Chapter 16
“Sirius! Dad! We’re getting late!” Harry shouted up the stairs.
He could hear the two of them running around while shouting upstairs, their thumping footsteps making it sound like a stampede had broken in. Harry was finally understanding what a deadly combination James, Sirius, and an abundance of free time was.
He sighed exasperatedly before gripping the bannister and making the long trek up the creaky stairs to see what could possibly be keeping them for so long.
He walked into the corridor to see both James and Sirius half dressed- James with the upper half and Sirius with the lower half. James was wriggling out of Sirius’ grip while trying to read something on a piece of parchment.
“Give it to me!” Sirius shouted, pulling at James’ arm.
“No way! Harry, listen ‘Oh Moony, I have missed you for many moons, do you yearn for me-’”
“Shut up!” Sirius shouted, deciding to jump on James’ back and cover his eyes with his hands.
James promptly ran into the wall beside them, jostling them both as well as the paintings that hung there.
“Harry take it!” he shouted, shoving the parchment into his hand.
While the two wrestled, Harry figured he might as well read what it was. Turns out, it was a letter dated from somewhere around the time that Sirius was on the run from the law and in hiding. It makes sense that he and Remus would have exchanged letters at the time but he wasn’t expecting a poem from Sirius of all people.
He had to stifle a laugh when he compared Remus’ freckles to specks of dirt. He supposed it must have been romantic somehow.
Sirius finally jumped off of James and was onto Harry who raised his hand with the parchment up and out of the way, “I’ll give it to you once you two are dressed . Molly’s going to yell at all of us.”
“It’s his fault for being a bloody snoop,” Sirius snarked.
“It’s not my fault you were being sentimental in public, you were practically begging me to read that,” James retorted, still laughing.
“Keep your nose out of my business or I’ll charm it to be as big as Snape’s” Sirius said bitterly.
James shook his head and sauntered back down the hallway to continue dressing, raising a single middle finger in Sirius’ direction.
As Harry watched his father retreat coupled with Sirius’ sentence bouncing around in his head, he supposed James did strut…just a bit.
With one last look of defeat, Sirius went to go finish dressing in his own room and Harry stomped back down to Lily, who had been sitting downstairs and ready for at least an hour.
“Have they always been like this?” Harry asked, laughing. He wasn’t truly annoyed at them in the slightest. He enjoyed Sirius being back just as much as he enjoyed being with his parents, it brought a sort of lightness to the home, causing them all to become closer than before, if that was even possible.
“Since first year,” Lily sighed wistfully.
Sirius came racing down the stairs first and Harry gave him back his poem, “I didn’t think you were such a poet Sirius.”
He rolled up the parchment and wacked the back of Harry’s head with it and he supposed he deserved that though it was entirely worth it.
“So when you went to visit Molly, she dropped a glass tray on your foot yeah?” Sirius asked warily. At Lily’s nod, he cast a furtive glance at his dragon hide boots and made a show of sending a prayer up to protect his feet.
James came down a moment later and went straight for the back doors. He came back inside with three broomsticks in hand and a mischievous grin.
_____
They arrived quite late but early enough that food had only just been served.
They all piled inside and Ron and Hermione were the only ones not too surprised at the sight of Sirius, having seen him and reconnected a few days prior.
Having done this so many times, Harry guessed he just kind of forgot to say anything and just greeted everyone with a wave before taking his seat at the table, followed by his parents and Sirius.
Everyone else, already sitting at the table, sat in stunned silence, staring at them like they were hippogriffs who had come in for mealtime while they busied themselves by setting their napkins across their laps and eyeing the spread.
Molly bustled in with a vase of water, rushing to fill cups before sitting down in her seat quickly, “Well go on then,” she ordered, gesturing at the food.
“Could I have some water please,” Sirius asked from his spot next to Molly.
“Of course dear,” she complied absentmindedly, grabbing the vase and turning to Sirius.
She filled his outstretched cup and her eyes suddenly focused on the tattoos across his hand. She looked up at a grinning Sirius and shrieked, possibly even louder than when she saw James and Lily.
“Sirius!” she crowed again and the sheer volume of her voice was enough to make everyone wince.
She dropped the jug in the space between their chairs and though Sirius’ feet were saved, his legs were not as they were promptly drenched.
“Well you can’t win them all,” he sighed, going back to his food.
“W-W-How- You” she spluttered.
“Oh come on mum if you make Harry explain it every time, he’ll just run out of breath and the food will get cold. Let’s chalk it up to the fact that he’s the Chosen One, this kind of stuff just happens to him,” Ron voiced.
That seemed to appease everyone and Sirius’ just Aguamenti’d the vase full again before complimenting Molly on her cooking.
_____
“Right,” James said clapping his hands with a tone of authority, “Everybody playing, line up,”
They were all gathered in a clearing in the fields surrounding the Burrow ready to play a game of Quidditch. What was supposed to be a casual game between friends was slowly turning into the World Cup and James went into full captain mode, forcing them out just after dinner as the sun was setting and whipping them into shape.
“Alright, who’s going to be captain of the other team?” he asked, eyeing them all up.
“I reckon it should be Harry,” Ginny said cheekily and Harry had to agree it would be quite funny so he stepped up and out of line.
James looked at him as if in a new light, assessing him before punching a fist into his other hand in a show of intimidation. Unfortunately, James didn’t know how much taunting Harry had to deal with from Draco before every game in school, he was ready for it.
“For your sake, I’ll let you pick first,” James said in a show of mock-courtesy.
Harry smirked, “Ginny.”
She smiled, stepping up while Ron, Draco, and Sirius looked put out by not being picked first but Harry had to make sure he bagged Ginny before James did.
James scanned the line once more before, “Draco.”
Draco looked smug as he walked past Harry and up to James- traitor. He knew he was only happy to be on James’ side because he picked him first, and because he had a small dad-crush on him. Draco tried to explain that he only thought James was so fit because that’s what Harry would look like when he was older but he wasn’t having any of it because Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked at him the same way.
And so it went with Harry ending up with Ginny, Ron, and Charlie and James with Draco, George, and Sirius. Arthur was keeping points with a happy Victoire in his lap and Molly, Lily, Hermione, and Fleur were sitting on a small picnic blanket, ready to cheer them all on indiscriminately.
None of them really played their usual positions except for Draco and Harry who were committed for old-times sake and because they were both absolutely hopeless in any other position.
Both teams stood across from each other, faces serious as they shook hands once before stepping back to their side of the clearing. The game began with a squeal from Victoire and soon they were all off in the sky.
Harry and Draco were the only ones who kept a lazy circle around the game, hovering higher than everyone else to scan the area for their target. They kept it to one quaffle, one bludger, and one snitch to lower risk of injury or bruised egos, both of which were highly likely.
James and Sirius seemed to be of one mind, constantly working in sync with each other, where one passed, the other caught, and they easily protected each others’ backs from the oncoming bludgers which were easily launched by Ron.
Ginny was quick as an asp, dashing around the area and taking the ball from James before he even realised it was out of his open palm. Her hair was a fiery streak behind her as she cackled, flying off in the other direction to throw it into their goal with ease.
Their honorary cheerleaders all clapped for her, not showing team loyalty, and Lily looked especially cheerful at someone being able to beat James.
James seemed to have realised he found a worthy opponent as he reentered the game with renewed vigour.
Harry and Draco, however, were staring each other down, forgetting that the whole point was keeping their eyes on the game. They were mouthing insults and making some very offensive hand gestures in a poor effort to throw the other off their game.
They didn’t seem to realise that neither of them could truly rile the other up like they used to and it just made them want to snog each other more. They did just that until Ginny flew by and thunked Harry on the back of the head, “Oi stop snogging and get back to it!”
She sounded scarily like James.
And so the game went, both teams landed scores of points while Harry searched hopelessly for the Snitch. He resorted to watching Draco and figuring he’d just go for it when the other boy spotted it.
James was looking increasingly distressed with each point they made and Harry decided to swing by.
“How’s it going? I know you played quidditch before brooms were invented so I understand how this could be a bit confusing for you.”
James was about to respond before a bludger came flying, right in between them.
Harry looked up to see Sirius pointing between them with his bat, “No trash talking, he’s too sensitive for that.” He flew away laughing but James didn’t even make a move to stop him knowing it was probably true.
Finally, Harry looked back up to Draco who slowly leaned forward on his broom and Harry followed his line of sight to the area right above their cheerleaders. He thought he’d wait for the Snitch to move away from them but he went for it and so, naturally, Harry did too.
Those on the blanket scrambled away like pixies as they closed in but it swerved at the last second, causing Draco and Harry to have to pull up and away.
It was a mad chase from then on, both of them just centimetres away from the snitch before it moved and they were constantly on the verge of clashing. Neither of them even knew what the points were, unable to hear Arthur as they were both laser-focused.
Finally, the end of the game was in sight as Harry and Draco both kept their hands outstretched, so close to the Snitch. Draco, unable to help himself, smacked Harry’s hand but the second cost him and Harry jumped off his broom, propelling himself forward and he caught it.
He didn’t seem to think about the repercussions as he hurtled towards the ground. They weren’t so high that it would be too injurious but Harry was an old man now and his creaky bones surely wouldn’t take the impact well.
He shut his eyes and cringed but landed on what felt like a pillow. When he opened his eyes again, he was met with the irked face of Lily who had cast a charm just before he hit the ground.
“Thanks mum,” he said, out of breath.
“Mhm,” was all she said before walking away, swishing her wand and Harry still fell the rest of the way to the ground, groaning.
She muttered something about him being James’ son and risking his life over a game but he didn’t hear her as he stood, hand outstretched with the gleaming device fluttering in between his fingers.
His teammates whooped and cheered whereas James looked annoyed but still flew down to hug Harry.
“Proud of you son,” he said, ruffling his hair and clapping him on the shoulder. Sirius came a moment after him and did the same thing before saying, “I spent so many games watching you as Padfoot, I’m happy to have been able to play you at least once.”
And, of course, like all things James and Sirius did, it made Harry want to cry. There had been so many quidditch games he had spent without anyone in the stands cheering for him. Arthur and Molly had come sometimes and the professors were there but it wasn’t the same as someone who wasn’t just cheering on their son’s friend or their student. James, Lily, as well as Sirius would be cheering for him .
He had to come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t alone anymore.
Apparently while they were watching, Lily, Fleur, and Hermione had made a small trophy out of twigs which they granted to Harry ceremoniously.
When they got home Harry made a show of walking around downstairs, rubbing his chin and trying to find the perfect spot for his trophy. Draco and Sirius’ tendency for drama was certainly rubbing off on him.
It was only obvious that Harry picked a spot right on the mantle of the sitting room so it would be there for everyone to see and awe at. Or in James’ case, to glare at.
“I’ll win it back, you just wait and see,” James said finally before bidding them all a goodnight.
Harry couldn’t wait. He didn’t care if he won or lost any games in the future because James’ word held a promise that they would have more chances, more opportunities- more time to spend together.
_____
“Minnie’s hat is gonna fly off, I already know,” Sirius said happily as they gathered around the floo.
Harry went in first with James and Lily behind him.
James had sent a letter ahead of time wanting to visit and she immediately agreed.
Harry sort of forgot that she still thought him dead when he walked in first and her jaw dropped. She looked as if she ought to be looking at James but her eyes caught on the unmistakable scar.
She jumped up from her desk, “Harry!”
She scrambled up to him, moving faster than he had ever seen her move, and was talking so fast that he couldn’t understand any of it, the words jumbling together in her particularly strong Scottish brogue but he caught the message as her eyes shone with tears and she hugged him tightly, her bony but strong arms encircling him.
“Oh I’d give you detention for the rest of your life if I could,” she crowed.
He laughed and hugged her back, “And I’d find some way out of it.”
Once they had all hugged and greeted, Harry looked up, expecting to see the familiar portrait of Dumbledore, but he was met with a beautiful tapestry of Hogwarts, the Black Lake visible on one corner with the Forbidden forest in the other. Rolling green hills and tall mountains encircled the view and the magic imbued within the cloth had the clouds moving and animals flitting about the entire scene.
“Where’s Dumbledore?” he asked curiously to McGonagall who looked a bit abashed.
“Well…after you had disappeared, I had a talk with Albus and decided it best to move his portrait as he had endangered a student and potentially caused their demise. He spoke about possible ways to bring you back and I knew that while he was a brilliant mind, it would be best to contain that as much as possible. He is now residing in the Hall of Portraits with significantly less sentience, mostly resorting to riddles and vague pieces of advice.”
That was certainly unexpected with the way everyone at Hogwarts idolised Dumbledore. Harry had a certain sort of respect for the man as a powerful wizard but not much else, his view of the man becoming tainted over a decade of lies and betrayal. Never would he have thought of someone to remove him, especially McGonagall who was such a close friend of his.
“I understand it may have been a bit extreme but when we thought you were gone…” she trailed off.
“Thank you,” was all Harry could say, mustering all his emotion and pushing it into those two words for the woman who had constantly stood up for him and defended him, against any and everyone who wished to hurt him.
“I hope we can offer you this in return,” James smiled, stepping into the floo, disappearing for a moment, before climbing back in.
Sirius stepped through a moment later, “I’m back!” he called, drawing out the ‘a’ and extending his arms in a show of a big hug.
McGonagall looked ready to keel over at the sight of her former student. This was it, someone had finally stumped her completely.
Harry thought he might have to rennervate her before she finally stepped forward.
Sirius’ smile softened a bit and his former bravado slipped as his former professor stepped up to him. She looked at him similarly and Harry thought it was the way a mother and her child looked at each other, a familial relationship rather than a professional one.
“Sirius,” she whispered.
“Minnie,” he responded.
She let out a wild sort of laugh at that, seeming to shock even herself. She rushed into SIrius’ outstretched arms, hugging each other with excessive force.
Once they had done that and wiped their faces, “Alright,” he called, walking around, “Now where do you keep those infamous biscuits in here.”
She rolled her eyes a bit but still fondly letdhim to them.
Harry knew that both wars had taken a toll on all of his professors but especially McGonagall who had been teaching her for so long and remembered each and every one of her students, especially after having outlived so many of them.
Most students thought her to be overly strict and brash but it was simply the way she expressed her care. She constantly sought to make Hogwarts a haven for students, offering them as much comfort and security as possible and when she couldn’t uphold that, it broke a piece of her soul.
Upon Sirius’ return, she felt a large fissure within her close up and seal. He was older than James and Lily by half but it never changed the way she saw him, still the eleven year old boy who looked up at her with an expression of fear as his tie turned red and gold and he was officially marked a Gryffindor. The boy who came into her office crying after the ceremony, begging to be moved to Slytherin for fear of his parents’ wrath.
The other three had gone down to do a walk through of the castle for old times sake, leaving Harry and McGonagall in the office to have tea and biscuits.
“I still can’t believe they’re here sometimes. I mean I used to wake up to an empty house but now it feels like I’m always running into one of them” he smiled softly.
“I imagine that might be a lot,” she said pointedly.
“It is but I like it. I never feel alone now but in a good way, I think I’ve spent too much of my life alone to ever grow tired of them.”
She smiled serenely, considering his answer. Harry expected her to ask about the job posting but she remained silent on the matter, possibly having withdrawn her offer after him taking so long with the first day of school rapidly approaching.
“So, I was thinking about the job posting…I know I took a long time to reply and I completely understand if you rescind the offer but if possible…I would like to take it, to be the Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts,” he declared nervously, wringing his hands in his lap and biting the inside of his cheek after speaking.
She considered this for a moment before standing up seriously.
Harry mirrored her, standing up as well, not really knowing what to do.
She extended a hand, “Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Potter.”
Harry’s heart soared at the title and it just felt right . So much of his life felt wrong, constantly being forced into things he didn’t want to do but felt like he had to. Even becoming an Auror was something that was expected of him after the war and he took it because he didn’t have any other plans but this was a plan made entirely of his own volition.
He shook her hand eagerly, feeling nervous energy flood through him at the new prospect.
“I’ll be honest, I’m not even quite sure where to begin but-” he spoke rapidly, quickly realising that he may be a bit in over his head.
She knelt down to unlock a drawer in her desk and pulled out a large binder full of parchment and set it down on her desk, “I found this when Remus’ cleared his classroom. He left it behind for the next Professor but I had kept it with me, the others already having their own plans or, honestly, I did not feel comfortable giving it to them. I think you may find it useful.”
Harry felt a surge of emotion at the sight as he flipped open the cover to reveal Remus’ familiar cursive handwriting dancing across the pages.
“I can’t” he said, not knowing how to accept it, feeling obligated to refuse it because he wasn’t worthy of it.
“He would want you to have it,” she smiled sincerely, handing to him. “I look forward to seeing you on the 31st of August.”
Harry numbly took the packet before leaving the office, rejoining the others to share the news.
As they walked and talked, Harry steered them to the DADA Classroom, his future residence.
“Wow, the memories in here,” Lily said, resting her hand along the doorway.
“Remember when I was duelling Snape and hexed him so hard he flew out the window,” Sirius snickered and James guffawed in laughter, joining in the memories.
Harry just smiled at the prospect of having to deal with similar antics from his own potential students and made a mental note to make sure the windows were locked before they practiced duelling.
“I have something to tell you guys,” he said a bit quietly and they all turned to him expectantly.
“Professor McGonagall offered me the post of becoming DADA Professor and…I accepted it.”
He didn’t know what he was expecting really, maybe being disappointed in him for picking a teaching job after the life he had had but smiles broke out across all their faces as they clapped, hugged, and congratulated him.
“Oh Haris, this is amazing,” Lily cried, kissing him on the cheeks.
“How’s he so smart? Are you sure he’s your son?” Sirius asked James before going for the hug as well.
“It skips a generation you know, dad was so smart, passed over me, and it went all to him. Really, you should be thanking me,” James joked but Harry could see the pride that shone in his eyes.
Harry took another look around the cavernous classroom, through the windows that overlooked the Black Lake and the wall of textbooks. He remembered sitting in this exact classroom, the only constant as teachers came in and out the room, all having met an unfortunate demise.
He knew the jinx was gone and his only fear was that he’d mess up. That he’d taken the job on an impulse and that McGonagall had misplaced her trust in him.
Surely there were more suitable replacements?
_____
That notion was quickly dispelled the following evening when James had sneakily invited all of Harry’s friends over to share in the good news. They made sure to invite not only only the usual group but Neville and Luna as well.
Neville congratulated Harry and gifted him yet another plant that was supposed to bring “luck and prosperity.” He wondered if he could instead ask Neville for a plant that didn’t require water or nutrients or attention really as he thought about his ever-growing plant cemetery full of Neville’s gifts.
James had gotten talking to Luna about Pandora and Harry thought it was the first time he had ever seen Luna looking so serious.
Though she wasn’t upset really but rather, latched onto every word James said. Luna had a chance to know her mother but just like the rest of them, she hadn’t been able to grow up with her into adulthood and she looked just as Harry did when he begged for any bit of information on his parents that others would offer him.
He was happy that she had the chance and once they had finished talking, Harry went up to her to ask the question he had been dying to ask, “How did you know? Back in sixth year when I was talking to you and you told me where I was when I didn’t even ask?”
“I couldn’t know for certain but the wrackspurts around you seemed scared, I wanted to help,” she smiled, looking around him as if trying to spy for more of whatever mythical creatures she suspected were there.
“Well, thank you Luna, it really helped,” he said genuinely, squeezing her hand once.
She held his hand back, “I hope you’re happy Harry. Mum told me that sometimes people come into your life, very upset and sad, but that just means they’re looking for a friend. I always hoped we would become good friends Harry,” she voiced, now looking at him.
Harry suspected Pandora was talking about Regulus and Harry thought about it further, he supposed there were many coincidences that could be drawn between them due to the unfortunate cards the universe dealt them.
“Of course we’re friends,” he guaranteed before leaving her to investigate the garden for something he couldn’t catch the name of.
Considering the fact that they were at Grimmauld, Harry didn’t even want to consider what she might find out there.
Lily found him a little while later, “So I’ve been thinking, how do you say we show James Potter manor soon? I swung by it today after visiting Frank and Alice and set up the furniture, it’s ready when we are.”
Harry looked at her and saw the light shining through her at the idea. She was practically bouncing with excitement and Harry couldn’t quite contain himself either.
“This weekend?” he asked hopefully.
She nodded vehemently, showing her clear approval and agreement.
Harry looked over at James who was playing a tense game of Wizarding Chess with Ron with Sirius and Draco helping both of them and couldn’t help but grinning at seeing them all.
It was a sight he’d never grow old of.