Metamorphose Chapter 29
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make any profits from posting this fanfiction.
Summary: Non-Epilogue compliant. After the war groups of disgruntled Wizards and Witches terrorise England's magical nation, sending them to the brink of civil war and a war against the Creatures. Harry is in Gringotts when one terrorist faction attacks causing Harry and other survivors to go into hiding. There is an interested repercussion of the potion they use to hide themselves and now Harry finds himself stuck in a foreign country, with people he doesn't know and living in a style he has never even dreamed to imagine.
Warnings: Gender change. Fem!Harry…after a potions accident. Name changes for characters. Hurricane Sandy (use of artistic licence over the damage it wrought)
Pairings: LM/HP. DM/AG. RW/HG.
Authors note: This is kind of a happy families chapter. I also quite like the flirting though it is reasonably out of character.
(Chapter 29)
November 28th.
Henri squeezed the hand holding hers. Little Lulu looked up at her very sadly and Henri slid down to her knees regretting that the action meant she left the circle of Lucas' arms but knowing the little girl needed more comfort than either of them. Lulu immediately wrapped her arms around Henri's neck and her legs around Henri's waist in a huge hug. Henri held her tightly feeling the little girl begin to cry. She stood up and looked over to Lucas who once again wrapped her in one of his arms. His other arm was around Dante's shoulders now, the man shaking silently with his own grief and tears as he held the sleeping baby.
It was Aster's funeral and the weather was as miserable as they all felt.
The day was going to be long but Henri knew it would all be a blur of sadness and grief.
December 1st.
"No! I don't want the bad man to hurt the Beast!" Lulu cried and scrambled up from her position on the carpet to climb onto Henri who was sat on the sofa. The girl climbed into Henri's lap and hugged her peeking at the screen from where she had tucked her head under Henri's chin.
"What on earth are you watching?" Lucas asked as he entered the room holding a book. He gave the television a disgusted look then looked at Henri in such a manner that said he was questioning her sanity.
"It's called Beauty and the Beast Grandfather." Lulu perked up saying. "But look, that bad man is going to hurt the beast!" Lulu pointed at the screen to where Gaston was chasing after the Beast, knife in hand.
"Quite..." Lucas sneered giving another look of distaste to the screen.
"It's a children's cartoon Lucas, based on a fairy tale."
"Yeah and – OH NO! He's going to kill him?!" Lulu hid her face against Henri again and Henri gave the girl an amused smile which dropped clean off her face at the girl's next words. "Why do bad people have kill other people?! Why do good people have to die?!"
Henri looked up at Lucas whose face contorted a little going through different emotions before settling on neutral. Henri sighed and went to answer the girl except Lucas walked around them to sit on the sofa next to Henri and pulled the little girl from Henri's lap and into his own. The girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes. Henri pressed pause on the film and watched as Lucas met the girl's eyes with his own serious look.
"Bad people killing other people and good people dying are not necessarily synonymous with each other." He said and Lulu looked to Henri with a frown of confusion on her face. Henri clarified for the girl then looked back at Lucas waiting for him to continue whatever he was going to say.
"Synonymous means the same."
"Bad people kill other people because they don't like them and instead of being mature and dealing with this properly the bad people hurt those other people. Good people sometimes die because it is their time or because the bad people don't like them. Sometimes good people die through no fault of their own. It just happens."
"You killed people once didn't you?" She asked and Henri shut her eyes dismayed at the question. But Lulu wasn't finished. "And Aunty Henri killed somebody!"
"Yes, you are correct." Lucas confirmed and Henri opened her eyes to see what was going to happen next.
Lucas looked calm and collected though, perfectly cool and in control in the face of Lulu's accusations. The girl looked confused and upset still, looking between them both for answers. Lucas finally spoke making sure to keep his tone low, calm and factual.
"I used to kill people because I was a bad man. At the time, you have to understand, I did not know that I was being a bad person. When I learned, and more importantly when I understood, that what I was doing was bad I changed. Your Aunty Henri taught me how to be a good person, how to be a very good and happy person." He explained calmly. "Your aunty Henri," Henri smiled at the use of her shortened name that Lucas very rarely used, "is one of the best types of good people."
"But she killed somebody! I remember. My first mummy told me all about her!"
"Yes. The person Henrietta killed was the most evil man ever to ever walk this earth." Lucas said bluntly and Lulu stared in shock at him. "The evil man had lots of bad people helping him to hurt people and he needed to be stopped. Your Aunty Henri was the only one strong enough and brave enough to stop the evil man. The problem with evil is that the only way to stop it completely is to kill it. That doesn't make Henrietta a bad person. It just means she did what she had to do to stop that evil man."
"Oh..." Lulu said and then her eyes caught a glimpse of the screen and she ducked her head again seeing that it was paused on a picture of Gaston holding his knife about to attack the Beast. "But that man's evil too. Who's going to stop him?"
"We will have to watch the film to find out." Henri pointed out and grabbed the remote control.
"But I'm scared! I don't want the Beast to get hurt! I don't want the bad man to hurt me."
"Aunty Henri and I shall protect you and I am sure, considering this is aimed at children, that the bad man will not win. Play the film, my dear."
They watched the film to the end. Lulu screamed and actually cried when Gaston hurt the Beast. She hid her face in Lucas' chest when he lay on the ground dying and Henri frowned at the screen hoping that the film wasn't going to end there and have the Beast die...what kind of a child's programme was that? Cinderella, Robin Hood, Mary Poppins, Snow White were all Disney children's films but they had happy endings...this one had to have a happy ending too didn't it? It better have for Lulu's sake.
When magic started happening and started doing something to the Beast Lulu had become transfixed...then scared when the man that the beast had become still looked like he was dead. Henri had nearly been deafened by the little girl's cheers when the man stood up and kissed Belle.
"I don't understand about the rose and the magic Aunty Henri!" Lulu complained and Henri considered it for a minute wishing she had paid better attention.
"I think the Prince got turned into a Beast because he was a mean person. The rose was like a clock. He had until the rose died to become a good person and then he would be able to turn back into a Prince again. If he didn't become a good person by the time the rose died then he would be stuck as a beast forever."
"Oh. So it's lucky that Belle helped him turn into a good person then right?"
"Yes." Henri said, relieved that the girl seemed to understand. Lulu got a considering look on her face then as she switched her gaze between Henri and Lucas.
"So...did you help make Grandfather into a good person then Aunty Henri? He said you did."
"Yes..." Henri agreed slowly. She looked at Lucas to see if he had any idea where Lulu was going with her questions.
"Does that mean that you are Belle and he's the Beast then?" Lulu asked and Henri choked on her own tongue.
"Excuse me?!"
"Most certainly not!" Lucas protested adamantly only Lulu's face dropped into a deep upset frown.
"But you said..."
"I am not now nor have I ever been a beast!" Lucas said firmly. "I am a wizard and would never have been cursed by that witch in the first place. Now I do believe it is your bed time young lady."
"Aww but I liked that film! Can we watch it again?" Lulu pleaded.
"No." Lucas said plainly and made a shooing motion with his hand. "Go get ready for bed."
"Aww Grandfather..."
"Now please, Lulu."
"Awwwwwwwww!" She whined but obediently turned and walked out of the room.
"Children have the most preposterous ideas!" Lucas complained and crossed his arms over his chest. Henri couldn't help but laugh as she turned off the television and twisted around to see him.
"Yes I suppose so. But if you think about it her idea was quite a clever interpretation on the story." Henri said and Lucas gave her a look that clearly questioned her sanity.
"Don't be absurd."
"Well it's true if you think about it. Person got turned into a beast because he had become a bad person, good person comes along and helps him realise his ways and he turns into a good person again and stops being a beast and they live happily ever after."
"Completely inaccurate!" Lucas snapped and Henri laughed again.
"Well the 'happily ever after' bit is but other than that..." Henri trailed off and Lucas scoffed but looked to her with a speculative gleam in his eye.
"While I hold no belief in any of that ridiculous story or it's comparison to me, there is one thing that I wholeheartedly agree with the absurd cartoon about." He said and Henri cocked her head to the side.
"Oh yeah? And what's that?"
"Come closer and I shall tell you." Lucas muttered with a smirk and crooked his finger at her. She shook her head but obliged and twisted up onto her knees so she could get closer. When she was about a foot away he gestured her closer still. "Closer than that."
"Really? It's that much of a secret?" She asked but did as he bade. He grinned at her and when she was really close with only a few millimetres between them Lucas slid his hand into her hair, cupped her skull and stretched so his lips were by her ear.
"I agree that at the end of the story the beast should get the most beautiful girl for himself." Lucas whispered then pulled back a little so he could brush a kiss over her lips. She smiled.
"Oh so now you are a beast?"
"Only for you my love." Lucas teased and pulled her into a deep kiss. She parted her lips beneath his and he immediately took the offer and deepened the kiss making her feel it deep inside her stomach. His hand held her head, holding her into the kiss. His other hand reached around her back and pressed against her spine. She grinned and pressed hard against him wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Heehee..." That little giggle broke them apart and they looked to their left to see a giggling Lulu clutching her pyjamas in her hands with Dante standing beside her holding baby Scorpius in his arms.
"Urgh." Lucas groaned and Henri huffed a little but moved back away from Lucas, putting some respectable distance between them. Lulu was still giggling and Dante had a smirk on his pale, tired face.
"Courting eh Father?" Dante questioned with a smirk and Lucas clicked his tongue.
"Engagement is different." He countered and Dante raised his eyebrow at them. Henri gave an embarrassed cough and slid off the sofa.
"Right well, that aside, I think it's bedtime for little Lulu."
"But I'm bigger than Scorpius, how come he gets to stay up later than me?" Came the petulant retort.
"Scorpius will be going to bed now too. Perhaps you and your Aunty Henri could put him to bed together hm?" Dante offered and Lulu immediately jumped up and down on the spot, excited.
"Yay! Yes please!"
"That okay Henri?"
"Sure, sure. I'll do it." Henri said and held her arms out for the baby.
"Kiss goodnight Lulu." Dante said and crouched down to give Lulu a kiss.
"Night night Daddy. Night night Grandfather." Lulu said, kissing her father and then climbing on the sofa to give Lucas a kiss goodnight. It was an endearing sight. Lulu then turned to Henri and gave her instructions all the way up the stairs on what to do to put Scorpius to bed.
Half an hour later she finally made it back downstairs and wandered back into the lounge where she heard low voices. Pushing open the door she saw Lucas sat on the sofa still and Dante sat on the chair next to him. They were talking...smiling and talking. Although the smile on Dante's face looked stretched thin it was a smile none the less. It was like the veil of grief had fallen for but a moment and Henri was loath to go any further in and disrupt the talk the two men were having. Henri turned around.
"Henrietta, my dear, come here." Lucas invited and held his arm out to her, inviting her to sit beside him. She couldn't' refuse that, especially when Dante was smiling at her now too, clearly content with the idea.
She moved into the space below Lucas' arm which settled around her waist and guided her to sit right beside him so their sides were completely touching.
"Dante has just expressed a wish to stand up with me at our wedding." Lucas said with a smile and a nod to Dante. "I said that would be perfectly fine."
"Of course it's fine! It's better than fine." Henri said and reached out to grab Dante's hand, squeezing it tightly. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome." He said, pinking a little in his pale cheeks.
"I realise we shall have to make further amendments to our plans with only a few weeks to go but..."
"But nothing. We'll just make the amendments, its fine!"
"You are a jewel, my love." Lucas said and kissed her knuckles. "I shall take Dante to see the suit maker tomorrow, if you would be so good as to look after the children."
"Lulu has school tomorrow so it will only be Scorpius." Dante explained.
"I'll manage I'm sure. I'll look after Scorpius and look over the plans again."
"Yes quite. I do think we shall have to send word to the house elves at the Manor to have them prepare Dante's old rooms complete with a nursery and a room for Lulu."
"I'll take care of it in the morning."
Authors note: So, the next chapters will come out very close to each other because they are all around the same event. Any guesses as to what the next event is?
As usual, thank you to everybody who reviewed. I hope you like this chapter despite the fact that it is essentially a filler before the big event. Ah I can't wait.
