The Hidden One (2)

Halloween

"So easily distracted," Rose said with a small snort.

"We've gotten pretty good at this whole parenting thing," Harry said. "We should write a book."

"That sounds like way too much work," Rose replied, scrunching her nose up in disgust.

"Yeah, probably," Harry agreed. Rose made sure that Jamie was looking away and slid Harry's glasses back on. Jamie's eyes went wide as the fireplace was suddenly green. He let out a happy squeal when he saw Lily and James emerge from the flames.

"Oh Merlin help us," Rose gasped. James was dressed as a stag with fake antlers that almost touched the ceiling because of how big they were. Lily was wearing a fake witch outfit, complete with a purple witch hat.

"How is my favorite grandson?" Lily asked in a baby voice. Jamie giggled and held his arms up to be grabbed. Lily scooped him up and covered him in kisses.

"I see you went with Star Wars," James noted.

"I see you went with stupid," Rose replied. Harry and Lily both held back laughs as James looked offended.

"I thought I looked good," James said.

"You look very convincing, but the antlers barely fit in the house, and you weren't very original with the idea," Rose explained.

"I told him that he should've gone as a robot," Lily said. "But he wouldn't budge. I decided to be a little ironic with the witch costume."

"It's cute," Rose told her. Lily responded with a smile as she put Jamie down on the floor so he could play with his toys.

"How are you?" Harry asked, trying to not sound anxious.

"We're good," James said. "We've actually been meaning to talk to you, and this is the perfect time since no one else is here."

Rose and Harry shared an anxious glance as both Lily and James looked nervous.

"Remember when we said that we were thinking of adopting?" Lily asked, her voice soft. Harry nodded. "Well...We've fallen in love with this little girl, and we want you to meet her."

"Her name is Catherine," James added. "Her parents died during the Battle of Hogwarts and she's been in a muggle orphanage since then."

"When...when could I meet her?" Harry asked, his voice tight.

"If you're up for it, we're going to be in the same neighborhood as the orphanage," Lily said. "She could join us for a little bit. We've become good friends with the caretaker there, and so she lets us take Catherine out all the time."

Rose grasped Harry's hand and gently ran her thumb over his. He was staring at his lap with an unreadable look on his face. James and Lily both looked anxious until Harry looked up and sent them a small smile.

"I'd love to meet her," Harry finally said. Lily let out a sigh of relief and James let out a cheer.

"Does anyone else know?" Rose asked.

"They know that we've been hanging out with Catherine basically everyday, but they haven't met her," Lily answered.

"We wanted you to meet her first," James said to Harry. Rose noted that Harry still looked a little uncomfortable and upset, but he was more happy for his parents than anything else.

"If you decided to, how soon would you be able to adopt her?" Harry asked.

"We actually have already put in the paperwork," Lily admitted. "So a month at the most."