Disclaimer: All people and places belong to J. K. Rowling. Man, I'm getting sick of typing that.

Life Had Just Begun

By Terra

Chapter Twenty-five: Ol' Blue Eyes

February was the early part of the window for Harry to show signs. We waited patiently for the son of Head Boy and Girl to wow us all. February came and went. Harry still did not hum and nothing un-Muggle-like happened. The books assured us six months was a prodigy age. Unless Harry was going to be the next Merlin, six months was a long shot. But doesn't every parent want to raise the next Merlin? Especially if those parents were two of the brightest Hogwarts ever had? I couldn't help but feel a little let down by Harry's lack of talent.

Still, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom were nearing their first years. Ron, like his older brothers, had shown signs promptly at seven months, not one day off. "You could plan a party around it," Arthur boasted. On October 1st of the previous year, Ron had stunned the Ministry by Apparating on to Arthur's desk. Molly had come to deliver a package Arthur had forgotten and Ron apparently decided to take a short cut to arrive ahead of his mother. Molly's only warning was the burst of magical energy before Ron Disapparated from his carriage to his father's desk. The distance was only several metres but unexpected. Neville, on the other hand, had still not shown signs. Even as I write this, he still hasn't shown any. He hummed like motorbike but had failed to perform. The Longbottoms were, understandably, concerned. "The energy's there," Olivia lamented to Lily once during a visit, "but Neville's just not using it. The experts say it's a 'lack of interest'. Neville just doesn't want to. So, they told me to make life harder for him."

"Did you?" Lily inquired.

"Of course! I put everything out of his reach, I use my magic even when it's rather inconvenient, we even try to scare Neville out of his wits every other day. But does Neville use magic? Nope. I put something out of his reach, he just crawls to it like a simple Muggle baby, no offense Lily. When we try to scare him into Apparating, he just starts like anyone else would. Or cries. Recently, I swear, he's giving us these looks, like he's trying to tell us, 'Hey, the whole shouting into my ear thing is not shocking anymore. I can see you two coming a mile away.' Oh, I don't know what to do! All I want is for him to just levitate something, anything, just for a few seconds, then I would be able to sleep better at night. Just one time, and I'll be happy. Of course," Olivia added, "if Neville is a Squib, we'll still love him just the same. He's our little boy. Nothing can change that."

On March 1st, we went to the Weasleys' house to celebrate Ron's first birthday. Molly's family came to fill the house to packed and Arthur's remaining brothers came to celebrate. The dull-eyed Berendice was missing but no one seemed to care or even to acknowledge it as unexpected. It was a much more upbeat atmosphere than the celebration of Ron's, who was then Robert, birth.

When we Flooed in, there was noise everywhere. Ron sat upright in the middle of sitting room, surrounded by bright packages, grinning at everyone around him. After putting the carriage into Lily's Minimizer bag, we crouched down to be eye-level with Ron.

"Hey, birthday boy," Lily cooed. "Who's one year old today?" Ron beat his palms against the carpet and squealed.

"You're certainly a little happy fella," I remarked, ruffling his downy red hair. "You have all these presents! What are you going to do with them all?"

"Pluh," Ron replied.

"Play, Ron," a young voice corrected behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw Percy standing there.

"Plah," Ron repeated.

"Play. Ay. Ay. Ay."

"Ah. Ah. Ah."

"No, Ron," Percy groaned and moved around to sit next to Ron. "Puh-lay. Ay. Ay. Ay."

"Ah. Ah. Ah."

"No, I know you can do this, Ron!" Percy encouraged, looking very determined. "Ay."

"Ah."

"Ay."

"Ah."

"AY."

"Ay."

Percy cheered. "You did it, Ron! Now, puh-lay," Percy said slowly.

"Puh-lay," Ron answered. He was so cute.

"MUMMY!" Percy bolted up and ran into another room. "MUMMY! Ron said another word!"

"Mum, mum, mum," Ron repeated.

"Fancy little talker, isn't he?" Lily commented to me, setting Harry down beside him. "The book said that magical children talk earlier than Muggle children because magic depends a lot on knowledge of how words work and vocal skills. They also say more words faster."

"Ron's a bright one, though," Molly added, coming near as Percy pulled her by the hand. "Most don't start talking until around their first birthday but Ron said his first word at seven months."

"Really?" I asked. "Did the others?"

"No, they all started talking around their first year or a little later. I think it's because Ron is around all these people all day, chattering around him."

"What did he say?" Lily wondered.

"The usual. 'Ma'. He's started saying 'Mum' a few weeks ago. He's quite talkative, actually." Molly sighed and looked down at Percy. "Okay, Percy, what did Ron say now?"

"Watch!" Percy ordered excitedly and swooped down to the ground. "Ron, say 'play'."

"Puh-lay," Ron responded obediently. Percy beamed.

"Very good, Ron," Molly praised. "That must his... I've lost count how many words he has in his vocabulary. As I've said, he's talkative."

At that moment, an owl flew in. Molly plunked it from the sky and tore the letter off.

Ron pointed at the flapping bird and said, "Owl."

"That's right, dear, it's the post owl," Molly explained and then bent down. "And guess what? It's a birthday card from your big brother Bill!" Indeed it was. It was simply a folded piece of parchment with a drawing of Hogwarts, complete with Quidditch pitch in the back, charmed to make the wind rustle the trees and for the Whomping Willow to twist and writhe. A little red-haired person stood by the castle, waving.

"That's Hogwarts!" Percy exclaimed, "Look, Ron, it's Hogwarts!"

"That's a very nice drawing," Lily remarked. "What's inside?"

"Let's see," Molly said in that overly excited manner that anyone speaking to a young baby uses, opening the card up. "It reads: 'Dear Ron, Sorry I can't be there on your big day. Only ten more years until you can sit exactly where I'm sitting right now. Everyone here loves your picture. They think you're darling. Convince Mum to take more of you. Have fun today! Love, your biggest brother Bill.' Oh, and he got you a present, too!" She took out the little blue silk sachet and read the note tied on to it, "'Dear Mum, this little thing does something really neat. Won't spoil the surprise. Just be careful when opening it, don't look right into it, point away from anyone's face. A third year girl got this for me (don't worry, I paid her) after I showed her the picture of Ron and said it was his birthday in March. It will only last a few minutes. Write back to tell me how he reacted, we're all dying to know. Love, Bill.' Okay, let's open it up." Carefully pointing the bag's opening away from her and above her children's heads, she pulled the string and the bag fell open.

At first, nothing happened. Then there was a loud BANG, which caught everyone's attention. The room fell silent as we watched bright stars shoot out of the bag. They glowed all sorts of colours and filled the room. Ribbons of light shot out the sack next, twirling above Ron's head like dragons in flight. There was a roar and a glowing lion the size of a kitten leapt out of the bag and bounded around the room before vanishing into glittering dust. Bubbles filled with rainbows floated out of the bag and bobbled about the room. There were then more stars rushing from the bag. Glittering butterflies followed the stars and flapped around everyone present. The children leapt up to catch a few. The butterflies were caught and flapped their wings as they sat on their palms before vanishing into glitter. Finally, there were more stars than the previous two times. A group of stars formed the words "Happy Birthday, Ron" before they all disappeared with a series of bangs. At last, there was silence.

"Do it again, Mummy!" Charlie exclaimed.

"More! More!" The twins ordered, jumping up and down.

Molly tied the string again and untied it. She frowned. "I think that's all, everyone. It can be only used once, I think." Everyone moaned.

"BOOM!" Ron shouted. "Boom, boom, boom!"

"Yes, Ron, the stars went 'boom' at the end," Molly answered. The rest of party-goers continued their conversations as the twins rushed over.

"I want one, Mummy!" one of the twins whined.

"Me, too!" the other lamented.

"Well, perhaps Bill will be able to convince someone to buy him some more at Hogsmeade, how's that sound?" Molly offered.

"But I want one now," the first complained.

"Fred, you can't have everything you want when you want it. But I'll ask Bill if he can get some more. Or maybe your Daddy can get some at Diagon Alley."

"When?"

"I don't know. We'll see."

Ron reached out to the twins. The twins grinned at each other. The one on Ron's left, Fred, said, "Which is which, Ron?"

"Say our names, Ron," the other, George, added.

Percy looked quite stern and crossed his arms. "Don't tease him! He's just a baby, he can't tell you two apart yet!" He explained to us, "They're always switching their names around so Ron gets all messed up! It's just mean!"

Ron pointed to Fred and said, "Forge." He then pointed to George and said, "Gred." Ron beamed at them. The twins looked at each other and then burst out laughing.

"That's funny, Ron!" Fred answered.

"We're Gred and Forge!" George exclaimed happily.

"He beat them at their own game," Arthur remarked, coming over as Fred and George rolled on the floor with laughter.

"That was a pretty clever way to get out of it," Lily remarked. Ron had become disinterested in his chortling twin brothers and was now reaching for Percy's glasses.

"Ron," Molly said, "Ron, no. Don't touch Percy's glasses."

"You want them?" Percy asked him. Ron strained to grasp them. "Here. Try them on." Percy took off his glasses and put them delicately on Ron's face.

"Percy, you'll hurt his eyes. Take them off," Molly ordered. She didn't need to say anything because Ron looked down at his lap and they slipped off. Percy took them back and put them on his own face.

Ron looked at me and reached out for my spectacles. "No," I said softly. "These have to stay on my face, little man." It was then I noticed Ron's eyes. When Ron had been first born, his eyes had been brown. Now, however, his eyes shone a brilliant blue shade. I edged closer to make sure that the light wasn't affecting it but sure enough, they were definitely blue now.

"Hey, would you look at that? Ron has blue eyes. That's weird because I remember he had brown eyes before. When did that...?"

"It doesn't mean anything!" Molly shouted suddenly.

"What?" I asked, startled by Molly's behavior.

"It doesn't mean a thing! So, he has blue eyes now! So what? It doesn't mean anything to going to happen! Ron is perfectly average and normal and he's going to grow perfectly normal and happy! So what if his eyes are blue now?" She was acting like us when someone commented on Harry's lack of hum.

"Molly, I didn't mean anything by it, I just thought it was rather strange."

"Nothing is going to happen to him! He's not going to end up... end up like... well, he just won't! You'll see!" Molly got up, shaking slightly, her eyes filled with fear, and she said in a would-be calm voice, "I'll see if we need more ice." Molly then swept out of the room but no where near the kitchen where the ice was kept.

"What did I say? I just said his eyes were blue. I didn't mean anything by it," I explained to Arthur, who was wringing his hands.

"Go play with your cousins, you three," Arthur ordered softly. Percy nodded grimly and led his little twin brothers away. "I know you didn't mean anything, James. We're just frightened for our little boy. We don't want to lose him like Virginia," Arthur said quietly. He bent down as well to be level with us.

"But there's nothing wrong with Ron," Lily answered, "Why is Molly so upset?"

"It's his eyes." Arthur pointed at the eyes in question. We stared at them.

"What's wrong with them? Don't tell me he's blind."

"No, he's sees fine. We're worried that he sees too much, if you get my meaning." Arthur sighed forlornly. "You may or may not remember from Divination, I sure didn't, but the sign of a Seer's Kiss being performed is the subject's eyes turning blue three days after the Seer's death. And three days after Virginia passed away, Ron's eyes were blue. Natural-born Seers don't always have blue eyes but those who gained the Sight in this way always do."

"So, is Ron a Seer now?" Lily asked.

"We don't know. We know that there is only a one in ten chance that Ron has the ability. Only time will truly tell." Arthur stroked his son's hair. "I know you saw the episode with Virginia talking about that Tom and Ginny, whoever they are. She was like that almost all the time. There was nothing we could do except watch her slowly lose her grip on the outside world. Would you like to see your son suffer like that? We've seen someone close to us already be tormented and then leave us forever, we don't want it happening again. Can you blame us for being scared? We want Ron to live a long, happy normal life. It wasn't fair for Virginia to risk taking that away from him."

"I bet he'll be fine," Lily offered. "One out of ten is pretty much a long shot."

"I know. We keep telling ourselves that. We know you didn't mean any harm by it, James. Molly's just a little sensitive about the kids, that's all."

"Oh, it's alright. I didn't realize that his eyes meant so much," I said meekly.

"Percy seems really fond of Ron," Lily remarked in an attempt to change the subject.

Arthur laughed. "Yes. It wasn't always like that. There were horrible whisperings about Ron when he was first born, saying that he was a bad omen and such. Children often repeat whatever they hear at home and so children would be cruel to Percy because of Ron. Percy was quite cold to Ron. I once caught him trying to owl post Ron away. It's funny now but it wasn't at the time. We both tried to explain to Percy that Ron wasn't an omen of any kind."

"Well, he seems to like him now," I replied.

"That's because when Ron had his first smile, he was smiling at Percy and his third word after 'ma' and 'da' was 'pear' which we think means 'Percy'. How could he continue to hate him after it's been made so clear that Ron is fond of Percy? They're very attached to each other now. I think Percy feels bad for being so cruel to Ron at first but I feel that Ron has forgiven him already."

"That is so cute," Lily cooed.

"Percy now regularly defends his baby brother against his playmates' harsh words. And he has made it his personal mission to make his brother the brightest, most advanced baby around. Maybe he'll go into teaching," Arthur suggested.

"Or maybe he is so good at defending others, he should go into law enforcement," Lily suggested brightly then winced. Percy Weatherby had worked in Magical Law Enforcement. "Sorry. Forgot."

If Arthur had noticed the faux pas, he ignored her. "I wonder if we should take the cake out now."

"Well, I'm in the mood for cake," I answered, laughing. We all got up and went into the kitchen. Molly was there now, filling the ice bucket.

"Should we bring out the cake, Molly?" Arthur asked.

"Oh, that's right! I forgot!" Molly went to the oven and took out the previously prepared and frosted cake gently. We "oo"ed and "ah"ed in appreciation. At this moment, the children came in and started screaming, "CAKE!"

"In a minute! Ron has to blow out the candle!" Molly said, stepping forward to place it on the kitchen table.

"I'll get him!" Percy offered and rushed out. Arthur darted out after him, calling out, "Percy! You're too small to lift Ron! Let me get him!" as the rest of the guests laughed.

Everyone came in to look at the cake, told Molly how wonderful it looked ("Thank you!"), and Ron was carried in by Arthur. Ron was placed in his high chair and Molly lit the single candle. On the count of three, we all sang "Happy Birthday to you".

"Make a wish, Ron," Molly said sweetly.

"Boom!" Ron answered, slamming the high chair tray with his palms.

"Good enough. Blow out the candle!" Arthur and Molly bent down on both sides of Ron as Ron looked at them in confusion. Arthur blew gently as Ron's head turned in a direction close to the cake and everyone clapped. Even Ron clapped but it's doubtful that Ron knew why everyone was clapping.

The cake was divided up among the guests as Ron was led back inside the sitting room. As we chatted around the table happily, there came a shout from the sitting room. Charlie rushed in and ordered, "You have to see this! Look at what Ron's doing!" We all came inside the room to see what the fuss was about.

Lily and I gasped when we saw what was happening. Harry did not know how to sit up on his own yet and Ron seemed to have found that out and offered some assistance to his younger friend. Ron had Harry by the hands and was pulling Harry up to a sitting position. After much effort, Ron managed to pull Harry upright but when he let go, Harry fell backwards immediately.

Harry let out a squawk of annoyance and pounded his fists against the ground. Then he was silent and Ron tried to raise him up again. This was repeated many times as the adults watched with awe at the cooperation of the two babies. Finally, Harry didn't fall back and remained in a somewhat slouched sitting position, which was farther than Harry had been before. Lily and I clapped and rushed to Harry's side, exclaiming that he had did it.

"That was neat!" Charlie commented.

After our excitement with Harry sitting up, we returned to talking about nonsense and eating cake. An hour before the party's conclusion, there was a clatter of a plate falling to the floor and a splat of a smashed cake. The guests looked around in confusion at the source of the noise. Then Percy cried out, "Ron! No!"

Percy darted in between the adults' legs and ran to his brother, who was attempting to eat the cake from off the ground. "That's dirty! Don't eat that!" Percy commanded.

Ron screamed wordlessly at him and then, "Mine!" To prove his point, Ron waddled over to the cake, squatted down, grabbed a chunk of gooey cake in his little fist, and thrust it into his mouth, frosting smeared all over his face and hand.

"No! Bad Ron!" Percy reprimanded.

"Percy let Mummy handle it," Arthur said calmly then did a double-take. "Molly! Look at that! Ron's walking!"

"My goodness!" Molly muttered, then crouched, curling her fingers to beckon him forward. "Ron, come to Mummy! Come here, my dear."

Ron's face lit up when he saw his mother so he waddled awkwardly towards her, reaching out for her. "Mum!" After several moments, he reached her, lost his balance, and fell into her arms, grinning.

"Wow, what a day!" Lily remarked as we were leaving. "Two babies reaching huge milestones in one day. Absolutely amazing."

*** ***

March went quickly. Harry did nothing. Absolutely nothing. Now we were worried. April was the eighth month. The eighth month is the end of the "normal" period. If Harry still did nothing when April had ended, that would be the time to be concerned. We watched for any sign of Harry doing anything remotely magical (besides being cute, of course). It was during that time of anxious waiting that Albus Dumbledore came to visit us.

Professor Dumbledore had been the Transfiguration professor when my parents had been in the school, back when the windows had all the glass removed and were replaced with wood so even Hogwarts was plunged into darkness. Such is war. Dumbledore is also the man responsible for bringing Grindelwald down, some say in a personal duel. Dumbledore became Headmaster for our first year. It is because of Dumbledore that Remus was admitted at all. The year before our first year, the Lupins had asked if there was any way for Remus to attend Hogwarts. Headmaster Dippet had sent back a flat-out "no". When Dumbledore took over, he visited the Lupins personally and said that there was no reason Remus couldn't go as long as precautions were taken. So, an abandoned house in Hogsmeade was bought by the school, boarded up and warded so even if a rampaging dragon couldn't get in (or, rather, a rampaging werewolf couldn't get out), and a Whomping Willow was planted over the entrance to the tunnel leading up to house. As far as Dumbledore knows, Remus spent every full moon within the house. As we both know, this isn't true, but I've already explained that.

Dumbledore was a kind-hearted soul who seemed to genuinely like everyone, even Snape. However, I was not personally close to the man, as Remus was, so I was surprised when he came to visit Lily and I in our home.

Dumbledore did not warn us that he would be coming. So, when he knocked on our door, we were lounging around in our slob clothes and not prepared for visitors. It was Lily who answered the door as I continued to play with Harry, who was using his box of glowing balls that Sirius had given him when he was still a fetus.

Not seeing who was at the door, I yelled, "Tell whoever it is that we don't want anything and to go away!"

"Please, come in," I heard Lily stutter. I growled with frustration. Marching up to the door, I demanded, "Can't a man and woman enjoy one afternoon with their son? Is that so much to ask?"

"I do not wish to interrupt any quality time between you and your son," Dumbledore explained softly, smiling slightly. "But unfortunately, I feel I must."

I stammered at him, feeling very foolish. Lily, who was very red, gestured towards the couch, saying, "Please sit down."

"I thank you," Dumbledore replied as he crossed the floor to sit on our couch. Lily escaped to the kitchen to find something to offer him. He fell into the couch with a sigh and looked at Harry, who was staring up at him. "You have a beautiful son."

"Thank you, Professor," I whispered, nervously.

"Please, we are all adults now. Call me Albus," Dumbledore requested. "Impressive little toy he has there. My granddaughter has one just like it."

"I didn't know you were married," I admitted. "Or had children or grandchildren."

"Yes, we professors often keep our private lives very private indeed."

"Do you have many grandchildren?"

"I have five at present. The youngest is around your son's age. The oldest is in Hogwarts right this minute, hopefully studying for her N.E.W.T.s." He looked at me with a playful look in his eye. "But I wouldn't bet on it."

"Does she do well?" I asked, coming over to sit beside him, feeling much more at ease than I did when he first arrived. He always had that effect.

"Well is a rather subjective term, I think. She is satisfied with her marks. I think that is all that matters. However, I think her father would not mind slightly higher marks but he does not push her unjustly. He is satisfied as well, he just wants the best for her. As all parents do." I suddenly felt as if Dumbledore was implying something about my situation as well. He had a way of doing that too. Lily came back at this point with tea biscuits on a plate, which she hastily set down on the table.

"The tea will be done in a minute," Lily explained before sitting down. Dumbledore busied himself with talking kindly to Harry as Lily and I looked at each other over his back, asking each other with our eyes whether we knew why Dumbledore had come. Neither of us knew.

"Professor," Lily asked hesitantly, "I was wondering..."

"Albus, please."

"Right. I was wondering... about Hogwarts."

Dumbledore straightened up to look at Lily. "Yes?"

"I heard there's a book... that has all the names of every witch and wizard."

"Yes, it writes down the name of the magical child at the moment of their birth. Every year, we look through the list for anyone coming of age, and send them their Hogwarts letter."

Lily brightened. "So, you know now who is going to Hogwarts in eleven years?"

"Yes."

"Well, I was just wondering..."

"No, I can not tell you if your son is on the roster."

Lily slumped in her seat and I cursed in my head. Lily whined, "Why not?"

"Because that's half the fun," Dumbledore answered brightly. "Besides, Muggle-born wizards and witches are not privy to such information, why should pureblood families?"

"Well," I suggested, "let's say hypothetically, a family wasn't sure if their son... child was a Squib or not. Don't they deserve some peace of mind?"

"But what if this hypothetical child is a Squib?" Dumbledore asked.

"At least we..." Lily shouted then corrected, "THEY, they would know one way or the other!"

"How old is Harry?"

"Who said we were talking about Harry?"

"How old is Harry?"

"He'll be nine months old April 30th."

"So, he is eight months old now, I take it?"

"Yes."

"Then he is in the proper age group for his first sign."

Lily slapped her hand on to her lap in irritation. "But he doesn't hum."

"Some children do not hum and become fine wizards and witches," Dumbledore answered.

"And some children do not hum and become Squibs, Professor!" I stated.

Dumbledore sighed as if he were dealing with toddlers who did not want to go to bed. "You've probably heard this a million times but all children are different. Even in Muggles, one child may walk at eight months, another may walk at his first birthday. One child may talk when he is two and another child may not speak until he is five. I could tell you a hundred stories about perfectly well-to-do wizards and witches who showed their first signs beyond the so-called 'reasonable' age. I had a very dear friend who could Charm circles around me who showed his first sign the day before he received his Hogwarts letter. I also can tell you of Squibs who seemed show signs at six months but were never on the roster to begin with. The times given in the books are averages, nothing more. You are just getting yourselves into a lather over something very small in the scheme of things. If he shows his signs, then that's wonderful but if he doesn't, life will move on. He'll make his way in another way."

"Sorry, Professor," we whispered, looking down at our laps.

"Albus. You are no longer students. Yes, you were very fine students and it's always the very best students," he chuckled, "who have this problem. Why, just a few months ago, Frank Longbottom and his wife, Olivia, stormed into my office, demanding to see the roster. I didn't show them of course. Every year, I have the brightest students coming in with their seven-month-old children, wondering why they haven't showed signs yet. Always. I never get those who were the bottom of the class barging in. That's because they aren't perfectionists. He's a baby," he concluded lightly, "not an essay. Leave him be."

"Yes, sir," we promised half-heartedly.

"Now, I can discuss what I came here for. I'd like to say I came to look at your darling son but I'm afraid this is not the time for light-heartedness."

"Then what have you come here for?" I asked.

Dumbledore sighed as he stood. He began to pace around us. "You are well aware of the rising force of the Dark Forces. The casualties are mounting. At least we have the full support of the Ministry but," he reflected, shaking his head, "it is not enough. Lord Voldemort must be stopped. If we eliminate Lord Voldemort, then the rest of his Death Eaters will crumble."

"But it's not that simple," Lily answered.

"No, it's not. I never said that it was. But as time wears on, more people lose their lives and families are shattered. The Ministry is a wonderful asset but it is not enough, not now. Maybe, if they had taken him more seriously earlier on, they could have ended this years ago but he is too powerful. He must be stopped."

"But... you're not telling us anything we don't really know, if you don't mind me saying so," I remarked. "What does this have to do with us?"

"You are well aware of darkness we are now under. And you both were among the brightest, most able students who have ever walked within Hogwarts. It is now that we pull together all our most capable minds and find a way to once and for all destroy Lord Voldemort." Lily and I looked at each other uncertainly as Dumbledore paused to allow this to sink in. "I'm asking you to work out a way to defeat Lord Voldemort." Lily burst out laughing incredulously. "This is not a joke."

"Us? James and I finding out a way to defeat the most powerful Dark Wizard that history has ever seen? You must be mad!" Lily exclaimed.

"Why do you think I am mad?"

"Professor, with all due respect, we may have been Head Boy and Girl in our time but it's not like we hold a monopoly on knowledge. What could we think of that the Ministry has not already tried?" Lily explained. We nodded at each other in agreement.

"Are you saying it's impossible to even try? Are you saying Lord Voldemort is completely indestructible? If I may ask, how many Dark Lords did you study in your time as a student?"

"Over thirty," Lily admitted.

"And how many were defeated?"

"All of them."

"All things are impossible until they are not."

"I'm not saying it's impossible," Lily corrected, "I'm saying that the Ministry has people working day and night to find a solution. We are not going to be the ones with the magic answer."

Dumbledore sighed again. "Well, it seems that you find this task... too daunting to take on. That's alright, I perfectly understand. You have your son to think of, of course, I understand that everyone has priorities..."

"WAIT!" We cried out at once. Dumbledore immediately stopped talking and gave us his full attention.

"We weren't saying it's too daunting," I stammered. "It's just..."

"The Ministry is already working hard on a solution. We fail to see what contribution we could provide," Lily finished.

"It is important," Dumbledore answered, "that every mind is focused on this problem. What was it that Virginia Weatherby said? 'One day, there will be two drops too much for the dam to hold and it will burst'? Every person counts, no matter how small his or her contribution. Any idea you set forth may bring another idea to someone else who can help someone else better his or her idea which can defeat Lord Voldemort. I'm not asking you to do it alone, but I am asking you to try. If no one tries, then nothing will be done and we will all perish." Dumbledore looked at us seriously and added, "If you think this is beyond your abilities, you are free to refuse."

"We'll do it," Lily answered as I nodded my consent.

"That is all I ask."

"But where do we begin?"

"That you must decide. I can not help there." Dumbledore nodded at us and said, "And now, it is time for me to return to Hogwarts. Please, research and if you strike anything at all, owl me. Perhaps it will be useful to the others that are assisting me as well."

"Let me show you out," I offered, getting up but Dumbledore held his hand, shaking his head.

"That is quite alright. I've taken too much of your time as it is. Enjoy your afternoon, James, Lily, Harry," Dumbledore said, nodding to each of us in turn and then Disapparated.

"James?" Lily muttered.

"Yes?"

"Did we just get hoodwinked into agreeing to an impossible task?"

"Yes, Lily, we did. Big time."

We winced. "He had us with the 'too daunting' thing," Lily lamented.

"Never could back down from a challenge like that."

We both groaned at our foolish, but noble, pride.

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: Okay, sorry if the scene with the Weasleys gave anyone cavities. The more I write Percy, the more I love him. Now I feel bad for the little guy, it's not fair. The dialogue with Dumbledore was really hard because Dumbledore... speaks... like... this... and... that... doesn't... look... good... in... written... dialogue. It also looks like Dumbledore is deadly ill or, as my friend, Naisumi, put it, "like he's trying to seduce someone" which isn't what I wanted Dumbledore to sound like. But I think I got it. Ick! I finally saw what David Thewis looks like. He's supposed to play Remus Lupin. I just saw "Dragonheart" and he plays Einon, the evil, bratty prince that the dragon gives half his heart to. Man, I thought as I watched him in the movie, who thought he would be a good Remus? I can imagine the casting director going, "Gee, let's pick the UGLIEST guy to play one of the most beloved character in the series." Of course, I wanted to show my friends how ugly this guy is so I looked for pictures of him. The pictures of him are actually pretty nice and he does look like Remus Lupin. What did they do to him for "Dragonheart"? Timothy Spaul who is playing Peter Pettigrew is Peter Pettigrew, though. I saw a picture of him and I was like, "Oh my God! It's Peter!" Anyway, the fifth book is coming out in less than twenty-four hours from now and I have still have six months to go before the Potters kick the bucket. But I'll finish anyway, it's not I'll be reading the book soon because I don't have the money to buy and I don't want to buy it in hardcover because it won't match my other paperbacks. Paperbacks are easier to store and carry anyway so I'll wait until someone can lend it to me. Oh, nearly forgot (in my horror over David Thewis but now I feel better), I want reviews! I know half of my theories are probably proved wrong by now, I don't care! I want reviews! Just don't include any spoilers in your reviews! Just press the button or e-mail at destinyplot@lycos.com! Just review! See ya later!