Hello again my friends- once again I apologize for the delay.
Hope y'all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year- I certainly did :)
Thanks yet again to everyone who took the time to read and review/favourite/add to story alerts since my last post.
This chapter is dedicated to a very impatient friend of mine who tried to demand that I tell her what was coming up in this fic (You know who you are)
VII: Meeting The Marauder Clan (Part 1)
The living room fell silent as Harry entered. Five pairs of eyes were immediately fixed upon him; he hated being stared at, even if these people were technically family. Instinctively he stepped backwards and collided with his father, who was standing right behind him. James placed a hand on each of Harry's shoulders and squeezed them reassuringly.
"Merlin Prongs" the scarred man, Teddy's father, remarked. "He really does look just like you"
"Course he does Moony" the dark haired father of Will replied, grinning. "We knew he was going to, even when he was little"
"Uh hi" Harry sketched an awkward wave, then not knowing what else to say, said. "I'm Harry"
The little girl who had been sitting on Mr Lupin's knee hopped off his lap and approached Harry- her long curly hair graduating from purple to pale pink the further away it got from her scalp.
"Hello Harry" she smiled brightly and her hair began rippling all the colours of the rainbow. "I'm Mary, I'm Five"
"Nice to meet you" Harry replied
"Will you play with me?" little Mary asked
"Mary sweetheart" The blonde lady sitting by Mr Lupin smiled. "Give him a chance my love"
"Aw Mummy" Mary whined, turning to pout at her mother
"Listen to your mother, pumpkin" Mr Lupin rose and picked up his daughter, settling her on his hip. He smiled at Harry and offered his free hand to shake. "Hello again Harry, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Remus, Moony to my friends"
"Hello" Harry smiled and shook the man's hand; Remus did seem vaguely familiar now that they were actually meeting, as did Mr Black- his Godfather.
Harry followed Remus further into the room. He stopped in front of his Godparents.
"Hello Harry, I'm Sirius" Sirius grinned at him. "Sirius Black, but you can call me Padfoot"
"Hi" he turned to Sirius' wife- still trying to work out why she seemed so familiar to him, more so than Remus and Sirius- more like he'd encountered her whilst he'd lived with the Dursleys. "Dad said your name's Chloe?"
"That's right Harry" Chloe gave him a fond smile, offering him a hand, but Harry was too shocked to take it.
It was the sound of his godmother's voice which made him realize where he'd recognized her from. In his old world this woman had been a Muggle; not only that but she'd been one of his old Primary School teachers- Miss Chloe Cockgolde. Miss Cockgolde had been hailed as the strictest teacher at Little Whinging Primary School; she'd absolutely hated him for some strange reason.
This version of his old teacher couldn't be more different than the version he'd previously encountered; for one thing she was pretty; her hair was pulled into a neat tail, as opposed to the tight, austere bun his old teacher had always sported; her face free of wrinkles, aside from some fine laugh lines at the corners of her eyes. Chloe had large dark brown, smiling, eyes; he'd never been able to tell what colour Miss Cockgolde's eyes had been because of glasses she wore had always obscured them.
Harry doubted that Miss Cockgolde would ever dress as this woman was, in jeans, dragon hide boots and a Weird Sisters T-shirt. No, he'd only ever seen her wearing grey suits.
"Merlin" Chloe breathed, staring at him. "Harry, I- It's fantastic to see you again, you really are the dead spit of your dad"
"Uh…" Harry searched for an acceptable response to the woman's words. "Thank you Miss Cockgolde"
The shadow which passed over the witch's eyes for a moment was the only indication of the mistake he'd just made. "I haven't been a Cockgolde since I was a little girl, and less of the formality- It's Chloe"
"I'm sorry" Harry bit his lip- reminded of all the times he'd faced this woman's wrath in his old world- his shoes now seemed fascinating. "But back where I come from you were a Muggle, one of my primary school teachers"
He didn't see the need to tell her what her counterpart in his old world had thought of him.
"I do teach in a Muggle Primary School, kiddo" Chloe shrugged leaning against her husband. "But I'm no Muggle- I'm halfblood"
Harry's introduction to Remus' wife, Sarah; and his cousin, Poppy passed without incident. Sarah Lupin was a Muggle artist whom Remus had saved from Death Eaters (as Harry learned Voldemort's moronic followers had called themselves) during the war. The two of them had hit it off quite quickly after she'd accepted that Magic was indeed real. She had blonde hair and blue eyes. She had a scar that ran from her hair line to the bottom of her right ear, apart from that she was quite pretty.
Nine year old Poppy Dursley was a breath of fresh air in comparison with her parents and older brother. Despite the resemblance she bore to aunt Petunia, Poppy seemed about as different to the three Dursleys Harry had known as could be, if the bare feet with multi-coloured toe nails, the multi-coloured dragon on her otherwise matt black T-shirt, and the old Gryffindor Scarf draped loosely around her shoulders was any indication. Harry found himself wondering what his life would have been like if Poppy had been present in his old world.
No one had expected Harry's first meeting with, what had become known to its members as the Marauder Clan, to go so smoothly. It was pleasantly surprising how the boy had managed to fit in with the family. Despite his initial hesitancy Harry quickly found himself fitting in with the family he had lost in his old world, ten whole years ago. It seemed to Harry that no sooner had he sat between his father and Poppy than his mother poked her head around the living room door announcing that dinner was ready.
~V~
Sorry it's short, next one will be longer- Promise :)
In the mean time please let me know what you think, and I'll see you all next time