Put Your Curse In Reverse [Part 2]

Chapter 7 - Baby

Lily Potter

Third Year

Defence Against the Dark Arts

Counter-curses

I am most looking forward to learning about counter-curses. Almost everybody in my entire family has been cursed at one point or another. I would like to learn more about how counter-curses are created and who massively mucked up and failed to create them for some of the worst curses. It makes no sense! Why do jinxes that are harmless fun have counter-curses but curses that will actually murder you completely have none? Our book says that the Killing Curse does not have a counter-curse because there is no counter-curse for death. I say: let's fix that! What a terrible idea. Just because there has never been a counter-curse before does not mean somebody can't make one. I want to make one and I want to learn how. If somebody had been brave enough to do it, the world would be very different. For one, Lord Voldemort would probably be dead right now or at least very old with no friends and only one talent (talking to his pet snakes). I would have four grandparents instead of two. My dad, Harry Potter, saviour of the Wizarding World, best dad and treacle tart maker, would not have his wicked scar, but he would probably still have plenty of other ones because he is always doing brave and reckless things. My mum would have six brothers instead of five. My almost-brother Teddy Lupin would have parents. Many of my classmates would still have family members, too.

In summary, I would like to learn how to do what all the past incompetent wizards failed to do. There is always a way and I think wizards gave up too soon. I think everybody just started to say 'a counter-curse is impossible', so everybody just stopped trying. If everybody (witches) tries really hard again, someone (a witch) will figure it out. And then nobody has to be murdered again. I also think Dark Magic should be taxed. It would help many of the problems that our Minister for Magic, Hermione Jean Granger, complains about over dinner.

"Should you be marking Lily's essay while you're furious with her?"

Harry looked up. He watched his wife cross over to him, her eyes exhausted, her arms crossed tightly.

"How'd you know it was Lily's from all the way over there?"

"She's got distinctive handwriting," Ginny answered. She sat down beside Harry on the uncomfortable sofa. She looked around the quiet reception area. "You ran away to the labor and delivery ward. Interesting choice. Probably says something, but I'm too tired to even try."

Harry shrugged. He bowed his head back over his daughter's essay.

"I don't have long," Ginny continued. "My mum is with Al. His arm finally stopped bleeding. I just sent James, Lily, and Scorpius back to Hogwarts. But I wanted to make sure you're all right."

"I'm fine," he answered automatically. Ginny gave him a dry look. He tried again. "Okay. I'm...frustrated. Worried. Frightened," he admitted.

She examined his eyes and he examined hers. She nodded once. He smiled softly as she reached over, pried his quill from his hand, and laced their fingers together.

"She's not doing too well, is she?" Ginny asked lightly, and at first, Harry thought she meant Lily. He sighed.

"No, and frankly, Gin—"

She wasn't talking about Lily. She was staring at a terribly young woman sitting across from them, in the throes of a contraction, rocking back and forth in her chair while repeatedly telling both Merlin and Dumbledore to do something vulgar to themselves.

"She's got to be younger than eighteen. Where are her parents?"

"I don't know," Harry said. He waited a few more moments. Ginny was still watching the girl in concern. He had such an intense tangle of emotions bearing down on his heart that he wasn't sure where to start; he wasn't even sure he wanted to talk about it yet. And yet... "Is she all right?"