The train back home had been a bit too quick for his liking, he wasn't ready to go home. Though, he wouldn't be there much over the summer due to interviews and tryouts for different quidditch teams, so there was a silver lining, still.. He didn't want to go back at all.
His head rested in Lucas' lap as the train pulled into the station. They had a compartment to themselves as there was not enough room to fit their growing group of friends all in one. Looking up at the other he pouted, "I wish we had another hour or two." he whispered.
"I kinda do too, but also, my legs are dead." Lucas laughed, leaning down to place a soft kiss on the other's lips. "Promise me you'll write?"
"You know I will." Elijah breathed, closing his eyes as he felt the train come to a stop. He wanted to just stay here a little longer. Just enjoy the bliss of the moment.
Eventually, he did get up, pulling Lucas up with him. The pair climbed off the train together, each of them looking for their parents. Elijah's eyes fell on his parents greeting Harry and his friends before catching Lucas' dad in the corner of his eye.
"I guess this is goodbye for now." Elijah hummed sadly.
"I guess so.." Lucas sighed softly, looking down at the other before pulling him in for a deep kiss. "I love you, you know? If it gets too much at home-"
"I know." Elijah breathed against the older boys lips. "I love you too. I'll see you soon."
Lucas grinned, moving towards his father who gave Elijah a small nod and smile before greeting his son. Part of Elijah wondered what the man looked like without the potion keeping his appearance a secret.
Turning to go head to his parents he was tackled by the Avery twins, nearly knocking him to the floor.
"Not going to leave without saying goodbye are you, Potter?" They asked in sync.
Catching himself before he could hit the floor, the boy laughed, "Can't blame me for trying.." he teased, spotting Felix and Ezra behind the twins.
"Now, we expect to see you this summer. Parents orders be damned." Jay instructed.
He rolled his eyes with another laugh, "Yeah, I promise I will write to you all."
"No, we want to see you." Alix sighed, "Please?"
Elijah grinned with a nod, "I'll see you all at the Quidditch World Cup? I'll try to do the odd day or two if I can." he hummed.
"Good boy," Alix smirked, patting Felix on the top of his head earning another roll of his eyes. She pulled him in for a tight hug. "Keep us updated on how the tryouts go. And if you need to get away for a few days.. you can crash at ours."
"I promise," Felix murmured, hugging her back as he pulled away all three boys pulled him into another hug. "Write to me about your travels.." he told them all, slowly pulling back. "I'll see you guys soon." He grinned, adjusting his bag on his shoulder before walking over to his parents.
There was a heavy silence as he approached his family, and he ignored it, pulling on his headphones and playing his music the whole trip home.
The new house was big, in the middle of a large plot of land just outside London. The insides seemed organized but homely. Having a small scan of the rooms before heading up to what Harry had told him was his room, it was the loft room, with an en-suite, and a window that had a small ledge that he could sit on if he wanted. His things were still mostly in their boxes since he hadn't returned to unpack.
The first box he unpacked was his record player, putting it on his dresser and digging through his records before finding one he wanted to play before finishing his unpacking. It only took him a few hours to get everything organized and put away, including the things from his trunk.
By the time he stopped the sun was nearly setting, stopping the music on the record player he slipped his headphones back on and went downstairs for dinner. On the kitchen counter was a small stack of letters from various teams with their tryout dates, he flicked through them, noting the first few dates in his head before looking up to notice Harry had been trying to talk to him.
"What's up?" He asked, sliding the headphones from his head.
"We are having dinner outside in an hour, mums just laying the table," Harry repeated, shuffling uncomfortably. "Erm.. Do you want to practice quidditch after? There is another field out back, and it's large enough and enclosed enough by the trees that Dad said we could practice.
"Maybe." Elijah shrugged, glancing out the window. "The woodlands ours too?" he asked curiously.
"Yeah, there are like five different fields and the woodland area, even a large pond." Harry informed him, "I could show you around?"
The older brother considered it for a moment before nodding, "OK."
"Great!" Harry grinned, rushing to pull on his shoes.
Elijah followed behind him, pulling on his pair of Converse and staying next to Harry as they stepped outside and started wandering around the grounds.
The walk started with the pair walking in silence. Elijah didn't really know what to say to Harry after their last interaction, and it wasn't like Harry had tried either.
"So, when do you leave for the first tryout?" Harry finally asked, breaking the silence.
"Tomorrow." Elijah shrugged, looking over his little brother. He was the spitting image of their father, excluding the eyes. "I've got one tomorrow, two next week. Three the week after and a few the week after."
"You know which one you are leaning towards?"
"Maybe Canada." he hummed, chewing on his bottom lip. He didn't know why a simple conversation felt so hard, but it just didn't feel natural anymore.
"Oh.. that's so far away though," Harry murmured, looking down at his feet as they walked.
"Yeah." Kinda the point. "I'm not sure what one I'll pick, but Canada sounds fun." he shrugged, offering a small smile.
"Who are you going to take with you? Don't you have to have a parent or adult go with you?" Harry asked.
Elijah hadn't really thought about it, he supposed Harry was right though, he was under eighteen so technically he would need an adult with him to approve. He supposed he could ask Remus if he wasn't working, or Sirius if he was released before some of the interview dates, though neither of them were legally his guardians. He supposed his father would know more about the teams and the managers, but the likelihood of them butting heads midtrip was extremely likely. So he guessed he could ask his mother if she wasn't busy.
"Depends on who is free on the dates I suppose, I think for tryouts and interviews I am fine without an adult, it's just if paperwork is brought into it." he sighed, looking up as they reached the woodland area. He wanted to explore the land more by himself in his wolf form. It would be nice to have a good run around the grounds.
"Maybe we can do a family trip to Canada? I'm sure both mum and dad would want to be there for that if it's the one you prefer." His little brother continued, sounding hopeful.
"Maybe." Elijah sighed, not wanting an argument over their parents tonight. "What about you? Do you still want to follow in father's footsteps? Be an auror?"
"That was years ago I told you that.." Harry murmured, looking away again, "But yeah, I hope so. Dad said he was impressed that I could do the Patronus spell."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, he showed me his and our Patronus' were nearly identical." he grinned widely.
"That's cool." Elijah nodded, wanting to sound interested but it was harder than he thought.
When they reached the 'pond' Harry found them a big rock to sit on, and Elijah looked out over the surface of the water.
"I think this is technically a lake, Harry.."
"What's the difference?"
"The size and depth."
"Alright.. We have a lake. Know-it-all." Harry grumbled.
Elijah chuckled, shaking his head.
The silence returned, but this time Elijah was too focused on taking in his surroundings to find it uncomfortable. They must have sat there for a good fifteen minutes before he heard Harry sigh.
"We should head back? Mum will have dinner ready soon."
Elijah nodded, taking one last look at the lake before hopping off the rock and offering his little brother a hand. the pair heading back to the house whilst Harry pointed out the other fields. It was a lot of land, and Elijah wasn't exactly sure why they needed it all.
As they approached the house he spotted a familiar silhouette by the table, causing a wide grin to spread over his face. Remus.
"There you two are," Lily said as the brothers reached the table.
"Sorry Mum, I was showing Elijah around the grounds." Harry hummed, taking a seat beside their father.
Elijah took the seat beside Remus, feeling more relaxed about dinner now he had a friendly face there.
"Did you finish unpacking, Elijah?" His mother asked, pouring the adults each a glass of white wine.
"Yeah, everything is unpacked, Mum," he replied softly, tucking into the food.
"How were your last few weeks of school?" Remus asked the boys.
"Good, Ron's ankle is healed up now, and Hermione has been tracking Sirius' case, it starts next week, right?" Harry replied, smiling over at Remus.
"He hopes so, yes." Remus nodded, "I'm glad Ron's ankle is all healed.. How about you? Are you all healed up, Elijah?"
Elijah nodded, swallowing his mouthful of food. "Pretty much. Poppy gave me some pain relief for the broken ribs but should be all good for tryouts. It's just a dull ache now." he shrugged.
James raised his brows, "What happened that night? Dumbledore didn't go into a lot of detail, and I've heard Lupin and Black explain what happened from their recollection."
"It was so cool, Dad... Sirius just came out of nowhere and dragged Ron into the Whomping Willow, when we followed him inside he was back in his human form and was a little... Crazy... We thought he was going to kill us... Then Remus arrived, and they started to explain everything, but then Snape arrived and put Remus in binds and threatened Sirius.. BUT THEN Elijah arrived and flung Snape across the room.." Harry started to explain like an excited toddler trying to debrief their parents on a tale about their day.
The boy looked away as he felt his parents' eyes on him after Harry said he flung Snape across the room. It was intentional.. Well, not to that extent. He just couldn't think of another way to temporarily restrain the professor.
Still, Harry continued, "They finally get Peter to transform back into himself, both Remus and Sirius were going to kill him until Elijah told them that they needed him alive to prove Sirius' innocence, and then when we got outside Hermione noticed the full moon and Remus turned into a werewolf and Sirius protected us, whilst Peter shifted and started to flee, but Elijah then- Ow!"
Elijah kicked his brother's ankle under the table, glaring at him in a warning. He didn't want that argument tonight.
"Elijah what?" James asked curiously, eyes flickering between the two boys.
"I chased after Peter." The older boy shrugged, taking a sip of his water.
"You chased a rat through the woods.. In the dark?" His father questioned, clearly not believing him.
"Never said it was easy."
"In the meantime, Snape took Hermione, Ron and I back up to the castle and we used Hermione's time-turner to save Buckbeak and Sirius. Elijah saved us from Remus too when he was in his werewolf form."
"How?" Lily asked, "You weren't scratched or bitten?" she asked her older son.
"No.. Just lucky, I guess." Elijah sighed, glaring at Harry again.
"Lucky..." James repeated, turning to Remus.
The other man held his hands up, "You know I can't remember much during my time as a werewolf." he replied simply, respecting the boy's choice to keep it a secret.
"Then I brought Peter up to the castle and you know the rest." The older boy hummed, sitting back in his chair.
"I'm just a little confused," Lily said slowly, looking over her eldest as if she was trying to work him out. "it feels like there is a big chunk of the story missing."
"Probably, I hit my head really hard." Elijah chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
There was a silence that fell over the table, both Lily and James' eyes on their eldest and both Harry and Remus looked around nervously, meeting anyone's gaze.
"Dinner was lovely, thanks, Mum." The boy smiled.
"Yeah, thanks, Mum." Harry added.
"Lovely as always, Lily." Remus smiled.
With the silence broken both parents shared a look before Lily smiled, "I'm glad you all enjoyed it."
"I can clear up." Elijah volunteered, getting to his feet and gathering everyone's plates.
"I'll help." Remus smiled wearily, getting up and taking the rest of the dishes before following the boy inside.
The boy was scraping the leftovers into the bin when Remus entered the kitchen, making him turn slightly with a guilty look.
"Do you think I should have told them?" he asked quietly.
Remus chuckled lightly, "I think they are going to find out at some point, but if you aren't ready, then wait."
Elijah let out a heavy sigh, "Sirius told me not to get into any huge argument with them until he was out and able to talk to them.. So I figured it would be best to avoid telling them I am an unregistered animagi even if Dad is one too."
"Makes sense." The other nodded, moving to the sink to help the other with the washing up. "He should be out by the end of the month, I doubt the trial will go on for very long."
"I can't wait to have him finally out." he smiled softly, drying up the dishes Remus had washed, opening a few cupboards before finding where he needed to put them. He considered his next words carefully, "What happened to Sirius' family?"
Remus raised a brow, wondering where the question came from. "Well, his parents died nearly ten years ago, he has a few cousins still around though, most of which are dark wizards and sided with The Dark Lord, married off with other purebloods."
"He had a brother didn't he?" he asked.
"He did, Regulus Black. He became a death eater when he was sixteen and died two years later," he replied, carefully looking Elijah over. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious, he didn't mention him and I hadn't heard about another Black brother other than in Hogwarts yearbooks." he shrugged.
By the time they finished putting everything away, Harry and his parents were walking back into the house. James and Harry were talking about Patronus', causing both Remus and Elijah to look at each other with grins.
"So is it rare for a wizard's Patronus to match their animagus form?" Harry asked his father.
"No, they can be completely different or the same, just depends on the wizard," James replied, turning to Elijah, looking over his son as he thought about his question. "What was your Patronus?"
"A Peregrine Falcon." Elijah replied.
James studied his son for a moment before nodding. It was just another difference added to the list between father and son.
"So.. I've got a tryout tomorrow with the Falmouth Falcons, but I should be back by dinner." he shrugged, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Don't you need someone to go with you?" Lily asked, furrowing her brows.
"Nope. Not until contracts are brought out, but all the teams know I have other tryouts and interviews booked in." he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
"He's got one in Canada.." Harry added.
James and Lily looked to their eldest.
"Well, not until like the third week of the summer holidays." he hummed, "I've also got two in America; Seattle and New York."
"We could do a family holiday! It would be fun." Harry grinned widely.
Elijah twisted his lips, he wasn't sure he wanted them all there for the tryouts, but it wasn't his choice. Technically for the ones further afield he would need an adult present. Technically it didn't have to be his family though.
"Well, we can look into it." James mumbled, looking to his wife who nodded in agreement. "You have kept the Quidditch World Cup free though? It is important we go together for work."
"I've kept it free." Elijah agreed, looking at the clock he faked a yawn. "I think I am going to call it a night." he said, turning to Remus. "It was good to see you, Moony." he smiled, pulling his godfather in for a hug. "I'll see you next week?" he asked.
Remus hugged the other tightly, "Good night, Elijah. I'll see you next week." he promised.
"Night guys." The boy said as he headed up to his room, grabbing his letters on his way up.
In his room, he started writing letters to each of his friends and one to Sirius. He couldn't wait for his other godfather to be out so he could finally see him again. It was going to be a long summer until then.