dust off your highest hopes [albus]

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The sun was beginning to slip below the horizon, and Harry was glad that he had had the foresight to bring a second, heavier cloak with him when he went patrolling Hogwarts' grounds. The fall air was growing increasingly chilly, and too often he had seen people - children and Aurors alike - covered in goosebumps because they hadn't brought an appropriately heavy cloak. Harry's shift had ended not three minutes ago, but he hadn't gone immediately inside. Instead, he meandered away from the path he had been patrolling, walking towards the Black Lake. Before he knew it, Harry was at the White Tomb, kneeling at its foot like somehow praying to Albus Dumbledore would help him sort out the mess that was his life. Harry had never quite forgiven the man for all of the secrets he kept and the half-truths he told, but he had to admit that if anyone were to fix the mess going on in the Wizarding world, it was Dumbledore. Harry pressed his forehead against the cool marble, lips moving in silent words as he spilled all of his innermost thoughts and fears out to someone who couldn't hear him.

@al

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

al shivered as he looked up from the book he was reading. the light had suddenly faded enough so that he was struggling to read the words on the page. when had the sun started to go down .. and when had the chill come in on the air. he had been studying for an assignment he had due the next week so he had been caught up in trying to commit things to memory. he shifted forward and sat up from the tree he had been leaning against since school finished and he tucked the book into his bag. he sniffed a little when his nose ran a bit from the cold and he figured that he'd have to sit by the fire for a while to thaw out. he pulled the bag over his shoulder as he stood up and blew some hot air into his hands as he rubbed them together. he hadn't thought to bring a coat out with him, it had been warm enough when he had left the castle and he hadn't meant to get so caught up in his book. he coughed lightly as he started to make his way back to the castle, keeping his hands close to his face as he tried to keep them warm. he stopped when he reached the tomb of albus dumbledore. he frowned when he saw his father, leaning against the white stone as if he was talking to the man who laid inside. he thought about walking past but he couldn't bring himself to do that. he hadn't seen his father since he had left the house the day of their argument. "dad?" he blew into his hands again and tried to control his shivering as he walked over to the tomb and he kneeled beside his father and looked at the white tomb. "why did you name me after him?"

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Harry was interrupted in his praying by a familiar voice, and he paused a moment before opening his eyes. He placed his palm on the tomb, waited a moment more, and then turned around to face Albus. They hadn’t spoken since their argument over the summer, since Albus had been gone – moved out of the house – when Harry had returned from work that day. “Hey, Al.” Harry said. Noticing his son’s arms were bare, Harry unfastened the cloak from around his neck, handing it silently to Albus. He had another lighter cloak on underneath it, which would be enough for him until they could go back to the castle. Harry paused when his son asked him a question he had been anticipating for a long time, but had never quite known how to answer. Why would he burden the son with the name of one of the greatest wizards in history, especially when Harry himself no longer entirely bought into the illusion that Dumbledore had been infallible? “He always seemed to have an answer.” Harry replied. “He never hesitated, and he was rarely ever wrong.” Or rather, he rarely ever admitted to being wrong. “And I guess I wanted that for both of us. For you to know where you wanted to go, to have the answers for yourself whenever you needed them…And I wanted to be able to give you the answers, you wanted, too.” Harry had known, even then, that growing up his son was not going to be easy for the poor child, and he had hoped that, somehow, the name he had given his child would protect him from all of that. Look how well that had worked out, Harry thought bitterly. All he ever seemed to do when it came to Al was mess up.

@al

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

“Hey, Al.” al nodded slightly when his dad said hi to him. well so far so good. his dad hadn't got up and walked away and they had been in each other's company for at least a moment and they weren't at each other's throats. that seemed to be progress. he took the cloak when his dad held it out to him and al took it carefully. he wrapped it around his shoulders and sank into the warmth of it, pulling it around himself tighter. al wasn't often one for nostalgia but when he pulled the cloak close he was hit with a smell that had been around him all his life. his buried face in the neck of the cloak for a moment and closed his eyes. it smelled like home, like his family and it smelled safe if that was even possible. he missed his family in that moment, was struck with a sense of homesickness he hadn't felt since his first night at hogwarts. "thanks" he said softly as he started to warm up. “He always seemed to have an answer. He never hesitated, and he was rarely ever wrong.” al smiled a little in that moment and thought about something his grandfather had always said about al. "well grandpa does always say i have an answer for everything" though al's answers to most people were usually sarcastic and he was often the one who needed to have the last word. call it one of his many character flaws. “And I guess I wanted that for both of us. For you to know where you wanted to go, to have the answers for yourself whenever you needed them…And I wanted to be able to give you the answers, you wanted, too.” he thought about it for a moment, staring at the tomb before them. he wondered if he was like the man laying there. he knew what he wanted from life, he knew where he would end up and he would always fight for what he wanted. "did it work? am i anything like him?" he asked as he turned his head to look at his father. "you have the answers you know .. more than you might think"

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Harry was glad that Albus took the cloak; he had been a little worried that his son would refuse it out of pure stubbornness. Albus seemed to be more amenable to conversation than usual, though, which was good. If he had still held a grudge for their summer argument, Harry would have been a little worried about his son’s ability to hold a grudge. He nodded in response to Albus’s thanks, not sure what else he could say or do. Harry cracked a small smile when Albus commented that his grandfather said he always had an answer to everything. Albus definitely was one of the mouthiest Weasley cousins, though Harry could attest to the fact that Fred drew about as many eye rolls from Arthur as Albus did. “Your grandpa is a smart man.” Harry commented with a grin. It was still strange for him to think of Arthur and Molly as his parents-in-law, if only because he hadn’t even needed to be married to Ginny to think of them like that. They were just his parents, no in-law needed.

Harry ran a hand through his hair when Albus asked him if he was anything like his namesake. “You know, Al, I’m not sure.” Harry paused. “After Dumbledore died, I found out that I didn’t know him as well as I thought I had. I just knew one version of him.” He had known the leader and the headmaster, but never the man beneath the mask. ”If anything, I think you’re better than him.” Harry said after a long pause. He didn’t need to go in-depth about Albus Dumbledore’s blood purist kick, nor all of the secrets he had kept. It was enough for Albus to know that he had been a good man, in the end. Harry shook his head sadly when his son insisted that he had more answers than he thought. “No matter how many answers I have, there will always be more questions. And no matter what, I can’t stop feeling like I’m the one who everyone wants to answer them.” Maybe it was a bit of a god complex, but Harry was certain that even when he was old and grey, people would be looking to him for guidance. Maybe Harry himself was more like Albus Dumbledore than he cared to admit.

@al

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

“You know, Al, I’m not sure. After Dumbledore died, I found out that I didn’t know him as well as I thought I had. I just knew one version of him.” al nodded slightly as he sat back on his heels, pulling his hands into the arms of his dad's cloak slightly. he wondered in that moment how much like albus dumbledore he was. they had that in common, there were few people who really knew who he was. few people he trusted enough to get close to him. he had always kept most of the people he loved at arms length. "no offence dad .. but that sounds a lot like me. how many people do i keep at arms length?" he asked his dad, turning his head so he could look at his face. he'd been keeping his parents at arms length for the last few years of his life. "you only ever really see what people want you to see" he said as he turned on his heel and moved to sit on the ground, his back resting against the white of the tomb. ”If anything, I think you’re better than him.” he did doubt that. dumbledore had been one of the greatest wizards of all time and as much as al knew how strong he was, he was sure he wouldn't hold a candle against the other man. "thanks dad" he said simply, quietly. it meant a lot. after their last conversation al was convinced that his dad didn't think very much of him, how could he not after what harry had said to him. but that .. was nice to hear.

“No matter how many answers I have, there will always be more questions. And no matter what, I can’t stop feeling like I’m the one who everyone wants to answer them.” he shook his head a little. he didn't know exactly what his dad was going through so he couldn't offer anything else on that subject but the subject of questions, well he thought he had a pretty okay answer. "so you keep finding the answers. the questions won't ever stop because there will always be more. as times change .. questions change, answers are different" al said with a small shrug. "you really need to talk to someone about that god complex you have dad" al said with a small sarcastic grin, he was joking really.

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Harry shook his head slightly when Albus compared what Dumbledore did to keeping people at arm’s length. “There’s a difference between keeping people in the dark because you think it will keep you safe and keeping people in the dark because you don’t want their knowledge to ruin your plans.” If Harry had known that he, too, was a Horcrux, he never would have played the role of sacrificial lamb. At times he felt like nothing more than a pawn in Dumbledore’s game of chess against no one. At least with Albus, Harry didn’t feel like he was being manipulated into doing what he otherwise wouldn’t do; he was just being left out because Albus believed he didn’t love his son, or wouldn’t be proud of him, or some variation of that scheme. Harry watched as Albus sat on the ground, back resting against the tomb, and he blinked once. Again, Albus was thanking him, and Harry could do nothing more than nod dumbly. He wasn’t sure that he had gone this long without one of them snapping at each other since before Albus could talk.

“I would, if I could find a therapist who would stop fawning over how I’m the great Harry Potter.” He said with a sigh. “Besides, people don’t want to know that their heroes are human, and that they can be just as messed up as they are. They don’t want to believe that it’s the blind leading the blind, that the ones they look to and trust in times of struggle actually don’t have a clue.” Harry shook his head. “It’s hard to find someone who will understand.” Harry sighed. “And that’s why I have your mum. But, you know, it’s been hard with her memory loss…” His one oasis in a desert of strife and loneliness had been Ginny, and then when her memories had gone, it was like everything was nothing more than a mirage. They were building back up that oasis, but it was tough, and Harry was drained, and it didn’t feel like so much to ask that he wanted someone else to talk to.

@al

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

“There’s a difference between keeping people in the dark because you think it will keep you safe and keeping people in the dark because you don’t want their knowledge to ruin your plans.” al nodded slightly and thought on it for a bit. the two didn't seem mutually exclusive to him. of course he didn't think that his dad was wrong about it, he knew more about the man that al did. albus had only ever known what he had been told and what he had read. "not much of one. you can keep someone distant from you because if a plan goes wrong they may get hurt. to me at least, the two situations aren't mutually exclusive from each other"

“I would, if I could find a therapist who would stop fawning over how I’m the great Harry Potter.” al couldn't help but snort a small laugh at that and he covered his mouth to stifle it. "simple solution dad. find one in the muggle world. i'm sure a lot of them have the god complex too" he said as he looked back at his dad and rested his elbow on his knee and leaned his forehead on his hand. “Besides, people don’t want to know that their heroes are human, and that they can be just as messed up as they are. They don’t want to believe that it’s the blind leading the blind, that the ones they look to and trust in times of struggle actually don’t have a clue.” al nodded slightly and shrugged the coat closer when he felt a slight chill. how long had been out in the cold for? he should be starting to not feel it by now, his dad's coat was warm. "then it's those people with a problem, not you. when you're a kid .. you think that adults know everything, they have all the answers and they know what they're doing. then you grow up and you start to realize that no one has a clue. you just do the best you can."

he said as he looked at his dad. “It’s hard to find someone who will understand. And that’s why I have your mum. But, you know, it’s been hard with her memory loss…” it had been, for all of them. it had been one thing that had put a huge strain on the relationship with him and his dad. the way al had naturally reacted when his mother had been hurt .. he'd pulled away. "wouldn't she understand now more than ever? i mean if anyone doesn't have a clue what they're doing or what they're supposed to be doing .. it's her" he said as he coughed into the back of his hand. he really hoped that was just the night air ..

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Harry nodded when Albus said that there wasn’t much of a difference between Dumbledore’s thought process and his own. Maybe it was something about Albus’s innocence that made Harry think that his son was better than the dead man. He knew that Albus was still learning how to interact with people, how to be a human – that was what the teenage years were for. Dumbledore, on the other hand, knew how much people were hurt by half-truths and fullblown lies. Besides, Albus was his son, and Harry was naturally more inclined to think well of him than to think well of Dumbledore. True, the older wizard had been his hero for the greater part of his life, but Albus was his son, and a child was greater than any hero in Harry’s mind.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Albus when his son mentioned going to see a Muggle therapist. “There are a lot of logistical problems that would come up with that.” Harry said, not wanting to brush his son off, but not wanting to agree to the idea, either. “How do I make up a story analogous to mine, without magic, and expect a therapist not to have heard about it? That kind of thing makes big news, normally.” Everyone liked a good story, after all.

“There was a lot that we went through together, Al, before James was born. Before we got married, even. There was a lot that I needed to do, to process what had happened…And whenever I was having a bad day, she’d remind me of all the work we had done to make both of us, and our relationship, better.” Harry sighed, and then rubbed his scar. “And she doesn’t remember that any more. As far as I know, she remembers all the things that broke us apart, but nothing of putting the pieces back together.” Maybe he was selfish for wanting Ginny back just so that she could remind him that they had made promises to each other and to themselves, but Harry wanted it anyways. He wanted her back for the wife he knew like the back of his hand, not the girl he had fallen in love with. Harry was jerked from his thoughts by the sound of Albus’s cough. He undid the clasp of the second, lighter cloak that he was wearing, and draped that, too, around Albus. “Maybe we should go inside, Al.” Harry suggested softly. “I wouldn’t want you catching a cold.”

@al

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

“There are a lot of logistical problems that would come up with that. How do I make up a story analogous to mine, without magic, and expect a therapist not to have heard about it? That kind of thing makes big news, normally.” albus smiled slightly as his dad tried to make sense of what he had suggested. he hadn't meant for his dad to take it seriously, he knew his dad never could but the thought of his dad laying on a couch talking to some stranger hunched over a notebook was amusing. "i was joking dad" al said lightly, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "they'd lock you up and throw away the key if you told them the truth" he said with a small smile again. “There was a lot that we went through together, Al, before James was born. Before we got married, even. There was a lot that I needed to do, to process what had happened…And whenever I was having a bad day, she’d remind me of all the work we had done to make both of us, and our relationship, better. And she doesn’t remember that any more. As far as I know, she remembers all the things that broke us apart, but nothing of putting the pieces back together.”

al couldn't imagine how he'd feel if dusti lost her memory of him. he didn't think he'd be able to cope. she had pulled him out of a darker place at the end of the ter and then he had been plunged into a deeper place when she had kissed him and then run away and ignored him for weeks. but now that they were together again it had been getting better, after they had sorted things out and gotten lost together, it had become better. things were better. life seemed easier right now. he smiled slightly and decided to make a joke, not even one laced with sarcasm, just a genuine joke to try and make his dad feel better. "so you mean life got easy after lily and i were born?" he said, hoping he'd said it in the right way. he didn't want to start arguing with his dad again. he didn't exactly like it. "i can't say i understand how you feel dad, but it can't be all that different that what she's going through. can it? i mean you're longing for a life you remember and she's longing for one she doesn't" he said as he chewed his lip. "you know it still shocks me sometimes when she looks at me sometimes .. that she only remembers the best part of last year and nothing else about me .. it's like she's only ever seen me at my worst" he said as he looked at his hands and rubbed his fingers together. he hated the way his heart had just started pounding. he got that way when he talked about what he was thinking, what he was feeling. scared, anxious .. like how everyone around him would think what he was feeling was wrong.

“Maybe we should go inside, Al. I wouldn’t want you catching a cold.” al felt the extra weight on his shoulders and he looked at the second cloak his dad had just wrapped around him. he looked at his dad and shook his head slightly. he didn't want to go inside. they were talking. there was no pressure right now. there was no one around other than his dad. the second other people were around al knew he'd close up, knew it would become difficult and knew that he'd be more likely to say something to his father that was wrong. he shifted slightly and moved so his shoulder was touching his fathers. "not yet. if you're cold you can have the cloaks back but i .. i want to keep talking" he said quietly as he leaned his head back against the tomb. "this not fighting thing is kinda cool"

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Harry laughed when Albus said that he’d be locked up if he told the truth. They would really think he was a nutter, with all of the talk about being the chosen one and defeating the Dark Lord and being magical. Muggles were so naïve, sometimes, so easy to judge. Then again, so were wizards. No one seemed to like what they couldn’t understand. At least Albus had been joking about the idea, though he had been on the right track, Harry thought. Maybe he ought to ask Parvati for a recommendation. He would go to her, if not for the conflict of interest that came with the fact that they were friends, and colleagues in the Order.

Harry laughed again when Albus asked if life got easier after he and Lily had been born. There was a long and complicated answer to that question, but Harry had learned from his previous mistake with the therapy joke; Albus probably didn’t want to know that yes, life had gotten easier, because he and Ginny had actually known what to do with babies at that point. The first one had definitely been the hardest, learning-curve wise. What Albus said next, though, about Ginny, stopped Harry’s laughter immediately. Al was right, in a way, though Harry wasn’t sure how to say that without implying surprise and offending his son. When Albus said that he was still sometimes surprised by how little Ginny remembered, Harry reached out and mussed his son’s hair sympathetically. “Well, when you were younger, you used to vomit on us both regularly, so there’s been worse.” Harry said, attempting a joke. He paused to let seriousness settle over both of them again, and then began to talk. “She knows more than that, Al. She asked about you, about James, about Lily. She knows what you’re like, she knows your past…At least the parts of it that I can remember to tell her.” Harry shrugged. “And even if she can’t remember being it, she’s still your mother. That kind of love doesn’t go away just because your memories do.” Unconditional love was a rare thing to find, and it couldn’t just be erased like memories could be.

“No, no, you can keep the cloaks.” Harry said hurriedly, before Albus had the chance to start taking them off. If one of them was going to catch a cold, Harry would rather that it be him than his son. At Albus’s next words, though, Harry raised an eyebrow. “You do realize that we can talk inside the school, right?” Harry asked, chuckling a bit to himself. They both didn’t need to freeze to death for the sake of continuing their conversation. “Unless Neville’s put some new regulation into place that I haven’t heard about.” Harry didn’t see how adding talking restrictions would make the school any better or safer, but sometimes he was baffled by Neville and the way that he thought. Most of the time, he was surprised in a good way, but…In any case, Harry’s point still stood. “Though I do have to agree that not fighting is preferable.” Harry offered his hand to his son, hopeful that Al would acquiesce and they could go back into the school.

@al

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

“Well, when you were younger, you used to vomit on us both regularly, so there’s been worse.” al grinned slightly and shook his head a little. he didn't remember most of when he'd been younger, well not in that sort of sense where he'd be able to call on it like that. "the last time that happened .. i was sick. so you can't hold that one against me" he said with a small smile. he'd been seven if he was thinking right. he ran his hand through his hair and leaned back against the tomb. “She knows more than that, Al. She asked about you, about James, about Lily. She knows what you’re like, she knows your past…At least the parts of it that I can remember to tell her. And even if she can’t remember being it, she’s still your mother. That kind of love doesn’t go away just because your memories do.” al shook his head and looked at the water across from the tomb. that didn't set his mind at ease a whole lot. al was under no illusions about what he was like. he wasn't the kind of person everyone wanted to be around, his family did it because they had to really, they loved him because he was theirs. "that really doesn't set my mind at ease you know." he said, honestly.

“No, no, you can keep the cloaks. You do realize that we can talk inside the school, right?” he rubbed his hand down his arm and sighed slightly. he did know that, he just didn't want to. there was an added pressure that came from talking around other people. the pressure of people listening, the pressure of people reacting to what was being said and how one acted during that conversation. al often said things people took the wrong way, it was just something he did. it had caused a few issues when other people had been listening in times before. “Unless Neville’s put some new regulation into place that I haven’t heard about.” al frowned slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "maybe i just don't want to talk in a place i can be judged for it" he said as he turned his green eyes onto his dad. “Though I do have to agree that not fighting is preferable.” he nodded to his dad's comment about them not fighting but he didn't make any move to take his hand. he didn't want to go back into the castle, at least not to talk to his dad in. the castle almost had ears itself, it was hard to talk to someone in there and not have someone listening in on it, even without meaning. "i don't want to talk inside."

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Harry rolled his eyes at Albus. Yes, he had been sick, but that didn’t make dealing with the vomit any more pleasant. His son seemed skeptical about Harry’s reassurance that Ginny still loved him, and could never forget him in that manner. “Albus.” Harry said softly. “Look at me.” He was about to unleash his best Albus Dumbledore-esque speech, and he needed his son to be looking at him to get the full effect of the thing. “Love is the most powerful magic there is. And yes, it sounds horribly cheesy, but it’s true.” Harry tapped the lightning bolt on his forehead. “Love is the reason we’re here, right now, having this conversation. My mum’s love is what kept the Killing Curse from working on me.” Harry had appreciated it as a child, yes, but now that he had his own children, he appreciated his mother’s sacrifice even more. Without her, he wouldn’t have had the amazing life he did, and the amazing family he did. He knew what it was to love a child, and he would gladly make the same choice ten times over for any of his children. “And the wonderful thing about it is that we still don’t always understand how it works, or why. It just does.” For all Harry knew, Ginny’s memory loss should have been permanent and it was her love for them that was helping her remember anything at all.

“Alright.” Harry acquiesced, if only to keep from starting another argument. In a moment of clarity, Harry heard Ron’s voice in his head: well, are you a wizard or not!? A Warming Charm! That would keep them both from freezing to death, and they could talk under Albus’s terms. Harry muttered the charm, drawing a circle on the ground near the tomb. It was effective enough, and Harry wasn’t shivering any longer, so he would take it. If he tried to focus a little more, he probably could have done better, but the charm was more of an afterthought than anything. “So, is there something else you want to talk about?” He pressed, while he had Albus in a good position for a private conversation.

@al

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HARRY JAMES POTTER

“Albus. Look at me.” it took a few seconds for al to lift his eyes to look at his dad. he wasn't sure he'd like what his dad might say. but he'd look and listen, he owed his father than much. “Love is the most powerful magic there is. And yes, it sounds horribly cheesy, but it’s true. Love is the reason we’re here, right now, having this conversation. My mum’s love is what kept the Killing Curse from working on me. And the wonderful thing about it is that we still don’t always understand how it works, or why. It just does.” well that hadn't been what he'd expected. he didn't know how to respond to it really. he knew that love was strong but he'd always felt it differently than the people around him. he'd never known how to deal with it, handle it or reciprocate it. "we'll never understand how it feels for anyone else either" he added quietly as he rested his chin on his knee and wrapped his arm around his leg as it bent toward his chest, trying to find a more comfortable way of sitting.

“Alright.” al couldn't help but relax a little when his father agreed with him. this was different. it was like both he and his dad were figuring out how not to fight with one another. it was different but al didn't hate it. he watched his father cast a warming charm and he almost slapped his forehead. why hadn't they thought of that before they'd started getting cold? it was simple and obvious but sometimes those were the hardest things to think about. “So, is there something else you want to talk about?” come to think of it there was. he rubbed the back of his neck and sighed slightly. he was almost sure this was going to ruin their not fighting thing but he wanted to ask. "yeah there is actually" he said as he sat up a little straighter and turned his head to his dad again. "grimauld place. i assume you're going to give it to james?" it wasn't much of a stretch to imagine that. james was the oldest and it would make sense that his dad would think to give the house to him. "is there any chance of getting any of my inheritance when i graduate? so i have some money to get a place for me and dusti to live in when we graduate?" he asked him, shifting to straighten his leg and he shifted again. he wasn't normally twitchy but this wasn't an easy subject to talk about. "if you say no it's fine. i'll live out of the cauldron till we save enough" he said with a slight shrug.

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Now that Harry had actually remembered he was a wizard, he was a fan of using his wand as much as possible. Albus was shifting around, seemingly uncomfortable on the ground, and Harry cast a quick Cushioning Charm, hoping that it would help Al find a favorable position. He cast another iteration of the Warming Charm, and this one was definitely more effective – Harry couldn’t even feel a chill. He stowed his wand away again to listen to Albus ponder love. Harry nodded. “Emotions are strange like that.” He agreed.

“Yes, James is getting Grimmauld Place.” Harry confirmed. He had been ambivalent about giving it to one of his children at all, given all the memories – good and bad – that came with it, but in the end it seemed silly to let the place fade into oblivion because Harry couldn’t handle the memories of his godfather. James had the largest claim to it, not only because of his status as the eldest child, but also because he was named for the man that had given Harry the place in the first place. There was also the matter that James was the only one of the children who could actually use a house at that point in time, since the other two lived at Hogwarts. Albus asked about his inheritance, and Harry’s first impulse was to say no. Everything was going so well, though, and he didn’t want to dismiss the idea out of hand just because it sounded ridiculous for a seventeen-year-old to live on their own. Harry rubbed his scar, thinking. “I’d have to discuss it with your mother first.” That was always a safe answer, considering that everyone knew who actually had the power in the Potter household. “But I don’t see why that would be an issue.” Other than the fact that their son would be away from home, and Harry couldn’t see him returning all that often. Once he was out, Harry was afraid that Albus would never come back. “Is there a reason you’re so eager to leave?” Harry asked. Realizing how abrasive that sounded, he tried again. “I mean, if it’s about getting Dusti out of her living situation, she’s always welcome at Godric’s Hollow. As long as we get advanced notice, I mean.” Harry corrected. He wouldn’t want Albus showing up with his girlfriend out of the blue. That wouldn’t go over well for anyone.


@al