A Family Outing

Godric's Hollow, (July 31 st , 1991)...

"Nathan, hurry up, we're going to be late!" Harry yelled up the stairs.

James laughed at his son's impatience. "Relax, Harry, we'll have plenty of time. The alley isn't going anywhere."

"But Dad, we've been eleven for hours already, and Nathan is taking forever."

"I'm here. I'm here. I'm here," Nathan said, jumping down the last few steps.

"Finally," Harry said with a roll of his eyes.

Nathan rolled his eyes at his brother. "The bookstore will be there waiting for you, Harry, don't worry."

"Yeah, well, unless we hurry, Mum won't let you and Dad stare at all the new brooms," Harry shot back, causing both Nathan and James to exchange a look of horror.

"Lily, dear, we had best be leaving. Don't want to fight the crowds, after all," James called out, quickly ushering his two boys into the kitchen.

"Already?" Lily asked.

"Well, you know, better be safe than sorry," James said shiftily.

Lily just stared appraisingly at James for a moment. "Alright. Nathan, remember your hat, and if anyone asks you your name, you say it's what?"

"Dudley Dursley." Nathan smirked.

Lily did not look at all pleased and turned to James accusingly. "That is not funny. The poor boy can't even hear the word 'magic' now without grabbing his…"

"Overly huge butt," Nathan quipped, but quickly fell silent at his mother's glare.

"We fixed everything, Lily," said James soothingly, "and the boy clearly overreacted –"

"That treat caused him to grow a tail, James!" Lily snapped angrily. "It was his first experience with magic."

"He was being a bully," Harry pointed out calmly.

"That's no excuse to stoop to his level," Lily said heatedly before calming herself. "I'm not having this argument again. Let's go."

After a few quick glamour charms, the now unrecognizable Potter family floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron and made their way through the magical gateway into Diagon Alley.

"Do we have enough money, Charles?" Lily asked, using James' middle name.

"Yes, how about we split up? I know Dudley has his apothecary stuff, but Harry has run out," James said.

"Alright," Lily agreed. "Let's meet in Ollivander's at noon." Seeing the ecstatic look on her husband's face Lily quickly added, "But so help me if you show up without any of Dudley's school supplies and a stupid grin on your face, I will ban you from taking Dudley to Quality Quidditch ever again."

Properly chastised, James quickly led Nathan towards Madam Malkin's while muttering about getting their shopping done quickly.

"So where too, Harry?" Lily asked.

"Flourish and Blotts," Harry said immediately, earning a smile from his mother.

Harry had taken to learning magic from his mother like a fish to water, and Lily couldn't help but be proud of her son's enthusiasm. Ever since she had begun teaching Harry and Nathan, she had struggled to keep the lessons interesting for Harry without going over Nathan's head with the material. This was nearly impossible, however, as her older son had taken to obsessively reading every book the Potters owned on magic. She couldn't count the number of times she had seen her son fast asleep with a large book draped over his chest or practicing wand movements with a stick in the backyard while Nathan played Quidditch or practiced some pranking magic. It had even gotten to the point where Lily had ordered Harry to go play Quidditch one day with his brother and uncles.

While not completely identical, both boys shared their father's build and his black hair. Harry, though, tamed his unruly hair and liked to slick it back in a traditional pureblood way with a great deal of ever-holding gel. Nathan, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy mimicking his father's unruly hairstyle.

Besides their hair, another difference between the twins was that Harry had inherited Lily's bright green eyes while Nathan had his father's chestnut brown eyes and high cheekbones. Of course there was the one obvious identifier: Nathan had the now-famous lightning bolt scar on his forehead from where Voldemort's killing curse had failed to kill him.

"Alright, Harry, now remember: I have your list, and you can only pick three other books," Lily said as she guided her son into the shop.

Fifty-five minutes later an exasperated Lily Potter escorted her son out of Flourish and Blotts and quickly went about finishing up his shopping. She couldn't believe they had spent nearly an hour in the bookstore. If she was late to Ollivander's, James would never let her forget it. Well…James would drop it or be left to sleep on the couch, she decided, but Sirius and Remus would never let her forget it, and James would of course inform his fellow Marauders.

Arriving outside of Ollivander's, Lily checked her watch and saw they were five minutes early. Entering the shop, Lily immediately noticed James and Nathan sitting in a chair as Mr. Ollivander seemed to be fitting an excitable Irish boy with his wand.

"You got here early," Lily commented.

"Dad got us here twenty minutes ago," Nathan grumbled.

Lily couldn't help but smile. She still had James wrapped around her finger after all these years.

An excited scream of joy alerted the Potters that the now dancing Irish boy had found his wand. Seven Galleons later and the boy's mother dragged him out of the shop, giving an apologetic glance to the Potters as they left.

"Ah and now that that bit of business is wrapped up, I suppose that both the young Potters will be needing wands today?" Ollivander asked, turning his attention towards them.

"How did you know, sir?" James asked, removing his glamour. "No one has recognized us all day."

"My boy, I remember every wand I've ever sold. Dragon heartstring, twelve inches, rather good for transfiguration, isn't it?" Ollivander gestured to James' wand. "And Mrs. Potter. Willow with a unicorn hair, rather bendy. Still, a good wand for Charms. I do wonder what you two boys shall end up with. Who's first?"

Nathan boldly stepped forward and Harry watched as his brother was measured by a magical tape-measure and then given wand after wand for testing. After what felt like an hour of Nathan lifting a wand above his head, and Ollivander snatching it back, the old man went back to his workstation and brought back a wand while seemingly deep in thought.

"Try this one, Mr. Potter. Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven and three-quarters of an inch,"

Nathan took the wand, and immediately waved it around causing red and gold sparks to fill the room.

"Bravo, Bravo, Mr. Potter, well done," Ollivander said as Lily, James, and Harry congratulated Nathan for finally finding his wand.

"Curious, curious," Ollivander mumbled.

"Excuse me sir, but what's curious?" Nathan asked, still grinning at his new wand.

Ollivander peered over his small spectacles at Nathan. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter, and as it turns out the Phoenix whose tail feather rests in your wand gave another feather, just one. It is curious that you would be destined for that wand when its brother gave you that scar."

The atmosphere in the wand shop quickly dropped as Nathan now looked at his wand in horror. Seemingly oblivious to the tension, Ollivander said, "Yes, yes, it is very strange how these things work out. After all it is the wand that chooses the wizard."

Everyone was silent for a moment before Ollivander turned to Harry. "Well Mr. Potter, you're next. Yes, we must hurry. If you take half as long as your brother, I expect we'll be here for a while."

With the tension seemingly broken, the Potter's settled down and watched as Ollivander began handing Harry several different wand combinations. "Maple and Dragon Heartstring… no not right. Rosewood and unicorn hair… simply not. Holly and Dragon Heartstring… oh, no, no, no. Maple and Phoenix feather... absolutely not but oh my what an explosion. Ash and Dragon Heartstring, Ten inches, a very temperamental wand."

Harry took the wand and immediately felt a shiver go from his hand down to his spine, with a quick flick, the wand shot out a silver stream of magic that impacted the wall and exploded into hundreds of bubbles."

"Success," Ollivander said cheerfully. "I daresay that you found your wand, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, sir. No warnings about how my wand is the brother wand of Grindelwald, right?" Harry asked, causing Nathan to smile slightly.

"No, I'm afraid not," Ollivander replied. "That will be fourteen Galleons, Mr. Potter."