A/N: By popular demand, the companion piece to They Say We're Family. I recommend reading that first. Thanks to all the reviewers who encouraged me to write this, enjoy!
Disclaimer: anything you don't recognize is mine, everything else is the property of JKR
Never Gave Them Much Thought
Harry Potter sat on the couch at his home in Godric's Hollow and stared for the umpteenth time at the gold embossed paper he held in his hand. It had been delivered with another letter by a barn owl with the morning post and was addressed to the Potter Family. Since the kids had been outside occupied with their own summer activities and Ginny had gone to the burrow to visit with her parents, Harry had gone ahead and opened the first letter.
He had been surprised when he pulled out a white and gold wedding invitation. Harry had racked his brain trying to figure out who he knew that could be getting married, but ended up drawing a blank. All of his all school mates that he still kept in contact with had already gotten married long ago, and most of their children wouldn't be old enough for marriage. Which had led him to the conclusion that the invitation must have been from someone at the Ministry either out of courtesy, or else to brag that 'Harry Potter' was going to be at their wedding.
Sighing, he had sat down on the couch to give the letter further inspection and had frozen when he read the names of the young couple. The groom was familiar enough; Derek was Dean Thomas' oldest boy and had been a year ahead of James at Hogwarts, but the bride… the bride was another matter entirely.
He knew that name too, although he hadn't thought of it in nearly nineteen year. He had been invited to Dudley's wedding out of courtesy many years ago and had extended the same favor to his cousin, but neither of them actually showed up. That wasn't anything to be surprised about, but Harry had expected their correspondence to end there. He got another surprise a few years later when Dudley sent him a muggle newspaper clipping announcing the birth of his daughter, Lily Marjorie.
The name alone had caught him off guard. It was strange to know that Dudley, who was afraid of anything remotely related to magic not to mention Harry himself, had named his daughter after the first witch in the family. But despite the odd choice in the girl's name, Harry had been touched by Dudley's unwritten message that, wizard or muggle, they were still family.
Harry had returned the favor over the years, sending Dudley birth announcements as each of his children were born, but beyond that he never gave his cousin much thought. Until now.
It was a shock to learn that Dudley's daughter was a witch. After all, it was the only explanation for how she could have met Derek. But it also brought up so many questions. Clearly the girl had gone to Hogwarts, but when? Did his children know her? Why hadn't Dudley told him? Why was he suddenly being invited to the wedding of a family member who had never met him?
Harry decided that it must have been out of courtesy. It made perfect sense. Dean was an old school friend, and while he and Harry weren't close they kept in touch and still saw each other at work occasionally. Once it became known that the woman Dean's son was marrying was related to Harry, Dean would insist on inviting him not knowing the history between the two sides of the family.
Satisfied with his logic, Harry had been about to get up and write a polite response saying that the Potter family would not be able to attend, when he accidentally knocked the other letter off the couch. He bent to pick it up, remembering that it had come with the wedding invitation, and saw that this particular letter was addresses only to him. He had been about to open it when James walked out of the fire place covered in soot.
"Afternoon Dad, did I miss lunch?" James asked, dusting himself off.
Harry smiled at his oldest son, "Not yet, your mother's bringing something back from the burrow once she's finished visiting with Grandma Weasley."
"Excellent, I made it on time," James replied, plopping down on the couch next to his father, "What's that?"
Harry noticed James staring at the invitation and handed to him to read. After a few minutes his son's face broke out into a huge grin.
"This is fantastic!" he said, jumping up from the couch and running over to the back door. "Oi!" he shouted, "You lot get down here, wait until you here this!"
Harry got up and walked towards James just as Albus and Lily landed brooms in hand. He leaned against the wall and watched curiously as James told Albus and Lily the news.
"Margie and Derek are getting married?" Lily squealed in excitement, "Oh, I knew they were just perfect for each other when they started dating in Sixth Year! And a summer wedding! Oh that's terribly romantic!"
"You mean Derek actually convinced Margie to have him?" Albus asked, jokingly, "Poor Margie, she doesn't know what she's in for. Do you think it's too late to tell her that she can do much better than Derek?"
"I know," James replied, "Personally I just can't wait to see her again. We exchange letters now and then, but as a new employee I'm swamped at the ministry and she's busy at St. Mungo's since she's in her second year of training."
As his children continued to talk about the wedding and their old school friend, Harry couldn't keep the bewildered expression off his face. They knew Lily Marjorie or Margie as they had been calling her, and they seemed to know her fairly well. But how? And did they realize just who she was?
"So you all know the bride, and that's how we got the invitation?" Harry asked, causing his three children to glance over at him.
"Oh yes," Lily piped up, "Margie's great; she made those boys stop picking on me in First Year. Then, when I was sneaking into the kitchens with Hugo, she was patrolling she pretended not to see us and warned us that Mrs. Norris was right around the corner. She's top-notch."
"Yeah," Albus added, "She even helped me in Potions and James in Transfiguration her Sixth and Seventh Years. She probably the reason I got into advanced Potions last year."
Harry nodded, and gave his kids a smile, "Well I'm glad you're friend is doing well, go ahead back outside, I'll call you when your mother gets back with lunch."
"Daddy," Lily asked, "Are we going to the wedding?"
"Yes," he replied, not knowing what else to say. His children clearly were all fond of the girl and seemed to know her very well, he couldn't say no after learning that; especially since he didn't have a good reason not to attend. He turned and headed back into the living room as Albus and Lily took off into the air once more, unsurprised when James followed him.
"So, what's the other letter say?" James asked. Harry smiled and fingered the letter still in his hand. Trust his son, the auror-in-training, not to miss a beat.
"I don't know," he replied. "It came with the letter but was addressed to me."
"It's probably from Margie trying to convince you to come," he said, eyeing his father, "I know she wants you to be there Dad."
Harry raised an eyebrow at his son, "And how do you know this?"
James rolled his eyes, "Dad, I didn't decide to become an auror for nothing. While at school I spent enough time around Margie to know that she sometimes let things slip that she wasn't supposed to."
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"Her first name for starters," James replied. "Although I've actually known her since third year, she's always gone by Marjorie or Margie, and one day in my Sixth Year she let it slip that her real first name was Lily. I thought it was a bit odd that she went by her middle name when I knew she liked her first name. She told Lily often enough that she had a beautiful name. Then I overheard someone talking about her and Derek and they called her 'Dursley'. I knew I had heard the name before and then it hit me that you and mom had mentioned the name before when talking about your cousin. Knowing Grandma Potter's name was Lily and her sister was your cousin's mother, I put two and two together, doubled checked to make sure I was right and figured out about halfway through my Sixth Year that Margie was family."
James paused and fixed his father with a stern look that Harry decided he must have learned from his mother.
"Albus, Lily, and Margie don't know that I know," He admitted, still looking at Harry, "And I plan to keep it that way until Margie's ready to tell me, but I know there's a reason she hasn't told us, my guess is it had something to do with you and her dad."
Harry nodded. He hadn't told his children much about his family growing up. It never seems important and few of the memories were happy ones. But now that James was an adult and asking for answers, it would be unreasonable to keep them from him.
"You're right," Harry said, "Dudley, my cousin, and his family hated magic. When I was a kid they tried to 'squash the magic out of me' as they put it. Needless to say we never got along. We said our goodbyes the summer before what would have been my Seventh Year and I haven't seen any of them since. Dudley and I exchanged wedding and birth announcements for each of our children out of courtesy and haven't spoken since."
"Look Dad," James said, raising his hands in a placating gesture, "I can tell that you and Grandma Potter's side of the family didn't get along, but Margie's different. Besides, she's the only witch in her family and if what you said about them hating magic is true it must have been hard on her. Say you'll come to the wedding?"
Harry sighed. He was planning to go even before James had asked. The fact that Lily Marjorie had befriended his children and earned their respect was reason enough for him to go. But the fact that James, who rarely asked for anything from his parents, was now asking him to go to the wedding meant that this was important, and there was no way he could say no.
Harry nodded and grinned as he watched James visibly relax. Poor boy probably came in expecting a fight, but Harry had seen enough families torn apart over the years to realize that holding out an old grudge wouldn't do anybody any good.
"Go ahead outside and play with your brother and sister," Harry said.
James nodded, recognizing that subtle request for privacy, and slipped outside to help Lily and Albus with their flying.
Once alone, Harry looked down at the letter in his hands and quickly tore it open. Inside were a few lines written on parchment and a small picture. Harry pulled out the letter and quickly began to read.
Harry,
My dad would throttle me if he knew I was writing this but I think now is the time to patch thing's up. My name is Lily Marjorie Dursley, and I am the daughter of Dudley and Patricia Dursley. I'm getting married in just under a year from now and although we've never met I would really like for you to come to my wedding. Unlike everyone in the family I know, I am a witch, just like my Great Aunt Lily and belong to the same world as you, but I am also a product of the muggle world as well. Just like I am a part of both worlds, I am a part of both families as well. When I walk down the aisle on what might be the most important day of my life, I want my entire family to be there. I hope you will come. In the meantime tell James, Albus, and Lily that Margie says hello and that I hope to see them soon.
Yours,
Lily Marjorie Dursley
P.S. I hope you like the photo.
Harry put down the letter and reached into the envelope and pulled out a small photograph with three figures in it. On the left was Dudley, still plump, but not nearly as overweight has he had been as a youth, blonde hair plastered to his face as his visage waved uncertainly at the camera. Harry smiled. It was probably his first time being in a moving picture.
On the right was a small woman with homey features that reminded him a great deal of Mrs. Weasley with light blonde hair. Harry assumed this was Lily Marjorie's mother as the woman had an arm draped lovingly over the shoulders of the girl in the center of the picture.
Lily Marjorie looked to be of medium size and was smaller than both her parents. She had a huge smile plastered on her face and was waving enthusiastically at the camera while sunlight glinted off her blonde hair, making it look a light red. But what caused Harry to smile more than anything else were her eyes. They were the same bright green as his mother's had been; the same green as his and Albus'.
Harry flipped the picture over and noticed a note scribbled on the back.
For Harry, June 2022
The picture had been taken just after her graduation from Hogwarts then. He smiled as he got up and walked over to the mantle above the fire place. It was littered with memories; photographs ranging from all over, craft projects his children had made, knick knacks from friends and family, everything that reminded him of everyone he knew. Making a space between a picture of his parents and the latest family portrait they had gotten done, Harry propped the small picture up between the two.
He had never given Dudley, his wife, or his daughter much thought over the years and he was fairly certain that Dudley hadn't either. But because of one little witch he would try and reconcile with his mother's family. It was clear from the picture that for his daughter's sake, Dudley was trying to do the same thing.
Harry returned to the couch and pulled out a bit of parchment and a quill from the drawer of the coffee table and began to pen a reply. As he was writing his family's acceptance of the invitation, he couldn't help but grin as he tried to imagine the look on Dudley's face when he realized that his daughter had been friends with the Potter children for years. He would never get tired of imagining ways to shock and surprise his cousin.
Some things never change.
A/N: So this ended up going in a completely different direction than what I'd planned but I like it. Out of curiosity, how'd you all like James? I've read a lot of fics where he always seems to be the unserious trickster and I was trying to get away from that persona, amusing as it is, and go for a more grown-up James. Did it work? In the meantime please review I love to read them and they really keep me going. Once again thanks to everyone who review my other story! You guys rock my socks off! Until next time.
-Iris