Harry could see she was going to go on a rant so he put a stop to it by pulling her into a hug.
"Sorry Mum" he said sincerely.
Dorea choked on her next words and just hugged the boy tightly not knowing what to say.
"How did you do that?" James asked with a whisper.
"Good genetics" Harry shrugged with a grin.
James smiled and shook his head knowingly. "Merlin's balls, that was bloody amazing" Sirius proclaimed.
Harry just shrugged and dragged his hand through his hair.
"Are we having a game then?" he asked.
James nodded enthusiastically.
"Dad, are you in?" he questioned the man.
"It's been a while" Charlus mused. "Oh go on then" he conceded with a smile.
The four males spent the afternoon flying while Dorea watched and continuously shook her head and covered her eyes as they performed risky and flat out dangerous moves, but she was very pleased that things were going well considering that Harry had only been with them for less than two days, yet he was already fitting in nicely with the dynamic of the home.
(BREAK) It was later on that very evening that the Potter parents were getting ready for bed with Dorea lost in her own thoughts. She let out a long sigh and shook her head from the conflicted emotions she was feeling.
"What is it love?" Charlus asked.
"Harry" Dorea replied simply. "What are we going to do about him?" she added worriedly.
"There's not much we can do Dor" Charlus returned unhappily. "I don't like it anymore than you do but it's the way it is" he explained.
"But he's just a boy Charlus" she tried desperately.
Charlus shook his head.
"He might be only sixteen but he is not a boy" he stated firmly. "I've seen everything in his head and he's never been a child, not really" he concluded darkly.
Dorea sighed again. "But what can we do?" she asked almost pleadingly.
"We give him a home and we give him some much needed love" Charlus answered. "We can't stop him, but we can make it easier" he said in a placating manner.
Dorea nodded.
"I saw him training earlier and he's terrifying" she admitted in a whisper. "He has so much hate and anger in him" she added with a shudder.
"He does" Charlus agreed. "But it's understandable after everything he's been through".
"I don't even think I want to know" she mumbled. "The basilisk is enough".
"He told you about that?" Charlus asked with a smirk. "Yeah and shared a secret with me about snakes" she replied warmly.
"I knew you'd like that" Charlus pointed out flatly. "Did he mention the dragon?" he questioned her amusedly.
"What bloody dragon?" She asked dangerously.
"I guess not" Charlus muttered. "How do you think I knew he was a damn good flier?" he added.
"He flew with a dragon?" she responded disbelievingly.
"Not by choice Charlus" grumbled.
"And why the hell would he have to fly with a dragon?" Dorea inquired.
"Well, I guess he didn't have to do it that way" Charlus mused mysteriously. Seeing the impatient expression his wife wore he sighed.
"If you want to have an idea of how good the boy is, he won the Triwizard Tournament when he was fourteen" he explained.
"Does the boy have a death wish?" Dorea sighed.
"He didn't enter himself, he was forced into it" Charlus pointed out. "The details aren't important" he added dismissively. "Look Dor, Harry is going to do what he thinks he needs to, no matter what anyone says and if we try to stop him then it will only push him away" he concluded.
Dorea bit her bottom lip worriedly.
"I just don't want him to lose himself, he's a good boy Charlus, I can see it" she said confidently. "He is" Charlus agreed. "But he has been trained by the best to be the way he is, that's why I think he and James and even Sirius are good for each other" he finished certainly.
Dorea nodded her agreement.
"He looked so happy when he was flying" she concluded with a smile.
"He was and James and Sirius seem to relax him, he actually smiles, properly smiles when they are together" he observed. "Harry needs to relax and the other two need to grow up a little, I'm hoping they will balance each other out" he explained.
"I hope so" Dorea whispered.
She hated the fact that Harry was shouldering so much responsibility but knew herself that he could not be stopped no matter how much she wanted to. She just hoped that Charlus was right and that they could just be there for him when he needed it. Her husband was right about the dynamic of the trio; they did seem to balance each other out well, something she was pleased by. She just prayed that it would continue when they arrived at Hogwarts.
(BREAK)
The rest of the holidays passed in a similar fashion. Harry would train in the morning and then the trio would pass the rest of the day by flying and just spending time together, growing more and more close as the days passed.
The only thing of real note that occurred was when Harry received a short missive from Dumbledore requesting that he make his way to the castle with the first years for the sorting, much to the annoyance of Charlus.
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