A/N: A lot of readers complained that I had been rushing the last chapter. I should point out that I would rather not write lines of dialogues for the sake of writing when the events described are not particularly important to the plot of the story. That being said, however, I have tried to find a balance, with the help of my fantastic beta slucas123, between dialogue and description. Let us know how it turned out.
A big shoutout to one of this story's first and most consistent follower InfinityMask for the 200th review. I honestly did not expect to reach 200 so quick after the 100th. Keep them coming.
10. The Calm and The Storm
Christmas was a loud affair in the Potter household. The food was delicious, and Sirius was more excited about the presents than Melanie and Harry put together. Since they had no family to speak of, it was tradition for Sirius and Remus to spend Christmas Eve at the Potter residence at Godric's Hollow. Usually, they stayed over for Christmas morning, and this year was not any different.
Lily had a strict policy about breakfast before opening presents, which suited everyone except Sirius just fine. Everyone knew Sirius didn't really mind, he just protested to rile up Lily.
"Hurry up, would you?" Sirius exclaimed, stuffing his mouth with way too much egg than could be considered decent. Lily smirked at him.
"Would you like more eggs dear?" She sweetly asked James. He was about to shake his head, but Lily had already poured more on his plate before he could utter a response.
"He doesn't even want eggs!" Sirius whined, and Lily smiled sweetly at James.
"Of course he does. Don't you, darling?" She asked with a mischievous voice and James knew that she was just delaying the inevitable to make Sirius suffer.
"Yes. More eggs sounds wonderful." He said with a wink. Sirius looked outraged.
"BETRAYAL! Is this what the level you have stooped to, Prongs?" Sirius cried out, although his voice had more than a hint of mirth. Harry was shaking his head exasperatedly as Lily started to take really small bites of her own food.
"What? I just want some eggs." James defended himself, not even bothering to hide his amusement.
"This bacon is just wonderful! Isn't it, Remus?" Lily asked, and Remus dutifully nodded.
"Of course it is, Lily. Come to think of it, I think I will have some more." He tried to put another piece on his plate, but Sirius snatched it out of his plate and stuffed it in his mouth.
"I will not stand for such blatant time wasting on your part, Moony. Enough eating, let's go and open the presents." He ordered, but everyone ignored him, while eating their own food very slowly.
After a while, they all got tired of Sirius's whining and took pity on him. They finished their breakfast and the whole family gathered around the Christmas tree in the living room, where all the presents were piled. Being the youngest, Melanie went first to open hers. Her parents got her a training broom that went about two meters high. She squealed in joy and everyone else beamed at the tyke. This was so much better than the toy broom that barely reached above the adults' knees. Next she opened her gift from Remus, her godfather, and it was a muggle toy helicopter that could be controlled with a remote control, and Melanie absolutely loved it. Sirius got her an animated plush toy that changed from a black dog to a stag and finally a wolf when pulled on a little string, which Mel didn't understand the sentiment behind but enjoyed a lot anyway. Harry got her a toy snitch, secretly hoping she would become a Gryffindor seeker, and some age appropriate joke items from Zonko's and WWW.
Mel got distracted by the snitch and got busy trying to catch it, which she succeeded after a while. James had to grudgingly hand a galleon to a smirking Harry, having bet that Mel would want to become a seeker like her brother, and not a chaser. James had given her a toy quaffle last year and tried to play toss, but she didn't find it very interesting. As Mel had to be dragged back by Sirius into more interesting things, she opened more toys from the Tonks and a lot of candies from various friends of the family.
Sirius went next, (everyone agreed that he was the next when considering mental age, and at the prospect of opening presents, he didn't even protest that much) and ripped the wrapping papers of his gifts, making a mess of the living room. Being an adult (at least physically), his gifts were usually more boring, mainly consisting of clothes and accessories, so the family always tended to give him unusual gifts. The most interesting gift was from Harry, who gave him a box of dog treats for snacking in his animagus form. Everyone had a good laugh about it, and Sirius even turned to a dog to have a few before reverting back and claiming that as a dog it tasted heavenly. Following the theme, James and Lily got him a dog jacket that, apart from keeping him warm as a dog, protected him from minor spells. Remus got him a dog grooming kit, which Sirius looked warily at.
Remus didn't usually have many gifts, so the family tried to make up for it. The older Potters got him some expensive robes, of which he tried to protest over. However, this quickly died as he was the look on Lily's face, daring him to say anything. Harry got him a box of Honeyduke's finest, and Sirius got him a year's worth of Wolfsbane, which got the wolf glossy eyed.
Harry went next, and since he had a lot of gifts, being the only one in school, it was agreed that they would just open gifts from the family now while he could do the rest in private. James got him a new dress robe, and Lily got him a pair of muggle Jordan 11s, of which the pureblood wizards would certainly gawk at. Sirius got him a pair of dragonhide boots, and Remus got him a book on deep meditation.
Since James and Lily mostly gave their gifts as a couple to their friends, they received gifts as one too, which James complained about. Sirius got them a dinner tab to a fancy magical restaurant in London, knowing that between the war, jobs and Melanie, the couple had very little time to enjoy each other's company alone. Remus got them a pair of matching dress hats, which they promptly put on, looking a bit ridiculous with their home attire. Harry got them separate gifts, of course, as he usually received separate gifts from them, with the exception of his Firestorm X broom on his sixteenth birthday. James got a black leather jacket, and Lily got a pair of green earrings that mirrored the colour of both her and Harry's eyes. They also decided to open the rest of the gifts later, since they had quite a lot of joint and separate gifts from friends and colleagues.
Harry took the rest of his gifts upstairs as the adults talked, and Mel chased her new toy snitch around the den. Dean, Seamus and Ron all got him chocolates and candies. Neville got him a pair of professional seeker gloves, and Ginny got him a Falmouth Falcons scarf, the quidditch team Harry was a fan of. Harry had gotten Neville a rare magical plant Lily grew in the backyard garden and Ginny a Holyhead Harpies shirt that said 'G. Weasley 6' on the back.
Hermione got him a broom servicing kit, while he had sent a set of Magical Encyclopaedia in return. Blaise Zabini got him a wizarding porn magazine, and Harry got him the latest Playboy issue, which was a tradition between the two boys. Between the two, the wizarding magazine wasn't much to gawk at with barely raised robes.
Susan, Justin and Hannah got him joke items, while his friends in Ravenclaw, Su Li and Terry Boot got him books, of which they received similar gifts in turn. Tonks, who had almost an identical taste in music as him, got him a Warren Zevon and REM album, while he got her a new headphone.
The last gift was from Daphne, and he laughed before opening it. The mere thought of exchanging Christmas gifts with her three months ago would have been utterly ridiculous, yet here he was. Unwrapping the present, he found a framed magical photo of him catching a snitch and pumping his fists in celebration. He smiled at the memory. It was the final match of last year, and the catch secured his first Quidditch Cup as captain. How she got that photo, he had no idea. Smiling, he put the photo beside his bed, vowing to take it with him back to Hogwarts. He put his gifts away, deciding to check on Neville, who usually came over before noon to spend the day with the Potters.
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In the Greengrass residence, Christmas was a quiet affair. Neither Daphne nor Astoria were too much into opening presents with family, so there was not gathering in front of the Christmas tree in the morning. In fact, Daphne often liked to sleep in, losing interest in gifts after her third year, which is why Daphne was a bit irritated when Astoria woke her up early in the morning.
"What do you want, Tori?" She asked sleepily, looking at her younger sister who looked quite nervous.
"Wake up, Daph. I need to show you something."
"What is it?" She asked, wishing Astoria would go away.
"It's in my room. Get up! Trust me, you'll want to see this." Astoria pleaded until Daphne sighed and got up, yawning heavily. She groggily followed her younger sister, who was almost bouncing in nervous excitement.
Astoria's room was right next to her, so the trip didn't take long. Daphne noticed that there was wrapping paper everywhere.
"Did you wake me up to show me a present, Tori? Because if that's the case I'm going back to bed." She complained irritably.
"Yes, it is a present, but you have to see it!" Astoria practically shouted, dragging her older sister's arms to a certain box. Before Daphne could comment any further, Astoria pressed a card to her hands, saying that it came with the box.
Dear Astoria,
I know that you would like this, and I hope your sister will help you if you have any difficulties with it. Or you can write to me if you have any particular requests. Enjoy.
Harry Potter,
Your new nemesis.
P.S. It's a bit delicate, so please handle with care.
"Well, what is it?" Daphne asked her sister, surprised that Harry got her something.
"Open it." Astoria said, almost shaking. Daphne did, and her jaws fell to the floor.
It was the exact CD player Harry had, but with headphones.
"This is the same as the one he has himself." Daphne whispered.
"You mean he gave his one to me?!" Astoria gasped in disbelief, and Daphne scoffed.
"No, you dolt! He bought another one for you. His one has earphones instead of headphones." She explained, before Astoria asked what's an earphone, and Daphne had to explain the difference between the two.
"So which one is better?" She asked, Daphne and she thought about it for a while.
"I like headphones better because of the sound quality, but earphones are more mobile and the sound from it appears to be from inside your head. It hurts my ears after a while though. I think Harry uses earphones because he uses it while doing other stuff and people are less likely to notice an earphone than a headphone. If you lower the volume, you can hear outside conversations too, but headphones block almost all outside sound."
The sisters stood there in silence for a while, not knowing what to say. Finally, Astoria opened her mouth.
"But I didn't get him anything. I didn't even imagine Harry Potter would give me a gift."
"Don't worry about it." Daphne said. "Harry is not going to be bothered by that, really. If you feel bad about it, you can always get him something later."
Astoria nodded, thinking that was probably the best thing to do. She would get him something when the next term started.
"But what am I gonna do with this thing?" She cried out suddenly, pointing at the device again.
"Listen to music, of course. What else can you do with it, Tori? Come on, I'll teach you how to use it. See this button here? You have to press it for-"
Daphne taught Astoria how to use her new CD player and left her with her preferred CDs, reminding her to make sure to leave no scratches on it. Astoria handled the player and the CDs like they were made of thin wafers, vowing to never, ever scratch the disc.
With that, Daphne left her room to see what Harry got her. After seeing what he got Astoria, she suddenly felt a bit self-conscious. Of course, Harry would like the photo, but he had gotten her sister a CD player!
Entering her room, she went towards the small pile of presents. She really didn't have many friends, and apart from family she only received gifts from Blaise, Tracey and Harry. Judging from the shape of the packages, both Blaise and Tracey got her books. Putting them away for later inspection, she reached for Harry's box, which was light. She opened the box and beamed.
It was a simple but elegant necklace, with a teardrop-shaped ocean-blue pearl. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a little note stashed in the box.
Hey Blondie,
It's more than meets the eye. Please do me a favour and wear it whenever you go out. If you tap your wand on it, it will turn invisible in case you don't want others to see it.
Harry
She didn't know why he asked that, but decided to keep his request whenever she went out. Considering its elegance and beauty, she was more than willing to show it off in public. Perhaps she might leave out the fact it was from Harry Potter, however.
Suddenly, she wished she had gotten him something that was worth more than a simple photograph.
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Christmas was over in a blink of an eye, and New Year's Eve flashed by as well. Harry had mostly hung out with Neville and visited Diagon Alley to see his old pals Fred and George Weasley in their new joke shop.
Harry was really surprised by how well their business was going considering the war, but George explained to him in a voice that sounded suspiciously like Dumbledore that everyone needed a few laughs in times of trouble. Of course, he had visited their shop when they opened it first, with James and Sirius being their initial investors.
After learning his father and godfather were Marauders, the twins already worshipped James, Sirius and Remus, and when the two men, with Harry's encouragement, showed interest in their business, they practically passed out with shock. However, both Marauders thought that the activities of Voldemort would have dampened the business considerably.
They invited him to the Burrow for dinner the next day, and seeing that he had nothing better to do, Harry accepted the invitation.
Harry always liked the Burrow. It wasn't a luxurious home, but it had that je ne sais quoi that really made it feel like home. Harry understood his mother's decision to live in a cottage instead of a manor particularly when he visited the Weasley residence.
Charlie Weasley was home for the holidays, and this was the first time Harry met him. On a previous visit, he had met with Bill, who seemed pretty rad considering his background with curse breaking. Charlie seemed more laid back and relaxed, but Harry assumed that being a Dragon handler, he had pretty sharp reflexes.
"I've heard a lot about you from Dora." Harry offered, and Charlie laughed.
"Don't believe a single word. I didn't know you knew Tonky.
"Yeah, our families are close. Dora's mum is my godfather's cousin, actually." Harry explained, making a mental note to call Dora 'Tonky.'
"How is she? Haven't seen her in a while." Charlie asked with a grin.
"Her family was attacked a few weeks back, and her dad got injured. She was down for a while. She seems back to normal now, all things considered."
Charlie then recalled some of the mischiefs he and Tonks caused back in their time at Hogwarts. The twins, who liked Tonks pretty well, joined in the conversation.
"-and then Snape said 'Ms Tonks, can you explain why a sixth year Hufflepuff is attending a second year class for Gryffindors?'" Fred said, trying not to laugh too hard.
"And then Tonks just said 'Oops?' and bolted" George finished as they all broke down in laughter.
"I can't believe she would try to impersonate George." Ginny exclaimed. She was not very familiar with Tonks, seeing that she already graduated by the time Ginny got into Hogwarts.
"It was a bet, actually." Fred explained.
"She claimed that she could replace George for a whole day and no one would notice." George quipped.
"How did Snape find out then?" Harry asked.
"As soon as she realized we had a double potions that day, she surrendered." Fred cackled.
"Don't blame 'er." Ron nodded.
After some snacks provided by Mrs. Weasley, the conversation soon turned to the one topic they all had in common: quidditch. All of them played for Gryffindor, past or present.
"So Oliver managed to find a decent successor?" Charlie asked with a smile. "That kid looked touched in the head to me. I wasn't sure how well he would do considering that the whole team was so young. Mind you, he was pretty young himself."
"Yeah, Wood was mental, alright." Harry grumbled good naturedly. "He managed to string together a decent team, though."
"Harry's being modest. He was the one who really turned things around for us." Fred said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, I always say that seekers are the most important player of a team." Harry said in a pompous tone.
"Finally! I've been saying that for years!" Charlie cried.
"Yes because who wouldn't love to see two guys roaming around for hours till one of them catches a shiny ball." Ginny drawled.
"Doesn't matter what people want to see. The fact that you would have to score fifteen times to equalize one catch from the seeker tells a lot about who is important and who is not." Charlie dismissed, having gone through this discussion more times he had cared to count.
"Oh I can score more than that before you catch the snitch." Ginny shot back challengingly, and there was a chorus of 'ooh's all around.
"That sounds like a challenge to me, brother of mine." Fred quipped.
"Indeed it does, Greddie boy." George supplied.
"Oh, is that right?" Charlie asked with his eyebrows raised and a grin on his face.
"You bet your dragon-flame-burnt arse it is." Ginny was not backing down, a feral grin on her face.
"I think we can guess where this is heading." George started.
"You bet Charlie's dragon-flame-burnt arse we can!" Fred finished.
"Harry's on my team." Ginny called first.
"The twins work best together. I'll have both of them." Charlie shot back.
"Well Ron, Harry and I do play in the same team, so thanks." Ginny replied, more confidently than she felt.
"I'll get the brooms." Ron volunteered eagerly. "Harry, you'll have to play in Bill's old broom, though."
"That's hard. Downgrading from a Firestorm X to a Nimbus 1800." Fred commented.
"Harry can just pop back to his house and get his broom, though." Ginny suggested.
"I'm alright. It's the rider who catches the snitch, not the broom." Harry announced, hoping that none of the Weasleys watched muggle racing movies where he borrowed the corny line from.
"Yes. That is why you are going down." Charlie smirked at him and Harry laughed.
"Honestly, I'd sit this one out if I were you. You wouldn't want to embarrass yourself." He shot back at the dragon tamer, thoroughly enjoying the borderline friendly trash talk.
"I'd listen to him, Charlie. Last chance to back out." Ginny called.
"And miss out on seeing you cry like a baby when you lose? No chance." Charlie was not giving any inch in the banter.
"Oh she's not gonna be the one crying at the end, trust me." Ron joined in the fun, back with the brooms. Charlie glared at the twins.
"A little support here guys?"
"Nah, we are good." Fred happily said.
"Looks like you have it all covered there." George showed a thumbs up, mounting his broom.
"Brilliant." Charlie grimaced.
The rules were simple. No bludgers, players can play in whatever position they wanted, meaning there were no designated keepers or chasers. However, only the seekers could catch the snitch. Game ended in a snitch catch, or two hours, whichever came first.
Charlie figured that the teams were evenly matched. Even though Harry had the advantage of being in regular practice, it didn't mean that Charlie didn't fly whenever he got any free time. He knew Ginny was an excellent chaser, but he hoped that Ron would tend to stick to his natural position, the keeper, more often while leaving Ginny alone with Harry. He knew George and Fred would be playing out of position, but their teamwork was impeccable. If nothing else, it would be fun.
He was right. It was fun. It had been a while since Charlie had a decent opponent on a broom, but when Harry ran circles around him and caught the snitch with a slower broom than his, he had to acknowledge that he was not the best seeker on the pitch. Harry deliberately let the snitch go a number of times while blocking Charlie from getting it as well, so that Ginny could win her bet. By the time Harry was finally closing in on the snitch, Ginny had put 20 goals past her older brothers. Ron and Harry had each scored a few to make the score 270-180 for them, before Harry ended the game. Fred and George confessed that they expected to lose from the beginning, which is why they did not participate in the trash talk themselves, letting Charlie take all the playful abuse after the final score. Charlie grumbled at them, but they could tell he was not really mad about it.
After a wonderful dinner where Harry explained to Mr. Weasley the difference between an airplane and a helicopter and Mrs. Weasley attempted to feed an entire week's worth of food to him, he returned home and found a letter for him.
Dear Harry,
I am soooooo sorry that I did not get you anything. I swear I will have a gift for you the next time I see you.
I absolutely LOVE the CD player. It might be the best gift of my entire life, and I have received a lot of gifts in my life. Thank you so much. I don't know what can I possibly give you that would ever be equal to this, but I am going to try. Daph is teaching me how to not break it, and I have been listening to it almost constantly. Mother has threatened to lock it away because I wanted to have dinner in my room with it! Thank you again. And sorry for not getting you anything.
Daph says hi.
Astoria
Harry grinned at the young Greengrass sister's enthusiasm that was evident in her words. He knew that convincing mum to enchant yet another player was worth it.
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Harry planned to spend his last day before going back doing absolutely nothing. He spent most of his day with Mel, knowing that his younger sister would be upset tomorrow when he left. He wished he could witness Mel at Hogwarts, showing her the secret passageways and the numerous secrets Hogwarts held, but it would be special for her to discover those secrets on her own.
The day went pleasantly, and the Potters were relaxed on the living room, contemplating if it was a good idea to go out and get pizza when Remus' patronus appeared in front of James, speaking quickly.
'Multiple attacks all over the country. They are using Fiendfyre. Check up on anyone who might be unprotected. Sirius is covering the Order members' houses.'
Immediately, James jumped to action and sent off five patroni, while Lily did the same.
"I'm coming." Harry announced, and after giving him a short glance, James nodded. Lily bit her lips and spoke out.
"I'll come too. Let me drop Mel off at the Tonks' home, and I'll be back in a minute." She took Mel and disapparated away, and true to her words, was back before a minute. James and Harry put on their armour and boots, while James grabbed armour for Lily. All three summoned their mirrors and within two minutes of Remus's patronus, the three Potters were on the move.
James received a coordinate from Remus through the mirror, and they all apparated there.
Death Eaters had cornered a family of three and were setting the house on fire as Lily shot a cutting curse that sliced off the wand wielding hand of the Death Eater before he could even react to the newcomers.
James was already working on anti-apparition and anti portkey wards, as Harry blew one Death Eater's arm completely off and banished another one through a wall while summoning his wand. Lily covered for James as she sent stunners after a Death Eater trying to attack her husband, who was almost finishing up with the wards. Harry took down two more Death Eaters before James was finally free and along with Lily, stunned, bound, and broke the wands of the remaining three Death Eaters.
Lily cast a homenium revelio to see if there were more Death Eaters hiding and found none. James took down his wards and bound the Death Eaters together and dropped a portkey on them, as Lily communicated with another Order member for the next location and Harry ensured that the family was okay. The man was a little injured, but his wife was already tending to it as the daughter, who looked a little older than Harry and thanked him profusely. Harry nodded and asked them to upgrade their wards as soon as possible before Lily had the next location and they apparated away again.
There was already anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards, so they had to apparate a little further away from the house that was already burning. On the bright side, it looked like a normal fire.
They sprinted inside the house and saw a young girl, barely over seven, dead in the doorway, and Harry felt a fire rising in his chest. He burst through to the living room and smashed a hole large enough to fit a grapefruit into the stomach of a Death Eater while blowing off his wand-wielding arm as well. Not seeing anyone around, he ran towards the stairs and saw two more corpses, a man and a woman, both covered in blood. He checked their pulses and seeing no hope of saving them, ran upstairs.
Someone was screaming and before he could do anything, the screaming stopped and James came out of the door, a scared, crying girl and two unconscious Death Eaters behind him.
"There was another set of stairs at the back." He yelled to Harry, as Lily came up behind Harry. Lily tried to calm down the girl, as James bound and delivered the Death Eaters to the Order safe house and Harry talked with Remus to get the next location.
As soon as they arrived at the next stop, they knew it was way too late. A raging Fiendfyre already engulfed the house and the three Potters all combined together to put it out. After five agonizing minutes that left Lily exhausted, James panting and Harry sweating like he ran a hundred miles, the fire was contained, and Harry went inside as James checked on Lily. The smell of charred flesh was overwhelming, as Harry noticed bodies in what presumably used to be a large hall room. He spotted molten gold on some of the corpses and gathered that Death Eaters had attacked on a party.
The corpses were burnt beyond any recognition, and checking for anyone still alive, Harry found none, which meant the Death Eaters had fled after casting the Fiendfyre. He went outside and reported the situation to his parents and after consulting the other Order members, they were told that the rest of the attacked families were already dead. However, the Order and a few independent Aurors had saved around fifteen families out of the forty attacked, so it was a small consolation.
The Potters were silent as they returned to their home, and this time it was James who went to the Tonks' home to retrieve a crying Melanie. Harry took over the duty of calming her down and putting her to bed, before joining his stone faced parents. Lily's eyes were leaking tears silently as she held her husband's hand, who was staring out of the window with a blank expression. Harry sat down beside them and put his hands over his face. The adrenaline was now leaving his body as he thought back on the burnt corpses and the face of the dead young girl, lying in a doorway.
He wondered how many people lost their lives today, and how many people lost loved ones. He hoped that no one he knew was among them.
His jaws tightened, thinking about the Death Eaters, who had bided their time through the holidays and lulled everyone into a false sense of security before coordinating all the attacks to spread the Aurors and Order resources thin with their hit and run tactics.
On the back of his mind, Harry felt a little proud about how his parents and he had saved a family, which was better than nothing at all. His mind wandered to the scared girl in the second location, and he knew that whatever horrors she had faced and the pain of losing all her family, was far worse than death.
Once again, he felt a burning rage towards Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and knowing that he had to go back to school the next day, pretending like any of these never happened until the next break, was almost as infuriating.
Soon, James was called to an emergency Order meeting and after kissing Lily's cheeks and clapping Harry's shoulder, he left without a word. Watching her husband leave, Lily got up and sat next to Harry, who held her hand in silent support. Tears were streaming down her face and after a few moments, she sobbed. Harry hugged her and she hugged him back tightly, crying freely at this point, and his eyes were burning as well. Mother and son sat like that for a while, before Lily regained her composure, wiped away her tears, and stood up.
"Get some rest Harry." She said in a watery tone, her voice threatening to break again. "We have to get up early to catch the train."
Harry wanted to say that he wanted to stay back and fight, not go back to school where everyone thought the war would not touch them. But he knew that was not an option. He knew he was very lucky to have parents who didn't object to him fighting alongside them, knowing that a stray curse or a moment of distraction could rip their family apart. They trusted him to do the right thing, and he had never broken that trust. He knew that if he really insisted on abandoning his education and staying back to fight, they might eventually give in. But it would break their heart and although Harry was by no means the perfect son, he wouldn't willingly do that to his parents.
So he nodded and clasped her hand tightly, to which she whispered "I'll be okay." And even managed a small smile. Harry knew full well that she would not be okay, but he also knew that he was a product of her, and if he had a reason to stay out of hospital wing when he was exhausted or hurt, then she had the same reason to put on a brave face in front of her son.
As smart, cunning and hard-working both of them were, there was a reason the hat placed them in Gryffindor.
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James returned from the Order meeting very late, and Lily had insisted that she could drop Harry at King's Cross while he got some sleep. Both men knew that she hadn't slept a wink waiting for James to return, but after Lily insisted, James couldn't find it in himself to oppose her. Harry mentioned that he could go on his own, but Lily deliberately pretended not to have heard anything, and Harry knew this was another battle not worth fighting.
Foregoing all pleasantries, they directly apparated on the platform, and being the Head Boy, Harry quickly kissed his mother's cheek and bid her goodbye, who hugged him tightly before releasing him and walking away to stand a bit further from the train. Harry understood what she was doing. She wanted to see the train leave, but she didn't want Harry to feel obligated to spend more time with her. Harry felt bad, but he had his duties and after giving her a final wave, which she returned, he climbed aboard the train and checked the Head's compartment. It was empty. Harry didn't know what time Daphne usually arrived, but since he was 30 minutes early, he assumed she would turn up later.
As more people climbed aboard, he noticed that quite a few students were missing from the list of people that were supposed to go back by the Hogwarts Express. A grim thought crossed his mind about how some of those families who did not make it yesterday might have had some Hogwarts students amongst them and he quickly pushed the thought away.
He was getting worried when the train was due to leave in five minutes and neither Daphne nor Astoria could be seen anywhere. He frantically searched the platform for the familiar blonde hair, but all he noticed was his mother looking around. He quickly called her from his mirror.
"Mum, have you seen Daphne or anyone from her family?" He asked hurriedly. She shook her head.
"No. I was looking for them as well." Harry cursed.
"Okay mum, tell me if you see anything. I'll check the compartments to see if she arrived early and fell asleep or something."
Lily nodded worriedly as the connection died. She didn't hear about the Greengrass residence being attacked last night, but she would have to check again.
The train whistled, and the wheels were rolling as Harry frantically searched every compartment. On the back of his mind, he knew very well that never in a million years would Daphne fall asleep in a compartment before departure, but he was hoping against all hope that he was wrong and she would be really asleep in one of the compartments.
He saw Neville and Ginny settling on a compartment and they asked him what was wrong, as he quickly explained that he hadn't seen Daphne on the train and now he was searching for her. They both said that they hadn't seen her, and they went to look around with Harry.
After searching the whole train twice, Harry was forced to accept the fact that the Greengrasses were not on the train. He went back to the Head's compartment, where the prefects were waiting for him. He noticed two missing prefects, including Astoria, and when he asked others about them, they answered that they hadn't been on the train either. Draco Malfoy was wearing a slight smirk at that and Harry wanted nothing more than punch that poncey fucker right in the face, but he ignored him for the time being.
Harry assigned them rounds, finding it quite difficult without Daphne. He went to patrol himself as well, and a few students asked where the Daphne was. He calmly answered that she would join them later. After a couple of rounds, he went back to the empty Head's compartment and called his mother and asked her if she knew anything yet. She told him that she was asking around and would let him know as soon as she found out something. He went on to spend some time with Neville and Ginny, and then some time with Hermione and Su Li and finally went to the compartment where Tracey and Blaise were. He asked them if they knew any whereabouts of the Greengrasses and they said that they did not. All in all, it was a very tense and agitated Harry who came out of the Hogsmeade station, and appointing Hermione the temporary duties of the Head Girl to manage the students moving from the Hogsmeade station to Hogwarts. Hermione was an excellent fill in, taking the responsibility with utmost seriousness, but he still missed the understanding he had developed with Daphne.
As they all reached Hogwarts without any incident, Harry immediately went up to Dumbledore and reported the missing students, including Daphne. Dumbledore looked at the list and informed Harry that five students did not make it last night, and two were missing family members. But he admitted that he did not know the Greengrass residence being one of the attacked houses, so he would have to check with his contacts. Of course, this information was totally off the record until any formal announcement, so when he went back to the Gryffindor table and people around him asked about the missing students, he simply said that he was not at liberty to say. Some of them, especially the purebloods and the more connected Half Bloods already knew yesterday's events and assumed that the missing students were probably missing forever. Two Gryffindors, fourth year Romilda Vane and a second year named Conor Lawler were amongst the missing ones and their friends were looking very scared.
After a short discussion with the other professors, Dumbledore stood to address the Great Hall. Everyone immediately went deathly quiet.
"Welcome back to another term." Dumbledore started grimly. "As you have undoubtedly noticed by now, there are a few amongst us missing. These students shared a horrible fate last night. Followers of Lord Voldemort, the group calling themselves Death Eaters, attacked a number of homes last night. They attacked like cowards, striking from the dark and fleeing before anyone could fight back. A few families survived, physically unscathed, with help from a number of anonymous helping wands, but it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that a majority of the families attacked have perished. And some of those missing today are amongst the ones who will not see another day. I urge you all to stand up and raise your goblets for the missing members of our family."
Harry noticed that Draco Malfoy stood up but did not raise his goblet and neither did Pansy Parkinson. A few younger Slytherins refrained from raising their goblets as well, and Harry noted them down carefully, remembering what Sirius and his dad had told him earlier.
Everything resumed normally after that, save for the deathly quiet Great Hall. Soon, the welcoming feast was over and students slowly turned towards their common rooms. Harry was about to go to the owlery to find Hedwig and write a letter to Daphne, but McGonagall intercepted him.
"Mr. Potter, a word if you please."
"Professor." He acknowledged as he followed her to the Head's Table, where Dumbledore, Snape and Flitwick were talking quietly.
"Mr. Potter, I know Heads duties are taxing and I understand this is a troubling time for you as well." Dumbledore started, looking a bit uncomfortable. "I have noticed that despite your previous animosity with our Head Girl, you two seem to have put your differences aside and worked hard to keep things in order, and I have to admit, I have not seen a better pair of Head students since your parents graduated." Harry noticed Snape looking sour but wondered what Dumbledore was getting at.
"Thank you, professor. We try to do our best." He replied calmly and Dumbledore nodded and looked even more uncomfortable.
"I know you do. And that is why I urge you to heed my next words as objectively as possible, and remember that I only speak for the best of the school."
Harry did not speak, having a sinking feeling in his stomach about what this conversation really was about.
"In the absence of the Head Girl, we have to consider the- possibility that- she might not return."
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he took another one and then another one. When he opened his eyes, his face was completely blank, just like the mask Daphne used to wear in front of the world.
He slowly nodded to show that his understanding. Dumbledore was studying his face carefully.
"You must understand that nothing would make us happier if she proved our caution to be unnecessary and returned tomorrow, but it is a necessary precaution." He almost pleaded to Harry, as if begging him to understand that he was not a monster for thinking such. Harry nodded again.
"I understand, professor. We have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst." Harry said expressionlessly, and Dumbledore nodded grimly. Professor Sprout had a tear in the corner of her eye.
"Indeed we do, Harry. This is why we have to select a temporary Head Girl until the moment Miss Greengrass can join us again. Normally, this is a decision taken by the Head of the Houses, but the outstanding performances that you two have shown has led me to believe that your choice should be taken into consideration as well. Keep in mind that you would not have the final say on this, but we are all inclined to take your suggestion into consideration. After all, it is you who have to work with her, even if it is a hopefully temporary situation." He explained and Harry's mind took a while to catch up with what was said.
"So you want my recommendation for the temporary Head Girl?" He asked to clarify, and Snape looked like he definitely did not want Harry's recommendation on anything.
"I would suggest Hermione Granger. She is the most responsible prefect I have at my disposal, and her performances at academic and activities as a prefect are excellent. In fact, I assigned her to help me on the Hogsmeade station on duties I typically share with the Head Girl."
"Are you sure that you are not simply recommending your Gryffindor pals, Potter?" Snape sneered and Harry did not even show that he even heard the man, looking deliberately at the other professors.
"We were discussing Miss Granger as well." McGonagall said with a stern glare at Snape, who ignored it in favour of glaring at Harry for ignoring him. Harry simply nodded at the Deputy Headmistress, who, after a moment of quiet conversation with Dumbledore, sent a patronus towards the Gryffindor tower.
Minutes later, Hermione arrived breathlessly, apparently having sprinted all the way from the Gryffindor common room.
She was quickly explained her role by Dumbledore and McGonagall, and although Harry knew she had probably wanted to be a Head Girl for all her life, it was a mark of her personality that she did not show the slightest trace of joy at her promotion.
"Do I have to move to the Head's dorm, professor?" She asked at last, and Harry didn't know how to react if Dumbledore said yes, before Hermione continued "Because I would really rather not do that. It is Daphne's quarter, and as far as we all know, she might be here by morning. I do not want to impose on her place. Also, the moving around would be a bother."
She looked at Harry, and he thanked her with his eyes, to which she gave him the slightest of smiles.
"If you do not wish to move, there is no need to move, Miss Granger. The dormitories are merely a privilege. There is no harm done if you choose not to use it." Dumbledore said kindly, very proud of the two students in front of him.
The Head Boy and the temporary Head Girl was dismissed after that, Dumbledore promising to fill them in on any update he had about the Greengrasses.
Harry and Hermione walked towards the Gryffindor common room in silence. As they reached the portrait hole, Harry spoke.
"Thank you for not trying to move in Daphne's room yet. I know it's your right, but I am not prepared to think that she would not return until there is proof. It's quite selfish of me, but-"
Hermione cut him off before he could say anything more.
"Harry, I meant every word I said in the Head's Table. I know Daphne will return. I am thinking of this as extra prefect's duty. Nothing more."
Harry wanted to say something but he did not trust his voice. He nodded and gave Hermione a small smile, to which she squeezed his hand.
"We have a pretty nice Library at the dorm." He said as he turned away, waiting for it-
"Can I visit sometime, Harry?" She blurted out, unable to hold it in and Harry laughed.
"You can visit anytime you want, Mione, even if you are not a prefect anymore."
Harry thought he heard a faint squeal, but as he turned towards her, she was gone, the portrait hole closing behind her.
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As Harry entered the Heads' dorm, he suddenly felt very empty inside. His mind went back to the first weeks of the school year, when he wished the dorm was empty. Now that it was actually empty, he wanted nothing more than to take those thoughts back. The common room seemed especially big and Harry lounged on the couch, thinking about all the times he and Daphne spent in this place. Taking care of her while she was sick, talking about nothing in particular, chatting with Astoria, or Neville and Ginny, or Tracey and Blaise, or just listening to their CD players and exposing her to so many new Muggle musicians. It was vexing.
He must have fallen asleep because he woke up to the sound of his mirror calling his name, and he realized that he was still on the couch in the common room. Quickly pulling out the mirror from his pockets, he answered the call that was from his mother.
"Mum? What happened? Did you find anything?" He asked, his sleep going away quickly.
"Yes, I have. Daphne and Astoria are both alright." She said in a tight voice. Relief washed over Harry.
"Where are they, then?"
Lily looked down for a moment and when she looked back up, her eyes watery.
"Remember that house with Fiendfyre with a lot of people inside?" Harry nodded, a sinking feeling in his stomach developing.
"Daphne's parents were in that party." Lily finished with a broken voice, and Harry hung his head. He didn't know how to feel. Emptiness. Relief that Daphne and Astoria were okay? Fury about the fate of their parents? Mourning for their loss? It was an inexorable sadness.
"Where are they now?" He asked in a constricted voice.
"They have no one to take care of the houses, and they are both there for the moment. James asked Sirius to hire someone trustworthy to take care of the property while they are at school. They have a few relatives, but they are more interested in taking control of the property than taking care of them, and the family friends are not willing to get in the middle of what they are calling a 'political murder'. Being an adult, Daphne has to take care of all the legal procedures before she can go back to school. I wouldn't expect her before next week."
"Mum-" Harry started with a pleading look and Lily interrupted him.
"I will be with Daphne in everything she wants me to be. You don't need to tell me about it, sweetheart."
Harry nodded, a little surprised that his mother knew what he was going to ask her before he even organized the thought.
"What about Astoria?" he asked.
"I will talk with Daphne and if she is okay with it, I'll send her to Hogwarts tomorrow morning."
Harry nodded. That was a good decision. Astoria didn't need to share the stress Daphne was about to go through.
"Harry-"
"I will look after her, mum." Harry assured her.
"I know you will. Take care, now. And don't sleep on the couch."
Harry smiled at his mother.
"Ask Daphne to call me when she is feeling up to it."
"I will. You look after Astoria when she arrives tomorrow."
"I will."
A/N: Use the review box to let me know exactly how much you hate me.