28

The Carnival

by Rae Kelly

While Tildy put Eric and Rosie Snape down for a short nap, James Potter took the time to spend a few minutes alone with his son and show him some of the features of the cottage. It wasn't really a cottage, but it had always been called that by James' parents, so he simply continued to do so. Remus would be bringing his three older children to spend the afternoon and then Andromeda and Cissy would come with baby Zoey in time to go to the Godric's Hollow Halloween carnival. Tom would be joining them as well to spend time with James and Andromeda.

James had given Tildy and the children a quick tour of the house earlier, but he had something important to show Harry. He led his son into the front hall and opened the door under the stairs.

"What's in here, Dad?" Harry asked, peeking into the cupboard.

"A special hidden room that my grandfather built into the house," James replied, pulling out his wand and cutting his palm. He crouched down and wiped the blood on the floor, opening the door that appeared in the floorboards. "This is our safe room, Harry. I know you've heard about Dumbledore. He grew up here in Godric's Hollow and if he were ever to attack here, this is a place for us to stay until after the attack." He closed the trapdoor and healed his hand before turning to his son. "I'm not trying to scare you, Harry, I just want to make sure you know what to do in case of an emergency."

Harry nodded, his eyes wide. "I understand."

"It just takes a little bit of blood to open the door and a little bit on the other side will seal it from the other side. But it has to be Potter blood." He stood and closed the door to the cupboard before ruffling his son's hair. "Your friends should be here soon."

Harry hugged his father around the waist. "Thank you for letting them come," he said, before racing off as they heard the Floo flare to life.

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Later that evening James and Remus corralled the four boys into Harry's room to help them dress in their costumes for the carnival. The Halloween carnival was the one time of year that the Muggle and Wizarding worlds openly interacted. In a process that seemed to take forever to James, the four boys disappeared. In their places stood a phoenix, a tiny Salazar Slytherin, Nicholas Flamel and a Robin Hood carrying a teddy bear dressed as Will Scarlett.

"Is it always this hard?" James asked his old friend.

Remus chuckled. "This was fairly easy because they knew what they wanted to wear."

James groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. "Kill me now."

"We're not that bad, Dad," Harry said, wrinkling his nose.

"Let's go see if the others are here yet," Remus suggested, lifting the tiny Salazar into his arms. He then herded the other three boys out of the room.

When they arrived downstairs, Andromeda, Tom, Cissy and baby Zoey were waiting on them. "What a good looking group," Andromeda said with a smile, opening her arms to accept a hug from Draco. The three older Lupin children had taken refuge at her house more than once when Zoey's colicky cries had gotten to be too much for them. Thankfully Zoey was finally beginning to improve and showed signs of being a happy baby when the colic was finally gone.

A moment later, Rosie danced into the room, her little red cloak billowing behind her. "Look at my wolf," Rosie said to Tom, crawling into his lap and pulled the stuffed werewolf from her basket.

"He's quite fearsome," Tom responded with a grin, steadying the active toddler. "Now we just need Tessa and Miss Bagshot. Ah...here they are..." he said as Tildy led Tessa, dressed as the Lady of the Lake, into the room.

"Look's like we're all ready to go," James said, grabbing his cloak. "We're not going to want to miss anything." He was nearly knocked over as the four older children raced out the door, followed fairly closely by Eric.

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The town square had been transformed to look like a medieval carnival. There were booths for food, others with games for the children, and still others where townspeople could sell handmade goods. Rosie grew tired after two hours of chasing after the older children, so after a few moments of discussion, it was decided that the three women would take Rosie and Zoey and go look at the craft booths. Tessa had hesitated a moment before opting to stay with the boys.

"So...Andromeda..." James said to Tom with a smirk as they followed the children from one game to another.

"Watch it, Scamp," Tom replied with a smile. "I enjoy spending time with her, and we could both use the company."

James was silent for a moment. "Why now? I mean...why not before?"

"It wasn't the right time," Tom answered. "And last year I was otherwise occupied."

"With me..." James whispered.

"I wouldn't trade the last year for anything, Jamie," Tom said, turning to the younger man. "I gained a son, last year. And with that son, a grandson. That's something I never thought I'd have after my wife and son died. Andromeda understands that and she was a great encouragement to me last year." Tom looked over at the children. "I don't know if it will develop beyond friendship, but I'm enjoying the companionship."

"As long as you are happy, Dad."

"I am, son."

"Can I call you Grandpa now?" Harry asked, startling the two men.

Both men looked down at him, not sure when he had joined them. "I'd like that, Harry," Tom said, drawing the boy into a hug. "I'd like that very much." Harry returned the hug and gave one to his father as well before scampering off to join his friends.

They continued on for another half an hour before Remus stopped suddenly, glancing around. He could obviously sense something that the others couldn't.

"Remus?" James questioned as the rest of the group pressed closer.

"Listen to the screams," Remus replied.

The other two men listened. What had started out as the delighted squeals of hundreds of children had become screams of horror. "The cottage," James said, grabbing Eric, who had been closest to him and Disapparating.

He was quickly followed by the other two men, Remus with two children and Tom with one. Moments later the three women arrived with Zoey and Rosie. Cissy looked at the other children. "Where's Teddy?" she asked frantically.

Remus used a word that he would have washed out the mouths of his children and godchildren had they used it. "I'll go find him," he said, Disapparating.

"We'll all go," Tom told Cissy. "I suspect it's Dumbledore and his men."

Andromeda stepped forward. "You'll need Healers."

"I'll stay with the children," Tildy offered, knowing that she wouldn't be much use. She wasn't trained to fight or heal.

Cissy nodded and handed Zoey to her, before kneeling down and kissing her children and godchildren. "Listen to Miss Tildy."

"Harry," James said, getting his son's attention as the other adults disappeared with quiet pops. Harry looked up at his father. "Take them to the safe room." Harry, who had both arms around his brother, nodded and held out one hand. With a grimace, James pulled off his son's glove and made a small cut on his palm with his wand.

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, son."

Harry looked down at his brother. "Come on, Eri. Let me show you the secret room," he said, leading his brother into the hall. Tessa, Draco, and Rosie followed close behind them, Rosie kept a tight grip on Draco's hand.

"Go," Tildy told James. "I'll keep them safe."

He nodded and kissed her cheek before leaving.

It took a little bit of work to get the younger three children down the ladder, but Tildy managed and then bandaged Harry's hand, not trusting even the most basic healing spell she knew. Once Harry stepped away from her side, she looked around the room for the first time. The room they were in was a comfortable but plain sitting room. Tessa was sitting in one of the two armchairs with baby Zoey in her arms. Draco and Rosie were curled up in the other chair, both hugging their stuffed animals as tight as they were hugging each other. Harry had joined Eric on the sofa, his arms wrapped around the smaller boy.

Through an open door she could see a simple kitchen. Tildy assumed the other two doors led to a bedroom and a bathroom. Opening first one and then the other, she found some blankets and brought them out into the sitting room, wrapping one around each pair of children. She offered to take Zoey from Tessa, but the girl merely cuddled her baby sister closer. Leaving them alone, she went into the kitchen to see if it was stocked with the things she needed to make her great-grandmother's hot chocolate. The elder Tildy Bagshot believed that a cup of hot chocolate would cure all ills.

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Remus tore his way through the crowd rushing away from the town square, his eyes frantically searching the crowd for his son. He blamed himself for leaving without making sure they had all five children. But the sensible part of his brain told him that it had happened too quickly for any of them to think clearly.

Dumbledore's men were easy to spot in their brightly colored robes and hats, and Remus Stunned several of them as he searched for his son, all thoughts of secrecy far from his mind. They could figure out what to do with the Muggles later.

The fighting had mostly stopped by the time he finally found his son, trapped under a booth not far from where they had been. He knelt next to his son. "Teddy..."

The boy's eyes, full of tears, opened. "Papa! I'm sorry!"

"Shh!" Remus said, caressing his son's face. "I'm here now. Are you hurt?"

"Just my foot...it hurts."

"Let's get you out of there and go find Mummy, hmm?" Still sitting next to his son, he began to carefully levitate one piece of debris after another off his son. James and Tom had just found him by the time he lifted his son free. Teddy curled into his father's arms, not caring that he was getting too old for this. His foot hurt and all he cared about was that he was safe in his father's arms. "Where are Cissy and Dromeda?" he asked the two men.

"They've set up near the church," Tom replied. "We'll keep looking for injured."

Remus nodded. "Dumbledore?"

"He got away, but we've captured several of his men. The Aurors are rounding up his wounded men now," James told him. "Go find Cissy and get Teddy taken care of. We'll have to go back to the cottage together. Harry and the others are in a safe room that only he and I can open."

Remus nodded once more and carried his son away.

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It was the early hours of the morning when James opened the trapdoor and was nearly tackled by Harry as soon as he had stepped off the ladder. He held his son close, kissing the top of his head. After a moment he looked up to see Tildy standing nearby, holding Zoey.

"The other children are sleeping," she told him. "Harry refused to sleep until you were back."

"That's fine," he replied. "The others are upstairs. I'm sure Zoey needs Cissy now."

She nodded and walked to the ladder, where Remus was waiting to hand the baby up to her mother.

"Did you find Teddy?" Harry asked, not letting go of his father.

"We did. He's got a sore ankle, but he'll be running around with the rest of you in a week or so." He pulled back from his son and held him at arm's length. "Would you mind sharing your room for the rest of the night?"

"I don't mind, Dad. You may as well let Rosie and Tessa sleep in there too. Rosie will end up there anyway."

James chuckled and nodded. "Run up to my room and find some of my shirts for your friends to wear to sleep in. And help Tildy find pillows and blankets. All of you can camp out on the floor in your room."

Harry nodded and after another hug, climbed up the ladder while his father went to wake up the other children and help them move upstairs. He stopped halfway up the ladder to look back at his father. His Dad had been really brave tonight and had helped save them. He had even grabbed Eric before Apparating, instead of making sure that Harry alone had been saved. That meant a lot to Harry.

Even with what had happened at the carnival, Harry felt safe here as long as his dad was around. As safe as he did in the little flat over the apothecary. He really hoped that his Mum and Da hurried home because he had a lot to tell them.