Potter Couple and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Chapter 1: Something Unheard Of

Harry Potter and his wife, Hallie, sat down at the kitchen table in the Parker household one sunny morning for breakfast. Chessy, the nanny, made them a very large breakfast, and Harry was very pleased about it. During the summer holiday, Elizabeth James and Annie flew in for a visit and stayed for a while, which made Hallie very happy.

"Harry, what's the plan for this year?" asked Annie. She and Hallie were excited for their second year at Hogwarts, while Harry was very nervous about his third year. "It sounds interesting being in second year." Harry said nothing, for he remembered the events that happened a month ago.

"Well, I suppose it's going to be an interesting year," said Harry thoughtfully as he looked out toward the pasture. Memories of the past weeks of riding a horse down the pasture with Hallie and having a picnic near the vineyard flashed in his mind. "I'll miss being here, to be honest."

"Oh, you'll be fine," said Hallie rubbing his arm affectionately. "Besides, we're going to be together all the time at Hogwarts, and I'm sure that Professor Dumbledore has some interesting news this year!" Harry nodded and they went outside for a while. While they stood out on the porch looking at the view, Hallie said, "I wonder what everyone's got planned for our first anniversary this year?"

"Who knows?" said Harry shrugging slightly. "Some of the teachers may have something planned." Hallie nodded and went inside to check her calendar. "Hal, what's on your mind? You've been awfully quiet for a couple days now."

"It's just...I don't know," she said sitting on the sofa in the living room. "I kind of get the feeling that something bad's going to happen, but I can't explain what." Harry understood and sat with her. "Harry, I don't want anything to happen. I mean, after what happened to me in the Chamber of Secrets..."

"Hallie, listen to me." Harry said looking his wife dead in the eyes. "Nothing bad is going to happen. You can count on it. I won't let anything to happen, all right?" Hallie smiled and stood up. "So, what does the calendar say?"

Annie, who was a bit quiet, said, "It's only July, Hal." She smiled slightly as she added, "We got two months before school starts! Enjoy the time we have! We still have the camping trip before school, and I'm sure Dad would love to take Harry with us."

"You're coming, too?" Hallie asked in surprise. Annie nodded with a grin. "That's totally awesome. I've been trying to talk to Dad for days about it, but he's been quiet since he broke off his engagement to Cruella DeVille!" Harry laughed at the nickname she gave Meredith Blake, but soon quieted down. "Harry, she would have sent us all to boarding school!"

"Don't we already go to one?" Harry laughed in spite of what she said. "Hogwarts is basically a boarding school but for magic." Both girls laughed and they sat down once more. "Look, if you're upset, we can always go on a hike or a picnic to get over things. I had an idea, but I don't think Dad would approve." Hallie blushed, and Annie looked quite oblivious. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"How about a picnic?" Annie suggested. "I'm sure Mum and Dad would approve of that." Hallie nodded and went to the kitchen to ask their parents and grab some food. Apparently it was going to plan because not only did she return with food, but a bottle of wine. "I forgot Dad has a wine cellar downstairs. He's letting you two drink some?"

"Just some of the new wine he made last month." Hallie said placing the bottle in the basket. "Harry never got to try any when Dad came for the wedding and all we had was champagne." Harry remembered the wedding and looked at the golden ring on his finger. Just the thought of this made his heart inflate a little. "Anyway, if we're going on the picnic, we should get Sprout and your horse ready."

The ride to the hill was fun, though Annie decided to stay at the house since she never rode a horse. Harry was roughly reminded of Hermione Granger's fear of flying and couldn't hide the smile that was creeping on his face. As they reached the hill, Hallie tied Sprout and Harry's horse, whom he named Jasper, to a tree and lay down the picnic blanket. "It's nice, isn't it?" Harry said looking at the morning surise. "It's quite spectacular to see the sunrise, don't you think?"

Hallie leaned in closer and whispered, "It's even better at sunset." Harry couldn't help but agree. "Well, should we eat and have a few glasses of wine?" She poured generous amounts of wine in each glass and they ate their food that was in the basket.

Harry felt a little tipsy after three glasses and could barely walk straight. "You know, I never knew exactly what it felt like to be buzzed by wine." he said with a chuckle. "Shall we head back to the house?" Hallie, who was doing fine even after three glasses of wine, nodded. They rode their horses to the stables near the house and went inside to relax a bit. "Blimey. Who knew that three glasses of wine could do that to a person?"

Annie saw them and sat down in an armchair. "How was the picnic?" she asked with a grin. "You were out there for a while? Didn't do anything rebellious, did you?"

Harry gasped and said in mock surprise, "How dare you suggest that Hallie and I would do such a thing?" Annie laughed and hugged him for a moment. "That won't be for a while yet, or as long as Hal wants to wait."

"What won't happen for as long as Hallie wants to wait?" asked Mr. Parker, who just now arrived from the vineyard. Harry struggled for words but Mr. Parker just laughed. "Harry, you know I'm joking. How did the picnic go?"

"I got a little tipsy," said Harry with a grin. "Three glasses of wine will do that to you, I suppose." Nick Parker nodded and sat down on the other chair. "Did we get any owls yet?"

"One from Ron, a whole two pages of parchment from Hermione, and one from Hagrid," said Nick handing them to Harry. "I think Ron's is about their stay in Egypt and Hermione is asking if Hallie's okay. What that Riddle guy did to her really makes me mad."

"I thought killing my parents was bad enough," Harry said staring at Hallie's scar angrily, "but now I something else to get him for." Nick understood what he meant and stood up again. "Dad, what are we going to do about Diagon Alley? I don't have Floo powder and I don't know how to Apparate yet."

"Aunt Molly sent me some Floo powder yesterday." Annie said holding out a small bag of sparkling powder. "Uncle Arthur said that Mum's place isn't connected to the Floo Network at the Ministry, but the Minister specifically asked to connect your fireplace." Nick smiled and went into the kitchen for a bit of coffee and cornbread. "Anyway, I brought today's issue of The Daily Prophet for you to check out. Look at the front page."

Harry took the paper and read the headline. "Azkaban prisoner escapes?" he asked. "Who is that?"

"According to the article, his name is Sirius Black, a supporter of Voldemort," said Hallie reading the article. "It says that he killed thirteen Muggles with one curse." Harry looked very unnerved at this. "He escaped Azkaban and is now at large."

"That's what worries me." Annie said. "After reading that article, I wrote to the Minister asking how that could happen, but he's baffled, too."

Harry was reading Ron's letter while she spoke and looked up finally. "Not to change the subject, but Ron said he and the others will be in Diagon Alley at the Leaky Cauldron in August." He folded the letter and put it away saying, "I can't wait to go and see them. I'm sure they have loads to tell us."