Fem! Harry's wish

Chapter 4

"Yeah, with you on that, mate," said Sirius angrily.

"Yes, I have to agree," Remus said menacingly.

"Please, don't," said Holly. "I just... As much as I hate them, I just want to forget it and let them be."

"We'll just have a little talk with them," said James. "A nice little chat."

"Honestly, Dad," said Holly, "I'm afraid of what your 'little chat' might consist of..."

James, Sirius, and Remus laughed at Hollys remark.

"Berry, sweetie," said Lily, changing the subject, "why don't you finish your lunch? I know you must be hungry."

"Okay Mum," Holly obliged.

"Well, Holly," said Dumbledore, "thank you for sharing your story with us and being honest. I am so sorry that you went through such an ordeal on top of everything else. I will be back to talk to you about everything later, but for now, I have to attend to other pressing matters."

"Thank you, Professor," said Holly, bidding Dumbledore farewell.

Holly then turned back to her forgotten lunch and started to eat again. She barely took the time to process the food going into her mouth she was so hungry. The food was amazing (as usual), even if it was slightly colder than normal.

Once Lily had seen that her daughter was eating something, she bent down, kissed the top of Holly's head, and told him she was going to speak to James and see what they were up to.

Sirius, Remus, and James had stepped outside the doors of the hospital wing to discuss what they had heard. Lily overheard what they were saying as she neared the doors.

"I say we go now, while Holly's eating so she doesn't know about it..." James whispered.

"We could go when she's asleep instead," suggested Sirius.

"I don't want to do anything rash," argued Remus.

"We can't let them think they've gotten away with this though, Moony," Sirius argued back.

"Yes, but be rational. If any of us were caught in a Muggle neighborhood..." said Remus.

"Which is why we're going at night!" James insisted.

Lily stepped out from behind the door, ending their conversation.

"Lily!" said James. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine," replied Lily. "Holly's fine. I heard your conversation, by the way."

"And you want in?" Sirius asked hopefully.

"You wish. No, I'm siding with Remus on this," she said.

"Damn," said Sirius as Remus threw her a grateful look.

"But Lily, sweetheart," James said, attempting to persuade her. "Think of what they did to her."

"Of course I have," said Lily. "I'd love nothing more than to torture the lot of them, but then how does that make me any better than a Death Eater if I did? And remember how Berry feels about it. It upsets her just to talk about it. She just wants to get past this and have a normal family."

"Yeah, I know..." said James resignedly.

"So that's why," Lil said with a mischievous look in her eyes, "you aren't going to let her know about your plans. Not even a hint. And you aren't going to use magic on them. You'll go at night, after she's asleep."

"I knew I married you for a reason!" James said excitedly, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Traitor," Remus said, smiling just the same.

"She's won't know a thing, we promise!" said Sirius.

"Good luck, guys," said Lily smiling. "Now, I'm going to get a shower because I feel disgusting. You – " she said, pointing to James, " – get to have father/daughter bonding time while I'm gone."

"I'm okay with babysitting duty," James said happily.

"In case you haven't noticed, Prongs," said Sirius, "Holly's not a baby anymore. She's almost grown."

"Don't remind James, Padfoot," said Remus before smacking Sirius in the back of the head.

The men walked back into the hospital wing just as Holly was finishing lunch. Holly looked up at them and smiled.

"Done already?" said James.

Holly gave her father a sheepish look; she still wasn't quite sure how to act with her parents.

"Your mum has stuck us with babysitting duties," Sirius joked.

"Say, Holly, did anyone ever tell you about our Hogwarts days?" James asked.

"No," said Holly eagerly.

"Oh, this'll be good then," James said. "Well, we were quite the young geniuses in our day... We designed this map of Hogwarts – "

"Yeah, the Marauder's Map!" said Holly excitedly. "It's dead useful."

"Wait, you have our map?" asked James, a proud light shining in his eyes. "Wicked."

"Oh, yeah," said Holly. "A couple of my brothers nicked it from Filch's office in their first year. They gave it to me to help me sneak into Hogsmeade in my third year because my permission slip didn't get signed. Sirius signed it last year, so I don't have to sneak in anymore. I use the map to get around the castle and keep out of trouble." She noticed Remus raising his eyebrows in a slightly disapproving way at him. "Oops..." Holly said. "I just got myself in a lot of trouble, didn't I?"

"Well, seeing as I am no longer your professor, Holly, you're safe," Remus said, amused. "I couldn't really reprimand you anyway, even if I was, because then I'd be a hypocrite."

Holly sighed in relief. James and Sirius were almost glowing with pride.

So for the next hour or so, James, Sirius, and Remus regaled Holly with stories from their days at Hogwarts, and Holly told her dad about Ron and Hermione, Ron's family, Luna (James definitely sees how much they love each other) and the adventures they had had so far.

Lily came back to the hospital wing after her shower and smiled as she watched her husband and daughter talk and laugh. She didn't want to interrupt the moment, but Holly had already spotted her, shouting, "Ello Mum! Where'd you go?"

She smiled and walked toward her. "I went to take a shower. Going fourteen years without one wasn't the brightest idea. You didn't miss me too terribly, did you?"

Before Holly could answer, James spoke, "Of course she didn't. I was entertaining him. She never even noticed you were gone."

"I did too!" said Holly indignantly.

Lily laughed. "I know, sweetheart. Dad shouldn't tell such terrible lies on you should he?"

James made a face at Lily as she bent to wrap her arms around Holly. "Yeah, I know, she's your favorite."