Chapter 10

"Let me guess," Ginny answered before Al could, voice dripping in sarcasm. "James is Harry's first-born son. Chances are he even has a daughter named Lily and a dog called Sirius. Am I right?"

"I fail to see the fun in that. Is my naming my kids after my deceased parents amusing to you?" Al's father turned his stern gaze on Ginny, who looked startled and bit down on her lower lip.

"No," she replied quickly, reddening. "I-"

"Plus, Gin, keep in mind that Potter offspring here has called you mum twice since arriving here-" Fred smirked, draping an arm over his little sister's shoulders.

"Yeah, the way things are currently looking, those kids are going to be yours as well, Gin." George added, mirroring Fred's attitude on Ginny's other side. She shook the two of them off, blushing deeply, as Ron looked absolutely stricken.

"What in Merlin's name is that supposed to mean?" he gasped, but Hermione flicked his ear to shut him up.

"Harry," Ginny started again, embarrassed. "I didn't mean-"

"It's alright," Harry cut her off, smiling lightly. "I know you didn't."

"Because it's perfectly fine." She added hastily. "James and Lily… they're beautiful names, really. I mean… it'd be a good choice, if you ever have children."

"Oh," he looked a bit uncomfortable now. "Yeah. Thanks."

Al held his breath, staring interestingly at the scene unfolding before his eyes; Uncle Ron had told him his parents had gotten together right after the war, but it was now obvious that they had been having feelings for one another way before that. And his mum was only his own age right now. He'd never thought about them this way before – teens, just like him, not really understanding what the hell was going on around them. He cast a look towards his grandmother who was smiling knowingly, just like Hermione. Lupin was staring at Harry, eyebrows raised, Arthur's surprised air mirroring his. Ron ruined the moment by snorting loudly in the silence that had fallen over the room.

"Are my best friend and little sister actually discussing baby names? Somebody kill me!"

"Ronald," Hermione sighed as George hit him behind the head roughly. Al spoke up again hesitantly, answering his grandmother's previous question.

"James' my older brother. And I actually do have a sister named Lily." His parents turned their gazes on him and he slowly smiled at them, more than a little relieved when, after a second's hesitation, they returned the small grin. "She's fourteen."

"Any more siblings you feel we should know about?" Fred joked, hitting his little brother on the shoulder. "Did little Ronniekins procreate?" Hermione turned a very interesting (and alarming) shade of red and Al answered quickly:

"No more brothers or sisters. But, um," he did a quick count in his head, "ten cousins, if you count Teddy. And, uh, yes he did."

"I think I need to sit down," Molly gasped, and Lupin shot out from his seat to offer her the fluffy armchair; she collapsed in it, her face lit up in amazement.

"Let's not get carried away," Arthur spoke up for the first time, his expression guarded, his gaze never leaving Albus. "We have no way of knowing the boy is telling us the truth."

"I have proof!" Al shot up from where he was sitting on the couch, an idea suddenly dawning unto him. "I had my dad's cloak with me when we – wait," he countered, reaching hastily into the back pocket of his jeans, and finding it… empty. Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"The cloak," Al muttered to himself, "where did I-" And then, almost as though he was watching the scene from an outsider's point of view, he distinctly saw himself take the cloak out from where he'd put it under his shirt, rolling it up and sticking it under James' injured head as a pillow. He groaned in frustration, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Stupid, he cursed himself silently. Nice move Al, perfect, that's just perfect…

"Ok, so I don't have the cloak," he muttered, keeping his eyes closed, unable to face his mum and dad's disappointed expressions. Absentmindedly, he reached into his – James' – jacket pockets, pulling out an unopened chocolate frog and his brother's old, worn-out wallet, as well as some candy wrappers. Useless. No Marauder's Map, no flyer from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, nothing that would be able to back up his wild claims. Al sighed, and warily faced the people in the room once more; distrust had come back on every single face. He opened his mouth and closed it again.

"I'm sorry," he finally whispered, wishing he could just make something appear that would be able to convince them all. "I just… I don't have any proof. But that doesn't mean I'm lying."

"He's telling the truth," Harry agreed decidedly, crossing the room and standing directly next to Al. They were the exact same height. "I'm certain of it."

"Not to upset you, Harry, but you have misjudged people before. Wouldn't you agree that you tend to believe in people a bit more than they usually deserve?" That was a low blow, Albus noted, as his father blushed lightly under Lupin's stern gaze. Still, he stood up straighter, put a hand on Albus' shoulder and answered clearly:

"He's my son – or, at least, he will be. I'm sure of it."

"How?" Lupin retorted.

"The names," Harry answered simply. "Obviously." Lupin exhaled slowly.

"Any Death Eater would've have known that you were planning on naming your children after your parents, Harry."

"Yeah, it wouldn't have taken a genius to figure this one out, mate," Ron added from the other side of the room. Harry frowned.

"But his name too, Dumbledore's." Upon seeing Ron's expression, he quickly added, "Not that I planned on doing this or anything… but it makes sense, I think."

"It does." Ginny agreed, taking a tiny step forward. "It sounds right."

Al allowed himself to feel just a bit hopeful, before Fred completely shattered the feeling.

"Well, what about the Severus part?" he asked, sounding honestly curious. "Doesn't make much sense to me."

Harry hesitated and shared a look with Ginny.

"I don't really know about that part," he admitted slowly and Al felt his heart sink. If only he could explain the entire story to them… but they'd never believe him anyway.

"Stupid name," he agreed as the room lapsed into uncomfortable silence. "You could've just called me Sirius. Everyone was kind of expecting it, too." Absentmindedly, he started to play with the chocolate frog that was still clutched into his right fist, fidgeting with the wrapper.

"I wonder…" he whispered to himself, as if suddenly realizing what it was he was holding. He sensed the dumbfounded stares everyone was shooting him, but ignored them, and carefully opened the piece of candy, his heart beating wildly, the blood pounding in his ears, muting off every other sound, even as his dad asked him what was going on in a worried tone. His shaking hands pulled the wrapper off, and he threw the chocolate to the side, staring intently at what he was holding in his hands. His dad craned his neck to see it too, and his mouth dropped open with an audible popping noise. Al laughed out loud, making everyone else in the room jump, and handed the golden card to Lupin, his smile widening at the wizard's shocked expression.

"It's all luck, really. But if that's not solid proof, then I don't know what is."

Ron, Hermione, Arthur, the twins and Ginny all moved as a single person to stand directly behind Lupin to see what he was holding. Molly stayed in the armchair, her eyes twinkling knowingly, and Harry didn't leave his spot at his son's side. From where he was standing, Al could still read the famous wizard card Lupin was gazing down at, his expression unreadable, despite the fact that it was upside down.

Harry James Potter, born July 31st 1980

"The Boy Who Lived" and later "The Chosen One"

Defeated You-Know-Who at the Battle of Hogwarts (May 2nd 1998)

Head of the Auror Department, currently lives with his wife and three children in Godric's Hollow

The picture showed Al's dad smiling slightly, his head cocked to the side as if he was intently listening to someone talking. He wore the same glasses as always, but there was something knowing in his gaze, creases near his eyes and a bit of white in his dark hair that was, though hardly striking, absolutely unmistakable. Solid proof, as Al had said.

Meeting his dad's gaze, he smiled at him, and Harry put a hand on his shoulder again, squeezing it. Ginny's hand flew to her lips and she raised her head to stare at the two of them, blinking rapidly. The others were looking at him too, but Al was entirely focused on Lupin, waiting apprehensively for his reaction; because, remembering the numerous war stories, he knew how close Teddy's dad had been to Kingsley Shacklebolt. If his grandfather's old friend believed his story, surely he would take it upon himself to convince the future Ministry of Magic as well; if Lupin was convinced, then everything would be set right and Al and his siblings could go back home. So, biting the inside of his mouth, his father's grip weighing down reassuringly on his shoulder, his mother staring at him from across the room in amazement, Albus waited for Remus Lupin's reaction.

oOo

The door of the dorm flew open and Al almost fell off his bed in surprise.

"Al!" a voice hissed from the darkness. Scorpius groaned and shifted in his bed on the other side of the small room. Al blinked, disoriented, and grabbed his glasses from the bedside table, shoving them up the bridge of his nose. Finally able to see, he actually did a double take as his eyes fell upon… his brother, hair sticking up everywhere, breathing heavily like he'd just run a marathon, standing right beside his bed and looking down at him with wild eyes.

"James?" Al muttered wearily, pushing the covers aside and sitting up. "What are you-"

"Are you alright?" James interrupted him, his eyes scanning his face, hands roaming over the bed as if he was trying to fix something. "Are you okay, Al?"

"I'm fine," Al answered, puzzled, his brother's unusual attitude waking him up more efficiently than any alarm clock ever could. "What's the matter with you?"

"Something was wrong." James started rambling. "Someone tried to hurt you, it was all my fault, I tried to fix it. I thought you were hurt, I was worried – are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course I am!" Al hissed, exasperated, as David muttered something in his sleep. "And keep your voice down! Are you sleepwalking or something?"

"No!"

"You had a bad dream," Al whispered, rubbing his forehead tiredly. "I can assure you that I'm perfectly fine, apart from exhausted that is, although I do have a perfect remedy to that. Could you just get out?"

James straightened up as though Al had just hit him and shoved his hands in his pyjama's pockets, embarrassed.

"Right. I'm sorry about before."

"About before?" Al repeated uncomprehendingly, trying to make out the expression on James' face in the darkness; his brother almost sounded like he was drunk.

"I did something bad, didn't I? I really feel like I should apologize."

Al groaned and got up groggily.

"James, you're not making any sense, and I'm not sure you're even awake. Just come on, before you wake up half the dorm." Grabbing his brother under the elbow, he steered him towards the door and started shoving him up the stairs to his own dorm.

"I can't believe you just barged in like that. What the hell were you thinking? It's three bloody AM, and I have a Potion's test tomorrow. I'll never be able to get any sleep now and Rose will be on my case for months for copying off her and Scorp's answers. I'll be more likely to fall asleep on my broom that to catch the Snitch on Tuesday; you'll have the Slytherins' victory weighing on your conscious for the rest of your life. God, I hate you," he muttered all the while.

"Do you really?" James interrupted him, staring down at him with clear eyes (so, he was awake after all), and coming to a full stop on the staircase. Al raised an eyebrow at the strange question.

"'Course not." he answered without even thinking. "You're an annoying prick, and 50% of the time I'm around you I want push you off a cliff or throttle you, but you're still my brother." James nodded to himself.

"I may be annoying," he said slowly, "but I do care. You know?"

"Sure," Al answered, although he wasn't sure he did; but something in his head was convinced of it, crazy as that sounded. "I know. And you barging into my room in the middle of the night, thinking I was hurt and wanting to help, pretty much backed it up too, however pathetic it was."

"Right," James smirked. "If you ever bring that stupid moment up again when Fred's around, I'll deny it vehemently."

"Dully noted."

"G'dnight Severus." James added slyly, and before Al could even consider hitting him, he had dashed up the stairs without a backward glance.

"Idiot," Al muttered, running a hand through his hair and starting to make his way back to his own bed, before he spotted something on the ground which stopped him. Raising an eyebrow, he picked up the small golden card and stared at it, squinting to make it out in the darkness.

It was a famous wizard card; Fred and Roxy were always handing chocolate frogs around to the Gryffindors, since they always came back from vacations with luggage full of candy, so it wasn't that surprising that somebody should have dropped the card. Plus, it wasn't like anybody would keep it to add to his or her private collection, as it was one of the most common ones.

Al gave an eye-roll in the darkness. Figures. It was his dad.

A startling image suddenly came back to him. A shaggy-looking Teddy, with circles under his eyes, raising his head, eyes wide, and murmuring a thundering "impossible". And then spinning, disorientation, darkness. A cold spot on his shoulder where something reassuring should have been.

Al mentally shook himself and looked down at the card again. There was something there, at the edge of his memory, but right now, he couldn't possibly care less. Tomorrow would be hard enough without strange visions distracting him; he was going to have to find some way to copy off Rose's answers without her noticing during the Potions' test. He could always ask James or Roxy for advice, as this was their field of expertise. And then there would be the game on Tuesday… Maybe Lily would have some time to practise with him before breakfast tomorrow.

Absentmindedly, a small grin on his face, Al slipped the card into his pyjama's pocket and made his way back to his dorm.

The End

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