Daddy’s Boy

Summer 93

Once again, both families planned to spend most of the summer in France, as had become their habit. Harry considered inviting Neville as well, but wasn't sure it was such a good idea, as they used to spend most of the summer at cloth-free beaches. With the magical world being so conservative, and especially since Neville was being raised by his grandmother, this didn't seem like something the shy boy would willingly join.

"Where are you going to spend your summer?" Ron asked when they were already on the train home.

Harry shrugged. "I suppose my guardians will take me to France again. They like going there each summer to visit family and friends."

"It sounds boring," Ron commented.

"They enjoy it," Harry said, making it sound as if he didn't. Actually, he was looking forward to that vacation and all that it meant.

When they finally reached their vacation resort, Harry was fascinated at seeing Hermione's body blooming into womanhood. While school robes hid her figure effectively, he wasn't aware of the changes his betrothed was going through, yet he was delighted to see her upgraded figure once they reached the beach.

"You look magnificent!" he told her. "School robes do you no justice!"

She smiled, enjoying the compliment. "Well, we should concentrate on our studies while at school."

Harry could barely take his eyes off her. There was no other girl whom he could find even close to the perfection that Hermione was for him. He was a bit apprehensive at hugging her the way they had been hugging since they had become friends, but Hermione dissolved his worries, hugging him as tightly as ever, not minding her budding breasts being pressed firmly onto his chest, nor the evident reaction of his body.

Yet summer was not only enjoying the beaches. James decided it was time to teach Harry and Hermione a bit about the Potter ancestry. They were surprised when James started with the "Tales of Beedle and Bard".

"There's a legend in here, telling about three brothers. While the details may be exaggerated, the three brothers were real. The Potter family has merged with the Peverell line many generations ago. The invisibility cloak, that Dumbledore was kind enough to give you back, is actually the same one mentioned in the legend, passed from generation to generation in our family."

Both teens seemed excited at hearing this. Harry could feel Hermione's eagerness to start reading that book as soon as she could.

"There are two other artefacts mentioned in that story. One is a very powerful wand, yet it's not quite the blessing one would expect it to be. Too many wizards, especially dark ones, seek as much power as possible. They'd do everything to get this wand. None of the wizards who took possession of the Elder wand died of old age. All were killed, one way or the other, by somebody who wanted to get the wand."

Hermione shivered at the implications. Harry hugged her reassuringly.

"The third item – the resurrection stone – is not what its name implies. It cannot bring somebody back to life. It can only bring his shadow, his ghost, to temporarily present itself. Some of those who tried to use it turned insane. That's what probably happened to some of Slytherin's descendants, who inherited the stone when they merged with the line of another Peverell brother."

He smiled at seeing the pensive expression of the youngsters. "I suggest you start by reading this book and then look at the Potter ancestry in the library. The books on the eastern wall are all about our ancestors and their deeds or misdeeds."

They first spent some time reading the tales. Just like they had done as small children, they lay side by side on the carpet and read from the same book, their bodies pressed tightly into each other. Both seemed to like it. Once they read that book and discussed it a bit, they moved to the library.

"I think we should learn the recent history first, as it's probably more relevant," Harry suggested. Hermione nodded her agreement. Checking the books, they were a bit surprised to find that the last one was labelled, "James Charlus Potter, 1960 – 1981?"

They both knew that James was still alive, yet believed to be dead since that fateful Halloween. Still, both were eager to learn some more. James didn't like talking about his past, and the other Marauders talked mainly about the pranks they had used to play at school.

Harry was actually surprised to read that his father, despite trying to seem uninterested in studying, had been one of the best students of both Charms and Transfigurations, and not too bad in Potions either. He had turned more serious after Lily Evans agreed to date him, getting even higher grades.

Several chapters were also dedicated to Lily, telling about her childhood, her first bouts of magic and her friendship with Severus Snape – the poor boy from the nearby slums. Harry was delighted to see that his mother had been an excellent student, getting the highest grades seen at Hogwarts for many generations. He felt proud that Hermione and he were getting about the same grades as Lily.

They skipped the parts dealing with James's failed attempts at wooing Lily before the end of sixth year. Although some of his attempt had been hilarious, Harry didn't want to think of that, and Hermione agreed. They'd already heard more than enough when Sirius or Remus were teasing James, which happened at almost every visit.

Harry also didn't want to read about the last year of his parents as a couple – his first year as a baby. He thought it could turn too painful. Besides, he had already heard enough about that.

Instead, they turned their attention to the beginning of the century, and even a bit earlier, delving into the last decades of the Victorian era. It was fascinating reading. Harry found that his ancestors, despite being very respectable and contributing a lot to the modernization of the wizarding laws and government, as well as doing well in business, were also infamous pranksters, whose pranks were sometimes borderline bullying. He frowned at that, though. It still made the enmity between the Marauders and Snape more understandable to him, wondering if his father had not gone overboard with his pranks.

Summer vacation was also a perfect time to exercise their animagus forms. Both wolves ran freely in the fields, mostly hidden by the high vegetation. James had even given them dog collars, so that they would not be easily recognized as wolves. When at the castle, Snow could also be seen flying around, far from any muggle area. Kitty had no problems, of course, roaming freely wherever they went.

It all changed significantly when they got the Daily Prophet where the main headline was, "Peter Pettigrew escaped Azkaban!" A picture of the fat rat-like man was posted on the front page, under the headline.

The article below also informed the public that the Ministry decided to post Dementors around Hogwarts, fearing that Peter might try to get his revenge on Harry Potter.

James was deeply concerned. "Dementors are extremely dangerous, and putting them near school children is simply criminal. I think you shouldn't attend Hogwarts at least until they are removed. You can easily go to Beauxbatons instead."

"Can Hermione come as well?" Harry asked.

James wasn't sure. "She's not a French subject and has no connection. I doubt if her parents can cover the schooling expenses without the stipend given to muggle-born at Hogwarts."

"I won't leave Hermione behind. Wherever she goes, I go," Harry insisted.

James wasn't happy about it, but he wasn't able to dismiss the evident bond that was tightening between the children. "You need to learn the Patronus charm, at least. I won't let you go without it."

Yet James wasn't able to teach the patronus too well. He managed to teach the basics to the children, but then had to ask for Moony's help. Remus proved to be a very good teacher, and he was also able to find a way to make them practice. By the end of the summer vacation, both Harry and Hermione were able to produce a corporeal patronus that lasted a few seconds.

James was still concerned. "You should be aware of the fact that animals are much less affected by Dementors. If you encounter danger from them, transform and flee in your animal form. You'll be much safer that way."

They returned to Kent about a week before the end of the summer vacation, going to shop for school books the next day. As usual, James didn't join the shopping trip, and this time the Grangers decided not to join it as well, trusting their daughter to do her shopping right. Liz went with the two children. They were already big enough to do their shopping alone, but she preferred them to be with an adult nearby. She really didn't need to help them in any way. Both children knew what they needed to buy and where to find it and shopped wisely. Hermione only bought a few books that weren't in their book list, but nobody expected her to act differently.

The children didn't let the Dementor threat bother them. As they boarded the Hogwarts Express on the first day of September, they were just as enthusiastic and as happy as always, despite being fully aware of the danger. Both kept their wands ready and tried to be more aware of everything around them, without letting it affect their moods.

They couldn't escape Ron on the train. Although he arrived at the last moment, as usual, he still looked for them and sat down, as if he was a good friend of them. Ginny came along as well, looking shyly at Harry and frowning a bit at noticing the way he and Hermione were holding hands. She still acted politely. "May I stay with you for a while?" she asked.

"Of course, Ginny," Hermione said, while Harry welcomed her with a warm smile.

"You should have come with us to Egypt," Ron told them. "It was so much fun! Bill works there, and he took us to see..."

Harry tuned Ron out. From the little he had heard, Ron was just boasting, unaware of any of the more meaningful sights he'd seen there. It didn't surprise him the least. He didn't know if Ron deserved to be laughed at or to be pitied for being so dense.

Neville also joined them for a short while. "I promised Susan and her friend Hannah to stay mostly with them. They are both changing," he blushed terribly as he talked, "and don't like other boys to mock them or pay them unwelcome attention."

"Why don't you invite them to share compartment with us? I believe we have room enough," Hermione suggested.

Harry blushed at the mental image that popped into his mind. He had seen girls of all ages at the nude beaches and knew what those changes meant. Still, he had to consciously think of something else to regain control of his body's reaction before the girls could notice, yet both Hermione and Ginny noticed. They exchanged a furtive glance with each other, smiling just a bit.

The two other girls joined them a few minutes later. Harry was becoming acutely aware of their bulging breasts, that even the school robes were unable to hide. Furtively comparing them with Hermione and Ginny he decided that he liked Hermione's breasts best, despite them being the smallest. He thought that Ginny had probably inherited her mother's big breasts, as he could already notice her breasts bulging despite her young age. For her sake, he hoped she didn't inherit her mother's other proportions.

Ron was the only one who openly stared at Susan's bust, not minding that it made her feel uncomfortable. Eventually, Ginny seemed to get tired of his behaviour. "Ron, didn't you promise the twins to join them?" she said.

"I don't..." he started, but she stopped him with an elbow jab into his side. "Sure. I think I'll go now," he said and left the compartment hurriedly. Harry and Hermione exchanged an amused glance.

Once they all got comfortable, it was quite pleasant, with each telling a bit about his or her summer vacation. Hermione and Harry conveniently refrained from mentioning the nudity at the beaches and the pool. Only Ginny said nothing. She was a bit intimidated by the older girls and her crush on Harry didn't help matters either.