Five years after the prologue events, the Potters visit Hogwarts, or rather, what remains of the school, and have an unexpected encounter.

5 years later, Halloween 1995

The sky was grey, and a damp, cold wind made Harry shiver. Staring at the bouquet of white lilies on the grave, he coughed and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. "Mum, when are we leaving?" he asked without looking up.

"Just a moment longer," his mother replied softly. The tears that had rolled down her cheeks earlier had dried, but her eyes still were wet, which wasn't due to the weather.

Harry glanced at his sister, Emily, who'd linked her arm with her mother, silently staring into space. While her facial features resembled her mother's, particularly her nose and mouth, she had the same unruly black hair as Harry. A few years ago, she'd given up growing her hair and wore it shoulder length now. Unlike Harry, she had inherited her father's hazel eyes.

Turning his gaze back to the tombstone in front of him, Harry read the inscription again.

James Potter

March 27, 1960 * October 31, 1990

Harry sighed. He missed his father so much, as he missed his godfather Sirius and Uncle Remus, whose graves were right next to his father's, but this place was – no, not scary, but kind of depressing. It was the place where he was reminded of the loss of his father and where his usually so cheerful mother always became so incredibly sad - and he didn't know how to help her. It was the place where he'd realized for the first time in his life that someone could leave and never come back.

"I wasn't aware that Sirius was the eldest of the three. It always felt the other way around. James and Remus seemed a lot more mature," said Dora Tonks, returning from her tour of the Godric's Hollow graveyard. Her usually shoulder-length pink hair had given way to a short black hairstyle today.

Harry's mother had to smile. "Remus had always been the most grown-up of them, whereas James often was an insufferable git before his seventh year."

"I can't imagine James being more insufferable than my cousin," Tonks replied.

"Oh, he was," Harry's mother said with a dreamy smile. "He could drive me crazy with a single look. But in our final year at Hogwarts…" she sighed. "The upcoming war changed him. Over time, even Sirius grew up a bit, but he always remained a child." Smoothing her robes, she took a deep breath. "Okay, then...let's go to Hogwarts. Dora, if you take Emily, I'll Apparate with Harry. But wait until we left the graveyard."

Scotland welcomed them with sunshine, though it was a bit colder here in the north than at home in Godric's Hollow. Fortunately, they'd dressed warmly, and the weather was perfect for a walk up to the castle.

"I think we could have Apparated straight up to the castle," said Harry's mother. "That wasn't possible earlier when Hogwarts was still a school. Strong protective charms prevented unauthorized people from getting into the castle. You couldn't Apparate inside either or use a portkey," she explained. "But somehow, it would have felt wrong if we suddenly just Apparated here like that, wouldn't it? I'm still not used to the idea."

As they made their way up the footpath to the ruins of Hogwarts, they passed a pile of soot-stained blocks of stone interspersed with half-charred wooden beams.

"What's that?" Harry asked as the only possible explanation struck his mind. "Was that Hagrid's hut?" When his mother nodded, Harry looked around and let his eyes drift over to a patch of woods where a multitude of younger trees jutted out of the undergrowth, obscuring the older trunks that lay scattered on the ground, most of them half burned. "And that must be the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yes, what's left of it," confirmed his mother, shaking her head sadly. "The last time I was here when I was looking for your dad, it was still burning everywhere, and you couldn't see anything because of the smoke. It was so horrible. I never wanted to come back."

Noticing how his mother was fighting back her tears, Harry linked his arm with her and nodded affirmatively to his sister when she took her mother's other arm. Slowly, they continued walking.

"This was where the Death Eaters fought the Centaurs," Tonks interjected in a low voice. "As far as I've heard, the centaurs didn't want to get involved, to begin with. But when Voldemort's henchmen set their forest on fire, they finally fought back."

"Are the centaurs still alive?" asked Emily glumly.

"I suppose there are still some around here in the woods," Tonks replied. "But I don't know. I've never been back here since then." She took a deep breath and murmured, "Too many bad memories."

"Come on. Let's keep going," Harry's mother said, tearing herself away from the sight.

"Mum?" Harry asked hesitantly while Emily and Tonks were still looking over at the Forbidden Forest.

"Yes, Harry?"

Giving his mother a searching look, Harry contemplated the best way to ask his question. In the months after his father's death, he'd often thought about the morning his mother returned home with the terrible news. Though he didn't remember that day as often anymore as he used to, he still craved answers. "Did they really all die back then? I remember how you came home and said that everyone was dead. But you never talked about it again. And I've hardly seen any witches or wizards all these years."

His mother gave him a quick glance before looking back at the path in front of her. "At that time, you were both too young to talk about it. And Dora had other problems. She had to get well first and deal with her own losses. After all, she was still a Hogwarts student and only escaped alive because she was lucky to not be in the castle when it was set on fire."

Emily and Tonks had caught up with them, and his sister was walking alongside her mother again. As Harry glanced at the girls, he noticed Dora looking around with an uneasy expression. "I'm glad you haven't been in the castle, Dora, but may I ask where you've been?"

Stone-faced, Tonks returned his gaze and then looked ahead again. It took her a moment before she answered. "I was outside with some friends. It must have been around here somewhere." She gestured with her hand to the surroundings. "I can't remember exactly. It was dark and chaos everywhere." She swallowed, obviously trying to remember. "We were a group of seventh years who'd snuck out to help the Order." She sniffled, and her eyes grew moist. "And then there suddenly was the fire in the castle and all the screams..."

Harry threw a furtive glance at the young woman who'd become something like an older sister to him ever since she'd moved in with them. She had lost her entire family. Hesitantly, he asked, "What happened to your friends?"

Tonks took a deep breath. "I don't know. Probably dead. Anyway, I never heard from them again."

Silently, they approached the ruins of the once so proud castle, the remains of which lay scattered over an area at least twice the size of their Quidditch pitch in Godric's Hollow. Two towers, stripped of their once majestic turrets, loomed over several enormous piles of stone that had once been the castle's inner and outer walls, most of which still showed ugly burn marks. Grass and scrubs had settled between the stone blocks. Some of the plants apparently were of magical origin, blown over from the destroyed greenhouses, whose skeletons were braving the weather a little further away.

With awe and sadness at the same time, Harry stared at the remains of the former monumental building. He would've love to have gone to school here just like his parents. A sniffle made him glance over to his sister, who was leaning against her mother, who'd put her arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer.

"And where did Dad die?" Emily asked in a raspy voice.

"We found him down at the Black Lake. We can go down there if you want," Harry's mother explained softly. "I was told that Sirius and Uncle Remus were defending the gates to Hogwarts. They must have been among the first to die."

Harry spotted a 20-foot-tall stone stele standing not far from what must have been the main entrance of the castle. As he drew closer, he noticed a bronze plaque with an inscription attached to it. Under two crossed wands, it read:

In memory of all the brave who fell

defending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry against the Dark Lord's hordes.

As Harry stepped a little closer to the memorial, he felt the sudden urge to touch the plaque. The metal felt cold as he ran his fingers along the crossed wands. As cold as death, Harry thought, staring at the inscription, halting his breath.

"Harry. Are you coming?" His mother's voice snapped Harry out of his thoughts. Turning to her, he noticed she'd made her way down to the lake with his sister and Tonks. Harry hesitantly followed them, avoiding a cluster of small boulders scattered across the ground.

On the way down to the Black Lake, Harry spotted a group of redheads, a woman and two boys, sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree not far from the shore, looking out over the lake. They glanced up as they approached, apparently not wanting to be disturbed.

It was Tonks who suddenly froze, staring wide-eyed at the strangers. "Charlie? Charlie Weasley? Is that you?" she gasped, unable to move. With an incredulous look, she blurted, "You're alive?"

The elder of the boys turned and stared at Tonks, dumbfounded. He had an athletic build, slightly taller than Tonks. His freckled face was broad and friendly, with a few spots that looked like burns. "Tonks?" he cried, shaking his head in disbelief. He got up, took a big step across the trunk, and slowly walked towards Dora.

"You're alive?" Tonks shook her head, still not able to comprehend what she saw. "I thought I saw a curse hit you, and you fell. I wanted to help you, but then... I was attacked by a group of Death Eaters and just barely escaped."

The young man named Charlie looked at Tonks and smiled wryly. "If I remember well, the curse wasn't that bad. But I tripped, trying to dodge it." The young man grinned. "I then tried to get into the castle to help stop the fire. I was hurt pretty badly. When I woke up again, I asked about you, but no one knew anything."

"The Potters took me in and nursed me back to health," Tonks indicated to Harry's mother. "I've known her for a long time. One of my cousins was a best friends with Lily's husband." Hesitating briefly, she continued. "They both died here that damn day, too."

Harry's mother took a few steps towards the red-haired woman, who'd stood up, looking at her inquiringly. "So you're the Weasleys?" asked Harry's mother. "Molly Weasley, I assume?"

"Yes, I am," the woman replied a bit surprised, pointing to her two boys. "These are my sons, Charlie and Ron. What can I do for you?"

"I'm Lily Potter," Harry's mother replied. "And these are my children, Harry and Emily. And well, Dora Tonks, you obviously already know."

"Charlie talked a lot about Dora when he attended Hogwarts," said Mrs Weasley. "I never met her in person, though."

"How are you doing?" asked Harry's mother. "I remember that you were injured in the morning of the battle. I've been asked to take in two of your kids until you recover. But I never heard about it again."

"Oh yes. I remember," Mrs Weasley said, nodding with a small smile. "But I didn't know it was you. We met once at an Order meeting, didn't we?"

Harry's mother nodded.

"I remember it so well because it was the day after my 40th birthday. Everything happened so fast that day," Mrs Weasley said. "I was admitted to St Mungo's, and suddenly everyone who could hold a wand rushed to Hogwarts. I wish I could have gone with them. Four of my children had been there at Hogwarts this day." The woman sobbed. "Charlie is the only one who survived."

"And how are the two kids doing who were supposed to come to us?" asked Harry's mother.

"Oh, they're both fine," Mrs Weasley replied, indicating to the younger boy. "This is Ron, my youngest son. His sister Ginny was also here, but she already left with my eldest son, Bill. She often spends a few days with her brother in London. He works at Gringotts."

Harry glanced over at his sister, who was standing next to his mother, pretending to listen, but casting a furtive glance at the tall, lanky boy, Ron was his name, who was rummaging around in a picnic basket. Tonks and Charlie were talking animatedly, big goofy grins on their faces. Harry wasn't sure, but somehow Tonks' cheeks were redder than usual, certainly not from the cold weather. Astonished, Harry raised an eyebrow. He wasn't aware that she'd had a boyfriend at Hogwarts.

"Anyone wants a sandwich?" asked Ron as he approached with the basket in hand. "There's no need for us to take the food back home again. I've already had half a dozen, and I really can't take any more." The boy gave Harry a friendly smile.

"Yeah, help yourself," Ron's mother nodded encouragingly. "I'd packed sandwiches for Bill and Ginny, but they said they wanted to eat something Muggle in London," she explained and sighed. "Although I can't imagine it tastes any better than at home."

With Emily shaking her head and Tonks obviously having better things to do, Ron gave Harry a questioning look.

"Thank you," Harry said, smiling at Ron as he grabbed a sandwich from the basket. "Are these homemade?"

Ron chuckled. "Of course. But don't be afraid. Mum made them, not me."

Harry grinned. "That's not the reason I asked." Taking a bite, he nodded. "Hmm, ham and cheese. My favourite." Before taking another bite, Harry gave Ron a curious glance. "D'you come here every year?"

"No, not really," Ron replied. "First time we came here was in April for my brothers' birthday and then in August for Percy's birthday."

"Yes, your mum said you lost three siblings." Harry nodded in understanding.

"It was a tough time, especially for Mum," Ron said, glancing at his mother. "She wasn't quite over Dad's death; none of us was, and then this."

Harry sighed. Apparently, the Weasleys had even been hit harder than they were. "It's the first time I'm here at Hogwarts," Harry said. "Usually, we go to the cemetery every other weekend. But I wanted to come here to see where my father and his friends died. And, of course, to see Hogwarts. They always told us so much about Hogwarts, and I wanted to go to school there so badly. But apparently, that's never going to happen."

"What school do you go to?" asked Ron.

"We're home-schooled," Harry said, grimacing. "In the long run, it gets a bit boring with just my mother and younger sister for company."

"You don't have to tell me," Ron replied, chuckling. "I feel the same way. Fortunately, my brother Charlie occasionally takes me to work so I can get away from home."

"What's your brother doing?" Harry asked, interested.

"Charlie works for the Muggles as a ranger in Dartmoor National Park. He makes good money and is out in the fresh air all day. I love watching the wild ponies there."

"Lucky you!" Harry groaned. "I hang around at home all day. At least we're not locked up like we used to be. And I can go flying on our Quidditch pitch whenever I want. Unfortunately, we're not enough to play Quidditch, my little sister and I."

Ron pricked up his ears. "You guys can play Quidditch at your place? Maybe we can play together sometime. I could ask Bill and Charlie. I'm sure my sister would like to play, too. We still wouldn't have two full teams, but still. Better than nothing."

Apparently, Emily had picked up the word Quidditch since she suddenly emerged next to Harry. After giving Ron a sheepish smile and a "Hi", she shot Harry a warning look. "If you're really playing Quidditch, I'm definitely in. Don't forget it."

"Sure, sis." Harry couldn't hide a grin. "But you have to promise not to sulk when you lose." Harry got along really well with his sister, but when it came to any form of competition, neither of them could hold back.

"I never sulk," Emily replied, a little too forcefully. After a quick sideways glance at Ron, she gave Harry a wicked grin. "Unlike you. You're a lousy loser playing Exploding Snap."

Harry huffed. "Because you always cheat."

Ron chuckled. "Don't quarrel with your little sister. It won't get you anything but trouble."

Emily shot Harry a triumphant grin. "See!"

"Harry, Emm!" Harry's mother interrupted her. "Stop fighting. You remember what we agreed?"

"Yes, Mum," Harry replied, rolling his eyes. He gave Ron an apologetic look and murmured, "We're supposed to be on our best behaviour today."

"Where do you live that you have a proper Quidditch pitch?" asked Ron, getting back on topic.

"We live in Godric's Hollow," Harry replied. "We used to live in a cottage protected by the Fidelius. I was never allowed to leave the property. After the war, we moved into my grandparents' house. It's too big for us, but it has a potions lab Mum needs for work. Besides, we didn't want to leave Pinkie alone."

"You have a dog?" asked Ron, delighted.

Harry chuckled. "No, Pinkie is our house-elf. He was all alone in the house after my grandparents died. We would have moved over sooner, but the property is too big for a Fidelius."

"You were hiding all the time then?" asked Ron in astonishment.

"Yes," said Harry. "I've never really understood why, but somehow Voldemort was after our family, and Dumbledore insisted we go into hiding."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Professor Dumbledore? My brothers often talked about him. Does he still live in Godric's Hollow?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "He and his brother, Aberforth, live not far from us. But Dumbledore can hardly move anymore. He's partially paralyzed."

"Did you meet him?"

"Every now and then. But it's been a while. My mum visits him occasionally," said Harry. "And where are you from?"

"We're from Devon, near Ottery. Our house is quite a way outside the town, though. We call it the Burrow. Mum grows potatoes and vegetables and sells them to the Muggles in Ottery." Ron chuckled. "The Muggles were dumbfounded the first time Mum offered fresh vegetables in the middle of the winter. You need to know we have two large greenhouses we're heating with warming charms in winter."

"That's clever", Harry commented.

"Yeah, it is." Ron grinned as suddenly a shadow crossed his face. "It was Dad's idea. He saw that with the Muggles. Of course, their greenhouses were much smaller."

"Ron, we have to go," Mrs Weasley called to them.

Harry looked up and noticed that his mother had already said goodbye to Ron's mother. He followed her example and waved goodbye to Mrs Weasley.

Charlie whispered something to Tonks, who smiled at him and nodded excitedly. "I'll definitely be in touch," Tonks said, hugging Charlie and kissing his cheek.

Harry raised his hand and waved goodbye to the young man. "Bye, Charlie."

As Charlie waved him back, Harry noticed two missing fingers on his left hand and what appeared to be burn marks. He grinned at Charlie. "Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to talk to you today. You've been too busy."

"Next time. We'll definitely see each other again," Charlie replied, returning Harry's grin. "Tonks, d'you have a moment?"

"Sure," Tonks replied, raising her hand to Harry. "Go ahead."

Harry nodded and turned back to Ron. "We should keep in touch and meet sometime to fly," Harry suggested. "I'll send you an owl."

"That's perfect." Ron nodded enthusiastically. "Unfortunately, I don't own an owl. Ours died last year, and you can hardly find any owls to buy, and if they are, they're too expensive."

"Then send your answer back with our owl," Harry suggested.

"I'll do," Ron replied, waving a quick goodbye.

Following the path along the shore of the Black Lake, they occasionally passed groups of grave-faced people, obviously also here to mourn family members or friends, exchanging silent glances and nods.

After a few hundred metres, Harry's mother halted, looking about.

"Was it here, Mum?" Emily asked, giving her mother an anxious look.

A few yards away, Harry spotted some stones that looked like they were made of granite. They were about a foot square and scattered about the lawn as if at random. As he got closer, he noticed letters engraved into the stones. The letters FL were carved into the rock closest to him. A few steps away, he recognized the letters JP. He'd seen the same stones up in front of the castle, only a lot more, but hadn't paid any attention to them. Obviously, someone had dedicated a stone to each defender of Hogwarts who'd lost their lives. Who could have done something like this?

"Did you find Dad here?" Emily repeated her question, her voice shaking, matching her mother's expression.

Glancing over at his mother, Harry immediately understood without listening to her reply. Her sobs and pained expression were answer enough. This was where his father had fought for his life and defended Hogwarts the night he and Emily had waited for his return in vain. His heart pounded as his eyes darted around, imagining what had happened here that horrible night. How many friends had been with his father when he died? How many enemies had they fought?

Harry let his gaze wander across the meadow and discovered nearly a dozen other stones with the initials of fallen fighters in the immediate vicinity. He walked over to his mother, who was kneeling with Emily by his father's stone, tracing the letters J and P with her fingers. As Harry knelt down beside her, she pulled a small bouquet of lilies from her robe and placed them next to the stone.

Sobbing and with tears in her eyes, his mother pointed with trembling fingers toward the castle. "When the weather was nice, we often sat under that tree and did our homework or just chatted."

Harry glanced up at the large tree that covered half the castle. "You and Dad?" he asked.

His mother smiled sadly and nodded. "At first, I sat there with my friends. Your dad, Sirius, Remus and Peter usually wandered around somewhere, always some nonsense in mind. But in our seventh year, I often sat there with James." She sobbed again, and a tear slid down her cheek. "It feels strange that he died not far from the place we fell in love, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Tonks agreed as she arrived. "There must be hundreds of those stones scattered all over the site."

"Yes, it was a horrible night. All the chaos, the burning Hogwarts, those horrific screams everywhere and..." his mother paused, shaking her head sadly, "...and all the dead." Looking Tonks in the eye, she sighed, "But you certainly know better than I do. You've been here yourself. When I arrived, it was already over, and the survivors tended to the wounded and dead." She wept. "They found Sirius and Remus, along with some others, near the gates to the Hogwarts grounds and took them up to the castle. At the place we've seen the stele, where the main entrance used to be, they laid out the dead. There were so many." His mother shook her head. "I didn't know where James was and looked for him everywhere, always hoping I'd run into him somewhere." She paused, staring at the stone with the letters JP on it. "Until I finally found him here. Not far from James lay Frank Longbottom." Harry's mother glanced up at them with a pained face. "Please, leave me alone for a few minutes. Walk a bit ahead. I'll catch up with you in a bit."

Slightly surprised by her request, Harry nodded hesitantly, throwing his sister and Tonks a quizzical look.

Shrugging, Tonks indicated toward the path that continued along the lake. "There are some rocks down the trail where we can sit, having a nice view over the lake."

In silence, they strolled along the path until it turned slightly to the left, bypassing a small, flat clump of rocks.

"Here we are. Let's go this way," Tonks suggested, pointing to a narrow trail near the shore that led up to a small plateau. When they reached the top, Tonks pulled her wand, dried the wet stone, and cast a warming charm before she sat down.

"Did you come here often?" Emily asked, sitting down next to the older girl.

Tonks smirked. "Sometimes. But you had to hurry. The place was quite popular."

"I can imagine. It's really nice here." Emily nodded with a dreamy look, her eyes wandering over the lake. "I think I would have loved Hogwarts."

Clambering onto a rock, Harry craned his neck to get a peek at his mother but couldn't see her. Instead, he noticed more of those memorial stones on a small knoll beyond the path, scattered across the meadow like dark spots.

"What do you think? Who laid out all these stones here?" asked Harry, genuinely puzzled.

"No clue," Tonks replied. "Definitely not the Ministry, as it doesn't exist anymore."

"But that's a good thing", Emily interjected. "The Ministry was on Voldemort's side."

"That's not entirely true," Tonks replied. "Many good people worked for the Ministry who opposed him. Of course, they didn't admit it publicly. It would've been too dangerous. Back then, many were killed by the Death Eaters or disappeared without a trace, even entire families, simply because they thought they didn't like Voldemort. You could never be sure who was on your side. That was probably one of the reasons why Voldemort levelled the Ministry with Fiendfyre. His minions, of course, had been warned and fled beforehand. That's how Charlie's father died. He worked for the Ministry, too."

"Has Charlie been your boyfriend?" Emily asked, giving Tonks a sheepish smile.

"Phew", Tonks snorted and took a deep breath, a sceptical expression on her face.

"Come on. Admit it," Emily teased her.

"It's hard to tell. We've been good friends," Tonks said after a while. "Maybe even a little more. But he never asked me to be his girlfriend." Shrugging, she continued, "Who knows if it would have lasted. Charlie wanted to work in a dragon sanctuary somewhere in the Balkans. And I wanted to become an Auror. We wouldn't have seen each other much after school."

"You wanted to become an Auror?" Harry asked, shooting Tonks an amazed look.

Tonks raised her eyebrows. "Yes. Why are you so surprised?"

"I… no, nothing," Harry said quickly. "I just didn't expect it." Grinning, he added, "Charlie's working for the Muggles here in England now. Maybe you'll get another shot."

"Who knows," Tonks said cautiously. "It was definitely nice to see him again, and we want to keep in touch." Smiling, she added, "And I'm really looking forward to it."

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for you." Harry returned Tonks' smile. "I'm also looking forward to make friends with Ron. He seemed quite nice."

"Didn't know you were into boys," Emily teased him.

"Haha, how witty." Harry frowned. Shaking his head, he gave his sister an annoyed look.

"Don't be such a girl," Emily retorted and jumped up. "Mum is coming. Let's hope we can go home now. I'm freezing."

Indeed, their mother was standing down the path, waving to them. "Come on, we have to go. It's getting late, and I still have to see Dumbledore."

Harry raised his eyebrows. He knew that his mother occasionally visited the former headmaster. But she hadn't mentioned that she wanted to meet him today. "What's so important?" asked Harry, curious.

"I promised Molly to ask Albus if he can help us with the lessons plans."

"What lesson plans?" Harry asked, giving his mother a confused look.

"For you and the Weasley kids," his mother replied. "There are no official NEWTs anymore, but it's important to me that you both get the best possible education. I can't teach you everything at home by myself. With a bit of luck, we can even get a few more children together. I'm sure Albus can help with that, too."

"Oh," was all Harry could say in surprise. "You want to open a school?"

"Yes. Something like that," his mother replied. "And it will also do you good to meet other kids your age instead of sitting around at home all day. Do you want to tag along? Albus is always glad when he gets visitors."

"What?" Harry asked, surprised. "You're visiting Dumbledore that often? Why?" Harry shot Tonks a curious look as they followed his mother and sister up the path leading to the two-story house where the Dumbledores lived.

Shrugging, Dora answered, "Every other week or so. Whenever he wants to see me."

"So often?" Harry asked in astonishment. "That must be boring."

Tonks grinned. "No. It's not. Sometimes he asks me to do some errands for him. He is not so mobile anymore and rarely leaves the house." She chuckled. "His brother Aberforth takes some getting used to. He can be a bit gruff. But once you get to know him, you realize he doesn't mean it."

Harry eyed Tonks, wondering what other secrets she might have. He wanted to ask her a few more questions, but his mother had already knocked on the front door, and a house-elf opened it.

"What can Donny do for Mrs Potter?" asked the house-elf, giving his mother a warm smile. Harry knew the house-elf. He was one of the few surviving Hogwarts house-elves. After the Battle of Hogwarts, he and two other elves had moved in with the Dumbledores to help the badly injured headmaster. The elf had also been injured during the fight, as the burns on his arms and right cheek proved.

"Hello, Donny. We want to see Headmaster Dumbledore and hope we don't cause him any inconvenience," his mother replied.

The house-elf gave them a polite nod. "Donny is going to announce the visitors to Headmaster Albus."

When Donny returned, he led the small group into the library, where Dumbledore was already waiting. A pot of tea with scones and clotted cream sat on the table, and Diara, another house-elf, was setting more tea sets.

Dumbledore was seated in a comfortable, large armchair, his feet propped up on a footstool. It was pretty obvious that his right leg was made of wood. Burns were visible on his hands, and his left eye was covered by an eye patch.

On a massive chest of drawers by the window, Harry noticed a large birdcage containing a magnificent scarlet bird with an impressive tail of golden feathers. Harry couldn't help the feeling the bird was watching him intently for a moment before closing his eyes again and paying no further attention to the visitors. Irritated, Harry glanced around to see if the others had noticed it, too, but they all had eyes for the old headmaster only.

"It's good to see you're doing well, Albus. Are you feeling better?" asked Harry's mother. "The last time I was here, the fever really got to you."

"Thanks for asking. I'm indeed feeling much better again," Dumbledore replied. "But to what do I owe the honour of your visit?" the older man asked, smiling merrily, motioning for them to sit down.

"We went to Hogwarts today, and..." Harry's mother sighed.

"Ah, yes. I see," Dumbledore nodded gravely. "The anniversary."

"Yes, the anniversary," Harry's mother replied. "And we met the Weasleys."

"I hope Molly is well," said Dumbledore. "I haven't heard from her for a while."

"Yes, as far as I understood, the Weasley are all fine," Harry's mother replied. "Among other things, we talked about the education of our children and came up with an idea...well, we thought there were things that could be improved and that we wanted to ask you for advice, Albus."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "What were you thinking of?"

Harry's mother took a deep breath. "Right now, everyone is doing their own thing. I teach my children all subjects, Molly does the same, and I'm pretty sure all the other parents do too." His mother hesitated for a moment. "Maybe we can improve the quality of the education if each parent teaches what they do best. Because the Ministry no longer exists, we don't have official NEWTs anymore. But we believe that we still have to make sure that our children are as close as possible to the NEWTs standards when they finish their education."

Harry glanced at his mother in surprise and caught Emily doing the same. He hadn't realized that his mother had discussed such subjects with Mrs Weasley. He'd been too busy with Ron.

"That sounds like a good idea." Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "And what do you think I could do for you?"

"Well, yes," his mother began. "We were hoping you could give advice on how to organize the classes. And we were wondering if you know other families who might be interested in attending."

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "Yes. Those are things I can definitely help with. Do you already have an idea where the lessons shall take place? Hogwarts certainly is not an option."

"We'll have to think about that," admitted Harry's mother. "It also depends on how many students we'll have. With your help, we hope to get at least 15 to 20 kids."

"I like the idea, Lily. Nowadays, everyone lives in their own little world and is suspicious of anyone they don't know. Give me a few days, and I think I'll have something for you the next time you come to visit," said Dumbledore. "But for now, let's try the delicious scones Diara made for us."