I am so sorry.
It all started with me wanting to redeem the older Dursleys. And then this happened. I cried, actually cried, while I wrote the last few parts to this.
I don't own!
Enjoy!
The Dursleys were a prideful family, once they made a decision, they kept to it, the more painful the more firmly they kept it. So when their only child, their daughter told them that she liked girls in a way that they didn't deem appropriate, and even introduced them to her girlfriend, they made a tough decision, and kept by it, even though they lost their only daughter.
They figured out that they didn't actually care who she liked, man or woman, but they reacted violently when they found out that her girlfriend was a witch. They threw her out, didn't even let her take her things. He room was still the same, even 20 years after she left.
The couple was old, and they decided that, since they would probably die soon, they may as well reconcile with their daughter, giving up on the hatred they showed to her chosen partner.
Besides, after 20 years, there was no way she would still be dating the same woman.
Katherine Longbottom was a proud woman, she loved with everything in her, and sometimes more. She took offence easily and had a bad temper, the opposite to her wife, Cecily Longbottom, who was a calm, though scary, woman. You did not want her mad.
She had left her parents for her wife, too long ago. She never expected to see them again.
Which was why she was surprised to see them when she opened her door one summer morning.
"Mum, dad." Katherine's eyes were wide as she watched her parents, standing outside her door, shifting their footing.
Vernon Dursley looked sickly, he had lost too much weight and his cheeks were sallow, Katherine wanted to cry just watching him. Her mother looked just as bad, though her hands wouldn't stop shaking.
"Katherine. May we come in?" Her mother asked, looking over her shoulder.
Her eyes widened when she saw a picture move on the wall. Katherine noticed and frowned.
"If you want." She said, opening the door wide, showing them the very magical interior. Vernon sucked in a breath, his face turning a bit purple. But he let it go with a sigh, moving into the home, his wife at his heels.
"Mama! Frankie stole my notes!" A little girl almost flew with how fast she ran into the room. She couldn't have been older then 12, her messy dark blonde hair was poking out of her high pony tail. Her blue eyes were filled with anger, until she noticed the guests then they were filled with curiosity.
"Oh, hello. Mama, can you tell Frankie to give me my notes back? I need to finish my summer work so I can start learning more from mom." She looked up at her mama, her eyes wide and tearful, very manipulative, the elder Dursleys remembered the look on their daughter when she had been younger.
"Frankie! Give your sister back her notes! Or else!" Katherine bellowed before turning to her parents, a blush of embarrassment took over her face.
"Sorry about that. This is my daughter May. May, this is Mrs. and Mr. Dursley." Katherine wiped the tears from hr daughters eyes.
Both Dursleys felt the sting at the introduction they got. They weren't her parents anymore, they were strangers.
"Kathy dear, I need- Oh. Hello." Cecily walked into the room, the booklet in her hand moved to the table on it's own as she moved farther into the room.
"Dursleys." She nodded. "Katherine, I'll be with the twins. Harry and Winny decided to ruin Justin and Logan's room." Cecily left the room quickly, her face heating up in anger.
"We need to talk." Petunia told her daughter. They sat on the couch and settled into a very old argument.
Cecily kept the kids upstairs keeping them busy until it was time.
"I missed you." Katherine hugged her parents, it was still rocky, but they had come to an agreement. Her parents would visit a couple of times during the summer, then would come over during the holidays.
"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Katherine asked, looking at them expectantly, giving them the same eyes her daughter had used before, and they couldn't say no.
"Just, let me talk to Cecily for a minute." Katherine stood, and left up the stairs. Children stormed down the stairs, six children surrounded them.
"Hi! My name is May, I'm twelve. This is my brother Frankie, sister Alice, brother Greg, and the twins Harry and Winny." May grinned up at them. The older siblings laughed, May had been a quiet girl, until she went to hogwarts where she joined a group of loud pranksters.
"Why hello." Petunia smiled down at them, tears coming to her eyes. These were her grandchildren, and two of them looked so grown up.
"Mama said you were staying for dinner, what do you like to eat? I like burgers, though they don't have burgers at Hogwarts, which sucks." May continued.
Petunia and Vernon were stiff as the girl talked about her time in Hogwarts, which spells she wanted to learn and which she thought were pointless.
Her siblings joined in, giving their own ideas and which spells they wanted to learn, and even the twins, who were way to young to be going to school, would add some stories, not easily, but they did get out that they wanted another sister.
Frankie grinned and told them that he would be going to the Auror Academy, and explained that an auror was a magical cop.
They were surprised how normal the kids seemed, and they were proud of Frankie, and of their daughter.
"Dinner!" Katherine called out, making the kids race to the kitchen, Vernon and Petunia followed at a more relaxed pace.
"I'm happy you guys are here." Katherine grinned as she served up dinner.
Jaime knocked on the door loudly. He saw the unknown car in the driveway and was curious.
His son and daughter were practically bouncing in place as they waited for the door to be opened, Betty hid a grin.
Joshua, his 16 year old son was completely red, he, and everyone who knows them, knows that Joshua has a crush on Alice, and that she likes him back.
And Kimberly was happy to see her best friend May, both girls having gone to Hogwarts together for the first time.
"Uncle Jaime!" May cried out when she jerked the door open. She hugged him, then his wife, then pulled her best friend up the stairs.
Joshua was gone before the two girls. Jaime laughed with Betty as they entered the home.
"Kathy! Cecily! Guess who's here!" Jaime called out, moving through the house with his wife. He froze when he saw the guests already on the couch, a photo album open on their laps.
"Hey Jaime, Betty. I'd like you to meet my parents, Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Mum, Dad, this is Jaime Weasley, Cecily's childhood friend, and his wife Betty." Katherine looked between the two couples, not wanting Jaime to hate her family because of the stories Harriet had told. They had changed since then.
"Hello. Its nice to meet you." Betty smiled kindly at the two. Jaime just narrowed his eyes at them.
"Why are they here?" he asked instead crossing his arms and not moving.
"They wanted to reconnect. Can we not speak about this now?" Katherine looked to her parents, who were both stiff, then to Jaime and Betty, Jaime was just as stiff as her parents, and Betty looked confused.
"So, Mr. Dursley, what do you do for a living?" Betty asked, sitting down on the loveseat, ignoring her husband.
"I worked at Gunnings." He huffed out.
"Really? My father loved getting his drills from there." Betty grinned. "Did you actually make the drills?" She seemed truly interested. Vernon and Petunia were surprised.
Betty noticed and chuckled.
"I'm not magical. I met Jaime on the subway, when he got lost." She laughed when Jaime protested the story. Vernon and Petunia visibly relaxed at the comfortable banter.
Katherine was glad that they would be getting along, or seemed to be getting along.
Christmas Hols was a new experience. Frankie got the weekend off from the academy and Alice, Greg, and May will be back from Hogwarts for a week.
Vernon, Petunia, and Augusta would be there for the Holidays. Jaime and his family would visit for a bit before going to his own family party.
Artimus would be traveling somewhere with his wife and children, and his dad. So they wouldn't be there.
Katherine sighed as she got everything ready. She had her babies, both sets of twins. Her mother was there, watching them as she got the house ready for the kids arrival. Her wife was a professor at Hogwarts, so she would be bringing the kids back in a cab. For some reason, Katherine was more tired than usual, has been for at least two months, and she was afraid that she knew why. She really needs to talk to her doctors, and her wife, about this.
"Katherine dear, are you okay?" Petunia asked her, holding Justin in her arms.
"I'm fine mum. Just tired is all." Katherine smiled at her.
"You should take a nap before your family get's here. You look like you are about to collapse." Petunia looked her over with wary eyes. Katherine was about to decline, when her stomach revolted, she dashed to the bathroom before puking on her mother.
"Okay, that's it. You need to see a doctor." Petunia had set the baby down with his brother and older siblings before rushing after her daughter. She held her daughter's hair back as she continued to lose her lunch.
The front door opened and a horde of children rushed into the house, calling for their mother.
"You stay here. I'll go talk to Cecily." Petunia told her, petting her back to comfort her before going to the livingroom, where the Longbottoms were waiting.
"Grandma! Where's mama?" May asked, bouncing in place with a small box in her hands. The others looked at her with wide eyes.
"Your mama isn't feeling well. Cecily, may I speak with you for a moment. Children, you should get upstairs and unpack." Petunia smiled kindly at her grandchildren, who rushed to do as she said.
"Petunia." Cecily nodded, she still hadn't warmed up to the woman.
"Katherine is sick. She looked ready to pass out earlier, before running to the bathroom to revisit her lunch." Petunia griminced. Cecily looked worried, looking to the direction of the bathroom.
"Katherine." Cecily rushed to the woman, who had just emerged from the room.
"Cecily. We really need to talk to the doctor about that potion her gave us." She grinned. Cecily's face lit up, a grin spreading across her face.
"Are you sure?" She asked, looking at her with glee. Katherine shrugged.
"I'm pretty sure, but we should probably talk to the doctor to make sure. Though, you still have that spell?" Katherine put her hands in her pockets. Cecily took out her wand and did a wordless spell, a soft pink light lit up in front of Katherine's stomach, making Cecily squeal and hug her wife.
"We really need to talk to the doc about this. Because this is ridiculous." Katherine grinned. Petunia cleared her throat, reminding them that she was there.
"Mum! Hey, we need to take some tests, go to the doctor, can you watch the kids for a bit?" Katherine asked, looking at her mother with wide eyes. Petunia sighed. "Yes yes, now go, make sure my daughter is healthy." She looked at Cecily, crossing her arms. Cecily grinned at her, nodding, forgetting any coldness from minutes before.
"Kids! We'll be back in a couple of hours! Be good for your grandmother!" Cecily called out, pulling her wife to the door.
The party was in full motion, the adults sat with the babies on the couch as the children played a handful of both muggle and magical board games on the table before them.
Katherine shared a look with her wife, then stood, bringing her wine glass with her, filled with apple cider instead of wine.
"Can I get your attention please. I have some news." Katherine said loudly, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
"I'd like you to know, I'm pregnant." She grinned as the room got loud again, this time, questions of how far along she is, and if she knew the gender were tossed out.
"I'm sixteen weeks in. I think I'm going to wait until they are out before knowing the genders." Katherine grinned when the room went silent.
"They?" Her mother asked, looking at her stomach.
"Yes. Triplets." She grinned wider, hiding her fear. The kids went off, trying to talk over each other. It calmed down a bit when Cecily gave them all a look. Petunia noticed the fear in her daughter's face, and had patted her daughter-in-law's shoulder to thank her.
"I think I'm going to retire early." Katherine told them an hour later. Her mother followed her up the stairs, Cecily nodding to her as she left. She had some questions.
"Katherine dear. What's wrong?" Petunia asked as she entered the room. Katherine was sitting on her bed, waiting for her.
"The potion they gave me, the one that was supposed to stop the magical pregnancies, it didn't work. In fact, it did the opposite. It made me extremely fertile. Mum, they don't know if the babies will survive. The potions I've taken since then and now, my age, the children I've already had. My body might not be able to handle this. They think it will be either me, or my babies." She told her, her voice hollow, before tears sprang to her eyes.
Her mother sat next to her, pulling her into her side.
"Shh shh, calm down. It will be just fine." Petunia told her. "You, and the babies, you'll all be just fine." She held her crying daughter until she fell into a restless sleep. Tears springing to her eyes once Katherine went down.
She didn't want to lose her daughter, and she didn't want her to lose her children. She would do her best to keep her feeling happy, it was all she could do.
It was time. Katherine cried out in pain as labor started. Petunia and Vernon had been at the house, the children had been visiting their Uncle Jaime for the week. Cecily helped her wife to the car, Vernon was already in the drivers seat. Petuna stayed behind with the youngest two.
"You're going to be okay. Just breath." Cecily told her, holding her hand.
Once they got to St. Mungo's, Vernon having followed Cecily's directions they got Katherine out and into the hospital.
"Mr. Dursley, Vernon. Meet your Granddaughters, Katherine, Petunia, and Valerie." Cecily pointed them out to him, before bursting into tears. Vernon held her as she cried, he felt like crying himself. Katherine hadn't made it, dying after naming two of them, unable to get the last name out before... There was nothing the doctors could do.
"We need to tell everyone." Vernon told her, not moving at all. They stayed still for another minute before Cecily calmed down enough to move. She had to be strong, for her children.
The Longbottom children were gathered on the living room. Petunia held one baby, Vernon another, and Cecily the last. Frankie and Alice held the twins Logan and Justin respectively.
"Where's mama?" May asked, her lip trembling.
Cecily didn't speak, her eyes filled with tears.
"Your mother, won't be coming home." Petunia told them.
"Why not? Can we visit her? Is she going to write?" May fired out, not giving them anytime to answer.
"No, none of that. She, she went to heaven." Petunia's voice cracked. She hid her face from them, unwilling to let them see her cry.
"Where is that? Is it far?" May asked. Her face was so bright, looking at them with curiosity.
"Very far. We'll be sending her off this saturday." Vernon told her. THe older siblings had already started to cry. Logan and Justin each patted their siblings, trying to comfort them.
"Will she be coming back?" May asked. Vernon handed the baby to Greg, who had tears streaming down his face, and knelt down in front of the girl.
"She can't sweety. I wish she could, and I'm sure she wishes she could be here with you but she had to go." He told her. May's lip wobbled, before she burst into tears, hugging her grandfather tight. The family mourned for the rest of the day in silence.
The funeral was a beautiful affair, just as Katherine asked. She said that she had caused enough grief in her life, she didn't want the last thing she had to be depressing.
May watched with wide eyes as her coffin was lowered into the grave, a hand drawn picture of her mama in hand. Once it was time for her to put a handful of dirt in the hole, she dropped the picture in instead.
She followed her grandparents back to the car, leaving her mom by the grave as they finished filling the grave.
Petunia and Vernon were silent as they slept on the spare bed in their daughter's home. Vernon held the crying Petunia to his chest tears falling down his cheeks.
"I'm glad we reconnected. Even though it didn't last long." Vernon told her, kissing her cheek. Petunia smiled and nodded.
"I'm glad too."
Why? I feel so bad now. I never wanted this to happen! But it did, and this is what happened! Still kinda crying.
Mars