*CRACK*
Bill apparated to the top step of number 12 Grimald place. He had become accustomed to apparating there for Order business many times before. Unsure if Harry ever removed any of the security features of their former headquarters, and never caring to ask, he always found it safest to appear nearest the threshold. He gazed at his watch for the time and hoped 7am was not too early. He wanted to catch Harry before he left for the Ministry.

Bill was somewhat nervous about reporting to Harry regarding the midnight activities of James and his urban art supplies in the Armor Gallery. Even though James never had time to spray a drop if paint due to getting caught, Bill felt James' attitude and lack of better judgement were impeading his learning process. I had shown much direspect of him, Caryn, and the school property he was about to deface.

*knock, knock, knock* Bill stood and waited for Harry or Ginny to answer, hoping the kids were still asleep.

The old door squeaked open (which Harry had either been to lazy or busy to fix), revealing the patriarch of the family on the other side. Harry was fully dressed for work in black robes, yet he still had a rather sleepy look about him, implying he had a rather late night.

"Oh, hello Bill," he greeted, mindlessly tossling his already untidy black hair.

"What brings you here?" he asked, though he could assume the Headmaster's visit to be work related rather than merely a friendly call.

Bill smiled as Harry opened the door. "Hello Harry. As you can tell by the hour of my visit, I'm here on official Hogwarts business. Mind if I come in?"

Keeping a smile on his face was difficult. Bill hated this part of his job. Talking to parents about the wrong doings of their children at school was always a touchy subject. He was glad the first time he was subjected to this duty, it was with parents he knew well.

"Oh--of course, sorry," Harry said distractedly, stepping aside to allow Bill's entrance. His eyes darted up towards the stairs, then down the hall that led to the basement.

"We can talk in the drawing room upstairs, if you'd like, or in the kitchen. Lily might still be asleep---Ginny just went up to wake her, I think. Can I get you anything? A cup of coffee?"

"Coffee would be great. Thanks Harry." Bill walked in the door and closed it behind himself. "Someplace where we won't be disturbed would be best, I think. Would it be possible for Ginny to join us? It's about James. He's fine, not hurt or anything. He's been different lately and I'm worried about him. He has found himself in a spot of trouble."

"James?" Harry repeated, frowning mildly, though he was hardly suprised. James was the resident trouble-maker, but Harry hadn't expected Bill's visit to be in regards to Harry's own family. What could have possible happened that would send Bill to talk directly with Harry and Ginny?

Frowning still, he nodded down the hall. "The kitchen should be fine. I'll just nip upstairs and fetch Ginny." With a quick jab of his wand, Harry conjured a fresh pot of coffee and cups, which appeared down the hall in the kitchen.

Bill ventured down the hall into the empty kitchen. The house always brought back memories for him. Meetings of the Order of the Pheonix were fresh in his mind, even though it was at least 20 years ago, it felt like yesterday. Sitting at the table with the members of days gone by such as Remus Lupin and Mad Eye Moody were always fresh in his mind.

Bill saw the fresh coffee and poured a cup. He looked around for the sugarbowl. Scratching his head, he tried thinking of where Ginny would hide it from the children. "One would think she would try the same hiding spots Mum used when we were young?" He opened a few of the cupboards but he couldn't find it. Giving up on his search, he sat down and sipped the black coffee, waiting for Harry and his baby sister.

Ginny heard a knock on the door as she was walking into Lily's room, but heard Harry answer the door so continued with getting Lily. Walking out of Lily's room, she met Harry on the stairs and gave a slight frown at the look on Harry's face. She walked down to the kitchen with him and saw Bill.

She walked to her older brother with a smile. Giving him a hug and smile she said hello. Looking between Harry and Bill, her smile slowly faded. "Is something wrong?" Ginny asked with concern in her voice. There was just something about the scene that made Ginny wonder if something was up.

"Apparently James has, er...well I'm not sure what he did exactly," Harry said, looking expectantly at his brother-in-law as he seated himself at the table. He eyed the coffee but otherwise ignored it---Bill had said he was worried about James, and so Harry couldn't help but worry as well, especially since he was not yet in the know.

After returning Ginny's hug, Bill sat back down at the table. "First, have you got any sugar? I searched the usual "Molly" places and I couldn't find it." He teased.

While waiting for Ginny to reviel the sugars newest hiding place, he started with his story. "I'm here because Caryn and I found James out of bed last night. Caryn and I were walking about the castle, talking.... well more like arguing, but that's beside the story. We were walking on the third floor when we heard him. He was in the Armor Gallery, with cans of spray paint. He didn't actually tag anything yet, but he definately had an intent. There was a rainbow of colors at his disposal." Bill sipped the coffee, forgetting there was no sugar in it and made a slight sour face.

"Normally, I would have handled the situation myself but James was so.....um, I'm not sure how to explain it. He had no remorse about what he was intending to do but wasn't disrespectful either. He gave Caryn a few words but nothing out of the ordinary for cousins. With me, he was short to the point of accepting his punnishment."

James was out of bed. Nothing to be alarmed about. James had spray paint cans--irksome, but still no matter to make Harry and Ginny pull the boy out of Hogwarts and ground him for the rest of his teenage life. Still, something wasn't sitting right with Harry.

"No remorse but not disrespectful...like, apathetic? Did he happen to say why he felt the need to redecorate the school's armor gallery?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed as he sent a lingering glance to Ginny. This sounded something like what Fred and George might have done during their school days, and James doing the same wasn't anything to be too alarmed about---it was the boy's reaction that had Harry plagued with mild worry.

Ginny smiled at Bill's comment of "Molly" places. She walked to the cabinet over the bread basket and pulled out the bowl of sugar. "The best place to hide things in this house, after mom used all the good places, is to put them in the most obvious." She said giving a soft giggle, realizing she had stumped her older brother.

Bringing the sugar bowl to the table, Ginny listened to Bill's story about what had happened with James. She was uncomfortable with the way James was behaving lately, and this made her more worrisome. Yes, she could see that he'd probably got his joking habit from the Fred and George side of the family, and even Harry and his father. But why would James reply in such a way, and even accept his punishment welcoming? Harry asked her questions and Ginny took a seat beside him.

Bill watched Ginny get the small bowl and smiled. "Thank you Ginny" Bill placed a spoonful of sugar in his coffee and stired it. " Apathetic...yea, that's it. It was as if he didn't have any feelings about getting caught. He was so unemotional. His explination was plain. I believe his words were. "We should keep up with the armor. It looked like hell. Now, if he was armed with silver spray paint and a smile, I would have commended him. However, that would have been something Hermione's kids would do." Bill tried to make light of the topic.

Harry almost let a smile slip--no, he did let a smile slip as Bill related James's words to them. It was a cheeky remark, and Harry couldn't help but be mildly amused, even if it didn't excuse his son's behavior.

"Sounds like he's trying to make a name for himself," Harry commented with a slight shrug, a residual smile still hidden in his eyes.

"Unless there's something else bothering him," he added, his forehead wrinkled in a frown once more.

The amusement in Harry's smile caused Bill to crook his head sideways. He was curious what Harry thought. Did he see some of his own attitude in James or was it something more?

"It could be a name for himself. All of our children seem to have a hard time with being the next generation of the famous Order. It's a lot to live up to, I guess. Having famous parents." Bill took a big gulp of coffee.

"It could be a void? Maybe he was trying to fill a need to be creative? He has always been an artistic individual. The paint makes sense."

Bill's comment, about having a hard time living up to famous parents, made Ginny stop. She looked at Bill and then at Harry. This seemed like something that could be bothering James.

"Harry, what if that is what's wrong with James? He's trying to live up to our reputations? He thinks he has to live up to us?" Ginny looked at Harry, fully hoping that this was not the reason for their son's actions and late moods. "His mood the other day, when Teddy was over, what if this is the cause of it?"

"It would make sense, I suppose," Harry said thoughtfully, frowning still.

"Though I never imagined it would make him act out like this. Maybe it's a bit more complicated than just that, I don't know. I'll talk to him--I have some business at the school to attend to, I'll see if I can get anything out of him while I'm there. Out of curiosity, Bill, what punishment did you give him?"

"I didn't assign him a punishment yet. I have a meeting with him in my office at 8:30 this morning." Bill glanced at his wizard watch checking the time. "I'm going to have him clean up the armor he spoke so dreadfully of. " Bill finished his coffee and put the cup down on the table.

"I want to find a creative outlet for him though. Something he can paint and be proud of. I was thinking of giving an artist from each house the opportunity to create a mural to remain for the school year. What do you think? Would he like that idea?"

"Worth asking him, I suppose," Harry commented thoughtfully, giving a bit of a shrug.

"He might like that actually...I think he would. I don't know, it's so hard to tell about him anymore." He looked to Ginny, wondering what her thoughts were on the matter, when he caught a glance of a grinning photo of his second son.

"I can't help but wonder how all this is affecting Al, or will affect him...seems like only a year ago James was getting along just fine...."

"It couldn't hurt. He does tend to draw a bit... I think he'd like that." Ginny said in response to Harry's look. She was worried about James, and it was clearly showing on by her facial expression and tone of voice.

In reference to Al, Ginny glanced at the photo as well. "What if this happens to Al and Lily as well? What if they go through something of the same when they get into school..." Concern was written on her face at the thought.

"Sis, there is no need to be that worried. They will be fine. They all need to grow up and be their own person. Victiore was fairly easy but gosh, Caryn gave me a hell of a time, remember?" Bill didn't want Ginny to be a wreck over the kids. He knew they would work out their own problems in time but it was getting there that was the issue. Each child had to do things their own way.

"I will talk to him about the mural idea after his detention. I will keep you informed of any changes." Bill waved his coffee cup to the sink while he stood to leave. "I have to go, if I want to get back to my office before James arrives." Bill walked over to Ginny to give her a hug. Don't worry Gin, They will be fine. I'll make sure of it." He grazed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Who better to keep an eye on them than your big brother, huh?" He flashed his winning Weasley smile.

Ginny nodded looking at Bill. She did remember Caryn growing up, she was something else. "I remember. It's just....hard." Ginny said with a small sigh. She was having a hard time letting Al and James go, she knew he had to though. They had their own things they needed to do; they had to learn to grow up, with or without her.

As Bill stood to leave, Ginny did too. She returned his hug and smiled as his hand touched her cheek. "No one better," she said in reply to Bill's question. "Thank you, Bill. For coming by. You'll have to come over sometime, on a lighter note." Ginny smiled in return to his.

Bill loved his only sister very dearly. He would do anything to protect her and her family including keeping a close eye on the boys at school.

"I will definately come for dinner soon. I miss having home cooked meals. Fleur is a good cook and so is Caryn but your the only one who gets close to the way Mum cooked." Bill was getting hungry now thinking of the meals he loved as a child. "Don't tell them that though." He added as a whisper as he leaned in closer to her and gave a loving wink. "They will think of it as an insult."

"I must attend to business now. I'll send an owl if anything gomes up. Love you both." Bill walked out of the kitchen and headed for the front door. As he stepped onto the stoop and closed the door......CRACK He disapparated off to the road outside the main gate at Hogwarts.

"See you Bill...and thanks," Harry said, frowning slightly still.

"He'll be fine, I'm sure," he said, trying for an encouraging smile to his wife. He sent a lingering glance towards the hall, wondering for a moment if his daughter had yet woken up and if she had been putting the extendable ears to use. Seeing and hearing nothing, he sighed and helped himself to a cup of coffee.

"Bye Bill. Keep well," Ginny said after her brother.

Ginny gave a small smile to Harry's words. She saw him look up at the hall, knowing he was probably wondering whether Lily had awoken yet. "I hope so..." Ginny began the process of making breakfast for her family. All the while James' new mood and the fear of Albus and Lily going through it as well. "You know," Ginny said thoughtfully, "if this has anything to do with our reputations, Ron kind of went through the same thing..."

"Yeah, he did, didn't he?" Harry said, giving a funny sort of smile. He pulled his coffee toward him, staring at the black liquid blankly as he sighed.

"Gah...if that is the case, I wish I knew how to make it better for him," he said, then looked up with a thoughtful expression.

"Sorry sweetheart, do you want any help with breakfast? I can take over if you want to go and wake Lily."

Nodding, Ginny remembered the rows Ron and Harry had had in school. Ron sometimes filling her in on how big a prat Harry was acting, eventually to come to an understanding with Harry and make up. But still, if this is what was going on with James, Ginny hoped the rows Harry and Ron had had, wouldn't happen between James, Harry and her.

Ginny smiled at Harry, "Could you, please? She should have been down by now." Ginny said looking back at Harry. "It shouldn't take me long and I can come back down to finish."

Harry gave a simple but pleasant nod, and got to finishing the preparations of the morning's meal, or rather go as far as he could with the whirling thoughts invading his mind and stealing his attention.

Living up to our reputations...I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. Urgh...he'll be alright...whatever it is that's bothering him, it's bound to come out sooner or later, most likely in the form of yelling.

At that last thought, Harry's lips parted slightly in a bit of a smirk. Having a row with James wasn't what had Harry worried--he could handle being hollered at, but the very fact that Harry didn't know what exactly was bothering his son disheartened him to say the least.

Deciding he was rather too distracted to produce anything edible, he took to cleaning up coffee grinds that riddled the counter top, and setting out three plates on the table. He didn't bother to use magic--the manual work kept him busy and helped to clear his mind.

Ginny wandered upstairs and down to Lily's room. She knocked slightly and then entered it. "Lily, dear, are you up? Breakfast is cooking." Ginny walked over to the window and opened the curtains, letting some light filter in onto the floor and into the room. She walked over to Lily's bed and lightly shook her shoulder.

"Come on, Lils. Breakfast is almost done." Ginny said and smiled as she walked out of her room as Lily sat up. She went back downstairs to wait for Lily and to help finish breakfast with Harry.

"Do you have to leave for work soon?" she asked as she entered the kitchen.