What Might Have Been

"Harry, dear, wake up, breakfast is ready." Harry ran a hand through his hair and rolled over in bed, looking up into his mother's startlingly green eyes.

"Morning, Mum" he said as he disentangled himself from the covers and pulled on his robe. His mother had proceeded to the next room, presumably waking his godfather Sirius, who was currently staying with them. Harry walked down the steps, and into the kitchen, where he could smell bacon sizzling in a pan on the stove, flipping itself every so often. The eggs were doing the same, again assisted by magic. Harry took a seat at the breakfast table next to his father and began gulping down orange juice. Lily, accompanied by a very bleary-eyed Sirius, reentered the kitchen and attended to the food, which magically soared across the kitchen and onto their plates. Sirius dug into the food eagerly, chewing quite noisily.

"Jeez, Padfoot, do you have to eat so loudly? Why don't you just transform and eat on the floor?" Sirius made a rude hand gesture towards James, who simply rolled his eyes. Harry laughed, simply enjoying this moment between Sirius and James. He could even see his mother laughing behind her hands, though she usually disapproved of Sirius and James's antics. He, James and Sirius would be meeting Ron, the twins, and Neville later, and the lot would be going to a Quidditch game. Fred and George had said that they had something for Harry, probably a new item for their joke shop. In the meantime, Harry merely enjoyed his eggs, as James and Sirius made faces at each other across the table. This was possibly the last time he would see Sirius, the twins, and his parents until Christmas, as the new term at Hogwarts began the next day. Harry sighed contentedly, knowing that life was okay. He rose to go and put his dishes away, and help his mom with the washing up.

"Ready for today, Harry?" Sirius asked. Harry smiled, looking forward to spending the rest of the day with his friends and family. He had just turned seventeen, so he could legally use magic now. He and Ron had just received their Apparating licenses, and the day stretched ahead, full of promise. Harry returned to his room, and began getting dressed for the day ahead. He dug through his dresser, finally finding his favorite red and gold polo shirt, emblazoned with a Gryffindor Lion on the pocket, and a pair of jeans. He stowed his wand in his back pocket, laughing at what Mad-Eye Moody would say if he could see him. He walked back into the hall, and nearly collided with Sirius, who, it seemed, was still not quite awake. He walked back into the kitchen, where an owl was tapping on the window with the Daily Prophet in its beak. Harry let it in, and deposited a couple of Knuts into the pouch on its leg, he turned around and set the paper on the table.

"Thanks, Harry." His mother reached over to give him a hug.

Harry's eyes snapped open. He was at Hogwarts again, dreaming. Dreaming as he had been in the last few days, about what might have been. His arms were still outstretched, waiting for an embrace from a mother that he would never know.