mussed_hair (mussed_hair) wrote in snark_n_bark, @ 2008-05-09 03:42:00 |
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Entry tags: | complete, harry, james, lily |
The family you choose...
Characters: Harry, Lily, James
Summary: That which was torn asunder might not be completely broken
It was a fine day and Leila was sleeping soundly in a nest Harry had set up under a leafy tree. He'd managed a sun protection charm, and the very slight breeze was sending slivers of light and shadow dancing over her limp form. They'd played Tag and Catch and Just Run Silly, and after a simple but filling lunch, Leila had drifted straight into dreamland. Harry was pleased the he could give her a good day while Ron watched over Hermione at St Mungo's.
He sat on a nearby rock, his face turned toward the sun, trying to let it warm the places inside him that had gone cold with worry and anxiety. After a few minutes Harry lowered his head so his cheeks wouldn't burn, and looked toward the back of Haven's Loft. Two figures were half-gliding, half-walking toward him, and he had to take a deep breath to steady himself. It was time to talk - really talk - with his parents.
"Harry."
"Son."
Lily conjured a blanket and sat, but James perched on the rock next to Harry's, his knees pulled up to his chest and arms wrapped around his legs. Harry guessed that it was his mum that had pushed for them to join him. "Hey," he said plainly, not sure what it was they needed to discuss, only knowing that they did need to do something to break the stalemate between them. "You look almost solid."
James latched on to the simple subject right away. "Yeah, been almost there for a few days now. We'd heard about the others getting bodies when they came back." He ran his hand over the back of his neck. "Not sure why we've been ghostly all this time."
"I know why," Lily said, watching Harry closely as she spoke. "We've not dealt with the reason why we came back. We haven't talked to you." James shook his head in denial, giving a quiet snort, thinking, Yeah, right, he didn't talk to us either.
However, Harry let out a long, harsh breath and nodded, agreeing with his mum. His parents had been back for months, but none of them had said two real words to each other in all that time. "I haven't known what to say. You're my parents and you died...for me. I thought you'd died in an auto accident until I was 11, when I found out you were wizards and I'm a wizard and you were everything I'd ever wanted you to be. Everything but alive." He ducked his head , but Lily rose up on her knees and put her hand to his cheek. It was soft and warm and impossible, but she touched him, she was solid, and Harry leaned into it.
"James, please," Lily said, looking over her shoulder, but not daring to release her connection to Harry. "He's your son. Come over here."
With a last defiant scowl and an audible huff, James launched himself off the rock and the air seemed to ripple around him as he sunk to the ground and walked over to sit by Harry, slinging an arm around his son's shoulders. Harry looked up, surprised to be rocked forward by the move, and noticed that his dad appeared older to him now, even though his features hadn't changed a bit. A physical body leant James the weight of reality, of the time that had passed and the changes that had happened, as if he'd lived them. Lily, too, hadn't been altered physically in her new body, but her unlived life had settled on her like a cloak, and the tender look she gave both her boys spoke of both love and regret.
"Mum, dad-" Harry pulled Lily up and put one hand over James'. It was the first time he truly felt like a family with them. They hadn't said anything, really, just dropped their guards, finally, and Harry suddenly remembered a host of emotions that included love, pride, adoration, respect, awe, protectiveness. It was like Legilimency without all the staring, and Harry understood that his dad and mum were remembering the same feelings - from 22 years ago.
"I love you both," he whispered. The words came easily now that he'd accepted them as real and human and not going away again, but the enormity of the moment, a simple exchange of affection with his family - his family - left Harry raw, flayed open and put back together again the way becoming a being of energy never could do.
Lily shouted it, James mumbled, but the words were there and heartfelt, and the three of them tumbled off the rock into the soft grass, laughing and tickling each other until they cried (although more than one of them might have been crying anyway). After a time, they laid, side-by-side, breathing heavily.
"I have to admit it," James said eventually.
"What?" Lily sat up on her elbows and eyed James suspiciously. Don't mess this up now, James Potter.
He sat up as well and ruffled Harry's hair, rubbing the palm of his hand over Harry's nose until his boy sputtered and sat up with a glare that James now saw matched Lily's perfectly. They both probably got it from Snape, James thought before saying, "Being a father isn't as bad as I thought it would be. So far."
"Merlin, but you're a right prat sometimes." Lily rolled her eyes and stood, offering Harry a hand and pulling him up with her. Leila was making those waking snuffling noises Lily could remember so well, and she wanted to properly hold the girl who might be her only grandchild.