History Repeated
So, I don't own Harry Potter...Damn.
Thanks to those who have followed, favored, and/or reviewed.
Note: Sorry if anyone read chapter 6 and saw a previous chapter on it, I was fixing a few things and resubmitting them on to the story and accidentally clicked on one chapter for two by mistake.
30 August 2015
"You can't go, Jimmy!" wailed Daisy as she clung to James as he attempted to leave the kitchen for his bedroom to finish packing his things. "I won't let you!" his cousin continued as she attempted to grab his other leg.
"Help!" James exclaimed as he dragged his cousin across the kitchen floor. "Callum! Get your bloody arse in here!" He and his cousins were the only ones in their home, with Uncle Dudley and Aunt Helen out in the garden with his uncle's dreaded parents. None of the children wanted to be around Vernon and Petunia.
"You said a bad word, now Mummy and Daddy won't let you go!"
"Yes, they will, Daise!"
"They don't let me go places when I say bad words!"
"That's because you're eight!"
"So? You're only eleven! It's not fair!"
"Life's not fair," James said as he lifted the leg his cousin was attached to. "Come on, Daisy! I'll only be gone until Christmas."
"That's too long!" Daisy said as she hugged his leg tighter, causing James to drop his leg back down. If Daisy was disturbed by the sudden movement, she didn't react, to James' irritation as the little girl continued with her dramatic display of what he could only describe as a little sister's love. "Callum's leaving for school and now you are too! You two are gits!"
James groaned as he called out for his older cousin again. "Callum! Come get your sister!"
"I'm your sister too, Jimmy!" Daisy whined, not fully understanding that James was, in fact, not her brother, but he wasn't going to make her cry even more. Daisy was like his little sister, just as much as she was Callum's. He didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise.
Though, he imagined his great-aunt did when she entered the kitchen, a pinched look on her horse-like face. James sighed, knowing the old woman had heard Daisy's little outburst.
"Granny, tell Jimmy he's not going to school!" Daisy said to her grandmother, oblivious to the look on Petunia's face.
James could only stare at his great-aunt as her eyes narrowed and her lips thinned.
"Daisy go out to the garden and see your grandpa," Petunia said, her voice laced with ice.
"Daddy said I didn't have to if I don't want to," Daisy protested as she clung on to James' leg as if her life depended on it. For once, he didn't mind her being stuck to his leg. Anything to keep herself away from Vernon Dursley, James could respect that, even if at the cost of his leg being attached to an eight-year-old girl for the rest of the day.
"Daisy," Petunia said in a warning tone. "Go."
Daisy seemed to have taken her grandmother's tone to heart because she let go of James' leg, picked herself up off the ground, and walked out of the kitchen but instead of going out into the garden, she raced up the stairs. James didn't bother to hide his grin from Petunia as they both heard a door upstairs slam shut.
"Sit down, James," Petunia said as she took a seat at the kitchen table.
Frowning, James sat across from her and stared at her, and she stared right back. Her cold eyes meeting James' curious ones. He wondered what she wanted to talk about, she never wanted to talk to him whenever she was at Dudley's home. She always avoided him, like he was some sort of disease or something. Though he did have magic, and James imagined that, to Vernon and Petunia Dursley, magic was as bad as a plague, if not worse.
Still, he didn't know why his uncle's parents were like that. Was it something that his dad had done? His dad's mum? Or was it something else that he couldn't figure out?
James sighed as he thought of past events that he had never thought about. At least, until now.
"I was thirteen when your grandmother got her letter," Petunia said, ripping James out of his thoughts. Her eyes moved away from his, staring at the window next to the sink, causing James to look at the window and see the lily flowers growing on the other side. Lily flowers were the only flowers grown in the Dursley garden, though he didn't know why. They were pretty flowers, but there were more beautiful ones to plant as well.
"She had already known what she was, though," Petunia said as her eyes snapped back towards James, causing him to look at her as well. "She had a friend just like her — just like you, and he told her about a world neither of us had ever thought to exist."
Petunia placed her wrinkly hands on the table, quickly glancing down at her old but still gold-colored wedding ring.
"I was jealous of her," she revealed. "She was going off to a new world, and I was stuck at home with my mother and father." A faint smile crossed her lips. "You look just like him, my father. I imagine many people will say you look like your mother or your father but all I see is my father. Of course, your hair is darker, but your eyes are brown like his had been and almond-shaped. My sister got his looks, I was unfortunate to only receive his blond hair but nothing else." Petunia sighed and shook her head as though she was shaking off something she'd rather forget. "I was awful to her, called her names and made her miserable whenever she was home. I couldn't accept that I was normal, magicless," Her lips twitched as she said the last word, as though it were a curse. "And my sister was special, the golden-child of my parents. They loved me, but Lily was different, and they loved that about her. Everyone did, even if they didn't know about her…magic or not. When I met Vernon, my jealousy only worsened as he fed into my negative thoughts about her. I didn't make her a bridesmaid, and I refused her offer to attend her wedding to that Potter boy, not to mention the position of maid of honor she tried giving me. Your grandfather and Vernon never got on, which only caused more animosity between me and Lily, and when they died, all that was left was an orphaned boy with a strange scar on his head."
"My grandmother's name was Lily?" James asked.
Petunia nodded. "And your grandfather was James," she revealed. "When I looked at your father, the only thing that remained of my sister was her eyes, everything else he received from his father. I took him in, but I wasn't pleased about it...and he knew quite well about that." She looked up at James and sighed as she continued speaking. "He was all I had left of her, and now you are all that's left of him."
"Why're you telling me all this?" James asked, confused. "I know you hate me."
Petunia shook her head, her face contorting into something James' couldn't explain. "I don't hate you," she said. "And I never hated your father or my sister, no matter how much I wanted to. I never got the chance to tell them that. I imagine they died believing I hated them and there's no one to blame for that but myself."
Petunia looked down at her wedding ring again, her eyes disappearing from James' sight. "I agree with Daisy," she said. "I don't think you should go to that school, but not for the reasons you or she or anyone else might think." She looked up at James, who saw a stray tear fall down her face. "That world took my sister from me, and her son never got to grow up receiving the love he should have gotten. They took your father away from you, and we both know Dudley and Helen can't give you the love your parents gave you, no matter how much they try."
Petunia rose from her chair, wiping her tear as she spoke for a final time. "I don't want you to end up like them, fighting for a world that they were too good for. You deserve a life they never got, James."
As she walked out, James stayed in his chair, staring at her. When she was gone, James felt a tear fall down his cheek and he didn't have an explanation for it. It was there, as he was. Alone in a place, he shouldn't have been in. Away from a family he never knew, far from his parents, who had died too soon. It wasn't fair.
Egerton Road was a destination for boring people, Bill believed as he and Victoire walked to the seventh house on the street, where his nephew awaited. Bill, seeing as he was the only available Weasley brother (or father) to not piss off the Dursley's in the past, offered to take James in until it was time for him and the other children to go off to Hogwarts.
His wand was hidden in the sleeve of his shirt, ready for any attack should it come. Luckily, no one was on the street, so no chance of any muggles getting caught in the fray should anything happen.
When the distinctive "pop" sound was heard behind him, Bill wordlessly pulled his daughter behind him as he turned and pointed his wand at Teddy Lupin, who was staring at him with wide, mismatched eyes, as though he was mid-appearance change.
Frowning, Bill lowered his wand as Teddy grinned and waved at him and Victoire. "Hello," the teenage metamorphmagus said. "Picking up Jimmy, I take it?"
"Why are you here, Teddy?" Bill asked as he slipped his wand back into his sleeve.
"Vic invited me."
Bill rolled his eyes and he turned and looked at his daughter, who shrugged and said, "We're going somewhere after we leave here, no use stopping at home for a quick hi and bye."
"Does your mother know?"
"...Yeah."
"You're staying at home."
"Da—"
"Teddy can stay as long as your door remains open."
Victoire stared at him, and Bill could feel Teddy's eyes behind him.
"It's not like that, Dad," his daughter said softly as her cheeks began to turn red.
"It better not be," Bill said as he turned and gave Teddy a look that made the teenager's hair go from blond to bright red.
"It's not, Mr. Weasley," Teddy quickly promised as his hair shifted into a brown color with blond highlights. His eyes turned purple as he blinked at Bill, who sighed and nodded.
"Alright," he said as he turned and began walking again. "No tricks out of either of you. The last thing we need is the Dursley's keeping James from us."
"Wait, they can do that?" his daughter asked, sounding shocked as she walked up to Bill. He could hear Teddy following behind him, and to his relief, the smell of cigarette smoke didn't join him.
"Unfortunately," Bill said as he nodded. He glanced at his daughter as he continued speaking. "They're his legal guardians. Your Uncle Percy and Aunt Hermione are working on getting that changed, though."
"Who will he go to then?" Victoire asked, frowning. "And why take him from them if they've been raising him better than what Uncle Harry got?"
Bill sighed. "Your Gran suggested it after Jimmy came to the Burrow," he said, thinking about the several letters he had received from his mother just in that week alone. "She's been adamant about him living with one of us. Obviously, though, he won't be able to stay at the Burrow should it happen. Your grandparents are too old to take care of another kid, and the only house not protected by the you-know-what is their home, which was how Skeeter got in."
"Why don't they have the...you-know?" Teddy chimed in, sticking his head between Bill and Victoire, his nose plastered with freckles that weren't there a moment ago.
"They don't trust anyone to be their Secret-Keeper," Bill said, sighing. "Not after what happened to Harry and Ginny."
"They don't trust you or Uncle Percy or—"
"They don't even trust themselves, Vic," Bill said, sounding as upset as his daughter. "And I don't blame them for that. They're getting on in age and they don't want to accidentally let their location slip or trust the wrong person. Trust is fragile and can break quicker than you'd think."
Victoire frowned as she slid a lock of her platinum-colored hair behind her ear. "They can't just stay out in the open like that," she protested. "Why are they taking a risk like that?"
"I don't know, Vic," Bill admitted as he looked away from his daughter. He didn't have time to ponder upon his parent's strange choices, seeing as he, his daughter, and whatever Teddy was to his eldest child, walked in front of number 7 Egerton Road. "Looks like we're here," he said as he walked up to the front door, eyeing the lily flowers, and clutching the tip of his wand before reaching the door and knocking on it with his wandless fist.
A man with blond hair and blue eyes answered the door. He was large but far from being the whale Fred had once described Dudley Dursley during the summer before You-Know-Who returned. Bill awkwardly smiled as the muggle man in front of his stared at the deep scars on his face.
"Don't worry, you should see the other bloke," Bill said as he motioned toward his scars.
"I am so—"
Bill held his hand up, waving the man off. "Don't worry about it, everybody stares," he said, and unfortunately, he wasn't lying. Werewolf scars were a sight to fear, and Bill got enough whispers about him being a werewolf to turn the words into a book. He never knew which were worse, the staring or the whispers. Both were equally irritating, though. He'd take one, just not both.
"I'm Bill," Bill said as he held his hand out for the muggle to shake it, which he did awkwardly.
"Dudley," the muggle said as his eyes glanced behind Bill, where Victoire and Teddy were at. "Your kids?"
"Merlin, no," Bill said. "Not both. The blonde's my daughter, Victoire, and the delinquent next to her is her friend Teddy. He was Harry's godson."
The man's eyes widened. "He had a godson?" Dudley asked as his eyes shot back at Bill, who nodded.
"Is James ready?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, he's just looking for his cat-pet-thing," Dudley said as he stepped aside to let the Weasley's and Teddy in.
"Cat-pet-thing?" Teddy asked as Bill walked in.
"I don't know what it's called and James' hasn't given it a name yet," Dudley said as Victoire and Teddy walked in. Dudley shut the door behind them and walked past them toward the stairs, where a trunk, muggle rucksack, and empty animal cage lay.
"James!" Dudley yelled up the stairs. "Have you found your pet?"
"Yeah!" came the loud response from Bill's nephew. "And I'm gonna kill Daisy!"
"Why?" Dudley questioned, to Bill's surprise, the muggle didn't sound shocked.
"She named him!"
"What?"
"My Kneazle!" James yelled as he came running down the stairs with a grey-furred Kneazle, who didn't appear irritated by the boy bouncing him around in his arms. "Look!" The boy held out his pet, which had a sparkly collar around its neck with what appeared to be the name "Olaf" written on it with pink paint.
The Kneazle, Olaf according to its collar, let out a strange sound that was crossed between a growl and a chirp.
"Just change his name then," Dudley said, as he looked from James to the Kneazle.
James shook his head. "Too late for that," he said as he turned towards the animal cage and gently put the Kneazle inside. The animal purred when James petted its head through the bars. "Daisy told me she's been calling him Olaf for a week now and he's been responding to the name."
Dudley sighed. "I'll talk to her later when she returns with Aunt Helen and my parents," he said, sounding as irritated as James was.
"How come you didn't have a name for him yet, Jimmy?" Victoire asked.
"Because I didn't know what to call him and my Aunt Helen shot down the ones I initially wanted," James said, looking defeated.
Bill frowned, wondering why his cousin's wife refused the names James suggested. "Come on, Jimmy," He said, walking towards the boy and picking up his trunk. "We best get back to my house, you'll love it there. It's next to a beach, no one will bother us there. I want to hear about those books you were talking about last time I saw you."
Bill smiled when his nephew nodded and picked up his rucksack and animal cage. He watched as his nephew hugged Dudley with his free arm.
"Bye Uncle Dudley," the boy said as the muggle hugged him back.
"Bye Jimmy, you behave while you're gone," Dudley said as he broke off the hug.
"No promises," James said, which made Dudley chuckle. Merlin, it made Bill crack a smirk on his torn-up face.
"I'll make sure he comes back in one piece," Bill said to Dudley as everyone began to move out of the house.
Dudley nodded. "Thanks," he said, awkwardly nodding his head as he held the door open for the wizards to walk through.
As they walked towards where Bill hid the Portkey, he thought of James and how he would react to being taken from the Dursley's. Despite him appearing to be upset back at the Dursley's home, he appeared to be over his cousin's daughter naming his pet, even calling the Kneazle by the name Olaf, who according to Jimmy, is a name his cousin had heard from a Disney film.
Bill had wanted to ask what Disney was but held back his tongue, having already heard about the little exchanged James had with Teddy over a ladder.
Based on the boy's relationship with Dudley Dursley, Bill imagined that James wouldn't be too pleased with having to leave them if his mother got her way. A part of him wanted James to come live with their family, but only if James wanted to. He didn't feel comfortable with taking him from the people who raised him, but at the same time, his family had lost years with James and that wasn't fair for anyone, especially James.
A part of Bill wanted to charge into Hogwarts and yell at McGonagall and demand to know why she thought it was best for James to stay with the Dursley family over any of the Weasley's. Merlin, he would have taken in his nephew without a second thought. He knew Ginny and Harry wouldn't have wanted their son with Harry's relatives, even if he had just begun to reconcile with one of them. Perhaps, had he been on better terms with his cousin, Harry would have agreed to James going to his cousins, but Harry was dead and unable to decide that for his son and that's what made things more tricky now.
Harry and Ginny had been dead for nearly ten years, and their son was only recently found. He hadn't been mistreated, something that seems to not of crossed most of his family. George understood, he had known about James' nightmares before everyone else had. Their mother had nearly driven George deaf in his good ear when she found out he knew and hadn't told anyone, but Bill couldn't blame his brother. James had told him that, and George didn't tell anyone out of respect for his nephew's privacy. Besides, he hadn't known his nephew was going to Apparate himself onto the roof of the Burrow in his sleep.
Merlin, everything was going to be rather complicated now and Bill didn't know what to do.
31 August 2015
Shell Cottage was silent as George entered through the fireplace in the sitting room. As he dusted off the soot on his jacket, he noticed Teddy sleeping on the settee. His legs were hanging over the edge and the quilt he was using was nearly all the way on the ground.
Without thinking about it, George quickly covered Teddy up with the quilt before he walked into the kitchen, where Bill and Fleur were at, sitting at the kitchen island.
"When did you two get another wolf cub?" George joked as he sat on the empty wooden barstool, next to his sister-in-law, who slid an empty mug his way. "Thanks," he said before reaching over to the still-hot coffee pot. He poured himself some and started to drink without putting anything in it.
"You don't need any sugar or milk, George?" Bill asked.
George shook his head as he put his mug down. "Nope, I'm good," he said. "So, why's Tonks' kid sleeping on your settee?"
"He stayed over last night," Fleur said as she sighed. "We didn't want him going home so late."
George nodded as he ran his finger along the rim of his coffee mug. "The Healers say Angelina's ready to go home today. Think I can kidnap Jimmy for the night? Angelina's been wanting to meet him, see if he's got his dad's Quidditch skills or not."
Fleur smiled. "That is wonderful about Angelina, George," she said. She glanced at Bill for a moment before looking back at George and saying, "And yes, you can kidnap Jimmy for the night, just as long as he's on the train tomorrow."
George grinned. Brilliant," he said before switching the conversation back on his wife and their children. "The kids are excited," he said. "Angelina's mum is with them now, preparing the flat for a little welcome home party." He looked towards the staircase and said, "How's Jimmy been? No nightmares?"
"Nope," Bill said, looking relieved. "We've been checking on him during the night just in case."
"What do you think are causing them?" George asked, genuinely curious.
"We don't know," Bill said, indicating himself and Fleur as he sighed. "And Fleur and I don't want to push him. I didn't even think to ask Dursley when I saw him yesterday."
"Bloody hell," George said. "What are we going to do once he starts Hogwarts? I doubt McGonagall would want to wake up every morning to find James sleeping on the roof of the Astronomy Tower." His eyes widened as he realized something. "Merlin, most of Hogwarts's roofs are pointy. Would it even be possible for him to stay up there without falling from them?"
Looks of horror crossed both Bill and Fleur's faces, they hadn't thought about that either.
"Morning," George heard, causing him to jump as his eyes darted towards the stairs, where Louis was at, rubbing his eyes as he walked into the kitchen, still dressed in his pajamas.
"As-tu bien dormi?" Fleur asked in French.
"Oui Maman," Louis answered. "Merci."
"Are you ready for Hogwarts, Louis?" George asked as his nephew yawned. "Or are you ready for bed again?"
Louis snorted. "Yes, for both," the boy said as he walked over to the refrigerator.
"Is James still asleep?" Bill asked and Louis nodded.
"Yeah," Louis said as he looked at the coffee pot. "Can I have some of that?" he asked, pointing at the pot.
"No," Fleur said before Bill could respond or George could make a joke.
Louis frowned but nodded. "One day, Mum," he said, waving his pointer finger at the pot. "I'll get some of that."
"And forever ruin your perfect teeth," Fleur followed up with.
Louis shrugged. "I have to lose something to gain it," he said.
Fleur pointed at the stairs. "Go back to your room, Louis before I send you to your Aunt Gabrielle."
"You wouldn't dare."
"Would I?"
Louis frowned before his eyes widened and he ran out of the room, causing George to laugh.
"What's going on?" Dominique asked as she walked in, her dark red hair in a messy knot that looked more like a bird's nest than hair. Glancing at Fleur, he held back and further laughter when he noticed the look on her face.
"Dominique."
The girl looked at Fleur. "Morning, Mum," she said as she ran a hand through her hair, frowning when her fingers clearly got stuck in the knots. George watched as his niece pulled at her hair until she got her fingers freed.
"Go brush your hair, Dominique Ginevra Weasley," Fleur ordered.
Dominique yawned and turned to leave the room, saying nonchalantly, "I'll just cut it off. Brushing it's time-consuming."
When Dominique walked up the stairs, Fleur stood and looked at Bill as George pressed his hands over his lips to stifle his laughter.
"I will be back," Fleur said and George and Bill watched as she calmly walked up the stairs. Not a moment later, Fleur could be heard yelling in French, loud enough for Teddy to wake up and fall off the couch, swearing as laid sprawled out on the ground.
So, what do you think?
Note: If I got any part of the French wrong, please correct me.
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Until next time...