Chapter Eight-Another Day
Harry escorted his best friend to Dumbledore's office. He walked up the stairs and sighed as he felt the warmth of the office surround him.
"Bout damn time," an annoyed voice said, and the warmth was gone. Harry chuckled.
"I'm not here to please you so get over yourself," Harry said sitting down beside his father.
"I see you found him," Severus said.
"Yes I did, now would you behave," Severus smiled at his son.
"Welcome back Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said smiling at his two Professors.
"Thanks Headmaster."
"Now, come, you're been out of school for fifteen years, it's safe to call me Albus, or at least Dumbledore," Harry chuckled as he played with a neat little toy he found on Albus' desk. Severus reached over and smacked him lightly.
"What?" Harry said.
"Behave," Severus said.
"Sorry," Harry responded. Placing the toy down he looked at Dumbledore, a twinkle in the man's eyes.
"Ron, how much has Harry told you?" Dumbledore asked.
"Um, that he thinks Voldemort is back, and that you needed my help." Dumbledore nodded.
"Ron, I'm sure you remember most of the last battle."
"Yes of course, but we weren't really allowed out of the Hall."
"Well, that's all about to change, here's the basic ideas…"
The meeting between the four men last for three hours. Ron had been listening to Dumbledore most of the time, while Harry had at some point fallen fast asleep in the chair, his feet propped up on Dumbledore's desk. Severus was playing with the toy by this time, looking over at his son every once in awhile.
"Okay, that's it, Albus, it's been three hours, Harry is asleep, and I'm dead on my feet. The next meeting is Saturday night, let's go boys," Severus said. Dumbledore nodded and smiled.
"Very well, goodnight Severus and Ron," Severus nodded as he nudged his sleeping son. Harry snorted slightly and then woke up, rubbing his eyes he looked around.
"What?" He asked.
"Come on, bed time," Severus said. Harry slowly nodded and got out of the chair, cracking his back gently he waved goodbye to his grandfather and followed the other two men out of the office.
It was past one when Harry crawled into the warm bed beside his wife. Scooting towards her he smiled at how quickly she placed herself into his form and waited for him to wrap his arms around her waist.
"No offense Harry, but these late night meetings, is killing our sex life," she said. Harry chuckled and began kissing her neck.
"Sex life? We had a sex life after the birth of the twins?"
"She's four months, that's a month after the waiting point. I think we can fix that."
"Oh, so you want your sex life back?" He asked smiling. She smiled as she watched him yawned.
"Isn't that how we had all of our children, in this very bedroom?" She asked smiling as she kissed him.
"Yeah, I recall it is, I'm really tired," He said. She kissed him again and he chuckled.
"I can wait a few minutes for sleep," she smiled.
"That's all I want," she whispered.
~~~~~~
Harry and Hermione appeared at breakfast the next morning about an hour late. The kids all started cheering when they saw Harry walk in.
"My guess is your students missed you," Hermione said. He smiled and kissed her cheek.
"DAD!" Charlie yelled when he saw Ron behind them. Ron knelt down and lifted his son into his arms.
"Hey sweet boy," Ron said kissing his cheek.
"I love you buddy," Ron whispered. Ginny and Bill waited until their brother came up to the table and attacked him with hugs. Harry said down next to McGonagall and smiled.
"You look well rested," she said smiling. He looked at her.
"Sleep, I didn't get much sleep at all last night," Harry said smiling.
"Ahh, to be young and in love," she said winking. Harry smiled and placed a kiss on the woman's cheek.
"You are the light of my life," he said smiling. He felt a shove on his shoulder and smiled at his wife.
"I've got four of the best women in my life," he said cheerfully.
"If you did what I think you did last night, and he's this happy keep it up," Severus said leaning over. Hermione giggled as her father-in-law kissed her cheek.
"Hey," Harry said looking at his dad. Severus smiled at Harry and they all started eating.
~~~~~~~
Harry sat on his desk that morning with his first year Slytherins and Gryffindors talking to them about the different spells they might encounter and what to do if they did.
"But how do you know if someone is going to throw a spell at you," one students asked. Harry smiled.
"You don't. You're guessing. Truth is tomorrow you could walk in here, and Jamie could throw a spell at you, now while that would be illegal and very bad, he could. Which is why we try and prepare you. There is good in the world, but there is also bad, and that's why I'm here to teach you about. How to defend yourselves against the dark arts. That's how you're going to survive when you become a witch or wizard. If you can defend yourself, you'll do great."
"How do you know what spell to use if they do throw something at you."
"Ah, now there's the other tricky part. You don't."
"But then, how do you survive?" Another student inquired.
"Well for example the Unforgivable Curses you can't defend yourself always. For the Imperious Curse you can use a shield, that will hopefully deflect it from you to the other person. For the Craticus you learn to cope with the pain. Step by Step you begin to center yourself, and the pain.
"What about the Killing Curse," Jamie said. Harry eyed his son and smiled.
"Only one person has ever survived that curse, and I'm still waiting to find out how he did it," Harry said smiling.
"Wow, who was he?" Harry smiled as the student asked that question.
"You tell me, you're researching the Dark Lord," Harry said.
"Now, with other curses we teach you things that will help rebound the spell or even absorb it quicker so you don't feel the affects for as long or bad."
"Are you going to teach them to us?" A young Slytherin asked.
"Come to Dueling club tomorrow after classes, and then you shall learn what you wish there." Harry said. The bell rang.
"All right, tomorrow I want you all ready to discuss the Dark Lord, and make sure you know who survived the Killing Curse, first five people to tell me get ten points to their house, Alex and Jamie you two are automatically disqualified, for good reasons, and if you tell anyone, I will find out," Harry said as the kids all left the room.
"Dad," Alex called softly looking towards his father. Harry slipped off the desk and stood in front of his son, marveling at how small the boy seemed at times. Much like him, when he had been eleven.
"Yeah," Harry said as he moved behind the desk, his seventh years were coming up next, and he had to prepare.
"Why didn't you tell them the truth?" Alex asked. Harry looked at his son.
"What do you mean?"
"Why didn't you tell them that you were the one who survived it? They're going to find out anyway."
"Because Alex, I'm not going to sit here and regale every scary or interesting tale I had, besides that is one memory I would love to be able to forget." Harry said turning his back to his son.
"Can you still see them?" Alex asked. Harry stopped, and stiffened slightly.
"Yes, every time I close my eyes," Harry whispered.
"I'm sorry," Alex whispered. Harry sighed and sat down in his chair, turning and smiling at his son. Reaching out he pulled the boy into his arms, and smiled, his chin resting on the young man's shoulder.
"Don't be, I'm happy Alex. I have been for years, thanks to your grandfather and everyone. Your mother as well, I'm okay now Alex, it doesn't hurt as much," he said.
"But momma says when someone dies you always hurt."
"Mum is right, I will always be sad that my mother died, and that a good man died trying to protect me as though I were his real son. That will always be a pain I carry, until my dying day. However, at the same time I refuse to spend my entire life wallowing in self pity. I lived an abusive childhood until I was fifteen, now that's something you never had to live through. I would never hit any of you, for any reason. I'm a better father and friend because of some of these things."
"Dad did you ever want to hurt yourself?" The boy asked.
"What brought that up?" Harry asked looking into his son's eyes.
"Well, there was a boy in our class that tried to kill himself. I don't understand why someone would want to hurt themselves."
"Alex, sometimes people have so much pain inside of them, that they're over whelmed by it. It's like… it's like a raging river, there is a pole being held out to you, and that is the person you love more than anything. Meanwhile there's this water, your problems, and they keep pulling you down and under, not letting you get a breathe, and no matter how hard you try, you can feel yourself drowning, until one day you're so empty, you're so hopeless, you die."
"That's horrible," Alex said.
"Yeah it is buddy. I've felt that way once or twice," Harry said, admitting to his son's question.
"Since you married momma?"
"No, not since I married your momma, not since I found my father either. Before then, yes," just then the late bell rang, Harry looked up to see most of his class filing in. He smiled lightly at his sister.
"Dad, can I stay here."
"No, you have a class, don't you?" Harry asked.
"Divination," Harry groaned.
"On second thought, yes you can stay with me," Harry said smiling. He waited for his son to get off his lap and smiled.
"Okay class, this is Alex, and he's going to help us today," the kids smiled as Alex remained tight by his father's side.
"Now today…" And the class began.