AN: Thank you all so much for the great and lengthy reviews… It really is nice to have that kind of feedback!
Oh, and for the readers who are following Walking, Alive too: I am working on it… So please stop sending me angry mails!
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Chapter 16
Harry Potter opened the door to let his guest enter the mansion. They had moved their duelling practise outside, despite the cold weather… It had been quite refreshing to duel for fun, while encountering some spells and techniques he hadn't been introduced to before.
Though he could honestly say he could handle Neville Longbottom any day, if the man ever decided to switch to the Dark Side, his conscious didn't permit him to deny he'd had a few unexpected sweats when he'd been fighting his way out of a few strategies Neville had put him through.
His companion seemed tired enough, and Harry couldn't help but feel a new-found respect for the man who had been such a hopeless student in his adolescence… Windswept and contently tired, he stepped inside after his guest.
His ears were assailed by angry echoes that rang through the house. Frowning Harry handed his wand to Winky so that he could disrobe, and asked the Elf what in the world was causing that much racket?
With a bright smile Winky answered:
"Miss Lily, Master, she been educated properly!"
Harry forgot proper decorum and ran up the stairs taking two steps a time. Nearing the classroom, he could hear his daughter's cries more distinctly:
"Let me out, I want out! I want my father! Let me out, I want out! I want my father! Let me out, I want out! I want my…"
She was repeating the same plea time and time again, while apparently slamming her little fists on the inside of the wooden door. Harry came to the door and started rattling the handle, only to find it locked. Inside he could hear Lily had understood he was there and she started pleading for him.
Not having his wand with him, anger and despair were warring inside him. She had disobeyed his order not to discipline Lily! With as much restraint as he could muster, he called out:
"Miss Granger! Open this door, immediately!"
At this, Lily finally silenced, and the door opened a little to reveal Miss Granger, who promptly closed and locked the door again. Harry watched as she faced him with absolute countenance, not showing fear, or regret at all, while his daughter was being locked up in a classroom.
Not knowing how to feel, Harry again growled out: "Open this door…"
Defiantly, the witch watched him with an uphold face, answering calmly:
"No…"
Harry stared at her incredulously: she was defying him in his own home? Holding out his hand, he spoke through gritted teeth:
"Give me the key…"
At her non-response to his order, Harry forgot reason. Advancing on her he tried to grab her hands to pry the keys out of them. The witch had reacted quickly enough, though, and brought her hands behind her back.
Harry cursed himself for not having his wand with him, and dashed after her, making her back into the door. He brought both arms around her, gripping her wrists. She wasn't giving up though, and squirmed out of his grip. She tried to escape from the corner he had her in, but he kept blocking her with his body.
He heard her gasp, when once again he tried to grasp her hands behind her back. It was only now that he noticed their bodies nearness, and the way she was rubbing up against him because of her efforts to keep him from getting the keys.
She was squirming against him in a way that made him acutely remember other occasions… Finding himself reluctant to let her go, his mind suddenly jolted him back to reality.
Letting her go as if he'd touched fire, he kept a considerate amount of space between them. Watching her flustered, while she tried to catch her breath, he struggled to keep his conscious thoughts to the situation on hand.
Grateful that she was the one to break the tense silence first, he heard her voice was still unsteady:
"She doesn't even know how to read! She needs to be taught, but for that she needs to respect and obey me first!"
Harry found his voice again: "If you ever dare lay a hand on her!"
Her stance changed brusquely at that threat: "You suggest I'd be able to have such gestures toward my own…" Cutting of what she was going to say, she took a trembling breath and brought her gaze back to his. The expression was much less fierce, and her voice sounded invitingly soft: "I'll make you a promise. Everything I put Lily through, I'll do to myself also…"
Harry watched her uncertainly, knowing she was breaking down his walls, and he didn't like it one bit. Frowning he listened to her soft, guiding reasoning.
"I know you want her to love you, but I want everybody to love her! In a few years she will go to Hogwarts, and she'll be on her own there. Your name will not protect her from everything. People will find out she's adopted, and they will think of her as inferior. I want her to be strong, to be independent, to show the world she's worth something. I want to give her that chance. But she has to learn!"
The governess' speech hurt him more then she could ever know… Or maybe she did know. She seemed to have a clear grasp on what he was feeling for Lily.
Maybe she was right. Loving Lily wasn't enough… He had grown up swearing he would do a better job if he'd ever have children of his own. He'd promised himself he would be the best father to Lily… Was this what was best for her?
In a daze, he walked to the locked door, kneeling in front of the keyhole and called for Lily.
"Lily? Lily… I'll see you after your lessons, alright?"
Defeated when Lily didn't answer him, he stood up, feeling older then ever.
Hanging his head, he walked away from the door with mixed feelings. Was he betraying his daughter, or was he doing what was best for her?
All the way down the stairs, until he was out of sight of Miss Granger, he felt her eyes upon him…
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