"Nah, she's nice to her children, even if she has her moments. Even when Percy was being an absolute pillock, she still loved him and wanted to talk to him. She just has... opinions. You put a Black and a Gryffindor together, opinions are pretty much a guarantee." He nodded. "But yes, we don't have to worry about her, no need to be a smart arse. Don't think I can't tell."
Harry waved his hand. "He was a lot saner than the people who coined the term. He spoke uncomfortable truths and it was easier to label him as a mad man, just like it was easier to assume that I was lying and Voldemort was still dead. People never like to face bad news."
He ran his fingers through his hair. "So, what if it wasn't us starting this? According to all of you, there were ways to have children, right? Maybe it wouldn't have worked all of the times, but there were enough ways. Savannah kept saying that it was more that people just weren't interested. What if someone found out about the prophecy and tried something? What if we weren't looking for a way to get people pregnant? What if the castle isn't really doing this? What if the castle had a little help? What if the reason so many Potters are coming back is that we have something to do with this? It might explain why the clues are tailor made for us, because I'm not forty-eight and I can still see that there's no way in hell that a random person would have figured all of this out, but if we thought we'd come back, then the cryptic letter at home, the clues, letting myself die- it all makes sense. If that's true, though, we might have 'leaked' enough stories to ensure that no one comes back, right? Because we don't want people pillaging the country before we can come back."
The excitement of this new idea was tempered by the rest of the discussion. How to even explain what had gone through his head without revealing too much about his life, but then Jamie already knew because of Ron's memories. "I didn't ask, because it never occurred to me that anyone would not be okay. We were all alive, no one was injured, I-" He sighed. "It's not that I don't care, but I don't think I'm capable of recognizing when I should care? If everyone is alive and well, then everything is good. I didn't even think that anyone would want to be asked, because I know I would get annoyed if anyone asked me if I was all right. Hell, I'd expect you to get annoyed if I asked you. Ron might have asked, but it was more about whether I had things under control. Mum and Dad didn't ask me, I didn't expect them to. I just- Did you really want me to ask you if you were okay?"
He shrugged. "I've got to take my wins where I can. Apparently I'm not that good of a father, so this might be it for this decade," he said with a little chuckle. he moved closer and put a hand on Jamie's shoulder. It was as much physical contact as he could take right now. "Jamie, that has nothing to do with not wanting you; I can tell you that much. Cho- God, she became irrelevant when Sirius died. She was someone I saw for the memorials, official parties, but one kiss doesn't mean dating. I never really dated before your mother- Or after. Draco is the second person and mostly because he refuses to take no for an answer." He pulled away. "This isn't about Cho either. I don't- I can't tell you half those things, because I don't know. I probably came up with that line so you wouldn't see how fucked up I was. I don't have a favourite food, because my aunt starved me growing up, so my favourite food is what's in front of me, but I'll easily forget to eat if I'm busy, because I'm so used to going hungry that it doesn't even faze me. I don't have a favourite song or movie, because your teenage years is when you create those memories and I was too busy fighting dark wizards. I can't tell you what doesn't exist, Jamie. Drinking alone- because I can stop dealing with the world. It's why I always drink alone. Pretty sure Draco has caught on, which is why he won't leave me alone. I can give you my favourite colour though. It's green, because when I looked into the Mirror of Erised, I saw how green my Mum's eyes were, so bright, in a way that pictures don't capture, but I wouldn't tell anyone, because green is a Slytherin colour."