Harry Potter and the Legend of the Twelve

By

Lewis M. Brooks, III

Chapter 20 – Family Dinner

The night after Albus's Quidditch accident, Carly came to the family dinner in the Room of Requirement, as she did the next three Sundays. They had given her an open invitation.

Ginny watched Carly, and was surprised to see that with all she had been through, she remained friendly, kind, and happy. Ginny noticed how she clung to Albus, and thought he had a lot to do with her being happy.

Dinner on the twenty-first of October began as any other. James, Albus, Lily, Rose, Hugo, and Carly were there. On this night, James was allowed to bring Danny and Jason also, so the entire membership of the New Marauders was seated at the table with Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville. Everyone was missing Sirius, but they knew he would be back around Halloween, and everyone looked forward to his return. Right now, he was their best chance of finding anything out about The Twelve.

As they finished dinner, Hermione stood up and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "I'm going to let you all in on a little secret," said Hermione. "Tomorrow, I plan to announce that instead of the usual Halloween feast and entertainment, we will have a dance. It will be open to all students, and coming in costume is not required. Dates are certainly allowed but not required. It will be Halloween night from six to ten o'clock in the evening."

"Can Lily and I go too?" asked Hugo.

"It's only open to students," said Hermione, with a sly look in her eye. "However, since Uncle Harry and I have to chaperon the Dance, Aunt Ginny might need a date, Hugo."

"Aunt Ginny, would you go with me to the dance?" asked Hugo, excitedly.

"I would be delighted," said Ginny with a smile.

"Too bad I have to go all alone," said Ron with a bit of a sarcastic tone. "Unless," Ron turned to Lily, "Miss Potter, would you do me the honor of attending the dance with me?"

"Oh, yes," squealed Lily excitedly.

Ginny saw Albus lean over and whisper something in Carly's ear. Carly beamed and gave him a kiss on the cheek, having obviously been asked to the dance.

Ginny also saw Danny summon his Gryffindor courage and ask Rose to the dance. She said yes immediately as Ron choked on his pumpkin juice. If not for the death stare Hermione gave him, he would have said something, but he backed down when he saw the look on his wife's face. He didn't look happy though.

After dinner, the children started to leave to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room, and do the homework they had left all weekend.

"Al," said Ginny, as he headed to the door. "Can you come down to my office for a minute? I want to discuss something with you."

"Sure, Mum," said Albus. "Carly, Rose, go on ahead, I'll meet you in a bit and we can do that Defense Against the Dark Arts assignment."

"Sure, Al," said Carly with a smile.

Ginny and Albus left for her office, and Hugo and Lilly talked animatedly on the couch about the dance, leaving Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville at the table.

"Harry, I want to know everything about this Danny. He is Seamus' son, right?" asked Ron. "I never did trust Finnigan."

Harry laughed. "He's a good kid, Ron. Now Jason on the other hand, he's a bit of a charmer just like James. Him I might worry about."

"Pipe down, Ron," said Hermione, shaking her head. "Danny and Rose have a crush on each other. Nothing more. And I happen to like Danny."

"I'm glad I don't have any children. I couldn't handle this stuff," said Neville.

"So, what then…I'm not supposed to worry?" asked Ron, ignoring Neville's comment.

"I didn't say that, but there is nothing wrong with a crush. Maybe it will last, maybe it won't," said Hermione. "There's no harm in it."

"I don't know. Looks like Al's going to propose any day, I don't want my Rosie married at eleven years old," said Ron.

"When can she get married, Ron?" asked Hermione with a smirk.

"When she's fifty," said Ron, as if that settled it.

Hermione and Neville laughed, but noticed Harry was silent. Harry was thinking about his conversation by the lake with Albus.

"Something wrong, Harry?" asked Neville.

"Do you know what Albus asked me?" asked Harry softly. "He asked me how to know if he was in love with Carly."

There was silence around the table. "When did this happen?" asked Ron.

"The night he had detention. I walked down to meet him afterwards and we went for a walk by the lake," said Harry.

"What did you tell him?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Well, after looking for an escape and finding none, I told him that wasn't a question I could answer," said Harry. "I told him he would know in his heart when the time is right."

Hermione smiled. "Well done, Harry," said Hermione. "I can only imagine the emotional damage if Hugo ever asked Ron that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, love," said Ron sarcastically. "You're probably right though."

On the way to her office, Ginny and Albus chatted about school and about Quidditch. Once they go to the office, she sat down on the couch with Albus.

"What did you want to discuss, Mum?" asked Albus.

Ginny wanted to approach the subject carefully. She didn't want to sound like she was butting into something that wasn't her business. She had thought she would have a few more years before worrying about her son's relationship, and at that, she was sure it would be James.

"I was just wondering…how is Carly doing?" asked Ginny. "Starting school is a big change, and I know she's been through a lot."

Albus frowned a little. "Yeah, she has been through a lot. Sometimes she's really sad. I think she just misses having a family," said Albus. He smiled. "She really loves coming to the family dinner, Mum." Albus' smile faded.

"What is it, Al?" asked Ginny.

Albus sighed. "Mum, the night I was in the Hospital Wing after the match, when you left us alone…Carly told me I'm the closest thing she has to family," said Albus. "I think my crash reminded her of her mother's accident."

Ginny's heart broke for Carly. No one so young should feel so much pain. In so many ways, it made her think about Harry's life. She knew all too well how hard it was for Harry growing up without his parents.

"I hate it when she's upset like she was that night," said Albus sadly. "She's lost so much. I can't imagine what life would be like without you and Dad. I wish I could do something to make it all better." Albus paused, thinking over the question he wanted to ask her. "Can I ask you something Mum?"

"Sure, Al, anything," said Ginny with a smile.

"I think I'm in love with Carly. What should I do?" asked Albus. His eyes made clear how lost he felt.

Harry had told Ginny about the conversation he had with Albus the night of his detention. She had laughed at Harry when he told her he would have given anything for a Hungarian Horntail at that moment. She wasn't laughing anymore and unfortunately there was no dragon in sight.

"You 'think' you're in love with her?" asked Ginny tentatively.

"Yeah, I think so. I'm just not sure," said Albus with a shrug. "I guess I don't understand what I'm feeling."

"Well, Al, I think that's something you have to figure out on your own," said Ginny. "I can't tell you how you feel."

"I figured you would say that. Sorry, but that doesn't really help any more than Dad did," said Albus with a laugh.

Ginny laughed. "I know. I wish I could give you an answer, but I can't. It's different for everyone." Ginny smiled. "I'll never forget the first time your father told me he loved me. I had waited so long to hear those words. It wasn't long after that, that he gave me Grandma Potter's ring." Ginny held up her right hand, on which she wore the heart shaped emerald ring that Harry had given her all those years ago. "Just don't rush it, Al. You're only eleven."

"I know," said Albus. "James says it just gets harder when we get older. I don't suppose you have a crystal ball that can tell me my future handy?"

"No, I'm afraid not," said Ginny with a smile.

After a moments silence, Ginny decided to lighten the mood. "So, are you going to ask Carly to the Halloween dance?"

Albus smiled broadly. "Already did," he said proudly.

"So, are you going to go in costume?" asked Ginny.

"I don't know, I'll talk to Carly about it," said Albus.

"You better get to your homework," said Ginny.

They both stood up and shared a warm hug, as only a mother and son can. Her little boy was growing up so fast, in some ways, she wished she could stop time, and never let him grow up. In other ways though, she was happy he had found someone special, even if it meant he wasn't really her little boy anymore.