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Tweak says, "You've stolen my soul!"

Harry Potter (ab_harry) wrote in hogwarts_dawn,
@ 2021-06-09 17:31:00

Entry tags:

character: harry potter, character: james potter, character: lily evans potter

RP: Dinner with the parents
Who: Harry, James and Lily
When: evening, 9th June
Where: Harry's room
What: They have dinner and possibly news is shared

They had decided to have dinner in his room. The food was all the same, because of the house-elves, but they would have privacy that the common room couldn't afford, although from what he could see Remus spent plenty of time with Regulus, leaving only Sirius to interrupt. Still, they'd eat here, and Draco knew as well and mentioned that he'd have dinner with Scorpius instead.

When his parents arrived, Harry opened the door, grinning. "Come on in." He let them in before closing the door. "The house-elves will serve dinner soon, but do you want something to drink while we wait? I have firewhiskey and some wine." He kept that for Draco since he was terrible with whiskey. "And feel free to get comfortable," he said, while he went to the cupboard where he kept his bottles. "So what will it be?"

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_cervus_
2021-06-09 10:06 pm UTC (link)

"Hey," James returned Harry's grin as he followed Lily over the threshold, his hand brushing the small of her back. It had been a while since they had been just the three of them. As much as he enjoyed the family lunches, there was a weirdness between his son and grandkids that James did his best to diffuse with a never ending supply of stories and jokes. It was getting better, he thought, but it was still nice to be able to sit and chat to Harry on his own, without any awkward undercurrent.

Of course, he and Lily did have a bit of an ulterior motive for being here tonight, but that wasn't the point.

He shot Lily a quick look before heading towards one of the sofas and flinging himself down on it. "I'll have a firewhiskey, thanks." He smiled, stretching his arms above his head until his back clicked. It was getting tiring, digging through the forest day after day. "I think we might have to work a little harder to corrupt your Mum though..."

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lovingsacrifice
2021-06-09 11:05 pm UTC (link)

"Hello, love," Lily replied with a soft smile at both Harry and James, her eyes dancing with her excitement. She was thankful that it would be just the three of them. It could get exhausting pretending that she wasn't bothered by any tension that existed between Harry and their grandchildren, and besides all that was the fact that both Lily and James felt it was best to tell him their news alone. He deserved to be the first to know outside of them and Marlene.

Following James, she took a seat on the sofa more carefully than her husband, glancing at Harry and rolling her eyes.

She then raised her eyebrows when she heard the comment from James. "I'll have a little wine, please." She knew it wouldn't be a problem, although she couldn't do it too often. "By all means, you two should indulge. I'll just make sure nobody gets the bright idea to go streaking..."

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ab_harry
2021-06-10 12:16 am UTC (link)

Harry poured the firewhiskey for his dad and then absentmindedly waived a finger while mouthing a spell and the glass floated toward James. He was usually careful to use a wand with people around, because people got nervous when they saw the power, but he seldom did at home, and he stopped worrying about Draco years ago.

"You don't drink a lot, do you?" He'd noticed at the lunches that she tended to stick to water or juice. "This is really light, though. It's elvish wine and I keep it for Draco who can't hold his liquor," he said, grinning. Harry sent her glass her way before pouring his own drink and finally going to the armchair, facing them.

"I'm glad you wanted to do this. I know we have lunch together, but it's...different." Things were improving, but there was a lot of evasion still.

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_cervus_
2021-06-10 11:17 am UTC (link)

James caught the look Lily gave him and shot her a wide grin in return. "You should see her in the Three Broomsticks at Christmas," he told Harry with what might have been construed as admiration, still beaming teasingly at his wife.

He twisted, grabbing the glass out of the air and taking a sip, feeling the liquid burn the back of his throat for a second as he watched Harry over the rim of the glass. Harry's magic was still impressive to James - especially considering he'd grown up with Petunia and Vernon. A part of him wondered what might be different if he'd spent his childhood with Lily and him, as he should have done, but he quickly squashed it.

He gave a little snort of laughter at Harry's assessment. "That's one word for it," he agreed, reaching across to put his drink down on the low coffee table. "We just thought we better book some time in your busy schedule before we have another troll attack."

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lovingsacrifice
2021-06-10 01:28 pm UTC (link)

Lily felt her cheeks heat up when she saw how James grinned. "Don't listen to your father, dear. The man is incorrigible," she laughed as she caught her glass and took a small sip from it, humming appreciatively.

"That really is quite nice," she murmured as she put the glass on the table for the time being. Seeing Harry do wandless magic so casually was delightful - Lily couldn't help but be somewhat in awe of what their boy was capable of. It had her wondering just how much of his abilities came from pure talent, and if his new sibling would be similarly gifted.

She lightly whacked James on the arm when he snorted. "What your dad is trying to say is that we understand how important your time is, and are thrilled you carved out some for us. Speaking of trolls, has there been any news on how one got into the school?"

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ab_harry
2021-06-10 02:36 pm UTC (link)

Harry laughed. "I guess I'll have to keep an eye out at Christmas. Even with no Three Broomstick, we do have plenty of alcohol here." Still, a part of him wished that he could have seen them doing mundane stuff like going to the pub. He had missed so much, but now he got a second chance.

"Glad you like it. Draco has a much better palate than I do, but he seems to like it. It's nice to see that he's not humouring me." Harry would never know otherwise, but he didn't think that his mother would lie.

Harry chuckled. "I think Dad's version is a lot more accurate about the situation. We now have teams searching into the Forest while we have a troll stuck in there, eating whatever comes his way. We need to find a home for him and quite soon." He shook his head. "I'm never too busy for you. As for the troll-" He shrugged. "It might be the one Ron and I stopped in first year, but honestly they look alike so I can't be sure."

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_cervus_
2021-06-10 09:40 pm UTC (link)

James accepted the light smack on the arm with an exaggerated look of shock, although his eyes remained bright and amused behind his glasses. Settling back, he stretched out on the sofa, making himself comfortable. If only Filch's office had been like this when they'd been at school... Detentions would have been much more pleasant.

"Whenever it was from, i think it's a good bet that it arrived like we all did. It seems a bit unlikely that it would have got all the way to the seventh floor if he'd just wandered in." James bit back another smile, absently pushing his glasses up his nose. "I don't think subtlety was really his strong point, to be honest."

Of course, that bought with it a whole new host of problems. He and Lily had talked about whether it was safe enough to bring a baby into their situation, and what happened as soon as they found out they had one on the way? They had a troll dropped on their heads. It wasn't exactly reassuring.

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lovingsacrifice
2021-06-11 07:38 pm UTC (link)

Lily reached for her glass to take another sip of the wine, listening to Harry and James conversing. Subconsciously, one hand drifted down to rest on her stomach, a pang of fear welling up. A quick glance at her husband had her questioning if she was being silly, or if he possibly felt the same way.

"Other than the troll, has there been any other reports of noteworthy or odd sightings? I suppose we can count the spiders that have been harassing the mandrakes in the Greenhouse..." Lily let her voice trail off. "Remus said you don't generally see species of that size outside of the Forest."

All things considered, she hadn't even thought about what could have happened if a spider bit her. Other than James most likely overreacting, but then again Lily was certain regardless of what a spider of that size might be capable of, Marlene could cure it.

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ab_harry
2021-06-11 08:47 pm UTC (link)

"I'm pretty sure that he's from the past as well, but we're not discounting any possibility. I'm doing an investigation with the house-elves and portraits, but everything indicates that he just appeared," Harry admitted. "People will need to be careful because we don't know what else could come through. As I told Nott, imagine the things that could have been in this school in the last millenium ,things we don't even know that exist." And it was still not what worried him.

He looked at his mother. "If they are like us, it'll be random and nothing that we can predict. They do seem to come in clusters, though. At least that's what happened with us."

He grinned. "Those spiders have been at Hogwarts before. Just don't tell Ron that they are back." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Nott wasn't completely wrong. Our years were eventful. If that's what the magic is concentrating on, we can expect all sorts of things."

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_cervus_
2021-06-11 09:48 pm UTC (link)

James frowned, leaning forward to grab his drink again, pressing his knee against Lily's as he did so. "Oh well, as long as there's nothing to worry about..."

He took a quick sip of the whiskey, holding the glass between his hands for a moment as he looked across at his wife and son. One of the most frustrating parts, at least for him, was knowing they couldn't do anything about it. Not really. It was the waiting to see what would pop out next. James had done enough sitting and waiting to last him a lifetime.

Shaking his head, he took another sip and then replaced the glass. "Maybe you should think about getting an extra pair of hands in the greenhouses, Lils."

He didn't like the idea of her working on her own, especially now. Double especially if the plave was crawling with killer spiders. Although he also had a pretty good idea about how his suggestion would go down.

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lovingsacrifice
2021-06-12 04:34 pm UTC (link)

Lily sighed, aware that she should pick her battles, lightly resting her hand on James' thigh. "I suppose I could see if someone could be spared for a few hours to help out."

She had been trying to find the best way to bring up their big reason for requesting a private dinner, and seeing how tense her husband was getting made Lily think that just going for it would probably save them all a bunch of time and fussing. Drinking a little more wine, she sat up a little straighter.

"Darling, do you remember the conversation we had recently, after your assembly?" she started, peeking at James to see his reaction before she continued.

"Your father is starting to get a little overprotective of me, because we have some news. And we wanted you to be the first person we told." She grinned enigmatically. "I'll let your father fill in the blanks."

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ab_harry
2021-06-12 04:40 pm UTC (link)

Harry could be incredibly dense at times. He had never met an emotion that he recognized without some prodding from someone, but he was a damn good Auror, after years of piecing information together to come up with a resolution to the problem, whether that problem was Voldemort or Dark wizards at large hardly mattered.

Putting the information together now was even easier. The comment about not really drinking anymore, not wanting her alone to do something that she could do easily, the reference to their discussion. It was all very easy.

Harry grinned. "Congratulations! I mean Dad can still fill the blanks, but I'm sure I know how babies are made so we can skip that discussion. I'm so happy for both of you, but yes, we can move things around again and ensure that you don't overdo it." He was used to screwing up with the schedule on a weekly basis anyway.

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_cervus_
2021-06-13 11:30 am UTC (link)

"I'm not overprotective," James objected. "If anything I'm..." But he trailed off, realising where the conversation was going with a quick glance towards Lily.

For a moment he was worried. He didn't want Harry to think they were replacing him, or anything similarly bonkers. But thankfully the other Potter seemed to have cottoned on pretty quickly and was grinning. James relaxed, his hand finding Lily's where it rested on his leg.

"You sure?" He asked him. "I can't think of a better time for a 'birds and the bees' conversation, myself..." But he gave Harry a wide, bright grin and slung a proud arm around Lily anyway. The smile only faded a fraction at the thought of Lily's work and trolls falling out of the sky - he didn't want to dwell on all that right now. At least, hopefully, he might he able to get Harry on side when it came to his really-quite-appropriate level of protectiveness.

"We'll figure something out," he agreed. "But yeah. Due early next year, we reckon, so it's early days. But like your mum said, we wanted you to know first." James quirked an eyebrow at them both, the boyish grin inching back. "Obviously, it's a slightly bigger age gap than originally planned..."

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lovingsacrifice
2021-06-14 08:22 pm UTC (link)

"Of course not honey," Lily agreed. "It's not like I helped fight a war or anything last time I was pregnant." She gave another eyeroll, more exaggerated this time, clearly amused by James.

On the other hand she wasn't worried at all. She knew Harry would understand, and was secure in his place in their family. If anything might potentially be a bother to Harry, Lily had to assume it would be that she and James might ask him to babysit.

"I'm sure everything will work out fine." She demurred. "Although I'm not sure how your father will survive my current issues with the smell of pumpkin." She refused to let anything dull the happiness she was feeling over finally telling Harry and getting his blessing on his soon-to-be sibling. James could stress himself out over the maybe's and what if's, but Lily didn't think they both needed to.

"Your father and I both agreed that we're going to try and keep it mostly quiet for now," she mentioned. "At the moment, we know, and Marlene knows since she's the one who let me know. I assume the Marauders will know soon enough as well."

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ab_harry
2021-06-14 09:06 pm UTC (link)

"Sure, you're not overprotective. I'm sure I wouldn't be overprotective either," he said, knowing that he probably drove Ginny insane, considering that she was playing while pregnant. "If it makes you feel better, even without having lived through it, I'm sure Ginny hexed me because I was nagging, so you're doing better than me."

He snorted. "No, we can skip all discussion about sex, thank you very much, and we can ban pumpkin. I never liked it anyway. No one is going to notice if we don't have anything pumpkin related at lunch, and if they do, we'll say that there's a shortage."

The last part had him laughing. "Now, that's just ridiculous. You have a better chance to have a boring pregnancy than to keep a secret at Hogwarts. I mean I'm not going to tell anyone, but don't think that you'll keep that secret long."

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_cervus_
2021-06-15 09:54 am UTC (link)

"You can be in charge of the nagging, then," James decided, settling back against the cushions, all long limbs and crooked grin. He gave Lily a squeeze, his hand drifting idly along her arm. As much as he worried - the low, bubbling feeling that things might be too good to be true, that surely it wasn't going to be this easy - it was easy to push it away for now. Focus instead in the warm, contented glow that came from spending time with Lily and Harry.

Still, some things had him rolling his eyes. "I like pumpkin!" he reminded them all. "Merlin, what is wrong with this family?"

Harry's laugh was catching, quickly drawing out a chuckle from James. "Obviously Hogwarts is usually gossip central, but surely only having a few dozen people inside slows it down a bit?" he laughed. It helped that James, not so secretly, loved a bit of gossip. Even when it was about him. Sometimes especially. He shrugged, finally grabbing his drink again and finishing off the last couple of mouthfuls.

"The lads won't tell if I threaten them nicely, and doesn't Marlene have some kind of confidentiality rule? So I'll know where to come if there's a leak, Potter," he teased, waving a vague hand in Harry's direction, replacing the now empty glass.

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lovingsacrifice
2021-06-17 01:06 am UTC (link)

"You mean I'll have to deal with the both of you?" Lily sighed, although the joking lilt in her tone showed she had been expected something like that. She glanced at James, knowing that nothing she could say would stop his worrying. He was the same way when she was pregnant with Harry, so it was just par for the course now. Of course, knowing that both Harry and James would be concerned about something entirely out of their control was a bit bothersome.

Her eyebrows flew up at James' reminder. "Fine then," she responded. "You can have all the pumpkin you like. And then you can go kiss and share a bed with Sirius."

Hearing both Harry and James laughing made Lily smile a little wider. "Marlene won't tell, and I'm sure neither Peter or Remus would gossip. Sirius, I'm not that sure about, but even if he did tell people I'm sure he would apologize in style." Lily wasn't really a fan of gossip since she knew how much it could hurt people, but this was a little different.

"Enough teasing and pleasantries, I can't be the only one here who's famished, can I?" she questioned, looking from one to the other.

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