Chapter Text
"What we lose returns to us sooner or later, though not always in the way we expect."
The sound of Lily Potter’s black stiletto boots echoed through the historic, magical corridors of Hogwarts. Her emerald-green eyes scanned the surroundings with a sharp gaze, and the hem of her burgundy robes swayed in rhythm with her stride. Her red hair was pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck.
She entered the Great Hall.
Her eyes darted quickly to the Gryffindor table, sweeping over the students until they found the person she was looking for.
"Howard!" Her son's name fell from her lips.
Hazel eyes turned swiftly toward the voice he cherished. He rose quickly from the table, pausing his conversation with friends without hesitation, and greeted his mother with a respectful nod. "Mother."
Lily rested her palm against her son's cheek. "My dear," she said softly, "your father needs you."
Howard’s hazel eyes sharpened, mirroring the intensity of his mother’s emerald gaze.
Without sparing a glance at his friends, he followed his mother with elegant yet brisk steps.
The two entered Headmaster Albus Dumbledore’s office and approached the fireplace. Within seconds, the flames turned green.
They emerged in the office of the Chief Healer at St. Mungo’s Hospital. Lily bowed her head respectfully to greet the Chief Healer, and Howard mirrored her gesture.
As they walked down the hospital corridors, Lily held Howard’s hand tightly. "His condition is critical." Lily’s composure wavered, revealing traces of anxiety.
Howard’s jaw tightened; someone had harmed his father.
One day, he would drown everyone who had hurt his family in their own blood.
Lily approached room number 7 and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, she entered with her son.
James lay in a hospital bed. His handsome face was pale, and his left arm was in a cast.
Sirius stood beside him, his hand resting on James's chest. He anxiously examined his best friend's face.
Meanwhile, Remus was in the corner, speaking hushedly to Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts.
"James," Lily said softly to her husband. Anyone listening carefully could have noticed her anxiety.
Her husband's face immediately turned towards her, his hazel eyes gleaming when he saw his wife and son.
"Lily... Howard..." He winced as he tried to sit up in bed. Sirius wasted no time in helping him, and within seconds James was able to sit up in bed.
"What happened, Dad?" Howard asked in a cold voice.
James couldn't help but feel a shiver down his spine at his son's coldness, but he knew... his son's coldness wasn't directed at him, but at the person who had reduced him to this state.
He cleared his throat, "It's alright, really. Look, your father is as healthy as a radish."
Sirius grumbled softly, rose to his feet, and approached Howard. "More like a rotten radish."
Howard gave Sirius a small smile. Lily approached her husband and gracefully settled into the spot where Sirius had been sitting just seconds before.
She held her husband's hands. "Thank goodness you're with us," she whispered.
James smiled broadly at his wife's whisper, "I have many more jokes to drive you crazy, it would upset me to leave without doing them."
Before approaching his father, Howard glanced briefly at Remus and Professor Dumbledore, who were speaking in hushed tones in the corner. He decided it was best to give them privacy.
"Merlin, look at our son, Lily," James said, whistling softly. "Howard, you're really starting to look like a Greek god, son."
Howard chuckled softly, "I should thank your dominant genes, which are quite nice."
Dumbledore and Remus finished their conversation and turned their attention to the Potters. Howard smiled broadly at Remus, and bowed respectfully to Albus Dumbledore.
"I'd like to hear what happened from you, James," Dumbledore said to his former student, his blue eyes filled with worry.
James groaned and looked at the ceiling. "Everything happened so fast... I didn't feel like I was dueling a wizard... He was so quick... So agile..."
"Are you sure that person is a man?" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, absolutely," James said, sighing. "I mean... most likely... he didn't look like a woman; he was clearly a man. He had no breasts!"
Remus chuckled softly as he poured himself a glass of water. "Have you ever heard of small breasts, James?"
James narrowed his eyes. "Yes, but there was no curve in his rib cage at all!"
Sirius grinned and whistled. "So you specifically looked at that person's chest, huh?"
"Oh Lily!" James exclaimed, horror in his eyes. "They're ganging up against me! Why don't you team up with Howard and fight them?!"
"James, please continue." Dumbledore tried to encourage the injured man to speak with a gentle smile.
"Like I said... We were in the warehouse, and I... I heard Voldemort was in that warehouse..." James let out a shaky breath.
"The person you dueled wasn't Voldemort himself, was it?" Dumbledore asked curiously.
"No, I'm sure," James replied immediately. "This person was young, they might even have just graduated from Hogwarts."
"So a child attacked you?" Lily narrowed her eyes. "James, you're an auror, how could this be a child that you couldn't stop? Couldn't protect yourself?"
"Don't look down on him." James's cheeks flushed."He was powerful both physically and magically."
Sirius frowned, "Was he a Death Eater?"
James shook his head, "No... He got really angry when I called him a Death Eater."
"Why was the child in the warehouse?" Remus asked thoughtfully.
James swallowed, "He said he was waiting for me."
"Romantically?" Sirius grinned.
"That's not funny at all, Sirius!" Lily narrowed her eyes.
"What? Come on, I was just joking, but I don't know, I feel uneasy."
"Sirius is right," Howard said in a harsh voice. "Father, if what you're saying is true, it means you have a major enemy."
"And that's why you especially won't go on missions alone, James." Lily and Dumbledore said the same words at the same time.
"Two wise men." When Sirius whistled, Remus's hand gently slapped Sirius's head.
***
Howard managed to arrive in time for dinner. He sat at the Gryffindor table with his usual friends: Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
"What happened, Howard?" Hermione asked curiously. She had been wondering for the past few hours where Howard had gone with his mother.
"It's nothing." Howard shrugged as he ate his calamari.
"Since you said it's nothing, it must be very important to you," Ron said playfully, then received an elbow nudge from Hermione. He frowned. "What did I do now?!"
"Don't tease me, Ronald," Hermione hissed.
Howard chuckled softly. "Tell me, what happened while I was gone?"
"Hermione dragged me into the library!" Ron grumbled, giving her a glare.
"At least you did your defense assignment!" Hermione retorted.
"Snape doesn't like us anyway, he'll find an excuse to take our building points, you know that!" Ron said, sighing.
"That's enough laziness, Ronald," Hermione grumbled.
Howard watched his friends' argument, his eyes scanning the other students.
He wondered if any of them might know the young man who had attacked his father.
Howard narrowed his eyes, trying to catch a student reacting differently than usual.
"Where is Draco Malfoy?" He blinked.
Hermione and Ron stared at him in bewilderment. "What are you going to do with Malfoy?"
"Of course, nothing, I just noticed he wasn't there." Howard scratched his chin.
"From enemies to lovers." Hermione and Ron suddenly burst into grins.
Howard didn't feel the need to answer his friends when Draco Malfoy entered, looking more cheerful than usual.
To someone not paying attention, Draco seemed to be behaving perfectly normally, but Howard had noticed the changes. His flushed cheeks, clearly showing signs of bursting into laughter, his spine slightly tilted forward—meaning he was quite relaxed at the moment—and his fidgeting fingers.
Yes, Malfoy definitely knew something.
End of the first chapter.
Do you think Howard is being paranoid, or do you also think Draco knows something?
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