A Family Once More

FOUR ~ Love

After their heated conversation, Dumbledore told Lily and James that they could see Sirius and Remus. James nearly jumped in excitement, though he was definitely smiling widely. 

"What about Alice?" Lily asked Dumbledore. 

Her other best friend Marlene had died on an Order mission, murdered in cold blood by death eaters. She hoped that nothing bad had happened to Alice over these 13 nearly 14 years. 

Dumbledore looked down at the floor before sharing the tragic news with the couple. "Lily", he started, "Shortly after Harry defeated Voldemort, death eaters went to the Longbottom's house and tortured them using the cruciatus. Both Frank and Alice were tortured for hours, causing them to loose their sanity. 

"No... no,  no, no, no, no" Lily constantly mumbled, her small figure falling into James's strong arms. Lily has tears streaming down her face at a rapid pace. Her body was shaking slightly from all the sobbing that racked her body. 

James was crushed at this news but he knew he had to stay strong for his Lily-flower. Alice was her best friend and he knew that she must be hurting a lot more than he can imagine. 

James let Lily cry into his shirt. He stroked her hair gently and muttered comforting words to her. 

After nearly crying for 20 minutes, Lily finally stopped to look up into James's hazel eyes. "Thank you," she managed to mumble with a small smile which was a huge achievement for someone who had been crying for nearly half an hour and had gone through such an awful ordeal. "I will always be there for you my Lily-flower." James smiled back, comforting Lily more than he knew he was. 

Lily was grateful to have James always there by her side through every though situation. She vowed to make sure to do the same to him, not realising that she has already done that. 

"Would you like to go visit Sirius and Remus now or tomorrow?" questioned Dumbledore. 

"Lily?" James asked her, wanting to see whether she was up to it as well. James of course wanted to see his best friends as soon as possible but he knew that Lily had just gone through a though time just minutes ago. 

"Oh, don't be silly James, of course we will go visit Sirius and Remus now, I'm not going to hold you back. I am their friend too and so naturally I want to see them too." Lily replied, grateful that James was so kind to her but slightly exasperated the James would think that way. 

James's face split into a huge grin as he looked into Lily's emerald eyes. Lily looked back into those hazel ones, full of love. They were both grateful to have each other in their lives. 

"When can we see Harry? He is in school now right?" Lily asked desperately. She wanted to see Sirius and Remus but nothing could occupy her mind more than Harry. He was her son and she wanted to make sure that everything is alright after these 14 years. 

James nodded along, wanting to desperately see his son after all these years. 

"I think that it is best that when Harry finds out about your return, Sirius and Remus should be there to convince him that you have indeed returned and are not death eaters in disguise. Harry trusts Sirius and Remus with his life, and after what he had witnessed last year, he will need all the support he can get. For now, let's go visit Sirius and Remus shall we?" asked Dumbledore. 

James just happily nodded his head, tearing his eyes away from Lily's while hugging her tighter, letting her know that he was always there to support her. 

Lily just smiled, looking straight ahead and lightly squeezed James back.  

They wanted to see their son but knew that that would have to wait. The two potters also wondered what Harry had had to witness last year, afraid of what it was, but knew that this was not the time to ask. Perhaps Sirius and Remus would be able to provide them with better answers than Dumbledore or Minnie could. After all, Dumbledore did say that Harry trusted Sirius and Remus the most. 

"Minerva, would you please take care of the school while I am gone? After all, it is Halloween and I would usually have a feast to attend to." 

"Of course Professor Dumbledore." 

♧♧♧♧ Minerva POV

As I made my way to the great hall to start the Halloween feast, James and Lily were on my mind. It is amazing how this miracle of returning from the dead had happened, but for it to happen to James and Lily Potter, it truly is magic beyond what anyone has learnt. 

I had noticed that way James treats Lily, so full of love, care and concern. James Potter has changed so much, I knew that he had matured in his seventh year, but this was way more than I had expected him to. 

Of course, I still expect him to pull a prank from time to time, I mean he just called me Minnie the night he returned. I chuckled slightly at that thought. I do not really mind the nickname Minnie, I just find it inappropriate for him to call me that in front of others. 

Oh well, James Potter may have matured in some ways, but he definitely still has his mischievous side, and he always will.

Lily, oh Lily has always been her top scoring student in all the subjects that she took. Though her transfiguration was one of her weaker subjects, potions being her strongest, she was an extremely bright student throughout all the subjects. Much like Hermione Granger, though Hermione is weak in Defence and strong in charms, she is still doing exceedingly well in all her subjects. 

I just remembered how James would always pester Lily to go out with him through all their years in Hogwarts, and Lily finally agreeing in their 7th year. How James Potter managed to do it still remains a mystery to me till this very day. 

I smiled at the thought of their love. Throughout all the new information that they had learnt since they came back to us - the passing of 14 years (Harry being 15 already), Frank and Alice. Oh dear, they have yet to find out about Sirius's imprisonment in Azkaban for 12 years. James and Lily are going to have a fit when they find out about that. 

I have not allowed myself to ponder over the death of my two favourite students of their time. I knew that it would have broken me more if I did. Both of them died at the young age of 21, defending their child from you-know-who. 

I had missed them so much. Especially when Harry had come to Hogwarts. 

When I first saw him, he looked so skinny, like he had not been treated well. I had brought this up to Dumbledore, but he had denied that Harry was mistreated by the muggles. 

Harry looked so much like his father, while inheriting his mother's eyes and nose. His personality was an even mix of the two. Sassy like James, kind like Lily. He had also unfortunately inherited Lily's famous temper that she had gotten a glimpse of just minutes ago. I have a feeling that Harry's temper is actually worse than Lily's. I sighed. Harry also runs his hands through his hair when he is nervous, something that James had done - no does. Though James usually did it out of a way to attract Lily to him, he still does it when he feels nervous. 

I had not realised where I was walking and I self-consciously brought myself to the great hall. I was thankful for that of course. 

I entered and walked up to the teacher's table and onto the podium to announce that Dumbledore is sorting out some important things. By the end of my little speech, I could not help but give Harry a little smile, thankful that he could have his actual parents with him once more. 

Harry's eyes held a look of surprise and confusion when I smiled at him, but he just smiled kindly back. 

I love and have always loved Harry like a son.