Chapter 3: At Grimmauld Place
The Potters and the Blacks arrive with Albus Dumbledore at Sirius' home at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Right after that, Albus and Regulus leave for reasons they decide not to disclose to other members of the Order of the Phoenix. Soon after the two leave, everybody else rushes to see the Potters back. Remus Lupin is the first one James notices.
"Moony!" James exclaims.
"Prongs! Padfoot!" Remus replies. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Wait a minute." Fred asks.
"Moony?" George asks.
"Prongs?" Fred.
"Padfoot?" Geroge.
"You're the Marauders!?" The twins ask together while kneeling down in front of their three idols.
"Moony! Padfoot! Our reputation precceeds us!" James exclaims.
"Just what we needed." Snape sarcastically comments. "More people to boost Potter's ego."
"James, we'll have more time for your fans later." Lily comments. "Now I'd like to know more about or son's life at Hogwarts."
With everybody's consent, Harry starts telling everything from the moment he got his Hogwarts letter. "Prior to receiving my first Hogwarts letter, I have never heard about it or about magic being real. Uncle Vernon gave too much of an effort to keep me from reading it Hagrid had to pick me up. It was my best birthday ever."
"Thank you, 'Arry." Hagrid comments.
"Hagrid was furious at Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia for not telling me about the Wizarding World." Harry says.
"I don't blame you, Hagrid." James comments.
"It was Hagrid who told me about you and Mum being killed by a dark wizard named Vol... well, he didn't like mentioning the name but did it out of the need for me to know." Harry tells. "He told me about the fund you left me and guided me when I bought my wand and all books and materials I'd need for my first year. I first met Professor Quirrell at the Leaky Cauldron that day."
"Who?" James and Lily ask.
"He was that year's teacher of Defence Against the Dark Arts." Harry says with disgust at his voice.
"Harry, what do you have against him?" Lily ask.
"I'll get there, if you can wait." Harry nicely replies. "Anyway, when it came the day to take the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 ¾, I was afraid there was a mistake because, as Uncle Vernon had pointed out when he drove me there..."
"Was he actually nice enough to drive you there?" James asks, shocked.
"Just because he needed to take Dudley to the Hospital." Harry explains. "Nothing serious, Mom." He adds, noticing her worry and not wanting to get Hagrid into trouble."
"Are you sure that's nothing serious?" Lily asks.
"No, I'm Sirius."
"It was never funny, Black." Lily retorts.
"Anyway, Uncle Vernon left me alone at King's Cross." Harry explains.
"Didn't Petunia tell you how to reach the platform?" Lily and Snape ask in unison, much to James Potter's dislike.
"She knew!?" Harry asks.
"Of course she knew." Lily replies. "My parents forced her to join them to say goodbye every schoolyear I departed to Hogwarts."
Snape was shocked beyond belief. Sure, he already knew Petunia and Vernon Dursley dislike magic but never suspected they'd mistreat the Golden Boy. He always thought Harry was spoiled like his Dad.
"Fortunately, Mrs. Weasley was at that exact moment watching Ron, Fred, George and Percy and she guided me." Harry explains.
"Thank you, Molly." Lily replies.
"Oh, don't mention it." Molly says.
"When Fred and George told Ginny who Harry is, she pleaded for Mum to let her see him again." Ron comments, earning a glare from his sister.
"At the train, I became friends with Ron Weasley." Harry explains. "We told each other about details from the world where we grew up, I've got my first Famous Wizard Card."
"I bet it was about you." James interrupts. "My boy deserves it."
"Actually, it was about Albus Dumbledore." Harry explains. "Did you people know he enjoys bowling?"
All there who knows what bowling is are now trying to mentalize Albus Dumbledore as a bowler.
"What shocked me was the picture moving as I never saw one doing it before." Harry comments.
"But all people in pictures move, Harry." James replies.
"Not in the Muggle World, James." Lily says. "Where he was raised."
"I still find it weird." Ron comments. Sirius and James nod in agreement.
"At the train, Draco Malfoy, whom I had the displeasure of first meeting while buying robes at Madam Malkin's, introduced me to Crabbe and Goyle and tried to make me follow the pureblood supremacy ideals." Harry explains. "Draco becoming a Slytherin was the main reason I didn't want to be at that House."
"That's my boy." James exclaims. "But you should already wanting Gryffindor because of us."
"I didn't knon which House you and Mum were from back then." Harry explains. "As long as it wasn't Slytherin, I'd gladly go to any House."
"Makes sense." Sirius comments.
"When I first saw Professor Snape, I was sure he always hated me." Harry comments.
"Harry, Severus wouldn't hate you." Lily replies. "Right, Sev?"
Severus didn't have the courage to face Lily in the eyes. "Severus Snape!"
"Sorry, Lily." Severus replies. "All I could see was James Potter's son."
"Lily, the more I'd like to see you angry at Snivellus, I'd like to hear more about Harry." James comments.
"At flying lessons, Draco Malfoy stole Neville Longbottom's remebrall and I flew after him to get it back." Harry says. "When Professor McGonagall saw me, I thought she'd expell me but instead she made me Seeker."
"On your first year?" James and Sirius ask. "Prongslet, I'm so proud of you."
"Professor McGonagall even gave me a Nimbus 2000." Harry comments. Everyone is shocked now. "It'd be a perfect year if not by Quirrell trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone so he could use it to restore Voldemort."
Now James and Lily are shocked.
"Quirrell said that had Hermione not interfered when he tried to kill me during my first Quidditch game, he'd have done so even with Snape uttering a countercurse." Harry explains. James can't believe Snape would help him.
"How did Hermione help?" James asks, not wanting Snape to have all credit.
Harry hesitates. "She's the one who set my robes on fire, wasn't she?" Snape asks. Hermione nods.
"Great one!" Sirius comments.
"You surely are Marauder material." James adds.
"Well, that was nothing compared to how Harry and Ron saved me from a Mountain Troll Professor Quirrell set loose to diestract everyone." Hermione comments.
"He did what??" Lily asks. "What happened to him?"
"We followed him throught the safety measures placed around the stone." Harry replies. "I was shocked to find out it wasn't Snape trying to steal it."
"I know what you feel, Harry." James replies.
"Fortunately the blood protection saved me and destroyed Quirrell when he tried to kill me." Harry replies. "Unfortunately I couldn't recover on time to play against Ravenclaw and Slytherin won the Quidditch Cup that year."
James and Sirius became visibly upset.
"Potter, I believe you'll be glad the Headmaster used all this stone mess as an excuse to give Gryffindor the needed points to win the House Cup that year." Snape comments. James and Sirius high-five each other.
"Enough talk about Harry's first year." Lily comments. "Who taught Defence Against the Dark Arts second year?"
"Gilderoy Lockhart." Harry answers with a dislike James and Lily notice from all other teachers present in the room. "He was just promoting himself so people would buy the books where he falsely claimed to commit heroic acts."
"Hey!" Molly protests. "Headmaster Dumbledore probably believed him to be the best applicant."
"He was the only applicant." Hagrid angrily replies. Snapes makes an "ahem" sound. "Besides Professor Snape, o' course."
"No wonder Lockhart got the job." James comments.
"And if that wasn't bad enough, Voldemort reopened the Chamber of Secrets that year." Harry comments.
"What?" James and Lily ask.
Harry explains all about how Voldemort used to be known as Tom Marvolo Riddle, how Riddle framed Hagrid and how Riddle came back via his diary and an innocent Ginny Weasley. Not before getting Ginny's consent on mentioning her.
"What about your third year, Harry?" Lily asks, deciding it's too painful to speak anymore of Harry's second year.
"That was the year Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban." Harry replies.
"Padfoot already talked about this to us." James replies. "We wanna hear about you."
"That's the year when I had my best Defence teacher ever." Harry comments.
"Thank you." Remus replies.
"I still have a problem with the notion of Moony becoming a teacher." James comments. "But how did you get the map?"
"F... some friends of mine had confiscated it from Filch's office and given it to me." Harry explains and no one has a trouble understanding who these friends are.
"Please, 'Arry, tell them about me as a teacher." Hagrid eagerly asks.
"Strating from my third year, Hagrid started teaching Care of Magical Creatures." Harry explains. "His first class was about Hippogriffs. Unfortunately, Malfoy provoked one of them, Buckbeak, and his father tried to have him executed for reacting to Malfoy's provocation. Fortunately Buckbeak escaped."
"And what about your fourth year?" Lily escaped.
"Headmaster Dumbledore revitalized the Triwizard Tournament." Harry explains.
"Sirius told us about that." James eagerly replies. "Who represented Hogwarts?"
"Cedric Diggory and myself."
"I though each school could only have one representative." Lily comments.
"Barty Crouch Jr., disguised as Professor Moody, added me as a fourth entrant as part of a plan so Voldemort would capture me and use my blood on a spell to bring him back to life." Harry explains.
"Poor Harry." Lily sadly comments.
"Sirius told me Fudge tried to discredit you and Dumbledore." James comments.
"Fudge appointed Dolores Umbridge to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts." Harry replies, feeling pain while doing so. "She's the worst teacher I ever had."
"Harry, I know it was boring to have a Defence teacher who refuses to teach practical ways but..." James explains until being interrupted.
"Take a look at your son's hands, Potter." Snape calmly asks. Upon noticing the effects of the blood quill, Harry's parents are outraged. "Once I get my hands on her."
"Lily, I doubt you can do anything worse than what the centaurs did when she provoked them." Snape comments.
"Prongslet, I'd like to ask something about your second year." Sirius says. "You said the diary had a piece of Voldemort's soul, right?"
Harry nods.
"According to my family's knowledge of the Dark Arts, the way you describe the diary suggests it to be, or have been, a Horcrux." Sirius comments.
"A what?" Harry asks and Sirius explains all about Horcruxes.
"But, Sirius, I've destroyed the diary before Wormtail escaped and helped Voldemort to become corporeal again." Harry comments. "How did he remain in our world if his Horcrux was destroyed?"
"Maybe he had more than one." James suggests.
"Prongs, all my family's books on the topic warn us that creating just one Horcrux makes one's mind unstable." Sirius replies. "I can't imagine anyone, even Voldemort, having more than that."
"That's where you're wrong, Sirius." Dumbledore replies as he and Regulus come back. Dumbledore is wearing a ring with a cracked stone.
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