Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.

James has always been a cuddly person. Harry knows this, but he wasn't expecting his fourteen-year-old son to come barreling off the train and wrap his arms around Harry's waist. James doesn't like making a spectacle in public. He leaves that to Albus, who will proudly wear green in support of Brazil while the rest of family wears red for Bulgaria, Victor Krum's team.

"Hello, James," Harry says, running a hand through James' messy black hair. "Did your semester go well?"

James nods wordlessly against his chest.

Looking around him, Harry finds Ron's gaze, who shrugs uncomfortably. Ron and James' relationship, though remaining cordial, has been strained ever since James was sorted into Slytherin. It wasn't until recently, when Albus confessed that the hat offered him Slytherin, too, that Ron began to become more accepting of James being the first Slytherin in the family. It helped when Ginny pointed out that James had Ron's strategic ability.

Since James doesn't seem ready to talk yet, Harry collects Albus and Lily and takes his children home. All three chatter in the backseat, and Harry has to remind them to be quiet as they enter the house. Ginny is working on an article, and has threatened to kill each of them if they dare to disturb her.

"Come with me to my office?" Harry asks James, and James, knowing it's more of a request than an offer, follows him.

Once the door is locked and Harry is certain there won't be any prying ears, which is always a possibility in their family, Harry turns to James and asks him what's on his mind.

James fiddles with a loose thread on his sleeve. "You, actually," he admits quietly.

Harry's brows rise. "Me?"

James nods. "We were talking about the war in History," he says, and with a sense of dread, Harry recalls that third year is when they go more in depth. "I knew that you defeated Voldemort, but not everything else. How could Dumbledore let you into the Tri-Wizard tournament? I'm fourteen, and I don't think I could do it."

"The contract was binding," Harry explains.

"But surely there was a loophole! Someone else had to have been submitted unwillingly by other people before. And all of the teachers he hired! I mean, Teddy's dad was pretty awesome, but what about the Death Eater? He even hired Voldemort! Isn't there some kind of, I don't know, a background check or something? This is a world of magic, where anything's possible!"

At another time, Harry would have smiled; picking Hermione as James' godmother has made him more logical than the average wizard. Now, though, he sighs.

"Have you told Al about this?" he asks wearily.

"Er…"

James looks slightly guilty, and Harry sighs again. He knows he'll be having this same conversation again soon.

"I'm not going to lie to you, James. Dumbledore made a lot of mistakes-"

"Try a lot," James mutters.

"But it was what he did in the end that really matters," Harry continues.

"Is that what you tell yourself about Snape?" James asks snidely.

Harry pauses. In recent years, he has realized the real impact the two men had on his life. He's thankful that Ginny had been able to convince him that Severus would be a horrible middle name for Albus. Ron and Hermione were too complacent on Harry's reasoning to stop him otherwise.

"Alright, so I might be too forgiving," Harry admits.

It's true. Ginny has always been the one to discipline the children.

There's a beat of silence, and then James grins.

"It's not too late to change, old man," he teases, and Harry laughs.