I do not own Harry Potter. The only things that belong to me are my thoughts.
Harry was bored. He'd been back in class for all of one day and he was already caught up with his peers. In fact he had never been behind in the first place. For the two days he was out of class he'd been assigned two essays for potions and transfiguration, and he had to read one chapter in his charms book.
The essays were easy and he had already read his entire charms book, so he had reviewed the assigned material, but found himself unable to concentrate. He was so bored. He wanted to do something. He wasn't used to sitting around lazily.
The sun was shining brightly outside and there was still a good two hours of sunlight left, but yet he was sitting inside Gryffindor Tower.
He sighed for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour as he looked down and tried to focus on Fred and George's chess match. It didn't hold his attention for long. Both Fred and George we horrible players. Not to say he was unbeatable but he was rather good. His mother was one of the best chess players in both the wizarding and muggle worlds. She had a talent for strategy that went well beyond the minds of most men.
Having been raised by her he had managed to pick up a thing or two. He smiled briefly as he remembered watching Ron Weasley prance around the common room after beating a fifth year at the game. Harry had seen a few plays and he wasn't impressed.
He wished he could go do something he was so bloody bored. Normally when he was bored he would go to the complex and play football with-. His mind stopped working at that thought and a moment later he was dashing up the stairs to his dorm.
His face broke into a huge smile as he sat on his knees rummaging through his mess that he called a trunk. It had been a few weeks, maybe months since he had seen the need to clean it. His junk section was particularly disorderly.
His hands felt something round and he smiled victoriously as he pulled a black and white checkered ball out of the mess. Not even remembering to close his trunk he stormed back down the stairs into the common room.
Many people looked up as he came down, some of the perfects glaring at him for making so much noise and disturbing the students working on their assignments.
Harry paid them no mind. Nothing could take the smile off his face.
"Oi Harry!" Fred called out completely forgetting about his and George's chess game.
"What's that?" said George looking pointedly at Harry's football.
"And where do you think you're going-" Added Fred abandoning chess and walking towards Harry.
"Without us?" Said George walking beside his twin toward Harry.
"Outside?" Harry said uncertainly. "And this is my football." He added as an afterthought.
"And what do you-"
"do with a 'football'" Asked the twins.
"You kick it." Harry said with a grin. The twins nodded with looks of understanding but Harry could tell that they were lost and had no idea what he was talking about. "Would you like to come with me?" he asked.
"How nice of-"
"you to offer." The twins said.
Before Harry could say anything else the twins each grabbed him by an arm and were dragging him out of the common room. George had taken the ball and was looking at, occasionally turning it so as to see it from a new angle.
On the way down to the grounds they stopped by the library and got Seamus. Harry knew he was crazy about football and he couldn't leave his best friend out of the fun. Surprisingly a few other kids in the library had asked if they could go to.
Mostly upper year Muggleborns and halfbloods who knew how to play and thought it would be fun, but there were a couple purebloods who asked if they could join. One was a fourth year named Cedric Diggory.
In total they wound up with twelve people wanting to play. Eight of which already knew how to play. They split the teams evenly with four experienced players and two inexperienced players on each team.
At first the game was slow as the purebloods were getting a feel for the game and the muggleborns and halfbloods were reacquainting themselves with it. Soon though the game picked up a faster pace and Harry stopped holding back and played to the best of his ability.
He was easily the best person on the impromptu field. He would dribble the ball down the center, fake out and cause people to trip over their own two feet, then score easily.
"Merlin Harry give a guy a chance." Panted Cedric from his hunched over position. He was sweaty and his uniform was covered in mud and grass stains but the smile on his face told a different story.
"What can't keep up Cedric?" Harry said jestingly. His oxford pants were completely beyond repair even with the help of magic. His once white button up dress shirt was permanently open and the white undershirt was covered in mud and grass stains. He had ripped a strip of his sleeve off and had used it as a sweat band to keep his hair out of his eyes. He was disgustingly dirty but he was the happiest he'd been since he came to Hogwarts.
The rest of the makeshift teams didn't look any better. George even had a split lip from where he had used his face to block an open net goal.
After their very revealing talk Nathan and Albus spent the rest of the day together, talking, playing, eating and Nathan even showed his father some of the charms he had learned in Italy.
They were sitting in the headmaster office and Albus was explaining the little known theory of wandless magics. They had gotten into the discussion when Nathan told his father of Harry's impressive displays.
"Your magic is like a muscle, if you use it regularly it will stay strong, if you want to make your magic stronger use your magic more often. Muggleborns sometimes make the mistake that wizards are lazy because most of us use our magic for an assortment of small tasks, thus using it continuously, making it stronger, exercising our magical muscles if you will."
"Yes but what about Harry. He just started using magic and he's already using wandless magic. He does it with ease too, nothing like my first attempts." Nathan said perplexed.
"You forget that he may have been perfecting it for nigh two months. Which sounds about right for gaining enough magical strength to summon something wandlessly. Also he is much more disciplined than his peers and you for that matter. He's been through six years of martial arts training, something if I remember correctly you scorned." Albus said with a teasing smile.
"At the time my books seemed much more important to me. Ohh and we cannot forget to add to the equation that Harry is much more powerful than the average wizard."
Albs raised an eyebrow at his son. "It is true that he is much more powerful than even he realizes but power is only a portion of the equation. Nearly everyone has the potential to be accomplished in wandless magic, but almost no one has the strength of will or the focus to follow through with such a path. It is a failing of some of the most accomplished wizards and witches around."
Nathan sat in a thoughtful silence for nearly a minute before speaking again. "Would occlumency help with my focus and in turn with my wandess magic?" he asked his face contemplative.
Albus's face brightened. "Wonderful! This is why you are considered the smart one in the family." Nathan leaned back in his chair and stuck his nose up in the air at his father jokingly. "Occlumency will help you a great deal, would I be mistaken if I assumed that you had already started to practice the art?" Nathan shook his head negatively with a grin on his face. "If you would like I have a few tombs on the subject that will make it much easier to understand and if you have any questions I'll always be here."
"Thank you." Nathan said sincerely knowing his father's words held a deeper meaning. He opened his mouth to say something else but before he could formulate a sentence the door to his father's office slammed open causing some of the clutter to fall onto the floor and smash. These happenings went unnoticed.
"Do you know what your son is doing?" Screeched Minerva McGonagall, her hair was a mess, her cheeks were flushed and she looked furious.
"Quietly studying in his dorm and planning how best to please you?" Albus said hesitantly. Minerva's eyes flared and she slowly and deliberately grounded out the world 'No'.
"Freeing the world from hunger by saving one starving kitten at a time?" Nathan interjected with a barely concealed smile.
Albus shook his head sadly. "I'm retracting my earlier statement about you." He mumbled but Nathan heard him. Miraculously Minerva didn't for she was breathing too loudly.
Minerva glared at Nathan and Nathan did the wise thing and stopped smiling. His mother may have had a lithe frame but he knew she could easily kick his ass across the country without a wand. She had lived and fought in two wars and was second to dueling to only his father and dueling at their level required not only magical skill but a finely toned and disciplined body.
"Your son has organized an impromptu football match and is playing that abominable game on the grounds." She said in a voice laced with barely constrained fury.
Albus and Nathan exchanged skeptical looks. Minerva had never really like Harry playing football because it was a rough sport but it was no worse than the other activities they were prone to do when bored.
"Minerva, love, why don't you sit down." Albus advised as the stood up and held out his arms as to guide his wife to an unoccupied chair.
Minerva huffed but did as he suggested. "I'm not an invalid, Albus and I don't appreciate you treating me as such." Minerva snapped. Nathan was slightly shocked at how his mother was speaking to his father. They always spoke kindly to each other and they hardly ever argued.
"No you're pregnant and as that's the case I will treat you as delicately as your condition permits." Albus said in a firm tone, one that left no room for argument.
Nathan blinked and zoned out. It was certainly possible, his parents were still relatively young by wizard standards, only middle aged. He just tried to avoid ever thinking of his parent displaying any shows of affection more than a quick kiss, anything else had him reciting the twelve usages of dragons blood.
Nathan shook his head; he did not want to think about anything remotely like that. He looked towards his mother and noticed she seemed to have deflated and looked somewhat ashamed of herself. Which was a first in Nathans book; he'd never seen her look anything but confident. Even when she cried unabashedly she still held a measure of poise and self respect that Nathan knew no one else could ever replicate.
"Now that you're somewhat yourself again why don't you tell me what has you so upset?" Albus asked gently, his voice held such tenderness and love that it made Nathan feel like he was intruding on something he'd rather never know about.
Tears welled up in her eyes causing pang in Nathans heart. He hated to see his mother upset.
"I'm sorry Albus, but you know how I worry and their playing very rough with no one acting as a referee. They could get hurt." She said in a low pained voice.
Albus ran his hands up and down her arms in a comforting manner. "I'm sure they'll be fine but just in case I'll send someone to go checkup on them. Is that okay?" he asked.
Minerva nodded and sniffed back her tears. "Thank you."
Albus looked toward his son who looked slightly uncomfortable at their interaction but had remained silent.
"Nathan could you please go and fetch your Aunt Rolanda and go with her to supervise the children?" Albus asked.
"What do I say when people ask who I am?" Nathan asked.
"You're Rolanda's home schooled nephew who is visiting her at work." Albus said.
Nathan nodded. He crossed the room and gave his mother a quick hug and kiss on the cheek, then left.
Once he was outside his father's office he used his minimal skill occlumency to block out everything he had just heard. He couldn't believe his mother was pregnant. Not that he was averse to having another sibling but it was well known in his family of the disaster that was his birth. It had nearly killed his mother.
He didn't know what he'd do without his mother. Hell his entire family would fall apart without her. He knew his father would fall to pieces without her and that Harry still depended on her a great deal he was only eleven. He himself was fourteen and still he depended on his mother for all his emotional and physical problems.
The past two months without her to lean on had completely thrown off his mental well being. He had gone a bit mad there for a minute and it was his mother who had slapped sense into him, quite literally.
Shaking his head he took a deep breath and let all of those thoughts slip away, he would not think of that now. His thoughts cleared and he grinned at his successes. 'Merlin I'm good.' He thought to himself cockily.
He knew the way to his aunt's room by heart; he would be surprised if he ever forgot them. As a child he and his siblings had spent a good amount of time in her rooms. Her rooms were just about half way up the North tower, they had a great view of the quidditch pitch.
In the halls he passed quite a few students. The boys shot him confused looks while the girls stared after him with interest for other reasons. Even a few of the seventh years he passed stared openly at him not trying to hide their intentions. Having older beautiful women stare after you had to be one of the best ego boost Nathan had ever received. It was good to know that his efforts to look good had paid off.
He reached his aunts room and knocked loudly, she didn't answer. He shrugged and pulled out his wand and cast a reducto curse at her door. The door shattered and he walked into her apartments with a smug smile. She was going to be so angry.
"Aunt Rolanda!" he called loudly in a sing song voice throughout the rooms with an amplifying charm on his voice box. There was a crash from the bedroom. His aunt stumbled out of her room with her hair a mess and her clothing askew.
She stood at an average five seven with a quidditch player's body that all men would consider attractive. She had short spiky grey hair and hawk like eyes.
"Aunt Rolanda," Nathan admonished with a cheery smile. "Sleeping at this time of the day, shame on you." He fought hard to keep the devilish smirk off his face he really did, but he couldn't stop himself.
He was going to have to share the look of absolute shock on his aunt's face with his dad later, it was priceless.
To Nathans disappointment her shocked look was soon replaced with a happy smile. "Is that ickle Natie-poo looking so grown up?" She said as she crossed the room and gave him a large hug. "Sweet Merlin you're nearly as tall as I am!" she exclaimed.
"Growth spurt!" Nate provided. "I've been eating my vegetables."
Rolanda released him from her claw like grip and took a step back, but before she could say anything the door to her bedroom opened and a sloppily dressed man hurried out wand in hand. "Where's the fire?" he called out dumbly. Nathans smile got bigger as he assessed the man. He was attractive and looked to be a quidditch player, judging by the dumb look on his face and the jersey he was wearing. He most likely was an old team mate of his aunts.
"A team reunion?" he asked lightly, his face threatening to explode into one great big smile.
Rolanda flushed and closed her eyes in mortification. "Leave Joey." She said through gritted teeth.
Nate's smile got larger. "Don't let me ruin your afternoon, Aunt Rolanda. I don't want to interrupt." He said innocently, Joey looked lost.
Rolanda glared at him, her hawk like eyes narrowing dangerously. "Nathan go wait in the drawing room I'll be in shortly." She said firmly.
Nathan merely smiled pleasantly. "Of course, Aunt Rolanda." He said walking out of the door. It might not have been the smartest thing but he couldn't resist. "Kiss him for me." He said cheekily, closing the door just in time to block the stinging hex that shot from his aunt's wand.
Chuckling to himself he sat in his aunt's large leather arm chair with one leg lazily swung over the arm rest. He felt like he'd done a good deed, his quota was done for the week. When she walked in ten minutes later, her outfit looking impeccable, he was engrossed in a book on racing broom manufacturing.
"Hello." Nathan said pleasantly not looking up from his book.
His aunt glared at him and took a seat in the chair opposite to his own. "It's good to see you too nephew of mine, now what do you want?" Rolanda said with a somewhat scary smile. Nathan reminded himself to watch his back his aunt always was somewhat of a sadistic prankster, as he closed the book he was reading and banished it back to the bookshelf.
"My father sent me here. Harry has started an impromptu football game on the grounds and mother is worried that they'll hurt themselves without proper supervision. You were elected to be referee and you're to bring your home schooled nephew who has so thoughtfully taken time off from his studies to come visit his favorite aunt." Nathan said in a diplomatic voice, not one hint of his underlying amusement was visible. He knew how his aunt would most definitely not be happy about spending her free time watching a group of kids play instead of doing other more… pleasurable activities.
His aunt actually growled before jumping up and ranting with language that would make the patrons of Nocturn alley proud. After she settle down and accepted that as headmaster she couldn't disembowel him, without getting fired and possibly imprisoned.
"Let's go." She snapped at Nathan who had gone back to reading his book. She stormed out of the drawing room and Nathan quickly stood up and stepped behind the chair for cover.
"What the BLOODY HELL HAPPENED HERE?" she yelled as she saw her door scattered about the door in a million tiny pieces. "NATHAN, COME HERE!" she shouted.
"Promise not to harm me." Nate yelled mirth lacing his voice. He loved to make his aunt angry.
"I won't hurt you much." She said as she walked into the room and in hand looking like a tiger hunting for her prey.
Nathan cast a shield charm and stuck his head out. His aunt jumped into action and shot a purple hex at him. It bounced off his shield and hit the ceiling. "If you hurt me I wont be able to tell you the big news." He said quickly as another curse bounce off his shield.
His aunt paused. "Big news. What big news?" she asked with interest her wand still at the ready.
"The very secret and astonishing kind of big news." Nathan said knowing his aunt was a sucker for gossip and that he now had his freedom from what had promised to be a painful experience.
"Tell me!" his aunt demanded with a wicked gleam in her eyes.
"Swear that you won't hurt me." He said in a light voice as he fully stood up and leaned against the wall casually.
"I swear on my life that I won't harm you." His aunt said quickly. She even put her wand away.
"You won't believe what I found out this morning." Nathan said with a big smile as he walked towards his aunt.
His aunt grabbed his arm and they walked arm in arm out of the castle down to the grounds where the impromptu soccer game was being held.
"Adam?"
"No way!" Nathan laughed. "You know my parents. One name of Gaelic origin for mom's side of the family, then one name that starts with 'A' from dads side of the family, and finally a name they think suits the child."
"Why in Merlin's name does everything they do have to be so damned complicated." Rolanda Hooch said with a huff. Her annoyed expression slid off her face as quickly as it had come. "We're having another baby!" she said joyfully.
"If you like baby's so much go have one of your own." Nathan said.
Rolanda snorted very unladylike. "Me raising children? Ha! Natie if Hogwarts didn't cook all my meals I would starve. Besides I like babies sometimes, I can't imagine having one around constantly."
"You're great with us." Nathan pointed out. "And we were always around before everyone went off to school."
"Yes but at the end of the day when you were crying and fussing I could go home and leave your parents with the job of calming you down." Rolanda said with a smile.
Nathan would have answered but at that moment a ball came flying towards them. His aunt screamed and hit the floor and he stood there as the ball dropped from the air and rolled to a stop in front of him.
"And here I thought you would have been used to balls in your face." Nathan said in a completely serious voice as he easily kicked the ball back to the waiting players.
Rolanda sputtered in shock as she pulled herself up from the ground. "Who are you and what have you done with my sweet and innocent nephew?" she asked somewhat seriously.
Nathan ignored her question and started to walk towards the group of students who had paused their game and we're watching him approach.
Rolanda growled before catching up with her wayward nephew. "Don't think just because you can walk faster than me that that excuses you from answering? You have changed since I've last seen you. I would just like to know what exactly you've been doing while on your little exile from the family." She said.
Nathan didn't react to her question except by a stiffened posture and a slight narrowing of his eyes slightly. The playful air that had previously been between them was gone replaced by a tense silence. Rolanda Hooch was worried about the change in her normally cheerful and somewhat shy nephew into this outlandish and moody young man.
When they were about twenty yards from the assembled players Harry and Cedric stepped forward, as they were the unofficial captains of their own teams. Cedric spoke first. "Is something the matter Madame?" h asked politely with a charming smile and a slight bow. Harry was impressed but he knew that good manners had no effect on his crude and immature aunt, that type of thing was better used on his mother.
Rolanda raised an eyebrow and began talking in a crisp voice that left no room for another speaker. "The headmaster became aware of your foolery and its violent nature. He has sent me down here to… referee and to make sure the match doesn't come to blows." The entire field of boys couldn't withhold smiles as they realized they wouldn't be getting in trouble and that they weren't being made to stop their game. "But if in the future you wish to partake in another match the staff would appreciate it if you would forewarn you head of house and wait for proper adult supervision. Nearly everyone in the castle who witnessed your 'game' thought you were involved in some sort of massive brawl."
The boys let out a short cheer before Seamus called. "We haven't got much time let's play." Which of course provoked another cheer.
Harry quickly and briefly waved to his brother before running back onto the impromptu field straight to Fred and George, he whispered a few words to them before running off into the heart of the game once again.
Nathan rolled his shoulders before taking out his wand and conjuring a comfortable black chair complete with arm rests. Rolanda followed suit and for the next hour they immersed themselves in the game, their conversation never going beyond Harry's impressive skills. When the game ended they walked back with the euphoric players who were already begging Madame Hooch to supervise the next game they wanted to hold the following weekend.
--
Once the door closed after Nathan left the room Albus sat down next to his wife on the couch. He put a arm around her shoulder and she turned towards him and snuggle into his embrace. She was emotionally and physically exhausted and Albus just looked so comfortable.
"Minerva, we need to talk." He said in a serious voice.
Minerva let out a long sigh and melted further into Albus's arms. "I know. Is there any hope that you'll let your poor tired wife rest before we start this conversation?" she asked with a tired smile.
Albus kissed her forehead and was tempted to give into her plea but he knew that if he out off this conversation once he would be tempted to put it off again and again until he no longer had the time to discuss it. "There is nothing I would like more than not to have this conversation but you and I both know that we must. The sooner we start it the sooner we can reach an agreement."
"Albus I know you feel the need to protect me but you can't protect me from this and locking me up in a gilded cage will do nothing but aggravate me." Minerva said with a repetitive nature that showed she had had this conversation before.
"I'll do anything to protect you and if it means aggravating you then so be it." Albus said in a firm voice.
Minerva jerked out of his embrace. "You can't lock me up. I'm not some animal for you to do with as you please. I am my own person." She said her voice as cold as ice.
Hurt flashed over Albus's face and Minerva had to squash her guilt. "Have I ever made you do something you didn't wish to? Have I ever even for a second treated you as anything other than my equal and the person I love unparallel to any other? If so tell me?" Albus retorted.
Minerva stood up her eyes burning with an emerald fire. "That's not what I said and kindly do not misrepresent my words as such again."
Albus too stood up and instead of giving in as Minerva was hoping he would at her show of force his conviction looked even stronger than before if the inferno in his eyes was anything to go by. "You are the reason I live, you are my everything. I will not risk you at all its possible to avoid doing so. In the matter of your health and safety I will remain stubborn. There is nothing in the world that could convince me otherwise."
"Is that your final say?" Minerva asked biting out each word.
"Yes!" Albus exclaimed fiercely his conviction never wavering. He would keep her safe at all costs. Every fiber of his being screamed at him continuously to always put his family first and to always protect his family. His emotions were going haywire right now because part of him screamed to protect her and to destroy who ever or whatever was threatening her, his love and the mother of his children, but then there was another part of him, his fatherly instincts, screaming to protect the child growing in her womb.
"I do not belong to you. And I will not make myself miserable so that you can have your 'everything' safe and locked up." Minerva said throwing his words back at him knowing she would regret it later. Before Albus could defend himself or even process what Minerva had said to him she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room.
He stared at the door she exited for a moment shaking in both fury and concern. Minerva was the only women who could evoke this type of an emotional mess in him. He let out an angry breath and turned and walked out of the room into his office. The slamming of the bookcase that was the hidden entrance to their room wasn't intentional but it did make him feel a whole lot better.
He stayed in his office for the rest of the night, not even bothering to go to dinner. It wasn't until he looked up from the stack of official documents and memo's that had been neglected that he noticed the sky was inky black.
"Shh! Do you know what will happen if we get caught? My mum hates to be woken up when she's sleeping." Harry said through gritted teeth. Fred and George may have been some of his best friends but if they got him in trouble with his mother he would super glue them to the ceiling of the great hall naked.
"Keep you knickers on"
"We're here." Fred and George said with matching grins.
"Just try and be careful." Harry said with a nervous look around. This was his first major prank and he didn't want to get caught just yet. "Do you remember the spell?"
"Yes!" they said cheerfully and loudly. Harry closed his eyes and counted to ten. It was a wonder they could do any successful pranks they were so loud. Every creak the castle made had him ready to run for his life.
"Good. Now in order for it to work we need to cast it at the same time on specified area." Harry said seriously. The twins' faces also became serious as they prepared to set their plan into motion.
"Have you decided on wedding dress or Speedo?" George asked.
Harry shook his head. "George there are some things no one should have to see and Snape in Speedo is one of them, I vote wedding dress." He said as he suppressed a shudder.
"I agree." Fred said.
"The majority has it. Wedding dress it is." Harry exclaimed happily.
"What about dressing him up as bat man?" a fourth voice asked casually.
Harry jumped and turned to start running but paused when he realized he recognized the voice. "Fred George come back! Its only Nathan." Harry yelled as quietly as he could before they got too far down the hall and out of hearing range. "Don't sneak up on me like that. My heart was in my throat." He said to his brother with a scowl.
Nathan tried to stop laughing so he could apologize but he couldn't. Fred and George walked back up to the two Dumbledore's smiling good naturedly at having been duped.
"So this is Nathan."
"The brother we hear so much about."
"All good things of course."
Nathan stopped laughing and stood up fully, he was at least three inches taller than the twins. "And you must be the Weasley twins whom I've heard so much about." He said with a charming grin. To the twins it didn't seem like he was only a year older than them. He acted and dressed more like someone their older brother Charlie's age.
"In the flesh." They said at the same time.
"Creepy." Nathan said as he looked at the twins critically. They were alike in every single aspect. Even their magical cores were the same. It was almost like they weren't brothers but clones.
"Does dad know you're here?" Harry asked not wanting his brother to get in trouble after just reconciling with the family. He had really missed him and he didn't want him to leave angry again and not come home for another couple of months.
"I told him but I'm not sure if he realized it." Nathan said lightly running a casual hand through his auburn hair. Harry looked at him silently telling him to elaborate. "He and mum got in a fight. He's kind of out of it."
"Mum and dad got in a fight?" Harry asked truly shocked. His parents never fought. He could honestly say that he had never seen his parents fight. Sure they had disagreements but it was never serious. "Like a fight for real?"
Nathan nodded seriously. "Yeah as in dads been sitting in his office for at least six hours and hasn't moved." His jaw twitched and harry immediately knew that Nathan was holding something back. It was his give. They had started playing poker about three years ago and Harry always knew when Nathan was lying. He usually never had to put his knowledge to use as they had promised to never to lie to each other. Even when Nathan had been estranged he hadn't lied, he didn't say anything but he hadn't lied.
"What else do you know?" Harry asked feeling slightly betrayed that he even had to ask that question.
"Nothing that I can talk about now, I'll tell you this weekend." Nathan said not bothering to hide the meaningful look he sent to Fred and George.
"So who's batman?" George asked to break the odd tension between the two brothers.
Nathan and Harry grinned simultaneously. "He's a muggle comic book character. He dresses in this tight black spandex outfit that supposed to look badass- sorry Harry but he looks like a dork- and wears a cape and a matching hat and mask."
Fred and George laughed out loud at the mental image Nathan had proved and immediately gave their approval to the suggestion.
"Okay I'll focus on the image and you two focus on location and intent." Harry said taking charge of their pranking operation.
"What are you planning on doing?" Nathan asked curiously.
"We're setting up wards on the archways to the great hall, Snape's class room, and a few other key locations so that every time Snape walks through the door he'll be spelled to look like batman. We're also erasing our magical signature so hopefully no one can connect us with the prank." Harry explained.
"How's the ward work?" Nathan asked having never heard of a ward that could be contained to such a small area and at the same time be focused on a single magical signature.
"It's an ancient Egyptian ward used for guarding dead pharaoh's tombs from grave robbers, its only drawback is it doesn't have the life expectancy the Egyptians were hoping for. It only lasts at the most three decades or so. Anyway its rune based. You need to draw the runes in a triangle covering the area you want warded. On rune for intent, one for effect, and one for location.
"Usually the ward makes it so that the person whose signature is tied to it is the only one who can pass through the ward but I tweaked it so that the opposite is true. Now it works kind of opposite. Whose ever magical signature it's tied to gets hit with the spells tied into the intent." Harry said struggling to explain what he just knew almost instinctually.
"Cor Harry I'm impressed." Nathan said to his brother his respect for the eleven year old rising. "Did you find it in Dads personal library?" he asked with a grin.
"Of course he always has the best obscure books hidden away in there." Harry said.
"I personally can't wait to see Snape's face."
"When he realizes that he's dressed up as a muggle character." The twins said. Nathan stared at them again before shaking his head and filing the anomaly that was his brothers friends away in the back of his mind.
The four boys grinned and if anyone had been there to see them they would have ran because those grins were far from innocent and they promised nothing but humiliation.
The clock in his office struck midnight startling him from the single imperfection on the face of his mighty desk he had been staring at for longer than he would like to admit. In his mind he was debating on whether or not he should venture to the bedroom he shared with his wife to sleep or if he should stay here and continue working.
If he went to his bedroom it would mean confronting his wife, which if she was still angry at him he didn't want to do. It was late and he did not want to get into another argument. But he did know that his wife always said she never slept when he was away and even though she was angry he knew she would still have a hard time sleeping and with her condition he didn't want her to do anything that might harm her or the baby.
On the other hand if he stayed in his office and finished paper work like he had been doing, or trying to do, all evening then he could successfully avoid the situation all together. He admitted to himself that either way there was the chance of impairing his wife's health, if she let her temper loose or if she lost sleep.
He also knew it was cowardly for him to avoid her. It was that notion that was eating away at him. He had never been seen as a coward and he didn't want to start now.
He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice the bookcase that hid their quarters open and his wife step into the room. She was wearing a thick wooly dressing gown that hung loosely on her and dragged behind her as she walked. Her hair was in a tangled mess and her eyes were red, whether from crying or from lack of sleep wasn't apparent.
She walked into the room and stopped three feet in front of her husband's desk. "Are you coming to bed?" she asked her voice soft and horse.
Albus's head jerked up and his eyes settled on his wife's figure which in his opinion had never looked more beautiful. "I wasn't sure if I'd be welcome."
Minerva stepped behind her husband's desk so that she was nearly touching the back of his chair. She unfolded her arms and rested them lightly on his shoulders. "I was angry but that doesn't mean I want you to isolate yourself in your office. I love you Albus and nothing on this earth or beyond it will ever change that." As she spoke she planted a feather light kiss on his pulse point on his neck.
Albus turned his head and looked up his wife feeling foolish for avoiding her. His eyes locked onto hers and the apology he had been wording in his mind died on his lips. Her eyes held no blame and there was no hint of anger in her body language.
"Come to bed I can't sleep if you're not holding me." Minerva said impishly with a slight smile gracing her face.
"Always." Albus said as he stood up feeling like the weight of the world had just slid of his shoulders. He gave her a tight hug, inhaling her scent as he took a deep breath. In his wife's arms life was good, it was the rest of the world that worried him.
Authors Note
Thank you all for waiting for my chapter. Its my longest yet but I'm not too sure if its any good. Review me and tell me what ou think even if its to tell me that it blows.
For everyone who reviewed me and offered their condolences thank you. Life sucks and it isn't fair but I guess I'll have to get over it.