Armed
Harry doubted he was welcome, but he knocked on the door. His left forearm was sore, he had his own blood dried under his fingernails, and dark purple half-circles hung under his eyes. His clothes were neat and his shoes were polished, though. He was presentable enough. He just hoped the door wouldn't be slammed in his face.
The door slowly pulled open. His mother stood there, face confused until their eyes met. It transformed into shock then, happiness. Harry smiled. "Hello, mum." He said. "Came to see how dad's doing. Saw his name in the paper this morning."
"The paper?" His mother asked, shaking her head. "Harry, maybe you should-"
He cut her off. "Are you really going to tell me I can't see my own father?" Harry forced the small burst of fire in his chest down. "I just want to see dad." He added.
"Let me see your forearm." She said.
Harry laughed. "Let me in, mum. I'm not going to do anything. I just want to see dad." He repeated.
His mother's hand gripped the side of the door. She nodded slowly and stepped back. "Alright." She said. "Come in."
"Thanks." Harry stepped inside, breathing in the familiar scent. After he heard the click of the door shutting, he went to the direction where he heard the most noise. His mother followed him closely behind.
Everything was the same. Harry should've known. Nothing could've changed much in the past few months. It was almost funny; he had been living in his room shortly after graduating Hogwarts before he left. He hadn't seen his parents since, not as himself.
In the kitchen, his godfather Sirius Black was loudly pushing through the cabinets. Remus Lupin sat next to Nymphadora Tonks at the table. His father was complaining about a mediwizard. "The guy was rough! I'll be surprised if I don't lose my foot!"
"That doesn't make any sense. It's healed." Sirius said.
"Still, it hurts-" His father cut off.
He was noticed. Harry smiled. The noise drained into pitch silence. "Hey dad." He said. "You were in the newspaper this morning. It said you were hurt. I wanted to see if you were alright."
"You should already know." Tonks spat. Remus winced and placed his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. She didn't pay any attention to him. "Staying with the Malfoy's, aren't you?"
"I was." Harry said. "What does that have to do with my dad's injury?" He asked.
"A fuck lot!" Tonks snapped. "You're a traitor!"
Sirius stepped in. "Where are you living at now?" He asked. "If you need a place, I got somewhe-"
"Sirius!" Lily yelped.
"What? If he needs a place to stay, I'm not going to not offer him somewhere." Sirius reacted angrily. "Merlin, woman, you're his mother. At least pretend to be loving in front of other people."
"I'm alright." His dad spoke. "How are you? Do you have a place to live?"
Harry nodded. "I'm living in a muggle town. Simple place, old place some wealthy muggles used to own. They died decades ago, though, and no one's lived in it since. A friend and I are fixing it up." He said.
"A friend?" His dad perked up.
"Not a girlfriend." Harry laughed. He pulled out a chair at the table next to his father and sat down. "Just someone I met." He said.
"What's the name?" His mother asked.
"Tom Gaunt." Harry said, smiling wide. It wasn't a lie. "Maybe you'll meet him one day."
"Doubt it." Tonks uttered.
"Can I see your forearm?" His dad was fidgeting.
Harry's smile faded. "If I show you, how will you react?" He asked.
"Depends what I see." His dad said.
"Dad, please." Harry shook his head. "I just wanted to see if you were okay."
"Can I see?" His dad repeated.
Harry hesitated. He wasn't able to refuse his dad something he probably already knew. It was a stupid thing to do. Half of the room were Aurors, one was a werewolf, and the last was a capable witch. At least two of them are already completely willing to fight him. It was a stupid thing to do, but he reached over to his sleeve and tugged it up.
His dad covered the sore mark with his hand. Harry winced, feeling a jolt of pain. The mark stung for a second, eventually becoming numb. "You're still my son." He said. His eyes moved past Harry. "Always will be, no matter what anyone says. You hear me?"
"Thank you, dad." Harry softly said, smiling.
"You should go." His mother said. "You aren't welcome here."
"Yes he is." His dad snapped. "Lily, you won't force me to abandon my son."
"You have another son!" Lily hissed. "And he's a good boy!"
His dad tugged his sleeve back over the mark. "I love Monty, I do, but he isn't a Potter. We both know that." He said. "Harry, do you still have the Cloak? And the map?" He asked.
Harry nodded.
"Good. Keep it. Pass it onto your own son." His dad smiled.
Harry smiled back. "I'll leave now. I know I'm not welcome." He said.
"You'll always be welcome." His dad said. "Regardless of what anyone else says. I love you, son."
"I love you, too, dad." Harry said. He hugged him, nodded towards Sirius, then to Remus, and he walked out of the kitchen.
When he left the cottage, he heard his mother slam the door behind him. Harry snorted back his laugh.
yet another drabble...I included Voldemort in the characters because, even though he's barely mentioned, he's the driving force behind everything that happened in this drabble.
If you're confused, the backstory!
Harry was sorted into Slytherin when he went to Hogwarts. Both of his parents didn't care, they loved him dearly. However his relationship with his mother was already strained due to a tense relationship, after he had caught her cheating on his father. She had given birth to his half-brother Monty, who Harry never grew close to. (Monty is seven years younger than Harry. He entered Hogwarts in 1998-1999 school year. Why he isn't in this fic is because it's set in September, he's at Hogwarts and not at home.) Monty's father is Severus Snape, who Lily cheated James on with. Despite her affair, they remained married and raised Monty as James' son.
During his years at Hogwarts, Harry became close to the other Slytherins. Unable to stand his home environment, Harry spent the summer after his third year with the Malfoy's. He spent the winter holidays during his fourth, fifth, and sixth years with the Malfoy's, too. He had been considered a delinquent, bullying other students and often getting into fights. He gravely injured many of his fellow Slytherins when he felt tested by them. For this, the Dark Lord attracted him into his semi-ranks. Harry was slowly enlisted as a Death Eater. He attempted to reconnect with his family after graduation, feeling guilty for becoming a Death Eater due to his closeness with his father and godfather, but found he couldn't stand the Light's beliefs and couldn't bring himself to fight on the same side as his mother. He moved out from his family home after a month. He lived with the Malfoy's for a short time, before he was invited to the Dark Lord's manor (Riddle Manor) to serve him closely.
In this time, Harry is growing closer to the Dark Lord. He's being trained to take Bellatrix Lestrange's place, which is why the Dark Lord is fostering loyalty to himself by inviting Harry to live with him.
James was injured during a Death Eater attack, his foot was near-completely severed. He lost a lot of blood and could've died from it due to the curse that was used, but he was healed by a mediwizard. Harry was at the attack, but he waited until the injury was mentioned in the Daily Prophet (that morning) to go see his father, which was in the afternoon.
And that's all folks!
Might use this world as a setting for a longer fic one day, but idk