It had been a bit of a surprise for all when a Floo call arrived inviting all five Potters over to the Weasley home for a picnic and a game or two of Quidditch. Upon their arrival James and Lily were still given a frosty greeting, with Harry and his sisters warmly welcomed into the home.
Still, it had been better than when they had met at Hogwarts, and at that point Harry would take progress between the family he used to think of as his own and the one he was still discovering.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed, holding a broom but still standing on the ground. "You made it, Mum and Dad said you were coming."
Said boy nodded happily, "Definitely, so how has your summer been?"
He began a long-winded tale, one that Harry remembered from his own world. There was still homework, cleaning the home, helping his dad with housework while Molly went to the ministry for her job, and just generally lazing about.
Afterwards Harry gestured towards the object still in the other boy's hand, "And that? Did your parents finally buy you one?"
He flushed with embarrassment, but shook his head, "No this is just a broom that they rented for the day. We were going to start up a game, one for all the kids if you want to join."
Glancing over, and noticing his own sisters had both been handed brooms as well he nodded. "Sure, sounds fun."
And it had been, the teams weren't exactly balanced, but they had done the best they could. Instead of winning and outplaying the others it had just been about having fun, making sure everyone was involved, and just having a good time.
By the time Arthur had called up to them that lunch was ready they were all laughing with grins permanently plastered on their faces.
****
It had been like something out of a dream. Redheads on every side of the table, happy laughter and conversation, blue skies above, a gentle breeze, good food. The only thing missing from the picnic were a handful of faces, mostly in those of his other friends from school, but it was still enough joy that Harry had to discreetly wipe the happy tears from his eyes.
How often had he wondered what it would have been like if his parents had been around when he had met the Weasleys? "Harry, could you pass the potatoes please?"
The request knocked the boy out of his stupor, and he quickly located the bowl that had ended up next to him before handing it down the line. It was only then that he noticed something, or perhaps someone would have been a better term.
Ginny, youngest of the Weasley's was staring directly at him. He blinked, before focusing his attention back onto her, earning a bright blush as she quickly looked away.
Well, it wasn't as if something similar hadn't happened to him in his own time, it was almost comforting to know some things stayed the same regardless of the past. Ginny Wealsey being incredibly awkward around him was just one of those things.
****
Barely had Harry entered his room and flopped down on the bed with a sigh when someone knocked on the door. Giving a, he could only hope noticeably sarcastic, groan he rose before trudging over and swinging it open to reveal Harriet on the other side.
She blinked a few times as he stared back before shifting in embarrassment, "I uhm, didn't mean to disturb you."
Her apology earned a gentle laugh from the boy, "It's fine Harriet, do you want to come in?"
Nodding, she followed him in and took a seat on one of the chairs, looking around with a bit of a frown, perhaps noticing his lack of decorations or pictures. "Are you okay?"
Harry frowned in confusion, it had been a good day, perhaps a bit tiring, but still good. "Yeah, why?"
"I just… well I know you were friends with Ron's family in your own time and I, we, were worried."
More confusion was quickly followed by understanding. "Oh, no its okay. I mean yeah, I miss them, but Ron and Ginny are… well so far very similar. As for the rest, I wasn't super close to any of them but from what I've seen it is really close to being the same except for appearance. The twins are still pranksters, and all the older ones share similar qualities and interests to the ones I knew."
The concern evaporated from her posture, earning a smile from the boy-who-lived, glad he could have such an effect on his family.
"That's good, I was worried that you would be uncomfortable." She slowly stood, clearly intent on leaving, but still delayed glancing around as if searching for something else to talk about.
He understood, at least on some level. There had always been a part of him that didn't know how to make friends, didn't know how to create 'normal' conversation. It helped to have Ron, who could make anyone feel at home, and Hermione, who could talk about almost anything if there was a book written about it.
That thought gave him an idea, and he promptly reached over to grab the two books he had been gifted, "Harriet, would you like to read over some of these with me?"
She lit up in the same way he imagined Hermione would do in such a situation.
****
The time traveler had been reading in his room when James Potter poked his head in, "Harry, could you come down to the kitchen please. We need to talk to you about something." He blinked, before nodding and following the man down the steps and into the room where he found Lily sitting at the table with Grace Riddle. Grace Riddle was in their home, sitting with the adults that in another universe her alter-ego murdered in cold blood.
"Harry is everything okay?" the redhead's question rips him from whatever nightmares his mind had begun to construct and brought him back with a hasty nod. "Sit down, please, Professor Riddle just sent us a floo message and asked to speak with us and you."
The boy glanced over to the, thus far silent, woman, and took in her calm demeanor. The closest empty seat was next to the teacher. Thus, he chose to sit on the other side, putting himself closer to his parents.
Clearing her throat, Grace leaned forward, hands clasped on the table. "As I was just saying to your mother, I have an offer for you Harry."
"What… kind of offer?"
She smiled, gentle and disarming, which had the opposite effect in the boy. "The kind that can give you a career right after graduation." Her posture, her tone, her body language all screamed uptight, professional, pureblood asshole. Harry hated it, hated the way it made him feel like she was looking down on him, hated the way it felt like she was turning his life into a business arrangement.
Instead of replying, the boy-who-lived looked over to where his 'parents' sat. Clearly, they knew something.
Still, it was the guests offer, and she took charge once more, "An apprenticeship contract. I will tutor and instruct you in defense, dueling, and all the Magics and techniques involved in these things."
"No thanks" He quickly interrupted, earning a puzzled look on the redhead's face. "I'm not interested, thanks for the offer and all, but I'm good." With those words of finality he stood, leaving the room in silence behind him.
Minutes passed before James let out a sigh, "Just… give him some time. If he's anything like his sisters he will either want to research this himself or burn off some energy and clear his thoughts." The two Potters directed their attention to the woman who nodded in acceptance.
"Perhaps we can go over a few things, on the off chance he changes his mind or wants to know more in the meantime."
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