#quidditch jily au? at least for that i would not have to do as much research as if it was some 'real' sport haha | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

startanewdream · 3 years

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Light beam

‘Dad, hypothetically… what would you have done if Mum was Sirius’ sister?’

Lily notices it first, Harry pines and James cheers.

(AKA the Jily Lives AU discussing Hinny, for @sweeethinny and @isidar-mithrim)

Read on AO3 or all below the cut:

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It’s getting late when James apparates at the Burrow, feeling tired. He had spent all week immersed in old tomes across Europe’s oldest libraries, reading lost scrolls of magic theory - Dumbledore asked him to study heavy curse breaks, for whatever reason -, while Lily was away in the strangest Order mission he’d ever heard of: tracking down their old Potions teacher, so Old Slughorn could return to Hogwarts that year. He doesn’t know why this is important, but then again Dumbledore has been more mysterious than usual lately.

James can’t care about it now; all he wants is to go back to their house, to Lily and Harry, and enjoy some part of Harry’s summer holiday with them.

Especially after everything that had happened in June.

But ever since Voldemort had been out in the open again, the number of Order missions had increased. James can’t complain - as long as the Order is doing their job, as long as he is in the field doing what needs to be done, Harry doesn’t need to be involved, and they can pretend there is no prophecy hanging around Harry’s shoulder, carrying the weight of the world with it.

Harry had been quiet and thoughtful since returning from school, and James hopes these last days at the Burrow had helped ease some of his worries; or, at least, that his humour had been better than last summer.

Molly greets him with a warm smile (after making sure they pass each other’s secret code because these are dark times) and points him to her orchard.

‘They’ve been playing Quidditch all day’, she explains amused, offering him a tea in her kitchen. ‘All week, actually. If I would let them, I don’t think they would even return for dining’.

‘Ron would’, James says teasingly, and Molly laughs, agreeing. ‘So… I take everything is fine?’

‘Harry’s been nice, James’, she assures him. ‘He’s been eating all right and talking and… recovering, I guess. But, yes, he seems fine. Like -’

‘A normal teenager?’

She nods.

‘Your son is a good boy’, Molly says fondly, looking outside the window even though they can’t see them out there. ‘You and Lily raised a fine young man. He deserves some peace’.

James sighs.

‘It’s all I wish for him’.

‘You can let him come here all summer if you want’, she adds. ‘We’ve given the highest security protection there is, and here I can keep an eye on him too while you and Lily are out. Harry will enjoy being with Ron and Hermione’. Molly pauses briefly. ‘And with Ginny’.

‘I will talk to Lily’, James says. ‘But I don’t want to bother you or Arthur -’

‘You won’t’, Molly affirms. ‘In fact, don’t you want to stay for dinner?’

‘Lily will be finally home tonight, Molly, but I will accept on another occasion. I will just collect Harry now’.

She smiles. ‘Just follow the sound’, she says, indicating the pathway leaving her kitchen door.

James nods in goodbye and he leaves the illuminated kitchen. The sun is setting, so the pathway is dark, but ahead he can see someone has lighted a blue bonfire; as promised, he hears them even before he sees them.

‘We aren’t really hurting them’, he hears Ron saying, his voice sounding both exasperated and fond, and James knows he is speaking with Hermione.

‘Still, there has to be a better way of keeping gnomes away’.

‘We can always make Crookshanks chase them away. He seems to enjoy it’.

‘He wants to eat them -’

‘Well, it’s that or throwing them away, so -’

James gets closer, stopping just right before the bonfire can illuminate him, enjoying the view. Harry, Ron and Hermione are around the fire, sitting on logs, and while Ron and Hermione are locked in one of their heated discussions - about gnomes, he supposes, but it never took much to get them started -, Harry is quiet, his back for them actually, evidently not being a part of their discussion. For a moment, James thinks this is a bad sign - that Harry is in one of his reflective moods - until he notices Harry is not really brooding.

He is looking up at the sky, where the dark shadow of Ginny flying can be seen cut across the sunset sky. Ginny is making some nice movements - training loops and mid-turn stops - that James will have to remember to praise her later, but right now his eyes are fixed on Harry’s face.

Harry looks… serene? It is not the right word, but James thinks he has never seen that expression on Harry before. He looks simultaneously at ease and amused and fascinated; he looks like his mind is miles away, but still, his eyes don’t miss any move Ginny makes as if he could watch her flying for hours.

And he is smiling like… again, James can’t put his finger on it, can’t name that smile, but he knows he has already seen it before, and not on Harry’s face. Not even on his own - for all the similarities between him and Harry, it is not a smile James has seen in the mirror before. Where then?

It looks so familiar...

Harry suddenly raises, and when James follows the direction of his look, he sees Ginny is making a sudden dive, straight towards the ground. Harry looks ready to bolt towards her, but Ginny straightens her broom and lands smoothly, with an infectious grin on her lips. She had been laughing during her dive.

‘Wronski Feint?’, he hears Harry asking teasingly, as he approaches her. ‘What do you think you are, a Seeker?’

‘Well’, Ginny seems deep in thought, considering his question, but James can hear the same tease in her voice. ‘Last time I checked, yes, I was one’.

‘What happened to only playing Seeker while I was out?’

‘Maybe I enjoyed doing nothing all match. Guess I will see you on tryouts’.

‘Good luck with that’, Harry smirks. ‘I’ll let you know the captain favours me’.

‘Aren’t you the captain?’, Ginny asks, giving him a sly smile. ‘Merlin, they make anyone captain these days’.

‘Watch out’, he warns her, his voice dropping amusement. ‘Or the captain won’t call you’.

‘And lose the Quidditch Cup because he dare to forgo his best Chaser? He wouldn’t’.

‘He wouldn’t’, Harry agrees warmly. ‘As long as such Chaser stays in the Chaser position’.

Ginny laughs.

‘That’s all this Chaser wants’, she assures him, her voice as playful as his. ‘Just try to play all games for once, ok? No visits to the Hospital Wing or getting banished again’.

‘It wouldn’t be a normal year for me if nothing happened’, Harry notes, shrugging.

Ginny sighs.

‘Guess I will keep training that Wronski Feint then. Someone has to win the Quidditch Cup for Gryffindor’.

‘With all the guidance of your captain, it should be easy’, he says, once more grinning happily, all negativity gone. ‘Of course, your Feint needs more improvement -’

‘Improvement?’, she scoffs, and James notes that all her indignation is softened by the fact Ginny is still smiling. ‘That movement would make any decent Seeker fall for it -’

‘I wouldn’t fall’.

‘I said decent Seekers, Potter’.

‘Oh, you are so on, Weasley’, Harry challenges, his eyes shining. ‘Let out the Golden Snitch, we will see who falls for who -’

‘Mr. Potter!’, there is a high shriek and James turns around just as Harry and Ginny look at him, finally noticing him at the edge of the meadow they are. Hermione is up on her feet, her eyes going from James to the bonfire and James has a pretty good idea of who cast the magical fire. ‘We were just -’

‘I am glad Molly lighted the fire for you’, he says dismissively, winking at Hermione, giving her a perfectly reasonable excuse for a bit of underage magic. ‘It is charmed to keep flies away, I hope’.

‘Dad!’, Harry cries, looking glad to see him. ‘You took long, I thought you’d stay in Germany forever’.

‘So dramatic, I wonder who you took that from’, James jokes. ‘Just arrived to take you home’.

‘Ah. Sure’.

That is not the reaction James hoped for. Harry always seemed happy returning home, his favourite place on Earth - but then again, James supposes, their house is so protected lately that Harry would be left alone there, unable to communicate with his friends by owl and most of the time alone, since James and Lily are working over the clock for the Order.

And there would be no Ron and Hermione there.

And no Ginny, he thinks, when he sees Harry glancing briefly in her direction, his shoulder slumped.

‘Molly offered for you to stay here during the day for the Summer’, he says, seeing a bright hope shining on Harry’s eyes at his words. ‘Why don’t I drop you here early and come to pick you in the evening?’

‘Weasley Daycare?’, Ginny pops in, grinning, and Harry turns to her with a mischievous smile already on his lips.

‘Someone needs to take care of you’, he says, and James thinks he isn’t really talking about Ron and Hermione. ‘Maybe even give flying lessons’.

‘I hope you don’t mind picking up pieces of your son, Mr. Potter’, Ginny says, winking at James. ‘He is going to be crushed tomorrow’.

Harry laughs, and it’s a sound so fresh and pure, that James laughs together.

They say their goodbyes and, as he and Harry are on the pathway to the apparition point, James keeps throwing glances in his direction.

That mysterious smile is once more on Harry’s lips, and James wishes he could remember where he has seen the same smile before.

He thinks of what he saw before between Harry and his friends - no, not all his friends. One in particular. Could it be…? James always thought they were a good match - certainly, their interactions in the past have shown all their potential -, and they seemed really friendly a few minutes ago, but he remembers how Harry was when he would talk about Cho Chang.

Nervous and red and sweating.

He looks the opposite of it now, really.

‘So, what was that?’, he asks, trying to understand his son. Harry blinks, surprised.

‘What?’

‘You and Ginny. You were… bantering’.

‘That was not banter’, Harry disagrees, laughing easily. ‘We were just talking’.

‘And teasing each other’.

Harry shrugs, unconcerned. James almost asks him directly what is really going on between them, but after a second he gives up. Maybe he is seeing things where there aren’t - Harry would tell him if there was something to tell.

But, still, that inexplicable smile keeps turning up afterwards, when they are dining and Harry is happily retelling his adventures from his days at the Burrow, talking about their Quidditch plays and throwing-gnomes contests and how he and Ginny were laughing about Bill and Fleur’s relationship and teasing Ron. James can’t help but notice Ginny’s name is mentioned most of the time.

Lily, who seems to as tired as James feels after a week away from home, is looking at Harry with an amused expression on her face as if she is watching for the first time a movie that will soon be her favourite.

‘Harry seems to have had a great time at the Burrow’, Lily says cryptically, as they are getting ready for bed. ‘I’m glad he will be there more’.

‘Yeah… did you notice something weird about him?’

‘Weird?’, she laughs to herself. ‘Different, maybe, but not weird’.

James looks at the smirk on her face.

‘You know what’s going on with him’, he accuses.

‘I was surprised you didn’t catch… But then again you didn’t notice the first time too’.

‘Lily - all this suspense is killing me. Harry is smiling like that all night and I can’t put my finger where I’ve seen it before -’

‘Come on, James, you know our son and me better than anyone. You really have no idea what is happening?’

He shakes his head, and she laughs again before placing a soft kiss on his lips.

‘Do you know how everyone says Harry looks just like you?’

‘Except for your eyes’.

‘And his smile’, she adds. ‘Harry’s got your lips, maybe, but his smile is all mine’.

‘So?’

‘So this Harry’s new smile is not new at all. If you weren’t so certain I wasn’t going to ever fancy you back, you would see that I beamed like that for you for a whole year before we went out together for the first time’.

‘Oh’.

‘Dorcas and Lene used to tease me all the time for being so oblivious to you - and they were right, it took me a long time of admiring you and pining after you to realize I fancied you a lot’.

‘Oh, so that means -’

‘That means Harry is still as oblivious as I was, so don’t interfere, James’, Lily adds, looking knowingly at him.

‘But -’

‘No prying. Let him find out in his own time. When he comes to talk to you, then you can gush all over like you want’.

‘That could take months!’, James complains, moping.

‘Don’t take that away from him’, she asks, laying down by his side. ‘Let him be a normal boy falling in love for the first time. It worked out for us, didn’t it?’

James sighs.

‘Well, Harry is much better than I was. Hopefully, it won’t take long’.

_____________________________

Harry doesn’t say anything for the rest of the Summer, even though, now James is looking at the signs, he sees it is really obvious how Harry’s eyes seem to shine brighter when Ginny is around, how he always looks for her the first time he enters in a room and how he seems to request her presence in everything he is in.

Lily says he can’t fault Harry for being clueless, reminding him that James had once been surprised when Lily had actually accepted his invitation for going out with him (‘I changed all our patrol rounds so we could always be together, James, and I kept finding reasons to touch you, how much more oblivious can a girl be?’), but James doubts he took that long to notice Lily’s feelings for him. And it’s his own feelings Harry has to notice - how much time can that take?

Still, time passes by and Harry starts his Sixth Year at Hogwarts without any mention of his growing feelings. His letters don’t say anything different, and James is almost giving up on his son ever realizing he actually fancies Ginny when they return home for Christmas.

And, by Merlin, it is suddenly so clear that Harry is pining after her that he doesn’t know how other people don’t notice it too. Harry actually sighs - a heavy, deep-from-the-chest sigh - when Ginny makes a silly joke and dances around him, his eyes following her with unquestionable longing.

He remembers Harry telling him how we went with Luna for Slughorn’s party - just as friends - and his confession that girls seemed more interest in him than usual, and James thinks all those girls are losing their time. Harry’s heart clearly belongs to someone else already.

The only thing James doesn’t get it is why Harry is pining instead of doing something about it.

As much as amused as Lily seems to be by the situation, she still forbids James of saying anything before Harry does, so James forces himself to press his lips for most of the Christmas holiday, watching his son stealing glances at Ginny like she is the only Golden Snitch he couldn’t ever catch.

Then, finally, Harry knows his father knows. It’s because of something silly, really: they are all together on Christmas morning at the Burrow, when Ginny says brightly:

‘Harry! You’ve got a maggot in your hair’, and then, as she picks it up, Harry reddens slightly and shivers at the same time. It’s rather adorable, James thinks, and he can’t help but smirk as his eyes meet Harry’s, which only makes his son flush even more, caught is his body admission that he is attracted to Ginny Weasley.

Fortunately for Harry - or not - there is a distraction in the shape of the Minister of Magic and the matter is dropped in all that happens and in the delight James feels as he watches Harry walking straight with Scrimgeour, refusing to accept being the poster boy for politics he doesn’t agree with.

Sometimes, more than others, James feels he and Lily did raise Harry very well. His heart bursts of pride for his son.

Harry is quiet when they return to their house for the night, accepting in silence the tea James offers him, and James thinks he must have a lot on his mind, with all the Minister proposed him and all Harry has been learning with Dumbledore - which the headmaster promised James and Lily it was important, even though he couldn’t share its contents with them…

‘Dad?’, Harry asks in a very soft voice. ‘Can I ask your opinion about something?’

James nods, thinking it’s strange for Harry to be so formal.

Harry glances around, to confirm they are alone in the Potter’s living room, before asking:

‘Just say it, hypothetically… what would you have done if Mum was Sirius’ sister?’

James blinks. There is a list of things Harry could ask him, a list of things that could worry him, but this…

He grins without being able to control it, and Harry sees it.

‘Oh, forget it’, he says, crossing his arms and looking very much like Lily when she is annoyed.

‘Sorry, Harry, I wasn’t -’, James fights back another smile, trying to look reassuringly at his son. ‘I just wasn’t expecting it, that’s all. With everything that is happening, it’s nice seeing you worry about something so normal’.

Harry frowns.

‘It is not normal’, he murmurs.

‘Fancying your best friend’s sister? It kind of is’.

He can see Harry’s face heating up again, but Harry doesn’t deny fancying Ginny.

‘It doesn’t feel normal’, Harry says, with a heavy sigh. ‘It feels like I am betraying Ron or something -’

‘Take from a guy who has actually been betrayed by a close friend, Harry, this is not betrayal’, James assures him. ‘Do you just want to mess her around?’

‘No!’, Harry seems appalled by the idea. ‘I actually like her, but…’, he bits his lips just as Lily does when she is nervous. ‘Ron caught Ginny and her boyfriend a while ago together, and… and he was so mad that I keep thinking - if Ginny was with me there instead, he would hate me too…’

‘Ginny is dating someone else?’, he asks, surprised. He had never heard Ginny mentioning anyone.

‘Yeah’, Harry looks dejected. ‘Dean. He is nice, I suppose, and he can draw so well… Sirius always told me girls like artistic boys’.

‘Well’, James tries to joke. ‘You are the Chosen One’.

‘Big deal’, Harry answers, clearly thinking he is misqualified as boyfriend material. ‘It is not like I have worked for it’.

‘You play Quidditch’.

‘He is in the team too’, Harry points out, gloomy. ‘You said you and Mum dated other people when you were younger?’

‘Yeah’.

‘How… how did you deal with it?’

James shrugs.

‘I don’t know if I can tell you exactly, Harry. It’s been so long ago that any jealousy I felt then doesn’t seem to matter anymore. I just remember hating it, of course, and wishing it would be me. But also -’

‘You wanted her to be happy too’, Harry finishes for him, with a sigh. James gives him a sympathetic look.

‘You can’t meddle with her relationship, Harry. If she really likes her boyfriend, then there is nothing you can do. And if not… these things crumble with time. Like you and Cho’.

‘That was not really a relationship’, Harry disagrees but he nods. ‘I guess I just have to wait then’.

‘And when it ends, that doesn’t really change your situation’, reminds James. ‘Ginny will still be Ron’s sister. What will you do then?’

Harry looks at the fireplace, without answering, and James can read easily his intern conflict.

‘You and Ron have been friends for a long time, Harry’, says James slowly. ‘I think that means he trusts you, including to be a good boyfriend to his only sister. But unless you talk to him first -’

Harry throws him an alarmed look.

‘Yeah, I think it’s a bad idea’, James notes, grinning. ‘Ginny would hex you if she knew you were asking for permission from any of her brothers’.

That makes Harry laugh.

‘She would’, he agrees, his voice full of tenderness as if he loves the fact that Ginny would really hex him without hesitation.

Oh, Merlin, Harry has really fallen.

‘Well, then, you are going to take a leap of faith on this. You know, for once do that thing where you act first think later for a good reason’.

‘It’s easier facing Voldemort’, Harry says, only half-playful.

‘I can’t really say, I’ve only done one of them’, points James in the same voice. ‘But I really think Sirius would have been happy for me if Lily was his sister’.

Harry nods in silence, lost in his thoughts, until finally, he smiles at James.

‘I will keep that in mind, Dad. Thanks’.

James waves dismissively. ‘No problem. Just promise to keep me updated, ok? Your mum and I have placed our bets’.

Harry blinks.

‘Mum knows?’

‘No offence, Harry, but I am surprised people don’t know. You’ve been pining all over Ginny since summer break’.

‘I wasn’t -’, their eyes meet and Harry blinks, unsure. ‘I was?’

James nods solemnly. Harry shakes his head.

‘At least tell me you bet in my favour’, he asks, and James laughs.

‘We wouldn’t dare bet against you’, he promises, and he doesn’t add that he feels Harry wasn’t really the only one whose feelings have grown up during summer.

But that is for Harry to discover eventually, with a little bit of luck.

___________________________________________

Harry is beaming.

It is not that James has never seen Harry happy before; he was a cheerful child, and even with things getting darker lately, there have been good cheery moments.

But Harry is positively beaming, his mother’s green eyes shining with bliss and a bit of amazement as if he can’t believe he gets to be this happy. There is something weirdly familiar about that smile, though, and James wonders where he has seen it before.

‘Hi, Dad!’, he begins, and his smile is so bright that James is surprised the whole room isn’t alighted by it.

‘Hello, son’, he says slowly, trying to understand what made Harry call him early in the Sunday morning in their two-way mirror.

As far as James knows, ever since the last time he talked with Harry - and it had been a tense conversation when Harry had confessed using an unknow dark spell on the Malfoy boy -, nothing could have happened to leave Harry in such high spirit. There was the final Quidditch match the day before, the one Harry hadn’t been allowed to play - maybe Gryffindor had won? That still wouldn’t explain his exceptional good mood or the early call, though…

‘We won’, Harry says, almost like if he is reading James’ mind. ‘Over three hundred points, just as we needed it. Ginny caught the Snitch’.

Harry smiles even more than it’s humanly possible as he mentions Ginny, and James has suddenly a vision of himself twenty years ago, entering hurriedly the men’s bathroom on the Three Broomsticks, throwing water over his face to confirm he wasn’t dreaming.

He had been really awake then, still with that lingering feeling of Lily Evans’ lips over his, and he realized that it all had been real - his date with Lily, her confession that she definitely fancied him and their first kiss - until James was left facing his own reflection in the mirror as if it belonged to someone else - someone that was happy beyond words, someone that couldn’t believe everything that had happened. He had been beaming then.

Just like Harry is now.

Harry’s pining smile may be Lily’s, but Harry’s in love smile is all James’.

‘Oh, Merlin, it happened’, he cries, resisting the urge to dance with the mirror in his hand. ‘Tell me everything!’

‘We are dating’, Harry admits, the satisfaction clear in his voice. ‘I did my thing’.

‘What is your thing? If it’s a weird teenage thing -’

‘That act first, think later thing’, Harry says, laughing. ‘I returned to the Common Room and we had won - Ginny had won for us - and she was running towards me and she looked so amazing and she had this blazing look -’

‘You snogged her in front of the entire Gryffindor House?’, James asks, and Harry nods, not looking remotely ashamed. ‘I am so proud of you’.

Harry lets out another happy giggle. It’s the most carefree laugh James has heard in a long time.

‘It wasn’t planned, it just… happened. And -’, Harry’s smile softens a little. ‘Ron was really happy for us’.

‘Of course he was’.

‘He did warn me to not, you know, break her heart or anything, but it’s fair’. Harry looks resolute. ‘I won’t. Break her heart, I mean’.

‘Good, because you are going to answer to me too if you hurt her’.

‘I think Ginny could handle herself’, Harry points out fondly, undisturbed by his father’s warning. ‘And I just want to make her as happy as I feel’. He pauses, as if to gather his thoughts, and when he talks again, it looks like Harry is talking to himself. ‘It’s been a long time since I felt like this… normal, I mean. People were talking about us last night at dinner, but I just couldn’t care less for once, you know? All I could think was that I was just so lucky that Ginny happened to fancy me back and that she agreed to date me… It is like I have this Patronus with me all the time now’.

James smiles.

‘I’m so happy for you two, Harry. You once asked me how I felt about your mother - well, it started like that’.

‘Dad, we’ve been dating for a day, take it easy’.

‘I will uphold planning the wedding’, James promises solemnly, making Harry blush and roll his eyes.

‘As if you don’t have everything sorted out already’, Harry scoffs, but his voice sounds more amused than anything. ‘Well, I have to go. I promised I would meet her for breakfast’.

‘Then go, don’t let your girlfriend waiting’.

‘Girlfriend’, Harry repeats, seeming to savor the word. ‘See you later, Dad -’

‘Actually, Harry, one thing before you go. Who made the first move?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘You kissed her, or did she kiss you?’

Harry looks thoughtfully.

‘I think it was me, but since she was coming towards me... Does it make a difference?’

‘It does for us. That’s what your mum and I bet about’

Harry chuckles again.

‘Let me guess, you bet on Ginny’.

‘It’s not that I don’t trust you, son -’

‘That’s okay, I would bet on her too’, Harry assures. ‘I will discuss this later with her’.

‘Oh, “discuss”, is that how you say snogging nowadays?’

‘I said later, not that it’s all we would do’, Harry ponders, shameless. ‘Now I really gotta go. Don’t want to leave her waiting for me’.

‘Go on’, James says, watching the mirror flicker and show his own smiling face.

He is still grinning when he returns to the bed and kisses the top of Lily’s head as she rolls to hug him.

‘What was it?’, she asks lazily.

‘Oh, nothing unusual. Just our son finally kissing Ginny’.

‘What?’, Lily jumps, suddenly waken. ‘Tell me everything!’

#Eyes glistening #Jily lives #Hinny #Harry and Ginny #James Potter #Lily Potter #Jily supports Hinny #t: fanfiction

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sweeethinny · 3 years

Text

Taking care of you

One more prompt, and this one takes place in my AU universe: Boss's Son, where Ginny is an Auror and Harry plays Quidditch, and Jily lives :)

AO3

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"Ginny, holy shit!" Harry said for the thousandth time it seemed, sensing that maybe dealing with little Teddy was easier than dealing with his girlfriend right now. ‘’Will you stop flirting with me? You just got seriously injured and I'm trying to tend to your wounds and I don't care that I look cute when I’m concerned, you’re lucky you’re not dead!”

"I'm fine, stop it." Harry thought she wasn't, but he didn't feel like arguing with her any further. "And it's not my fault you look gorgeous." Ginny took a step back when he reached for her hand, making him sigh.

“Ginny, come here.” He pleaded once more, just wanting to take care of her.

"You should be sleeping, you're tired." She tried again to run away, but this time, Harry was stronger and managed to get her to sit up in bed so that he could examine the cut on her face and the bruises on her chest and arm. He felt bad for seeing her like this.

"I'm not tired, I'm fine." Harry didn't want her to worry about him, she almost died. And no weariness would overrule the worry he felt as he watched her being carried by the other Aurors into his apartment, her clothes smeared with blood and mud.

‘’Did you play well today? Sorry I missed your game, I thought it would be a simpler case.” She sighed, closing her eyes and grimacing as Harry placed the healing potion soaked cotton on her bruise near her eye. If he could take all the pain for himself and spare her that, he would.

"It was a good game, but don't worry, there will be others for you to go." Harry looked at her, letting the worry he'd felt all day slip away at least a little, wanting to pick Ginny up and care for her for the rest of the week. "You scared me."

“I'm sorry… You look so cute when you take care of me.” She smiled sheepishly, again closing her eyes when he did the same procedure, but now in the corner of her mouth. ‘'Your dad was also worried, we should call him and-'’

"Stop thinking about work, you are hurt, my dad will understand that my biggest concern was taking care of you." Harry kissed her forehead, feeling her arms hug his waist in an almost shy hug. He knew her arm was probably hurting, even though she denied it. ‘'I love you.'’

"I love you too." She looked up at him, letting him bandage the bruise near her eye that was already starting to show some signs of improvement, not too much, but at least there was no more blood seeping there. "Don't tell your dad, but he looked scared to death when we got caught," Ginny whispered.

"You know, he once told me that a real brave man," Harry tossed down the dirty cottons and began the process of tending the wounds down her neck. ‘‘Is a man who admits he's scared. Because to admit it, you need a lot of courage.” He looked at her, her brown eyes gleaming in the yellow light of their bedroom. "Then no wonder he's afraid."

"He says that to me too." Ginny sighed, grimacing again as the potion cotton touched her skin. ‘‘But I wanted to be stronger than that... I mean, I should have realized the danger we were in, I-’’

"Gin," Harry interrupted her, kneeling in front of her on the bed. '’No. This is not true. You are so fucking strong, trust me. And you did what you felt was right to do at the time.” She lowered her guard as he brought his hand to her unbruised cheek. "You're very strong, you're even stronger than me." She laughed, which made him smile.

"I am, aren't I?" Harry nodded, going back to tending to her wounds. "Thanks for taking care of me."

'’At your service, madam.'’

#ginny #hinny #harry potter #jily lives #harry x ginny #ginuary bingo #my fic #hinny au #ginny!auror

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15-dogs · 4 years

Note

I’ve been thinking about the james/lily/snape trope but with harry/female reader/draco so i was wondering if you could do this and make harry x reader end up together? would love to see how you write this, you’re one of my faves <3

overdue |h.p.|

pairing: harry potter x fem!reader

summary: everyone knows that harry potter fancies you and you don’t feel the same. it only takes one bet, one date, to change things. your childhood best friend, draco, feels otherwise. (slight au-- war isn’t happening during 7th year)

warnings: extremely light swearing

guide: (Y/N) = your name, (Y/L/N) = your last name

word count: 2940

a/n: I am such a sucker for jily so I was so excited to try this out!! I hope I did it justice lmk what you think!!

That boy was going to make you scream. Harry Potter sat on his broom, hovering above your spot in the stand, the Snitch dangling inches in front of him.

“Are you mad, Potter?!” you shouted.

All eyes in the stadium were on you two. There wasn’t a single person in Hogwarts who didn’t know about Harry and yours...relationship, if you’d even call it that. Harry had fallen for you the second he saw you. Love at first sight, he’d always say. You thought otherwise and so did your best friend Draco.

Draco and you were childhood best friends. Shockingly, the Malfoys were somewhat okay with you, a muggleborn, being friends with Draco. They were okay with it for a while, at least. Over the past few years the Malfoys stopped inviting you over. Draco assured you it was nothing personal but, with the social climate, you knew that it was. Draco was just trying not to hurt your feelings.

“Mad for you, love!” Harry teased. You were about to yank your hair out, that’s how irritated he made you.

Hermione stifled a laugh beside you and you threw her a glare. A smirk tugged at her lips as she shrugged, avoiding your stare.

“What do you want, Potter?” you groaned. “We have to win this game, you know that!”

“That I do, love. Did you do something different with your hair? It looks brilliant.”

You chanced a glance over his shoulder, spotting the Ravenclaw Seeker gaining on Harry; he must’ve noticed that Harry got distracted. “Potter,” you warned, “please, I’ll do anything! Catch the damn Snitch!”

“Anything?” He raised his brows at you, a particularly handsome grin adorning his face. You shook off the feeling that he gave you, assuring yourself that he was a git who had a schoolboy crush and nothing more.

“Yes, anything! Merlin, come on, Potter!”

The Ravenclaw Seeker was nearly by Harry’s side. Harry noticed you staring and looked behind him, spotting the boy. Harry turned back around and offered the one thing that you definitely, absolutely, should never have agreed to, “Go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?”

“Yes! Now catch it!”

Just as the Ravenclaw Seeker rounded on him, Harry reached out and grabbed the Snitch effortlessly. The crowd roared around you loud enough for them not to hear what Harry said, only you.

“It’s a date!” Harry threw a wink at you before descending.

Your face paled― you couldn’t believe it. You agreed to go on a date with the Harry Potter. The boy who had been madly in love with you since he saw you.

You should be mad, or at least a little upset, but you weren’t. That’s bad, right?

―

You stood with Draco in the Great Hall, awaiting Harry’s presence. Draco refused to leave your side until he showed up so that he could make sure that “Potter has good intentions”. You appreciated his concern but you weren’t children anymore. Even as children, Draco never needed to protect you. In fact, you did the protecting more often. He’d never admit it, though.

Harry trotted into the Great Hall, Hermione and Ron trailing behind him. When he approached you, he had a sheepish grin on his face.

“Potter,” Draco spat.

“Malfoy, if you’ll excuse us, I need to, er, speak with (Y/N).”

You frowned. What was there to talk about?

Draco threw a hesitant look at you, receiving a small nod. He took hesitant steps away to join his other friends, stealing small glances at you.

“What’s wrong, Potter? You look like you have a foot in the grave,” you commented.

He fidgeted in his spot; Harry Potter was nervous. He fisted his hands into his pants pockets, avoiding your gaze. “I may have gotten into a bit of trouble― not a lot, just something small― so my Hogsmeade privileges have been...revoked for the time being.”

You felt a pit form in your stomach. Your eyes widened at the sensation, you weren’t supposed to be disappointed that the date was canceled. You quickly regained composure, donning a tight lipped smile.

“Shame. I suppose the date is-”

“I was hoping we could spend the day here,” he hurriedly added. He searched your eyes for a response. Upon getting nothing, he continued, “That is, if that’s something you’d like.”

You cleared your throat. “Is Harry Potter seriously backing out of a deal?”

Your teasing seemed to ease his anxieties as his shoulders relaxed, releasing all former tension. “I am civil, love. I’m not going to force you into this.”

Your heart blossomed with warmth. You could feel your cheeks heat up but hoped it wasn’t noticeable. You fought a smile as you nodded your head. “Yeah, let’s spend the day here.”

Harry, clearly surprised that his offer worked, blinked in shock. You chuckled, rolling your eyes as you tugged him along.

The two of you ended up spending most of your time in the Gryffindor common room, excluding the occasional trips down to the kitchens. You hated to admit it but Harry was actually kind of fun to be around. You know, when he wasn’t so inflated with his own ego.

You laid against the armrest of the couch, Harry opposite you, as he threw pieces of popcorn at you, intending on making them into your mouth.

“I thought you were supposed to have expert hand-eye coordination,” you teased as you brushed loads of stray popcorn off your body.

“I’m a Seeker, not a Chaser. And here I was thinking that you were my biggest fan.” Harry held a hand over his heart in mock hurt, evoking a melodic giggle from you. His demeanor faltered at the sound. You furrowed your brow at him to which he donned his smirk again.

“So,” you began, sitting up, “have any plans for next year?”

“I dunno.” Harry shrugged. “I know I want to become an Auror, but that’s about it. Not much of a plan.”

You noticed the way that Harry caved in on himself, almost as if he were embarrassed by his answer. You nudged his thigh with your foot and his eyes snapped up to yours.

“Plans are binding. They’re not always effective, just binding.”

Harry flashed a genuine smile at you that had your traitorous heart fluttering. “Thanks.”

“Sure.”

“And you?”

You chewed your lip in thought. “I’m not entirely sure. I know I want to help people but there are hundreds of ways to do that. Right now, I simply want to focus on the next year.”

“You want to be Head Girl, don’t you?”

You raised a brow at him. “How did you know that?”

“Word travels.” His lips twitched upwards and you playfully kicked him from your spot. “Right, okay, sorry!” he laughed.

“You’re so odd, Potter. Truly.” Your heart began to speed up, hammering in your chest. You looked at the ground before meeting Harry’s piercing green eyes. “Why me?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Why me? You could fancy anyone, why me?”

His brow knit together. Then a dumb smile stretched on his face. “Because I knew that, from the second I saw you, that there was no one else I’d rather spend my life with.”

Your heart leapt into your throat and a fleet of butterflies occupied your stomach. You shifted awkwardly in your seat, attempting to crack a joke to ease the tension.

However, all you managed to mutter was, “That’s obsessive.”

“No, I’d call that dedication.”

―

Over the rest of your 6th year, you and Harry grew close. You thought that he had given up on his crush as you two became friends, and good ones at that. You spent time with his friends quite often and they seemed to become your friends as well. You’d never thought that you’d see the day when you became friends with Harry Potter, nor did you think you’d see the day that you might, barely, have a tiny, indescribable crush on him.

Hermione and Ron would tease you about it endlessly until you noticed. It started with late night studying with Harry in the common room, opting to partner up with him in Defense, and attending Quidditch just to see him play. Every time those two would tease you about fancying him, you would immediately deny it. Admitting that you did almost felt like defeat.

It wasn’t until the beginning of your 7th year that you knew you were over your head.

You ran up to Harry at Kings Cross, holding your Head Girl letter in your hand. When he saw you, his whole face lit up and his arms opened wide. You ran into a hug, jumping up and down with excitement.

“I got it!” you cried. “Head Girl, I got it!”

Harry pulled away, his smile faltering. You cocked your head in confusion. “That’s great,” he said with feigned joy.

“What’s the matter?”

“I, er, got Head Boy. I was going to resign, anyway-”

“No!”

As soon as those words left your mouth, you knew that you were screwed. What would have possessed you to want Harry Potter, the boy who tortured you with his annoying little crush for years, to spend his final year with you? You knew what it was and you were just thankful that Hermione or Ron weren’t around to see that interaction.

“No?”

“Don’t resign, you deserve the position, Harry.”

His cheeks turned pink as his lips curled into a smile, making your heart melt. “Thanks, I’ll do it then.”

“Brilliant.”

“(Y/N)!” a familiar voice called out. You turned your head to spot Draco coming towards you, his lips pressed together in a firm line. “Potter.”

“Malfoy.”

You could almost see the tension between the two boys. You backed away from Harry, nodding at him politely. “I’ll see you on the train, Harry.”

Harry’s eyes darted between you and Draco before he complied, heading into the train. As soon as he stepped away, Draco rounded on you.

“Don’t tell me you fancy him, now.” His voice had tones of anger and disappointment, both of which shocked you.

“Why are you saying that?”

“Because I know you, (Y/N). I’ve told you too many times now that Potter doesn’t care about you. He only cares about himself.”

Draco reached out to grab your arm but you jerked away. “Come off it, Draco. If I didn’t know any better I’d say that my friendship with him makes you jealous.”

Draco sputtered, attempting to form a coherent answer. You instantly felt guilty for what you said, frowning. You reached out to hold Draco’s cold hand and you almost swore that you saw him blush.

“We’re always going to be friends, Draco. No one person can change that but us.”

Draco removed his hand from yours, nodding. “I know.”

And something in his voice told you exactly that.

―

It was about halfway through the year when things started to go wrong. You were taking a stroll along campus when you saw four people in a heated argument. Your brow knit together and you made your way towards the group, speeding up when you recognized all parties involved.

“Hey,” you called out, “hey! What’s going on?”

“Expelliarmus!” Harry shouted, sending Draco’s wand flying.

“Harry, stop it!”

Harry’s eyes snapped up to yours, immediate guilt behind them. Draco scrambled to get his wand, shooting a spell at Harry that you fortunately blocked him from. Harry raised his wand and threw another spell at Draco, knocking him against the tree behind him.

“Draco!”

You ran to his side, attempting to help him up. He pulled his arm away from you multiple times but couldn’t stand up on his own. You tried to help him one more time but he glared at you and spat, “Don’t touch me, mudblood!”

Tears pricked your eyes. Your heart pounded in your ears. No, no. This wasn’t real. You clenched your eyes shut, the tears streaming down your cheeks. When you opened them, you were met with Draco’s somewhat apologetic stare, but as you locked eyes with him, he regained his cruel demeanor. You shook your head, standing up and running off, feeling entirely numb.

You were right, what you had said at the start of the year.

―

From that day on, you ignored Harry to the best of your ability. That, however, didn’t stop every single student in Hogwarts to gossip. Rather, it was quite the propellant. Everywhere you walked a trail of whispers would follow.

After a particularly tough day of rumors, you collapsed in the emptied common room, sobbing silently into your sweater. It was late enough that everyone had gone to bed, and if they hadn’t, they’d be out past curfew so at least you had an excuse to dismiss them quickly if need be.

Then, in life’s most inopportune way, things went wrong again.

“(Y/N)?” Hermione asked as she entered. You hurriedly dried your tears, hoping that it wasn’t obvious that you were crying.

“You should be in bed.” You refused to meet Hermione’s eyes, even as she joined you on the couch.

“I just had rounds. What are you doing up?”

“Nothing,” you mumbled dismally.

Hermione fished around in her robes to pull out a clean tissue. “This doesn’t feel like nothing.”

Reluctantly, you took the tissue and finally looked up at Hermione. She stared at you with great concern which only had you crying again. She held you, rubbing her arms soothingly up and down your back.

“Rumors suck,” you cried into Hermione’s shoulder.

She pulled you away for a minute and whispered, “So do men.”

You nodded, a chuckle escaping your lips. You blew your nose with the tissue and relaxed into the couch.

“What really happened?”

Hermione shook her head. “Do you really want to hear it from me?”

“Time avoiding Harry is time well spent, Hermione.”

“Truer words have never been spoken.”

For someone you’ve only been close with for about a year, Hermione sure was good at cheering you up.

“Draco and Harry got into an argument because...Draco said some, er, choice words about you and your blood status. Harry got mad and then you showed up.”

“Oh.”

Harry was defending you. It wasn’t necessarily unexpected but you never thought that that situation would arise in the first place. The more your mind ran over the scenario, the more you realized why Harry did what he did: he cared about you. Like, really and truly cared about you. It wasn’t just that schoolboy crush that motivated him, he cared about what people said about you because you were friends.

At some point, Hermione escorted you up to your dorm. You didn’t sleep that night, your head hurt far too much because you knew what you had to do, and there was no waiting, no postponing, it had to happen tomorrow.

―

“Potter!” you shouted as you walked down to the Quidditch pitch. You waved to the team as they dispersed from their respective locker rooms. “Harry!”

“In here!”

You walked over to the locker room, your eyes widening at the sight of shirtless Harry. You couldn’t peel your eyes off of his toned body. Your mouth went dry and all intelligible thoughts fled your body.

“Hey, (Y/L/N),” he began. He ducked a little to look into your eyes. “Are you okay?”

You hummed, nodding fervently. Harry let out an awkward laugh as he threw a shirt on.

“Listen, I want to talk to you about-”

“I know what happened,” you cut in. He raised his brow at you. “And I want to thank you. I...I just knew that it was only a matter of time before something happened between Draco and I. Things have been downhill with him since I met you, and then when he realized I fancy you he got-”

“You fancy me?” Harry ran a hand through his hair in disbelief, his voice pitched up an octave.

You felt your stomach drop out. Your breathing sped up and you focused on anything but Harry in the room. It took a minute of silence for you to finally look at him― you were in shock that he hadn’t said any snarky comments yet.

“Yes.” Your voice was no more than a whisper.

“I don’t...I don’t...really?” he stammered.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Harry’s jaw dropped. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, deciding on what to say. He took careful steps towards you, waiting for you to bolt. But you didn’t, you were right where you wanted to be.

“Can I, um, kiss you?”

You grabbed his face, smashing your lips against his in a long overdue kiss. That time, you didn’t ignore how good it felt. Kissing Harry made you feel energized in a way you couldn’t explain, it dredged up feelings that you didn’t know you could feel.

You pulled away from him a moment later, placing little pecks against his slightly chapped lips. You cracked a smile at Harry’s blatant shock.

“Really?” you teased. “No joke, no terrible pick up line? Are you okay?”

“In all honesty, love, I didn’t think that this would ever actually happen.”

“Someone had to humble you.”

“And you did an excellent job of that.”

As you stared into Harry’s eyes, you felt a comfort that you didn’t know you could feel; it was like placing the last piece in a puzzle, everything was fitting together. At an earlier point in your life, you would’ve been absolutely distraught that you fit together with Harry. But now? Now, you were happier than you could ever possibly imagine and you intended to keep it that way.

#harry potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter fanfiction #fanfiction #harry potter x you #harry potter x reader #harry potter x y/n #jily #jily fanfiction #james potter #lily evans #draco malfoy #severus snape

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theresthesnitch · 3 years

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20 Questions: Writer's Edition

I waited far too long to do this because I was focusing on writing, but I'm so excited to dive in. Thanks for the tags, @jilyesplz, @oyprongs, @missgryffin, @mppmaraudergirl, and @cesays. It made me smile each tag I got, and I loved reading all of your responses!

Answers below the cut to avoid a LONG response.

How many works do you have on AO3?

What’s your total AO3 word count?

120,326

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Only HP.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Three Strikes til you're out Jily, Rated: E

Lily Evans knows nothing about baseball. Or baseball players. She knows even less about James Potter. However, when some bad press risks James's endorsement deals, Lily finds herself thrown into a fake relationship with him. Can they convince the world they are together and save James from the tabloids? Can Lily keep her heart as she learns about James? Or will they both strike out?

2. Bathed in the Moonlight Wolfstar, Rated: E

In the light of the moon, they came together and became something new. (PWP)

3. Shirts v. Skins Jily, Rated M

A pick up quidditch match, a contest, and a very thirsty Lily Evans. (Shirtless JP May)

4. All the Little Pieces Hinny, Rated: Gen

This is an entry in @clarensjoy's Hinny Ficfest 2021. It's a series of vignettes over the course of Harry and Ginny's lives. Prompt 60: "I heard that." "You were supposed to."

Five is technically my bingo entries for the Harry and Ginuary Bingo, which is titled There was a contest called B-I-N-G-O, but that feels like cheating. So my 5th fic is:

5. Courage is a little like love Jily Rated: T

A fluffy Jily first kiss one-shot, with some bonus Remus/Lily friendship to go with it.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! Some times it takes me a few days to get back to them, but I love comments and seeing what people think. I also love talking about my writing!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Ha! I had to think for a minute, but there's really no question. To Go On Without Him is a Lily Lives AU one-shot-that-could-get-more-chapters. It's the least happy ending fic I have.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Okay, I started responding that most everything I write has a happy ending, but then I looked through my fic list and, uh... that's not even almost true. I have way more angst than I realized. Three Strikes is my only multi-chap, but it will have a happy ending. As far as happy one-shots, I think I'd either go with Just a Little Kiss, which is a Jily first kiss/get together one-shot for @efkgirldetective's Summer of Jily prompt 5, or Let's have a baby, where James and Lily choose to have a baby.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Okay, first, I think there's a difference between a crossover - i.e. Tony Stark falls in love with Dr. Who - and an adaption - where the characters from the fandom follow a plot like another story. I won't say never, but I can't see myself doing a crossover. An adaption, however...

No, you can't make me write the Cars AU via the Marauders. I won't. I definitely haven't started it.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I haven't, thankfully! The fandom has been good to me so far.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes. lol. I've written both M/M and F/M, but I wouldn't rule out others in the future. Depends on where the inspiration strikes.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, and as amazing as that would be, I can't imagine anyone wanting to.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope! I would consider it, but I'm worried I don't have the time to dedicate to it.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Oh no. Don't make me pick.

It definitely changes periodically, depending on what I'm in the mood for. I started reading only Hinny, then moved on to Jily, then Wolfstar. I've been writing and reading a lot of Jily lately, but I've also been reading a lot of Wolfstar. So all of them, periodically.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Ugh, I refuse to doom any of them like this.

What are your writing strengths?

I think my best bits are the shocking one lines - whether dialogue or no. I love building up tension to that one line that just makes your jaw drop.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I struggle so much with the flowery descriptive language. I sometimes end up writing dialogue and going back later to add the little bits that make it feel real.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

As a reader, I love it, but only with convenient translations so that I don't get lost in the story. If I have to stop reading to translate and figure out what's going on, then it's a bit of a pain.

I know a tiny bit of French and a tiny bit of Spanish, and I've considered writing some lines in other languages, but it would definitely be a line or two and not a conversation. And honestly, it would probably be purely for the purpose of turning on the other person who can't translate it in the fic.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter, specifically Hinny.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Three Strikes, for sure. I never really thought I'd enjoy writing a multichapter because I was worried that the pressure of writing it and delivering the next chapter in a reasonable time frame would be too much. I actually have a few that are as written or more as Three Strikes was when I started posting, but I thought I wanted to finish it before posting. I thought that, given my time issues, having it completed or mostly completed would make it easier to finish.

But posting Three Strikes while I was still writing made the fic develop into something I never expected. There are things in there that would never have existed without input, and I love where it's ended up.

Tagging:

I'm skipping tags because I think just about everyone has done this already, but if you haven't, please do! And tag me! I want to know more about you.

#Hey i got tagged!#tag game #20 questions for writers

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setaripendragon · 5 years

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Snily AU - Book 2?

So, here I go again, on a massive long ramble about this stupidly self-indulgent AU I’ve come up with. If you want a recap, I think I’m going to tag this AU under ‘role swap AU’, which is what it’s turned out to be, even if it started as just a simple ‘what if Snily instead of Jily?’ AU, so just search for the role-swap-AU tag on my blog.

And, as before, putting this monster beneath a read more, because, really, I’m writing an entire not!fic here. This is longer than some of the actual oneshots I’ve written, fml...

I’m just going to pick up where I left off; the summer holidays at the beginning of book two. Of course, a lot of what we see in the books is going to belong to Neville, now. I honestly can’t decide if Dobby would think to try stopping Neville’s mail, since he’s not quite as isolated as Harry was. Maybe he tries some other mischief. If he does end up showing himself, I can only imagine Augusta hitting the roof over this interference. (Maybe she even recognises Dobby as a Malfoy elf and gives Lucius what for about it?)

I like the idea that Neville is just as clumsy with the floo as Harry is, and the whole Borgin and Burke’s scene happens pretty much as per canon. Idk if Hagrid would find him or not, but either way he would, eventually get back to Diagon Alley safely (because he, unlike Harry, grew up in the Wizarding World and knew roughly where he was).

But I don’t know if he’d meet the Weasleys there. He certainly wouldn’t have needed rescuing, so what if instead of going there with a friend, it’s more of a coincidence. What if he just happens to bump into Harry there. Harry, who’s there with Sirius and Remus, of course, but also with the Snapes. Lily and Severus and Maeve, and her two younger brothers, Azrael and Gilgamesh. Because Maeve is starting Hogwarts this year and they’re making a big day of it, and Lily invited Remus & co because why not? So Neville bumps into them in Flourish and Blotts, right before he gets recognised by Lockhart.

And, of course, Lucius Malfoy still has his massive beef with the Weasleys for being blood-traitors and poor as dirt, as per canon, but in this AU, I think he’d have an even bigger beef with Severus. Severus, who Lucius was supposed to recruit, Severus whom he groomed for the role and made promises of everything the Dark Lord would give him if Severus fought for him, Severus who embarrassed him so massively in front of the Dark Lord when he picked a mudblood bitch over all that power and promise.

So it’s not Ginny Weasley who gets the Diary, it’s Maeve Snape. Lucius slips it in among her books while making snide comments about Severus sullying himself, how very like his muggle-loving mother, a legacy he must be so proud of- Lily shuts him up by punching him square in the jaw. And probably makes a comment about how does Lucius like being put on his ass by a mudblood, with muggle fighting techniques. Not so inferior now, huh? And Remus makes a quip about Lily being a healer, and wasn’t there something in her oaths about not doing harm? And Lily’s like ‘I swore to fight parasites and diseases, and that’s exactly what I did.’

And I want Draco to have a very complicated problem here, because on the one hand, he’s been conditioned to side with his father, and his father doesn’t like Severus Snape. But Draco, canonically, likes alchemy and potion-making, and Severus has, in this verse, had the opportunity to become a rather world-renowned name in the field. Draco, deep down and so secretly he barely admits it to himself (right next to where he hides his massive, debilitating crush on Harry), wants an apprenticeship with Severus when he’s older. So he’s bitter about it, and even more bitter because he’d entertained hopes of befriending Maeve, selling it to his father as luring her away from her family, but honestly mostly just in the hopes of getting an in with famous Potioneer and Alchemist Severus Snape. But no, she’s friends with Harry Potter, the bane of Draco’s entire existence. So he’s an even more pissy little shit than usual.

And that’s the summer, so now they’re off to Hogwarts. Except, of course, Dobby. And this is where things start getting complicated. Because I think Dobby would still stop Neville going through the barrier, since it’s one of the surest ways to stop or delay him, a point he has to pass through, and there’s no way around, and there’s a time limit. He probably has sneaky ways to make sure the Longbottoms are late, so there wouldn’t even be drama of there being a lot of people stuck, not just Neville. But would Ron be with him? Was any of the delay the Weasleys suffered Dobby’s fault? Do they get there earlier? So here’s the real important question:

9) Does Neville fly the car to Hogwarts? 9a) If the Weasleys are even there, does Ron even get stuck with Neville? Or is it someone else? The twins? Ginny?

I hadn’t thought of that before, but that could be interesting, actually. The two of them would be so shy around each other, Neville just naturally timid and self-effacing, and GInny over-come by her hero-worship crush. But Ginny is bold, when she’s not intimidated by trying to impress her crush, so if Neville did mention waiting by the car, I think she would be daredevil and stubborn enough to suggest flying it to school. I think the lure of all that time alone with her crush would be enough to make her push, even if Neville was hesitant and dubious.

Still, the question stands. Either way, he gets to Hogwarts eventually. And Ginny, Maeve, and Luna are devastated to realise they’re all in different houses, but Harry encourages them to not let house divisions come between them.

Which, speaking of house divisions, brings me to a plot point I really like. Of course, because they’re both in Slytherin, Harry and Draco can’t have their epic Quidditch rivalry. There can only be one Slytherin Seeker, after all. So, of course, they both try out, and it’s a furious competition, and they’re almost neck-and-neck. And eventually, Marcus Flint decides one of them is reserve Seeker, while the other gets the actual positions. So, of course, before every match, the reserve Seeker tries to sabotage the actual Seeker so that they get to play in the match. So of course, when the next year rolls around, and the reserve Seeker gets to be on the actual team, the new reserve Seeker sabotages them right back.

I think that, behaviour-wise, it makes more sense for Draco to be the reserve Seeker in their second year, to start off the whole sabotage-drama? I think Harry would be petty enough to try sabotaging Draco (remember, he is a Slytherin this go around), especially if he thought Marcus Flint had shown favouritism by picking Draco. (Maybe because of the broom-bribe?) But I haven’t even begun to think how it might play out in later years, so I’m not sure.

And following on from the quidditch-related questions; given that Neville doesn’t play quidditch, there can’t be any rogue bludger, so there really need to be other ways for Dobby to attempt to injure Neville enough to get sent home. I have no idea what they might be, though. I mean, Neville is already clumsy, so maybe he just seems to be having an Extra Clumsy Year or something, but that doesn’t seem like enough? I thought maybe, that if he didn’t fly the car to Hogwarts, this might be a good way for Neville to encounter the Whomping Willow? He is, after all, really interested in Herbology. Dobby might engineer an incident there?

I really ought to reread the second book (or listen to the audiobook, at least), because I’m a bit fuzzy on the order of events, but I think the only crucial plot point before the whole rogue bludger thing was the Deathday Party, right? I think that would all happen pretty much the same. No reason for it not to, really. And then, of course, because Dobby is trying to injure Neville, even without the bludger, he probably would end up in the hospital wing eventually, and Colin Creevey would try to visit him. But hey, would Ginny go with him? I kind of like the idea that they became sort of friends, bonding over their shared crushes on Neville. But if she goes with him, does she get petrified, too? That kind of ruins the whole only-muggle-borns streak right out of the gate, but it might be an interesting avenue to explore?

10) Who gets to be Slytherin Seeker first? Harry or Draco? 11) How does Dobby attempt to not-kill Neville? 12) Does Ginny go with Colin to visit Neville in the hospital wing? 12a) If she does, does she get petrified? Or does she avoid it? 12b) If she does avoid it; how?

And then we come to the duelling club. No Sev here, he’s free of that blasted classroom, so who does Lockhart rope in as his ‘assisstant’? My first thought was Flitwick, since he’s the renowned duelist on staff. But then I thought: McGonagall. Can you imagine McGonagall getting stuck having to deal with Lockhart in full on show-off mode? I think it might even be as entertaining as the actual canon dueling club.

Draco still summons a snake, and Neville still talks to it, and everyone still thinks he’s the Heir of Slytherin, as per canon. Only, in this verse, Neville actually has sort-of-friends in Slytherin. They’re not close, but they know and like each other, and Slytherin house is losing it’s collective mind at the notion of an actual real life parseltongue at Hogwarts. Jealousy and awe run rampant, and Harry and Tracey can tell Neville all about it. And most importantly, when Neville starts angsting over how it’s a Dark Art and maybe he is just a failure and an awful person deep down, Blaise, a well-educated pureblood from a Slytherin family can tell Neville all about the good parseltongues. (I really hate how inconsistent JKR was about that sort of thing. Dumbledore says “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” and yet JKR doesn’t have one example of a natural born parseltongue being good. Fuck you, madam. Fuck. You.)

When I was a kid, one of my favourite books was D’Aulaires’ Book of Greek Myths, and one of the stories in it that stuck with me was the story of Melampus, who nursed a nest of orphaned snakes, and in return they licked his ears so clean he could hear and understand the language of animals. If that isn’t a perfect ‘origin of parseltongue’ story (Blaise: The muggles got it a bit wrong, of course, it wasn’t all animals, even snakes aren’t that wise, but they did teach him their own language) I don’t know what is. And he used the knowledge he gained from talking to them to heal. That, in fact, Parseltongue was known as a language of healing until only very recently. (Snakes are literally part of the symbol of western medicine ffs.)

And that maybe in other countries, like India and China, parseltongue is practically revered. They have their own parseltongue lines, and they’re honoured and maybe even rulers. (Are Chinese/East Asian Dragons snake-like enough to speak parseltongue? Do they speak dragonese? Are they bilingual?)

And Merlin, okay. I headcanon that Merlin was a parseltongue. Because I don’t care what JKR may have said on the subject, Merlin existed sometime around 500AD, which is five hundred years before Hogwarts even existed. He could not have been a Slytherin. However, I do really like the idea of him being Slytherin’s ancestor. (Which would also help explain Slytherin’s reputation for being obsessed with lineage. If I had Merlin in my family tree, I’d fucking brag about it, too.) And modern witches and wizards who aren’t historians only know vaguely that he’s associated with Slytherin, which then gets mistaken for him being in Slytherin. And any sufficiently educated witch or wizard (Hermione) will get so frustrated with that misconception because the dates don’t even match up you uneducated nitwit.

And of course Slytherins have a different opinion on Slytherin himself. Maybe when Hermione hears Tracey, a muggleborn like herself, defending the most famous hater of muggleborns in history (besides Voldemort), she gets all geared up for a Research Project, and she and Tracey disappear into the library together for hours on hours looking for unbiased sources and historical accounts of what Slytherin was actually like.

Sorry about that tangent, I just have a lot of feelings about parseltongues and Slytherin and Merlin and Greek Myths. Anyway, back to the plot; I think the whole Christmas drama with the polyjuice potion should just be scrapped. It just doesn’t work when the Boy Who Lived has friends in Slytherin and can just ask. I think Harry would definitely be of the opinion that Draco really probably isn’t the Heir (Harry: If Malfoy were descended from Slytherin himself, I think we would have heard about it by now. At great length. In detail. Every day.)

But maybe there was still a bit of an incident over Christmas, because Draco was mouthing off about how he hopes the next attack kills someone, and Harry argues with him, and it turns into a massive thing, with students from all years weighing in on this side or that. And Maeve is just sitting in the corner shrinking in her seat because she’s really starting to think ‘what if it’s me?’

So she tries to get rid of the diary. Maybe she confides in Ginny and Luna. (Or, just Luna, if Ginny is petrified...) I think she probably actually showed them the diary in the first place, and Luna made some vaguely disturbing comments about it, and Ginny thought it was neat, but they didn’t get sucked in like Maeve did, and they’ve been really kind of worried about her, so when she goes to them and explains - not all of it, she’s too frightened to admit to all of it, but she does tell them she thinks there’s something wrong with the diary, that maybe it’s hurting her - they’re (Luna’s) really relieved to help her get rid of it.

But does Neville find it? I mean, the whole thing is such a damn coincidence, but... hmm, Harry did find his way right to the diadem in the Room of Requirement, so if we work on the basis that Horcruxes are at least somewhat aware of each other and possibly even drawn to each other, then I think Neville would have to find it. (Whew, at least that’s one plot-bending point avoided.)

Next is Valentine’s Day. Ugh. This all depends on whether Ginny is petrified or not, doesn’t it? That’s probably an arguement for her not being petrified, because I can’t think of anyone else who has the right connections here. Of course, what the hell would happen if Neville kept the diary? Or would Maeve just steal it out of his bag at some point? I think she would have to. But if Ginny’s awake, then it goes basically like it did in canon, only Maeve is with Ginny when Neville’s bag splits, and she’s the one who panics over Neville having it, and she’s the one who convinces Ginny to help her steal it back. (Because if Tom was hurting Maeve, he might end up hurting Neville, and Ginny would love the idea of getting to be the hero that saves her idol from some soul-sucking diary. You can imagine the pre-adolescent daydreams the entire escapade fueled.)

Speaking of daydreams and romance, I love the idea of the entirety of the male-attracted population of Slytherin getting into a vicious fued over whether Lockhart is crush-worthy or not. Because, like him or not, the man is devious, and successful, and that’s got to be attractive to a lot of Slytherins. On the other hand, he wouldn’t know subtle if it jumped up and whacked him over the head with a brick. (I’m really torn as to what side of the equation Draco would fall on. On the one hand, he isn’t exactly subtle either, so there’s really good grounds for thinking he might be just as bad as Hermione about it all. On the other hand, I can’t help but feel that he’s much more likely to have a teacher-crush on Lupin, and obviously massively resent it and be a little brat about it just like he is about his crush on Harry. ...Although I suppose ‘why not both?’ does sort of apply here XD) Blaise is obviously very anti-Lockhart, and so is Daphne, Pansy is very pro-Lockhart, and so is Millicent. Harry, Tracey, and Theo just do not get what the fuss is all about, leave them out of it, please. That’s how Harry makes friends with Theo.

And then Hermione gets petrified. Only it’s not Penelope with her, it’s Tracey. Because they’ve been spending so much time together in the library researching Slytherin. (And also because Dean’s ‘just chuck out all the Slytherins’ speech pissed me right off, and I really wish JKR had actually put effort into debunking all the forms of prejudice in the books, not just the ones she set up to be distasteful. Not all Muggles are magic-hates, and not all Slytherins are Death Eaters.) And Tracey getting petrified would change a lot of the school’s attitude, because suddenly, no one is safe. The Slytherins aren’t All In On It, they’re just as much at risk as anybody else. No one knows where to look or where to point the finger.

And then there’s the whole thing with the spiders that I don’t even know where to start with. Obviously, Neville is going to get told by the Diary that Hagrid was the one to unleash the monster, so he would go talk to Hagrid, but... Not only is there the question of whether he would have stayed long enough to hear Hagrid’s warning without the Invisibility Cloak (which I still dunno if he has or not?), but... Would he really actually go looking for ‘answers’ in the Forbidden Forest? Which is where he was almost mauled by Voldemort once already. Ron certainly isn’t going to encourage him. If he does somehow go, how does he escape, given that maybe the car isn’t there? Argh. This whole thing becomes a complete mess with the possible changes of earlier and I have no idea what to do with it all. I just know that he does, somehow, need to be inspired to realise that Myrtle is the one the basilisk killed.

Or maybe he doesn’t? Is there some other way Neville could find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets? Maybe Neville just... asks a snake? He could do that. There have to be some snakes at Hogwarts, and they must have heard the basilisk roaming about. Or, hey, maybe Luna helps? If Ginny was petrified, it might inspire her to investigate, in her own way, and she might find things others would miss. (Maybe she would just... go around asking all the ghosts if they know what happened fifty years ago.)

And that’s not getting into the whole issue of the adventure in the Chamber. Obviously, it’s Maeve that gets taken this time, so maybe it should be Harry that goes with Neville to the Chamber? Or maybe (if she’s not petrified) it should be Ginny? ...I feel I should mention that I don’t ship Ginny/Neville, and that’s not going to be end-game. She’s going to get over her crush and stay over it. And maybe actually getting to go on an adventure with the Boy Who Lived, getting to know how awful it is, how not-heroic it all it, how it’s just desperation and fear and muddling through as best you can, would help take the shine off her hero-worship and let her really start seeing Neville as a person, not a hero.

And then there’s also the problem of Lockhart. Do they take him along? Does Neville even think to go to him or does he just go on his own (or with Ron or Harry or Ginny or Luna or someone) because Someone Has To? I have no idea what to do with Lockhart, but given the curse something bad has to happen to him, right? And if the Flying Car thing didn’t happen, Ron’s wand isn’t broken, which means an obliviate wouldn’t backfire.

13) How does Neville find the Chamber of Secrets? 13a) If he goes to ask Hagrid about it, how would not having the Invisibility Cloak change things? 13b) If he does go into the Forbidden Forest following spiders, how the hell would they get out of it if they didn’t fly the car to Hogwarts? 13c) How involved in the process is Harry and/or Blaise, given Tracey got petrified? How involved is Luna, if Ginny got petrified? 14) Who goes with Neville to the Chamber of Secrets, if anyone? 14a) Does Lockhart go with them? 15) How does the curse get rid of Lockhart? Is it the same backfiring memory charm as canon? 15a) Does the basilisk kill and/or eat him? If so, how would that change the later story given he wouldn’t be able to reappear in book 5? (I don’t think it would change it very much? But my memory of book 5 is the fuzziest, and I can’t remember ^^”) 16) Does the basilisk have to die? Or can Neville somehow steal ‘control’ from Diary!Riddle and/or free the basilisk from his control? 16a) If the basilisk does die, should Neville and/or Maeve find baby basilisks and decide to raise them to replace the dead one?

No matter what happens, in the end, Neville kills the Diary, Maeve wakes up, and they meet her parents in Slughorn’s office. Lily and Sev are both relieved and furious, and when Lily finds out that her daughter was possibly possessed by Voldemort’s memory, she threatens to just go back to Italy. Lucius shows up, Neville realises what happened, frees Dobby, etc. The petrified students all wake up, Hagrid gets back from Azkaban, and probably Gryffindor wins the House Cup, regardless of who actually went down to the Chamber with Neville? Idk. If anyone can remember more details about exactly how the points stood in second year lemme know. So, a couple of bonus questions, because I’m a forgetful dumbass:

17) How would Slughorn being Potions Master affect all of this? Would he make much of a difference? Or would he just be bumbling about in the background, and have as much effect on the plot as Flitwick, or Sinistra? 17a) Who’s in the Slug Club? Who got recruited right away (like Neville, obviously), and who gets picked up in later years as they grow and mature and their skills come to light? 18) Who wins the House Cup?

Aaand on to book 3. Good god, what the hell am I even going to do with that, given, like, all of the major players just... aren’t, in this AU? I’ll think about that, and try to get a semi-coherent ramble full of yet more obnoxious questions written soon. ...Ish.

...Why do I do this to myself? XD

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millipop · 7 years

Text

tagged by @struttinglikeapotter thank you so much!!

your hogwarts house ravenclaw

how did you first discover/become a fan of harry potter my sisters read them and i generally knew about them and I’d seen the first movie (and was really afraid of the troll) and I started reading them when I was like 7 or 8 and never looked back

favorite character(s) luna lovegood, the marauders if you replace peter with lily, ginny, and harry

how many times have you reread and/or rewatched the series many times originally (i genuinely don’t know how many times it’s that many) but it’s been awhile now. and i’ve seen the movies each a couple of times i guess

favorite/least favorite hp book POA/HBP and GOF

favorite/least favorite hp movie i don’t really have a favourite or least favourite they all have good bits and have bits that piss me tf off lmao

favorite marauder i love my boys but james

favorite next gen character tedddddy

character you would bring back to life either sirius (so he can live a proper life) or fred (you know why) but ideally everyone

if you could place the hp characters in another fantasy world (book, tv show, movie etc.) what would it be lmao idk parks and rec? that’s not really fantasy though

if you could place any characters from another story (book/movie/tv show) into harry potter who would it be the 100 characters obviously

favorite scene from the books wow um obviously a lot but...probably in OotP Luna narrating the Quidditch match

favorite scene from the movies Harry on Felix Felicis was pretty funny

thoughts on cursed child? I own it, haven’t read it but I’ve read the detailed synopsis and i’m pretty reluctant for it to be real tbh like......genuinely did jkr mean to make it seem like a bad fanfiction or parody??? honestly just rather keep my own nextgen headcanons

thoughts on fantastic beasts? i enjoyed it, excellent cinematography even if there were some continuity aspects i’m not a fan of. mad about johnny depp though get him away

favorite fan-made thing to come out of the series (like fan art, fan fiction, avpm, that sort of thing) avpm/starkid hands fuckin down. oh and also the jily fandom/the life and times, the modern au renaissance. and the funny hp meta posts on tumblr are great too.

one thing you wish hadn’t been left out of the movies one thing? oNE thiNG? ONE???? THING???? dude. i could fill a book with things i wish they hadn’t left out of the movies. marauders, peeves, dumbledore backstory, mortal voldemort, flawed hermione, genuinely funny ron, sass harry, s o m a n y t h i n g s.

do you have any favorite memories associated with the series everything

#hp

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startanewdream · 3 years

Text

Dancing lessons

Summary: Lily shares a few dances with her son.

Notes: For @sweeethinny who asked me both for a story with Lily teaching Harry how to waltz and for family moments, and for the Anon who asked for a little of Harry jealous with Krum.

This story ties with 'Emergency Meeting', 'Hope' and 'Shotgun wedding' in this Jily Lives AU. Banner thanks to @the-dream-team!

On AO3 or below:

‘Merlin, this is stupid,’ Harry declares, right before he steps over her foot for the third time. ‘Sorry, Mum!’

Lily smiles, even though her foot hurts now. For someone who seems to have two left feet, he managed to hit her precisely in the same place all three times.

‘That’s fine, Harry,’ she tells him quietly, coming closer to him again. ‘No, hold my hand firmly. Yeah, like that. You are supposed to be leading me in the dance, remember?’

‘Yeah, right,’ he murmurs, not all convincing. Lily has seen him less nervous before he faced the dragon than he is with the prospect of the opening dance at the Yule Ball. At least, he didn’t call her so urgently with concerns about how to deal with a dragon.

‘One, two, three,’ she calls loudly, helping him guide her through that rented room in the Three Broomsticks. ‘One more time… now you spin me.’

He does, albeit with a little difficulty; Lily is still taller than him, though she knows this won’t last long. She remembers how James went through a growth spurt around fifteen; and she remembers what also happened with him during that time, all those teenage hormones.

Harry grew up so fast...

‘Very good,’ she compliments him. ‘Don’t forget she’ll be wearing dress robes, so be careful not to step over.’

‘Not step on the foot, not step on the dress — why did they invent dances?’

‘You might enjoy someday,’ she tells him, a knowing smile on her lips that Harry doesn’t understand yet. ‘So, tell me about this girl you are going with.’

Harry frowns. ‘Parvati? She’s nice. Ron is going with her sister.’

‘Oh, double date, then?’

‘Date?’ Harry blinks, surprised, then scandalized. ‘It’s not a date!’

‘You are going as friends?’

‘Yeah, but —’ he still looks lost. ‘Do you think she thinks it’s a date? Should it be one? What do I do?’

‘Breath, for starters,’ she tells him and, for good measure, Lily waits until Harry takes a deep breath, the panic in his eyes dimming. ‘I think you would know if it were a date. People do know these things, you know?’

Harry doesn’t seem like he knows it at all, but he nods, suddenly much more at ease.

‘Is she the girl you asked your father about weeks ago?’

A blush comes to his cheek. It’s rather adorable, she thinks, but she keeps from showing it. Harry is really shy when it comes to his feelings; one wrong word and he’ll crawl back into his shell and she won’t be able to take any word out of him.

‘No, that was… someone else.’

‘Didn’t work?’

His shoulders slump. ‘Someone else had already asked her out.’

‘Oh, it happens.’

‘Yeah.’ He looks dismayed.

‘You know, it happened to me once. I was going to ask your father out, well, at least that was what I tried to tell myself, but then he already had a date.’

Harry’s eyes widen. Lily remembers James speaking how unfathomable it is to Harry to think of his parents being with anyone else.

‘He rejected you?’

Lily lets out a laugh. ‘Rejection is a strong word, I hadn't even asked him out when I found out he had other plans. It was by the end of our Sixth Year, the last trip to Hogsmeade, and he went with this girl... Let me tell you, it was a miserable summer for me afterwards.’

‘Oh.’ Harry bits the inside of his cheek, thoughtful. ‘Because he was dating someone else?’

‘That was the funny thing, I didn’t know if he was with someone or not, because I was too afraid to ask and make it evident that I was fancying him just as he used to... well, in any case, no, what made me the most miserable was not knowing what he’d say if I had asked him out.’

‘I know,’ he sighs. ‘I mean, at least I know Cho didn’t deny it because she didn’t want to, but because I was too late.’

‘Cho?’, she asks, keeping her voice light. His blush intensifies and Harry spins her again more to gain time than because it was the correct step. It is a nice spin, though. ‘Is she in your year?’

‘No, one above.’ He stops, unsure. ‘Does it make a difference? If she is older?’

‘One year is not much,’ Lily assures him, and then Harry starts moving again as this weight is lifted from his shoulders. ‘And for older — I’m older than your father.’

‘For two months.’

‘Still makes me wiser,’ she promises him, making him laugh. ‘Well, you can ask her out some other time. You can even ask her for a dance at the Yule Ball!’

He sighs heavily, a disbelieving expression coming to his face. ‘Oh, she wouldn’t accept it.’

‘Come on’, she winks at him. ‘Being a Triwizard Champion must come with some benefit.’

He grimaces. ‘Her date is one too.’

‘Cedric?’ she guesses. ‘Oh, bad luck, Harry. He is nice.’

‘He is bloody annoying,’ he mumbles, then his eyes meet hers. ‘Ops, sorry.’

‘Oh, you should have heard what I used to call Cecily,’ she replies easily, shrugging, feeling silly for her young self.

‘Who?’

‘Cecily Jones, the girl who went on that date with your father.’

‘He never mentioned —’

‘I doubt he remembers, Harry,’ she laughs. ‘It was one date — they weren’t going out in the summer, after all — and it didn’t matter afterwards. If you and this girl, Cho, are meant to be, you’ll find your path to each other eventually.’

‘You think so?’

‘Well, you wouldn’t be here if your father and I didn’t,’ reminds Lily. ‘Just remember — always take a leap. And if you ask her to dance, well, I think you’ll do just fine.’ She pauses them. ‘You didn’t step on my foot once in the last five minutes.’

‘Oh!’, amazement shines on his eyes. ‘I can dance!’

‘A waltz at least,’ she agrees, ruffling his hair fondly. ‘Our summer project will be teaching you to loose your hips.’

___________

The ginger boy has a crossed expression on his face when Lily pulls him to the dance floor.

‘Mum,’ he calls, annoyed, as she places his hand around her waist as she did years ago. He grimaces, but takes her hand, moving rather graciously for someone who is wearing the wrong body. He still remembers, she notes gladly.

‘Son,’ she answers back, teasing.'You know, you could have been born like this.'

'What do you mean?'

'Ginger like me, but with your father's eyes.'

The boy doesn’t look like her or James at all, but it’s a nice thought all the same. Lily always wondered how another child of her and James might look like...

'So people you just give me the "you look like your mother but have your father's eyes"?'

'That would be a change.'

'Not really,' he mumbles, distracted. His eyes keep moving away from her, and judging by the way Harry sighed when the bridesmaids first appeared during Bill and Fleur’s wedding, she knows who he is looking at.

And it’s not to the bride’s young sister.

‘You should ask her for a dance.’

‘Who?,’ he asks guiltily, looking back at her. Lily raises one eyebrow, not impressed with his attempt to playing dumb.

‘While you can. Before you leave.’

‘I —’ he stops, conflicted. His face is all wrong, not one single resemblance to her son, and yet his expression is the same in the face of that muggle boy Harry is impersonating for the day. ‘It’s because I’m leaving that I can’t.’

‘The things we don’t do haunt us more than the things we do,’ she warns him, and Harry looks wistfully, his longing evident. Then an annoyed furious expression crosses his face, and he presses her hand as if to stop himself from taking his wand; when Lily follows the direction of his gaze, she sees Viktor Krum going to the table where Ginny and Luna are talking happily.

‘I could hex him,’ Harry murmurs darkly. ‘I wouldn’t regret that.’

She smiles, amused. ‘I thought Ron was the one with problems with Krum?’

‘I’m starting to agree with him,’ he replies. ‘A toss, really… Thinks he is so great because he is an international Quidditch player, big deal…’

Lily doubts this will matter to Ginny and, sure enough, as they watch, Ginny shakes her head at whatever Krum is saying, and Krum leaves, clearly dejected. Harry grins, satisfaction all over his face, and as if she can sense his stare, Ginny turns towards them.

Harry turns away quickly, but Lily knows it was not enough.

‘Harry…’

'She will accept it,' he mumbles, dismayed. 'Maybe not Krum, maybe not today, but her future is so free whereas mine…'

'Is bright too,' she finishes for him, voice stern now. 'Self-doubt will not take you anywhere, Harry. And you may have not noticed while you were brooding in the corner, but she kept throwing glances at you too. She wants to dance with you.'

'Oh. I… I would step on her foot.'

'Of course not, I taught you well,' Lily tells him with a smile, breaking away. 'I am going to find your father.'

There is a whole new trouble on Harry's face now and Lily refrains from sighing.

'I'll see you later. I’ll just stick around here for a while.'

'Mustering the courage?' she guesses wisely. He flushes. 'Remember, if you are meant to be -'

'We'll find our path to each other. Yeah, I know.'

She places a quiet kiss on his cheek, enjoying the fact that for the first time in a couple of years she is taller than him.

'Things will be fine, Harry. Don't lose hope.'

_____________

Harry is beaming, happiness written all over his face, wrinkles at the corner of his eyes more prominent than ever. Lily enjoys the fact those wrinkles come from laughing, not worrying.

Next to them, the bride and the groom's father are making a mess on the dance floor, spinning each other out of control, giggling crazily, and Harry looks at them with fondness.

'I thought Dad knew how to dance,' he says, amused.

'He does, but you know him. He likes to show off.'

Harry laughs. It's a carefree sound, not a single weight on his shoulders today.

'Well, let's show him how it's done, then?' he suggests, offering her his hand and Lily takes it graciously, letting her son conduct her to the dance floor.

He really waltzes well.

'You've been training,' she notes. Harry smiles guiltily.

'I like to dance in front of the mirror. Helps me to relax.'

'We only need to upgrade your dancing moves.'

'Ginny has this project, don't worry. We have a record player at home, she is teaching me all the good old wizarding songs. Sirius will help me with the Muggle ones and next thing I'm hitting a dancing club.'

She smiles at the idea of Harry in a nightclub; he is past twenty now, married and living away, but he is still her child in many ways.

'We should make him or her take dance classes,' he adds as an afterthought, his gaze falling to her belly, though there isn't any bump there yet. 'Make sure they won't get embarrassed in a school dance when they are older.'

'Nah, big brother Harry can teach them how to dance.'

He nods happily, spinning her around. The movement makes them get closer to James and Ginny.

'Switch partners?' James suggests, winking at them.

Harry laughs and spins his mother one last time, just as James does the same with Ginny. Lily finds herself in the arms of her husband, who stops long enough to kiss her tenderly, before drifting her away to the dancing floor.

Her husband waltzes nicely when he wants, Lily thinks joyfully, and with her pregnant, she knows he will be extra careful. James is cautious like that, but she lets him enjoy that protectiveness. It doesn’t come attached with any other worry — no war, no threat on their lives, and that’s something she can learn to live with.

Her gaze moves to the other couple. Harry and Ginny shine under the lights of the tent, today no other couple holding a candle for the happiness that irradiates from them. Her gaze drops and she watches as their feet move in synchrony, Harry always careful to avoid stepping over her long wedding dress.

Yes, she thinks. I really taught him well.

#Harry & Lily #Eyes glistening #Jily Lives #Jily Fanfiction #Hinny Fanfiction #t: fanfiction #family fluff #happy ending

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startanewdream · 3 years

Text

Mia

Summary: It’s not really an unplanned pregnancy if you planned it once - even it was twenty years ago, right?

Or the road leading to James and Lily’s baby number two. (Part of the Jily Lives AU)

Note: To be edited later with a link to AO3 as soon as this gets a title. Edited with the link to AO3 if you prefer. Also, this time there is mention of Sirius and Remus being alive because after the last one, I felt guilty.

Warning for... mentions of sex. That’s how babies are made after all.

_________________________

They are in bed, Lily’s head over his chest while he caresses her hair, both still recovering their breaths when she first talks about it.

'How do you feel about another?'

James raises his eyebrows.

'I don't know if I should be happy you enjoyed so much you already want more or if I should be concerned you are not satisfied, Lily'.

'What? No -' she giggles, turning in bed to stare at him, her auburn hair floating around her. 'I meant about another child'.

James is silent for a few seconds, considering it.

'So that means you are not satisfied'.

She rolls her eyes, but James can see the amusement in her face.

'In bed with you, yes, I am', she assures, placing a soft kiss on his chest, over his heart. 'But about kids, I've been thinking about it'.

James bits his lips.

'You know how I feel about it', he whispers. 'I hated so much being an only child that I found myself brothers as soon as I could'.

'Yeah and you did propose to me mentioning how you would like a house full of kids - enough to fill a Quidditch team, if I remember correctly'.

'I was babbling, afraid you were going to refuse me! You know you can't use someone's desperate proposal against him'.

She smiles softly.

'So you don't want a bunch of children?'

He touches her hair once more, keeping his eyes on the auburn strands, and it comes to his mind that he would like a child with that gorgeous hair of her.

'I do. Maybe not seven, but I don't want Harry to be an only child. It's just -'

He doesn't finish, but James knows he doesn't need to. Harry is just fifteen months old, an unplanned child in the middle of a war they are not close to winning and, truth be told, if James and Lily had more sense, they would not have one child, let alone another one.

And there is the fact that their only son is already too much involved in this war.

'Hey', she cups his face. 'Let's plan together'.

There is a pleading tone in her voice, and he knows that what Lily is asking is hope - for better days, for a time where they can have more children without worrying about what will happen to them.

He looks back at her and when their eyes meet, his heart beats faster. It should be silly considering what they were doing minutes ago and how he possibly cried in very colourful words that he loved her, but this is one of those moments where time seems to stop and he realizes, with a wave of electricity running through his body, with a certainty that leaves room for no doubt, that he loves her with all he has.

That’s why they are together, that’s why he asked her to marry him. Not because he feared for the future, not because he was desperate to enjoy as much time with her as they had left.

But because he loved her since what seems always now, and he won’t deny any hope for Lily, not when he's been living on it.

He kisses her softly.

'Let’s plan’, he agrees. ‘I think… maybe four kids would be nice. Two boys, two girls'.

She smiles.

'Well, we can't plan that'. Then Lily throws him a knowing look. 'You are thinking about forming a new group of Marauders, aren't you?'

He smiles unabashedly.

'Just think about family photos. Each one of our kids dresses as one of the Marauders. It would be the cutest thing ever'.

Her eyes shine, seeing beyond him.

'It would. Fine, four kids. We will need a bigger house'.

'We can expand the house, you know. My dad always said he thought of creating a new wing here; there is plenty of land'.

'Two rooms to begin with. They can share until they are older'.

‘Sirius always slept in my room when he came over’, James remembers fondly. ‘We almost burnt the house once or twice, I must warn you’.

‘Consider me warned. Petunia and I had separate rooms, but when I was younger -’, she pauses suddenly, and James can see the concern on her face. ‘What if they don’t like each other?’, she whispers.

‘They will’.

‘You can’t know for sure, I mean - you see how Petunia is with me. And Sirius can’t even talk about Regulus, what if -’

‘You are worrying too much, Lily’, he says gently, kissing the top of her head. ‘Maybe they will best friends, maybe they won’t. But I’m sure they will be family no matter what’.

She looks thoughtfully, but after a minute she nods.

‘What about next year? Harry will be two, it’s a good age gap’.

‘It would be nice. We can start practising now if you want’.

‘I thought we already did’, Lily winks at him. ‘But we can repeat tomorrow’.

‘Halloween fun?’, he smirks. ‘Will you be wearing a costume?’

‘Only if you do - and no, your antlers tiara doesn’t count’.

He pouts, making her giggle and kiss him until his expression relax.

‘Hey, Lily’, he calls her, his voice resounding with the hope he associates with Lily. ‘Let’s have another child’.

___________________

When Harry is five and he starts Muggle school, it comes to James that his son has been lacking other kids in his life. It’s not that he is lonely - he couldn’t be, not with James and Lily always there for him, not with the almost daily visits from Sirius and Remus, but he suddenly wishes there were more children in the house.

Now, he can’t count on Sirius or Remus to help him with it - both of them seem to avoid relationships like the plague, though for different reasons -, so he rounds Lily while she is in her office preparing a potion.

‘James?’, she calls surprised, when his arms embrace her from behind and he kisses her exposed neck (James loves when Lily is making potions because she keeps her hair on a bun and he has a weak spot for her neck). ‘This will explode if I don’t stir it’.

‘Let it explode’.

‘It’s a Draught of Living Death, we will turn into zombies if -’

‘Let’s make a baby’.

That makes her take her wand to freeze the potion and turn to him, with a funny smile.

‘Is that a weird way of asking for sex? If so - you used better lines before’.

‘No, I mean, sex is good too and most necessary, but I mean it, Lily. Let’s try for another kid’.

Lily blinks.

‘Why now?’

‘Why not now? Harry is still young, we are definitively young, what’s keeping us from having more?’

She bits her lip, thoughtful, and James feels suddenly dismayed.

‘Unless you don’t want anymore?’

‘It’s not that, I want it - it’s just, with everything that happened -’

‘I know, it slipped out of my mind too. But now, we are living in this peace for a while…’

‘But it won’t last, will it?’, she whispers as if she feels guilty of even thinking about it. ‘Dumbledore says he isn’t really dead and when he returns -’

‘Maybe he will stay hidden forever, maybe he is too weak to try anything’.

She smiles sadly.

‘Every time I look at Harry’s scar I know that something will happen, James. That’s not a normal scar, that means something, and I get scared’.

‘Hey’, he hugs her. ‘As long as we are together, we can face anything - didn’t we prove that before?’

‘Yeah, but - is it fair? To put someone innocent in the middle of our mess?’

‘It was not fair with Harry, but we managed. We can do it again’.

‘James…’

Lily looks at him and James sees she is not convinced, not really; he knows Lily enough to understand that she is rational - she likes to think first, whereas James is always the more impulsive. They complement each other. He takes her to fly, she remembers him to come back to the ground.

And he understands what she means, even if he wishes things were different.

‘You are right’, he sighs. ‘At least for now, until we see how things really are’.

She smiles, touching his face with fondness.

‘I want it, I really do. Don’t forget it’.

James kisses her hand on his face.

‘I won’t. In fact, if you want to start practising now -’

____________________

It’s just because the house is empty now that Harry is off to Hogwarts that the subject returns; they don’t exactly talk about it. James just sees Lily is not taking her potions anymore - they look at each other, understanding passing between them (one of the benefits of being married for over ten years) - and then suddenly and simply as that they are trying.

It feels a little weird to actually hope for once that something comes out of their moments together, but it’s Lily. He forgets everything when he is with her, focusing on just enjoying her company and touches and how they made each other feel.

But time passes and nothing happens. It’s been only three months, it’s nothing unusual, and Lily mentions seeing a doctor when the owl comes to tell them how someone jinxed Harry’s broom on his first Quidditch match.

That doesn’t seem like a good sign.

When they return home months after, in June, after seeing Harry all bandaged in the hospital, after hearing him talking about coming face to face with Voldemort, they don’t say anything. He buys the herbs for Lily and she is not surprised when he gives them to her.

There is no need to talk about it.

____________________

Most of the time their lives are full of things happening and Harry is always at the centre of a storm, so when James thinks about it, Lily was right. He can’t imagine facing dementors and going back to the Order with a young child to be cared for.

He can’t imagine how their child would be a target, how vulnerable and defenceless their child would be, without a love protection, without a prophecy somehow binding its fate. They made the right choice of postponing their second child.

That’s the rational part of him that suddenly vanishes the moment he sees Lily holding baby Teddy Lupin in her arms for the first time, that cute fat baby that giggles at her, closing his eyes for a minute - and then his blue hair turns as red as hers and his eyes are bright green.

It’s like a mini-Lily and suddenly James wishes more than ever that this war is over soon - or that it had never even begun because he can see that other life, the one where there was no Voldemort. Instead, James and Lily’s lives are filled with more children, happy shining kids whose worst problems are passing their school exams and not surviving. The life he always wanted for Harry.

His eyes meet Lily’s and she smiles at him, offering him to hold Teddy. It’s been forever since James held a baby, but he still remembers, not really forgetting all these nights he took care of Harry. Teddy is a quiet baby, smiling at him too, his hand raised to try to grab his glasses.

‘He is perfect’, he whispers, looking to Remus. His friend is beaming - James understands that happiness that comes with holding your child for the first time, with seeing that miracle in the shape of a baby that you swear to protect with all your heart.

‘Of course he is’, Tonks says cheerfully, while Remus hugs her, holding her close to him as if he doesn't believe he gets to be this happy.

James understands the feeling of living that light bright moment right after coming out of the darkness. There is nothing like that.

He returns Teddy to Tonks when he starts to whimper for his mother, and then he looks at Lily.

Her green eyes are filled with longing for a life they promised themselves they would have, and also a little bit of hurt. How did they lose sight of their dreams?

They both know the answer but it's not a comfort.

Later, when they apparate back to their hiding place - a sorry little apartment where they pretend to be a normal boring couple -, they don't wait to turn out the lights and they don't say anything before their lips are meeting, and it's desperate and harsh as it has not been for a long time.

Somehow James feels like they are making up for a lost time that won't go anywhere and that they can't retrieve anyway.

It doesn't matter.

When they first married all they had was their love and dreams. They still love each other and for those dreams - they will accomplish them.

________________

They never speak out loud but somehow in the aftermath of the last battle, it feels right that they get a new beginning just as everyone else is having.

It’s all about rebuilding - Hogwarts, then the wizarding world - the Ministry, the Aurors, organising a system that was clearly outdated - and their home. It's a long process and in the middle of it, they forget about worrying, about planning; they just go with the flow and somehow it works without they even meaning to.

Lily has this weird expression on her face, one that seems to mix disbelief and amazement as she turns to him one morning and says as if the most natural thing:

‘James? I think I’m pregnant’.

That’s the first difference from their first time. Now he is the one that leaves for the pharmacy while Lily prepares a potion - they will test twice, just to be sure - and they are together while they wait for both tests to tell them if her feelings were right on the spot.

They are.

There are two lines on the muggle pregnancy test and the potion turns blue and suddenly like that they know they will be parents again.

She hugs him then, her eyes filled with tears of pure joy, laughing when she sees James is really crying now.

‘I love you so much!’, he declares brightly, kissing every part of her face that he can (but with care, because a pregnant Lily always seems fragile to him, no matter the fact he knows this is not true).

And it feels that this is what he should have done the first time, when she first told him about Harry. They should be happy and only that. No worries. That’s the second difference.

There are parallels too, James thinks. Harry’s shock at the idea his parents will have a baby reminds him of Sirius’ reaction as if he can’t possibly understand how that happened (somehow, despite running into them a couple of times, Sirius still got shocked with the fact they made sex). Lily is as sick as in her first pregnancy, so the first months are mostly spent at home too.

And just like back then, Sirius comes to visit her every day he can, careful to bring her anything she may want to eat and offering massage to her feet that Lily doesn’t need to, but she enjoys anyway.

‘I can still see my feet, Padfoot’, she replies teasingly, lying lazily on the couch of the living room while Sirius' hands work their magic on her right foot. James winks at her.

‘Just enjoy, Lily. He is trying to get into your good graces. He wants to be named godfather again’.

Sirius nods unabashedly, grinning at her.

‘Remus is the next in line’, Lily says, shrugging. ‘But keep with that massage and we will think about you if baby number three ever comes’.

‘Still without a name for baby number two?’

‘You need to stop calling young Prongslet by numbers’, James scolds without any malice.

‘We are not calling Prongslet either, James’.

‘Of course not, Lily. It will be Elvendork’.

Lily rolls her eyes.

‘Not this again’.

‘It’s unisex!’

They indeed refer to their baby as Elvendork just because it’s easier than calling “it” or “baby”, and Harry throws confused looks at them, looking concerned that his new brother or sister will really be called that, though Lily assures him this won’t happen.

But the truth is that they really have not decided on a name, haven’t even discussed yet seriously until they return from the doctor with the news it’s a girl (James cried with this news just as he cries every time they go to the doctor and he hears the baby's heartbeat or even that shape in the ultrasound that it's not really discernible).

They are on the bed, with James looking wondrously at Lily’s now round belly and imagining their little girl (maybe that mini-Lily he once thought of, maybe a little Harry, maybe a little James - it doesn’t matter, he already loves her), when he whispers: ‘We can’t call her Elvendork’.

Lily throws him a surprised look.

‘Oh, no! Poor Elvendork!’

He is too enamoured with her to retort.

‘Did you think of any names?’

‘I have a list of names’, she admits. ‘But none of them feels right’.

They go together through her list; there are beautiful, weird and creative types of names, but as Lily said, none seems to fit yet.

Of course, they don’t lack ideas. Everyone seems to have an opinion.

Sirius is all for the stars, of course (but James thinks he is teasing, though some of them sound nice), and Harry suggests female heroes.

‘What about your mothers?’, Remus suggests, when he and Dora come over for dinner. Lily is sitting on the couch, playing with Teddy. The boy is four now, and he seems fascinated by Lily’s big belly - he had been too young when Fleur was pregnant with Victoire, so this is the first time he is really seeing a pregnant woman and understanding what it means.

Teddy already refers to the baby as his little cousin, sounding proud and excited to meet her.

‘Rose would be a good name’, Lily muses, but still it doesn’t seem to be what she is looking for.

At this time, with only a month away until their baby is born, James considers they are hoping that looking at her face will be enough after the birth - if not, he will just cry the first name that comes to his mind when they sign her birth certificate.

He only hopes he manages not to sign Elvendork. Lily would kill him.

‘I wouldn’t go for Euphemia’, he declares, shrugging.

‘As someone who has an outdated name, I second that’, Dora says, grinning at him.

But Lily looks at both of them with her brows furrowed, and James knows there is something on her mind. She doesn’t say anything until they are alone later.

‘You know, I think Remus might have the right idea’.

‘Liked Rose after all?’

‘No, actually, I thought about your mother’.

Thinking of his mother brings to James that smell of fresh-baked pie, the warmth of her hugs - she had always been there for him, to listen and to guide him - and not just him. She had been a mother to Sirius too and even to Lily in the few months they had together before she passed away.

He smiles softly.

‘I miss her, but Euphemia is not - ‘

‘It doesn’t have to be Euphemia. Your father called her Mia, right? We can do something like that’.

‘Mia Potter?’

‘I thought of Amelia. And we could call her Mia, for short. Like Teddy or Ginny’.

‘Mia Potter’, he repeats, savouring the words.

‘Amelia Rose Potter? In honour of both grandmothers?’

James beams, hugging Lily and letting his hand feel her belly. ‘I love it’.

The baby seems to like it too, because in the next second Lily is wincing and James feels the baby kicking.

‘You know what, Lily? I think Mia will be a great Quidditch player too’.

She sighs exaggeratedly.

‘I only wish she could wait to start training when she is out’.

_____________________

Because fate sometimes is funny, Mia Potter is born on Halloween Night and the first time James holds her he is wearing an antlers tiara that he forgot to take off and that no one warned him about.

Later he will probably hex Sirius when he teases him about it, but right now he just sits next to Lily on her hospital bed, and she beams at him despite her tiredness.

‘We did it’, she whispers, sounding amazed, and James understands the feeling. They are in their forties, they lived through two wars, they raised a magnificent young man and here they are holding their second child, a tiny baby who seems unbelievably perfect in every sense.

One minute, James thinks. Let us enjoy this one minute, just a little.

When the minute is over, he returns the sleeping Mia to Lily’s arms and goes to open the door. Harry is pacing in front of the door, looking agitated as James felt all during the labour, even though he never left Lily’s side.

‘So? Can I see my sister now?’

‘And my goddaughter?’, Sirius pops in, grinning. James laughs.

‘It’s Remus’ goddaughter, and, yes, you can come in. She is sleeping’.

They get around the bed, with Sirius hugging Lily and declaring her the most amazing woman in the world (‘Are you drunk, Padfoot?’ ‘Yes, I was nervous! ‘You won’t hold Mia until you are sober’), and with Harry touching the thin strands of dark hair on his sister’s head, looking at her as if it’s the most precious thing he has ever seen.

James thinks he was wrong about that selfish minute he spent alone with Lily and Mia. Seeing Harry and Sirius cooing about the baby, he realizes this is the kind of one minute he wishes to have more in his life.

‘Do you want to hold her?’, Lily offers, and Harry nods, unable to look away. He sits on the chair right beside the bed and James helps him hold his sister. She wakes up, crying, and for a moment Harry seems to be in panic until he raises and swings her softly, just like he used to do with his godson.

‘Hi, Mia’, Harry whispers. ‘That’s ok. There, there. I’m your big brother, you see? I’m here for you’.

There is a soothingly effect on Harry’s voice and after a few minutes, Mia seems to relax indeed, her crying turning into a sob that seems to be more because of the unfamiliar world she is now in than anything else.

‘She has your eyes, Dad’, Harry says, smiling. James looks back at his daughter and, more than the hazel colour that looks a lot like his, he sees the way she seems to be curious about her surroundings as if she wants to see all the world has to offer.

Mia has indeed his eyes.

____________________

Mia is three when Ginny calls her and Mia comes with an expression of guilt that tells James she has done something she shouldn’t. That doesn’t really surprise him. He saw his daughter running with Teddy and Victoire and whenever those three are together, something always seems to happen.

Most of the time involving some kind of petty mischief that gives James very much hope for his daughter.

‘It was not my fault’, Mia declares, looking sheepish.

‘I am sure it was Teddy’s’, Harry says, sharing a grin with James, because whenever they are discovered, Teddy always declares himself to be the guilty one, even though James can see exactly when it was Victoire (with her exuberant ideas) or Mia (with her direct-to-the-point ideas), clearly feeling it’s his role as the older of them.

‘It’s okay, Mia’, Ginny assures her tenderly, offering her arms and Mia doesn’t hesitate to go sit on her lap.

Mia loves her parents, adores Harry but it’s Ginny that she worships. Like with the broomstick: Mia learnt to fly at one like Harry, who gave her her first broom, but it was just last summer when they took her to watch a Quidditch game, where Ginny had scored sixteen goals that Mia had declared she wanted to be a Chaser when she grew up.

James had shaken his head in fake dismay at the fact his daughter had not been impressed with his Quidditch skills, but he didn't really mind: any reason he could to spend afternoons flying with her was good for him.

'We have something to tell you', Ginny says under Mia's concentrated look. Lily exchanges a smile with James; they already know, but hearing it again just makes them happier than words could describe. 'You are going to be an aunt'.

She blinks.

'Like you are?'

Ginny smiles.

'Do you know what an aunt is?'

'I know that Vic calls you Aunt, but Teddy calls you Ginny'.

'Well, I am Vic's aunt because Vic's father is my brother'.

'Like Harry is my brother'.

'Yes, so you are going to be an aunt because Harry will have a son or daughter'.

'Oh!' she looks at his brother, clasping her hands. 'With whom?'

'With me', Ginny explains while everyone laughs. 'Harry and I will have a baby'.

'Oh. Like Aunt Fleur had Dominique?'

'Exactly'.

'I like babies', Mia declares. 'Where is the baby? I want to meet him!'

'In a few months. He or she is still… not ready'.

'Oh'. Mia seems upset, then she shrugs. 'Can I play outside until then?'

Ginny laughs and places a kiss on Mia's cheek.

'Sure. We will call you when it's ready'.

'Mia', Lily calls, sounding amused. 'Do you know how Harry takes care of you?'. Mia nods. 'That's what an aunt does too'.

'Can I take the baby to the park too?'

'When he is older', James assures her. Mia smiles, her hazel eyes sparkling.

‘I will be the best aunt ever’, she declares, and then she is running outside (Mia can’t walk - she only knows how to run), back to Teddy and Victoire.

James watches her through the window, talking excitedly to them, probably telling them all about her news.

'I think you will have a handful with them in the future'.

'Me?', Harry laughs. 'If McGonagall doesn't retire by the time your child and grandchild are both in Hogwarts, I will be surprised'.

______________________

Mia’s name came from @blitheringmcgonagall cute amazing stories of Mia and Monty Potter, and the final scene is some sort of answer to @dear-james ‘s prompt of James and Lily knowing about James Sirius (to be properly answered some day, I hope!)

#eyes glistening #jily lives #Jily FanFiction #hinny #baby potter #i don't know the title yet #please help #to be edited later #t: fanfiction

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startanewdream · 3 years

Text

Emergency meeting

Like I said, Jily Lives AU is a drug and I’m addicted to it, so here’s another drabble of Harry having the best parents ever.

I have another scene I thought of writing (for OotP, though), but if you have any idea/prompt, please share with me :)

-----------------------------------

Summary: When Harry has an emergency worse than facing a dragon during the Triwizard Tournament, only his father can help him. Companion to Eyes glistening (with the ghost of my past).

Read on AO3 or below:

-----------------------------------

Harry’s call comes in the middle of a Friday afternoon, just as James is finishing dinner - Lily will be home in about fifteen minutes and he likes to let everything ready for when she comes back from work.

‘Dad? Are you there?’

It’s very unusual for Harry to call him on the mirror, so for an instant, James thinks Harry is there somehow - his eyes go immediately to the fireplace -, until he locates the origin on the mirror he left on the kitchen counter, waiting for a message from Sirius.

‘Harry?’, he asks surprised, when he sees his son’s face in the mirror. Harry looks slightly sick. ‘Is everything ok?’

‘Yeah, yeah. All the same. I just need to talk to you’.

‘Go on’.

‘Not through the mirror’, says Harry, still looking more uneasy than when he had to tell his parents about going after the Philosopher’s Stone. Or entering the Chamber of Secrets. Or meeting Peter Pettigrew. ‘Can - I know I’m not supposed to - but could we meet in Hogsmeade tomorrow?’

James glances at the calendar.

‘There is not a trip scheduled for tomorrow’.

‘I know, that’s why I said I wasn’t supposed to, but I thought -’, Harry hesitates, biting his lips, and James thinks he looks even younger than he is. ‘- If I use the Cloak and the Map no one would know, and I know it’s for emergencies only, but this is one of them’.

‘If it’s Voldemort -’

‘No, no, it’s another kind of emergency. Please, dad. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t so important’’.

James looks carefully at his son. Harry is sweating; the boy didn’t even flinch before facing a dragon months ago and, somehow, he looks more nervous now than he was on the First Task. He does not know what kind of emergency Harry is talking about if it doesn’t involve Voldemort, but he would not refuse his son anyway.

‘Ok’, he agrees, and he sees relief in Harry’s face. ‘Why don’t we meet for lunch in the Three Broomsticks? Rosmerta is an old friend, she won’t say anything, and your mother and I can -’

‘No’, Harry panics again. ‘Not Mum. Just you’.

That makes James frown. Harry may look like him, but his heart has always been more like Lily’s and he always confided in his mother. Even when he came to ask for James’ help for anything or share one of his misdeeds, Harry always knew his father would eventually share it with his mother later.

There are many questions James wants to ask, but right now he just nods one last time.

‘Midday, the Three Broomsticks’, is all he says and, with a grateful smile, Harry is gone.

-----------------------------------

Harry is already in the dinner room James had reserved when James arrives. He looks at his watch. Harry is five minutes early; his son is never early for anything, not even to go to Hogwarts on September 1st or Quidditch matches.

This must be really important.

Still, James takes a moment to watch Harry, who is pacing nervously. He didn’t change much from the last time they’ve seen each other - when he hugged Harry after his victory over the dragon, with a proud grin that didn’t show how James nearly had a heart attack before - but James always likes to see how grown up Harry is, marvelling at the fact that his son is alive and well.

‘Dad!’, Harry cries when he sees him, looking reassured that James is there. ‘You took long’.

‘I’m on time, actually’, James says, amused. ‘Now, can you tell me what got your knickers on a twist?’

Somehow the fact that James is there seems to have a soberer effect on Harry. He stops pacing, sitting at the small table, biting his lips with more hesitation than James had ever seen on him.

‘Maybe - maybe we can share a butterbeer first’.

‘Harry’, James begins, feeling confused. ‘We can drink all the butterbeer you want, but you just didn’t summon here for a drink -’

‘I need your help asking a girl for the Yule Ball’.

The words come out of Harry’s mouth so fast that James takes a moment to understand their meaning. When he does, amusement threatens to overwhelm him and James almost chuckles, now seeing what is Harry’s great emergency.

But he presses his lips, avoiding even a smile because it’s obvious how desperate Harry is, how he needs James’ guidance in a way he didn’t seem to need when he was facing parts of Voldemort or a basilisk or flying over a dragon.

Harry needs his father.

‘Oh’, he says at least. ‘That requires a butterbeer’.

And a firewhiskey for him would be nice, but he doesn’t want to settle a bad example.

So he orders butterbeers and a small lunch for them. He waits until Harry is drinking his butterbeer, once again marvelling at how his son is old now if he is worried about dates, before he asks in the most nonchalant voice he can manage:

‘So, who do you want to invite?’

‘Well - there is this girl - she is really pretty, she is one year ahead of me and she plays Seeker for the Ravenclaw team, so…’

Harry stops talking and James realizes this is it, actually. There is nothing more for him to tell because his son is just infatuated for the first time in his life.

He wants to tell Harry that there is more than just a pretty face and a shared interest in Quidditch, but Harry is fourteen and James remembers what it was like then. Even his feelings for LIly had been shallow then - love, the real feeling that had twice saved Harry’s life, had come later.

‘So you want to ask her to the ball. Does she have a date yet?’

‘I - I don’t know. I’ve never seen her with anyone though’.

‘That’s okay. If she already has one, she will just tell you. But if you want to invite her, don’t take too long. Girls don’t like to think they are your last resort - actually, no one likes it’.

‘But how -’, Harry takes another gulp of his drink. ‘I can’t just get there when she has all her friends around her - she is always with her friends, really, it’s maddening - and I can’t just ask… How did you ask Mum out?’

Now it’s James that is taking a long gulp from his butterbeer, wishing he had an easier answer to that. All Harry knows is that he and Lily had fallen in love during school and they had married just after graduation; they had never detailed the complicated years that had come before.

‘Well -’, he begins, still unsure of how to answer that. ‘ - actually, the first two times I asked your Mum out, she refused to go out with me’.

Harry blinks, surprised.

‘Why? I thought you two were in love since forever’.

‘It does feel like forever, but that’s not true’, James shrugs. ‘It’s not always easy as a fairytale. It takes time’.

‘But if she didn’t want to go out with you -’.

‘Well, since you are here, it’s obvious she wanted to go out with me at some point’, James says, grinning to ease Harry’s sudden nervousness as if he is unable to imagine a world in which his parents weren’t always together. ‘I was just a bit of a toss when I was young - actually, when I was your age - and your mum had better things to do than lose time with this idiot then. She was smart, of course, but that is beside the point. Let’s talk about the time she accepted at least’.

There is a smile now on James’ lips, the same one that he always has when he is thinking of Lily, that Harry immediately recognizes.

‘Skip the kissing parts, ok?’, he pleads, rolling his eyes.

‘That’s the best part’, James jokes. ‘But that happened later, anyway. So I asked her out for a date. Even though she had refused before, many things had happened since then and we had been friends for a while, but I wanted more. Always did, but then I was lucky and she wanted more too’.

‘That easy? You just asked?’

‘There is no other way, Harry’. He smiles at his son. ‘You are going to take a leap of faith in this, really. If she is never alone, and you don’t want to ask her in front of her friends, ask for a word with her. Her friends may giggle, but it’s perfectly, annoyingly normal, I promise you’.

‘And if she says no?’

‘Life goes on. You respect her decision and you ask someone else for the ball’. Harry looks nervous at this prospect too. ‘You can ask someone to go as a friend, you know. It doesn’t have to mean anything’.

‘Okay’, Harry says, looking more relieved.

‘How about Hermione?’

‘Hermione?’, Harry repeats, as if what James is saying is beyond his comprehension. ‘But she is just my friend’.

‘Yes, Harry’, James says patiently. ‘That was the point, remember?’

Harry is still frowning.

‘Yeah, but it would be weird, like going with a sister’.

‘Someone else, then. Maybe a friend that isn’t so much like a sister to you’.

Harry nods thoughtfully, and in his silence, James suddenly remembers Ron's little sister. She is the most charmingly young girl he has ever met - though his opinion may be affected by the fact she also shares his love for chasing -, but she is extremely shy whenever Harry is around. If maybe they could have a date and get to know each other better -

‘And what if she says yes?’, Harry asks suddenly, in a heavy whisper that distracts James.

James blinks, looking puzzled at his son.

‘Then you go together. Isn’t that what you want?’

‘Yes’, Harry says, but he doesn’t seem very convincingly as if the aspect of someone accepting his invitation is even scarier than asking her out to begin with.

Oh, Merlin, if he is concerned about what to do with a date, they are going to have that talk again. He thought he had covered enough last year, but maybe Harry wasn’t really paying attention - sex would definitely seem to alien for a thirteen year old boy... Oh, Merlin, Harry is too young for things like that -

‘But it’s a dance’, Harry adds, and James breaths again.

God bless his son, he is worried about the dancing, not snogging.

‘It’s easy, actually’, James says, and he instantly winces. Nothing seems easy when you are fourteen. ‘I mean, if it’s formal, just revolve around on the same spot - like one step to one side, then another, careful not to step on her foot and you’ll be fine’.

‘You and Mum never dance like that’.

‘We prefer rock, yeah, but I watched my old folks dancing together more times than I can count. Really, Harry, is all about the feeling’.

Harry grimaces, and James realizes the only feeling Harry would probably feel is panic.

‘You like this girl, right?’

‘Yeah, I think so’. He flushes. ‘She makes me nervous’.

‘Nervous’, James repeats slowly.

‘As if I was walking down a stair and suddenly I missed a step, you know, that feeling inside...’

‘I see’.

Harry looks nervously at him.

‘Is that all right? I mean, is that how you feel about Mum?’

‘My feelings for Lily are a bit more complex than that, Harry’, he says gently. ‘But yes, sometimes when we’ve been apart for a while or even when I wake up by her side sometimes, it’s like I’m seeing her for the first time and I feel this - I think a poet would call it butterflies, but for us maybe little Golden Snitches flying in the belly would be more appropriate. And I can’t believe I got so lucky’.

He loses himself in his thoughts, thinking of Lily. They’ve been married for over sixteen years and she still makes his heart beats fast as she did the first time they’ve kissed.

‘Did you always love her?’, Harry asks in a whisper, for once not sounding grossed at the idea of his parents together like a couple.

James looks at him, wishing once more there was an easy answer. Having the talk seems easier than this - Harry knows love as this entity that’s always been part of his life, as a talisman that has protected him more than once, but explaining romantic love to a teenager is something else.

‘I don’t know when I started loving Lily’, he says slowly. ‘There isn’t a day that I can point to as the day it all began, just as I can’t tell you one single reason for why I love her. Love is in the little things, in the little moments, and it grows without you even noticing it sometimes. When I finally realized I was in love with her, it seemed I was already feeling like that since always’.

‘So you didn’t fall in love at first sight? You two just dated before -’

‘I fancied your mother a lot, obviously, but love came as we got to know each other, as we grew closer. It’s not always fast like in those soap operas you and Sirius like to watch. And -’, James hesitates a little, but he supposes there are some things Harry needs to understand. ‘- we’ve both dated other people before we got together. So, if you like this girl, get to know her, even date her, yes, but it’s ok if it doesn’t last’.

Harry is still looking at James as if it’s unfathomable to him the idea of either his parents with other people, but he nods quietly. It’s not like Harry isn’t familiar about Sirius’ history of girlfriends to know that not all relationships have to end in marriage, but Harry grew up as the son of a couple whose love became famous for overcoming death. He obviously has some expectations about his own lovelife.

As always happens, this is another battle James can’t fight for his son. He will have to deal with dates and relationships and heartbreaks on his own, and all James can offer is chocolate (as Remus would recommend) and lend his ears for any sorrow or happiness Harry wants to share with him.

Still, that’s one of the most normal battles Harry has ever faced, and James is grateful for that; his son already lost too much time worrying about war and Voldemort and surviving.

There is a knock on the door and James raises to get the burgers, giving Harry some more time with his thoughts.

‘Thanks, dad’, Harry says at least, when they are left alone.

‘No problem. That’s what dads are for’, he answers teasingly, exchanging a grin with Harry. ‘Speaking of problems, though, how is it going with the egg?’

Harry rolls his eyes. It’s obvious that’s not a concern for him.

‘I still have time’, he says distractedly. ‘Now, what’s this story of you and mum dating other people…?’

----------------------------------

The call comes again three days later.

‘Dad?’

James closes the Transfiguration book in front of him and takes the mirror. Harry doesn’t seem very thrilled, but he is smiling at his father anyway.

‘Hi, son. So, how it went?’

‘Well, as good as I expected. Made myself kind of a fool, blushed a lot, strumbled a little, but I asked her’.

Harry is not beaming as James would expect, so he winces.

‘Didn’t go well then?’

‘She said someone else already asked her. So you were right, I should have asked sooner. But… well, I think she looked sorry, so that’s good, right?’

‘Yes, yes. Maybe another time you can ask her out’.

Harry’s smile is a little more natural now.

‘Well, in any case I have a date. I asked Parvati - she’s from my year, so it’s more as a friend, like you said’.

‘Good, I’m happy for you. Be a good dancing partner to your date, ok?’

‘Yeah, about that, I’ve been thinking - this also definitely qualifies as an emergency - could you ask mum to meet me at Hogsmeade next Saturday? I thought she could give me some dancing classes’.

#Jily lives #James Potter #Lily Evans #James Potter and Harry Potter #jily fanfiction #Eyes glistening #t: fanfiction

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sweeethinny · 3 years

Note

can you write something hinny in an au where jily and sirius are alive? :)

sorry for the delay, I wanted to write something elaborate, of them spending the holidays together, but nothing came out, so.. here goes I hope you enjoy <3 i love making jily live

--------

‘‘We have a problem with Harry.’’ James said, sitting across from Sirius and Hestia, handing out beer glasses to everyone at the table. ‘’Remus sent us a letter.’’

‘’What did the kid do this time?’’ Sirius asked, putting a portion of peanuts in his mouth. ‘’He’s been quiet for a long time.’’

‘‘Yeah, but this time he decided it was time to change that.’’ Lily sighed. ‘’Remus said he caught Harry snogging with a girl.’’

‘‘Like father, like son, huh Potter?’’ Hestia teased, laughing when James rolled his eyes and blushed slightly.

‘’I had the decency to know how to hide better.’’ He said.

‘’Oh sure, that time Minerva caught you guys, definitely proved that.’‘ Sirius raised his eyebrows. ‘’And the other time-- ’’

‘’-- We understand, Black, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’’ Lily intervened. ''Anyway. Harry was snogging with that Weasley. ’’

‘’Ginny?’’ Hestia asked.

‘’And who else could it be?’’ James faced his friends in front of him. Sirius shrugged.

‘’There are several… Who assures us that it couldn’t be Ron?’’

‘’It’s Ginny.’’ Lily snorted. ''What will we do? Remus said he had noticed Harry a little more... distantly, lately, but we thought it was because he had lost the last game, but then today we received his letter telling us that he caught our son making out with the girl in an empty room. ''

‘’Poor boy, he must have died inside.’’ Hestia laughed. ‘’I didn’t want to be in their shoes.’’ She looked at her husband, smirking and winking. ‘’Good that we’ve always been great at hiding.’’

‘’You two were terrible.’’ James said, remembering the seventh year, when the two started hanging out together. ‘’We always knew when you were going, or coming back, from making out.’’

‘’But did you ever catch us in the act?’’ Sirius asked, his eyebrows raised, knowing that neither of them could counter that argument.

‘’The fact is.’’ Again, Lily took the reins, drinking almost all of her beer. ‘’Harry needs to know what he’s doing, someone needs to talk to him about it.’’ She looked at Sirius and James. ‘’And when I say someone, I’m talking about you two.’’

‘’No, Evans, thank you very much.’’ Their friend declined. ‘’This role I leave to James, he was always better talking about sex than me. He was the one who always started this subject, ask Remus.’’

‘’You are his godfather. This is also your role.’’ James reminded him. ‘’And now, I’m sorry I didn’t put Remus as a godfather, instead of you. He would have dealt with the problem by now.’’

‘’I just want someone to talk to him. My mom spoke to me, Hestia's mom spoke to her, and as I recall, Monty talked to you both about sex, precautions, How to prepare for ... I just want to make sure that Harry won't be ... strutting around Hogwarts.'' Lily took a deep breath, tossing her hair behind her shoulders, and Sirius snorted, rubbing his face and facing his friends.

‘’I liked this boy best when he just wanted to fly and play Quidditch, and he said ‘’ew’’ when we talk about girls.’’

‘’You still love him.’’ Hestia replied. ‘’Last week, you complained that he hadn’t sent you a letter in two weeks.’’

‘’And I’m right! Remus is right, this Weasley is leaving our boy very much in the clouds. I sent him a gift from India, and so far, not even a card saying thank you… I thought you had better educated your son, Evans.’’ Sirius replied, looking at her with his chin up.

‘’I educated, but it’s love. Well, at least I hope it is, because I would hate to know that Harry was in an empty room with a 'just one night' girl.’’ She frowned.

‘’He will be back at the house next week.’’ James interrupted his wife, facing Sirius in front of him. ‘’We’re going to talk to him. You and me.''

‘’I don’t even have a son, and I need to deal with the teen drama… But be clear, I’m only going to talk to him after he thanks me for the gift.’’ He said, a serious face on his face.

‘’Sirius was really sad that Harry didn’t speak to him.’’ Hestia whispered, holding back a laugh. ‘’He will thank you, love, don’t worry.’’ She kissed him on the cheek.

‘’He didn’t talk to us either, so we just need to wait until next week to find out what’s going on.’’ James assured his friend, also wanting to laugh at his drama. ‘’Can I count on you?’’ Sirius sighed, nodding.

‘’I’ll do my best to make that little wind head learn about hiding better. He has an invisibility cloak! We shouldn't be concerned about that.’’

''But it's genetic, Black.'' Lily said, laughing at James. ''His father was just as horrible as he''

#jily #jily live #james x lily #Lily Evans #James Potter #Sirius Black #hestia jones #Harry Potter #Ginny Weasley #hinny #harry x ginny

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startanewdream · 3 years

Text

Enough nerve

Summary: “For nearly five years the thought of his father had been a source of comfort, of inspiration. Whenever someone had told him he was like James he had glowed with pride inside. And now . . . now he felt cold and miserable at the thought of him��. - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

Harry deals with the effects of what he saw on the Pensieve - this time, with his parent's help.

Part of my Jily Lives AU because I just love the idea of Harry having time with his parents.

Read on AO3 or below the cut.

----------------------------

The house is quiet. There is one more person there than usual and still the house is so quiet that James can hear the sound of his own heartbeat. It’s disconcerting, actually.

Something is wrong and he knows it. Lily knows it too; she had glanced worriedly at him before leaving hurriedly for a mission for the Order, and then they had both looked in Harry’s direction - his head was bent down, playing dismayingly with the eggs in his plate, barely whispering a bye for his mother when she waved to him.

Not hungry and quiet. That is a bad sign.

The thing about Harry is that he is usually very easy to read, especially because he always looks out for his parents when he has a problem - except if it involves doing some saving-people thing, when Harry jumps first into danger and thinks later of warning his parents. Harry never had any problem talking about things before.

He certainly said loudly and with very colourful words what was on his mind during last Summer, when James and Lily were once again involved with the Order and then they had to keep secrets from Harry. It had not been pleasant, but then again that could be Harry behaving like a teenager - a scared, traumatized, full of nightmares teenager that had dealt with things an adult wouldn't dream of, but still. Teenage rebellion phase is something they can deal with.

And when Harry had been angry, at least they knew what his problem was, but now he is… apathetic? He didn’t say anything to his parents - not even to discuss school, complain again about Umbridge or comment anything about Dumbledore leaving school. He spent all week locked in the library, saying something about studying for his OWL, only coming out for meals he wasn’t even eating and refusing to meet either parents' eyes.

In fact, James doesn’t know why Harry even bothered to come home for the Easter Holiday, because it is evident that Harry’s mind is elsewhere, in a place where, for the first time, Harry doesn't seem to want to talk to his parents.

Except Harry usually shares with him and Lily what’s bothering him, so this new silence treatment is different. Maybe it is also part of his teenage rebellion phase? He thinks Moony had been like that - no, Remus was always the quiet one anyway, the one who least wanted to talk about his problems as if he didn't want to burden others. Maybe Harry is like that…?

The fireplace in the living room burns brightly green and he raises his head just in time to see a redhead coming out of the fireplace.

‘Oh, hi, Mr. Potter!’, Ginny says brightly and slightly out of breath. She looks windswept as if crossing fireplaces has been a challenge. ‘Sorry to burst in unannounced like that’.

‘No problem, and it’s James’, he says in a false chastening, making her grin. No matter how many times he asks, Ginny always calls him Mr. Potter, even though she has no problem calling Lily by her name. ‘What’s up?’

‘Mum forgot to send our Easter eggs, so I volunteered to bring them here, though I may have crushed them a little in the way. Your fireplace is hard to find now'.

James nods gravely. Ever since Voldemort came back, their house has been overly protected. The only magical way to enter is through the Floo Network, whose access is limited to a few houses, and owls can’t find the place. It's annoying, but if it helps keep Harry safer, he doesn't mind.

‘Also’, Ginny adds, smiling unabashedly, ‘any excuse to be away from Aunt Muriel is valid. We are at her house for the holidays and it’s been a nightmare’.

‘Oh, dear Aunt Muriel. I’ve met her once. “Thought you’ll be more handsome”, she said. “Your wife is much prettier than you”, which it's not false, but still -'

‘Unkind, I know. She always tells me that I should be taller, as if I could control it’, Ginny agrees, rolling her eyes. ‘Anyway, Ron left with Dad for a trip to the market down the village, leaving me alone, that bastard, and I grabbed the first opportunity to get five minutes off. So…’

She delivers him three boxes, and points to the biggest one.

‘That’s Harry’s, of course’, she says fondly. ‘Ron told Mum he seemed down lately, so she thought he could appreciate more chocolate’.

‘Kind of her… so Harry’s been down?’

Ginny bits her lips, suddenly unsure.

‘I don’t know. Hermione said something like that too, but it may be just the exams or -’, she stops herself, her face flushed.

‘Ginny?’, James asks quietly. ‘What's wrong?'

She raises her eyebrows and crosses her arms.

‘I think that’s Harry’s business’, she says loyally, and James wishes she had spoken in a different way.

He can argue with a lot of things, but not with someone wanting to be loyal to Harry, no matter how much he is dying to understand what’s going on with his son.

He watches Ginny more carefully now. There is a stubborn expression on her face and he knows she won’t tell him anything, but maybe her stubbornness could help Harry in some way. He remembers Harry confessing to him how he’d been confused and worried after overhearing people discussing how he might be possessed by Voldemort (that’s the thing about Harry, he does the wrong thing but he eventually tells), and how Ginny had helped him see things clearly.

Harry also told him guiltily of completely forgetting Ginny had been once possessed by Voldemort, and James thinks he understands why Harry forgot it. Ginny is so bright and lively, especially now she is not quiet around Harry, that it would be easy for Harry to forget she had been involved with dark arts when she was younger. Harry never thinks less of anyone for their worst - he only sees their best.

But maybe Ginny can tell him off again - or, as Harry put it, talk some sense into him.

‘Why don’t you deliver the Easter eggs to Harry?’, James suggests casually, returning the biggest box to her. ‘He’s in the library. He’s been there all week’.

‘Oh’, Ginny whispers, her eyes big, and he can see she understands that something is really off with Harry. ‘Like when he barely talks to anyone and just has that look like someone ate the last piece of treacle tart?'

'And he refused my invitation to fly also', James adds and they both share a grimace.

Harry had been absolutely crushed for being forbidden of playing Quidditch and the fact that he had refused any chance to fly, especially when they were allowing some time off the house (which had been mainly off-limits ever since dementors almost got him during Summer), clearly was a sign of how bad things were.

'I will just give him those Easter eggs then', Ginny says. There is a determined look on her face that almost makes James feel sorry for his son.

‘Whatever gets you out of Aunt Muriel’s way, right?’, he asks teasingly, and Ginny grins, both knowing that is not really the reason she is staying a bit longer.

She goes to the library and, when she is at the door, she turns back to him.

‘I won’t tell you anything he says’, she warns, and James nods respectfully, watching her vanish inside the library with the Easter egg in her hand.

-------------------------------

If Ginny was able to tell Harry off so easily during Christmas, James expects her to help solve things with Harry quickly. Instead, she doesn't come out of the library for thirty-five minutes, all of which James keeps stealing glances to the door instead of reading the Alchemy Manual he was supposed to study.

Lily comes home in the meantime and she just blinks when he tells her what had happened.

'Hope she is luckier than us', she says, and James can hear the hurt in her voice. She is worried about Harry, and she is also sad that he isn't confiding in any of them this time.

It's a feeling James shares. How can he be there for Harry if his son doesn't want him?

'I'll take a quick shower, ok?', she adds, her hand touching his hair fondly and James can’t help but smirk at her.

‘Is that an invitation?’, he teases, making her chuckle.

‘For a quick shower? I deserve more time, you know’.

‘Oh, I know’, he agrees, pulling Lily into his lap to kiss her on the lips. He is feeling more and more inclined to offer her a long shower when the doors of the library open.

They break apart in time to see Harry and Ginny coming out, both looking serious. But James watches Harry's expression: he is frowning at his parents together as if somehow that bothers him.

'Hi, Lily', Ginny says with forced joy after there is an awkward moment of silence. 'Mum sent you Easter eggs. I'll just be going now, she is probably wondering where I am'.

'Thank Molly for us, Ginny', Lily says, raising up, her eyes going from James to Harry and back again.

'Yeah', says Harry, his voice hoarse. 'And anytime you want to escape your Aunt, you can come here'.

It's the most complete sentence James has heard Harry say all week.

Ginny smiles more naturally at him now - a smile that Harry almost returns - before waving around and vanishing in the fireplace.

There is another moment of silence, before Lily says in a voice too casual to be natural: 'I'll take a shower. Why don't you two start dinner?'

They both nod. James watches Lily go, before turning to Harry, with a forced smile.

'What do you think? Chicken pasta and salad?'

Harry shrugs, agreeing, as they go to the kitchen.

'I'm not really hungry', he says in a small voice, taking potatoes to chop without really paying attention. When James looks in his direction, thinking that Harry hasn't been hungry all week, he sees Harry is blushing faintly. 'Ginny and I ate all the Easter egg'.

'Chocolate in the library? You know you are not -'

'I know, no food in the library rule. It just happened'.

'Okay', James says slowly, taking more time than reasonable to say these two syllables. 'At least you ate something'.

His eyes meet Harry's then. This is the first time James is openly acknowledging he knows something is wrong, and this is also the first time Harry is looking at him directly with the most peculiar expression James has ever seen on his son.

He has already seen Harry’s green eyes shining with anger, desperation and hurt, but the emotion there is something new.

Disappointment.

As if James let him down somehow.

'Harry -', he begins, just as Harry starts talking too.

'There is something I need to tell you', he whispers, sounding miserable. 'I broke the mirror'.

'What mirror? The two-way mirror?'

'Yeah. About a week ago. I thought of calling you, but I was so mad that… I just broke into my hands'.

James just watches him with concern.

'We can fix later', he assures, but that still doesn't seem the reason Harry has been upset. ‘Were you hurt?’ Harry shakes his head. 'Why were you mad, Harry?'

Harry closes his fist and takes a deep breath as if gathering courage

'Because of what I saw on Snape's pensieve'.

James raises his eyebrows, but he doesn't say anything as Harry recounts exactly what memory of Snape he has seen. There is a heavy feeling on his chest that just increases with every word Harry says.

But he feels at his worst when Harry finishes his tale and he looks at James with a kind of desperation that seems to beg for an explanation, an alternative point of view of those events, any reason at all for the fact that his father was just as arrogant bullying toerag as Lily had called him then.

And he knows there isn’t.

'I wish you wouldn't judge me for what you saw, Harry', whispers James at least. 'I was young -'

'You were my age!', Harry cries, angry tears shining in his eyes.

'And still I was younger than you', James counters quietly. 'You faced too many things for a fifteen-years-old whereas… I was stupid and young and didn't think of anyone else other than myself'.

'But…', Harry blinks at him, as if even when he is upset he can't hear criticism against his father. 'You were good, I mean, you always told me how you became an animagus for Uncle Moony and how you were Head Boy -'

'It was for Remus, yes, but back then I thought of him already as part of my family. And that was my problem. Anything that was out of my own personal bubble… I didn't care. I wasn't selfless like you'.

'I am not -'

'You literally stayed behind last year during the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament because you couldn't think of leaving a young girl alone in the Black Lake'.

'I was just stupid enough to -'

'You care for others. You are so much like your mother in that'.

This compliment doesn't make Harry smile, and James understands another problem Harry had with watching that memory.

Things with Lily had been so complicated then.

'I know that doesn't excuse me, Harry, and I am not trying to defend myself. I was everything your mother complained I was back then, but only because I didn't know better. I had the perfect life. My parents loved me and always gave me anything I wanted. My friends loved me and they trusted me. I was good at school without much effort. I was amazing at Quidditch and I knew it. People admired me. I never had any concern at all'.

Harry blinks at him, and James knows his son cannot fathom how it's like to live a life without any worry.

'So I was a bit conceived, yes, I thought the world revolved around me'.

'You… you and Sirius, you both… Snape…'

'Things with Snape were always difficult’, James admits, his hand messing up his hair nervously. His relationship with Snape was one he never wanted to fully disclose to Harry, even when Harry asked him once why Snape disliked them so much. 'We hated each other from the beginning and our ways were very different. But, yeah, it was four of us and Snape was mostly alone, so he almost never won'.

'Almost?'

James hesitates.

'Snape was - and he was also young, Harry, so I try to not hold against him - he was too invested in dark things, in dark spells, in… the wrong company. And I promise you, no matter what you saw, I always hated Dark Arts, always despised those who would use it. And in the few times he managed to get the upper hand… things got ugly'.

'So he did get back to you? He wasn't just…'

'Harry', James cuts him off, hating to crush the small hope that is glistening in Harry's eyes. 'Whatever happened other times between me and Snape, I can't say it justifies what you saw. That time, that day, I jinxed him for no other reason than I was bothered and…', James takes a deep breath. 'I wanted to call your mother's attention'.

'Mum was decent', Harry says in a small voice.

'She was. She never complied with injustice'.

'Mum - she said she would never... She disliked you so much'.

'Yes'.

'How could - did you somehow - she hated you'.

'Nah, she didn't. Not really. She just thought I could be better and I did become better, Harry'.

'You told me you had asked her out and she had refused you'.

'Yeah, she did. Twice. We only started going out in our seventh year'.

'But - why?'

'Why?'

‘Why did she accept to go out with you?’

There is a sigh from behind them.

‘I think that’s better if you ask me, Harry’, Lily says softly, and James turns to see his wife.

She is fresh from her shower, her auburn wet hair falling dark over her shoulders, and as always when he sees her James' heart skips a beat.

Their eyes meet and James can see she understands partly what has been bothering Harry all week. She approaches him, taking his hand and entwining their fingers, so they can stand side by side. Lily has a soothing presence no one else has for James and he breathes easier now.

Harry frowns, but he stays silent as he looks at Lily. James can easily read his son’s need for a sense for everything.

‘A lot of people were idiots when they were fifteen’, says Lily. James chuckles fondly.

‘You weren’t’, he says. Lily shrugs.

‘I was, just differently. I refused to see things that were in front of my nose and I thought only my opinion mattered. But I grew out of it, just as you did. Sirius grew up. Remus did too. We all did’.

‘Come on, Moony was fine’, James defends. She shakes her head.

‘He never said anything, right? I was more friendly with him than with any of you, and still he would never say a word against you. He worshipped you too much’.

‘Well - he made me and Sirius feel guilty - kind of at least, more than anyone else’. James looks back at Harry. ‘But, yeah, that stopped. Remus doesn’t have any problem saying what he feels now’.

‘Of course not’, Lily agrees. ‘People change, Harry. Sometimes for worse, sometimes for the better, and that was definitely your father’s case. Do you know how we told you we were friends before we dated?’

Harry nods, thoughtfully. Back at Christmas, when Harry had let slip something about the fact he had kissed someone, Lily had reminded him of the importance of getting to know someone better before getting into any relationship.

‘Well, things between us started rocky, but when we were in our sixth year… the world was changing and so were we. We became friends over shared concerns, shared beliefs and shared night talks. Your dad had his problems, but… his heart was always in the right place’.

When Harry looks confused, Lily grimaces as if she wishes she doesn’t have to continue this conversation too.

‘If I got it right, you saw -’

‘That day over the lake’, James says, his hand messing up his hair once more. ‘After the defense OWL’.

Lily nods gravely.

‘Well, then you know what - you heard what Snape called me’, she says in a low voice, and James wonders if Harry can hear the pain in Lily’s voice. Twenty years later and it’s clear that day still bothers her. He puts his arms around her shoulder, in comfort, and Lily throws him a grateful look. ‘Well, whatever faults your father had, he would never say what Severus… James was good. He was not prejudiced. That thing he does of seeing the best in people, no matter what - like with Remus and Sirius and…’

‘Peter’, James adds heavily when she stops herself, and now it’s Lily that is embracing him for support.

‘You helped people’, she says, looking at him with only affection on her bright green eyes. ‘And when you deflated your head a little, that became obvious. You didn’t care just for you or for those around you. You care for everyone. You cared about doing the right thing. And that’s one of the things that drew me to you’.

‘And here I thought it was my incredible ability to make you laugh’, he murmurs in a fake self-confident voice, and just as he expects, that makes Lily let out one of the amused giggles, accepting the kiss that James gives warmly on her forehead.

Lily sighs then turns to Harry, who looks at them still thoughtfully. ‘So, you see, I fell in love with your dad when that fifteen years old boy you saw had evolved into a very nice man. When he became Head Boy, I wasn’t even much surprised’.

James throws an incredulous look at her.

‘You are so lying, Evans’, he says. Lily chuckles.

‘I said "much", Potter. Come on, I saw you being all responsible the year before, helping young students and protecting people and not standing up to prejudice and bigotry. You deserved that badge', she paused before giving him a sly smile. 'It matched your eyes nicely too’.

‘I always knew you were only interested in my good looks’.

‘In how good you looked next to me, you mean?’, she teases, and James can’t help but to pull her towards him, kissing her softly on the lips.

When they break apart, Harry is avoiding looking at them, but James recognizes his embarrassment at his parents in the gesture, more than any kind of nuisance.

‘It’s safe to look now’, he tells Harry playfully, and Harry rolls his eyes at him, but he seems more at ease than James has seen him all week.

‘You love each other’, Harry says and the certainty and relief in his voice arepalpable.

‘Of course we do, Harry’, Lily says, exchanging a glance with James. ‘You know that’.

‘I just thought -’. He shakes his head. ‘Nothing. Ginny said I was being stupid, and she was right'.

'What did you talk about anyway? You stayed there for a long time'.

'She told me you were going to ask and that I should tell you it's my business', Harry replies grinning. 'But I don't mind... She just helped me remember something important. I was - afraid, I guess, of talking to you. She helped me remember anything is possible if you got enough nerve, so -'

'I am sorry, Harry', says James earnestly. 'That what you saw made you feel like you couldn’t talk to me. I just want you to know - it's important you know this - that you can always say anything to me - to us, no matter what'.

Harry nods quietly; the dark cloud that had hung over his head seems to have vanished.

'Now, what about a pizza? Since dinner hasn't even started?', Lily asks brightly, glancing at Harry. He smiles.

'From that old place in Main Street? Can we go there?'

This makes Lily's smile falters and Harry adds hurriedly: 'We can just order, no problem'.

'No, I think we will survive one night out. But take your wand with you, just in case'. Harry nods seriously. 'Go on'.

'Actually, Harry', James calls before Harry leaves, as a thought crosses his mind. 'Did Snape say anything about what you saw?'

Harry blinks at him.

'Snape wasn't happy', he says neutrally.

'Professor Snape, Harry… How is your occlumency?', asks Lily, exchanging a concerned look with James. After what happened over Christmas…

'The same. But -', Harry sighs as if he wishes he were saying anything else. 'I don't think we will continue the classes. He was really upset because of the pensieve'.

'What?', James cries just as Lily jumps.

'I will talk to him', she says. 'He can't possibly -'

'I don't mind, it is a relief actually -,

'This is really important, Harry, if -'

'Dad', Harry cuts him off, his hand going automatically to his scar as if it's bothering him. 'Can't we talk about this tomorrow? The holidays are almost over, and I was already too much a prat for most of it… can we just have a nice dinner?'

There is a pleading look on Harry’s eyes. James bits his lips, but after a second Lily nods with a small smile.

'Ok, but don't think we will forget it. Go take your wand'.

Harry smiles gratefully. Lily turns to James, touching his face softly when she sees he is frowning.

'We'll talk to Dumbledore', she says quietly when Harry is gone. 'He will intervene with Severus. Let's just have a nice dinner with our teenage son tonight, shall we?'

James sighs.

'Ok... I'm going to change then'.

When he is at the door, he turns to her with a smirk already on his lips.

'Do you know where our old school things are?'

Lily looks curiously at him.

'At the attic, I think, why?'

'Thought of using my old Head Boy badge. See if it still goes with my eyes'.

------------------------------

If you enjoyed, I have this oneshot of James and Lily finding out Harry’s a champion in the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry asking James’s help for inviting someone for the Yule Ball.

#Jily lives #James Potter #Lily Evans #Harry Potter #Jily Fanfiction #Eyes glistening #James Potter is a Good Parent #Lily Potter is a good parent #t: fanfiction

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