What Your Parents Didn't Tell You
Disclaimer: I own nothing Harry Potter.
"DAAAAD! James took my broom and he won't give it back!"
"Did not!"
"Did too!"
"Did NOT!"
Harry sighed, leant back in the chair and rubbed his eyes. He had thought that once the boys became teenagers, they would be done with the whole stealing blame game. Clearly, he was wrong. Before he could do anything, the door to his office burst open and James and Albus ran in, both eager to make their case.
"Dad!" the green-eyed boy whined. "James took my broom when I was looking for the Quaffle in the garage! I left it by the stairs when I left!"
"I was up in my room, you git! I wouldn't have known what you'd be doing!" James snapped back.
"James!" Harry said in a warning tone, glaring sternly over his glasses. "Now, Albus, you said you left your broom by the stairs?"
"Yes, right at the bottom!"
"Hmm…" Harry leaned back in his chair, looking very thoughtful. "That's rather fascinating…" The boys looked at him curiously, Albus with a confused face while James was apprehensive.
"What?" Harry deliberately gave a shrug.
"It seems that your broom isn't the only thing that has disappeared, Albus. Something from my desk has gone missing, too." Albus' eyes grew wide at that; he didn't notice the shifting motions his brother was making next to him. Harry nodded solemnly. "In fact, a pair of Extendable Ears has been misplaced. You two haven't seen it anywhere by any chance?"
"No!" Albus' answer was full of astonishment and sincerity but James', on the other hand, was a little too hasty. Aha! Just as he suspected…
"James?" Harry stared pointedly at his eldest son, his brow furrowing. "Care to share something with us?" James stood up straighter, struggling not to let his guard down. Finally, his body sagged and he dug into his jacket pocket, pulling out two Extendable Ears. He avoided his father's eyes as he reluctantly handed it back over. "Well, Albus, that's how your broom went missing," Harry said, disapproval written all over his face. Albus immediately rounded on James.
"You took the Extendable Ears and listened till I was in the garage?" James scoffed at him.
"Mum still hasn't picked mine up from Quality Qudditch Supplies, it's still getting fixed! I need something to practice with!"
"You'll still have to wait till Mum gets it then, cos this one's mine!"
"James Sirius and Albus Severus!" Harry's slightly raised voice brought the boys back to the present moment, making them self-conscious and ashamed. "James, I've been over this with you: I know Uncle George gave these to you, but the last time you used them was inappropriate. That's why I confiscated them and that's why they are here in my office. Until you learn that the Ears are not used for sneaking around, I won't be giving them back to you anytime soon. Understand?"
"Yes, Dad."
"And Albus, if your broom goes missing again, just use one of the spares. It doesn't matter that they're old," Harry cut off the protest that was about to erupt. "They're perfectly fine to use for practice."
"Yes, Dad."
Just then, the front door open and Harry could hear his wife and daughter coming in. He heaved a sigh. "Now budge along, your mum and sister are back." James and Albus sulkily left the office, clearly not satisfied with their lot. Harry shook his head and dumped the Extendable Ears into a drawer just as Ginny walked in.
"I saw the boys coming out," she said in lieu of a greeting, her arms crossed. "Anything wrong?"
"The usual. James doesn't want to wait for his broom to come out of repair, stole the Ears I took from him to listen for a chance to take Albus'. You didn't miss much." Harry stood up and moved over to his wife, kissing her forehead as she let out a huff.
"I told him we'd pick it up when we're getting Lily's things for school," she muttered, hugging Harry in return.
"It's that Weasley impatience, you know."
"Shut up, Potter," Ginny smiled, whacking him on the shoulder. Harry grinned and followed her out of his office to help with dinner.
Later that night, the kids were fast asleep in their beds, while Harry and Ginny sat down in the parlor together. Harry sat on the couch, going over new applications for Auror positions, while Ginny lay down with her head on his lap, revising her account of the latest match between the Grodzisk Goblins and the Heidelberg Harriers. She arched her head back, trying to look up at her husband.
"Anyone striking your fancy?" Harry frowned and shook his head.
"Not really. I mean, the number of people who want to join just because I'm the Head has gone down, but they sometimes still pop up. Like this one." He lifted the parchment he was holding in his right hand and read aloud: " 'I want to join the Auror Department because the greatest wizard of our age, Harry Potter, is the Head and I would like to follow in his footsteps and become a fighter against Dark Magic.' Honestly? I don't think this person is anywhere near N.E.W.T. level yet with a statement like that. And just because of who I am, what I did…" Harry fell silent, tossing the parchment aside with a grimace. Ginny sat up and looked at him steadily.
"You don't miss any of that, do you?" she asked, almost rhetorically. "Fighting Voldemort, and all the attention that came out of that?" He shifted his gaze to her, his green eyes weary.
"No. No, I don't. You know how much it bothered me, Ginny." Harry took one of her hands and squeezed it. "If I could, I wish that it was someone else that got stuck with that prophecy. I wish I could have had a normal life." Silence fell over them as they sat there just holding hands. "But," Harry continued with a small smile. "It's ok. I got you. I got three great kids. I finally have a normal life."
"As normal as it gets around here," Ginny smiled. Harry chuckled and kissed her in gratitude.
As they settled back to their original spots, Harry couldn't help but let his mind wander away from the Auror applications and into more gloomy thoughts. It was true, he didn't miss the adoring crowds fawning over him just because of that Halloween in 1981. He didn't miss people wanting to associate with him just because of his name. Nor was the stress of running and counteracting against Voldemort particularly missed.
But…
Did he actually miss the excitement that came with fighting evil? Did he really miss the adrenaline rushes, the thrill of knowing that he was ridding the world of something that had destroyed his own all those years ago? Maybe, just maybe…
Suddenly, there was a tapping at the window, startling them both. Harry grabbed his wand and edged toward the window, with Ginny following him with her own wand in hand. They squinted into the darkness, dimly seeing a flurry of feathers and a beak.
"Oh! Isn't that Cynbel?" Ginny exclaimed, relaxing her wand arm. Harry shoved his wand back into his pocket and hurriedly threw open the window. Sure enough, Cynbel, the brown colored great horned owl of Kingsley Shacklebolt, swooped in and settled on an owl perch bought especially for him. Harry took the letter Cynbel offered and gave him some treats and water.
"It's probably just Kingsley telling me to hurry up and pick some new Auror trainees," he sniffed, tearing the seal off. "I told him I was going over the applications…" He unfurled the parchment and began to read:
Harry,
I'm afraid something of the utmost importance has been brought to my attention in the past few days, something that involves you. I cannot put all of the details down in this letter, as it is too lengthy to explain. Therefore, I am asking you to meet me at Trafalgar Square on Friday at half past eleven in Muggle dress; with so many Muggles around, we can blend in much easier.
Also, I've taken the liberty of contacting Ron and Hermione and asked them to come as well. I know that the three of you work better together than apart, most especially after all you've been through. Besides, I have a feeling that they will object if I exclude them both from this matter.
Give my best regards to Ginny,
Kingsley
Thanks for R&R!