Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did because then I would find some way to bring Fred back to life. Anyways, the world of Harry Potter belongs to the amazing J. K. Rowling!
It was an August morning and Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, and Lily were all going to the grocery store. There wasn't any reason for all five of them to go, but it was a nice day and they decided they would go to the park afterwards. Since they were going to the park, the decided to drive the car. They drove to the little store and while Ginny, Albus, and Lily walked inside, Harry and James, talked animatedly about the Quidditch standings. Once the other three had returned with their groceries, the family drove to the park. They hadn't been there in a while and as they drove, Ginny gave them the 'remember, don't use any magic' lecture. The three kids groaned inwardly, but agreed to their parent conditions.
Once Harry had parked, James, Albus, and Lily hurried out, followed by their parents. As their children ran around and had fun, Harry and Ginny sat down on a nearby bench so as to watch them. They began discussing Ginny's work and the current article she was working on for the upcoming Holyhead Harpies and Chudley Cannons match. As the conversation shifted into Harry's work and then to James' upcoming attendance into Hogwarts, Harry heard something he had hoped he wouldn't have to hear ever again.
"Potter?" A gruff, angry voice spoke his name and he turned instinctually, ready to be yelled at.
"Un - V - Vernon?" Harry stammered over the words because he couldn't believe who he was looking at. His Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were staring at him, Harry staring right back.
"Boy? What the hell are you doing here?" Uncle Vernon exploded, apparently shocked Harry was still alive. Probably disappointed too. Harry swallowed a few times, felt Ginny's hand in his, and composed himself.
"I'm here with my children. May I ask what you are doing here?" He asked calmly.
"Ha!" Vernon laughed coldly, choosing to ignore Harry's returned question. "Like hell you are! And who is this girl cowering behind you? Your long-lost sister?" He cackled and shot Petunia a sneering smile.
"No," Ginny said firmly, stepping out from behind Harry, but not letting go of his hand, "I'm his wife."
"Oh," Vernon seemed surprised at this, "well, how'd ya get her, Potter? Pay her a thousand pounds?" He cackled again and at this insult, Harry made a move towards him. Ginny held him back though, whispering in his ear, "No, Harry, you can't!"
At this moment, Lily ran up to her father.
"Daddy!" Harry turned instantly, his aunt and uncle temporarily driven from his mind, as he examined his daughter.
"What is it, Lily?" Lily held out her arm for her father to see.
"Oh, honey! How did this happen?" Harry exclaimed as he saw the long, thin, deep scrape that ran down the inside if her arm.
"Who is that?" Petunia asked, intrigued by the use of the name 'Lily'.
"Don't come any closer!" Harry yelled at his 'family' who had walked forward a few paces.
"Come on, honey. Tell us what happened," asked Ginny again.
"I-I-" she stuttered, "I slid and my arm got c-caught on this piece of metal sticking out f-from the slide and it c-cut me! Oh, Mummy, it hurts!" Lily started sobbing into Ginny's shoulder, while Harry turned his back to the park so as to heal his daughter's arm without the other Muggles seeing.
After a few seconds, Lily's sobs had quieted down to the occasional sniff. Harry had healed her arm quite easily, and they hugged her and assured she'd be alright. She was going to run back to the play area but then she saw the Dursley's standing a little ways off, staring at them.
"Dad, who are they?"
"Don't worry about it, baby. You run along now and play with your brothers." Harry told her.
"Alright, Daddy." Lily said, a bit skeptically, but then ran off, rubbing her arm where the scrape had been, and hopped onto a swing.
Harry's attention returned to the two people standing behind him and Ginny. They turned and looked at Vernon and Petunia, who looked absolutely flabbergasted at what they had just witnessed.
"Are you kidding me? You named your kid after my maniac of a sister?" Petunia looked as if she might soon explode.
"Yes. And my mother was not a maniac!" Harry was yelling now, drawing the attention of his three children. "My mum and my dad were heroes, and guess what?" It was Harry's turn to let out a maniacal laugh, "Without them, your whole world would probably be gone!" Harry couldn't take it anymore. He had dealt with them not respecting his parents when he was younger, but now . . . James and Lily Potter deserved all the respect in the world, as far as Harry was concerned. In his eyes, he wasn't the hero of the wizarding world, James and Lily Potter were, along with all the other fallen heroes. Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore, Cedric, Snape, Alice and Frank Longbottom, Dobby. Fred. All those deaths, even though slightly diminished over the course of time, still haunted him every day. And they deserved respect. It was just as he stopped yelling, that Harry noticed his three children standing next to and in front of him and Ginny.
As he quieted, breathing heavily after his outburst, James looked up at him and asked, "Dad, what is it? What did they say about Grandmum Lily and Granddad James?" They had overheard their father's yells, and James looked and felt almost as angry as him. All three of Harry's children, not to mention Teddy, and all of their cousins, respected and defended Lily and James Potter more than anybody.
"Nothing, James. C'mon, let's go home," he whispered quietly to Ginny.
"Here, I'll drive," replied Ginny, holding out her hand for the keys. They turned from the Dursley's and walked towards their car.
"You'll never be good for anything!" Vernon yelled. "Eventually, you're family'll leave you too! They'll learn what kind of freak you really are!" This was the last straw. James, who had always been protective of his family, turned and faced Vernon and Petunia. He walked towards them. Petunia even looked a little shocked at this last statement from her husband.
"Don't you dare insult my father!" James yelled. "He's a hundred times the man you are! Did you even know that he killed the most evil wizard in the world and has been injured countless times but still fought?" Harry was surprised to hear this come from his son's mouth. He had never told them of his painful memories. Killing Voldemort, yes. They would have heard that from somebody else anyways, but he'd never told them about Umbridge, the Lestranges, or the Basilisk, let alone the pain inflicted upon him by Voldemort himself. Ron had probably told them. He made a mental note to talk to his best friend about his 'stories'.
"James, stop! That's enough!" He grabbed his son by the shoulder and turned him away, James still aiming filthy looks Vernon's and Petunia's way.
Later, when all five of them were home in Potter Manor and eating dinner, James asked again, "Dad, what did they say about Grandmum Lily and Granddad James?" Harry, who wasn't really caught off guard at the question, looked to Ginny for advice. She gave a solemn nod and Harry understood that as 'the children deserve to know'. Harry thought back to all his torturous years with the Dursley's.
"I - they called them maniacs and freaks and other names I'm not comfortable repeating." Uproars sounded around the kitchen at this statement. All three children immediately began defending their grandparents and shouting about how terrific and brave they were. Harry and Ginny were both touched at the sincerity within their children's words. Thankfully, the only other time Harry saw either of them was when he and Ginny saw Aunt Petunia at a museum but as soon as their eyes met, they turned and walked different directions. Harry's cousin Dudley, however, had grown up to be a good and kind man. He had a couple of children who were very well-behaved and they saw each other quite a bit, especially over the holidays.
Harry, though never fully recovering from his experiences with the Dursley's, did learn how to move on and was helped in this by his children and Ginny. It wasn't until a few years later that he realized that it didn't matter what they thought. Only what his true family thought.
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