Please note the world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I'm only playing with her creation. Also the story image was a free download I found. Thank you to whomever it belongs. I will remove it immediately if asked.
Author's note:
As with all my older works this is being posted from my old site to help tide people over till my new works are ready. I would say this story represents a clear step forward in my writing. It is better structured and is much better at getting my point across than any of my other old works. It still has a number of things I would do differently if I were to write it now, but again I am past the point of editing these old works. Still I hope you all find it enjoyable to read and I hope it is worth a review or two from you. Because while your thoughts won't help this work, they will help my next works. I thereby challenge anyone who reads, like it or loath it, to leave a review. I will do my best to respond to all signed reviews.
Also, I'm perfectly aware that with the title of the story and a quick google search you can find the whole thing. Certainly I can't stop you from doing so. Just know that I while I have not taken my works down from the old site, I no longer check anything there. If you want an answer to a question you're going to have to contact me here.
Hope you like it.
Authors' note#2:
I suppose I should have expected this as my old work is going up. It was a very different life and more than five years since I said I was done with fan fiction. Now I'm back writing again. I'm on a new site with a new penname. A simple google search of the titles of my old work will direct you to mugglenet and the penname of huskers. So, I might as well say that yes, I use to post on mugglenet under the penname of huskers. Please read the bio there that directs you to find any new work as well as my old work here under the new penname of Sorcerer's Muse. Yes, I am one in the same. If you have any doubts that I am the same person and that all the work posted here is indeed mine, please go to mugglenet. Look up huskers' page and send an email with an appropriate code word of your choosing. I will then post that code word on my profile here to prove that I am the same person. Note, I will not post anything vulgar or inappropriate.
As always, thank you for reading my work.
Sorcerer's Muse
And one more: When trying to hide from the past, it just seems natural to me for Harry to use the name James Black. Hiding is one thing. Completely dishonoring his parents and Sirius is altogether another.
Broken
Chapter 8: August 2018
Harry stepped onto the porch and set a cup of tea down on the table for Stephanie before taking the seat across from her. Sipping from his own mug of coffee, he turned to watch the rising sun. The light from the first rays of the day reflected in flaming golds and reds off the undersides of the few clouds on the horizon.
"Thank you," Stephanie said reaching for the cup.
"You're welcome."
The two of them sat there in silence, the only noise, the scratch of her quill as it moved purposefully across the parchment. Every so often there was a pause as she gathered her thoughts for the next sentence. Harry alternated his attention between the sunrise and Stephanie. Taking note of her precise script as she methodically worked her way through one of her summer essays. He smiled to himself. She was like Hermione in her attention to detail and the desire to do things well, but more like her mother in that she put off doing it until the last moment.
"You should have done that at the beginning of the summer," he said to her.
"Phhssshh," she replied, brushing him off.
"What subject is that one?" Harry asked.
"Defense," she answered without looking up.
"What is the subject of the essay?"
"Can you believe the after-effects of a dementor attack? Ranging from a simple brush with one to nearly having your soul sucked out. 2 entire scrolls that slimy git wants," she grumbled.
"Well you should be able to manage that without much trouble," Harry answered.
"No one but Snape assigned more than one scroll," she retorted, irritably shoving her quill into the inkwell and sitting back in the chair.
"You were supposed to make breakfast this morning," Harry said as his stomach grumbled.
Stephanie pouted at him. Harry braced himself for the onslaught. "But I have a whole roll left to do for Snape," she whined. "And then I have a roll for Flitwick. I've got something like 30 wand movements to practice before the end of the day and you promised to work on my animagus training with me this afternoon."
"Whose fault is that?"
"If I run out of time, I'm going to have to skip the animagus training. That means you'll be sitting around all day with nothing to do."
Harry didn't answer. Already he was in trouble and he knew it. Stephanie stood up and walked over behind Harry and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Besides, you do a much better job than me," she whispered in his ear.
"I'm not going to miss you when you're gone, you know," Harry replied reaching up with his hand and placing it on the back of her head returning her hug.
Stephanie kissed his cheek and pulled away from him returning to sit in her chair. Harry stood up and started back to the house. "French toast?" he asked.
"And bacon," she replied picking up her quill again.
Harry shook his head muttering under his breath as the screen door slammed shut behind him. Stepping into the kitchen he pulled the eggs and bacon out of the fridge. Setting a pan on the stove, he set the bacon to cooking and then started mixing the batter for the French toast.
Ginny stumbled into the kitchen as he was pulling the first pieces of toast off of the griddle. Looking around at the mess she shook her head and grabbed a mug for her tea before sitting down at the breakfast bar. Harry reached into the cupboard and handed her the honey.
"Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," Harry answered.
The two of them sat in the comfortable silence that had developed over the summer with the three of them in the house. It had begun when Stephanie and Ginny had stayed at the house last fall after the dementors had attacked Stephanie.
Neither Harry nor Ginny had mentioned what had happened in the clearing by the fire between them before they had rushed off to England and Hogwarts castle. But a dam had been broken that day that allowed Harry to speak with her and have her in his presence. The overwhelming pain that had come from him for so long had slowed over the time Stephanie recuperated, and by the time she had returned for the summer holiday he would actually acknowledge Ginny when he saw her at the lodge. Ginny didn't know exactly what to call the change in the emotion's she felt coming from Harry. She guessed the best word might be acceptance.
Ginny had expected him to take back the invitation for Stephanie to stay at his place over the summer, especially if it meant that she would be in his house also. 10 days while Stephanie had been sick was one thing, the whole summer was another. But the week before the term was over, he had stopped her and told her the invitation was still open and to just let him know what she was going to do.
"Stephanie was supposed to cook today," Ginny finally said when he set a plate in front of her.
"She has too much homework to do," Harry answered picking up a tray with his and Stephanie's plates on it.
"Yet she will have time to play this afternoon," Ginny remarked. "You spoil her. Do you know how to put your foot down?" she asked.
Harry set the tray down and pulled his plate off it. "I'll be back in a minute," he said heading for the door with Stephanie's breakfast. He returned quickly and sat down at the breakfast bar with Ginny.
"What would you have me do? I'm not her father, I'm afraid she'll resent me if I try to act too much like I am."
"You're the adult, Harry. She must respect you like she respects her professors. She needs to live up to her responsibilities. It's her own fault she's not done with her homework."
"So what do I do?"
"You make sure she is done with everything she told you she had to do before you work with her on her animagus training. Then, tomorrow when she tries to get out of cooking breakfast again, you don't let her,"
"It's your turn to cook breakfast tomorrow," Harry pointed out.
"I'll play the bad guy this time and tell her that plans have changed," Ginny answered.
"I guess I come out ahead on both counts then," Harry remarked as he put his plate in the dishwasher.
"How's that?" Ginny asked.
"Well," Harry answered as he headed out the door, "You get to be the bad guy. And tomorrow,… I don't have to eat burnt bacon." The door slammed shut behind him before she could reply.
Ginny sat on the stool blinking in surprise, unable to comprehend that he had actually picked at her. After a few minutes she got up and started to clean the kitchen. She was due to start her shift at the lodge in a few hours and still needed to write her Mum. It was not a letter she was looking forward to composing. It would lead to questions she was not ready to answer, but she didn't know where else to turn.
Author's note:
I'm still looking for someone interested in doing some art work for me. I would like a cover image for my newest HP fanfic. Please send me a PM if you are interested.
Sorcerer's Muse
