Chapter 55
Harry and the group watched the hunched, cloaked figure drag the fourteen year old Harry to a large gravestone and bind him there. They all could clearly see the name Tom Riddle on the hard stone before the words were covered by the teen's body. When Harry's body was secure the robed man finally removed his hood. James and Lily gasped.
"Peter?" asked James weakly before swaying slightly. Harry, Lily, and Sirius all grabbed James and kept him standing. "Sorry," James said. "I've heard you say it was him all along, but seeing it, actually seeing it for your own eyes…It's just a little hard to comprehend."
"I know what you mean, dear. Peter was…the last person we'd have suspected of going dark, let alone become a…murderer," Lily said sadly.
"I hope the bastard got what was coming to him. He ruined too many lives and I hope he burns in hell for eternity," Sirius spat towards the bustling Peter-memory.
"He did, trust me on that. I watched him die myself," Harry said coldly.
James and Lily stared at their son in astonishment, as did Molly and Arthur. Hearing Harry sound so cold and heartless was something none of them had experienced before.
"Er, what exactly is that thing that man put on the ground?" asked Percy hesitantly.
"That would be Voldemort before regenerating his body," Harry said with a forced casualness. Percy, Bill, Fleur, and George all took several steps backwards as they were the closest to the struggling bundle.
"How—" began James but he stopped as he searched for the words to articulate what he wanted to ask.
"I'll explain everything after the memory, right now would take too long. And besides, he does have the bad habit of rambling about his plans like the typical evil villain, so he might just answer your questions himself later," Harry said contemptuously.
"No need to get snippy," James said with a frown.
"Sorry," Harry said. "I just hate remembering all this, and to add actually seeing it as if were actually happening again…Let's just say, I feel I have justification to be snippy right now," he finished tartly. Sirius laid his hand on James' arm to halt the reply he knew would come. When James looked his way he just shook his head.
"Hurry!" they heard from the bundle of rags next to the cauldron they didn't remember seeing show up.
"What's going to happen now?" asked Molly, who was looking a bit anxious.
"Pettigrew performs a blood ritual that regenerates a body for Voldemort," Harry said shortly. "If anyone needs to leave at any time, let me know, I can get you out without disturbing the others. If you have a weak stomach I'll tell you when to hide your eyes," he said quickly. He figured it would be pretty gruesome if someone were to vomit inside a memory while they were all, in essence, inside the bowl containing it.
"It is ready, Master," replied Pettigrew.
"Now…"
Several members of the group gasped or, in the case of Molly and Lily, shrieked at the creature that was Voldemort. Harry was struck suddenly with the similarity to the baby-like creature he'd seen in his surreal visit to Kings Cross with Dumbledore after getting struck by the Killing Curse. The thing he remembered from the train station was what had remained of Voldemort's soul and been ripped out of Harry. The thing in the graveyard was jarringly similar in that they both looked like flayed, scaly toddlers with snake faces and red eyes. Unlike each other, the one Harry was seeing at the moment was in charge and focused. The soul fragment in Kings Cross was a whimpering, flopping, pitiful looking thing.
Harry forced himself to pay attention, if only to avoid being covered in vomit.
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"
"This next part is where you might want to close your eyes. Because after he's done speaking, He cuts off his own hand," Harry said. Lily and James stared at him while Fleur and Hermione both hid their faces in their respective mates' shoulders. Ginny and Molly merely turned their heads but kept their eyes on the scene, squinting, ready to close them if it became too gruesome. Lily shook her head but watched resolutely with the others.
"Flesh—of the servant—w-willingly given—you will—revive—your master," Pettigrew sobbed pathetically. His subsequent scream chilled Harry to the bone again as the potion became a blinding crimson. Fleur and Percy both gagged at the thud the hand made at the bottom of the cauldron, but no one lost their dinner thankfully.
"Oh Merlin, Peter…" James muttered sadly.
"How can you feel pity for that bastard after what he did to all of us?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"I guess in a way, its pity for the Peter I knew in school. I don't know this man, he's a complete stranger to me, and I hate him for what he did to us, but the Peter I knew in school would never…" James trailed off when Peter began speaking again.
"B-blood of the enemy…forcibly taken…you will…resurrect your foe," said the man before he sliced open Harry's arm through his sleeve. Lily gasped as did Molly as the younger Harry winced while Peter gathered a vial to collect the blood.
Harry removed his hand from Ginny's and pulled up his sleeve to examine the jagged, but faint scar there. Ginny took his hand in hers and gave his arm a light kiss before she smiled sadly at him. He got the meaning and nodded with a sad smile on his face.
The scene before them turned blindingly white for several seconds before the sparks flying from the cauldron ceased and a thick white mist gathered around them. Soon enough they could see a man step from the cauldron and speak.
"Robe me," it said in a high, incisive voice that chilled them all to their core.
"Oh sweet Merlin," Percy muttered. They watched as Voldemort examined his body and as Peter begged his Master for a new hand.
"The other arm, Wormtail."
They all watched as Peter extended his left arm forward and Voldemort revealed the Dark Mark. He pressed the skull and snake tattoo and they all winced as Harry writhed in pain on the grave stone and Peter howled.
James closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again, his gaze hardened by the betrayal he was finally seeing first hand.
"You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father. A Muggle and a fool…very like your dear mother..." James growled and clenched his fists. "But they both had their uses, did they not?" Voldemort rambled on for many minutes about his parents. Old news for Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but for the rest of the group it was all new. Soon enough the area around them began to fill with Death Eaters who, after a moment of stunned immobility, fell to their knees and kissed their Master's robes.
Sirius scoffed and muttered under his breath. The only phrase Harry caught was, "…never bend over…kiss that bloody wanker's feet…" The disgust in Sirius's voice was audible.
As Voldemort gave his speech to the circle of Death Eaters Harry tried to distinguish who was who among the black robed and white masked people. He noticed several that he hadn't known then that he knew now, Yaxley being one and Dolohov another.
"Merlin," Ron snorted. "Harry you never told us how much of a bleeding drama queen this toss pot was." Harry smiled weakly.
"Only because by the time I was talking to you guys again I was usually feeling the overwhelming sense of gratefulness that I was actually alive to talk to you again. Details like the dramatics he spewed weren't exactly forefront in my memory," Harry chuckled.
Lily winced when Avery was Crucio'd and James squeezed her hand.
"You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don't you?"
"Yes, Master. Please, Master…please…" Peter whimpered pathetically.
"How is he not dead yet? He's been losing blood rapidly for several minutes now," Hermione muttered.
"One word Hermione…magic," whispered Ron dramatically wiggling his fingers. Hermione rolled her eyes while Ginny and George snickered.
Several long minutes went by as Voldemort went through nearly all his faithful Death Eaters in the circle and listed several not in attendance at the current gathering. He finally came back to Harry, still tied to the stone. After being prompted by Lucius Malfoy about how he returned, Voldemort started talking about Harry and Lily and that night.
"His mother left upon him traces of her sacrifice…This is old magic, I should have remembered it, I was foolish to overlook it…but no matter. I can touch him now," said the snake-faced wizard as he placed a finger on Harry's cheek. Everyone gasped when they saw the fourteen-year old Harry begin to scream and writhe despite the bindings holding him tight. Lily closed her eyes, guilty tears streaming down her cheeks. James held her close as if to shield her from the sight of their child in so much pain, but his eyes never left Harry's young face. Pain and anger filled his eyes with tears also.
Sirius and the Weasleys stood with their mouths and eyes wide, unable to tear their gazes away as Voldemort continued his speech. While Harry and Ginny stood silently to the side, Harry was watching the reactions of the group, and Ginny was watching him.
Soon enough, James, Lily, and the older Weasley's learned of the plot to return Voldemort to a body and of the Tri-Wizard plot, involving a faithful Death Eater stationed at Hogwarts, to 'assist' Harry along the way and ending in the Portkey to the graveyard. They all watched as Voldemort and his circle of followers turned to the gravestone Harry was tied to.
"Crucio!"
"NO!" shouted Lily and James reaching towards their son. They stopped immediately and turned to the real Harry and they both hugged him tightly. Ginny had stepped back and given the Potter's room.
"Oh Harry! We're so sorry we weren't there," Lily sobbed noisily.
"Now untie him, Wormtail, and give him back his wand. You have been taught how to duel, Harry Potter?"
"How are you supposed to duel him? You were only fourteen!" Percy cried, aghast.
"Yeah, well, when a Dark Lord wants you dead, he doesn't care how old you are. I do believe Harry was only a year old the first time he attacked. The next was eleven, then twelve, now fourteen. The guy really doesn't have a good track record does he?" asked George, attempting to lighten the mood. All he received was glares and a light smack from Bill.
"Bow to death, Harry…I said bow."When Harry was forced into a low bend, George gave him a strange look, as did Percy.
"Why'd you give in, Harry?" asked George.
"You're kidding right?" asked Ron. "He didn't give in; Voldemort used magic and forced him to. How was that not super obvious?" he scoffed. Percy and George had the decency to send Harry sheepishly apologetic looks.
"And now—we duel."
Lily cried out weakly when Harry was hit with another Cruciatus Curse, shaking her head as he buried her face in James' shoulder. Even James looked slightly weak at the knees at the second torture curse. Both we still hanging on to Harry as if he wouldn't be there after the memory was over.
"That hurt, didn't it, Harry? You don't want me to do that again, do you?"
"Fucking bastard," James muttered his face a mask of fury.
"Answer me! Imperio!" Lily gasped as her face shot up. Her eyes wide she stared at her son, who was merely standing still a glazed look on his eyes. James was shaking his head in sadness.
"I WON'T!" This time everyone in the group (besides Sirius, Ron, and Hermione, who already knew what had happened) turned to look at Harry with astonishment.
"You threw off an Imperius from Voldemort himself?" muttered James. Harry opened his mouth to answer but the look of utter pride and awe in everyone's gaze stopped him short.
"You won't?" asked Voldemort in a chilling voice that drew the attention off Harry and back to the memory. Shortly, another torture curse was sent towards Harry but this time he dodged it and dove behind a nearby tombstone. Sirius, George, and Ron all whooped and grinned. As they watched the younger Harry crouched behind the tombstone, they could see the worry, panic, and finally, determination flash across his face as they saw Voldemort stalk towards the tombstone, taunting him to the Death Eater's amusement.
Suddenly, Harry jumped out and shouted the Disarming spell at the same time as Voldemort screamed the Killing Curse.
"Whoa…déjà vu," muttered Ron. Hermione chuckled darkly as did Ginny and Molly.
"Disarming? You're up against the darkest wizard in several decades and you used a Disarming spell?" asked Lily weakly. James also gave Harry a strange look.
"As several people have pointed out tonight, I was only fourteen…besides, the one duelling lesson I had that was the only thing I learned and, well, let's just say it stuck," Harry said sarcastically. Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes.
"What's going on?" asked Percy, who nodded towards the golden bubble surrounding Harry and the Dark Lord as they were lifted off the ground. They all watched as Voldemort commanded his followers to do nothing, and start to panic as their two wands vibrated and spewed golden light. When the Phoenix song started Harry felt his eyes dampen slightly, but he stayed strong between his parents, who had yet to release him from their grip. They all watched in tense apprehension as the bead of light sliding between Harry and Voldemort slowly but surely swung back towards the dark wizard and eventually entered the tip of his wand.
Instantly, they all heard Harry's screams and then a grey hand floated out.
"Priori Incantatem?" muttered James.
"Yeah," said Harry, slightly surprised.
Percy made a noise of surprise when Cedric's smoky body emerged from the wand and spoke to Harry. One by one, more bodies came out and gave their encouragement to the black haired child and hissed their contempt to the Dark Lord. Hermione caught Harry's eye before James' double came out. He sent her a brisk nod as if to remind her to not say anything about what she had discovered about the real James and Lily. That explanation would come later.
James and Lily both gave a sharp intake of air when James's double then Lily's arrived. They watched in confusion as the Lily clone instructed Harry, and then Cedric ask for his body to be returned also.
"I don't understand what…Harry?" Lily said as she looked at her son.
"I'll explain everything we know after the memory," he whispered. Just then, the younger Harry broke the connection and darted towards the body of his classmate. Lily and James tensed as spells were shot at their son but when Harry shouted "Accio!" and the Portkey landed in his hands to whisk him and Cedric's body away they released their breath.
The memory whirled around them all and landed in the mass hysteria of the Quidditch Pitch. Harry had been out of sorts so the memory swirled and flashed short clips and snippets of things he remembered, such as refusing to let go of Cedric's body, and Dumbledore saying to stay put, then Mad-Eye Moody claiming that Harry needed to lie down and pulling Harry away from the crowd. As Harry and Moody entered the school the memory slowly gained more clarity and less swirly-ness and when Moody made Harry drink the Pepper-Up Potion the memory became vividly clear again.
They all watched as Harry discovered the truth about the imposter and watched as the imposter spilled all his secrets like the typical bad guy while the current Harry kept a close eye on the Foe-Glass.
"But…Mad-eye…He's an Auror. He can throw off the Imperius and he…" Percy rambled confusedly.
"That's not Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody," Harry said contemptuously.
As the imposter lifted his wand, a flash of light and a loud bang came from the door to the office and entering the room with wand raised and fury on his face was Albus Dumbledore followed by Professors Snape and McGonagall.
They watched as Dumbledore quickly sent Snape to fetch some Veritaserum and McGonagall to lead Sirius to his office. While they waited for Snape to return, the trunk was unlocked and the real Moody discovered, shortly followed by the Polyjuice potion in the imposter's flask. By the time Snape returned the identity of the imposter was revealed to be Barty Crouch's long thought dead son. They all watched in shock as Barty Crouch Jr. spilled all his secrets for them to hear. As soon as Crouch was finished and Dumbledore was bringing Harry to his office, the memory swirled again and they arrived in the Hospital Wing. Harry was lying on the bed, his eyes slowly opening to the voices around him.
"What has happened?" asked Dumbledore.
"There's no need to stand guard over him anymore, Dumbledore! The Minister has seen to that!" shrieked McGonagall. James winced.
"Uh oh…anything that gets her that irate cannot be good," he muttered.
Once it was clear what Fudge had done and what he refused to believe, James and lily were shaking their heads slowly, anger evident in their taut expressions.
"That rat bastard! Why can't he see what's right in front of his effing face?" cried James.
"He chose his political position over the safety of the people he swore to protect. Typical politician," Lily muttered.
"You are blinded by the love of the office you hold, Cornelius!"
"Got that right," Sirius said darkly.
"Fail to act—and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!" Dumbledore finished. George clapped loudly.
"Hear! Hear!" he said comically.
They watched as Dumbledore handed out tasks and the memory ended after the tender hug Molly Weasley and Harry shared and a bang from Hermione. The group returned to the Drawing room and sat down in silence. Several minutes passed while everyone thought about the incredibly long batch of memories they had just witnessed.
"How did we…come out of the wand?" asked Lily.
"And what exactly was that spell that lifted you off the ground?" asked Molly.
"Well," Harry sighed. "I'll answer Molly first. That spell, Priori Incantatem, will happen when two wands happen to share the same core from the same object. In our case both my wand and Voldemort's shared a Phoenix feather core from Dumbledore's Phoenix Fawkes. When brother wands are forced to duel they connect and the…weaker wand is forced to discharge an echo of the last spells it performed.
"That brings us to mum's question; if you two didn't actually die, why did you come out of his wand? When Hermione was writing up an outline of my life so I could make sure I went in order and was accurate," he gave her a look with a raised eyebrow and she smiled innocently back at him. "She realized a couple anomalies. Like why would my parents come out of the wand if they weren't dead? This is why I was so mad at Hermione for a while."
"You were mad because she made a timeline for you?" asked Lily with confusion.
"Not because she made the timeline, no, because she overstepped her boundaries and went to ask Dumbledore several questions without asking me first. I had said, quite emphatically actually, that I wanted nothing to do with Dumbledore any longer and I didn't want him involved in any aspect of my life. Hermione and I talked and she knows why I reacted like I did."
"But Dumbledore had an answer for why we came out of the wand?" asked James sceptically.
"Yes, though it's a stretch I think," said Harry. "But it's the only explanation we have so…" Harry turned to Hermione, who began to explain,
"He basically thinks that the animals he transfigured to look like you both absorbed your memories before death. So in death, they act like you to a certain extent. He figured that out after we talked about what Harry hears when Dementors get close. He hears his parents' last fight and their deaths, but since you both are still alive we needed an explanation as to why he remembers those things.
"Dumbledore explained that he transfigured two rabbits into your clones. Then he used memories from Harry or you to make sure they acted like you, otherwise he was controlling them to do what he said. Like life sized puppets that could speak in your voices but someone else moved around. But when Voldemort killed the clones, the bodies had absorbed your memories since memories aren't meant to be placed in living creatures that the memories didn't originate from. That's why the clones could act like you two when they exited the wand, because Dumbledore made sure they would act like you before Voldemort killed them," Hermione finished. "They'd only be able to act like you to a limited extent though since they only had a few memories," she added as an afterthought.
This left the group looking only slightly confused and silent again for several moments. Kreacher arrived with a soft pop and spoke urgently.
"Master Harry Potter, young Master Teddy requires you," he said. Harry stood and turned to the group.
"I'll be right back," he muttered before turning to follow Kreacher out to the hallway. He walked quickly up to the nursery and found Teddy crying so hard his little face was red and as Harry picked him up he could feel the heat emanating from the infant.
"Oh, bug, what's the matter? Huh? Why are you crying?" he murmured softly in Teddy's ear. Instantly the baby's cries quieted into whimpers. "What's wrong little man? Kreacher, do you know why he was crying so hard?" Harry asked the elf as he rocked the baby to and fro, patting his back.
"Kreacher does not know, Master. Kreacher has fed, changed, and rocked the young Master but his cries only worsened. Kreacher decided to get Master to help since it has been so long since Kreacher has cared for a young one that Kreacher feels he may be out of his bounds," the elf finished quietly. He cringed for a split second when Harry turned to him.
"Kreacher, I'm not going to punish you, I've told you that before many times now. I don't know what's wrong with Teddy, but I'll keep him with me for a while. I think the memories are done for the night anyways," he said. Teddy had quieted to soft sniffles and the occasional erratic breath by that point and was cuddled to Harry's side, his robes clenched in his tiny fists. "He's been fed and his nappy is clean, right?" he asked. The elf responded affirmatively and Harry picked up a baby blanket and the stuffed wolf from the crib.
"Harry," Tonks said softly. He looked up and saw her red, teary eyes. Remus looked just as upset as his wife. "We tried…we tried singing to him, but nothing helped. I feel so helpless, but so grateful towards you. He stopped crying almost as soon as he was in your arms and now he's nearly asleep again. I know you don't think thanks are necessary, but I do. Thank you Harry," she said with a sad smile. Harry smiled back sadly.
"I'd have been in his life whether you made me his Godfather or not. I'm just glad you did," he finished. "I'll bring him back before I go to sleep. Good night, guys."
Harry slowly walked down to the Drawing room with the baby and as he entered the room the group turned to look at him and George closed his mouth.
"Did I miss something?" he asked casually as he went to his seat.
"I was just explaining to them how you gave Fred and me your winnings to open the shop," George said with a sad smile.
"Oh," Harry said. Molly leaned forward and looked Harry in the eye.
"Harry, you spoiled my boys. I may have disagreed with their choice of work but, Merlin preserve me, they succeeded and I have you to thank for that," she finished with a sad smile.
"I didn't want that money. I tried to give it to Cedric's parents, but they wouldn't take it either. I figured with Voldemort back we would need some laughs in the future and who better to make us all laugh than Fred and George. If it makes you feel better I had to threaten to throw a thousand Galleons down the drain and then hex the both of them before they actually accepted it," he said. Everyone laughed softly.
"Well, I'm beat, I'm going to head to bed," said Sirius. Soon after that the Weasleys and Hermione had all left for their beds as well, once again leaving the Potters in the room by themselves. Teddy was cooing in his sleep softly and Harry was trying not to laugh and jostle the sleeping infant. Lily had switched to the couch to sit next to Harry.
"He's so cute," she murmured.
"He looks cute, but the little bugger's been farting on my arm for the past several minutes," Harry said with a laugh. James snorted.
"You used to do the same thing. Little bundle of cooing cuteness, but deep down you enjoyed farting and spraying me in the face when I changed your nappies," James laughed. Harry gave him a horrified glance but it lost its effect when he snorted and chuckled to himself.
"I'm so proud of you Harry. You've gone through so much in your life, and we don't even know the half of it, and here you are, caring for a child as if none of it happened," Lily trailed off.
"I don't pretend it never happened, I just leave it in the past. If someone brings up something from my past, I deal with it like anyone else. I prefer not to think about it all sometimes, and I'd love to just be able to live a normal life and not have to worry about autographs or Dark wizards hunting me, but I've accepted that this is my lot in life and I'll live through it like I've lived through everything else," Harry finished softly. "I have my friends and now my family as well. As long as I have all of you, I can survive anything."
Lily reached around and hugged her son tightly. "It's hard to believe you're only eighteen, Harry. You act so much older," she whispered forlornly.
"Unless it has to do with his girlfriend, then he's just a normal teenager," James chuckled. Harry and Lily both shot him a look and he shut his mouth but the grin remained.
"Could I ask you guys a question?" he asked nervously. They nodded.
"Erm…Have either of you ever thought of…well, er…havingmorekids?" he finished in a rush and with a blush. Lily stared for a moment and then laughed. Harry's blush deepened.
"Yes, Harry we have thought about it. We wanted several kids before all this happened. Actually, we were trying for another when we went into hiding but once the Fidelius was placed we decided to wait until the war was over to bring another child into this world," she said.
"Because you didn't want another child targeted by Voldemort, or because you didn't want to bring another child into danger?" Harry asked quietly.
"Partly because we knew we, as a family, were being targeted and didn't want to bring another life into danger. But also because we wanted to make sure you were safe. Another child would have drawn our focus off of you a little bit and we wanted you to know you were loved and safe and our only concern. We didn't realize it would be almost twenty years before we had another chance," she added with a half grin. She had meant it to be funny, but the look on Harry's face told her that he had taken the joke at face value.
"I'm sorry you couldn't—"
"It's not your fault Harry. It was our choice to wait and circumstances, out of your control I'll add, forced us to wait even longer. It is not your fault," James said firmly as he sat on Harry's other side.
"Well, now that the war is officially over are you guys going to…try for more kids again?" Harry asked.
"Would you want us to Harry?" asked James.
"Well, I've always wondered what it would be like to have siblings," Harry said with a sheepish grin. "But that kind of thing would be up to you guys. I mean, I don't want you to have more kids just because I want siblings. You'd be the ones raising them and such," he finished quickly.
"We have been thinking about it, Harry. But we wanted to talk to you first to see what your thoughts were. If you hadn't wanted siblings, we wouldn't have tried anymore. We want you to be happy and…if we do end up having more kids we don't want you to feel abandoned or left out since we couldn't raise you ourselves. Do you understand?" asked Lily.
"Kind of, I guess. You're worried that if you have kids and are able to raise them yourselves, I'll feel left out and resentful because you couldn't do that with me, and you'd be worried I'd hate any kids you have because they got you for parents and I had a rough life without you, right?" James and Lily nodded. "But I don't think I would feel too resentful. I've seen your memories of that night and I know you didn't want to leave me and that you were manipulated by that berk Dumbledore. I couldn't hate any of my siblings because their life was good. That would be…very un-brotherly to resent someone because they have parents," Harry finished.
"Well, that's very mature of you Harry, but we're still going to wait a while before we start trying again. We want to know you before we get busy with another child first. Okay?"
Lily said.
"Okay, that sounds reasonable…but don't wait too long," Harry said with a chuckle. James laughed and Lily smiled.
The three spent the next hour talking about James and Lily's life after Hogwarts and before Harry arrived. Finally, after about a hundred yawns they decided to head to their beds. Harry changed Teddy's nappy and set up the monitor spells before falling into his bed.
A/N: I said I wouldn't leave y'all hanging too long! lol I needed a break from Chaucer and democracy class...and psychology...and Drawing homework... Yeah. Lol, I just needed a short break.
Now, I'm very happy with my hit count, but my reviews in comparison to the hit count is a little sad...Not that I'm complaining...But I'm going to leave a little tid bit for the next chapter to temp you all into reviewing...But here goes...
Chapter 56: Of Parenting and Pranks
"I'll clean up in here dad," Ginny said as she picked up the plates and cups from the table. He nodded absently as he picked up the paper and headed towards the living room. Ginny watched her father leave the room then dropped a plate which shattered loudly. Arthur turned around and came back just in time to see Ginny sheepishly repair the plate. He rolled his eyes and headed back to the living room. Ginny followed him discreetly and watched as he passed through the door frame into the room.
With a pop he triggered the spells Ron had quickly applied before breakfast. He'd entered the room and waited for the cue of the broken plate before muttering the trigger word and taking a seat on the sofa to wait. As his dad entered, he schooled his expression until the audible pop, which was his cue to whoop with success. He could hear Ginny doing the same from the kitchen door.
"Right on time!" he shouted. He unspelled the doorframe and Ginny came into the room. They both turned to their father, who was now...
I'm evil, I know it... *grin* Please review! Thanks!