Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Quidditch Match
"So you ready for this?" James asked, his trademark goofy grin on his face.
"Hell yeah." Harry grinned in return, readying his trustworthy Firebolt to take off. Everyone smiled as they saw the father and son laughing happily beside each other, their bright mood easily effecting the others'. Harry and his family had gotten out to Hogwarts grounds as soon as Dumbledore announced it was lunch break and was out the door before Umbridge could voice her protest about letting them go. James demanded for Umbridge to return Harry, Fred and George's brooms and his expression clearly told her that he was ready to do anything until she gave in and would take pleasure in causing mayhem, leaving her with no choice but to give back the brooms to three delighted. Lily, Hermione and Remus had leviated a small portion of each plate along with them so they didn't skip their dinner and conjured up a picnic mat for all of them to sit on.
The two male Potters barely stopped for some bites and then proceeded to summon their brooms. James had to borrow Madam Hooch's - with her permission, of course. Even he knew better than steal the Quidditch-obsessed witch's broom - since he didn't have any but his whining about his son having a better broom than him died out after few minutes of coaxing from Lily("Yes, dear, his broom is the fastest but considering he's against you I think it's only fair he used it, yes?).
"Three. Two. One. Go!" Yelled Sirius, loudly cheering as the two males shot off, testing each other's skills. The old broom's movement wasn't as smooth as the Firebolt but they could see how James was capable of overcoming that problem. Weasley family cheered along with them, though Mrs. Weasley was worriedly chewing her lower lip, her eyes tracking every move Harry made. Lily was gnawing on her fingernail, worried for her son's safety as well.
"You don't have to worry so much. If there's one thing Harry's good at it, it's Quidditch." Hermione reassured them, smiling softly. She was absolutely delighted that her friend would now have appropriate adult figures in his life, not just those horrid people who had abused him. The mere thought of Harry's relatives brought out her fury but she firmly pushed it aside. It would be no good if she let those horrible people effect her actions when they weren't even near her. "I'm sure they'll be fine. Besides, we're all here if something happens."
"Yeah, Mom. Harry's the best on the broom - not that I'm saying he's bad without it, but anyways. You do remember the stunt Harry pulled with that dragon, don't you? Compared to that, this is a piece of cake." Ron waved their concern off, biting off a mouthful of chicken leg but froze when he realized the stares of Lily fixed on him and facepalming of his friends. "I shouldn't have said that. Oops."
"You think?" Neville deadpanned, Luna letting out a small giggle of amusement.
"He, he did what?" Lily shrieked, her breathing speeding up. Mrs. Weasley tried to calm her down with no luck. Ron winced, backing off slowly. "Sorry. Um, I was just exaggerating?"
"Ugh, Ron. Really?" Ginny threw him a look at her brother and tried to soothe hysterical mother. "Don't worry, Mrs. Potter. He came out unscathed - well, mostly anyways. But he really is fine, nothing fatal, I swear."
"Right." Lily closed her eyes, her face weary. Her voice shook slightly but she managed to compose herself. "Just exactly what was he doing on a broom near a dragon?"
"Well, long story short, he was selected as one of the champions for the Triwizard Tournament and one of the tasks were to get the golden egg from the dragon's nest. So Harry decided to use one of his strongest skills, flying, and flew around, got the egg, and got good scores." Neville recounted, trying to make it sound that riding a highly flamable wooden broom near fire breathing dragon happened all the time and wasn't anything serious. He did surprisingly good job on it, if the situation he was trying to sugarcoat wasn't so dangerous. Lily rubbed her eyes, resigned to the fact that his son apparently had the awful tendency to draw troubles onto him like moths to the light. "Well, I suppose I should be just glad he's alive and in one piece."
"It does make it easier if you just focus on the fact that he's alive and well, and that he's with us." Remus agreed, sitting next to her. Lily leaned into him without really thinking about it, and sighed when Remus ran his hand through her hair. The gesture used to calm both of them, whenever they were left alone during the war with both James and Sirius, who were Aurors, gone to fend off some Death Eater raid. They would sit near fireplace, worry for the duo nearly driving them crazy, but they would murmur assurance to each other and bask comfort from the warmth from fire and each other. When the two finally stumbled into the house, dirty and bone-tired with numerous cuts all over them but otherwise fine, they'll quickly fuss over them, chiding about their stupidity of being so reckless in the battle or just laughing from relief that they were okay, that they had come back to them. Then they would all laugh because they were together, one big happy family, and during that time they could forget about the war raging on even then, about Voldemort and his followers, about the dark fate that was scuttling around the shadows, watching, ready to strike and rip them apart. The simple gesture brought back many memories of the war, and emotions, fear, desperation, horror and relief, and Lily was a bit overwhelmed.
"I'm so glad we are back together." Lily murmured softly, barely above whisper, but she knew Remus heard her from the slight tightening of his grip on her shoulder.
"Me, too." Remus replied, knowing exactly what she was thinking. "And I swear I will never let anything seperate us now. Not a treacherous rat or even You-Know-Who himself."
"Don't make promises that you can't keep." Lily smiled, her eyes suspiciously bright. "After all, James and I were dead. How do you know if we'll return to being dead after finishing the books?"
"You were dead." Remus corrected her firmly. "You are not now. Come on, don't talk like that, Lily. Where's the strong, stubborn woman I know? Besides," He lowered his voice, glancing around to make sure none of the others were eavesdropping on them. "You can't die. For Harry. He'll be absolutely crushed if he sees you die after finally having chance to meet his parents."
"Yes, I know." Lily bit her lip, agitated at the thought of her son in pain, be it physical or emotional. "But you can't just ignore the possibility that we will-"
"Hey, you lovebirds!"
Startled, their gaze snapped up to find Sirius grinning and waving madly at them. He was also flying on a broom - Remus could only pray he didn't steal it - and he was clearly relishing the freedom of flying. "What are you two whispering to yourselves about? Do I need to warn James?" Sirius wriggled his eyebrow at them suggestively, making Lily snort inelegantly and Remus roll his eyes. "Well, come on! Don't you want to watch father and son battling each other?"
Dark thoughts set aside for later, they turned their gaze upwards to find the two Potters soaring leisurely in the air, their eyes bright with mirth. Sirius cheered loudly along with the Weasleys and Ron was picked to set up a route for the game, which he accepted enthusiastically. Around them, the students who had already finished their dinner had gathered around to watch the match with interest and some had took a leaf out of their book and brought their dinner with them. Even some professors had come out to see the newest entertainment and were in the process of conjuring up cushions and blankets for the students.
"Alright!" Ron's voice echoed throughout the whole ground with the help of amplifying charm, and it was like the Triwizard Tournament all over again, with students and professors alike assembled to observe a competition, but the atmosphere was much lighter since the task much more safer. "Here's what you have to do. You'll start from here and go around the West Tower over there. The first one to arrive and grab this," he gestured at the winged golden ball that looked like a bigger version of Snitch fluttering above his head. "Wins. Got that? Good. You two ready?" Ron received two grins that were eerily same which was understandable considering how they looked so much alike. "On the count of three. Three. Two. One. Go!"
The duo shot off like a bullet, leaving only wind and dust behind them. Thunderous applaud echoed in the air as the crowd whooped and cheered in open admiration at their flying skill and even the ones who had outright antagonized Harry during the past few months had to reluctantly agree their flying was literally flawless.
At some point, Luna had put on her infamous lion hat, which was doing a good job scaring people around her by letting out a realistic roar. Per request, Hermione conjured up some flags painted red and gold with 'Potter rules!' written in sparkly purple. Sirius had covered his face in red and gold that was so bright that it hurt to just look at him and waved the flag so wildly that threatened to punch someone in the face. Due to his lack of wand, he had convinced Ginny to jinx the hair of Remus into red much to irritation of the werewolf and bemusement of others. Lily, Hermione and Neville had politely rejected the twin's offer to have them covered in Gryffindor color head to toe like they did and entertained themselves by observing people around them as well as the two figures racing each other above them. Luna, being her cheerful-self as always, had given the Potters flag to her hat, which was munching on it happily. All in all, it was the best day they have ever had and was enjoying themselves greatly.
Harry could feel his heart beating fiercely as adrenalin pumped through his vein. He was aware of every twitch his broom made and every sliver of wind breezing through his hair thanks to the thrill of being airborne again. He vaguely heard a roar and when he glimpsed behind him, he could see that someone - he was willing to bet it was Sirius or the twins or most likely both of them - had turned the entire ground into the Gryffindor's color. From what he gathered, their small friendly match had turned into a festival with people cheering, yelling, eating, and one of them was even doing this ridiculous dance; that was definitely Sirius.
Turning his gaze back forward, Harry glanced at his left where his dad - he still couldn't believe his parents were back and they were actually flying next to each other - was slicing through the air. He caught him looking and gave him a playful salute which he returned with a grin. They were closing onto the West Tower now and they both knew steering the broom far enough the tower so they don't crash but close enough so they turn as fast as possible was the key to victory. Turning his full concentration on the task, Harry looked at the fast approaching tower with calculative eyes. In sync, they turned sharply, barely avoiding running face-first into the solid tower. Harry placed all of his weight towards the tower to make the sharp turn as quick as possible and felt rush of excitement as they directed their brooms back towards the crowd, urging it to go faster and faster. Predictably, Firebolt slowly placed distance between its opponent but their competitor didn't let that deter him and only pushed the broom more in effort to gain on Harry.
The makeshift of Snitch zoomed around people's head and while it wasn't slow, it was ridiculously easy to spot compared to the size of the real Snitch. Flattening themselves so they would receive as small wind resistance as possible, they both reached out, their eyes locked firmly onto their target, but Harry could tell he was going to lose because the enchanted ball was going further away from him, thus placing itself directly into James's path.
Biting his lower lip, Harry quickly reviewed his options. While it was true that he had the fastest broom, his dad had years of more experience than him and Madam Hooch's broom wasn't slowing down anytime soon. He couldn't grab it without falling out of his broom because of the distance, which only left doing a little trick that might enrage his friends into chaining him to the ground for a few months. Ah, well. He always had competitive streak in him.
Mentally cursing himself for being so reckless - contrary to many belief, he wasn't actively trying to kill himself or give people heart attacks and he certainly didn't enjoy almost dying - he steeled his resolve and stood. Actually stood on a trimmed wood flying one hundred and fifty miles per hour, balanced with only his feet without any backup plan whatsoever should he fall. All in all, he had to admit this was one of his worst ideas ever. The wind that kept hitting him back made him wobble unsteadily but he put every ounce of his concentration on the little ball in front of him. Dimly, he thought he heard someone scream beneath him but he didn't dare lose his focus. He rather liked being able to operate every limb and he wouldn't be granted that luxury if he managed to break every bone.
A single deep breath and he lunged forward, his fingers closing around the golden ball as his feet gave him extra boost for jump. For a second, Harry was airborne until gravity pulled him to the ground. Instead of allowing himself to panic, he caught the frame of Firebolt and using he motion to his advantage, succeeded in swinging himself up, safely seated with Snitch in his hand. Letting out a disbelieving laugh - he honestly didn't think he could pull this off without some sort of injury - he turned around, only to face dozens of stark white face and wide eyes.
His manic grin faltered and the only thing that ran through his mind was, shit, I'm so screwed.
James swore his heart stopped just right then and there when his son stood - actually fucking stood on his broom while he was still flying for Merlin's sake. He heard several people scream and he honestly couldn't blame them. He would have screamed as well if not for this crushing dread that numbed his mind and body. Really, one second he was enjoying the race wtih his son and the next second, he was pushing the broom beyong its limit to go faster and faster because that was his son who was only millimeters away from plummeting to his death and he had to catch him in time and Merlin, he was purposefully throwing himself off his broom and whatthehellishedoing?
He could only watch, transfixed, as Harry did his little stunt could have ended his life and while part of his Quidditch-obsessed mind went wild with excitement of the difficult trick his son just did, the rest of his mind was screaming at him to move and check on his son for Merlin's sake. Without even registering what he was doing, James was beside his son in flash, words flowing out of his mouth in unintelligent babble as his hand flew over him for any bruise, cuts, anything only to find none. The pure relief of realizing that Harry was okay drained every ounce of energy and he let out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding. Then with refound energy as he recalled he had jumped off willingly, he firmly grasped Harry's arm - but not too tightly in fear of hurting him - and descended slowly towards the ground and he only released his grip when their feet touched the ground softly. Even then he stood right beside the nervous looking teen, his mind swirling with so many emotions that he had absolutely no idea what he should do or say. But of course, just because he didn't know didn't mean the others were as well.
"Harry James Potter!"
Lily, her eyes flashing dangerously that indicated no one should mess with her unless they wanted to say farewell to the world, stalked forward, utter fury literally radiating from her. Even though he knew her anger wasn't directed at him - well, maybe a little bit since he was the one who dragged them off to do this - but he couldn't help but cringe as she stormed closer to them. He couldn't recall the time that she had been this enraged since he and Sirius was caught in the act of bewitching her entire clothes. It had been an accident, honestly. They just pulled out a drawer which contained Lily's underwear - they were completely flustered and they swore up and down that it hadn't been intentional - and was hurriedly putting it back in when the said woman came in. Of course, the two pranksters had been sore for weeks and jumped everytime they saw someone with red hair. They also had developed nasty case of phobia of birds - they still didn't know what kind of enchantment Lily had casted that made every winged mammal within five miles of radius attack them. They couldn't use the post owls for months - that they managed to overcome with Remus's help though that infuriating bastard never stopped smiling like he was enjoying the whole situation; which he probably was.
"How dare you to think that you can just go off and do whatever you want that could have killed you. Do you even know how terrified I was, seeing you witlessly risk your life for winning some insignificant game?" Lily stopped to take a breath, pacing relentlessly to show her agitation. "You are in big trouble, young man. I'm really disappointed in you."
The last sentence, said so carelessly, had great effect on Harry. He took her rage in silence, head hung low and his body tight in tension. But as soon as the words tumbled out of Lily's mouth, Harry flinched violently despite his clear effort to suppress it and visibly shrunk into himself. Immediately noticing the mood change, Lily stepped closer to Harry, eyes wide and ready to do anything to ease her little boy. But after only half a step forward, she froze as if she had been burned when the raven haired teen cringed and moved away from her. She exchanged glances with James but he, too, was clueless how he should act and could only watch his son helplessly. His black locks obscured his eyes from their vision and to their alarm, they could detect the slight trembling and a occasional hitch of breath that wrecked his thin frame.
"Harry?"
A small, tentative question, barely above whisper, but it was enough to snap the teen out of his trans-like state and start apologizing furiously. James noted with dull horror that his emerald eyes that were usually bright with joy was now wild and a hint of fear and desperation residing in it. His posture was rigid, ready to bolt at any notice and what terrified him the most was how Harry seemed to be afraid of them. He was staring at them, his eyes taking in every move they made, stepping backwards without even registering it.
"I-I'm so sorry. I swear I won't do it again, I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to, I swear. I promise I'll never do it, please, don't be ashamed of me. I-I'll do anything, please, I swear. Don't be angry at me, please."
Everyone stood deathly still, none daring to break the silence that fell upon them as they registered the awful implication behind the pleading. White-faced, Harry stood in the middle, shaking and barely looking like he was capable of standing by himself, but he stood still, watching his family intently. Knowing that any wrong movement Harry would shut himself out faster than they could blink, they remained motionless, desperately searching their mind for something to comfort clearly hyperventilating teen but coming up with none.
James clenched his fist tightly, dismayed that Harry believed they would shun him so easily, afraid he would shut them out and angry at Dursleys for causing Harry to believe that in the first place. Unfortunately, Harry took this gesture the wrong way and took an instinctive step back. Hurriedly, James unclenched his hand, placing them beside his head to show that he wasn't going to hit him. It was obvious that they had to do something unless they wanted Harry to believe they were angry at him but everyone were afraid they would do more harm than good. Helplessly, he glanced at Sirius and Remus who looked as clueless as him, despair shown on their faces. Harry's friends were also out as they watched with concern, petrified with horror as their friend went into emotional breakdown. Finally, James turned to look at Lily for help as he was certain she, if not exactly know what to do, would still be the best choice to comfort the distressed teen. Understanding what he was thinking, she bit her lower lip but took a small step forward, hands raised in a placating manner.
"Harry?" Harry startled, and it broke her heart to see his son look at her with so much fear in his eyes and she could feel pure fury boiling inside her, ready to explode any minute. But while she wanted nothing but to curse Fate for condemning her son to such life, she also felt bitter and all torn up that it was her own sister and her family who had abused him. Sure, she knew Petunia resented her but only now she realized the hatred was so deep that she would intentionally hurt her own nephew. Lily couldn't help but blame herself for that. She hadn't tried her best to repair their relationship and her son had to pay the price. Petunia wouldn't have let anyone harm Harry if they were still close like when they were younger, that she was sure of. But there was no point in swelling on the past. She couldn't fix the past but she could fix the present and she would be damned if she didn't try her best to give her son the happiness he deserves. "Hey, we're not going to hurt you, okay?"
"I,I-" Harry gulped, his eyes darting everywhere as if he was searching for an escape route. "I'm sorry. I-I won't do it again."
"Oh, Harry." Lily murmured, reaching out slowly and when he didn't move away from the gesture, she caressed his cheek softly. She could feel the tension in his body but his muscles gradually began to unknot and relax into the touch. "We're not disappointed in you, sweetie. I wasn't thinking clearly because I was so afraid that I might lose you or see you get injured. But I didn't mean it, I promise. I'm so sorry, Harry."
"You-you are not...ashamed of me?" It was whispered almost silently but thanks to the utter silence in the area and the close distance, Lily heard it. She smiled gently, kissing the top of his head tenderly. "Of course not, sweetie. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me."
With that, all tension drained out of him, and Harry slumped into his mother's warm embrace. Lily embraced him tightly, murmuring promises that they would never abandon him while placing a kiss between reassurances. She tactfully ignored occasional hitch of breath and soft sobs and just hugged him firmly, assuring him that she was there with him and she wasn't going anywhere.
James chose that moment to step in and embraced the two, relieved beyond belief that Harry wasn't shying away from them now. He stiffened slightly from the unexpected touch but soon relaxed when he saw who it was. One by one, all of Harry's family by all but blood joined the group hug and Harry closed his eyes, relishing every second with his loved ones. It had been so long since he felt so relaxed, so loved. Right now, he felt at peace without the threat of war looming over the horizon and the danger of death by Voldemort hanging over his head. All was calm and well until...
"Hem, hem."
Harry instantly tensed, the temporary silence broken by the throaty cough from a certain pink witch who made her life goal to make his life as miserable as possible. Sensing his anxiety, the group formed a protective circle around the teen, James tucking him behind his back to shield him from the said-witch.
"What do you want?" Sirius snarled, warning clear in his posture. Remus growled next to him, while Harry's friends shot heated glares to everyone who were gawking, open-mouthed at them. Harry's face burned with humiliation as he realized the whole crowd had watched him break down. He casted his gaze downwards, unwilling to meet anyone's eyes but Ron placed a firm hand on his shoulder, glaring darkly at people around them.
"I was going to ask you the same thing." Umbridge smiled sweetly, her gaze flickering to the half-hidden form of Harry. He nearly cringed at the glee and hunger in her eyes but Lily stepped in to block her view. Her vibrant emerald eyes were burning holes into the short witch and if looks could kill, she would have been dead ten times over by now.
"That's none of your business." She hissed, her fiery temper barely being restrained. Umbridge stubbornly refused to be intimidated and did not back up though it was obvious to everyone that one should stay the hell out of her way if they wanted to live. The pink-loving woman smiled again, her ever-present clipboard ready in her hands as she scribbled furiously on it. Harry could only dread what kind of faults she had and will find that she would use against him. He could imagine the headline that would fill the first page of Daily Prophet tomorrow. Harry Potter, Mentally unstable? Yesterday, Harry Potter was sighted to show signs of mental illness. Experts are currently discussing whether he is safe enough to be left alone amongst our children. "And don't you even dare think about releasing any rumor of this or you'll live to regret it."
"Are you threatening me Mrs. Potter?" She drew herself to full height - which, sadly, wasn't much - as her eyebrow twitched to show her irritation. Lily smiled coldly, gazing down at her as if she was an annoying fly that she would love to get rid of and she didn't even know why she was still talking to her. "If you perceive it as such, yes, Mrs. Umbridge I am threatening you. Now if you'll excuse us, we have more important things to do."
She promptly shoved her way past the shell shocked witch, James smiling smugly and unspoken that's my girl was obvious. The group trudged along after the red-haired woman and Harry was content with the whole situation, surrounded by his family, but he still couldn't get rid of the sinking feeling as he worried about what Umbridge would throw at him next. That was until his dad yelled over his shoulder.
"Oh, and if I even hear a whisper of my son being mentally disturbed or whatever from now on, I will personally make sure you are throughly used that nothing will be left after me and my family's goblin manager are done with you. That includes all of you, by he way. Have a nice dream!"
He finished cheerfully, Sirius's bark of laughter following his announcement. Remus shook his head ruefully at his friend's antics but made no move to scold him for his actions. Ron slung an arm over Harry's shoulder while Hermione took his hand and the rest of them walked besides them, chatting amicably. All of his worry were blown away into the wind and he didn't even feel embarrassed anymore. Well, not completely, but after that incident, he was fairly certain he could deal with weird looks he was sure to receive with his family by his side. All in all, it was a very good day in Harry's opinion.
Hello my wonderful readers! I'm so sorry it had taken so long and I didn't even give you a reading chapter like some of you would have been hoping for. It's just that life is getting into a frenzy and I didn't have enough time to write. But I promise I will return with a (hopefully) nice and long chapter next time.
So poor Harry had gotten into quite emotional breakdown and unfortunately for him everyone witnessed it. I wanted to see how the time with the Dursleys who constantly says how he's worthless and is a disappointment would have effected Harry and how Harry's family would react to it. I'm not happy with this chapter though because it seems quite rushed, so I'm sorry if you feel the same way.
Well, that's it for today. How was it? Tell me what your thoughts are and if you have any ideas on pranks on the Dursleys and Umbridge, let me know. Although the Dursleys had been pranked before, they are not off the hook yet and it would be obvious to everyone why Umbridge is their next target.
Today is Christmas! Did you have a great time? Hopefully you had a wonderful time with your family and friends. Since this will probably be the last update I'll do this year, I'll say the greeting now. Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year!