To be received on the 31st of July 1997.'
The flap side of the envelope had the Potter family crest printed in to the wax seal, he pulled at it gingerly not wanting to tear it and two sheets of parchment fell on to his desk, he unfolded them and began to read.
‘31st July 1981
Dear Harry,
Today is your first birthday. In case you don’t recognise my handwriting by now (should circumstances so dictate) then let me tell you that this is you father here. Your first birthday party finished just an hour or so ago. Your mother is upstairs bathing you and cradling you in her arms until you fall asleep and I am terribly jealous. I’m aware that things don’t look great for us, with Voldemort on the up and that; fate appears to have earmarked us for a quick ending. If you haven’t been told about a certain prophecy just yet then stop right now and badger whoever used to be in charge of you to explain it. Done it? Good. But who knows, perhaps in two or three years time I’ll be throwing this in to the fire and starting again. Unfortunately there is a part of me that sincerely doubts it.
Whatever happens or has happened, I want you to know that I love you and your mother more than life itself and if it weren’t for Lily I probably wouldn’t have made it this far. She made the impossible happen; she turned James Potter the obnoxious and arrogant spoiled brat into a caring family man. I remember almost everyday of the nine months she spent expecting you because they were amongst the best of my life (next to marrying her of course!). The day you were born I was rendered speechless; watching you lie there in your mother’s arms, it was the single most amazing moment of my existence. No feeling compares. It astounded me that this tiny, pink, wrinkly (and rather ugly,) bundle was created out of the love that Lily and I had for each other (especially since we were so good looking). I realized then that you were the strongest testament to love that there is in this world and I vowed to protect you at any and all costs.
There is no joy in the world greater than being a husband and father, if you do nothing else with your life at least make sure you accomplish both of those because family is more important than anything else. I hope that wherever you are and what ever you’ve been doing today Elizabeth has been with you. I have little doubt that she will survive the coming onslaught, her grandfather will make sure of that, and she will make sure that you survive. She has suffered such a terrible time as of late but she’s a Potter and we’ll take care of her. She is an adorable little girl who has this incredible ability to make people do what she wants, she has been able to twist your Uncle Andrew and Albus Dumbledore around her tiny little finger. I know without a shadow of a doubt she will look after you, she has that unmistakable Potter spirit like her mother, your mother and your grandmother. One day she will be a terrific lioness to some lucky man’s cubs.
The fighters are the best kind of women (trust me I’m the voice of experience) they are hard to get close to but the rewards are well worth it. I doubt that there was a girl at Hogwarts with whom I hadn’t had some kind of romantic encounter with, but your mother was unlike any of them. Like many women before her she brings out the best in the Potter blood. Your grandfather once told me that the love of a red haired woman is like no other, it’s passionate but easy-going, stern but kind, tolerant but unbending and above all it’s tender but fierce. Quite simply, they are made of stronger stuff!
I wish I could be there on the day my son becomes a man and starts to make his own way in to the world. I spend many hours pondering your future, wondering what kind of man you’ll, be but then I remember that with Elizabeth guiding you, you probably won’t go far wrong. Your mother often contemplates the more important issues such as what you’re wife will be like. She’s confident that there isn’t a woman alive who will do for her little boy, nothing short of perfection is acceptable, so Merlin help the poor girl who falls in love with Harry Potter.
It is obvious to me now that this letter wasn’t about you after all; it was about me getting some hopes, fears and dreams off my chest. I hope whoever has been taking care of you up until this point, whether that be, Sirius, Remus or Elizabeth, has kept you well and that you have thoroughly enjoyed your coming of age party (if you didn’t have one someone is going to pay a hefty price when they get to the great beyond!). The last thing I want to say is that we love you, Harry, and there is nothing that could change that. Take care of yourself and Elizabeth and avoid joining the lot of us anytime soon. We’ll be watching you from where we are and doing our best to keep you safe.
All my love
Dad.’
He sat for several minutes reading it over and over again and smiled. He’d moved past crying, he had no reason to cry, his parents had loved him, why should he cry? There was a gentle knock at the door and he beckoned his visitor in he was pleased to see that it was Ellie.
“So what did Uncle James have to say for himself?” she asked cheerily. “Encouraged you to make as much mayhem as possible did he?”
“Actually no,” Harry replied, his eyes were still drifting over the letter in front of him.
“Well, he must have been feeling sick that day; at least it makes my job easier. My dad suspected he might be letting you in on a few Marauder secrets and told me in my letter that I’d to do whatever was necessary to stop you from carrying them out, even if it meant hexing you,” she chuckled.
“You got a letter too?”
“Yep, two and a half years ago now. It’s kind of a Wizarding tradition, your parents write you a letter on one of your early birthdays, usually between one and five and give it to you when you come of age, then they write another one and save it till you’re thirty. I don’t really know why they do it, sentimentality I suppose,” she said thoughtfully.
“I think it’s good, especially if your parents don’t make it to your seventeenth. It lets you know what they were thinking and feeling when you were born…”
“I know what you mean, it’s nice to know just how much they loved you,” Ellie’s eyes were beginning to glisten.
“It would have been great to have them here, but I suppose I don’t really feel any worse off for not having them…” How could he when he’d just had such a wonderful day?
“I suppose all that really matters is that it was spent with people who love you like a son.” You could practically see Ellie’s mind forcing her tears away.
“Yeah that’s it. I don’t think Mr. and Mrs. Weasley could love me more if I was one of theirs,” he smiled to himself, they were such a wonderful family with such an abundance of love.
“You don’t think they could but I know they couldn’t, as far as Molly is concerned you’re one of hers and that’s the end of it. You’ve seen her fight for what she thinks is best for you; believe me she’d lay down her life for you just as quickly as she would one of her own. We’re not flesh and blood but we’re as good as in Molly’s book,” Ellie said with a look of pride.
“You know something?” he asked her grinning.
“What?” she asked suspiciously.
“You’re going to make a pretty good Weasley wife,” he said assuredly.
“Oh yes? What makes you think that?”
“I’ve seen you defending us at school and you’re like a lioness protecting your cubs. You’re going to be just like Molly,” he predicted.
“I could do a lot worse than follow in her footsteps. Now the reason I actually came up here was to tell you that dinner is almost ready and the birthday boy’s presence is required in the kitchen.” She stooped down in to a Dobby-like bow and flounced from the room. Harry just laughed at his cousin’s antics and followed her billowing robes down to the kitchen.
That night Harry and Ron performed their usual duty of walking Hermione and Ginny up to their bedrooms. “Good night, Ginny,” Harry said as he stifled a yawn at Ginny’s bedroom door.
“Is that it? Am I not going to get a kiss?” Ginny teased, she tugged him a little further in to the room. Harry was more than happy to oblige and found himself lost as the kiss deepened and became more passionate. What he didn’t realise was that Ron and Hermione were on the other side of the wall doing the exact same thing, but he became aware of it when Mrs. Weasley’s voice reverberated off the walls.
“AND JUST WHAT DO THE TWO OF YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?” she bellowed. Harry and Ron jumped out in to the hallway as though they had been electrocuted.
“We were just saying goodnight…” Ron said to his feet.
“Well, it looked more like mouth to mouth resuscitation to me!” she admonished. “So unless Hermione and Ginny are at death’s door you had better explain yourselves!”
“It was just a kiss…” Harry said to his fumbling hands, he didn’t dare look Mrs. Weasley in the eye.
“I see, you two will come with me right now,” she barked as she set off back down the stairs. “Wait in there.” She pointed them in to the drawing room and snapped the door shut behind them. The next time the door opened it was Remus and Mr. Weasley who entered, Remus was looking rather sheepish and Mr. Weasley was blushing lightly.
“So…boys…” he began and then appeared to find himself at a loss for words.
“Molly told us she found you in the girl’s bedrooms,” Remus continued.
“We were only about a foot inside and it was only to kiss them goodnight!” Ron objected.
“Unfortunately that’s not how your mother sees it,” Arthur said exasperatedly.
“Molly has asked us to have a chat with the both of you,” there was the faintest tint of embarrassment in Remus’s voice.
“You’re both young men now and as you’re getting older your relationships with the girls are going to change,” Arthur said, he was trying to look anywhere but at Ron and Harry. Harry heard Ron give a soft groan beside him. “Look here, Ron, you may think this is horribly embarrassing but it’s a necessary discussion!” he said sharply.
“What Arthur is trying to say is that it’s our responsibility to make sure that you two know the…the facts of life as such and understand the consequences of your actions. We wouldn’t like either of you to do something you shouldn’t,” Remus went on.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I meant. There are certain codes of behaviour that should be observed during courtship…” he paused to think for a minute. “We understand that at your age there are certain other things at play in you mind and your…body…there are things to do with the opposite sex that are probably just occurring to you…” here his voice became particularly strained when he took a fleeting look at Harry. “Things that you’re probably thinking about saying…or...or… doing…” he faltered.
“But you should always err on the side of caution. We want you to think very carefully before you do anything. It’s important to remember that some things are perhaps better reserved for marriage. We’re well aware that the four of you aren’t silly little children, Hermione and Ginny are smart, strong young women.” Remus gave Arthur a comforting look. “But you should still consider things thoroughly. We don’t want to see any improper behaviour, and as far as Molly is concerned the kissing you were up to earlier was a bit too zealous for her liking.” Remus clarified.
“So we just want you to calm it down a bit. Do either of you have any questions for us?” Mr. Weasley asked. He looked terrified at the prospect.
“What, like where do babies come from?” Ron snorted.
“Actually, Ron, that’s exactly the kind of thing I meant,” his father said reproachfully. Ron gulped loudly and looked at Harry.
“I learned all that at the Muggle School I went to,” he said quickly to Remus and looked back at Ron.
“I’ve got four brothers I know all about it,” he added hastily to Mr. Weasley.
“Ok, that’s good. But if you have any questions about what you know or anything else like that we want you to know that you can come to us and ask us anything at anytime,” Remus finished.
“We know that,” Ron grumbled under his breath.
“In that case you can go on up to bed now, Molly should be finished with the girls,” Mr. Weasley said wearily. The boys scuttled out of the room and up to bed as quickly as they could to save themselves from being pulled in for any more fatherly advice.
“Well that was rather awful,” Remus breathed out deeply.
“I’m glad it’s over,” Arthur collapsed in to a nearby chair.
“Why’s that?” Remus asked with interest.
“Ginny is Molly’s responsibility, that was the deal. We decided when she was expecting our first that when it came to things like this I would deal with the boys and she would take care of the girls. Unfortunately I forgot that the Weasley genes favour men, I’ve endured that talk six times. Fortunately after Bill they all got a little easier, I think the advice filtered through and so each of them had more pieces of the puzzle than the one before. That was the last time I have to go through it, but you’ve got all this to come,” he said smiling at the younger man.
“Thank you, you’ve given me yet another reason to not have children. Tonks is going to love you!” Remus chuckled.
A/N: Another chapter bites the dust! I hope you enjoyed that; the next chapter on its way to you is…Unwelcome Present. Until then take care of yourselves!