It was the last morning at Hogwarts; the school year was over, and Harry was ready to enjoy his Summer break. Once he had been released from the Hospital Wing, a day earlier than Harvey had been, Harry had knuckled down to study for his O.W.L.s and also caught up on some work that Snape had for him. He had spent most of his free time in the library or down in the dungeons, but it had been well worth it. Harry had confidently sat down for each of his exams and had enjoyed the stressed mess that Carlisle had been before their Transfiguration exam. Harry would have loved to witness his friends taking their Potion exam, but instead, he spent the time replying to Fleur’s latest owl.
The summer ahead meant Harry was going to have plenty of time to spend with Fleur. The first thing on Harry’s list was to celebrate Fleur’s birthday, which fell on the twenty-eight of June. He had written to both of Fleur’s parents to organize a birthday dinner at the Delacour’s home and also to arrange her present.
Harry also had plans to start the next part of his Apprenticeship. It had been a topic that Snape had briefly mentioned throughout the year, but he had handed Harry a parchment that outlined what he expected the young wizard to spend his Summer doing. He would need to work out what potion he wanted to create or improve. He wouldn’t need to actually make the potion, just outline his plan and what possible steps might need to be taken. Creating the final product wouldn’t need to be done until after he had finished Hogwarts.
The one thing that had really been on Harry’s mind more than Fleur and his Apprenticeship was facing his family. He hadn’t spoken to his father’s parents since Christmas Eve, and he could only imagine what his Grandmother would have to say. Harry also hadn’t spoken to his Godfather since Christmas Day either; he didn’t think Remus would do anything other than courage him, but Harry did feel slightly embarrassed by his actions. He was also apprehensive of staying in the Potter household. There was still a whole big bowl of unsettled emotions that Harry needed to work his way through; years of pent up anger, frustration, and pain hadn’t just disappeared because of the steps his family had taken.
Harry wanted to be able to spend time around both of his parents, around Harvey and even James, and not have to worry about feeling out of place. But he also knew that it wouldn’t be easy. There was a lot of ground that needed to be covered; Harry needed to work on his relationship with his mother, talk through a lot of their issues. James was a whole other story; the man had apologised to Harry, and he was grateful for that, it was a step in the right direction, but it was far from being completely fixed.
Harvey was another story; after everything that had happened recently, he felt closer than ever to Harvey. Harry could see his brother and spend time with him and not have that voice in the back of his head telling him that Harvey was everything that their mother had always wanted. It felt good, and he planned to make sure that things stayed that way.
Since it was the last morning at Hogwarts, Harry had met his friends down in the Great Hall for breakfast. They had ended the night before off with the ‘End of Year’ feast with Ravenclaw winning the ‘House Cup’, Gryffindor coming a close second, followed by Slytherin than Hufflepuff. Harry had enjoyed lording it over his friends once again, as they all claimed it was rigged. But they all knew it was thanks to Ravenclaw winning the Quidditch Cup that led to the houses victory. Everyone was mixed between the tables when Harry walked in. It seemed that all his friends had congregated on the Ravenclaw table, and a spot had been saved for him between Jenna and Carlisle.
Taking his seat, Harry said, “I cannot wait to get home.”
Carlisle turned to him and smiled. “I am ready for Summer. Will and I were discussing plans; did you want to come over to Malfoy Manor next week? We were thinking of having a boys afternoon.”
Harry nodded. “Sounds good, but if it’s a boys afternoon, then Dylan can’t come.”
“Hey!” protested Dylan.
Carlisle chuckled. “It’s okay, mate. We love you, no matter what.”
Dylan stuck out his tongue.
“You boys are so mature,” said Amelia.
“It’s one of the qualities you love about us,” said Carlisle.
Amelia frowned. “It’s probably the one quality that annoys me about you.”
Jenna snorted. “If that’s the only thing that annoys you, you are more tolerant than I thought.”
Carlisle pouted.
Amelia and Jenna chuckled.
Amelia reached up to stroke Carlisle’s cheek. “You are cute when you pout.”
“Carlisle, stopped being so whipped,” said Will.
“Will, shut up,” grumbled Carlisle.
Harry clapped Carlisle on the shoulder. “One thing I do want to plan is a double date with you and Amelia.”
Carlisle smiled. “Yeah, sounds good. I can’t wait to share all of your embarrassing stories with Fleur.”
He let out a whimper when Amelia elbowed him hard in the gut.
She smiled at Harry. “I will make sure he behaves. Let’s do dinner, and if Fleur likes dancing, then you boys can take us to that jazz restaurant you recommended to Narcissa and Lucius for their anniversary.”
Carlisle sighed. “I hate dancing.”
Amelia smirked. “But you love me.”
“Whipped!” Will faked a sneeze.
Carlisle threw a piece of toast across the table and hit Will in the shoulder. The group laughed and continued on with making their Summer plans.
When they were all full, the friends left the table and started making their way outside. The sun was shining, and they had a few hours before they needed to head down to Hogsmeade. They hung about in the entrance courtyard for a while before slowing making their way along with other students towards Hogsmeade. The group seemed to split up slightly; Carlisle had his arm over Amelia’s shoulders as they walk; Will, Cedric, and Dylan were all discussing going to a Muggle Soccer game; and Jenna and Harry wandered along behind.
Jenna unsurprisingly asked Harry about his brother.
She asked, “You ready to spend the break with Harvey and your mum?”
Harry nodded. “I think so.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I think things with Harvey are really good. And I want things to be good with Mum, but I don’t think we are there yet.”
Jenna said, “There is no rush. Your family know that things won’t magically be fixed. They will understand if you want to slow things down.”
Harry shrugged. “I just don’t really know where I’m at. I think being at Hogwarts and being separated from Mum takes away the constant…reminder.” He kicked at the ground. “I guess my concern is that if I go back to the Potter’s that things will go back to the way they were.”
Jenna looped her arm through his. “I understand that. I can see why you would feel that way. Maybe instead of jumping into your normal routine of spending every other week at the Potter’s, you just start with dinner.”
“Dinner?”
“Yes, dinner. You and your dad could have dinner with your mum at her house for a start. Then you could have Harvey and James the next time. Then you can extend it to a whole afternoon and then spending the night. Take it in stages.”
Harry sighed. He felt like an idiot. It made absolute sense, and he should have been able to come up with that type of plan himself.
He said, “Sometimes these emotions make it impossible to think of the most obvious conclusion.”
Jenna chuckled softly. “That they can. But no one expected you to be logical in this type of situation.”
Harry wanted to disagree.
“Things will balance themselves out eventually,” said Jenna. “You just need to learn how to deal with…what? Ten years of suppressed emotion?”
“Yeah, about that.”
“Just take it a day at a time. Exactly the same as your relationship with Fleur; there’s no need to rush.”
Harry smiled, thinking about Fleur. Things seemed so easy with her. He hoped one day that everything would feel that way.
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Hogsmeade Station was buzzing with activity as Hogwarts students boarded the train. Harvey had walked down to Hogsmeade with Hermione and Ron and a few of their other friends an hour before they were due to leave. They were enjoying the sunny day, and Harvey couldn’t wait to head home. He had enjoyed his first year at Hogwarts, even with all of the drama that had come with it; the best part had been the connection he made with Harry.
For so long, he had craved that brotherly bond with Harry, and now he finally had it. He was going to make sure that he didn’t lose it and would make sure he did nothing to upset his brother. Harvey also really wanted to help Harry and their mum get better. He knew their relationship was strained, but he was going to ask his Uncle Padfoot and Uncle Moony for help.
But besides hanging out with his brother, Harvey was excited to hang out with his Dad, and his friends. There would be no homework, no drama, just fun. That was his goal.
When he had been released from the Hospital Wing, Harvey knew that he had to sort out the troubles with Ron before Summer. His best friend had issues with Harry than he still didn’t completely understand, but thanks to Harry explaining his theory, it seemed to finally click for him. Ron’s brothers made him feel left out, and when he saw the way Harry had shut Harvey out, Ron saw this as an opportunity to bond with Harvey. Together Harvey and Ron could be the brother the other always wanted. And that was fine until Harvey and Harry connected.
Harvey could understand why Ron had acted out; why he was so determined to try and make Harvey see that Harry was the bad guy. He wasn’t going to excuse Ron’s behaviour; no matter how he was feeling, Harvey would expect his best friend to try and be happy for him when he finally got something he had wanted for so long. Ron needed to ‘pull his shit together’—according to Hermione—and apologise to Harry and Harvey.
So the day that he was freed, Harvey found Ron and dragged him outside to the Quidditch pitch. With a Quaffle borrowed from the equipment shed, they threw the Quaffle back and forth.
“I get why you don’t like Harry,” said Harvey.
Ron had caught the quaffle and seemed surprised.
“You thought the because we both had brother’s that didn’t like us, we could be each other’s brother.”
Ron nodded. He threw the quaffle to Harvey. “Yeah, I did.”
“I know that your brothers can be a lot,” said Harvey, “Fred and George are two trouble peas in a pod. Percy…is Percy. And Bill and Charlie are off doing their thing. And your mum is very focused on Ginny. But just because Harry and I get along doesn’t mean I’m going to exclude you.”
Ron frowned. “They always say that.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not them. You’re my best mate, Ron.”
Ron smiled. “You’re my best mate too.”
“Good. Then you understand that I can get along with Harry and you.”
Ron nodded. “Yeah, I suck.”
Harvey chuckled. “No. You’re just a wanker.”
Ron joined in.
They continued to throw the quaffle back and forth for some time.
Ron did apologise to Harvey, but he still hadn’t spoken to Harry. Harvey didn’t expect Ron and Harry to get along, that wasn’t necessary, but he had hoped they could at least be civil. But Harry hadn’t seemed bothered by the lack of apology; he only wanted a promise that Ron wouldn’t drag Harry into any sort of trouble next year. Which Harvey agreed, no more trouble. Everything with Quirrell and Voldemort had been enough excitement for him.
It was a hard truth to accept that it was still possible for Voldemort to come back. Harvey didn’t want to admit to anyone how much the thought scared him. The red eyes that had stared at him from the back of Quirrell’s head lingered in his mind, and there was much that he knew that the adults hadn’t shared with him, and for now, that was okay. Harvey was happy to just be a kid; for now, he was happy to leave all that crap for the adults.
Harvey followed Ron onto the train; Hermione was right behind him. Ron was going on about the upcoming Quidditch season; he was confident in the Chudley Cannons and wanted to see how many games he could convince his Dad to take him too.
“I know Mum will say that we can’t afford it, but Dad has a friend from the Ministry who works in the Department of Magical Games and Sport, and they can give us the tickets for free,” explained Ron.
Hermione had been listening closely. Harvey had heard it all before.
“Should you really be using your father’s friend for free tickets?” asked Hermione.
Ron frowned. “How else am I supposed to go?”
Harvey sighed. “Dad and I always go to the Puddlemere United games.”
“Meh—I have no interest in watching them,” said Ron.
“You mean you have no interest in actually watching a team win,” teased Harvey.
“You leave my Cannons alone.”
Hermione rolled her eyes at the boy’s antics.
Harvey paused as he found a compartment for them and pulled open the door. As they sat down, Harvey asked, “Hermione, did you want to come to a game?”
Hermione smiled. “I will have to ask my parents, but I am sure that I could.”
“You need to see a professional match,” said Ron, “they are way more exciting than a school match.”
“They can be,” said Harry. “But sometimes they go on forever.”
“Yeah, but that’s Quidditch.”
The train left Hogsmeade station about ten minutes later. Students were still wandering past the door of their compartment, but the three friends settled in for the long journey back to London. Hermione was content with her book while Harvey pulled out his exploding snap deck. The sunny weather that had graced them when they left Hogsmeade was replaced by heavy dark clouds and rain as they grew closer to London.
A knock on the compartment door surprised them all, but Harvey smiled widely when he spotted Harry through the door. Harry pulled the door open and said, “Hello.”
“Harry, you look well,” said Hermione.
Harry smiled. “I feel it.” He moved over to sit beside her. “You all excited to be heading home?”
Hermione nodded. “I am, but I can’t wait for next year.”
Ron sighed. “You need to find another hobby other than learning.”
Hermione poked out her tongue at him.
Harry said, “Nothing wrong with enjoying school.”
Ron ignored him.
“Harvey, can I have a word for a minute?” asked Harry.
Harvey was surprised by Harry request; he couldn’t think of something that Harry would need to say that he wouldn’t want to say in front of his friends. But he agreed and stepped out of the compartment with Harry.
They walked down to the end of the carriage, where there was a small storage space and no other students. Harry turned back to face him but leant against the wall.
He said, “I just wanted to talk about Mum.”
Harvey nodded. “Okay.”
“Things have been getting better, you know that.” Harry rubbed his hand against his own shoulder. “But I just wanted to make sure that you understood that I might not be in Godric’s Hollow as often as I used to be.”
Harvey frowned. “Why not?”
Harry had always spent every other week of the Summer holidays at Godric’s Hollow. Why would that change?
“There is a lot that I still need to work out for myself and with Mum. I don’t feel comfortable spending a whole week in Godric’s Hollow.”
“What makes you uncomfortable? Dad has promised to behave. Mum is trying to be a better Mum. And I promise I won’t annoy you.”
Harry sighed and smiled softly. He said, “I know all of that. But there is a lot more to it. What’s going on inside of here…” He pointed to his chest. “…and here…” He pointed to his head. “…doesn’t really make a lot of sense. I have to deal with emotions and feelings that I don’t truly understand. My biggest fear is that what happened on Christmas Day will happen again.”
Harvey stepped forward and grasped Harry’s forearm. “You didn’t mean to hurt me; I know that.”
“Exactly, I didn’t mean to, but I still did. I want to make sure that I am ready before I put myself in that situation.”
Harvey frowned. He didn’t like this, but he wanted his brother to be okay.
“I’ll still see you; we can hang out at White Oak or go into London. Maybe we can go to the Puddlemere and Canons first game; that’s in a few weeks.” Harry squeezed Harvey’s shoulder. “I promise that it won’t be forever.”
Harvey nodded. “Okay.”
It had probably been childish to believe that Harry’s problems would be all better and that they could go back to normal with a few changes. Harvey knew he didn’t know exactly what Harry had dealt with, but he wanted to help his brother in any way that he could. If that meant giving him space and time, then so be it.
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After talking to Harvey, Harry returned to his friends. The rest of the train ride home was filled with fun. Harry had sat against the window, his legs stretched out across the gap to rest on the other seat. Jenna sat opposite him and had her feet resting on top of his legs. Dylan was sitting beside Harry, and Will was next to him. Carlisle was sitting on the opposite end of the seat to Jenna, his back against the compartment interior window, and Amelia was nestled in between his legs. And poor Cedric had ended up on the floor, not that he complained; he was busy beating Will and Dylan at chess.
When the train finally pulled into King’s Cross, Harry felt almost sad. He would see his friends plenty over the Summer, but it was always strange when you went from seeing them every day to once or twice a week.
They collected their things and stepped off the train. All of their friends said their goodbyes before heading in different directions; Harry hugged Jenna goodbye and told Dylan they would see each other soon. Out of all his friends, Dylan was the only one he would be worried about over the Summer. He was headed home to a place he just knew wouldn’t be good. Harry watched as Dylan disappeared and then waited for Carlisle. He and Amelia could be a little lovey-dovey for his liking, but then again, Harry was no better with Fleur these days.
It was only when Harry spotted Narcissa and Lucius, standing with Draco, did Harry grabbed Carlisle’s arm and pulled him away from his girlfriend. Harry couldn’t see his family just yet, but they would be around somewhere.
He walked with Carlisle up to his parents.
“Carlisle, you have lipgloss on your mouth,” said Narcissa.
Carlisle chuckled nervously and wiped his mouth.
“Trying a new style, brother?” asked Draco.
Carlisle smirked. “No, just enjoy the lovely attention of the ladies. Something that I doubt you will ever experience.”
“Carlisle,” warned Lucius.
“Sorry, father.”
Narcissa greeted Carlisle properly with a kiss to the cheek before looking at Harry. “Good year?” she asked.
Harry nodded. “It was eventful.” No doubt they would have already heard about Quirrell and Voldemort.
“Yes, we heard,” said Lucius. “All terribly unnerving to know that one of your teachers was such a…felonious man.”
“Indeed,” agreed Narcissa.
Harry wasn’t sure what to think of the comment. It was possible the Voldemort detail had been left out, but Harry would find it difficult to believe that they didn’t know. Harry had heard his parents argue about the Malfoy’s when he was growing up; they had supported Voldemort during the war, but only by Lucius’ claim that he had been under the Imperius curse had their lives continued unchanged.
Harry own’s opinion of them had been something he had decided upon only after getting to know them. Technically they were a part of his family, but that hadn’t led to the respect he had for them. Narcissa had always been kind and motherly towards him, helping him navigate certain Pureblood expectations—even though he wasn’t a Pureblood—because his Grandmother had desired certain things from him. And Lucius had always been welcoming whenever Harry visited Malfoy Manor. However, there was plenty of things that Harry disagreed with them about, but it was Carlisle’s friendship that mattered, not so much Narcissa’s and Lucius’ beliefs.
The ring of Sirius’ laughter caught Harry’s attention, and he spotted his father standing with Remus. His godfather had his arm lying across Sirius’ shoulders, and the smile on his father’s face showed something Harry didn’t think he’d ever seen.
“We need to be leaving, my dear,” said Lucius. “I have a meeting at the ministry.”
Narcissa nodded. “Of course. Harry, see you soon, no doubt.”
Another kiss from Narcissa, a handshake from Lucius, and a quick bro hug from Carlisle, the Malfoy’s left.
Harry walked across the platform to his father, who, once he had spotted him, stepped forward and pulled him in for a hug.
“I missed you,” said Sirius.
Harry couldn’t stop his own smile and hugged his Dad back just as tight. “I missed you too.”
“Your Dad hasn’t stopped whining since he last saw you,” said Remus.
Harry chuckled. “What can I say? I’m one hell of a son.”
Remus smiled widely. “That you are.” He stepped forward and wrapped Harry in a hug of his own. “I glad to see you smiling, pup.”
The familiar nickname warmed Harry’s chest. “Missed you, Moony.”
Remus squeezed him one last time, then said, “Missed you too.”
“Where’s Mum?” asked Harry.
He had expected to see her and James waiting for Harvey.
Sirius frowned. “She didn’t come.”
Harry frowned. Something twisted painfully in his gut.
“She has been throwing up like crazy,” added Sirius. “James said he left her at home in bed to rest.”
The twisting subsided.
“Oh,” said Harry. For a moment, his mind had gone to the one place he had been hoping to avoid.
“James just picked up Harvey, and they went straight home,” said Remus, “so your Dad thought the three of us could do dinner tonight.”
Harry smiled. “Yeah, sounds good.”
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The fire crackled in the library of White Oak Manor. Harry had left his Godfather to deal with his drunk Father once they had returned home from dinner. Sirius had gotten a little drunk after having one too many scotches. It was rather funny watching Remus trying to wrangle Sirius once they had paid the bill. But while Remus tried to get Sirius to drink some water in the kitchen, Harry had headed upstairs to the library. He wasn’t tired and felt like reading.
The fireplace had already been lit when he walked in; the house-elves knew which rooms were used most and kept them warm on the colder nights. The storm that had rolled in when Harry had been on the train hadn’t let up, and the rain was still beating down on the windows.
After picking out a book, Harry had one of the house-elves bring him hot cocoa, and he got comfortable. He had made it through the first two chapters when a soft knock on the open door caught his attention. Harry would have expected Remus but was surprised to see his mother leaning against the door.
“Mum?” Harry hopped up. “Dad said, you aren’t well.”
She sighed and said, “I am, and I’m not.”
“You should be at home resting,” he said.
He led her over to the couch and pulled the throw blanket he’d had his feet tucked under over her lap.
Lily smiled at him. “I know. But I needed to tell you something, and it couldn’t wait.”
“It couldn’t wait until you were better?”
She shook her head. “No, if I did, we would be waiting for a long time.”
Harry didn’t like the sound of that. “Mum, what’s wrong?”
Lily bit down on her lip. She was giving Harry a look that sent fear through him. He wondered if her being sick was more than just a bug; what if it was bad? Really bad? She reached over and grabbed his hand and squeezed it.
She said, “I…” She took a shaky breath.
“Mum, it’s okay,” he said.
She closed her eyes and swallowed. “I love you,” she said.
Harry frowned. “I love you too.”
“I just don’t want you to hate me.”
“Mum, I told you already that I don’t hate you. We have a lot of shit to work through, but you’re my mother.”
“You might feel differently after I tell you.”
“I doubt that.” Harry squeezed her fingers. “Whatever is wrong, I’m not going anywhere.”
Lily nodded and took another shaky breath. “Okay.” She squeezed his hand again. “I—I am…I am pregnant.”
“What?”
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