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Author: OHGinnyfan Story: The Homecoming Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: WIP Reviews: 1 Words: 52,764
A/N: Again, the characters are not mine, they belong to JK Rowling. The setting is my creation. Chapter 4 Of Teaching and Quidditch Draco walked very determinedly through his Manor toward the drawing room, his robes billowing out behind him. After having sex with Stacia for the second time last night, Draco fell into a deep and peaceful sleep-the first one he had in awhile. He had come to a conclusion the night before concerning his situation with Potter. Crabbe and Goyle had been summoned to the Manor to discuss his plan of action. He wanted to take care of this issue as quickly as possible. Entering the drawing room, he found his two top men standing there waiting for him. "Good morning Crabbe, Goyle. Good of you to come on such short notice." "Of course, My Lord. We're always available to you. You mentioned something about this having to do with Potter?" "Yes, yes I did, Goyle. I've decided to try to get Potter and take care of him before I continue my research into immortality. And I need your assistance. I need you to monitor his household twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I want to know what he does and where he goes. I want to know when he goes out alone, so we can strike. I want it to be quick, simple and dirty. And if Potter doesn't die in the process, I want to make him wish he did." "My Lord, what have you planned?" asked Goyle. Draco smiled a dangerous smile. "Well, you see, men, it's like this…." ************************************* The remainder of May and all of June had flown by in a whirl wind. Harry had gone back to work, and had been asked to go out on assignment again, but refused. He told his superiors that he preferred to work out the remaining days of his contract at a desk job. This, of course, sent the Department of Magical Law Enforcement into a tizzy. Their best Auror was refusing to go out on field assignments and was making it sound like he didn't plan on renewing his contract. Amelia Bones was beside herself trying to convince Harry that he was the best, and needed to stay in their employ. Offers of better pay, fewer hours and not as many field assignments were discussed, but to no avail. Harry had made his decision-he was leaving the Aurors when his contract expired on 31 July. While Harry worked, Ginny stayed at home with Jamie and resumed her writing. She had begun a book based on Harry's life while he was out on his last assignment, but had never finished it. She was determined, now that life had settled down a bit, to complete the story of The-Boy-Who-Lived. Her family still visited often, particularly when Harry was away at work. The fourth of July was the Potters' sixth wedding anniversary. Harry planned a special night out with Molly and Arthur minding Jamie. He surprised Ginny by taking her out to an expensive Muggle restaurant in London and for a stroll in a local park. This was their first real evening out alone since Harry's return. They had been busy with their current lifestyle of being new parents and hadn't taken any time for themselves. It was a quiet and relaxing evening alone-just what they both needed. Harry received an owl from Headmistress McGonagall at the beginning of July, asking him to reconsider the teaching position she had offered him and asking that he and Ginny come to Hogwarts to meet with her. Arrangements were made and Harry and Ginny, with James in his pram, strolled to Hogwarts from their home in Hogsmeade. Hagrid greeted them as they passed the forbidden forest. "Harry! Ginny! Yeh alrigh'?" "Hi, Hagrid, we're fine! It's so good to see you!" Ginny cried, as she gave the gentle giant a hug. "Ah' good ter' see yeh, too. An' this mus' be James! Looks jus' like Harry ‘cept for th' red hair! Can tell ‘e's part Weasley!" Harry laughed as Hagrid grabbed him for a hug. "Yes, you certainly can tell he's Ginny's son by that fiery red hair!" "Wha' brings yeh ter Hogwarts?" "Well, Headmistress McGonagall asked us to come by. She wants to offer Harry a teaching position," answered Ginny, proudly. "Yeh goin' to take it, Harry?" "I don't know, Hagrid, I'd really like to try professional Quidditch before settling down into teaching. But I'll hear what she has to say." Ginny and Harry chatted a few more minutes with Hagrid, before bidding him good-bye and heading up the castle steps. They were met by Headmistress McGonagall, who had changed very little since the two of them had been at Hogwarts. She had a few additional grey hairs in her very neatly pulled back bun, but other than that, she looked the same as she always did. "Potter and Weasley…I mean Potter and Potter. So good of you to come by." Minerva McGonagall addressed them with her best stern look. A smile then broke out over her face as she hugged them. "It's so good to see you both. And this must be James. Come in, come in. We'll have tea in my office, and Professor Dumbledore will be joining us." Storing the pram in the entryway of the Great Hall, Harry and Ginny followed McGonagall down the halls and up the stairs to her office. At the entrance, she said the password (tartan plaid); the gargoyle moved out of the way and the familiar steps that spiralled upward appeared. Harry and Ginny stepped inside the doorway behind the Headmistress and rode the steps up to her office. Once inside, they found not much had changed since the days Albus Dumbledore had occupied the premises. The memorabilia that sat around was distinctly McGonagall's, but the portraits were the same as they always were. The one thing obviously missing was Fawkes, who had moved to Dumbledore's new quarters. "Sit down, sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'll call down to the kitchens and have them send up tea." The Headmistress chatted with Harry and Ginny about James and their lives in Hogsmeade while they waited for the tea tray and Professor Dumbledore to arrive. Soon, Dobby arrived with the tray, absolutely thrilled to see Harry and Ginny again. "Harry Potter, sir! Dobby is glad to be seeing you! And you brought your Ginny Weezy, too!" Dobby said, as he threw his arms around Harry's legs. "Er, good to see you too, Dobby. How's Winky?" "Winky's fine, Harry Potter. She be sorry she didn't bring the tray up. Is this Harry Potter's baby, sir?" Dobby asked, pointing to Jamie. "Yes Dobby, this is James, our son." "A beautiful baby, Harry Potter, sir. Well, Dobby is going now." And with that, the house-elf disappeared. "Potter, he seems mighty fond of you, doesn't he?" McGonagall asked with a laugh in her voice. "Uh, yes, he is. Ever since I was able to get Malfoy to release him from service, he has been, uh, most gracious to me." McGonagall shook her head as she chuckled. A rap at the door interrupted their discussion. "Come in," she commanded. Professor Dumbledore entered the office with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. "Harry, Ginny, so wonderful of you to come by for a visit. It's lovely to see you both again, and to see James. My, he's getting big! How old is he now?" "He's already four months old. We can hardly believe it either!" Ginny answered. "Well, he looks like a good cross between his parents," Dumbledore said, smiling at the couple. "I was ever so glad to hear of your return to us, Harry. You had a great many of us worried about you." "I know, Sir, and I'm sorry. I wish I could have changed the situation." "Harry, you have nothing to be sorry about. You're an excellent Auror and I'm certain that whatever happened could not be prevented. It's just good to have you back." "Yes, Harry, I agree with Professor Dumbledore, it is good to have you back. And I'd really like you to reconsider the offer I made you earlier. I would love to have you on the teaching staff here at Hogwarts. The position available is the Transfiguration class. The teacher I hired to replace myself when I took over as Headmistress has not worked out, and has decided to leave. I know this wasn't one of your best classes, but I feel you would be very apt to teach anything that Hogwarts offers with the exception of maybe Divination." The Headmistress paused to look at Harry with a small smile on her face. She was not one to believe in Divination, and knew that Harry's experiences with Professor Trelawney had been spotty at best. She continued, "We are able to offer you a very comfortable salary, with an office and living quarters here if you would ever need to stay late because you couldn't get home. We would love having you as part of our staff. We hope you'll reconsider." Harry paused as he looked at both McGonagall and Dumbledore. He swallowed hard as he answered, "I certainly do appreciate your generous offer, but I have plans to try out for a couple of professional Quidditch teams in hopes to make their reserves. I would really love to teach here at Hogwarts someday, but just not right now. I've always loved playing Quidditch, and feel that I need to give this a try before I get too old." Headmistress McGonagall grinned at him, "That's all right, Harry, I understand. I just thought I'd have you and Ginny up to make the offer official. I'd hoped you'd reconsider, but I understand, and wish you the very best in tryouts. If you make one of the teams, please send me tickets to one of your games. I always loved watching you play. You were such a natural at Quidditch." "Thank you for being so understanding. The offer you gave me was quite generous and I appreciate being considered. I wish you the best in finding a new professor for this position." Harry and Ginny got up to take their leave and shook hands with both McGonagall and Dumbledore. The Headmistress paused as she shook Ginny's hand, clearly deep in thought. Slowly she asked, "Ginny, would you consider taking the position?" "Me? Teach? Here at Hogwarts?" Ginny was clearly taken back at the offer that had just been made to her. "Yes, Mrs. Potter; you. If I remember correctly, you were quite good in my Transfiguration class. You would be an excellent teacher!" "What a wonderful idea, Headmistress; I can only echo her words, Ginny, you'd be excellent!" Professor Dumbledore said, smiling. "Well, I don't know; I've never thought about it before now. May I have a few days to talk it over with Harry?" "Of course you may, but I do need to know as soon as possible. The offer we made to Harry concerning salary, benefits and lodging would be the same for you, too. Why don't you go home, talk about it and come back in two days with an answer. I know that if you would choose to take this position, childminding would have to be arranged for James." Harry and Ginny said their goodbyes, turned and left McGonagall's office. They headed back to the Great Hall to fetch their pram, excitedly talking about what all had transpired. Walking back to Hogsmeade, Harry turned to Ginny and asked, "What do you think about the offer she made you?" "I'm not certain what to think, Harry. What do you think? Do you think I should take it?" "Do you want to take it?" "Well," Ginny began, "yes, and no. I do want to take it, because I see this as a fabulous opportunity for me. I have always had a desire to teach at Hogwarts, and this would be perfect. But then, I don't want to take it, because James won't even be six months old when term starts. I'm not certain I'm ready to leave him quite yet. But this is such a golden opportunity for me." "Yes. It certainly is, Love. Why don't you see if your mum would mind James during the day while you taught? I'm certain Molly would do anything to have more time with James, and I'm certain she and your dad will be thrilled with the fact you have been given this chance." "But do you think I should leave Jamie?" "Well Hon, that I'm going to leave up to you. I'm certain with your mum minding him, he'll be perfectly fine. And we live close enough to Hogwarts that she can bring him up to you when you have breaks, or you might even be able to come home." Ginny was quiet for a moment, thinking over the possibilities. "Okay then. I'll talk with Mum and see what she says. If she says yes, then I think I might just take it." "Since they offered the position to you, I take it you're not too upset with me for turning it down for Quidditch?" "Oh, of course not, Harry. Why would I be upset? I want you to do whatever you want to do. And if playing professional Quidditch is going to make you happy, and is what you want to do, then I want you to do it. I will support you in whatever you pursue, just like you'll support me." Harry wrapped his arm around Ginny's waist and squeezed it. Smiling, he said, "What do you say we stop in the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer to celebrate your offer, before we head home?" "Sounds fine, Mr. Potter. Lead the way." Two days later, Harry and Ginny returned to Hogwarts in order for Ginny to formally accept the position of Transfiguration teacher for the upcoming school year. Molly and Arthur were thrilled, as expected, at the news of the offer made to Ginny, and Molly readily accepted the opportunity to spend more time with her grandson. Final details were discussed between Ginny and Headmistress McGonagall as to classroom preparations and class schedules, so Ginny would spend the minimal amount of time needed at Hogwarts, and as much time as she could at home. Her first class wouldn't start daily until ten in the morning, giving Ginny ample time to spend with James. She would be able to complete her teaching most days by five and would be home in plenty of time to spend the evenings with Harry and James. Her mother could also bring James to the school during Ginny's free time. ************************************ Draco received an owl from Crabbe, that said he and Goyle needed to talk with him immediately and it had something to do with the plan at hand. He had asked his top men to report back to him on the comings and goings of the Potter house. He wanted to know Potter's every move. Draco heard a knock at the door and the butler led Crabbe and Goyle into the drawing room, shutting the doors behind them. Draco looked at them both and said, "Well, what have you found out?" "My Lord, the household is a very busy one. Not only do the Potters come and go often, but the Weasleys are there a lot. Potter tends not to go out alone; he usually has his wife and child with him. They have never ventured out without the other, except when Potter goes to work. He is then heavily protected in the office. However, we know that Potter is planning on trying out for professional Quidditch, which should result in trips out alone with no other Aurors around. And his wife will start teaching Transfiguration at Hogwarts in September. Their house is certainly heavily warded. We ran checks on it and the wards are very well done. I'm not certain if we could even break them down if we wanted to; they are that strong. I think Potter's brother-in-law, Bill, the curse breaker, helped him with them. Needless to say, the Potters are very secure and will be hard to get to." "Damn! I was afraid of that! Well, we'll just bide our time, men. The day is coming when they'll go out without the other, and we'll be able to execute our plan. We'll have to be able to strike on a moment's notice and strike quickly. Is that understood? There is no second chance in this." "Understood, my Lord. We'll continue to monitor their house and keep you up to date on what's going on." "Very good, men. This meeting is over." And with that, Draco left the room. **************************** Harry's contract expired on his twenty-fifth birthday. His last couple of days of work were filled with Amelia Bones pleading with him to renew his contract. Harry held firm-he was leaving the Aurors and starting a more normal life. The last day Harry was scheduled to work was 30 July. His birthday fell over a weekend and he would actually be off work for it. He and Ginny had planned a small intimate party to celebrate both Harry's birthday and his career change. He was looking forward to having a holiday in between the day he left the Aurors and Quidditch tryouts. He knew once he made a Quidditch team, he wouldn't get much time off as they trained for their upcoming season. On his last day of work, his co-workers all paid for a round of Firewhiskey at the Leaky Cauldron before Harry Apparated home. Ms. Bones went with them and continued the entire time to try to convince Harry he needed to stay with them. Harry just grinned, and shook his head. He was actually looking forward to this career change. The party over the weekend was a quiet affair with just Ron and Hermione, and Molly and Arthur. The other family members had plans for the evening, so just the two couples celebrated with Harry and Ginny. Ginny was most certainly celebrating with Harry over his job change-she had been an Auror's wife for six long years and was tired of the constant string of dangerous assignments. Even though she knew that Harry would be travelling a lot with whatever Quidditch team he was offered a position with (and she knew he'd be offered one), she knew he wouldn't be on any dangerous assignments. Of course, she also knew that Quidditch could be just as dangerous as chasing Death Eaters, but that was an entirely different story. The first week of August gave Harry a nice break, and he and Ginny took James and spent much of their time at Hogwarts preparing Ginny's new office and classroom. She and Harry worked on their transfiguring, brushing up on spells she didn't use very often. She was quite good at Transfiguration and her skills improved greatly in just the short time since she had been offered the Professorship. Harry wasn't nearly as skilled as she was, but his abilities were coming along nicely, too. The break Harry had from working gave Ginny time to practice "teaching" a student-Harry. And while at Hogwarts, they had seen Jamie perform his first magic-his teddy bear had been dropped, and he reached out and the bear flew into his hands. Harry and Ginny were both amazed. They didn't realize that magic could manifest itself in someone that young-after all Jamie wasn't a year old yet. Although they would have loved their son whether he was a Wizard or Squib, it was a relief to know that their son had at least some magical ability. When Monday of the second week in August arrived, Harry got up and headed to the Chudley Cannons' Quidditch pitch. He had decided he really didn't care what the team record was (which was lousy); all he cared about was making a team and playing Quidditch. The team had a new captain and it was none other than his old school captain, Oliver Wood. Harry was both elated and scared at the prospect of working with Wood again. He was elated, because Wood was good-very good, and an excellent captain. He was scared, because Wood was also a maniac as a captain, and when it came to anything Quidditch. Wood had previously played for Puddlemere United as Keeper, and was recruited by the Cannons to turn the team around. Harry reckoned if anyone could turn this team around, it was Wood. When Harry arrived, he was one of the first on the pitch. He went to the registration table and registered himself as a contender for a Seeker position. He was then told to mount his broom and warm up. Harry mounted his Firebolt, and soared upward. The wind in his hair and face felt exhilarating, and the sight of the pitch made him sick with excitement. He was trying out for Quidditch-professional Quidditch. This was a dream come true. The only thing that would make it better would be if Ron was trying out too. Harry had tried to talk Ron into it, but to no avail. As much as Ron loved Quidditch, he never had the confidence in his ability. Harry knew Ron would make a reserve spot on a team if he tried, but he was currently quite happy with his job at the Ministry of Magic, doing of all things, research for their legal department. "Everyone down, now! We are meeting in five minutes!" came a loud voice from below. Harry looked down and saw Wood waving his arms and using what appeared to be a Sonorus spell to signal everyone down. Harry flew downward in a Wronski Feint, pulling out at the last minute. He then dismounted his broom and walked over to Oliver and the growing crowd of hopefuls. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I'm the new Captain of the Chudley Cannons. My name is Wood-Oliver Wood. I am here to put this team in the championship this year. We will WIN, do you understand me? All positions are up for grabs. We will have a starting team, and two reserve players for each position. Even if you were on the team last year, you will have to prove to me that you deserve to stay on the team. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Oliver paused as the crowd before him looked at him in amazement, and nodded. He bellowed, "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" Harry's Auror training kicked in and he bellowed with the rest of the crowd, "YES SIR!!" "Good. That was much better. Okay, this is the way I will be running things this week. I want you to divide up according to positions. I want my Seekers over here, my Chasers there, my Beaters there and my Keepers here. We will be filling three Seeker positions, nine Chasers, six Beaters and two additional Keepers besides me. The rest of you will be cut. Is that understood?" "YES SIR!" "I will view each group of players for the next two days and begin making cuts at that point. Once you're cut, you are free to go to another team's tryouts, if you so choose. The players that remain on Wednesday will be put into teams, and scrimmage matches will be played. You will be thoroughly tested on your Quidditch abilities and you will play hard. Every position is open with the exception of starting Keeper, so everyone has an equal chance of making this team. Good luck, and I want my Beaters in the air first. The rest of you have a seat in the bleachers." And with that, Quidditch tryouts for the Chudley Cannons started. Wood was brutal, but fair. Those who didn't meet his standards right away were cut immediately. If he felt someone was better in another position, he moved them to that group. By the end of the second day, there were only enough players left to form five complete scrimmage teams out of close to one hundred hopefuls. On Wednesday, the scrimmages started and Wood moved players around as he saw fit. Matches were held all day Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning. Harry was thoroughly enjoying himself as he played. He had made it through the first round of cuts and was on Scrimmage Team Two. He played two matches on Wednesday, and one on both Thursday and Friday. Every evening after tryouts, he came home exhausted, but exhilarated. He hadn't felt this good in years. He had been able to put back on some of the weight he had lost in captivity and had gained back much of his strength. He looked good-fit and trim-and it was showing. Friday after their mid-day break, Oliver posted the teams. Harry was elated-he was the first reserve Seeker for the Chudley Cannons! Oliver told him he was the best new player he had ever seen. He couldn't wait to get home and tell Ginny his news. She'd be ever so pleased and Ron would be too. Even though he wouldn't see a lot of action this year on the pitch, he knew that this was definitely a good start to his new career. **************************** Draco lit a cigarette and smiled to himself. Everything was finally falling into place. Potter was chosen as reserve Seeker for the Chudley Cannons (a sorry excuse of a team) and was at practices most days, all day, with no Aurors around. He left early in the morning and returned around dinner time. Potter's wife was teaching at Hogwarts every day, so no one would be any wiser of Draco's plans until it was too late. And today was his lucky day-Potter's wife and son had left their house early for a stroll. He'd be able to execute his plan against Potter very, very easily. Draco finished his cigarette, extinguished it in the ashtray and Disapparated from his home. He needed to personally ensure that his plan was going exactly as he wanted it to. ***************************** As summer gave way to autumn, Harry and Ginny found themselves both extremely busy. August had passed in a blur as Harry had Quidditch practice almost daily and Ginny prepared for the start of the school year. September began smoothly, and Ginny found teaching to be one of the many loves in her life. She found it to be easy and pleasurable and enjoyed meeting the new students who had started since she had left. Her seventh year classes were comprised of students who had been first years when she, herself, was in her seventh year. It was good to see how far many of these children had come in the six years since she was a student. Transfiguration had come naturally to Ginny when she was in school, so the subject matter was very simple for her to teach. Headmistress McGonagall continued to teach any students chosen for Animagus transfiguration, since Ginny never studied it. Only a select few seventh years were chosen, and if there was one student in a year, that was a lot. The Potters settled into their busy lifestyle with simple routines. During the work week, Harry rose early and began breakfast preparations for him and Ginny. He had to be at the Cannons' pitch at seven A.M. sharp Monday through Friday and he liked getting up and being fully awake for practice. Once breakfast was started, he would then go and wake Ginny and she'd get up and get ready. They'd eat breakfast together, and by the time they were cleaning up the dishes, James would usually wake for his day. Practice had been going well for Harry; he was gaining a great deal of experience on the pitch and had played in several scrimmage matches between the starting team and reserves. He seemed to have a better record at catching the Snitch than the bloke who had been chosen as their starter. Harry was booked to play in an actual match against the Ballycastle Bats, which happened to be the team that Katie Bell, George's steady girlfriend, was a Chaser for. The match was set for Saturday and was their second game of the season. Their first game was against Puddlemere United and they lost-the Cannons Seeker didn't catch the Snitch-which their captain wasn't happy about. Puddlemere was his old team, and he wanted nothing more than to beat them. Wood decided to give Harry a try in the next match to see if he could do a better job than their starting Seeker. If he could, there was a possibility that Harry would be switched permanently to the starting line-up. This upcoming game would prove interesting for the Weasleys-one in-law playing for the Cannons and a (probable) future in-law playing for the Bats. The family would certainly be divided in their support. Harry had been able to secure tickets for the entire family, in addition to a set of tickets for Headmistress McGonagall.
At half past six, Harry kissed Ginny and Jamie good-bye and Apparated to the pitch. Mounting his broomstick, Harry took several laps around in order to warm up before practice officially began. They were playing a scrimmage today and he would play on the starting team, since he was slated to play with them in the match over the weekend. Harry was feeling pretty good and warmed up by the time the rest of the team arrived on the pitch. ****************************** Ginny had planned to spend a quiet morning at her home in Hogsmeade. She didn't have to be in class until ten o'clock and her mum wouldn't arrive until half past nine. The arrangement with her mum was working out perfectly with her teaching position. On nice days, Molly would put James in the pram and stroll up to Hogwarts for Ginny's break at lunch. She was very lucky indeed; she had the ideal job and was able to see her son at breaks. James, who was now almost seven months old and growing like a weed, had been fed, changed and dressed; he was currently playing quietly amongst his toys on the floor. Ginny had begun the laundry and started to plan what to prepare for their evening meal that she would make when she arrived home from school. Going to the cupboard, she realized that she was out of several ingredients needed. Ginny felt she had time for a quick trip to the local grocer; after all, it was only half past seven in the morning. She left a note for her mum as to where she was going, and about what time she would be back, in case her mum came to the Grove early. Bundling James up in his cloak and placing him in his pram with her handbag, Ginny grabbed her own cloak and set off. It was a perfectly lovely autumn day with a brisk cool wind whipping Ginny's long fiery red hair about her face. The leaves had begun to turn to shades of gold, orange and red, and the rising sun painted a beautiful sunrise on the horizon, also in reds and golds. A Gryffindor sunrise, Ginny thought to herself as she walked leisurely along the road. October had come quickly-she was surprised by how fast time was going by-but this was her favourite time of year. After ten minutes of walking, she arrived at the Hogsmeade grocer and went in. It wasn't very crowded, since the hour was still early, and Ginny was able to quickly pick up the items she needed. She paid the clerk and packed the pram with her groceries. Jamie had fallen asleep on the way to the store and continued to sleep, despite the added groceries to his basket. She began the journey back home, again, enjoying the day now that the sun was fully up in the sky. As Ginny approached the Grove, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Before she was able to pull her wand and turn around, she heard the word, "STUPEFY", and her world went black. A/N: I continue to thank my faithful beta and pre-beta Julie and Jen, who keep my writing hopefully quality stuff. Please read and review. I appreciate hearing all comments about this story-what you like or don't like, and what you think will happen or should happen. Yes, that is a shameless plug for reviews…:-)
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