Disclaimer- I own nothing you recognize.
Hello dear reader! I am happy you have joined us yet again. If you haven't read Lost quite a bit of this will not make sense, so please check it out before you join us on Aurora's adventure. Enjoy!
Nessa stood over my stove, stirring a gigantic pot. The aroma would surely bring my children down the stairs soon, just as it did me.
"Coffee is on." She pointed without turning to see me. "Lydia is already in bed with Aurora, has been for hours."
"Her favorite meal yeah?" I poured myself a cupful and sat down at my kitchen table.
"Tenth of July. Been making it for her since she could form the correct words to ask for it." She settled down at the table with me, sipping her cup. "Sixteen years. Can you believe it?"
"No. I can't. Seems like just yesterday we were living back at Mongolia Mansion together." I smirked "Now we have so much more. Teddy, Evan, and Nympha."
"The oldest grandchildren out of Salem, my Lydia at Hogwarts." She smiled, many more wrinkles on her face, and now her hair completely gray. "How did we get here, Ginevra?"
"Grana!" My youngest came flying down the stairs, wrapping her arms around her honorary grandmother.
"Hello Nymphadora!" Nessa gave my eight year old a squeeze, raven curls bouncing on her shoulders.
"Did you come for Rora's birthday?" She giggled, reaching for a swig of her grandmother's black coffee.
"Of course I did, always do!" She passed her the steaming cup. I had given up years ago, keeping her away from the bitter caffeinated drink. She took large gulp and licked her lips, smiling at me and pulling her robe tight around herself.
"Morning Mummy." Her green eyes twinkled in delight.
"How was your night sweetie?"
"Good." She rubbed her eyes " Evan is cranky this morning though."
"I am not!" A voice came from the hallway. My grumpy son stomped in, auburn mop wild on his head very reminiscent of my husband.
"Obviously you are, grumpy gills" I stood, retieing my dressing gown. "I'm going up to wake your father."
"Oh, Mummy! Can I go? I wanna help wake up Daddy." She jumped up and down.
"Come on then my little Nymph." I walked up the stairs to my bedroom.
My husband was sprawled out on his side of the bed, mouth wide open, snoring loudly.
"Daddy!" She sqealed as she took off across the room, crash landing on my bed.
"Wha?" He sat up.
"Time to wake up!" She crawled across the comforter to her father. His little twin cuddled up to his side and he reached for his glasses. Our anniversary was the next week, sixteen years of marriage. He hadn't changed much in my eyes, hair still dark even though we were nearly forty years old. Laugh lines showed in his eyes and mouth as he kissed Nymphadora.
"Good morning my loves" he smiled.
"How late did you get in?" I sat at my vanity table and began brushing out my hair, I had just recently found my first patch of grey hair.
"Oh, around midnight. Luckily enough my shift at Azkaban was uneventful." He stood, pajama bottoms on and pulled a t-shirt from the drawer. "I take it that Nessa is here starting Aurora's birthday dinner."
"Of course." He came across the room and kissed me before looking at me in the mirror.
"Have I told you that you are beautiful lately?"
"A few times" I smiled.
"Is Lydia here too?" He walked to the bed to throw our youngest child over his shoulder while she screamed with delight.
"Nessa said she's in Aurora's room." I put away my hair brush "I guess I will see when I go wake her."
"Let's go make some breakfast while mum wakes the cranky teenagers." Harry tossed Nympha un the air.
"Evan is cranky too!"
"Oh joy. How about we run away from these insane people, Nymphadora?"
"With out Mum?" I asked, kissing her on the head.
"Sorry Mum, only room enough for the two of us under the cloak." Harry ran down the stairs with her screaming along.
I walked down the hall, passing Evan and Nympha's empty rooms. I knocked softly on Teddy's door, and upon getting no answer I entered. My oldest child was sleeping on his belly, turquoise hair standing out against the pillow. Surprisingly, for a sixteen year old boy his room was always immaculate, a trait he no doubt inherited from his father. I had never seen Tonks keep anything so neat in her life. I sat on the edge of his bed and placed my hand on his back.
"Teddy." I called, trying to wake him gently.
"Hmm?" He turned his head and smacked his lips.
"Nympha and Dad are making breakfast. You might want to start waking up." I rubbed his back.
"Okay." He whispered, opening his electric blue eyes. "Is AJ up yet?"
"I don't know, I'm going to her room next."
"Alright. I will be down in a second." He stretched as I left his room.
I knocked the same as I had in Teddy's room and got the same response.
A full size canopy bed resided in the middle of the room, two heads peeking from beneath the quilt snoring loudly.
I stepped around the pile of clothes on the floor and Lydia's bag, almost tripping on a few books on the carpet as well. I came around to my daughter's side of the bed and saw my reflection in her face. Her mouth was gaping like her father's and she snored like my brother Ron.
"Hey birthday girl." I brushed her hair away from her face.
"Mum?" She opened her green eyes, groggy.
"Yeah, it's me."
"Is that Grana downstairs?" She sniffed the air.
"Yes ma'am. How else do you think Lydia got here?" I pointed at my mocha skinned neice's uncontrollable ringlets next to her.
"Oh, I didn't see her." She rubbed her eyes "is there crawfish in it?"
"I dunno sweets, probably. But she was still on the roux when I was in the kitchen"
"Okay. Is it just Grana and Lydia?" She stretched as I heard Teddy's shower switch on.
"So far. Hopefully. Looks like Ted is the only one who has had a shower so far. Dad and Nymphadora are cooking breakfast, so come down when you are ready." I kissed her head and turned to leave.
"Morning Aunt Ginny." I heard a quiet voice from beneath the quilt.
"Good morning Lydia." I left the room and headed for bed room to get dressed.
After I pulled my clothes on, my phone buzzed on the bedside table. One of my patents calling. I was a midwife, Specializing in muggle born babies. Obstetricians refer there patients to me when they show certain symptoms.
"Okay, yes . Just put a heating pad on low on your back. Dont leave in on longer than thirty minutes at a time and stay off your feet as much as possible." I informed. "Alright, call me in the morning."
I felt someone behind me as I snapped my phone shut.
"No babies today right?" Harry wrapped his arms around me.
"No babies. Miller is the furthest along at six months, so unless we have some preterm labor my day should be completely focused on Aurora."
"Good." He kissed me and then released me I turned to see him ruffle his hair nervously. "So are we doing it tonight?"
"We told Ted everything the night of his sixteenth birthday." I sat, applying mascara on my lashes.
"But we have to tell Aurora everything." Harry sat on the bed.
"We agreed. You hated to be kept in the dark about your life, it's not fair to keep t from her. We gave her years to be a child with out the worry, now it's time to let her know." I swiped on some lip stick.
"Oh, I know. I'm just so afraid of the reaction, what if she is upset that we didn't tell her when she was younger?" He put his head in his dark hair.
I stood and walked to my husband, sitting next to him and pulling his hands to his lap "if she is, she is. I have no regrets. We made the right decision waiting on till now, and I stand by it. Now we can anticipate a bad reaction, she is our daughter and she got both ends of our temper."
"Mum?" We heard a knock on the door.
"Come in Evan." Harry called.
Our ten year old stepped in, hair still a mess. Evan Sirius was the only of our children to get my brown eyes. Named for Harry's mother and Godfather, He was a perfect mix of our families; auburn hair, knobby kneed, and large footed. He came to a halt before us, pajamas rumpled "Grana wants to know when everyone will get here"
"Tell her everyone will begin arriving at two, because I told them three." I reached forward to hug him, but he went to duck away from my grasp. I settled for running my fingers through his hair.
I was coming to terms with the fact that both of my boys were getting older Teddy was nearly grown, and Evan wanted to be just like his brother. He felt that ten years old was much to old to be kissed by his mother since Teddy had began telling him that he was nearly old enough for Hogwarts.
"Why don't you go get your clothes on before your grandma gets here and selects your attire for you" Harry suggested. That had Evan out of the room as quick as ever.
"Don't take it personally Gin." He rubbed my back.
"I don't. It is just difficult sometimes." I sighed. "They never pull away from you." I said jealously.
"They sure did." Harry looked at me offended "When the boys turned six they decided they were much to old for their father to kiss them. Only manly hugs."
"That's different!" I pushed him back on the bed playfully "and both the girls still think you hung the moon. To Aurora I'm just Mum, you will always be Daddy to them" I rolled my eyes.
"Well I did hang the moon, I thought you were the one who told them that?" He smirked.
"Now don't go getting a swollen head." I pulled myself off the bed only for my husband to wrap around my middle and drag me down.
"Me? I would never!" He began tickling me mercilessly.
"Yuck." I heard from the doorway.
"Oh hush Ted. Just because we are your parents doesn't mean we don't ever act like teenagers." Harry sat up, pulling me with him.
"Yes it does." He made a face "four kids, two at Hogwarts. Time to act old."
"Never." Harry smirked getting off the bed and heading to the closet.
"What do you need Teddy?" I kept my place at the edge of the bed.
"Can I talk to you guys?" He sat on my vainty bench, facing us.
Harry froze and turned to him, shirt in hand. "Of course Ted." He hung the shirt on the door knob and returned to the bed next to me.
"You can tell us anything Teddy." I urged him.
"Well, I have been thinking. Remember when I was a kid and I wanted to have the same last name as everyone else?" He wrung his hands.
"We told you that would be fine, but you needed to be a little older to understand the full meaning of this decision." Harry nodded." And when you did understand, we would revisit it."
"I understand now. And I want to know what you think." His startling blue eyes looked up as us.
Harry and I looked at each other. When he was seven, not long after Evan was born he had asked why his name was different from Aurora and Evan. We sat him down to explain that since they were children that I carried in my body, their names were the same as mine. Since he was carried in his mother's body he shared her name.
"Well," I started. "If you feel like that's what you want to do, then we would be honored. If you don't, that's okay too."
"I think what Ginny is trying to say here is, we don't want to pressure you either way. This is completely your decision. Our situation is unique to say the least, we have no one to ask for advice." Harry looked at him.
"The thing is, I want to. Dad, I want to be a Potter. At the same time I don't know if maybe my parents would be upset, like I'm leaving something of theirs behind. Maybe they would think I didn't want them. " he looked at the ground.
"You are a Potter Theodore. You don't have to have our name legally to be one of us. You were a part of this family before I was really a part of this family." I walked to him and sat on the the bench next to him.
"I know that." He didn't look up.
"Tonks and Remus want what you want. They wanted us to be a family for you if the worst happened and unfortunately, it did. They wanted you to be loved, and happy above all. Ao if what makes you happy is to have your last name be the same as ours they are on board." Harry said coming towards us.
"I know it is difficult. Harry and I have had many difficulties trying to balance being a family for you and honoring our friends. Like when you were just a baby and you looked up at me with those big blue eyes and called me Mama. I was so happy and excited, but I had this guilt. Your mother was my best friend, and I felt like it was the ultimate betrayal to let you call me mum when she was your mum. I tried for days to get you to call me Ginny, but you were having none of it. Your grandma finally got on to us, and told me when I really knew, that Tonks chose me to be your mum if she was unable, to be your mum just like I am Aurora's mum." I told him.
"But what if, something had happened to you and Aurora went to live with Aunt Luna and Aunt Lena and she wanted to be a Lovegood what would you think?" He looked up at Harry and turned to me.
"If that's what makes her happy then yes. I think your Grana would have a fit though, Aurora has already been claimed by the Luchanes. If Evan wanted to be Evan Weasley or Nympha wanted to be Nymphadora McInnis then yes, whatever makes her feel like she has a family." I patted his knee. "And I knew your mother well, she wants what you want. Your happiness is of upmost importance to your parents, just like it is to Harry and me."
Ted closed his eyes for a bit, his hair turned black, much like hus mother's did when she was stressed. He looked up at us and it turned right back. "I want to do it."
"Are you sure?" Harry kneeled down and put his hands on his shoulders.
"Yeah Dad. Completely."
My husband's face split into a grin, and he hugged our son close.
Harry and Teddy had always had a connection outside of me, I suspect that it comes from the eight minths they had without Aurora and me. Even though Tonks and Lupin were alive in that time they were gone on missions quite often, and he was left with Harry when they were gone.
For months Harry thought I had been killed while pregnant with Aurora, and Harry thought that his chance at a family had been shot forever. He and Teddy had bonded so well that even when Tonks came home he would cry for his Godfather and it would frustrate my friend to no end. Teddy was what brought Harry back from his fury after he thought I had died. Hermione said that that month without me and Teddy had been my husbands worst, but once he held the tiny baby he was back.
For months Harry felt guilty, because he wished he had a little boy like Teddy. I had to sit him down and tell him it wasn't a crime to wish you had a beautiful baby, he didn't wish his own father figure dead. I didn't meet him until a few hours after Aurora was born, so in a way I gained two children in one day. The first few days were very difficult, bonding with two children at once when one was newborn and one was eight months old. My mother had suggested that I breast feed him as well, but Aurora was having none of that, sucking me dry at every feeding, so Harry got to bottle feed him constantly. There are many pictures of the four of us from the beginning, me nursing Aurora and Harry feeding Teddy. We were married a week after Aurora's birth, try having a honey moon with two babies.
The two stood and Harry held him at arms length, searching his face. "They are proud of you."
"I hope so." Teddy looked right back at Harry.
"Alright, get out of here. I have to get dressed and I am sure your grandma will be here soon. Please help your little brother keep out of trouble or Molly and Nessa will be on his tail." He patted his shoulder and released him.
"Yes sir." Teddy smiled and walked out, not before giving me a quick hug.
Harry returned back to our closet and pulled his shirt off, being head of the Auror department kept him fit and I found myself still unable to resist him at times. "Today is our daughter's birthday, I'm sure she would appreciate it if we didn't show up late with our clothes in a state to her party." He smirked at me from the closet.
"Whatever could you be talking about dear?" I went to my jewelry box and slipped on my wedding rings and my watch.
"I saw you checking me out from over there. As much as I love the attention, we have all next weekend for that." He pulled a collard shirt on and laced a belt through his jeans.
"I'm going down stairs, I have a feeling Lena will be here soon." I tossed him a look and left the room.
I entered the kitchen to find my oldest daughter at the table, her best friend next to her, both still in their robes. Aurora's hair stuck out in every direction, while Lydia's ringlets remained the same as they have always been.
"I was beginning to wonder if you got lost up there." Nessa said as she rinsed her coffee cup.
"No, just a lot to do. How is breskfast guys, did Dad do a good job?" I sat down to my plate still steaming before me.
"I helped too mummy!" Came Nympha's voice from the living room.
"They did a good job." Lydia's voice was always so timd I often wondered how she was ever heard between Aurora and Teddy's loud mouths.
I dug into my plate as my mother walked in my back door and into the kitchen.
"Happy birthday!" She went for my daughter and squeezed her tight. "Oh my Aurora, sixteen! I can't believe it."
"Thank you grandma." She smiled before turning back to her eggs.
"Hello there Lydia, it has been too long." Mum gave my neice a quick squeeze and went to talk to Nessa at the stove.
Teddy came down the stairs and plopped down next to his sister. "Happy birthday AJ."
Teddy was not always as fond of his sister as he is now. The first month he made it known that she made far too much noise, his very first clear word being 'loud' at nine months old.
During the night a few weeks after our wedding, both of the babies slept in our room. Neither of us were able to be any further away from our children, so Aurora slept in a bassinet close to my side of the bed for easy access, and Teddy slept in a crib not far away from her, against the wall. She woke us all, putting her lungs to good use and I sleepily pulled her to the bed while I sat up to feed her.
Harry, hearing our son shift in his bed, walked over to peek in. He found Teddy looking up, face scrunched up and said as clear as day, "loud".
As time wore on they became the best of friends, in preschool Aurora was sent home early for biting.
"Why would you do that AJ!" Teddy started in the back seat before I could even open my mouth properly.
"Teddy, stay out of it, this has nothing to do with you." I began to reprimand.
"But Mum!"
"No buts Theodore." We rode the rest of the way home in silence.
When we finally arrived home, Teddy went straight to his room.
"Aurora Jameson. Why would you bite someone, you are nearly five years old!" She sat down at the bar in the kitchen.
"He was making fun of Teddy. I told him to stop and he said no, so I made him." My four year-old looked at me with no remorse in her green eyes.
That's when I decided to home school.
The two were still thick as thieves, they and Lydia were almost never seen apart. At Hogwarts the wrecked as mich havoc as their fathers before them.
"Thanks Teddy." She smiled at him over her plate.
"Morning Lydia" Teddy picked up his juice and Lydia.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After the festivities were over and everyone had left, it was just us and the big kids home. Even Lydia had left with the promise of returning in the morning.
Aurora had made several trips to her room, packing birthday presents up the stairs. After Teddy had gone to his room Harry and I nodded at one another and headed up the stairs to our oldest daughter's room.
The door stood open, revealing her long hair cascading over the side of her Hogwarts trunk.
"Hey." I called, startling her. She turned, smiling.
"Hey!" She stood and plopped on to her bed, leaving her trunk wide open.
"We want to talk to you about some things." I walked in sitting with her on the bed, Harry awkwardly shifting from foot to foot in the door way.
"Wait, Mum. I thought we already had this talk." Her eyes widened, and she looked back and forth between me and her father.
Harry's mouth burst open with laughter. "You think I would be here for that?"
I glared at him and he attempted to compose himself. "No, this is much mire serious. Unless we need to-"
"No, Mum, no." She interrupted me. "I mean, no thanks."
"Okay." I sighed. "First Dad is going to tell you what we think you deserve to know regarding the defeat of Tom Riddle. I know we have been vague over the years, but now, we are willing to answer any questions you may have." This lead to an hour of questions and answers ranging from her birth, to her father's. Not to different from the discussion we had with Teddy eight months prior. After she had exhausted all her questions came the time we had been dreading for years.
"Well, if that's it, then" she began.
"That's not all it. That's everything we told Teddy. But-" Harry stopped and swallowed.
"Aurora. When I was living with Aunt Sally, huge pregnant with you." I took a long breath. "Your grandma Lilly came to me in a dream. She came to me and told me that you, like your father, had a prophesy involving you." Her eyes went wide as mine filled with tears. "I didn't want to believe her, but still I searched. I found it. I want you to know, because it's not fair to keep it from you, but I don't want it to change you."
I passed her the same paper Sally had written on all those years ago. And she read aloud.
Father, vanquisher of evil
Mother, first in seven
Born three before the fall of evil
She decides our fate.
To raise or raize our world has yet to be seen.
Our greatest enemy or strongest alli, she will change our way of being.
A hard road lies before this child
Our lives reside with her.
"What does this mean?" She looked up at us.
"It means you are powerful." Harry pulled her close.
"I could be evil?"
"If you so choose. Your father could have chosen that path, I could have chosen that path." I put my hand on her leg. "We are all faced with pivotal moments, and we make our own choice, no one else can make them for you. I can't choose for you, nor can your dad or Teddy. This prophecy just means that you have something different in you, something that can change our world, in whatever way you see fit."
"We didn't want to keep it from you, that wouldn't be fair. We thought now is a good time, your nearly an adult, you deserve to know." Harry pulled her in for a hug. "Ted doesn't know. Only Aunt Sally, Lena, Hermione and Grana. If you want to tell him you can, if you don't that's okay too."
"Can I be alone now?" She said after he released her.
"Of course. Come get us if you need, or if you have any more questions." I stood and kissed her forehead. I paused at the door way, "we love you Aurora"
"I love you too." She said without looking away from the parchment in her hands.
We left the room and walked down the hall. "Well that went better than I expected." Harry sighed.
"Wait." I glanced at him, about that time I heard a huge crash from her room.
"Oh." He walked into our bedroom.
"She may have my looks, but she is you made over." I smirked, still standing in the hall. A few more large crashes were heard and Teddy fell out of his room, wand drawn.
"Go back to bed. It's just Aurora's temper." He raised his eyebrows at me. "Our talk didn't go quite as smoothly. I wouldn't mention it in the morning."
"Alright." He nodded "night Mum."
A/N- There we have it! Chapter one of the sequel, new post next Monday! Much Love! Danie