...GOoHS...

Chapter 4

Lost Cause

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

Lily's voice thundered throughout the Potter estate, or at least to Harry it did. He and his friends froze mid-air. They all looked to Harry in fear. Ron and Lucas looked the most frightened and it wasn't even their names that were called. Fred, George, and Ginny looked more surprised than frightened.

Harry gave his friends and his brother quick apologetic looks before diving down towards his mother. Lily had her hands on her hips, foot tapping impatiently. Her scowl was even scarier up close, Harry thought, as he landed in front of her.

"…sorry, mum."

"Sorry? Who was it that said he wasn't feeling well earlier this morning?" Lily said angrily.

Harry scratched his head sheepishly. "I did, but—"

"And who was it that fell off their broom because he suddenly felt lightheaded last week?"

"Me, but mum it was only four feet—"

"And now, Harry, I catch you in the air playing a full-blown game of quidditch?! Harry, when are you going to start taking your illness seriously?! You're fourteen for Merlin's sake!" Lily was almost yelling now. Harry winced at her volume.

"I know, I'm so sorry mum. I'll do better. I won't do it again." Harry said in what he hoped was a calming tone. It would be embarrassing if her anger would lead her to scold his friends too. He hoped he would calm her down before that happened.

From the corner of his eye, he saw his father running towards them. Sirius was right behind him. They must have heard Lily from inside his study. Harry hoped his father would help him out. Lucas too, looked at James pleadingly.

Lily seemed to notice that Harry was looking at the spot behind her so she whipped around, just as James had arrived behind her. She gave a surprised yelp at her husband's sudden appearance but recovered quickly and slapped his shoulder.

"You and your sons are going to be the death of me! I swear it!" Lily yelled in frustration.

James grimaced and tried to soothe her as Harry did earlier. "Now, now, Lily, it's all fine. Harry's not hurt. He and Lucas had asked me for permission before playing. I checked him beforehand—"

"Oh really? You allowed this to happen?" Lily asked him, anger now rounding onto her husband.

Harry winced at his father's slip-up. James slowly backed up but hit Sirius in the process and the both of them stumbled into a heap on the ground.

"L-Lily, calm down!"

"I told you time and time again not to take his condition lightly! Why do you never listen?!"

James raised his arms up to defend himself in case Lily decided to smack him. Sirius sprawled himself over James to protect him. They looked ridiculous like that, Harry thought, but quickly erased that thought from his mind. His mother looked livid but to their surprise, she walked away from them.

James, who had been waiting for the blow that never came, was surprised to see Harry instead of Lily in front of him. Before he could ask, Harry pointed towards his mother who was already halfway to the front door. James quickly scrambled up to chase after her.

Sirius, who got up after James, dusted himself off and stood next to Harry. "You know, even after almost twenty years together, the sight of Prongs chasing after your mum never gets old."

Harry couldn't quite prevent his smile from spreading after his godfather's remark. Sirius caught it and chuckled. He put an arm around him and turned them around to address the other kids who were still floating above them.

"Right… better pack it up for now. It's getting dark anyway."

Harry nodded at them and they all started descending. Lucas had a complicated look on his face as he landed. He shot a glare at Harry before grabbing Ron's arm and walking with him towards the broom shed. Harry shrunk a bit. Everything had been great before their mother caught them.

Although his and Lucas' relationship was better than it had been before they found out about his illness, he would sometimes revert to the spoiled child that he had been. It only happened when he had to adjust to Harry's needs at their parent's behest but it hurt Harry all the same. His temper would get the better of him so Harry knew to let him be for a while. Harry knew he was frustrated with the changes in their life because of him. He didn't expect Lucas to just take all of it lying down, he wasn't that kind of person. Still, he was wise enough to keep it to himself and be angry with Harry for a while. Harry would apologize after he cooled down and they would be on good terms again, at least until the next mishap comes.

Harry could understand why he was angry. Their parents had become too overbearing these past few years. His mishaps at Hogwarts didn't help either. Every time Harry stumbled into danger, his parents' first question was always, 'Where was Lucas?'. Naturally, Lucas had grown to despise being the one held responsible for his brother's well-being while at Hogwarts. "There are teachers for that!" he would say in his defense. Harry agreed with him. Pinning it on Lucas was too absurd.

Their summer breaks meant he was free from that responsibility but every time he and Harry got caught doing something they shouldn't be doing (or more specifically, what Harry was not allowed to be doing), Lucas was the first to be scolded for being irresponsible.

His glare at his brother earlier was to be expected at this point. Even Sirius didn't bother to scold him. Harry would go to him later to apologize for spoiling the fun. In fact, he had to apologize to the Weasleys as well. The quidditch match had been a result of their uncontained excitement at attending the Quidditch World Cup next week and their fun had been cut off so abruptly.

Harry caught Ginny's sympathetic gaze as she passed him. Harry shot her an apologetic look in return. Fred and George gave him sympathetic pats on his shoulder before following their sister.

Sirius placed an arm around Harry and shook him playfully. "Ah, I'm sorry this had to happen on one of your good days, kid."

Harry forced a smile up at his godfather. "Yeah, it was fun while it lasted at least."

Sirius grinned at him. "And that's what counts."

Arm in arm, they both followed the other teenagers to the broom shed to put away their brooms.

James chased Lily down to their room. She had slammed the door in his face before he could follow her inside. He sighed and knocked.

"Lily? Can I come in?"

He heard something loud slamming on a surface and the bang of a cabinet drawer inside. James knocked again.

"Lily?"

She didn't reply. James turned the knob and stuck his head inside. A quick sweep across the room told him that the loud noises from earlier were from Lily slamming her wand on her vanity table and the cabinet was from when she angrily stuffed her cloak inside it. He could see some of the black fabric of her cloak peeking out from it.

Lily was on the bed, her back turned to him. Her shoulders heaved and shook and it was then that James realized that she was crying. His expression softened and he made his way to the bed, settling himself beside her. He carefully put his hands on her shoulder to comfort her but to his surprise, Lily pulled away and turned to face him instead.

"Why would you do that, James? He could've hurt himself," she said as she smacked his shoulder.

James raised an eyebrow. "Darling, he was never in danger. I checked him twice over when he and Lucas asked for permission. He didn't deserve this kind of outburst. Neither did I, for that matter." James smiled at her at the last part, hoping his joke would catch on.

Lily was not amused. James wiped the smile off of his face and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Lily, darling, your reaction earlier was a bit much, don't you think?"

Lily buried her face in her hands. "I know… gosh, James, I know. I shouldn't have yelled," James nodded in agreement at her words. "but when I think about…"

She didn't finish her sentence. Her hands went up to her hair, running her fingers through it, and then settled them back down to her sides again. She wiped away her tears and pointed to an envelope next to her. James' eyebrows shot up. He hadn't noticed it. He picked it up and turned it over. It bore St. Mungo's seal and the name of the chief healer and researcher of Harry's case. Understanding dawned on James as he looked at the letter and his wife.

"I take it the visit didn't go well?"

Lily sniffed and nodded at him. "Peakes believes we've exhausted all options."

James froze. "Y-You're joking…"

Lily gave him a pointed look. James swallowed thickly. He now understood his wife's overreaction at the children's impromptu quidditch match. Lily, having been told by the healers that there wasn't hope for Harry, was devastated and then she came home to her son on a broom twenty feet above the ground. Of course, she had panicked. The healers had given up and she wasn't about to lose her son because he broke his neck from bloody quidditch instead of the dreaded dark residue of Voldemort's magic.

"I can't lose him James, I just can't." she sobbed.

James instinctively wrapped his arms around her. He was just as devastated with the news as Lily was. The research was their only hope but now that that was stopped, they had nothing to go on.

"They want to schedule a checkup soon. An assessment, they said. They'll diagnose what they can find and give him some preventative cures. That's the best they can do for him now." Lily recited bitterly.

"Did they say how soon we have to schedule it? I wouldn't want to dampen Harry's mood. They're all so excited about the Quidditch World Cup final." James said.

"They didn't say it was urgent. Besides, Harry's last checkup had only been last week when he fell off his broom. Thank goodness it wasn't anything serious. Just a case of dehydration."

"Then, if nothing comes up with Harry these next few days, let's schedule it after the match. He's been having good days recently. Padfoot and Moony think it's got to do with the jolly mood and excitement for next week."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You boys and your quidditch."

"It's the Potter way, I'm afraid." James said, allowing himself to chuckle. Lily smiled briefly at that.

When his parents joined them for dinner that evening, Harry immediately noticed his mother's red, puffy eyes. His father too, looked like he had been crying but it didn't look as obvious as Lily's. He caught Sirius' eye and he knew that he noticed too.

"-that feint that you pulled off earlier was brilliant, Ginny. You should use that when we get back to Hogwarts. The other teams won't see it coming." Lucas said excitedly.

His anger had passed and he had accepted Harry's apology with a shrug and a 'don't worry about it' before they filed into the dining room for dinner. Hermione joined them a bit before Lily and James arrived. She had been up at the Potter library, looking for books to borrow, as was her tradition every time she visited. She briefly asked them about the commotion outside, to which Harry coughed awkwardly. Their dinnertime conversation was all about the game they had that afternoon. They had, after all, been playing for nearly three hours before Lily had caught them. To no one's surprise, it was Ron and Lucas who had the most to say about the impromptu game.

Ginny grinned at what Lucas said. "Thanks, but I'm still a reserve."

Fred and George shook their heads at the same time.

"Blimey, the air must've rushed to your head, Gin!" said George.

"You seem to have forgotten that about half of the starters have graduated." Fred said right after.

Ginny's eyes widened for a second in her realization and blushed at the mistake she made. "Right, yeah. I forgot. I hope I get bumped up to starter after tryouts then."

"You'll get in, Ginny. You're brilliant!" Harry said, giving her a smile. Ginny blushed heavily at his praise and averted her eyes.

"T-Thanks, Harry," she said weakly.

Fred and George exchanged knowing looks but decided not to tease their sister, not in front of the others anyway. They all knew about Ginny's long-standing crush on Harry Potter. Harry, oblivious to it, simply turned his attention elsewhere.

"Did you find what you were looking for, Hermione?" he asked, picking at a potato. Lily, seeing the small amount of food on his plate, reached for the nearest platter. Harry quickly shook his head to show his refusal but Lily kept insisting. "N-No thanks, mum. I'm not feeling too hungry."

Lily's face showed immediate concern. Harry quickly explained.

"I ate a sandwich before our game."

Lily visibly relaxed at that and shoveled food on Lucas' plate instead. Lucas didn't refuse it. Unlike Harry, he was famished after the afternoon's activities. Hermione, a little perplexed at what just happened, looked unsure if she should talk.

Harry sensed her struggle and asked her another question. "Did you come across Wickham's theories on transfiguration? It's a fairly old book but it adds more depth to what we learned in Transfiguration so far. It's worth checking out."

Hermione gave him a grateful look. "I haven't seen it yet but it will be on my first priority tomorrow. Thank you, Harry."

Ron looked between the two of them and made a face. "Urgh, nerd stuff."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Even Lily's attention had been caught. Harry internally winced at the hole Ron's buried himself in. He managed a secretive smirk though.

"Honestly, Ronald! We've got OWLs next year. If you want any hope of becoming a decent wizard, you'd do well to follow Harry and I's example." Hermione snapped.

"She's right, Ronald." Lily added. "Good grades lead to better opportunities."

Ron only made a face at Hermione and went back to eating. Hermione childishly stuck her tongue out at him and Lily just sighed.

James chuckled good-heartedly at the exchange. He had known Ron and Hermione since his sons' first year at Hogwarts. As Lucas had recounted, they had shared the same train compartment on their first train ride to Hogwarts. Lucas said he hadn't gotten on with both Ron and Hermione. They made quick friends with Harry though.

Harry told them that Lucas and Ron were far too similar that they clashed immediately after meeting. Hermione, he didn't have to explain. She wasn't everyone's cup of tea. Thankfully though, their relationship got better the more their school year progressed. It may have even been solidified after the stunt Harry, Ron, and Hermione pulled towards the end of the year.

Lily nearly had a heart attack when they got the owl. Lucas had been found under the full body bind spell in the room he shared with Ron and Harry. Neville Longbottom too, had fell victim to it. Spells that Hermione and Harry had confessed to. Lucas and Neville had tried to stop them from going to the third floor and got petrified for it (which James had to admit, was both brave and responsible on their part).

They were lucky that they all survived. Lily had been furious with Harry. She had been angry with Lucas as well but more so with Harry. James also knew that that was how she masked her worry. Immense worry, especially after Dumbledore told them that Voldemort that had been behind it.

Harry at least found friends to counter the trust he had lost from his parents, James mused. He looked at the trio fondly over his drink. They all laughed heartily at a joke the twins had told. He hoped they would stay like this forever. He hoped Harry could stay like this forever.

The heavy, icy hand settled around his heart again. He hoped to Merlin Harry could stay like this forever.

A/N: Well, there you have it! Time skip to the summer before their 4th year. To clarify, yes, Ron, Harry, and Hermione are still golden trio and yes, they did the things in canon. Lucas is mostly there to stop them because he knows he would get scolded for it. He even went down with them to the chamber but he got stuck on the other side of the cave-in with Ron and Lockhart.

On their third year, both he and Harry are badly affected by the dementors and while Lucas was tutored by Dumbledore, Harry went to Moony for classes. Between the two of them, Harry was the only one who was able to produce a corporeal patronus by the end of the school year. (Lucas has yet to produce silver wisps until now). Peter broke out of Azkaban and was foolish enough to try and get to the twins in Hogwarts. He lured Lucas, Harry, and Hermione to the Whomping Willow by taking Ron hostage after Buckbeak's execution. They followed him to the Shrieking Shack and Peter tells them what happened that Halloween night. Remus, and Sirius, who happened to be there on Auror business, rescues them. Pettigrew escapes them again when Lupin transforms into a werewolf. It all pretty much follows canon at that point except they only rescued Buckbeak and saved an injured Sirius from the dementors.