this subject but it his traumatizing memory, not ours. He probably thinks keeping us in the dark about it is, in his own weird way, his way of protecting us from all the hell he had to face as a child," he said kneeling down next to a deep-in-thought James. Lily nodded her head and hugged her eldest brother. He didn't immediately respond but he eventually hugged her back.
"Aw, come on now, I want some loving too," Albus said jumping in-between the two causing them all to fall over on the ground in a fit of giggles. It was moments like these that the Potter children savored and stored in their memories for a rainy day. Moments when you just have a laugh and forget the world. Forget your surroundings, your past, your everything and just laugh.
Lily pulled apart from her childish brothers and started to stand up with a smile still attached to her face. Even though her brothers drove her crazy, she still loved them and couldn't imagine life without them.
The church bell rang signaling the noon service was about to begin. Lily helped pull Al up from the ground while James carried his own weight and stood up on his own. With a smile still on his face as well, James told the rest of the gang that they should get going. The latter agreed and picked up a broomstick each as James, once again, pulled out his wand and signaled for the knight bus. It pulled up with in seconds and soon enough they were back in their little ghost-town a few minutes from their home.
"I think I'll ride with James this time 'round if you don't mind, Al," Lily said plopping on behind James.
"I don't mind at all," Al said mounting his broom as well and kicking off into the midday air. Sooner than they wanted to be, they arrived home and quietly put away the boy's brooms. The all wished each other good luck and opened the kitchen door to find nobody in it.
"Pinch me because I think I'm dreaming," Al said. James took they joke too seriously and literally pinched him on his arm. With a small yelp, Al smacked James on his arm calling him a few names that weren't so pleasant.
"Either they've gone to the ministry to file a missing persons report or they're still asleep," Lily joked inching quietly in the kitchen. Her brothers followed behind her, looking in surprise that the note they had cleverly written the night before was still in its spot on the kitchen table were they had left it early this morning.
"I think we count ourselves lucky this time 'round, guys," James said with a triumphant smile.
"Actually, I'd count you guys dead and grounded this upcoming summer," a woman's voice called from the kitchen entryway that lead to the upstairs. The children froze on the spot and turned to look at their mother. Ginny Potter could easily pass as her mother's daughter with the same death glare and narrowed eyes. No one spoke. No one moved. It was like a stand off with one opponent having the upper hand while the other three had zero chances of winning.
"Mum, listen-" James began but never finished because Mrs. Potter wouldn't hear of it.
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to go diddle-daddle wherever you please?! You went Merlin knows where and all you gave me was this pathetic note saying you'll be safe and back by noon! Anything could had happened and I wouldn't even know where to begin to look if something-"
"Gin, it's alright love," Harry said coming up by her side. She stood, mouth gaped, glaring at her husband.
"It's Halloween and James is sixteen. I think they're allowed to a little fun every once and a while. I mean, it's not as bad as what we did when we were sixteen," he finished chuckling at his apparent flashback of his youth. Ginny's face softened and at her husband and nodded with understanding. She did recall many things she did when she was sixteen and would probably have a heart attack if she found out her children did the same.
"Alright, fine, you lot are lucky that your father doesn't get mad easily or else you would had been punished…," she said staring back at her three teens. The Potter children gave each other knowing looks of victory and looked back at their parents.
"Thanks mum. Thanks dad. I promise we didn't do anything illegal or life-threatening. It was just like a mini road trip, I guess you could say," Al said still looking at his parents.
"And I trust you. But please, can you tell us where you went. Just for my peace of mind," Ginny Potter pleaded her children. The trio looked at each other, contemplating whether or not they should share with their parents where the were earlier. James thought he had the answer so he spoke first, "We…We went to Godrics Hollow to show Lily were they're buried," he said looking straight at his father. Ginny inhaled sharply and, too, looked at Harry to see his reaction. He didn't move or speak. He looked somehow frozen in time.
"Dad, look I'm sor-" James started but Harry interrupted, "No, it's okay. You were probably curious about who they were. I just feel so foolish for not telling you myself and for that I'm sorry," he finished looking at all three of them. Ginny mustered up a smile for her husband and his proclamation. She's waited a long time for her husband to come to his senses and now that he has she has never been more proud of him.
Lily ran over and hugged her father and he hugged her back with just as much strength. Soon, Al, James and Ginny joined the hug and they were all in a tight embrace.
"You know, as much as I like this, we have to leave for the Burrow in thirty minutes and there's still a lot to do," Ginny said breaking away from the hug wiping at her eyes, trying to dry the unshed tears.
"Your mother's right, you three. Go get ready and meet us down her, all right?," Harry told his children. They nodded enthusiastically and raced up the stairs (literally) to get changed and ready to go.
"VICTORY!," James shouted from the top of the stairs.
"Only because you shoved me into the wall you git!," Al shouted back at him.
Harry and Ginny Potter looked at each other and started laughing.
"Those kids are going to be the death of me, I swear," Harry said between laughs.
"Yes, well, until then you can help me get out the mixing bowl so I can make the frosting for the cake," Ginny said turning away from her husband with a smirk plastered on her face.
"Yes, dear," he agreed reaching into the cupboard. This, by far, was one of the best Halloweens Harry Potter has ever had and he couldn't stop smiling to prove it.