Sirius was released two days later, when it was confirmed his concussion wouldn't hurt him. As soon as I'd gotten home I'd flooed a rather worried Severus, who had been trying to get ahold of me through the Goblins for a day now. He comes in immediaely and after looking me over- something he insists is needed because I don't know how to take care of myself- he heals Sirius up and banishes the casts that he has on. Sirius lets out a whoop of joy after two hours of sitting on the couch when he can walk around, and takes off for the kitchen. I had cleaned up everything while Severus was healing him, which means the blood on the floor was gone, as well as the mess on the desk. I was, however, extremely annoyed to find that my floo powder in both rooms have been disturbed and multiple people have touched my Gringotts delivery box, though none had magic so the signitures were not saved.
"Severus before you go, do you know any wards?" I ask. I had wanted to do them on my own, but I didn't have the time to learn them apparently.
"What? Yes, why? You live in a muggle town, Harry." he asks as he comes into the study. I turn to see his concerned look. Years ago I wouldn't have thought it possible, but once dumbledore had died Severus had done a 180. He'd made a vow with Dumbledore to treat me the way he did because he had assumed he would hate me. Once he had met me, and watched me, he realized that I was a little too much like him and wanted me to get help. With his Vow, Dumbledore wouldn't let him until Dumbledore had died. It'd taken a lot of work on his end after my sixth year, when Dumbledore died of a curse, before I would even talk to him. But now he was the weird uncle that knew everything and had a sarcastic remark at the ready at all times. Remus was, too, come to think of it.
"There's a group of seven veggie vamps pretending to be a family in the area. They were concerned for me because I look like I'm a kid still, and didn't believe that I was an adult. Apparently, they broke into my house. My floo powder has been messed with, and my box has been touched. My paint too probably. They're good at hiding their tracks but the floo powder was obvious and the box records when someone who doesn't own it touches it. The three I have met aren't magical, but I would like to ward the house against them coming in again without my permission." I tell him. He scowls at the mention of someone going through my things, before nodding.
"Sirius, we're going to put up wards! Will you floo Remus and let him know you're okay? And talk to him about Edwards break!" I call out. I get a confirming shout before I follow Severus outside. I watch him layer three different wards around the property, adding on two more of my own when he finishes under his watchful eye. As soon as I'm done I feel like a rubberband is snapping into place over my chest. The same feeling I had in Potter manor the first time I walked through the halls.
"They worked." I inform him, rubbing the spot on my chest like it still hurt, even though it was a phantom pain at this point. He nods as we head back inside and i'm not too terribly surprised to see two new people.
"Wotcher Harry!" Dora calls before I'm tackled into a hug. I catch her, barely, and hug her back a moment before pulling away.
"Hello Dora, Remus. The house is pretty bare right now, but what do you think?" I ask, sweeping a hand around the foyer.
"Sirus has laready given us a tour. It's big, but amazing. Which one is Teddy's room?"
"I was going to convert the attic into a room for him. Sirius has control over the rest of the home however. Severus, if you'd like a room here, you should probably pick it so he doesn't decorate it." I warn the only slytherin amoung us. He nods, before disappearing up the stairs.
"He also said you wanted to discuss the holidays? Will you be away again?" Dora asks as she loops her arm through mine. Her hair is a bluish hue, something it does when she's upset.
"No, actually. I was wondering if we could have it here, so that Teddy could see it. I figured Sirius would want a new home to decorate for the holidays." I admit to him as we make the way to the kitchen. I turn on the coffee pot and hop onto the counter.
"What's that?" Dora asks before Remus can answer. He gives her an amused look, pullign her closer and kissing near her temple.
"You know how we use a kettle on the stove?"
"Mhm?"
"That machine will heat the water up much faster. It's how muggles heat it up without magic." he explains, pulling her into an embrace. I roll my eyes at that. They'd been married almost 18 years now and still were as sappy as crap. It embarassed my godson as a child and his little sister as well. Something they actually agree on, to everyone elses amusement.
"What about Amyralla? She would like to spend the holidays with Kingsley, I'm sure." Remus muses to answer my question. I shrug at that.
"Kingsley and Amelia can stay here if they'd like, it's not like I don't have enough room. And if you're going to complaing about work, I have permission from Shelly for you all to come and go as you please from here, I just need to let her know whose going to be here more often then not so that I can get her a list and she can get the muggle legalities out of the way. After Sirius' unexpected trip to the hospital I think I'm going to go to the Seattle district and see if I can find a list of healers and the closest hospital, as well as a few other things, to list out in my office on the off chance that Teddy is here when I'm not." I muse to myself at the end, turning to find a peice of paper and a pen to start a list of floo addresses I'm going to need and other things that I should have on hand.
"And you think you'd be a horrible parent." Remus teases me.
"I'd be an absolutely abismal parent. There's a difference between preparing for a teenager who can largely take care of themselves to be at my home, versus raising a child full time. I was barely able to handle Teddy every weekend and most of the time when he was younger I was at your place." I point out without looking up from what I was doing.
"You just doubt yourself too much is all." he muses, letting Dora go to start handing out cups of coffee. I'd gotten addicted to the stuff thanks to Draco while we were both on the Falcon's team. He'd had four cups before every game. He was a much better Chaser than he was a seeker, and the Falcons had taken my advice when in one season we had our three main Chasers and two backups either get medically relieved, quit, or on paternity leave for the season. He'd easily became the middle man of the chasers, the 'leader' of that little group. Between the two of us, we'd led the team to a winning streak that lasted four years before I'd quit.
"So, Holidays here?" Sirius comes bouncing into the room like he hadn't been all casted up not a day ago. He seemed inclined to think that he was indistructable, even after his stint in Azkaban.
"I suppose we can, so long as each kid has their own rooms and Kingsley and Amelia can have a room."
"Harry has ten bedrooms, counting his own and the space he's given his godson. I'd say make the third floor for everyone else. You'd have Sirius, and Amyralla, and Remus and Nymphodora's room." snape says as he strides in, looking almost too pleased with himself.
"It's Dora, Severus!" Dora complains, her hair going a violent red. Teddy was the only one who inherited that trait from her, thankfully. Amyralla was a pain without the added benifit of not having to own up to it and using someone elses face.
"Did you pick your room?" I ask, instead of foading the small arguement like I normally would.
"Yes, it's the only one on the second floor with it's own bathroom, hope you don't mind. I'll stop by sometime this week and drop a few things off in it. For now, it's armed to the teeth to be… upsetting if someone tries to open the door." he tells me with a wicked grin.
"Which room on the second floor is it?" Sirius asks over his cup of coffee.
"Go grab all the handles and find out." Severus says before waving and leaving the room. I hear the floo flare up a moment later and smirk at a very disgruntled looking Sirius.
"I'll floo over sometime this week and get our and Amyralla's room situated with a few familiar things, but yes, Sirius, you can decorate it." Dora says to her cousin. I laugh as Sirius grins, ushering them out and to the floo. I realize that it was almost midnight at their place, and I feel bad for giving them coffee right before they were going to go to sleep.
"Sirius, I'm going to go paint my room!" I call out into the house, hoping he heard me because I didn't get a reply back. I get to my room and make sure I cast a spell so that no paint gets on anything, before I start spreading the dark red paint all over the walls the muggle way. It was soothing, and I do like doing some things by hand. I don't hear from Sirius for several hours, but when I finish and head down to the kitchen he's not in the house. There's a note on the counter telling me he's gone home for the day, but would come back with all his ordered furniture- or at least what can be delivered in 24 hours or less- tomorrow. I don't feel like cooking, and kind of want to test my wards, so I order a pizza. I only have to wait 40 minutes for it to get there, and i was surprised because I lived in a very remote area. I felt a tingle, like someone was pouring something over my head, and I know that someone human had just entered my wards that I had let down temperarily.
"One large, bacon and extra cheese handtossed?" a curious teenager tells me. I agree, but he seems more inclined to look around the outside of the house then he is paying attention to me.
"Sorry, sir. I didn't know anyone had a house here. It took me typing in the address in my phone to find the place." he tells me when he realizes what he's doing, his face going pink. I accept the apology, pay him with a tip, and head back in. as soon as he crosses my ward line, I throw the wards back up. It was good to know I had as much control as I did, at least.
"I forget how annoying it is to shop like a muggle." I hear Remus say behind me. He's offered to help stock the house while Dora and Sirius set up all the furniture that Sirius has ordered. So we're in the local grocery store, buying all the food we will need for the next few weeks with his four, me, sirius, and occasionally severus in the house. This friday Teddy was coming to the house, though he doesn't know that yet.
"Why don't you head to the front of the store, I'll grab some milk and meet you there. Did you get enough meat?" I ask, glancing at the shopping cart he was pushing. We both had a cart, and they were both alarmingly full.
"Yeah, If not it's not like you live that far from the market. I'll make a stop or bring something as well if I have to." he reminds me. I nod and head to the back with my cart so that I can grab the milk. By the time I meet him at the car he's all loaded up, but he's eyeing a group of people I recognize immediately across the parking lot, near another cluster of shops.
"Ignore them, Remus. They're vegetarians, otherwise I'd have moved by now." I tell him as calmly as possible. Dr. Cullen's head whips my way and I see both of the boys I'd met before look my way as well. There were three girls with them, one older than the others, and one boy I'd never seen. I'd been told all about Dr. Cullen's wife and three sons and two daughters while at the hospital with Sirius, so I wasn't surprised by their numbers. I was, however, surprised to see them in this small shoping center. I bite my tongue forcefully when I see them all begin to move my way and Remus growls lowly.
"Down boy." I tease, and he glares playfully. I'd done what I wanted and distracted him though, so I didn't take it to heart. Instead I continue putting the groceries away, shrinking some bags before the vampires got closer, so that we could fit everything into the back of my admittedly small car. I hear Dr. Cullen greet Remus and I, but before I can turn around there's a shadow thrown over me. I spin, and the blond, messy haired one that looked a bit wirey was inches from me.
"Do you like the feeling of being tall so much that you have to hover over everyone shorter than you or is it just me you're annoying?" I snap, and he seems startled at my voice, like he hadn't expected me to talk. The brownish red haired boy snickers as my comment cuts into Remus' reply to the doctor, and he shoots me a weary look.
"Manners, Harry. I'm sure that it's just because you're so short." Remus tries to smooth the tension over.
"Who are you calling short, Mr. My-17-year-old-son-is-a-foot-taller-than-me? At least I don't have any kids that can use me as an armrest." I shoot back.
"Uh-hum. Mr. Potter, correct? How is your… Godfather?" Dr. Cullen cuts in before Remus can counter me. Unfortunately, Sirius, Remus and I have a bad habit of snipping back and forth so badly that Dora has actually kicked us all out of the house for a week because we just would not stop. Teddy was getting bad at it, too.
"He's doing well, thanks for asking. He's at home, directing his cousin on how he wants certain rooms of my house to look." I tell them as I turn back to the boot of the car and finish putting up my groceries.
"If it's your house, why isn't it you telling people what you want done?" The eldest girl gently asks. She was trying to be nice, but was obviously confused.
"Ah. I'm not much of a designer, or a coordinator, Mrs. Cullen. He's decorated several homes now, so I left him to it." I tell her. I pull my gloves out of the pocket of my jacket and pull them on, zipping up the front. I had on an old Beatles shirt of Sirius' that I'd shrunk down to fit me, a battered leather jacket I'd picked up when I was 19 in Spain, and a pair of jeans Draco had bought me the year he joined the Falcons with me. To top it off I had on a pair of boots I'd found in a trunk that Sirius and Remus couldn't determine if it was Sirius or my fathers, because they'd shared them so often. I also had a dark red scarf wrapped around me and leather gloves I'd gotten from Teddly last year for christmas because it was cold out.
"Oh, forgive me. My name is Esme. This is my daughters, Alice and Rosalie, and my sons, Edward, Emmett, and Jasper." She points them all out to me. The tall one I'd met before was Jasper, the brownish red haired one was Edward, and the big one I'd never met was Emmett. The shortest girl was Alice, and the bitchy looking one was Rosalie.
"Nice to meet you. This is Remus, my psuedo uncle and the father to my godson, and I'm Harry. I moved in down the road from you all, but of course, you already knew that seeing as how you went through my things while I was in the hospital with Sirius." I tell them a little too brightly. Remus snorts as he opens the passenger door and I give the stunned vampires a wide grin.
"It was… interesting, seeing you again Dr. Cullen. You all have a wonderful day and a happy y- er, a Merry Christmas." I correct myself. I forget, now that I'm not surrounded by muggleborns all the time, that Wizards practice yule but very few muggles do. I wave and get into the drivers seat when they don't move to stop me, and they head away from me, towards a row of three very flashy cars. I can't say much, my day car was a black BMW M2, but I didn't take my Shelby out often, and I usually drove my bike everywhere if I was driving alone.
"You're rude to them." Remus chides me.
"I'm rude to everyone that isn't family. You know that." I tell him bluntly. He makes a grunting noise but doesnt challenge my comment as we pulls out onto the street.
"So. Sirius was talking to me about your degree." He says in a too conversational tone. I growl in response.
"I'm just saying, you got a teaching degree for a reason, and you even Tenured in it. You were the youngest proffessor teaching defense at oxford for three years on top of playing on the weekends!" He's getting rilled up about me dropping everything and leaving Britian again, but I've had this conversation with him- and myself- to know how this was going to end. I left a Fiance, I left my winning streak with my team, I left my teaching at a renouned school in the muggle and magical world. I rub at the center of my ribs just thinking about it, taking away the phantom pains.
"No."
"The local High School's looking for a Literature teacher after Christmas break ends." he says like he hasn't heard me.
"I'm not teaching again."
"It's not like they're magical Harry." he says softly. I growl at him for real this time.
"I'm not teaching!"
"You're telling me you don't want to go back to the way it was, even a little bit?" he asks softer than before. It's too silent in the car for a long time.
"I miss the kids, and the feeling of accomplishment it gave me to teach… everything else I might have missed came with me." I tell him, lying through my teeth.