"4 Privet Drive", Harry Potter (other), G, gen.
Title: 4 Privet Drive
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G.
Length: About 785 words.
Characters/Pairings: Harry Potter, Albus Severus Potter, other canon characters.
Spoilers: Through Deathly Hallows.
Summary: Harry makes a trip to the old house on Privet Drive.
Notes: Happy birthday to my mom! (She's awesome like that.) Also on DW and AO3.
4 Privet Drive
Albus sneezed as he and Harry stepped out of the fireplace. Harry bent to his level, pulling a tissue out of his pocket.
"All right?" Harry asked, wiping soot off his face.
Albus nodded. "I don't like Floo."
"Never fancied it much myself," Harry said.
He stood and looked around the house. It wasn't much like it had been when Mrs. Figg had been its resident, although it still smelled like cats: there was a desk where her couch had been, and there were pictures of Harry all over the wall. He winced, and a lot of the pictures were doing the same.
"Mr Potter!" A witch half Harry's height bounced up and enthusiastically shook his hand. "Lovely to see you again. This is Albus Severus?"
"Yes," Harry said, as Albus hid slid behind Harry. "The tunnel still work the same?"
"Indeed! Our first tour isn't expected for another hour, but we can cancel--"
Harry shook his head quickly. "No, we won't take long. Ready, Al?"
He looked over his shoulder, where Albus nodded quickly.
The tunnel between the old Figg place and 4 Privet Drive looked very much like something seen in London, with tile and concrete underfoot. The lighting charms gave it a much more comfortable glow than fluorescents.
Albus was still holding onto the edge of Harry's jeans. "Where are we going?"
"You remember when I took James on a special outing last year?"
Albus nodded, his bangs falling in his face.
"I brought him here. It's where I lived when I was your age."
It hadn't been his first time back. That had come when they'd first asked him about preserving the Dursleys' house as a museum. He'd wanted to say no - he figured the house in Godric's Hollow was more than enough - but he'd sent Hermione an owl and asked her thoughts. She and Ron had gone round for tea to talk to him about it.
"It might do them good," Hermione had said. "The wizards who don't know how Muggles live. Maybe you should go on your own and think about it."
The house had been exactly as he'd left it the night Voldemort attacked: empty. It hadn't done much for him, but he couldn't imagine another family living in its walls.
And Ron had made a good point during the tea: "Give the gawkers somewhere to go so they won't stare at you." They did stare at Harry, but they also tended to leave his family alone, so it didn't bother him.
Harry and Albus emerged from the tunnel on the front step of the Dursley place. It was covered with a charm so the Muggles wouldn't see or hear the crowds that visited, but it preserved "The! Experience!!!", as the brochure put it.
"Welcome to the Harry Potter House!"
Harry rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand. "Silencio."
The plaque on the front of the door kept moving, but no noise came out.
"Here," Harry said. "Let's go in."
They'd done a decent job with the interior: all the furniture was charmed to look how Harry'd remembered it, even if magic kept the place cleaner than Aunt Petunia could manage. It made his lip curl a little.
Albus was poking his head around. "You lived here, Dad?"
Harry nodded. "With my aunt and uncle and cousin."
"You only had one cousin?"
"And one aunt and uncle," Harry said, grinning. "But Grandma and Grandpa Weasley did a lot for me after I started at Hogwarts."
"Which was your bedroom?"
Harry led him upstairs to Dudley's second bedroom; it had never really felt like his room. But the empty owl cage gave him a sharp chest pain anyway.
"I didn't sleep here long," Harry said. "Wanna see where I spent the most time?"
Albus nodded, face solemn.
Harry led him back downstairs and remembered when he'd brought James. He hadn't cared much about the trappings and had enjoyed the stories about torturing Dudley instead. His favourite had been the tale of Fred and George's Ton-Tongue Toffees, and it'd taken a good ten minutes for him to stop laughing long enough for them to leave.
But Albus Severus was a serious sort. He watched without a word as Harry opened the closet under the stairs, and when Harry nodded, he stepped inside, looking all the world like an orphan himself.
"There were more cobwebs," Harry said, clicking on the light. "Spiders liked it in here."
"It's so small."
Harry nodded. "I was small."
Albus stepped out, and Harry wanted to draw him into a hug. But Albus was a big seven-year-old man. He pat Harry's hand and threw him a comforting smile.
"It's very nice," he said.
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G.
Length: About 785 words.
Characters/Pairings: Harry Potter, Albus Severus Potter, other canon characters.
Spoilers: Through Deathly Hallows.
Summary: Harry makes a trip to the old house on Privet Drive.
Notes: Happy birthday to my mom! (She's awesome like that.) Also on DW and AO3.
4 Privet Drive
Albus sneezed as he and Harry stepped out of the fireplace. Harry bent to his level, pulling a tissue out of his pocket.
"All right?" Harry asked, wiping soot off his face.
Albus nodded. "I don't like Floo."
"Never fancied it much myself," Harry said.
He stood and looked around the house. It wasn't much like it had been when Mrs. Figg had been its resident, although it still smelled like cats: there was a desk where her couch had been, and there were pictures of Harry all over the wall. He winced, and a lot of the pictures were doing the same.
"Mr Potter!" A witch half Harry's height bounced up and enthusiastically shook his hand. "Lovely to see you again. This is Albus Severus?"
"Yes," Harry said, as Albus hid slid behind Harry. "The tunnel still work the same?"
"Indeed! Our first tour isn't expected for another hour, but we can cancel--"
Harry shook his head quickly. "No, we won't take long. Ready, Al?"
He looked over his shoulder, where Albus nodded quickly.
The tunnel between the old Figg place and 4 Privet Drive looked very much like something seen in London, with tile and concrete underfoot. The lighting charms gave it a much more comfortable glow than fluorescents.
Albus was still holding onto the edge of Harry's jeans. "Where are we going?"
"You remember when I took James on a special outing last year?"
Albus nodded, his bangs falling in his face.
"I brought him here. It's where I lived when I was your age."
It hadn't been his first time back. That had come when they'd first asked him about preserving the Dursleys' house as a museum. He'd wanted to say no - he figured the house in Godric's Hollow was more than enough - but he'd sent Hermione an owl and asked her thoughts. She and Ron had gone round for tea to talk to him about it.
"It might do them good," Hermione had said. "The wizards who don't know how Muggles live. Maybe you should go on your own and think about it."
The house had been exactly as he'd left it the night Voldemort attacked: empty. It hadn't done much for him, but he couldn't imagine another family living in its walls.
And Ron had made a good point during the tea: "Give the gawkers somewhere to go so they won't stare at you." They did stare at Harry, but they also tended to leave his family alone, so it didn't bother him.
Harry and Albus emerged from the tunnel on the front step of the Dursley place. It was covered with a charm so the Muggles wouldn't see or hear the crowds that visited, but it preserved "The! Experience!!!", as the brochure put it.
"Welcome to the Harry Potter House!"
Harry rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand. "Silencio."
The plaque on the front of the door kept moving, but no noise came out.
"Here," Harry said. "Let's go in."
They'd done a decent job with the interior: all the furniture was charmed to look how Harry'd remembered it, even if magic kept the place cleaner than Aunt Petunia could manage. It made his lip curl a little.
Albus was poking his head around. "You lived here, Dad?"
Harry nodded. "With my aunt and uncle and cousin."
"You only had one cousin?"
"And one aunt and uncle," Harry said, grinning. "But Grandma and Grandpa Weasley did a lot for me after I started at Hogwarts."
"Which was your bedroom?"
Harry led him upstairs to Dudley's second bedroom; it had never really felt like his room. But the empty owl cage gave him a sharp chest pain anyway.
"I didn't sleep here long," Harry said. "Wanna see where I spent the most time?"
Albus nodded, face solemn.
Harry led him back downstairs and remembered when he'd brought James. He hadn't cared much about the trappings and had enjoyed the stories about torturing Dudley instead. His favourite had been the tale of Fred and George's Ton-Tongue Toffees, and it'd taken a good ten minutes for him to stop laughing long enough for them to leave.
But Albus Severus was a serious sort. He watched without a word as Harry opened the closet under the stairs, and when Harry nodded, he stepped inside, looking all the world like an orphan himself.
"There were more cobwebs," Harry said, clicking on the light. "Spiders liked it in here."
"It's so small."
Harry nodded. "I was small."
Albus stepped out, and Harry wanted to draw him into a hug. But Albus was a big seven-year-old man. He pat Harry's hand and threw him a comforting smile.
"It's very nice," he said.