Disclaimer: All people and places belong to J. K. Rowling
Life Had Just Begun
By Terra
Chapter Twenty-six: Signs
We crept slowly across the room, bats in hand. Scarcely breathing, we tiptoed across the carpet. We stopped and look at each other. Lily mouthed, "1, 2, 3." And we banged the bats together inches from Harry's head. Harry turned his head towards us bemusedly, raising his eyebrows. We slumped to our knees in frustration.
It was now May and the window was gone. He was now nine months old and he hadn't done anything. Desperate, we took him to the same experts the Longbottoms rushed to for Neville. The team poked and prodded Harry until he cried. After an agonizing hour of examination, the head expert, Doctor Yellowstone, called us into his private office for his conclusions.
"Well, you have a fine boy," he said.
"Thank you."
"For a Muggle. Your son has no detectable magical energy and he is nine months old. Are you certain there has been no signs?"
"Yes, we are positive," Lily answered.
"Is that it? He's a Squib and there's nothing we can do?" I demanded.
He leaned back in his chair. "Well, there is one other diagnosis I can provide." We leaned forward in rapt attention. Any chance, no matter how small, was better than no chance. "He may have a block."
"A block?" Lily wondered. "Is that like 'a lack of interest'?"
"No. A lack of interest is when the magical energy is available but not used. A block is when he has power but he can not gain access to it."
"You mean it's plugged up?" I asked.
"Precisely."
"Is there anything we can do about it?"
"Well, there is a specialist in France who deals with this rare disorder. And there is a procedure for unblocking such a case that his team can perform. However, that is if a block is the problem. I'm sad to say, but your son may just be your regular Squib."
"How much does it cost?" Lily asked, waving off his assertion of Harry being a Squib.
"Well, the consultation costs about 100, 000 Galleons and the actual procedure is around 300, 000 Galleons," he replied grimly. I could feel my heart stop beating for a moment.
"Is there..." I wondered desperately, "is there any way Harry could unblock it on his own?"
"Yes, but who knows when Harry will do that. It could be tomorrow or on his tenth birthday. Maybe even later. Maybe never." He sighed. "I'll give you the name and address of the specialist. He speaks English very well so don't worry about writing in perfect French." With that, he took out a slip of paper and wrote the information down. "Good day, Mr. Potter, Mrs. Potter."
*** ***
We kept the slip of paper pinned to a board in the kitchen. Both of us would pass by, stop, look at it, touch it as if to rip it off, and then walk away. We weren't about to give up. We began to do what the Longbottoms tried: making his life harder, scaring him, etc. We met as much success with it as did the Longbottoms.
By mid-May, we were beginning to wonder if we would have to swallow our pride and call up the specialist... or admit that Harry wasn't going to Hogwarts. The rest stop by the slip of paper became more frequent and the stay was longer.
On May 15th, I was ready to head home. I went to Lily's office to wait for her only to find her buried under a mound of paperwork.
"James! What are you doing here?" Lily asked with a strained, tired smile on her face.
"It's time to go home," I explained. Her head whirled to look at the clock.
"Oh, but I still have so much to do. It was that latest attack. I have to make sure that the cover-ups coincide with Muggle ideals. Oh! I still have things to do at home! Argh!" She turned to me with pleading eyes. "James, can you do a spot of shopping for me? I simply haven't had a spare moment and now we're out of everything."
"Sure. What do we need?"
"Just about everything. I'll make a list." She scrambled for a spare sheet of parchment and a quill near an inkwell in order to start her list. "And take Harry with you. It's a lovely day, I hear. He'll enjoy some quality time with you. Could you make dinner, too? I have no idea when I'll get home. Can you do that for me?"
"Yes, just don't kill yourself with work."
She checked over the list. "I think that's everything. Here. Thanks, you're the best, James."
"Anything for you, Lily," I replied, putting the list in my pocket. "See you tonight." I kissed her on the cheek.
"I hope."
*** ***
It was a nice day, as Lily said. I pushed Harry in his carriage under the cloudless blue sky and the cheery sun. I let the top down on his carriage so he could enjoy the sky as well.
Diagon Alley was bustling as usual and it was difficult to navigate Harry through the crowd. I suddenly felt very defensive of him. Although the selling of baby body parts for sinister potions has always been dismissed as an urban legend, it suddenly felt as true as the Goblin Rebellion dates whenever a hag or a remotely suspicious person glanced in our direction.
I went through the list (while keeping one eye on Harry) and headed into Flourish and Blotts to get parchment and ink as well as some more quills. Harry seemed to like chewing on them. As I left, I heard a small, high-pitched voice call out, "James! James Potter!"
I darted my head around to see who was calling. A young, blonde woman with a rather large chest was waving madly at me as she dashed over in heels. "Camilla? Camilla Yellowbird?"
"Camilla Finnigan now," she corrected with a smile.
"You're married?" I asked.
"Yes, my husband is over there." She pointed to a sandy-haired man dressed in jeans, staring into an apothecary while holding a Muggle baby carriage with his left hand.
"And what is his name?"
"Cían Finnigan." She turned around and waved at her husband. "I'm over here! Come on, now!"
Acting like he would be pounced upon any moment, he darted across the street, practically hurling the baby carriage in front of him. He looked very pale and he leaned in close to his wife, whispering, "There's a jar in there."
"No, really," Camilla replied sarcastically.
"No, no, no. There were eyes in it. Real eyes," he explained in horror.
"Cían, they aren't human eyes. And even if they were, they were donated..."
"Donated? By who?"
"The dead. You're an organ donor, it's the same thing if they take your heart or liver."
"But they don't bottle it and sell it!"
"No," Camilla explained calmly, "but wizards and witches can donate their body parts if they can be used in potions. They give papers and everything. You can't sell those things if you don't have proof that the deceased agreed to it. Look, I'll explain the whole process when we get home." She turned to me and said, "He's a Muggle."
"Oh," I breathed, "I was wondering. Mr. Finnigan, they don't sell human body parts on Diagon Alley, you probably saw newt eyes or some other animal's eyes. You need to have a special license to even buy human body parts. It's a huge hassle. Most wizarding folk go their whole lives without ever using a human body. Not many potions require it."
Cían didn't look comforted by my statement but Camilla prattled on, "Anyway, this is James Potter, I told you about him. He was our Head Boy. You married Lily Evans, right?" I nodded. "Lily Evans was our Head Girl."
"Oh, that's great," Cían muttered, looking bewildered. "So, you're a wizard then."
"That's right," I answered.
"So, you do magic tricks, like make things fly across the room?"
"Yes, I can do that."
"Do you do it a lot? Do most wizards?" I couldn't really answer, I never really thought about it before. Camilla looked thoroughly embarrassed. "Am I asking a lot of stupid questions? I'm really new to this, I didn't know magic existed until about five months ago. Quite a shock, really. One minute, I'm putting Seamus, that's my son here," he patted the sandy-haired boy in the carriage, "in his highchair and the next minute, he's up in the air."
"I meant to tell him," Camilla admitted, "but I just kept holding it off. I feel terrible now, leaving Cían to find out like that. I managed to just catch him in time when he fainted."
"He didn't have to tell him that!" Cían protested.
"Well, I'm not surprised. If I didn't know about magic, I probably would have freaked out too," I replied.
"Oh, that's all past now. I see you have a wee one, too. What's his name?" Camilla asked.
"Harry," I answered. "He's nine months old."
"Aw, that's so sweet. Well, with you and Lily as his parents, I bet he did something fantastic for his first sign. Probably did it at six months," she remarked. She turned to her husband and explained, "James and Lily were real brains. If one didn't know something, you bet the other did. Top of the class all seven years. Hey, Seamus and Harry will be in Hogwarts together! I just realized, isn't that nice?"
"Yeah, I guess," I muttered, glad that Camilla had moved away from Harry's signs.
"So, anyway, what did he do?" Or not.
"Um..." Lie! My mind screamed at me. Make up something fantastic and run away! "Actually, he hasn't done anything yet." Why can't I be Peter and be able to think of a lie on the spot?
Her face fell. "Oh. That's odd. Nothing at nine months?"
"Maybe it happened when you weren't looking," Cían suggested. "I mean, if I had turned around a second later, I might've missed the whole thing. Maybe, you know, he floated up during the night when you two were asleep and you just never knew." He looked to his wife for approval of his notion.
"Maybe," I mumbled.
"You know, I have an idea," Camilla said, smiling, "Perhaps Harry just doesn't know what to do. My sister had problems with her daughter and what they finally did was talk aloud."
"Talk aloud?" I asked.
"Right. Like, 'I really would like that loaf of bread on the table but I just can't get it myself' or 'I wish Harry was right next to me instead of halfway across the room but I just can't get to him' or something like that. They tried that and a week later, she had her first sign," she snapped her finger, "like that."
It didn't sound too stupid to try. "I guess it's worth a shot," I replied.
"Everything is worth a shot," Camilla answered smugly.
"Camilla, not to rush you, but..."
"Oh, right. We have plans so we have to move on. Great seeing you, James! Tell Lily I said hi!"
"I will," I said, nodding. "Hope you enjoy the Wizarding side of life, Cían."
"I'll try to get used to it. Very interesting stuff and this is just my first visit," he replied. Camilla took the handlebars of the carriage and began pushing as Cían walked alongside her.
"Hope everything works out for you and Harry!" Camilla called out, waving.
"Bye! Thanks for the advice!" I answered and began pushing Harry again. It was very faint but I could hear them talking again.
"That was a nice bloke," Cían said cheerfully.
"Of course. Shame about Harry though," Camilla replied sadly.
"Why?"
"Nine months is dreadfully late for anyone."
The crowd swallowed them up and I couldn't hear them anymore. I took a deep breath and looked down. Harry was grinning up at the sky and I couldn't help grinning back. I leaned down and teased in an undertone, "Are you wondering what I'm wondering?" Harry squealed. "Are they real now?"
*** ***
"Floo Powder..." I muttered, reading the list. "We certainly use up our Floo Powder, don't we, Harry?" Harry cooed at me. "But where is it?" I scanned the wall of bottles full of brightly coloured powders. "Aha! There's some!" I stretched my arm towards a bottle of green powder but it was out of my reach. Looking to make sure no one was glancing my way, I went on my tiptoes to reach, straining my arms up. I was a few centimetres too short and nearly lost my balance. Just before I crashed into wall of glass bottles, I managed to grab hold of the shelf in front of me and steadied myself. "Phew," I gasped, "that was close. Don't do that, Harry." Keeping one hand on the shelf, I went on my tiptoes again and strained my arm for the bottle. I managed to tap it but not grab a hold on it. I put my arm down and panted. A shadow fell over me and I heard a bottle being picked up. Someone placed the bottom of the bottle on my shoulder. "Thank you," I panted, taking the bottle.
"It was no trouble, James."
I nearly leapt out of my skin. "Lu-Lucius," I stammered as I crashed into the glass bottles. It was not enough force to knock down the whole collection but I could clearly a bottle above me wobble and Lucius looked up.
A large economy size bottle of Communication Powder (which we also needed) came down towards Lucius' head. An inch before it made contact, I felt a burst of magical energy and the bottle stopped in midair. For a wild moment, I though Harry had finally done it but Harry was looking with great interest at the bottles near him and not at Lucius. It was then I noticed the baby carriage with a pale baby inside. He was trembling and his grey eyes were completely focused on Lucius and the bottle. He was clearly straining under the effort of holding the bottle up. The bottle wobbled slightly in the air as if he was holding the bottle up with his own hands and was losing his grip. Lucius stayed out of the bottle's path and placed his hands around it, obviously to place the bottle back but he couldn't move it. The bottle was held fast in the air. Lucius looked at the boy and said in the soothing manner that one uses when a child has woken up from a horrific nightmare, "Draco. Father is safe now. Release the bottle." Lucius grunted and his hands fell slightly as the bottle was no longer held by Draco's willpower. Draco, fatigued, collapsed into his carriage, breathing quickly. As Lucius made to set the bottle back, I meekly requested, "Um, I need that too." With a smirk, he handed the bottle to me and I put the bottles in my shopping bag.
"Is that your son?" Lucius asked in a patronizing tone. "Harry, is it?"
"That's right," I answered. Harry was reaching out to touch the bottles so in order to avoid more accidents, I spun his carriage around. "Harry James Potter."
"Not Harold, after your late father?"
"Harry is his own person," I explained, since that was what my mother said before.
"I see."
"Thank you for getting those bottles down," I repeated, hoping that would make him go away. It didn't.
"Well, I didn't want you asking your son aloud to get them down for you. You would be staying here all day if you tried that," he answered, smirking again.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I snapped back.
"Oh, I just happened to walking past when you were talking with... who was she? Camilla Yellowbird? With that Muggle husband? Yes, it appears that the rumors are true. The Potter child is a Squib."
I felt myself tense up. "You can't tell that for certain."
"Oh? Then the rumor that he does not hum is false?" I didn't answer. "If a child does not hum or show his first signs, then I would say he's a Squib."
"It's a block, it can be fixed," I stuttered.
Lucius shook his head. "You know very well it's not a block. You know what they say..."
"It's an old wives' tale!" I shouted.
Lucius ignored me. "When a pureblood and a Mudblood marry, how can you expect anything other than Squibs?"
I nearly went for my wand but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of me getting arrested. "Don't you dare call my wife that term!"
"Mudblood." Both Lucius and I stopped for it wasn't Lucius who spoke. "Mudblood." It was little Draco. "Mudblood. Mudblood. Mudblood." It was sickening to hear a baby say that disgusting word. Draco was grinning all the while.
"Even a baby knows that," Lucius commented proudly.
I moved Harry's carriage aside so I could step up to Lucius. "Get out of my way," I demanded through gritted teeth.
Before Lucius could respond, Draco screamed. We both turned to see what was wrong and saw that Harry had his mouth firmly on Draco's hand, chomping on it.
"Harry! Stop that!" I cried although on the inside I was cheering. I managed to remove Harry's mouth from Draco's hand and in the confusion of Draco's wails, I rushed to the counter, bought the powders, and darted out of the store.
I practically ran through the streets and when I was a safer distance away, I stopped and bent down to look at Harry at eye-level. He grinned at me and reached out for me. I couldn't help but smile back at him. "That was a fantastic performance in there, Harry." He giggled. "I should be angry at you since that wasn't very nice but I'll let you off this time." I kissed his forehead and breathed in his hair. "Oh, you're so perfect. I love you so much." I gave him another peck on the cheek as I got up. "Lucius is wrong. Even a baby knows that purity doesn't matter."
*** ***
Luckily, Floo Powder and Communication Powder were the last things we needed from the Wizarding World so we could avoid any more run-ins with Lucius and his son, Draco. Although, I entertained visions of Harry biting Draco again as I left for Muggle London.
As I walked, my joy over Harry's not-so-nice behavior faded in favor of doubt over his talent. As the months passed, my anxiety over Harry's possible Squibness worsened. I looked around at the Muggles around me. I couldn't live like them, I didn't even understand them, how would Harry survive?
"Let's go to a park," I suggested to Harry. "Mummy won't be home for awhile and it's so nice out. Just for a little while."
I walked until I came across a park. In the distance, I could see a footpath circling a large lake. Children and parents were walking or playing with their dogs in the grass. I smiled at them when they smiled at me as I led Harry to the footpath. The sun glistened off the ripples in the water and it lapped against the tiny shore. Ducks quacked as they glided over the water or flew up into the air. "Look, Harry, ducks!" I pointed to the ducks and Harry clapped his hands. "But where do the ducks go in winter? I used to think they stayed frozen under the ice, like fruit in a trifle. Isn't that silly? The ducks really go south, where it's nice and warm. Most birds do. And some people as well," I joked. I pushed him along the footpath.
"You know, Harry, I've been thinking about this whole Squib thing. There's nothing wrong with being a Squib. Muggles aren't all bad, well, maybe your Aunt Petunia but she's probably an exception. Some wizards are just as rotten. You could live like a Muggle. You understand why I care so much, I can't imagine any life other than the one I have. Your Mummy knows more about Muggles than I do. And if it comes to that, then we'll do everything to make sure you're happy and successful. We'll send you the best of the best Muggle schools. Even if you're not magical, you're still our son and you'll probably be one smart boy." I stroked his hair as he gazed at the water and the ducks. "You're so special to us. We only want the best for you. So, if Hogwarts isn't an option, then we'll find you a good Muggle school. You won't even care if you're a Squib or not. You'll make loads of friends and you'll meet some wonderful girl and you'll fall in love and get married and have some beautiful children. And we'll be right there with you, every step of the way." I sighed. "What's the difference between Wizard and Muggle anyway? We all want the same things. We all laugh and cry and love and hate and get born and die. If the Muggle life is for you, then I'll be happy for you. I'll always love you, no matter what. No one can take you away from me, I'll always be here." Harry glanced up at me and I stroked his hair again. "Speaking of the future, I wonder what kind of girls you'll like. I can barely wait to see your first girlfriend. Will she be like your Mummy? Or completely different? Will you be like me and find your true love after one go or will you be like your silly uncles who have had more girlfriends than fingers and toes? And what will be your favorite subjects? Your least favorite? I wonder who your friends will be? Who will you absolutely hate? Sure hope it's Draco. If you befriend him, I'll jump out of a window. And if I'm right, and you're not a Squib after all this fuss, I wonder if you'll play Quidditch? What position will you play?" I laughed. "I can't believe that I'm both looking forward and dreading the day you go to Hogwarts!" I ruffled his hair as I continued along the footpath. We took a detour to a large oak tree off the footpath and meandered in the grass.
As we were heading towards the path again, I saw a woman sitting on a bench, reading a thick book. She had curly brown hair that was trying to be held in some sort of hair contraption resembling a piranha. On her left side was a Muggle baby carriage and as I got closer, I could hear her reading aloud.
"'When he was gone, and in the course of an evening passed with Miss Pross, the Doctor, and Mr. Lorry, Charles Darnay made some mention of this conversation in general terms, and spoke of Sydney Carton as a problem of carelessness and recklessness. He spoke of him, in short, not bitterly or meaning to bear hard upon him, but as anybody might who saw him as he showed himself.
'He had no idea that this could dwell in the thoughts of his fair young wife; but, when he afterwards joined her in their own rooms, he found her waiting for him with the old pretty lifting of the forehead strongly marked'."
"Excuse me," I asked, as she paused to take a breath before reading on. "May I sit down on this bench with you?"
"Of course. Please do." She held out her hand to shake as I sat down. I shook it and she greeted, "My name is Dr. Helen Granger."
"James Potter. This is my son, Harry," I replied, nodding towards Harry, who cooed.
"This is my daughter, Hermione," she answered, gesturing her hand at her carriage. The baby inside was hidden from sight. She smiled and said, "Get it?"
"Get what?"
"Our names. Helen and Hermione. Do you understand the reference?"
I was completely boggled. "They both begin with H and E."
She sighed forlornly. "Why do I bother?" she asked no one in particular. "Surely you've heard of Helen of Troy?"
I was about say, "Oh! The witch who used a love charm on every man she met and caused a huge war because of it?" but then I realized that I was talking to a Muggle and a Muggle wouldn't know that. I decided to use the Muggle version. "Yes, the most beautiful woman during Ancient Times. She caused the Trojan War and is 'the face that sailed a thousand ships'."
"Yes. Well, Helen of Troy had a daughter named Hermione."
"Really?"
She sighed in frustration. "Yes, but no one actually knows that because no one actually sits down and studies mythology if they study at all. Philistines! I mean, how hard is to actually sit down and read once in a while. No, everyone watches soaps instead. Does your wife watch soaps?"
"No," I answered.
"Well, that makes two of us. People today!" She sighed sadly. "I worry for my little girl sometimes. All this glory about not working hard, it's very worrying, you know what I mean?" I nodded. "Of course, to be honest, I only named Hermione that because of that's the female lead 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. We only realized the relation between my name and hers after the fact. Funny how these things work out!"
"Why name her after someone in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'?" I asked.
She looked longingly at the lake in a very romantic fashion. "Oh, because that's the play that my husband took me to for our first date. I knew that he was the one. So, I named her that in honor of that wonderful night." She frowned. "Of course, no one realizes that Hermione is from a Shakespeare play. That's even if they get it right the first time. Her-my-oh-nee, how difficult is that?" Should've named her Juliet, I thought but didn't voice aloud. She might have killed me. "I'm sorry, I'm ranting at you. I had a hard day, not that that's any excuse. Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I always take Hermione in the stroller, go to the park, and read her a good book. That always cheers me up."
"What were you reading just now?"
"A Tale of Two Cities. I'm not going to dumb her down just because she's a baby. It is important to expose children early to advanced literature and to speak to them like they are adults or they'll never learn or push themselves." She set the book down beside on the left side, near the baby, and asked, "Can I take a closer look at your son?"
"Sure," I answered. I moved over so she could crouch in front of Harry.
"Has his teeth grown in?"
"A few."
"That's good." I'm sure she kept talking but I wasn't listening. I felt a crackle of magical energy coming from my left side. I turned my head to see where it came from, hoping it wasn't Lucius coming to enact his revenge. He was nowhere in sight but I saw the baby inside the carriage now. Her scalp was dotted with tiny brown curls that looked like mattress springs. Her eyes were focused on the book. Slowly, as if by a string, the book floated up and moved towards the carriage. Just as slowly, it floated down to a mesh pocket on the side and the pocket opened wide. The book dropped in and mesh pocket snapped shut. I had never seen a Muggle-born witch or wizard outside of Hogwarts. I knew they all started out as babies at some point but it was still amazing to see.
"Hello? Mr. Potter?"
I whirled my head back towards the mother, who was looking at me strangely. "What?"
"I asked if you have a dentist in mind for your son."
"Um... I don't know."
She reached into her pocket and took out a card. "My husband and I ran a family dentistry center near here. Here's our card. Call us anytime. We do adults too."
"Uh, sure," I mumbled as I took the card. I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and scream, "Don't you see what your daughter just did? Your daughter can do magic, don't you understand?" but I knew that I would just frighten her.
"Where's my book?" she asked as she came back over. She shook her head. "There it is, in the pocket! I must have put it there before. I must be losing my mind. That seems to be happening a lot lately." She sighed. "I must be working too hard." She undid the lock on the wheels and said sweetly, "Well, it was charming to meet you. I hope you come to our office someday."
"I have a feeling we'll be meeting again soon, Dr. Granger. It was nice meeting you."
"Good bye, Mr. Potter," she said and pushed her daughter away. As she walked out of earshot, I smiled at Harry who was looking at me bemusedly.
"Well, she's definitely going to Hogwarts with you, that's for sure. Maybe you'll date her too." Harry blew a raspberry. I laughed. "Yeah, I don't think I could handle Dr. Helen Granger as a mother-in-law!"
*** ***
"And Potter darts left! He darts right! He narrowly misses a Bludger, good reflexes, Potter! But what's that near the ground? A glitter of gold? It's the Snitch! Go for it, Potter! Watch him fly, ladies and gentlemen! Oh, but the Slytherin Seeker is gaining on Potter's tail! Go, Potter, go! The two Seekers are neck in neck! But, what's this, Potter has suddenly gained speed! Yes, he's been holding out this whole time! The Slytherin Seeker is miles behind! Potter's got the Snitch! Another victory for Gryffindor!" I spun Harry's carriage in a circle as he clapped and laughed. "The crowd's going wild! Even Slytherins are cheering!" I made crowd noises. "Women are throwing themselves on Potter's broom! No pun intended, of course! Get back on the ground, ladies, there's only one of him to go around!" Harry laughed some more. I had been running with his carriage since the park, much to Harry's delight. With his love for speed, he just screams Seeker. As I approached the city again, I slowed down although we both couldn't stop giggling. "We have to act like Muggles now," I warned him. I leaned down to whisper to him, "But England hasn't hosted the Quidditch World Cup in sixteen years. They'll probably host when you're a teenager and we'll go together. Just you and me, no one else. We'll go, I promise." I straightened up again and walked through the street.
I stopped across the street from a flower stall to check the list. Some items could only be found in Muggle London. I held Harry's carriage with one hand and held the list in the other. Suddenly, I felt a crackle of energy running up my arm, sending shivers down my spine. I looked down at Harry and immediately I knew it was his energy I was feeling. I had heard that your own child's energy always feels the best because it is closely linked to your own but I had no idea how intoxicating it feels. It felt so good, all warm and tingly. I almost started to burst out laughing because it sort of went to my head, making me a little light-headed.
Although I should have taken Harry away from the area in order to avoid a horrible accident, my excitement over feeling something from him was too much. "Come on, Harry," I whispered, "you know you want to. You know you can."
He was staring in the direction of the flower stall. A blonde woman with a Muggle baby carriage was talking with the girl at the stall. The woman seemed familiar but I couldn't place where I had seen her. There was a burst of magical energy. The lock on the wheels of the baby carriage lifted up and it started rolling down the hill. There was another burst and the stroller sped down the hill like a racing broom.
I rushed into action. I ran down the hill after the Muggle carriage, pushing Harry in front of me, Harry squealing all the while. I soon realized that there was no way I would catch up on foot. So, I quickly took out my wand and screamed, "Accio!" The baby carriage lurched to a halt and slowly started rolling back towards me. Soon enough, the handlebars of the Muggle stroller lifted my right hand.
The baby inside was crying loudly and Harry was giggling and clapping like a maniac. Although a part of me felt sorry for the little Muggle, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with joy. He wasn't a Squib! All this worry was for nothing! Somehow, Harry was unblocked himself, that's why the magical energy had been so intense because it had been bottled up with nowhere to go. I looked in the Muggle carriage. I gasped when I saw who it was.
It was Dudley. Which means that the mother was...
"Petunia!" I cried. And it was. She was running down the hill, livid with anger and fear.
"My baby! My Dudders! Take your hands off him!" Petunia screamed as she wretched the carriage out of my hand.
Well, I thought, at least she knows what magic is so this won't be too hard. "Petunia, he's alright. I managed to get him to stop rolling."
She looked at me like I was a mass murderer. "You!"
"Petunia, I can explain, you see..."
"You nearly killed my precious little boy!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face.
"Now, wait, Petunia. I can explain. See, Harry here just..." I felt a crackle of energy from Harry.
"I don't care! My boy probably traumatized because of you freaks!"
"Now, wait a minute! Harry didn't mean any harm. See, I was racing the carriage and he likes that so he thought that Dudley would enjoy it too."
"He meant to kill my son!"
"I seriously doubt Harry has murderous intentions towards anyone."
"Your son rolled my son down a hill!"
"I know and I'm sorry. But, on the upside, Harry just had his first signs!" The handlebars seemed to shift in my grip.
"His first what?"
"His first signs of magic! I know you don't like magic and all but this is a wonderful event!"
"Wonderful? He nearly murdered my son! I'm supposed to be happy?!"
I was starting to get angry at her. She was ruining the moment. "Petunia! He didn't mean it! He's a baby!"
"Great! Just what I need, another freak in the family! Why are you so happy about your son doing your hocus pocus silliness?"
"Silliness? Listen, Petunia, if I hadn't done some 'hocus pocus' as you call it, Dudley would still be rolling down that hill, heading into traffic!"
"If your son wasn't such a freak, he wouldn't've been rolling in the first place!"
There was an energy burst and Harry and Dudley flew out of hands, speeding down the hill. We both landed on our stomachs.
"DUDLEY!" Petunia screamed, sprinting after him.
"HARRY!" I yelled, running as well. Apparently, Harry had become bored with our argument and wanted to have some more racing time as well to take his cousin for a spin too.
We both screamed our respective son's names as we ran full steam down the street. Harry and Dudley soon met up with a busy, four-lane street. The cars going along the road that they were about to cross had the green light.
"OH MY GOD!" Petunia shrieked.
"STOP! HARRY! STOP!" I shouted. But Harry didn't stop. I took out my wand but then realized to my horror that I really could only save one. If I saved my son, I would be arrested and sent to Azkaban for a minimum of a year to a maximum of three years for failing to protect a defenseless Muggle minor against magical influence. If I saved Dudley, Harry would die.
The babies neared the curb. Petunia screamed in anguish.
To our surprise, they did not run into the road and get squished by cars. Instead, Harry's and Dudley's carriages flew over the cars to the other side of the road and continued on their way. Dozens of bewildered Muggles leaned out of the windows, asking if they just saw what they thought they saw.
Petunia and I ran into the road, holding our hands out to tell the cars to stop as we sprinted across it. They cursed at us but neither of us cared. We ran after the baby buggies and at every street, they flew over the cars to the Muggles' surprise and astonishment. Every time, we risked death to cross the speeding cars. I don't know how long we ran after them but after forever, the two carriages slowed down and hit a man walking with a group of men in business suits.
The man hit was Vernon Dursley. He hadn't changed a bit. Still red, still no neck, still beefy. The other men looked Japanese and stared bemusedly at Vernon, the babies, and us, wheezing and stumbling up to them. Vernon looked into Dudley's carriage. "Dudley?" Dudley, who had been screaming until this point, gurgled in response. He looked over into Harry's carriage. "Who is this?" Harry, who had been laughing until this point, cried in response.
"That," I panted, "is my son."
Vernon looked furious. I had probably interrupted something very important. "That is my brother-in-law. He is married to my wife's sister."
"James Potter," I said in a form of greeting. They bowed.
"And that is my wife, Petunia." They bowed at her but she wasn't paying attention. She was glaring at me. I stumbled over to Harry's carriage and pulled him away from Vernon. Petunia stalked up to me and looked me straight in the face.
"If I ever, ever see you or your son again, I will call the authorities!" Petunia shrieked.
"Sure, whatever," I moaned. I was so tired. I spun Harry around and walked towards the diner across the street. World-weary, I sat on the plastic chair in the outside patio. Harry was still crying. I took him out of his carriage, placed him over my shoulder, and rocked back and forth until he quieted down. It wasn't until he was quietly breathing on my shoulder that I noticed another change: he hummed. It was such a nice hum, Harry's hum. It must have been awful, having all that energy bottled up. I wonder if it had caused him pain. It was so wonderful to feel that hum.
"Mr. Potter?"
I opened one eye. A woman in a robe smiled nervously at me. "Yes?"
"Mr. Potter, I'm placing you under arrest."
"What?" I asked weakly.
"For violation of the Secrecy Code. Your child's magical activity was seen by over thirty Muggles and he even got caught on film."
"Huh?"
"A newscaster was doing a report on the traffic for the local news and your child and the Muggle child with him flew past the screen. That shot will probably be on the ten o'clock news. And you are responsible for whatever your child so you have to pay the punishment."
"Which is?"
"A hundred Galleon fine and one day in the local prison."
I sighed wearily. "I hate my life."
I paid the fine and spent that night and the following day in jail. Lily was furious but couldn't help being extremely pleased with Harry's first sign and his newly discovered hum.
As I lay on my cot that night, I realized that life was pretty good.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: I succumbed to the urge. I promised myself I wouldn't but I did. I bought Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix. But I have sworn that I will not read it until I have finished my fic. I planned this chapter a long time ago and it was really fun to write. Dr. Granger was a blast. Yes, she really is reading from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. It's at the end of Chapter 20, which is called "A Plea". I had to read it in tenth grade. I still think Carton is the coolest character in the novel, I liked him from the start. It's very boring until the third "book" in the novel, which is really cool. I wanted Dr. Granger to read Hermione something highly intellectual and yet utterly boring at the same time. The mythical Hermione is mentioned in Edith Hamilton's Mythology as well, I think Odysseus' son, Teneleus, meets her at some point during his quest for his father. So, when I think of Hermione, I think of Helen's daughter, not the heroine in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" which is where J. K. Rowling got it from. Cían is my cousin's name! It's pronounced "KEY-in" which, unfortunately, rhymes with Finnigan. The real-life Cían is a bit of a goth, I've only met him once. When I was writing Lucius here, I kept thinking of the guy from the movie and it was ticking me off! "Long hair, bad!" I think he does a wonderful portrayal but I don't like the long hair. I always imagined him looking exactly like Draco, down to his slicked back short hair. He looks goofy with the long hair, especially when he has it tied back with that ribbon thing. He's like a reject from "The Patriot" or something. Actually, now that I remember, he is. I think he played the British general. Does he ever play anyone nice? Anyway, I hope I finish this soon or my mom is going to wonder why I'm not reading the fifth book. I can't say, "Because I'm not done with my fanfic!", can I? Please review! Click the button or e-mail at destinyplot@lycos.com! See ya later!