A Love at Stake

Chapter 2

Harry made a deep sigh and went back to his work after retrieving the fallen knife under the table.

A little disheveled and covered in soot, Lily emerged in the Department of Magical Transport where the other stone fireplaces are located.

Arthur Weasley, a close friend of Lily, stood smiling in front of her and said, “You really should get used to it by now, Lily. It looks as if you’ve fought a dozen of death eaters.”

Lily rolled her eyes, also smiling. “With that, you wouldn’t mind carrying these papers for me, would you?” she said. “I’m afraid they’re going to slip in my hands at any moment.”

“Oh,” Arthur immediately grabs the papers that were about to fall off. “You really need a hand with these. Too many.”

“Thanks.” said Lily and she began brushing off the soot in her cloak.

“So, how’s Harry?” asked Arthur while walking and waiting to the lifts.

Lily’s smile faded. “I made his morning miserable.”

“Not again, Lily.” Arthur looked at her.

“I know and I felt really stupid.”

“Why? What happened?” asked Arthur. The lift descended in front of Arthur and Lily and they moved inside it. The grilles slid shut with a crash and the lift ascended slowly.

“I can’t seem to control my temper.” said Lily. “Just this morning, I yelled at him and – oh, I’m so stupid!” she thumped her foot. “I told Harry that I’ll be home at eight because there’ll be a party here tonight and –”

“But there’ll be an assembly tonight at Hogwarts!” Arthur said quickly.

“I know,” Lily told him miserably. “Harry reminded me about it and I was like, argh, I forgot – I hate myself!” Lily stared on the floor. She felt dumb just in front of Arthur when talking about this kind of thing.

“It’s alright, Lily.” said Arthur softly. “I was also being reminded by my wife, Molly. She thought I didn’t have time with the kids anymore. Just don’t forget the assembly again later, okay?”

Lily nodded and made a small smile.

“Now, you might want to tell me what are these papers, anyway.” said Arthur once they reached level two of the Auror’s Headquarters. The lift doors opened and they stepped out of it, looking around.

“Oh, I have a big report today.” Lily told him. “And I want to open up a topic about altering destiny.”

“Altering destiny?” Arthur raised his eyebrows.

“Yes, it’s only a matter of changing the events, you know.”

“Like time-turners?”

“Exactly!” said Lily. “But there’s more into it that I want to find out.”

“I see,” said Arthur, smirking. “So you’ve done a lot of research –”

“A lot!” said Lily earnestly. “And –”

“And that’s the reason why you’re always going home late, with no dinner, and looking tired the next day when you go to work. Is that right?”

Lily stared at him for a moment, trying to sink in what Arthur told her.

“Yes, but what – how did you know?” asked Lily, a little shaken.

“Well, let’s say it’s quite intriguing sometimes to get on with my son’s and daughter who knows Harry very well, with Ron as Harry’s best friend and all that, well, I hope you know what I mean.”

“You mean, Harry’s telling Ron about me?” said Lily quite sternly.

“Don’t take it as something bad though,” Arthur said immediately. “Ron’s been receiving letters from your son and I bet anything, Hermione’s receiving as well.”

“Hermione?”

“Harry’s other best friend.” Arthur told her. “Anyway, Ron told me everything when I noticed Harry’s letters and he seems so disturbed. Molly doesn’t know because my son made me swear not to.” Arthur stared at her straight in her eyes and said, “Harry loves you so much. He may not have the guts to say it, but his letters proves it. Give him all the love he needs.”

Lily frowned as though Arthur’s words offended her, she said, “I do love him. And I don’t think everybody, aside from Harry and me, should know what’s going on between our private lives. And thank you for telling me this, I think I’ll have a word with Harry later.”

“I know that, Lily.” said Arthur. “We’re just concerned but please don’t start shouting at Harry again, he’s just afraid to tell you all this.”

“Who said I’m going to shout at him? He should know better than that! Being afraid will not do him any good, he should be brave like his father after risking his life for him!”

“Harry’s brave and you’re actually blaming him for what happened to James?” asked Arthur incredulously.

Lily just shrugged. She looked at her watch that says she still have five minutes to prepare.

“I need to go now, Arthur.” Arthur handed back the papers to Lily. “Catch you up later.” And she strode off to her office while rummaging the bag for her eyeglasses.

“Goodluck and don’t forget the assembly!”

Lily just waved a hand while holding her eyeglasses and from the time she let her hand down, it accidentally hit a solid wall, causing her eyeglasses to crack.

She said to herself. Can’t I have a moment of peace! She added while cursing her way to the Auror’s office.


Harry ate his breakfast eagerly and stared blankly on the empty chair opposite him. His stomach lurched dramatically. His toast stood hanging between his hand and his mouth while his other hand twirls the fork with his fingers.

Morning always found Harry thinking about the day ahead. He generally began the day doing the chores, cleaning the house, wishing that his friends were there before setting off to Hogwarts for their usual Parents-Teachers Assembly, and as though someone pinch him hard on his side, he ate his food fast, did the chores, and headed upstairs to his bedroom.

He walked across his room, let Hedwig out of her cage where she soared around his room, while Harry prepared his letters, folded it, tied it on Hedwidg’s leg and opened the window. He stroked Hedwig’s feathers for the last time and let her fly out to the open window.

“Safe flight, Hedwig.” He whispered.

He scanned the morning sky where the tiny dot of Hedwig could be seen and bowed slightly.

He sat silently on his bed, pulled open his bedside drawer where his schoolbooks, quills, and parchments lay undisturbed. But apart from those things, Harry grabbed a leather notebook and his quill and started flicking the pages until he reached the page where a long poem was written but very messy-looking.

Looking at it, it’s as if the writer was having difficulty on using the right words to fit what he or she was trying to point out, as though the writer couldn’t make out his mind. There were many scratches. Here and there, words were crossed out and another word scrawled next to it. Lines and arrows crisscross in every direction. Clearly, the reader won’t be able to understand the meaning of it all.

Harry stared at it for a moment and began writing a few lines.

… With stream in my eyes, I kneeled and look above –

He paused, thinking hard, and then dipped his quill on the inkbottle and slowly he writes, with a small smile on his face, the last and final words of his poem. Seeing Harry’s satisfied look, he wrote on top of the poem the title, A Mother’s Love. Deciding to rewrite the poem later, he set it on his study table, and started tidying his bedroom.

From the time he’s done cleaning, his clock chimed again, telling him that it’s already half past nine.

He made his way out of his room and proceeded to the next room, his mother’s room. He opened the door slowly and stepped inside.

As far as Harry is concerned, the room has many pictures. Each of which has Harry’s dad in it, James Potter, smiling and waving. There’s one picture where Lily was carrying the baby Harry on her arms, cuddling him, while James attempted to do funny faces and jumping up and down to surprise Harry behind his back. The sixteen-year-old Harry stared at it, smiling, and a look of longing to have his dad again at home is very visible on his face.

Harry always feels comfortable even just inside this room, he feels that his dad was alive and always having fun. Harry didn’t ponder on to these thoughts more but merely shrugged and continued to do his work.

There isn’t anything to clean up, knowing that the room is always neat and clean, but Harry, having used to doing all the tasks in any way he can, scanned the room skeptically for any signs of unnecessary objects that’s needed cleaning until his eyes sees the bed where a dark blue folder lay at the foot of it.

Frowning, Harry picked up the folder. Scrawled across it in a slanting writing was Ministry Report, and then below it in small letters, it says Drafts.

Harry scowled at it at first but a huge realization hit him, his eyes went wide, panic is coursing through him. Oh no… he said to himself. This can’t have been forgotten!