Disclaimer: No, I do not currently own the rights to Harry Potter, but if J.K. Rowling wants to give it to me, I'll gladly take it. No, I am not making any money off of this. If I was, I would be off for a backpacking trip through Europe at the end of the summer. Instead, I'm off to Brazil for three months to slum it with friends. (Which, frankly, is just as fun... ^_^)
A/N: It has been a VERY long time since I updated this, and I'm ever so sorry. Please don't kill me. *_* I tried to make it extra long to make up for the delay... *weakly* he he... =P For reference, when referring to the dopplegängers that are doubled (Remus, Sirius, Harry), whether in narration or dialogue, I'll be referring to them by their last name, and their Canon counterparts by their first name. Also, though a fan of the Tonks/Lupin ship myself, I don't know if it'll get more than a possible cameo appearance here and there as I'm afraid I may not be able to do them justice. Yeah. Ok. Here's chapter 3! Enjoy! XD
As he landed in the fireplace with a soft swoosh, Lupin quickly assessed his new surroundings. He was in a large drab kitchen. It was pleasantly warm, and filled with the smells of a cooking dinner. Before Dumbledore led the way, he paused at the door and asked everyone to be as quiet as possible in the hall. Though Remus was confused (and quite frankly a little unnerved) by the request, he noted that Sirius had a wary, understanding look.
They passed through a dark hallway, old, and badly cared for overall, but obviously tended to as of late. The paintings hanging from the wall were old and starting to peel, but free of dust, and most of the figures were scowling at the group, making it clear they did not approve of their presence. They passed by the entrance hall, where a very ugly umbrella stand (which suspiciously looked like a troll's foot) stood by the front door. The door was made of a dark and seemingly sturdy wood, and had so many locks on it, it would not have surprised Remus to find all kinds of existing locks had a representative on this door. A dark curtain covered the wall opposite the door, and as they passed by it, Dumbledore motioned again for silence. When they reached the other end of the hall, they came to another closed door, from which a sliver of light escaped from the bottom. Dumbledore opened the door and herded the newcomers inside.
Whatever Remus had been expecting, it had not been this. In contrast to the dark, drab hallway, the room they entered was brightly lit, with a relaxed, homey atmosphere. The smell of pine from the generously sized Christmas tree filled with mismatched ornaments filled the room. A large fireplace, holding more stockings in it than it was probably meant to, housed a merry fire. Mismatched chairs, cushions, armchairs, and sofas formed a loose semi-circle around the fire. A large mahogany table, worn but recently polished sat a little further away, with chairs of all shapes surrounding it, and enough table settings for a large dinner party.
The room's occupants were seemingly as mismatched as the furniture they used. By the fire, a clump of teens sat together, each engrossed in different activities. A girl with brown bushy hair leaned on a large fluffy cushion, reading a thick book entitled Complex Spells for Complex Witches. To her left sat a red haired girl writing in a book (a diary, by the looks of it). And beside her two identical boys, both red haired like the girl, played a card game. A brown haired boy was engrossed in pruning the tentacles of a bright purple plant, and light blonde haired girl read a copy of The Quibbler. Two boys sat in the middle, by a coffee table playing chess. One was red haired. The other was a m ore or less carbon copy of Harry. The adults in turn, were seated on the sofas and armchairs, chatting happily.
When they entered, the room went quiet. Instead of the mistrust Lupin expected, the people in the room seemed merely to look at them with an air of interested curiosity. That was odd enough of itself, Lupin pondered. How many people would be so calm at a situation like this? Perhaps it was shock, or perhaps these people had been in a similar situation before. He didn't know, and that made him more worried than a hysterical reaction would have. As he looked at the gathered group sprawled out by the fireplace, he recognised hardly any of the faces. After an uncomfortable pause Molly spoke up.
"Well, er... hello. I'm Molly Weasley. This is my husband Arthur," she pointed to a thin red-haired man, "and the ginger kids are our children, the twins are Fred and George, the one by Harry (which you know) is Ron, and our youngest is Ginny. Hermione's the one closest to the fire, Luna's the one reading the Quibbler, and Neville is the one pruning the.... whatever that is."
The mentioned teens all chorused a semi enthusiastic "hullo" before Molly continued with the introductions.
"Over here are Remus, Tonks, Alastor, Hagrid, and Sirius. And you are?"
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Lily, recovering from her shock at seeing the familiar yet strange faces of her friends and son, followed suit and proceeded to introduce her family and guests (as no one else seemed to be in the mood to do it).
"I'm Lily Potter. This is my husband James and our kids, Harry, Nate, and Carmen. This is Sirius, his wife, Annabel, and their kids, Anthon, Raya, Zephyr and Jaden. And last, but not least, Remus, his wife Delilah, their children, Mirah, and Theo."
Again, a chorus of greetings were heard, followed by a very pregnant pause.
"So... This has gotta be one of my top ten awkward moments, wouldn't you agree George?" Fred commented in an overly cheerful voice.
"Yup! It's a tie between this and that time when Harry –"
"So, when's dinner?" Harry interrupted the two before they could say anything else.
Harry interrupted the
"I'll go check," Molly said amusedly, a small smile gracing her lips as she exited the room.
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After a minor stampede and rather vicious fights for sitting arrangements (more centered by which foods one would sit by than who their neighbours at the dining table would be), everyone was comfortably seated with heaping plates of warm mouth-watering food in their plates. The next few minutes were quiet, as everyone concentrated on the feast set out before them. Eventually, as they grew full, people began to chat quietly with each other. Lily couldn't help but keep looking over at her son's look-alike.
He was seated between Ron and Hermione, with Neville, Luna, and that Ginny girl sitting across from the trio. The Harry she knew would rather be caught dead than be seen with the misfits this boy seemed to be so at ease with. Well, Lily had to admit, they weren't misfits. Just complete opposites of one another.
Luna was soft-spoken, with a dreamy quality that somehow also managed to give her an air of bubbly confidence. Dressed in a bright, fluffy green sweater with Christmas lights sewn in (charmed to blink merrily) , Christmas ornaments for earrings, and what appeared to be holly in her hair. She reminded Lily of a walking Christmas tree. The kind of person that clearly beat her own drum.
Neville was clumsy and shy, and seemed to be incapable to not knock over everything in sight. The words accident friendly came to mind.
Ginny was pretty, chattery, and rather... normal. Even preppy, compared to the others.
Hermione had bushy hair, and was the bookish, as the ink stains on her finger indicated. She had a bit of a bossy air about her, which demanded that you listen to what she had to say. Or else.
Ron was gangly, tall, and skinny. Not the optimal sport jock, he seemed to have the build for one overall. He had a loud voice, and by the looks of it, squabbled with Hermione constantly, as only good friends do.
Harry. This Harry looked short and skinny (but that may have been simply due to his sitting next to Ron, who towered over him even when sitting). He wore handmade clothing, a green sweater with a dragon that zoomed around the shirt every so often. Her son, on the other hand was well built. Not in a Schwarzenegger way, but he wasn't skinny like this boy. And he would never have agreed to wear anything handmade, as he always insisted on having the most expensive clothing possible. He was a hero, after all....
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Well. That's it for this chapter, but I've already started on the next one. I'm cutting right here so you guys get two updates instead of one. =) Again, I apologise for the wait, and thank anyone who still has the patience to keep on reading my story. And, though I re read twice I also apologize for any possible typos, as I typed this single handed. (My right arm being currently in a sling till the end of the week.) And I hope everyone's having a great summer. =)