Paternal Instincts

Chapter 21

Harry was having a relaxing evening watching tv in his room when he heard a knock on his balcony door.

"Ron? Why didn't you come through the front door? Is everything alright?"

"Harry, look," Ron pointed to a flying Ford Anglia hovering right at the edge of his balcony.

Fred was in the driver's seat and George was beside him.

"Whoa," Harry was slacked-jawed at the fray in front of him.

"Dad bewitched our Ford Anglia to fly. The twins and I thought it would be fun to take it for a ride and I wanted you to join us," Ron explained.

"Yeah, come on Harry. It would be fun," George hollered from the car. "I promise I have it under control. We'll just take a quick five minute ride and have you back safe and sound before your dad notices you're gone".

"Come on Harry. PLEEAASE," Ron pleaded, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

James wasn't home, so Harry supposed he could be back before James got back. A ride in a flying car did sound fun and the Weasley boys did reach all the way to his house safely.

"Alright, I'm in. Just let me leave a quick note for my dad," he said to the gleeful Weasley boys before he quickly scribbled a note for his dad and got into the backseat of the flying Ford Anglia with Ron.

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Harry snuck back into his room through his bedroom window to find his father seated on his bed. James's arms were crossed and his lips were pressed together. Harry gulped. The ride had taken longer than expected.

"Where were you young man? You left with just a single note saying 'went for a ride with the Weasley boys'," James's arms were still crossed.

Harry had the left that note just in case. Which was probably a good thing because his father might have been out looking for him or have filed a missing person's complaint. But this was one of the few instances he had seen his father look annoyed and even angry.

Harry explained that the Weasley boys had showed up with a flying car that Arthur had bewitched to fly and asked him to join them for a ride.

"Harry, you had me worried." James rebuked as Harry looked down. "And getting in a flying car driven by a fourteen year old with no proper training was dangerous. You could have crashed. You could all have gotten hurt".

Harry hated when his father was disappointed. He'd rather be yelled at.

"I'm sorry dad", he managed to mutter, not meeting his dad's eyes.

"Harry, you are not to do this again," James said firmly. "You are not to leave this house without permission except in an emergency. Going for a ride isn't an emergency. Is that clear?" he narrowed eyes towards him.

Harry nodded. "Yes, dad".

"Alright. Go to bed as it's past your bedtime. I'll see you tomorrow," he said as he left.

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James didn't know whether to be impressed by Weasley twins driving a flying car or be annoyed by their recklessness. It was harder to be annoyed as he would probably have thought it was a clever idea to drive his dad's flying car at their age. James hadn't punished Harry as he usually didn't for first time offenses, but he sometimes wondered if he was too harsh or lenient on Harry. He would certainly have done the same thing in Harry's place when he was twelve, which made him feel like a hypocrite for any rebuke that he gave Harry. But regardless of what young him would have done, it was his duty as a father to rebuke Harry's mistakes, especially when they put him in danger. He would have to owl Arthur. He didn't want to get the Weasley boys in trouble, but he had to check if they had returned home safely and Arthur was the more lenient parent.

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It was time to begin a new school year at Hogwarts as September 1st arrived. The day had sprung on both the Potters and the Weasleys which delayed their journey to King's Cross. They found themselves dashing towards Platform Nine and Three Quarters a few minutes before eleven. In their haste, even the parents went through the barrier as they reached it, without looking back to see if their children got past. Harry and Ron decided to go through the barrier together as they were the last ones, but were both thrown back as they tried.

Without much time to ponder on why they couldn't get through or the right course of action, Harry and Ron decided to take the flying car to school. Their reasoning for not waiting for their parents was that their parents wouldn't be able to get through the barrier back to them. Not their best decision making or logical reasoning. As McGonagall would later point out after their tumultuous ride to Hogwarts that ended with their car crashing into the Whomping Willow, the sensible decision would have been to owl her. They were unfortunately brought to Snape first, but fortunately were not expelled as that power rested with McGonagall. Harry begged her to add the fact that they couldn't get past the barrier when she said she had to write to their families. After the first time his father rebuked him for getting on a flying car, he didn't want his father thinking he deliberately disobeyed him by taking a flying car to school for fun.

The next day, Ron received a howler from Molly for their stint with the flying car. Although Harry mostly sympathized with Ron, he couldn't help but feel a little amused. But he also felt bad that Arthur was facing an inquiry at work. Harry gulped and braced himself as he opened his dad's letter. Would his dad understand? Or would he tell him off like Molly did to Ron? At least it wasn't a howler.

Dear Harry,

I hope you are alright. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and I panicked when you and Ron didn't show up at the platform and were missing with the car when we got back. I was relieved when Professor McGonagall owled me that you both had reached safely even if through a flying car. She pointed out that you could have owled her when I tried to reason that you couldn't get past the barrier.

I understand that you did what you could to get to school under the circumstances and that other solutions might not have occurred to you. But in future, please don't panic and make impulsive decisions when you face situations like this. I probably shouldn't be the one to talk about being impulsive, but it's alright for you not go to school if it came down to it. I would prefer that over you risking your life to get to school. And remember that I would always have found my way to you and did my best to get you to school, even if I couldn't get to you through a barrier.

But do not be worried. And tell Ron not to worry either. I know Mr. Weasley is facing an inquiry at work, but the law only says it's illegal to bewitch a muggle item if it's being used by muggles and not if it's for our personal use. I'll do my best to help him if he gets into any trouble. I've attached your care package. Take care, I love you and I'll see you at your first game.

Love, dad.

Harry felt a sigh of relief as he folded his letter. He mostly knew that his dad would understand and his father's letter made him feel better.

"What did your dad say?" asked Ron as Harry handed him his letter.

Ron gaped as he read Harry's letter. "I hate you Harry"

Harry grinned "If it makes you feel any better, your dad would probably have said something similar if he was the one to write to you. And my mum might have sent me a howler or an owl with a harsher rebuke if she was alive".

"Well that's true," Ron agreed.

=to be continued=

I need to explain one thing. I know that it's a long shot that James got past the barrier before Harry, but I really needed Harry and Ron to get to school that way so that Ron's wand is broken. Otherwise Lockhart's memory charm in the Year 2 climax would be successful.

Yes, I can change the course of the story so that they aren't down there in the first place and the adults actually do their job. But from the moment I thought of this fic, I had a scene in mind that I really like for when Harry returns from battling a basilisk and I really think Harry's battle down there is essential especially since I've not yet decided the course I'm taking in year 4-7. But if you guys would rather have a different climax of the adults taking care of Tom Riddle, I would change that with popular demand. But I needed Ron's wand broken just in case.