My Front Porch Looking In
By Anne B. Walsh
Characters by JKR, alterations by me, song by Lonestar. Thank you.
"Can you believe it?" Tessa Mallory bounced in her place. "Can you believe how many people we know are singing tonight?"
"It’s a charity concert," Su Li said. "People are paying money to see famous war heroes look silly."
"But I don’t think they’ll look too silly," said Danielle Weasley, smiling. "At least not the four up next. They’ve been practicing."
The curtain swished open. The crowd gasped.
Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Draco Black, and Neville Longbottom, dressed in loose collared shirts and jeans, struck various nonchalant poses across the front of the stage as a piano played a rippling introduction. Then a fiddle and drums picked up, and Neville lifted his wand to his mouth.
Oooh yeah
Draco grinned at the audience.
Whoo!
Ron snapped his fingers in time.
Yeah
Harry flipped his hair out of his face.
Oh yeah
Neville lifted a foot and looked at it critically.
The only ground I ever owned was sticking to my shoes
His head came up, and he gestured broadly to the audience with his free hand.
Now I look at my front porch and this panoramic view
Ron crossed the stage, his head tilted as though he could feel warmth and light on his face.
I can sit and watch the fields fill up
With rays of glowing sun
Draco slid in smoothly, winking at a section of the audience.
Or watch the moon lay on the fences
Like that's where it was hung
Harry stepped up to the front, his voice taking command of the song.
My blessings are in front of me
It's not about the land
The other three did a box step in time to the words.
I'll never beat the view
From my front porch looking in
Ron joined Harry on the first part of the chorus.
There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
Draco ruffled an imaginary child’s hair.
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
Neville’s grin was infectious.
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
All four joined on the last two lines.
Yeah, the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in, yeah
Harry came to the front of the stage, tracing out paths with his free hand.
I've traveled here and everywhere
Following my job
Ron fixed his wand onto a stand and spread his arms as though they were wings.
I've seen the paintings from the air
Brushed by the hand of God
Neville swooped his hand high, then low, looking impressed.
The mountains and the canyons reach from sea to shining sea
Draco shook his head.
But I can't wait to get back home
To the one he made for me
Harry’s feet marked out the beat of the music.
It's anywhere I'll ever go and everywhere I've been
Neville put a hand to his chest.
Nothing takes my breath away
Like my front porch looking in
Harry pointed at a certain section of the audience, and the crowd screamed as they realized there was indeed a red-haired little girl shouting with excitement at the sight of her daddy on stage.
There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
Draco took his turn, grinning at the wide-eyed girl sitting on her mother’s lap.
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
Neville and Ron sang the line in unison directly to the sisters sitting side by side and smiling up at them.
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
Four voices blended.
Yeah the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in
Harry stepped to center stage, with the other three backing him up.
I see what beautiful is about
When I'm looking in
Not when I'm looking out
He slid off the stage to sit on its edge, his eyes on Ginny and their daughter.
There's a carrot top who can barely walk
With a sippy cup of milk
Draco sat down next to his brother, adding his voice to the song and his eyes to the direction.
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong
'Cause she likes to dress herself
Neville dropped down next to Draco, Ron next to Harry. In perfect unison, they pointed at the section of the audience off stage left where the Pride women were sitting.
And the most beautiful girl holding both of them
Yeah the view I love the most
Oh, the view I love the most
Is my front porch looking in
They jumped off the stage in unison and started up the aisles, singing bits of the song here and there, as the band went wild on stage and the audience screamed.
Yeah
Oh, there's a carrot top who can barely walk
Ginny tossed her daughter into the air for Harry to catch her.
(From my front porch looking in)
A little blue eyed blonde with shoes on wrong, yeah
Luna lifted her little girl onto Draco’s shoulders.
And the most beautiful girl
Ron and Hermione kissed, his hand sliding down to her very prominent belly.
(Beautiful girl
From my front porch looking in)
Neville put an arm around Meghan’s shoulders and winked at her.
Holding both of them
Oh, yeah
The band played three chords and held the last one. The audience didn’t even wait for it to start dying.