"I've been in the library," Hermione announced at dinner the next evening, dropping a heavy book with a clunk on the table.

"What else is new?" Alice rolled her eyes.

"This book is written in code and runes and was in the restricted section. Professor Lupin gave me permission to look for this heir business."

"What makes you think that's the book?" Harry asked, chewing his chicken.

"There's nothing else there!" Hermione said, exasperated. "I just need to translate the runes and then crack the code. It shouldn't take too long."

The book itself was a dusty volume that looked like it hadn't been touched for a very long time.

Ginny sneezed.

"Bless you," Harry squeezed her hand.

"Put that thing away, it's making me sneeze!" Ginny said, before sneezing again.

"Sorry," Hermione said, shoving the book in her already very full bag. "Incidentally, I found something else while I was tracing your family trees."

"Yes, I'm aware that we're related," Harry told her.

"That's the thing, you aren't," Hermione replied. "Alice's grandmother, Eve Potter, was adopted."

Both grey and green eyes stared at her.

"You mean… my mum and his dad aren't cousins?" Alice's heart began to beat very fast. If they weren't related…

Harry held her gaze for a long moment. Ginny didn't miss this, and slowly slipped away from the table.

She wasn't sure what to do. She loved Harry, she had always adored him, especially since he'd rescued her from the Chamber in her first year. But she knew Alice loved him too, in her own way. Alice, as far as she knew, had never been in love with anyone before.

There were footsteps behind her, and Harry appeared.

He caught her hand. "What's wrong?"

She sighed. "I'm not stupid Harry. I know you love her too."

Shit. Harry's stomach lurched uncomfortably. He'd never intended to let Ginny find out, because he knew how much it would hurt her. "I…"

"You don't need to say anything Harry. I know you love me. But I don't think I can be with you until you can give yourself completely to me. I think Alice would say the same."

"You're making me choose?" Harry's mouth was dry and the words caught in his throat.

"Yes," Ginny nodded. "I hope that you choose me… but I'd understand if you didn't."

She walked away, hoping that he couldn't see the tears streaming down her face.


Alice's owl fluttered through the window of Sirius' study, where he and James were discussing their latest mission, away from their wives. Sirius read the letter quickly, frowned, and passed it to James. He called the girls in, and in turn, they read it too.

"What do you mean we're not related?!" Marlene demanded. "I grew up with you!"

James shrugged. "I guess it explains why your mum wasn't in Gryffindor like the rest of my family, and why she was bitter when you were sorted."

Bitter was an understatement. Marlene had left home by the time she was 17. "I don't understand why she never told me. Was she even pure blood?"

Some extra pages fell out of the letter. A family tree was roughly drawn on both pages, one of which contained James' family and the other which contained Marlene's.

"Greengrass?" Lily asked, perplexed. "I thought that the only children the Greengrasses ever had were boys."

James read Hermione's scribbled note underneath the tree. "The Greengrasses are one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families. They used to pride themselves on producing only male heirs to ensure the continuation of the family name. Any girls born were killed or quietly put up for adoption."

"Aren't there two girls at Hogwarts now who are Greengrasses?" Marlene asked.

"I think the practice has been discontinued," James said. "Daphne Greengrass is Harry's age, and Astoria Greengrass is two years younger."

It was alarming for Marlene to think that if her mother's birth parents had not been merciful, she wouldn't have existed.

"Slytherin?" she asked.

"Almost all of them." It was Sirius who replied. "Just like my family."

"Of course," she muttered. "Who else would murder their children?"

"The Greengrasses are distantly related to the Blacks and the Lestranges," James finished Hermione's note. "I think when we were at Hogwarts there was a Greengrass. What was his name?"

Sirius and Marlene shrugged, but Lily answered him. "Jonathan. He was in seventh year when I was a prefect in fifth year. His father would have been younger than Marlene's mother, I think."

"Well our parents were pretty old," James mused. "I think my dad was ten years older than your mum, Marlene."

"I don't know," Marlene answered. "He could have been a cousin." She left the room without saying anything else.

Sirius gave her a couple of minutes, and then found her in the garden smoking a cigarette.

"Old habits die hard, I see," he smirked.

"My mum used to smoke," Marlene examined the cigarette. "She told me in the hospital after the fire. She said she used to misbehave and get up to no good. I was the same."

"You're not the same," Sirius told her sharply.

"I'm a bad mum to Alice."

"No you're not," Sirius argued stubbornly. "You love her with everything you've got and more and she knows that. You never knew if your mum loved you, because she was so busy trying to perfect you all the time. She didn't see what I see."

"And what's that?" Marlene threw the cigarette away and turned to face him. In the light of the war returning, he only just noticed how tired she looked.

"She didn't see the perfection in you." Sirius hated being romantic, but he knew she needed it right now. "The way your hair curls, the way your eyes brighten up when you're talking to someone you love, your body, your heart and your soul. All of it, all of you is perfect. As broken as I was, you were there for me. You were always there. It was always you."

When Marlene smiled at him, it was like a glimpse back in time. She was eighteen again, young and in love. All she needed was her friends, they were her family.

"James might not be a blood relative, but he's my brother as much as he is yours," Sirius told her. "Who cares about blood? Our families abandoned us. Blood doesn't mean much to either of us."

"You're right," Marlene murmured.

"I'm always right," Sirius smirked, before gently pressing his lips to hers.

"Padfoot," James had appeared. "Moody's Patronus just arrived. We're patrolling Hogsmeade tonight. He thinks they're gathering there."

Sirius nodded, and headed back to his study to gather his things. He paused by his daughter's owl, before scribbling a note.

Stay alert tonight.


A/N: Soooo I'm back. I realised that it's been nearly a year since I posted or even wrote anything on this story. Real life sucks. Although on the plus side I travelled halfway across the world for three months, that was great.

So Ginny breaks up with Harry. I'm a huge Hinny shipper, Harmony is just ridiculous but I do like Alice and I think that Harry would have turned out slightly differently if he'd been raised by his parents. I'm still not sure whether it'll be Alice or Ginny in the end for him but I found a bit of inspiration for their future in this chapter, at least they're not actually second cousins! A lot of this chapter won't make sense unless you've read The Life, Love and Laughter of Marlene McKinnon so if you haven't read it, off you trot to go and read it.

Again, no flames please. Everyone hates Harry's girlfriends for some reason. This story is no exception.