Having Some Fun
"Well, I guess we should get you two to Madame Pomfrey so she can have a look at you," Dumbledore said.
Lily and James nodded and slowly stood up. They were unsteady on their legs, but were able to get out fo their coffins. As soon as everyone was apperated back to the Hogwarts grounds, Lily and James were immediately sent up to the hospital wing.
"Oh," Madame Pomfrey said when she saw them. "It's so good to see you again." She gave them a look over and pronounced them fit and healthy.
"I suggest that you all head up to the Gryffindor common room," Professor Dumbledore said. "I believe you have a lot of catching up to do." He smiled at Sirius, Remus, and the Potters and went up to his office.
Harry led the way to the common room. He didn't really know what to say to his parents. He decided to let them talk to Sirius and Remus for awhile. After all, they were the ones they had known all their lives. They were the ones they had memories with.
When they got to the common room, Harry sat down in an armchair by the fire. The adults sat down in the other chairs around him.
"Harry," Lily spoke up. "You've really grown up. I remember when you were just a little baby."
Harry looked up at his mother and smiled.
"What year are you in at Hogwarts?" his father asked.
"I'll be starting my fifth this year," Harry replied.
"Do you play Quidditch?"
"I'm Seeker on the house team."
"He made it his first year," Sirius couldn't help but add.
"Really?" James seemed really proud of that.
Harry nodded. "It was sort of an accident, though."
"So, Harry, how did Sirius treat you?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, I bet he let you get away with everything," James added.
"Uhh...." Harry shared an uneasy glance with Sirius and Remus.
"What?" James asked. "What happened? You did live with Sirius, right?"
"Not exactly," Sirius sighed. "You see, since we didn't tell anyone about switching Secret Keepers, everyone thought I'd betrayed you. And then Peter faked his own death and I got caught holding the blame. I was sent to Azkaban. I was there for twelve years. Then I escaped. I've been on the run ever since."
"How could anyone think that you would betray us?" James burst out.
"How does Harry know?" Lily asked.
"When I escaped, I came here to look for Peter. He was Ron's pet rat. I met them in the Shrieking Shack and Remus and I explained everything to them."
"Who's Ron?" Lily asked.
"My best friend," Harry spoke up. "Well, one of them at least."
"Oh," James said. "Well, who have you been living with?"
"The Durselys," Harry muttered.
"The Durselys," Lily repeated. "Isn't that my sister's family?"
Harry nodded.
"Did they treat you well?"
Harry gave a hollow laugh. "Yeah, right. They made me sleep in the cupboard under the stairs for ten years. When I come home from Hogwarts, they lock all my things there, now."
"Really?" James exclaimed. "Why would they do something like that?"
Harry shrugged.
"Let's forget about that for now," Lily said. "We need to catch up with what's been happening while you've been here at Hogwarts."
Harry grinned. "That might take awhile."
"Really? Why?"
"A whole lot has happened in the four years I've been here."
"Well, come on, tell us!" James urged.
"Yeah, Sirius and I don't even know what happened in your first and second years," Remus chimed in.
Harry went on to explain everything that had gone on in the past four years. He told them everything he could remember. By the time he finished, the sun was coming up.
"Wow," James said when Harry stopped talking. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"
Harry just shrugged.
"Why don't you get some sleep, Harry," Lily replied. "You've been up for too long."
Harry nodded and stumbled up the stairs to his dormitory. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. Around noon, Harry woke up. He got changed and went back down to the common room. No one was there when he got downstairs. He took a look at the calender on the wall and his stomach gave a jolt. After all the excitement from the night before, he had completely forgotten that today was his birthday.
Harry rushed out of the common room and ran to the Great Hall. He hoped to find his parents or Sirius and Remus there. He pulled open the doors to the Great Hall and was shocked at what he found behind them.
The Weasleys and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table waiting for him. Sirius, Remus, and his parents were sitting with them talking to Arthur and Molly Weasley.
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and ran to give Harry a hug.
"Whoa," Harrysaid. "Will ya calm down, Hermione! Your hugging me so tight I can't breath!"
"Sorry," Hermione looked up and smiled. "I'm just excited to see you, that's all."
"What are you guys doing here, anyway?" Harry asked as he sat down next to Ron.
"Sirius wrote to us last week and arranged for us to come," Ron explained. "Mum, Dad, and Percy are leaving tonight. Charlie, Bill, Fred, George, Ginny and I are staying until school starts. Charlie and Bill are going to be helping Hagrid with Care of Magical Creatures this year."
"That's awesome!" Harry said.
The kids talking all during breakfast. They talked about what had happened over the summer. It turned out that Hermione had gone to Bulgaria to visit Viktor Krum. Harry didn't know why, but he didn't like that. He gave himself a mental shake and listened to what Hermione had to say about the other country.
She had gone to all the educational places, of course. Mostly, she just watched Krum train for the upcoming Quidditch season.
"You are so lucky you got to see that up close!" Ron exclaimed.
"Yeah, really," Harry added. "You always seem to have the best vacations!"
"It got really boring after a while," Hermione objected. "I bet I would have had more fun here, keeping you company, Harry."
"Well, I would've had more fun," Harry said.
By that time, they had finished eating breakfast and were just about to leave the Great Hall. Harry stopped them just when Ron pushed the doors open.
"What?" Hermione asked. "What's the matter?"
"I want to stay here," Harry said. "You know, to be with my parents. I only talked to them for a few hours last night."
"Yeah, we should stay," Ron agreed. "We haven't even met them yet."
"You haven't?"
"No, my parents started tlaking to them when we got here. Mum and Dad didn't really inroduce us." Ron replied.
The three trouped back to the table and sat by the adults. They looked up as the teenagers sat down.
"Oh, hello, Harry, dear," Molly Weasely greeted him. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Harry smiled.
"We were just getting to know your parents and Sirius a little better," she continued.
"Hey!" Harry suddenly cried.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked, immediately concerned.
"I just realized. You two can help free Sirius!" Harry explained.
"Hey, that's right!" Ron joined in.
"Actually, we were going to go down to the Ministry of Magic and talk to Fudge today," James spoke up. "Once he talks to us, he'll know the truth and will have to let Sirius free."
"He might not really believe you on everything," Harry said.
"Why not?"
"If he doesn't want to believe it, he won't. He still doesn't believe that Voldemort is back."
The Weasleys all flinched at the name, but Ron agreed with Harry. "He doesn't believe Harry at all."
"We'll have to find a way to make him believe us then," James said.
The teenagers looked at each other and shrugged. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins all got up and headed toward the doors. Harry hesitated. He didn't want to leave his parents after being away from them for so long, but he also wanted to go with his friends.
His mom must have known what he was thinking, becouse she said, "Go on, Harry. You haven't seen your friends all summer. You need to catch up on things."
Harry gave her a quick smile and went over to the doors, where his friends were waiting for him.
"Come on, Harry," Fred said. "Let's go down to the Quidditch field. We need to get ready for the season."
"Yeah, we've got to win this year. I don't know how we'll do it without Wood this time. He'll be hard to replace," George agreed.
"Just let me got my Firebolt. I'll meet you at the pitch." Harry ran up to the dormitories and grabbed his broom. He went down to the pitch and they played until close to dinnertime. They were deep into their practice when James went down to bring them inside. He decided to stay out of the way and watch for a few minutes. He watched calmly until he saw Harry dive for the Snitch.
It nearly gave him a heart attack as he watched him pull out of a dive a foot from the ground. Without thinking, he ran out to his son as he jumped off his broom. "What were you doing?!" he cried.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, puzzled about why his father was so upset.
"You nearly killed me when I saw that!"
"Oh, sorry 'bout that," Harry said sheepishly. "I'm just used to seeing things like that."
"You are a great flyer, you know?" James was starting to relax.
"That's what everyone says," Harry shrugged.
By that time, Harry's friends had gathered around them.
"Oh, stop being modest, Harry. You know you're great," Ron said, patting him on the back.
The other Weasleys and Hermione joined in on praising Harry on his Quidditch skills until Harry was red in the face.
"Hey, I was down here because I was supposed to bring you up for dinner, so let's get going. We have some things to tell you after dinner too." James led the group to the Great Hall to have dinner. All of them were curious about what kind of news the adults had to give them.
"Well, I guess we should get you two to Madame Pomfrey so she can have a look at you," Dumbledore said.
Lily and James nodded and slowly stood up. They were unsteady on their legs, but were able to get out fo their coffins. As soon as everyone was apperated back to the Hogwarts grounds, Lily and James were immediately sent up to the hospital wing.
"Oh," Madame Pomfrey said when she saw them. "It's so good to see you again." She gave them a look over and pronounced them fit and healthy.
"I suggest that you all head up to the Gryffindor common room," Professor Dumbledore said. "I believe you have a lot of catching up to do." He smiled at Sirius, Remus, and the Potters and went up to his office.
Harry led the way to the common room. He didn't really know what to say to his parents. He decided to let them talk to Sirius and Remus for awhile. After all, they were the ones they had known all their lives. They were the ones they had memories with.
When they got to the common room, Harry sat down in an armchair by the fire. The adults sat down in the other chairs around him.
"Harry," Lily spoke up. "You've really grown up. I remember when you were just a little baby."
Harry looked up at his mother and smiled.
"What year are you in at Hogwarts?" his father asked.
"I'll be starting my fifth this year," Harry replied.
"Do you play Quidditch?"
"I'm Seeker on the house team."
"He made it his first year," Sirius couldn't help but add.
"Really?" James seemed really proud of that.
Harry nodded. "It was sort of an accident, though."
"So, Harry, how did Sirius treat you?" Lily asked.
"Yeah, I bet he let you get away with everything," James added.
"Uhh...." Harry shared an uneasy glance with Sirius and Remus.
"What?" James asked. "What happened? You did live with Sirius, right?"
"Not exactly," Sirius sighed. "You see, since we didn't tell anyone about switching Secret Keepers, everyone thought I'd betrayed you. And then Peter faked his own death and I got caught holding the blame. I was sent to Azkaban. I was there for twelve years. Then I escaped. I've been on the run ever since."
"How could anyone think that you would betray us?" James burst out.
"How does Harry know?" Lily asked.
"When I escaped, I came here to look for Peter. He was Ron's pet rat. I met them in the Shrieking Shack and Remus and I explained everything to them."
"Who's Ron?" Lily asked.
"My best friend," Harry spoke up. "Well, one of them at least."
"Oh," James said. "Well, who have you been living with?"
"The Durselys," Harry muttered.
"The Durselys," Lily repeated. "Isn't that my sister's family?"
Harry nodded.
"Did they treat you well?"
Harry gave a hollow laugh. "Yeah, right. They made me sleep in the cupboard under the stairs for ten years. When I come home from Hogwarts, they lock all my things there, now."
"Really?" James exclaimed. "Why would they do something like that?"
Harry shrugged.
"Let's forget about that for now," Lily said. "We need to catch up with what's been happening while you've been here at Hogwarts."
Harry grinned. "That might take awhile."
"Really? Why?"
"A whole lot has happened in the four years I've been here."
"Well, come on, tell us!" James urged.
"Yeah, Sirius and I don't even know what happened in your first and second years," Remus chimed in.
Harry went on to explain everything that had gone on in the past four years. He told them everything he could remember. By the time he finished, the sun was coming up.
"Wow," James said when Harry stopped talking. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"
Harry just shrugged.
"Why don't you get some sleep, Harry," Lily replied. "You've been up for too long."
Harry nodded and stumbled up the stairs to his dormitory. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. Around noon, Harry woke up. He got changed and went back down to the common room. No one was there when he got downstairs. He took a look at the calender on the wall and his stomach gave a jolt. After all the excitement from the night before, he had completely forgotten that today was his birthday.
Harry rushed out of the common room and ran to the Great Hall. He hoped to find his parents or Sirius and Remus there. He pulled open the doors to the Great Hall and was shocked at what he found behind them.
The Weasleys and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table waiting for him. Sirius, Remus, and his parents were sitting with them talking to Arthur and Molly Weasley.
"Harry!" Hermione shrieked and ran to give Harry a hug.
"Whoa," Harrysaid. "Will ya calm down, Hermione! Your hugging me so tight I can't breath!"
"Sorry," Hermione looked up and smiled. "I'm just excited to see you, that's all."
"What are you guys doing here, anyway?" Harry asked as he sat down next to Ron.
"Sirius wrote to us last week and arranged for us to come," Ron explained. "Mum, Dad, and Percy are leaving tonight. Charlie, Bill, Fred, George, Ginny and I are staying until school starts. Charlie and Bill are going to be helping Hagrid with Care of Magical Creatures this year."
"That's awesome!" Harry said.
The kids talking all during breakfast. They talked about what had happened over the summer. It turned out that Hermione had gone to Bulgaria to visit Viktor Krum. Harry didn't know why, but he didn't like that. He gave himself a mental shake and listened to what Hermione had to say about the other country.
She had gone to all the educational places, of course. Mostly, she just watched Krum train for the upcoming Quidditch season.
"You are so lucky you got to see that up close!" Ron exclaimed.
"Yeah, really," Harry added. "You always seem to have the best vacations!"
"It got really boring after a while," Hermione objected. "I bet I would have had more fun here, keeping you company, Harry."
"Well, I would've had more fun," Harry said.
By that time, they had finished eating breakfast and were just about to leave the Great Hall. Harry stopped them just when Ron pushed the doors open.
"What?" Hermione asked. "What's the matter?"
"I want to stay here," Harry said. "You know, to be with my parents. I only talked to them for a few hours last night."
"Yeah, we should stay," Ron agreed. "We haven't even met them yet."
"You haven't?"
"No, my parents started tlaking to them when we got here. Mum and Dad didn't really inroduce us." Ron replied.
The three trouped back to the table and sat by the adults. They looked up as the teenagers sat down.
"Oh, hello, Harry, dear," Molly Weasely greeted him. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Harry smiled.
"We were just getting to know your parents and Sirius a little better," she continued.
"Hey!" Harry suddenly cried.
"What's wrong?" Lily asked, immediately concerned.
"I just realized. You two can help free Sirius!" Harry explained.
"Hey, that's right!" Ron joined in.
"Actually, we were going to go down to the Ministry of Magic and talk to Fudge today," James spoke up. "Once he talks to us, he'll know the truth and will have to let Sirius free."
"He might not really believe you on everything," Harry said.
"Why not?"
"If he doesn't want to believe it, he won't. He still doesn't believe that Voldemort is back."
The Weasleys all flinched at the name, but Ron agreed with Harry. "He doesn't believe Harry at all."
"We'll have to find a way to make him believe us then," James said.
The teenagers looked at each other and shrugged. Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and the twins all got up and headed toward the doors. Harry hesitated. He didn't want to leave his parents after being away from them for so long, but he also wanted to go with his friends.
His mom must have known what he was thinking, becouse she said, "Go on, Harry. You haven't seen your friends all summer. You need to catch up on things."
Harry gave her a quick smile and went over to the doors, where his friends were waiting for him.
"Come on, Harry," Fred said. "Let's go down to the Quidditch field. We need to get ready for the season."
"Yeah, we've got to win this year. I don't know how we'll do it without Wood this time. He'll be hard to replace," George agreed.
"Just let me got my Firebolt. I'll meet you at the pitch." Harry ran up to the dormitories and grabbed his broom. He went down to the pitch and they played until close to dinnertime. They were deep into their practice when James went down to bring them inside. He decided to stay out of the way and watch for a few minutes. He watched calmly until he saw Harry dive for the Snitch.
It nearly gave him a heart attack as he watched him pull out of a dive a foot from the ground. Without thinking, he ran out to his son as he jumped off his broom. "What were you doing?!" he cried.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, puzzled about why his father was so upset.
"You nearly killed me when I saw that!"
"Oh, sorry 'bout that," Harry said sheepishly. "I'm just used to seeing things like that."
"You are a great flyer, you know?" James was starting to relax.
"That's what everyone says," Harry shrugged.
By that time, Harry's friends had gathered around them.
"Oh, stop being modest, Harry. You know you're great," Ron said, patting him on the back.
The other Weasleys and Hermione joined in on praising Harry on his Quidditch skills until Harry was red in the face.
"Hey, I was down here because I was supposed to bring you up for dinner, so let's get going. We have some things to tell you after dinner too." James led the group to the Great Hall to have dinner. All of them were curious about what kind of news the adults had to give them.