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In the south of England, nestled behind a quaint thatched roof cottage, lay a dense thicket of woods. Between the trees, two young boys, James Potter and Teddy Lupin, embarked on a grand adventure. The sun dappled through the leaves, casting playful patterns on the forest floor as the boys set out on a very special quest - to catch a hippogriff.
Teddy, the elder boy at twelve, had an air of wisdom and experience about him that captivated the six-year-old James. Having recently completed his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry James was sure Teddy was one of the smartest boys he knew. As they ventured deeper into the woods, James trotted behind Teddy and bombarded him with questions about magical creatures, eager to absorb every bit of knowledge his older brother possessed.
"Teddy, what's the best way to approach a hippogriff without it attacking you?" James asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.
Teddy, not wanting to admit he hadn't taken Care of Magical Creatures yet, replied quickly, "You have to speak to them in Parseltongue. The hissing sounds calm them down."
Satisfied with the answer, James mimicked the sound of Parseltongue, emitting "hssses" and "sszzzes" out loud, as they continued their imaginary hunt. Teddy continued to weave fantastical tales of magical creatures and their peculiar habits.
"And hippogriffs love to eat mince pies. So at Christmas make sure you save your pie so we can set up a hippogriff trap."
"Really?!"
"Oh yes, and they make their houses on the top of trees. That's why we are hunting for them in the woods."
"But they are so big! Won't they break the trees if they sit on them?" James asked as he picked up a rather large stick and used it to punt himself across a babbling stream.
"Hippogriffs don't weigh much though. How else do you think they're able to fly? You got to be light as a feather to fly."
"But we can fly and we weigh more than feathers."
"Yes, but we have brooms to help us fly. Hippogriffs don't have brooms."
"Wow, you're right!"
Just as the boys stooped down to look at markings on the forest floor that Teddy swore to James were hippogriff prints, a familiar face appeared along the dirt path that cut through the woods that led from the apparition point back to the cottage. Harry Potter had just come home from a day's work at the Ministry
"Hello, boys! What are you doing out here?" James quickly abandoned his investigation of the animal prints and ran up to his father wrapping his arms around him in a hug.
"We're hunting hippogriffs, Dad! It's important!"
Harry chuckled, as knelt down "Really? Important is it? Is your hunt successful?"
"No, but Teddy says hippogriffs like swimming in deep waters. Our stream is too shallow. Maybe they went to the beach. Can we go to the beach tomorrow?"
"hmm, not tomorrow, I'll be working tomorrow. Maybe this weekend we can go to the beach but I don't think you'll find any hippogriffs there."
"I don't know Dad, Teddy was pretty sure we would. And he knows what he talking about. He told me he met one of Hagrid's hippogriffs at Hogwarts."
"Ah, yes Ted is quite the authority now, isn't he. Why don't we go inside and get ready for dinner?"
"Can Teddy and I continue our hunt after dinner?"
"Of course, You can hunt until it starts to get dark." And with that little James ran up ahead of his father and towards the house.
"Err," Said Teddy from beside Harry. "Do you think he'll figure out how I made up all that stuff about hippogriffs?"
Harry laughed at his godson's concern. "No, Ted, I think he is having fun. He's very lucky to have an older brother who will play with him."
"OK, but maybe next time we go to Diagon Alley we can get a book on magical creatures? That way I can tell James the truth."
"I'll get you any book you want, Ted." Harry clapped his godson's shoulder and gave him a warm smile, "Go on and make sure James washes his hands before dinner. I'm sure Ginny has something delicious cooking tonight."
As Harry followed Teddy up the tiny path, he paused for a moment, to soak in the innocent joy of two brothers playing carefree in the summer before he made his way inside his family home.