Chapter 5

James' stomach churned when he heard his father's apparate back into the front yard. He glanced out the window, praying to see his messy black hair, the same hair he had given to his two sons. However, it was a hint of green glistening in the summer sun that he saw as his father slammed the front door and stormed back into the house.

"Sit," Harry snapped, pointing to the bed as he came into James' room.

"Dad, I..."

"Don't talk. You are grounded for a month."

"But Mum said two weeks!"

"That was before we found out that we can't get the color out until it fades naturally. Which will take two days. Hence, the crystal clear warning about doing the prank over a weekend."

"Oh," James said quietly. "Did you talk to Uncle George?"

The look on Harry's face told his son that it was a silly question to ask. Feeling like it would do him good to be quiet at this point, James closed his mouth and looked down at the ground.

"You know what, James? I cannot believe you are about to be a fourth year and still pulling stuff like this. You know better..."

James nodded, looking up to meet his father's hurt eyes.

"I need you to be a role model for Lily this year. Instead, I don't know if I can trust you to take care of her."

"Now, that's not fair!" his son exclaimed. "You know I would do anything for my family!"

Harry sighed as his face softened. He took his son's hand into his own. "I know. That' s not what I meant. Taking care of someone is more than protecting them from others. It's also protecting them from yourself."

"I...I don't understand."

Retracting his touch, Harry looked away. "And that's the problem, son. You don't understand. And until you learn to think of other's well being for once, you will never understand."

Harry's words hurt James more than the time a Slytherin boy called him a blood-traitor. Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled into his father's chest.

"Dad, I...I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Please don't be mad at me."

Harry sighed as he held his son close. "I can't not be mad at you. But I will always love you, no matter what you do. You have to know that."

"I do. It's just, I don't like you being this angry with me."

"Well then you shouldn't have done what you did. I have to go into work tomorrow like this."

"Can't you take the day off?" James asked innocently.

Harry shook his head. "No. I have responsibilities. And it's about time you start learning what that means."

"I do know what it means..."

With a kiss on James' forehead, Harry left his room and closed his door without a word. James fell backwards on his bed. And the day had started out so promising...

Albus shivered as a knock sounded on his bedroom door. He hadn't had to face his father yet. His mother had been bad enough; he couldn't imagine the look of shame and disappointment in his father's green eyes, bearing into Albus' like the mirror image that they were. Albus was the only one of Harry's children to inherit the trait.

"Al," Harry said gently. He had calmed down since visiting James. That's a good sign.

"D...dad. I'm so sorry. Please, don't be mad at me. I...I didn't know it would go like that. James told me that there was a way to reverse it."

"And when did it become a good idea to listen to your brother?" his father asked as he sat down on the bed. Albus pulled his feet in toward his body and sighed. "You are grounded for a month. No broom. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Albus said quietly, keeping eye contact with his father as he would expect him to.

"You're such a good boy, Al. What happened? Why did you do this?"

"Because I'm such a good boy. I'm sick of being a good boy. I want to be like James. He's so confident in himself; I feel so small all the time."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "And how do you feel now?"

"Smaller than small," Albus said, shrinking into himself at his father's stern glance.

"Was it worth it?"

Albus gulped. "No."

"I don't expect you to be perfect, Albus. But I do expect you to be yourself. This morning, you were not yourself. You went along with James because you were ashamed of who you are." Harry took his son's hands, just as he had done with James. "Albus, look at me. Never be ashamed of who you are. Never."

"I'm not brave like you, Dad," he responded, tears welling up in his eyes.

Harry kissed his forehead. "Yes you are. You just don't see it yet.

With a sigh, Albus looked away from his father once more. "Can I come downstairs and say sorry to Mum? I feel terrible..."

Harry nodded. "Then right back up to your room for the rest of the day. I'm still very upset, and I don't want to see the two of you in the common areas of the house until tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," Albus replied once more. He hugged his father quickly and then hurried down the hallway toward the kitchen where he knew his mother would be preparing lunch.

"Mum..." Albus said softly, peaking his head around the corner like he had done earlier that morning.

A purple and pink-haired Ginny put down her wand, which she had been using to magically cut some carrots for a salad, and looked at her son with crossed arms. "Did you talk to Dad?"

"Yes," he replied in a whisper.

"And...?"

"Grounded for a month. I deserve it."

"Yes you do."

"I'm sorry, Mum. I'm really, really sorry. I shouldn't have gone along with what James wanted to do. Don't know why I let him get to me."

Ginny sighed and pulled Albus into a hug. He let the tears flow freely now, knowing he could always cry in front of his mother. She soothed him as she held him close to her. "Everyone makes mistakes, love. You should have seen how angry Grandma and Granddad were when I accidentally set their sitting room rug on fire with my wand the summer after I started Hogwarts."

Albus chuckled and looked up at her, his eyes still wet with tears. "You did?"

His mother nodded and laughed along with him. "But I learned from it, and I never let my magic become uncontrolled again. And you'll learn from this-and you won't ever let James become uncontrolled again. At least not when you're involved."

He felt her warm kiss on his forehead, and she held it there for a moment. "Go get your brother, will you? I need to hug him too. That's the thing with children, whenever you have them; you'll be furious at them one minute, but they are still yours. You lot are easy to forgive. Even James."

Albus obediently went down the hall to fetch his older brother, who was problem sulking and pouting at the announcement of his punishment. However, Albus was surpised when he came into James' bedroom to see a few tears streaming down his cheeks. James wiped them away quickly, and Albus had the courtesy to pretend that he didn't see.

"Mum wants you in the kitchen."

"Bloody hell, what's she going to do?" James asked, looking terrified.

Albus smiled. As if their parents would ever hit them, beyond a light smack on the back of the head when they were being cheeky. Although James could probably use it... "To give you a hug, you paranoid prat."

"Oh." James contemplated this for a moment. "Her hair still purple?"

"Yep."

"Damn. I was hoping she had found a way around the charm. Oh, bugger, what did I do? I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Al."

Albus shrugged. "It was my choice. I could have said no."

"You always do say no. What made you change your mind this time?"

The younger of the brothers thought for a moment. "I don't know. I guess I was tired of being perfect."

James let out a laugh that in any other circumstance would have sounded like he was extremely amused. "You? Perfect?"

"That's what you called me at Diagon Alley..."

James pushed his brother playfully on the shoulder. "You have got to be kidding me. That's what all of this was about. Al, I was joking. Messing with you."

"You were?"

Rolling his eyes, James smiled. "Albus...you're far from perfect. Don't get me wrong; you're not bad. It's a good thing, trust me. Perfect is boring, and you are definitely not boring."

The youngest was stunned. It was the nicest thing that his brother had ever said to him, besides the few times when their parents made James give Albus a complement after a row. And James Potter didn't hand out nice words to just anyone.

Before James hopped out of the room, he ruffled Albus' hair lightly. "Guess we're going to be spending a lot of time together over the next month. Gotta start planning our next prank."

"I think I'm good on pranks for a little while."

James shrugged and gave his brother a small wink. "Suit yourself."