Harry Potter and the Children of the Clan

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"So, tomorrow's the big day," Harry said from his place in the single chair in James' room.

"Yes, sir," James replied with a bit of a smile.

"Ah, I see you've been practicing."

"A bit, not that I need to. Every time I see Teddy, Vee or Fred, they can't seem to not remind me," the boy said with a shake of his head.

Harry couldn't help but laugh. It was partly his own fault, having made sure each of the Weasley Clan Kids had understood that it couldn't be 'Harry' or 'Uncle Harry' or 'arry' as the case might be. And now it couldn't be Da either.

"So how are you feeling about it all?" he asked his son.

"I'm glad to be going, of course. The way things are, I need to start learning how to do magic, but I'm not happy about leaving the house with everything that's happened," James replied seriously.

In his short career the boy had already witnessed one uninvited visitor to Meadow Crest get incapacitated by an anti intruder spell courtesy of his Uncle Bill and inadvertently killed a witch that was part of nearly half a dozen witches and wizards that had attacked him and his mentor, the Centaur Ronin, when the two had stumbled across the group while trekking in the Dark Forest. He was also aware that his father was the target of a plot that had resulted in three unsuccessful attacks so far. One in Diagon Alley, a second while on the grounds of Beauxbaton Academy and the third at the public Quidditch park. While Harry had escaped from all three without injury, the last had resulted in a handful of injuries to some bystanders and the shutting down of the park for a month.

"James, son, with all due respect to your abilities and bravery, the house, the family and me, are under constant surveillance. The best thing you can do now is to get up to Hogwarts, put your nose to the grindstone and learn everything you can."

"I know, Da, you've mentioned that before, a lot. But I worry about having enough time. What if it's too late already?"

Harry shook his head. This wasn't something an eleven year old should have to be dealing with. He knew that from bitter experience. He took a deep breath and let it out.

"James, no one knows whether or not they'll have enough time to do the things they think they need to. All you can do, all anyone can do, is press ahead and do the best they can. Don't let all this distract you. You'll have plenty to keep you occupied without worrying about anything else. And you won't be doing it by yourself. You'll have Ted, Vee and Fred up there with you. Whether you like it or not, they'll be keeping an eye on you, so take advantage of it and any help they can offer, okay?"

"Yes, sir," James replied, less than happy, but at least not melancholy.

"And stop worrying about me. I may not have the dragon's indestructibility, but there are more than a few people keeping an eye on me, and remember what happened to that fellow who came after me up at the park."

James indeed remembered when an unknown wizard swept in towards Harry while he was battling it out for the snitch above the number three pitch. Before anyone could react, Harry was struck by a spell but just as had happened to Voldemort, the spell rebounded, repulsed by his mother's magic and the result was a fatally damaged wizard falling out of the sky, the resulting pieces causing the injuries to the unsuspecting spectators below.

Harry had managed to stay on his broom but the other seeker had to help him land safely. All in all, not a very good day. It was at this point that Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt put his foot down and formalized and beefed up Harry's security detail, for the duration, as it was put. For the last month and a half Harry couldn't travel outside the confines of Meadow Crest without a pair of Specials tagging along. And because every member of the family agreed with the Minister, Harry's protests fell on deaf ears.