Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I'm not J. K. Rowling, obviously. This is just my attempt at playing around in that world.
Chapter Four: Tragedy and Trouble
The early morning sun shone through the window, waking Harry. He rolled over and grabbed his glasses off the nightstand. He turned his head to stare at the calendar pinned to his wall. The date had a grin rising to his face.
"Sev comes back today!"
The young boy bounded out of his room and hurried over to Emmalee-Grace's room. He banged loudly on her door. It took several moments before the door creaked open. Blurry grey eyes glared at him.
"What is it, Potter?" Emmalee-Grace growled.
He merely smiled brightly. "Sev comes to pick us up today."
She nodded and closed the door in his face. A slight grin crossed her own face. Something had told her she could trust Virgil Netherson when she had met him, a feeling that had only grown stronger when he revealed himself to actually be Severus Snape. In fact, part of her was sure she'd heard the name somewhere before.
A strange keening noise pulled her from her thoughts. Dashing from her room, she followed the noise into Michael's bedroom, Harry close on her heels. Neither child had been permitted into this room before.
Harry's attention was immediately caught by the walls. Photos were plastered over every inch. Most were of a young boy instantly recognizable as his father, James. A few of these also included Sev. Others held a woman with long black hair and hazel eyes. Although, a closer look revealed that her hair wasn't actually black, but rather a very dark red.
She always seemed to hold her arm familiarly around James's shoulder, usually looking lovingly down on him. After several moments, Harry finally recognized her as his grandmother, Evelyn. Sev had only had one photo of her, and he'd only let Harry see it twice. Then again, Sev's photo wasn't in the best shape.
While Harry stared at the photos, Emmalee-Grace had focused on the source of the high-pitched keening. Jeeves knelt at Michael's bedside, doing what could only be described as wailing. Huge tears fell from his eyes and his shoulders shook uncontrollably. Slowly, both children had their attention drawn to the bed. Michael lay upon it, his eyes still closed, the picture of peace. He didn't move at the sound of his distressed house-elf. It took both of them a few minutes to realize why.
"He's dead," muttered Emmalee-Grace, her voice flat.
Harry nodded, slowly. Jeeves wailing increased at Emmalee-Grace's statement.
"What in the world?" Sev's voice came from the main room.
He ran into Michael's room, his gaze immediately falling on his uncle.
"Uncle," he whispered, kneeling at the man's side. "Uncle."
He grasped the old man's had, a cold and lifeless hand. Sev's head dropped, his forehead mere inches above the clasped hand. Tears leaked from his eyes as he stared at his uncle.
"But, he was just fine last night," muttered Harry, his voice quiet.
Jeeves drew a shuddering breath, finally stopping the eerie crying. Grey eyes were now dry, no more tears to shed.
"Master Michael had most of his affairs in order, already," declared the house-elf, composing himself.
Sev nodded. "Thank you, Jeeves. Goodbye, Uncle."
Slowly, he rose to his feet. Harry followed his guardian out of the room. Tears swam in his own eyes. Here was one more loss in his life, but this was different than loosing his parents. He didn't really have memories of them. But images of his grandfather kept playing through his mind. His ninth birthday, when his grandfather mentioned Black Forest cake, his grandfather insisting on being called Gramps, his grandfather emerging from the cellar, wand in hand, covered in soot, beaming at Harry. Every time his grandfather had called him Jaime-boy, instead of Harry.
It wasn't until a few minutes had passed that he realized Emmalee-Grace had never followed him out of the room.
Raven hair was shoved behind her ears as Emmalee-Grace walked over to Jeeves. The elderly house-elf still sat beside his master's body.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" She placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
"The paperwork Master Sev needs is in the top drawer of Master Michael's dresser, the locked one," stated Jeeves. "Here is the key. Make sure Master Sev gets all of it."
He handed her a small silver key. She turned towards the dresser, before looking back. Jeeves had moved from his seat beside the bed, curling up near Michael's feet. Tears filled Emmalee-Grace's eyes as she watched the life leave Jeeves. She slowly walked over and closed the grey, tennis ball sized eyes.
"Goodbye, Mr. Potter. Farewell, Jeeves," she whispered.
It didn't surprise her that Jeeves had followed Michael into the afterlife. She had seen the house-elf's devotion to his master. She had a feeling Michael had been the only thing keeping Jeeves alive for some time, now.
She took a pillowcase, covering the house-elf, before pulling the blanket over Michael's head. Emmalee-Grace nodded once they were both hidden and turned back to the dresser. She carefully unlocked the top drawer and removed a stack of papers, neatly tied with a piece of twine.
"Sev, these are for you," she declared, carrying them into the main room. "Jeeves said everything you need is in here."
He nodded, taking the papers. "Why don't you two go into Harry's room for a while? They'll be here shortly to pick up Uncle's body, to prepare it for the funeral."
A wave of his wand transformed him into Virgil Netherson. Emmalee-Grace nodded, as Harry pulled her into his bedroom.
"We'll probably only just be in the way," muttered Harry, closing the door behind them.
Emmalee-Grace nodded and threw her arms around him, sobbing into his shoulder.
"Gramps had a long and exciting life. Now, he gets to go be with Grandmother, again. And, I'm sure he's happier now. He's with my parents, too." Harry whispered, trying to calm her down. "At least he wasn't in pain, either."
Emmalee-Grace sniffled and nodded, not lifting her head.
A few days later, the three of them, Harry, Emmalee-Grace, and Sev, still disguised as Virgil, stood beside an open grave, as Michael's casket was slowly lowered into the ground. Rain fell around them, a gloomy drizzle, befitting the circumstances.
Through the falling water, Harry could see the small grave, where Jeeves had been placed, earlier. Aconite hovered near the fresh mound, joined by a small crowd of house-elves Harry had never seen before. He supposed they must serve other families and had been allowed to come and pay their respects.
The two children hung back, hiding behind Sev's billowing black robe as various witches and wizards came to bid farewell to Michael Potter. It surprised them both, how many people came, when no one had ever visited or sent an owl when he was living. Only a few came over to give their condolences to Sev, however. Most just stared at Michael's grave for a few moments, before walking away.
Among them was a stocky, freckled boy in his late teens. His red hair was pulled back into a short, stubby ponytail. His pale blue eyes were solemn as he approached the trio.
"I'm sorry to hear about Mr. Potter. I never actually got a chance to meet him," the boy explained, "but learning about him and what he did in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I want to follow his example, continuing the work he did for other creatures with the dragons. He's a real inspiration."
Sev nodded. "Thank you. I'm sure he'd enjoy knowing he's still influencing the younger generations."
The boy gave a slight bow, before walking over to join a thin, balding man, also with red hair.
Emmalee-Grace grabbed Harry's arm as another man started walking over. This man had long white hair, and an equally long white beard. Blue eyes twinkled behind half-moon spectacles. He looked a little puzzled to see Harry standing behind Sev. However, before he could actually make his way over to them, he was intercepted by a man in a pinstriped suit, carrying his bowler hat in his hands. The two of them walked away, the man in the suit looking extremely nervous.
For the next week, Sev spent most of his time away, dealing with the paperwork at the Ministry. Much to Harry's discomfort, he and Emmalee-Grace were still at Potter Cottage, though Aconite was staying to keep an eye on them.
"At last, that's taken care of," declared Sev, strolling into the cottage, just as Aconite was pulling out everything for supper. "We'll leave for Spinner's End in the morning, and then we can head for the zoo, tomorrow afternoon."
Harry bit happily into a large chocolate ice cream cone that Sev had bought him as they arrived at the zoo. Emmalee-Grace was eating her vanilla one much more daintily.
"Make that gorilla blonde and it would look a lot like my cousin, Dudley," confessed Harry.
A laugh escaped Emmalee-Grace as she looked at the head-scratching animal.
The smile never left her face when they walked through the bird sanctuary. Harry could almost swear Emmalee-Grace knew exactly what the birds were saying. They seemed almost magically attracted to her as they walked by. Even the zookeeper seemed surprised. Apparently, one of the recently arrived birds hadn't been doing well. Emmalee-Grace had walked by and smiled at it. Before anyone knew it, the bird had burst into song, flying close to her. She had talked to it, too, before they had left, though Harry hadn't heard exactly what was said.
However, the joy wasn't going to last. When they walked into the reptile house, Harry went pale. He hurried to Sev and was apparently keeping their guardian between him and someone else.
Slowly, the trio walked around to the various enclosures. They stopped near what was easily the largest snake in the zoo. At first, it appeared to be asleep, until Harry leaned closer. It lifted its head and winked at the boy. Harry looked up at Sev, who wasn't paying attention to the snake. A sly smile crossed the boy's face before he winked back.
The two children stayed at the glass, Harry conversing with the snake, as Sev walked off, unnoticed by either of them. Emmalee-Grace had to laugh at the conversation between the boy and the snake. Suddenly, a shout make all three of them jump.
A rat-faced boy stood behind them, calling over Dudley Dursley. The fat boy didn't even seem to recognize Harry. He just shoved him out of the way, forcing Harry to fall into Emmalee-Grace and sending both of them to the ground. Dudley and his friend, who Harry would later identify as Piers Polkiss, pressed themselves up against the glass, staring at the snake. Suddenly, however, the two of them were falling into the snake's cage, the glass mysteriously gone.
The boa constrictor playfully snapped at a few heels before slithering past Harry and Emmalee-Grace. It hissed a thank-you before continuing out of the house, bound for Brazil.
Sev quickly hurried over, grabbing Harry and Emmalee-Grace. The trio quickly exited the reptile house. Harry glanced back over his shoulder, seeing his uncle, Vernon Dursley, moving towards him. His face was purple with rage. Harry doubled his speed, allowing Sev to lead them out of the zoo and back to Spinner's End without protest.
"Accidental magic or not," declared Sev, "we should be thankful no one was hurt."
I just couldn't resist putting in that incident with Dudley. After putting in Michael's death, I felt this chapter needed a little humor!
Edited 5/21/2011. In agreement with a review from xy, I finally removed the punishment for accidental magic. I didn't originally have it in, and I debated a long time before I finally decided to put it in. It didn't take me that long to decide to cut it. I just kept forgetting about it!
