Title: The Strength of Love
Author: Domino
Email: zahfat@yahoo.com
Summary: A different Harry comes to stay at the Burrow after the events of the Tri-ward Championship, and no one knows quite what to do. H/G, R/H. Covers Harry’s 5th year. Surviving Voldemort, prophecies, girls, growing up…
Disclaimer: Not mine…
A/N: None for now.
Chapter 7
A Trip to the Past
14 years
ago
Godric Hollow
October
The scream had
him running into
the room in
a panic, his son
held tightly in
one arm, the wand
extended in readiness
in the other.
The fear was
replaced by laughter
at the sight
that met him. Twirling
round the room,
his wife, was
laughing and smiling – celebrating.
“I found it, James. I
found the way
to complete the
translation,” she said, taking
Harry from his
arms, and dancing with
him. Harry gurgled, his baby
laugh infectious, as his
mother spun them
both around. James smiled
at the sight
of them.
He headed over
to her desk, covered
in books and
papers, as it had
been for months, as
Lily had researched
the prophecy. Right in
the centre was
the scroll, Lily’s small
neat writing scrawled
all over, as bit
by bit she
had worked on
the prophecy that
had them stumped
for months – the reason
for their hiding.
He read the
final version, and looked
up to see
his wife watching
him carefully.
“You were right, Lily – its not
us,” he said
as he took
in the meaning.
“Yes,” but Lily had
stopped smiling, “But
if its not
us, then…” her green
eyes turned to
another set of matching ones, still
smiling, his tiny hands
entangled in her
long red hair.
“Then, its about Harry,”
James finished the
thought for her.
“It has to be,
to fall
in the timeline
Cassandra described. Oh, James. Our poor
baby.”
James moved towards
them, and pulled them both
into a tight
embrace. A small sound
of complaint from
his son who was
being crushed between
the two had
him releasing them
slightly.
Lily smiled suddenly, “Well at
least I know
he’ll find true
love.”
James laughed, “He’s only one, Lils, give
him some time before
you have him
married off.”
“James, I’ve been thinking
about this. We need
to let Dumbledore
know immediately. And we need
to make sure
she’s protected.”
“Did you send
the owl off
already?”
“A few minutes
ago. But I worry, James.
Dumbledore is in
the middle of
those meetings. What if he can't come
immediately.”
“Lily, I know this
is important. But its
been centuries, a little
more time isn’t
going to make
that much difference,”
James reassured his
wife.
“I just have
a bad feeling
about this. Like…” she
trailed off, looking uncertain.
“Lils?”
“I hope we see him
meet her, James.”
“We will, Lils.
We will.”
“So, who do you
think she is?”
Lily said looking
at her husband, the
worry of a
few minutes ago
replaced with curiosity.
“Let’s see,” James
leaned over the
scroll again reading
aloud the relevant
parts…”Red hair, one of seven…who
does that remind
you of?”
Lily watched her
husband in bemusement as
he worked it out.
“The Weasleys,” it
was a triumphant
shout. James smiled at
Lily.
“It makes sense. They
all have red
hair, and I remember
Dumbledore mentioning a
few months ago
that they had
their first girl,”
Lily answered his
unspoken question.
“She’s the perfect
age. They’re a good
family. Bill and
Charlie were great
kids,” James said. He
looked quite happy
at the discovery.
“Let’s go, James. Let’s go
and see for
ourselves,” Lily said,
looking hopefully at
him, “We can go
to Hogwarts and
see Dumbledore, and give
him the prophecy, make sure
that she is
protected as well.”
“Lily, I…”
“Please, James. We’ll be careful. I
need to get
out. Need to see
for myself.”
“Okay,” James said. He
never could refuse
her anything and
both of them
were going stir
crazy stuck here.
“The Weasleys live
in Ottery
St Chatpole. We’ll
go there first. Make
a portkey,
while I
get Harry ready.”
James was already heading
for the laundry
basket to get
a few pair
of socks. He
began the procedure
and made three portkeys one leading
to the Weasley’s, one to
take them to
Hogwarts, and one to
bring them back to Godric Hollow.
Apparition would have
been easier, but neither
of them did
it when they
travelled with Harry, not unless it
was an emergency. And
beside Hogwarts, and many
places these days
had wards preventing
apparating
in.
“All set, Lils,” he
called through the
door.
“Ready,” Lily reached
for the bright
green socks (one of
Harry’s), while James took Harry’s
baby bag. Within seconds
the three of
them had disappeared, reappearing in a small
wooded area, a
few metres from
a lopsided house, that
looked like it
only stood up
by the power
of magic.
Harry was crying, rather unusually, as
Harry was pretty
well-behaved. He rarely cried, and
almost always slept
through the night.
“Doesn’t look like
he likes portkeys either,” Lily
said, rubbing her son on his
back, reassuringly. Both of
them smiled when
their son stopped
crying and began
looking around curiously.
The second Harry
spotted the Burrow,
he tried to
jump out his
mother’s arms. She put
him on the
ground and immediately
Harry began waddling
towards the house. He
fell twice, but each
time struggled to
his feet determinedly.
“Looks like he
knows where he’s
going,” James commented
to Lily.
“Do you think
he can…you know, feel
her, or something?” Lily
asked.
“I wish I
knew. This prophecy business
is going to
complicate things.”
“Should we tell
him, and her?”
James looked pensive, “No,” he
replied finally, “Love shouldn’t
be something you
force. It has
to happen naturally.”
“I agree. We’ll wait,” Lily said. They
both fell silent, as
they got closer, recognising the
importance of the
moment. James scooped Harry
up in his
arms, and carried him
the rest of
the way.
“Well, we’re here,” James said
as they reached
the door.
Lily gave the
men in her
life a nervous
smile, and reached for
the knocker on
the door, before releasing
it. The sound was
loud, and from the
door they could
hear running footsteps.
“Who’s there?” a
young boy’s voice
called, rather nervously. Fear
was prevalent in
these times. They were
few who could
afford to be
trusting.
“The Potters,” James answered, and
the door opened
slightly to see
a familiar face
peeking out. Immediately they
remembered that in an unprecedented move – Hogwarts had
shut for the Halloween half-term,
and most of the its residents
had gone home.
“James. Lily,” the boy
said excitedly, “What are
you doing here?”
“Hello, Bill,” Lily greeted.
And the
boy went red
with pleasure that
she remembered his
name.
“We’re here to
see your parents,”
James answered the
question, “Can we come
in?”
“Of course,” Bill
moved away from
the door and
the three entered.
James and Lily
looked around curiously. The house
was a warm
one. It welcomed all
who entered it, and
love was evident
in the well-kept, though slightly
worn furniture. Harry
struggled to be
put down, and crawled
away when James
set him down.
“Mum took Ron
and Percy to
St Mungo’s. He
broke his arm
when the twins
accidentally pushed him
off the swing. And
dad is…” Bill’s face
fell slightly, and
James and Lily knew that
meant Arthur Weasley was
off fighting.
“It’s just me, Charlie, Ginny and
the twins,” Bill
continued, leading the way
in, “Me and Charlie
are baby-sitting.”
James and Lily
followed the young
boy, smiling at his
exuberance. And then
stopped in amazement
at the entrance,
where Harry was
already halfway to
the group of
red-headed children playing
in the corner
of the room. In
the centre was
a little girl, laughing, her red
curls bouncing with
each giggle.
“James, Lily,” Charlie stood
up in shock, where
he was keeping
a careful eye
on the twins,
making sure they
didn’t do anything
to their new
baby sister.
“Hello, Charlie, “ James
said, and Charlie’s
reaction was similar
to Bill’s.
“Is that Ginny?”
Lily asked, leaning over
the pretty baby, who
was sitting up, her
tiny hands reaching
out for Harry, one
hand curled around
in a fist
over a small
toy figure.
“James,” Lily called, as
she saw what
the figure was, “Its
a unicorn.”
Harry, in the
meantime crawled over
to Ginny, and touched
her face, almost reverently.
Ginny gurgled happily
when Harry reached
her, her head
bouncing in excitement. Harry, moved his
small hands to
grab her red
curls. He smiled, “Mine!” he
said. It was one
of the few
words he knew, and
he used it
often.
Lily swallowed. They
were just babies.
How could the
fate of the
world rest on
their hands. She turned
to James, to see
a tear in
his eye.
“I figure it’s
the red hair, Lils,” James
said, “We Potters
are partial to
red-heads.”
Lily smiled.
“Mum should be
home soon, “ Charlie
said, looking confusedly between
the two. And then, in
a practised move,
Bill grabbed one
twin, and Charlie took
the other, just
in time before
the two dived
over the sofa
and hurt themselves.
“That’s okay, Charlie. We can't stay
long. Maybe we can
take a few
pictures of Ginny.”
“Sure, we take pictures
of her all
the time. She’s pretty, isn’t
she?” Bill said
proudly.
“Yes, she is. Beautiful,” Lily
replied.
James was already
snapping pictures, unnoticed by
the two children
who seemed totally
absorbed in each
other, despite the age
difference of about
9 months.
“We need to go,
Lils,” he
said finally, looking as
reluctant as his
wife.
“I know.”
“We can't let
them know her identity,”
James said.
“What are you
saying, James?” Lily said.
They could talk, since
the boys had
taken the twins
into the kitchen
to get them
some food, as their
mother had taught
them.
“We’re going to
have to obliviate them, Lily. We can't
let this get
out. If someone even
knew we came
here, when we’re supposed
to be in
hiding, they might figure
it out.”
“And her parents?
“We’ll let Dumbledore
tell them. We know he
trusts them. We just
can't let anyone
else find out
about the prophecy.”
Lily didn’t look
happy. “I know, James. This would
be so much
easier if we
knew the identity
of the traitor,” Lily said
sadly.
James expression hardened. He
didn’t like thinking
about them having
a traitor in
their midst, thinking
that a friend
of theirs could
betray them.
The next few
minutes happened quickly, and
with an efficiency
that spoke volumes
for the team
the Potters made and
the powerful wizard
and witch that
they were. James obliviated one
of the twins
and Charlie, while
Lily did the
same to Bill
and the other
twin.
“What about Ginny?”
James asked, as he
reprogrammed the children’s
memories.
“No, not her. She’s just
a baby. Even if
she does remember, it
won't be a
bad thing.”
“You ready, Lils,” James
said, taking out a pair of
red socks, to portkey them
to Hogwarts. Lily picked
up Harry, and immediately
he started crying, and
trying to climb
back down to
Ginny. He cries were
increased as Ginny
joined him, her face
scrunched up. She didn’t
look happy that
they had separated
them.
“Oh boy, we didn’t
think of this, before
we came up
with this plan,” Lily said, trying
to make her
son stop crying, while
Charlie picked Ginny
up to quiet
her down.
“We have to go,
Lils. Now. You
know we can't
stay here for
much longer. Its dangerous.”
“I know. I know. I’m
coming,” Lily walked
away, her son struggling
in her arms, looking
mournfully over his
mother’s shoulder at
the pretty red-head
baby who was
screaming her head
off, showing her displeasure
at her loss.
Lily grabbed the portkey, and
within a second
they had reappeared
in an office – Dumbledore’s. They were
at Hogwarts.
Neither of them
noticed the Harry’s
little green socks, rolled
up in a
ball fall out
the bag on
to the ground.
They missed Charlie
and Bill, in
desperation to stop
their sister crying, hand
her every toy
in the box
spilled out nearby. None
of that worked. Gripping her
unicorn tightly, Ginny screamed
her head off,
in the middle
of a full
blown temper tantrum.
Finally, as a last
resort, Charlie gave
Ginny the pair
of socks lying
on floor next
to him. Ginny looked
at the green
ball for a
second, then stopped crying
and grabbed the
socks. Still making snuffling
sounds, she put her
head on the
pillow, and holding
the socks closed
her eyes and
went to sleep, much
to the relief
of her brothers who
didn’t know quite
what to do
with the normally
docile child.
In the meantime, Harry was
still crying. And he
didn’t seem to
be showing any
signs of stopping
soon.
James was struggling
with the camera. He
pulled out a
picture, and muttering a
quick spell developed
it, before waving it front
of Harry, “Here, son. Look,
Harry,” he said, making
sure Harry saw
the picture. Ginny was
smiling happily, offering her
unicorn to Harry.
Harry stopped crying and
took the picture, running his
tiny hand over
the moving picture.
“That was smart,”
Lily complimented her
husband.
He smirked back
at her, “Well, I am a
Marauder. We’re pretty smart,”
James said proudly.
“I don’t think
he’s going to
let go of
the picture any
time soon,” Lily said,
in amusement, watching her
son, trying to make
the picture Ginny
laugh.
“I hope Ginny
stopped crying,” James said, looking
a little worried.
“Me, too. Maybe it wasn’t
such a good
idea to go
and see her, James.”
“It’s too late
for that now. Let’s
find Dumbledore and
give him the
information,” James said, walking
towards the door.
Lily followed, “What happens
if he’s not
here?”
“I guess we
could hide it, someplace
only he could
find it,” James
answered.
“I have the perfect
place. Here, take Harry for
a second,” Lily
said, and in a
practised move handed
her son to
her husband before
scrabbling for a
quill in the
baby bag, and stealing a
scroll from Dumbledore’s
desk. She began writing
while James watched.
“What are you
writing, Lils?”
“Just a few
clues, for Dumbledore to
find the prophecy. We’ll leave
him the note, and hopefully
he’ll find it, in
case something happens.” She
scribbled a few
more words, before signing
it with a
flourish, and standing back
up, “All set. Good,” she said, when
James nodded.
“So where we’re
off to?” James asked,
holding a still
entranced Harry, who was
now shaking the picture
to make Ginny’s
hair shake. The
three of them
climbed out the hole. With a
quick kiss to
Harry’s forehead, Lily ran
towards the library
with the translation
clutched tightly in
her hand.
“I’ll meet you
at the entrance,” she said
over her shoulder. James nodded
and headed toward the front doors, thinking for
the first time, he
was glad that
the school had
sent everyone home for
the Halloween half-term –
a rather unusual
circumstance. A minute
later, Lily joined
him at the
front. With a fond
glance back the
Potters left Hogwarts, James and
Lily not knowing
that for them -
it would be the last
time they would
ever see their
old school again.