Harry Potter and the Boy Who Lived

Chapter 11: Interlude: Responses

Lily and James

Godric's Hollow, July 31 st

"Crazy day, huh?" James asked, climbing into bed next to his wife.

Lily put down the early edition of Transfiguration Today and looked expectantly at her husband. "Any news?"

"No." James sighed. "Still no sign of Peter. Merlin, I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad Harry's going to Durmstrang now. Peter will have no idea where the school is... Merlin, we don't even know where the school is. Hopefully, Harry will have a calm year, and we won't have to worry about him."

"I-James, I'm worried," Lily admitted.

"Lily, it'll be okay," James said reassuringly, "we know Albus is doing everything he can to keep Nathan safe this year."

"I'm not talking about Peter, and whatever he plans to do..." Lily trailed off slightly before steadying herself. "I'm worried about Harry, James. Neither of us really liked him going to Durmstrang, and I don't like not knowing what goes on at that school."

James nodded his head in understanding. "I know Lily. I feel the same way. Whenever I talk to him about it, I just feel like he's not telling me everything."

"An understatement if there ever was one," Lily said disdainfully. "James, Harry's become more and more reluctant to share things about his time there, and now he's obsessed with Occlumency, which, according to Severus, will likely make him more self-contained. "

"But at the same time," Lily continued, tossing James the Transfiguration magazine, "how can we argue with results like this? I wish I could say that Harry would have achieved the same thing if he was at Hogwarts... but I just don't know if that's true. I know our son is going to be a great wizard someday James, but I'm a little concerned with how he's growing up. Why won't he tell us more about Durmstrang?"

"I don't know, but I think there's more to his Dark Arts class than he lets on at times." James opened Transfiguration Today and flipped to the page that described his son's final projects. "Deflection is a great dueling technique, and there's no doubt it could be incredibly useful, but have you ever tried asking about his Dark Arts curriculum?"

Lily nodded her head, annoyance radiating off her every feature. "Of course I have, and he always says it's just like Hogwarts, only with a dueling component. He recites countless spells that the class has him learn, and none of them sound bad, but I can tell he's holding back."

"Albus says the school isn't as bad as everyone thinks," James said. "Maybe next time we see him, we should sit down and ask him what exactly he knows."

"That's actually a good idea. Even with his I.C.W oaths, Albus could obviously tell us a great deal about Durmstrang. After all, he did lead the siege on the school during the Grindelwald Wars."

James smiled proudly. "Yeah, Grindelwald. I can't believe Harry knocked the old evil bastard off his pedestal."

"It's an amazing achievement." Lily frowned slightly as she noted some of the worn edges around the copy of Transfiguration Today. The magazine had been passed around a great deal as Sirius and Remus had wanted to come over and read the article themselves. "I think we should frame this and put it in the living room, what do you think?"

"I thought you wanted to send it to Minerva and Albus?" James asked.

Lily shook her head. "No, no, I think I'm going to order them both a copy of the issue. I think we should keep this one, it's an original first print."