This is How I Disappear
By justification to wormtail
Begin chapter two
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'DING'
"Daddy, somebody's at the door!"
"I know, pumpkin."
"James, please go answer the door for your father."
"Why me?"
"Because Lily's still too short to reach the handle, Daddy's working on some paper for the Ministry, and I've got my hands full with Al over here."
"No, it's okay Ginny. I'm expecting a package to arrive with something special…that might be it right now."
"But James needs to learn responsibility!"
"By opening a door?" Harry looked up at his wife in amusement. Ginny was standing before him with one hand on her hip, the other supporting the weight of a slightly pudgy one year old. Her lips were pursed in a very Molly-like manner. Harry raised his eyebrows at her. Ginny smiled slightly and rolled her eyes.
"Fine, maybe not responsibility," she said. "But he does need to learn to do what we ask of him."
"More like order," the parents heard their eldest son mutter as he passed through the sitting room towards the front door. His younger sister, Lily, skipped after him, humming merrily. Harry groaned as he stretched back, Ginny sat down next to him on the dark burgundy sofa staring at the writing on the laptop's screen.
"What's going on this time?" she asked gently as Harry picked Albus out of her hands and began bouncing him on his knee. He didn't answer for a bit, just smiled as his son squealed in delight.
"One of the Unspeakables from the Department is claiming that they saw two young children in the room with the veil a couple of nights ago," he swallowed. "Everyone's pretty worried that if there were any children that they fell past the curtains. So far there isn't any evidence supporting Lavender's story though."
Ginny's eyes widened in surprise, "Lavender Brown became an Unspeakable?"
Harry grinned wryly at her, "yeah, got me real good too when I found out that I had to question her about it." He glanced down tenderly at the gurgling baby in his lap. "I wish that Dumbledore was still alive, he'd know what to do…"
"Harry, you know that that isn't true. He would have told you that it was your job, that you know what you're doing, and that you'll figure it out if you just put your mind to it." She said, gently tickling Albus under the chin.
"Or to just ask Hermione," he grinned excitedly and handed his child back to his wife. "You know, I think I'll just floo her now, see if she can help…"
"No Harry," said Ginny firmly, pushing him back down onto the sofa by the shoulder. "You will not bother her with stuff like this when she's seven months pregnant; remember how she burst out in tears last time someone mentioned something that had to do with the veil?"
"Yeah," said Harry dejectedly, "I won't breath a word. And I promise that if I do I'll buy you two whatever you want."
"Good, I'll hold you to that," Ginny smiled.
"DAD!" James's voice rang from the front room. "Dad, people are here for you!"
"Well he took long enough, poor folks probably know double about Quidditch than they did when they rang the bell." They laughed. Harry stood up and straightened his clothes before walking out of the doorway. Ginny followed with baby Albus once again being balanced on one hip.
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Harry didn't really know who he was expecting to be waiting at the door with his first two children, but it certainly wasn't two boys who seemed to be his son's age. Eleven. The two Potter children, Lily or James, Harry didn't know, it could have been both – it didn't matter, one of them had invited the two other children to come inside.
James was bouncing up and down, almost looking more elated than he did on the day when his Hogwarts letter arrived. Lily was leaning on the stairwell banister and eyeing the newcomers critically. Her light blue eyes blazing in concentration, James pushed his glasses up his nose repeatedly as they kept on sliding down; his forest green orbs were alight in his excitement.
"Ehem," Harry cleared his throat, the two strangers looked up startled. They had been sitting on the third step hunched over, close together and whispering fiercely about something. Now they just looked slightly embarrassed. "Hello, um…sorry if this seems rude to you, but do your parents know that you're here?" The two boys exchanged a quick glance and nodded their heads simultaneously at Harry.
The black haired boy looked as though he was close to tears as he looked at the small family. Lily had moved closer to her mother and was now hugging her leg for protection, Ginny was clutching her baby with both hands and Harry had dropped a hand on top of his son's head to still him.
"It's so good to see you again Harry," the boy whispered. Harry and Ginny looked at each other, each silently asking the other whether or not they remembered the boy.
"Umm, I'm sorry, but I can't recall ever meeting you before," said the man with an apologetic smile. The boy's watery eyes instantly became dry. He stared at The Boy Who Lived with his mouth gaping open and silvery-blue eyes wide in shock and disbelief.
"Bu-but, how can you not remember!? You've known me for years! Ages!" He pointed a finger at his face. "How can you not remember this? It's pretty unique don't cha think?"
The other boy looked immensely embarrassed at his companion's behavior. He took out a rubber band and tied his long, auburn shaded hair back. When he looked up at Harry, his deep amber eyes were apologetic. The man had a funny feeling that he had seen those eyes on someone before.
"I mean, I've known you since you were a baby for Merlin's sakes!" At this the auburn haired boy elbowed his friend hard in the side as he growled at him.
"Shut up Hesperos!" he hissed and Harry had a distinct feeling that they were using code names. "Do you want us to get caught?"
'Hesperos' glared at the other boy. "Of course I don't, Lares. Do you really think that little of me these days?" he asked in offended tone. Ginny looked at Harry worriedly, was it possible that these boys had a mental issue?
"Of course I don't," 'Lares' scoffed, "but don't you remember what I told you about the word subtlety, or easing up to the moment slowly?"
"Well, yeah of course, you practically force me to listen to everything you say ever since the vei-I mean incident-thing-mabob." Harry noticed that both boys flinched at the slip-up. "But sometimes being blunt is important too. Like in this instance, we need to be forward with each other."
"We already are smart-one. But sometimes being blunt can really hurt a relationship, like for example…" the boy racked his mind for an incident that would help prove his point. James and Lily looked on, wanting to ask questions but not wanting to disrupt the banter in case they missed a chance to gain some information on the two slightly mad eleven-year-olds.
"Got it!" Lares snapped his fingers. "For example that time in sixth year when Peter asked you, me and James what we thought of his cow of a girlfriend and you said what you really thought about her and he didn't talk to you for like, two weeks and he missed full moon? –"
"Ahh, Lares," said Hesperos in a frightened tone as he prodded his friend on the shoulder. He had noticed how ridged Harry's form had gone when the other boy had mentioned sixth year. Lares just brushed Hesperos's finger away, frowning at him.
"Not now, Padfoot," he said angrily, "I'm trying to get a point across."
"Padfoot…" whispered Harry. And he looked at the two young boys with astonishment clearly written across his face. It was then that 'Lares' realized what he had done.
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End chapter two