I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.

Extended Family

Chapter 104 – Fishing Frenzy

Takes place after chapter 93.

The sun was rising and it already promised to be a very hot day. A light breeze blew, keeping the temperature from feeling oppressive or sweltering. The creek looked cool and inviting in comparison, the greenery around looked vibrant, soaking in the warming sunlight.

"This is one of our favorite fishing spots around the village," Harry said, setting down a few stools and chairs with a flick of his wand. "The creek is broad here with lots of deeper holes and crannies, lots of places for fish to hide and feed."

"It's a good mix of still water and moving water," Oliver agreed. "So there's always some fish here no matter what."

"Looks nice," Moody agreed. He set down a cooler and sat on one of the stools. "Lots of shade spots and sunny spots. What do you usually catch here?"

"We've caught dace, bream, and lots of trout here," Harry said. "Pike too but they're a bit hazardous sometimes. Carp and eel too." Harry handed Moody a fishing rod. "We throw back the smaller ones of course but we catch and eat what we can."

"Sounds good to me," Moody said comfortably. He raised an eyebrow. "She looks like she means business."

"Tracy's nemesis lives in these waters," Oliver grinned.

Tracy finished rewrapping the leather grip around her fishing rod and pulled on her gloves tightly. "I'm going to catch him today. I swear it!"

"I feel like there's a lot of history," Moody chuckled.

"He's a bastard of a pike," Tracy growled. "He steals my bait all the damn time and tangles my line in the rocks and roots. One time, I got a small trout and was reeling it in and the finned fuck eats the trout right off my hook!"

"I like her," Moody smiled while Harry and Oliver chortled.

"And they won't let me use my wand on him," Tracy sniffed, giving Harry and Oliver the salute.

"That defeats the point," Oliver snorted.

"I said you could the last time," Harry protested.

"No, I'll do it legit," Tracy said. "And a wand would be too fast." She baited her hook and threw the line in, eyes watching the bobber with intense concentration. "Come on out bitch," Tracy said in a sing-song tone, "I'm going to catch you this time. Justice has come for you!"

Moody chuckled more and handed out small bottles from the cooler. "Here, have some of this stuff."

"Ooh, I like it," Oliver said, taking a sip. "What is it?"

"Hefeweizen, a German beer. Mostly wheat." Moody took a pull of his own bottle. "It's got a lighter taste to it."

"Not sure if I should be drinking this early in the day," Harry smiled.

"It's a lighter beer," Moody said, waving his hand.

Harry sipped. "I'll pace myself. Oh this is really good, more crisp and fruity. Probably go great with a sandwich." Time passed pleasantly as they fished. "You're looking a lot better, Alastor."

"I feel better," Moody said. "Healer Bell said I did much better with my rehab and I even regained some loss from past injuries." He tapped his bottle against Harry's. "You have my sympathies lad, by the way."

"What for?" Harry tilted his head in confusion.

"She's got a way of looking at you that makes you feel guilty if you don't listen to her," he snorted. "I haven't felt like a kid in decades and yet I feel like I was filching from the biscuit jar when she gives me that look."

Harry laughed heartily. "Oh yeah, she's thrown that look at me a few times. I retaliate in kind though and Dally's great at being my shield, now Rilly too. Katie doesn't do that. She just pokes me when she disapproves."

"She's got a good heart though," Moody grunted.

"Yeah she does, all the Bell women do," Harry said proudly.

"And your cousin is Natalie, right?" Moody asked Oliver.

"Yeah she is," Oliver said proudly. "My cousin on my father's side."

"She's a good Auror," Moody said. "Reliable."

"Always has been," Oliver smiled. "She's my favorite cousin and she loves Hadley and Melanie. Though when I asked if she's ready to have kids too she tied my legs together and hung me off a tree branch." His laughter joined the others. "She's married to her job for the moment, so she says."

Moody shook his head. "Nothing wrong with that. Oi, lass, your hook is drifting into a pit," he called out. He tapped his eye at her look of questioning.

"Oh thanks! Say, do you see the pike down there?"

"Depends, what does it look like?"

"Ugly bastard, greenish-blue flanks and a snaggle jaw. Bigger than the other pike."

Moody looked over the waters. "I see some pike over there." He pointed at a spot in the creek. "Lots of thick grasses underwater there. There's a few moving about and it's hard to focus on one."

"Thanks! I'm coming to get you!" Tracy threw her line towards where Moody pointed.

"Isn't that cheating?" Oliver asked with a smile.

"He's cheated me out of fish and bait for months!"

"Have you decided on what you're going to do with him after catching?" Harry asked. "You'll get a kick out of this," he whispered to Moody.

Tracy shook her head, eyes still trained on her bobber. "Not yet."

"Don't you lot eat your catches?" Moody asked.

"Sure but that might be too easy for this one," Tracy growled. "I'm either going to stick him in a pool I'll build in the garden so I can point and laugh at him every day or stuff him and stick him on the mantle as a reminder of who's boss!"

"Or eat him," Harry grinned.

"Or eat him," she agreed.

Moody laughed heartily. "I like her a lot."

After some fishing, and light drinking, they all had caught something. Harry had a pair of dace and Oliver had a large trout. Moody caught a fine bream and Tracy managed a trout as well as she continually tried to go for her nemesis.

"How'd that even start?" Moody asked, pointing at Tracy.

"Not sure when exactly but shortly after Tracy joined us on the regular," Harry said. "We started noticing that she had her bait stolen more than Oliver and I."

"Then we noticed it was a rather large pike doing it," Oliver chuckled. "And the weird thing is that it followed us around to different parts of the creek."

"A few times ago, it yanked Tracy into the water and she swore vengeance ever since," Harry laughed. "Hermione says the pike is Tracy's white whale. A Muggle book called Moby Dick. A whaler captain spends his life trying to go after this whale that ruined his life."

"This pike is a dick," Tracy said vehemently.

"Nothing wrong with having a nemesis," Moody said airily. "Good for focusing your energies on." He dragged his stool closer to Tracy and trained his eyes on the area. "Let's see, where're you hiding…there are some depressions in the reeds and grasses to the right there."

Oliver grinned. "You know, I heard lots of stories about Moody from my cousin and I never thought I'd see him fishing with us like this, not to mention helping Tracy with her vengeance."

"Right? The stories I've heard from Dora and Amelia and Sirius are scary. Even Pomfrey has shared some with me," Harry said. "He's had a hard life. Seeing him like this though, it's really good."

"When I told Nat that Moody was going to fish with us, she couldn't believe it," Oliver chuckled.

"Neither did Pomfrey," Harry laughed.

"Hey, I think I see him," Moody said. "He really is an ugly bastard. Big mark on his head?"

"That's him! Where is he?!"

"Drag your line to the right a touch," Moody instructed. "Oh, I think he's noticed. He's chasing some of the others away."

"Come here, come on, you know you want it," Tracy whispered as she jiggled the line. "It's your favorite…a nice oily chub. Come on you fat greedy bastard…"

The line dipped and the bobber splashed.

"He's on!" Moody shouted.

"Got you!" Tracy hauled hard on the rod, reeling the line in. She pulled after digging her feet in. "Come here you fat fish fuck! You're not going anywhere!" The rod bent hard, the tip coming perilously close to the water. The line hissed as it was pulled taut.

"Give it some slack," Moody urged. "Don't want the line to snap!"

Tracy did so, releasing some pressure on the line. She hauled left and right, fighting the pike. She was yanked closer to the water but she leaned back, digging her heels in. "You're. Not. Going. Anywhere!"

"You got it Tracy!" Harry grabbed the net and stepped into the shallows of the creek. "I can see it! It's latched on!"

With an almighty shout, Tracy pulled hard, swiveling and pivoting. The pike cleared the water and Harry, Oliver, and Moody cheered at the sight. It was a very impressive specimen of a pike. Tracy swung, throwing her body back and the pike flew out of the water, landing on the bank.

"I got you!" Tracy crowed as she hauled on the line even more, dragging the fish further from the water. "Finally! Vengeance is mine!"

Moody whistled. "That really is a bastard of a pike."

Oliver cast a charm. "40 inches and 20 pounds! Way to go Tracy!"

Moody's eyes went wide when Tracy hugged him hard. "Thank you! I've been trying to catch him for ages! You get the second piece to eat after me." She undid the hook from the pike and hefted the fish over her head. "Victory is mine!" She ran back to the houses in the village, screeching a war cry.

"She's a lot of fun," Moody said with a soft smile.

"Yeah she is," Harry smiled. "Never would have guessed it when I first met her at school."

Moody looked at them thoughtfully. "Have you lot travelled to do any fishing?"

"Only when we go camping," Oliver said. "We haven't gone out specifically to go fishing, not yet anyways. We've talked about it though."

Moody grinned. "I know a good place and it'll be something new. I'll take you lot."

"That'll be nice," Harry said. "Where is it?"

"On the coast, bit of a trek to get there but it's worth it if you like to fish. I only go with those that want to get these fish, not for everyone. But seeing you lot fish, especially her, I think we'll enjoy it. I'll invite Amelia too."

Later, when the fish were grilling and Tracy was regaling people with her story of the battle to catch her nemesis, Oliver approached Harry by the grill. "What's that look for?"

Harry shook his head. "I was just thinking on what Alastor said and I'm a touch concerned."

"Why?"

"Well, Amelia likes to hunt," Harry said slowly.

"And?"

"So he said it's a bit of a trek 'cause the fish there aren't for everyone, and if he's inviting someone that likes to hunt…"

"Oh." Oliver blinked a few times. "What does she like to hunt?"

"Things that leave behind fearsome heads that you hang off a wall," Harry said ominously.

"Oh boy," Oliver sighed.

-0-

The light around the Portkey, a fishing rod, faded and the travelers stumbled slightly from the trip. The wind blew, also making them stumble.

"Whoa, what a place," Oliver said, looking about. The ground was rocky, pitted and cracked. Water filled the holes, making deep watery spots that moved with the flowing. The tide washed over the rock, the crashing waves filling the air with spray and sound, adding to the whistling wind.

"It's pretty in a wild way," Harry said. "Utterly natural and untouched. Are there any villages or places nearby?"

"Not really. This place is a magical natural area," Moody said. He began walking, carefully looking at the ground so that his false leg did not fall into any holes or cracks. "Lots of magical animals gather here and the rocks and waves here keep Muggles away for the most part."

"So we're fishing for magical fish?" Tracy asked. She gave Amelia a wary look.

Amelia rubbed her hands together with undisguised anticipation. She was dressed in robes cut like Auror gear, complete with padding and guards. She carried harpoons bound together, slung across her back. "Oh yes," she said enthusiastically. "I've always wanted to come here but didn't really have anyone to come with aside from Alastor. I've been looking forward to it."

"Wh-what are we fishing for?" Harry asked, giving Moody and Amelia a wary look. "Or hunting?"

"Dragonfish," Moody said.

"Are they like actual dragons?!" Tracy asked, voice rising.

"Nah, they're technically eels," Moody said as they picked their way carefully over the broken ground.

"Oh, that doesn't sound so bad," Oliver said with relief. "We've caught eels at home before."

"I've never felt the need to harpoon an eel though," Harry said with concern.

"They're called dragonfish because they look like dragons," Moody said. "Frills, some have back spines, some have spike tails. Big teeth." His lips peeled back to give a sharp hungry smile. "Also they love to fight. And they're much bigger than usual eels."

"They don't breathe fire like dragons though, right?" Tracy asked, eyes wide.

"Nope, well not as far as I know. They come in different varieties," Moody said. "This hear is a maturing ground for them. They come here to live and fight before they move off to different places to spawn. The smaller ones you can catch with your usual rod and pole. Others you have to be a bit more aggressive." He patted his own harpoon and spear.

Tracy's smile was a stiff grimace and she nodded jerkily. She moved closer to Harry and grabbed his elbow. "What are we doing here?!" she hissed at him. "And if you say 'fishing' I swear to Merlin I will drown you in a tide pool!"

"Look, I didn't know this was what we were going for either," he protested. "And trust me, I have my reservations too. But Alastor thinks we're tough enough for it and it'll be interesting right? Plus he and Amelia are here so we should be fine."

Tracy relaxed a fraction.

"Hopefully," he added.

She tensed up several fractions and pinched him hard.

"And here we are," Moody said at last. It was a long coastline that went out for a long way. The tide flowed in and out, the ever-present sound of waves crashing and rolling filled the air. "Welcome to Dragonfish Pits! Legend has it that the first dragonfish that came here created the cracks and pits on their own. They're all connected, deep underground, and they're always filled with water."

He pointed at the pits. "You can sort of tell what kind of dragonfish are in the pits depending on the size of the pits. If you want one of the bigger ones, you'll want the open area that's a bit of a bay, leading into the sea. Most of the smaller ones will be deeper into land where the holes and dens are smaller."

Harry watched as Amelia picked her way closer to the sea's edge and Oliver and Tracy spent some time looking around. "How did you even find this place?"

"A buddy of mine that works in the German Ministry told me about it actually," Moody said. "Lukas Vogel. Good Auror and general belligerent bastard, like me. He comes over here and there and we usually find our way here. He loves to hunt and we've had some good times here."

"Have any of your scars been from dragonfish?" Harry asked.

"Only small ones," Moody said dismissively. "One would have been a big one if it bit my real leg instead of my fake one. Bit my prosthetic in half. Actually, hold on." Moody looked down at his false leg. "Oh yeah look." He pointed at a faint line where the shin would be. "I guess I do have a big one but I don't think it counts."

Harry stared at the line in the prosthetic. "Tell me it was a big one that did it."

"Medium, I'd say." Moody grinned. "Besides, it'll be better with you lot. You're a medic and I'm not drunk."

Harry's laugh was a lot less enthusiastic compared to Moody's.

The morning passed and Harry, Tracy, and Oliver felt better. The locale, while much more wild than their creek at home, was growing on them. With poles and rods, each caught a smaller dragonfish that were much larger than the freshwater ones they caught elsewhere. Moody had caught a medium sized one that was larger than a log. Amelia had managed to spear a very long one that had fought her for a long time.

"Okay, I'll admit it, this is pretty fun," Tracy said.

"Yeah, seeing all the dragonfish is a treat really," Oliver said.

"Good!" Moody looked pleased. "I think we've got time for a bit more. They get really feisty in the afternoon and evening. I wouldn't recommend it to newcomers."

Amelia flourished her harpoon. "Let's go into the bay. I saw one that was giving me a look and I want to give it a shot."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Moody agreed.

"Guess we can watch," Harry said.

-0-

"Oh my goodness, are you all okay?!" Katie asked, staring at the bedraggled group. She had seen them returning via Portkey and came out to meet them. As she got closer, she saw them in various states of disrepair: torn clothes, cuts and scrapes, soaked and sodden things. They all had various states of mood as well.

"Never better!" Amelia said happily, her black eye and cut jaw not matching her sunny disposition. "Look at what we caught!"

"What on earth is that?!" Katie shrieked as she realized that the large bundle floating behind them was not tent cloth or a bundle of gear.

"Dragonfish," Harry said wearily, wincing a little. He shook his head at the gigantic thing. "And that isn't even one of the biggest ones we saw."

"It's not?! That thing has to be easily 25 feet long! It's longer than practice or children's Quidditch hoops!"

"It's 30 feet," Moody said proudly. "As long as a normal Quidditch hoop."

"And I've seen trees thinner than that thing! You said there were bigger ones?!"

Oliver groaned as he sat down on the ground. "Much bigger."

By then, more of the residents of the village came and they all stared at the dragonfish with fascination and fright.

"Why do you all look so terrible?" Angelina asked. "I've seen you two come out of Quidditch fights looking less battered!"

Harry sighed, a deep and suffering sound. "So, Amelia had the desire to go after this one because she said, and I quote, it was giving her 'a look'. She and Alastor waded into the bay and they found it fighting with another one."

Everyone stared at Amelia who flushed.

"She decided to drive off the other one because, and I quote again, she had dibs," Harry continued. "She and Alastor managed to chase it away which pissed off this one because it was winning the fight and decided to take it out on us instead."

"This thing looks like it can eat rocks," George gasped, blanching at the tooth-filled maw.

"And throw them apparently," Oliver groaned. "It flung a bloody boulder at us."

"How?!" Alicia said.

"It's actually kind of impressive in a terrifying way. It wraps its lower body around a rock and then folds itself around an outcrop for leverage and then whips its tail." Oliver shook his head.

"Girls, get away from it," Alicia ordered and the children did not question her, scampering away from it.

"And you three joined the fray despite never having hunted one before?!" Daphne cried. She glared at them, saving her most severe look for Tracy.

Tracy smiled, revealing a gap in her teeth and she shrugged. "I mean, kinda had to at that point. The thing threw a rock at me, what was I supposed to do?"

"Show some sense and leave!" Daphne said angrily.

"At that point it wrapped around Alastor and was trying to drown him while crushing him and was trying to eat Amelia," Harry sighed. "So we had to help. Also, not so fun fact, dragonfish are very spell resistant much like dragons are."

He rubbed at a sore spot on his leg. "It took us ages and after a lot of stabbing and dragging, we finally managed to drag it onto land and killed it. Amelia insisted on draining it out there, which I agreed with 'cause I did not want to do that here, and we finally left to come home."

Oliver held his hands up. "You don't have to tell me," he said wearily to Alicia. "I'm not going after any dragonfish bigger than a normal eel ever again."

Katie started casting healing spells on Harry. "Did you already do some basic care there?"

"Yeah," Harry said, sighing with relief at the healing. "I was pretty exhausted after the fight so it was mostly stuff out of my kit. I mirrored MumAndi and SamaMum. They should be here soon. Ah, speaking of."

Samantha, Andromeda, and Sirius came walking out of the Potter home. They blanched at the sight of the dragonfish before sighing at the state of the fisher hunters. "I thought you were exaggerating," Andromeda sighed. "Both on the injuries and the catch."

"Sorry," Harry said weakly. "Wish I was."

Moody's wince had nothing to do with his injuries. Samantha glared at him beadily. "Undoing all my hard work?" she asked.

"You've been talking to sawbones," he muttered sheepishly.

"Now I understand how she feels," Samantha snorted.

"What am I going to do with you?" Sirius asked.

"Congratulate me on a good hunt?" Amelia offered cheekily.

Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why did you bring it here?"

"Well it's way more than you and I can eat so I'm going to break it down here with Harry," Amelia said sheepishly. "Everyone in the village can eat it and enjoy it together and I'm going to preserve the skin and bones so I can get it made up and put on display. I already know the perfect place for it!"

Luna gasped when she came over and saw the dragonfish. "You found dragonfish?! Why didn't you tell me?!" She glared and pouted at Harry.

"I didn't know! They didn't tell me until we got there!"

"It was a surprise," Moody grunted.

"I love seeing them in the wild," Luna sighed. "They're so beautiful and they have very exciting fights. I'm coming with you the next time you go."

"I don't know if I'm going to go again," Harry groaned. "That was way more scary of a fishing trip than I like."

"Check his brain," Tonks said angrily to Samantha. "Maybe we need to replace it with a prosthetic too!"

"Piss off Tonks," Moody sighed.

"You piss off!" Her hair turned bright crimson. "You just got back to decent health, and you drag my little brother out to go hunting bloody serpents?!"

"We handled it just fine," Moody said dismissively. "And get mad at Amelia too."

"If I wouldn't get fired, I would!"

"Don't worry, I'll scold her plenty for you," Sirius snorted.

Moody laughed at Amelia's expression. "You know you're in the wrong when Sirius lectures you."

-0-

"Okay, I'll admit, it does taste really good," Oliver said later.

It had taken a while for Harry to break down the dragonfish with Amelia, and the yield was incredible. Despite cooking with a lot of it, the vast majority of the meat was unused. He had made pies, fried filets, made soup, and grilled large steaks of it and there was still plenty. The rest of it was portioned out for saving in various ways.

"Different parts have different textures," Harry said, "much like a cow or a pig. It's really interesting and yeah, it tastes really good. I'll stick with the small ones though."

Tonks sighed softly, watching Moody tell the children the story of the hunt. He held a cooing Iris gently and carefully while he created moving figures with his wand, enthralling the children, and some of the adults, with the story. "As mad as I am, it's really nice seeing him like this."

"I never would've imagined it otherwise," Sirius agreed.

"He really has improved," Samantha said.

"Did you have some fun at least?" Katie asked with a wry smile.

"It was pretty fun," Harry laughed. "But a bit more excitement than I like when it comes to fishing. Like I said, I'm sticking to the smaller ones in the future. Ones that I can use a rod for and not a wand or a harpoon."

"I kinda want to try for medium," Tracy mused. She winced when Daphne grabbed her ear. "Ow! Daph!"

"You will not!" Daphne said loudly. "Do you hear me?!"

"Okay okay!" Tracy squealed.

"Who knew fishing could cause so many strong feelings," Harry smiled.

-0-0-0-

Flyer101999 - Hedwig doesn't bully people. She gently but emphatically asserts her dominance. Emphasis on emphatically. I wanted the chapter it have a general feel of care and understanding. You understand where Harry is coming from, see how he has grown since then, yet can still be reminded of it. Yeah, it's boring having perfectly good and perfectly evil characters, though excessively evil ones can be fun here and there. I like to try and make characters feel believable. Thank you so much for the kind words and glad you can laugh with the story.

Ghostwriter - That was my second favorite bit, it is adorable to think of. Thank you.

odonnellzoo99 - No she won't. The Potter home will be a safe one, for everyone.

alix33 - Hedwig's reaction at being right was my favorite part.

albinlundholm3 - I have no plans yet for once they become adults. I had a plan for a separate smalls series where the girls are in Hogwarts but it would be a while before I get to it, if I do. I have a lot right now to do.

poka - I don't have children myself, so all the bunnies and the others and their interactions is very much through rose-colored lenses. Still, it is nice to think of the adorableness.