Chapter 2

I wasn't able to properly go through the last chapter before uploading it (University has been particularly difficult lately) so, I edited it a little just for my own satisfaction, not any major change.

/hp/

As soon as Harry pressed his thumb to the lion's mouth, he felt a sharp needle pricking it, but he couldn't care less. He pulled it back and saw it heal rapidly, right in front of his eyes. He looked towards the portrait as it enlarged exactly enough to get fixed on the side of the cupboard, he had put it against. As his parents started to stir, he felt an excitement-mixed nervousness fill him. 'What would he say to his parents?', 'What would they say to him?', and other such thoughts filled his head.

Well, at least till they opened their eyes and almost jumped up from their chairs as soon as they saw him. All thoughts deserted him as all he could do was look at them with tear filled eyes. James too, had tears in his eyes and Lily completely broke down, seeing her child after 5 years.

James, finally, managed to croak, "Harry", around the lump in his throat while supporting his wife who kept on whispering, "My baby''. Harry, too, started crying freely when he saw it clearly, how much they loved him. Their love for him was practically seeping through the portrait.

After everyone had managed to compose themselves a little, Harry said softly, "Hello Dad, Mum", giving them a shy, watery smile. "Hello Harry", both of them said together. "Happy Birthday child. How are you?", asked Lily, looking unwaveringly at his face, trying to make up for all the time she had been unable to do so. Harry smiled the brightest he had ever done as he said, "Thank you so much! I've never been better", with all the sincerity he had. Their collective smiles, after he said this, could have lighted the entire world.

Harry noticed that he looked exactly like his father but his emerald-green eyes were his mother's. He couldn't help his grin at this.

"Why don't you both sit down, you'll get tired", said Harry. Both his parents smiled at his thoughtfulness and sat down. It was then that they noticed the cramped place he was sitting in. "Where, exactly, are you Harry?", James asked. Harry had been taught by his aunt and uncle to never tell anyone about his living conditions but he wasn't going to lie his mother and father. "In the cupboard under the stairs", he answered truthfully. "What are you doing in there, playing?", his father asked. "No, it's my room, this is where I live". "WHAT?!", both of them exclaimed, shocked. "Whom do you live with?", Lily asked, though she was almost sure she knew the answer.

"With Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon", Harry answered. "I'm going to pull out every hair in Dumbledore's beard one by one if I get my hands on him", Lily said dangerously, "I told you James, he cannot be trusted. He'll do anything for the 'greater good' not caring about anything else". James' eyes that always sparked with mischief had a furious glint to them. "Who is this Dumbledore person and what has he got to do with me living with the Dursleys?", Harry asked, shifting their attention back to himself.

James gave out a sigh and said, "Let us start explaining everything from the beginning. The non-magical people are called Muggles in the wizarding world. There are three types of wizards and witches- the Pure-bloods, ones whose, at least, last three generations were magical; the Half-bloods, whose any of the last three generations was a muggle or a muggle-born; and the Muggle-borns, a magical child of born of muggles and then, there are squibs, a non-magical child of magical parents. I was a pure-blood and your mother was believed to be a muggle-born." Lily continued with the story, "I researched on how muggle borns get magic and the results were always that they were born to a long line of squibs. Same was true about me. I will tell you more about that later on, first let us tell you about Hogwarts".

To say that Harry was amazed, as they took turns telling him all about the Hogwarts letter, the school itself, Quidditch and the subjects taught there would be the understatement of the year. He laughed till his stomach ached when his father told him about his friends and all the pranks they played, he also noticed the anger in his father's eyes and voice when he talked about Peter Pettigrew.

He snickered, as his father glared at him, when his mum told him about how she didn't like him at all till their seventh year. They told him about how they fell in love and married straight out of Hogwarts as Harry tried to decide between blushing and smiling. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat when they told him that the day they found that Lily was pregnant and the one when he was born were two of the happiest days of their life. They told him about Voldemort and the first wizarding war.

They didn't want to stress him but also didn't want to hide something which concerned him, so, they told him about the prophesy in short (before reminding him not to pay much heed to it) and the attack on their home and their deaths.

Harry started crying and blaming himself for their deaths. "Harry James Potter", Lily scolded him, "stop that this instant. We are your parents and it was both our right and duty to do whatever we could, to save you. It was our choice and you are nowhere to blame in that. We would do the same thing again if we are given the option". James nodded his head solemnly in agreement and both looked Harry in the eye, sealing the promise.

Harry shook his head to be sure if this was all real. Here, not even 12 hours ago, he was an orphan who wasn't even expecting to be wished on his birthday and now, he was with his parents, talking to them, even if it was with their portrait; and they clearly loved him more than he ever thought he deserved to be loved.

Again feeling tears in his eyes, he hastily wiped them with the sleeve of his shirt. He didn't want to cry yet again, like a baby, he had already done too much of that. Instead, he settled for smiling at them and whispering a soft, "Thank You".

Then, when they asked, Harry told them about his living conditions with the Dursleys. When he was done, James was ready to punch the living daylights out of Vernon and Lily would have jumped out of the portrait, if she could, to wring Petunia's too long neck. She was still going to have a 'chat' with her sister but both decided to cool down, so as to be able to help their son first.

James looked at Harry and asked, "Do you want to leave here and go and live somewhere else?". His jaw dropped to the floor and it was a full 2 minutes after which he managed to shut his mouth while his parents tried not to laugh at his reaction. It was after another minute of fumbling that he managed to say, "I c…can?". James laughed, his eyes twinkling mischievously, and said, "Do we know magic or not Harry?".

P.S.- I don't really hate Dumbledore and don't think he was evil but he was a control freak who wouldn't tell Harry, the very person who was at the center of everything, anything and did raise him so he could die when he thought was appropriate. Well, the Harry Potter in this fic would never do anything like that and is independent so, I don't really know how to put him in a positive role here. Thanks for understanding.

How are they going to whisk Harry away? Any guesses?

Thanks for your support.