PRIORI INCANTATEM

7. Living with Family and Friends

(A/N: I had no plans on updating today, but the votes and comments I got made my fingers twitch so badly that I couldn't help myself!)

Lily took Harry to her and James' bedroom and James closed the door behind him.

"Harry —" James began.

"Yes dad?"

"I can't do this Lils!" James moaned, turning to Lily. "This is even harder than proposing you!"

"Yes you can, and you will!" Lily firmly replied. "As for proposing me, it wasn't all that hard for what I know — seeing you did it five times a day — for four long years!"

Harry sniggered before turning his attention back at James.

"Harry . . . D'uwana'veasiblin?" James said in a single breath.

"Sorry dad, but what?"

"Well . . . will you be happy with a . . . sibling . . . ? Do you want . . . er . . . to have a sibling? I mean . . . I understand . . . you might not want the responsibility of a younger sister or brother . . . since you're used to living alone . . . and have already have too much burden. . . . Your experience with your only cousin hasn't been a nice one. . . . I and your mother thought . . . it would be better to . . . ask you whether — well — you know?"

"What — a sibling?" Harry said. "I get to be an elder brother?"

"I thought you wouldn't want to," said James quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd —"

"Are you insane?" said Harry, his voice easily as croaky as James'. "Of course I want to have a sibling! Or siblings‼"

James turned back to look at him.

"You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry.

Both James and Lily's broke into the biggest grin Harry had seen on their faces, and hugged him fiercely.

Harry was having the best time of his life. Everyone beside him disliked cleaning, which, in Ron's words was 'working like house elves', giving Hermione another excuse to shout out about S.P.E.W., but Harry was fine with it. He enjoyed working with everyone, listening to Sirius' and James' rants and Fred and George's jokes. He loved eating the food cooked by his mother, which he had never been lucky enough to have tasted before. He loved how James shared his like for treacle tart. He missed Quidditch, but enjoyed being audience to Fred and George's private lessons at the hands of James, Sirius and sometimes Remus, which had resulted in a number of pranks casted upon the members of Grimmauld Place.

He immensely enjoyed spending time with Tonks, who was much more hilarious than she had first appeared and told stories about her stupidity or listened to how they had confronted the Dursleys over and over ; or with Kingsley, discussing about Auror training and tasks. Even Mad-Eye was a pleasure to sit with, as he listened to him going on about how he had caught a number of Death Eaters. Most of all he loved the Animagus lessons he was taking in secret with his father and godfather, which even Ron and Hermione didn't know about.

He remembered the day they had begun only too well. It was about a week after he had come to Grimmauld Place:

"Psst! Over here, Harry," Sirius had whispered from the door of the drawing room the group was cleaning.

"What?" he asked.

"Shh! Keep your voice down," James whispered. "Follow us, c'mon."

They led him to the basement.