Chapter 33

Harry Potter laid on a bed he had never been on, staring up at a ceiling he had never seen, in a room he didn't recognize. So many things had happened, were happening¸ and he wasn't sure where to even begin processing it.

The kiss

Riddle's cryptic message, the excitement mixed with sadness as they took the Express home.

The kiss

Leaving behind friends until the next school year.

The kiss

Seeing two people there to greet his sisters, to greet him, the Floo back to their home.

Then it was a whirlwind of unpacking, a brief tour of the house, and finally the boy being left to unpack. He wasn't used to unpacking, never really did so at the Dursley's, and instead placed Hedwigs cage by the window, now opened to fresh air much to her delight, left his trunk at the end of the bed and laid down to stare up at the ceiling.

Then, of course, there was the kiss, something he had yet to come to terms with, yet to truly think about and analyze. Who could blame him? Less than a year ago and he didn't have a family, not like the one he had now, and had been a good five years younger. It wasn't like it was the first time he had been kissed either.

But it was… different, felt different, burned different.

It felt so wrong, so alien, and yet so right and natural at the same time.

Parents

Sisters

A family

It was all he ever wanted, all he had ever dreamed about, so why…

"Harry?"

A voice ripped into his thoughts, and he was standing in the blink of an eye. James Potter was at the door, a bit of a concerned look in his expression as he watched the reaction. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah!" His response was too quick with too much forced happiness. "I mean… yeah, I think so I just… it's a lot."

The man nodded, "I, well I can't imagine. Your m- Lily might have a better understanding, probably something like going to Hogwarts for the first time maybe. Can I come in?"

It was a request, and it was met with a confused stare from the boy, one that did absolutely nothing to quell the older man's concerns. After a moment Harry seemed to understand, and quickly nodded, "Oh, uh yeah sure I mean it's your house."

"It's also your home Harry, we want you to feel that way, that you belong here just as much as Amaryllis or Harriet do." He took a few steps inside, glancing about as if to make sure everything was the way it should be, before returning his gaze to the preteen. "We furnished it during the school year, thinking you might be back during winter break."

Harry flinched, "Sorry, I just… wasn't ready."

"That's okay, I don't mean to guilt trip you and we certainly aren't angry. This is, well a massive adjustment, I'm sure." He paused, shifting weight between his feet for a moment before speaking once more, "I wanted to talk to you, about what happened with the Dementor."

This time it was the younger of the two who shifted awkwardly, "Sorry, about that. I didn't mean to put myself in the spotlight or anything, especially since it involves Amy and Harriet."

But James merely waved off his apology, "We… I mean your mo- Lily and I, we just wanted you to know how proud we are of you." The statement hit the teen like a bludger to the chest, but the man continued, not realizing the impact his words were having. "Not that you can cast the Patronus, although I have no doubt Lily will be bragging about that to everyone for the next…" he idly checked his watch, "decade or so. No, we are proud because you chose to protect someone, to save a life so naturally. We are proud of you Harry, and I have no doubt that the other James and Lily Potter would be as well."

Harry tried to reply but knew deep down it would come out as broken sobs and so merely nodded instead, wiping away tears with his sleeve, the thoughts plaguing him pushed aside for examination later.

****

"… But McGonagall gave me points anyway and suggested I might have inherited some of your talent dad!" Amaryllis excitedly rambled in between bites of food.

Her mother smiled warmly, "That's great sweetheart, what about you Harriet? How did your classes go?" The quieter of the two smiled, though not as largely as her sister.

"Good, I did well in everything, but I think I can improve in Potions and Defense."

This earned a roll of the younger redhead's eyes, "Oh please, you are in the top five of both for Gryffindor, I think only Hermione did better than you in our year."

"Hermione, that was your friend you mentioned, correct?" James inquired, earning an excited nod from Amy once more.

"Yeah, she's great and was friends with Harry in his world too." Her eyes widened, snapping her jaw shut just as Harriet shot her a 'are you serious?' glare.

Both adults stared for a moment, before taking on their own postures that reeked of disappointment, "Amaryllis Lilian Potter, Harriet Lewis Potter what did you do?"

Harry hadn't been on the end of many lectures from a parental figure before, the Dursleys were more of a 'smack him around when he didn't do what they wanted' type, which was why he felt distinctly uncomfortable at that moment. He had witnessed the scoldings given to Ron over the years and they were certainly unpleasant enough.

Plus, they had only acted because of their concern for him.

"It's my fault." He suddenly interrupted, shifting all eight eyes onto him. "I uhm, well I wasn't doing well early in the year, it was tough in Slytherin, and I mentioned Hermione as someone I was friends with from before and who might be able to help them with homework. They only approached her because of me."

Lily sighed, rubbing at the bridge of her nose for a moment before glancing over to her husband, who answered with a shrug. "Thank you for telling us, Harry. Even though we know you are lying about it we appreciate the gesture."

The boy's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to respond, how he wasn't quite sure, but was met with a raised hand. "We aren't going to punish anyone, but we need you girls to understand that what you did was reckless and dangerous. If someone had overheard, they could have started spreading rumors and made Harry's life very difficult."

"Yeah, he uhm, well Harry told us that too." Harriet mumbled, with her sister chiming in a second later in agreement, "We won't do it again, we promise."

Their response seemed to alleviate some of the adults' wrath, and the two settled once more before turning towards the third. "So, Harry, how was your year?"

It was such a complicated question that he wasn't sure how to answer it at first. "Good, I guess. I mean my grades were fine even if it feels like I'm cheating since I've done most of this before."

James nodded, "Well that's to be expected, and is unavoidable for now. I trust the professors gave you extra material, so you are learning something at least?"

"Yeah, and it was nice not spending the end of the year in the Hospital Wing after the duel." The last comment was made jokingly but based on the silence it had elicited Harry realized he had said something wrong.

"What duel?" The tone was cold as ice, along with Lily Potter's eyes as she examined the boy, earning a slight flinch. He knew they had been informed of what had occurred, considering they were with him during the Minister incident, but figured they had already been told everything.

Apparently not.

"We were told…" James practically growled, "that you had encountered the thief, and disarmed her without incident. Dumbledore didn't mention anything about a duel."

"I mean…" the boy wasn't quite sure why he was defending the Headmistress, it was partially her fault he had been forced to act anyway, but she had made more of an effort than the male version had. "I went without telling anyone. I figured they would try and steal it but wasn't sure when and I kind of just guessed. I did run into Dumbledore on the way out though, so I only beat them by like… a half-hour, tops?"

The man looked as if he were stuck between wanting to go and murder someone and pull Harry into a hug and never let him go. Lily looked much the same, except there was far more murder in her eyes, undoubtedly aimed at a certain Headmistress.

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