Chapter 14
Gerard stood before an ordinary muggle door, hand raised but not quite touching the cheery painted wood.
Beside him stood Severus, who was no less nervous but better at hiding it.
After the year had passed, the pair had made plans. First, they had told others the truth of what had happened with Lily and Helena. Understandably the rest were stunned. To know the light minded James had actually dared to suggest to Lily they get rid of their daughter was a shock. When Gerard told others of his and Severus' plans to find his mum and sister, he was met with a show of support. A few grumbled at him leaving, but over all they wished them the best and told them to keep in touch when they could.
Gerard's nineteenth birthday came and went, and the discussions on how to find Lily begun, only to be interrupted by the arrival of Fawkes, who had aided them in not only finding the woman, but bringing the pair right to the door of Lily's new home.
'Are you going to knock, or shall I?' Severus asked.
Gerard gave the man a glare, but it was half hearted at best as he knew the man was as nervous as he was.
Finally he let out a breath, and knocked sharply three times on the door.
When it opened he thought for a moment Fawkes had taken him to the wrong address, for the woman inside was nothing like his mother.
'Hello? Can I help you?'
Gerard swallowed, noticing Severus doing the same.
'I'm sorry to bother you, but we're looking for someone. I was led to believe they lived here' he replied politely.
The woman looked closely at him, and only Severus noticed her eyes widening a little.
'Do you know the name of the person you're looking for?' she asked.
Gerard nodded.
'Lily and Helena Potter, though I'm not sure if they're names are still the same. I can describe them to you if it helps'.
The woman shook her head, opening the door further.
'No need, I believe I know who you are'.
She turned to Severus.
'And I think I know who you are as well. Severus Snape, and Gerard Potter'.
'That's right! So you know my mum?' Gerard asked in excitement.
The woman smiled, but it was a guarded one.
'I do, though before I let you in I must ask. What is your purpose for coming here?'
Gerard was about to snap at her, what kind of a stupid question was that, until he realised that maybe the woman was worried that he turned out to be like his dad.
'I miss my sister. I know I don't know her well, but I miss her. My dad, James Potter, he told me she and my mum had died, but I've since learned from Severus that they left him. I was also told why'.
He hurried ahead, afraid she might close the door in his face before he even got a chance to see his mum and sister.
'I'm not like him! I don't care what people are. I was horrified to hear he wanted to get rid of Helena just because she is a squib! I just…'
He let out a shuddering breath. Severus' hand on his shoulder helped.
'I just want to see them. A lot has happened since they left. I just want to know they are safe and happy'.
The woman took sympathy on him, her eyes softening as she held the door open wider and invited them inside.
'My name is Lucia. Your mother and aunt kinda of adopted me and my brother some years ago. I am a squib like your sister, and though my brother is a wizard, he knew our family would kill me if they knew, so he and I ran away as well'.
She led them into the living room, where Petunia sat reading the local newspaper. When she saw the pair she jumped to her feet with a shriek.
'Oh my goddess! Severus, and Gerard that couldn't be you surely!'
'Petunia' Severus confirmed with a nod, bracing himself for an onslaught.
Instead she rushed out the room, and Lucia waved them to sit.
'Diego, my brother, and the others are currently at the shop. We opened it not long after moving here. We all take shifts making potions and medicine. Petunia and I are off duty at the moment. She is probably going to get the others'.
'It's a potions shop?' Severus asked with some approval.
Lucia nodded, just as a clamber of footsteps was heard and the door Petunia swung shut was thrown open. Gerard stood, and found himself in his mother's arms before he could blink.
'Oh my baby boy! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I left you! I just couldn't take your sister being in danger!'
Gerard thought he had cried enough to last a lifetime within the last year, yet now a fresh well of tears sprang up, and so sobbed as he curled his arms round Lily and hugged her tight.
'I don't blame you mum. I'm sorry dad was such a jackass' he whispered.
As Lily cried into his shoulder, he glanced over to find what had to be his sister. The hair was a slight mess of black curls, inherited from his dad no doubt, and her eyes were the exact shade of green as their mum. She stood there somewhat hesitantly, not sure what to do about him being there.
Gerard gently extracted himself from Lily and went over, holding out his hand.
'I want to say I remember you perfectly, but all I know is you had black hair and green eyes. And that you liked to smile'.
He smiled softly as tears filled her eyes, and instead of a handshake she followed her mother's example and rushed into his arms.
'I remember you too. Mum never let me forget you' he heard her whisper.
Behind them Lily was having another tearful reunion with Severus, who while a little uncomfortable about being hugged was nonetheless relieved she didn't hate him.
It took time, but eventually everyone was introduced and they all sat down to, what Gerard thought, was the worst part of the whole trip.
Letting his mum and sister know what had happened back home.
'Um…mum, Helena…There's something you need to know…'
OOO
'And then he was hit too. I was too far away to do anything. It was afterwards that Severus told me what really happened with you' Gerard finished, fighting back tears with Severus' hand on his shoulder for support.
At first there was no reply to his story, and he glanced up to find Lily had gone white, tears streaming down her cheeks.
'I'm sorry mum. I'm sorry I couldn't do anything' he whispered.
That snapped her out her daze and she rushed over, holding him close. She was so deep in her own guilt for never contacting her husband and his friends, even just to tell them she was ok, that for a moment she hadn't thought about how her son must have felt seeing what he believed to be the last of his family killed before his eyes.
Looking over she saw Petunia comforting Helena. The girl hadn't really known her father or her uncles, but the news that she would never get to know them, get to talk to James and ask why he did what he did, get to laugh at one of Sirius' pranks, or show off some of her wiccan magic to Remus, had hit the girl just as hard.
'No baby, you did everything you could. It's not your fault' Lily spoke, petting his hair as he cried against her shoulder.
Severus meanwhile sat there feeling like an outsider. This group had been living together for years, knew each other well, and Gerard was of course welcomed being Lily's son and all. He felt out of place.
What was he to do now?
Severus knew when Albus died so did his last chance of walking through magical Britain a free man. Last he'd heard, any remaining deatheaters were being rounded up and put on trial.
He figured those like Lucius would probably miss out of Azkaban, however Lucius had the money and the political backing to do so. Severus had nothing, little money to call his own, a shabby little house in muggle Britain, and certainly no help in the ministry.
He was glad Gerard was reunited with his family, but now he had to figure out what to do himself.
And a part of him, a very small part that was firmly pushed to the very depths of his mind, wondered if it were at all possible to try once more with Lily. To have one more chance to kindle the feelings he felt for her, even now as she sat with her family and grieved the loss of her husband.
OOO
Helena felt somewhat numb. There really wasn't much else she could feel at that moment.
When Lily told her what her father had tried to do, she was shocked. Shocked and angry. How dare he just try and abandon her like that! How dare he think she wasn't worth it just because she was a squib. And worse still if she had stayed there and learned wiccan magic, he would have treated her even worse.
She couldn't understand magical Britain's prejudice. What was it about those simple minded fools that made them think they were the best of the best when all they did was treat others like rubbish?!
She had held onto that anger for years, even as she smiled and laughed with the others, it was there, buried away and never going out.
She had planned on using it one day, going back to Britain when she grew up and facing her father, showing him how strong she was, proving to him that race or blood didn't make the person.
And now that chance was gone for good. And with it went the anger.
But the need was still there. How could she ask him why when he was no longer there to answer?
It was as she thought that that it hit her. There was a way to ask him, but it would require a rather complex ritual and the help of her family.
She gave her aunt a smile, feeling Dudley's hand squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. He hadn't known his father either, but he took it in his stride. Anyone who treated others the way Vernon did was not fit to be a dad, Dudley had said, and that was the end of it. Petunia agreed, though it would have been a different story if she hadn't, like Lily. Lily still loved James, and even though Helena barely knew him, that love prevented her from having the same dismissive attitude as her cousin.
'Mum' she called softly, catching Lily's attention who carefully glanced up from hugging Gerard.
'There is a way to get closure' Helena continued.
Lily looked lost, but the other girls knew exactly what Helena meant.
'She's right. There is a ritual to briefly speak with the spirits. It takes a few hours to set up, and everything had to be absolutely perfect otherwise it won't work' Petunia explained.
'However if we all work together we can ensure there are no mistakes' Marissa followed.
Gerard looked confused, though Severus believed he knew what they were talking about. It rather surprised him, if what he thought was true.
'By any chance, are you referring to a wiccan ritual?' he asked cautiously.
'Something wrong with that?' Diego retorted in warning.
Severus quickly shook his head.
'I am not as prejudice as some back in Britain. I was merely curious. May I ask how many of you are wiccans? I know Lily isn't'.
'Everyone except Diego and Lily practice the wiccan ways' Petunia answered with a little smile.
Now that made Severus blink in surprise.
'Yourself included? You are a squib?' he asked.
'That's right, myself and my son. I learned not long after Lily got her letter. Our parents knew as well. In fact I got the information from our mother, who in turn got it from her grandmother who practiced the art. I'm not sure why our grandmother didn't, but I know our mother didn't really bother with such things. She didn't hate it, rather she preferred the non magic life. When Lily came to me saying Helena was a squib, it was my chance to pass it on, not only to my son, but to Helena as well' Petunia explained.
'Wait. So all of you, except mum and Diego, are squibs who use magic? I was always told being a wiccan was dark' Gerard said.
'Not that I agreed with them exactly. Uncle Remus always told me that it doesn't matter what you are, but rather who you are' he hurriedly explained when he got warning looks.
He then turned to Helena looking excited.
'So you can really do that kind of magic. That's brilliant!'
Helena beamed at her brother, glad he wasn't judging her like her dad did.
'Do you want to see?' she asked somewhat hesitantly.
He nodded and she looked around for something to do. Clocking Severus' cloak that had been placed over a chair, she grinned and, with her finger pointed, had the cloak raise up and do a little dance around the room. Both Gerard and Severus noticed her earrings gave off a soft glow when she did.
'That's wicked!' Gerard exclaimed.
'It's something witches and wizards do everyday though, isn't it?' Dudley asked confused.
'Well yes. But…well most witches and wizards use a wand, and speak the spell. The levitation spell is learned in our first year at Hogwarts, so I know it's not really that much of a big deal. But at the same time, this is something those snobbish purebloods keep saying squibs aren't capable of, and yet here you are doing it with no problems whatsoever. You're not even saying anything! Is all wiccan magic like that?' Gerard tried to explain.
'Not exactly. When you start out it's best to say the words which helps you focus. As you get older though you can learn to do the magic without words. Really it's all about visualisation and focus' Petunia explained.
'Plus, most witches and wizards outside of Britain can do wordless and even wandless magic quite easily. They learn it the same way we learn our wiccan magic. It's odd really, Britain seems to be the only place, or one of the few places, where doing wandless or wordless magic is looked upon as a great thing. Even back in Madrid there are people who can wave their hand and transfigure something with ease. Granted, most of the time they rubbed that fact into others faces' Diego followed.
'You used to live there?' Severus asked.
The younger boy nodded.
'Lucia and I came from a pretty large family before we met the Evans family. They weren't nice people though. When Lucia discovered she was a squib I knew they would at best abandon her, and at worse kill her if they found out. So we ran away'.
He gave a little chuckle.
'Turns out we weren't the only ones running away that day. We met with Lily, Petunia and the kids on the boat to New York, and Marissa not long after, though she wasn't exactly running away at the time'.
'So you guys have travelled around America. That sounds cool, I wish I had had the chance to do that, or at least get out of Britain. Don't get me wrong, I have friends there and it's my home and all, but I have often wondered what it would be like to go on holiday abroad' Gerard said.
'You've never been. What was James thinking?!' Lily said in surprise.
'Well I did meet people from Bulgaria and France in my fourth year, though it was for that damned tournament…'
Gerard shook his head, pushing the memories away.
'So you mentioned a ritual. How long would we have to talk to the spirits?'
'If it works, I'd say around half an hour' Petunia replied, glancing at Lily.
The red head looked conflicted. She hadn't yet got over the fact that James, Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore were truly gone. To bring their spirits back would really cement it in her mind.
But this wasn't just for her. She glanced at her daughter. Helena deserved to at least talk to her father. And Gerard looked like he could use some closure as well.
'Alright. But not until tomorrow. For the rest of the day we're going to catch up and spend some time as a family'.
She turned to Severus.
'That includes you Severus. I've missed my old friend, and it can't be good for you to go back to Britain now'.
The man sighed.
'I confess it would not be best. I would be in Azkaban before I could blink'.
Lily swallowed a gasp and nodded firmly.
'Then it's settled. The two of you will stay here with us. We have plenty of room, and we could always use some more men around the house'.
'Agreed!' Dudley piped up with a grin.
Diego rolled his eyes, though secretly he agreed. When the girls got together sometimes it was chaos. He and Dudley really could use some more guys to balance things out.
Lily giggled a bit, glancing at Gerard.
'There's nothing stopping you from going back to Britain, be it a visit or to stay. But right now I think we could both use our family. We won't stop you from contacting your friends'.
'Thanks mum' he replied gratefully.
While he had no real intention of returning, he didn't want to loose contact with his friends entirely.
And with that the group sorted out who was sleeping where and arranged to collect things for Severus and Gerard. Then it was decided that they were too exhausted to cook, and ordered take out for dinner, much to Gerard's delight as he had never had Chinese food before.
OOO
Early the next morning Gerard and Severus watched with interest as the ritual was set up.
Helena had chosen a Japanese style ritual that she learned of over the internet from a wiccan friend in Tokyo. It suited her needs as Japanese rituals tended to be done for more death situations than others.
The woman she talked to told her it was how her culture worked, that having that link between life and death helped the living in several ways, from aid as seers, to helping others draw comfort from lost loved ones.
Helena cleared the coffee table to be used as an altar, and placed on top of it a Japanese shrine mirror. She then placed twenty five perfectly white candles around the table in a rough circle, ensuring each was placed exactly five inches apart.
With the help of Petunia she obtained some myrrh incense and lit it beside the mirror, letting the soothing scent flow into the air as she prepared a mixture of yarrow, hawthorn flowers, heather and white rice. This was crushed to a fine powder which she then spread in a circle just inside the candles around the altar.
Finally, she asked Gerard if he had a non moving picture of James, Sirius and Remus she could use.
After rummaging through his things he found a small pile of photos from a muggle camera uncle Remus had bought. He remembered with a smile how fascinated he, his dad and uncle Sirius was at the thing, and how they snapped away at each other and anything that caught their interest, eager to see how non magic photos look.
He handed over three of the best pictures, one for each of the men, asking if they were ok as they were a little blurred from being shot too quickly.
Helena said they were fine, taking a moment to look at the family she never had, before gently setting them down next to each other in between the incense and the mirror, with the photos facing the mirror.
'That was the easy bit' she explained.
'Really, it looked complicated. I mean you were measuring the distance between each candle each time you set one down' Gerard said looking baffled.
Putting the candles down alone had taken almost an hour as they had to be absolutely perfect.
'Oh it is. The incense needs to be tilted just so so that the fumes fog the mirror, but only a little. The powder needs to be very fine and dry, which is quite hard to do when rice is involved. And the photos need to sit at an exact distance from the mirror and the mirror tilted in such a way that it shows the photos as if they were sitting upright' Helena replied.
'But all that can be done over and over to get it perfect. If you mess up during this stage it's easy enough to start over. It's the chanting that's the hard part. You only have one try and you need to speak the words exactly otherwise the whole thing is ruined. At best you'll have a sticky mess to clean up, but at worse…'
Here she paused.
'Thankfully it's never happened with us, but I've heard that if you really mess up the chant the spirits do appear, but angry and vengeful and will haunt you to your deathbed'.
'It's very similar to summoning a sorgin, though sorgins are more about bloodshed while spirits in this ritual would rather eat away at your sanity' Marissa pointed out.
Gerard gulped.
'I assume, in order to prevent this, you have learned this chant by heart?' Severus asked, both curious and a little nervous.
Helena nodded.
Last night and this morning before you woke up I practiced the chant. I even spoke with my friend in Tokyo who went through it with me bit by bit. I'm confident I can do this right'.
'Do you need us to do anything?' Gerard asked.
'No. If you could sit with the others though. Probably be prepared to catch me, the ritual does take a fair bit of energy' Helena replied.
Nodding the pair went to sit with the others, who had placed themselves just behind Helena to ensure someone would catch her if she fainted.
Helena took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before beginning the chant. There were many rituals that would allow a chance to speak with the dead, but not all of them were specific to who you wanted to talk to, while others demanded a sacrifice of sorts.
Helena had been taught several languages over the years, from Japanese to French to Gaelic. She used these languages to aid her with her wiccan magic, depending on which spell or ritual was used at the time.
'Korera no kotoba o kiite, watashi no sakebigoe o kiki nasai, hantaisoku no mitama, watashi ni ki nasai, watashi wa anata o shokan suru, ima oini bunretsu suru'.
A howling wind blew up as she completed the last word. She fell forward a bit, catching herself and turning to the others who had jumped up to help.
'I'm ok' she said over the noise of the wind.
It continued to get stronger, causing a small hurricane in the living room, seeming to pull at their very souls. Thankfully the group were prepared and had taken everything not nailed down out of the room before Helena started. Gradually the wind died down, and once it had died entirely, three shapes appeared hovering above the table.
'What in the world…?!' James started, before he was stunned into silence at seeing his wife before him.
Sirius on the other hand was too busy wondering how he went from lying on a tropical beach in the afterlife to finding himself in a random living room, and was being quite vocal about voicing it.
Remus gave his friend a clock to the back of the head, shushing the mutt and pointing out the tearful faces in front of them.
'Pup? Oh, I get it. You've brought us back so you can kill us yourself for leaving you'.
Gerard sobbed a laugh. Even in death the three were exactly the same.
It was Remus who finally noticed the black haired green eyes girl in the room.
'Helena? Is that you?'
That got the other's attention.
'H…Helena' James stuttered out.
'Good Merlin look at you! You've gotten so big! And beautiful! I bet you're pushing the boys back with a stick!' Sirius exclaimed with a big grin.
She choked out a laugh before sobering. Lily had told her about Sirius' joking nature, and Remus' calm one. But the person she really wanted to hear was her father.
Helena glanced at Gerard, but he shook his head.
'You first. I'm just happy to know they're the same as usual'.
Smiling a little tearfully, she turned back, looking her dad in the eyes. It took her a while to find the right question, a part of her wanted to rant and scream and through obscenities at him, demanding to know why he wanted to abandon her all those years ago. Problem was, she already knew why.
James had been born from an older than usual mother and father, and because they had had a child so late, he'd been spoilt. He'd grown up accustomed to having his way, but he was also made aware of his duties as the future head of the house. When his parents died, James was determined to be the perfect head of house. He was to continue the Potter line, thankfully the Potters were more open minded than other families, and felt having a muggleborn put into the family once or twice a century was the best way to overcome inbreeding, so Lily was happily welcomed with open arms.
Unfortunately the Potters didn't see squibs in quite the same way. Oh they certainly wouldn't harm any squib born into the family, but rather the proper procedure was to send the child away to the muggle world where he or she would be adopted into a nice family and live happily ignorant of the magical world.
James had only tried to follow this procedure, and had Lily been a pureblood brought up in such ways she might have agreed to let the child go to the muggle world.
But Lily wasn't a pureblood, and hadn't understood why sending a child away was a good thing.
Lily had been told this by both James and his parents, and in turn explained all this to Helena. Helena couldn't exactly blame her dad for wanting to live up to the Potter standards, but at the same time it hurt knowing her own father didn't want her.
'Why did it matter that I was a squib?' she eventually asked.
OOO
Oddly enough, when James "awoke" in the afterlife, he thought his troubles would be over. Yes he left a son behind, and yes said son was now technically an orphan. But James wasn't in pain, had all his limbs back, had his brother and his parents, and he knew Gerard was old enough to take care of himself.
Perhaps it was a selfish thought, but in the afterlife people thoughts tended to be honest.
James knew that had he lived through the war, he would have had to tell his son the truth about the boy's sister and mother. Gerard would probably have been angry with him, perhaps even cutting ties to him. He would have wanted to search for Lily and Helena, spending who knows how long trying to track them down. Had he found them he would have either tried to bring them back home, or worse decide to stay with them and leave James behind.
James might have even had to speak with a girl he wanted to abandon.
Overall it was better that he died, though he could have done so without the intense pain of the curse.
Bastard Lestrange, hope someone hit them with the bloody killing curse.
So he lived on, as it were, enjoying the benefits the afterlife brought.
But now he was here, in this unfamiliar living room, looking at the one person he really didn't want to see again.
Don't get him wrong, he loved Helena, he really did. He was just trying to follow protocol by wanting to have her sent away. She was a squib, she couldn't do magic. And if she could it would have been that wiccan stuff that everyone knew was dark.
She would have been bitter if she'd stayed, more so when Gerard was the boy who lived and she was just Helena the squib sister.
It would have brought Gerard's popularity down to have her around. It would have shamed the Potter family if she stayed.
It would have embarrassed James when she didn't go to Hogwarts, and people started asking why.
His family had not had a squib born in nearly a thousand years. And compared to say the Malfoys who were rumoured to have had a squib born as recent as fifty years ago, it was pretty damn impressive.
And he had to go and break that streak. Him. Not his parents or his children, but him.
He looked into hurt green eyes, feeling the glares of his brothers at his sides. They knew why he wanted her gone. Lily knew. Hell he bet even Severus knew.
Helena apparently didn't, and now he had to tell her.
'I was embarrassed. The idea that I had helped conceived a squib, I just couldn't take it. A lot of thoughts were going through my head at the time, some good, some bad. The idea of walking down Diagon Alley with you and having to tell people that no, I'm not shopping for wands or potions ingredients because you won't be going to Hogwarts was terrifying. I tried so hard to be a perfect light person, to continue making the Potter family perfectly light, that I guess I was blinded to what I was really doing'.
He gave Lily a small smile.
'I'm glad you told me straight. I'm only sorry I was too pig headed to understand until after you'd left. I tried, I tried so hard to find you both that I neglected pretty much everything else in my life. Only Gerard was more important, and not because he was magical, but because he was the only family I had left. Even Remus and Sirius were giving me the cold shoulder for what I tried to do'.
He gave the pair a weak grin.
'Please don't think for a second they were on my side in this. Both were just as determined, no more so, to find you than I was. In the end I just gave up. Your mother had hidden you both too well. I wanted to continue, but with Voldemort's attacks becoming more and more violent. And then when he attacked us, well after that everything was pushed to the side to ensure Gerard was safe and well'.
He sighed. This was actually easier to say when he knew he would be returning to the afterlife. But having to say it at all was like a kick to the stomach. He shouldn't have had to say these things at all, he should have listened to Lily. Then perhaps they would have been together, a big happy family. Sure he would have had to put up with scorn from other purebloods for having and keeping a squib, but really that shouldn't have mattered to him.
His children, closely followed by their mother, should have been the most important thing in his life, and he willingly allowed that image to shatter.
'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I can't apologise enough'.
There was really nothing else he could say, and Helena sensed that.
'Dad. I'm a squib, and I'm also a wiccan. My aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley are also wiccans. Marissa and Lucia over there are the same, while Diego is a wizard'.
She gave James a hard look.
'He's actually more man than you, because when he found out his little sister was a squib, he didn't follow in his family's footsteps by agreeing to send her away or worse, he stayed by her side and helped her get away from a potentially abusive situation. He stayed with her, abandoning his own family believes, just because he was her brother'.
She scrubbed her eyes when she felt the sting of tears.
'What you are should never matter to family. Others may bully or torment you, but family should always stick together. I can forgive you for what you did, but I won't forget. I can't forget that my own father was too worried about his own shame than his daughter'.
She gave Remus and Sirius a warmer look.
'Thank you. I don't know exactly what you did, but you defended me. I wish I'd gotten to know you better, to be able to call you uncles like Gerard does'.
'Aw come on kiddo you're making me tear up' Sirius spoke with a sniff and a smile.
'No reason why you can't think of us as uncles now. We've never stopped thinking about you, or Lily, and how you were doing. And neither of us think any differently of you for being a squib or a wiccan. I actually suspected you were the one who summoned us, and if so that must have taken a great deal of power. I'm very proud of you. Both of you' Remus said, glancing at Gerard.
'Me too!' Sirius piped up.
Helena beamed, wishing she could rush into their arms.
'Thank you uncle Remus, uncle Sirius' she whispered.
They both smiled back, then as one turned to James with matching glares.
'And now you Prongs' Sirius warned.
James cringed, feeling somewhat trapped as the pair closed in.
'I am proud. Ok so being a wiccan is a shock, but how could I not be proud. I know that just because some kinds of magic is different from the stuff we learned, doesn't make it dark or evil. It took me a while to realise that, but I know now'.
He glanced at Helena, looking her in the eye.
'Thank you for forgiving me, and I understand when you say you can't forget. Just don't let my stupidity put you off trusting others'.
He took a breath.
'I love you, and your mother, and your brother. I love you so much. I'm sorry I could tell you this when I was alive'.
He glanced at his brothers, sighing in relief when they allowed him to back away so they could talk. He really wasn't in the right frame of mind to chat and catch up.
He noticed Gerard coming towards him, managing a smile for his son.
'Dad, I just want to say I'm sorry I couldn't do anything for you three…'
James went to interrupt with a protest that there was nothing Gerard could do when the boy continued.
'I also want to say that if you were alive I would hex you for being so stupid as to try and abandon Helena. Severus told me everything, said Dumbledore asked him to if anything happened'.
Gerard sighed.
'I was angry, really angry at you dad. So angry that for a few moments I was actually glad you were dead. I felt so guilty for thinking that afterwards. Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, he helped us find mum and Helena. He's been watching over them, making sure they were ok'.
He looked at James.
'I'm going to stay here, with them, and so is Severus. We'll go back to Britain to visit, and I'll keep in touch with my friends, but without you, Remus and Sirius, it's just not home there. I don't know how you feel about this, but to be honest I don't care. I want to get to know my twin, and my mum. I want to hear everything they've done, get to know the people they've lived with all these years. I've barely been out of the country until now, and I want to learn everything I can. I know you've kept me close to keep me safe, but I want to explore now'.
James really wished he could hug the boy.
'Then I hope you enjoy every moment if it son. I'm sorry I didn't take you anywhere, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you what really happened with your mother and Helena. I planned on waiting until you were older, but the age just kept going up. I was going to tell you at five, then ten, then eleven and finally at seventeen. I'm glad you were told in the end, and I'm glad you've reunited with the rest of your family'.
He managed a laugh.
'I'm especially glad you've got your mothers brains. Merlin knows how you would have turned out if you'd been just like me'.
He smiled at his son.
'Go and live your life Gerard. Know that I'll think about you, and the others, always'.
Gerard bit back a sob, nodding and desperately wanting to hug his dad.
'I'm glad you're ok with this' he whispered, before making his retreat to calm down his tears.
James chuckled softly. Gerard had always wanted to be the big man, and big men don't cry. At least that was what he believed. James knew it wasn't true, and knew Gerard didn't really think so either.
He watched the group at they chatted, overhearing things like names and placed they'd been to and thinking how lucky they were to have gone on such adventures when he clocked Severus glancing at him.
Another thing he had been putting off. He motioned for the man to come closer, which he grudgingly did.
'Can we talk a moment?'
Severus simply nodded, fixing the spirit with a cold look. James flinched.
'I know this is far too late, and selfish of me to do when I'm dead, but I'm sorry I was such an ass to you in school. And after'.
He looked for a reaction, but found nothing. He pushed on regardless.
'I know how you feel about Lily. It was pretty obvious. I don't know what your plans are but…if you're planning on staying with them, can you promise to watch out for them. I know they can probably take care of themselves, but it would make me feel better if there was someone else keeping an eye on them. Someone who cares for them'.
Severus sighed, fighting to stop his eyes rolling. Typical of a dead man to ask for such promises.
Thankfully, he had already decided to do just that, so making such a promise was easy.
'Fortunately for you Potter, that promise I can make. And I accept your apology regarding the tormenting, even if I haven't quite gotten it yet'.
James smiled, nodding gratefully. He suddenly felt a pull around his chest, realising with a painful smile that it was time to go.
It seemed the others had realised as well, as all were having tearful goodbyes. Just before he faded back to the afterlife, he caught Lily smiling at him, and smiled back when he realised what she was whispering.
'Thank you James. I love you'.
OOO
It was the morning of the twin's twenty first birthdays.
After the ritual, life slowly worked its way into a settled routine. Both Helena and Gerard felt as though a weight was lifted from their shoulders, and Gerard had his closure. Lily was in much higher spirits as well, and had even started picking up on the feeling Severus was showing her. They took their new budding relationship very slowly, and after a year had become very close. Marriage was mentioned a couple of times, but Lily always insisted she didn't want to have anyone feel like they were going too quick.
Petunia translated for Severus what the red head really meant, and the man had proposed during their first Christmas day as a family.
Helena and Gerard were over the moon, though Gerard joked that it would be weird to have his old snarky potions professor as his new step father.
The pair married a few months later, and as the group grew the younger members all decided it was time to leave the nest.
Dudley had always wanted to go back to New York to live, and even had a few offers from modelling companies asking him if he was interested. The idea had never really crossed his mind, but at the promptings of his family he decided to give it a shot, and found he actually quite enjoyed the glamorous life. It was something he never thought he'd do, and would never have done if he were still living in Britain with Vernon as his dad.
The twins on the other hand had decided to move together to Aurora Colorado, where the very first Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was, according to Helena who was even after all these years still a big fan of their food and animatronics.
She still had the plushies in her room.
Her big plan was to open an occult shop, and she'd been planning it out for the last month leading up to her birthday. Gerard simply wanted to be with his twin.
Lily was busy preparing a cake for her children, to celebrate both their birthday and their big move away. While saddened that they were leaving, she had always encouraged them to live their own lives and go exploring the world.
'You're daydreaming again'.
She giggled as Severus wrapped his arms round her, swiping his hand away when he tried to sneak some icing.
'I'm just wondering how we'll cope without the three of them around. When Dudley left Petunia was a mess for a while. Did you see her smother him when he came for the party?'
Severus buried his nose into her hair.
'They will be fine. The paperwork is already through for the apartment and they've already worked out where they will find work to pay the bills. They've certainly inherited your brains'.
'They do have good heads on their shoulders' Lily sighed.
'Indeed. Now let's bring that cake through and see them off properly. It's their big day after all' Severus murmured.
'I would if you'd let me go!' she laughed.
OOO
'So how much is this a month again? I still can't get my head around the changes in money' Gerard asked as he looked over the contract.
Helena giggled.
'You've been with us for nearly two years and you still haven't worked out conversion rates! The place is a hundred and seventy five dollars a month. That's about a hundred and forty pounds, which if I've got this right makes it around twenty nine galleons'.
'That's not bad, I think' Gerard commented as they went inside.
'It is quite good. Well, if I'm going to fund my shop, I need a job' Helena said.
'Still thinking about working at Freddy's?' Gerard asked.
'Yep. Just think of the free pizza!' the girl exclaimed.
'And those creepy robots. Now those plush toys I don't mind, but just think about working alongside the real thing'.
'The word is animatronics, not robots. Although they are very similar. And what's wrong with working alongside them? That would be so cool!' Helena protested.
The pair spent the rest of the day unpacking and settling in, Gerard checking the local paper for jobs while Helena worked on her CV for Freddy's.
'Say's here the night shift job is two hundred and fifty dollars a week. Is that good? I mean it certainly covers our bills. Oh hey look! Here's a job at a place called Cracker Barrel. Pay's four hundred a week and its full time'.
'It's not bad considering its only six hours a night. That sounds good, Cracker Barrel's got pretty good food as well. Is it far?' Helena asked.
'A bus ride away, though once I see it I can apparate no problem. Mind helping me sort out a CV? I haven't a clue what to put down' Gerard answered.
'Sure'.
Only a week later Helena waved Gerard off as she made her way a few blocks down the street to her new job as a night guard in Freddy's. She was a little disappointed that it was a night position, but the job sounded pretty easy, and she was even told she could see the animatronics walk around. Apparently they used to walk around during the day, but an incident happened and the owners stopped it, only letting them move at night to stop their servers shutting down.
It sounded odd, and they never did explain what the incident was, but Helena was confident she could manage six hours looking after a group of animal animatronics.
What could go wrong?