A matter of force.
Part 21
Meet the parents.
OooOOooOO
"Mom! Dad!" The redhead gasped as she sat up in bed. "Wha? Shit..."
"Hey." Harry was sitting on the end of her bed with a soft smile on his face."Mum and Dad are resting now. They probably won't wake up for a few more hours at least."
"That's...good." The girl looked uncomfortable.
"Yeah. What's wrong? I thought you'd be...I dunno...a bit excited." The boy gave her knee a playful rap.
"Harry...I...what the hell? What are you thinking? Screwing with time that way is dangerous. Especially the past." The girl swatted the side of his head.
The boy shrugged. "I just found a way to make the past fit the evidence."
"What are we going to do with them? Harry, they're in danger, just...I mean...How do we explain...What now?" Anna was at a loss. "I'm not so sure they'll be as understanding of Margaret and Melvin as Sirius Black, how do I...shit. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Come on. I know you miss them too." He pushed his glasses up his nose and smirked at her. "Don't play like you're angry with me."
"I'm not playing!" She snapped as she grabbed his shoulders and pulled her face up to his. "What about, 'Hey Anna! I've got a great plan!' You can't just drop this on me this way!"
"Sure I can. You enjoy doing it yourself you know." The boy shook his head and chuckled. He could tell his sister was being stubborn with him.
"Why? Why did you..." The girl was frustrated and high strung. She had no idea what to do. "How are we going to explain this to them? It's... Forget about them. How do we explain this to everyone else? Damn it Harry. A little time to plan this out would have been nice. Why? What were you thinking?"
"Because you really need Mom." The boy played with his hands in his lap and looked down at them.
The girl worked her mouth open and closed. Her face flushed and she pulled the covers up around herself. "I'm fine. I...I've got no choice do I? Harry, do you have any idea how much this complicates things?"
"Always planning." The boy chuckled and shook his head.
She glared at him with an angry frown on her face. "I don't think now was the best time. We might as well tattoo a target on them Harry. Our enemies will not think twice about using them against us. They're going to try and protect us from it, and they can't do that."
The boy shrugged. "It almost killed them once. I expect they'll be careful this time. You could say the same thing about Uncle Sirius."
"You should have spoken about this to me. It wasn't a good thing to make a surprise of." The girl crossed her arms and glared away at the wall.
"Yeah. You told me you wanted me to do things on my own." He looked over at her and shrugged.
She gripped his shirt and pulled him close. "The next time you go screwing around with time, I'll be sure to make you regret it. If you change the smallest detail, you could find yourself in a much worse situation than you left behind."
"Are you joking? After that mess that started the band?" The boy shook his head and seemed confused.
"That was different." The girl glowered over her knees at the wall. "Promise me. No more screwing with time this way."
"But, you're letting me get away with it this time?" Harry was just being obnoxious at that point.
"Shut up and go away. I want to change and have a look at them. Shit. Harry, we tour all next month! This is...grrrrrrrrrr...of all the..."
The boy was beaming with pride as he felt he'd annoyed his sister quite enough to enjoy it for some time.
OooOOooOO
"Harry! Anna!" Lily Potter jumped up in her sleep gasping for breath. She was disoriented, panicked, and looking around the room in a frantic way from the bed. She calmed after a moment and gasped for breath, running her fingers through her loose hair to move it from her sight. She looked at her side and found her husband sleeping soundly. "What? Where?" She froze as she saw a girl sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed. "A dream?"
"Hello." Anna was looking at them both with wide eyes, asking herself much the same thing in silence.
"What? Who? Who are you? Where am I?" The woman softened her tone, fear and horror was clear in her features. "Where are my children?"
"My name is Anna. Your children are...safe. Calm down and relax, you need rest." The girl was watching the woman stand up and slip on a pair of slippers that were at the bedside.
"Anna? My daughter's name is Annabelle. Do you know her? I'm not resting until I've seen her and her brother." She smiled at the girl in a forced manner as she started to put her hair up in a bun and held it in place with a pen from the night stand beside her. She walked over and started shaking her husband.
The little girl walked over to her side as the man grunted and woke up. His eyes fluttered and he seemed groggy and confused. "Lily? Lily!" He grabbed her and sat upright. "Oh, thank god. I had the worst..." He seemed to notice the child watching them both.
The redhead was staring at them both just out of reach with a somewhat dazed expression. "Look. Wait here for a moment. You're at Uncle Sirius's house. I'll go down and get him, and he can...get you to your children."
The woman looked around at her surroundings and took a step back. "What? Why? Uncle Sirius?"
The girl was at the door poking her head out. She stepped aside without saying a word as Harry and Sirius walked into the room.
"Um, Mr. Black. I'm sure...we can explain...um..." She seemed a bit pensive, but noticed the boy standing with him. The man was holding a candle and smiling at her.
"Has it been so long? I suppose I do look a bit like him now." Tears were welling up in his eyes as he grinned at them both. He grabbed the man in a rough hug without putting down the candle.
"Sirius? You look like hell. What happened?" James Potter was surprised at the embrace he received. "You're acting like you haven't seen me in years."
Lily Potter was gripping her husband's arm after Sirius released him. Her eyes were on the boy first, but drifted over to the girl hiding behind his back. She was trying very hard to look like she wasn't, but it was rather obvious. Her eyes strayed to the boy again.
Sirius was watching this with a grin on his face. James was confused and trying to figure out what was happening.
The woman fell to her knees and peered at Harry. He shifted with a little discomfort at her close inspection of his face. "Sirius, why does this boy look like James?"
"Hey! The girl looks like you! I've done you right!" The children's father got a rather panicked look on his face.
"Lily, James, these are your children. Since the attack..." Black gave a sad smile to the both of them as they looked at him.
"What has he done to them?" The woman gasped as she put her hand up to her mouth with her expression becoming wide eyed horror.
"He took away our parents for ten years." Harry was smiling at her. "You're in the future. You can't go back I'm afraid. It's too late to change that."
"There's a great deal of explaining to do." The redhead shuffled her feet and looked at the floor. Her face had gone all red. She had no idea what to do.
OooOOooOO
The Potter family was sitting in the sitting room. The story of how they ended up where they were had been related.
Harry was beaming. "We've finished our first year at Hogwarts. It was amazing!" The boy was pleased and looked eager and attentive.
The girl was sitting and not speaking, staring at the two adults and looking just as uncomfortable about it all as they did.
James and Lily were sitting on the couch huddled together and also not speaking.
"We've got a few things if you'd like to see them." Harry puffed out his chest. "Class photograph, I've got a recording of all of our Quidditch matches. Well, all but my first one. Anna plays too. She's got an Order of Merlin, and a Medal for Groundbreaking Achievement in Alchemy."
All the mentioned items levitated onto the tabletop from nearby mounts in the middle of everyone.
Both adults leaned in to look at the pile of memories. James picked up the team photo as he got a small but still pensive grin on his face. "You did well?"
The boy was beaming with pride. "We won the house cup!"
The man's face lit up. "Really?"
"I'm Seeker! It was great. I had a great time!" The boy took the opening.
"What position is Anna playing? I don't see her..." He scanned the photo.
The girl spoke up. "This one." Another picture floated up in front of his face. He regarded it for a moment and peered at her. She didn't have a wand out. "Gryffindor might have won the House Cup, but we still won the Quidditch Cup."
"Oh? What house..." His voice trailed off a bit.
"Wait, those uniforms are..." Her mother looked on over her husband's shoulder. She trailed off and looked over at the girl. "Oh."
Her mother was holding the small golden statue of a scarab and brushing her fingers across the surface. It was the first thing that had caught her attention aside from what her husband was looking at. "I dreamed of winning one of these as a girl. James, this isn't possible. What's going on?"
The redhead looked at her and then away. "I cured Vampirism. The Order is for helping to destroy Dracula. Harry's friend Ron got the last blow in. I made the equipment, I've taken to Potions."
The woman gave her a warm smile. "You've taken to potions? It was my favorite class."
Caught between embarrassment, discomfort, and unable to think of anything to say. The redhead jumped to her feet and pointed her finger into the air. "I am the greatest potions genius in the universe!" Her two mini-cohorts appeared and tossed confetti about after setting off a few string poppers as they cheered and called her praises in perfect sync.
Both adults looked on in confusion.
The girl sat down and started sulking again.
"Oh my." Lily got a rather blank expression for a moment.
Her husband shook his head and nudged her as he held the photo of Slytheryn's Quidditch team out to her.
She was standing in the middle of a large group of people. Some were looking at the camera, quite a few were glaring at her. "Um, you enjoy playing then?" The woman didn't look certain of what to say, and it was obvious she was reaching. It was an awkward and uncomfortable conversation. Sirius was keeping the Boggs children busy in another room to give them a bit of time alone. Everyone but Harry seemed uncomfortable with it.
"Yeah. I'm Slytheryn's Seeker." The girl nodded.
James was looking around the room to avoid the subject. Lily's head turned in a snap. "R-really?"
"Yeah. What's the matter? Don't trust me now?" She had her hands folded and was leaning in to look at the both of them with a small frown on her face. She was looking at her father in particular.
"We have no idea." The man shrugged and looked around. "Is any of this real? I mean, I heard your story, but...magic can be strange and clever. I'm starting to like you, but I'm not sure I trust either one of you yet."
"I agree." Lily looked back and fourth at the both of them. "It's almost too good to be true. We need time, to..." She blushed and clutched her husband a bit more. "I'm afraid this whole ordeal has made me very nervous."
Anna sighed and sat back. "Well, that makes three of us."
Harry looked thoughtful. Perhaps now was not the best time to bring out the gold and platinum albums. He looked around the room. "Well, I guess we could go out for a bit. We'll take a walk, maybe catch a bus or something. Go to the Hollow and have a look about?"
"Harry, I'm not so sure we should..." Anna was looking a bit pale and looked at the adults. They were clutching each other and looking very alienated. "...we'll take them out tomorrow or something. I'm sure they'd like some time to themselves to work this..."
"It's a grand idea." Lily Potter stood up and forced her husband to move with her. "We'll leave right now."
"Lily, I'm not so sure I'm ready too..." The man looked fearful and clutched her arm. "We should let this settle a bit, and then..."
"No. I need to see it. I can't do it alone." The woman shook her head and smiled at him in a not quite sane way. "We are going." She looked over her shoulder at the children. "All of us."
OooOOooOO
The group avoided the graveyard. They had taken the Knight Bus a short distance.
"Quit glaring at that poor boy!" Lily slapped the girl on her shoulder as they stepped off the bus. The girl had been giving the driver dirty looks through the whole ride.
The rest of her family stepped out behind her and she looked back at him again over her shoulder. He looked irate and uncomfortable. The door closed in an abrupt manner and the bus departed. The four of them were standing on the end of their old street. He'd been nervous the moment they'd gotten on and kept giving them uncomfortable glances throughout the trip.
"I've not been here since..." The boy shuddered a bit and rubbed his arms.
Anna looked at him and snorted. "They know about our parents now."
The boy looked at her and shook his head. He gave the adults a grin and looked up at them. "Shall we?"
OooOOooOO
Lily was touching the hole in her wall. The furniture in the home was cleared out long before. James was on her arm, tugging at a protruding support beam. Their home was unlivable, but evidence of a past they'd missed. They'd stopped to read the plaque outside and found it a rather grizzly affair. Both adults had gone pale, and the children were silent and giving them a bit of room.
The group wandered into the home, both children trailing behind them. Anna looked almost angry, but Harry seemed curious about his surroundings.
"Oh god. James...it's true." The woman was walking about and looking at the walls. "It can't be, that was just moments ago..." Tears were welling up in her eyes. The man was standing in the middle of the room looking about. He still had the key gripped in his hand, it had opened the lock. He didn't look like he was going to say anything.
The two children were standing aside watching this. Harry looked pensive, Anna was cool as ice and seemed to regard them as a curiosity.
"Lily. I..."
The woman fell to her knees in front of her daughter and grabbed her shoulders, moving her up in front of her. The girl made no move to resist, but her expression didn't change. "Annabelle? How can..." She started smiling. "You're pretty. What happened?" She sniffled through her tears and ran her fingers across the scar on her nose.
The girl was looking at her with a rather blank expression and spoke in a soft tone. "I uh...got mauled by Dracula."
"Oh." The woman's face fell. "Well, I bet you're still hard on the boys then."
The girl gave a dazed nod. "Yeah. I could pretty much pick one at random."
Lily smiled again and pulled the little girl into a hug. "You've grown so much!"
Harry grinned at it beside his father.
James Potter was looking at the scene in bewilderment. "This...is real?"
"Yeah. It is. Pretty cool huh? A lot better than dying anyway." The boy seemed pleased with himself.
"Huh. Yeah. I suppose it is." He slapped the boy on his shoulder and looked him over. "It's a little too cool if you ask me. The last thing I remember was..." He could see where he was standing through the hole in the wall and looked back at it with a haunted expression. "How did he? It can't be..."
"Boy, I hate to tell you, but you've not seen the half of it yet." Harry slumped his shoulders and looked a bit dumbstruck at the man's expression.
Anna was looking over at them with wide wet eyes. She was still trying not to cry, and it was taking a bit of effort. The girl spoke up as her mother pushed her away with a confused and hurt looking expression. "Pettigrew."
The woman's eyes went wide. "What? Peter?"
"No! He wouldn't..." The man grew angry and stepped towards her.
"He's in Azkaban where he belongs." Harry crossed his arms and frowned at the subject.
"He framed Sirius, but we were able to get him out, and put that scum where he belongs. We were staying with...Mom's sister and her husband until just after we started Hogwarts." The redhead was clenching her fist and sounded a bit upset. She seemed to be in something of a foul mood. "I don't like being here. I still remember..."
"You mean you freed him." Harry sounded a bit surprised as he looked over at her. "I didn't have anything to do with that one.
"So, son. I uh...I..." The man scratched the back of his head. "You're really him aren't you? My boy." He squatted down and put his hand through the boy's head. "I...well...how've you been?" The man was starting to tear up. Without warning he grabbed the boy in a hug and started bawling.
OooOOooOO
"Holy shit." Melvin and Margaret Boggs were looking out the window. Harry and Anna were walking back up the sidewalk towards the house. Melvin sounded amazed as he spoke up. "It's...them... again."
Margaret looked pensive. "They still have their parents with them."
"Yes, I'd noticed." Sirius was looking out just over their heads. He had a somewhat haunted expression on his face as well. "Amazing isn't it?"
"You think they've convinced them?" Melvin slumped down with his forehead against the pane. He didn't look quite as surprised as his sister and current guardian.
The Potter family moved closer to the door and they all moved away and sat around the living area as Harry led the group into the home. Anna was trailing behind with a sour look on her face. Sirius was standing closest to her and heard her mutter something about putting targets on her parents.
James gripped his old friend by the shoulders. "I...well...how did we end up here again?"
"Them." The older man looked over at his friend's children. Their mother had pulled them up beside her and was looking over at the two of them with rather wide eyes. He seemed cheerful and slapped James on the shoulder, almost knocking his glasses off in the process. "The more I think about it, the less surprised I am."
Anna glanced up at her Uncle with a sneer on her face. Harry was beaming.
"What's wrong with your sister?" James noticed the little redhead didn't seem very pleased or comfortable.
"Don't worry. It's just the monthlies." The boy shrugged.
"What?" The woman seemed angry and appalled. "You shouldn't..."
The girl was turning red and looking irate. "Leave him alone, he's right."
James and Sirius burst into laughter, they calmed as Lily glared at them and seemed to back away a bit.
Anna pulled on her brother's shirt. "Remus will be here soon. Come on, we'll let the grown ups hang out. I want to go calm down Melvin and Margaret."
James was looking to distract his already annoyed and high strung wife. "So? What have we missed?" He felt something tug at his chest at the expression his wife got on her face.
She glanced over to where the twins had gone to sit with the two other children who appeared to be staying in the home. "Who are those children?"
Sirius blinked. "Cousins of mine. I'm taking care of them while they attend Hogwarts." He shrugged at her. "They're good friends already, hardly any trouble from the lot of them. Your daughter seems to be the ringleader." He glanced over at the girl in question and looked back at her mother. "As for what you've missed."
"Everything." Lily was still looking at her children. "It was only yesterday! I was just there, they were...how can this happen? I've..."
"Calm down dear." James put his arm across her shoulder.
"Yes. They've grown up to be quite something. Look, what we need right now is a distraction. Come on. There's all sorts of new things! Hey, you want to have a look at the newest racing broom?" Black's face lit up as he slapped his old friend on the shoulder.
That got James's attention. "Sure. Why not?"
Lily still looked a bit pensive. "I'd rather not get dragged along into a recap of the last ten years of Quidditch."
"Oh, I'm sure there's something that will interest you." It was still easy to tell when she was about to give in. Something Sirius Black had forgotten about until that very moment.
OooOOooOO
Remus Lupin stuck his head into the door of the home with a curious looking grin on his face. "Sirius? Hello?"
The man was smiling and sitting in an arm chair. He didn't get up and waved him inside. "Hello, Remus. Come in!"
"You said you wanted me to see something? You seemed to think I'd enjoy it." The man cocked his head and looked at him with a confused grin. It was odd for the man to just sit and grin, he was looking over towards the fireplace with his eyes and trying to get him to look that way.
Remus caught on and turned his head. His jaw dropped and he jumped back against the wall behind him. His eyes are wide and he almost sounded like he was choking. He started shaking, went white as a ghost, and staggered forward with a haunted look on his face. "What on Earth?"
Lily was looking uncomfortable, her hands in front of her hips and her eyes down. James was grinning at him and gave a wave. "Hello Remus. Well, it's settled then. I'm still the best looking one."
His wife's eyes went wide as she sucked in a breath and whipped her head around. He had a wide grin on his face as he adjusted his glasses and walked up to grip the man's arm.
Remus was looking down at it in a sort of horrified wonder. "James...you're..."
"Not dead. It seems the Potter twins have a muggle friend who gets his hands on a time machine at some point in the future." Sirius slapped James on the shoulder, a little harder than he would have if he'd not taken a shot at his looks.
"Still a soft spot is it? I always was better looking than you." Mr. Potter smirked and glanced at his now much older friend.
"James! Really! Stop it!" Lily was on his arm and chiding him.
"You leave him alone, you nosy brat." Remus grabbed them both in a rough hug as he started bawling. "Oh god. What? What happened? A time machine?"
The group moved to the seats to relate the tale up to that point.
OooOOooOO
Anna and Harry were looking up at their parents with somewhat dumbstruck expressions. They had spent the past three days avoiding the children, and reading old newspapers, magazines, and poking and prodding about. They watched the broadcast and listened to the WWN almost all the time. Anna and Harry gave them both a bit of distance while they did it. They had yet to come off as unfriendly, and tolerated either one for as long as they managed to corner them for a bit. Anna never did it intentionally, but Harry had been curious enough to prod them a bit.
"Huh?" muttered the boy.
Anna just looked at her.
"I said come on. We're going to see my sister. She's not seen me in ten years right?" She was reaching her hand down to help them both to their feet. She seemed to think they would find it to be a good idea.
"Um, I'm not sure if that's such a good..." James furrowed his eyebrow for a moment, but Anna cleared up any doubt.
"Hey! Great!" Anna lit up and grabbed her mother's hand.
"What?" Harry's head whipped around to follow her as she almost dragged both parents out the door. "Um, hey!" He stood up and followed after them a moment after the door slammed shut.
"Wow." Margaret and Melvin were sitting on a nearby couch watching the whole affair.
"Yeah. I'm starting to like this whole 'Muggles are cool' side of things." The boy nodded as he turned the page in his magazine.
"This is so weird." The girl looked over at him. "Don't ya think?"
The boy tossed a magazine card over his shoulder, only to have a crazed battle cry zip by behind them as one of Anna's minions caught it in it's mouth before it fluttered to the ground. The bunny chewed for a moment, swallowed, and passed out on the floor. "So?"
"I guess, but still." The girl twirled her hair around her finger and gave a small sigh as she went back to looking at the magazine in her lap and turned the page.
Sirius sat down at an arm chair across from them and sipped at his coffee. "Anna and I had a talk while Harry was distracting their parents. You'll be staying here with me. Trying to explain things to her parents, Lily in particular, probably wouldn't go well. I hope you don't mind."
The girl nodded. "Yes. She's the best friend I've ever had, but it would be nice to get away for a bit, sometimes."
"I'll be able to sign for things if you need it for school. Don't worry. Just send anything that needs parental attention my way. Anna might have a bit of difficulty doing it herself. "
The twins both nodded. "I guess I can keep my room then." The boy gave a small shrug. "I kind of wish I'd gone to watch. I know it's not my business though."
Sirius nodded. "I doubt Harry would let them get put into Azkaban again. I was of half a mind to go myself. I wonder what she's planning."
Melvin shrugged. "We'll ask them when they get back. I'm sure one or the other will tell us."
Margaret gave a snort of laughter and shook her head before looking at him. "After leaving like that, you can bet she'll come back with a story."
OooOOooOO
Vernon Dursley stood up grumbling. He had a newspaper in his grip and was quite grumpy at the obnoxious banging at his door. He could hear someone calling on the other side of the door as they knocked in a continuous and irritating manner. "Hey! Hey! Hey Vern! It's me! Hey!"
"Who shows up at someones door at three in the afternoon?" He whipped it open, went pale as a ghost, and his jaw dropped.
Anna Potter was giving him the widest grin he'd ever seen on her face as she waved and greeted him as he opened the door. "Hey Vern, it's me! Anna!"
The man's eyes went wide, and the door slammed in her face.
"I told you this was a bad idea." Harry was frowning at her.
Anna waved her hand at him and grinned. "Aw, don't worry about him. He's always like that. Such a kidder." She kicked the door in and waltzed into the home.
Vernon stumbled back over a recliner and bumped his head against the wall behind it.
"Hey Vern! How ya been?" The girl looked far too pleased to see him.
Petunia walked into the room, her eyes locked on the rather dumbstruck Lily. She screamed and fell onto the floor in a heap.
Lily was shaking in horror and embarrassment. "What is she...?"
James looked confused, but not unhappy. He was giving a bit of thought to what possessed the girl, but she was far too creative for him to speak up and stop it.
"Yeah. Me an Vern we go way back! Know what I mean?" She had the rather bald and red head of Vernon Dursley in a headlock. "Oh, such wonderful times! He used to let me an Harry shack up in the closet over there! Oh, such sweet and blissful memories! Sitting alone together, being quiet and out of the way. Yeah, it was great!"
The redhead walked over to the wall and pointed at a large picture. "Hey, check it out, they got lots of pictures. Only one with one of us in it though. Look, you can see Harry's arm here! Isn't that great? I'll tell you, you could just feel the love in this house. Thought we mighta caught a bit of my ankle once, but it turned out to be a cat's tail. Still, lots of memories here on these walls. It's epic scope, beyond the meager understanding of mere humanity." She was pinching Vernon's cheek and giving him the dumbest looking smile he'd ever seen. He was shaking in terror, very aware of the two adults who stood in his house. "Know what I mean?" She seemed to be giving her parents a cheerful tour of the home as if it had been the best experience of her life.
The girl wasn't finished. "Ah, those wondrous studious hours spent polishing furniture, silverware, brass, doing laundry, cooking, doing the dishes, keeping up the yard, doing the painting. I'll tell you, paint thinner can leave a seven year old in quite a state. Heh heh heh. Know what I mean?" She slapped Vernon on the chest and pulled him towards the wall socket. "Hey! Is this? It is! Look! I got somethin ta show ya! I put this one in myself. Let me just unplug this here lamp..." She was tugging on the chord, after a moment, she planted her foot on the wall and continued to tug. "Hold on, you'll be able to take a good look here in just a seck. Eeh! Eeeeh!" She looked like she was straining very hard as she pulled in an almost comical manner.
Harry and their parents were frozen in the middle of the room, watching in a sort of horrified shock.
Anna ripped the socket of the wall, and was pulling the wiring from inside the wall through the plaster. She continued to pull as if not noticing and spoke to a horrified Vernon. "Yeah. Such good times, I remember you gave me all that ice when I got electrocuted and my leg turned red. I sure got it right the fourth time after that though." She'd pulled the wire down through the ceiling, and the light fixture was dangling by a chord it wasn't supposed to have.
She turned to look at her parents. "Hey! I'll even show you where we used to bunk!" She opened the closet door, and sure enough, the room was as barren as when they left it. "Yesiree Bob! Now this is living! A cot for my head, good company, and total silence." Anna looked both smug and proud of her apparent squalor. "I ask you, can you think of a better way to live for young impressionable children? Can you imagine a more loving and welcoming home?"
Petunia cut her short though as she screamed from the floor and cowered. "AAAAAAAAHHHH! It can't be! L-Lily? You're dead!"
"Oh! Hey! I was just showin my parents here where we used to sleep. I used to live here you know. Right Vern?" The girl's cheer was causing everyone to stand around in an uncomfortable way.
The woman had shoved her daughter aside and walked into the closet, lowering her head to do so. She started digging through the drawers. "I don't see any girl's clothes..."
James was wandering in a bit of a daze and poked at the light fixture with his finger. It crashed to the ground and he jumped back.
His wife turned to yell at him, but noticed a fat boy, laughing as he crushed the glass of the light fixture between his cowering parents. Her eyes turned towards the clothes again. Anna was looking down at her.
"Annabelle dear, where are your old...?"
"What do you mean? We just got his old stuff. It was a great deal! Though, you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get some of the spots he leaves out. EeeeeEEEehheeEEeeEEEeeeww." The girl scrunched up her face and worked her mouth from side to side in an exaggerated disgusted expression. "Had a good time doing it myself though! Along with everything else. Ironing was great, did you know, if you put your tongue on a hot iron, it makes this 'sssssssssss' noise? Makes it kind of hard to talk for a couple of days though." The girl looked like her mother might find that fact stimulating and amusing. "Know what I mean?"
Lily stepped out and glared down at her sister. "Why are there no pictures of my children? We've been gone ten years. I want to know what happened to them. Petunia...wh...my children were here, weren't they?"
"Ah, such great memories." Anna was looking up at the ceiling with her arms crossed and a rather dumb grin on her face. "As I gaze into these cracked plaster walls, full of spiderwebs, dust balls, and a heart full of good times. Boy, it sure does bring back the memories. Don't it?" The girl knelt down with a pleased and excited expression on her face. "Hey look! It's where I carved my name on the wall, when we got to sharpen all those knives. I mean, we must have sharpened them for the whole neighborhood. There were hundreds of em I tell ya! It was so awesome! They were so shiny and pointy! I tell ya, nothing says fun to an eight year old quite like hundreds of sharp knives. Well, I suppose we did go through a few bandages, but it was still good times I tell ya. Boy, we sure built a whole bunch of character that day. I think we sweat away quite a bit of that nasty 'M' word. Know what I mean?" Anna looked like she was telling a wistful happy story, she turned to look at her parents and pointed her finger as she worked her thumb up and down.
Harry was starting to back away from the two standing adults with a wide eyed expression on his face. He was taking glances at his sister and licking his lips.
She grabbed her mother and father's hand and started pulling them towards the door. "Well, It's been fun Vern, but we should just be movin along now. We'll come visit you some time buddy. Drop by for Christmas, Easter, Boxing day, we'll have a barbecue or somethin one of these days! A big ol family get together! Know what I mean? I'll tell ya, it'll be great! So long Vern!" She led her family out the door and slammed it hard enough to knock two pictures of Dudley off the wall.
The Dursley boy seemed amused and was clapping his hands as he stomped crushed glass into the carpet with his shoes. He was pointing at his dad and laughing, snorting every few chuckles as he did so.
Vernon's face was beet red, his eyes were bloodshot, and his blood pressure skyrocketed. "Damn wizards! I should have married Mertil Gardner!"
Petunia picked herself off the floor. She was looking up at him with wide eyes. Her face contorted and she snapped back. "She never liked you anyway. I knew her pretty well, and she wasn't shy about mentioning it."
The man sputtered a few times and pushed himself to his feet. "You! Go play in your room for a while!"
Dudley's face fell a bit as he shuffled away into the kitchen.
OooOOooOO
"Oh James! This place is a nightmare!" The man had been silent, his jaw was clenched as he held his wife in his arms and glared back at the doorway to the home.
"Dad. Ten years is long enough. I'd rather not see you in Azkaban over this now." Harry was giving him a serious glare as he walked by and pulled on his cape. "Come on. Can we just go?"
"Come on. He's right. Forget about them, there are still things you don't know about us." The girl nodded. "Besides, my way is more fun. I can torment them for years like that. Just pop in every once and a while." The girl was looking pleased with herself and rubbed her hands together in a rather devious looking manner.
Lily jumped off her husband and started fussing at her."What do you mean? We've got no jobs! We can't stay with Sirius forever! Where are we supposed to live? We can use our savings to get by for a bit, but not forever. James! How did this happen? Where are we?" She was alarmed.
The man smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "Home."
Anna arched her eyebrow and nodded. "Home is more dangerous than you think. The Death Eaters want very badly to kill the two of us. There is a prophecy, it's what brought him to our doorstep. Harry must destroy him. Don't go thinking you're safe now. We live in dangerous times, and Harry and I have been training to deal with it." The adults were looking down at her with their mouths open and confused expressions. She was looking at them with a very hard and serious gaze. "We are more gifted than you imagine. In a sick sort of irony, I think it is because of what he did to this family."
"What do you mean?" James spoke up first, clutching his wife close as she looked at the two children in front of her.
"Anna can see the past and future in a way no other wizard has in thousands of years." The boy spoke up and grinned at them. "She some kind of potion's genius too. She says it started...on that night."
The woman looked down at her and nodded. "I-I see."
The girl had her arms crossed and was frowning at her brother. "That's it in a nutshell. We have to do this, you can't protect us, and you can be used against us. I'm happy to see you, really, but a bit more planning an this could have been more convenient. I still can't believe you thought this would be a good surprise! What is wrong with you?"
"You're not still on that are you? Look, It worked out didn't it?" The boy crossed his arms and looked away from her.
"Not really, no. You brought our parents back, and all we've managed to do so far is scare them. Look at them!" The girl hung her head.
The boy smiled at her. "Yeah. We can."
That comment caught everyone off guard and the air of fear lightened a great deal for everyone.
"God. You are such a sap Harry." The girl pushed on his shoulder and looked flustered. "Yeah. You did good. Just...goddamnit."
A sound thwak jolted her head forward. The girl rubbed at it and looked back with a surprised and irate expression.
"You watch your mouth." The woman narrowed her eyes at her.
James spoke up. "So now what? Your mother is right, we can't stay with Sirius forever." His wife had relaxed a bit, and that relieved his own a bit more. The faintest hints of a smile were starting on the corners of his mouth. "We need to find jobs."
"You know, I hate to be the one who saves the day again, as you seem to dislike it so much..." Harry frowned and looked to the side of the road.
"Yeah. We're pretty wealthy." Anna nodded in agreement and looked a bit pensive. "Though, Sirius probably wouldn't mind keeping us until this is over. We could buy the whole Hollow if we liked really. I'm not suggesting it or anything, but we could."
"What?" The woman's eyes went wide.
"Well, we're just...really awesome." The girl was blushing and looking towards the ground with her hands behind her back.
"I'll tell you what. We'll go home and contact Pansy, then we can just show them." Harry shrugged.
Anna nodded. She knew they'd been listening to the radio recently, and there had been a bit about their new album on the WVN as well. "I guess. I hate taking the Night Bus though. The guy driving is a closeted Death Eater. We should find other ways of getting around."
"How would you know?" Lily seemed irate and turned the girl by her shoulder.
The girl shrugged. "I can see the future, read minds, and see into the past. Why?"
"Don't you get cheeky with me young lady." The woman seemed to be getting annoyed with the sullen girl's attitude. "I've had about all I can take..."
"She's not kidding," replied Harry as he stepped in between them.
"I've gone mad." The woman shuddered.
"Come on, we should get back." James was giving the girl a small smirk. "She looks just like you when she's being obnoxious you know."
The woman glared at him and gripped his wrist for a moment. Her eyes went soft and she looked at the girl who seemed reluctant to be walking with her at all. She rested her head on her husband's shoulder.
"I think we'll be all right here." He kissed her forehead. She could hear his voice shaken. They had both grown quiet in the past few days. Each slowly realizing they weren't going to wake up.
"This is real isn't it?" In an odd way, seeing her breath in the cold drove it home. "Oh God. What do we do?"
"Don't worry about money, that's what. We're wealthy enough. You can trust us that far at least." The redhead looked up at them and turned her lips up a little.
Harry was looking pleased with himself as he walked a little ahead. Anna was starting to talk to them, perhaps the trip had been a good idea after all.
OooOOooOO
James was looking cheerful as he pointed to the logo on the front of Melvin's drum set. "Hey! That's a great band. I've heard them on the radio. So, you're all fans then?"
Lily was looking at him with a somewhat surprised frown. "I'm not so sure I like the look of this."
Harry scratched his head and looked at his father. "Um, we kind of told you we were rich already. That was us on the radio. We're touring England for a month in a few more weeks."
"We've already signed contracts and everything." Anna was glaring at her brother and plugging in her guitar.
"Wait." Lily frowned. "Tenacious D? I have heard that now that you mention it. They've a few songs I like I think. I've not listened as much as James." The woman seemed to fret about it a little as she thought about it.
Pansy leaned in to Margaret with wide eyes from her seat at the keyboard. Her mother was hanging back with Sirius near the kitchen asking pretty much the same thing. "Um, Margaret...who are these people?"
The girl looked over at her and shrugged. "Those are the Potters. Harry and Anna's parents."
Her friend nodded as if her question had been answered for a moment. "Wait. Aren't they supposed to be..."
"For about ten years now. Yes." The other girl nodded.
"What? That can't be..." Pansy noticed her mother stand up with her hand over her mouth and rather wide eyes.
Melvin cleared his throat and leaned over. "You do recall we know two dudes who 'totally got a time machine', right?"
The girl looked over at him and worked her jaw. "Oh." She looked over at the pair. Anna looked almost miserable, but Harry was beaming and had his chest puffed out in pride. "Cool."
Harry and Anna were set up, and the band started to play a moment later. Anna had decided to keep it a bit light, she didn't want to scare them with death metal.
The girl was sitting on a stool next to her brother. She was picking on her strings, but not really playing anything, just a few mixed chords as she tried to think of a few good songs. One particular riff caught her brother's attention.
"Hey! That works! Come on!" Harry leaned over and shoved her arm.
"What?" The girl shook her head, she'd zoned out because her parents were still sitting there. They were looking on just in front of the instruments on the couch and looked a bit pensive.
"That song. I heard you playing it once in practice. I like it." He repeated the chords on his guitar.
The girl scrunched her face up and shrugged. "I was kind of saving that one for later, but I guess." She shrugged again and looked at the floor. "They don't know it though." She looked back at the band.
"What's he talking about?" Pansy was looking over looking more interested in hearing the song than playing.
"Yeah." Melvin nodded with a stupid grin on his face. He was just teasing the redhead.
Margaret had already set her guitar down. "Out with it Potter."
"Jeeze, don't be so pushy." The girl started playing. "I could stay awake just to hear you breathing. Watch you smile while you are sleeping, while you're far away dreaming. I could spend my life in this sweet surrender. I could stay lost in this moment forever. Every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure. Don't want to close my eyes. I don't want to fall asleep, cause I'd miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing. Cause even when I dream of you the sweetest dream will never do. I'd still miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing..."
Anna stopped playing and opened her eyes as she finished Aerosmith's 'Don't want to miss a thing'. Her eyes became very wide as she realized the adults were smiling and wiping tears off their faces. She flushed a bit and looked over to see Sirius and Lissa sitting close too each other.
"We should play something they might recognize. That one's not been on the radio." The girl looked over at her brothers huge grin and shuddered a bit. She was feeling better and managed a half grin.
"How about 'Foreplay'?" Melvin shrugged. Anna glanced back and him and shrugged. Boston wouldn't scare the parents.
Pansy nodded. "That way Harry and Anna can get a few solo's in there. It's always cool."
Margaret had her guitar hooked over her shoulder. "Let's just play something. You've gone and gotten me in the mood now."
OooOOooOO
Lily Potter was looking up at the ceiling in bed. It was late night, and her husband was passed out beside her with a dumb grin on his face. She'd had sex with him twice. Now, she was simply stunned into disbelief as she finally had time to think about her day. Shortly after the rather impressive demonstration, the man who managed the children's band showed up. They were all glad to see him, and he got on well with them right away. She liked him even more when he explained the amount of money her two eleven year old children had managed to collect in less than a year. Her new house would be twice the size of her old one.
That didn't change the way she felt though. The girl had closed up around her, she seemed to avoid contact. It was her daughter, and she knew it. She'd learned too much in the past few days, and sooner or later, she was going to have to go back into the world. The boy was both eager and patient, both much different than she'd ever imagined her babies to be. The girl had started to open up a little, but she seemed wary of them. She also seemed to be a very big tomboy. She wasn't sure what to make of it, and she didn't have any more time to waste just thinking about it.
"I don't even know them." She muttered it to herself as she rested her head against her husband's shoulder. "Now what?" The song her daughter played had driven it home. "I don't want to miss anything else."
OooOOooOO
"Shopping?" The redhead looked up at her mother. The girl was lying on her belly on the couch with a book propped up against one of the arms. Her mother was standing by the fireplace with a bag of powder in her hand.
The woman smiled down at her. "Yes. We'll take a trip to Diagon Alley, just the two of us and..."
"Get stared at by everyone there. Sounds like a bit of fun. We should bring Dad and Harry this time too. Let everyone have a good look, so it won't be so bad in the future." The girl nodded and put her thumb up. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind a stop off at the Alley. Say...hello I guess. I'm sure there's people who'd like to see you as well." It was almost comical as she looked very serious and agreeable.
The woman blinked and put her hand over her mouth. "Well, I suppose. We can leave the boys at the bar and do a bit of shopping ourselves. I hadn't thought of..."
"You've been dead ten years now. I'm world famous. Either way, it can get a bit crowded in public." The girl nodded and smiled at her. "Well, I suppose we should. I guess we can't stay holed up in here. We're going on tour next month with the band."
"What?" The woman's smile faded a bit.
"Contractual obligation. You don't have jobs, you'll be along right? Think of it as a family vacation. We aren't leaving England this time. I feel I should point out, that if not for the band, and the time travel that results from it, you would not be here. We kind of have to play a gig one day to pay the favor back." The girl was a bit surprised at the expression the woman had gotten.
Lily narrowed her eyes at the girl as she seemed to think about it. "Hmm. I suppose it might be a good idea for all of us to go together this time."
Harry walked up to the two of them. "Hi." He seemed to know something was up and looked curious about what it might be.
Lily looked over at him and smiled. "Harry, be a dear and go fetch your father. I'd like to do some shopping and I think the two of you should come along as well."
The boy walked to the doorway and called out in a loud voice. "Dad. Mum says we have to go shopping."
James walked in scratching his head. "What?" He was dressed in a bathrobe, T-shirt, and his shorts.
His wife frowned at him. "It's almost noon. Really, James. Go and get dressed."
Anna nodded. "Yes. We're going to the Alley it seems. It's best to get it over with and let everyone have a good stare. Though, I still haven't figured out how we're going to explain this." She put her finger on her chin and was looking near the bottom of the wall beside her with a rather thoughtful expression.
The man lit up. "Well, that sounds like a bit of fun! I'm going to scare the pants of Fredoric Klik. He owes me two Galleons still." He turned away to change clothes.
"I'd like some clothes of my own. It was nice of Sirius to lend us these." She was wearing a long red robe with a gold rope around her waist. She dusted off one of the hips a bit. "Nothing he has fits quite right though."
The man came back in pulling a cape around his neck a moment later in olive green robes of his own. He tucked his wand into his sleeve and smiled at them. "We'll stop by Gringotts. I'll take Harry and get a few robes for myself, head back to the pub, and you girls can meet us there."
"No more than two." Lily narrowed her eyes at him and poked his chest.
The man scratched his head and flushed. "Right. Two."
OooOOooOO
The Potter Family apparated into the middle of Diagon Alley. They looked around, and things continued as if nothing interesting had happened. That lasted all of a minute, as the group started to move, heads turned and followed them as everything around them came to a complete stop. People were standing around watching them pass in silence, looking bewildered and amazed.
They walked by, looking around at everyone, but said nothing as they continued towards the bank. Harry and Anna moved in front of the adults as they ushered them forward from behind. It lasted the whole way to the bank.
OooOOooOO
After a small bit of confusion, and a few identity confirmation spells, the Goblins greeted them with little in the way of surprise. The head goblin of the bank walked up and bowed deeply to them.
Anna and Harry responded in kind. "We need to access our vault. Sorry for the confusion." They looked at each other and narrowed their eyes as they both said the same thing.
The goblin nodded and smiled. "Griphook is in charge of your account. I'll summon him right away." The thing had a greedy look in it's eyes as it spoke to them. He was cordial and pleasant.
OooOOooOO
Lily and James Potter were smiling at Griphook as he hauled the vault door open. The goblin was pleased with them and it showed. His handling of their affairs had increased his status in the bank. The goblin equivalent of a promotion. The vault was in a different place than it had been before. They had given each other confused glances as they passed the old vault and moved much deeper into the tunnels. The moment they stepped into the vault, their pleasant smiles had fallen away. Each one stood with wide eyes and slacked jaws. It wasn't just a room full of Galleons and Sickles, it was a very, very large room full of them.
Both of them were aware of the kind of money they were dealing with before they entered. They had both noticed the Goblins were fare more cordial than ever before. However, knowing about something, and actually seeing it, are often two completely different matters.
"Oh my god. James. I've never seen so much." Lily felt her knees grow weak.
"Hey. This is your vault." Harry looked over at them. "Ours is even deeper down."
Griphook nodded and looked at the adults. "Yes. That vault is at the base of the caverns. Only the highest security vaults are more secure. We value our important clients."
"Pretty much. This one is for our guardian. Sirius has a vault just down a ways. He's not touched this one. You're not dead, so it's yours now." The girl looked up at them and shrugged. "You sure don't have to worry about affording a house and such. It will get even bigger next month, once we start touring. We'll be able to stay at some nice hotels." She nodded and glanced over at them. "I suppose it will be a good chance to get used to each other."
James was looking at her with his eyebrows arched. "Are you sure we haven't died and gone to heaven or something?"
"Don't..." Harry put his forehead into his hand.
Anna shrugged at him and seemed apologetic. "Sorry. No, you'd be safe in heaven. Don't let your guard down. The Death Eaters are dangerous, and wouldn't think twice about using you against us." The girl nodded at them both. "Sorry to put a downer on things, but you need to be aware, and mindful. Take it from us. We've already had a few attempts on our lives. I hate that I need to keep bringing that up, but I think I should."
Lily's face grew angry. "What? Who would...?"
Anna shrugged. "He's dead, but there's more where he came from. Voldemort is eager to see us dead, Harry especially. For one very important reason."
James had a serious expression on his face. "Why is that?"
Griphook leaned in to listen a bit closer, no one seemed to notice.
"Because it's true. You can't protect us from it, and we will destroy him." She shrugged again and started putting Galleons into his pouch.
"We'll see." He frowned at her and nodded.
OooOOooOO
Anna Potter's eye was twitching, she had her hands clutched together in front of her hips, and a rather nasty snarl on her face.
Harry was doing his best not to laugh. James was looking down at her with a cheerful expression. "Wow. Cute."
"Thank you." The girl almost growled it. She was dressed in a white dress with a red bow tied to the back. She also had a large red bow tied to the back of her hair, which was hanging around her shoulders loose.
"Wow. Looks like you made out shopping with Mom." There were about forty boxes piled up along the wall. They had levitated themselves in and set themselves down.
"James! What the hell are you doing?" Their mother had her hand on the redhead's shoulder.
The man was leaning against the bar with a group of about ten men. All of them fell silent and looked at her with wide eyes and slacked jaws. He looked back at her and his face fell. There were four mugs on the bar. "Wait! I only went one over! That one is Harry's Soda!" He backed away a bit and put his hands up.
A woman in the back of the room screamed and fell over. Lily seemed to forget about her husband and looked over in surprise. "Alice? Alice Wallace is that..." She walked over to help the woman up. She was a plump woman in her mid thirties. "Oh! It is you! How have you been?" The woman was touching her face and looked a bit hysterical. "Um, yes. Hello again."
James watched as an excited group of women gathered around his wife. He'd seen them whispering in the corner and along the wall as they watched him at the bar with his son. He looked at his son and nodded. "Romania huh? Too bad, I'd like to see Arthur again."
"I'd like to see Ron before the summer is over as well. I told him to write me when he gets back. I'm planning on sending him a few tickets to the show if I can." The boy looked pleased and nodded.
A nineteen year old girl with a huge flush on her cheeks walked up to him. "Um, are you Harry Potter?"
"Yeah. Hi!" He looked up at her and smiled in a welcoming way.
She held out a small scroll and a quill. "Um, would you mind?"
The boy nodded and took it. "Yeah. Sure thing." He signed it and handed it back.
His father was looking at him in a rather impressed manner just behind his head. "This isn't so bad at all."
Anna frowned as a familiar voice rang out behind her. "Potter, aren't we pretty today? Planning on trying to catch Professor Snape are we? As if he'd be interested in damaged goods."
She turned to see a group of three girls sitting around a table. Their parents were about, and they all had bags sitting around the table as they waited on them to pep themselves up a bit. The ringleader, in the middle, was a girl with long brunette hair. "I'm pretty every day, Missy." Her name was Melissa Rineheart, she was fond of poking fun at her about her parents at Hogwarts.
"Prowling for Draco Malfoy maybe. I've noticed you keeping an eye on him. Everyone knows. He doesn't like half-blood tramps with no family I'm afraid."
"Just out shopping, with my family." The redhead shook her hair back over her shoulder and smoothed out the dress a bit. She looked quite pleased with the day she'd had thus far and seemed to forget about her irritation with her mother. She'd almost electrocuted the woman for trying to force her into something in a weak looking pink shade. Her current attire was the compromise.
"Who's that? I've not seen her before. Buy yourself some parents Potter?" A snide girl with short curly hair spoke up. Anna didn't know her, but had a feeling she'd be dealing with her next year. The table seemed to think it was funny.
"Her name is Lily Potter. She is my mother."
Melissa spoke up. "Don't be stupid, Potter. Everyone knows what happened to your parents." She looked quite smug.
"You're right. She was dead, but it seems my brother found a way to fix it. Go figure." The redhead shrugged and walked back over to her family.
Melissa snorted. "As if we were that stupid." She looked over at an older woman she'd seen before who sat nearby to their favorite spot.
"Not even Voldemort can bring back the dead." She sipped at her tea and looked over at them with something in her eyes the girls couldn't place. "It's impossible. What on earth? Lily and James Potter? How did...it must be some kind of trick. It can't be...he...he killed them himself! Only the children..."
Melissa got a rather horrified expression on her face as she overheard the woman's muttering. She had turned to get her opinion on the matter. She thought the same way as her family, and they'd spoken before. "What the?"
When she'd turned back, the Potters, and their packages had apparated away. The room was dead silent, within moments, it was full of the sound of whispers.
OooOOooOO
"Merlin. It's true." Albus Dumbledore was looking at Lily and James Potter. He was standing on the doorstep of the Black home, and his eyes had grown rather wide.
"Professor! It's good to see you!" James was cheerful as he waved the man in. "How have you been? I've heard we've been gone a while."
"Professor." Lily flushed a bit as she gave him a polite greeting.
OooOOooOO
The old man was sitting with tea in his hands a few moments later. "Ah, yes. As amazing as it sounds, they have both proven to be excellent students. Your daughter has collected quite a few trophies for her accomplishments. Harry has talents of his own as well. I'm sure you'll discover."
James grinned at him and sipped at his tea. "Hmm. Yes. It's been an adventure so far."
"Adventure?" Lily looked at him with her mouth hanging a bit. She was forced to put her tea down to prevent spilling it. "Really, James! This is hardly running around Hogwarts."
"Might I ask why you aren't dead?" The old man glanced over at them.
"Harry and Anna said something about a time machine." Lily looked over at him with a somewhat dazed expression. She turned away and sipped on her tea.
"Ah! I see. Yes. I seem to recall something about that. Something to do with the band as I remember it. Quite an interesting fellow he was. I'd have liked to speak with him more, he seemed...very busy. Odd for someone with control over time I suppose." The old man stroked his beard.
Anna walked into the room. She was wearing a T-shirt and a denim skirt that stopped just above the knees. Her hair was pulled back in a banana clip. "Oh. Hello Professor." She was munching on a bag of chips and had Margaret just behind her.
"Ah. Miss Potter, and Miss Boggs. I trust you are enjoying your summer so far?" Dumbledore looked amused at her expression.
"Well. It's been interesting for sure." Anna nodded and gave a half cocked grin.
"Yes, Professor." Margaret nodded and gave a more subdued grin.
"Amazing." The old man sighed and shook his head as they walked by towards the rooms. "I trust you're not having difficulty putting your affairs in order?"
"There have been a few snags." James nodded and smiled. "We're adjusting though. We almost exist again. Something like two days or so before everything goes through."
"It's been a nerve wracking week so far." Lily blushed a bit and nodded. "Annabelle dear."
The girl froze at the base of the stairs and cringed. "Stop calling me that."
The woman leaned over the couch and got a rather displeased expression on her face. "What do you mean? It's your name."
The girl gave her a sour frown. "It's a cow's name."
"I happen to think it's very pretty. I don't care if your friends call you Anna or not, I gave you the name and I'm using it." Her mother shook her finger at her and cheered up a bit. "Tell your brother to get cleaned up. Kreacher will have lunch set up in a few minutes."
She growled and shuffled away.
Margaret moved up beside her and smirked. "Your name is Annabelle?"
"Shut it. Just Anna." The redhead grumbled as the raven haired girl chuckled a bit.
"She's right. It is pretty."
The redhead glared back at her and poked her in the chest. "Anna is fine. I can't do anything about her, you I can get back at."
The Boggs girl leaned her head on her shoulder with a grin on her face. "Fine, be that way. Still, I don't see what you're complaining about. Can I call you Bell then?"
"No."
The adults watched the exchange fade away in amusement.
"James, Lily. I am sorry to bring up such a thing now, but I feel I must warn you..." The old man leaned towards the couple.
"Is this about the Death Eaters?" James had a frown on his face and clutched his wife a bit more as he said it.
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes. They are very dangerous. More than you might imagine. You must take care, you must take precautions. You also must understand that just one of your children is most likely more powerful than the two of you put together." He looked quite serious as he spoke to them.
The Potter couple got a rather blank expression on their faces. James nodded and spoke up after a second. "Anna warned us about the Death Eaters. She said one of them tried to kill her and died..." He took a moment to think.
Lily got there first. "What do you mean 'powerful'?"
"I have something to show you. Your children bought a bit of recording equipment last year. I believe they have video of all but one of their Quidditch matches over the year. Quite exciting." He produced a small crystal and set it on the table in front of him. "I recommend that you wake up early, and watch them practice. It's quite a sight, they offered to let me to record this, so that I might learn a bit more about some of their more...interesting tendencies."
James and Lily Potter looked up on the large mirror on the wall. Their children were standing in the middle of the Great Hall facing off. A few moments later, they were dancing around, throwing punches and kicks at each other. After about ten minutes of wide eyed staring, both parents jolted as two blades of light appeared out of small metal objects they'd taken from their robes. The redhead passed the blade through her arm and looked at the camera with a smile on her face.
James and Lily were clutching each other when they started throwing balls of light at each other and knocked them away with the weapons. They went dark before they hit anything, and covered anything they impacted with a layer of frost. The pair even threw a few stunning curses in as they used the blades like wands. Each attack was knocked away by the combatants. They locked blades again.
"Hey! I win this one don't I?" Harry was looking on with a grin on his face behind the adults. Both of them looked at him with wide eyes. He had Melvin with him and his hands were shoved into the pockets of his blue jeans.
"You've not been out since you brought your parents back have you?" Melvin seemed to think about it for a moment.
The boy who lived nodded and grinned. "Yeah. Anna said something about starting in a few days. If they've seen this, I guess we can start up again tomorrow." He looked down at his parents and smiled. "You want to see some of our Quidditch matches? I'll bring them down and tell Kreacher to bring lunch in here if you'd like."
"Well, I suppose you have been warned. I suspected, but did want to be sure. I shall take my leave, I look forward to speaking with you both again." Dumbledore seemed a bit relieved and stood up to leave.
OooOOooOO
Lily Potter was chewing on a sandwich and looking at the screen with wide eyes. She sipped on a soda as she felt her heart stop again. James was gripping her shoulder and not saying anything as he watched.
"These are...our children?" The woman sounded pensive. "Oh my!" She'd just watched her son come close to getting crushed between two very large fifth years by hanging off his broom.
James cringed on occasion as well. It was the second game they'd watched, and both children had a habit of jumping off their brooms and catching themselves with it again. "Wow."
"I don't get to play against him till next year." Anna was sitting on one side with Margaret beside her. The redhead was leaning in to watch the show. "We're looking forward to it."
Melvin was sitting in an armchair chewing with a bit of lettuce hanging from his lips. "Everyone at Hogwarts is looking forward to that."
Harry nodded. "I know I am." He seemed pleased about it. He had finished and was nursing his soda beside his father.
"Th-that's my son!" James didn't sound upset at all. "You both like flying do you? I've always enjoyed it."
"McGonagall mentioned you used to play for the team." Harry smiled at him and nodded.
"We own the sky." His sister was poking a pickle slice a bit further back into her sandwich.
Lily's face fell. The girl sounded confident that what she'd just said was true. She looked over at her with an odd expression. "I used to root for James when he played. I always worried though."
Anna looked over at her. "I don't. Harry can take care of himself. I heard about what Dumbledore showed you earlier."
"I'm your mother, I should worry. I'm just glad I won't be around to watch this." She shuddered and looked at the screen with wide eyes. Another attempted foul that missed her son caused her to shudder and cringe. He went into a dive and came up with the Snitch in his hand several close calls later. "Sort of." She did feel a bit of warmth in her chest as she saw the grin on his face.
Anna was different, she'd noticed. She was cool, calm, and seemed to be very confident. The way she smiled was different than her brother when she won a match. She almost looked malevolent, she continued to stare, and the girl was aware. She kept giving her glances. However confident she looked, it was clear she was enjoying the sport in the video.
James shook her shoulder a little and she put her head onto his arm.
OooOOooOO
TBC...
Ron Weasley and The Romanian Reward.