A/N: Sorry for the long update, but there weren't as many reviews : ( so I waited for more… which didn't come…. But thank you LOTS to everyone who did review! You're my day-brighten-uppers : ) Lolz!! Okay, now for the chapter: ) Oh, and this story will probably end up with 60-70 chapters and will have a sequel!!
Chapter 44:
"Dragons?" repeated Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lenore, and Draco all at once. Hagrid nodded proudly.
"Yep… We needed something, and, well, Dumbledore; good man, Dumbledore- he got in touch with yer brother, Ron, and we'll be gettin' Norbert back! Wonder if he'll remember his mummy?" Hagrid beamed proudly. "Oh, an' we'll also be getting' two eggs, because dragons are hard ter tame after abou' a year or so. They should hatch aroun' Easter an' we're gonna train 'em!" Harry exchanged a glance with Ron that clearly read: is Dumbledore out of his mind.
"B- but, Hagrid," Hermione began. "Dragon eggs are very hard to take care of, especially with students poking about everywhere, and-"
"My Care o' magical creatures class needs some practice. We'll be takin' care of 'em in the OWL and NEWT classes. The students will do fine, Hermione, honestly-"
"But Hagrid!" she again reasoned. "How on earth will you feed them? And where will they live?" Harry stole a quick glance at Lenore and Draco. Lenore looked mildly interested, but Draco looked so afraid he could wet himself.
But nothing could wipe the smile off of Hagrid's face. "We'll train 'em not to eat the students; no need ter worry abou' that, and-"
"Hagrid," intervened Ron, "Charlie told me about some of the things Dragons eat! You could never find them here! How will you feed them?" he asked incredulously.
"Now don't you worry, Ron. I have it all settled. But, well, I was wonderin' if yeh'd all like to help with the dragons. Yeh know, trainin' 'em an' stuff…" Harry smiled.
"Sure, Hagrid. But we'd better go now; I have a meeting with Evelyn tonight and I probably shouldn't be late."
Hagrid's face fell. "All righ', then. Make sure yeh come back soon…. I'll send a letter up ter the school when the eggs arrive."
"Okay, Hagrid. Bye!" With that, Hermione, Ron, and Harry fled from the hut.
"Can you believe that?" asked Hermione incredulously the moment they were out of earshot.
"They're crazy," muttered Ron. "Dragons? In the school? What is the world coming to?"
Harry shrugged. Even though dragons were probably a major safety hazard, he was inwardly happy that there would be more protection on the school. Not that the school didn't have protections, of course… Quite the opposite, really…. The DA had been working tirelessly over the weeks, placing even more wards over the castle. The Hogsmeade map was now finished, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione secretly had half a mind to make a map of the Order to see what was going on there.
As the trio reached the castle, Harry parted with Ron and Hermione. He slowly headed down to Evelyn's office. When he got there, he was surprised to see her sitting very close to none other than Lupin, and to see Calista sitting across from them and talking rather loudly, which seemed slightly out of character.
Harry was debating whether to knock first or to just go away, but to his surprise, the door opened a moment later, revealing a grinning Lupin.
"Hi, Harry," he said brightly. "Come on in…" Harry smiled slightly,, feeling suddenly awkward. He was in a room full of people he should've known since he was born… yet, he had just met Lupin three years ago and Evelyn and Calista just three months ago.
"Sit down," said Evelyn, who was laughing. She wasn't in her work clothes, but some Muggle jeans and a turtleneck. Her long curly hair was sloppily pulled back into a messy bun. Calista was sitting on an armchair with her black hair straightened.
"Hi," said Calista.
"Hello," said Harry, sitting on an armchair. Everyone else sat back down and there was a momentary silence, finally broken by Evelyn.
"So, Harry… you'd like to find out more about Lily?"
"Yeah," said Harry, wishing he was somewhere else.
"Well," said Lupin, smiling. "Evelyn? Calli?" Calli suddenly grinned.
"I met her on the first day of school."
"Well," cut in Evelyn, "All of us did, really…" Calli nodded fairly.
"I suppose you're right. Anyway, the moment we all settled down in our compartment, Harry, your father entered. He introduced himself with Sirius, Remus, and Peter… After he found out Lily's name, he-" Calli and Evelyn both began giggling.
Remus chuckled. "He was talking to himself, but he said it out loud… Lily and James Potter; I love the sound of that; she'll be so happy to go out with me, right, Siri?" Calli began giggling even harder. Then Remus rolled his eyes.
"Sirius and James were friends before school started, and Evelyn knew them. She had a crush on James back then, and she was furious at Lily, because she had already admitted her crush. She ended up kicking the foodcart at Lily, who got a black eye, and then James tried to kiss her to make her feel better…. That started the whole James/Lily/hate each other thing…" Harry chuckled.
"So, Evelyn, how did you and Lily become friends?" Evelyn grinned.
"By writing lists of all the things we hated about James Potter," answered Calli. "Since I was too kind to hate James, Lily and Evelyn stopped talking to Holly and me for a while. But, eventually, after Evelyn began to like one of the Marauders, she forgave us, and we managed to break through Lils' redheaded stubbornness…"
Harry grinned. "I had always thought my Mum would've been kind of a bookworm or something…"
Evelyn laughed out loud. "Lils? A book worm? She was serious, yes, and she was stubborn, and she was amazingly smart, but it was all natural…. She hated reading!" Remus smiled.
"One time she asked to talk to me, and I said later, because I was reading, and she grabbed the book, spat on it, an threw it in the fireplace. Then she just smiled and said, 'Well, now you're not reading.'"
Calista smiled. "And then James started whistling and said out loud, 'I love it when she's feisty,' and Lily punched him…"
"That's besides the point," said Lupin.
"So," asked Harry, "Did Mum hate Snape, too?"
"Well," said Calista sadly, "She tried to be friends with him, but he was a bit… mislead, and he tried to kiss her, in second year. Of course at that very moment, James was walking down the hallway, and he hexed Snape rather… badly. Lily was furious at them both. She spent the rest of her years at Hogwarts mostly avoiding Snape unless her Prefect Duties got in the way."
"That bastard kissed my Mum?" he asked furiously, though he had heard it before. Evelyn and Calli both nodded.
"I- will- kill- him!" fumed Harry.
"Calm down," said Lupin. "He'll only make your life worse hell if you ever act like you know."
"Ya know?" began Evelyn softly. "James said the same thing after Snape was in the hospital wing. That's when their rivalry really and truly started. They were never friends before that, but never enemies…"
"So how did Dad get her to go out with him finally?" Evelyn, Calista, and Remus exchanged worried glances.
"Well," began Evelyn, "it was after our sixth year. Holly w-was killed, by V-V-Voldemort, and, Lily, Calista, James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, and I were the first to know. Lily was the most upset of all of us. She didn't cry, though. Her parents had already gotten killed that summer, and we believe she shed all her tears then. No, when she saw Holly… dead, she just stared blankly ahead of her, and she kind of… sat down, and laid on the ground. We thought she was going mad. It was like she was going to sleep. James was worried, and he sat down by her and kind of picked her up. She was… like a ghost." Evelyn shivered.
"Then, she just began shivering and she finally began crying onto James' shoulder. She had fancied him for a few months, and she suddenly began telling him as she cried, that she loved him, and begged him not to leave her, too." Remus smiled.
"It was like a new beginning for James. He completely deflated his head, well, almost, and he was always there for Lily. Instead of talking about wanting to have sex with Lily, he would talk about how his angel held his hand, or how he loved it when Lily smiled, or how adorable she was when she was right. And when she was wrong. And when she was talking, and when she wasn't talking…" Calista giggled.
"Sirius was revolted," she laughed. "He finally asked me out in seventh year. The day you were born, Harry, Sirius asked me to marry him. But then Evelyn and I had to go away…" She had tears in her eyes. Harry felt a strong surge of pity.
"I only saw Sirius cry twice," admitted Lupin suddenly. "The day your parents died, and the day Calista and Evelyn supposedly died. Even when things were rough at home, Sirius never cried…" Suddenly Harry had tears in his eyes. God, Sirius! Why did you have to leave?
Suddenly Evelyn began crying. "Remus, did Lily and James… were they- I mean, and Peter-"
A flash of anger passed through Lupin's eyes. "Lily… was never the same. This was when she had to go into hiding, too… Remember the spark in her eyes, Evelyn?" Evelyn smiled through her tears and nodded. "Well… she gave that spark to Harry. You and Calli and Holly were that spark." Suddenly, Calli was crying, too. She stood up and hugged Evelyn. Remus looked lost and confused. He motioned to Harry to just go on. Harry nodded, and headed for the Common Room, where he grabbed his Firebolt.
After that he flew down to the Quidditch Pitch and checked his watch. He was five minutes early for practice. He began to fly around, looking at his home: Hogwarts. He could have had another home, with parents. Peter could be dead, and Holly and Sirius and James and Lily alive. And their children would be like cousins. Harry would've had siblings…
And, in that split moment, Harry possessed enough hatred, that he was sure he could have killed Voldemort.
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Quidditch practice went pretty well. Katie was pleased with the team. Parvati was proving to be a big asset to the team, and Ron was definitely improving. After practice, Harry asked Ginny to go on a walk with him. She smiled and took his hand.
As they began to walk, Harry felt a soothing calm settle over him.
"Are you excited about the match Saturday?" asked Ginny happily.
Harry grinned. "We're gonna beat Slytherin into the ground." Ginny smiled.
"It's so peaceful out here; look at the stars." Harry looked up. They were beautiful. Ginny then pointed at the brightest star.
"Look," she whispered. "Sirius." Harry looked up at the star. Sirius.
"He's watching you, you know," said Ginny quietly. Harry turned around and gazed into Ginny's sparkling brown eyes. Harry managed to nod. And then, before he knew it, they were kissing. And Harry could've sworn that he saw, in the distance, a silhouette of a stag, and heard the happy bark of a dog.
A/N: Review!! Was that chapter really bad?? I liked the very end, but that's about it. Lol! Sooooooooooo review so I can update soon!!