--

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

--

Chapter five:

Getting acquainted

"Where am I going to be staying?" Harry asked for what must be the hundredth time.

"Like I told you the last hundred times, I cannot tell you!" Annie answered exasperated.

Harry only grumbled in response. For two weeks he had gotten the same answer over and over, and as he wasn't the type to let things be hidden from him, he kept asking. And thus he had successfully managed to get Annie very annoyed, something that was usually quite a feat to accomplish.

Said two weeks had simply been a blur to him. Some things stood out, like the exams and the parties and the matches he'd played. With everything going on, he hadn't been able to study very well for his exams, but luckily his teachers new of his situation and would probably cut him some slack. But still, he didn't like it if he had screwed up. He wanted to finish his Muggle schooling with good grades, the kind of grades he'd had all the time, he didn't want to finish it with the worst report card ever.

The party's were, naturally the most fun. There had been loads of them, classmates throwing graduation parties, clubs being open much longer than usual, hockey and soccer parties, even the school had thrown an end-of-the-year party. And then there was of course the Good-bye party his friends had thrown him. It had all been loads of fun, though some of the parties had left him quite drunk.

And then there were the matches. He'd done his best ever, in his opinion. Seeing as he wasn't going to come back next year, he gave his all in the last matches. And so, they'd won. With hockey 4-2 and with soccer 5-2. But, he wouldn't be so arrogant as to take all the credit for himself; his team was really very good after all. The best of it all however, was that his father had come to watch his soccer game! Maybe that's why he was so intent on doing his best, so he could show his dad how good he was. He still remembered the flip-flop his stomach had made, and the rush of pride he'd felt when he saw his father in the stands, cheering him on.

But the thing that stood out most from the last two weeks was the conversation he'd had with Annie.

-Flashback-

He knocked on the door of Annie's office. He heard a small 'come in' and he opened the door. Annie looked up from the computer, smiled at him and said "Just a moment Harry, I'm almost done." He took a seat on the other side of her desk and stared around the room. The walls were cream colored and she had a parquet floor. There was a filing cabinet beside her desk and on the wall next to him a bookcase. On the wall opposite hung a big picture and stood another cabinet. The room was decorated with her diplomas and pictures and plants. Altogether it had a very homey look.

"Would you like something to drink Harry?" He was snapped out of his thoughts and he answered that he'd like some water. Once Annie was seated again, he fidgeted a bit under her scrutinizing gaze. There was a bit of an awkward silence between them.

"How've you been Harry?"

"OK I guess. Just thinking about stuff, and I told everyone I'm going to leave."

And the silence recommenced.

"I've got a question though." Harry asked. "Hogwarts students are supposed to take their OWLs at the end of their fifth year, to know in which subjects they are allowed to continue. I'll be going into sixth year, but I've never taken any OWLs. How's that going to work?"

Annie sipped her tea, and answered. " Good you brought that up. Dumbledore said that students that are transferring to Hogwarts to start their sixth year, which is sort of what you'll be doing, are to take their OWLs at the Ministry during the holiday. There is a limit though; they have to be taken before the exam results of the other students are sent out. You'll be taking them on June the 26th, the 27th, and the 28th. It's a bit short for so many OWLs, but it's possible. However, I'd advise you to start studying for them, seeing as you won't be having loads of time to do so after you get to Britain."

"When do I leave for Britain then?"

"On June the 21st."

"June the… But that's in less than two weeks!" Harry said angrily. He'd miss al the good stuff, the swimming pool and the beach parties and beach volleyball. And instead, he'd get to be studying for more exams!!

" I know. But at least you'll get to play your final sports matches and finish everything in school. Besides, I thought you'd like to spend some time with your dad? He sure wants to with you." She said slyly.

"Yea I do." He said. So they were back on the dad subject. He decided to ask the question that had been bothering him ever since his father left.

"Annie, how come… my father didn't stay here? Why did he go back to Britain after we met?" He asked hesitantly and, to those who knew him well, a bit insecure.

Annie gave him a sympathetic smile. "It's not that he didn't want to stay Harry, cause Merlin knows he did. It's just a lot of small things that when added up, it would be best if he didn't stay here for two weeks."

"Like what?" He asked, a little angry.

"To begin with, this had a big, life-changing impact on you both. Meeting each other for the first time after so many years would, emotionally, be a lot to take in, and it needed to be coped with before you two would see each other daily. It needs to be taken in steps you know? Not go biting off more than you can chew. So with that, it would be better if James stayed in Britain, and visited instead of coming to live here for two weeks.

Secondly, James couldn't just leave everything behind, what with the war going on now. James is really busy with his job, and he couldn't just up and leave with no special reason at all. And before you say 'Am I not special enough', yes, you are. But we cannot tell Scrimgeour, the Minister for Magic, that you are found just yet. You nor James would get any rest if he did, and he would tell the public you were found as a moral boost and we cannot have that yet. No one is allowed to know where you currently are. And if James was, somehow, able to leave it would still be suspicious to Voldemort, and it would be too much of a coincidence if James just happened to temporarily live near where you and Lily lived. Voldemort would investigate, maybe find out about you and there would be a huge attack.

James, of course, fought tooth and nail against this, and I believe he even fired some nasty jinxes that ended up in people being brought to the Spell Damage department in St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. But in the end he gave in, because it was what would be best for you."

Harry nodded. He could understand all that. He guessed that they, whoever 'they' was, were right about the arguments against James coming here for two weeks.

"So, when I get to Britain, where will I be staying?"

-End of Flashback-

"Here, you know what to do with this. Throw it in the fire, say 'Hogwarts, headmasters office', and keep your eyes closed."

Harry did as he was told, and felt himself spinning. He opened his eyes slightly, and saw different living rooms spin by as he was traveling. Suddenly it stopped and Harry was thrown out of the fireplace. 'Bloody floo' he thought as he felt someone help him up. He dusted himself off and looked around. He saw Dumbledore smiling at his predicament, and he saw his father was grinning at him, as well as Sirius. Suddenly he was pushed to the ground again and felt something land on top of him. Or rather someone. He groaned as he realized he hadn't gotten out of the way of the fireplace and because of that Annie had landed on top of him.

"Oh sorry Harry, are you alright?" she asked

"Yeah, peachy" He answered.

Annie playfully glared at him. Harry dusted himself off, and took a look around the headmasters' office. He saw a lot of gadgets and weird instruments that looked like they would break if you blew at them. He didn't know what they were for, and made a mental note to ask Dumbledore about them later. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and he saw his father's smiling face.

"Hi Harry, how've you been?" he asked.

"Okay I guess. Just saying goodbye and stuff, you know?' his dad nodded in return. "Hi Sirius" Harry said, and Sirius grinned mischievously. Harry had the idea that was a standard smile for Sirius. "Harry, so nice to re-see you" Sirius said. Harry grinned; he was going to get along just fine with this man.

"Padfoot, is 're-see' even a word?"

"I don't know, just felt like saying it." Sirius shrugged.

"How Amy still puts up with you is beyond me." James sighed, shaking his head.

"She keeps saying the same thing."

"Very well, that is enough. Harry, Annie just told me you have been bugging her for the location of your to-be whereabouts for the past two weeks" Dumbledore said smiling "so am I correct in thinking you still want to know?" He asked. Harry nodded eagerly.

"You will be staying at the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Do you know what that is Harry?" Harry nodded. "The headquarters lies at number 12 Grimmauld Place, London."

"London!?" Harry asked. Of all of England, he had the luck of going to London!! All the possibilities…

"But Albus…" James started. "I really wanted to show Harry Godric's Hallow…you know?" Dumbledore thought for a moment. "James, you understand that for Harry's safety, he would be best placed at headquarters?"

"But Albus, this is Godric's Hallow!! Lily and I lived there, it was Harry's home, it was what Lily left!! I've got to at least show Harry. Besides… I already made his room ready for him…" James said, while nervously fidgeting with the hem of his sleeve. Harry on the other hand, his thoughts were going a mile a minute. Godric's Hallow… His mother had always loved that place, she had wanted so badly for him to grow up there. And he had always wanted to see it. And his father had already made a room ready for him. Did his father want him back so badly? Harry got a weird feeling in his stomach, and he noticed a smile tugging his lips.

"Very well James. Harry will stay there for one week. One week only. After that he will go to headquarters. It would probably be better this way anyway. You and Harry will get to know each other a bit before you have to live in a full house." Dumbledore smiled a little.

"YES!!" James yelled, throwing his hands up in the air like a little kid. It made Harry laugh. In any case, Harry would have objected to decisions being made for him, but he couldn't help but agree with this outcome. 'Wonder what Dumbledore meant with 'full house'.'

--

5 Minutes later, Harry, again, fell out of the fireplace. Only this time there was a difference. His father caught him.

"You want to be careful there, Harry." James said. "Don't want to be rushing you off to the hospital already." James smirked at him.

"O don't worry, I'll fall carefully." Harry said sarcastically, and James laughed.

Harry took the opportunity to look around the room, which was obviously the living room. It was homey, was his first thought. He also noticed a lot of similarities between his home with his mom and Godric's hallow. He also noticed his dad was a real Gryffindor fanatic. There was a lot of red and some gold in the living room, like the red couch and the cherry-wood coffee table. And, what surprised Harry, a TV. As he scanned the room he also noticed a lot of photographs. He walked over to them and picked one up. It was of his mother, Lily.

She was beautiful as always, smiling her heartwarming smile, her eyes shining with happiness. He wondered how old she was here. Next he saw a photograph of, again, his mother. But she looked a little older now, and next to her were three boys standing. Harry recognized one of them as his father, who had his arm around Lily's waist. The one next to his dad looked like a younger version of Sirius Black. On Lily's other side stood another man, he had brown hair and brown eyes. Harry thought he looked rather tired.

"That's Remus Lupin, my other best friend." Harry jumped slightly at the voice behind him. He had been so wrapped up in the photographs he hadn't noticed his father sneaking up on him. "It was our graduation day when this picture was taken." His father continued. They both looked at the photo again before Harry snapped out of his daze and asked his father for the "grand tour".

The house turned out to be more like a manor to Harry, when he compared it to what he was used to. Downstairs there was a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, and what seemed to Harry a library, but his father called it 'just' a study room. Upstairs there was a master bedroom, and four other large bedrooms with three bathrooms. Apparently, his dad had his own bathroom and walk-in closet coming with the whole master bedroom. Harry had his OWN (!!) bed- and bathroom. He couldn't believe it! No more sharing a bed- and bathroom with five other boys for him! When he walked into his new bedroom his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. There was a four-poster bed that looked like it belonged to a king, a four-doors closet and a fancy-looking desk. There were two large windows on both sides of his bed that went from the ceiling to the floor. When he walked over to them, he could see what he thought was a quidditch pitch in the back yard.

"I didn't know what colors you preferred, so I did your room in the basic ones." Harry, noticing the room was decorated in red and gold, raised his eyebrows at his father. 'Jake was right, British people are weird', he thought. When he voiced his thoughts, his father laughed. " I guess it's strange yeah. But every Potter has always been a Gryffindor. I assume you know red and gold stand for Gryffindor house?" Harry nodded. "So there's your answer, red and gold are our family colors, our basics. You can change it if you want to." His father quickly added.

Harry didn't want to change it though, after all, this was the first present-like thing he had ever gotten from his father.

When they continued the tour, Harry found out that two of the other rooms were guestrooms, though it was only Sirius and Remus and their families using them. James told Harry that sometimes Sirius and Remus would stay over, a sort of a boys-night, because James was always alone. The last room was a spare, according to James. It was a room they (James and Lily) had wanted to make into a playroom for Harry and any future children, but now it was more of a hobby-room. James kept his quidditch and dueling things here. He told Harry he sometimes practiced dueling here, to stay in top-shape for the war. Harry was very intrigued by this, as he had taken the martial arts-classes his school had offered. His teachers had said he was a natural, but as he already had soccer and hockey training, he couldn't afford the time and the money to take martial arts classes as well, something he regretted a lot.

After the tour James suggested that he make dinner while Harry unpacked. James levitated Harry's bag to his new room, and left rather awkwardly, leaving Harry to his thoughts. It seemed so much longer ago that he said goodbye than it was. This morning his friends had come over, to give one final goodbye, though they had said the same at the party they had thrown him. It was hard for Harry to say goodbye, after all, the people at the orphanage had been his friends and family for eight years.

Harry looked from his sports bag on his bed, to the decorations in his room. He decided that he and his bag looked very out of place, as the room looked like it belonged to some rich kid, while Harry looked like he was plucked from the street, which, he sort of was, the thought gloomily.

As he unpacked, he came across a shrunken box. He un-shrank it and while glaring at it he carelessly shoved it to the back of the closet. Looking up, he was stunned to see his closet was already full! He saw what he recognized as robes: wizarding wear, but also muggle clothes, pajamas, and even a tracksuit! 'James probably did some shopping earlier' Harry thought, as he looked at the multiple pairs of shoes.

He felt slightly guilty calling his father 'James', but he couldn't bring himself to call him dad. Yet, Harry reminded himself. Most people thought fifteen-year old boys were careless, their minds only on one thing, not caring who they hurt. Usually not even aware of it if they did hurt someone. But Harry was different. 'As always,' he thought bitterly. He had always wanted his father to be a part of his life, so when Harry would call him 'dad', he wanted to really mean it. Harry always meant what he said one hundred percent, otherwise he wouldn't say it. And he wasn't about to break his record.

--

When Harry walked down the stairs, he got a slightly nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had no idea what to say; after all they had discussed most of the small things the first time they met. As he reached the doors to the dinning room, he silently congratulated himself at finding it on the first try. He quietly walked into the room a bit, while watching his father rush in and out of the room, trying to make the table look perfect. Harry let his eyes slide over the table, and noticed that it had about everything he had ever heard of on it. He raised his eyebrows as his father walked into the room holding a bowl of carrots, again taking no notice of Harry. Feeling mildly insulted, he cleared his throat. The effect it had amused Harry greatly.

James, too wrapped up in his thoughts of how to make the table look perfect for Harry, didn't notice Harry's presence. As he walked in with a bowl of carrots (he hated carrots, he hated the smell, he hated the taste, and he hated the way-too-bright-color-to-be-a-vegetable. But who new, maybe Harry liked them, so he couldn't risk not having them on the table) he heard a small cough. It startled him more than it usually would, and he reached for his wand. The next thing he new, he was covered in carrots, and he heard a lot of clunks on the table. He even thought he heard a small plunge from where the milk stood.

He was awarded by laughter from the room's entrance. As he looked over to it, he saw his son doubled over, holding his ribs from the laughter.

Harry couldn't help it. He felt bad for his father, laughing about it, but it was just too funny not to laugh.

"I hate carrots." James said, as if it was the carrots' fault. This only made Harry laugh harder.

"Then" Harry started "Then why put them on the table?" He asked, still laughing, though not as much as before.

"Well…" James said, looking rather uncomfortable. "I didn't know if you wanted them or not."

"I'm, err, allergic." He said, with an 'I'm sorry' smile.

"Oh." Was all James could get out. As he turned around and looked at the table, he winced. Practically everything was covered with carrots. 'Bloody carrots! They always spoil everything!' Harry couldn't eat any of this if he was allergic; which meant that all his efforts to make the table perfect had been for nothing. He sighed.

"So um… How about take-out?" Harry suggested.

--

Since James had put almost all of the food supplies on the table, they had no other option. Harry though was rather happy with how things had gone. Not only had it given him a good laugh, as well as his father once he had gotten over his annoyance at carrots, it was also a bit of an ice-breaker. And now they could have their dinner on neutral terrain, and Harry couldn't help but feel more comfortable with that.

"This stuff is really good." James said, and Harry couldn't help but smirk. He had introduced his father to muggle fast food. They were currently eating French fries and a croquette, some of Harry's favorites.

"Why are you smirking?"

"I don't know. I just think it's funny that someone can be so awed by the taste of something that I've eaten since forever." He answered.

"Well, I don't have much time to experiment with muggle food much."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm an auror. Dark wizard catcher, you know? And now that the ministry finally acknowledges Voldemorts return, I'm really busy. I work almost the entire time, so I barely have the time to do even my groceries, so I rarely ever get a full meal, let alone going out for dinner. And then there's" James looked around for a moment, and continued in a whisper "the Order. But you already knew about that didn't you?"

"I just read a few rumors about a secret society called the Order of the Phoenix, during the first war, supposedly led by Dumbledore. And from what I've read about Dumbledore, he did seem the type to do something like that. And besides, Annie told me."

"Yeah, well, the books got that right. We have more info on Voldemort's activities, his plans, than the ministry. Sometimes we inform the minister of a big one, like breaking open Azkaban-"

"But I thought Azkaban was broken open?"

"It was. One of our spies informed us it was going to happen, and we, well, Dumbledore, suggested to the minister to take control of Azkaban out of the dementors' hands. The minister, who refused to believe Voldemort was back, refused to do this too. A week later Azkaban was broken open. But the point is, sometimes we 'silently' play some information to the ministry."

Harry nodded. "So you're a member then?"

It was James' turn to nod. "And so was your mother." Foreseeing the awkward silence that was going to come, he continued. "As are Sirius, Remus, Amy, Aeris, and Annie."

"And you're just allowed to tell me all of this?"

"Well, no. But you're allowed to know, you'll find out in a week anyway."

"Uhu… Who are Amy and Aeris?"

"Well, 'member I told you Sirius and Remus are my best friends? Amy is Sirius' wife and Aeris is Remus'. You should have seen our faces when Sirius and Amy announced their engagement. Sirius didn't think he would ever marry, he enjoyed the bachelor life too much for that, and he was way too immature for a commitment like that. Come to think of it, he still is…" James said smiling.

"Yeah, I figured that out. That he's immature that is, I mean he acts like he's my age!"

James laughed. "Yeah well you just about described Sirius. I always said, he acts like a five year old, looks like a twenty-year old, but had the responsibility of a forty-year old. You know with the war and being an auror and all. But you'll get along with all of them, and their kids as well."

"Poor Amy, kids too?"

"Yeah, three, and Remus two. Sirius has a son your age, and Remus a daughter, you'll meet them at headquarters next week."

Harry thought while he munched on his food. "Is that what Dumbledore meant when he said 'full house'?"

"Hu?" James looked at him confused.

"Right after Dumbledore said I could stay at Godric's Hallow, he said we would get to know each other a bit before we had to live in a full house."

James continued to look at him confused, until he said " How did you remember that?"

Harry just shrugged his shoulders

"Anyway, yes, they're staying at headquarters. The Blacks, the Lupins, the Weasleys, and Hermione Granger, so it's rather crowded there."

Harry nodded and continued to eat his food. He couldn't help but feel there was something missing in the story. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

"I thought there were four of you? Mom used to tell me about you guys, the Marauders, but there was another guy, Peter wasn't it?"

Suddenly a closed expression formed on his fathers face, and Harry suddenly regretted asking the question. It was obviously something his father didn't fancy discussing.

"He turned. Became a death eater. Are you finished?"

At first Harry didn't understand what his father meant, but then he realized that his father was talking about the food. "Oh, err… Yeah, I am."

"Then let's head home. As much as I don't want to, there are some auror reports that I must finish." James said, his mood suddenly changing to it's cheery self, and Harry quickly adapted to it.

"Does that mean you're going to be working this week?" Harry didn't know where the question suddenly came from, or why he whispered it. He also chose to ignore the disappointed feeling he got.

"No, I, err, demanded to get the week off for personal reasons. The ministry doesn't yet know we've found you, Merlin we wouldn't get any peace if they did. But I do have to go to an Order meeting this week. You can come with me if you want. It would be boring to stay at the Hallow all alone, and at headquarters there will be some kids your age."

Harry scoffed indignantly, "I am no kid", he said, while making a mental note to ask more about them later.

James laughed. "Perhaps not, but you're not an adult either. Don't look at me like that, I heard the same thing when I was your age and I didn't like it anymore than you do now."

As James walked ahead towards the entrance, Harry couldn't help the smile that was tugging at his lips. Maybe there wouldn't be any ice that needed to be broken, Harry thought, as he watched his father turn around to see if he was following.

--

When they came home, Harry said he was tired and went up to his room. He wasn't really tired, but he just wanted to be alone. When he walked into the room, he let his hand glide over the wall, searching for the light switch. He frowned when he found none, and his shoulders slumped when he realized; of course there would be no light switch! This was a magical home. He opened the door further to see if he could find something that would give light, and he found a candle on his bedside table. 'That will do for now', he thought relived. He didn't fancy disturbing his father to ask how to work the light.

He halted his movement as his eyes caught the table's drawer. He slowly opened it, revealing the old and partly burned book he had put there earlier. Though the book looked worn and ugly, it was his most dear possession. He sat on the bed, Indian style, with his back against the headboard, and opened the book. On it's first page was the picture Harry had probably looked at most of all. The photograph of his parents' wedding.

He sighed, and stared at it for a very long time, before going to sleep.

-

-

-

About the comment about James leaving, I hope this explanation is good enough for you. I didn't think about James staying there 'till Harry goes to Britain, but I think this is good enough a reason for him not to. I must say though, I had to laugh about the comment that James put a couple of people in the Spell Damage department of St Mungo's. I really think he'd do something like that in that situation.

I was going to make this chapter longer, but I'm having trouble getting the next part on paper, so I decided to post this and put in the next scenes with the next chapter.

Lastly, I love your reviews, please keep sending them in!

xx.

By the way, if there's any news about me not updating for a while or something like that (like the last couple of weeks, cause we were having exams and I had to study really hard), then it'll be on my profile. Please review! Cause I never get tired of 'em!