A/n: Wow...It's been a long long time since I've worked on this. Even I had no idea that I had taken so much time off. Well...here's part four. I think that it's a sweet chapter, but then again, I wrote it. You'll jus t have to reveiw and tell me what you think! Sorry about the delay-Kate Marie
Harry Potter and the River of Nirvana
Part Four: The Tale of Lily and James
Dumbledore was true to his word. Dr. Parkmen was only keeping Gretchen for a week. Harry's heart leapt with joy when Dumbledore told him that he was sending Harry by train to retrieve her after breakfast one morning. However, he did have some concerns. "I've never been to Mungo's before," Harry said.
"It's just a small endeavor. You'll take a train leaving from Hogsmede to Diagon Ally. Mr. Lupin, I'm sure you remember him Harry, will be waiting for you at the train. He'll escort you to the hospital. You will then go up to the front desk and tell them that you are there to pick up Gretchen Locus and hand them a note from me. They'll release her to you. Mr. Lupin will then accompany you to the train and then back to Hogwarts. It's about time he showed up for a visit, don't you agree?"
"Umm…sure," Harry said. Dumbledore handed him a small, white envelope.
"Don't lose this," he warned. Harry nodded. He had no intention of losing anything. "A carriage will be here to pick you up in an hour. I suggest you get your winter cloak from your trunk and tell your friends where you're going."
Harry left the next empty Great Hall and headed up to the Gryffindor Common room. Ron and Hermione were there already, sitting as far away from each other as humanly possible. "Hey Harry," Ron said as he walked it. Hermione made a small face and turned away as Harry walked over to his friend. Harry nearly rolled his eyes. This was getting rather ridicules. They were competing over who said hello to him first.
"Hey Ron." Harry sat down next to the redhead. "I'm not going to classes today."
"What?"
"They're releasing Gretchen from Mungo's today. Dumbledore's letting me take the train to Diagon Ally to get her and escort her back to the school."
"Really? Thank God. Not that I want you to spent time away from your beloved girlfriend, Harry, but this situation with Hermione is rather awkward. If Gretchen's here then she can spent time with Hermione while we do boy stuff."
Harry nodded. "I never thought of it that way."
"I have no choice but to think of it that way," Ron muttered. He quickly changed the subject. "Harry, isn't it kind of dangerous for you to leave Hogwarts-alone- at a time like this? With Voldemort looking for you and everything?"
"It'll be okay," Harry assured him. "I'll never really be alone. A carriage is taking me to the train. Then, when I get to Diagon Ally, Professor Lupin is going to meet me at the train station. He's going to come back to visit us at school."
Ron nodded. Harry went upstairs to her his cloak. He felt a little guilty for not telling Hermione what was going on, but shrugged it off. He had a time limit. And, of course, his trunk was in a state of disorder. It took almost fifteen minutes to find his cloak, leaving just enough time for him to dash his way though Hogwarts, barely getting to the carriage on time.
The ride to Diagon Ally was quiet and relatively uneventful. The carriage driver seemed rather nervous. "You're…You're…"
"Harry Potter," Harry dully replied.
"It's an honor to meet you!"
"You, too. Err…can we go now?"
"Of, course! Of, course!" After that the ride was silent. The driver, Martin Miggins, asked for one photograph at the end of the ride, to which Harry reluctantly agreed to. After one quick snap Harry was off to the train. He sat in a seat by himself, wishing he that the forethought to bring a book with him. The ride was rather boring.
There was, however, one full proof from of entertainment for Harry: Thinking about Gretchen. He had had no contact with her since she had left. He missed her.
"Harry!" Lupin greeted as Harry stepped off the train. "It's good to see you!"
"Lupin!" They exchanged a quick embrace. "How have you been?"
"Oh, all right I suppose. Things are no different then they were before Hogwarts. People…you know how people are Harry."
"Yes. Of course." Harry understood what the older man meant. Lupin was having trouble keeping his new job(s), which was relatively understandable. He was a werewolf. Most people were deadly afraid of him and his kind. There was little he could do to make them understand that, aside from one night every month, Lupin was just as normal as everybody else.
They walked to Mungo's from the train station, reminiscing on the days when Lupin taught at Hogwarts. It was nice speaking to Lupin again. He was lucky to know someone who had such a connection to his past. He was lucky to know a friend of his father, just as he was lucky to know Sirius, his own godfather. He really was very lucky, at least for a day.
They walked into Mungo's. Harry walked nervously to the front desk. "I'm here to pick up Gretchen Locus," He sputtered nervously as he handed Dumbledore's letter to the witch at the front desk. She skimmed it briefly.
"Chet! Chet!" she called. A boy who was a little older then Harry came to the desk. He had raggy-looking brown hair that nearly covered his in the from, but was completely shaved in the back, aside from a long rattail that went down his entire back. "Chet, please escort this young man to Gretchen Locus's room. He's here to take her back to school.
"All right, then," he said with an unfamiliar accent. He's from Australia, Harry realized. "Okay, mate, please follow me." Harry obeyed and followed Chet to a fireplace in the center of the room. "You first," he said. "Just step on in. I'll make sure that you get the right place." Harry stepped in. He had never liked travel by fireplace. Don't we need floo powder? He wondered. Chet pushed him into the fire before he had a chance to voice his concerns. Immediately he went flying.
Harry zipped upward at an incredibly fast speed. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see what was happening. Finally he handed with a plop into someone else's fireplace. "Harry?" Harry stepped out of the fireplace and saw a wide-eyed Gretchen staring at him.
"Yes?" he answered, not sure of what to say. Gretchen's arms flew around him.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so glad to see! I've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you, too!"
"Oh," said Chet in the back round. "So, that's Harry." The two broke from their embrace.
"Harry, this is my friend Chet Parkman. Chet, this is my boyfriend Harry Potter." Chet nodded.
"We met downstairs." He turned his attention away from Harry. "Well. Love, those brutes downstairs are letten' ya' go today. You take care, all right?"
"Oh course Chet." Gretchen grabbed a suitcase in one hand and Harry's hand with the other. "Good bye." With that she stepped into the fire. She and Harry were thrust back to the main floor.
"Love?" Harry asked as soon as they were both back on their feet.
"Don't worry about it," Gretchen said. "Chet calls anything that has have-a-breast love." Harry nodded. It was true. Gretchen, being a girl, did have breast. They weren't big breasts or anything. There were a bit small, actually, just like Gretchen had once been.
It was strange everyone was so tall now. Ron, who had always been tall, was now past six feet. Harry, who had once been a short a boy as you could find, had reached five foot nine, a height that surprised him more then anyone. Hermione, who he thought would be forever equal in height with him, was shorter. She was five foot six. Gretchen, the forever-short Gretchen, was still the shortest of them all. Luckily, she had finally broken the five-foot barrier. She was five foot four.
Harry and Gretchen walked over to Lupin. Harry introduced his two friends. "You're Winetta's daughter," Lupin stated blankly after meeting her.
"Yes, I am," replied Gretchen. Lupin smiled.
"She really was a charming girl. Smart and spontaneous, and rather carefree she was. We were all fond of her, especially Sirius. Come to think of it had Sirius not been especially fond of her, I doubt you'd be around Harry."
"What?" Harry asked.
"Well," Lupin began as then walked out of Mungo's. "Out of all of us boys," he said referring to himself, Sirius, Peter, and James, Harry's father, "Sirius was the only one who ever went girl crazy. And Winetta was the only one of her friends who ever went boy crazy. She and Sirius inevitably hooked up. She insisted that all of Sirius's friends, who would be me, James and Peter, and all of her friends, sneak out of bed at midnight and have ice cream in the kitchen. I don't know how she thought of that, but anyway it was at that little social gathering that James first met Winetta's closest friend: Lily Alcott."
"Really?" Harry questioned. "But wouldn't they have known each other already? They were both in the Gryffindor house."
"Well, yes, technically they did know each other. They knew who the other one was. Kind of like the way you know someone like Colin Creevy. You know who he is, and you know some of his basic personality traits, but you don't really know him. Not personally, anyway."
"Oh." Harry thought of another question. "When did they start going out?"
"At the end of our sixth year. You see, after a while James developed quiet a crush on Lily. He'd go on and on about it. They were partners for some sort of potions project the beginning of that year. James had it bad. And I suspect that Lily liked him as well, but she was a shy girl. She didn't date much. Not seriously, anyway. And James, well, he wasn't interested in seeing her two or three times and then calling it quits. He really, genuinely, adored her, even then. Lily was just scared. So, it took a while. But, as you can see, for James it was worth the wait."
"When did they get married?"
"They were pretty young," Sirius answered. "I think that they were…let me think…nineteen, twenty. It was about two years after we left Hogwarts. Had everything been in James's hands they would have been married the second they got out of Hogwarts's doors. But Lily was more of traditionalist. And, as I told you earlier, she was quite shy, or maybe nervous is a better word, about that sort of thing. And, back then she was very idealistic. She was convinced that if she had just a little more time to work things out that she could get Petunia to come to her wedding."
"My mom actually liked Aunt Petunia?" Harry said in disbelief.
"Lily liked everyone, except for Voldemort and Lucius, maybe. She was a very kind and charming woman. She believed in trust and second chances and hope for a better tomorrow at a time when there was little hope or cheer. And she believed in family. She believed that a family, no matter how it is made, should love each other. Her parents, may they rest in peace, had recently passed away. James had passed away a long time ago. He told her again and again that there was no use waiting. Petunia was too narrow-minded. However, Lily believed in the general goodness of people. She thought that eventually Petunia would see how unimportant her witchery was to their sisterhood. But, Petunia never did change her mind about Lily. Eventually Lily just gave up. After a few months of planning, because Lily wanted a good and proper wedding, they were married."
"Wow," Harry said. He started to hate his aunt more then ever. It was just so cold hearted, so cruel, so…so spirit crushing thing that she had done to his mother. Lily Potter sounded so wonderful. Harry wished that just more a moment he could see for himself if all this were true. "So, what did they do after that?"
"Well, Lily went to work on her novel…"
"Novel?"
"Yes Harry, Novel. She was hoping to write a book that would serve as somewhat of a guide to muggle-born children who are entering the wizarding world for the first time. She wanted to make the transition easier for them. It was a very noble idea, but extremely complex. I'm afraid she never finished it."
"Oh. What about my dad?"
"Your dad? Well, James never did make much money. He inherited all her needed when his parents passed away when he was fourteen. His grandfather owned and operated a small sweet shop in Diagon Ally for a long time. It was quite popular. I remember going there once when I was about eleven. Your great-grandfather was quite a charming old man. He loved kids. That's probably why he opened the shop. And he was a simple man, never spent much money. When he died all the money his shop had made was given to his son. Harry, the man was rich."
"Who rich?"
"Just plain rich. James's father put most of it in Grimgots, saving it for a rainy day. Well the he and his wife died and James got everything."
"So my father was rich?"
"Well, yes. You've seen for yourself what he had. You've been down to the vault. Of course, he spent lots of it when he was married. With Lily working at home and him not having the best paying job for a long time…"
"What did he do?" Harry asked impatiently.
"Well, for the first few years after Hogwarts he traveled around Europe and worked odd jobs for a while. Then, after a two-year stay in the forests of Romania he came back to Hogwarts to teach the Care of Magical Creatures class."
Harry blinked. "My dad," he gasped, "was a professor?"
"Yes, very good professor too. You see, working at Hogwarts, he once told me, suited him very well. He had a free home, plenty of interesting people to meet, and a place near books were Lily could do research for the novel she was writing. And James did love animal. Next to Quiddich it was his biggest ambition."
Harry pondered that for a moment, then asked, "If he deeply loved Quiddich then why didn't he become a Quiddich player?"
"Well, you see, he was going to be a Quiddich player. He had drawn a contract with Britain that he planed to sign after graduation. However, on the last game of the season, right after he had caught the snitch and won the game for Gryffindor, a buldger flew smack dab into the middle of his hand. I swear if it had been going any faster it would have gone straight though. And it was his good hand, his broom hand. Madam Pomfrey did the best she could with it, but the hand was never the same. James could still fly well, well enough to be a very strong player for Britain, but he wasn't satisfied with the way he played anymore. That's why he decided to wonder around the first few years after Hogwarts after his seventh year. He wanted to find his nitch."
"So, was he still teaching when he died?"
"No. His last year teaching was the term right before your birth. Your parents were just turning twenty-nine. Lily was quite pregnant and with all the terror of Voldemort James decided it would be best if he left Hogwarts for a while. Lily agreed. Everyone knew that James was a powerful wizard, and she feared that someone would come after him and finish him off before he had a chance to see his son. They left in the summer, telling only Dumbledore, Sirius, Wormtail, and I where they went. It wasn't long after that that you were born. They moved into my apartment for a while and stayed there for a few months before moving in with Stella Rosenwinkle. Oh Harry, how they loved you. I couldn't even begin to describe it. If James and Lily had each other and you they had everything. They loved you so much." Lupin dried his eyes with a handkerchief.
"Then, a few weeks later, they rented a small apartment in Hogsmede, which they kept until everyone felt that it was just too risky to stay there any longer. Then they moved to Godric's Hallow and…" Lupin sighed. "And the rest is history."
Harry felt Gretchen's hand on his shoulder. Strange. He had come here with no thoughts other then thoughts of her. Now all he could think about were two young lovers named Lily and James Potter. Even stranger. Gretchen didn't appear to mind one bit.
"Come on," she said. "We have to make the train. I have absolutely no intention of being away from my bed in Hogwarts for another night." Harry nodded. He followed her silently to the train.
He had never known so much about his parents before. This was somehow…frightening. He had always loved them. Even before he could remember them, even before he knew their names he loved them, for, on some basic level, he knew they loved them. Yet, for his entire life, his parents had been, in a way, phantoms. They weren't really complete people; they were just the idea…the idea of love. Now they were complete people. The picture he had somehow placed in his mind of them was shattered and was no replace. Oh, the replacement. It was so much more beautiful.
Harry Potter loved his parents.
And that hurt.
And then he was on the train with Gretchen and Lupin. Lupin had put Gretchen's suitcase and his small brief case up in the overhead compartments. Shortly after he fell asleep. Harry lie in Gretchen's arms for the majority of the ride. She was stroking his hair. "They were good people, Harry," she whispered. "You should be proud of them."
"I am," Harry responded. He was quite for a long time. "It's just wrong Gretchen. They were such good people, and they loved me, and they were just taken away. It's wrong."
"I know," Gretchen rushed. "There's no way to make it right Harry, do you understand that? There is no way to avenge them, no way to make the situation better. The only thing left to do is to prevent it from ever happening again. You understand, right? You can't make it better Harry."
"I hate it," Harry cried. Gretchen ran her fingers through her hair.
"Harry, I've had lots of time to think in the past week. There are lots of conclusions I've made. Harry, it is my belief that the day will soon come when we, you, us, everyone, will have to face that which we have failed to defeat, Voldemort, his death eaters. The battle is inevitable, Harry. It's only matter of time. And when you're forced to fight, or when I'm forced to fight, when everyone is forced to fight, but especially you, Harry, I don't want you to be fighting out of anger or hatred of vengeance. It doesn't work like that. You won't win. You need to be fighting out of love. And so that's why I need you to understand that you can't make this situation better. There is no way to make your parents alive again. If you somehow end up believing that you can make them better by honoring them though Voldemort's death they we may all be doomed."
Harry considered her words. "But don't I have the right to kill the man who killed my parents? Can't the world at least grant me that?"
"No, it can't," Gretchen, stated flatly. "It never gave us permission to kill each other for such stupid reasons. As cold as my words will sound, I must say them. Trying to kill Voldemort because he killed your parents is selfish and greedy. You can't do that Harry. You need to understand what's really important. Again, my words will sound cold, but they must be said. The important thing right now is not your parents and how they died young. The important thing is winning and making sure that no other boy's parents die young. We must fight out of love"
"Isn't fighting out of love an oxymoron?" Harry asked.
"Not always," Gretchen responded.
"Then how do I fight out of love?" Gretchen took a deep breath.
"It's hard to explain. You just…you just love something. Today. Tomorrow. Love it enough to keep it alive. Then you'll be all right."
"And what do you love?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"I love lots of things, Harry Potter," she answered. "But most importantly, I love you."
A speechless Harry was held firmly in Gretchen's arms. It felt like she had just given him something, something he wasn't sure he could carry, something he wasn't sure he could live without, like apiece of her soul. So, this was what it was liked to be loved. Was she even asking for love in return? Was she asking for anything?
"I think I..." Harry began to whisper. Then the train stopped and everyone was thrown from their seats.
~~~
A Public Service Announcement: Review! End of Public Service announcement.
Harry Potter and the River of Nirvana
Part Four: The Tale of Lily and James
Dumbledore was true to his word. Dr. Parkmen was only keeping Gretchen for a week. Harry's heart leapt with joy when Dumbledore told him that he was sending Harry by train to retrieve her after breakfast one morning. However, he did have some concerns. "I've never been to Mungo's before," Harry said.
"It's just a small endeavor. You'll take a train leaving from Hogsmede to Diagon Ally. Mr. Lupin, I'm sure you remember him Harry, will be waiting for you at the train. He'll escort you to the hospital. You will then go up to the front desk and tell them that you are there to pick up Gretchen Locus and hand them a note from me. They'll release her to you. Mr. Lupin will then accompany you to the train and then back to Hogwarts. It's about time he showed up for a visit, don't you agree?"
"Umm…sure," Harry said. Dumbledore handed him a small, white envelope.
"Don't lose this," he warned. Harry nodded. He had no intention of losing anything. "A carriage will be here to pick you up in an hour. I suggest you get your winter cloak from your trunk and tell your friends where you're going."
Harry left the next empty Great Hall and headed up to the Gryffindor Common room. Ron and Hermione were there already, sitting as far away from each other as humanly possible. "Hey Harry," Ron said as he walked it. Hermione made a small face and turned away as Harry walked over to his friend. Harry nearly rolled his eyes. This was getting rather ridicules. They were competing over who said hello to him first.
"Hey Ron." Harry sat down next to the redhead. "I'm not going to classes today."
"What?"
"They're releasing Gretchen from Mungo's today. Dumbledore's letting me take the train to Diagon Ally to get her and escort her back to the school."
"Really? Thank God. Not that I want you to spent time away from your beloved girlfriend, Harry, but this situation with Hermione is rather awkward. If Gretchen's here then she can spent time with Hermione while we do boy stuff."
Harry nodded. "I never thought of it that way."
"I have no choice but to think of it that way," Ron muttered. He quickly changed the subject. "Harry, isn't it kind of dangerous for you to leave Hogwarts-alone- at a time like this? With Voldemort looking for you and everything?"
"It'll be okay," Harry assured him. "I'll never really be alone. A carriage is taking me to the train. Then, when I get to Diagon Ally, Professor Lupin is going to meet me at the train station. He's going to come back to visit us at school."
Ron nodded. Harry went upstairs to her his cloak. He felt a little guilty for not telling Hermione what was going on, but shrugged it off. He had a time limit. And, of course, his trunk was in a state of disorder. It took almost fifteen minutes to find his cloak, leaving just enough time for him to dash his way though Hogwarts, barely getting to the carriage on time.
The ride to Diagon Ally was quiet and relatively uneventful. The carriage driver seemed rather nervous. "You're…You're…"
"Harry Potter," Harry dully replied.
"It's an honor to meet you!"
"You, too. Err…can we go now?"
"Of, course! Of, course!" After that the ride was silent. The driver, Martin Miggins, asked for one photograph at the end of the ride, to which Harry reluctantly agreed to. After one quick snap Harry was off to the train. He sat in a seat by himself, wishing he that the forethought to bring a book with him. The ride was rather boring.
There was, however, one full proof from of entertainment for Harry: Thinking about Gretchen. He had had no contact with her since she had left. He missed her.
"Harry!" Lupin greeted as Harry stepped off the train. "It's good to see you!"
"Lupin!" They exchanged a quick embrace. "How have you been?"
"Oh, all right I suppose. Things are no different then they were before Hogwarts. People…you know how people are Harry."
"Yes. Of course." Harry understood what the older man meant. Lupin was having trouble keeping his new job(s), which was relatively understandable. He was a werewolf. Most people were deadly afraid of him and his kind. There was little he could do to make them understand that, aside from one night every month, Lupin was just as normal as everybody else.
They walked to Mungo's from the train station, reminiscing on the days when Lupin taught at Hogwarts. It was nice speaking to Lupin again. He was lucky to know someone who had such a connection to his past. He was lucky to know a friend of his father, just as he was lucky to know Sirius, his own godfather. He really was very lucky, at least for a day.
They walked into Mungo's. Harry walked nervously to the front desk. "I'm here to pick up Gretchen Locus," He sputtered nervously as he handed Dumbledore's letter to the witch at the front desk. She skimmed it briefly.
"Chet! Chet!" she called. A boy who was a little older then Harry came to the desk. He had raggy-looking brown hair that nearly covered his in the from, but was completely shaved in the back, aside from a long rattail that went down his entire back. "Chet, please escort this young man to Gretchen Locus's room. He's here to take her back to school.
"All right, then," he said with an unfamiliar accent. He's from Australia, Harry realized. "Okay, mate, please follow me." Harry obeyed and followed Chet to a fireplace in the center of the room. "You first," he said. "Just step on in. I'll make sure that you get the right place." Harry stepped in. He had never liked travel by fireplace. Don't we need floo powder? He wondered. Chet pushed him into the fire before he had a chance to voice his concerns. Immediately he went flying.
Harry zipped upward at an incredibly fast speed. He closed his eyes. He didn't want to see what was happening. Finally he handed with a plop into someone else's fireplace. "Harry?" Harry stepped out of the fireplace and saw a wide-eyed Gretchen staring at him.
"Yes?" he answered, not sure of what to say. Gretchen's arms flew around him.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so glad to see! I've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you, too!"
"Oh," said Chet in the back round. "So, that's Harry." The two broke from their embrace.
"Harry, this is my friend Chet Parkman. Chet, this is my boyfriend Harry Potter." Chet nodded.
"We met downstairs." He turned his attention away from Harry. "Well. Love, those brutes downstairs are letten' ya' go today. You take care, all right?"
"Oh course Chet." Gretchen grabbed a suitcase in one hand and Harry's hand with the other. "Good bye." With that she stepped into the fire. She and Harry were thrust back to the main floor.
"Love?" Harry asked as soon as they were both back on their feet.
"Don't worry about it," Gretchen said. "Chet calls anything that has have-a-breast love." Harry nodded. It was true. Gretchen, being a girl, did have breast. They weren't big breasts or anything. There were a bit small, actually, just like Gretchen had once been.
It was strange everyone was so tall now. Ron, who had always been tall, was now past six feet. Harry, who had once been a short a boy as you could find, had reached five foot nine, a height that surprised him more then anyone. Hermione, who he thought would be forever equal in height with him, was shorter. She was five foot six. Gretchen, the forever-short Gretchen, was still the shortest of them all. Luckily, she had finally broken the five-foot barrier. She was five foot four.
Harry and Gretchen walked over to Lupin. Harry introduced his two friends. "You're Winetta's daughter," Lupin stated blankly after meeting her.
"Yes, I am," replied Gretchen. Lupin smiled.
"She really was a charming girl. Smart and spontaneous, and rather carefree she was. We were all fond of her, especially Sirius. Come to think of it had Sirius not been especially fond of her, I doubt you'd be around Harry."
"What?" Harry asked.
"Well," Lupin began as then walked out of Mungo's. "Out of all of us boys," he said referring to himself, Sirius, Peter, and James, Harry's father, "Sirius was the only one who ever went girl crazy. And Winetta was the only one of her friends who ever went boy crazy. She and Sirius inevitably hooked up. She insisted that all of Sirius's friends, who would be me, James and Peter, and all of her friends, sneak out of bed at midnight and have ice cream in the kitchen. I don't know how she thought of that, but anyway it was at that little social gathering that James first met Winetta's closest friend: Lily Alcott."
"Really?" Harry questioned. "But wouldn't they have known each other already? They were both in the Gryffindor house."
"Well, yes, technically they did know each other. They knew who the other one was. Kind of like the way you know someone like Colin Creevy. You know who he is, and you know some of his basic personality traits, but you don't really know him. Not personally, anyway."
"Oh." Harry thought of another question. "When did they start going out?"
"At the end of our sixth year. You see, after a while James developed quiet a crush on Lily. He'd go on and on about it. They were partners for some sort of potions project the beginning of that year. James had it bad. And I suspect that Lily liked him as well, but she was a shy girl. She didn't date much. Not seriously, anyway. And James, well, he wasn't interested in seeing her two or three times and then calling it quits. He really, genuinely, adored her, even then. Lily was just scared. So, it took a while. But, as you can see, for James it was worth the wait."
"When did they get married?"
"They were pretty young," Sirius answered. "I think that they were…let me think…nineteen, twenty. It was about two years after we left Hogwarts. Had everything been in James's hands they would have been married the second they got out of Hogwarts's doors. But Lily was more of traditionalist. And, as I told you earlier, she was quite shy, or maybe nervous is a better word, about that sort of thing. And, back then she was very idealistic. She was convinced that if she had just a little more time to work things out that she could get Petunia to come to her wedding."
"My mom actually liked Aunt Petunia?" Harry said in disbelief.
"Lily liked everyone, except for Voldemort and Lucius, maybe. She was a very kind and charming woman. She believed in trust and second chances and hope for a better tomorrow at a time when there was little hope or cheer. And she believed in family. She believed that a family, no matter how it is made, should love each other. Her parents, may they rest in peace, had recently passed away. James had passed away a long time ago. He told her again and again that there was no use waiting. Petunia was too narrow-minded. However, Lily believed in the general goodness of people. She thought that eventually Petunia would see how unimportant her witchery was to their sisterhood. But, Petunia never did change her mind about Lily. Eventually Lily just gave up. After a few months of planning, because Lily wanted a good and proper wedding, they were married."
"Wow," Harry said. He started to hate his aunt more then ever. It was just so cold hearted, so cruel, so…so spirit crushing thing that she had done to his mother. Lily Potter sounded so wonderful. Harry wished that just more a moment he could see for himself if all this were true. "So, what did they do after that?"
"Well, Lily went to work on her novel…"
"Novel?"
"Yes Harry, Novel. She was hoping to write a book that would serve as somewhat of a guide to muggle-born children who are entering the wizarding world for the first time. She wanted to make the transition easier for them. It was a very noble idea, but extremely complex. I'm afraid she never finished it."
"Oh. What about my dad?"
"Your dad? Well, James never did make much money. He inherited all her needed when his parents passed away when he was fourteen. His grandfather owned and operated a small sweet shop in Diagon Ally for a long time. It was quite popular. I remember going there once when I was about eleven. Your great-grandfather was quite a charming old man. He loved kids. That's probably why he opened the shop. And he was a simple man, never spent much money. When he died all the money his shop had made was given to his son. Harry, the man was rich."
"Who rich?"
"Just plain rich. James's father put most of it in Grimgots, saving it for a rainy day. Well the he and his wife died and James got everything."
"So my father was rich?"
"Well, yes. You've seen for yourself what he had. You've been down to the vault. Of course, he spent lots of it when he was married. With Lily working at home and him not having the best paying job for a long time…"
"What did he do?" Harry asked impatiently.
"Well, for the first few years after Hogwarts he traveled around Europe and worked odd jobs for a while. Then, after a two-year stay in the forests of Romania he came back to Hogwarts to teach the Care of Magical Creatures class."
Harry blinked. "My dad," he gasped, "was a professor?"
"Yes, very good professor too. You see, working at Hogwarts, he once told me, suited him very well. He had a free home, plenty of interesting people to meet, and a place near books were Lily could do research for the novel she was writing. And James did love animal. Next to Quiddich it was his biggest ambition."
Harry pondered that for a moment, then asked, "If he deeply loved Quiddich then why didn't he become a Quiddich player?"
"Well, you see, he was going to be a Quiddich player. He had drawn a contract with Britain that he planed to sign after graduation. However, on the last game of the season, right after he had caught the snitch and won the game for Gryffindor, a buldger flew smack dab into the middle of his hand. I swear if it had been going any faster it would have gone straight though. And it was his good hand, his broom hand. Madam Pomfrey did the best she could with it, but the hand was never the same. James could still fly well, well enough to be a very strong player for Britain, but he wasn't satisfied with the way he played anymore. That's why he decided to wonder around the first few years after Hogwarts after his seventh year. He wanted to find his nitch."
"So, was he still teaching when he died?"
"No. His last year teaching was the term right before your birth. Your parents were just turning twenty-nine. Lily was quite pregnant and with all the terror of Voldemort James decided it would be best if he left Hogwarts for a while. Lily agreed. Everyone knew that James was a powerful wizard, and she feared that someone would come after him and finish him off before he had a chance to see his son. They left in the summer, telling only Dumbledore, Sirius, Wormtail, and I where they went. It wasn't long after that that you were born. They moved into my apartment for a while and stayed there for a few months before moving in with Stella Rosenwinkle. Oh Harry, how they loved you. I couldn't even begin to describe it. If James and Lily had each other and you they had everything. They loved you so much." Lupin dried his eyes with a handkerchief.
"Then, a few weeks later, they rented a small apartment in Hogsmede, which they kept until everyone felt that it was just too risky to stay there any longer. Then they moved to Godric's Hallow and…" Lupin sighed. "And the rest is history."
Harry felt Gretchen's hand on his shoulder. Strange. He had come here with no thoughts other then thoughts of her. Now all he could think about were two young lovers named Lily and James Potter. Even stranger. Gretchen didn't appear to mind one bit.
"Come on," she said. "We have to make the train. I have absolutely no intention of being away from my bed in Hogwarts for another night." Harry nodded. He followed her silently to the train.
He had never known so much about his parents before. This was somehow…frightening. He had always loved them. Even before he could remember them, even before he knew their names he loved them, for, on some basic level, he knew they loved them. Yet, for his entire life, his parents had been, in a way, phantoms. They weren't really complete people; they were just the idea…the idea of love. Now they were complete people. The picture he had somehow placed in his mind of them was shattered and was no replace. Oh, the replacement. It was so much more beautiful.
Harry Potter loved his parents.
And that hurt.
And then he was on the train with Gretchen and Lupin. Lupin had put Gretchen's suitcase and his small brief case up in the overhead compartments. Shortly after he fell asleep. Harry lie in Gretchen's arms for the majority of the ride. She was stroking his hair. "They were good people, Harry," she whispered. "You should be proud of them."
"I am," Harry responded. He was quite for a long time. "It's just wrong Gretchen. They were such good people, and they loved me, and they were just taken away. It's wrong."
"I know," Gretchen rushed. "There's no way to make it right Harry, do you understand that? There is no way to avenge them, no way to make the situation better. The only thing left to do is to prevent it from ever happening again. You understand, right? You can't make it better Harry."
"I hate it," Harry cried. Gretchen ran her fingers through her hair.
"Harry, I've had lots of time to think in the past week. There are lots of conclusions I've made. Harry, it is my belief that the day will soon come when we, you, us, everyone, will have to face that which we have failed to defeat, Voldemort, his death eaters. The battle is inevitable, Harry. It's only matter of time. And when you're forced to fight, or when I'm forced to fight, when everyone is forced to fight, but especially you, Harry, I don't want you to be fighting out of anger or hatred of vengeance. It doesn't work like that. You won't win. You need to be fighting out of love. And so that's why I need you to understand that you can't make this situation better. There is no way to make your parents alive again. If you somehow end up believing that you can make them better by honoring them though Voldemort's death they we may all be doomed."
Harry considered her words. "But don't I have the right to kill the man who killed my parents? Can't the world at least grant me that?"
"No, it can't," Gretchen, stated flatly. "It never gave us permission to kill each other for such stupid reasons. As cold as my words will sound, I must say them. Trying to kill Voldemort because he killed your parents is selfish and greedy. You can't do that Harry. You need to understand what's really important. Again, my words will sound cold, but they must be said. The important thing right now is not your parents and how they died young. The important thing is winning and making sure that no other boy's parents die young. We must fight out of love"
"Isn't fighting out of love an oxymoron?" Harry asked.
"Not always," Gretchen responded.
"Then how do I fight out of love?" Gretchen took a deep breath.
"It's hard to explain. You just…you just love something. Today. Tomorrow. Love it enough to keep it alive. Then you'll be all right."
"And what do you love?" Harry asked sarcastically.
"I love lots of things, Harry Potter," she answered. "But most importantly, I love you."
A speechless Harry was held firmly in Gretchen's arms. It felt like she had just given him something, something he wasn't sure he could carry, something he wasn't sure he could live without, like apiece of her soul. So, this was what it was liked to be loved. Was she even asking for love in return? Was she asking for anything?
"I think I..." Harry began to whisper. Then the train stopped and everyone was thrown from their seats.
~~~
A Public Service Announcement: Review! End of Public Service announcement.