Harry Potter and Death's Mystery

Chapter 12

James and Lily trailed their son as he marched up the trail to shell cottage. Hedwig was flying behind them, and the letter from Tonks was secured safely in the pocket of Harry's cloak.

Fleur and Bill were sitting on the front step of the cottage, Dobby kneeling in front. 

"Hello, Harry," said Bill, a smile tugging at his lips. 

"Harry Potter!" Dobby exclaimed, jumping up and running towards Harry, engulfing his right leg into a large hug. Harry knelt down, and a large grin split his face.

"I missed you, Dobby," Harry whispered softly, his voice raspy because of the volume.

"Dobby missed Harry Potter too!" Dobby stated, before letting go of Harry, and doing a double-take when he saw James.

"There are two Harry Potters?" asked Dobby, confused. His eyes wandered between both Harry and James.

"Oh — um — I'm James," stammered James. 

Bill twirled a long, red, strand of hair around his finger, "You're Harry's parents?"

Lily nodded, "I'm Lily. I hope you wouldn't mind me asking about your scars?"

Bill shook his head, "Not at all. I'm Bill, before we continue, and this is my wife Fleur." He touched a scar on his cheek, "I was mauled by Fenrir Greyback last year. I'm not a full werewolf, I just have some wolfish tendencies."

"One of my best friends is — was," he corrected sadly, "A werewolf."

Fleur stood up, "Remus Lupin?"

"You know him?" James asked.

"We worked with him in the Order," Bill informed him.

Lily smiled at the thought of Remus, before remembering exactly what Bill had said, "Fenrir mauled you when he wasn't transformed?"

Bill nodded, "Not every werewolf is like Remus," he looked her in the eyes, "He hasn't come back yet, has he?"

Harry was the one to answer, "The oldest person to come back right now is twenty-nine, unless you count Dobby." 

He looked at the little elf by his foot, "Let's take you to the Ministry."

■■■

Dobby, after being okayed by the Ministry, went to Hogwarts's kitchen to work full time, with McGonagall keeping the pay Dumbledore had given him prior (one galleon a week and a day off per month). 

Harry, James, and Lily went to go visit Andromeda, Tonks, Regulus, and Teddy to return some of Teddy's belongings. (James also insisted that he needed to corrupt Moony's son, no matter his age).

James sat on a small armchair in the family room, feeding Teddy a bottle of infant milk. Tonks, Lily, and Andromeda were talking in the kitchen. Harry and Regulus were playing a game of Exploding Snaps on the floor by James.

"A lot's different now, isn't it, James?" Regulus stated as a card exploded. 

James looked at Teddy, whose hair was flashing between the rainbow with each gulp, "Yeah. It seems like yesterday when Harry was this age."

Harry pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and gave a small smile, "We'll get you caught back up in our times."

Regulus shrugged, "I've only been back four days, and it seems like every second there is something new to learn."

"Regulus is right," James agreed, "One minute I'm putting a stag costume on you, you're walking, but barely, and tripping over your own two feet, and the next minute you're almost eighteen, you've got a girlfriend, and I'm holding Moony 'I'm never going to have a baby's child."

"Why don't I tell you about my greatest moment in life?" Harry suggested.

Regulus made a card explode, "When you defeated the Dark Lord?"

"Nope!" Harry had a broad smile now, "Even better!"

James lifted Teddy to burp him, "What's even better than that?"

"There's no need to call me, sir, Professor."

■■■

Tonks's hair was a dismal shade of mousy brown, falling thinly down her back. She held her cup of tea in her hand, and sipped occasionally, as Andromeda brought Lily up to date with multiple topics.

"Nymphadora, are you listening?" 

Tonks grumbled, "Not Nymphadora" under her breath, but looked up anyway.

"It's alright, Tonks." Lily reassured, "I was just saying how I'm certain Remus'll come back."

Tonks gave her a sad smile, "I don't want to get my hopes up."

"I get that. I want Remus to come back too. And though I doubt he'd admit it, James is practically lost without Remus and Sirius. He was on edge when we were in hiding."

Andromeda took a sip, "I hope he's back by the thirteenth, though."

Tonks frowned, "The thirteenth? What's on the thirteenth, Mum?"

Andromeda's eyes widened slightly, "Did no one tell you?"

Lily chuckled, "I've been dead since 1981, and we only got the gist of what happened, I have no idea what new holidays have been added."

"And if you mean our anniversary, Mum, it's on the twentieth."

"Not that. Remus was nominated for Order of Merlin, First Class," Andromeda informed them, "It was supposed to be posthumously awarded to him on the thirteenth. But, of course, if he comes back, it won't have to be posthumously."

Tonks's eyes widened, and she frantically looked around the room for a calendar, "That's in nine days! Why didn't anyone tell me yesterday?"

Lily had a large smile, "If anyone deserves it, Remus does," she took a sip of tea. "I hope he'll be there for it."

I'm so excited for next chapter! But, you'll have to wait until after Monday because I need to study for my permit exam.

You guys know Remus getting Order of Merlin, First Class, is canon right? It's one of my favourite things she added to the series after the fact. Remus deserves it.

I'm currently listening to the song, "Twisted" from the muscial Twisted: The Untold Story of the Royal Visier. It's from the same group (Starkid) that did A Very Potter Musical. It's a parody on Aladdin. The lines, "What remains of a man when that man is dead and gone?Only memories and stories of his deeds will linger on. But if a man's accomplishments aren't in the tale they tell. Are the deeds that go unheralded his legacy as well? If a war breaks out tomorrow, we'll all have hell to pay. Why protect my reputation? I'm a dead man either way. How will they tell my story? How will they tell my tale? Will anybody even care?" Hits so different. The songs sung by all the Disney Villians, and God, it's such a good song. Now that I got that out of the way, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

-Maddy 🖤