Chapter 16 - Invisible
Harry was beside himself. After the morning paper's arrival, his heart sank. Anthony had warned him that the press would have a field day with the end of his marriage, but he was hoping to leave Hermione out of it. Now she was stuck in the middle and given the feelings he'd been having over the past few days, things were even more complicated.
After seeing The Daily Prophet, Anthony owled Harry and told him to stay put. He advised him not to talk to the press or make any comments. But Harry was itching to see his kids and explain everything to them. He had no idea what Ginny was telling them and could be filling their heads with rubbish to turn them against him. But Anthony was right that Harry should stay put, if he went to the Burrow unexpectedly, he could cause an ugly scene that could be used against him.
Harry had always been impulsive and his impulse was to ignore his lawyer's advice and go to the Burrow. But then he thought of Hermione, who had always been his conscience and he heard her voice in his head.
Don't do it, Harry, you'll only cause trouble.
He took a deep breath and thought about it. It was true, Ginny or Molly would probably hex him if they saw him coming within 50 feet of the kids.
But what if they couldn't see him? Harry ran upstairs to his closet and pulled his invisibility cloak out of his old Hogwarts trunk. He hadn't needed to use it in years, but this would be his best way for him to at least see his kids, even if he couldn't talk to them or hug them.
Harry stood in the mirror and put the cloak on. It just covered his feet. He fondly remembered the days when he, Ron and Hermione were small enough that they could easily hide under the safety of the cloak as they snuck off somewhere they shouldn't. He also recalled that Hermione would often breathe in his ear or press against him when they were not so small anymore. Too bad he was too enamored with Cho or Ginny at the time to really appreciate those moments.
Undercover of the cloak, he walked down the stairs and exited through the front door. Harry noticed that there were some photographers camped across the street, hoping to get a picture of the illicit lovers. He shook his head and chuckled to himself that they were wasting their time.
The Burrow was only a few miles away, so Harry decided to disapparate. He thought hard about his destination and aimed for the back garden. It was a sunny day, so he hoped he might be able to catch the children playing outside.
Sure enough when Harry arrived, he opened his eyes and heard the laughter of his youngest. He looked up and saw Lily flying on her Cleansweep, about twenty feet in the air. She was trying to chase after James, but he was much higher. Al was on the ground, shouting words of encouragement to his sister.
Harry beamed with pride, his daughter was flying! It took all of Harry's self control not to throw off the cloak and announce his presence. He watched as Lily descended and landed on the grass, a look of disappointment on her face.
"I couldn't catch James." She pouted at Al. "He went way too high for me to chase him, he did that on purpose."
James descended and landed next to Lily. "I was not too high, you were too low, tomato."
Lily stuck her tongue out at James. "Don't call me tomato! You were flying too high. Mum told me not to fly higher than that tree."
At that moment, Ginny came out of the house. "Kids, put the brooms away. Your lunch is ready and Gram's prepared her chicken pot pie, so come on in while it's still hot."
James and Al ran into the house, but Lily was still astride her broom.
Ginny walked over to her daughter and held out her hand. "Come on, Lily. Let's eat."
Lily shook her head. "I'm not hungry. I miss Daddy."
Ginny knelt down so she was level with her daughter. "I know you do. But Daddy is too busy to see you right now."
"But I wanted him to see me fly. Why won't you let me see him?"
"I told you, your daddy and I are no longer together and you're going to be living with me for now on."
"But I want to see him." Lily whined, her voice breaking.
"That's not possible." Ginny said firmly. "Come on inside and let's eat."
"You go inside and eat!" Lily yelled. "I want to stay out here."
Ginny sighed and gave up, as her daughter had inherited her stubborn streak. "Fine! But when you're hungry later, no snacks. You'll have to wait until dinner."
Ginny turned her back and went back in the house. Meanwhile Lily got off her broom and sat on the grass and began to cry.
Harry felt like his heart was being squeezed inside him. Once he was sure that Ginny was safely in the house, he approached Lily without removing the cloak and sat down beside her, wanting to comfort her.
Lily was aware of the sound of someone sitting on the grass. But she looked around and nobody was there.
"Is anyone there?" She called out, her heart beating fast.
"Yes." Harry whispered.
"Daddy? Is that you?"
"Yes, munchkin, it's me." Harry smiled.
"Did you do a disillusionment charm on yourself?" She asked excitedly.
"No, I have something better than a disillusionment charm."
Harry poked his head out the cloak so that Lily could see him.
Lily gasped. "Daddy!"
"Shh, we have to keep our voices down." He put a finger to his lips. "I don't want your mum to hear."
"Why can I only see your face?" Lily whispered.
"I'm wearing my invisibility cloak. It belonged to your grandfather and I used it a lot when I was younger."
"That is so cool. I wish I had one." Lily said, reaching out to touch the material.
"Yes, it comes in handy." Harry nodded.
"Daddy, why won't Mum let me see you?"
"Your mum is very angry with me that our marriage has ended." He didn't want to say anymore or poison Lily's mind against her mother.
"When Mum is angry with me she often takes away something that means a lot to me." Lily said.
"She keeps saying that if I fight with James again, she'll take away my broom. Is that what she is doing with you?"
"I'm not sure what she's doing, but you may be right." Harry sighed.
"I miss you Daddy, especially at bedtime, when you used to read to me."
Harry's heart clenched again. "I miss you, too. But I promise you that we will be together again soon and I'll read you many more stories. I love you very much, Lily, and your brothers, too."
"I love you, too Daddy."
Lily reached over and gave Harry a hug. His arms came out of the invisibility cloak so he could embrace his little girl. He closed his eyes and relished the feel of just being able to hold his child. Bittersweet tears came to his eyes but he blinked them away as he didn't want Lily to see her father crying.
He pulled back to see Lily smiling at him and he beamed back at her. He quickly let go, as he didn't want anyone to catch them.
"So, how are your brothers dealing with all of this?" Harry asked.
"They miss you and don't really understand why Mum is keeping us from you. James is also angry that Mum pulled them out of school for a couple of weeks. He has a new girlfriend and doesn't want to be away from her."
"James has a girlfriend?" Harry asked. "But he's only fourteen. I didn't have my first girlfriend until fifth year."
"It's his friend Samantha. I like her, she's really nice."
He had met Samantha a few times during previous summers. She and James had been friends since their first year and she was very bright muggleborn witch. Harry took an instant liking to her, since he knew she would help keep James out of trouble. Kind of like someone else he knew.
"Lily!" Harry heard Ginny's voice and immediately disappeared under the cloak again.
"Come inside, it's getting chilly."
Lily looked at the space where her father was hidden. "I think I have to go now."
"I know, Lily. But I'll see you soon. Don't tell anyone you saw me, okay?"
"I swear I won't tell anyone." Lily promised.
"It's our secret, munchkin. I love you."
"I love you too, Daddy."
Lily picked up her broom and stood up and ran back into the house.
"What were you doing out there?" Ginny asked.
"Nothing, just thinking about Daddy." Lily replied.
Harry sighed and stared at the empty backyard. He was glad he had gotten the opportunity to see his kids and get the chance to talk to and hug Lily. Yet he hated that he was missing out on these important milestones in his kid's lives, especially James' first girlfriend and Al's first year at Hogwarts. At least he got to witness Lily's flight today.
With a heavy heart, he closed his eyes and disapparated back to his street. It seems that the photographers had given up and gone home for the day.
He looked longingly towards Hermione's house and wished for her company. But he knew she was at Hogwarts with Ron and the kids. He hoped that her day wasn't too painful.
Harry entered his empty house and went upstairs and took off the cloak. He opened the closet and placed it back in his trunk. As he flopped onto his bed, a feeling of loneliness and depression weighed down on him.
The tears that had threatened while he was holding Lily flowed freely now. For the first time since Ginny left, he let himself cry.
TBC
A/N: f you've been reading Lost Love, Found Love by Harry's Mistress, the name of James' girlfriend will look familiar. Her story is great, so check it out if you haven't.
-->