The characters of the Harry Potter universe belong to Ms. Rowlings, and I'm borrowing them for my own imagination.
Chapter 25 – Talking
"How are Hermione's classes going?" Percy asked as he and Ron worked on installing a shelving unit in the formerly Zonko's store in Hogsmeade. Fred and George had recruited their brothers to help them prepare for the grand opening during the first Hogwarts' Hogsemeade weekend. Even though it was Saturday, Hermione had gone to Hogwarts to study in the library. She would return at dinner time when his brothers' wives and children would arrive for dinner at the Three Broomsticks.
"Stressed already, and she doesn't have Harry and I on her to help us with our work. I'm trying to get her to relax as much as possible." Ron said.
"I'm sure that most of her professors are trying to keep an eye on her as well." Percy tried to reassure him.
"I'm sure that Anna and Severus have made sure of that." Ron agreed.
"Has Hermione said how Gabrielle is dealing with her new school?" Bill asked as he, Fred and George levitated product out to the shelves.
"Hermione mentioned that Gabrielle was a part of her study group. She and Luna seem to get on very well. I think." Ron replied.
"I'm glad. We told Gabrielle that she could still return to Beauxbaton, but like her parents she insisted on supporting her sister's new home country in this way." Bill said.
"Kingsley is relieved that Mr. Delacor agreed to stay for a minimum of two years. One to get the department straightened out and one to train a replacement." Percy said. "Kingsley feels that although Fleur and Audrey are brilliant at their jobs, they are still too young and inexperienced to lead a department."
"If things go my way, Fleur won't be working when her father hands over the reins." Bill commented.
While his three youngest brothers sent him puzzled looks, Percy just smiled at him knowingly. "Mum will love another baby even if she is half French."
"There's no headway on that front yet, but not for lack of trying." Bill said and his brothers all laughed.
"Angelina wants to go back to work soon. Of course, she isn't going back to professional Quidditch. She's not in shape for it, and isn't sure she wants to work that hard or travel that much. She has a meeting scheduled with the Department of Magical Sports and Games with some ideas to utilize her Quidditch experience, but still keep her home." Fred mentioned.
"Hermione is not going to be a stay at home mum. It would drive her crazy. She wants to be out there effecting change in our society. You know spew and what not." Ron said.
"Yes, I have been meaning to suggest that the Ministry needs a daycare. How long is Katie going to be willing to take care of Patrick and Teddy? I need to get on Kingsley about it." Percy added. "What are you and Hermione going to do with the baby while you train and she finishes her NEWTS?"
"Katie asked to do it." Ron said. "Do you think three will be too much for her?"
"It will be four when Angie goes back to work, but she wants to do it. I would wager that if Percy would include Katie in on the conversation with Kingsley about a daycare, she would take it on. She doesn't quite know what she wants to do now that the war is over. I hate thinking about it, but I don't think she believed that she would survive the final battle. She loves spending time with the little kids. She wants lots of babies of her own, and sometimes I think marriage to me is more a means to an end." George responded. "She would love to baby-sit Patrick anytime you want to take Audrey out on a date."
"Huh? What?" Percy sputtered. "Why would I take Audrey out on a date?
"So you can shag her?" Fred responded.
"I think he is looking for a better answer than that." Bill said.
"Shagging is a good healthy activity. Would provide his little scrawny but a little exercise." Fred said.
"Language, Fred." Percy said indigently.
"We've all been married. There are definitely no innocents in this room." George defended Fred.
"We all are married." Percy said. "And I've got Patrick to take care of."
"Patrick likes Audrey. He flirts with Audrey almost as much as you do." Fred said.
"I don't flirt." Percy said but his brothers all laughed that response off. "Well, I do it to help her irritate her father."
"Fleur said you both do it at the Ministry even when Sirius in nowhere around, and anyway regarding Patrick, you know that you could call on any of us to help with Patrick." Bill said.
"Percy, Penny has been gone for over a year and a half." Ron said. "I know you loved her, but she wouldn't want you life to be on hold."
"Love her. My love for her is still alive. She is the mother of my son. My love for her didn't die when Ginny got her killed." Percy said sharply then realizing what he had vocalized, he sank to the floor, his back against the wall, and his face in his hands. "I didn't mean it that way. If Ginny had heard…"
"Percy, it's okay. Ginny was stubborn and didn't think, and her mistake in judgment led to Penny's death. We all know that, Ginny knows that. It is something that she will have to live with for the rest of her life. I couldn't imagine if it were Fleur." Bill said kneeling beside Percy, while the other three joined him on the floor around Percy.
"She would have done it, too. We all would have, Fleur, Angelina, Katie and me. We wouldn't have been thinking of ourselves. All we had to do is catch a glimpse of Ginny's red hair to be reminded of the men we love and know we needed to protect their little sister when they couldn't." Hermione said as she entered the shop.
"You know you're ready Percy. You wouldn't be acting the way you do with Audrey if you weren't ready to move forward." Ron said. "We all just want you to be happy again, and give yourself a chance to love again."
"I'll think about it." He agreed and the brothers grouped around to share a hug.
They all heard the whoosh of the floo from the next room and stood.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Patrick called out as he raced around the shelves in search for his father.
"Over here." Percy responded having reigned in his emotions.
"Daddy!" Patrick yelled as he launched himself at his father. He was followed by Fleur, Katie, and Angelina with Alicia. Fred immediately relieved his wife of his daughter.
"Did you have fun with Aunt Fleur today?' Percy asked him as he settled his son on his hip.
"Oui." Patrick said glancing at Aunt Fleur to see her nod encouragingly at him.
"Aunt Fleur is teaching you French?" Percy asked him.
"Oui." Patrick once again responded.
"You are doing well." Percy told him and Patrick beamed proudly at him.
"Say zank 'ou." Fleur prompted.
"Merci!" Patrick said.
"Wow, what else did you learn?" Percy asked.
"'Ow old are 'ou?" Fleur asked Patrick.
"Un." Patrick responded.
"'Oo eez zis?" Fleur asked pointing to Ron.
"Oncle Ron."
"And zis?" pointing to Katie.
"Tante Katie."
"And zis." Pointing to his dad.
"Papa."
"Tres bon." Fleur praised him.
Patrick beamed.
"You should teach me French. I can think of wonderful ways you can praise me." Bill said wrapping his arms around Fleur from behind and kissing the nape of her neck.
"J'ai juste parié que vous pouvez, mais ce qui serait mon stimulant." (I just bet you can, but what would be my incentive.) Fleur responded and Percy and Hermione laughed as they were the only ones who understood French.
"I'm getting hungry. How about we head to dinner?" Ron suggested draping an arm across his wife's shoulders.
"Lead the way, little brother." George gestured with a flourish. "Lead the way."
RWHG SSAS RLNT HPGW MWAW BWFD PWAV FWAJ GWKB DMLL BZGD RLNT SSAS RWHG
"Audrey, thanks for joining us for dinner." Harry greeted as he held out the chair for her at the table he and Sirius shared in the Leaky Caldron. Harry had worked very hard to arrange this dinner between Audrey and Sirius, and he wanted it to be work out exactly as he planned.
"You're welcome." Audrey said eyeing Sirius wearily. She had agreed to this dinner only because the Leaky Caldron was a neutral, public location that she could leave if she desired.
As arranged by Harry, Hannah came over immediately to the table and took their orders. Sirius laid off the alcohol at Harry's requested. He had worked hard on arranging this dinner, and didn't want anything to cause Audrey to bulk and not give Sirius a chance.
"Did you have a good birthday?" Harry asked Audrey.
"Yes. Aunt Andy made me a wonderful breakfast, and Uncle Ted had invited Aunt Cissy, Remus, Tonks and Teddy. Draco and Luna sent me a weird looking necklace with pop bottle caps." Harry smiled fondly at that, "I met the Delacors and Fleur for lunch in London. Fleur was babysitting Patrick, who was an absolute delight. He's the sweetest little boy." Audrey said. Her eyes lighting up as she talked about Patrick.
"Yes, we all adore him. He also has adjusted surprisingly well to his new baby cousin. Ron was worried that Patrick would feel that he lost some of the attention of his grandparents and aunts and uncles, but he doesn't seem to mind." Harry said.
"He hasn't lost Percy's attention. His father's attention is what matters the most." Audrey said eyeing her father.
"You would have had attention from your father if he had known about you." Sirius said.
"Really?" Audrey asked sarcastically.
"Yes. Why didn't your mother come and tell me?" Sirius asked.
"She did come to see you, but you were having sex with another woman. Aunt Andy says it was Elizabeth Bones. She was upset and decided that her child wasn't going to share your attention with what all your ladies." Audrey said. "You broke her heart. She never trusted another man with her heart again. There was this great man in Paris who loved her for years, but she would never agree to marry him. She loved him, but she wasn't able to trust love enough to bind her life to another's. He died shortly before Voldermort returned. I believe that is why she agreed to Professor Dumbledore's request to return to England and the Order."
"Here are you orders." Hannah said approaching the table with a tray levitating beside her. With a flick of her wand their plates levitated from the tray to the table followed by their drinks.
"Thank you, Hannah." Harry said smiling gratefully at her.
"You're welcome." The waitress smiled warmly at them. "If you need anything else, just holler."
They nodded as Hannah turned away the tray following her back to the bar.
"She's very sweet. Is she still dating your friend Neville?" Audrey asked.
"Yes, they are. To use Hermione's term, they are very sweet together. Really, no way else to describe it, but she seems to be perfect for him." Harry responded with shrug.
"What did your mother do in Paris?" Sirius asked as he cut into his steak.
"She worked in the Foreign Department under Mr. Delacor. I stayed with the Delacors when Mum was away and when she died they took care of me." Audrey responded.
"You attended Beauxbaton." Sirius asked.
"Yes." Audrey responded as she added more dressing to her salad.
"Did you enjoy it? What kind of student were you?" He asked.
"I loved it. All the culture and it is very beautiful. I was near the top of my class." She said. "Mum gave me the choice between Hogwarts and Beauxbaton, but I knew she wanted me at Beauxbaton, and I will never regret that decision."
"She was probably relieved during your third year when I escaped." Sirius said.
"We never told anyone who my father was, except Aunt Andy and Uncle Ted. But I'm sure that she was glad that the possibilities of us meeting were slim to none back then." She replied.
"You no doubt have questions about me. I will answer anything you like." Sirius said.
"Aunt Andy said you ran away from home when you were a teenager. Where did you go?" She asked.
"To James Potter's family's house. The always treated me like another son, much better than my own did." Sirius responded.
"Why wasn't my mum enough for you?" Audrey asked. It was really the only thing she wanted to know.
"I cared about your mother. I may have not showed it well, but I did. I was young, and unlike Harry's father, I wasn't ready for a committed relationship. I honestly thought that Emmeline knew that I was seeing other woman. I figured she had other guys as well, but we never discussed it. James and Lily weren't even expecting Harry yet. I didn't even think of the future in the terms of wife and a child until after Harry was born and your Mum was already gone and actually Elizabeth was engaged to Fabian Prewett by then." Sirius admitted.
"What would you have done if she had told you?" Audrey asked.
"I probably would have married her, but I'm not sure I was ready to be a husband. I would have tried to be a good father. I hope I would have raised you with the same values as Ron and Neville. I would have spoiled you. You and Harry would have been virtually raised together. James would have been your godfather. Who is your godfather?" Sirius asked.
"Uncle Ted." She responded as she finished her salad.
"Andromeda is your godmother?"
"Yes."
"Can I bring you any desert?" Hannah asked.
"No, I need to be going soon. I have to be into work early tomorrow for a meeting with the Minister." Audrey said.
"I'm assuming Percy will be there." Sirius said.
"Well, he is the assistant to the Minister." Audrey came to the offensive.
"He's a good man. He did a lot of good work for the Order, sacrificing a lot of himself." Harry said.
"I just don't know about people who can so convincingly fool others as spies." Sirius said. "How trustworthy can they be?"
Harry's hand shot out to hold Audrey in her chair. "Sirius, don't let your past with Severus cloud your judgment about Percy. Severus made bad choices in his youth that were as much of a reaction to your and dad's treatment of him than anything else. When he realized how wrong he was, he went to Professor Dumbledore and took an oath to him and the Order. It took me a long time to trust him, but after seeing the way he treated and took care of Hermione, he has my trust and gratitude. He earned it." Harry said. "Percy was on our side from the start. He and his wife followed Professor Dumbledore's orders to the letter and were an invaluable resource to the Order. Percy sacrificed his relationship with his family in order to serve the Order. Penny lost her parents and only had thirteen months of marriage and three months as a mother before she sacrificed her life to save Ginny's. You've spent time around Percy and Patrick. You've seen what kind of father he is, and you know he is a good man."
"I just don't want to see Audrey hurt." Sirius said.
"I know what I am doing, and so does Percy." Audrey stated.
"I don't want to get into a fight tonight. I want this to be a beginning for us. It is your birthday." Sirius said pulling out a present.
"Thank you." Audrey said. She opened the gift to find a oval locket inside. Inside were two pictures. The first was one she had seen many times of herself with her mother. The second was a picture of her as an adult with her father. "How?"
"Tonks got me the picture of you with Emmeline. The other I did with the help of Harry. He used a Muggle camera, a computter and PictureSpent it." Sirius explained.
"computer and PhotoShop." Harry corrected.
Sirius just waved his hand dismissing Harry's corrections. "The locket is a replica of one I gave Tonks when she was a child. Andy and I had formed our own family, the outcasted Blacks, so I created a new family crest." Sirius gestured to the crest etched on the front of the locket.
"Thank you. I have a lot to think about, but I wouldn't mind doing this again. I think I will understand more about myself by getting to know you." Audrey said.
"Here's to new beginnings." Harry said lifting his glass of pumpkin juice. Sirius and Audrey joined him in the toast.
TBC