Chapter Text
“Anju?” Harry called ahead, as he ran up the stairs. They’d left her alone for five minutes, figuring the task of trying to get Sarah out of her room would hold Anne’s attention enough, but anything past five minutes of silence was too dangerous to be left alone. Harry had lost the family wide rock paper scissors match, moderated by Uncle Remus, and had been sent ahead to his death. “How’s it going?”
Evidently, it wasn’t going well.
Anne was sitting on the windowsill at the end of the hall, her arms crossed over her chest. “I haven’t bothered trying. If she wants to sit around and mope all day, who am I to stop her?”
“Do you ever think about the fact that the only time Amma and Appa bothered actually trying to have a kid, it turned out like that?” Harry pointed at Sarah’s door, scrunching up his nose in disgust. “They should be more thankful for the rest of us.”
“What, like you’re any better?” Anne raised an eyebrow as she pushed away from the windowsill, the golden locket she’d been wearing since last Christmas glinting in the sunlight. “They should have given up after the first kid, honestly.”
“Listen. I’ve fought Voldemort four times. What have you done?” Harry rolled his eyes. “Little punk.”
“If I had a chance, I’d do it better than you.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure Uncle Sirius would agree.”
Harry turned around abruptly, quickly making his way toward the stairs.
“AMMA!” He yelled, taking them two at a time, which was hilariously unsafe but absolutely necessary. “WE’RE SELLING ANNE TO THE ORPHANAGE!” He only slowed down when he turned into the living room, angrily flopping down on the couch.
She hadn’t just implied that.
She couldn’t have.
“We are not selling Anne to the orphanage.” James Potter said calmly, as he turned the page of the newspaper section he was reading. “We are giving her to them and asking nicely.”
“I doubt they’d take her.” Drew said from the doorway. “She’s been a real piece of work this summer.”
“We’re all dealing with the situation differently.” Lily said diplomatically.
“We can stop calling it a situation, you know.” Remus pointed out, from his seat next to James. “We all know exactly what topic you’re trying to avoid. James, the sports section please?”
“I don’t have the sports section.” James replied, turning another page.
“And I’m expected to believe you’re reading the business section that excitedly?” Remus asked. “You act like I haven’t known you for some twenty-five years now.”
“Fine.” James groaned, pulling the sports section out from where he’d hidden it behind the business pages. “Take it from me. Please.”
“It’s like I’m married to a teenager.” Lily sighed, her footsteps fading as she left the room.
“He was a teenager when you married him.” Matt’s voice came from behind the couch. He used to fit there easily as a child, but now it was shoved an extra foot away from the wall to accommodate him.
“Good point.” James said, reaching back to ruffle Matt’s hair. “That’s why he’s my favorite.”
“You shouldn’t say that when your other kids are in the room.” Drew pointed out.
“I can have multiple favorites.” James countered. “Every one of you could be my favorite. I just have to like all of you equally, which I do.”
“Yesterday you said you didn’t care much for Hari.” Matt said.
“I like three of you equally, and then there’s two of you that I’m hoping get better with age.” James shrugged. “Pick whichever category suits you.”
“A pound says it’s Anjali and Hari.” Drew mumbled.
“I’ve gotten better!” Harry protested.
“Remember, I didn’t assign anyone to any category.” James scowled at the business section. “Anyone who decides they fit somewhere is doing it all on their own.”
“Someone else can deal with Sharada!” Anne suddenly stormed into the room. “I don’t care if she rots in there! Good riddance!”
“We do care if she rots in there, Anjali.” James said, folding the paper and setting it down. Remus snatched it up almost immediately, as if afraid that James would decide to take it away. “She is family. Be civil or don’t say anything at all.”
“She can be my family from her room, then! God knows she doesn’t come out.” Anne snapped.
“We are all having a difficult time.” James said, as calmly as he could. “And we are choosing to deal with it in different ways. Some of those different ways are more harmful than others. Charu is waiting it out in her room. Not harmful. You are yelling at all of us. Harmful.”
“What’s harmful is being cooped up in here with all of you.” She narrowed her eyes. “This whole family is insane. I can’t wait to be rid of you.”
“If anyone’s allowed insanity, it’s us.” James said. “Regardless, the acting out and all this attitude? Not appreciated. Things are hard. I understand that. But lashing out at us when we’re trying to help is rude.”
“You haven’t seen anything, yet.” Anne hissed, turning on her heel and storming out of the room.
“I’m really hoping we get sorted into different houses.” Drew let out a low whistle.
“I hope I get sorted out of that school and somewhere far away from whatever that is.” James muttered under his breath.
“Appa, you make no sense when you get angry.” Harry said. “I know, before you say it, English is stupid, you don’t have to remind me.”
“You’re stuck with all of us, Appa. You’re a teacher.” Matt reminded him gently.
“God, I can’t even fail her, ‘cause she’s my kid.” James scrubbed a hand across his face. “Can I quit? Is it too late to quit? Remus, can you take Defense for the year? Or every year after this?”
“No.” Remus said. “I’ve seen enough secondhand to know I should not ever teach Defense.”
“I mean, Dumbledore’s already looking for a replacement for Snape.” Harry shrugged. “If you were going to quit at any time, now would be a good one.”
“If you quit, can I stay home?” Matt asked, his head finally appearing over the back of the couch.
“We can all stay home.” James confirmed. “You, me and Amma. The rest of you have school.”
“What about me?” Drew whined. “I want to be wherever Anju isn’t.”
“He’s our baby.” James said. “We get to keep him all small and adorable and ours, right? I feel like that’s in the rules.”
“What, are the rest of us just not cute anymore?” Harry teased.
“Absolutely not.” James said, too quickly to have been planned. “You’re too tall, Adi’s too good at Quidditch, and the girls are… well, we’ve all seen them.”
“I am pretty good at Quidditch.” Drew said mournfully.
“That’s my boy.” James said proudly. “Carry on the legacy.”
“I play Quidditch!” Harry interjected.
“Do you play it well?” James asked.
“Debatable.” Matt mumbled, folding his arms across the top of the couch and resting his head on them.
“You did get kicked off the team last year.” Drew pointed out.
“It wasn’t my fault!” Harry said. “I just upheld the truth and stuff and that’s apparently horrible now.”
“Happy 1996.” Matt said.
“Maybe next year will be better.” James said hopefully.
“Hate to ruin your dreams, but there’s not much of a chance.” Harry sighed. “Ron said it won’t be. Privately, I’m holding out for a spontaneous combustion.”
“Death would be merciful.” Matt agreed tonelessly.
“Not me.” Harry frowned, noticing the way his father’s expression had darkened. “Voldemort. And let’s just… table the whole death thing.”
“Yes.” Remus agreed, though his voice lacked the enthusiasm from their previous interactions. “Let’s.”
Matt slowly sank out of sight.
“Alright. Anju’s a little right.” Drew winced. “We’re kind of insane.”
“Your girlfriend sent a letter.” Nang Sang-chul said, tossing a thick sheaf of parchment at his son. “The poor owl is tired. I think we should feed it. What do owls eat, Shin-ji?”
“Children.” Shin-ji said, barely glancing up from her book.
“You’re so smart.” Sang-chul smiled proudly. “That’s my daughter.”
“I love you too, Appa.” She replied.
“Sarah isn’t my girlfriend.” Kyung told his father as he picked up the letter.
“She is a girl. She is your friend.” Sang-chul frowned.
“It’s semantics, Appa.” Kyung told him gently.
“Your father wouldn’t understand semantics if they bit him in the behind, dear.” Nang Nari said as she entered the room.
“I would.” Sang-chul protested. “I know what semantics are.”
“What are they, Appa?” Shin-ji looked up, dark eyebrows disappearing beneath her bangs.
“I do not know what semantics are.” He admitted. “I was hoping I would have more time to guess.”
“How is it that you run one of the largest international businesses in the world?” Nari sighed, patting her husband’s shoulder as she passed by.
“Reserving my attention for business deals.” He grinned. “And not worrying much over what semantics are.”
“Luckily, business contracts are much more straightforward.” Shin-ji hummed.
“No, it’s just that Appa has people to read them over for him.” Kyung shrugged.
“Both of you, stop harassing your father.” Nari told them, seemingly aware that such behavior would continue until both children had left for Hogwarts.
“Fathers are supposed to command respect.” Sang-chul sighed. “You could at least try on that count.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” Nari sighed.
“Eomma is the only one who gets things done.” Shin-ji agreed, setting her book down.
“I have too much free time.” She hummed. “Kyung, read the poor girl’s letter. It’s rude to leave people waiting.”
“Yes, Eomma.” He agreed easily.
Dear Kyung,
This week has not been very different from any other. Amma is still convinced that I’m dead, despite all assurances otherwise, and sends at least one of my siblings to check in on me every other hour. It’s as if she’s forgotten that I do come down for mealtimes (though, in her defense, I don’t stay long).
The siblings are well. Except Anjali. I am hoping Shin-ji is as ready to fight as you claim she is, because for my sake (and, to a lesser extent, Adithya’s), she needs to be destroyed. I don’t remember being nearly this obnoxious at twelve and a half, and that was with far more reasons to be obnoxious than she has. I don’t blame her though-- I would be upset about going to Hogwarts as well, if I were her.
I hope your holidays are going well. Say hello to your parents for me. Mine have said to ask if we’d all like to go to Diagon Alley together. My best guess is that they’re hoping Shin-ji and Anjali make friends immediately and it breaks whatever curse is on her. That would be a good present for us all, I think, but might get dangerous later on.
Please do write back-- you can only read books so many times, and I’m starting to lack entertainment.
Your friend,
Sarah Potter
“Everything is about the same.” He said to Nari. “She says hello, and wants to know if we’d like to accompany them to Diagon Alley when we get our school supplies.”
“Of course. We’ll be leaving soon, to settle back into England before the school year begins.” Nari said decisively. “Write her back and inform her of that. We’ll need a date and a meeting place.”
“Yes, Eomma.” Kyung chuckled.
Shin-ji eyed her brother suspiciously. “You had better not attempt to make me be friends with anyone, Kyung.”
“Honestly, I’d rather you avoided all of Sarah’s siblings.” He winced. “They’re all a bit… odd.”
“Don’t be rude.” Nari scolded him automatically.
“Sorry, Eomma.”
“I’m sure they’re just being children.” Sang-chul said. “I was intolerable at that age.”
“You say that as though you aren’t intolerable now.” Nari said, sitting beside him.
“But I’m not intolerable now.” Sang-chul said slowly, confused.
“She says her youngest brother talks to paintings for fun.” He offered. “And that it’s about as sociable as he gets.”
“The paintings the British have are rather exciting.” Sang-chul mused. “Sounds like an apt source of fun for a youngster like him.”
“No one uses words like that anymore, Appa.” Shin-ji told him, not unkindly. “Besides, it would be more productive for him to talk to actual human beings.”
“I have run my businesses just fine using words like those.” Sang-chul shrugged. “I see no reason to stop now.”
“Alright, Appa.” Shin-ji sighed. Her mother was right. There was no use trying to change her father.
“The best way to ensure you have true friends is to make ones that you enjoy being around.” Sang-chul said. “And if the painting brother is someone you enjoy being around, make friends with him. It’s simple.”
“Do you have any friends, Appa?” Shin-ji asked.
“No.” Sang-chul said. “Your mother claims I cannot count her as a friend because we are married.”
“I wouldn’t willingly associate with you.” Nari told him seriously. “I’m required to, because we’re married.”
“Aren’t requirements fun?” Sang-chul smiled.
“No.”
“James.” Lily’s words were muffled against the worn quilt atop their bed. “We have to pack emergency bags for the kids.”
“Were you able to get the Muggle documentation for the kids ready? Or should I go get that taken care of tomorrow?” James asked, while rifling through the contents of an old, worn suitcase he’d placed in the corner of their room.
Within it were surprisingly few things-- the end of an old red and green sari hung halfway over the rim of the suitcase, the small pile of cassettes that had been wrapped in it now visible. A Gryffindor scarf with a tarnished Prefect badge pinned to it, the edges frayed and colors dulled from years of use, lay neatly folded on top of a pile of photo albums.
When faced with the threat of leaving the home he’d grown up in, her husband had not taken a single thing of his own. No, he’d collected memories. His father’s prefect badge, his mother’s favorite sari, whole photo albums devoted to chronicling every moment of their children’s lives. It was for this sentimental streak, this deeply rooted care for everyone who came his way, that she had fallen in love with him. And even now, it persisted, coloring his every action.
A square package, wrapped in brown paper, lay beside the albums, untouched. Lily knew its shape well, could almost feel it, cold and heavy, in her hands. She had wrested the package’s contents from James’ hands to yell at its owner on slow, lonely nights in hiding more than enough times.
It was only fitting that, wherever they went, Sirius, in some small way, would come with them.
“It’s in the box beneath the floorboards under our bed.” She told him. “Did you arrange to have portkeys put in place?”
Lily had always been more practical than her husband, when she wasn’t in a fit of anger. Her bag was stuffed to the brim with possibilities. Clothes for warm climates as well as cold, family heirlooms lacking emotional significance to sell off if they needed money. A bundle of cloth gave way to a muggle toolkit, neatly packed atop a portable stove and a case of basic potion ingredients. Solutions, both magical and muggle, were hard to come by these days. It was better to be over-prepared than caught off guard.
“All done.” James stood up, brushing his hands off on his shirt. “We’ve got one in here, two downstairs, and one in each of the kids’ rooms. Charu let me in last night.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Should we get someone to talk to her? She seems fine, seemed almost happy to see me, but I’m not so sure she’s ready for school.” He frowned. “I don’t think she should be away from us just yet.”
“I don’t know. Sarah’s barely said two words to me all summer.” Lily finally sat up straight, rubbing at her face. “It’s like she’s scared of me.”
“She was just fine with me, and she’s got more reason to be mad at me than you.” James shrugged. “I’ll ask, if you’d like that.”
“I don’t want her to feel like we’re backing her into a corner.” She sighed.
“She’s done that herself.” James said. “‘Cause she’s in her room. Rooms have corners. I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
“When was the last time you slept, dear?” Lily propped herself up on her elbows, green eyes seeking out her husband’s in the dim light.
“Yesterday? Day before?” James shrugged. There were dark circles under his eyes, and every movement he made was sluggish. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Try and get some tonight, okay?” She said gently. “I’ll stay up and make sure the kids are alright.”
“No, no, I can do it.” James said, shaking his head forcefully. The movement seemed to knock him off balance, as he stared ahead blankly for a few seconds afterward. “I can. I promise.”
“James.” Lily frowned. “You need to sleep. This isn’t healthy.”
“Nothing about this situation is healthy.” James snapped, rubbing his eyes again. “Just let me handle it. Alright?”
“What, the way Charu is handling it?” Lily said. “James, I’m your wife. Let me help you or I swear to God I will end up pushing you out a window one of these days.”
“She did not get that from me.” James argued. “Come on. I talk to you. I haven’t locked myself up anywhere.”
“We share a room.” Lily said flatly. “You literally can’t lock yourself in here.”
“That’s true.” James nodded. “There’s no lock on the door. I wasn’t considering it anyway.” He rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Lily. Everyone’s said everything there is to say on the subject. He’s dead. It’s sad. We should move on. What else is there?”
“Sleeping. Eating on a regular basis. Not pretending to be okay, because you think that’s what everyone else needs?” Lily suggested.
“I’m doing those things.” He protested. “I’m doing all of those things. Except the sleeping. I’m not really doing that one. But I’m doing the other things.”
“You are doing absolutely none of those things, James.” She pulled her hand back in order to cross her arms. “I’m not above blackmail.”
“I ate today.” James complained. “And yesterday. And the day before that. That’s a lot of days. Maybe I forget some here and there, but that’s nothing.”
“You’re avoiding the subject.” She said.
“No, I’m not.” He said. “Lily. Look. We’ve lost more than one friend. By now, we know how this works.”
“You think I don’t know that?” She whispered. “We have kids now. We can’t just self destruct and wait for the pieces to fit themselves back together.”
“You know it better than I do.” James admitted. “I’ll figure it out. I promise. It’s just… a lot to adjust to.”
Lily stared down at the table, briefly remembering the friends she had lost in the first war. “I know. I know that, but… James, you’re pretending to be okay. One day pretending isn’t going to be good enough.”
“Sometimes pretending is all we have, isn’t it?” James mused. “We go out there and we make sure those kids go to bed every night thinking everything’s going to be fine and the world’s a decent place. That’s all we can really do right now.” He took a deep breath, obviously trying to settle himself. “I can almost-- I can almost feel it again, you know? And god knows, this time, Hari does too. He’s such a little boy, Lily.” James’ voice broke, and he took another shuddering breath. “I look at him and wonder when he got so big sometimes, but he’s-- he’s even younger than we were, when it all really started.”
“We were all children once, James.” Lily’s voice was quiet as she sat up. “But war doesn’t take our ages into account when it comes knocking. Hari is in the middle of this mess, one way or another. Trying to protect him might just get him killed. It might get us all killed.”
“Yeah. One of many things I’d rather not think about.” James sighed. “We’re doing our best by him at least. The Order meetings should help, even if the Weasleys are judging us for letting him in. It’s not like he isn’t telling everything he knows to Ron and Hermione the minute he leaves.”
“They might as well let them in. God knows they’re going to run off into the thick of things with or without the information.” Lily raked a hand through her hair.
“All this legal, not legal nonsense.” James scoffed. “It’s not like we weren’t pulling together information on our own, at that age. It’s easier to just give it to them and make sure what they’re hearing is correct. Not surprised that the Weasleys are convinced that ignorance is the way to go, though. Easier to think that way when your kid’s pretty much got a get out of jail free card.”
“It’s less the Weasleys and more Molly.” Lily grimaced. “I honestly think that she thinks she’s doing what’s best, but in the end it’s just putting everyone else in danger. Being prepared is half the battle.”
“Not telling kids anything is why we lost so many in the First War. I’m not letting it happen again.” James said sharply. “If we’d known more, then we could have saved so many! Benjy, Marlene, Dorcas, they could all still be here, if we’d just known a little more. You’re right. Being prepared is the tough part. Executing what you know? Easy.”
“War tactics, strategy… That’s the part that matters. There’s no point in winning the battle if you’re going to lose the war.” Lily tipped backwards onto the bed, huffing out a sigh. “Though I’d rather we didn’t have to fight a war at all.”
“Wouldn’t we all.” James sighed.
“Alright. Get in bed. I’ll go check on the kids.” Lily swung her legs over the side of the bed, climbing to her feet.
“What?” James frowned. “No, I’ll do it.”
“No, you won’t. Either you get in this bed or I will tie you to it.” Lily turned on him. “Those are your only choices, James.”
“Let’s wait on that second option until the kids are off to school.” James said with a wink. “Don’t want them walking in on something they’d rather not see. Especially now that they’re old enough to understand.”
“I’ll hold you to that.” She smirked, turning to leave the room.
“If you’re planning to get me to sleep, that’s the way to do it.” James said, falling back onto the bed with a thump. “God, we’re going to be empty nesters.”