A/N: thanks for the nice reviews, people!
Nikkianna: yes, actually the Potter kids will meet Davie.
Tessa: when did Neville lose weight? Well, I don't think he was so fat that he couldn't ride a broom, was he? For example in book one and the movie he was riding a broomstick – in a funny way, of course, but he was doing it, all the same! And according to the books Marcus Flint looked like a troll – that means he wasn't too skinny either.
Maddy: sorry, but… you'll cry then :)
Moony Lover: no, there's no spell to give Dannie David's powers.
Pumpkin3223: oh, you mean Vernon calling Milli a little bitch? Well, I thought he had to be very mad at her… anyway, I didn't take it as a flame. I myself have written people reviews telling that they were using too many swear words, but in those stories Harry was swearing all the time, and I think he isn't the type to swear. However, the Dursleys are exactly the type – IMHO :) You mentioned you were reading some new series – what is that? If it's good then I might also read it.
Angel Kisses: is 'Angel Kisses' your author name? I need to know it if I want to read your fic:)
DragonSinger: decilitre (or deciliter): is the tenth of a litre (liter), which is a basic unit for measuring an amount of liquid in the metric system. In Europe people use the metric system, but you must be American, right? You use ounces and pints for measuring liquid, don't you?
Scratches: you'll get lots of Draco later, I promise! (and a bit of him right in this chapter)
veronik: yes, the fic is finished, but I'm still making amendments.
Gwen Fifortry: um, I fear I don't really know Elton John's songs – I know only 'Can you feel the love tonight' and 'Candle in the wind', sorry. Is 'Daniel' also a song of his?
Gryffindor Galloper: little Lily is at Black Manor along with her parents – she was mentioned in about two sentences in chapter one. H and G won't adopt David, neither will Petunia and Vernon adopt Daniel. Everyone sticks to their own kids.
Almah: no, my friend, you weren't the first :)
Hobbit_Feet: Luke Skywalker's son IS A JEDI!!! *fortunately, LOL* Little Ben… so cute :)
LisaQT3: yes, I'm definitely evil, LOL :) No, Dumbledore won't really have an explanation – the explanation will come from someone else – someone you'd never expect :)
PUNKsarcasm: you won't get to see the Dursleys' reaction until chapter 17, sorry :) And no, it's not true that fat people are mean and skinny ones are nice! I know lots of skinny people who are really mean, but my mum, for example is NOT skinny, and she's still wonderful! (she's nice, has a sense of humour and loves Harry! She's my beta-reader, after all :)
Rab: I hope you are feeling better now :)
Mikey: yes, I re-read it and my mum also re-reads it and I correct stuff before I upload.
jennaration: are you from a Spanish-speaking country?
Toby Haine, Rubyjuls1722, Aurumlupi and ILOVELINKINPARK222: sorry, no more Dursleys till chapter 17.
PepsiAngel: what does 'schnazz' mean? I couldn't find it in any dictionary!
X_Tow_Naga: how old is your brother? And how old are you? *just wondering* More of the Dursleys in chap 17 (yeah, I know, that is still quite far away). Why Vernon and Petunia never got used to Milli? Simple: they hate her because she's a witch. Tissues were for Christmas, but I guess one of Harry's socks was for his birthday. Remember, the Dursleys usually forgot about Harry's B-day. Maybe Harry just reminded them of his birthday once and they said: 'oh, is it really your birthday? Okay, take these ugly socks, then!' :)) A third part? Well, maybe :) Sorry, I still don't have a scanner – you seem to be very curious about that pic, LOL ;-)
LupinsLover: nappy, not diaper, I noted that :)
teacherchez: no, I didn't mean to make Dudley a nice person – he just turned out to be one :) Draco saying that Lily would be a squib was just a Malfoy insult. When I wrote about that I wasn't planning on writing a sequel with a squib Potter baby, but when I started to write this fic, I remembered that insult and thought it was an interesting coincidence.
ShortNSweet: third? Maybe. I'll try and read your fic as soon as possible, okay? :)
AlanSmithy: you might be right about Ron, but I thought he had to be very angry with Herm that she didn't even ask for his opinion about going to Russia. About squibs and the parchment book – I think that the parchment book does not register squibs. Rowling said in an interview that it registered MAGIC children, and squibs ARE NOT MAGIC. The Longbottoms maybe didn't know about the book, so it never occurred to them to ask McGonagall whether Neville was in there or not.
And now, on to chapter four, enjoy and review!
Chapter 4
Frozen
4th November
"How long until we get there, Hermione? Er, I mean… Professor Weasley?" Dennis Creevey asked, looking at the snowy landscape beneath their transport.
"Just call me Hermione, Dennis." she smiled. "I'm only three years older than you."
"But you're a professor." the boy reasoned, rubbing his arms.
"Are you cold?" Hermione asked. "I'll tell the driver to turn on the heat. Really, Minerva, where are we now?"
"Somewhere above Byelo-Russia, I guess. It's definitely getting colder by the minute. I don't even want to imagine what temperature will greet us at our destination…"
"Our destination… really, where exactly is it?" asked Graham Pritchard, a burly Slytherin.
"As you all know, Mr. Pritchard, the teachers of Hogwarts and Beauxbatons had to sign a statement of secrecy concerning the location of Durmstrang. Thus we are forbidden to tell anyone about it. Not even you, children."
"But it's in Russia, isn't it?" the Hufflepuff Eleanor Branstone wanted to know.
"Of course it's in Russia." murmured Malcolm Baddock, of Slytherin. "That's why it's so cold. That's why we had to bring such thick fur-coats. Though no one of us has such a cool coat like Mr. Potter's." he smirked at The Boy Who Lived, who didn't hear his remark.
Actually The Boy Who Lived now was The Boy Who Grieved. He did not grieve death or loss – still he felt that a part of him was lost, a part of him had died.
He was standing at the very end of the flying, red, double-decker bus, looking at the plane beneath the Hogwarts transport. (They couldn't use the Hogwarts Express to accomplish a journey from Great-Britain to Russia). He felt his heart was as cold as the snow-covered lands of Byelo-Russia.
The last two months were a pure torment for him – a torment that started on his birthday:
"It means… it means my son is… a squib." he breathed, slowly lifting his gaze to meet that of professor Dumbledore, as if waiting for him to say "no, Harry, I was just kidding."
But the old headmaster only nodded. "Right. He is a squib."
Ginny let out a squeal.
"I'm sorry, Harry." McGonagall put her hand on Harry's shoulder.
"But, but it can't be true!" the young mother yelled hysterically. "You're mistaken! That must be a mistake!"
Minerva shook her head. "I'm truly sorry, Ginny."
"Why?" Harry asked. "And how?"
"I don't know the answer for the why, Harry." Dumbledore replied. "No one knows. How? Well… it just happens… it might happen in any wizarding family. Even in those with the longest line of witches and wizards… just like, um, Mr. Filch…"
"Don't compare my son to that… that…" Ginny burst into tears and buried her face into Harry's shoulder.
"Can anything be done?" Harry asked. "Is there a way to…?" but he already knew the answer. If there was no magic in someone, then he could never become a wizard.
The son of Harry Potter was destined to be a common Muggle.
* * * * *
"You don't mean it!" Ron gaped at his wife. "Daniel? Daniel Potter? A… squib???" he uttered the word "squib" with such disgust that it surprised even himself. "Is it possible that Dumbledore and McGonagall were wrong?"
"No." Hermione shook her head. "McGonagall told me about the Hogwarts parchment book. You know how it functions, don't you?" Ron nodded. "McGonagall checked the book one day after Dannie's birth, and he wasn't in there. There was a note of 20th July with the name of a young witch, then the next note was of 22nd July with the name of two new-born wizards. But Dan was born on the 21st. The magic quill simply skipped 21st July – no magical child in Great Britain was born that day."
"I can't believe it…" Ron scowled. "I mean… Harry is The Boy Who Lived! He defeated You-Know-Who at the age of one. Then he and Ginny defeated You-Know-Who last year again… and for good. Their child cannot be non-magic!"
"Unfortunately he can." Hermione replied. "I'm a Muggle-born witch. He is a wizard-born Muggle. But we'll still love him… won't we, dear?" she shot a demanding glance at Ron.
"'Course we will. He's my nephew, after all…" he sighed. "But it's so terrible… that it had to happen to Harry and Ginny… my best friend and my only sister… having a squib for a child is the greatest shame a wizard could suffer."
* * * * *
"Listen, Gin, it's not the end of the world." Harry took his wife's hand and squeezed it encouragingly. "It's not so terrible being a Muggle…"
"Not in the Muggle world, you mean." she whispered. She didn't even have the strength to speak aloud. Since 31st July – for two weeks – she had been lying in her bed, not eating, not wanting to see anyone. "But in the wizarding world it'll be hell for him, Harry. Seeing all the magic that he can't perform!"
"He could have other talents." her husband said. "Like… for music, or sports… or science…"
"He won't be a Hogwarts student! His sister will go to Hogwarts but he never will! Can you imagine how it'll hurt him?" she was close to crying again.
"No, he won't be a Hogwarts student." he nodded. "But I'm rich… we can afford to… he can study at St. Paul's, Harrow or Winchester… either of the Clarendon Nine… even at Eton. Then he could continue his studies at Oxford or Cambridge and become a barrister, a Queen's Counsel, or… even a Prime Minister!"
"I'd rather see him as Minister for Magic…" she smiled sadly. "You are so sweet, dear, trying to cheer me up, but you cannot."
"Then at least let me talk you into eating something." he suggested. "You have to regain your strength to be able to get up and fulfil your duties as a house-wife and mother."
"…mother…" she sighed. "Mother of a squib."
"Ginny… please, don't start that again."
But Ginny didn't listen to him. Her condition got worse and worse. As summer turned into autumn, she seemed to gain a bit of strength, but only physically. Psychically she was still fragile. More fragile than ever.
The few times she left her room she headed for Lily's room. All her pride and happiness was the little girl – her little witch.
No one could say she was a bad mother, for she loved her daughter above all. Still, everyone could say she was a terrible mother, for she absolutely abandoned her son. As though she didn't have a son at all.
She didn't care to breastfeed him anymore, so her milk ebbed. Molly suggested Harry to bring Daniel to Fleur (who had returned to England with Bill on 1st August). Fleur still had lots of milk for two… and the little boy was left at the Burrow.
Harry visited him every single day but never told Ginny about him, because he knew it would only hurt her and deepen her depression. The psychiatrist at St. Mungo advised Harry and all the Weasleys to avoid mentioning Daniel to his mother for a while. She needed lots of time to come to terms with the situation, and seeing the child every day wouldn't help the process – it would only slow it down.
Harry didn't oppose – he started to live a double life: one at home - the Black Manor, and the other at the Burrow.
He spent every morning with his son and every afternoon with his wife and daughter.
Ginny, by the end of September developed an attitude of excluding reality and had built up imaginary walls around herself – walls to separate her from what was outside. She simply repressed her negative feelings, thus she started to get cheerful again, greeting Harry every day with joyous kisses and playing a lot with Lily. Their marriage returned to the same it had used to be before Daniel's birth, with one exception: they didn't have carnal relations. Ginny seemed to have 'forgotten' that there was something called sex, and Harry didn't press her. He knew she needed time. He was positive, that as time passed, she'd heal psychically as well.
One day they decided to go shopping presents for the 29th wedding anniversary of Arthur and Molly.
They walked from shop to shop at Diagon Alley, trying to find the ideal present for the Weasley couple.
Finally they entered a nice shop called Moebels - Maker of Luxury Furniture since 503 A. D.
"Do you think they'd appreciate new kitchen furniture?" Harry turned to Ginny.
"Well, the old one is quite shabby." she shrugged. "I think they'd definitely like this one." she pointed at a set of pale blue kitchen furniture.
"Now that the Weasleys have become wealthy, they got bored of their crappy old things, right?" they heard a drawling voice coming from behind their backs.
"Malfoy." Harry crossed his arms. "I though you got too poor to be shopping in a luxury shop. Or have you just come in to feast your eyes on things you'll never be able to buy?"
"Ha-ha." Draco sneered. "You aren't even original… copying my style, Potter… anyway, don't ever think that I've become poor. I might have less money than I used to, but there are still some reserves…"
"And maybe you should consider starting to work." Harry added.
"Work??? A Malfoy?" Draco sounded incredulous. "Why aren't you working, Potter? You have so much money that you don't need to?"
"I will start working next summer." Harry replied coolly. "At Puddlemere United."
"Urgh." Draco commented. "I'm a Ballycastle Bats' supporter. Puddlemere sucks."
"Say whatever you want, Malfoy." Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ginny, let's order this kitchen furniture and leave. I've had enough."
"Oh! I haven't even noticed you, Mrs. Potter!" Draco lied. "Is it true that you abandoned your son just because he's a squib?"
Ginny blanched.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Harry clenched his fists.
"Why would I shut up? I want to tell you my opinion!" Draco retorted, turning to Ginny. "I want to tell you that I despise your behaviour! A mother leaving her child!"
"Hah! As you'd have the right to judge anyone's behaviour!" Harry yelled back. "Don't think you're any better!"
"I never said I was!" Malfoy said. "I just wanted to draw you attention to the gossips that you might not know about…"
"What gossips?" Harry demanded.
"Well… people say things… some say your son is dead. Some say you gave him away to a Muggle couple to raise… some say your wife's gone crazy and should be put into the lunatic ward of St. Mungo…"
"She isn't crazy and we didn't give our son away to some Muggles!" Harry shouted.
"But you did give him away to the Weasleys at the Burrow." Draco replied. "You did give him away…"
By that time Ginny was shaking, as white as a sheet. Malfoy's words had brought up memories and feelings she had deliberately suppressed. Emotions that now exploded out of her.
"You bastard!" she cried. "How dare you accuse us of having abandoned our son?" she clutched at Harry's arm, tugging it madly. "Harry, Harry, I want my son back! I want him back! I… I…" her voice faltered and she collapsed into arms.
"You can be very proud of yourself now, Malfoy". Harry growled.
"Proud?" Draco's eyes twinkled with mirth. "You should be proud… of being the father to the next Hogwarts caretaker!" the mirth suddenly disappeared from his face as Harry's right fist met with his left eye.
"You haven't become any better, Malfoy. It was stupid from me to believe you could change to the better. Not even your father's temporary madness managed to teach you a lesson." Harry spat, lifting the unconscious Ginny and leaving the shop without having ordered the present for Molly and Arthur.
* * * * *
After the incident at Moebels' furniture shop everything changed in the Potters' life. Ginny had come back to reality and suddenly got desperate to get her baby back. She didn't seem to care for his being a squib anymore, all that counted was that Dannie was her little son.
Harry couldn't thank God enough for giving him his beloved wife back. They brought their baby back from the Burrow, to Sirius' great happiness (he was not only Harry's godfather but Lily's and Daniel's, too).
The rest of October seemed like a fairy tale: the Potter family was together and the old Black Manor filled with laughter again.
Little Lily had learnt to walk (even wanted to try a broomstick ride but her parents didn't let her), and managed to utter her first word: "Arri!" (No, her first word wasn't 'mum' or 'dad', since she had always heard Sirius address her daddy as 'Harry'. Lily's next word was 'Ini', which stood for 'Ginny'.)
"I can't wait to hear her utter my name, too!" Sirius laughed as the little witch ran up to him. "So, when will you say 'Irius', my dear?" Lily didn't seem to care for her stupid godfather and decided rather to go and have a look at that cute dark-haired thingy that 'Arri' and 'Ini' always referred to as 'Dannie'.
So, peace and harmony returned to Black Manor and lasted for about three weeks. During these weeks Ron and Hermione visited the Potters on weekends.
Harry was glad to see that there was no grudge between his two best friends anymore about Viktor Krum. Ron seemed to have acquiesced in the fact that his wife was leaving soon for Russia, and also seemed confident that no Vicky Krum could make Hermione run away with him as long as she had a Weasley for a husband.
It was agreed that Mrs. Figg would take on Hermione's subject – Arithmancy – for the duration of the Tournament, and Dumbledore would go back teaching Transfiguration as he had done decades earlier.
Harry wasn't sure anymore whether to accept the 'job' of a judge at the Tournament – he felt his family needed him the most at these times. He decided to write a letter to the Russian Ministry of Magic, politely turning down their offer.
* * * * *
"I'm still wondering where exactly this Durmstrang is." Ginny said one night, right after Ron and Hermione had departed.
"Yea, I'm also curious to know." Harry shrugged, pulling on his pyjama shirt. "But as you know, there are very few people who actually know where it is. Well… Hermione, McGonagall, and the driver."
"Driver?" she cast an inquiring look at him while brushing her long, red hair, sitting in front of her vanity table.
"Uh-huh, the driver of the school bus." Harry nodded.
"School bus???" Ginny turned around. "I never knew Hogwarts had a school bus."
"Of course you didn't, since the bus is brand-new." Harry stepped to her, taking her brush and continuing combing her hair. "Hermione told me about it yesterday. The Ministry of Magic gallantly bought a school bus for Hogwarts to have something to fly to Durmstrang with."
"Wow… I thought the Ministry was much meaner… how came they've become this charitable at once?"
"Simple: they want to show off." Harry grinned. "Remember the transports of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang five years ago… our dear Ministry thought Hogwarts needed something fashionable… something absolutely British. So they bought a double-decker London bus and asked your dad to make it fly and invisible for Muggles."
"Dad?" Ginny stood up, her face radiating pure curiosity.
"Exactly. They knew that Arthur was professional at making Muggle transports fly…" he smiled at the memory of his and Ron's adventure with the Ford Anglia in second year.
Ginny giggled. "I hope the bus will last longer than the Ford or the Hogwarts students may find themselves drowned in the La Manche."
"Oh, Ginny…" he cupped her face.
"What?" she looked into his emerald eyes.
"I'm so happy that you are back to normal." he replied, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. "I have my Ginny back." he leaned in to place a small kiss on her lips and she melted into his embrace willingly.
As he started to fumble with undoing the buttons of her night-dress, she suddenly recoiled. "No, Harry!" she pushed his hands away.
"Why not?" he frowned. "I thought we were a normal couple again…"
"We are, but… I need time…"
"More time? We haven't… haven't… since… March!"
"I know!" she turned her back on him, hastily doing up the buttons of her gown.
"Ginny…" he gently placed a hand on her shoulder, only to be shaken off.
"I'm not ready, Harry!" she turned around to face him, her eyes full of tears.
"This is because of Daniel… isn't it?" he asked. "You're afraid."
"I'm NOT afraid!" she yelled at him.
"But you are!" he stepped to her, firmly gripping her arms and holding her in place. "You are afraid of giving birth to another squib! That's why you are turning me down!"
"Yes! YES! I admit it!" she cried. "Now what? Huh? Will you rape me?"
Harry released Ginny's arms as though he'd touched something hot, and stepped back.
"How… how in the world could you think of that?" he croaked. "For heaven's sake… I love you. I love you with all my heart and would never do anything to hurt you. You know it as well as I do… don't you?"
She couldn't stand his gaze, so cast her eyes down, sobbing and quivering. "Forgive me, Harry." she whispered. Harry wanted to walk back to her, to gather her into his arms and comfort her, but she didn't give him a chance to do so. "Forgive me, and go away." Ginny lifted her glance to meet his. "Go away, Harry. Please. Don't bring me into temptation… just go."
He wasn't sure he had heard her well – he was dumbstruck. All he could do was nod and pick up his pillow and blanket.
As Ginny heard the door close behind her back, she flung herself on the bed and just cried and cried.
* * * * *
Harry dropped himself into the armchair before the fireplace in the living room, stuffing the pillow behind his back, tucking himself in with the blanket. He tried to sleep, but couldn't even close his eyes. He gazed into the crackling flames, too tired to think, but too awake to sleep.
Suddenly he heard someone come downstairs. He jumped up, hoping to see an apologising Ginny, but it was only Sirius.
"Ah, hello, Sirius." he said and sat back into the chair, pulling up his legs. "What are you doing here at midnight?"
"I could be asking the same, young man." his godfather took place in the opposite armchair. "Dinky woke me up, nervously squeaking that master Harry and mistress Ginny were yelling at each other and I should come before something terrible happened."
"You shouldn't have bothered coming down. Nothing happened." Harry replied, looking into the flames again.
"And that is what bothers you, isn't it?" Sirius asked.
"What?" Harry blinked.
"That nothing happened." the older man said. "Nothing has happened for months now. Right?"
"I never knew you've been giving this great attention to my sexual life." Harry furrowed his brow. "How did you know…?"
"It was obvious." Sirius shrugged. "It is recommended to avoid sexual activity at least for a month after a child's birth. That month ended on 21st August, but by then you had got to know about Daniel's problem and Ginny wasn't in either the physical or psychical condition to fulfil her duties as a wife. After that incident with Malfoy she began to heal, but… hey, I know what a guy looks like after a satisfying night, and you haven't looked like that for quite a while."
"It seems my life is an open book to you." Harry said, bending his chin on his knees. "You sometimes scare me, Sirius."
"Do I?" Sirius laughed. "Oh, maybe… I remember you falling off your broomstick when seeing me in my dog form…"
"That was six years ago." Harry pointed out. "But sometimes you still scare me. You're starting to be like Dumbledore… wise and everything."
"Don't tell me I'm getting old enough to be wise!" his godfather pretended to be shocked, making Harry's lips tuck into a small smile.
"Don't worry, Sirius… you look good for your age."
"Thanks." his godfather smirked. "And now tell me: what were you two shouting at each other?"
"Not much… I mean… nothing interesting. She told me to go away because I was too much of a temptation to her…" Harry replied bitterly.
"Nah! What are you telling there!? I wish a woman called me 'temptation' at last! But no… I haven't had… oh, forget it."
"Haven't had it for how many years?" Harry looked up.
"You'd only laugh at me." Sirius shook his head.
"I promise I won't."
"For eighteen years… tomorrow will be the eighteenth anniversary."
"Wow… you have a good memory." Harry commented. "Who was the fortunate girl?"
"Girl? Oh, no… it wasn't a girl."
"WHAT?" Harry gasped. "You can't be! Sirius! Tell me you aren't!"
Sirius started to laugh so hard that he almost fell off his chair. "You didn't let me finish the sentence, Harry. I wanted to say that it wasn't a girl… it was a woman. Some years older than me… very pretty…"
Harry let out a relieved sigh. "You really scared me, Sirius. Who was that woman?"
"Well, I just called her Rosie."
"Rosie?"
"You know her as Madam Rosmerta." Sirius grinned.
"What? You shagged the landlady of The Three Broomsticks?" Harry gaped.
"Yeah, she said she liked my broomstick." Sirius winked.
"I see." Harry grinned. "Still… Madame Rosmerta… weird."
"I can imagine that." Sirius nodded. "But now, back to you, young man. So, Ginny said you were a temptation for her… but why is she upset about that? I thought you two had no problems in that area…"
"Of course we didn't… we are quite compatible in that area, and since I spent three months in India…" he suddenly stopped.
"Huh? What about you spending three months there?" Sirius asked with an arrested look.
"Ah, well…" Harry diverted his eyes, "I learnt a bit of Hindi and I accidentally dipped into… ehm… Kama Sutra."
Sirius burst out laughing, seeing his godson's furiously blushing face. "Then you definitely cannot have any problems in that area." he stated.
"No, really not… not that way, that is." Harry sighed. "But in another way, we do. Ginny's scared. Scared to death that she'd conceive again… that she'd conceive another squib."
Sirius shook his head in disbelief. "Haven't you thought of protection?"
"Of course we did… actually we were using the anti-conceptus charm and a certain birth-control potion last year before the wedding… she still got pregnant with Dan. We thought we might have forgotten it once, just for one occasion… I got really curious to know when we had forgotten it, so I cast a memory-sharpening spell on myself…" he looked away from Sirius, into the flames. "There was no occasion when we forgot it. The potion didn't work, neither the anti-conceptus charm. Neither in Lily's, nor Dannie's case. Well, in Lily's case Ginny performed that spell a bit late, that's true... It seems Ginny and I cannot have sex without making a baby. And now she sacked me. Pleaded me: 'Go away, Harry. Please. Just go.' Now be wise and tell me - what should I do, Sirius?"
"Well, go."
"Huh?"
Sirius reached into the pocket of his dressing-gown, pulling out a piece of paper. Harry took it and unfolded it. It was the letter Harry had written weeks earlier to turn down the request of the Russian Ministry of Magic.
"But… I've posted this letter a week ago." he mumbled.
"Um, let's say the letter got… intercepted." Sirius replied.
"What have you done to my Hedwig?" Harry demanded.
"Well…" his godfather avoided his glance, "she actually met a very handsome male owl called Henry and is um… occupied."
"You set my Hedwig up with an unknown owl???" Harry jumped up.
"Hey, hey, sit down and calm down." Sirius chuckled. "Believe me, she really likes Henry…"
"But we don't even know that Henry!" Harry scowled. "What is so funny?"
Sirius was laughing so hard again that his ribs threatened to break. "You know… you know Harry…" he wiped away the tears of laughter, "You totally sounded like a father now! As though Hedwig was your daughter! I don't dare imagine what you'll behave like when Lily will have a boyfriend… maybe you'd better send her into a cloister or something…"
"Ha-ha." Harry crossed his arms. "Really very funny. So tell me: why did you intercept my letter?"
"Because I saw something like this coming and thought you might need a break from home. Have a bit of fun, see the world, forget your problems. They'll wait for you until you come back, or even get solved by then…"
"But it's me who has to solve these problems! It's not right to wait for them to solve themselves! My family needs me!"
"Okay." Sirius heaved a deep sigh. "Let's start this from the beginning. Daniel is only three months old. The only person he needs now is his mother. Lily might be in a problematic age, but it's nothing Ginny, me and the whole Weasley family cannot handle together. And Ginny has just sacked you. Period. Forgot anything?"
"No." Harry replied, looking at the letter in his hand. With a flourish he dropped it into the flames. "Russia, beware, here I come!"
"Hey! Are you all right?" Hermione asked, shaking Harry out of his reveries of the past two months.
"Huh?" he shuddered.
"We're almost there. Time to get your packages."
"Oh. Okay. I'll get them." he walked upstairs, grabbed his crate and walked back downstairs.
"Awww, look at that!" Eleanor Branstone pushed her nose to the window-pane, gazing mesmerised at the sight under the bus.
"Looks cool!" Dennis Creevey added. "Just like the beast's castle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast!"
"Whose what?" Graham Pritchard frowned.
"Never mind. Muggle stuff." Dennis shrugged.
The double-decker descended into the snow-covered valley, where a formidable-looking castle stood, nestled among mountains.
"Welcome to Durmstrang." Harry whispered to himself.