Seven Years

by Resident Goddess

Trouble is brewing at Hogwarts 13 years after Harry Potter and his friends have gone. Now his daughter and the children of his friends must battle an evil they don’t even know is there.

1. Default Chapter

Seven Years
By: Resident Goddess
Rated: PG-13

Chapter 1 : Happy Birthdays Long Since Past

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its corresponding characters and elements belong to JK Rowling and not myself. This story does, as do most of the characters in it.

Summary: Trouble is brewing at Hogwarts 13 years after Harry Potter and his friends have gone. Now his daughter and the children of his friends must battle an evil they don't even know is there.

A/N: About the kids, but also about the parents, too. A take on what happens after Hogwarts and Voldemort.

***

It was hot the day mum died. I remember it perfectly well…it was supposed to be a happy day. People just don't die during childbirth these days. It's almost as unheard of as something like dying from chicken pox…it just doesn't happen. That's why dad didn't talk for weeks after she was dead--why I had to name Vita, because I couldn't stand to be in a house with an unnamed baby. Why Mrs. Weasley had to come over and help take care of Vita--because I was barely five, and couldn't do it by myself. I didn't even know why Mum was dead. All I knew was that she was gone, and she wasn't coming back. My young mind thought that she had turned into Vita--like that was what was supposed to happen when someone gave birth to a baby. That's why I named her Life, because I thought Mum was living inside her. Like a silly cycle or something.

That's why it surprised me so much when my letter came on Vita's birthday, the day mum died. I was content mourning silently while I made Vita's cake. Dad was in his study…he had buried himself in work as usual on that day, and I hadn't seen him since dinner the day before. That's when the owls came, when I was making the cake. I thought that they were birthday wishes from relatives, and most of them were. Except for one.

Miss D. Potter
13457 Mulder's Street,
London, England
65923-44932

I hiccuped. It happened often when I got nervous, just another thing I hated about myself. My hands were doughy, but I didn't bother wiping them off before I opened the letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
__________

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
(Order of Merlin, Second Class, Grand Sorc.,
HMM1948)

Dear Miss Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later then July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,
Headmistress

Needless to say I was delighted, and ran off to tell my father. I found him crouched over our old photo album, the one he looked at every year at the same time, on the same day. I stopped at the doorway, I could smell the cake from the kitchen and I wondered if he could, too.

"Dad?" I said softly, hoping I wouldn't startle him. He turned around slowly, and his glasses were slightly foggy. I winced, he had been crying, and he hadn't shaved since yesterday. I suffocated the urge to tell him off, to tell him that people were coming in less then an hour, and instead I held out my letter in a bashful manner. "Got this today." He reached for it and I saw the ghost of a smile on his lips. Instead of saying anything though, he got up and pulled out a book from a shelf above his desk and opened this. After flipping through it for a few moments, he pulled out an envelope and handed it to me.

Mr. H. Potter
The Floor,
Hut-on-the-Rock,
The Sea

I raised an eyebrow, but opened the well-worn letter anyway. It was almost exactly identical to the one I had received.

"The floor? Hut-on-the-rock? You weren't joking when you told me that Uncle Vernon took you to an island."

"No, unlike your Uncle Ron, my childhood stories are true." Dad said, I smiled. Uncle Ron was on the Defense Board at the Ministry. I glanced at the photo album, it was a bad idea. Mum's smiling face stared back at me, her light brown hair blowing in the breeze. I was a baby and in her arms, Dad must've taken the picture. Sandra and Diane, 7/7/01 was written in my father's messy hand underneath. I looked away.

"You should get ready, dad." I said, "The Weasleys and Hermione should be here any time."

"I am ready." Dad said, and held his hands out around him, as if to prove a point. I shook my head,

"Take a shower, shave…put on some clothes that haven't been slept in! Anything." I said, and closed the study door behind me. I leaned up against it for a few minutes, listening to his movements inside, until he finally closed the door to his bedroom, which was attached to the study. It was time to go wake Vita.

***

"Good morning, Diana! Where is that lovely birthday girl of yours?"

Molly Weasley's presence had always brightened up the room, and now so did her outfit. She was dressed in a bright yellow, I knew for more of my father's benefit then her own, she had several gifts in her hands, and a balding Arthur followed her closely.

"Ron told me to tell your father that he, Lisa and the kids will be a little late today. They've had to run off to Diagon Alley to--well, that's not important." Molly said, and I smiled, helping her with the packages. "Oh, and Perce told me to let you know that he's sorry he can't come, urgent business at the Ministry. But Penelope and Meg should be along right quick."

I was having quite a time with the packages, they were big and oddly shaped, that and Thom Weasley had just stuck his foot out and tripped me. Angelina whacked him over the head,

"Fredrick, control your child!" She yelled at Fred, who was behind her and carrying his own packages. He mumbled something that I couldn't quite hear, and Angelina bent down to help me with the packages. "Sorry about that, dear." She told me, and then glared at her son, who was thirteen. "You apologize right now, Thom!"

"Sorry, Dia." He muttered, and his twin sister smacked him on the backside of the head with the back of her hand. I smiled at the abuse he was getting, Merlin knew that I had gotten enough from him over the years. I showed them where to put the packages, and was about to call Vita when she came running down the stairs, two light brown pigtails bouncing behind her.

"Aunt Molly! Uncle Arthur, Aunt Angelina, Uncle Fred!!" She dove at Fred, and I barely had time to shout a warning, but he caught her with ease, obviously having much practice between his own two children. "Where's Uncle George?"

"He's not coming, dear." Molly said, giving me a look. George was probably off working at the WWW. "And Uncle Ron and co. are going to be a few minutes late."

Another knock on the door sounded, and I opened it to see Penelope and Meg standing outside. Meg was bundled up as usual, and her glasses slipped down her face. I wrinkled my nose a little…it was almost 31 degrees outside! I had always wondered about that girl…

"Oh good, Dia." Penelope said, and grabbed for my hand. "You can come help me with the packages." I was about to ask why Meg couldn't help with the packages, but I realized that that would be a waste of breath. Meg detested physical labor, and she wouldn't touch anything without sterile gloves if her life depended on it. Any questions in my mind about why Percy and Penelope only had one child were answered when I remembered Meg.

"Er…Vita's cake…" It was almost done, but Molly patted me on the head,

"Don't you worry about that, dear. I'll take care of it."

"Where's your dad, Dia?" Fred asked, having put his packages down. I struggled a little against Penelope's strong grip to turn around,

"The…study…!" I managed out, and was pulled outside into the direct sunlight. I caught sight of Meg looking for a clean place to sit in the living room. I doubted that she would find one, our house was a pigsty.

***

"Harry! Hello!"

"Dad, get the door!" I called as I struggled to frost the cake. I had only succeeded in getting the frosting all over myself in the process, and Thom kept putting his hand in the frosting bowl.

"Why don't you just use magic?" he asked, I frowned,

"Can't." I said, "You can't either."

"I know it," He muttered, and grabbed the sleeve of his mother as she was walking by, "Mum, could you help Dia out here?"

"Of course," She said, and I watched as she flicked her wand. The cake was frosted. She grabbed her son's hand, "Keep your bloody hands out of the frosting from now on. You are almost thirteen years old for crying out loud!"

"Mum--"

I rolled my eyes and left the two to bicker between themselves, I heard Ron's voice in the living room, and I wanted to see everyone else.

"You look ghastly white, Harry," Ron was saying when I came in, "They keeping you locked up in a dark cell at the Ministry or something? I thought an Auror did more 'hands on' work."

"Thanks Ron," Dad said, rolling his eyes. He looked happy, though, something I hadn't seen for a long time, especially on Vita's birthday. "Late, are you? Forget to get Vita a birthday present, did you?"

"No!" Ron said, blushing madly. It was quite a good look on him, I thought.

"Uh huh," Dad said, and I heard Ron mutter something that sounded like 'bugger'.

"Diana, you get your Hogwarts letter?" I turned around to see Leo standing in the doorway. He was dressed in Muggle clothes, baggy jeans and an oversized black T-shirt that read 'Discourage incest, ban country music.' In bold white lettering across the front. I shook my head slightly, pieces of red hair stuck out of his yellow baseball cap, which was backwards.

"Sure did," I said, pulling it out of my pocket. I didn't want to lose it.

"Cool, when're you going to Diagon Alley?" I shrugged,

"Tomorrow maybe." I said, and elbowed my dad, "Can we go have cake now? Vita's stepping on my toe, I think she wants to open presents."

"Sure." Dad said, and lifted Vita up, I wiggled my foot painfully. "What do you want first, you? Cake or packages?" He said to her, holding her close to his face. She poked his nose with hers and said PRESENTS loudly.

A real one track mind.

***

After Vita had opened her packages and we had eaten cake, everyone was seated around the fireplace, which was OFF. Vita was sitting in a corner playing with a few of her gifts, and Meg was huddled up against her mother. I was sitting scrunched in between Leo and Jill, and was roasting. Talk had turned to Hogwarts--and then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Vita yelled, and before anyone could respond, she was up on her feet. I knew who it was, obviously Hermione, since she was the only one who had said she was coming and wasn't there. I swallowed loudly, Hermione and Ron didn't get on too well, every time I saw them together they got into fights. I didn't know why, but I had always wanted to find out, and dad wouldn't tell me.

Sure enough, I heard Vita's yell of happiness as the door closed, and Hermione came in. She was alone, but she carried two packages and a card was visible sticking out of her pocket. I glanced at dad who smiled brightly. It faded a little as he realized that she was alone, and the familiar question that always went unspoken died on his lips. Hermione pulled the card out from her pocket and handed it to Vita, and she bent down and whispered something in her ear.

I didn't have to hear it to know what it was, because she whispered it in my ear every year as well. "And this is from Uncle Draco. He's not coming today, he and Uncle Ron don't get along." Vita smiled and nodded as usual, and put the envelope in her back pocket to read later, as usual. It would have a card and something nice, like a rare trading card or something equally nice inside. I looked at Ron, he was frowning, and Hermione was ignoring the sour look. She handed Vita the packages, and Vita rushed over to her corner to open them. A nice scarf and two books, a typical Hermione gift.

"Sorry I'm late, Harry." Hermione said, "They kept me late at work."

"It's okay, you want some cake?" Vita said for dad, and grabbed Hermione's hand, leading her into the kitchen.

"We should be getting back, it's getting late." Ron said, standing up. Lisa stood also with a frown on her face,

"It's only five thirty, Ron." She said, flicking a piece of blonde hair out of her eyes,

"Did you say that Remus and Sirius were coming over later, though?" Ron said, looking at dad, "Wouldn't want to take up your time with them. Come on, Jill. Clover, Leo, let's go."

"Sorry, Harry." Lisa said, and pecked him on the cheek. "We'll see you later, okay? Happy birthday, Vita."

"Yup. We're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow, you're all welcome to come along." Dad said, and saw them out. After that Penelope and Meg left too. And Fred and Angelina and theirs. Only Molly and Arthur were there when Hermione came back, and she frowned deeply, Vita had gone upstairs with her presents.

"That went well." She said, and sat down with a huff.

"Oh, don't worry about him, dear." Molly said, "He'll get over it, eventually." I raised my eyebrows, I couldn't remember a time when Ron and Hermione hadn't fought. They must have started fighting before I was even born.

"It's been fourteen years, ever since--" She stopped and looked at me. I was sitting inconspicuously on the couch, on the edge of my seat, bolt upright. Okay, so maybe it wasn't inconspicuous. What was the big deal, anyway? Why wasn't I supposed to know?

"Diana," Dad said, and waved his hand. That gesture usually meant for me to get out, but I decided to play dumb.

"Yes dad?"

"Why don't you help Vita organize her gifts upstairs?"

Ugh. What a lame excuse.

"Er, ok. See you later, dad. You're going to Diagon Alley tomorrow, aren't you?" I knew Hermione had a son about my age…or something.

"Oh, I can't." Hermione said, "I have to work, Draco's going to take Auryn and Katharine tomorrow."

"Oh." I muttered, and went upstairs to wait for Remus and Sirius.

***

A/N: PLEASE REVIEWWWWWW!!! Or I'll sick the rabid Armadillo on you.