Unnamed HP AU
I call it "Pawn of Prophecy". Anyone that has read David Eddings will understand why.
Summary: In a world where Voldemorte has never come to power, Harry Potter is an ordinary boy with an ordinary life. But, one cannot escape one's destiny.
Harry Potter is a terribly ordinary boy. Well, if one discounts the fact that he is a wizard. Harry, of course, finds nothing about this to be the least bit out of the ordinary; after all, everyone he knows is also magical.
Harry’s parents are simple people, the strangest thing about them being that they’re divorced and no longer live together. His father, James Potter, plays professional Quidditch, the chaser for a small team that is more famous for being the only team to have never made it to the World Cup once in all its long history. James owns a modest home in Godric’s Hollow, where Harry and his siblings stay on weekends, the occasional holiday, and whenever else they feel like it. His mother, Lily, runs a local apothecary making potions and supplying herbs she grows in her own garden. She’d remarried after divorcing Harry’s father, to her childhood friend Severus Snape.
Harry has three younger siblings: sisters Rose, so close to him in age they’re often mistaken for twins, and Iris (it was a tradition in Harry’s mother’s family to name their daughters after flowers. Harry is eternally grateful he wasn’t born a girl) and one half-brother in baby Tate who, at three, is no longer really a baby but Lily Potter isn’t quite ready to admit such a truth.
Spinner’s End -the large, dark home that Severus had inherited from his mother -had frightened Harry when he had first been moved there, five years before and still likely to jump at shadows. It was imposing and far too large and, surprisingly, it had become home. Harry quite likes it now.
As far as ordinary goes, Harry even looks the part. He is neither short nor tall. Nor is he particularly good-looking, though definitely not someone that would be labeled “ugly”. Plain, really, with his knobby knees, round glasses, and messy dark hair his mother fondly refers to as a “rat’s nest”. He does have his mother’s green eyes, which are striking with his pale skin and black hair, but as far as distinguishing features go, Harry is as plain as an unbuttered scone.
Like most children his age, as dawn approaches the morning of his eleventh birthday, Harry stands in the center of his yard and peers into the sky expectantly. His mother and Severus are no doubt still in bed, but Harry has full intentions of waking them, just as soon as his letter comes.
He waits impatiently for close to fifteen minutes before the owl appears at the edge of the skyline. It could, of course, be just about anything. A birthday present arriving from his Godfather (though Harry fully expects him at his birthday party later that night and will be quite displeased if he decides not to show, like the last time Harry’s birthday was held at Spinner’s End), or good-wishes from one of the friends he knew from day school. However, Harry hopes with everything in him that it is one letter in particular.
The owl drops the letter into his waiting hands. The parchment is thick, green ink on cream. The front reads:
Mr. Harry James Potter
The Emerald Bedroom
Spinner’s End
Harry’s breath is caught in his throat as he slowly turns the letter over. There, sealing the envelope quite effectively, is a familiar coat-of-arms: the Hogwarts Seal. Harry lets out a shout of triumph and runs full-force back towards the house.
“MUM! Mum, Mum, Mum!” Harry shouts as soon as he’s inside, crashing into the wall of the stairs hard enough to make the portraits grumble at him. Harry shouts an apology at Severus’ great-grandmother Agnes Prince as he rounds another flight of stairs, then a third, and bursts into his mother’s bedroom. “MUM!”
He throws himself onto the bed and crawls up between his mother and Severus, the latter of which groans and throws an arm over his eyes. “Lily,” he sighs. “Why is your son awake?”
Lily laughs as she sits up and holds a hand out to her son, “What is it, love?”
“My Hogwarts letter!” Harry beams, waving the letter in the air. He falls forward onto the mattress with only one arm to support him, face smashing into his mother’s pillow and crooking his glasses.
Lily smiles, “You haven’t even opened it yet. Perhaps they’ve sent a polite rejection.”
“Mum!” Harry whines. He bounces with excitement and pushes the letter into her hands. “You open it. And be careful.”
Lily obediently breaks the wax seal and pulls out the first piece of parchment.
“’Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you’ve been accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.’” Lily reads. “There, see. I told you there wouldn’t be any problems.”
“Neville is worried,” Harry tells her. “His uncle is still convinced he’s a Squib, you know.”
“Neville will be fine. His mother came into her magic late, too. She didn’t perform one bit of accidental magic until fourth year when she caught Frank kissing Eliza Moore and then blew out every window in Gryffindor Tower.”
Harry laughs and pulls the second slip of parchment out of the envelope. “Can we visit Uncle Sirius’ shop when we go to Diagon Alley?”
“Of course.” Lily says, ignoring the negative and impolite sound her husband makes at the suggestion. “Go back to bed now, love. We’ll go to Diagon after breakfast, alright? We’ll have to be home by dinner, of course, for your party.”
“’Kay.” Harry kisses his mother’s cheek, “Night, Mum.”
Harry leaves the room and heads back to his own, all but skipping down the stairs. Crawling back into the bed, he spreads his acceptance letter across his pillow and falls asleep with a grin on his face.
Trips into Diagon Alley were a rare thing for the Potter/Snape clan. Not only was it difficult to schedule the Floo for six people during the busy summer hours, but it always ended up being a rather frustrating endeavor for one Lily Snape. Harry and Rose, the only Potters of the Potter/Snapes, always demanded to visit their godfather’s shop. Being as Sirius was not her godfather and always paid special attention to her older siblings, this always lead to Iris feeling left out which lead to Severus getting upset on her behalf. And that, in turn, lead to Severus and Sirius shouting at one another, name calling, and, often times, wands drawn.
It is simply easier for Lily to go to the Alley by herself. However, considering the occasion, she couldn’t very well keep Harry at home, when they would be shopping for his school things.
They take the Floo straight through to Flourish and Botts, with the children coming through between Lily and Severus. Almost immediately, Harry and Rose catch ahold of Lily -one grabbing the hand not occupied with holding Tate and the other a good portion of her robes -and start tugging her towards the door. Iris tumbles out of the fireplace and onto her bum, Severus stepping through right after to help her back to her feet.
“Mum, let’s go, let’s go.” Harry all but whines, tugging trying to lean his weight against her in an effort to get her to move faster. Lily, however, is a mother to four and stands her ground easily.
Severus quickly dusts soot from Iris’ robes and then strides forward with his arms outreached. Lily gratefully passes him Tate. “I’ll take Iris to Gringotts and get the withdraw out of the way. When you’re finished with the mutt, you can meet us at Sugarplum’s.”
Rose immediately lets go of Lily’s robes. “What? That’s not fair; I want to go to Sugarplum’s!”
“You’ll be going to see Sirius and his shop.” Lily reminds her. She kisses Iris on the forehead and then starts to usher Harry and Rose from the shop. “We shouldn’t be too long.” She calls over her shoulder to her husband.
Sirius Black had, right after Hogwarts, tried his hand at the Auror Academy but found he didn’t quite have the taste for the politics of the ministry. After leaving the Academy, he’d floundered for a bit before Lily had pointed out how much Harry and Rose, just babies back then, enjoyed the charms he put on their toys, which prompted him to open Sirius Black’s Toy and Wonder Emporium. Eight years into business and his store runs neck and neck with Gambol and Japes for business in the Alley, and gives Zonkos a run for its money on mail-order items, which Gambol and Japes doesn’t bother with.
Sirius Black’s Toy and Wonder Emporium is a mess of shrieking, laughing children and pained-looking parents. Model airplanes sail overhead, diving down at the heads of unsuspecting customers or doing elaborate barrel rolls; confetti rains down from the ceiling, dissolving before any bits touch the floor; Sirius’s best-selling beginner brooms are displayed prominently in the center of the store, with a large group of children surrounding them and watching them hover and gleam; and, from somewhere upstairs where you have to be Hogwarts-aged to venture, come several loud booms and screams, followed by a bout of tremendous laughter.
Sirius sweeps Harry and Rose both up in his arms the moment they step into the room. He’s wearing a large, floppy hat that shoots off fireworks and the official emporium-employee robes which light up with matching fireworks. Physically, the man looks a good ten years younger than his age, with a charming smile and not a hint of grey to his hair. Mentally, Harry’s mum insists, he hadn’t matured past the third year.
Sirius tussles Harry’s hair and releases Rose to hug him tighter and lift him bodily from the ground. “Happy birthday!” Sirius crows, “I got something for you, something special, just let me -”
Sirius makes a move to get away, but Lily clamps down firmly onto his arm. “It can wait until the party tonight.” She tells him. “Harry wanted to show you something.”
With a flourish, Harry pulls his letter from his robe pocket and waves it for Sirius to see. Sirius whoops with joy and lifts Harry up again.
“Another Gryffindor about to grace Hogwarts’ halls! Just you wait, Harry. I’ve got a prank package that will be just perfect for old McGonagall.”
“Sirius.” Lily interrupts. “Harry won’t be harassing his teachers, least of all his head of house. Don’t be giving him such ideas; I won’t have him expelled.”
“Now, Lily. He’d hardly be expelled for a few silly tricks. Dumbledore’s got a sense of humor, doesn’t he? Never expelled James or me, and look at all we got up to.”
“Just leave it be, Sirius. Severus will be keeping a close eye on Harry. As a professor with a son in the school -”
“Now wait a minute! Harry is James’ son, not Snape’s!”
“Fine, with a stepson in the school, Harry’s actions could reflect badly on him. I won’t have Harry embarrassing Severus.”
“So Harry’s an embarrassment to you now, is that it?”
“I never said that, Sirius Black.”
Rose turns her head into Harry’s shoulder, flinching from their rising voices. They’ve started to draw the attention from the others in the shops, kids looking on curiously and a few witches already whispering to one another. Harry tugs on his mother’s sleeve.
“It’s alright, Mum. I’ll be good. Mr. Longbottom says that if I wanna be an auror, I’ve got to do really well in school, right?”
Lily relaxes, her anger seeping away. “That’s right. Frank had to be near the top of the class to get into the Academy.”
“Dad wanted to be an auror, didn’t he?” Harry asks Sirius, hoping to get the focus away from the sore-spot that was his stepfather. “He told me so, after I told him I wanted to be one. But, he didn’t get enough OWLs in potions.”
“No, he didn’t make it to the Academy, but James has always been happy with playing Quidditch. Why the sudden interest in aurors, pup? I thought you wanted to join the Harpies when you got out of school.”
“He’s eleven, Sirius. He’ll change his mind a million times by time he’s out of school. And, anyway. Frank and Alice took Neville to see the greenhouses in Brazil, so they had his birthday party last week. Harry stayed overnight and pestered Frank into spilling some stories. He’s been enamored ever since.”
“Neville knows a lot more about what he’s gonna do out of Hogwarts than I do.” Harry tries to explain. “He’s gonna take over his mum’s greenhouses. She’s got four great big ones; Mrs. Longbottom says she has more plants than Hogwarts!” The idea of anything being greater than Hogwarts is a little hard for Harry to grasp.
“Sirius Black!” A voice suddenly booms, making Harry jump. The woman that marches up to Sirius and pokes him sharply in the chest doesn’t appear capable of deserving the way Sirius wilts like a disobedient child that’s been caught in the cookie jar.
“Molly!” Sirius exclaims. “What brings you to my humble little shop?”
“Don’t you give me any of that, Sirius Black. Where have you stashed away those boys of mine? They were supposed to wait for me at robe shop.” Her voice lowers abruptly when she spots Harry, Rose, and Lily. “Oh, by Merlin, Lily Potter!”
“It’s Lily Snape, now, actually. I married Severus seven years ago now.”
Molly’s face doesn’t fall, exactly, but she certainly looks confused. “Severus Snape? That Slytherin boy from Hogwarts?”
Lily nods, forcing a smile. “We were friends since childhood and after James and I didn’t work out, Severus finally gathered the courage to ask me for a date. We’re blissfully happy together.”
Molly’s smile seems to regain itself a bit. “Are these your children, then?”
“This is Harry, and Rose. She’s a tad shy, I’m afraid. My youngest two are with their father. Harry here just received his Hogwarts letter this morning and couldn’t wait to share the news with Sirius. Harry, Rose, this is Molly Weasley. Her husband works at the ministry. Arthur and Molly were both in Gryffindor with James, Sirius, and I, though they were several years older than us.”
“My Ron just received his letter this summer, too.” Mrs. Weasley tells them. “Perhaps you’ll see him in Gryffindor, Harry dear. Or perhaps Sirius would like to inform me where my wayward children are hiding and you can meet him now.”
Sirius sighs. “The twins are upstairs, likely. They like to play with my trial items. They ask a lot of questions, so I don’t mind. Helps improve the product. Only, I haven’t seen ‘em come in, Molly, I swear. You know I don’t allow the little ones upstairs. The must have snuck by me.”
“Which means they’re up to no good at all.” Mrs. Weasley says firmly. “You’ll have to excuse me, Lily.”
“Of course.” The group watches Mrs. Wealsey stomp away towards the stairs and then Lily says, “You shouldn’t encourage those boys, Sirius.”
“They’re bright boys, Lily. They could give James and I a run for our money. I was thinking about taking them on for next summer, if Arthur allows it. They’ll be fifteen by then and they could earn some money, yeah?”
“Molly will never allow it, and you know it.”
Mrs. Weasley returns at that moment, one hand twisted in an ear each of two twin boys. A third boy trails after her; he’s bright-red in the face and trying to hide the elephant years he’s grown with his hands, but they drape down to his elbows and it’s impossible to do so.
“Sirius! The twins won’t tell me what they’ve done; you’ll have to fix Ron up.”
Sirius tries and fails to hide his snickering. He takes out his wand and aims it at the boy, gives a short incantation and the ears slip back to normal. “No harm, there, Molly. It was a quick, simple fix.”
Summary: In a world where Voldemorte has never come to power, Harry Potter is an ordinary boy with an ordinary life. But, one cannot escape one's destiny.
Harry Potter is a terribly ordinary boy. Well, if one discounts the fact that he is a wizard. Harry, of course, finds nothing about this to be the least bit out of the ordinary; after all, everyone he knows is also magical.
Harry’s parents are simple people, the strangest thing about them being that they’re divorced and no longer live together. His father, James Potter, plays professional Quidditch, the chaser for a small team that is more famous for being the only team to have never made it to the World Cup once in all its long history. James owns a modest home in Godric’s Hollow, where Harry and his siblings stay on weekends, the occasional holiday, and whenever else they feel like it. His mother, Lily, runs a local apothecary making potions and supplying herbs she grows in her own garden. She’d remarried after divorcing Harry’s father, to her childhood friend Severus Snape.
Harry has three younger siblings: sisters Rose, so close to him in age they’re often mistaken for twins, and Iris (it was a tradition in Harry’s mother’s family to name their daughters after flowers. Harry is eternally grateful he wasn’t born a girl) and one half-brother in baby Tate who, at three, is no longer really a baby but Lily Potter isn’t quite ready to admit such a truth.
Spinner’s End -the large, dark home that Severus had inherited from his mother -had frightened Harry when he had first been moved there, five years before and still likely to jump at shadows. It was imposing and far too large and, surprisingly, it had become home. Harry quite likes it now.
As far as ordinary goes, Harry even looks the part. He is neither short nor tall. Nor is he particularly good-looking, though definitely not someone that would be labeled “ugly”. Plain, really, with his knobby knees, round glasses, and messy dark hair his mother fondly refers to as a “rat’s nest”. He does have his mother’s green eyes, which are striking with his pale skin and black hair, but as far as distinguishing features go, Harry is as plain as an unbuttered scone.
Like most children his age, as dawn approaches the morning of his eleventh birthday, Harry stands in the center of his yard and peers into the sky expectantly. His mother and Severus are no doubt still in bed, but Harry has full intentions of waking them, just as soon as his letter comes.
He waits impatiently for close to fifteen minutes before the owl appears at the edge of the skyline. It could, of course, be just about anything. A birthday present arriving from his Godfather (though Harry fully expects him at his birthday party later that night and will be quite displeased if he decides not to show, like the last time Harry’s birthday was held at Spinner’s End), or good-wishes from one of the friends he knew from day school. However, Harry hopes with everything in him that it is one letter in particular.
The owl drops the letter into his waiting hands. The parchment is thick, green ink on cream. The front reads:
Mr. Harry James Potter
The Emerald Bedroom
Spinner’s End
Harry’s breath is caught in his throat as he slowly turns the letter over. There, sealing the envelope quite effectively, is a familiar coat-of-arms: the Hogwarts Seal. Harry lets out a shout of triumph and runs full-force back towards the house.
“MUM! Mum, Mum, Mum!” Harry shouts as soon as he’s inside, crashing into the wall of the stairs hard enough to make the portraits grumble at him. Harry shouts an apology at Severus’ great-grandmother Agnes Prince as he rounds another flight of stairs, then a third, and bursts into his mother’s bedroom. “MUM!”
He throws himself onto the bed and crawls up between his mother and Severus, the latter of which groans and throws an arm over his eyes. “Lily,” he sighs. “Why is your son awake?”
Lily laughs as she sits up and holds a hand out to her son, “What is it, love?”
“My Hogwarts letter!” Harry beams, waving the letter in the air. He falls forward onto the mattress with only one arm to support him, face smashing into his mother’s pillow and crooking his glasses.
Lily smiles, “You haven’t even opened it yet. Perhaps they’ve sent a polite rejection.”
“Mum!” Harry whines. He bounces with excitement and pushes the letter into her hands. “You open it. And be careful.”
Lily obediently breaks the wax seal and pulls out the first piece of parchment.
“’Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you’ve been accepted to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.’” Lily reads. “There, see. I told you there wouldn’t be any problems.”
“Neville is worried,” Harry tells her. “His uncle is still convinced he’s a Squib, you know.”
“Neville will be fine. His mother came into her magic late, too. She didn’t perform one bit of accidental magic until fourth year when she caught Frank kissing Eliza Moore and then blew out every window in Gryffindor Tower.”
Harry laughs and pulls the second slip of parchment out of the envelope. “Can we visit Uncle Sirius’ shop when we go to Diagon Alley?”
“Of course.” Lily says, ignoring the negative and impolite sound her husband makes at the suggestion. “Go back to bed now, love. We’ll go to Diagon after breakfast, alright? We’ll have to be home by dinner, of course, for your party.”
“’Kay.” Harry kisses his mother’s cheek, “Night, Mum.”
Harry leaves the room and heads back to his own, all but skipping down the stairs. Crawling back into the bed, he spreads his acceptance letter across his pillow and falls asleep with a grin on his face.
Trips into Diagon Alley were a rare thing for the Potter/Snape clan. Not only was it difficult to schedule the Floo for six people during the busy summer hours, but it always ended up being a rather frustrating endeavor for one Lily Snape. Harry and Rose, the only Potters of the Potter/Snapes, always demanded to visit their godfather’s shop. Being as Sirius was not her godfather and always paid special attention to her older siblings, this always lead to Iris feeling left out which lead to Severus getting upset on her behalf. And that, in turn, lead to Severus and Sirius shouting at one another, name calling, and, often times, wands drawn.
It is simply easier for Lily to go to the Alley by herself. However, considering the occasion, she couldn’t very well keep Harry at home, when they would be shopping for his school things.
They take the Floo straight through to Flourish and Botts, with the children coming through between Lily and Severus. Almost immediately, Harry and Rose catch ahold of Lily -one grabbing the hand not occupied with holding Tate and the other a good portion of her robes -and start tugging her towards the door. Iris tumbles out of the fireplace and onto her bum, Severus stepping through right after to help her back to her feet.
“Mum, let’s go, let’s go.” Harry all but whines, tugging trying to lean his weight against her in an effort to get her to move faster. Lily, however, is a mother to four and stands her ground easily.
Severus quickly dusts soot from Iris’ robes and then strides forward with his arms outreached. Lily gratefully passes him Tate. “I’ll take Iris to Gringotts and get the withdraw out of the way. When you’re finished with the mutt, you can meet us at Sugarplum’s.”
Rose immediately lets go of Lily’s robes. “What? That’s not fair; I want to go to Sugarplum’s!”
“You’ll be going to see Sirius and his shop.” Lily reminds her. She kisses Iris on the forehead and then starts to usher Harry and Rose from the shop. “We shouldn’t be too long.” She calls over her shoulder to her husband.
Sirius Black had, right after Hogwarts, tried his hand at the Auror Academy but found he didn’t quite have the taste for the politics of the ministry. After leaving the Academy, he’d floundered for a bit before Lily had pointed out how much Harry and Rose, just babies back then, enjoyed the charms he put on their toys, which prompted him to open Sirius Black’s Toy and Wonder Emporium. Eight years into business and his store runs neck and neck with Gambol and Japes for business in the Alley, and gives Zonkos a run for its money on mail-order items, which Gambol and Japes doesn’t bother with.
Sirius Black’s Toy and Wonder Emporium is a mess of shrieking, laughing children and pained-looking parents. Model airplanes sail overhead, diving down at the heads of unsuspecting customers or doing elaborate barrel rolls; confetti rains down from the ceiling, dissolving before any bits touch the floor; Sirius’s best-selling beginner brooms are displayed prominently in the center of the store, with a large group of children surrounding them and watching them hover and gleam; and, from somewhere upstairs where you have to be Hogwarts-aged to venture, come several loud booms and screams, followed by a bout of tremendous laughter.
Sirius sweeps Harry and Rose both up in his arms the moment they step into the room. He’s wearing a large, floppy hat that shoots off fireworks and the official emporium-employee robes which light up with matching fireworks. Physically, the man looks a good ten years younger than his age, with a charming smile and not a hint of grey to his hair. Mentally, Harry’s mum insists, he hadn’t matured past the third year.
Sirius tussles Harry’s hair and releases Rose to hug him tighter and lift him bodily from the ground. “Happy birthday!” Sirius crows, “I got something for you, something special, just let me -”
Sirius makes a move to get away, but Lily clamps down firmly onto his arm. “It can wait until the party tonight.” She tells him. “Harry wanted to show you something.”
With a flourish, Harry pulls his letter from his robe pocket and waves it for Sirius to see. Sirius whoops with joy and lifts Harry up again.
“Another Gryffindor about to grace Hogwarts’ halls! Just you wait, Harry. I’ve got a prank package that will be just perfect for old McGonagall.”
“Sirius.” Lily interrupts. “Harry won’t be harassing his teachers, least of all his head of house. Don’t be giving him such ideas; I won’t have him expelled.”
“Now, Lily. He’d hardly be expelled for a few silly tricks. Dumbledore’s got a sense of humor, doesn’t he? Never expelled James or me, and look at all we got up to.”
“Just leave it be, Sirius. Severus will be keeping a close eye on Harry. As a professor with a son in the school -”
“Now wait a minute! Harry is James’ son, not Snape’s!”
“Fine, with a stepson in the school, Harry’s actions could reflect badly on him. I won’t have Harry embarrassing Severus.”
“So Harry’s an embarrassment to you now, is that it?”
“I never said that, Sirius Black.”
Rose turns her head into Harry’s shoulder, flinching from their rising voices. They’ve started to draw the attention from the others in the shops, kids looking on curiously and a few witches already whispering to one another. Harry tugs on his mother’s sleeve.
“It’s alright, Mum. I’ll be good. Mr. Longbottom says that if I wanna be an auror, I’ve got to do really well in school, right?”
Lily relaxes, her anger seeping away. “That’s right. Frank had to be near the top of the class to get into the Academy.”
“Dad wanted to be an auror, didn’t he?” Harry asks Sirius, hoping to get the focus away from the sore-spot that was his stepfather. “He told me so, after I told him I wanted to be one. But, he didn’t get enough OWLs in potions.”
“No, he didn’t make it to the Academy, but James has always been happy with playing Quidditch. Why the sudden interest in aurors, pup? I thought you wanted to join the Harpies when you got out of school.”
“He’s eleven, Sirius. He’ll change his mind a million times by time he’s out of school. And, anyway. Frank and Alice took Neville to see the greenhouses in Brazil, so they had his birthday party last week. Harry stayed overnight and pestered Frank into spilling some stories. He’s been enamored ever since.”
“Neville knows a lot more about what he’s gonna do out of Hogwarts than I do.” Harry tries to explain. “He’s gonna take over his mum’s greenhouses. She’s got four great big ones; Mrs. Longbottom says she has more plants than Hogwarts!” The idea of anything being greater than Hogwarts is a little hard for Harry to grasp.
“Sirius Black!” A voice suddenly booms, making Harry jump. The woman that marches up to Sirius and pokes him sharply in the chest doesn’t appear capable of deserving the way Sirius wilts like a disobedient child that’s been caught in the cookie jar.
“Molly!” Sirius exclaims. “What brings you to my humble little shop?”
“Don’t you give me any of that, Sirius Black. Where have you stashed away those boys of mine? They were supposed to wait for me at robe shop.” Her voice lowers abruptly when she spots Harry, Rose, and Lily. “Oh, by Merlin, Lily Potter!”
“It’s Lily Snape, now, actually. I married Severus seven years ago now.”
Molly’s face doesn’t fall, exactly, but she certainly looks confused. “Severus Snape? That Slytherin boy from Hogwarts?”
Lily nods, forcing a smile. “We were friends since childhood and after James and I didn’t work out, Severus finally gathered the courage to ask me for a date. We’re blissfully happy together.”
Molly’s smile seems to regain itself a bit. “Are these your children, then?”
“This is Harry, and Rose. She’s a tad shy, I’m afraid. My youngest two are with their father. Harry here just received his Hogwarts letter this morning and couldn’t wait to share the news with Sirius. Harry, Rose, this is Molly Weasley. Her husband works at the ministry. Arthur and Molly were both in Gryffindor with James, Sirius, and I, though they were several years older than us.”
“My Ron just received his letter this summer, too.” Mrs. Weasley tells them. “Perhaps you’ll see him in Gryffindor, Harry dear. Or perhaps Sirius would like to inform me where my wayward children are hiding and you can meet him now.”
Sirius sighs. “The twins are upstairs, likely. They like to play with my trial items. They ask a lot of questions, so I don’t mind. Helps improve the product. Only, I haven’t seen ‘em come in, Molly, I swear. You know I don’t allow the little ones upstairs. The must have snuck by me.”
“Which means they’re up to no good at all.” Mrs. Weasley says firmly. “You’ll have to excuse me, Lily.”
“Of course.” The group watches Mrs. Wealsey stomp away towards the stairs and then Lily says, “You shouldn’t encourage those boys, Sirius.”
“They’re bright boys, Lily. They could give James and I a run for our money. I was thinking about taking them on for next summer, if Arthur allows it. They’ll be fifteen by then and they could earn some money, yeah?”
“Molly will never allow it, and you know it.”
Mrs. Weasley returns at that moment, one hand twisted in an ear each of two twin boys. A third boy trails after her; he’s bright-red in the face and trying to hide the elephant years he’s grown with his hands, but they drape down to his elbows and it’s impossible to do so.
“Sirius! The twins won’t tell me what they’ve done; you’ll have to fix Ron up.”
Sirius tries and fails to hide his snickering. He takes out his wand and aims it at the boy, gives a short incantation and the ears slip back to normal. “No harm, there, Molly. It was a quick, simple fix.”