Disclaimer: I own all the children except for Scorpius and nothing else.

"Hi, Aunt Rose!" James greeted, bouncing through the threshold into the makeshift classroom. "Hi, guys!" he added to his friends who were sitting in beanbags and armchairs all around the room.

"James! Over here," Scorpius Malfoy waved his friend over to where he was lounging on a blue beanbag. "I saved you a seat!"

James grinned and hopped over, sidestepping Susie Valera and Darryl McDarcen to reach his best friend. Plopping down in the nearby green armchair, and he assumed a mask of exaggerated attentiveness and looked back up at the woman who was, sometimes at the same time, his babysitter, aunt, and teacher.

Rose Zellar placed her hand on her hips and shot him a look she reserved for warning troublemakers. "Hello, James," she said, a smile playing on her lips.

James's earlier grin returned. "Hi!" he returned brightly.

Rose sighed. "All right, kids. Can any of you tell me what the incantation for a levitation charm is?"

Addie MacHart's hand shot up and as she began to answer, James's attention was caught by someone at the doorway. He glanced up to see the new waitress from the ice cream parlor, Victoire, standing there, watching with open curiosity in her blue eyes.

Scorpius nudged him. "Hey, who's that?"

"She's the new waitress at the parlor," James whispered back.

Rose looked up to reprimand them for whispering, but James pointed at the doorway and Rose turned to face Victoire. "Hello, Victoire," she said in surprise. "What brings you here?"

Victoire glanced up and smiled a greeting. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I just wanted to let you know that I can't come to work tomorrow. My uncle's running for Minister of Magic and he's making a speech that afternoon, and my entire family's going to be there—"

"Don't worry about it," Rose told her. "Of course you can go. I wouldn't expect you to choose your job over family."

Victoire smiled in relief. "Thanks," she said gratefully. "Um, is there a class going on?"

Rose nodded and waved her inside. James watched with interest. Teddy seemed to like the girl, so she must be nice.

"We run an unofficial school here at Godric's Hollow for wizards and witches," Rose explained, Transfiguring a broken chess piece into an armchair for Victoire. "I teach Charms, and my friends—and their parents—teach the other subjects."

Victoire frowned. "Why don't you send them to Hogwarts?"

Rose shrugged. "The kids really don't want to go," she said. "They like it here, and they don't want to be sent away to a boarding school for ten months a year. Some do go, of course, when their letter comes, but the majority do not."

"Oh," Victoire said quietly and sat back, listening with rapt attention as Rose continued her lesson.

James traded glances with Scorpius, then looked back at Victoire. His mind summoned a memory of the picture of Ginny Weasley sitting on his father's desk and he mentally compared her to Victoire. Same freckles, though Victoire's were lighter, same nose, same mouth, same jaw, same last name.

He swallowed. He had never once thought that he might meet a relative of the woman who should have been his mother. And, he suspected, neither had his father.

Astoria drummed her fingers on the table, watching Harry as he stared at the seat Victoire had been sitting in. She had left a few minutes earlier, saying she had to tell Rose something about work, and Harry had been quiet ever since.

"Harry?" she asked finally when the silence began to unnerve her. "What are you thinking?"

Harry looked up at her and smiled sadly, adjusting his glasses. "I was thinking how much she reminds me of Ginny," he admitted quietly.

Astoria let out a breath. "Same here," she agreed. "Aside from the hair and the eyes, they look almost exactly the same."

"I know," Harry sighed, folding his arms on the table in front of him. "And Teddy really seems to like her," he added.

Astoria raised an eyebrow. "You're worried you'll see more of her if they start dating?" she questioned.

Harry shook his head. "No, I'd be happy for them. She's a sweet girl, after all, and Teddy has good taste. It's just…" One hand reached up to take off his glasses and rub them clean with his sleeve. "Her family, I don't know if I can face them. After what happened, I can't look at the Weasleys and not see Ginny," he confessed. "It'd be worse if Victoire had red hair and brown eyes."

Astoria sympathized, but she couldn't pretend to understand. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, but Harry didn't respond.

A welcome distraction appeared in the form of a blond wizard entering the shop. Astoria jumped up to greet her husband.

"Hello, Tori, Harry," Draco Malfoy greeted, stealing a kiss from his wife before sliding into the seat Victoire had vacated. "How's life?"

Astoria propped her head on her palm. "Do you know Victoire Weasley?" she asked. Harry sent her a smile, grateful that he didn't have to explain.

"I think so," Draco said, furrowing his brow. "Eldest Weasley's kid, isn't she?"

"Bill and Fleur's, yeah," Harry confirmed, replacing his glasses.

"So, what about her?" Draco pressed. "Did you guys meet her or something?"

"Just now," Astoria told him. "Teddy made friends with her, and she's started working at the ice cream parlor."

Draco's eyebrows rose. "Rose's ice cream parlor?"

"There's only one around here," Astoria said. "Anyways, she was here just a while ago, and she asked Harry about Ron and Hermione."

Harry's head shot up. "Wait, you heard that?"

Astoria tapped a crack in the table, where a magically hidden listening device was. "My café, Harry. I can hear any conversation in here."

"I thought you got rid of those when the last of the Death Eaters were rounded up?" Draco asked.

Astoria shrugged. "I decided to keep them, in case any criminals decide this would be a good planning place." She grinned at the two men. "You wouldn't believe the amount of blackmail I have on some of our neighbors."

"Snake in eagle's feathers," Harry accused, but his voice was much more light-hearted than before.

Astoria smiled at him, but Draco interrupted. "Anyways, what did the girl do?"

"She asked me why I haven't talked to them," Harry answered. "And she kinda blew up at me when I told her she wouldn't understand."

Draco blinked. "But she wouldn't," he pointed out. "She wasn't there. She wasn't even born until after you left!"

"I know," Harry sighed, dropping his head onto his hands. "But how can I explain it to her that the reason I haven't talked to my best friends is because they remind me so much of Ginny?"

Draco shrugged. "It's none of her business anyway," he said frankly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Have you tried telling a teenager that, Draco? Nothing will stop them from finding out something when they really want to."

"Well, you would know," Draco remarked, half-grinning.

"So would you," Harry retorted, his tone more teasing than malicious, as it would have been back in school.

"I never went after the Dark Lord on my own at eleven years old!" Draco shot back.

"Yeah, well, I never snuck around after hours trying to see if I could get someone in trouble!"

"That was only once! And besides," Draco began, but broke off when he realized that his wife was giggling. "What?"

"Nothing," Astoria smothered her smile and relaxed in her chair. There was nothing like a good banter session to get your mind off something.

Dear Harry,

How are you doing? Are your kids giving you too much trouble? Hannah wanted me to pass on a message to Gabby: "You're welcome, Princess, and don't let your brothers color in this again. Last time, they colored a Pegasus bright pink with neon green spots and sent it to me for my birthday."

I wouldn't ask, if I were you.

Anyways, how are the classes going? I have a lot of grading to catch up on, but I think I can squeeze in a few Herbology lessons this weekend. I told you about Ron and Hermione's daughter starting school this year, right? I'd expected her to be a handful, considering who's genes she has, but she's an absolute angel. I wish I could say the same for her best friend, who's a Weasley through and through, but then, Louis's favorite uncle is George, after all. What would you expect?

Speaking of Weasleys, I heard through the redhead grapevine that Victoire Weasley's got a job at Godric's Hollow. At the ice cream parlor, if I heard right. Have you met her yet? She's a sweet kid, temperamental sometimes, but usually sweet. Don't tell her, but she's getting the Head Girl badge this year.

Harry, I know you don't want to face the Weasleys again, and I know you still have nightmares about that day. But I think—and Hannah agrees with me—that you should talk to her. Get to know her. And maybe, when you're ready, meet the Weasleys again.

I'm not going to push you into it. But I really think it's about time, Harry. It's been eighteen years since you left, after all. And eighteen years is a long time.

Sincerely,

Neville

PS: Don't let James feed Apollo chocolate again. He terrorized the Leaky Cauldron customers for a whole afternoon before we finally managed to Stun him.

Author's Notes: Rose Zellar, if anyone was wondering, is a Hufflepuff four years younger than Harry in canon. I didn't randomly pull her name out of a hat :D We'll get to meet Ron and Hermione's daughter, as well as Louis next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and I'd love to know what you all think of this chapter!