Disclaimer: I own nothing you may recognise in any of my fics. I simply
borrow the odd character and play with them a little
Not Alone Anymore – Family Reunion.
~~~
"How can I face them now?" Harry asked no one in particular as he and the others all walked through Hogsmeade towards the Three Broomsticks. They were heading there to use the floo connection as Lily was far too young to be apparating.
He had been fretting over what was going to happen once he met up with the Weasley's again. It wasn't that he was afraid of any physical damage they could inflict upon him. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself in that respect. No, it was more a matter of the emotional straight he was worried about. He just didn't feel up to doing battle with the red-haired family at the moment.
"Harry you'll be fine!" Remus placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder and the younger wizard found himself leaning into the simple touch.
"I can't deal with an angry Molly right now Remus." He sighed and they walked the rest of the way to the small pub in silence.
When they arrived inside it, all activity stopped at once as everyone turned from their drinks to the party that had just entered. The silence was deafening and it made Harry feel a little uncomfortable. He unconsciously leaned closer to Remus, basking in the protective vibe he got from the other man.
"Sirius, take Lily off your shoulders and take her through first." His godfather nodded and walked to the fireplace after removing the child from his shoulders.
"It's Harry Potter!" Someone at the bar exclaimed with glee and the whole pub filled with whispers.
"And... J-James and L-Lily P-P-Potter too... but how?" someone said to their left.
"While we're young Sirius!" James spoke sharply. His friend nodded and picked up some floo power.
"Diagon Alley." He spoke loud and clear then threw the power down. He and Lily dissolved in a burst of green flames. Harry went next, then Lils and James and finally Remus.
Had Sirius been looking directly ahead, he would have seed a large family of redheads sat around three small tables pushed together enjoying a morning meal. Instead, he'd tripped up as he stepped out of the fireplace and Lily laughed uncontrollably as she stepped from the grate gracefully. Sirius scowled at her luck.
"Paddy!" Lily said as her laughter died down. She eyed her hands with disdain. They were covered in soot along with her clothes. "Floo sucks!" Sirius snorted at the child and dusted himself off too. Not five seconds later, Harry was stepping out of the pub's fireplace. He merely waved a hand and the soot from his clothes had vanished. He then did the same for his daughter.
"Manage alright pup?" He eyed his godfather who was still sprawled out on the floor.
"Paddy fell!" Lily exclaimed dissolving into yet more laughs. Harry smirked down at the fallen man.
"Yeh yeh make comments later. Help me up!" He held out a hand and Harry pulled him to his feet.
"Paddy fell Paddy fell na na na na Paddy fell!" Lily marched up and down before her father and 'great'-godfather singing at the top of her lungs. Harry winced at the sound.
"Lily Molly Potter! Calm down now!" He demanded and the girl halted immediately. Harry put a hand on her hand to show her he wasn't angry and turned back to face Sirius. "This is all your doing you know." He commented and the man before him waved a dismissive hand.
"A mere formality dearest Harry. Now, where are the othe-'' He was cut off however when the fireplace gave a sharp bust of green flames and Remus stepped easily from its confines. He saw Sirius frown at this and grinned.
"You fall again Siri?" The other wizard made an obscene finger gesture that made Harry slap him upside the head.
"Not in front of the kid you mutt." But before Sirius could form a reply, the fireplace light again and out stepped Lils and James. When the pair were soot free, James turned to Remus with a hand held out. The werewolf scowled but handed his friend a small money bag. Harry watched the exchange in curiosity.
"James bet me five Galleons that Sirius would fall when he reached here." Remus explained after seeing the look.
"Paddy fell paddy fell paddy fell!" Lily began to sing again. She turned around to start marching around the whole room but stopped when she saw a large group of people with red hair staring at her and her family with wide- eyed expressions.
"Come one Harry!" Sirius whined. "I want to see that shop! Hey Prongs, these twins have everything! Pranks galore!"
"Oh no you don't Sirius Orion Black!" Lils warned the man. "No pranks! Minerva will throw a fit! She had enough to deal with when the bloody Marauders were running around the Halls of Hogwarts as teenagers! She does not need them playing tricks as adults too!" She stepped up to him and pointed a finger in his face. "No Pranks. Got it?" He nodded mutely.
"Daddy?" Lily spoke up suddenly from behind the group. Harry turned around to look at his daughter only to come face to face with the family he'd been dreading meeting all day. He shook his head to clear his head of the fog that had formed. He tore his eyes away form the Weasley's and knelt down to talk to Lily.
"What's wrong?" He asked and the child looked up at him.
"Why are the funny red haired people staring at us?" she asked innocently.
"Lily, the funny red haired people can hear you, be polite." He said sternly before standing up to face the music, so to speak.
One of the only two women at the table rose from her seat and slowly made her way around her family then stopped as she reached the father/daughter duo.
"Harry? Harry i-is that really you?" The woman stammers and Harry smiled fondly. He could smell the nervous air she had about her, though it pained Harry slightly to know that he'd caused that.
He didn't realise it until now but he had missed her terribly over the years. He missed the times she'd calm him down if ever he'd been upset over something, however trivial it may have seemed at the time. He'd missed how she used to worry over the slighted things. And perhaps most of all... the thing he'd missed most about her was how she used to hug him like she hugged her own children.
"Yes Mrs Weasley, it's me." He spoke in a quiet tone, not sure of what her reaction would be. Then all of a sudden he was gathered up in those arms he'd longed to be gathered up in again and was hugged as he remembered being hugged when he was younger.
Startled, he stiffened at first as he wasn't used to being held in such a way and hadn't been in such a long time. He prayed the woman hadn't noticed and sighed in relief as he realised she hadn't. He then proceeded to hug her back just as tightly as she was embracing him.
After a few seconds, Molly Weasley held Harry at arms length, as If giving him the once over just to make sure he was fine in all physical aspects. Harry had an inkling that she would get to the psychological once over later on. The small smile on her face told Harry he'd passed her inspection and he was released form her hold. He then felt a sudden odd cold feeling and realised for the second time is as many minutes that he missed her motherly touch.
"Merlin Harry, it's been five years!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed. "Where have you been? What have you been doing? Who have you been with? You left so quickly after the final battle – no one got the chance to speak to you. Remus was in a coma too... Oh Harry." She babbled on and on until Harry raised a hand, halting her tirade of questions, comments and other emotion filled remarks. He chuckled at her confused expression.
"Mrs Weasley-''
"Molly dear. Call me Molly." She said with a smile before motioning him to continue. Harry nodded his acknowledgment and carried on talking.
"Molly, I will answer all of your questions I promise but first I need to introduce a few people. Please, sit." He raised a hand, gesturing her to taker her seat once more but instead she conjured another. After moving it so it was close to the table her family were still seated at, she sat down. Harry then conjured up six more chairs for each member of his own family to sit on and once everyone was seated comfortably, he began.
"This," He put a hand on the back of the chair to his right. "is my daughter. Her name is Lily and she was born 6 month after the war had ended. By the time she was born I'd already moved as far away from the wizarding world as I possibly could. It was my plan to raise her on my own as I though Remus had died in the final battle." He studied the Weasley's in front of him and all eight present had equal levels of confusion plastered on their faces.
"Why would you move away from home because you thought Remus had died?" The voice of an older looking Charlie Weasley spoke up and Harry looked in his direction.
"I'll explain in a few minutes Charlie. Just let me get through these will you please?" The red head nodded and Harry continued. "Well, Remus you all obviously know. And as you also know these three, you are all under the assumption they are dead." He gestured towards James, Lils and Sirius. "I don't fully understand it myself to be perfectly honest, but somehow Lily and James Potter and my godfather are alive again." This vague explanation was met by a stunned silence.
"How is it possible?" Bill Weasley spoke up after a minute, voice laden with disbelief.
"Are you sure it's them Harry?" Fred said in a concerned tone of voice.
"How can you be certain? They could be Deatheaters-'' but whatever the other Weasley twin was about to say next was cut short by an irate James Potter.
"I wasn't murdered by Voldemort just to come back and be called a Deatheater! How dare you!" He bellowed.
"James Potter hold your tongue!" Lils snapped at her husband. "They are all clearly worried for Harry, respect that and shut up or Prongs won't be your nickname because your animagus form is a bloody stag!" James paled immediately at the implied meaning of his wife's threat then proceeded to take her advice and shut up. Harry allowed himself a small smile at his parents then turned his attention back to the Weasley's.
"Thanks for your concern George but think about it... I defeated Voldemort. Do you honestly think anyone would even try harming me or anyone close to me?" The twin thought a moment and then shrugged.
"I guess not. You'd no doubt kick their a-'' George received a stern look from his mother and quickly rethought his next words. "Backsides if they did." He finished, casting nervous glances at Molly. The other Weasley's snickered at his sudden attitude change.
"These two are indeed Lily and James Potter. This man is indeed Sirius Black. All of them are very much alive and very much themselves. Now," He looked at Molly. "In answer to your earlier questions: I have been living in one of the smaller Potter homes. The deed of which I found stashed away in the vault. I've been keeping myself busy by raising Lily, reading and various other interesting activities such as finger painting and potty training." He grimaced at that last one. That period in his daughters life would be one Harry would all too soon forget. And the werewolf heightened senses didn't do anything to help him at all. "Other than a few house elves, I've been with no one bar my child." He answered all of Molly's questions in one sitting, pausing only for breath.
"Well, who is Lily's mother?" The woman asked and Harry was sure he heard Sirius snort, but dutifully ignored him.
"Essentially, I am Lily's mother. I carried her, gave birth to her and raised her." He answered simply, noticing only realisation wash over Molly Weasley's face. This confused Harry. While he wasn't expecting a similar reaction to that which his mother had, he was expecting something more than... well, what he was receiving at the moment.
"Who is the father then?" Bill asked before taking a long drink of his now cold cup of tea.
Harry didn't answer straight away, wondering how the family were going to take the news. In the end Harry didn't have to speak up as Remus stepped up from his seat.
"I am."
~~~
Sweet merciful Merlin! Last night I was banned from the computer for reasons I will not go into here, so I couldn't update or even type up anything! My apologies faithful audience, I'll try not to let it happen again. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took me a little time to decide what to put into it but it worked out in the end I guess. Review!
Thank you!!
Not Alone Anymore – Family Reunion.
~~~
"How can I face them now?" Harry asked no one in particular as he and the others all walked through Hogsmeade towards the Three Broomsticks. They were heading there to use the floo connection as Lily was far too young to be apparating.
He had been fretting over what was going to happen once he met up with the Weasley's again. It wasn't that he was afraid of any physical damage they could inflict upon him. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself in that respect. No, it was more a matter of the emotional straight he was worried about. He just didn't feel up to doing battle with the red-haired family at the moment.
"Harry you'll be fine!" Remus placed a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder and the younger wizard found himself leaning into the simple touch.
"I can't deal with an angry Molly right now Remus." He sighed and they walked the rest of the way to the small pub in silence.
When they arrived inside it, all activity stopped at once as everyone turned from their drinks to the party that had just entered. The silence was deafening and it made Harry feel a little uncomfortable. He unconsciously leaned closer to Remus, basking in the protective vibe he got from the other man.
"Sirius, take Lily off your shoulders and take her through first." His godfather nodded and walked to the fireplace after removing the child from his shoulders.
"It's Harry Potter!" Someone at the bar exclaimed with glee and the whole pub filled with whispers.
"And... J-James and L-Lily P-P-Potter too... but how?" someone said to their left.
"While we're young Sirius!" James spoke sharply. His friend nodded and picked up some floo power.
"Diagon Alley." He spoke loud and clear then threw the power down. He and Lily dissolved in a burst of green flames. Harry went next, then Lils and James and finally Remus.
Had Sirius been looking directly ahead, he would have seed a large family of redheads sat around three small tables pushed together enjoying a morning meal. Instead, he'd tripped up as he stepped out of the fireplace and Lily laughed uncontrollably as she stepped from the grate gracefully. Sirius scowled at her luck.
"Paddy!" Lily said as her laughter died down. She eyed her hands with disdain. They were covered in soot along with her clothes. "Floo sucks!" Sirius snorted at the child and dusted himself off too. Not five seconds later, Harry was stepping out of the pub's fireplace. He merely waved a hand and the soot from his clothes had vanished. He then did the same for his daughter.
"Manage alright pup?" He eyed his godfather who was still sprawled out on the floor.
"Paddy fell!" Lily exclaimed dissolving into yet more laughs. Harry smirked down at the fallen man.
"Yeh yeh make comments later. Help me up!" He held out a hand and Harry pulled him to his feet.
"Paddy fell Paddy fell na na na na Paddy fell!" Lily marched up and down before her father and 'great'-godfather singing at the top of her lungs. Harry winced at the sound.
"Lily Molly Potter! Calm down now!" He demanded and the girl halted immediately. Harry put a hand on her hand to show her he wasn't angry and turned back to face Sirius. "This is all your doing you know." He commented and the man before him waved a dismissive hand.
"A mere formality dearest Harry. Now, where are the othe-'' He was cut off however when the fireplace gave a sharp bust of green flames and Remus stepped easily from its confines. He saw Sirius frown at this and grinned.
"You fall again Siri?" The other wizard made an obscene finger gesture that made Harry slap him upside the head.
"Not in front of the kid you mutt." But before Sirius could form a reply, the fireplace light again and out stepped Lils and James. When the pair were soot free, James turned to Remus with a hand held out. The werewolf scowled but handed his friend a small money bag. Harry watched the exchange in curiosity.
"James bet me five Galleons that Sirius would fall when he reached here." Remus explained after seeing the look.
"Paddy fell paddy fell paddy fell!" Lily began to sing again. She turned around to start marching around the whole room but stopped when she saw a large group of people with red hair staring at her and her family with wide- eyed expressions.
"Come one Harry!" Sirius whined. "I want to see that shop! Hey Prongs, these twins have everything! Pranks galore!"
"Oh no you don't Sirius Orion Black!" Lils warned the man. "No pranks! Minerva will throw a fit! She had enough to deal with when the bloody Marauders were running around the Halls of Hogwarts as teenagers! She does not need them playing tricks as adults too!" She stepped up to him and pointed a finger in his face. "No Pranks. Got it?" He nodded mutely.
"Daddy?" Lily spoke up suddenly from behind the group. Harry turned around to look at his daughter only to come face to face with the family he'd been dreading meeting all day. He shook his head to clear his head of the fog that had formed. He tore his eyes away form the Weasley's and knelt down to talk to Lily.
"What's wrong?" He asked and the child looked up at him.
"Why are the funny red haired people staring at us?" she asked innocently.
"Lily, the funny red haired people can hear you, be polite." He said sternly before standing up to face the music, so to speak.
One of the only two women at the table rose from her seat and slowly made her way around her family then stopped as she reached the father/daughter duo.
"Harry? Harry i-is that really you?" The woman stammers and Harry smiled fondly. He could smell the nervous air she had about her, though it pained Harry slightly to know that he'd caused that.
He didn't realise it until now but he had missed her terribly over the years. He missed the times she'd calm him down if ever he'd been upset over something, however trivial it may have seemed at the time. He'd missed how she used to worry over the slighted things. And perhaps most of all... the thing he'd missed most about her was how she used to hug him like she hugged her own children.
"Yes Mrs Weasley, it's me." He spoke in a quiet tone, not sure of what her reaction would be. Then all of a sudden he was gathered up in those arms he'd longed to be gathered up in again and was hugged as he remembered being hugged when he was younger.
Startled, he stiffened at first as he wasn't used to being held in such a way and hadn't been in such a long time. He prayed the woman hadn't noticed and sighed in relief as he realised she hadn't. He then proceeded to hug her back just as tightly as she was embracing him.
After a few seconds, Molly Weasley held Harry at arms length, as If giving him the once over just to make sure he was fine in all physical aspects. Harry had an inkling that she would get to the psychological once over later on. The small smile on her face told Harry he'd passed her inspection and he was released form her hold. He then felt a sudden odd cold feeling and realised for the second time is as many minutes that he missed her motherly touch.
"Merlin Harry, it's been five years!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed. "Where have you been? What have you been doing? Who have you been with? You left so quickly after the final battle – no one got the chance to speak to you. Remus was in a coma too... Oh Harry." She babbled on and on until Harry raised a hand, halting her tirade of questions, comments and other emotion filled remarks. He chuckled at her confused expression.
"Mrs Weasley-''
"Molly dear. Call me Molly." She said with a smile before motioning him to continue. Harry nodded his acknowledgment and carried on talking.
"Molly, I will answer all of your questions I promise but first I need to introduce a few people. Please, sit." He raised a hand, gesturing her to taker her seat once more but instead she conjured another. After moving it so it was close to the table her family were still seated at, she sat down. Harry then conjured up six more chairs for each member of his own family to sit on and once everyone was seated comfortably, he began.
"This," He put a hand on the back of the chair to his right. "is my daughter. Her name is Lily and she was born 6 month after the war had ended. By the time she was born I'd already moved as far away from the wizarding world as I possibly could. It was my plan to raise her on my own as I though Remus had died in the final battle." He studied the Weasley's in front of him and all eight present had equal levels of confusion plastered on their faces.
"Why would you move away from home because you thought Remus had died?" The voice of an older looking Charlie Weasley spoke up and Harry looked in his direction.
"I'll explain in a few minutes Charlie. Just let me get through these will you please?" The red head nodded and Harry continued. "Well, Remus you all obviously know. And as you also know these three, you are all under the assumption they are dead." He gestured towards James, Lils and Sirius. "I don't fully understand it myself to be perfectly honest, but somehow Lily and James Potter and my godfather are alive again." This vague explanation was met by a stunned silence.
"How is it possible?" Bill Weasley spoke up after a minute, voice laden with disbelief.
"Are you sure it's them Harry?" Fred said in a concerned tone of voice.
"How can you be certain? They could be Deatheaters-'' but whatever the other Weasley twin was about to say next was cut short by an irate James Potter.
"I wasn't murdered by Voldemort just to come back and be called a Deatheater! How dare you!" He bellowed.
"James Potter hold your tongue!" Lils snapped at her husband. "They are all clearly worried for Harry, respect that and shut up or Prongs won't be your nickname because your animagus form is a bloody stag!" James paled immediately at the implied meaning of his wife's threat then proceeded to take her advice and shut up. Harry allowed himself a small smile at his parents then turned his attention back to the Weasley's.
"Thanks for your concern George but think about it... I defeated Voldemort. Do you honestly think anyone would even try harming me or anyone close to me?" The twin thought a moment and then shrugged.
"I guess not. You'd no doubt kick their a-'' George received a stern look from his mother and quickly rethought his next words. "Backsides if they did." He finished, casting nervous glances at Molly. The other Weasley's snickered at his sudden attitude change.
"These two are indeed Lily and James Potter. This man is indeed Sirius Black. All of them are very much alive and very much themselves. Now," He looked at Molly. "In answer to your earlier questions: I have been living in one of the smaller Potter homes. The deed of which I found stashed away in the vault. I've been keeping myself busy by raising Lily, reading and various other interesting activities such as finger painting and potty training." He grimaced at that last one. That period in his daughters life would be one Harry would all too soon forget. And the werewolf heightened senses didn't do anything to help him at all. "Other than a few house elves, I've been with no one bar my child." He answered all of Molly's questions in one sitting, pausing only for breath.
"Well, who is Lily's mother?" The woman asked and Harry was sure he heard Sirius snort, but dutifully ignored him.
"Essentially, I am Lily's mother. I carried her, gave birth to her and raised her." He answered simply, noticing only realisation wash over Molly Weasley's face. This confused Harry. While he wasn't expecting a similar reaction to that which his mother had, he was expecting something more than... well, what he was receiving at the moment.
"Who is the father then?" Bill asked before taking a long drink of his now cold cup of tea.
Harry didn't answer straight away, wondering how the family were going to take the news. In the end Harry didn't have to speak up as Remus stepped up from his seat.
"I am."
~~~
Sweet merciful Merlin! Last night I was banned from the computer for reasons I will not go into here, so I couldn't update or even type up anything! My apologies faithful audience, I'll try not to let it happen again. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took me a little time to decide what to put into it but it worked out in the end I guess. Review!
Thank you!!