Meet the Parents

Chapter 5

Ron and Harry stared at Hermione blankly, her last statement making it's slow way inside their brains, until the comprehension of what exactly she was talking about dawned on them both. Ron opened and shut his mouth few times, before he finally managed to say the only thing that came to his mind.

"Shit."

"Yes, indeed. We need to think of something now," Hermione replied.

"I don't think it's good idea to talk here--let's go somewhere more private," Harry suggested, trying to remain calm. "The Room of Requirement?"

It was a good choice, as it was probably the only place in the entire castle apart from the Chamber of Secrets not mentioned on the Marauder's Map. The more time they spent there, the less they risked the Marauders accidentally noticing their real names on the Map--that is, assuming that they were going to use it tonight, which wasn't terribly likely to happen.

They headed there, grateful that none of the other Gryffindor sixth-years were in the Common Room to inquire where they were going. In a very short time they arrived and the doors appeared in front them.

The inside of the room surprised them a little. They subconsciously expected the classroom-like, cozy chamber, which The Room of Requirements turned into every time they came for the DA meetings last year. Instead, they found themselves in a large room, absolutely empty apart from three chairs and a small table in the middle. The walls glowed with a white-blue, dim light.

"Oh..." said Hermione, looking around. "That's cool--I wouldn't have thought of it myself."

"You wouldn't have thought of what?" Ron demanded.

"We needed a place to talk, a place where no one can overhear us. So it is probably some sort of protective charm that's making the walls glow like this."

"It looks creepy..." Ron muttered. "Like an interrogation room."

"No," Harry objected. " I think it is like this so nobody can sneak in and eavesdrop. We can see everyone, since there is literally nothing to hide behind here."

"Right, um--maybe we will just sit and decide what to do about the Map, instead of discussing how intelligent this room is." Hermione said, and moved towards the chairs.

The boys followed her and took their seats. Some tea and biscuits appeared on the table.

"So, what should we do?" Hermione asked, looking at her friends expectantly.

"We can't let them keep it, that's for sure. Maybe we can just steal it," Ron said thoughtfully. "I mean, it's not like it's a decent thing to do, but we don't have much choice, do we?" he added, seeing the horrified expression on Hermione's face.

"I don't know--it feels wrong, to just steal it like that--I think we'd better go to Dumbledore," she answered uncertainly.

"No," said Harry. "We can't do that. We know that in our times he has no idea that the Map even exists!"

"You don't know that for sure, Harry," Hermione pointed out. "Maybe he just pretends he doesn't know."

"Maybe--and maybe not. Anyway, I agree with Ron, we had better get it ourselves. We need it, especially now. And I don't think it makes any difference to my father whether we take it or Dumbledore does. Only if we do it, then there is a chance that they will think they lost it or something--it would be less suspicious than Dumbledore suddenly discovering one of their most guarded secrets."

"OK, let's say I agree with you for a second," Hermione said, folding her arms on her chest. "How exactly do you want to steal it? You don't even know where they keep it!"

"Well, what we really need..." said Harry slowly, with a frown on his forehead. "What we really need is some time alone, to search our dorm. I'm sure they keep it there, just like we did--we need to have time when we are absolutely sure that they won't come in the middle of me or Ron going through their trunks..."

"No, that would be really bad," Ron said. "Sorry to say that, Harry, but your father and Sirius--they aren't exactly very nice..."

"No, they aren't..." Harry agreed, and pondered telling his friends about what he had seen in Snape's Pensieve. He had promised not to, but it wasn't really important anymore, as they were probably about to see some similar events. Ron didn't seem to notice his doubt and he soon came up with another suggestion.

"Maybe we can do it next full moon? They would be out..."

"No, that's pointless, they will take map with them for sure," Hermione replied.

"Next Hogsmeade visit?"

"No, that's in six weeks, Ron!"

"OK--then maybe we will just not go for our classes one day..."

"They will know that we took it, then. Really, we should go to Dumbledore."

"Right, so how about this: you pretend that you're cursed by a tickling charm, the Marauders try to help you and are distracted--to make it more real, we could actually really put you under a tickling charm, don't you think, Harry?" Ron smiled mischievously and took his wand out, trying to look threatening.

"Ron! We are here to discuss something important!" Hermione shouted with a small hint of annoyance in her voice. She tried to remain serious, but seeing his expression she snorted, and then started giggling. Ron grinned and said with a mock concern, "Well, you know, I don't think you really need the tickling charm after all..."

Harry observed those two bickering as usually. Ron came up with more and more ridiculous ideas of how to steal the Map and soon they were all laughing, for the first time that day. It was good thing, to forget about all their troubles for a while.

They spent rest of the evening in the room, not missing the world outside at all.

* * * * *

The Marauders watched the two new boys and their sister leave their dorm, and immediately after the doors shut, Remus started to speak, sounding rather cold.

"Sirius, could you explain what do you think you are doing?"

"Don't you think it's rather obvious, Moony?"

"You can't throw them out like that, even if it might be inconvenient to have to share the room..."

"Inconvenient--you will end up as a teacher, Moony--you're already start to speak like one..." James interjected with a snort.

"I don't see any sane headmaster employing me--but back to what I was saying, Sirius. The way you are--it's worse then Snivelly sometimes, don't you see that? First day in a new school and you shout at them like that..."

"Don't you dare compare me with him." Sirius' voice was calm, but his eyes flashed dangerously. He folded his arms and sat on his bed. "Anyway, the whole argument is pointless--I changed my mind."

"You changed your mind?" James asked incredulously. "That's rare--Sirius Black changing his mind--unless--it's the Hermione girl, Padfoot?" The knowing look appeared on his face, followed by a smirk as Sirius straightened up and glared at his best friend, obviously annoyed.

"NO, it's NOT the Hermione girl. I put that second thought to the matter, if you need to know. We can't throw them out, because McGonagall wouldn't let us and we're in enough trouble already. So I changed my mind. Simple," Sirius explained, as if he was talking to a child. He took a breath and continued in a quiet voice, looking accusingly at James. "You think I would want to endanger my FRIEND, because of some stupid blonde girl? Even if this friend thinks that I'm worse than Slytherin--I did what I did for a reason..." His voice sounded unusually bitter.

The two Marauders looked at each other uncertainly. James shifted uncomfortably, and then said, with guilty look on his face, "Look, Padfoot, I didn't want it to sound like that--I only noticed that you, well--you know--the way you acted around her during the feast..."

"Please, James, stop that--I just wanted some fun--she's not my type... " Sirius interrupted him with a scowl.

"Listen, I'm just trying to say I'm sorry--I guess we really had a bad day today after all..."

Sirius gave small smile and wanted to say something, but Remus was first.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too, Padfoot, sorry about what I told you--about being worse than Snape," he paused for a while. "But I still think you're being an arse to those new guys."

"That's settled then," Sirius said lightly. "I'm an arse. I just don't want them to discover who you are, Remus." He added more seriously, "I was worried. And I care a little bit more about you than about being polite to some jerks who don't even try to defend themselves. You don't know how they might react if they discover who you are. Well, I guess I can apologize, if you really think I should."

"We should all apologize," Peter said nervously. It was the first time he had spoken throughout the entire conversation. The other boys turned to him, surprised. "I mean, it would be better to make them think that we like them or something--so they would like us as well--and be less suspicious..."

"Maybe--guess, you're right, Wormtail," said James thoughtfully. "And it's not very likely that they will figure anything out soon. It took US half a year after all!"

* * * * *

It was past curfew when Harry, Ron and Hermione came back to the Gryffindor Tower. They didn't really come up with any plan, apart from the fact that they had decided not to go to Dumbledore just yet. Hermione was fuming about it, but boys convinced her to wait a little. She had to agree that the Map would be very useful for them now, when it was so crucial for them not to let anyone overhear some of their conversations.

They were all in a pretty good mood as well, as they had spent the rest of the evening in the Room of Requirement, joking and laughing about nothing in particular. The room had changed for them a bit, somehow sensing the change in their needs, and it produced a very big trampoline and some pillows, as if it could predict that they would indulge into massive pillow fight right away. Which they did, of course. The boys tickled Hermione and she laughed and then set a tickling charm on them as revenge.

They were all covered in feathers in the end and it took them some time to clean themselves. Hermione still felt quite giggly when they decided to come back.

When they entered the common room, they were surprised to see quite a huge amount of people awaiting them. There was Lily Evans, looking furious again, as well as Marauders, Alice and Lea, who seemed to be the only person in the room having a good time. They were in the middle of some heated argument, but they stopped it and stared at the three teenagers standing in the hole behind the portrait of Fat Lady.

Hermione blinked few times and chuckled, and not being able to restrain herself any longer, she started to laugh, although she really tried hard to fight it. Everyone present, apart from Ron and Harry, seemed startled by her reaction and finally she composed herself and tried to keep a straight face. Somehow the grave expressions of the people in front of her seemed extremely funny to her at that moment.

"Something happened?" she asked as seriously as she could.

"We were scared--we thought that something might have happened to you--you were gone for few hours and after those idiots behaved themselves the way they did, I was--I thought you might do something stupid--I don't know..." Lily Evans answered. She sounded uncertain, and soon Sirius broke in, looking quite relieved, although he tried not to show it.

"Evans thought that after the way you were--mistreated, you might decide to, erm, run away from Hogwarts." Harry, Ron and Hermione looked at him incredulously, and seeing that, Sirius smoothly added, "See, Evans? I told you we weren't that bad and there was nothing to worry about."

Lily only snorted in response. In fact, it seemed that she was a little bit disappointed to see the three new students not even a little unhappy about what she considered to a major misbehavior from the boys she hated. Hermione noticed that, and was about to say something when she heard Ron speaking in a very sarcastic voice.

"Oh, no, of course, it was simply lovely to be thrown out of your dorm on the very first day in a new school. We felt really welcome after that..." he probably would have carried on like that little longer, if Remus hadn't broken in.

"Look, we all are really sorry about that. You are REALLY welcome and I mean it. And, despite what this idiot is saying, we were worried about you--not that you would run away or something, but, well, we looked for you--around the castle and couldn't find you anywhere."

Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged significant looks. They were obviously trying to find them with the Marauder's Map and didn't see them on it. No wonder they had thought that they had left the school grounds. Harry broke the uncomfortable silence, trying to look as innocent as he could--he was a pathetic liar.

"Well, we went outside--for a walk, you know..." He was sure that if Marauders used the Map, then they knew it was a lie, but they couldn't openly say so, because then they would have to explain how they knew for sure. Hogwarts' grounds were huge, and they certainly didn't have enough time to search them thoroughly in the dark.

"And you are all right?" Lily demanded.

"Yes," Harry said, nodding.

"Well, there's one more thing then--McGonagall came and brought this for you." With that, she handed them a letter signed with Dumbledore's handwriting. Harry opened it and found a short note inside, informing them that the headmaster would like to see them.

"It's past curfew--we'd better go tomorrow..." he said, showing the note to Ron and Hermione. Lily, however, shook her head and told them that McGonagall insisted that it was urgent and they should go to the headmaster as soon as they could, which meant now. She offered to walk them to the headmaster's office, which was good idea, as she was a prefect and was allowed to be out past curfew.

And so they went.

* * * * *

Dumbledore watched the three students in front of him. He listened to their apologies for coming so late, and then offered them some lemon drops. They refused politely, and waited for him to inform them why he had demanded to see them.

"I would like to ask you how your first day of school went. Was it difficult?"

He observed them glancing at each other, as if to consult about what to say--typical behavior for teenagers, he mused, this need to act as a part of the group, never to do anything that your friends might consider wrong. Finally, the boy named Harry spoke up.

"We are all right, sir. It wasn't that bad..." The rest nodded in confirmation.

Dumbledore didn't really learn much from this, so asked as gently as he could, "If there is anything that you would like to tell me about--anything important, or anything that is worrying you--well, it's time to tell me about it now..."

He could tell from the way they shook their heads that it was not true, that there actually was something that bothered them, but he was sure that there was no point in asking; they didn't intend to tell him. So, instead of voicing more questions, he looked into the eyes of the boy who spoke and slowly started to reach inside his mind.

He was surprised to find very strong resistance and retreated immediately after he discovered that the boy was aware of his attempt to read his thoughts. He saw his expression to turn into the one of anger as he rose and clenched his fists.

"Professor, what are you doing? Keep away from my head!"

Two others students looked at him with surprise, but the face of the girl soon broke into smile.

"Harry, so the books I lent you helped! You can Occlude your mind! That's fantastic!"

Dumbledore was amazed both by the fact that the sixteen year-old boy actually knew what Occlumency was and had some skills in this area, and the brilliancy of the girl, who guessed what exactly had happened. Slowly, trying not to annoy the boy more then he already was, he started to apologize.

"I am sorry--I shouldn't have tried to read your mind, but I have strong impression that you are keeping something away from me. And in your situation, I would advise you to tell me everything." He knew, of course, that after the last event, the boy would be even more reluctant to share his problem, and indeed, he only glared at him furiously, before saying icily, "We've got nothing to tell you, Professor."

Dumbledore looked at the boy apologetically.

"Well, I guess I'll move on to the reason I summoned you, then. I received the letter concerning your education--the Hogwarts' governors are, of course, not aware of your real past, so they expressed their concern about your ability to cope with all the challenges of the N.E.W.T. level classes. They believe that your mother didn't put you under any pressure and therefore you might find the lessons too difficult and stressful. You must understand, this is highly unusual to let the students start the schooling later, the way you were allowed. And so, they decided that every teacher has to asses your capabilities during September and October and then make the final decision whether you should be allowed to take N.E.W.T. in the subjects they teach."

Hermione gasped and shouted, before she managed to control herself.

"But sir, we took our O.W.L.s! They know that we are not worse than any other student in the school!" Her lips were almost trembling, and it seemed pretty strange compared to the joyous outburst from a moment before, when she thought that Harry had managed to block his mind.

"I am aware of this, but they do not question your knowledge, only the fact that you are prepared to learn in the way which they think you are not accustomed to. I'm sure that it won't be any problem for you." He smiled reassuringly. Harry only glared at him and asked, "Is that all, Professor?"

Dumbledore nodded and examined the teenagers in front of him once more. It was clear that they were tired and under a lot of pressure, even though they didn't want to admit it.

"We'll be off, then. Good night," He still sounded cold, and didn't wait for Dumbledore to respond. The others mumbled "good night" as well and left the room.

* * * * *

Throughout the rest of the evening, the Marauders started to act around Harry and Ron in a pretty annoying way. They tried to chat with them in what was supposed to be natural manner, but turned out so fake that Harry almost told them to just shut up and stop pretending that they had suddenly started to like them.

In fact, Harry suspected it must have been quite the opposite. It was clear that although Harry and Ron didn't mean it that way, the fact that they seemed not to be affected at all by the throwing-out-of-the-dorm attempt somehow offended Marauders in their pride of the Almighty Kings of Gryffindor and Hogwarts.

Harry wasn't bothered that much about it. He was tired and after the joyous feeling from earlier had faded, he suddenly realized that he was also disappointed. He hoped deep inside that his father and godfather would prove themselves different from the arrogant-bully image from the Snape's Pensieve, but obviously he had hoped for too much.

Lily, on the other hand, seemed rather impressed and told them before going to bed that she was happy that they took her advice to ignore "those insufferable brats" as she had put it. She then wished them good night and headed to the girls' dormitories, Hermione with her.

Harry tried to sleep, wondering how long he would be able live like this. It was enough to look at usually coolheaded Hermione and her almost hysterical reaction today, when she heard all that Dumbledore told them about the fact that they can be thrown out of their classes--he felt drained by the way his emotions altered from joy to anger and disappointment all the time. He felt a little ashamed by his own reactions, as well. When Sirius had attacked them, he did nothing really to defend himself and later, when Dumbledore tried to read his thoughts, he had almost hit the old man. And the headmaster meant no harm; after all, he was only worried. They could keep assuring him that they were all right, but in fact, he couldn't help but wonder how long they would manage to go on like this.

* * * * *

Chapter 6

Quite a lot of sixth-year Gryffindors came down for breakfast early next morning, although each of them for a different reason.

Lily was simply a morning person; she never slept long and to other girls" dismay, she expected them to do the same. She woke them up with loud and cheerful singing and dragged them mercilessly down to breakfast with her. Hermione suspected that she simply didn't want to eat breakfast alone.

Harry and Ron wanted to keep as close to Marauders as they could, in order to ensure that the four mischief-makers didn't use the Map.

And Marauders had to be in McGonagall's office punctually at 8:30, so they couldn't sleep as long as they would normally do on Sunday. They were supposed to have a day-long detention.

The detention turned out to be the blessing, because it meant that for the whole day the dormitory would be empty. It was an occasion which Harry, Ron and Hermione couldn't miss. They were waiting anxiously for 8:30 to come, so they could start their search as soon as they were sure that it was safe.

It wasn't as easy as they had hoped it would be, though. It seemed that Lily wanted to make up for the not-so-warm welcome that the new students had received the day before, staying close to them and trying to get them into a nice, merry conversation. She kept talking about random things concerning the school such as teachers, the differences between houses, Hagrid, Dumbledore and his strange habits, Filch (she didn't mention Mrs. Norris, which was very promising) and all sorts of other stuff.

Normally they would have probably found it interesting to learn what was different in the past at Hogwarts. This time, however, they just wanted to end the conversation as fast as they could and go to the dormitory, before it was too late. The longer they waited, the less time they had for their search.

Harry tried to come up with a way to get rid of his mother, but it was difficult, mainly because he really enjoyed her company and she was very determined to make them feel better. He begged Hermione inwardly to think of something--she was the intelligent one, wasn't she?

Lily could see their anxiety, but she interpreted it her own way. Touching Harry lightly on his shoulder, she told him with a slight smile, "Don't worry, it's not your fault."

Harry smiled back, remembering that these were his own words which he had used when he had tried to comfort her yesterday.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, I can see you feel terrible after yesterday, but you shouldn't worry; Potter and Black are just stupid jerks. They think the school belongs to them..."

"Oh, we aren't worried about that at all," Hermione said with a dismissive shrug. "Actually--um, it's something different. You see, it's about what Dumbledore told us yesterday... He said that teachers can throw us out of their N.E.W.T. class if we don't do well enough..."

"What?" Lily asked incredulously. "But that's ridiculous--what is the point of that?"

"They think we will be under too much pressure compared with what we are used to," Hermione said with a grimace. "Anyway, we wanted to study a little further ahead--you know, just to make sure that everything goes well..."

Harry and Ron nodded, pretending that the story was nothing new for them and that they indeed intended to spend last day of holidays studying.

"Oh!" Lily exclaimed. "I can help you, if you want. I'm doing pretty well in some subjects. Which N.E.W.T.s are you taking?"

"Harry and Ron want to be Aurors, so they're taking Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration and Charms. And they're also taking Care of Magical Creatures. And I'm taking all that plus Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Astronomy."

"That's a lot..." Lily said, a little startled. "So--if you'd like me to, I can help you with Charms--and the rest as well, apart from Potions..."

Hermione looked at the boys pleadingly, signaling that she had run out of ideas. Harry glanced at Lily and then turned to Hermione.

"You know what? I don't really feel like studying today--you guys go and I'll stay here and do something else. A game of chess, Lily?" he offered turning to his mother. She smiled and nodded in agreement.

"OK--that is, if Ron and Hermione don't need my help..." She added, casting a concerned look at the other two. Ron and Hermione shook their heads and murmured some thanks before heading off, on their way to the boys dormitory. Harry and Lily started the game.

While they played, Harry observed his mother discreetly. She was quite good-looking, although not the classical beauty. It was more about the way that every single emotion she felt was clearly visible in her eyes. She had pale skin with very few freckles on her nose and when she smiled, it simply looked sweet. Harry wasn't surprised at all that his father was crazy about this woman.

He enjoyed playing with her. She obviously didn't have much experience playing wizard's chess, but from time to time she came up with a witty, original move which made the game quite interesting. Harry felt really grateful for all those times when he played with Ron. Although he was no match for his best friend, he still had learned a lot and felt very proud when Lily complimented him on his skills.

"Oh no, Ron is much better then I am," he replied modestly.

It was surprising how easily the ice broke between them. Lily was very easygoing and Harry listened attentively to everything she said. Soon they were chatting about many different things. Lily told Harry that she envied him for his wonderful siblings and started to recall different and often funny memories about her sister, Petunia. The cold relation she had with her sister worried her, but there was nothing she could do--Petunia rarely replied to her letters and refused to spend any time with her during the holidays.

It was quite unusual, how their conversation turned out to be so personal. They had known each other only for day and a half! Maybe it was simply because Lily liked to talk and Harry was eager to listen and learn as much as he could about his mother.

After an hour and three more games, Alice and Heather came downstairs from the dormitory. Lily beckoned the girls to sit with them. Some of the Gryffindor boys came down as well, and the large group of sixth year students decided to leave the common room.

It was a perfect opportunity for Harry to go and check on his friends. He started to feel anxious about what was taking them so much time. After all, one didn't need an hour to look through four trunks--the Map either was there or it wasn't, and with or without it, they should have been downstairs by now.

* * * * *

Harry's curiosity was gone as soon as he reached the dorm. The knowing smirk appeared on his face when he saw a red-faced, furious Hermione shouting at an equally red-faced Ron.

"Honestly, Ron, I am not your little sister, to get angry whenever a boy notices me!" she continued, oblivious to the fact that Harry had entered the room.

"I don't think you're my little..." Ron started to reply, but Harry didn't let him finish and broke in, still smirking.

"One leaves you two alone for five minutes and you're already at each other's throats?"

Both of his friends turned abruptly and both blushed even harder than they did before.

"Harry, we were just..." Hermione started to explain, but Harry only waved his hand and interjected smugly, "Acting the way you usually do. I know, I'm used to it by now."

"Yeah, sort of," Ron mumbled, slowly calming down.

"So?" Harry demanded. "Did you find the Map?"

"No, we didn't," Hermione answered seriously. "But we couldn't open James' trunk; it's probably charmed to recognize its owner or something like that..."

"We thought that maybe you could open it, since you're his son," Ron added. "Some families have trunks working for all the family members. Maybe that's the case..."

Harry nodded and headed towards his father's bed. He sat there and put his hand on the lock. He felt the strange energy running between him and the trunk, and it immediately unlocked with a loud crack.

He raised the lid cautiously, feeling an overwhelming curiosity.

Everything inside was mixed together--clothes and books and other stuff, with a broom catalog laying on top of black school robes and a bag of sweets wrapped in red-gold socks with five toes. Harry chuckled and started to take each thing out one by one, examining it and then placing it gently on the bed next to him. Ron and Hermione observed him from the other end of the room without a word as he slid his hand through the familiar material of the Invisibility Cloak or touched the delicate material of a shirt. James clothes, although kept untidily, were ones of good quality, same as every other thing he possessed.

A sudden movement caught Harry's eyes in the middle of this little ritual he was having. It was a photo. He picked it up and stared at it, unable to move. There was a little bit younger James there with an older man, who obviously had to be his father. He stood behind the boy, his hands resting on the other's arms, with an expression of pride and fondness, while James fidgeted and seemed to be a little uncomfortable.

After a long while, Harry carefully laid the photo on the bed, next to the pile of James' stuff. He resumed his search, and after taking almost everything out from the trunk, he finally found a familiar piece of parchment. He smiled to himself and turned around to his friends.

"I think I found it!" he announced, taking out his wand and whispering, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Immediately images started to appear--it really was the Map. Harry handed it to Hermione, saying, "I think you'd better keep it. That way, we won't risk them finding it..."

Hermione took it and examined it with a frown.

"They're still in the detention?" Ron asked, trying to look at the map from behind Hermione's back.

"Yes..." she said uncertainly. "Except for James, though. I can't find him."

"Is he coming?" Ron asked, horrified. "Better put his stuff back, Harry!"

Harry didn't need telling twice. He started throwing all the things back to the trunk, leaving them in even bigger mess then they were when he had opened the trunk. He was almost finished when Hermione exclaimed, "I can't believe it!"

"What?" both boys asked in unison.

"Guess where James is! I'll bet McGonagall didn't let him go there!"

Ron took the map and scanned through it until his eyes widened in disbelief.

"I never heard of McGonagall letting anyone from detention early," he said, shaking his head.

"Where is he? Tell me!" Harry inquired impatiently.

"On the Quidditch pitch! And judging from the speed of the dot, he's flying, too!"

"You know what? I think we'd better go outside as well; now that we have a Map, there's no point in us staying inside any longer," Ron said. Hermione agreed and they both headed to the door, Harry following them closely.

None of them noticed that there was one thing that Harry didn't put back into the trunk. It was the photo of James and his father, which he carefully folded and hid in his pocket.

* * * * *

No matter how impossible it seemed, the truth was that McGonagall really did let James out from the detention for the Quidditch practice. Everyone in Gryffindor seemed rather pleased with her decision and all the sixth-years, who were outside with Harry, Ron and Hermione now among them, watched the year's first practice enthusiastically.

Harry felt very proud when he saw his father flying--he was extremely good, and moreover, he really knew how to make other Chasers work as a team--even if he was much better than his teammates, he didn't play the whole game by himself, which could easily happen. He was explaining something to Heather, who was nodding vigorously while Harry watched.

Lily Evans noticed Harry's awe and said in a sarcastic voice, "Please, don't tell me that you're joining his fan club--I couldn't stand that. Not after thinking that I finally found someone with more sense."

Harry looked at her with surprise and then replied sarcastically, "Well, actually, joining his fan club did cross my mind. But after a serious consideration, I decided it simply wouldn't be enough--I thought about idolizing him as a god and building a temple..."

Lily, who at first seemed startled, snorted and playfully hit Harry on his arm. He smiled at her, while Hermione joined their conversation. "You have to admit that he is good..."

"Well, maybe in Quidditch--but I bet that you could beat him in chess if you wanted, Harry." At that, it was Ron's turn to snort.

"Lily, what did he make you believe?" he asked, pointing at Harry. "He's terrible in chess. If he was to beat James in anything, it would surely be Quidditch, not chess. He's much better at flying than strategy."

He immediately knew after he finished that he had said too much, and saw the alarmed look Hermione cast in his direction.

Lily was probably more puzzled by their sudden nervousness than the sense of Ron's comment.

"So you play Quidditch?" she asked.

"Who plays Quidditch?" Lea Leafdrop joined into the conversation.

"Harry and Ron--a little," Hermione answered the double question, not letting her friends say anything. "Not very well--they never had anyone to practice with them. They only learned basics by themselves, and that's all..."

"Oh--I see," Lea replied. "I only asked because there's a spot open on the team. Martin, our previous Seeker, graduated last year. They will probably be holding tryouts sometime soon. Alice wanted to try out, didn't you?" she nudged other girl, who wasn't listening to them and was instead staring at the fliers dreamily.

Alice nodded without even looking at them. Lea smirked at her and then continued with a laugh,

"She's hopeless. The first girl to fall in love with Quidditch instead of a guy..."

Harry hoped that the change of the subject would cover up Ron's little mistake--that had been too close. It was a good thing that Hermione had such good mental reflexes to be able to come up with a proper explanation about where Harry had learned to play Quidditch. Even during careless chats like this they had to be wary. Constant vigilance, just as Moody used to say.

* * * * *

The rest of the afternoon passed rather uneventfully. After the Quidditch practice was over, everybody returned to Gryffindor Tower. It was getting late, so they started preparing things for tomorrow--the first day of lessons. Lily handed out the schedules, and Harry discovered that he had the Herbology as his first lesson tomorrow. He didn't take N.E.W.T.s in that subject, but he still had to attend the "normal" lessons. Defense Against the Dark Arts was his last lesson on Friday.

When they all finished comparing their schedules and the subjects which each of them took, they all went down to the Great Hall for dinner.

Harry found himself sitting between Lily and Ron, enjoying their meal. Harry was joking and having a good time with both his old and new friends when suddenly, he felt a strange shiver. He turned around and saw James Potter glaring at him, jealousy written all over his face.

Right, the last thing I need. My own father thinking I'm trying to steal my mother from him. He could tell, judging by James' hateful expression, that his troubles with Marauders had only just begun.