Written For:
Quidditch Fanfiction League Competition: Falcons - Round 3
Keeper - Keeper: write about a character who shows grace to someone who doesn't deserve it.
Hogwarts: 365 Prompts
Prompt - Quality
Hogwarts: Quarterly Event - Gym
Madam Pomfrey's Fun Fitness - Cable Row Machine - Trait: Kind
Betaed by my fabulous teammates Elizabeth and Jane
Lily and The Family Tree
Hermione smiled as her niece concentrated on her project. She had been proud of Harry when he decided he wanted his kids to go to Muggle primary school. Just because they were wizards didn't mean they should forget the Muggle world, and it wasn't like the wizarding school offered primary schools.
Hermione had her children enrolled as well. It gave them a good foundation of math and science as well as being able to socialize a bit with other kids who were different from them until they were old enough to go to Hogwarts.
Sometimes, in the Wizarding world, it felt like none of the wizards had any common sense, and Hermione hoped going to a Muggle school would save her kids from that fate.
Although she loved being a witch and abhorred the bullying she dealt with before she went to Hogwarts, she believed it had been a good experience for her and had improved her quality of life in the long run. She learned things about herself and the world around her she that wouldn't have learned otherwise.
And it was good to see Harry wanting the same for his kids, despite Ginny not really understanding it.
Hermione walked up behind the young redhead. "Hey, Lily. What are you working on there? It looks very elaborate."
Lily looked away from the large poster board that had a tree with branches coming out of it. On many branches, there were pictures of people. Non-moving pictures. And under each picture, there was a title. "Mrs. Gerber told everyone that we have to make a family tree and share the history of our family with the class."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Not the whole history, right?"
Lily rolled her eyes in a way that a seven-year-old should not be able to. "I know I can't tell anyone about magic, Aunt Hermione. I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Miss Lily Potter. My mistake. You are a very grown-up girl."
Lily nodded, satisfied, and looked back at her project.
Hermione's eyes roamed over it. It was pretty good. It was much more artistic than Hermione thought a seven-year-old could do. Neither Ginny nor Harry were artsy, so she had no idea where Lily's talent came from. Maybe a recessive gene. Neither James nor Albus, and neither of Hermione's own kids were ever given a family tree project, but Hermione was happy that Lily was getting the chance to learn more about where she came from.
Ginny's side of the tree was filled.
Harry's, though...Well, it looked a bit bare.
Lily and James were there, and James' parents, but no one else.
Hermione frowned. "I see your mum helped you with her side. Did you ask your dad for help yet?"
Lily sighed. "I tried. I already knew about Grandpa James and Grandma Lily even if Daddy doesn't really remember them. And Daddy told me about his Grandpa Fleamont and Grandma Euphemia even though he knows even less about them. That's it."
Hermione closed her eyes. In a way, she wasn't surprised. She knew how hard his childhood was for him, and it made sense he wouldn't want his little girl to know the truth. She should keep his confidence—it really wasn't her place—but something told her that Lily had the right to know about her whole family, even the not-so-nice part of it.
Hermione took a deep breath as she sat down on the chair next to Lily's. She hoped Harry wouldn't hate her for overstepping her bounds. "Lily, your dad does have other family. He has an aunt, uncle, and cousin from his mother's side. He just doesn't really like talking about them."
Lily blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "Why?"
She looked at her hands. "They weren't that nice to him."
And thus began the story of the Dursleys and Harry's childhood, although it was a bit watered down due to Lily's age.
X
Hermione pulled her jacket closer around her and made sure Lily was similarly bundled up. "Are you sure about this?" Her gaze focused on the house that looked absolutely perfectly normal on the absolutely perfectly normal street. It kind of made her skin crawl. Nothing should be that perfect and normal.
Lily's eyes were much too solemn. "I have to Aunt Hermione."
Hermione bit her bottom lip. "Okay, just remember, whatever they say about your dad—"
"—is not true," Lily finished, "I know, Aunt Hermione."
Hermione took Lily's hand and after looking both ways to make sure no cars were coming, they crossed the street together.
They walked from the sidewalk to the cobbled pathway. Hermione glanced at the flowers in the dirt beds. She knew Harry used to do the gardening. It seemed Petunia learned how to do her own chores without a skinny nephew to push around any longer.
When they reached the red door with the shiny brass doorknob, Hermione hesitated. Lily didn't have any such qualms. She reached forward and pressed the doorbell.
They both heard a musical ring, alerting the occupants of the house of guests on the doorstep; the welcome mat they stood on was almost mocking.
The door opened and Hermione recognized the horse-faced woman she saw briefly during her own childhood. "Hello, Mrs. Dursley."
Petunia scrunched up her face. "Do I know you?"
"We met when I was a kid. You probably don't remember me. My name is Hermione. I'm Harry's best friend."
Petunia's indifferent expression became a mask of ugly hate. "What are you doing here?" she snarled.
Lily cleared her throat, drawing Petunia's gaze to her.
Hermione itched to take her wand in hand on the likely chance Petunia said a nasty thing to the young girl.
"Hello, Mrs. Dursley."
Petunia gasped. "You look just like…"
"My daddy says I look like his mum. Or at least he thinks I do from the pictures he has of her."
"Don't tell me the miserable excuse of a boy is gone and you're dropping the brat off here?" Petunia whispered, eyes darting around as if she was afraid someone would see them having a conversation.
Hermione glared. "Harry is still very much alive and happy. And he has three children and a wonderful wife. And trust me, if anything ever happened to both Harry and Ginny, those kids would have many aunts and uncles, myself included, that would love to raise them. We'd never let them get stuck with you."
"Then why are you here?" Petunia asked harshly, eyes still looking around.
Lily cleared her throat again. "That's my fault, ma'am," she said, being a polite princess, despite her usual snark.
Petunia focused on her. Gone was the awestruck look at the similarity between Lily Evans and Lily Luna. Now, there was only disgust and dismay on her face.
"I was doing a family tree project and Aunt Hermione told me about you, Uncle Vernon, and Dudley. I didn't even know my daddy had any other relatives. I want to know why. Why did you treat him so badly? Why couldn't you love him? Why were you so happy to be rid of him?"
Petunia's face didn't lose her harshness. "We never asked for him. We never wanted him. We never wanted anything to do with your freaky world. He was forced upon us, and we couldn't wait to get him out of our house. We would have been better off if he had just died with his parents."
Hermione gasped and reached for her wand. Statute or not, she was going to hex that vile woman!
Lily's soft hand on her wrist stopped her hasty movement, though. She didn't look angry. Her face was a stone mask of indifference. "I understand. You're a bitter woman with very little heart, but that's your burden to bear. I forgive you. I'm thankful my daddy had my uncles to teach him how a family is supposed to act. I just hope you don't live to regret your actions and words."
She turned away and Hermione watched her sweet, kind niece walk back to the sidewalk. "She's a better person than me. If it wasn't for her, you might be a putrid slug right now."
Petunia's answer was to gasp outrageously and slam the door closed.
Hermione took the path Lily had. "Are you okay?" she asked when they were both standing on the sidewalk, ready to cross the street.
"She was a mean woman, and I hate that Daddy lived with her for so many years. But at least now I know why he's all about family, and spending time together, and telling each other 'I love you,' and never going to bed angry."
Hermione nodded. "You can add Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley to your family tree if you want, but please don't tell your dad about our little trip here. I don't think he'd ever forgive me for exposing you to Petunia."
Lily smiled. "I'm not putting that woman or her family on my tree. They're not Daddy's family, and they're certainly not my family. As far as I'm concerned, they're no one to us."
Hermione smiled. "I like that idea very much. Come on. We should get you home before your dad starts wondering what I'm doing to his precious baby girl."
Lily nodded. Hermione grabbed Lily around the waist, and after making sure no one was around, cast a Disillusionment charm and then Disapparated, leaving Privet Drive for the last time.
XX
(word count: 1,579)