Ginny pushed Ron aside and leaned forward to give the steaming cup to Harry.
- "Here, it should help", she said.
- "What is it?" her husband asked suspiciously, lifting himself on one elbow.
He was still very pale and his dark hair was sticky with sweat on his forehead.
- "Just chamomile, dumbo. Drink. It's not as bad as you think."
Ron laughed.
- "You should have seen how threatening the nurse had to get for him to swallow at least two tablespoons of her remedy."
- "It was absolutely disgusting!" Harry protested.
His friend scratched his beard, which had grown in wiry red hair on his chin during their three-day mission in Latvia. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, a leg crossed over his knee, still wearing his muddy coat. His left sock had a hole and there was a long gash in his right sleeve.
- "Not as filthy as the state in which you were! Ginny, let me tell you, this was far from sexy."
Harry glared at him, but his wife just rolled her eyes.
- "Anyway, I'm glad you came upon a madman rather than an ex-Death Eater. He could have fired at you with something worst than a spell that makes you throw up, Harry."
- "Don't mention it, I'm going to be sick again", muttered the young man. "It was horrible. I would have preferred a good old-fashioned duel. Ron, I'm sorry I made fun of you when your wand backfired at you, when we were in school, and you spat these slugs for hours ... "
Ron blanched.
- "Do not remind me of that", he uttered.
- "What happened, Uncle Ron?"
- "Slugs!"
- "Yuuuk!"
The three adults turned their heads. James, Albus and Lily were on the doorstep, looking at them with a fascinated revulsion.
Ron put on his most menacing face.
- "If this story reaches the ears of Rosie and Hugo, I know children that will wake up one morning with the pig nose Teddy loves to make up. Except it'll be permanent. "
From his ten years of age, James just shrugged, but Albus quickly put his hands over his face to hide his nose and Lily's eyes sparkled.
- "Really?" she asked with interest.
- "No, not really", corrected Ginny giving a slap to her brother. "Ron, stop talking nonsense and go home. Don't you think you've been away long enough?"
- "Sorry", muttered the two men, sheepishly.
The children took the opportunity to get closer to the bed. They had been frightened by the return of their father, staggering, his face white, half carried by Ron who spoke loudly, gave too much detail and not enough information - and that through the fire place Harry never used to go to work.
Lily climbed on the embroidered quilt and snuggled under her father's arm.
- "Does it hurt, Daddy?" Albus asked, putting his hand on Harry's, his big green eyes anxiously staring at him.
- "I'm okay", the young man replied with a smile, trying to look less weak and sick. "It's nothing, Al, don't worry. It's just a unpleasant spell, not a dangerous one."
- "You killed the guy who did this, I hope", James said, putting his hands into his pockets.
-" James!" Ginny exclaimed, outraged.
- "No, I didn't", said Harry very seriously. "You don't kill people who play pranks on you, even if they're mean. You don't turned them into ferrets either," he added, with a thought.
- "If you do that, your aunt Hermione will send you one-way to Azkaban - or worse, force you to learn by heart the last ten chapters of the History of Magic," chuckled Ron. "She-"
- "Ron, I think I told you to go home", cut in Ginny.
- "Okay, okay. All right, I'm off", said his brother, getting up, his hands raised in protection in front of him. He bent down to take Lily in his arms. "Kids, say goodbye to your uncle whom you love very much and who goes home after a long and tiring mission."
The little girl struggled, chuckling.
- "You smell bad", she squealed.
- "It's because your father covered me with vomit, dear child."
- "Out", ordered Ginny.
Albus and James were giggling. They slapped in Ron's palm and followed him to the door.
- "Why don't you apparate?" James asked.
- "Because I hope the night air will clear the stench when I walk up to the house", Ron whispered in a confidential tone, crouching to ruffle Albus' hair. "Hermione is terribly fussy with hygiene. I'll get in trouble if I come back in this state."
- "RON!" Ginny shouted from the top of the stairs.
- "Oops", squeaked the red-haired young man.
He slipped out and fled while his nephews were laughing.
Upstairs, Ginny closed the bedroom door with a sigh.
- "I wonder if he will grow up one day ..."
Leaning against his pillow, one knee raised under the covers, Harry smiled in spite of the nausea lurking in the pit of his stomach.
- "You know that's how he decompresses. There were lots of cobwebs in the house where we were staying and the mission wasn't easy ... it was a false alarm, but ..."
-" It could have been worse", ended the young woman with a shudder.
She put a red drill of hair behind her ear, folded her arms as if she was suddenly cold.
- "Daddy, you didn't drink, it's not good."
Harry looked down. Lily was still on the bed and held the chamomile cup with both hands.
- "It must be cold now", said Ginny. "Give it to me, I'll go warm it up. Lily, your father's tired, go play in your room."
- "Oh no", cried the little girl.
Harry put his arm around her.
- "Let her stay", he said, looking up and smiling at Ginny. "I haven't seen her for four days ... I'll take a nap after I drink your stuff, I promise."
The young woman pulled a face.
- "Well… Okay, but only for a little while, Lily. No whining when I come back, okay?"
- "Okay, Mummy!"
The small face dotted with freckles was beaming. Ginny left the room. Harry propped himself against the pillows and turned his head toward his daughter.
- "So, tell me. What did you do while I was away?"
- "I lost a tooth!" proudly announced the child, opening her mouth wide to show the empty space in the top row of her small white teeth.
- "Great", Harry said after inspecting it very seriously. "Did the Tooth Fairy come?"
- "Yeaaaaah. She gave me a chocofrog and a brand new Galleon!"
Lily leaned forward, hiding her mouth with a graceful gesture of her chubby hand.
- "James said the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist, that it's actually mummy's doing ..."
She cast a suspicious glance around her and whispered in Harry's ear.
- "Is it true?"
Her father had troubles keeping a straight face.
- "What do you think?" he answered.
Lily thought for a moment, scratching her nose, then looked up.
- "James made it up, like always. He's silly."
Harry didn't manage to stop from laughing. He affectionately pinched the child's nose.
- "You're so much like your mother", he chuckled.
The little girl beamed. She smoothed her dress and sat like a lady on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs in tights. Her black varnished ballerinas waved happily.
- "Am I pretty?" she asked, turning to her father after combing her bangs with her fingers.
- "You're beautiful", said Harry sincerely.
He was watching her lovingly, amused and amazed as every time he contemplated her.
There were no words to express the gratitude he felt knowing he finally had a family.
A family that belonged to him. Who loved him, whom he could protect, who was waiting for his return every day.
He sank deeper into the pillows, won over by a peaceful torpor now that he felt better.
- "How was the birthday party at Bridget's?"
- "No good", Lily said fiercely, now cross-legged on the bed. She counted on her fingers. "The cake was awful, Bridget's little brother broke my tiara ..."
Harry nodded sympathetically.
- "... And Helen Jones said I looked like an elf who has eaten too much carrots and that I was stupider than a mountain troll!" finished the little girl, pulling her red braids in shock.
Her father frowned.
- "Did you tell your mum about this?"
Lily stuck out her tongue through the hole of her missing tooth.
- "Yes", she chuckled, waddling with joy. "And Mummy told Mrs. Jones she preferred to have a daughter that looked like a house elf rather than a pimply flobberworm like Helen."
Harry nearly choked.
- "What- seriously? She said that?"
Lily nodded, then looked up worriedly.
- "But I don't really look like a house elf, do I, Daddy?"
Harry shook his head.
- "I think you're much prettier than a house elf", he said.
- "You think?" Lily repeated, horrified. "You're not sure? But Daddy, if James hears about it, he will-"
-" James won't get a chance to say a thing", said Ginny who was standing on the doorstep. "Lily, let your dad rest, now."
- "Oh."
The child obeyed, disappointed. She slid off the bed after putting a kiss on her father's cheek then left the room.
Harry closed his eyes and opened them again when he felt Ginny sit on the edge of the mattress.
- "You okay?"
He smiled weakly.
- "Not quite", he admitted.
Ginny put the cup on the bedside table and reached out to feel her husband's forehead.
- "I think you have a slight fever. How come you couldn't dodge such a stupid spell?"
Harry coughed, looking embarrassed. He took the cup.
- "I wasn't paying enough attention, it was a shack that looked like the Lovegood's place ..."
Ginny pulled a face.
- "Smart."
Harry took a sip of chamomile. It was not as bad as he had expected and the warmth of the drink somewhat calmed his rebelled stomach. He put away the cup and looked at his wife right in the eyes.
- "Ginny Weasley Potter. How could you say such a thing to Helen Jones' mother?"
The young woman bit her lip.
- "I thought the children were still outside", she finally confessed. "When I picked her up, Lily was in tears, she had had a horrible time and it was just the final straw."
She fiddled with the laces of her dress, then lifted her chin.
- "I can't stand it!" she said through clenched teeth. "All my life, people always made fun of the Weasleys : "redheads", "poor", "too many siblings"… I won't have my children suffering this."
Harry took her hand.
- "Ginny."
- "How can you stay so calm?" she cried. "You had your lot too, though! Imagine when they're at Hogwarts! Do you think Albus can live through this? James will eventually pick a fight and Lily-"
- "Lily will defend herself. She's only six, Ginny, that's why she was crying. If it ever were to happen again, when she's eleven, she'll answer back cleverly, like you did at the time. Ginny, there will always be people who criticize us or leave us aside. It doesn't matter. We're together."
The young woman sighed.
- "I don't want them to be hurt. I don't want anyone or anything to harm them and I certainly do not want them targeted because of adults' choices."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
- "Is there something else?"
Ginny waved her hand as if to sweep away a fly.
- "No, it's nothing."
The young man sat up, scanning his wife's face.
- "Ginny. What happened that you're not telling me?"
She stood up, tucked the blanket, took the cup.
- "You should get some sleep, Harry."
He grabbed her wrist.
- "Ginny! Tell me what it is."
She freed her hand firmly.
- "Later."
Harry watched her go, then sank back in the pillows.
Nausea and fever had come back and confused his thoughts.
Ginny. Why did you lose your temper? What happened while I was away? What you have heard to make you so angry?
There was an unpleasant aftertaste in his throat and his stomach hurt.
He dozed off for a moment, overwhelmed with fatigue. To avoid being spotted by the magic protection, Ron and him had walked for miles through the forest to reach the hut where lived the old fool who had been reported as black mage. It was cold in Latvia at this time of the year, and the unhealthy smokes dancing on the bogs had made the task even more difficult.
He dreamed of the assault, of the yellow spell sparkling against the wall. The sneer of the old man and the potions vials on dusty shelves, the return to the Ministry of Magic and the wart that adorned the nose of the nurse who had cared for him.
Ginny was calling him in his dream, but he could not understand what she was saying. She seemed far away, as if lost in the dark, and he could not reach her.
When he woke up, it was night. Someone had placed a candle on the bedside table and added a blanket on the bed The cloth on his clammy forehead was almost dry.
He was thirsty. He sat up, rubbed a hand over his face to give himself enough time to gather the courage to stand up.
The latch clicked and someone opened the bedroom door carefully.
He turned his head.
- "Daddy? Can I come in?"
He smiled and nodded.
Lily tiptoed to the bed. She was in her nightgown, barefoot, her rust-colored hair loose over her shoulders, her big picture book in her arms.
She climbed onto the bed
- "Were you sleeping?"
- "I just opened my eyes", Harry answered.
He wrapped her in the blanket to make sure she would not catch a cold. She snuggled against him and put the book on her lap.
- "I missed you, Daddy", she said. "It's very long, four days."
-"I missed you too", Harry said. "Shouldn't you be in bed? It's late."
- "Mummy said I could read while she was telling Al a story."
- "What about James and you ? You don't want to listen to the story?"
Lily shrugged.
- "James pretends he's not, but in fact he listens."
She opened the book.
- "Do you want me to read to you, then?" Harry asked.
- "No - not now", said the little girl.
She remained deep in thought for a moment, then looked up. Her blue eyes were puzzled and she chewed the corner of her mouth.
- "Daddy?"
- "Yes, Lily?"
- "Why is it that Helen Jones's mum doesn't like you?"
Harry did not answer right away. His heart sank.
Oh, Ginny. What happened?
He breathed in deeply.
- "I don't know", he said cautiously. "Why do you think she doesn't like me?"
Lily clicked her tongue while she was thinking.
- "Well ... she said you're a… know-it-all who took advantage of the war to settle personal scores. Daddy? What's "personal scores"? And why did she talk about a war? You were in a war?"
Harry's fist clenched behind the back of the child.
- "When did she say that?"
- "The day before yesterday, when Bridget gave me the invitation for her birthday. She was talking with another lady and she said that when I showed Debbie Thompson the bracelet you brought back from Ireland. Daddy, what war was she talking about?"
Harry closed his eyes for a moment, hoping to hide the anger burning in his eyes.
- "Did you ask your mum?"
- "Yes", Lily said, frowning. "And then Mummy did the dishes for hours without using magic, and she kept muttering to herself."
- "I get it now", the young man winced.
The little girl yawned widely.
- "Why is it that Mummy and you don't answer the question?" she asked sleepily.
Harry sighed, then smiled at the child.
- "Because it's got a complicated answer, and you're still too young to understand."
- "Has Mrs. Jones done something wrong?"
Harry forced himself to shake his head slowly.
- "Lily. Mrs. Jones ... well, don't listen to the things she says, okay?"
- "Is it lies?"
The blue eyes of the child widened at the idea an adult could lie.
Harry searched his words carefully.
- "Lily, sometimes when we don't know or when we're afraid ... we say things that are not true, and we believe in them so much we don't even realize they're lies."
- "Is Helen Jones' mum afraid of you?"
Harry opened his mouth, then closed it again.
How to explain it?
The terror during the war, the denunciations, the bitter regrets ...
What had been the Jones' role? The resentment of this women could have been born from so many different reasons: were they on Voldemort's side, by choice or constraint? What had they lost with the fall of the Dark Lord: their families? Their riches? The trust of their friends?
Sometimes, shame pushed people to say silly things.
There were so many people who did not like Harry Potter because, unlike them, he had risen against evil when the government itself bent its neck.
Lily touched her father's cheek.
- "Daddy?"
He looked at her.
- "Lily. Although Helen Jones and her mum might not always be nice to you, you can't be the same, okay?"
The child pouted.
- "Yes, but if they are mean, I can ..."
- "No, you can't", Harry said firmly. "If they're mean, avoid them. There are other girls with whom you can be friends, isn't it? Stay with them. But don't seek revenge."
Lily nibbled her lips for a moment, then her face brightened.
- "Because you're the one who'll scold them, isn't it?"
Harry smiled sadly. He stroked his daughter's hair.
- "No, Lily. You don't understand. I ..."
Ginny cleared her throat at the door, interrupting him.
- "Oops", whispered Lily, hiding behind the blanket.
- "I think I said you could read in your room, Lily", Ginny said sternly. "I even believe I was very precise when you asked if you could go to your dad."
- "I'm sorry, Mummy ..." whispered the child.
Ginny sighed. She went across the room and sat down on the bed in front of the little girl.
- "Lily Potter. Look at me."
She ran a hand over her face, avoiding Harry's gaze.
- "Mrs. Jones ... her daughter or the people who say weird things about Daddy, or me, or Grandfather Weasley or Ron and Hermione, or anyone ... you have the right to tell them to shut up. You can tell them that when they know nothing, they should not gossip."
- "Ginny ..."
- "Lily, listen to Mummy", continued the young woman, her voice slightly shrilled as she raised her voice to prevent Harry from speaking. "Your father is a hero and he protects the world of magic more than anyone. No one has the right to criticize the way he does it. Grandmother and Grandfather Weasley have made enormous sacrifices and your uncles ... "
Her voice broke.
Harry reached out and took her hand. He gently squeezed it.
- "Ginny."
Lily tilted her head, surprised.
- "Are you crying, Mummy?"
Ginny shook her head, sniffing.
- "I'm not."
Harry lifted the little girl and propped her up on his lap.
- "Lily. What your mum wants to say is that when you speak without thinking before, it hurts people sometimes. Without you knowing. This is what happened to Mrs. Jones. She hurt Mummy and Mummy got angry at her. That's why it's better not to say anything when you're not sure what to say."
Lily slipped from his knees and hugged her mother.
- "Don't worry, Mummy, I'm sure Mrs. Jones is sorry she wasn't nice", said the little girl with confidence. "I'll tell her tomorrow."
Ginny kissed her.
- "Lily. I'll talk to her myself. You go to bed now, okay? Your dad's very tired and Mummy would like to talk to him before he falls asleep.
- "Okay", sing-sang the child.
She kissed Harry, then left the room with a gracious goodbye wave.
Ginny wiped her cheeks with the back of her wrist and inhaled as if a weight had been taken off her chest.
- "I'm sorry it was so hard these days", Harry whispered.
His wife gave him a weak smile.
- "Not these days, Harry", she said sadly. "Stuff like this happens all the time. If you knew how much I regret when we worked together, sometimes ... even our years at Hogwarts, the war ... it's easier to fight people determined to kill us or to swing a bat-bogey hex on morons than to raise our children while trying to be fair and to set a good example. There's always someone to say that one of these days you're going get killed on a mission, and James gets in troubles and people mumble "the son of Harry Potter is a brat" and ... "
She paused, rubbed her skull and pulled her hair back with a fierce gesture.
- "I can't stop wondering what people will stick in the minds of their children and what silly gossip James will hear next year. When it'll be Albus' turn ... He will not stand it, I'm sure. And Lily ... She's got so many questions, Harry! She hears everything and she remembers. She..."
Harry sat up at once and pull her in his arms.
- "Ginny. We'll be fine", he whispered, holding her tight. "Everything will be fine, I promise. Trust the children. Trust me."
They stayed still for a moment, in silence. Harry felt Ginny's heart beat wildly against his and he wondered if the Ministry of Magic had sent an owl when he had been injured. Ginny hated this kind of mail. He had stayed a whole day at the hospital before escaping with the help of Ron. If Mrs. Jones story had taken place in the meantime, it was not surprising the young woman had gotten too much pressure. Maybe he could ask Hermione to come from time to time at home when he was away...
Or maybe Ron had exactly the same problem at home.
He suppressed a sigh and gently tapped the back of his wife, hoping to soothe away her worries.
A small hand tugged at his sleeve.
- "Daddy?"
Ginny sat up and frowned, distress disappearing immediately from her face.
- "Lily! Now that's enough. Go to bed!"
The little girl showed the big picture book she had taken from the blanket.
- "I just came to get this", she protested.
- "Lily", Harry said severely.
- "All right, I'm off..." sighed the child.
She stopped at the door again, turned to them.
- "Daddy, you know ... if you sent an owl to Mummy, from time to time ... she'd feel better."
Harry smiled.
- "It's a good idea."
Lily yawned big.
- "And us too, we'd like to have letters too, with James and Al."
- "I'll do that. Go to bed now, Lily."
The little girl shook her head sleepily, rubbing her left eye with her small chubby fist.
- "And you know what, Daddy? Well, me ... even if you're a not-it-all, I love you anyway."
The door slowly closed behind her and, in the silence of the room, there were only two bursts of laughter, sincere, free from bitterness and regret.