Harry Potter: Another Chance

Chapter 33: A Home

Disclaimer: 
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
 
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
$Parseltongue$
 
Chapter 33: A Home

December 20, King's Cross Station

Harry was one of the first students to leave the train and was promptly assaulted by something small that latched onto his leg.

"Harry!" The little girl called him with joy.

He looked down at the image of his little sister and could not help but smile. Harry got down on one knee and hugged her.

"Hello, Holly. How have you been?"

"It was boring!" She pouted. 
"Dad is always working and mom never takes me anywhere!. Only Lyra gets to go to her friend's house, is not fair!"

"I see…" He did not expect this little girl to have so many complaints.

He then saw his mother running towards them.
"Holly!, what did I tell you about running off like that?!" 

"But mom!, I haven't seen brother in so long…" Holly answered.

"Well talk about this later…" Lily's eyes moved to Harry and her expression brightened.
She quickly went to give him a warm hug.
"Welcome back, dear. How was your time at Hogwarts? I want to hear every detail…oh, but you must be tired after the long trip on the train, let's get you home first."

'Home, huh?' He was still getting used to this new life and the sensation of actually having a home, something he never had the chance to experience for long.

"Okay, you two. Hold on tight to me and don't let go." Both Harry and Holly did as told and Lily lifted her wand in the air.

A moment later, the trio disappeared from the busy station.

When Harry opened his eyes, he found himself at the entrance of the Potter Manor.

"Welcome!." The family house elf, Mipsy greeted them.
"Let me help you with that bag, Master Harry." The elf used her magic to levitate his small briefcase and carried it inside.

"I'm home." Said Harry, mostly to himself.

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After taking a relaxing bath and changing clothes, the sky outside was starting to darken. 

He opened the door to the kitchen and found his mother inside preparing some food while Holly read a book on the kitchen table.

He looked around before sitting down at the table.

Lily noticed this and answered his unasked question.
"Your dad is at work, he should be here in an hour. And your sister is staying at one of her friend's home, she will be here tomorrow."

"A friend's home?, is the Weasleys?." He recalled that his sister was friends with Ginny, even though the Weasleys were not that close to the Potters, especially after they left the Order of the Phoenix. At least, he had never heard of them hanging out with Molly and Arthur.

"No, she has been staying with the Greengrass for a few days." 

"The Greengrass?" He raised an eyebrow.
'That right… that's why I recalled them mentioning that family name before I went to Hogwarts. Lyra must be friends with Daphne's sister.'
"How did that happen?" He decided to ask.

Lily looked a bit surprised at him showing interest in his sister's friends.
"Well, last year, Lady Greengrass and I met at a Ministry party, she had brought her two daughters and I brought only Lyra because you didn't want to come and Holly was too little for such an event. She got along with the youngest and they talked for hours. They have been quite close since and often send letters to each other but this is the first time she has stayed at their house."

"How so? with floo powder, it only takes a moment to visit," Harry asked, but he had already a few ideas.

"Well…Astoria has some special circumstances that don't permit her to leave the house and your father was not thrilled to allow Lyra to visit the Greengrass house until he knew them better." Explained Lily.

"Because they are a neutral family?" 

Lily looked genuinely surprised this time.
"Have you remembered some of the politics classes your father gave you? You never showed any interest in those…"

Harry shrugged.
"Not really interested in politics, but it doesn't hurt to know those things." After all, their family had been personally involved in the last war so there was no way for them to remain unattached from the magical Britain political scene.

"I'm bored!, Harry play with me!" Holly complained loudly.

"You are bored huh?." He looked at the book she was reading, it was one of Neville's fantastical adventures, which reminded him of something.
"Mmm, you know?, I have brought with me a nice gift for my sister."

Her eyes opened like plates.
"A gift?, what is it?!, can I have it?"

He smiled.
"You'll have to wait until Christmas for that."

"Noo!, I want it now!" Holly exclaimed.

"Okay, maybe it was a mistake to mention that…lesson learned." Harry considered.

"Where did you get a gift from?" Lily asked with suspicion since first-year students are not allowed to leave the grounds.

"You'll have to wait too." He said.

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A bit later, James Potter got home from work and welcomed Harry back.

"I heard of what happened during the quidditch game before Halloween…what a shame," James spoke.

"They haven't been able to play again without a seeker and had to forfeit the next game after that." Explained Harry

" I don't think they have a chance to win the Quidditch cup at this point. " James lamented.

"I don't know why you care so much about school quidditch to be honest…" Lily commented.

"But is our house! I will always care for Gryffindor and its quidditch team, as a former player… can't help it." James gave Harry a look.
"They should have chosen Harry to be the seeker."

"James!, he is still a first year. Quidditch can be dangerous, look what happened to poor Neville…" Lily pointed out.

"Oh well…there is always next year. Oh, Harry." James called his name.

"Yes?" 

"There is something we need to talk about. Come to my studio after dinner." 

"Sure." Harry wondered what it was about, he was sure it wasn't about his grades, he had made sure to keep them above average.
'It must be about that…'