Archive of Our Own ^beta

“It’s real.” Ginny said, handing the letter to Harry.

It was a normal Sunday afternoon—they had spent the past few hours sitting on the couch, arguing over the Harpies’ latest performance, while Bludger, their cat, lazed happily on Harry’s lap. Harry had been smiling, relaxed and happy, and Ginny had taken advantage of his good mood to get some cuddling in. All in all, Harry’s favorite way to spend time. Now, it looked as if something was about to make this Sunday far different from normal.

Harry hated it when stuff like this happened.

“Okay.” Harry nodded, before carefully pulling the letter out of the opened envelope. He was well aware Ginny had read it-- it wasn’t like her to give him something she knew would upset him. If Ginny had deemed it worth passing on, it was likely not the run of the mill hate mail (“you should be locked up like the terrorist you are, Potter, don’t you know how many people are dead because of you?”) nor was it the fan mail he hated answering (“I want to be like you when I grow up and do cool, heroic things!”). If she had passed it on, it was, without a doubt, important.

He took a deep breath, steeled himself for something truly horrid, and his jaw dropped upon reading the first line.

“James and Lily Potter are alive.”

He nearly folded the letter up then, almost chalked it up to a sick prank right there and then, but the words Ginny had said earlier echoed in his head. It’s real. It’s real. It’s real. So he continued to read.

“The Wizarding World wouldn’t accept a hero who hadn’t lost everything, like they had. Appearances had to be kept up, and beyond Halloween 1981, Mr. and Mrs. Potter served no purpose to the plan. They were appropriately dealt with, and have been properly watched over for the last few years. If you wish, they can be retrieved and all can be put to rights. The choice is yours.”

There was no signature.

Harry’s heart felt like it had climbed into his throat and built a home there, and he set the letter down on the coffee table with shaking hands. His chest felt tight, and the room was suddenly uncomfortably warm. He pulled at the collar of his shirt, which didn’t do much to help the strange feeling that he was baking in the heat of the room, and looked to Ginny. “It’s real?”

“It’s real.” She confirmed, closing the distance between them to wrap her arms around him. Harry supposed he looked like someone who needed comfort, but he didn’t know what he needed. That, among other things, could be attributed to the Dursleys’ top notch parenting, but he saw no sense in doing it, not when something this big was at hand. The one thing in his life he had always assumed to be true, the one thing his entire life and story were based around, was a sham. Would they want him? Would they want to know him?

Would the Dursleys be right, and would they reject him the moment they caught sight of his face?

They’d know him for the thief and lazy layabout he was, if they met him, and they’d know they were too good for him. Besides, they’d have moved on with their lives, by now. They wouldn’t need a son like him. No one would.

“It’s alright, Harry.” Ginny said, rubbing the parts of Harry’s back that she could reach. “I’m behind you on whatever you pick. You don’t have to see them if you don’t want to.”

“I want to.” Harry said suddenly, shocking himself. He blinked in surprise, eyebrows drawing together. Did he really want to?

The feeling grew and grew and grew in him, the longer he thought about it, a sense of longing that he’d had within him since the cupboard, since he had spent nights lying on a ratty old crib mattress under the stairs, wishing for a family.

He wanted to see them.

He needed to see them, even if all they did was tell him to leave.

He wanted to see them, even if he didn’t deserve it.

“I want to see them.” Harry said, with more conviction this time around. “I really do.”

“Then we will.” She said, standing on her tiptoes and reaching up to run a hand through his hair. It calmed Harry’s nerves slightly, turning the feeling of bugs crawling under his skin into a barely noticeable itch, and he wondered if that was a magic of its own. “I have your back.”

“Yeah.” Harry said softly. The bad thoughts whirled about in his head, bringing with them an earnest urge to spill their contents to Ginny, but these bad thoughts weren’t like the ones about the war. He was simply not allowed to tell anyone these, because it was against the rules. Someone might find out, if he told, and that only meant punishment. No one could find out.

Good boys don’t let anyone find out, and Harry so desperately wanted to be good.

His throat felt dry, and he swallowed hard before speaking again. “I’ve got yours too.”

Harry sent off a reply, and received an address within hours of him sending it.

He tiptoed downstairs, eager to share this news with Ginny, to find her sprawled out on the couch, snoring loudly. He smiled softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead, before tucking the letter into the pocket of his jeans.

He scribbled “I need to do this alone first. Forgive me?” in Ginny’s favorite purple glittery pen over the headline of the morning paper, leaving it where she would see it before walking out of their house and into the early spring afternoon. Ginny had been tired lately, and rightfully so, and Harry was hardly in the mood to push her beyond her limits.

God knows she did far more than enough of that anyway.

He pulled the paper out of his pocket to double check the address before Apparating away with a crack. Inside the house, Ginny stirred slightly before falling back asleep.

He reappeared in front of a relatively ordinary looking house, the white window boxes full of vibrantly colored flowers, splashes of color standing out sharply against the yellow walls.

It looked like a less perfect version of Number Four-- where Aunt Petunia (Harry) had kept the lawn ordered and neat at Number Four, here, the grass was just a little too tall, but not tall enough to stand out. Where Aunt Petunia (Harry) had kept the lawn looking immaculate, here, the inhabitants of the house had left a bright green football in the grass, so muddy that Harry would have guessed it had been there for weeks, and he easily spotted a small reddish-pink bike mostly hidden behind a bush.

There were children in this house, Harry realized with a start, and his heart nearly stopped.

There were children in this house. Children who had grown up with their parents. Children who had been wanted and loved from their very first breath.

Harry felt an indelible sense of shame rushing through him, digging up memories of nights when his stomach rumbled while watching the Dursleys eat, memories of patching up wounds himself while wishing for a mother to bandage them for him, memories of--

“You lost?” A man asked from behind Harry, and he turned suddenly, nearly gasping in surprise at the sight of a familiar face. He knew that face, knew the hazel eyes, untidy black hair and dark brown skin from years and years of thumbing through a well worn photo album, tracing the smiles of people he’d thought he’d never know. The man was frowning in confusion, an expression that Harry easily recognized from all the times Ginny had made fun of Harry’s “thinking face”. “What’s your name, kid?”

This was James Potter.

He was older than Harry remembered him from the pictures, but that made sense. It had been more than twenty years since the last picture in the album Hagrid gave him was taken. Closer to twenty-five than twenty, at this point, but Harry definitely hadn’t been counting that dedicatedly.

Harry waited to respond, some small part of him hoping that James (his father, he was meeting his father after all of these years) would recognize him, but instead they stood in an uneasy silence, both looking over the other.

“Harry Potter, sir. I suppose I’m lost. I’ll get going, then.” Harry said, with a smile. He knew it looked fake and strained, and James’ frown deepened, mouth opening slightly like he was about to ask a question, but he was interrupted before the words could find their way out of his mouth.

“Janardhan?” A woman with dark red hair called, as she ran up to her husband. “Who’s this?”

Harry didn’t even have to think to know who this was.

His mother, Lily, hardly came up to his father’s shoulder, if even that, and the green eyes that she shared with Harry were bright and happy. She had aged well-- it was funny to think that his parents were both closer to forty-five than they were to forty, when Harry had kept them in his mind and heart as twenty-one year olds for so long.

But they were not twenty-one anymore, and neither was he, and they had managed fine without him.

He should leave, he decided, shouldn’t tell them why he was here. They were better off without him. All Harry ever did was bring pain and death to those he loved, so there was no need for him to visit this upon them. They were happy, with a new family and a nice house and a good life.

They deserved better than him.

“I think I’m a couple streets off.” Harry said, fighting to keep his voice level, and ran for it.

Lily closed the front door behind her, slipping out of her flats and laying them nearby. Her daughter’s sandals had already been tossed carelessly beside a neatly arranged pair of sneakers. “Did you know who that was, dear?” She asked.

“No idea.” Janardhan said, with a shrug. “Harry Potter, he said, before running off. Odd kid. Seemed worried.”

“Yeah? He looked too old to be one of Anne’s friends from school.” Lily frowned, stepping into the room and planting a kiss on Matt’s head.

“At least twenty.” Janardhan nodded. “No way he’s younger than that. I hope he got where he was going, though. Seemed a little worried.”

“Who isn’t worried, these days?” Lily sighed. “The war took a lot out of everyone. Maybe he was one of the muggleborn kids, looking for his parents.”

“Maybe.” Janardhan said, shaking his head. “That’s got to be rough. Poor kid.”

“I hope he finds whoever he’s looking for.” Lily hummed.

“There aren’t many other people who look like us around here, though.” Matt piped up, turning to look at his parents. “I saw him through the window.”

“Good point.” Janardhan nodded, frowning slightly. “I don’t think any of the other families at the temple were missing a kid, though. Someone would’ve said.”

Lily frowned, twisting a strand of hair around her index finger. “He looked an awful lot like you.”

“He did.” Janardhan nodded. “But we’ve only got these two. Why would anyone come looking for us? All my cousins are in India or dead.”

“We did hide all those muggleborns near the end of the war. Maybe someone told him something about that and he wanted to ask us a question?” Lily rounded back to her original theory. They’d had visits from many families, over the last five or so years since the war ended, and he might have just been looking for information.

“Maybe. We’ve got his name, so we can do some research.” Janardhan shrugged. “Look through the papers and whatnot.”

“We’ve never gotten the paper, Appa.” Anne reminded her father from the doorway. The sixteen year-old tossed her red braid over one shoulder, walking over to the table to plant a kiss on her father’s cheek. “Who’re you looking for?”

“There’s this kid who came looking for us. Harry Potter.” Janardhan said, motioning to the free chair beside him. Anne gratefully sank down into it, scooting it a little closer to her father. “Maybe not us, maybe one of the kids who was staying with us a few years ago, but he was just standing around outside for a bit.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Harry Potter is looking for you? Like. The war hero?” She asked.

“What?” Lily and Matt looked to Anne, who seemed quite happy to be the only knowledgable one in the room.

“He killed You-Know-Who.” Anne elaborated. “He’s a total badass.”

“Bad language.” Matt frowned at his sister.

“He kicks butt.” Anne amended, rolling her eyes.

“Killed You-Know-Who?” Janardhan frowned. “Hasn’t that guy been out of commission for years? ‘81, right, Lily?”

“As far as I was aware.” Lily frowned as well.

“Uh, no?” Anne rolled her eyes. “He came back. It was why we were hiding muggleborns in the first place- I guess he somehow infiltrated the ministry. They were rounding them up and shipping them off to Azkaban.”

“Well, that’s news.” Janardhan nodded slowly. “Wow.”

“But this leads me back to my original question.” Lily brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Why was he here?”

“What does a war hero want with us?” Janardhan’s frown deepened. “We’re just normal people.”

“Normal people don’t have lots of time they can’t remember…” Matt mumbled, more to his homework than to his parents.

Lily looked to her husband, eyebrows drawn together. When she spoke next, her words were slow and purposeful. “He really, really looked like you.”

“He did.” Janardhan nodded. “Do you think…” Neither he nor his wife had a very reliable hold on anything between 1979 and 1981, but it had seemed odd, for the first few months they could remember, to not have a baby around. Both of them would wake up in the middle of the night, as if expecting to be woken up by cries, even though they both knew they’d never had a child of their own.

“I mean… it could have… happened.” Lily murmured, her fingers fluttering momentarily along her side. She had stretch marks there from Anne and Matt’s births, but there had been some before then as well. She had tried to ignore them, but that, combined with the feeling that they were missing something (missing someone) was just too strange.

“How old is Harry Potter, Anne?” Janardhan looked to his daughter.

“Should be twenty-four in July.” Anne shrugged. “I can ask one of my friends for some articles on him, if you’d like.”

“1980.” Janardhan said, looking to Lily. Parts of his family had been going by Potter for awhile, so everything lined up too well. He and Lily were missing two years of memories, and Harry was born during that gap. Maybe he was why they weren’t supposed to remember. “It’s him.”

Lily, going even paler than normal, reached for a chair to sink into. “Oh.”

“Amma?” Matt seemed nervous, now. He had obviously picked up on what was going on, having always been rather bright, even for a ten year-old. “Is Harry our brother?”

“Wicked.” Anne whispered.

“Not wicked.” Janardhan spoke up, tugging at the collar of his shirt, as he often did when nervous. “Not wicked at all. Shit, we’ve got to find him. That’s why he came looking.”

“We have to… where would he be? How do we find him?” Lily stood abruptly. “Do we have time to get a babysitter?”

“I can watch Madhav just fine.” Anne said.

“Anju, I say this out of love, but no, you can’t.” Janardhan rolled his eyes. “Right. Madhu, finish your homework. The rest of us have got some somewhat creepy information digging to do.”

“He’s famous, right? How hard can it be to invade his privacy?” Lily mumbled.

“True.” Janardhan nodded. “Someone’ll have copies of the Prophet lying around, and we know how much they like gossip. Or we could probably just owl him.”

“What are the chances he reads all his mail?” Lily ran a hand through her hair. “We can try?”

"It's better than nothing." Janardhan shrugged. "We can use the mean time to dig up his details."

Anne practically jumped to her feet. “I’ll owl my friends.” She called over her shoulder, as she raced up the stairs.

"Lifesaver, that one." Janardhan sighed in relief.

“Don’t know where she got it from.” Lily let out a tired laugh.

“I’m done.” Matt held up his completed homework. “Can I help?”

"Of course. Go on." Janardhan ruffled his son's hair.

Matt got up, trooping on up the stairs after his sister, leaving his parents sitting at the table.

“Well.” Lily started. “This is… well.”

"Bad. The word you’re looking for is bad. And we've scared him off to boot." Janardhan put his head in his hands. "Splendid."

“I saw your note.” Ginny said, when Harry entered the house again, shutting the door behind him. “How did it go?”

“Fine.” Harry said, nodding. “It was a bit of a shock for both of us, I think, but we’ll stay in contact.” He felt bad lying to her, because he knew in his heart that he would not go back, but it had to be done. Ginny had to think that he tried his best, that he was brave and did all he could.

She frowned at him, tapping her fingers against the top of her thigh, and that was when Harry knew he had lost the ability to lie to her.

“Fine. I saw them. They were, uh, just having an afternoon out. With their kids.” Ginny’s face lost its color, and Harry knew she understood why he’d left now. “Didn’t see the kids, but I’m guessing Hogwarts age? A girl, likely a second kid as well.”

“They weren’t trying to replace you, love.” Ginny said, reaching out to grab Harry’s hand. He wanted to pull his hand away, didn’t want Ginny being dragged down by the simple act of touching him, but she rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand and he relaxed just slightly. If he hadn’t ruined her before this, he thought to himself, there was no way this could do it. It was a well-worn thought, once he’d repeated to himself again and again, and the familiarity of it eased his nerves a little. “Nobody could.”

“Worse than that.” Harry said, breaking eye contact to stare at the floor. “They don’t remember me at all.”

“Not… Not at all?” Ginny asked, voice edged with desperation, and Harry shook his head. Before he knew otherwise, she was hugging him tight. “That’s horrible.” She whispered, as he wrapped his arms around her. “I can’t even imagine…”

“Well, we don’t have to.” Harry said brightly, earning a glare from Ginny.

Harry spread a case file out across the table, and started in on studying the details.

He'd turned down the Auror Department's offer right after the war, much to everyone's surprise, and gone back to school with Hermione. It would’ve been too much after the war, something few people had understood, and he hadn’t wanted to spend the rest of his life tracking down dark wizards. Seven years of his life was enough. Others could have the spotlight. He didn’t want it anymore. Instead, he'd taken a desk job with the DMLE after graduation, in the hopes that he could help people without going back into the field.

Going through case files had been tedious at first, but it had quickly become one of his favorite parts of the job. Relaxing, even, something which Ron had never understood. Hermione had nodded proudly, when Harry had mentioned this, which was nothing short of hilarious.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door, and shut the file before walking over to answer the door. He drew his wand before opening the door just a little, out of habit, and was surprised to see four people on his doorstep-- two familiar ones and two he hadn’t seen before, a teenage girl with red hair and brown eyes and a smaller boy who very much resembled him. "Hello?"

“Hi.” Lily says. “I hope us showing up isn’t inconvenient.”

"No, no, it's alright. I've just been reading files, really." Harry opened the door all the way, stepping aside to let them in. "I'll, uh, get Ginny. Make yourselves at home, I guess."

Harry hung around a few seconds, very much nervous, before seemingly remembering what he’d said and running up the stairs, returning a few minutes later with Ginny, who seemed much more excited about this than him.

"Here’s, uh, here’s everyone.” Harry said, looking a lot more at peace now that Ginny was at his side. “Say hello."

"Nice to meet you." Ginny held her hand out to shake Janardhan's and then Lily's. "Good to know Harry comes by his looks honestly."

"Ginny!" Harry hissed, looking quite embarrassed.

"Someone’s got to lighten the mood. Feels like a funeral in here." Ginny said with a grin, before motioning to the couches. "Feel free to sit down. I’m going to.”

“Guess we should start with introductions, then. Whatever you want to say’s alright, I guess.” Harry shot a nervous smile at his siblings. “Babies first.”

“Shouldn’t your baby go first, then?” Anne glanced quizzically at Ginny’s slightly rounded stomach.

“You make a good point.” Harry nodded slowly, looking puzzled, prompting a laugh from Lily. “Unfortunately, he can’t do much just yet, so we’ll have to wait a few months on that one. Early August, I think. Check back with him then.”

Lily giggled, her expression a strange mixture of surprise and amusement. “Oh, that sounds like something your father would say.”

“I’m Matt.” The young boy suddenly piped up. His hand was still fisted tightly in the fabric of his father’s sweater, and he seemed incredibly nervous. Despite this, he offered up a shaky smile. “I’m ten years old.”

“I’m Anne. I’m sixteen, I like history and nail polish and pretty much anything girly, and I will kick your butt if you make fun of me for it.” She tossed her hair over one shoulder.

“I’m Ginny. I’ll be twenty-three in August.” Ginny said, smiling. “I play Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies when I’m not knocked up. I like fighting the government and setting Hogwarts on fire.”

“You say that like we enjoyed it while it was happening.” Harry frowned. It was obvious to anyone that he didn’t like talking about the war from the way his fingers started tapping his knees, softly at first, but clearly more insistently as the topic dragged on.

“Maybe you didn’t.” Ginny snorted, covering one of his hands with hers to still the movement. “The rest of us loved it.”

“It wasn’t fun to clean up.” Harry protested, earning a laugh from Ginny, who shook her head.

“That’s cause you were the only one thinking about clean up, when we did it.” Ginny rolled her eyes. “That should tell you a fair bit about what Harry’s like.”

“I’m Harry Potter.” Harry said, nervously tugging at the collar of his shirt. “I’m going to be twenty-four in July. I played Seeker for Gryffindor while I was at school. I work for the DMLE, mostly handling the payment of reparations to the Muggleborns imprisoned during the war, and blood status based workplace discrimination cases.” Harry looked around, deciding that everyone seemed suitably bored. “That’s really it. I’m not too interesting, sorry.”

“That’s alright, kid. No pressure.” Janardhan smiled. “Right, you probably know me as James then, so I guess that’s me. I’m a Healer with a smaller Wizarding hospital near where we live. I played Chaser for Gryffindor back in the day. I enjoy embarrassing my children in public, and I’m excited to make up for years of that with you. Good?”

“I’m Lily Evans. I work as a chemistry teacher in a wizarding school primarily for muggleborn students, so the curriculum sort of blends in magic topics with muggle ones.” Lily laughed. “Matt and Anne actually go to school there. I’m… really happy to meet you. Both of you.”

“This is starting to sound more like an intervention than a family meeting.” Ginny says, trying to stop herself from laughing. “So, Matt, what kinds of things do you like to do for fun?”

“I like hiding!” He said. “And books. Like Winnie the Pooh, but Anne says I’m getting too big for that now. I’m not sure if she’s lying or not.”

“You two are brothers for sure.” Ginny said, moving her hand from Harry’s knee to nudge his arm with her elbow. “Harry’s favorite thing is to find a good hiding spot, take a couple books along, and have an afternoon to himself. He usually tells me first, though, which is nice.”

“Mattie here always forgets to mention where he’s off to.” Lily patted his hair down with a smile.

“It’s hard to find quiet places, sometimes.” Harry shrugged, looking to Matt for confirmation. Matt nodded solemnly in agreement. “I like having space, and it’s hard to find that.”

“I know this might be a bit soon, but what did they tell you about us?” Janardhan asked carefully, watching Harry’s face.

“I figured you’d ask. They told me you both died, and that was all I knew until someone sent me your address yesterday. Then, we, uh, met and now we’re here.” Harry frowned for a second, as if checking the details in his head, and nodded. “Sorry about how I acted and all.” He scratched the back of his head, looking sheepish. “I’m horrid at first impressions.”

“Runs in the family.” Janardhan quipped, and Harry chuckled, shaking his head.

“Glad it’s not all on me, then.” Harry said, running a hand through his hair. These days, he kept it short enough that the fact that it stuck up in every possible direction didn’t matter too much. “Hopefully it doesn’t hit another generation.”

“Why’d they tell you mum and dad died?” Anne propped her hands on her hips, her expression taking a turn for the annoyed. “Obviously, they’re fine.”

“Well, uh, I’m not aware of that myself.” Harry said, frowning slightly. “What it seems like is that they needed a tragic backstory for me, if the Wizarding World was going to accept me as a hero at all, and the best way to do it was to hide you all somewhere and leave me in the spotlight.” He shrugged, looking quite uncomfortable. “Believe me, you didn’t miss much worth seeing.”

“He’s kidding. He had some good moments.” Ginny said, chuckling.

“Only some?” Harry asked, looking quite amused.

“Only some.” Ginny said, nodding solemnly. “For sure.”

“Who raised you?” Lily asked.

Harry’s expression darkened for a split second, just long enough for Lily to notice the change, before he was back to his usual shy smile. “Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon.” He said, after a second’s pause, fingers drumming on his knees again. “I suppose you were told to break contact with them, so you wouldn’t find me on accident?”

“Yeah.” Janardhan said, nodding. He looked a little disgusted, at the mention of the Dursleys, but anyone would. “Wasn’t too hard, honestly. They weren’t sorely missed, that’s for sure.” Lily’s lips had thinned at the mention of her sister and brother-in-law, but she offered no comment.

“That feeling was definitely mutual. They went on about you a lot, and none of it was good.” Harry shook his head, carefully keeping his eyes trained on the floor. “Well, we’re past that part now, so there’s no need to waste time on them.”

“We’ve all introduced ourselves, so we’ll just keep on that path then.” Janardhan said. “What kinds of things were you into, growing up? Before Hogwarts, I mean?”

“I liked books.” Harry said, after pausing to think. To an outsider, based on the time it took him to remember this, it would easily seem as if Harry could hardly remember having a childhood at all. “And action figures. I had a couple knights and horses, and I had a bit of fun with those.”

“I like knights!” Matt exclaimed, only to shrink back a bit once everyone’s attention turned towards him. “Um. They’re cool. Like the knights in Lord of the Rings. Faramir and Boromir and Aragorn and… stuff.”

“Never read it, actually.” Harry said, frowning slightly. “Is it good?”

“Now that is a crime.” Janardhan said, shaking his head. “Ought to arrest the Dursleys just for that.”

“I’ll call in a favor with Seamus, then.” Harry said, smiling again. “He’ll get them for something.”

“Who’s Seamus?” Anne asked.

“Friend of mine from Hogwarts.” Harry said. “We were roommates. Works for the Aurors now. Finally putting his talent for blowing things up to use, Seamus.”

“You wouldn’t let me blow them up, but you’ll let Seamus do it?” Ginny raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.

“Never said that. Just said I’d let him arrest them.” Harry chuckled. “No one’s killing anyone. Uh, anyway, before a fight breaks out, I’ve got some stuff to show you, I think. I’ve got a photo album, with some pictures of the three of us together in it, in case you’d like to see those again. Some of me at Hogwarts.”

“That’d fill in a couple blanks.” Janardhan said, looking to Lily, as Harry grabbed a photo album from the table beside the couch. “You like keeping it close by, huh?”

“Better to keep the things you care about close by.” Harry said, with a shrug, as he handed the album to Lily. “Can’t lose them that way.”

Anne frowned at the book, flipping between his school photographs and the ones of him as a chubby toddler. “How come there aren’t any of you growing up?” She asked. “Amma and Appa took millions of pictures of Madhav and I.”

“I wasn’t a very photogenic kid.” Harry said with a laugh, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. Ginny scooted just a little closer to him, trying to keep the motion unnoticed. “Add that to the fact that I made enough trouble for three kids on my own, and you’ve got a good reason that there’s nothing documented.”

There were, of course, other reasons-- including Harry in any photograph on purpose would require acknowledging him as part of the family, and Vernon and Petunia Dursley had proved well enough that they’d rather die than do so during the sixteen years he’d lived with them. On top of that, he’d have to have clothes that weren’t Dudley’s castoffs and the bruises Uncle Vernon’s punishments left would’ve had to be out of sight, to maintain appearances, and that was far too much to ask.

It was much easier to ignore Harry’s existence entirely, shove him away into the cupboard, or later, his bedroom, and maybe remember to feed him from time to time than to keep him included, according to the Dursleys. As they saw it, excluding Harry was an essential part of remaining normal.

“Plus”, Harry said, as they found a particularly silly picture of him. It was just after he’d finished the second task of the Triwizard Tournament, and he and Ron were laughing with their arms around each other’s shoulders. Harry had been caught midway through a laugh, eyes scrunched shut and mouth open. “If you looked like that on a good day, would you really want pictures taken?”

“You look just like Janardhan.” Lily snorted.

“You grew into it.” Janardhan said, nodding. “It just took both of us awhile.”

“It wasn’t that you weren’t cute, you were just weird.” Ginny said, shaking her head.

“Thanks, babe.” Harry said, pulling a face. “Really enjoying this.”

“All boys are weird.” Anne said with a shrug. “Especially brothers.”

“And now you’ve got two, so that’s fun.” Janardhan said.

“Why couldn’t I have had a long-lost sister instead?” Anne sighed dramatically before offering Harry a smile. “But I guess you seem pretty cool.”

“Thanks.” Harry said, looking quite nervous. “I’ve never really been around kids your age, since school, so this is a little weird. I’m glad I’m making it.”

“Looks like boys run on both sides of the family too.” Ginny said, snorting. “Thank god I’m not as invested in having a girl as Mum was.”

“That’s because no one will ever reach that level again.” Harry said, shaking his head.

“I mean, she got you to like her, and you were a tough sell on anyone, at first.” Ginny said, and Harry nodded, expression shifting to something slightly more contemplative. “That was a real story, how you first showed up at our place.”

“I like stories.” Matt said, photo album still held in his lap.

“My brothers broke him out of his room in a flying car.” Ginny said. “It sounds fake, but it’s not. I promise.”

“Whoa.” Matt whispered, eyes wide.

“Wicked.” Anne agreed.

“Well, you certainly had an exciting go of it.” Lily laughed.

“And, by the looks of it, you found something else too.” James pulled a piece of blank parchment out of the end of the photo album. It seemed to have been used as a bookmark, all these years. “Please tell me you had something like a clean record at school.”

“We’ll do two truths and a lie. The story Ginny told is true, I got no detentions while at Hogwarts, and Voldemort is dead. Pick your poison.” Harry said.

“Comparable to mine?” Janardhan asked.

“Oh, no way.” Harry shook his head. “I had limits.”

“Very good.” Janardhan nodded. “That’s all I can expect from you, and you did it.”

“Wait, you’ve never told me about getting detentions.” Anne frowned at her father. “If you got them, how come I get in trouble for getting them?”

“You get in trouble because I did too. Your grandparents were not fond of me getting detentions, and I bet Vernon and Petunia weren’t with Harry as well. Right, Harry?” Janardhan looked to Harry, who nodded. “It’s one of those parenting things you have to do.”

“The grandson of a Marauder and Fred and George’s nephew.” Ginny said, shaking her head. “We’re screwed.”

“Fred and George? Are they your brothers?” Matt asked Ginny politely.

“Two of them.” Ginny said. “I’ve got six.” Her expression darkened slightly. “Well, I’ve got five now.”

A heavy silence fell over the group.

“Sorry.” Matt murmured. “We helped a lot of muggleborns and stuff, during the war. They were all really sad. Lost people.”

“It’s alright, Matt. Fred went out there because he wanted to. No one’s to blame but him.” Ginny said. “Everyone was lost, really, back then.”

“A lot of people were lost that didn’t need to be.” Harry said, looking a lot older than he was. He averted his eyes, staring intently at the pattern on the carpet instead of looking at anyone else. “Our job’s to fix what we can, with the help of whoever’s left.”

“And who is?” Janardhan asked cautiously. “Left, I mean. People that we’d know.”

“Andromeda Tonks.” Harry said, after a lot of thought. “Ginny’s parents were in the Order at the same time as you, but if you haven’t placed her yet, you likely didn’t know them too well. Augusta Longbottom. That’s… that’s it.”

“Sirius and Remus are…” Janardhan said, frowning deeply.

“Yeah. Sirius’ been gone almost ten years now. Remus passed during the Final Battle. I’m his son’s godfather, actually.” Harry said, smiling softly at the mention of Teddy. “Teddy’s a wonderful kid. He’d be glad to meet you. There aren’t really any other boys around his age, so he’d be glad to play with Matt.”

“How old is he?” Matt asked, perking up.

“Just turned six this April.” Harry said. “And don’t call him a baby-- he still bites.”

“Harry learned that one the hard way.” Ginny said, grinning.

“Anne bites.” Matt said seriously.

“I do not!” She protested.

“Everyone’s bitten someone at some point, so Matt is right.” Harry said.

“Yeah, but the way he said it implies that Anne still bites people. She seems alright.” Ginny shrugged.

“She still bites.” Lily sighed. “She wasn’t kidding about those detentions.”

“Amma…” Anne mumbled.

“At least there’s someone here who we can count on to fight the baby.” Ginny said brightly.

“I’m glad you’ve committed to not doing it yourself, babe.” Harry said, with a chuckle. “Well appreciated.”

“Look at us, having a nice discussion about fighting the baby.” Janardhan said proudly. “We’re a proper family already.”

“Yeah.” Harry said, a slow smile spreading across his face as he looked around the room. “I guess we are.”

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea.” Lily murmured to her husband. It had been almost a week since the first talk with Harry, and they’d decided to go out as a family. The five of them found themselves standing outside a zoo, of all places. A place that they had avoided at all costs.

“I talked to Madhu this time, and he promised he wouldn’t cry.” Janardhan said, trying to sound hopeful. “All bets are off once he actually sees the animals, though. Told him to bring a book, just in case.”

Lily glanced to her youngest son, confirming that he had his worn copy of Lord of the Rings tucked under one arm. “We can only hope for the best, now.” She said, her tone grave.

“I should’ve warned you.” Harry said, taking a deep breath as he looked between his parents. “I’m not good at zoos either.”

“Do you cry about the animals, too?” Anne asked, honestly curious. “Because we can go see a movie or something instead.”

“I wish I’d cried.” Harry said, shaking his head with a chuckle.

“What did you do?” Matt asked, looking up.

“I may have set a snake loose in the middle of London.” Harry said, shrugging it off like freeing zoo animals was a normal part of his daily routine. “It was an accident. Well, it wasn’t really an accident, I did want to set the snake free, but the fact that it actually did end up getting loose was.”

“You set a snake free.” Lily let out a noise somewhere between amusement and disbelief. “Where would a snake even go?”

“How’d you do it?” Anne asked.

“Can I do that?” Matt looked entirely serious.

“I don’t know, on both counts.” Harry said, running a hand through his hair nervously. “Hopefully it escaped. It was telling me about living at the zoo, before, and I got the feeling it didn’t quite like it.”

“It didn’t?” Matt asked. Anne, who was standing behind her younger brother, began drawing her hand across her neck in an attempt to shut Harry up.

“Just because one snake didn’t like it doesn’t mean animals don’t like it!” Harry backtracked, looking extremely awkward. “That one snake was upset, and hopefully it got out! Let’s go enjoy the zoo!”

“Terrible idea.” Lily repeated in a whisper. Matt looked like he was ready to argue, but put on a brave face and nodded.

“Let’s just stay far away from the snakes this time, right, Harry?” Janardhan said, trying to stay positive. “There’s bound to be some other kind of animal in here. They usually have lots of animals in zoos.”

“Lots of animals, huh?” Anne grinned at her father. “You sure about that?”

“That’s what zoos are.” Janardhan said, looking confused.

“Name five animals.” Anne demanded.

“Giraffes. Elephants.” Janardhan swallowed hard. “Um. Tigers. Lions. Birds?”

“Alright. You pass… For now.” Anne giggled.

“Maybe we should actually go inside instead of standing outside the gates.” Lily suggested.

“Maybe.” Harry agreed. “Let’s go before Anne issues another challenge.”

“I’m gonna fight a lion.” She decided as they filed through the gates.

“No fighting lions, Anju.” Janardhan said, frowning. “They’re dangerous.”

“I’m dangerous too.” Anne cracked her knuckles, causing Matt to wince at her side. “It’ll be fun.”

“Lions are dangerous.” Harry chimed in. “Don’t fight them.”

“Then you’ve fought a lion?” Anne sidled up to her brother, eyebrow raised in a perfect imitation of her mother.

“No?” Harry said, frowning in confusion.

“Then you know nothing, Jon Snow.” She said seriously.

“He hasn’t read Game of Thrones, Anju.” Lily’s words were absent minded, as she was flipping through one of the pamphlets she’d picked up upon entering the zoo. Matt was standing at her side, obviously a bit wary of the crowds of people milling around. “What should we go see first?”

“Who’s Jon Snow?” Harry asked, frowning in confusion. “Whatever animal Matt likes best, I guess.”

“He’s a character from one of the books she reads.” Matt told him. “I want to see the giraffes. Can you feed them?”

“Wouldn’t know.” Harry shrugged. “My last zoo trip was quite short.”

“You can feed the goats, I think?” Janardhan said. “Your mum’s reading the pamphlet, so she’ll have an answer for you in a second.”

“No giraffe feeding.” Lily said. Matt’s face fell at the news, and Lily, ever quick to solve problems, offered an alternative. “There’s a petting zoo?”

“What’s your favorite animal, Anne?” Harry asked.

“Dunno.” Anne linked her hands behind her back, tilting her head thoughtfully. “Horses are kinda cool. Fast, too, so that’s a plus. I’ve never seen a dragon before, but that might be awesome. How about you?”

“The thestrals at school were nice.” Harry said, after a moment’s contemplation. “Luna and I used to feed them, sometimes.”

“What’s a thestral?” Anne asked curiously.

“It’s like…” Harry frowned, trying to come up with an accurate description. “They’re zombie horses. Not actually, they just look like it.”

“Zombie horses.” Anne hummed. “Even cooler than regular horses, yeah?”

“Pretty cool.” Harry nodded. “They’re quite nice.”

“You like thestrals?” Lily looked skeptical, but wisely didn’t ask as to how he could see them.

“They nuzzle your hand, if you’re nice enough to them.” Harry mused. “Although no one’s been able to get them to eat something that isn’t all disgusting or bloody yet. Luna’s tried with apples, but they’re just not having it.”

“Ew.” Matt murmured.

“What do they eat? Raw meat?” Anne seemed more interested the further Harry explained.

“Mostly, from what I’ve seen.” Harry said, nodding. “They seem to prefer it when it’s all bloody.”

“How I like my men.” Anne said sarcastically, garnering a snort from her mother.

“Don’t be scary.” Matt chided his sister, seeming entirely too used to such things.

“Is she always like this?” Harry whispered to Matt, looking quite scared despite the fact that he regularly spent time in the company of both Ginny and Hermione.

“Usually.” Matt shrugged. “Especially if her friends start talking about boys.”

“Boys aren’t that bad.” Harry said, shrugging. “I mean, most of them get disgusting once they open their mouths, but until then, not that bad.”

“Is my mouth disgusting?” Matt frowned. “I brushed my teeth.”

“You’re doing great.” Harry said, trying to hold back a laugh as he grinned at Anne. She’d get what he was going for, even if Matt didn’t. “I’m sure you did.”

“You’re my favorite boy.” Anne cooed, messing up Matt’s hair. “You and Hari Anna and Appa.”

“You’re a good kid, Matt.” Harry said, patting Matt’s shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Matt grinned up at his siblings, giggling quietly. “I’m proud of you, too.” He said.

“Petting zoo sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?” Harry asked, turning to Lily.

“Sure.” Lily smiled. “Ever fed a goat, before?”

“Never.” Harry said. “Is it a good experience?”

“Depends on the goat.” Lily shrugged. “One time Janardhan got kicked over by one.”

“Sounds traumatic.” Harry winced. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” Janardhan said, looking grateful. “See, Lily? That is how you react.”

“It’s a really funny story!” Lily protested.

“I’m glad you think so.” Janardhan grumbled. “Certainly wasn’t fun for me.”

“Love you.” Lily grinned. “And I promise to protect you from the big, bad goats at the petting zoo.”

“Big, bad goats.” Janardhan muttered, as they all started walking toward the petting zoo. “I’ll kill them all.”

“We’re all bad at zoos, looks like.” Harry spoke up, fidgeting nervously as he looked between his parents. “Maybe we’ll pick something else next time.”

“Maybe we could go to see a movie or something.” Anne suggested. “You’ve seen movies, right?”

“Some.” Harry shrugged. He’d seen some in snatches, when he’d been working in the kitchen while Dudley was watching television, but had never really watched a movie in its entirety. “Will we survive that one?”

“Depends on the movie…” Lily muttered.

“Like it depends on the goat?” Matt asked.

“I’ll pick something really good.” Anne assured Harry.

“Is anyone going to tell me what happened with the goat?” Harry asked.

“It’s not even that funny, to be honest.” Janardhan shrugged. “I was six and I got in the goat’s way. The goat got the better end of the deal.”

“Where did you find a goat?” Harry frowned in confusion.

“I didn’t find the goat, son.” Janardhan said, sighing deeply as he looked up at the sky. “The goat found me.”

“I have no idea what you’re saying.” Harry admitted, pulling a face.

“You’ve got a couple months to expand your dad joke collection. A truly impressive sense of humor will come with time and practice.” Janardhan grinned.

“I hope so.” Harry said nervously. He spotted the gate to the petting zoo on his left, and pointed toward it. “Hey, Matt, look!”

Matt looked up, an apprehensive look dawning on his face. “The goats won’t kick us, right?”

“No, baby, the goats won’t kick us.” Lily assured him.

“If the goats kick anyone, it’ll be me.” Janardhan said, obviously meaning to comfort Matt.

“Or me, honestly.” Harry added. “I haven’t got the best track record with animals either.”

“I don’t want anyone to get kicked.” Matt protested. “At all!”

“Alright, no kicking.” Harry said, smiling at Matt. “Anne can fight the goats. Right, Anne?”

“Yeah!” She threw her fist into the air.

“Then they’ll be too busy to kick anyone.” Harry said. “See? Problem solved.”

Matt didn’t respond, but nodded hesitantly. His grip on the book under his arm tightened.

“Come on then, Matt.” Harry said, patting his little brother on the back. “You’ve got to go in to feed them.”

“I can do this.” Matt muttered, more to himself than anyone else. He marched forward and through the small gate into the petting zoo.

Anne sighed before moving to follow. “This isn’t going to end well.”

“You said it, not me.” Janardhan muttered, before the family followed Matt through the gate. “Show time.”

“I’m glad you could make it.” Janardhan said, ruffling his son’s hair. Harry smiled softly, still looking a little uncomfortable. Harry had owled him that morning, asking if he had some free time to meet and hash something out, and Janardhan had been very resolutely not worrying about it all day. And by not worrying, he meant obsessively turning his son’s words over and over in his head. “Now, you said you wanted to talk to me about something, so spill.”

“For the baby, uh, we were going to name him James, and I know you don’t use that name anymore, but it doesn’t seem right, now that you’re around.” Harry began, fidgeting awkwardly. “I just wanted to know if there was anything I should be aware of, when we pick another name. Traditions and stuff. I figured, if we’re all going to be a proper family, I should make an effort to learn, right?”

“You’re asking. That’s tons more than I’d expected.” Janardhan said, beaming. He hadn’t been this excited about one of his children asking questions of him since before Anne started her “why” phase. “Well, for one thing, we don’t normally name kids after people who are alive, which is why your comment about naming him James not feeling right was a little funny to me. You’re already halfway there. Other than that, it’s free reign. What your Amma, err, your mother and I, did with your siblings, and with you as well, was to pick a name in the language your siblings and I speak at home and then pick a name in English that sounded similar.“

“I’ve got another name?” Harry asked, looking quite confused.

“Hari, after my grandfather.” Janardhan said, and Harry nodded slowly, repeating the name to himself a few times. “Means golden.”

“So I was always the favorite.” Harry said, a grin spreading slowly across his face. “The other two won’t be happy to hear that.”

“Well, Anju’s rarely happy about anyone beating her at things, and Madhu’ll probably call it cute.” Janardhan said fondly.

“Those are nicknames, I’m guessing?” Harry asked.

“Yeah. Anju’s short for Anjali. Madhu’s short for Madhav.” Janardhan nodded. “From Anjali and Madhav, we got Anne and Matthew. Same thing with you. From Hari, Harry.”

“Makes sense. They do sound similar.” Harry nodded slowly. “So, if I wanted to do that for my son… Would that be alright?”

“It’s your heritage, kid. Go for it.” Harry’s face lit up, and Janardhan couldn’t help but reach out to ruffle his hair again. “I can give you some pointers on where to look, if you want. Your name and Madhu’s both came out of a specific prayer, so that might be a good place to start.”

“It’s hard to pick a good name for a kid.” Harry said, running a hand through his hair. “You’re not just naming the kid, right? You’re naming the adult they’ll become and all sorts of stuff. The Weasleys just named their sons after British kings, but I put my foot down on that front.”

“You’re more of a Potter than you realize, then.” Janardhan said, laughing. “Like father, like son, I guess.”

“Yeah.” Harry said, looking quite embarrassed. “Do you have any ideas? We’re thinking of sticking with a J name regardless, mostly because Ginny’s mum has knitted blankets and whatnot, and we don’t want to tell her his initials aren’t JSP anymore.”

Janardhan frowned slightly as he thought it over, before something struck him-- Lakshmeevaan sammitinjayah. Jay. Victorious. “You could go with Jay. Means victorious. Unconquerable.”

“Jay.” Harry repeated, nodding. “I like it. We’ll have to come up with a better story, though. Of how he got the name. In case he asks. Doubt he’d take well to ‘Cut in on my dad’s lunch break to get some answers, came away with your name’.”

“Add a dragon in there.” Janardhan suggested. “Kids always love dragons.”

“I will keep that in mind.” Harry said, chuckling. “Want to hear something funny?”

“What?” Janardhan asked.

“We were going to call him Jay anyway.” Harry said, smiling brightly. “Just had no idea what it meant, until now.”

“God works in mysterious ways.” Janardhan said, smiling.

“Yeah.” Harry said, nodding. “Funny how these things work out.”

Lily Evans-Potter had never been a light sleeper, like her husband. She was usually prone to sleeping until noon (or rather, she would be, if she didn’t have children and a job). Perhaps because of this, it was deeply unsettling to wake up in the middle of the night. The curtains were shut, the bedroom was dark, and Janardhan was barely visible beneath a pile of blankets in bed beside her. She sat up slowly, brushing wild strands of hair out of her face and spotted the reason why she’d woken up pacing back at forth at the end of the bed.

A silvery stag looked up once it noticed Lily was awake. She could have sworn the stag looked relieved, for a second, before the message began.

“Amma?” Harry’s voice asked softly. “I’m-- I don’t know what to think, about all this. I mean, it’s all happening so fast, and I’ve no idea how to be a father, I mean, I’ve never really had one myself and I-- I don’t want to put him in the cupboard, I can’t do that to someone else, I mean, he doesn’t deserve it-- I don’t--” The message cut off, and the stag faded away, as if it had never been there to begin with.

Lily glanced towards her slumbering husband, checking to make sure he was still asleep before slipping out of bed. She grabbed one of Janardhan’s old sweatshirts to throw on over her pajamas as she padded out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

This situation was new, but not unfamiliar. She was a mother, after all, and had spent countless hours comforting her children. But to have one she’d only just met reaching out to her… She didn’t know whether to be happy that he was alright with that.

Once she was a suitable distance from the bedrooms, she lifted her wand and apparated with what she hoped was a softer ‘crack’ than normal.

The sudden transition from hardwood floors to grass under her bare feet was ignored as she tucked her wand behind her ear, striding towards Harry’s front door. She stood on the front step for a second, centering herself before gently rapping her knuckles against the wood.

The door opened just barely a few seconds later, and Harry’s face was barely visible. It took him a second to recognize her, but once he did, he opened the door fully and stepped aside to allow her entry, shutting the door behind her.“I’m-- I’m sorry, I really didn’t think, and…”

“Are you okay?” Lily asked softly, already reaching out to place a hand on his arm.

“It’s fine.” He said, flinching away from the contact. “I really shouldn’t have disturbed you, especially not this late at night, and I’m really sorry about that.”

Lily withdrew her hand without comment. “It’s alright. You’re always welcome to come to me, Harry.” She said, stepping inside. “Expecting a kid is… pretty scary, huh?”

“You’d know better than I do.” Harry said, looking away. “You’ve got two.”

“I’ve got three.” Lily said quietly. “Though I can’t remember being pregnant with you.”

“Probably wasn’t much worth remembering.” Harry said, running a hand through his hair.

“I wish I could remember it. I also wish I could punch whoever erased those memories, but that’s a talk for another day.” She hummed. “Do you like tea?”

“Not the way Trelawney makes it.” Harry said, trying for a joke. “You can’t punch who did it, actually. He’s dead.”

“Who’s Trelawney?” Lily asked, turning to walk into her son’s kitchen. “And who’s dead?” There was a brief recollection of Sirius and Remus, laughing with their heads bent together, but she dismissed those thoughts.

“Divination teacher.” Harry said, following her into the kitchen. He looked markedly nervous, glancing back at the doorway every few seconds as if afraid that someone would come barging through. “And Dumbledore is. Dead, I mean.”

“Never trust a Divination teacher’s tea.” Lily advised sagely. “Hm. I’m sorry to hear that. Would have been nice to give him a piece of my mind. But that isn’t why I’m here.”

“I’m sorry, I mean, I must’ve woken you up.” Harry said. He often rambled when he was nervous, and he most definitely was nervous. He’d mentioned the cupboard, and that alone was trouble, even if he hadn’t told anything more than that. No one was supposed to know about the cupboard, least of all his parents. “I shouldn’t have freaked out, and especially shouldn’t have dragged you into it. I mean, tomorrow’s a work day on top of everything, and it’s bad enough that I’ll be a mess, but now you will be too and… I’m really sorry. It was silly of me to be upset over that anyway, I mean, it’s one of those things that’ll sort itself out when the baby’s born or something.”

“It’s perfectly normal to be panicking, Harry.” Lily assured him. “You’ve been through a lot. Adding a baby to all of that? No one can fault you for needing some support. I’m… I’m your mother. I’m supposed to be here for you. You can talk to me.”

“Ginny’s dad is really the only father I’ve seen, and Sirius and Remus were around a little, when I was a kid, but not for long.” Harry said, heaving a sigh before shrugging. “I just… don’t know what I’ll do, really. I don’t want to ruin my kid for life, if that can be avoided.”

“It’s going to be hard.” Lily told him. “Parenthood isn’t a walk in the park. But it’s worth it. And for what it’s worth? I think you’re going to be an amazing father.”

“Do you really?” Harry looked a little hopeful. “I mean, you’ve done a good job with Anne and Matt, so if you think I’ll be alright, then I shouldn’t do too badly.”

“We did our best, and so will you.” Lily smiled softly. “Have you thought of names?”

“We were going to name him James, before we knew you were all alright, but we’re not so sure, now. Would get confusing, when both of them are around. We’re sticking with Jay, though. Appa suggested it, and Ginny already liked the nickname, so I figured we’d find another J name to fit.” Harry said, nodding. “Sirius, for a middle name, though. That was never up for debate. Sirius used to joke that he was practically a Potter in all but name, so I figured he’d get a real kick out of that.”

Lily laughed, leaning against the counter. “You’re right, he would get a kick out of that. He must have been so proud of you.”

“He was.” Harry said, smiling softly at the thought of Sirius. “Used to say I’d gotten a hard deal, and that the two of us would be a real family, once all of this was over. Things didn’t turn out quite right, for that.” He shifted his gaze to the floor, the smile slipping slightly. “I like to think he would’ve held himself to his word, though. If he had the chance.”

“He would have.” Lily stepped forward, gently reaching for his hand. “Sirius was a lot of things, but he was a man of his word. I’m glad… that he got to be there for you. Even if it was only for a little while. And I know… Petunia was never really the mothering type. He was your godfather, and you should have gone to him instead of them.”

“Sirius lost it, when he heard you were dead. He went to take on Peter, who’d turned you over to the Death Eaters, and Peter framed him for murder, so I got passed off to the Dursleys while everyone was celebrating Voldemort being gone.” Harry said, before something dreadful occurred to him. Sirius never knew his best friends were alive. Sirius lived the last fifteen years of his life thinking they’d died, and the whole time, they were just hidden away. “He spent thirteen years in Azkaban and somehow came out of it enough to watch over me, even for just a little while.”

Lily let out a quiet breath, closing her eyes for a moment. “Oh, Sirius…” She would have to tell Janardhan, eventually. But not now. “I’m sorry you had to go through that, Harry. You were just a child.”

“Go through what?” Harry asked, genuinely confused. “It was Sirius that was hurt, I was just… there. And I didn’t do much to help him, either, but that’s on me.”

“Not just that, Harry.” Lily sighed. “Everything. I’m sorry we weren’t there for you. When you… sent me the patronus, it said… something about a cupboard.”

“I wasn’t supposed to tell. I’m really sorry.” Harry’s words came out in a rushed jumble. “It just slipped out and I shouldn’t have told.”

“You can tell me anything you want to. If you’re comfortable with that.” Lily said quietly, giving his hand a squeeze.

“I was only in the cupboard because I did freaky things, though. And it was nice. Uncle Vernon couldn’t fit through the door.” Harry said softly, after a few minute’s pause to build up the courage. The cupboard had been dark, and scary, but it was warm, and the spiders that lived in it with him were his friends. It kept him safe, even if being safe in there meant he had to go without food sometimes. “So if I got through the door quick enough, he couldn’t catch me.”

“They locked you in a cupboard?” Lily’s voice didn’t raise above a whisper as she looked up at her son.

“I got a bedroom once the letters started coming.” Harry said quickly. Despite all their faults, they had given him the room, even against Dudley’s wishes. He’d never known them to do anything Dudley hadn’t wanted, before then, and it had been the biggest surprise of his life, and arguably the best, until he’d found out about his parents. “The Hogwarts ones. They got worried, when the letters were addressed to the cupboard, thought maybe someone had seen the address on there, so they let me move up to Dudley’s second bedroom. And they fed me at least once a day and I got Dudley's old clothes when he'd grown out of them, so they weren't all bad.”

“That’s…” Lily seemed at a loss for words. “You... You didn’t deserve that. You deserved love and… And your own room, and toys and… You were a child.”

“We’re all here now, and that’s what matters, really.” Harry said, shrugging. He clumsily squeezed Lily’s hand, in an effort to cheer her up. “Rest of it’s all old business. No need to dig it up.”

She stared up at him with sad eyes, her hand still holding onto his. “We’re here now.” She agreed. “And we aren’t going anywhere, this time.”

“I’m glad.” Harry said, finally making eye contact with Lily again. “They used to tell me you wouldn’t have stuck around me long, when I was a kid, and once I got to school, most of what I heard was that you were good people and wouldn’t have left me if you hadn’t had to, so I knew they were lying. And the rest was Snape, so I tried not to set much store by it.”

Lily’s face scrunched up at the mention of her old friend. “Severus? What was he doing talking to you?” She asked.

“He was my Potions professor.” Harry said. “When I was in school.”

“He’s a Death Eater.” She protested. “Why was he allowed to teach?”

“He apologized, I guess.” Harry shrugged. “Dumbledore wanted to keep him close. So he kept Snape right under his nose at Hogwarts, and let him terrorize all of us kids, for some reason. Hated my guts just for who you and Appa were. Are. Sorry. It’s a lot to wrap my head around.”

“I understand.” She nodded. “About being confused, I mean. Not Severus. He shouldn’t have been around children.”

“Agreed.” Harry said, with a laugh. “I’d teach better than he did, and I’m horrid with children.”

“You were great with Matt.” Lily reminded him. “He loves you.”

“Matt’s a good kid.” Harry nodded. “It’s… weird to have siblings, all of a sudden. Up until Ron came along, the closest thing I had was Dudley, and I don’t know if you’ve met him, but he’s a real piece of work.” Harry snorted. “Less so now-- he’s grown up a bit, but back when we were little…”

“Sounds like he takes after Petunia.” Lily sighed.

“Anne and Matt seem like good kids, though. Hopefully they’ll take being an aunt and uncle well.” Harry said. “Better than I’m taking being a dad soon, at least, but that’s not too high a bar I’m setting.”

“Wait till one of them has kids. They’ll be coming to you for advice at two in the morning.” Lily assured him.

“Let’s hope I figure it out by then.” Harry said, shaking his head.

“Well you’ve got your Appa and I to help you out, now.” She reached up with her free hand, placing it on his shoulder.

“Yeah.” Harry said, smiling softly. “I do.”

“Harry?” Ginny asked groggily, as her husband climbed into bed. “Heard somebody downstairs. You okay?”

“Amma came by.” Harry said, scooting until his front was flat against Ginny’s back. “My mum, I mean. I… I took your advice. About telling her. About the Dursleys.”

“Proud of you, babe.” Ginny said, reaching backward to pat Harry’s face. “Was brave of you.”

“I shouldn’t have told her.” Harry said, sighing as he leaned into her touch. Ginny grimaced, mumbling something about how his beard was tickling her hand. “She’s upset now, and she didn’t want me to see it, but I know she is.”

“S’what mums are for. Worrying. Welcome to hell.” Ginny said, moving the hand on his face down to grab his arm before pulling it so it lay over her stomach. “Give us a good cuddle, and you’ll lose the nerves.”

“They won’t love me less?” Harry asked, truly afraid. He’d always been nervous about relationships, something that Hermione had always said stemmed from bad examples and unformed attachments as a child, and Ginny squeezed his hand tightly.

“If they leave you, I’ll fight ‘em. Little Jay’ll help.” Ginny said with a snort, finally sounding more awake.

“Not sure how much helping he can do, from in there.” Harry said, pressing a kiss to the back of Ginny’s head. “But he’s your son, he’ll figure it out.”

“Joining in the epic tradition of fighting old people.” Ginny said, satisfied. “Our boy. Our boy, who’s going to start kicking the hell out of me if we don’t go back to sleep.”

“You sure it’ll be okay, though?” Harry asked again, sounding a little less tentative than he had before, and Ginny squeezed his hand again.

“It’ll be completely alright. You can take my word for it.”

It was almost three in the morning by the time Lily had returned home. She and Harry had talked for a long time before she’d sent him off to bed, claiming that they both had work in the morning. She paused to breath in the fresh air outside before apparating back to her own home.

Her footsteps were impossibly loud against the creaky stairs, but she closed her bedroom door as gently as possible. A flick of her wand was enough to ensure a silencing charm would keep the kids from waking up due to any noise.

Unfortunately, that mercy didn’t extend to her husband. Janardhan started awake suddenly upon the shattering of Lily’s empty water glass against the wall.

“Babe?” He asked sleepily, rubbing at his eyes with one hand as he felt around the bedside table for his glasses with the other. “What’s going on?”

“A cupboard.” She said, voice trembling. “They kept him in a fucking cupboard, Janardhan.”

“Who? A what?” Janardhan asked, confused, as he slid on his glasses. Once he got a good look at Lily, he tumbled out of bed in an effort to get to her as quickly as possible, nearly falling flat on his face. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as tightly as possible. “Where were you?”

“Harry. I was at Harry’s.” She debated pulling away to break something else, but eventually she leaned into him instead. “He was… He wanted to talk. He’s scared about the baby and he told me about what Petunia and Vernon…”

“They kept him in a cupboard, you said.” Janardhan said quietly, rubbing her back. “That’s… I would’ve said that was beyond them, if anyone had asked me, but that’s our boy, Lily.”

“They locked him in a cupboard, and he wore Dudley’s old clothes, and…” She grabbed a handful of Janardhan’s shirt, pressing her face into his shoulder. “I don’t know.”

“We can’t take away what happened to him.” Janardhan said, after a pause. “But we can make sure it’s better from here. I don’t know how we can make him comfortable, but we’ll do it. We helped Sirius, right? We can help Harry.”

“He’s an adult. He’s our baby and he’s got a baby of his own on the way and we don’t even know anything about him.” Lily mumbled.

“But he’s telling us now, isn’t he? He’ll come to us on his own, when he thinks he needs us, and we’ll keep track of him for the times he doesn’t realize.” Janardhan said. “He’s just another one of our kids, and we won’t push him for information that he doesn’t want to give. He’s giving us the opportunity to get to know him and his family, and none of us are going to waste it.”

“Yeah. I’m glad he tried to find us.” She murmured. “But I still want to murder my sister.”

“Me too.” Janardhan sighed. “But we’ve got three kids who need us, so we can’t really afford to go to jail at the moment.”

“Guess not. Harry said the Dursleys went into hiding during the war, anyways.” She pulled back to look up at her husband. “I don’t have the time to track them down.”

“I think the time would be better used emotionally preparing ourselves for being grandparents.” He shook his head. “Grandparents. Already. Why. This is what happens when you don’t raise your kids.”

“We can’t really talk. We had Harry when we were barely in our twenties. During a war, to boot.” She snorted.

“Thankfully he’s closer to twenty-five than we were.” He laughed. “Improving on us, for sure.”

“Hopefully Anne will wait even longer.” Lily agreed. “If she even has kids, that is.”

“She’s got a good head on her shoulders. She’ll be fine.” Janardhan nodded. “We should probably talk to him. Harry, that is. Both of us.”

“About the baby?” Lily asked. “Or the Dursleys?”

“Everything, I guess. Mostly the Dursleys, though.” Janardhan shrugged. “At the least, it’ll get him more comfortable with the idea of coming to us with stuff. He already is, but once the baby gets here, he’ll probably have a harder time with it.”

“He’s already having a hard time. I don’t think he wants us to worry.” She admitted.

“We’re his parents, that’s our job.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And a baby would obviously dig up all sorts of childhood crap.”

“He’s scared. Doesn’t know if he knows how to be a father.” Lily told him. “Cause he didn’t have one. Didn’t have you, growing up.”

“He’ll do great, I mean, he’s terrific with his siblings and they’re a hard sell on most people.” He said. “And, for the parts he doesn’t know, we’ll be around. I guess that’s the part he hasn’t figured out. If I were in his position, I’d feel like people were going to drop me and run at the first sign of trouble too. Makes it all the more important that we make sure he knows we’re sticking around.”

“I just hope we can convince him. Didn’t make much of a good impression, being ‘dead’ for god knows how long.” Lily sighed. “I’m glad he’s willing to let us try.”

“He’s our kid and we love him, no matter what kind of fucked up shit they pulled to convince him otherwise.” Janardhan said, an edge of bitterness seeping into his voice. “Talking to Ginny might be a good idea. She might know more of what’s going on.

“Anne mentioned something about a Ron and a Hermione. Might be his friends.” She added.

“We could talk to them as well. If they’ve been his friends for a while, they likely know things too.” He nodded. “That’ll be our plan of action, then? Talk to the wife and friends, and then go from there?”

“Well, I don’t want to go behind his back. I want him to trust us.” Lily said.

“Talk to him first, then. That’ll be step one.” Janardhan nodded. “Then we do all the behind the back stuff. Except it won’t be behind his back at that point, because he’ll know it’s happening. In front of his back? English is weird.”

“You’d think you’d be used to it after twenty years of being married to a white person.” Lily laughed. “But alright. That sounds like a good plan.”

“Almost twenty-five. We’re old.” Janardhan said, shaking his head. “We’re so old.”

“Old enough to be grandparents.” She agreed.

“I still can’t believe it.” He said, laughing. “It’s so weird, I mean, Madhav’s barely ten and he’s going to be an uncle soon. Makes the grandparent part a bit easier, considering we’re considerably older than that.”

“We’re a lot older than ten, babe.” Lily said. “Even if you barely act like it.”

“I’m a qualified adult.” Janardhan said, pulling a face. “And besides, I act at least fifteen. And that’s only on bad days.”

“You have good days?”

“Holy shit, Harry wasn’t kidding.” Ron’s mouth had been open long enough that Lily was surprised he hadn’t caught any flies. “You’re real. Alive, anyways. Alive and real.”

“I like this one.” Janardhan said, grinning as he looked to Lily. “Can we keep him?”

“Please do.” Hermione said, shaking her head. “He’s all yours.”

“You lost the right to tell people that when you agreed to marry me.” Ron said.

“Ginny tries to get rid of me at least twice a week, so marriage doesn’t mean anything on that front.” Harry shrugged. “It’s just that you’re stuck in a lifetime of that now.”

“Truly my son.” Janardhan said, looking quite proud.

“Yeah. You look just like him.” Ron said, sounding amazed. “Or, well, I guess he looks like you?”

“One of those.” Lily agreed mildly.

“It’s what tends to happen when you have kids.” Janardhan said with a shrug. “They usually turn out looking like you.”

“So, uh. This is weird.” Ron said. “And there are more of you? Like. Siblings, I mean. Harry has siblings. Why are Hermione and I here again?”

“He’s got a younger brother and a younger sister, yeah.” Janardhan nodded. “We wanted to talk to all of you about. Well.” He looked to Lily. “Harry’s come to us with some… information, about how he grew up. And we wanted to talk to you three, get the full story and make sure that we can help Harry as best as we can. Also, we need to background check his friends, now that we’re in his life.”

Ron glanced to his fiancée, obviously a bit nervous about the entire conversation. His gaze then flickered to his best friend. “You cool with that, mate? The talking about the Dursleys and all.”

“Would’ve skipped the talk, if I wasn’t.” Harry joked, although it was clearly half-hearted. “Better to do it now than wait on it. I’ve told them most of the important bits, already, so it’s not like there’s going to be any big revelations today.”

“There are a lot of important bits.” Ron said with a shrug. “We’ll do what we can, right, ‘Mione?”

“We’ll do what we can.” Hermione agreed. “We saw a fair bit of it play out in real life, so I guess we are good sources. Not play out, exactly, but we saw how he was when he’d come back from breaks, and he’d write to us as much as they’d let him.”

“Weren’t much help sixth year, though.” Ron murmured, remembering Harry’s outrage.

“I was being a bit difficult, at that point.” Harry said, shaking his head. “Wasn’t either of your faults.”

“Your godfather had just died and you’d been quite literally locked up all summer with barely any contact with anyone who cared about you.” Hermione said. Even to Janardhan and Lily, the statement sounded well worn, like she’d said it hundreds of times before. “You were entitled to being upset.”

“Suppose I was.” Harry said, clearly more to keep the situation from escalating than agreeing genuinely.

“They locked you up?” Janardhan asked carefully. “For a whole summer?”

“A whole summer?” Ron snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous. It was every summer.”

“Didn’t they tell people you went to an institution, after you went off to Hogwarts?” Hermione asked, frowning.

“St Brutus’ Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys.” Harry said, nodding. “Was much easier for them to convince people I was a violent criminal than tell people I was a wizard, let alone admitting to what they’d done. Plus, it got them sympathy points. Opening their home to their disturbed nephew out of the goodness of their hearts or something.”

“Probably wasn’t hard, convincing white suburbia that you were dangerous.” Hermione said, sounding quite bitter. Harry nodded in agreement, looking quite tired.

“Goodness of their hearts.” Ron’s tone was dark. “They put bars on your window. You were twelve.”

“They did what?” Lily looked appalled. “What did they expect him to do, murder someone?”

“Kind of feels like we’re throwing a pity party, to be honest.” Harry said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, it was shit, but it’s over now.”

“Ginny says the nightmares haven’t stopped.” Hermione said gently, and Harry looked away, muttering something to himself.

“Anyone would have nightmares.” Ron’s eyes were distant before he shook himself. “Nothing to be ashamed of. You went through hell, mate.”

“They’re, they’re really making it sound all horrible, but it wasn’t.” Harry spoke up, looking to his parents. “There were some good days. Sometimes they wouldn’t notice me, if I was quiet enough, and I got by. Always managed to find enough food to keep myself in working order, and I figured out dodging quick enough.”

“That’s not how it should have been, Harry.” Hermione’s statement made Harry pause for a second, before he shrugged.

“I had to give up one small part of my life being happy so that a bunch of other people could be safe. If it could’ve saved more people, I would’ve given more.” Harry said.

“We got you your first Christmas presents in first year.” Ron said. “Mum knit you that jumper, remember?”

“I got a box of dog biscuits from Aunt Marge one year, before that.” Harry mused aloud. “That’s a present.”

“Those were for a dog, Harry. You’re a human being.” Ron said. “More human than they were.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Harry said, obviously uncomfortable. “Look, they did bad stuff. I agree. They shouldn’t have treated me like that. But we do have to remember that they had a fifteen month old dropped on their doorstep with little to no details on what happened to his parents. They weren’t prepared to treat me like their own, no matter how much Dumbledore expected it to happen.”

“He knew and he still left you there?” Lily’s voice was cold.

“Dumbledore had his hands in everything, looks like.” Janardhan said, pulling a face. “Sounds like the meddling sort.”

“You’ve got no idea.” Harry groaned.

“I’m ready to beat up a corpse.” Lily said. “Or at least blast his tomb to bits. They can’t arrest a dead woman, can they?”

“Count me in, Mrs. Potter.” Ron said with a nod. “You’re dead and I’m the Chosen One’s best mate. We’ll be fine.”

“I should’ve seen you and Ron getting along coming.” Harry said, sighing. “I’m glad you all like each other, but it’s also troubling.”

“You learn to live with it.” Janardhan said, nodding. “It’s a process, but you learn to live with it.”

“The real question at hand is whether Harry has any siblings that follow rules at all. Rules of any kind. None of us are in a position to be picky.” Hermione said, nudging Harry with her elbow. “Harry’s allergic, from what we’ve figured out.”

“You’re going to love Matt.” Harry said, smiling a little at the mention of his little brother. “The both of you can just follow rules all day long.”

“Anne is a different story.” Lily sighed. “But I hope you’ll get along, anyways.”

“You’ve got to set an example for the baby.” Harry said. “Can’t have his aunts killing each other. That’s not what babies should be seeing.”

“Ginny and Audrey are always fighting.” Hermione pointed out.

“Yes, and have you seen Freddie?” Harry laughed.

“You make an excellent uncle.” Ron said. “I don’t know why you worry about being a dad-- all the kids love you.”

“I guess it’s different, when it’s your own kid.” Harry shrugged. “You’re actually responsible for not screwing them up. Can’t hand them off to someone else at the end of the day and let them handle the hard parts.”

“I sent you books.” Hermione said. “But I’m guessing you haven’t read them.”

“The only two times I ever listened to a book’s advice, I ended up talking to a fragment of Voldemort’s soul and the second time, it was Snape.” Harry said. “I’m not gonna trust books anymore.”

“You’ve got a fair point.” Hermione said.

“Those parenting books are usually terrifying, though.” Janardhan spoke up. “I ended up trying to read one, when we were having Anne, and I completely terrified myself. They just go on about all the horrible things you can do by accident, when it’s really more like making sure your kid doesn’t explode most of the time, and keeping them comfortable, fed and hydrated. Baths are also a good idea.”

“Anne hasn’t killed anybody yet, so I’d say you’re doing pretty good.” Harry said, chuckling. “If she makes it to eighteen without committing a crime, then we’ll know she’s improved on me.”

“Actually… We were already involved in illegal dragon smuggling by the time we were eleven.” Ron hummed thoughtfully.

“Good point. She’s already doing better than me then.” Harry said. “And plus, you say that like you weren’t the reason it happened.”

“Even if we discount the dragon smuggling, you and I illegally used a Time Turner to stall a Ministry ordered execution third year.” Hermione said off-handedly. “So by thirteen, we were technically seasoned criminals.”

“Actually, if we discount the dragon smuggling, my earliest crime committed was possession of stolen property for about half an hour first year. The Sorcerer’s Stone.” Harry said, looking quite sheepish. “For a lawyer, I’ve sure broken a lot of laws.”

“Best way to learn what the rules are.” Janardhan said with a grin. “Break them all.”

“I’d been wondering whether that was hereditary.” Hermione said, shaking her head. “Remus was right. You two are incredibly similar.”

“I had a little too much self-respect to doodle Ginny’s initials in my notes, though.” Harry said, with a shrug. “Wouldn’t have been caught dead doing half the things he did.”

“Nah, you just pined after her like a prick for a year and a half.” Ron let out a chuckle.

“Sounds like what Janardhan did over me.” Lily grinned. “You two are far too similar.”

“Most of what I knew about you was from one of Snape’s memories and--”

“Oh, no.” Janardhan looked to Lily. “He saw that and that’s all he had for a frame of reference. No wonder he was terrified when he first met us. That’s what he thought we were like all the time.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever fought any worse than that. Before or after.” Lily sighed.

“The worst fight we’ve had since then was probably about me talking about sports too much.” Janardhan shrugged. “Kind of terrible, really, thinking that you saw us at our worst and that was what you got.”

“Still a step up from what I knew about you before that.” Harry said, looking quite somber all of a sudden.

“What did Petunia tell you?” Lily’s voice was tired.

“Before Hagrid told me about Voldemort, I’d been told that you were both drunks and driving while intoxicated. Crashed the car, and only I survived, with the scar to prove that I’d been there.” Harry ran a hand through his hair. “Lots of attention to detail, as you can tell. I doubt they would’ve given me any story at all if I hadn’t had that family tree assignment in school.”

Lily’s face had gone almost as red as her hair. “Dumbledore’s tomb, then my sister.” She decided.

“I can’t even drive.” Janardhan said, frowning. “They didn’t even try.”

“They really didn’t.” Harry said, shrugging. “Was a good way to teach me what not to do, I guess. Learn by example.”

“That’s one way to look at it.” Ron rolled his eyes.

“And you’ve got all of us behind you, for when you’re unsure.” Hermione said, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“Well, you’re his godparents, so you kind of have to be.” Harry said matter-of-factly, unaware of the surprised looks on his friends’ faces.

“Huh?” Ron blinked.

“I knew I forgot something.” Harry muttered darkly. “Ginny told me to check the list and I told her I didn’t need to. I shouldn’t not check the list again.”

“I say that every week.” Janardhan said. “That’s not gonna go away either.”

“You’d forget your head if it wasn’t screwed on.” Lily said.

“At least we know the first thing Jay will be learning is how to stick to lists.” Hermione said, sounding cheerful. “Color coding is an important skill, and important skills are best learned early.”

“If he’s anything like his mother, he’ll start scribbling on the walls.” Harry said, rubbing his forehead. “Years of nightmares in store. Good thing we have magic.”

“Just don’t give the kid a diary. Never ends well.” Ron said sagely.

“No diaries.” Harry said, shaking his head. “Ginny’s banned them, and if she hadn’t, I would’ve.”

“Is this another story?” Janardhan asked, looking very much like he didn’t want an answer to his question.

“A long one. You’ll hear about it eventually.” Harry shrugged.

“More Ginny than Harry.” Ron agreed. “But still a lot of Harry.”

“I’m always ears deep in everything.” Harry said. “At least that’s cleared up for now. Knock on wood.”

“Fatherhood tends to do that to you.” Janardhan said, chuckling. “You’ve got to hide the evidence of what you’ve done so that the kids don’t find arguing points too early in the game. Although, from what it sounds like, you skipped that part with us.”

“I got the map by third year.” Harry said, grinning. “There’s no coming back from that.”

“You’re in history books, Harry.” Ron said. “You’re screwed. No way Jay doesn’t see that.”

“I forgot that.” Harry grumbled, slapping a hand over his eyes. “I’m screwed.”

“Technically, so were your parents, and you turned out fine.” Hermione said. “Although there’s a distinct difference of how much of their lives were public knowledge and how much yours has been.”

“I’m surprised the Prophet hasn’t chased us down yet.” Harry said, laughing. “They’re usually trailing me around all the time, looking for something to blow out of proportion.”

“Nothing’ll ever compare to the one time they tried to convince everyone you were cheating on Ginny with Seamus and Dean.” Hermione said fondly. “That was a fun week.”

“I’m endlessly glad Ted hasn’t figured out reading the newspaper yet.” Harry said. “Once he gets to that age, I’ll have to start burning things so he doesn’t see what goes on.”

“Oh hey, have you guys met Teddy yet?” Ron turned to James and Lily. “Lupin’s kid.”

“Not yet, no.” Lily admitted.

“I’ve got him for the night, in a couple days, to give Andromeda a bit of a break. Maybe you and the kids could come see him? He’d love to meet anyone who knew his parents.” Harry asked. “We’ll steer clear of the zoo, this time, though. Can’t risk a repeat with Matt.”

“Too true.” Janardhan said, shuddering.

“What happened at the zoo?” Hermione asked.

“It’s a long story.” Janardhan and Harry said in unison, prompting a round of laughter from everyone at the table.

“That went a lot better than expected.” Janardhan said, as they reached home. “He seemed better, this time around. Guess he’s getting more comfortable around us. Good thing, considering the baby’ll be here soon.”

“Seemed like he was more comfortable with his friends there.” Lily hummed, taking her shoes off after they’d walked through the door. “He seems.. better. I think it’s good he’s talking about it. We just have to keep working to help, right?”

“The Dursleys just… ignored him.” Janardhan said, forcing the words out like it physically pained him to speak them aloud. “So our best bet is to help out is to keep him talking and as close to us as possible. He seems like he’d like that. The being close part. The talking is something that’ll happen on his terms.”

“Anju and Madhu will be excited to hear that.” Lily smiled.

“We’ve got to watch them, though. Can’t have them dragging him off somewhere and interrogating him or whatever.” Janardhan said, shaking his head. “Danger there’s Anju, obviously.”

“I’ll talk to her.” Lily promised. “She gets carried away too easily.”

“She’s our kid. Seems to be a common thing, with all three of them.” Janardhan chuckled. “They all do it in different ways, but it’s always there.”

“We doomed them from the start.” Lily said, sounding far too fond for her words.

“Okay, this might be a little late to do the rules talk, but you guys have never really met a baby before, so I should probably be clear about this.” Janardhan said. “No screaming. No poking the baby in the eye. No telling people he’s ugly, even if he is. He’s not going to be, I mean, you all turned out fine, but just in case.”

“I’ve met a baby!” Anne said as she propped her hands on her hips. “Madhav is six years younger than me.”

“Meaning you met a baby ten years ago.” Lily said. “Good time for a refresher.”

“And that didn’t stop you from poking him in the eye and screaming anyway, so I’m hoping you listen more now than you did then.” Janardhan said. “That was a nightmare.”

“Anju doesn’t listen well.” Matt said seriously. “Should she be allowed near the baby?”

“I won’t scream.” She rolled her eyes. “Babies can’t offend you because they can’t talk yet.”

“They do cry. A lot.” Janardhan warned. “Jay’s only, what, two days old? He’s going to be crying or sleeping the whole time.”

“Can I watch him cry and sleep inside, and not on the doorstep?” Matt asks, looking honestly curious.

“... Yes.” Lily answers, already raising her hand to knock on the door. “But it won’t be nearly as interesting as you’re hoping.”

“I’m coming!” They heard footsteps rush up to the door before it swung open, revealing a tired and disheveled looking Harry. “Glad you guys could make it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, sweetheart.” Lily smiled, leaning up to kiss Harry’s cheek as the family shuffled in.

“You haven’t missed much, really. I’ve gotten pissed on twice, which Ginny’s really enjoying. For some reason, he’s just not warmed up to me yet.” Harry said, with a laugh. “We’ve got a regular mama’s boy on our hands.”

“Carrying on the family legacy.” Janardhan nodded solemnly. “He comes from a long and illustrious line of angry mama’s boys, so I’m glad he’s carrying on that.”

“He’s upstairs with Ginny, right now, if you’d like to see him. Was awake when I came down, so he should be still. You never know for sure, though.” Harry said, reaching over to ruffle Matt’s hair. “He’s very excited to meet his favorite uncle. Don’t tell Ron, though, he might get jealous.”

Matt’s face lit up at the implication. “I won’t tell!” He promised, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Can I hold him? The baby, I mean, not Ron.”

“If Matt gets to hold him, I want a turn!” Anne grinned at her brothers.

“Even I can’t hold Ron, Matt. You’re better off trying with the baby.” Harry said, shaking his head, before starting up the stairs, motioning for everyone to follow. “Everybody gets a turn holding him, don’t worry. And whoever he likes best gets babysitting duty forever, so be careful about how nice you are.”

“We’re his grandparents.” Lily laughed. “We’ll be stuck with babysitting duty no matter what.”

“Do I get out of homework if I’m babysitting?” Anne asked, obviously planning something.

“No.” Janardhan said quickly. “No one gets out of homework.”

“Thank god I’ve got a few years before that part.” Harry said, running ahead to check on Ginny. “Everyone’s here. Is Jay awake?”

“Just caught him at the right moment.” Ginny said, waving as Anne and Matt followed Harry in. “He’s not even smelly right now. He’s really making an effort. I’m proud of him.”

The kids hurried to Ginny’s side, peering down at the infant. “He’s so squishy.” Matt breathed.

“Very squishy.” Ginny agreed, as Jay looked around the room, blinking a few times. “He’s really friendly. I bet he’ll let you hold him, if you want.”

“Please!” Matt said, directing the plea more to the baby than to Ginny.

“Go sit down in the chair and Ginny’ll show you how.” Harry motioned to the rocking chair by the bed. “The line starts after Matt, I guess, so everybody fight it out quietly.”

Matt sat in the chair, a serious expression on his face. “I’m ready.” He said gravely.

Ginny picked Jay up off the bed, before walking over to where Matt was sitting in the chair. “Try holding your arms like I am, and make sure you keep his head steady, once I put him in your arms, alright? Babies don’t have strong necks, so his head’ll flop around and that’s dangerous.”

Matt nodded seriously, arranging his arms the way Ginny had. The effect was quite odd, seeing as he wasn’t holding a baby yet. “Like this?”

“That’s perfect.” Lily told him, smiling softly.

“Alright then, there he is.” Ginny said, carefully shifting Jay into Matt’s arms. The baby let out a whimper, not liking the movement, but settled down quickly. “Would you look at that. Likes you more than he likes his dad.”

“To be fair.” Harry cut in. “He likes everyone more than he likes me.”

Matt smiled down at the baby. “Hi. I’m Matt. You’re Jay.” He said.

The baby wiggled his feet slightly inside the blanket he’d been wrapped in, yawning.

“That’s about as big a response as anyone’s gotten from him.” Harry said. “Working magic there, Matt.”

“I’m a wizard.” He said with a grin.

“I’m beginning to see where Harry gets it from.” Ginny said, shaking her head.

“You gonna hold him forever, little dude?” Anne asked her brother. “I’m next in line.”

“How about we pass him around to everyone, and then it can be your turn for as long as you want?” Ginny asked Matt, ruffling his hair.

“Okay.” Matt gently shifted the baby so that Ginny could take him back.

“Do you need me to sit, too?” Anne asked.

“Would be safer for you and Matt to, yeah. Your parents are probably fine standing because they’ve done a lot of this.” Ginny said, adjusting Jay in her arms. Jay blinked slowly, as if he was trying to focus on her face, and she laughed, rubbing the side of his face with her thumb. “He’s a cuddler so far. Hopefully that doesn’t change.”

“With us as parents?” Harry said, chuckling. “Not likely.”

“Well, he takes after you in most everything else.” Ginny said, as Matt got up and Anne took his place. “No reason why he shouldn’t pick up on that as well.”

“Harry been giving you a hard time?” Janardhan asked, nudging his oldest son with his elbow. Harry ducked his head in embarrassment, muttering something about being attacked.

“It’s like having two newborns.” Ginny said, laughing, as she carefully handed Jay over to Anne. “I can only really tell the difference because one of them poops more.”

“I was going to say that’s not true, but that means something totally different than what I was thinking.” Harry said. “No.”

“You’re running on two hours of sleep or something, babe. I forgive you.” Ginny said, walking over to Harry to pat his back.

“You’re so cute.” Anne cooed at Jay, her lips curving into a smile. “I’m gonna be your favorite aunt, I promise. Look at your little nose, aww…”

“I think she’s going to steal your baby, guys.” Lily warned them.

“She can have him.” Ginny said, grinning. “She’ll be running for the hills before the next diaper change.”

“I’m surprised your mum left us alone, honestly.” Harry said. “She’s been fussing over Jay since he was born.”

“It’s almost like Mum’s never seen a baby before.” Ginny said, laughing. “And Jay’s not even the first baby this year in my family.”

“How long do you suppose Hermione and Ron will wait after the wedding?” Lily asked.

“They’re worse than us, honestly. And you know I mean it, ‘cause that’s gross to know about your brother.” Ginny shuddered. Harry put an arm around her shoulders, looking over to Anne to check on Jay. “To be fair, we’re not even that bad. Doesn’t take much to be worse than us. But still. Eww.”

“Anne, everything alright?” Harry asked, changing the subject. There was only one thing he didn’t want to hear more than his wife, Ron’s sister, discussing the possibility of Ron and Hermione reproducing, and it was his parents discussing that.

“He’s sleeping.” Anne said, beaming up at her older brother. “I booped his nose and he fell asleep.”

“You’re an expert already.” Harry said, grinning. “Won’t have to worry about you two with him, then, until he starts moving around more.”

“Alright, alright, let’s give the grandparents a turn.” Ginny said, looking to Lily. “You’ve been waiting pretty patiently, I mean, it’s only right.”

“I’ve got three kids. Patience comes with the territory.” Lily gently took the sleeping infant from her daughter, tucking him securely against her chest. Jay shifted slightly in his sleep, but didn’t wake. “If he’s anything like his grandfather, he won’t be asleep for long.”

“True.” Janardhan nodded. “I’m sorry, in advance. From what I hear, I’ve passed that down to Harry as well, so you’ve got a fifty percent chance of never sleeping again.”

“Brilliant.” Harry said dryly. “I love sleep deprivation.”

“That’s the spirit, kid. You’ll get used to it.” Janardhan patted his back, before walking over to Lily to get a good look at his grandson. “Wow. He does look like me.”

“He does, doesn’t he?.” Harry asked. “First thing Ginny said when she saw him was that he looked just like the pictures we’ve got of me, as a newborn.”

“Can we call this a winning thing?” Janardhan asked, frowning in thought.

“I don’t know.” Harry admitted. “But I want to anyway, so we might as well.”

“Good choice.” Janardhan nodded.

“Well you two managed to land Ginny and I, so I’d say you’re doing alright.” Lily nodded to her husband, glancing down at the baby as though to make sure he wanted to hold him. “Don’t keep your grandson waiting, Janardhan.”

“Oh, don’t worry. The little guy’s done enough waiting. Time to follow you all up with the main act.” Janardhan eased Jay out of Lily’s arms, grinning. Jay let out a loud yawn, or at least as loud a yawn as a newborn could, and settled into his grandfather’s arms easily. “There he is. I forgot how small babies are.”

“Don’t squish him.” Matt advised.

“I only dropped you on your head once, Madhu. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Janardhan said.

“He’s kidding, baby.” Lily assured Matt, stifling a laugh at his horrified expression. “No one did any dropping.”

“And no one’s going to do any dropping.” Ginny spoke up. “If anyone tries, you’re getting fired.”

“I like that idea.” Janardhan said, smiling. “Hear that, kids?”

“Due to the economy, we’ll have to let you go, Appa.” Anne said seriously.

“If someone needs to get kicked out, I’ll leave.” Harry said, frowning in confusion.

“I like you too much to fire you.” Anne said breezily.

“I wouldn’t fire you either.” Harry said, smiling.

“Well, at least your son likes me better than you.” Janardhan said.

“We’ll try this again when he’s awake.” Harry said, crossing his arms.

“I thought I got to hold him again.” Matt said, tugging at Harry’s arm.

“We’ll all have plenty of time to hold the baby.” Lily smiled. “We’re a family, after all.”

“Yeah.” Harry said, grinning as he ruffled Matt’s hair. “We are.”