They jumped out of the car.
"Oh God, no!" Harry yelled. "NO!"
Katherine squatted down face in hands, sobbing, "We told him not to leave. It's our fault. All our fault."
Harry forced her up and hugged her, tears mingling.
They sat there for what seemed forever, just rocking back and forth on the lawn as their life burned down in that house.
Wizards began popping up everywhere, putting out the fire. But nothing could put the fire out. It kept raging.
"You should help them put it out, Harry." Katherine whispered hoarsely. Harry nodded and glared at the fire.
*I hope you didn't touch him. * Harry thought, raging. *Leave my house. * And it disappeared.
Katherine hugged him tighter. "I'm sure it'll be okay." Harry said. She shook her head.
"Nothing will ever be okay now." She cried. "Ever."
Hermione and Ron were running towards them.
"You're okay!" Hermione said. "Thank god you're okay! We thought at first- that- well you know."
"Where's Jamea?" Ron wondered suddenly.
Katherine let out a sob and so did Harry.
Hermione swallowed hard and said, "I'm sorry guys." She gave them both tight hugs. "He was a good kid."
Harry and Katherine said nothing just embraced each other again. Ron and Hermione looked sadly at the grief stricken couple. "Why do bad things always happen to them?" Ron fumed. "They've never done anything wrong."
Slowly the wizards and witches left the scene to leave them alone with the memories.
"You should go." Harry told Ron and Hermione when the sun set in a weak voice. "Rachel will wonder where her parents are."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Eventually." Harry said and more tears came. Hermione and Ron gave them hugs again with the promise they'd be back tomorrow.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"We should go in and see what's left." Katherine said.
"Yeah." Harry said. "We can haul out the fireproof trunks."
So they headed into the mostly burned house. Harry banished the fireproof trunks outside, not wanting to have to go into Jamea's room to get his manually. Katherine found quite a few things in the kitchen that were saved and half of their books were still in good condition.
Everything that was saved was out on the lawn. Diplomas from school, wedding license, driving license and birth certificates were all missing from the fire.
Grief seemed beyond tears now. The Muggle police came to investigate, along with some hit wizards and the press showed up. Harry and Katherine refused to speak to them all, wishing it would just end. They all left around midnight. Harry and Katherine sat on the lawn, Katherine sobbing silently on Harry's chest.
"Holy Shit." Said a gruff voice. "What did I miss?"
Katherine looked at Harry. "I think I'm hallucinating."
"Mum? Dad? What happened here? Why is the house all burned and- is that the dark mark? Who died?"
It was Jamea.
Harry stood up and ran to his son with a strangled cry. He hugged him tightly, crying into his skinny shoulder.
"Dad! Geroff me!" Jamea said. "What's wrong with you?"
"We- we thought you died." Harry said.
"I'm not that easy to kill." Jamea said, trying to move Harry off of him (it wasn't working). "You're just lucky that I don't listen to you guys. * Dad*, you're getting my shirt wet."
Katherine joined the hug. "Jamea, don't ever put us through that again!" She kissed his cheeks. "Never again, you hear me?"
"I hear you, mum." Jamea said and grinned. "You guys would have really missed me, huh?"
"Of course we would." Harry said. Jamea's parents refused to let go of him. "Of course we would."
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"House hunting day!" Katherine called a week later. They were staying with Sirius and Remus (they only shared a house, kids, they aren't gay…) and were getting sick of their constant bickering. Harry rested on the fact that they were only putting on a show because they wanted them out of their house. "Lets go Jamea! Hurry it on up! Get dressed!"
Jamea stumbled out of his room pulling on a shirt just as Harry did the same. Katherine laughed and said, "Boys will be…nerds." And walked outside.
"We heard that." Harry said plaintively. "And it hurt."
"Yes." Jamea agreed and patted his heart dramatically. "It hurt right here." Jamea had decided to play it cool for a while. His parents seemed a little freaked out ever since the fire so he was going to be a * good* boy for now at least.
Katherine threw brochures at them. "Find one that you like in each of these. Make sure it isn't TOO pricey."
"Okay." They sat in the sun, flipping through the Muggle Real-estate magazines.
"Why can't we get a house in a Wizarding neighborhood?" Jamea wondered.
"Because they cost more." Katherine said. Harry thought for a moment.
"The insurance gave us a lot of money for this Kat. Much more than we need. We could afford a nice house." Harry said. "Plus we never have used the money from our holiday bonuses."
"Are you sure?" Kat said.
"And we don't have to worry about the Muggles writing up reports on us when you guys blow stuff up." Jamea said. "And you guys do blow things up. I remember when I was seven and-"
"Your father was making toast and the toaster broke and it- a hem- burst into flames?" Katherine finished, looking at Harry, raising an eyebrow. "I remember."
"So do I." Harry said with a nervous chuckle. "Do you have any copies of Wizarding Homes handy Kat?"
"Well I picked up a couple for fun…." Kat said. "They're in the house."
"I'll get them." Jamea said and disappeared into the house. He passed them out when he got back.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"Let's see." Kat said. "This is my favorite. It's in Brittany Knolls. Four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, living room, dining room, recreation room, office, unfinished basement."
"Do we really need all that room for just three people?" Harry wondered.
"Maybe it'll be more than 3 people later on." Kat said and winked
Harry blushed and nodded. "Let's check it out."
When they got there it only took them seconds to get their answer. No. The neighborhood was in a terrible state and the house, while very affordable, was going to cost more than the house itself to re finish it. And there was a ghoul in it too.
"My turn." Harry said. "An apartment. Three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, living room, dining room walk out deck."
"Sounds nice." Kat said. "Lets go."
The apartment WAS very nice, but it was too high up. Katherine was apparently very afraid of heights. She took one look out the window and threw up.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"Okay." Jamea said. "I like this house. Three bedrooms, four bathrooms, dining room, living room, LAUNDRY room, recreation room. Walk out, unfinished basement."
"Where is it?" Harry asked.
"Er." Kat said, looking over her son's shoulder. "Godric's Hollow."
"Oh." Harry's brow furrowed. "Well we can go check it out."
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
They ended up at a ranch style house at the edge of a forest. Harry felt uneasy.
"You know, Jamea, it's kinda funny you would choose this house." Harry said.
"Why's that?" Jamea said. He looked at the house.
"Follow me." Harry said. He walked into the forest. Katherine walked briskly up to him as Jamea bent over to smell the flowers and to look at a squirrel.
"Harry, where are we going?" She asked.
"Oh, you'll see." Harry said and put on a brave little smile. "You'll see."
There was a clearing and Katherine saw what it was. Two gravestones sat peacefully in a patch of sun.
"Those are my parents." Harry said. "That house you chose was built right over the house that I lived in for the first year of my life."
"Creepy." Jamea said. He went over to the graves and looked at them. "Kinda pretty." He remarked and looked at Harry. "If I died in the fire, would I have been buried here too?"
"Yeah, most likely." Kat said. "Harry, you never showed me this before."
"I didn't know you were interested, darling." He said and kissed her brow.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"We'll take it." Katherine said.
The relater smiled. "It is a good house."
"That it is." Katherine said. "My husband should be back from the bank anytime now so he'll give you the down payment."
The relater nodded. "Thank you for doing business with us."
Harry popped into the house with a satchel of money. "Here you go sir. 450 galleons in down payment."
"Oh thank you!" Relater said. "Really! This house has been on the market for years!"
"Why? It's in perfectly good condition." Harry said.
"Some rumor about ghosts in the woods." The man shrugged. "It's a load of rubbish."
"In the woods?" Jamea said. "Well there are a couple graves out there. But- uh-" He tugged on Harry's shirt. "Your parents weren't ghosts, were they?"
"I never saw them in my life." Harry confirmed. "But it's a big forest. Other people may have been buried there."
"I suppose, but wouldn't it be cool if your parents were ghosts?"
Harry gave him a piercing stare. "No."
The relater looked around himself. "I'll owl the rest of the information over tonight. Thank you again and again." And he was gone without another word.
"Alright!" Kat said and gave Jamea a high five.
"Furniture shopping." Jamea said and nodded his head like he was greeting somebody.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
A/N: Sorry this one is so short guys, but I'm on vacation at the moment and this chapter is so:: sticks out tongue:: that I decided to take you out of your misery earlier than usual. Also I'd like to confirm right now that we won't be seeing Lily and James in ghost form unless a buncha buncha bunch (and that's like over ten people) complain about this. You guys want this to be a long series? Well review just a little bit more and raise my self-esteem and maybe- just maybe will this series be at least 10 chapters long, but if not, the next two chapters will be:
Chapter Six: Big Cliff hanger
Chapter Seven: Finale
So the choice is yours. Thanks for reading!
~Tadariada
"Oh God, no!" Harry yelled. "NO!"
Katherine squatted down face in hands, sobbing, "We told him not to leave. It's our fault. All our fault."
Harry forced her up and hugged her, tears mingling.
They sat there for what seemed forever, just rocking back and forth on the lawn as their life burned down in that house.
Wizards began popping up everywhere, putting out the fire. But nothing could put the fire out. It kept raging.
"You should help them put it out, Harry." Katherine whispered hoarsely. Harry nodded and glared at the fire.
*I hope you didn't touch him. * Harry thought, raging. *Leave my house. * And it disappeared.
Katherine hugged him tighter. "I'm sure it'll be okay." Harry said. She shook her head.
"Nothing will ever be okay now." She cried. "Ever."
Hermione and Ron were running towards them.
"You're okay!" Hermione said. "Thank god you're okay! We thought at first- that- well you know."
"Where's Jamea?" Ron wondered suddenly.
Katherine let out a sob and so did Harry.
Hermione swallowed hard and said, "I'm sorry guys." She gave them both tight hugs. "He was a good kid."
Harry and Katherine said nothing just embraced each other again. Ron and Hermione looked sadly at the grief stricken couple. "Why do bad things always happen to them?" Ron fumed. "They've never done anything wrong."
Slowly the wizards and witches left the scene to leave them alone with the memories.
"You should go." Harry told Ron and Hermione when the sun set in a weak voice. "Rachel will wonder where her parents are."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Eventually." Harry said and more tears came. Hermione and Ron gave them hugs again with the promise they'd be back tomorrow.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"We should go in and see what's left." Katherine said.
"Yeah." Harry said. "We can haul out the fireproof trunks."
So they headed into the mostly burned house. Harry banished the fireproof trunks outside, not wanting to have to go into Jamea's room to get his manually. Katherine found quite a few things in the kitchen that were saved and half of their books were still in good condition.
Everything that was saved was out on the lawn. Diplomas from school, wedding license, driving license and birth certificates were all missing from the fire.
Grief seemed beyond tears now. The Muggle police came to investigate, along with some hit wizards and the press showed up. Harry and Katherine refused to speak to them all, wishing it would just end. They all left around midnight. Harry and Katherine sat on the lawn, Katherine sobbing silently on Harry's chest.
"Holy Shit." Said a gruff voice. "What did I miss?"
Katherine looked at Harry. "I think I'm hallucinating."
"Mum? Dad? What happened here? Why is the house all burned and- is that the dark mark? Who died?"
It was Jamea.
Harry stood up and ran to his son with a strangled cry. He hugged him tightly, crying into his skinny shoulder.
"Dad! Geroff me!" Jamea said. "What's wrong with you?"
"We- we thought you died." Harry said.
"I'm not that easy to kill." Jamea said, trying to move Harry off of him (it wasn't working). "You're just lucky that I don't listen to you guys. * Dad*, you're getting my shirt wet."
Katherine joined the hug. "Jamea, don't ever put us through that again!" She kissed his cheeks. "Never again, you hear me?"
"I hear you, mum." Jamea said and grinned. "You guys would have really missed me, huh?"
"Of course we would." Harry said. Jamea's parents refused to let go of him. "Of course we would."
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"House hunting day!" Katherine called a week later. They were staying with Sirius and Remus (they only shared a house, kids, they aren't gay…) and were getting sick of their constant bickering. Harry rested on the fact that they were only putting on a show because they wanted them out of their house. "Lets go Jamea! Hurry it on up! Get dressed!"
Jamea stumbled out of his room pulling on a shirt just as Harry did the same. Katherine laughed and said, "Boys will be…nerds." And walked outside.
"We heard that." Harry said plaintively. "And it hurt."
"Yes." Jamea agreed and patted his heart dramatically. "It hurt right here." Jamea had decided to play it cool for a while. His parents seemed a little freaked out ever since the fire so he was going to be a * good* boy for now at least.
Katherine threw brochures at them. "Find one that you like in each of these. Make sure it isn't TOO pricey."
"Okay." They sat in the sun, flipping through the Muggle Real-estate magazines.
"Why can't we get a house in a Wizarding neighborhood?" Jamea wondered.
"Because they cost more." Katherine said. Harry thought for a moment.
"The insurance gave us a lot of money for this Kat. Much more than we need. We could afford a nice house." Harry said. "Plus we never have used the money from our holiday bonuses."
"Are you sure?" Kat said.
"And we don't have to worry about the Muggles writing up reports on us when you guys blow stuff up." Jamea said. "And you guys do blow things up. I remember when I was seven and-"
"Your father was making toast and the toaster broke and it- a hem- burst into flames?" Katherine finished, looking at Harry, raising an eyebrow. "I remember."
"So do I." Harry said with a nervous chuckle. "Do you have any copies of Wizarding Homes handy Kat?"
"Well I picked up a couple for fun…." Kat said. "They're in the house."
"I'll get them." Jamea said and disappeared into the house. He passed them out when he got back.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"Let's see." Kat said. "This is my favorite. It's in Brittany Knolls. Four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, living room, dining room, recreation room, office, unfinished basement."
"Do we really need all that room for just three people?" Harry wondered.
"Maybe it'll be more than 3 people later on." Kat said and winked
Harry blushed and nodded. "Let's check it out."
When they got there it only took them seconds to get their answer. No. The neighborhood was in a terrible state and the house, while very affordable, was going to cost more than the house itself to re finish it. And there was a ghoul in it too.
"My turn." Harry said. "An apartment. Three bedrooms, three full bathrooms, living room, dining room walk out deck."
"Sounds nice." Kat said. "Lets go."
The apartment WAS very nice, but it was too high up. Katherine was apparently very afraid of heights. She took one look out the window and threw up.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"Okay." Jamea said. "I like this house. Three bedrooms, four bathrooms, dining room, living room, LAUNDRY room, recreation room. Walk out, unfinished basement."
"Where is it?" Harry asked.
"Er." Kat said, looking over her son's shoulder. "Godric's Hollow."
"Oh." Harry's brow furrowed. "Well we can go check it out."
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
They ended up at a ranch style house at the edge of a forest. Harry felt uneasy.
"You know, Jamea, it's kinda funny you would choose this house." Harry said.
"Why's that?" Jamea said. He looked at the house.
"Follow me." Harry said. He walked into the forest. Katherine walked briskly up to him as Jamea bent over to smell the flowers and to look at a squirrel.
"Harry, where are we going?" She asked.
"Oh, you'll see." Harry said and put on a brave little smile. "You'll see."
There was a clearing and Katherine saw what it was. Two gravestones sat peacefully in a patch of sun.
"Those are my parents." Harry said. "That house you chose was built right over the house that I lived in for the first year of my life."
"Creepy." Jamea said. He went over to the graves and looked at them. "Kinda pretty." He remarked and looked at Harry. "If I died in the fire, would I have been buried here too?"
"Yeah, most likely." Kat said. "Harry, you never showed me this before."
"I didn't know you were interested, darling." He said and kissed her brow.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
"We'll take it." Katherine said.
The relater smiled. "It is a good house."
"That it is." Katherine said. "My husband should be back from the bank anytime now so he'll give you the down payment."
The relater nodded. "Thank you for doing business with us."
Harry popped into the house with a satchel of money. "Here you go sir. 450 galleons in down payment."
"Oh thank you!" Relater said. "Really! This house has been on the market for years!"
"Why? It's in perfectly good condition." Harry said.
"Some rumor about ghosts in the woods." The man shrugged. "It's a load of rubbish."
"In the woods?" Jamea said. "Well there are a couple graves out there. But- uh-" He tugged on Harry's shirt. "Your parents weren't ghosts, were they?"
"I never saw them in my life." Harry confirmed. "But it's a big forest. Other people may have been buried there."
"I suppose, but wouldn't it be cool if your parents were ghosts?"
Harry gave him a piercing stare. "No."
The relater looked around himself. "I'll owl the rest of the information over tonight. Thank you again and again." And he was gone without another word.
"Alright!" Kat said and gave Jamea a high five.
"Furniture shopping." Jamea said and nodded his head like he was greeting somebody.
~* ~* ~* ~* ~*
A/N: Sorry this one is so short guys, but I'm on vacation at the moment and this chapter is so:: sticks out tongue:: that I decided to take you out of your misery earlier than usual. Also I'd like to confirm right now that we won't be seeing Lily and James in ghost form unless a buncha buncha bunch (and that's like over ten people) complain about this. You guys want this to be a long series? Well review just a little bit more and raise my self-esteem and maybe- just maybe will this series be at least 10 chapters long, but if not, the next two chapters will be:
Chapter Six: Big Cliff hanger
Chapter Seven: Finale
So the choice is yours. Thanks for reading!
~Tadariada