Neville’s bedroom at Longbottom Manor held two oak four-poster beds, one of which Harry was seated on. The other was Neville’s own bed, and held not only the boy himself, but also a half-dozen chocolate frogs, empty wrappers, and packages of Mimicking Mint Patties.

MMP, as it was commonly referred to, was a MMS Pranks product. Each piece of candy caused the chewer to make the sounds of an animal, and there was no way of telling what animal it would be.

“Harry, that was the best prank we ever pulled,” Neville said, eyes glowing. “I can’t believe I actually did non-verbal magic!”

Harry laughed and bit the head off of his White-Chocolate Toad. “I can,” he said. “You are every bit as good at magic as I am; you just have a low self-esteem, which we will fix!”

“By the way Harry, how did you activate the Fog Seeds? I didn’t see your wand at all,” Neville asked.

Harry shrugged. “Wandless magic,” he replied.

“Oh, I keep forgetting you can do that,” Neville said. “By the way, my Gran has asked my Uncle Algie to teach me how to fence, now that I’m not so clumsy. Unfortunately, she also decided that she’s going to start teaching me to dance.”

“That’s rough, Neville,” Harry said, grimacing in sympathy. “My guardian made me start taking dance lessons as soon as I turned seven. He hated them when he was my age so why he taught me…” Harry trailed off. “The important thing to remember during your lessons, is that ballroom dancing will help you when you’re fencing, just keep thinking that when you’re suffering through learning to waltz. Fencing and dancing have one major thing in common.”

“What’s that, Harry?” Neville asked.

“Three words… Footwork, footwork, footwork.”

- - -

Harry spent the next week at the Marauder’s Den before going to visit the Weasleys. He flooed to the Burrow after practice on Saturday afternoon, only to find himself stumbling backwards to avoid what appeared to be a furry red ball flying through the air using oversized wings. It bounced off the wall beside him and went flying back toward one of the twins, chirping angrily.

“Is that…” Harry began uncertainly then paused before continuing, “your twin?” This of course was directed toward the now pale looking twin, who was focused on something behind Harry.

Harry turned to face an irate woman.

“Frederick Gideon Weasley, how dare you transfigure your brother!” she screeched loudly. “How lovely to see you, Harry dear,” she murmured to the black haired boy before turning back to her son. “What precisely did you do to him?”

“We were testing something for our new bosses, Mr. Snuffles and Miss Sunny,” the now-identified twin said. “One of our own inventions, actually. Though apparently it still needs some work,” Fred said, wincing at the glare the tiny red bird was sending him.

Mrs. Weasley was just about to say something, probably their punishment, when Harry asked, “What was the invention, and what was it supposed to do?”

“It was a Canary Cream,” Fred said in a rush. “And it was supposed to turn him into a giant canary for all of about twenty seconds before he’d turn back.”

“Let’s see your formula then, and preferably the potion as well,” Harry said dropping his bag on the floor. “We don’t have much time to get him back to normal before dinner, and if we work quickly, we might be able to fix the problem with the Canary Cream recipe.”

Molly Weasley just shut her mouth and stared as the boys, one with black hair and the other red, settled at the table, heads bowed over some notebooks and a cauldron, the red bird hovering over them, and occasionally twittering something that Fred would translate for Harry.

Somehow, she mused, she had just been outwitted by a child.

Not long after George was returned to his natural goofiness, a tiny red haired girl came in the kitchen door. “Mum,” she said, not noticing Harry, “Luna asked me to tell you ‘hello’. She also said to say ‘hi’ to Harry. I don’t know why she thought… HARRY!” she yelled, suddenly noticing her best friend.

“Hello, Ginny, is your friend Luna a seer?” Harry asked, obediently standing to hug her.

“I’m beginning to think that she just might be,” Ginny said bemusedly as she let him go.

Molly continued stirring the pot of stew on the stove, as she watched over her brood. Somehow, she just knew that Harry was going to be a permanent fixture in their lives from now on. As Ron pounded his way down the stairs, only to bellow, “HARRY!” at the top of his lungs, she knew that Harry’s presence could only be a good thing.

- - -

It was just three weeks after the non-wedding when Harry arrived back at Longbottom Manor, this time for Neville’s birthday party. All of the New Marauders were in attendance along with the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Blaise, and several Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, as well as a few children who hadn’t attended Hogwarts yet.

The party was held in the back gardens, which the House-elves had decorated with streamers, flower garlands, and fairies. It looked like a formal tea, as all the guests were dressed in lightweight robes, and the women all wore flowered hats.

For entertainment, Neville’s Uncle Algie was putting together a polo match, and someone had hired a harpist for music.

It looked to Harry to be a function that the Queen would attend.

The Weasley twins were under orders to be on their best behavior, under threat of missing Harry’s first Quidditch game, and both boys looked uncomfortable with their hair slicked back and wearing ties and jackets. Ginny was wearing another refurbished dress of her mothers, which was a pale blue in color, and she was also wearing a white hat that she seemed annoyed with. Ron looked almost as uncomfortable as the twins, but as there was plenty of food available, he felt the discomfort was worth it. His cheeks were currently bulged out like a squirrel’s. Percy was in his element, he was currently chatting with Barty Crouch Sr., though the older man did not seem overly interested in what he had to say.

Arthur and Molly sat at a table with Remus and Tonks, who had morphed to look like a more down-to-earth Marilyn Monroe. Chara was cradled in Molly’s arms, and the plump witch was gushing over her. Carina had morphed to look like her mother but with emerald eyes like Harry’s, and she was sitting on her father’s lap while occasionally taking a sip of pink lemonade from her cup.

Cedric sat at a table with Cho Chang and Susan Bones, and Cho did not seem pleased that he was ignoring her in favor of talking to Susan about the latest cut-backs for the Auror corps. He was considering joining the Aurors after graduation from Hogwarts, but as he was only about to enter his fourth year, he hadn’t made any decisions yet.

Blaise stood with Harry and Neville, and was telling anyone who would listen that William Johnston was adopting him. Mr. Johnston himself was chatting with Algie and eyeing Professor Vector, the Arithmancy Professor at Hogwarts. The Professor was an old friend of Alice Longbottom’s, and while not the beauty that Alexandra was, she was quite pretty in her own way. Her shoulder length hair hung in loose brown curls, and she had warm brown eyes. It would seem though, that William admired her yellow robes, which showed a rather lot of her back.

The Patil twins were looking rather annoyed, as they were wearing by far the most modest robes of any female there, and in addition it was a very warm day in July. Their father was an ambassador from India and, as such, had far different standards for his daughters to meet. They were not allowed to talk to any boys at the party unless the boy first asked permission from their father, and the other girls at the party were frowned upon by him as ‘their lack of modesty is most disturbing’. Mrs. Patil was a quiet woman who barely spoke any English, and was ruled by her husband with an iron fist.

Mrs. Longbottom held court at a large table of her own, surrounded by people like Madam Marchbanks, Amelia Bones, Hector Dagworth-Granger, and Horace Slughorn. Mrs. Longbottom was the only witch in attendance who wore black robes, Neville explained that this was because she was still mourning for his grandfather, who had died before Neville was born.

There was also an author in attendance who claimed that he was the most famous person in attendance, which was ridiculous as both Harry and Professor Dumbledore were present. This author was of course Gilderoy Lockhart. He seemed to be stalking Harry, so the young teen was constantly moving around, trying to avoid him. This caused no end of amusement for Professor McGonagall who was sitting with Dumbledore.

The party was a success up until Horace Slughorn began choking on a chicken wing. Andromeda Tonks, the only Healer in attendance, rushed to his side and had the bone out in moments, but he had already slipped into unconsciousness by then. Unfortunately, she was too late to stop Gilderoy Lockhart from casting a spell on the unconscious man.

Rather than using Enervate which any sane wizard would have, he had said, “Wakyuppy,” causing a blue light to shoot out of his wand and hit Slughorn. This unfortunately caused Slughorn to slip into a coma, and Andromeda quickly Portkeyed to St. Mungos with him, knowing that she couldn’t do any more at the manor.

- - -

The next morning, Harry flooed directly into Pride of Portree’s locker room from the Burrow, where he had spent much of his time playing Quidditch with his friends.

He was quite nervous, not about catching the Snitch though, but rather, of the press who would be asking him questions after the game.

He knew that his guests would be in one of the top three boxes. Another would hold the announcer and his special guest, the Minister of Magic, and the press; and the third box was for the Wimbourne Wasps guests.

Harry was already wearing his uniform by the time the fans started to take their seats. He sat on one of the benches, polishing his Nimbus 2001 to keep his mind off of the press. Mike was muttering to himself and pacing, while Meghan was knitting. It seemed that each team member had their own way of dealing with their nerves. Jason and Jack were playing a rousing game of Exploding Snap, while Kathleen and Sean were arguing over which of them was going to tell her mother that they were not ready to have kids. Apparently their bickering was normal, and after the game they would both apologize.

The reserve team was dealing with their stress in different ways. Kevin, the reserve Seeker, had fallen asleep and was drooling on his robes which were serving as a pillow. Juanita was meditating in the corner, and was perfectly calm. Johnny was eating a hot dog, and drinking a butterbeer. Kelsey was helping the nerdy Michael to pull his jersey over his head as it seemed to have gotten stuck on his glasses. And Jimmy James was super-gluing Kevin’s left hand fingers together. Apparently, he had inherited his parent’s sense of humor.

On the stairs, climbing to their box, was Harry’s guests. Ginny was squashed between her twin brothers, who insisted on holding her hands as per their mother’s orders. Hermione was chatting with Blaise about the non-wedding, and Ron was staring at them jealously.

Soon enough though, the group was seated, and the announcer was about to start talking.

The first thing he announced was Celestina Warbeck who would be singing Britain’s National Anthem. She wore gold-spangled robes that clung too tightly to her figure, and she would probably be on the ‘Don’t’ list in this month’s Witch Weekly issue.

Following the song the team mascots would make their appearance. Pride of Portree’s mascot was a lion, suitable for any Gryffindor. The Wimbourne Wasps’ mascot was, of course, wasps. A person in charge of the mascots would conjure a cloud of the insects, which would then fly in intricate formations.

Next they announced the teams.

“HERE COMES THE WIMBOURNE WASPS! OHARE, MONTGOMERY, CLINTON, ROGERS, GONZALEZ, JONES AAAAAAND BROWN!” As the announcer spoke, each player flew out of their locker room and onto the pitch.

“AND NEXT WE HAVE PRIDE OF PORTREE! MCCORMICK, FLANAGAN, MCCLAIN, MCCLAIN, OMALLEY, MCCLINTOCK! AND THEIR NEW SEEKER HHHHAAAAAAAAAARRY POTTER? THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE’S THE NEW SEEKER!” the announcer continued yelling, forgetting that he had used a Sonorous Charm.

Harry flew out as his name was announced then went to hover next to his teammates, all of whom were laughing at the announcer who could still be heard even over the cries of the fans.

It was nearly a half hour later when the announcer finally realized that Harry really was the new Seeker, and then only because someone took his head in their hands and turned it to face Harry, who waved cheekily. The announcer simply said, “GREAT SCOTT, IT IS HARRY POTTER! CAN I GET YOUR AUTOGRAPH FOR MY NIECE?”

For 35 Points: Name a famous movie in which the quote 'Great Scott' was said, and which character said it.