Greetings all! Sorry for the delay, thanks for you're reviews. Chapters will start becoming longer, and as of now, I've changed the title and summery. This chapter is mostly fluff, but things will start to pick up soon. Hope you enjoy!
Note: This chapter has slash of secondary characters. It's not really a major plot line (or it isn't yet), but just warning you in case you are narrow minded.
Be Careful What You Wish For
Chapter 2: Announcements, Birthdays, and Back to School
Sirius and Carol had not been able to find a date for Remus, and he was grateful. He hated when they meddled in his life like that, though they meant well. He was doing just fine on his own, thank you very much. Harry, young as he was, could usually see this in Remus, but he didn't say anything to anyone about it. He didn't think they would care.
Tonight, they were having a dinner for what seemed like no particular reason, but there were always reasons for gatherings like this. Carol had enough to do planning a wedding without having to make dinners like this for no reason. No, people would be making announcements tonight, and Harry was eager to hear what they were.
When Lily and Carol came out of the small kitchen, everyone gathered around the dining room table. Sirius was going around with a bottle of wine. He began to pour Lily a glass. "Tell me when, Lily," he said. James, however, stopped him and switched the glass with his own.
"I don't think you should be having anything to drink, love," he said, smiling.
Lily smiled to, and said, "I suppose you're right." They looked into each others' eyes, just like they did when they were first falling in love.
Carol looked back and forth between the two of them, then at the half-filled glass of wine, her mouth open. Then something clicked and she gave a loud, delighted squeal. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"We just found out a few days ago," Lily said.
Remus looked up at her and said in his soft, even voice, "Congratulations, Tiger Lily." Remus and Sirius rarely used their school-age nickname for their best friend's wife, but this time it was fitting.
Everyone seemed to understand what was going on, everyone except for Harry and Sirius, who looked at each other with confusion. James saw Sirius' lack of comprehension, shook his head, and gestured something Harry couldn't see. "Oh," Sirius said. "Again? I thought you had enough trouble with this one."
James laughed, but he stopped when he saw the stern look on Lily's face. Now everyone understood what was going on except Harry. He didn't appreciate being out of the loop like this, and he said so. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?"
James looked at his son, carefully choosing his words. "Your mother and I . . . we, um,-"
"We're having a baby!" Lily exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. Harry stared at her, not sure how to react.
"A baby?" he asked tentatively. "Was this something you've been planning? If so, how come I'm last to know?"
"We weren't really planning it," said James cautiously. "It just sort of happened."
"Oh. Okay. Is it going to be a boy or a girl?"
His parents laughed, relieved their son was taking the news with such maturity. James had reacted less calmly than Harry had. "We won't know for about a month. We promise, you'll be the first to know once we do." His mother smiled, and so did Harry.
"That's good then," he said. He took a bite of his dinner, looked down at his food, and decided quickly that eating was much more interesting then talking about anything.
Carol shook her head. All this talk about kids made her wish her December wedding was much closer. Breaking a few moments of awkward silence, she said, "Sirius has some pretty big news, don't you muffin?"
Sirius's cheeks turned the faintest pink. "Do you remember how Arthur mentioned he might run for Minister of Magic?" The table nodded. "Well, he's definitely going to run, and he's asked me to manage his campaign."
Lily and James both smiled and offered words of congratulations, but Harry asked, "What do you know about politics?" His mother hit him gently on the shoulder, frowning at his rather brutal honesty.
Sirius laughed. "Not much. But as soon as Arthur found out who he would be running against, he asked me to get involved."
"Who's running, Padfoot?" Remus asked.
He gave a sly smile. "Bellatrix Black. Dear cousin Bella, pride of the Black family name. Arthur figured the only person who could take down someone that powerful would be another Black. So he asked me."
"And now he'll have something to do besides complain about that stupid novel he'll never finish."
"Hey!" Sirius said, feigning an offended look. "I'll finish it someday. It's almost half done."
Carol shook her head, then kissed her fiancé lightly on the cheek.
"Please, please no public displays of affection in front of the children," Harry said, laughing. Remus laughed too, and Sirius and Carol separated slightly. Sirius looked over at his friend, then remembered something.
"You've got big news, haven't you, Moony?"
"It's not really that important, nothing like yours or Lily's news."
"Come on, Remus, tell us," said James.
"It's nothing, really. Besides, I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to be telling you. I think Dumbledore wanted it to be a surprise."
"Okay, now you have to tell us," Harry said, "because now I know it has something to do with school." Everyone now stared pointedly at their quiet friend.
"Fine, fine, I'll tell you. You knew that Cassie Nicholo is moving to Salem, right?"
"Yeah, Harry told us, but Remus, you aren't going to be teaching potions, are you?" James paused, trying to find the most tactful way of continuing. "Because that was never your strongest subject in school."
"Of course I'm not teaching potions. Dumbledore's moving another staff member, Severus Snape into that position. He's much better at potions than I hear he is at Defense Against the Dark Arts-"
"He better be," said Harry, "because he doesn't know crap-"
"Harry!"
"Sorry, mum. He doesn't know anything about DADA."
"Right. So Dumbledore asked me to take Snape's place once he replaces Cassie."
Harry thought about this for a minute. "It's too bad we couldn't have had you for a defense teacher last year. You would have gotten us through OWLS much better than Snape ever did."
"At least you got to have Cassie for Potions," said Lily. "She taught us when we were in school, and we were lucky to have her. She became a good friend after we graduated. Even came to our wedding."
"Besides," Sirius added, "you must have gotten through OWLS just fine. When do you get your scores?"
"Hopefully after my birthday, so if I flunk them all, I still get presents."
James looked at his son in a parental way. "There's nothing wrong with a little parental encouragement for you to do well. My parents did the same thing to me when I was young, and I was all the better for it."
"Whatever," the teenage boy said. His mind had filled with thoughts of his birthday, where he would finally see Ron, Hermione, and Neville again. And Ginny. Her brothers would kill him if they found out, but he wanted to se Ginny most of all.
The sun rose too early in the summer. Much too early. Bright light danced across Harry's face as he lay in bed. He groped blindly for his wand, instead knocking it and his glasses on the floor. That would be a problem in a half-hour or so, but for now he simply rolled over to face away from the window and pulled the covers over his eyes. Before he started to drift back to sleep, cohesive thoughts began forming in his head. Like the date. Today was sometime in July, sometime in July that was important. It was the end of July, the very end of July. And today was . . .
Harry jumped out of bed, his wand popping up into his hand. "Accio eye-glasses,"he said, suddenly wide awake. He ran down the stairs, following the smell of something good stirring itself in the kitchen.
"Happy birthday, Harry, " his mother said brightly. His father smiled at him from over the morning newspaper.
"You have letters," he said, "from Ron and Hermione. And a particularly long one from one Ginny Weasley." James Potter gave his son a sly smile. Harry blushed and snatched the letter away from his father.
"She's my friend. And she's Ron's little sister."
"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before. Ah, the pangs of youth."
"James, leave Harry alone. Teasing him like that on his birthday."
"Lily, he knows it's all in fun. Besides, he's sixteen. Practically old enough to Apparate."
Harry had stopped listening to his parents' good-natured bickering and was opening the letters from Ron and Hermione which wished him a happy birthday. He would save Ginny's letter for later, when he could be alone. He would be seeing her in a few hours, when everyone came to celebrate his and Neville's birthdays, but he felt like that moment couldn't come too soon, and anxiously awaited his solitude to drink her words.
James shook his head when his son darted up the stairs with the letter from Ginny in his hands. "They grow up so fast," he said, almost longingly.
"Its better than not growing up at all," his wife said, smirking, "like some people I know."
"Sirius has finally gotten a real job, and he's getting married. I think he's grown up plenty." James looked defensive over his closest friend.
"I didn't mean Sirius, you dolt," she said, now laughing. "I meant you!"
She walked out of the kitchen to fold laundry, leaving her husband looking offended and taken aback. He tried to come up with a reply, but was left only with ideas of retorts from his youth. Maybe he hadn't really grown up. He shook his head. That was ridiculous.
Ginny's letter was long, written in her tight, curly handwriting. There were places were the ink changed, tone changed, she switched from script to print. It was as if she had been working to compose an epic, starting and stopping when she had moments she could be alone. As the only girl, it was easier for her to get privacy than her brothers, but living in a family of nine made a few moments of quiet a rare occurrence. And privacy she needed to pen this.
Her words enveloped him, he drank them like they were wine, breathed them. They were innocent and unsure at first, but once she took the plunge, she poured out her soul. She felt the same way he felt for her, felt it with the fire of first love. She counted the minutes until they saw each other again, for the first time, couldn't wait for school so they could see each other every day.
But her letter also came with a warning, a concern they both understood. Ron. His best friend, dating his little sister. That would be an unpleasant conversation. Of course, they never had to tell him, did they?
Harry sat in his room the rest of the morning, reading and rereading Ginny's letter. That was a good thing, because it gave his mother time to bake and his father time to complain about the cost of the gift they got him. "He's only sixteen, it's not like this is he's come of age," James complained. "My parents never got me anything this extravagant for a birthday. We shouldn't be spoiling him."
"James, you know very well that your parents did the same thing when you were a kid. We haven't spoiled him, and the broom we got him isn't that expensive. It's not like we got him a Firebolt. That would be extravagant. Besides, you said it yourself, he needs a new broom. Using your old one isn't good enough, now that he's team captain." To interrupt their conversation, there was a knock on the fireplace. "Oh, Alice is here! Come on in!" Lily called.
"Thanks, Lily," Alice Longbottom said, brushing the ash off her dress.
"What's Frank doing with Neville today," James asked.
"School shopping, I think. Not a very good excuse- I think Neville will see right through it, because we haven't gotten his letter yet. Maybe they're buying more plants." She said this with a touch of sarcasm in her voice. The Longbottoms had more plants than they knew what to do with. "They'll be back around two, right? That's the time everyone is coming over, isn't it?"
Lily nodded. "Can you give me a hand with this cake?" she asked.
At two o'clock, Neville and his father burst through the fireplace. "Harry!" James called. "Stop reading that love letter and get down here!"
Harry ran down the stairs, glaring at his father. Neville was laughing at his friend, and received a hard hit on the back of the head. "Hey! Its my birthday, you can't do that!"
"It's my birthday, too. Get anything good?"
"Cash from Gran and some aunts and uncles. Parents haven't given me anything yet."
"Mine either. And I think they've hidden the stuff from other relatives until tonight."
"That sucks. When are the Weasleys and Hermione getting here?"
"Soon, I think. You wanna go up to my room and wait?"
"Why not. So what's this about a love letter?"
"Do you really want me to hit you again?"
"Sorry it's such a sore subject. Let's go play Gobstones or something."
It didn't take long for everyone to get there, and Ron, hand in hand with Hermione, burst into Harry's bedroom. Ginny followed behind them.
"Welcome to the happy couple," Harry said sarcastically. "Never separate for a moment, are you?" He looked at his friends, but he was really staring at Ginny. This past month had been good to her. Now fifteen, she was no longer Ron's baby sister. She was absolutely beautiful. But she didn't betray her affections for a moment, didn't arouse any of her brother's suspicion.
"You think this is bad," she said instead, "you don't have to live with this one." She pointed to her brother. "Always locked in his room, writing her poetry!"
"You wrote me poetry?" Hermione asked.
Ron turned his head to the floor, embarrassed. "It was never any good, so I didn't send it to you." Hermione tilted his head up so his eyes met hers.
"That is so sweet," she said and kissed him. And continued to kiss him. It would have gone for hours had it not been for the sudden, "Aw!" from Harry, Ginny, and Neville.
The awkwardness was interrupted with the shout of "Dinner!" from downstairs.
As large as it was, there was no way the Potter's dining room table could fit sixteen people, so they moved out to the backyard. It was summer, the air was warm, and the sky was bright and clear. A quick spell to repel bugs, and they were able to enjoy a delicious dinner. A noisy table as well. Remus and Arthur Weasley were talking politics, James and the Longbottoms were talking about work, Lily, Carol, and Molly Weasley were talking eagerly with Ginny and Hermione about something that caused them to giggle uncontrollably every few minutes, and Sirius was sharing some of the Marauder's best pranks with Fred and George, who were in turn were trying to get funding for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Harry, Neville, and Ron simply ate, never feeling that food and conversation were good matches.
After desert, there were presents. A lot of presents. Piles of candy, pranks, and books (from Hermione) were scattered with bits of wrapping paper and string. Finally, both boys' parents gave them gifts. "On three?" Harry asked. "One . . . two. . ." But neither could wait until three to rip open the packages, and both gasped.
Neville's had further packaging- a clear, plastic box through which he could see what everyone else thought was merely a potted plant. But Neville's eyes were wide, and he said, "thank you," breathlessly. His parents smiled.
"We knew you wanted something distinctive for your collection," Alice said.
"It's perfect," said her son.
"What is it?" asked Ron.
"It's a parrot flower," Neville said. "It copies things. These are so hard to find because they rarely look like this. In the wild, they pick something to look like and sound like and they stay that way. But this is what they look like when they're blank."
You could call the plant blank, some might call it boring. Nondescript looking leaves of a rather ordinary green surrounded unremarkable, though pretty, white flowers. However, when Neville took the lid off of the box, the plant shuddered, and its leaves became dark and stingy looking, its flowers turning brown and orange.
"Look, it's mimicking our hair," he said. As soon as he said it, the flowers seemed to echo: "our hair."
Everyone looked impressed. Everyone except Harry, who was far to busy staring at his own present to pay attention to the plant. His fingers ran down the shining handle, brushed through the bristles, and over the neat letters at the top, Nimbus 5000.
James smiled. "You couldn't go on using my old broom, now could you." Harry simply stared at his parents and the broomstick. He had loved using the broom his father had used when he played professionally, but to have his own? This was wonderful. And the newest Nimbus? It was practically the best broom available. And no one but the national teams used anything better.
He regained enough voice to mutter his thank-you's before deciding that he could look at this no longer. While everyone else was distracted by the talking plant, Harry jumped his new Nimbus and circled the back yard. Everyone looked up and cheered, except for his mother, who yelled, "Get down from there! You know Muggles could see you!"
The sun was setting and the moon, a thin sliver, was hanging brightly in the sky. The later it grew, the more conversations were dominated by yawns than actual words. Since most of the adults had work the next day, it was decided that the party should end.
As the Longbottoms were leaving, Harry whispered to Neville, "Next year, we through a party without the parental units." Neville nodded eagerly and returned home thinking of what that would have been like.
After the others left, Harry dug through the refrigerator (magically chilled, of course) for the leftover cake, but his mother had hidden it somewhere. She was always saying he had to eat healthier, and had replaced the sweets in the house with fruits and vegetables, much to the dissatisfaction of both Harry and his father.
The next morning, Harry woke up from happy dreams about Quidditch on his new broomstick. He could hear his parents talking downstairs, as well as his stomach growling. He must have slept late this morning.
The morning's owl post had already arrived, and Harry saw the familiar Hogwarts envelope on the table. His letter and list of supplies were on top, and his mother held a third piece of paper in his hands. Her expression was grim, and Harry gulped.
"Your OWL results arrived this morning," she said, her voice completely serious.
"Can you explain?" his father asked. "You got a 'Poor' in History of Magic."
"Come on, you know Professor Binns doesn't teach anything! He was dead when you were there!" Harry looked back and forth between his parents. He didn't think he had done well on his OWLs, but he also didn't think he had done that badly.
"That isn't an excuse, young man. Your father and I want an explanation for these scores and we want it now!" Before Harry could say anything, his father burst out laughing. "James, stop it! You're ruining it!" But Lily was laughing now, too.
"What on Middle-earth is going on?" Harry asked. Both his parents were now laughing too hard to explain, but James handed his son the OWL scores.
History of Magic was on top, and he did score a "Poor." But the other scores got better and better- "Acceptable" in Muggle Studies, Herbology, and Astronomy; "Exceeds Expectations" in Charms, Transfiguration, and Care of Magical Creatures; and somehow, he had managed "Outstanding" in both Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. Eight OWLs, most of them high scores. And Harry started laughing too- his parents' disappointment had been a very clever act, until his father started laughing.
"It was your father's idea," said Lily apologetically, "but he still managed to mess it up." She glared at her husband playfully, and he kissed her on the cheek.
Harry groaned. "Not in front of the children," he said. Once his parents stopped, he asked, "Are we going school shopping today?"
"I was thinking of going myself," Lily said. "You two are never any help anyway. You just stop at Quality Quidditch supplies and leave me to get all your books myself."
"But that's the point, Lily, dear. You go shopping and we stay out of your way. Why do we have to be out of the way at home?"
"Because you always buy some ridiculous gadget for your broomstick that you don't need and is simply a waste of money. That's why you and Harry are going to find something else to do while I buy his books."
Harry and his father looked at each other. James grinned. "I think we'll find something to do, won't we son?"
"Oh, sure. Something."
The rest of the day was spent playing Quidditch in the yard, just out of view of the Muggle neighbors. It was a risk, but both father and son were feeling reckless, so close to the start of school. Besides, James' time off from work was ending that day- he had to enjoy himself.
A stack of books and new robes in her arms, Lily popped back into the kitchen just in time for dinner. "So what have you boys made for me for dinner?" she asked.
"Cooked?" Harry asked. "Us?"
"You didn't think I would come home from shopping all day, buying things for you, and then make dinner? Your father at least should know better than that. I hope you get cooking."
Fortunately, there were leftovers in the refrigerator, so James and Harry didn't have to do any actual cooking, which would have likely started a fire. It was a typical Potter family dinner, fairly quiet because their family was small, but still joyful.
Summer days slowly became shorter, the air a little cooler in the mornings. School was growing closer and closer. Harry wished summer could last a little longer, but was still excited. School meant seeing Ginny Weasley every day rather than only for a few weekends. He would miss sleeping in every morning, and days without Snape were always wonderful, but they had to end sometime.
And end they did. "Harry! Wake up or you'll miss the train!" Harry pushed the covers off of his head and slowly got dressed. His owl, with his majestic black and white feathers, swooped around his head.
"Stop it, Uric," Harry said. James had named the bird Uric the Oddball. "Come on, time to get in your cage." The bird hooted indignantly as his owner tried to push him into the cage, flying too high for the Gryffindor to catch. "Fine, be that way. You'll come down before we go, I hope."
"Harry, I mean it, you have to come down!"
"I'm coming, mom. I'll be there in a second."
He was down quickly, carrying the cage and setting it down on top of his trunk. He ate breakfast and the three of them waited outside for the taxi, which was running late, stuck in traffic.
It was close to eleven by the time they reached the platform. James helped his son load his trunk onto the train, more out of habit than because Harry needed help. Harry was searching the platform for his friends, who were probably already on the train. He spotted Neville and went to run over, but was stopped. "Not so fast, young man. You aren't getting away from me that easily." His mother pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him on the cheek.
"Mum, stop it!" he said, pulling away. He was sixteen, not some little first year.
"Fine, fine. Go to friends. Have a good year and don't get into too much trouble!" She yelled the last bit as he ran off to his friends. The Weasleys and Hermione had found Neville, and the five of them would want a compartment together.
Unfortunately, the train was now quite full. Ginny let them through the corridor, poking her head into compartments.
While this was going on, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were thoroughly enjoying the first time they had been properly alone together all summer. Seamus' head was resting on Dean's shoulder, their hands intertwined. There was a knock on the door, and they quickly pulled apart. When they saw Ginny, though, they resumed their original position. Ginny knew about them, and she didn't care.
When Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Neville followed her, however, they didn't have time to pull apart again. They had been caught, and they waited in awkward silence for a few moments.
It was Hermione who finally spoke. She said simply, "Have you too been together all summer?" It was a commonplace question, and her voice was bright, but Dean started off being defensive.
"Together?" he asked, letting go of Seamus' hand. "I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."
"Oh, come on," said Harry, smiling. "You aren't fooling anyone, not any more than those two-" he pointed to Ron and Hermione, "fooled us. Just come out with it already."
"Fine, Dean, we might as well tell them. Ginny already knows, and I suppose it's only time before they find out." Seamus looked at his friends. "Dean and I have been dating since last May. We haven't told anyone, but it was damn near impossible to keep it a secret at school."
"Well, you didn't really keep it a secret," Ginny said. "I walked in on the two of them after one of their OWLs. Good thing I was the one who walked in and not Draco Malfoy or someone."
After the momentary awkwardness, the friends fell into easy conversation. They were cramped- Dean, Seamus, and Ginny squeezed into one seat, Ron, Hermione, and Harry in the other, and Neville standing. He finally managed to sit on a trunk pushed up against the window, but it was still tight. No one seemed to mind, except Ron. He had been staring at his roommates with an expression of shock and surprise, suddenly seeing them in a new light. This wasn't something he could have predicted. Not at all. He shared a room with these guys for the past five years. All the times they had stayed up at night, laughing, talking about girls. And both Dean and Seamus had been feigning an interest in the likes of Parvati and Lavender. This wasn't something Ron was ready to process. But he knew enough to stay quiet about it.
Instead, he put his arm around Hermione, pulling her close. They could talk about new teachers, OWL scores, anything. He just wanted his girl pulled close right now, and for the first time, wanted the train ride to end so they would be at school, in much less cramped conditions. This would be an interesting year
So what did you think! I'm sorry this took so long to finish, but it's longer than my usual chapters, so it might make up for it. Next chapter will come eventually- school starts Tuesday, so I'll be busy. Also, for readers of my other story (my marauders fic), I'm so sorry for the delay, but I have terrible writer's block. I know what's going to happen later in the story, but I have no idea what will happen next. If anyone has a little advice, that would be so helpful.
Please review! I'll write faster if you care!