"I think we ought to just strip it down entirely," she mused, tugging at a strip of the fraying wallpaper, watching as it practically disintegrated in her delicate hands.
"Do whatever you want, though I don't know why you care," Sirius shrugged, taking another swig of butterbeer, Lily and Hestia having taken to hiding his copious amounts of Firewhiskey whenever they were around. "Seriously, where did you put it?" he grumbled, pushing himself up off of the seeping couch cushions, throwing the bottle down onto one of the nearby tables as he begun flinging open each and every cabinet he passed by.
"It's not in one of those, is it?" James whispered to her, his eyes still focusing on the dark, dirty paper plastered to the walls ahead of them.
"No, it's not," she responded, with a small grin. "Do you think you have the charm-work down?" she questioned, tugging the wand out of her pocket, twirling it a little in her hand as she waited for his response.
"Shouldn't take too long," he mused. "Just the hall though today, alright?" he made her promise, squeezing her shoulders.
"Fine, ruin my fun," she complained, stomping her foot down as she turned away from him, moving down towards the other end of the hall.
"I am more than enough entertainment to keep you entertained, Potter," he called down to her as they both began doing the charm-work, a smile of satisfaction passing over both of their faces as the walls began stripping themselves down, the pieces peeling into themselves, piling themselves onto the floor in neat piles.
The door whipped open suddenly though, sending the piles of old wallpaper flying into the antique door at the end of the hall. "What on-" James jumped, the sound of slamming filling his ears as the door and the thick paper hit the wall and more cabinet doors flew open as his mate tripped through the house.
The brunette's long locks whipping across her face as she tried to close the door to intense spring winds that were threatening to send the whole of London up into the sky in all of Oz action. James ran, gripping the door with her, both flinging their bodyweights against it, waiting for to hear it click into place.
"Thanks," Hestia sighed, "What in the bloody name is going on in here?" she stammered, slipping out of her flats and dropping her satchel to the ground, practically collapsing herself against the wall.
"Redecorating," Lily informed her, finishing the last of the charm-work before sending the pieces of wallpaper that were scattered like leaves around the dark hall, towards the bin.
Hestia nodded.
"Found it!" Sirius' triumphant yell sounded throughout the house, his yelps continuing on until he returned to the foyer. "What are you doing back here?" he grumbled at the sight of the tired brunette slumped against the wall of the front hall.
She rolled her eyes, sliding back up the wall, until she was at full height once more. "Merlin you're infuriating!" she shouted, grabbing all of her belongings in her arms before stomping her stocking-clad feet down the tarnished wood floors until she reached the stairs where the stomps were heard until the moment they were interrupted by the slamming of her bedroom door on the third floor.
James spun on his heel, his hands flying up to his hair as he looked dumbstruck at his best mate, whose angry expression was still plastered across his face as she continued to stare at the base of the stairs, all the way down the hall.
"What is merlin's beard was that about?" he asked, watching his wife's retreating figure as she took off after her friend. Her quiet knocking heard, three doors below.
Sirius shrugged, walking back into the room from which he had just emerged, moving until he was able to fall back into the couch once more.
"Can I?" he asked, reaching for one of the bottles Sirius had found, grabbing a glass off the cabinet as he did.
"What's mine is yours," Sirius announced. "That woman is infuriating!" he growled. "She comes back here and everything changes but bloody hell she is exactly the same as she was when she skipped out on us! When she left you and Lils-"
"And you-"
"When she just left us all. Never even bothering to check-up, not bothering to care about Harry either," Sirius practically shouted the last bit; Harry's name getting caught in his throat.
James sighed, taking a sip of his drink and exhaling loudly when the burn had finally subsided.
"Harry could've died and she wouldn't have even known if he was alive or dead. She never even knew he was born, and then she came back and he recognized her, and she latched right onto him, not that you can't not want to know that kid of yours, Prongs," Sirius said affectionately, glancing at the photo of him and the young boy from the beach last summer that James and Lily had gifted him with for his birthday the past year. "She comes back, pretending she never left."
"But she did," he said for Sirius.
"She did," Sirius continued, chucking the empty bottle across the room, watching in satisfaction as it shattered upon contact with the black wainscoting. "She met Marls' ex last week," he grumbled after a few moments of silence.
"You're kidding," James gaped, slumping back into the chair in shock. "I didn't know he was still around here, I thought-"
"We thought the same of her," Sirius countered.
"Did she-"
"I didn't want to know."
"You both sound like a couple of school-girls," Lily laughed, slipping into James' lap, reaching for his drink with a smirk when she took notice of his shocked expression. "You should be used to this by now," she told him, taking a sip.
"One would think," he sighed, chuckling.
"She says that you're a stick in her arse," she giggled, as she continued to tell Sirius the tale Hestia had just weaved for her. "Also, that you're blowing things entirely out of proportion about Marls and everything-"
"I've never understood how you can still say her name and sound so happy."
The auburn-girl looked away from her husband who had taken to playing a game of keep-away with his drink, up into the eyes of the dark-haired man who was looking at her rather curiously. James slipped an arm around his wife's waist, tugging her close. "Sirius," she said quietly, "She's still here. Everyone who loves us, no matter what, they never actually leave us. When my mum and dad died, Marls followed me around for months afterwards, always wrote me even when I left for a while with my grandparents. All I have are happy memories of her, so I'm not going to stop feeling happy when I think of her just because she isn't right here."
"Hestia lost her mum last year, and she's still feeling it. She's trying to grab onto anything she can that reminds her of her mum and dad, their life here. Marlene's family, she's known them forever and she went to see him because she needed to—that's all."
"Well I'm a right arse, aren't I?"
The Potter's both chuckled, nodding their heads as they got up off the chair upon which they had been sitting.
"Taking off?"
The three occupants of the living room turned around, facing the brunette's whose long, damp locks framed her pale face. A faint blush was visible on her cheeks as she walked towards Lily, the ladder throwing an arm over her friend's shoulder. "I missed it earlier, I apologize," she said, glancing back at the hall, "Redecorating are we?"
"That's the plan," James confirmed.
"Thank goodness, this place is beyond dreary," she complained with a laugh.
"Oh don't complain, you didn't seem to mind until now," Sirius shot back at her. "If you don't-"
His rant was cut off by a shot of water out of Hestia's wand, soaking his entire up portion.
"Oh now you're done," he hollered at her, rolling up the sleeves of his robes, snatching his own wand off of the coffee table, sending a flurry of dust from the room, soaring on towards her.
"Children!" Lily shrieked, ducking behind James who was immune from the dust, his glasses protecting his eyes unfairly. "You're ruining the- oh never mind, it's already gone," she huffed, backing herself into a corner, only to have a can of paint come flying by, dousing her in the new colour.
James roared with laughter at the sight of his wife, her red hair unrecognizable, though her green eyes bore out at him in a fit of fury as she redirected the still flying paint can onwards towards him.
"James! James?" his name echoed throughout the house, followed by the clanking of silverware against the floor and Sirius' barking orders at the house-elf whose distraught voice was filling the air.
A mad cackling found his ears, accompanied by the continued shattering of glass meeting the wooden floor boards of the main floor. His hands continued to trace the names on the wall of the empty room on the floor above. The frayed wallpaper set something off on him, feeling the scorched marks where an image used to exist; now the only think visible being the wooden boards of the wall beyond.
"James! Did you find them?" Lily's concerned voice called out again, this time from the bottom of the stairs.
The lettering of the name seemed so strange, so incredibly wrong as he ran his fingers over it, tracing each letter that marked his best-mate's name. He felt the edges, taking a step back after a while, still turning about as he read each and every name on the wall. Sirius had never belonged here, never. He thought about how the night Sirius came to him first started, knowing it had ended with his mother in this very room, that beyond frightening woman who he himself had hidden from at countless points when they were disembarking the train at Platform 9 and 3/4.
"There you are," Lily sighed, placing her hand on his shoulder, startling him with her presence. "You're awfully jumpy," she commented. "The paint was in the next room, darling," she teased, holding up the buckets.
"Oh, right," he said distractedly.
"Are you two coming- what are you doing in here?" Sirius asked, his voice dripping with disgust as he grabbed the two of them by their elbows and directed them out of the room, closing the door once they came to the landing.
"Er, I—That the paint then?" James stuttered, "Are we painting the walls or what?" he asked, grabbing the cans from Lily and walking away, down the stairs where Hestia had just started up. "I was wondering where you lot had gone off to," Sirius and Lily could hear her say, following James.
"What was that-?" Lily asked, motioning at the door.
Sirius looked at her, almost pleadingly but her inquisitive look just wouldn't budge. His hand settled on the knob again, twisting it until it unlocked, letting the dim light of the room flood out. He walked till he was directly in front of where James had been standing, his arm outstretched as he pointed at the charred spot just above his name. "My mother did that the night I ran away in fifth year," he explained quickly, "It's the Black family tree."
"I'm glad she did that," Lily said suddenly just as he had grabbed her hand to leave.
He turned around, dumbstruck.
"I just mean, this, despite it making up your DNA-"
"My what?" he asked, taking offence to the three letters she had just uttered in the oddest fashion.
Lily giggled, a laugh that reminded him of many nights that he had spent with her in the Gryffindor common room, talking and listening to her explain potions to him when James was too fed up to do it. Those nights when he first learned about her own family and when he finally mentioned his were some of the most memorable next to the nights he spent out on the full moon with James, Remus and the traitorous rat. "I just meant, you weren't meant to be on that wall with the rest of them," she explained, leading them back down to Hestia and James. "You're a Potter, Sirius," she grinned, standing in the doorway, glancing at him as he watched Hestia and James try to figure out how to charm the paintbrushes.
"That would be you," he smirked, "But I thank-you all the same," he added hastily, "For everything."
She shrugged, smiling as she left his side, running towards James, scaring him when she pinched his sides.
Sirius threw his head back in laughter as he watched the entire contents of the new can of paint explode all over in Lily and James, their play fighting coming to a halt amidst Hestia's manic giggles, the brunette trying to tuck her wand away before either noticed.
"You complete oaf," Lily shrieked, slapping James on the arm.
"Oh I'm the oaf?" his mate protested, picking his wife up in a single swoop and throwing her over his shoulder.
"Yes, you are, and this is just proving my point!" Lily argued, "Now put me down!"
"This can wait," Sirius announced, trying to put a stop to the childish behavior that had erupted. "Hestia! Would you- bloody hell put the paint cans down Jones!"
"Hestia!" Lily shrieked, jumping on her best-friend's back passing on the sticky, dripping mess with the biggest of hugs.
The two girls laughed as they took turns whipping more paint at each other and just about everything else in the room.
"Can you believe your wife had the audacity to call us little schoolgirls earlier?" Sirius chuckled, both of them taking a step back as to avoid more splattering. "Lily, oh come on, Potter," he shrieked when she sent splatters of bright red paint towards him, "These were my favourite robes!"
"I think it's probably time I take her home," James stepped in, reaching for his wife with one arm.
"Oh come on," she protested, "I was just about to win!" she exclaimed when Hestia started shooting her faces behind James' back, the latter not bothering to turn around.
"Go get in the car," James said in his fatherly voice, the one he often reserved for Harry when he wasn't listening.
"Oh hush you," she muttered, as she and Hestia headed out into the dark street, a warm spring night welcoming them, the wind from earlier completely died down whilst they'd been busy inside. "Did they sort everything out for you?" Lily asked Hestia eagerly, leaning against the passenger door as she waited for James to come out.
"I, uh well I wanted to talk with you about that…"
"What, Hest?" Lily asked curiously, her head going wild with thoughts.
"I didn't, well…I…well I didn't go to St. Mungo's…"
"Okay…"
"I went to Diagon Alley before and I, well I realized just being there, being in Flourish and Blotts that when we were at Hogwarts—even you didn't want to go into Potions work Lily, and you were far better at it than I ever was," Hestia explained, pacing. "I went to the Prophet, I got a job there."
"Sorry bout that. Ready to go, love?" James apologized, jogging down the steps. "What did I just come into?" he asked, stopping himself short of the two women, the look on his wife's face being one he could not quite place.
"I should go back inside, help Sirius clean up and all," Hestia said quickly.
"Hestia," Lily stopped her, grabbing her wrist. Tugging, she pulled her into a tight hug. "Congratulations, I'm proud of you," she smiled, holding her friend at arms lengths.
"You're such a mum," Hestia said, smirking. "See you both soon," she bid the both of them goodnight, walking across the street, wrapping her shawl around her before walking up the last few steps, waving before disappearing behind Sirius who was still stood at the door waving at Lily and James as they climbed in their car.
"Why do we still drive this thing?" James teased, sliding the key into the ignition and putting the car into drive. He listened as Lily laughed in the seat next to him, pulling in her seatbelt as he turned the corner, taking them the long way back to Knightsbridge. She reached for his hand, leaving him with one hand to steer this contraption they called a car, the thing that seemed like a dragon roaring to life every time they started it up. "I think we ought to go to the- what did you call the place we got this thing again?"
"The dealership?" she laughed, running her fingers through his hair as he turned onto A201.
"Hey, stop that," he grumbled, swatting away her hand. "I didn't grow up with these contraptions!"
"Alright, alright," she sighed, holding her hands up in defeat. "We can go when Harry gets back, he has so much fun testing the salesmen when we go on the test drives," she recalled fondly, thinking of the last instance that they took him out with them when they were discussing the idea not too long back.
"You and Harry both," James said blatantly, laughing when his wife fell silent, pouting in the seat next to him. "Only how many weeks now?"
"Gryffindor's final match is…"
"Next Weekend right?"
"I think… I've lost track," she sighed, rubbing her temples. "Five weeks or so? Does that sound about right?"
"Bloody hell that's a long time," he gasped.
"It'll be summer soon enough, darling," she told him, watching as they sped by the Thames, her eyes watching the lights as they passed on by. "Then it'll be endless moments of sunlight and swimming, and getting Ice Cream at that place near Piccadilly."
"Not to mention the coast," he reminded with a grin, "Has he written back about Ron and Hermione's parents?"
"Not yet," she sighed, "I'll write to remind him when he sends Hedwig back with his next letter-"
"If he ever sends him back that is," James laughed. "Our son is horrid at the art of letter writing, much less the art of letter sending."
Hermione sat anxious in her seat next to Dean Thomas, waiting for Professor Flitwick to finish handing out the assignments for the end of term project. Harry and Ron sat behind her, Harry snickering at whatever Ron had written down in the corner of his notebook.
"Would you both be quiet?" she whispered at them before quickly turning around.
"What's got her wand in a knot?" Ron asked Harry who shrugged, scribbling something back just as the Professor climbed up to his podium.
"Now class, to conclude this term I am assigning a group project that will consist of a pair of you conducting research in the library which will end with you displaying what you learn to the class at the end of the term," he explained, "The papers being passed out now outline what is expected of each of you, as a pair and individually. This assignment will help you prepare for the end of the year examinations. Each of your partners is assigned on the page you will be receiving."
Ron's notebook slammed shut when the parchment landed on his desk, the sound alerting Hermione, causing her to turn around and stifle a laugh at the panicked expression on the boy's face. Harry smirked as well, having been half-listening to the Professor, therefore having heard the part when he had mentioned the passing out of the assignment.
"If you had been paying attention, Ronald, you wouldn't have been so spooked," Hermione noted for him, giggling as she turned around to read over the assignment for the second time.
"Who'd you get?" Ron asked, after noting the name on the top corner of his page.
"Terry Boot," Harry said, looking around the class until he found the boy who waved back at Harry when he raised his hand in acknowledgement.
"Look at him wave like he and the rest of them weren't helping spread rumors about you a few months back," Ron muttered.
Harry shrugged, turning back to Ron. "Can't do anything about it now, they seem to have gotten over it anyways, which is too bad considering we never got the chance to scare them with it," he said, smirking.
Ron couldn't help but smirk at this too. "Too bad, really, could've scared them worse than Malfoy the day we were in the Forbidden Forest first year."
"I would have given a galleon to see their faces had you done that, Harry," Hermione grinned, slamming her book bag down on their desk. "You did notice that class had ended right?" she asked, laughing once more at their startled expressions.
"Do you have to do that every class?" Ron complained, stuffing his notebook in his Charms textbook then shoving that too into his rucksack.
Harry listened to their ongoing banter, throwing his bag over his shoulder and following them out of the class. The halls were filled to the brim with students lollygagging to their last class of the day. The noise echoed down the halls, making it hard to hear not only Ron and Hermione, though Harry was a little thankful for that, but thanks to it he wasn't able to hear Katie Bell until the moment she slammed into him.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Harry, Wood would have killed me had I injured you," she apologized, offering him a hand.
"Probably," he agreed, brushing off his robes and settling his rucksack back on his back.
"I've got to run, Potions next and all, but Angelina wanted me to tell you that Wood has us scheduled for the pitch right after class. He tried to arrange it with McGonagall so that we could get out of class earlier but no word yet, not that I'd be able to get out with Snape teaching and all," Katie rambled.
"No, probably not," he agreed.
"Alright, well I've got to run, Leanne's waiting for me. See you at practice, Harry," the girl called, taking off again down the hall. "Don't forget your ears," she teased loudly, turning the corner and disappearing from sight.
"Another practice?" Hermione asked when he caught up with her and Ron a little ways down.
"They need to win, Hermione," Ron exclaimed excitedly, "It's only the match that's going to determine the Quidditch Cup!"
Harry grinned at his best-mate's excitement.
"Charlie is coming down to watch with dad," Ron informed Harry as they walked onwards towards Transfiguration. "Dad's told him all about your playing," he added.
"Aren't your mum and dad coming down as well?" Hermione asked, turning to Harry and walking backwards in the door.
"Supposed to – Hermione!" both he and Ron shouted at the same time, extending their arms in hopes of catching her before she tumbled backwards, potentially hitting her head on the leg of the desk. Her hand caught onto Ron's sweaty one, grabbing onto Harry's just as her grasp was about to slip from Ron's.
"Thanks," she said, breathlessly, collecting her things from the floor.
"Should really watch where you're going mudblood," Vincent Crabbe snickered, earning him a clap on the back from Malfoy who was seated directly next to him.
"Detention, Mr. Crabbe," McGonagall announced, making her presence known behind the trio. "Would you like to join him as well, Mr. Malfoy?" she questioned when the blonde Slytherin began protesting, "Wipe that smirk off of your face Mr. Weasley," she said, a little quieter as she passed through the Golden Trio, who quickly followed, taking their seats nearer the front of the class.
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall addressed him a little while after they had begun working on the day's assignment and Hermione was well underway with her assisting Ron who seemed content to let her do the work. "You have been given special permission to leave today's lesson early, please pack up your things. I'm sure Miss. Granger will have no problem assisting you should you need it when you complete your work later this evening, seeing as she seems doubly capable. Mr. Weasley," he heard her starting as he took off out the room.
"Potter, get moving," Wood called from the end of the corridor, stalking towards the young seeker. "We need everyone down on the pitch. Your stuff is already down there-"
"How-?"
"Now we need to work on a few more plays for this Saturday's match against Ravenclaw. Last year they almost had us, but this year, this year we will get them where it hurts. The mental game is going to be vital to winning this match, that goes for you too," he informed Harry as the younger boy jogged to keep in pace with him. "You'll have to be smarter, and better than their seeker. You'll have to keep an eye on the snitch like always, only you'll have to time your capturing of it precisely."
"Right," Harry nodded.
"There you lot are," Wood barked, quickening his pace the moment his eyes set on the Weasley twins who, to Harry appeared to be moving at a regular pace but apparently to Wood were moving like one of the many snails surrounding Hagrid's Hut. "We have a small window of time to get these plays figured out," he growled, leading the way into the team's changing rooms where Alicia and Angelina were tying up their boots. "Where's Bell?"
"Potions with Snape," Harry piped up, grabbing his gear from the hooks. "Said she'd probably be late, if he even let her out."
Wood seemed to consider this, strutting over towards the play board.
The team dressed in silence, for the most part, minus a few instances where the Weasley's tried to make a joke about the silence and the dictator who seemed to have taken over their team but stopped when Angelina sent daggers their way.
"Harry, you'll take Katie's spot for practice until she shows up," Oliver announced finally, when they all waited with brooms in hand in the entranceway to the shoot. "Practice won't officially start till she takes the pitch, but that doesn't mean we won't be out there practicing just as hard as we would if the entire roster was here, alright?"
"This should be fun," Alicia grumbled, mounting her broom ahead of Harry and the twins and taking off towards her starting position.
"Let's get this over with then," Fred began.
"Shall we?" George concluded.
"Come on," Harry agreed, taking off towards the clearing sky.
Spring had come with unexpected warmth, bringing with it the highland's longtime, yet rarely seen acquaintance. The sun shone down brightly over the Hogwarts grounds, casting its rays over the pitch whose empty stands sat empty, only the crisp flapping of the house coverings over them providing the noise which would be echoed and amplified by many in just under a couple of hours.
A kaleidoscope of colours splayed out across the flagstone and along the wooden benches of the chaotic ancient room that was filled to its brim with eager students and nervous players sitting down to the final meal before the Quidditch house cup.
"Looks like you won't be needing these today," Hermione pointed out, picking up Harry's goggles he had brought down at the crack of dawn.
"It didn't look nearly as bright out then," he responded, taking them off the table and tying them onto his belt loop.
Ron chuckled, stopping himself from spraying his pumpkin juice all over the table. "No doubt because you wandered around for the better part of the morning without your glasses," he reminded, still laughing as he reached for another serving of bacon.
Hermione turned her head away in disgust, not willing to subject herself to yet another example of the boy's poor table manners. "Honestly, you'd think your poor mother sent you to live with the cows," she grumbled, picking up the copy of the Prophet again.
"How you feeling there, Potter? Is mummy coming so she can fix your arm when you fall off your broom again? How many times is that now, Goyle?" Draco sneered as he and his band of goons stopped just short of the trio.
The brown-haired girl rolled her eyes, slamming the paper down on the table, causing the utensils to pop and poor Neville's plate to tumble, shattering on the ground.
"At least Harry hasn't cowered away from the game because he had the wind knocked out of him in the first match, Malfoy," Ron jumped up, cutting Hermione off from whatever witty comeback she had formulated in her head since the moment his voice disrupted her reading.
"Go back to your own table, Malfoy," Fred and George warned, coming up on either side of the Slytherin boys. "You're missing out on the party they seem to be- oh no, do you see that Fred?"
"Oh I see it alright-"
"Does it look-?"
"Definitely appears to be-"
"They're beating themselves up over there, Fred-"
"You're right, George, and all because their top of the line brooms didn't buy them a to the top two."
"How terribly awful," Hermione said, her voice dripping with false sympathy.
"Shut-up, Mudblood," he spat at her.
"Get a new insult already," Hermione challenged.
"Better get a move on then, boys, wouldn't want to miss a chance to get a shiner from Flint-"
"Hear he's the expert after all."
"Crabbe. Goyle," Malfoy barked back at his goons, continuing to send vicious glares over his shoulders as the three of them strut back to their table, eventually slumping into their seats.
"Wood wants everyone in the entrance hall in twenty," Angeline Johnson was quick to inform them on her way past. "Nice job by the way," she added with a grin to Fred, "Boy needs to be put in his place every now and then."
"Well go on then," George said with a wicked grin, nodding his head towards the girl's retreating figure.
"See you lot down at the pitch then," the twins chided. "Harry," They nodded before getting on their way.
"I'm related to them and I still don't know how they manage to time themselves like that," Ron grumbled, reaching for a piece of toast.
Hermione and Harry shrugged.
"It's frightening how like Sirius, Remus and my dad they are," Harry shuttered, trying to rid his head of the possibility of the five of them ever ganging up.
"Is Remus going back to London for the summer?" Ron asked curiously, "It wouldn't be nearly as fun if he didn't, but then again-"
"You could just ask him yourself, Ron," Hermione informed him, motioning towards where the Professor in question was making his way down from the head table, coming towards them. "Hello, Professor Lupin," she greeted, grabbing herself a spot of breakfast as she did.
"Hermione," he greeted in return, a smile on his face as he placed his hands in his slack pockets, "Ron, Harry. Ready for today's match?"
"About as ready as I'll ever be," Harry said nervously. "Mum and dad sitting with you again?"
Remus nodded with a grin. "I suspect that is their plan, although you'll have to ask them yourself," he said, indicating towards the entrance hall where four figures stood, Lily and James included.
"Do you think you could save some room for my brother and my dad, Professor?" Ron asked, after Harry had gotten up with Hermione to go greet his parents.
"Which brother?" Remus asked, accompanying the young lad out of the bustling hall.
"Champ!" James' voice could be heard calling as he picked up Harry, crushing him in an embrace.
"Charlie, he used to play for Gryffindor when he was here," Ron said, "He lives in Romania now though, he works with Dragons on a reserve."
"Not that it was even a question, Ron, but I look forward to meeting your brother when he and your father arrive," Remus smiled at the boy, placing a hand on his shoulder just as they arrived just short of the Potters and Hermione. "Where have Sirius and Hestia gone off to?" he smirked, greeting Lily with a kiss on the cheek and James with a firm handshake which led way to one of their typical embraces.
Lily shook her head in what he could only assume was frustration, James laughing a little at her response. She turned back to Harry and Hermione and Ron who had captured her attention, dragging her away from the entrance hall, or Harry was at least.
"They're probably off fighting again," James, informed him, "They've been at each other's throats for weeks."
"Sirius was most certainly right then when he said absolutely nothing had changed about her then," Remus mused, "Mind going on a walk towards my quarters? I thought it inappropriate to show my house spirit too ahead of the match, being a professor and all," he added with a professional grin.
"Don't mind a bit, especially as I have seemed to misplaced my family," he said; searching down the halls they passed.
"I haven't a clue as to where those three dragged Lily off to," he admitted.
"We shall find out soon enough," James responded, unconcerned. "Granted that she comes back in one piece, you never know with those three…"
"No, no you don't," Remus laughed, thinking back to the many moments he had shared with those three in the past years.
"Speaking of, is that son of mine behaving?" James asked in what Remus could only assume was his stern, fatherly voice. "Because if not, there shall be a stern talking to, once the match is over though…"
Remus shook his head in amusement, giving the password for his private chambers. "He's doing perfectly well, quite adept at all the material. He has your aptitude for it, and Lily's…it's hard to tell, though I often think it is you and I've gone back to second year when I see him in the practical's," Remus admitted, pulling his Gryffindor gear out of his trunk. "Do you think it's too excessive?" he asked once he had pulled the lot of it on.
James chuckled, "No, not at all. I've got my old jersey on underneath this," he admitted, unzipping his windbreaker just a bit to reveal with red and gold of Gryffindor's past. "My scarf is in Lils' bag, wherever she is."
"Alright then, set to go," Remus said, draping the scarf over his neck and tugging on his old house shirt before grabbing a set of robes to keep out the slight chill from the wind off the Fjord.
"So he's really doing alright?"
Remus nodded. "In most classes so I hear, though Severus still finds room to complain," he said with distaste. "Flitwick is a fan of your son's, though that may have to do with Lils, I'm sorry to say."
"Don't be, I would never dream of denying her brilliance in the field," James said proudly. "Speaking of, I hope she has been freed, Harry should be in the locker room with the team by now I would suspect," he said a while later when they were jogging down the hill towards the pitch in the mass of students eager to find their place in the stands.
"Sorry Professor Lupin," multiple students apologized when they bumped into him and James on their way up the stairs, though many more greeted him with smiles, especially the Gryffindor's who cheered louder at the sight of his house pride.
"You're going to miss the match if you stay down there much longer!" a voice called out to them from above.
"We've been waiting for you!" Remus shouted back before ducking into the stairwell after James who was already a quarter of the way up to the student level. He walked into the stands, keeping his eyes on his mate who greeted his wife with a kiss before ruffling both Ron and Hermione's hair, turning to Arthur Weasley not moments after once he had managed to get past a group of kids.
"Where did you get whisked off to?" he asked Lily of the roar of Gryffindor house.
"Nowhere in particular, though we did go back into the Gryffindor common room so Ron and Hermione could grab Dean's poster off the wall for him, they really just talked my ear off until, well until Ron spotted his brother and father with Ginny out on the grounds," Lily smiled, "Speaking of which, have you met Charlie?" she asked, leading him through the crowded stand to where the second-eldest Weasley brother stood with his younger sister.
"Charlie, this is my good-friend, Remus Lupin," Lily introduced the two, "He's the current Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."
"Charlie Weasley, proud ex-Gryffindor," Charlie greeted with a wide grin, "Not unlike yourself I see."
"Is there another house?" Remus chuckled, falling into conversation with the dragon enthusiast who had taken to hoisting his sister up onto his shoulder's when the announcer came onto the mic.
"Just going to hang out down here then?" James asked, coming up behind her, reaching to lift the bag over her bag so he could gain access to his scarf inside.
"I would have grabbed it for you," she told him, fixing her hair after he had pulled it over successfully. "I think I'm going to stay down here, it's like being back in Hogwarts again, the excitement is contagious," she said, though she said it as though she was asking for his permission.
"I'm good with it," he stopped her, looping it around his neck, but deciding seconds later it would look better on her.
"As if one wasn't enough," she teased, pulling it tighter.
"Never," he smirked, throwing his arm around her shoulders, just as the Gryffindor team was being announced, both of them screaming at the top of their lungs when Harry's name was loudly announced by Lee Jordan who had already been berated multiple times by their former head of house.
"Madam Hooch has taken to the-"
"Hey there you lot are, we were waiting up in the box," Sirius exclaimed, pushing through the students, Hestia following suit, though her manner was much nicer than his.
"Change of plans," James announced, hushing Sirius afterwards from any further thoughts just as Lee announced that the Quaffle's had been released and the match was underway.
Lily and James both snuck glances at their son's positioning in between plays and loud cheers both times the chasers had put the quaffle away.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Sirius applauded copious times when Wood managed to stop a particularly hard shot.
Harry watched as Wood made a well timed kick of the quaffle, sending it into Angelina's outstretched arms before she took off into the beginning stages of their play they had taken to calling the 'lion', as unoriginal as it was. He stayed well over head of the pitch, diving down every once and a while as to feel a part of the action before resuming his place high in the sky. The little flutter of the shiny gold wings failed to escape his notice, diving in and out of his vision every now and then, but it wasn't time. The score, though in their favor wasn't enough to allow them to win the cup. Wood shot him curative glances every now and then, the twins shooting a bludger his way every now and then, especially when the Ravenclaw seeker was near, falling for Harry's many traps he had taken to setting, more for his own amusement than anything else.
Down in the stands he could hear his housemate's roars each time the quaffle was put away in their favor. He spotted Ginny on her brother's shoulders, Ron and Hermione standing in front of them, though jumping would have been a better term to describe their positions. Ron held up one end of Dean's sign he had made, the four other boys he shared a dorm with all working to support it, their movements causing the Lion depicted to appear as though it was waving.
"Another point for Ravenclaw!" Lee Jordan's voice sounded out over the disappointed groans of the Gryffindor's. "That makes it 70 to 50 for Gryffindor!"
"Bell has the quaffle-" he continued on.
"Potter!" Wood hollered, waving frantically for Harry to come down.
"If they put away another two you're free to get on, alright?" Wood told him, once Harry was in much closer proximity as to ensure the hovering Ravenclaw seeker couldn't overhear their conversation.
"On it," Harry agreed before flying off, taking a detour over the house stands, yet another one of his fake-outs.
"Johnson passes to Spinnet, who makes a toss, Bell intercepts and puts it away," Lee announced excitedly, McGonagall's own excitement not forgotten when her own triumphant yells could be heard over the microphone.
"One more, just one more," Harry muttered, swerving this way and that high above the pitch.
"Honestly I still haven't a clue as to why he's up so high," Hestia muttered to Lily who shrugged, waiting for Sirius or James to interrupt as always, it being their area of expertise.
"He's able to see the entire match up there, without distraction," Sirius explained, "I'd be up there too if I could…"
"Oh bugger off," she grumbled, shuffling a ways away from him.
"Sirius," Lily said threating. "This has to come to an end, it's ridiculous."
"I'll stop when she finally admits it," he protested.
"Admits what, I'm still lost as to what you both are on about," Lily asked, her voice sounding entirely drained, annoyed by this repetitive conversation.
"Shhh," James groaned, reaching his hand that had previously been rested on his wife's shoulder to slap his best mate before covering his wife's mouth. He chuckled a little when she tried to bite him, moving onto licking his hand when it seemed as though he would not give up. "You honestly think I'm disgusted by you licking my hand?" he teased, though relenting and removing his hand as he asked.
"Ten points for Gryffindor!"
"That'll put them up forty now," James and Sirius resumed calculating, having pulled out pads of parchment and pencils each time either team scored. "Harry has been up there, Hest, because he's waiting for a certain point in the match to go after the snitch," James informed her, the girl nodding in understanding, finally. "He's trying to spot it now, and the other seeker is sticking with him, expecting him to find it-"
"He's counting on his broom's speed, and his own weight to put him ahead of Harry when the time comes," Sirius continued on.
"I just wish I could see the snitch when he's actually chasing it," Lily admitted, "It drives me mental not knowing how close he is to capturing it."
"Or not," Hestia suggested, earning her three very intense glares. "Alright, alright, never mind. Forget I muttered the thought."
Harry scanned the pitch, increasing the span of his movements as he did, hoping to cover as much ground as possible in as little time. A small glare from just above one of the staff stands caught his attention, though almost mistaken as a particularly sharp ray of sunlight. He made his way, though tried to be discreet as possible about it.
He wasn't but two meters away from it, his speed having increased immensely, and the Ravenclaw seeker not far behind, maybe only a few inches when he heard Lee's voice announce another point for Ravenclaw.
"Keep on it, Harry!" he could just hear his father holler from the stands below.
He shot forward again, forcing himself to tune out all the noise and Lee's voice, determined to catch the snitch to at the very least win this match, even if the cup was out of their grasp. Inching forward on his broom, he shot up in a flip like fashion before falling backwards; redirecting his broom downwards, back onto the snitches' path. He brought his one leg up, pushing him forward just a little bit more, the snitches delicate wings propelling it forward just tickling the tips of his fingers. "Come on," he muttered, over and over again, leaning forward centimeter by centimeter until his hand was hovering overtop of the shiny, whizzing snitch, his hand encompassing it just in time for him to be able to look up and notice he was but a few feet away from the ground.
"That was almost tragic," Hermione muttered, while the rest of the stadium stood standing in complete silence.
Lily stood with her hands over her mouth in shock, bouncing anxiously on her one leg as she waited for some sort of reaction from anyone, though most of all her husband who appeared petrified along with Sirius, frozen in their reactions.
"Harry Potter has caught the snitch," Lee's voice announced very quietly over the system. "Harry Potter has caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins the cup!"
He watched, still flying onwards towards the middle of the pitch, as the snitch neatly tucked its wings back into its spherical form. He passed the snitch off to Madam Hooch who was waiting a few paces ahead of the rest of his team.
"Congratulations, Potter," the witch said, dropping down to place the snitch neatly back in it's spot in the Quidditch trunk.
"Exactly as we planned Potter!" Wood exclaimed the moment Harry looked up at his teammates.
"Sorry I- what?" he stuttered, completely oblivious as to what had just happened. "We lost the cup!" he exclaimed suddenly, anger apparent in his voice. "Three hour match and we lost," he grumbled, tossing his broom aside.
"What're you talking about, Harry?" Alicia asked, laughing as she separated herself from Angelina and Katie who until that point had been jumping joyously. "You and Katie won us the cup!"
"Ho-"
"She put the quaffle away just seconds before you caught the snitch, mate," Fred exclaimed.
"Brilliant job with their seeker by the way," George added as they hoisted him up on their shoulders; Katie was up with him, sitting on Angelina's and Alicia's shoulders.
"Going to be keeping Pomfrey company for the next few days at the very least," Wood laughed, joining the celebrations.
"We won the cup? We won the cup!" Harry said, before hollering it loudly for all to hear.
"Go, go Gryffindor! Go, go Gryffindor!" was all that could be heard around the celebrating team, the entire house screaming at the top of their lungs when Madam Hooch cut through the crowd to present Wood with the trophy, which after a few moments he handed off to Katie and Harry to hold up above their heads for all to see.
"Please tell me you brought my camera," James asked, fumbling through Lily's satchel until he felt the cool metal of the lens against his skin.
James turned the camera on, zooming it in until he was able to capture the entirety of the Gryffindor team in the photo, his son's brilliant, over excited, triumphant smile lighting up the entire frame in and of itself. "We're framing that as soon as we develop it," he announced, slinging the camera's lanyard around his neck.
"I'll make some potion for you tomorrow," Lily assured him, grinning and waving when Harry spotted them, his face lighting up and shaking the trophy, in case they had failed to notice it earlier.
"I think my house spirit made all the difference," Remus teased, coming up behind them. "So you're the photographer of the family?" he asked upon noticing the camera hanging around his friend's neck, "I always thought it was Lily, though it would explain why there are so many of you now, Lils."
"You thought I was self-obsessed? Gee thanks, Remus," Lily sighed, feigning hurt.
The Professor chuckled. "It's always nice to see civilized teams in such tight games," he commented upon noticing the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw teams making their way towards one another, Wood toning his excitement down as he reached out for the Ravenclaw captain's hand.
"Nice match," all the players congratulated one another, Harry going so far as to run to catch up and apologize to the other seeker who was being escorted out of the stadium by Madam Pomfrey.
"Dad, mum!" he yelled, running straight at them on the way back. "We won!" he yelled, giving both his parents a tight hug.
"Incredible match, sweetheart," Lily said, the widest of grins spreading across her face as she leaned down a little ways to plant a kiss in his forehead that Harry promptly wiped away, making the adults laugh.
"Harry!" Ron, Hermione, Neville, Dean, and Seamus hollered, running at the group, the sign still dancing above their heads.
Lily and James watched on proudly as Harry's friends all congratulated him, messing up his hair and tackling him as they did. "Gryffindor, Gryffindor!" they all started chanting when similar cries could be heard emerging from the center of the pitch.
"Come on," Sirius said, directing the adults away, "Let them have their celebrations. You'll see him in a few more weeks, Prongs…"
"Interested in coming to see Rosmerta with us?" Hestia asked, taking Remus' arm. "Surely you can be spared for the remainder of the afternoon at the very least," she tried to persuade him as the five of them made their way off of the pitch.
"Did you enjoy the match, Charlie?" Lily asked as she and James came up to Arthur and his son.
"Very much," the boy grinned, shouting back every now and again as they made their way towards the school gates, cheering on the winning team that it appeared was just making their way towards the locker rooms. "Suppose they're off to the party of a lifetime?" he asked James, falling into step next to the older man, whilst his wife kept his father occupied.
"If not, I'll be sending the whole lot of them howlers," James said.
"I'll never forget the first party the house had when I was on the team," Charlie recalled fondly. "It was about as thrilling as my first trip to the reserve was."
"How is Romania?"
"Brilliant, our Ukrainian Ironbelly's egg just hatched and my boss is letting me do a direct study with the new addition," he explained proudly, "It's the first one of it's species the Sanctuary has had hatch in a number of years now. Its mum was sent to our Sanctuary from another one in the east, so this will be the first opportunity of this kind in Romania, or in this part of the globe for that matter."
"I take it you were more than a fan of Care of Magical Creatures, then when you were here?"
"Some might say," Charlie grinned, "It's a rather fascinating field of work, see dragons they are brilliant creatures, their minds in many regards is far more advanced than that of a human, especially when you get into their protective modes. The testing that we do on the sanctuary as part of the study portion is rather fascinating…" Charlie continued, doing rather excessive actions as he went on to describe the processes behind each of the studies.
"Seems as though Charlie is doing rather well in Romania," Lily remarked as Arthur and herself followed on behind the others down the path. "How does Molly feel about having him home for a couple of weeks?"
Arthur grinned, "We're ecstatic, though I believe she would have preferred if he had been able to time his visit with the rest of the children's homecoming for the summer. She misses having them all at home for extended periods of time, though I suspect when your turn comes around, only having the one and all," Arthur teased. "Have you heard much from Harry, or any of those three from that matter?"
"No, not often enough," Lily admitted, "That reminds me, did Ron ever write you and Molly regarding a stay with us towards the end of the summer? When my parent's passed I inherited a cottage on the Heritage Coast out on your end. We have taken Harry up there every year we've gotten a chance, but we thought it might be nice to have Ron and Hermione as well, Ginny would be more than welcome to come. I suspect Hermione needs a girl's company every once and a while."
"I'll have to discuss it with Molly but I don't see how that would be a problem," Arthur said. "We'll send a letter Ginny's way, see what she thinks of it all, though I believe that after the year she has had she would more than welcome a new place to get away for a few moments."
"Is she doing better?"
"Much," Arthur smiled softly, though his eyes could not hide his sadness at reliving the thoughts of the past year.
"Lils!" James called from the bar in the pub, the entrance that through Lily and Arthur had just passed.
"Just a butterbeer, darling," she called over her shoulder, making her way to the corner booth where the rest of the group had taken up as base.
"Lily, right here," Hestia practically pleaded, making room for her petite best friend. "I can't sit here alone without you for more than a second more, no offense Charlie," she added quickly after earning a smirk from the young lad.
"None taken," the boy chuckled before turning to resume his conversation with Remus and Sirius who had appeared to taken a liking to the boy.
"A butterbeer each for the ladies," James announced, placing a couple of glasses in front of the ladies, "Firewhiskey for Sirius and myself, Remus and Arthur your mead and an exploding lemonade for Charlie, Rosmerta asked me to pass this on," he added, sliding a piece of parchment forward, "Apparently you are advised to read it before drinking," he said with a nervous laugh.
Arthur shook his head, "Ever the adventurer, Charlie," he chuckled.
"Right then, well grab your glasses," James said, rushing to take a seat next to his wife. "To Gryffindor and winning the Quidditch cup!" he declared.
"To Gryffindor!"
So I'm sorry. Terribly sorry. I'm going back into hiding, but not actually, I've gotten over the major writers block that I've had, all summer long.
Yes I understand it's not summer anymore. I'm sorry. Please review if you don't hate me too much.
And to those new to the story who have asked how often I update, I try for at least once a month, or more, but I'm not consistent enough, and for that, again, I'm sorry.