On Friday, October 2nd, 2020, at 10 a.m. Potter Manor time, Harry and Ginny heard the sound of someone coming into Potter Manor via their fireplace.
They looked over and saw that it was Parvati Patil that had just Flooed in. She was carrying a letter in her hands.
"Hi, Harry, Hi, Ginny," said Parvati politely, "May I please come in?"
"Yes, of course," said Harry kindly, "Come on in and make yourself comfortable."
Parvati stepped out of the fireplace and walked over to the kitchen table. Parvati pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.
"Harry, can we talk?" asked Parvati.
"Of course," said Harry, "Would you like something to drink?"
"Sprite, "said Parvati simply.
"Fetch me a 7up while you're at it," requested Ginny.
Harry went to the fridge and returned with a can of Sprite for Parvati. a can of 7up for Ginny, and a can Sierra Mist for himself. Harry then pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table opposite Parvati while Ginny sat down next to him.
"Harry," said Parvati clearly, pointing at the letter in her hand, "This letter is the reason I have come. But before we get down to business, there's something I'd like to say to you."
"Okay, I'm listening," said Harry clearly.
"Harry," said Parvati slowly, "I owe you an apology. I know I wasn't close to the only one to do this, but I was really mean to you in our first year after you lost those house points for being out of bed after hours. It was really out line for me to shun, badmouth, and be mean to you over something so petty. As I get older, especially after Voldemort rose again and the Second Wizarding War occurred, it became crystal clear to me how trivial things like house points and the house cup are. I would like to take this moment to apologize to you for the way I treated you in the latter part of our first year at Hogwarts."
"Parvati," said Harry firmly, "Loads of people act mean and/or immature over petty stuff at the ages of 11-13. People mature as they get older. I have never held any hard feelings towards any of the people who acted that way towards me in my first year. I accept your apology 100%. That said, as an adult, and as a father of three Hogwarts students, I must admit that I am NOT a fan of the House Cup or of the idea of a house points competition. I wish the competition between the houses was limited to the Quidditch pitch. We should be encouraging the houses to cooperate more and compete less. Furthermore, the very existence of the House Cup creates an avenue for the very pettiness we just talked about. Though I'm proud to say that James and Lily have friends in all four houses, a Slytherin girl in James's year named Megan Nash being prominent amongst them. Their closest relationships are still with their family and friends in Gryffindor and that's to be expected."
"Students in the same house are always going to be closer because they will naturally spend more time together, sharing a common room, sharing classes, etc.," said Parvati matter of factly.
"But I'm so proud of James's and Lily's open minded attitude," said Harry clearly, "Unfortunately, Albus has a very strong Anti-Slytherin prejudice. He insists that Slytherin is the house of Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort and that we should never forget that."
"I've heard that speech from Albus before when he's come over to my place to visit Pamela," acknowledged Parvati, "And it's actually about Albus that I need to talk to you. This letter is from Pamela and some of its content has me concerned about Albus and I think you may need to intervene."
Parvati handed Harry the letter and Ginny looked over Harry's shoulder to read it with him.
Dear mom-
Hi, it's Pamela here! School is going well for Albus, Rose. and me and having Fridays be no class study/homework time is making managing homework much easier. Albus has been continuing to learn about his family history with his siblings James and Lily and his second Cousin Devon Dursley on Sunday afternoons. Rose and I have been using these Sunday afternoons for some girl time together. However, I am concerned about my friend Albus and that is my main focus in this letter. I am growing increasingly concerned about Albus's jealousy towards his brother and sister. Ever since James and Lily were announced as the co gold medalists of the Hogwarts Writing Competition, Albus has turned into a jealous zealot. He frequently whines and complains about how everything seems to happen for James and Lily while nothing ever happens for him. When I was visiting Potter Manor over the summer, I heard Devon trying to warn Albus against letting petty jealousy ruin his relationships with his siblings. After hearing Devon encourage Albus not to let his petty jealousy damage his relationships with his siblings, I made an effort of my own to get through to Albus that the worst thing he could do is to allow petty jealousy to damage his relationships with his siblings because he has great siblings. Both Devon's and my efforts proved unsuccessful and Albus seems to be more jealous of James and Lily by the day. While it must be acknowledged that James and Lily have always been much closer to each other than to Albus owing to James and Lily having interests and personalities that are much more aligned with each other's than with Albus's, Albus does seem more distant with his brother and sister than in the past. This has shown itself in ways such as the fact that, in the past, Albus would usually stop to greet James and/or Lily when they passed in the corridors or on the grounds whereas he has tended to ignore them most of the time this year. While he will still acknowledge James and Lily if they greet him first, there has not been a single time this year when Albus has been the one to greet James and/or Lily this year. This year, unless James and/or Lily see him and greet him first, he usually ignores them when their paths cross. Furthermore, in the past, when the topic would turn to James and Lily, Albus would talk warmly about what great siblings they were and about how much he loved them. While he has always been honest about the fact that he is not nearly as close with his brother and sister as they are with each other, in the past you always knew that he really did have that love for them. But ever since the winners of the Hogwarts Writing Competition were announced, his attitude towards James and Lily seems to have taken a very resentful turn that only seems to be getting worse. As previously mentioned, Albus now frequently whines and complains about how everything seems to happen to James and Lily while nothing ever seems to happen to him. Furthermore, when he makes these complaints, the resentment and bitterness in his voice could not be more pronounced. Albus also likes to talk about how, although he doesn't know what career paths might interest him, that he definitely wants to do something that will get him noticed. I must admit that I am growing increasingly concerned about Albus and his relationships with his siblings. I think Albus's relationships with James and Lily are slowly but surely falling apart. I also don't think it helps the situation that James and Lily often call each other "My favorite sibling" and "My favorite brother." Albus has said that this doesn't bother him. He says that this is just James and Lily expressing affection for each other and that he knows that it is nothing against him. He says this is just about James and Lily being much closer with each other than with him. This may be true, but I'm not a fan of it. Even if Albus doesn't feel hurt by it, I think it sends a message, even if only subconsciously, that, hey, we are more important to each other than we are to you, and I think it helps further distance Albus from James and Lily. Albus has been one of my best friends since we met on the Hogwarts Express and I care about him. It would be a shame for Albus to ruin his relationships with his brother and sister over petty jealousy. However, at this point, I don't think I can help him because I don't think I can get through to him. I don't if anyone can. If you can give me any advice on how to help Albus, please tell me.
Your loving daughter.
- Pamela.
"This is concerning," said Harry uneasily, "While it is true that Albus has never been as close with James and Lily as they are with each other due to James's and Lily's interests and personalities being much more aligned with each other's than with Albus's, it is quite out of character for Albus to not greet and acknowledge James and Lily when he has the chance. And if he's often showing obvious resentment and bitterness about James and Lily having "everything happen to them" that means his jealousy coefficient is growing."
"I think I know what Albus needs," said Ginny clearly, "Harry, if I may ask, how do think the relationship between James and Lily would have been affected if it had been only one of them that had "everything happen to them" ?
"I don't think James's and Lily's relationship would have been affected at all," said Harry confidently, "If it had been only James that "everything happened to,", Lily would have still been very happy for him. Lily cares far more about others than about herself to a degree I've never known to be true of any other person. Lily is also the type of person to always be the bigger person. If it had been Lily that "everything happened to", well, while it is true that James is brash and has a high opinion of himself, I don't think he has much capacity for jealousy. But regardless of that, I just think James feels so close to Lily that he would never let such a circumstance affect his relationship with Lily because he values his relationship with Lily that much. I think James's and Lily's closeness with each other would have protected their relationship with each other even if some jealousy did exist in such a scenario. "
"Exactly, Harry. exactly," said Ginny firmly, "What I think Albus needs is a closer relationship with his siblings. No, he will never be as close with James and Lily as they are with each other. However, I do feel that Albus needs to have closer relationships with James and Lily than he does."
There was a minute and a nanosecond of silence before Harry let out an "OOOOOOOOH!"
"I know how Albus can develop closer relationships with James and Lily," said Harry confidently, "You're absolutely right that James and Lily will always be closer with each other than with Albus but I'm now sure I can talk to James, Albus, and Lily, and give them a gameplan that will allow Albus to build stronger bonds with James and Lily."
"I trust you to handle this situation," Ginny told Harry, "But I don't trust waiting much longer. I really think you should go to Hogwarts this evening and have your talk with James, Albus, and Lily in the Room of Requirement. The sooner this is addressed, the better."
"You're right Ginny, this needs to be taken care of sooner rather than later. Therefore, I will go to Hogwarts this evening and attend to this issue," promised Harry.
"Good," replied Ginny.
"I'm in league with Pamela about not being a fan of James and Lily calling each other "my favorite sibling" and "my favorite brother", said Parvati clearly, "While it is only natural that some siblings will be closer than others, I have to imagine, that, even if Albus understands why James and Lily call each other "my favorite sibling" and "my favorite brother" and isn't offended by it, that it has to sting him a bit to hear his siblings calling each other "my favorite sibling" and "my favorite brother"."
"And there should be no such thing as a "favorite sibling," said Harry firmly, "While some siblings will indeed be closer than others, they should all love each other equally. I will bring this up tonight as a part of my talk with James, Albus, and Lily."
"Parvati, thank you for bringing this issue to our attention," said Ginny gratefully, "I think Harry knows what to do to resolve it."
"I know Pamela will be quite happy when it is," said Parvati proudly, "I glad she cared enough about her friend to express her concern."
"I am glad she did too," said Harry with a tent of appreciation his voice, "Pamela may well have saved Albus's long term relationships with James and Lily by bring this to your attention and leading to you bringing it to our attention."
Later that night, Harry visited Hogwarts and went to the Great Hall near the end of dinnertime. After the students had eaten dinner, he called out "James, Albus, Lily,"
James, Albus, and Lily all saw Harry and looked at him in surprise.
"James, Albus, Lily," said Harry in a polite but no nonsense type voice, "Let's go up to the Room of Requirement. We need to talk."
James, Albus, and Lily all followed Harry to the Room of Requirement.
Harry walked past the wall three times thinking, "We need a place to talk in private," and the door to the Room of Requirement appeared. Lily opened the door and held it for James, Albus, and Harry before entering last herself. James, Albus, and Lily were all very surprised that Harry wanted to talk to them in the Room of Requirement and had come up to Hogwarts to do so. Thus, they waited for Harry to speak first.
Harry knew exactly what he had to do, and he had very specific ways in mind for Albus to develop a closer bond with his brother and sister that he knew would strengthen their relationship. He took a deep breath. looked straight at James, Albus, and Lily, and said, "James, Albus, and Lily," in a crystal clear voice, "Let's cut to the chase. I know that you, Albus, have never been as close with James and Lily as they are with each other. Because this is the result of James and Lily having personalities and interests that are much more aligned with each other's than with yours, I know that they will always be closer with each other than with you. However, Ginny and I feel that you need closer and stronger relationships with James and Lily than you currently have, and I have a gameplan for you, James, and Lily to make that happen."
"Some siblings are closer than others and that's just the way it is," said Albus matter of factly, "I don't see this as a problem. Fred ad Roxanne are pretty close siblings whereas Rose and Hugo are siblings that are not close knit at all. I don't see James and Lily being much closer to each other than to me as an issue at all."
"Under normal circumstances it wouldn't be a problem at all.," said Harry calmly, "But Ginny and I have been made aware of something that makes us feel you need stronger bonds with James and Lily."
"What might this something be?" asked Albus.
"Albus, Parvati visited Potter Manor this morning and showed me a letter Pamela wrote to her. I wish for you to read this letter," Harry told Albus.
Harry dug his hand into his right hand pocket, dug out Pamela's letter to Parvati, unfurled it, and handed it to Albus to read.
Albus read the letter with an expressionless look on his face. When he had finished reading the letter, Harry spoke to him.
"Ginny and I are of the opinion that closer and stronger relationships with James and Lily is the antidote to your jealousy and resentment of James and Lily for having "everything happen to them," said Harry firmly.
"The true antidote would be for something to actually to me for a change," said Albus bitterly.
"Albus," said Harry seriously, "While your high jealousy coefficient is undeniable, Ginny and I are in agreement that your jealousy of James and Lily would not have been so damaging of your relationships with them if you were closer to and more strongly bonded with them."
There was a minute and a nanosecond of silence before Albus responded.
"Dad," said Albus slowly, "It is possible and perhaps even likely that you and mom are right that having closer and stronger relationships with James and Lily may be what I need. I am more than open to trying to develop closer and stronger relationships with James and Lily. But I don't know how I can achieve or attempt to achieve that."
"That's where I come in," said Harry brightly, "I have devised a gameplan that I hope and expect will create stronger bonds between you and James and Lily."
"Let's hear it then," said Albus as he listened intently to what Harry had to say.
"The key to you building closer ties with James and Lily is spending more time with them," said Harry clearly, "Some of this time it will be just the three of you and some of this time other people will be with you. The key is for you to be around them more be it with just the three of you or others also involved."
"So, what's the plan then?" asked Albus briskly.
"Well," replied Harry, "You know that James has Wandmaking lessons with Olivander on Monday and Wednesday nights during the 11 p.m. hour? Well, I think the hour after that, that is to say, the 12 a.m. hour on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, would be a perfect time for all 3 of you to spend some quality sibling time together."
"That's perfect!" chorused James, Albus, and Lily.
"Lily has come to meet me after my Wandmaking lessons a few times this year," smiled James, "Now, both Albus and Lily can come and meet me after each of my Wandmaking lessons and the 3 of us can spend that next hour together. That's a great way for Albus to spend some time with Lily and me and hopefully develop tighter bonds with us."
"That's an excellent time for Albus to get more sibling time with us," agreed Lily.
"I agree with James and Lily about the midnight hour on Tuesday and Thursday mornings following James Wandmaking lessons during the 11 p.m. hour on Monday and Wednesday is a superb time for me to get some sibling time with them," said Albus matter of factly, "But we will we be doing during that time?"
Harry dug his hand into his left hand pocket, pulled out a sheet paper, and unfurled it.
"This is a list of activities I have suggested for the 3 of you to do during this sibling bonding time," said Harry crisply as he handed the paper to Albus, "On at least the 1st couple of these sibling bonding meetings, I wish for you, Albus, to choose what you spend this time doing. After the 1st 2 meetings, you may offer James and Lily input if you wish but I want you to make the choices for at least the 1st 2 meetings."
"That makes all the sense in the world considering that reason for these meetings is for Albus to become closer to us," said James firmly.
"Absolutely," agreed Lily, "Albus, can you store that paper in your room?"
"Yes," said Albus simply, "I'll keep this paper in my room and simply bring it when we go to meet James after his Wandmaking lessons."
"Good," said Harry, who continued, "Next, I know that James and Hugo attend Quidditch practices every Tuesday and Thursday night to support their family and friends on the team including Lily. I also know that James, Hugo, Devon, and Lily all get together and spend time together after practices. Here's my next idea, Albus, I wish for you to attend these Quidditch practices on Tuesday and Thursday nights with James and Hugo and then join in with James, Hugo, Devon, and Lily when they spend time together after practice."
"Rose and Pamela aren't into Quidditch at all," explained Albus, "While my interest in Quidditch is lower than James's and Lily's, I do enjoy playing and watching Quidditch and broom games at home and I love going to Hogwarts Quidditch matches but Rose's and Pamela's complete disinterest in the sport has prevented me from attending any Gryffindor practices. I can't attend any Gryffindor Quidditch practices because my Rose and Pamela are completely disinterested in Quidditch. My interest in attending these practices might not be as high as James's would be but I would enjoy doing so. Rose's and Pamela's disinterest in Quidditch rule this out for me."
"Albus," said Harry sharply, "Rose, and Pamela don't need to have a monopoly on your time. You CAN do things without them sometimes and still have them as your best friends."
"I don't want to upset Rose and Pamela by shunning them," said Albus nervously, "Attending these Quidditch practices with James and Hugo and meetups afterward with James, Hugo, Devon, and Lily would force me to spend a few less hours a week with them-"
"It is not shunning your friends to do some things without them," cut in Harry firmly, "And remember that Pamela is the one who expressed concern about your relationships with James and Lily in her letter to Parvati and that's how I came to be here to meet you tonight in the first place. I'm sure your friends will not only understand but support this idea. They know it is important for you to build better relationships with your brother and sister and I'm sure they are willing to sacrifice a few hours of time with you a week to allow that to happen."
"And remember," said Lily, "Pamela has already attempted to talk to you about your jealousy issues and your relationships with James and me. I know that your friends will be 100% behind this idea."
Albus nodded.
"You're right, dad and Lily," realized Albus, "Any more ideas?"
"Another idea I have stems from James's involvement with the school as a sixth year prefect," explained Harry, "James, you mentioned in one of your letters to me that, starting on October 12th, 2020, at 8 p.m. Hogwarts time, you will be meeting up with up to six other students in the History of Magic classroom to do some planning for Hogwarts on some Mondays?"
"One of the tasks I have been assigned in the course of my sixth year prefect duties is to help plan Hogwarts holiday activities this year. My first task will be to plan Hogwarts Halloween celebration this year, a task I will get to work on starting that first meeting on October 12th. Now, I am allowed to invite up to six guests to help me and this will be almost like a club. I have already invited five people to partake in this "club" with me, but I have one spot still open. However, I am not required to use all allowed guest slots. I am allowed up to six guests but can have fewer."
"Who are the five guests you have already invited to join the club?" Harry asked James.
"Devon, Hugo, Fred, Roxanne, and Lily are the five guests that I have already invited to join the club. I have one spot open that I can but don't have to fill. Hang on, I thought I had told you in my letter who I had invited. Did I forget?"
"No, you didn't," said Harry, "What you just told me is consistent with what you said in your letter, but I asked because I have a proposal for you. Have you considered anyone for to be your sixth guest to fill all available slots."?
"No, I have not," said James uncertainly, "But I do wish to fill it. I just don't know who I should fill it with."
"James," said Harry firmly, "I wish for you to invite Albus as your sixth guest to fill that last slot, especially since you've already invited Lily. This would create another excellent avenue for all three of you to spend time together."
"I'd love to be a part of that," said Albus eagerly, "Being part of that club would give me an opportunity to be more involved while also spending time with James and Lily at the same time."
"You're absolutely right, dad and Albus, agreed James, "Albus, you're in."
"I think a good side benefit to all this is that Albus may also build closer relationships with Hugo, Devon, and to some degree, Fred and Roxanne," said Lily warmly.
"I totally agree," said Harry with conviction, "After all those are his cousins and second cousin as well. This means Albus will gain stronger bonds with a large portion of his family and that can only be a good thing."
"Anything else, dad?' asked Albus.
"Yes," said Harry clearly, "James, Lily you need to stop calling each other "My favorite sibling" and "My favorite brother."
"Dad, it's okay," said Albus quickly, "James and Lily are in no way insulting me when they call each other "My favorite sibling" and "My favorite brother", It is simply one of their ways of expressing affection for each other. It's not a slight to me at all. It's all about their relationship with each other."
"You may not be offended by it," said Harry decisively, "But it is inappropriate. While some siblings are indeed closer than others, there should be no such thing as a favorite sibling. You should all love each other equally. Period."
James, Albus, and Lily said nothing, and Harry chose not to press the subject. He had planted the seed in their minds and now hoped that they would come to realize what he was getting at and that James and Lily would indeed stop calling each other "My favorite sibling" and "My favorite brother."
"Albus," said Harry gently, "My own opinion of you as a person is that while you do have temper and jealousy issues, you are a good hearted person at the core. James, Lily, what do you think?"
"Well," said Lily slowly, "I don't feel like I know Albus well enough to be able to make that judgement fairly."
"Nor do I," agreed James, "I don't feel comfortable making that judgment myself because I don't think I know Albus well enough to make that judgment fairly either."
"That confirms Ginny's and my suspicions that Albus doesn't have strong enough bonds with either of you," responded Harry instantly, "And that's all I have for now."
Harry left.
James, Albus, and Lily decided to stay in the Room of Requirement and spend some time just chatting. This was a good thing. In starting the process of having Albus bond more with James and Lily, just spending some time talking to each other was helpful.
On Sunday, October 4th, 2020. James, Albus, Devon, and Lily did hold their weekly meeting in the Room of requirement but just as Olivander had done with James's Wandmaking lessons the previous week, the Room of Requirement decided that this meeting would be used for review and that they would resume new material the next Sunday.
On Monday, October 5th, 2020 at 11 p.m. Hogwarts time, James finally got his first chance to take an actual shot at trying to make a wand of his own...