True Reflections: Scars Saga 3

The Birthday Episode

Chapter 7

The Birthday Episode

"He got off. He got off..." Ginny and the twins sang together as they danced around the small kitchen.

Arthur and Harry and just returned from the Ministry. Harry, as Ginny and the twins were declaring with such enthusiasm, had been cleared of all charges. Everyone was celebrating in their own way, and Harry for the first time since arriving nearly a week ago looked genuinely happy. Arthur couldn't stick around for long because he had to go deal with an exploding toilet. Once he left, we all sat down for lunch.

"So, Kate, I think you're the only one who hasn't congratulated me," Harry said, almost smugly.

I smirked and sat back in my chair s I crossed my arms over my chest. "I'm sorry...James... Were you expecting praise?"

Harry smiled.

"You know, that's just the sort of thing James would have said."

"No, James would have been more smug when he said it, and he would have ruffled his hair," Sirius said as he demonstrated.

"Oh, and don't forget the snitch. He'd have one hand in his hair and the other playing with his snitch..."

"...and looking around to see if Evans saw."

"She, of course, would be pointedly ignoring him."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Your mum, Lily," I said. "James tried for years to get her to go to Hogsmeade with him, but they didn't have their first date until seventh year."

"And if she didn't say yes then, I was going to kidnap her and make her agree to go," Sirius said.

"Right, because that would have helped."

"Why wouldn't she go with him?" Harry asked.

"Because, as I've said before, James was an arrogant prick and Lily, though she fought it for years, eventually grew to be as mad about him as she was about her," I answered.

The conversation paused for a moment as we all fixed our plates: bangers and mash with pea soup and pumpkin juice. I learned across the table towards Harry.

"I am glad you've been cleared, obviously, but I was never worried to begin with."

"You didn't think they'd expel me?"

"Well...no. I mean with the way the Ministry has been behaving lately, they very well may have. But you see, if they did, Padfoot and I had a plan." I pointed my thumb at Sirius who sat beside me.

"Yeah, you see if they had expelled you then we would have kidnapped you."

"Kidnapped me?"

"Why not?" I shrugged. "I've always wanted to visit Mahoutokoro. I hear the air smells like Japanese cherry blossom and moonflower. Can you imagine how fragrant that would be? Or Uagadou, their Astronomy department is bar-none."

"What's a Mah-hoot-tomo... or Why-ga-something?" Harry asked.

"Mah-hoot-o-koh-ro and Wag-a-do."