A/N: I don't own anything you recognize :D
Helena glanced in the mirror, straightened her cap once more, and picked imaginary dust off of her gown. This was it. Her graduation.
Suddenly, her mother knocked on her bedroom door. "Helena, darling, are you nearly ready? We've got to leave in ten minutes," she said. Helena breathed deeply.
"I'm ready," she replied, tugging at her gown and twisting a piece of hair around her ring finger. Her stomach was in knots. Helena's mother opened the door slowly, poking her head in.
"Can I come in?" she asked. Helena smiled slightly and looked down. Her mother let herself in and stood in the doorway, looking her daughter over with satisfaction. Slowly, she walked towards her youngest daughter and grabbed her shoulders, giving them a slight squeeze.
"You look beautiful, my love," she said. Helena looked up, meeting her mothers eyes in the mirror. Their eyes were identical; round, bright, and a lovely shade of chocolate brown. Helena noted that that was the only trait that made her look anything like her mother. Other than her eyes, she was a general mix of both her parents, making her look related, but hardly like either one of them. Helena's hair was her mothers color, but her father's texture, straight and long. Her face was rounded like her father but she inherited her mothers nose and her grandmothers pointed chin. Her body shape was also nothing like her mother's; where her mother was slender and slight, Helena was curvy and taller. Helena had always hated the way her body was, smaller on top, but thicker around her waist and thighs. She could never find the right jeans, the right skirts. There was always a problem.
Helena's mother wrapped her arms around her daughters shoulders, holding her tightly from behind. "I'm so proud of you, Helena. I don't want you to forget that," she whispered, closing her eyes.
Helena could feel the tears spring to her eyes. Though she knew her parents loved her, it had always been a struggle for Helena. Her sister, Rose, was beautiful, like their mother, but with the fiery red hair of their father. She had a lovely husband and a baby on the way. Helena's brother, Hugo, was intelligent beyond belief and the kindest soul you would ever have the good fortune to meet. Both of her siblings had excelled in their studies at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, whereas Helena struggled to make good marks at her little Muggle private school.
That was the most difficult part for her. Helena was a non-magical in a magical family. When she was seven and showing no signs of magic, her parents took her to St. Mungo's for a checkup, just to make sure everything was okay. But they received different news than what they had been expecting that day. Their young daughter wasn't showing any signs of magic now, and she never would. She would never attend Hogwarts like her older siblings and cousins, she'd never get a job at the Ministry like her parents, or work at St. Mungo's with her Aunt Fleur. She'd never accidentally turn her brother into a frog, as Rose once did, or take her N.E.W.T.S. Helena was a Squib.
She remembered her mothers quiet tears, her fathers disbelief. She remembered two days later, her mother homeschooling her so that she could catch up to her Muggle peers and attend school primary the following year.
Rose and Hugo didn't quite understand at first, constantly asking their parents why their little sister wasn't going to Kings Cross with them, why she wasn't boarding the train with them when they left for school. In truth, Helena's parents didn't want her to be at Kings Cross the first couple of years, in fear that she would become jealous or upset that she couldn't be with her siblings, cousins and friends.
Helena's parents asked her if she wanted to attend boarding school, so that she wouldn't have to be home while everyone else was away. Helena had refused, however, choosing instead a little, quiet private school down the road. She stayed there from the end of primary school all the way up to secondary, finding a couple of good Muggle friends, all the while hoarding the secret of her birthright.
Helena could tell her family didn't know what to make of her. The only ones who really understood her were her Uncle Harry and her mother, both of whom grew up in Muggle households. They remembered school and gave her little tips and helped her with her maths homework. Her grandfather, Arthur, was fascinated with the Muggle schooling system, and every time she visited the Burrow, which was every other Sunday for dinner, he would bombard her with questions. Helena's grandmother, Molly, would ask her to help cook dinner, but when Helena would hand chop the carrots and celery, she would catch her grandmother staring quizzically. Embarrassed at being caught, Molly had always covered up with a little cough and a similar sentence; "Alright, dear, would you mind sticking those into the pot for me? Now, isn't this nice, having a grandchild home!" Molly would place a gentle kiss upon her cheek and they would both move on.
Uncle George would play magical pranks on her and her Aunt Ginny would take her for broom rides (low to the ground) that would thrill and sadden her. Helena's cousins would marvel at her calculus homework and her Shakespeare essays, complementing her and showering her with comments such as; "I'd never be able to do that!" or "Merlin, that looks ten times harder than any History of Magic essay I've ever written." Everyone was kind to her, everyone loved her, but they could never understand her.
Today, Helena was graduating from her secondary school, marking the end of her childhood and the beginning of her journey in the the Muggle workforce. It was mid May, a quiet, lovely spring afternoon, and Helena turned around in her mothers arms, giving her a big squeeze. Helena could feel her mother's breath hitch as they rocked back and forth. She patted her mother on the back, both laughing at her emotional reaction.
Breaking their little reverie, Helena's father entered into the room without a knock, looking frazzled and a little worried.
"Hermione, Helena, I need help," he said. He held up two different ties, one with Santa Claus on it and the other with giant sunflowers, looking at the two of them with expectant eyes. "I have no idea what these are, and how to get them on! I've made bows, I've tried charms spells, but all I've made them do is change color." Helplessly, he lowered his hands to the ground. Hermione laughed loudly.
"Ron, where the hell did you get those?" She gasped in between laughs. "They're ridiculous!"
Helena smiled at her father, loving him for his attempt at a Muggle suit. He didn't want to embarrass her in front of her class wearing dress robes to her graduation, so he opted for one of his father-in-law's old suits. Helena walked towards her father, grabbing the one with sunflowers, and tying it around his neck effortlessly.
"This one suits you, dad," she said, smiling. Her father grabbed her and swung her around in his arms.
"Oh, Hermione! Our little one is graduating from Secondarion School! Can you believe it? I dunno if I can." Helena giggled, feeling five years old, and swatted her father lightly as a signal to put her down.
"It's secondary school, dad," she corrected kindly. Her father flushed and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah, I knew that," he said. Hermione snorted.
"Yes, alright, it's nearly time." she said, pushing her daughter and husband out into the hallway.
When they arrived at the school, the gymnasium was already crowded, despite the fact that they were a whole half hour early. Hermione was seemingly distracted by finding empty seats, looking around with her eyebrows furrowed. Ron, taking the opportunity of his wife's distraction, grabbed his daughters hand and led her a few steps away from Hermione.
"Helena, love, I'm so happy for you," he started, smiling at her, his eyes a little sad. "I know that I haven't always... well, I haven't always understood you, because we're a little different, you and I," Helena looked down. Yeah, she thought. Real different.
"And I'm sorry for that. I'm so sorry, because as your father I should be able to practically read your mind," Helena laughed.
"I don't think that's true. Look at Rose, she's having a baby with Scorpius and became a Malfoy. As I remember, you distinctly told her not to even talk to him-"
"Yeah, love, don't discuss that," he said, smiling. "We'll talk later." Helena shook her head. Her father was definitely the ultimate grudge holder. "But, Helena, I love you, I do, and I want you to know that you've never been a disappointment. I have no regrets when it comes to you. I'm so proud of you."
Helena felt her eyes well up with tears. "Thanks dad," she said, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He squeezed her tight.
"Anytime, my girl."
"Found them!" Hermione shouted, coming over and taking both of their hands, leading them to a spot of brightly dressed people sitting in an area close to the front. Helena noticed they were taking up nearly half of a section.
As they got closer to the strangely dressed group, Helena began to recognize some of them. There was her Uncle Harry, smiling at her and waving, and Aunt Ginny sat next to him. She found her cousins, Roxanne and Molly, sitting next to their parents, Aunt Audrey, Uncle Perce, Aunt Angie and Uncle George. Even her Muggle grandparents, who had become quite close with the Weasley's, waving and blowing kisses in her direction. Helena froze.
Her entire family was here. At her graduation. For her.
She spotted Bill and Charlie, Fleur and their children, Louis, Victoire and Dominique. She found her closest cousins, Lily, Al and James, sitting in the front row, giving her fist pumps and whistling at her. She waved weakly.
Turning to her mother, she asked softly; "What is this?"
Hermione turned to her. "What? Didn't think your family would come to your graduation?" She smiled widely and enveloped her daughter in a tight hug. "They all told me they wouldn't miss it for the world," she whispered.
And then, she was passed from one pair of arms to another. She heard George whisper a Muggle joke he'd learned just for her, she felt Ginny's gentle pats and words of encouragement. When she had made her final rounds, there was a tap on her shoulder. Turning on her heel, she came face to face with her very pregnant older sister and her husband, Scopius. Rose had tears in her eyes.
"Rosie! You're not supposed to be out of the house! What are you doing here?" Helena cried, holding her sisters shoulders and leaning back to get a look at her. "Jesus, you're huge," she said, smiling. Rose laughed.
"I would never miss your graduation! I read in a Muggle History book that it's quite important. Why waste the experience? Plus, I wanted to tell you something," Rose leaned in close. "I've always loved you, Helena, I've always been proud to be your sister, no matter how I much I fought you." she whispered, leaning back and kissing her cheek. Helena let out a quiet, dry sob and pulled her sister into an embrace. Rose had always been a little closed off, never really into hugging or kissing, or saying anything remotely affectionate to her siblings. Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones that made her emotional and nostalgic, but Helena didn't care. Rose told her the things that Helena had been waiting years to hear.
"Me too," Helena said, holding her tighter. "I love you."
When they broke apart, Helena recieved a quick kiss on the cheek from Scorpius and a word of congratulations, before finding her brother, Hugo, had come along too.
"Sorry I'm late, Frog," he said, using his nickname for her. "I had to pick up these two," he pointed to Rose and Scorpius. Because Rose couldn't apparate, Helena learned, and Hugo was the only one who had bothered to learn to drive, he was the one designated to get them here.
Helena hugged her brother tightly, and he whispered in her ear; "Love you, Frog." Helena laughed. "Love you too."
When it was finally call time, Helena blew kisses to her large family and took her place in the large line of graduates taking their place behind the stage. Suddenly, Helena felt a tug at the back of her robe and her good friend, Marlene, hissed at her to get her attention.
"Oi! Helena!" she whispered. Helena turned. "Is that your entire family?" Helena smiled.
"Yeah, it is," she said with pride. Marlene blew out her cheeks.
"The only ones who bothered to come for me are my parents and my senile grandmother. You're lucky," she said.
Helena smiled widely. "Yeah, I am pretty lucky."
When her name was called on stage, the half section in the front cheered and whooped loudly, earning several stares from the Muggles sitting next to them. Helena grabbed her diploma, shook her teachers hand, and as she exited the stage, let out a loud cheer of her own.
Her name was Helena Weasley, and yes, she's non-magical in a magical family. But that doesn't make her any less of a Weasley in the eyes of her family.