Harry Potter

Founder's Four

JadedofMara

Chapter Eleven: Announcements

James Potter raked a hand through his jet black hair, making it stand up in twenty more places than it had previously. It was painfully obvious to him, at least, that well over half of the fifth-year Switching Spell essays had been written on the train—and in the same compartment too, as they all contained the same line about switching ears onto a cactus at some point or another. James was just glad that his daughter Therese had a remarkably unique essay. Therese's best friend, Kaly, also had written a marvelous essay, and though she too used the example of switching ears onto a cactus, she knew that Dean Thomas had accidentally done just that in his fifth year, and cited him as her example.

Kaly (whose name was really Apokalypsis, but went by Kaly for obvious reasons) was Remus Lupin's only daughter. Remus had married his sweetheart just as James had married his, and Xandra had gone on to become the Ancient Runes teacher at Hogwarts, just as Remus had been made Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Therese and Kaly, born just days apart, had both inherited their mothers' brains and their fathers' love of the occasional practical joke.

Well, maybe not so occasional.

James was fairly certain that he, Remus and Sirius were the only people in all of Hogwarts who knew that quiet, studious Therese Potter and Kaly Lupin actually made up the infamous prankster group, the Chimeras. The Chimeras were even better pranksters than the Marauders were, although their success could have been merely the lack of arrogance. While it had been well known who the Marauders were, the only thing that anyone knew about the Chimeras was that one was a Gryffindor, the other a Slytherin(thus the name Chimera, Lion and Snake together) and both were girls. Remus kept a careful log book of all their accomplishments just as he had for the Marauders, and it was often read from in the staff room in the evenings, though 'Gryffindor' was substituted for Kaly's name and 'Slytherin' took the place of Therese's.

James had to admit he was a lot more lenient with the Slytherins now that Therese was among the Snakes. He still found it strange sometimes that his daughter had become a Slytherin, but Lily usually laughed him off. Lily maintained, as she had for the five years since Therese's and Kaly's sorting, that Therese's Slytherin-ness and Kaly's Gryffindor-ness was all James', Sirius' and Remus' fault, seeing as Therese had been raised by the Marauders to be the tactician, instilling cunning, while Kaly was groomed to be the perpetrator, breeding courage. James, of course, had no opinion of his own to offer, and was usually silent in these discussions. As the Muggle Studies professor, Lily only had to teach a small percentage of Hogwarts' population, so her time spent with Therese was far greater than James', as he was always grading papers, so James usually deferred to Lily on matters regarding his only child.

Suddenly, James' eyes burned, his vision blurring. Not here! he thought frantically, squeezing his eyes shut to block the unexpected onslaught of tears. He knew he was fighting a losing battle. He couldn't help it. His thoughts had wandered onto Harry again.

The Order meeting that James and Lily had been reporting to on the evening of All Hallow's Eve, 1981, had run several hours later than expected. Something about an up coming Death Eater attack on the Hogwarts Express as it took students home for the winter holidays. James couldn't really remember. All he knew was that by the time he and Lily got home, well past midnight and still laughing at the sight of Snape dressed up in a pumpkin outfit, courtesy of Sirius, the Dark Mark had already hovered over their home at Godric's Hollow for well over an hour. Rushing into their home, they had found nothing at all out of place except the muted TV (why Lily had insisted on having one of those in the house, James would never know) still running, flickering late night television over the empty livingroom. Harry and Peter, who had been babysitting him, had both vanished without a trace.

Blinking furiously to drive the lingering wetness from his eyes, James shook himself and marked the final fifth year essay 'Troll'. Now was really not the time to be thinking of Harry, not while James had a roomful of ickle firsties to deal with. He would grieve come Halloween, when Sirius substituted for his classes as always. Stretching his neck, James pushed his chair back from the desk at the front of his Transfiguration classroom and got to his feet.

"Alright, first-years," he called, voice cutting easily through the chorus of high, squeaky voices crying 'Fuegaltestio!' "Wands down, please. Let's see what you've got." The class instantly quieted, placing their wands on their desks with all the grace of a Hippogriff hog-tied to a Thestral while each tried to fly in the opposite direction to get away from the Giant Squid and a swarm of Bowtruckles, respectively (James would know, too, seeing as Sirius had once tried that in the middle of Care of Magical Creatures class). James walked up and down the rows of tiny Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, complementing Emmerson on how the wood of her match had gone shiny, scolding Glasgrow for scorching his desk. Finally, in the very back of the class, James found what he had been looking for all along.

Two perfect little needles, set exactly three inches apart on the shared desk of Sirius' eleven year old twins, each sharing the identical magical signature of having been transfigured from a match.

James grinned. "Very good, David, Daniella," he praised, winking. Outspoken Daniella, more like her father than her pudgy little brother, positively beamed.

"Thanks, Uncle James!" she chirped. David jabbed his sister in the ribs with his elbow.

"It's 'Professor Potter' when we're in class, 'Ella!" he hissed, looking up at James, embarrassed. James smiled, greatly amused. Where Daniella mirrored a young Sirius in every way, David was the very image of his mother. Annamaria Vector had been a year younger than every other student in the Marauder's year, put ahead from sheer talent, and Sirius had taken her under his wing from the very first day on the Hogwarts Express. She had been his best friend outside the Marauders, and he hers beyond Xandra Campalus and Lily Evans, and in the summer before sixth year, friendship had blossomed into much more. They were married earlier than any other Marauder, but their children came far later, as Sirius had been undercover in Azkaban for several years, as part of his Auror's duties. With the war against Voldemort escalating rapidly and Annamaria already at Hogwarts as the Arithmancy professor, Sirius had been assigned Auror in Charge of Hogwarts, and after a few years had taken on the position of Dueling instructor.

"Sor-ry, 'Avid! Merlin!" grumbled Daniella, folding her arms defiantly across her chest.

"Class," he said, beckoning to the students. "Come see Mr. and Miss Black's needles." James stood back as the first-years crowded around the desk. "They've performed the spell perfectly. Five points to Gryffindor."

The miniature Gryffindors high-fived each other, and slapped Daniella and David on their backs. The little Ravenclaws looked properly embarrassed at being shown up in the first class of the year.

"Back to your desks, first years!" James commanded, moving back to his desk himself. "I've got a very important announcement to make."

In the back of the room, a single, soft voice started singing a Girl Guides song. "Announcements, announcements, annou-ouncements! A terrible death to die, a terrible death to die, a terrible death to be talked to-Ow!"

The class laughed.

"Merlin's pointy purple toenails, 'Avid! That hurt!"

"Okee-dokee, then," cried James, though internally he was laughing as well. Daniella was most certainly her father's daughter. "You may have already seen the notice, but I just wanted to remind you that we are welcoming several very important visitors to Hogwarts tonight, and—"

"Do you know who they are, Professor Potter?" cheeped the little voice belonging to the frantically waving hand in the front row. James shook his head.

"I am not entirely sure, Creevy," he told the latest mousy Creevy boy, Maxwell. It wasn't exactly a lie, although it wasn't exactly a truth either. James had seen the visitors, heard them speak, and Dumbledore had assured him that they were who they said they were, but James personally wasn't going to believe that the Founders had come from one thousand years in the past until he heard they themselves say how they had done it. "But I do know that they will be introduced to the school at dinner this evening, so attendance is mandatory for all students." The mental bell signaling the end of class rang in his head, and James stood.

"I want a drawing of every stage of the transfiguration process for the transformation between a match and a needle, and I want a transfigured needle from each of you, due Friday." Groans echoed around the room, and James smirked. "That is all, you are dismissed."