Chapter ten
After a quick glance at Nell for permission, Harry fell on the package. The brown paper wrapping was quickly torn away, revealing a large photo album and a slender book with a black cover.
Harry looked up with shining eyes before hauling his booty to the nearest table. Nell pulled up two chairs and they sat down to examine the items.
They began with the photo album. When they opened to the first photo, they were shocked to see the subjects of the pictures moving on the page. The images waved and grinned, and wandered in and out of the frames nonchalantly.
Harry paged through the book in wonder. Nell was rather surprised to see how strongly Harry resembled his father, except for the green eyes from his beautiful red-headed mother.
Nell rather wanted to cry, seeing this vibrant, beautiful couple waving on every page. And then Harry turned to a photo near the end that took her breath away.
It had Harry's parents and three other men, all grouped around a motorbike. The label underneath it read: Lily and Triumph: The Marauders' Mascots. Every so often picture-Lily would look down at the caption, scowl, and hit the man standing next to her. The other three men were smirking and chuckling at their antics, especially the one with his hand resting possessively on the engine cover of the motorbike.
Nell suspected that it had been he who had captioned the photo, for no reason other than it looked like something he might find fantastically funny to do.
Harry looked at the picture for quite a long time, then quietly closed the book. He sat still for a long minute before clearing his throat with a little sob.
The heartbreaking sound nearly made Nell begin to sob herself, but she managed to stave it off through sheer will.
"I wish I had known them," said Harry softly. "They looked like fun."
"Plus, they had a motorbike," said Nell cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood. She immediately felt a bit of an idiot, but Harry obligingly snorted.
He then looked up at her from under his eyelashes. "I do wish I had two parents," he said slyly. "Nell, do you have a boyfriend?"
Nell felt her cheeks flame with colour. What could she say to a matchmaking eight-year-old? "No," she said hastily. "I haven't really dated a boy in quite a while. I've been too busy with school. Maybe sometime after I leave?" she added in a rather strangled voice. How could she tell Harry that the last person she had dated had been named Cecily, and that he was rather unlikely to be getting a father if it was up to Nell?
"Why don't we take a look at this other book?" she suggested, hoping to distract Harry. It worked; he turned his attention to the slim volume lying innocently on the table before them.
The book had Hogwarts: A Revised and Unexpurgated History of Marauding written on the front in gold lettering, with "Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs" near the bottom in smaller letters.
Harry opened to the first page. It was blank. He turned the page expectantly, and Nell, too, expected to see a title page, or an index, or something. Something other than more blank pages. The book, oddly, was completely blank. Nell and Harry looked at each other in shock – why would Dumbledore have sent such a disappointing book? Perhaps he had meant it for a diary or sketchbook?
Harry scowled, and said, "What a stupid book."
Writing began to appear on the open page. Harry's mouth fell open as he read it. Nell was equally surprised.
Mr. Moony begs to differ, and advises the young reader to wipe his nose.
Mr. Padfoot suggests that the reader put the book back, if it does not please. Little prat.
Mr. Prongs concurs, and wonders how such an idiot managed to find this book in the first place.
Mr Wormtail offers his compliments, and respectfully recommends that the book be returned to its rightful place. That would be, for example, anywhere that is far away from you.
Nell snorted. "A book that insults you? Not very clever. Really, Mr. Dumbledore should have sent you a better present, Harry."
Mr. Padfoot would like to inquire when and how Professor Dumbledore obtained this volume, not to mention why.
Mr. Prongs seconds that request.
Nell and Harry looked at each other in surprise once more. "We-e-ell, I'm afraid I don't know. It was intended as a present in remembrance of Harry's father. That is, Harry Potter. Do you –" Nell felt ridiculous asking this of a book – "Do you know who James Potter is?"
The book was still for a moment. Nell got the impression that it was shocked, insofar as a book could be shocked.
Mr. Moony would cautiously venture to say that we may be familiar with that name. Did you say "in remembrance of"?
This time, it was Harry who responded. "Yeah. I mean, yes. He – um, he died. When I was a baby. Him and Mum. So I was hoping –" his voice trailed off.
Mr. Prongs would like to ask if young Harry has any particular questions for his father.
Harry looked thoughtful. "What was he like? Er – What should I ask, Nell?" he appealed to Nell unexpectedly.
"Mmm. Maybe, what can you tell us about him? Just, describe him in general," Nell suggested.
Mr. Padfoot would like to say that he was a bloody great prat to go and get himself killed.
Mr. Wormtail would like to echo that assessment, and further add that he is surprised that he managed to pull a girl for long enough to spawn.
Mr. Prongs would object to this slander, and would like to express his great admiration for James Potter. He was, indeed, a prince among men, a hero, a true Gryffindor…
Looking puzzled, Harry interrupted with a question. "What's a Grfy – Gryffindor?"
Once more, Nell got the impression that the book was shocked. This impression was borne out at the next statement.
Mr. Padfoot would like to register his doubt that this can be the son of James Potter.
Mr. Wormtail is appalled at such ignorance.
Mr. Moony takes leave to inform young Potter that a Gryffindor is a member of the noblest house at Hogwarts, the epitome of all that is chivalrous and brave.
Mr. Padfoot would also like to contest Mr. Prongs' last statement. He cannot be allowed to get away with such a set of blatant untruths.
Mr. Prongs would like to remind Mr. Padfoot that he is speaking to said Potter's son. Surely a good impression must be made?
Mr. Moony would like to note that a good impression is currently impossible to make, after such bickering.
Nell laughed. "Miss Burton would like to agree with Mr. Moony," she said. "She requests that they return to the point before Mr. Potter and Miss Burton close the book on them."
She looked suspiciously at the book, and if a book could laugh, this book was laughing. She wasn't sure how this impression was being made, and she was quite suspicious of it.
Before it had a chance to respond to that sally, Nell heard a POP and felt a brush of air. She looked up to see what had happened.
It was Dumbledore, looking grim. In his hand, he held a newspaper. As he handed it to Nell, he said, "We have a small problem."
Nell glanced at the paper.
The headline read: BOY-WHO-LIVED SIGHTING IN MUGGLE LONDON.
Below was a picture of Nell and, unmistakably, Harry. The article that ran next to the photo began, "Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, was seen this evening in a Muggle park in London. He was in the company of a young woman claiming to be his mother. As it is common knowledge that young Mr. Potter lives with an aunt, this information was puzzling in the extreme…"
Nell didn't flip the paper over to read what was under the crease. Instead, she raised her head from the paper in shock and met Dumbledore's eyes.
"What's going on?" asked Harry, his attention diverted from the argumentative diary.