kbinnz - Harry's New Home

Harry brightened at that thought. His da would never punish him twice for the same thing, and knowing that James had smacked him тАУ a lot harder and longer than he would have, too! тАУ would surely be enough.

"Are you sure you won't be upset if I go back?" Harry asked, his voice quavering a little. "I really don't want to leave you, you know."

"Oh, love, you'll never leave us, and we'll never leave you," Lily promised, brushing away a tear.

"It's true," James promised, winking at Harry. "You're stuck with us, Pronglet. We will always be with you and we'll always love you. And one day тАУ many many years from now, we'll be together again."

Harry sniffled. "Promise?"

"Promise. And by then, you'll be too big to spank, no matter what you do," James grinned.

Harry grinned back. "I won't be too big for us to go flying though, right?"

James hooted. "You're never too big to go flying! Haven't you figured that out?" He ruffled Harry's hair. "You're my kid, all right."

Lily punched him in the shoulder. "Were you ever in any doubt?" she demanded icily.

James swallowed hard. "Ah, erтАж"

"Well, I would kinda like to go back and figure out what my animagus form is," Harry said quickly, diverting his mum's attention. "And to graduate an' all."

"Oh, Harry, that's perfectly understandable," Lily reassured him. Behind her back, James mimed wiping his forehead and mouthed a "thank you!" to his son.

Harry grinned.

"You know," Lily said wistfully, "I'd like to be a grandmotherтАж"

Harry lost his grin and looked appalled.

"Not for a while yet," James reassured him, patting him on the back.

"No, no, there's no rush," Lily agreed. "But someday," she said pointedly.

"Yes'm," Harry gulped.

"If you do go back, you'll have to say hi to Padfoot and Moony for me," James told him.

"And you're to remember to thank Molly for me for the jumper," Lily added. "And tell Sev that he was my first and best friend, and that I'll always love him," she finished with a sweet, sad expression.

Harry squirmed. That was an awfully mushy message.

"And you can also tell him from me that he's been the best dad you could have," James put in.

Harry beamed. He knew his da would like hearing that.

"And tell him I said he should be more strict with you," James added, mostly to see Harry pout again.

"Daaaaaaaaaad!" Harry complained, only to hear James burst into laughter.

"You're too easy, son," James grinned, tackling Harry into another hug.

"Well," Harry finally forced himself to say the words, "I guess I'll go back then." He loved being with his parents тАУ they were everything he had hoped for. His mum was soft and gentle and loving, while his dad was fun and teased him, but he now knew that they'd be with him no matter where he went. And he also knew that he'd see them again eventually.

He already missed his da and his friends, and he wanted to learn more spells and see if he and Ron and Draco could really convince the 'Puffs to declare war on the Ravens and he really wanted to have more of those sundaes like Snape promisedтАж It just seemed wrong to die with unused Fortescue's gift certificates.

"But, erm, I don't have to go right this second, do I?" he asked a bit timidly.

His mum smiled at him. "I think there's time for one last cuddle, don't you?"

Harry grinned and nodded.

At last, he sighed and worked himself free. His mum brushed the fringe off his forehead and gave him a last kiss тАУ and one more task. "Now, Harry, I want you to find a nice girl for Sev. You're growing up and before long, you'll be out on your own. I want to make sure Sev has someone even after you're grown up."

Harry's jaw dropped. Suddenly killing Volauvent didn't seem so hard by comparison. "How am I s'posed to do that?" he demanded, horrified.

James just sighed. "Don't argue with a woman, son. You'll never win."

"But тАУ but тАУ " Harry sputtered.

"You don't have to do it right away, but start thinking on it and get Minerva and Molly to help. That Brunhilde is very nice, but just in case, you should have some other candidates as well. You know, it might be better to find someone from outside Britain," Lily mused, "to get away from the whole War thing. Maybe someone from Canada? Or New Zealand? Sev always wanted to go there to study the local potion ingredients and learn about M─Бori defensive magic. Yes, try there first. See if you can coax him into taking you to New Zealand for the holidays."

Harry nodded helplessly. "Yes, Mum."

James grinned approvingly and Lily gave him a big hug.

Then Lily kissed her son one last time. James ruffled the same unruly hair that graced his own head, and without any more fanfare, Harry found himself back in his body.

He groaned and blinked. His head really hurt, and he wasn't quite sure what had just happened. Everything in his mind seemed somehow muddled.

But then he heard Volauvent's hissing voice taunting his da, and Lucius Malfoy's strangled cries as some of the Death Eaters cursed him, and a cold, burning rage abruptly swept over Harry.

TBCтАж

*Chapter 63*: Chapter 63

"Ssso, Sseverus, The Brat Who Lived is now The Brat Who Died, and his blood and your own will be used to resurrect me. Let's see just how much of your blood I can relieve you of before you finally die. Where shall we start? What shall we remove first? An eye? That beak of yours? Perhaps a portion of the anatomy most wizards are rather fond of?" He snapped his fingers, and two Death Eaters hurried forward and dragged Snape to his feet. The Potion Master barely noticed; he was still incoherent with grief.

Lucius lay crumpled on the ground, with several Death Eaters gathered around him, gleefully hexing him as he writhed and screamed.

Voldemort/Bellatrix moved down from the throne, wand swinging lazily in his grasp. He frowned for a moment, finally realizing that Snape was too devastated to appreciate his own imminent demise, let alone react to Voldemort's threats. This would never do - half the fun (not to mention the deterrent value for the other Death Eaters) was for Severus to be fully aware of and dread every moment of the agony he was about to impose. He looked over at Lucius with gratification. Now that was what a real torture session was supposed to be. "Let's see, how shall I get your attention?" he mused aloud, tapping one finger against his lips.

Behind him, Harry got to his feet. His head hurt, and he was in a really, really bad mood. Voldesnort had made his da cry, and those stupid Death Eaters were hurting Draco's father. Harry had had enough.

The two Death Eaters holding Snape's arms watched disbelievingly as Harry rose behind the Dark Lord. They exchanged wide eyed stares behind their masks, and each one abruptly began to question their allegiance and career goals, as there before them was the irrefutable proof that once again Harry Potter had тАУ as a mere child тАУ survived the worst the Dark Lord could throw at him. Furthermore, both realized that their current activity, restraining the guardian of The Boy Who Still Lived, was unlikely to be regarded in a favorable light by the only known survivor of not one, but two, Avada Kedavras.

As the grip on his arms slackened, Snape blinked, unable to believe his eyes. He stared, completely oblivious to the mad wizard pacing in front of him as he struggled to grasp the notion that his son had - again - survived the unsurvivable.

"Leave my da alone!" Harry yelled, sending a nasty cutting hex at Voldemort.

The Dark Lord spun, astounded to find Harry alive and well, and despite Bellatrix's phenomenal reflexes, surprise delayed him enough that he was unable to dodge or block in time. Voldemore shrieked in pain as Harry's hex sliced his face open, destroying one red eye.