AN: I'm not quite sure if this story line has ever been used before, but it has been lingering in my mind for a little too long so I decided to finally write about it. The story is DH & Epilogue-compliant and will show over the chapters how Harry and Hermione's relationship first began and flourishes after a 12-year hiatus following their children's acceptance into Hogwarts. Please read and review!
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Disclaimer: My name is not J.K. Rowling; therefore Harry Potter is not mine.
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Chapter 1: Unshed Tears
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I watched longingly as the Hogwarts Express quickly gained speed; Lily's hand waving furiously from within her train compartment. A few coaches down, Albus and James' heads poked out into sight, their raven hair ruffling with the breeze as they flashed identical grins to us in farewell. Ginny stood right to my side, clutching my shirtsleeve as she tearfully waved back to our children,
"It's always so sad to see them leave," she whispered, her voice quivering as she spoke. "Now I finally understand why mum cried all those years when it was us leaving for Hogwarts," she added with a sigh, unshed tears clinging to her lashes.
I nodded absently, putting an arm around Ginny, lost in my own cloud of thoughts. Watching Lily leave had to be the most heartbreaking for me. Maybe it was because she was the youngest of our family, or maybe it was for another reason, a reason I denied myself access to since the day she was born.
I glanced over to where Ron and Hermione stood, their bodies enshrouded in the morning's London fog. Ron looked over at us signaling their departure with a nod, Hermione walking by his side, sent a small smile to Ginny and I as she passed. I tried in vain to smile back at her, but I knew the gesture hadn't quite reached my eyes. A flicker of recognition glimmered through her momentarily, but she did not stop to question me or ask what was wrong. I didn't blame her; life had left us all victims to its never-ending twists, even now years after the war. The most we could do was hold onto those we loved more than life itself and keep ourselves from dwelling on the past.
I smiled to myself as the memory of Lily waving frantically flashed through my mind once again. She had entered our lives during the most pressing of circumstances, a blessed gift, which became ours one rainy night all those years back. The two of us had taken time off to live out in the sprawling country that year, keeping away from the public eye which never seemed to grant us any form of peace or solace while at home. James and Albus were still young, and Ginny and I hoped that we could complete our nearly perfect family with the addition of a sweet little girl to it. But with the birth of Albus, Ginny had been left weak, and her attempts to conceive proved fruitless as the year passed on. She blamed herself as to why she couldn't provide me with the baby daughter I had always wished for, but in no way did I ever hold Ginny responsible. It had never been her fault; it had always been mine.
It was that very year Lily Luna Potter entered our lives, a miracle bestowed upon our family when Ginny and I had thought all hope had been lost.
I still remember that night, as clearly as if it were yesterday, the night a soaking Luna Lovegood-Scamander had brought her to our doorstep, a tuft of red hair peaking out of the soft pink bundle clutched tightly in her arms. I realized from that very moment, I could never let her go. Peering at me with beautiful lidded eyes, her head crowned in flaming red hair, I knew I had finally found her, the daughter I had always wished to have, and the near image of my mother who had died so selflessly in an effort to save my life. I thanked the muggle gods silently; this truly was a blessing.
She was the beautiful little secret Ginny and I kept to ourselves since that very night., since the day we adopted her as our very own daughter. Lily Luna Potter, Lily in memory of my mother whom she so closely resembled, and Luna for the woman who had so graciously placed her into our welcoming arms.
And with that we had finally completed our small family. I still remember how Ginny cried joyously to herself that fateful night in front of the fireplace, clutching Lily to her body and showering her with sweet, loving kisses. No one could have been happier nor more relieved than Ginny was.
With a single smile, Lily had mended the deepening cracks in our marriage, the feelings of hopelessness within us and the longing we had always held to have a daughter of our own.
We didn't know much about Lily's origins other than the fact that she had been born to a mother whose family would break at the image of her very existence. Luna had taken her away from St. Mungo's while her birth mother lay unconscious from childbirth and the father absent at her bedside.
Ginny did not bother to question Luna any further on the biological parents' whereabouts. She was perfectly content with the child who now slept peacefully in her arms. But I knew by just glancing at Luna, that she was hiding something from us both. As Ginny headed up the stairs to prepare a room for our new daughter leaving Lily in my care, I took advantage of the moment and dragged Luna into the kitchens behind me, intent on questioning her.
She gazed at me with her bright blue eyes, a certain sadness amongst them. But I knew Luna; she couldn't keep the truth away from me for very long. She finally broke down after a considerable amount of nudging and confessed to me that the child belonged to none other than my very best friend, Hermione Granger-Weasley. Lily had been born to her earlier this evening while Ron was away for the week on travel, oblivious to the circumstances surrounding his family.
At first I had been utterly shocked remembering Luna's words. How could this small baby have possibly "broken their family apart"?
And then I realized it. One glimpse back at my new daughter was enough to confirm my growing doubts. Looking more closely at Lily I noticed a ring of emerald green which enshrouded her predominantly brown eyes. A shade of green reminiscent of a certain world-famous wizard residing in magical London...myself.
I fought for words, but they failed me as I tried to choke out a comprehensive sentence. Luna placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. A tear trickling down her cheek at the sight of my own heartbreak. I squeezed her fingers with my free hand, searching for answers as the questions began to rise.
I could only imagine the devastation if Ron or Ginny knew the truth regarding the newest Potter. The word havoc would be redefined, our families destroyed, the children left hapless in our self-made misery.
Days later Ron apparated into St. Mungo's upon receiving a late owl from the hospital regarding Hermione's current condition. The nurse under Luna's instruction had told the grieving couple that their daughter had been a stillborn, buried within St. Mungo's memorial grounds shortly after her birth. Hermione after undergoing a serious operation while unconscious would now never again be able to conceive. And the family grieved, Rose and Hugo, were all that they had now.
Later that week, I received an owl from Ron explaining the recent incidents. Ginny mourned at the thought of losing her niece, not knowing that her niece and new daughter were one and the same. I owled Ron back, expressing my concern for his family, I felt horrible knowing their pain and being the reason behind it. But I hoped that this pain would be more bearable and forgiving than Ron realizing his youngest child was not his own but rather his best friend's, the same best friend who happened to be married to his very own baby sister. I hoped one day to eventually reveal the truth to them, but that day never came.
Over the years Hermione and Ron were able to gradually look past the loss of their daughter, Emily Anne Weasley, involving themselves more with Rose and Hugo, and our own family. I almost cried the day we arrived back to London nearly a month later, as Hermione held Lily for the first time, not knowing that she was in fact the mother of the child she so lovingly cradled in her arms.
Ron exclaimed his surprise at the presence of our new child, amicably scolding me for not telling him that Ginny had been pregnant all this while. I bit back the guilt, which made its way up into the back of my throat as he spoke. Ginny and I had decided to keep the adoption of Lily a secret not wanting to alert the media of her childbearing troubles nor add criticism from the them regarding our informal adoption. We had made it so that it seemed as if Ginny had simply given birth at our home in the countryside. With ginger hair reminiscent of Ginny and hazel eyes a perfect blend of us both, the wizarding world was none the wiser.
And so our families grew up, sheltered and loved over the years. The bickering of newlyweds slowly dying down as maturity gained in its stead. But 11-year-old Lily Potter was enough proof that once upon a time, not all had been well within our respective marriages. I loved Ginny, and I had never wished to hurt her. Hurting her meant hurting our children, which indirectly inflicted Ron and Hermione's family in the process. So Lily Potter became the daughter of Ginny and I, and she grew up unknowingly calling her very own mother, Aunt Hermione, over the years.
To this day Ron still mentions how he wished he were there when his third child had been born. That it must have been the stress due to his absence on Hermione that caused Emily Anne's stillbirth and his wife's subsequent unconsciousness.
Hermione and Ron never realized that their Emily Anne Weasley and my Lily Luna Potter were one and the same.
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TBC…
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AN: So, what do you think?? Please Review!