* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 55: Facing the Music

When Daphne walked into the kitchen of Potter Manor on Saturday morning, she was dressed to kill.

Lilly yawned and looked up at her, "How do you look so good after four hours of sleep?"

"Practice," Daphne answered, kissing Teddy on the forehead, "Thanks for taking over."

"When it got to 5 am, I figured you'd never let me hear the end of it if I didn't," Lilly chuckled, "But you're making the coffee, and why are you dressed like that?"

"Because I've got to look the part when I go into the training centre to kick arse," Daphne said, shooting Lilly a smirk as she put the kettle on the stove.

Lilly snorted, "You can't come; you won't get into the building."

"I got in before," Daphne reminded her.

"All because you wanted to cause a scene," Lilly sniggered, "How did you do that anyway?"

"Used my status as a curse breaker to get in, which is exactly what I will do this time," Daphne said simply, "What do you think? Do I look intimidating enough?"

Lilly bit her lip and looked at Daphne's choice of attire: she was wearing a deep green trouser suit, the trousers were slim-fitting, and the jacket was pulled in around her tiny waist. Underneath, she wore a cream blouse. On her feet were her usual heeled boots, her hair was pulled into a bun, and in place of her usual rouge lipstick, today she wore a deep red lipstick.

"You look like a pureblood," Lilly said eventually, "The sort of pureblood who stalks down Diagon Alley with their nose in the air and says, 'Come, Draco!' So if that's the look you're going for, then yes?"

"Perfect," Daphne said with a grin.

"What exactly are you going to do when we get there?" Lilly asked cautiously.

"Nothing, I'll be holding a baby," Daphne said, her smile was far too sly, "And as you said, I'm a pureblood. We know how to get things done without action."

Somehow, that didn't put Lilly's mind at ease.

Harry and Neville both groaned when light poured into the brig. It was a drastic change after 16 hours in the dark.

"Wake up, sunshine," Sheppard's voice said, "We need to see you both in the office."

Harry blinked and got to his feet. Neville did the same, and they both swayed as they tried to adjust to the light.

The two of them staggered into the corridor. Sheppard said, "Five minutes, go to the bathroom, freshen up and be there on time."

"Yes, sir," Harry and Neville chorused. They both felt guilty for their outbursts the previous day.

They slipped into the bathroom just off of the corridor, did their business and as they were splashing water on their faces, Harry said, "I'm sorry if I got us kicked out because I lost my temper."

"I was just about to say the same thing," Neville admitted.

Harry smiled weakly at his best friend, "Time to face the music then."

Neville nodded, and they walked to Sumners office in silence. When they got there, Sheppard let them inside and instructed them to sit down in two seats opposite the desk. Harry frowned when he saw the third seat.

"Miss Moon needs to be a part of this debriefing too," Sumner said by way of explanation.

Neville's eyes widened, and at that point, a knock sounded at the door. Sheppard opened it and frowned when he saw that Lilly wasn't alone, "Miss Greengrass. You can't be here, and this doesn't concern you."

"Doesn't concern me?" Daphne asked, "Doesn't it? Because I rather feel that it does concern me when you are locking my fiancé up for the night and leaving me to care for our godson alone."

Sumner resisted the urge to roll his eyes, "You can wait outside Miss Greengrass."

"No, I can wait inside," Daphne said calmly, "And I fail to see what you can do to stop me from entering this office. You can hardly duel me while I have a baby on my hip, can you?"

Harry had to bite back an amused smile as Daphne went full ice-queen on Sumner.

"Daphne, you can't use Teddy as a bargaining chip," He said.

"I'm not using him as a bargaining chip," Daphne returned calmly, "I am just stating that I have a very adorable baby on my hip. Therefore, I fail to see why two Aurors are distinguished as these two would try and remove me from the premises with force."

Sheppard shot Sumner an exasperated look and shrugged, "She does have a baby, sir. I can't kick her out while she's holding a baby."

"No, you can't," Daphne agreed as she stepped into the room, "I will sit here and remain silent unless I feel that my opinion is required. Call me the moral support if you will since it was my fiancé you killed in that simulation and my best friend that you intended to kill."

"Good to know you care about me too, Daph," Neville joked.

"You do not get to be sassy right now, Neville Longbottom," Daphne warned him as she sat down on a sofa at the back of the office, "You landed both of them in this mess by losing your temper."

Harry bit back a grin, "How do you still manage to be intimidating while bouncing a baby on your lap?"

"It's a skill," Daphne replied dryly, "Lilly, you had better sit down so that they can get on with it."

Lilly shot Harry and Neville an exasperated glance and sat down on the third chair in front of the desk.

Sumner leant back in his chair and asked, "Do you four do everything together?"

"Not quite, sir," Harry replied, "We just have each others back."

"I can see that," Sumner said dryly, "You are all here because of what happened after that simulation yesterday. You directly defied orders, you shouted at your superiors, you swore at your superiors, and you cursed a superior Auror."

"Sorry to interrupt, Senior Auror Sumner, sir," Daphne cut in, "But as a Trauma Healer, her direct superiors are Frasier, Keller and Carson. She only answers to you two as superiors if she is in the field with you, which she wasn't at the time."

Lilly bit her lip as Sumner had to try to contain his irritation, "The point being, you two can get kicked out for what you did. Moon, it's up to Selwyn to punish you but your behaviour yesterday was out of line."

"With all due respect, sir, your behaviour was out of line," Harry said quietly.

Sumner looked at Harry, "With all due respect, Potter, you're on shaky ground anyway because of your alcohol problem."

"I know that," Harry said, "But I can't stand by when something is happening that I think is wrong. I'm not so terrified of losing my job that I will stand for that, and what you put us through yesterday was wrong. If we were just a bunch of standard recruits, maybe I would understand it more. I would understand why you had to test how objective we are, but we have all had to be objective in the past when it mattered. That was in the real world, when it mattered, when we didn't have any do-overs."

"Longbottom pointed that out yesterday," Sumner reminded him.

"I know he did, but he was angry, so perhaps he didn't get his point across clearly enough," Harry said with a frown, "Neville is my Auror partner, and if I have it my way, he'll be my Auror partner for as long as we're both working for the Aurors. But before that, he was my best friend, and we have been through far more together than your average best friends."

Everyone was silent as Harry continued, "You made him watch me die, and with all due respect, sir, that was a dick move because it wasn't that long ago that he had to do that."

Harry got to his feet, "It wasn't that long ago that I walked out of Hogwarts castle and saw Neville carrying bodies in from the grounds. I told him that I wasn't going into the Forbidden Forest to meet Voldemort, but he knew that I was lying. He looked at me, and he knew that I was walking to my death, but he didn't stop me because he knew it was what had to be done. Neville and I have always understood each other on that level, and from the moment I told him that he had to kill Voldemorts snake, he knew I was going to die and that I needed him to finish it for me."

Sumner looked at Sheppard, and both Aurors looked guilty.

"I'm sure as Aurors you know a lot about strength, but I'm not sure you understand the strength it takes to watch someone walk away from you, knowing they are going to die and knowing that you will never see them again," Harry said, his voice was a little choked with emotion, "But Neville did that, and then when my body was brought in, Neville stood up and took my place. I don't just mean that he killed the snake. I mean that he spoke about not giving up and about how I hadn't died in vain, and he became the hero that everyone needed at that moment. He acted bravely enough to get the sword of Gryffindor out of the sorting hat, and that is no mean feat."

Harry stopped pacing and turned to look at Sumner, "And that wasn't very long ago. So you killing me in that simulation. I imagine that brought all of that back, and considering that it wasn't necessary…that just makes it all the worse. I mean, the fact it was an accident makes it worse too."

Neville reached across and gripped Lilly's hand.

"I get that you need to test how well they will work together, but the fact of the matter is this, look into their memories, and you will see that they already have shown that they can do it," Harry said fiercely.

Daphne nodded and got to her feet, shuffling Teddy onto her hip, "Harry is right, you think that you know them, you think you know their stories, but you don't. You don't know the full story because you didn't see them running a rebellion together during the war. You didn't see Neville limping into the Room of Requirement and telling Lilly to heal everyone else while he sat there in pain because he knew he was low-priority."

Teddy reached for Harry, so he silently took the little boy from Daphne, and Lilly slipped a square of chocolate into his tiny, chubby hand.

"You didn't see Lilly bossing people around, gathering support and telling everyone exactly how they were going to get Neville out of the Dark Tower when he and Ginny were imprisoned there," Daphne continued, "All the while, staying in the Room of Requirement when all she wanted was to go on that rescue mission. Do you know why she stayed? She didn't have to, she's a very capable dueller, and you know how good she is at healing, so why did she stay?"

"I don't know," Sumner said after a contemplative moment.

"She stayed because Neville had told her to," Daphne said simply, "And she knew if she betrayed that order and died, he would never forgive himself. So you see? They can be objective because they were in love for that entire year, and they did not once let it get in the way of the mission."

Sumner sighed heavily, and Sheppard said, "Perhaps, we were foolish, sir."

"Yes, I think we might have been," Sumner agreed, "You are right, we don't realise quite how much you have been through, and we do treat you like normal recruits when you are far from it."

"The way they act, sir," Sheppard piped up, "It's more like Aurors in their probation year. They know their stuff, they have good instincts and frankly, I would trust them to have my back in the field. I apologise if this is too bold of me, but perhaps we need to treat them less like recruits and more like equals?"

Sumner raised his head, "Would you take that level of subordination from an Auror on their probation year, Sheppard?"

"No sir," Sheppard admitted, "But equally, I wouldn't fire them for it. I would throw them in the brig until they cooled down, and then I would expect an apology."

Harry nodded, "I am sorry, sir. I was out of line, I should never have threatened a superior Auror, and there was no excuse for it."

"You were angry, Potter," Sheppard said, "I think that's excuse enough, but I appreciate the apology."

Harry nodded and turned to Sumner, "And I'm sorry for calling you out, sir. I am sure Healer Lamb has told you about my innate distrust for those in a position of authority and what you did yesterday? It meant that I lost the trust I had started to build with you because you lied to us and manipulated us, sir, and I have been lied to and manipulated for my entire life."

"I appreciate that, Potter," Sumner said sincerely, "And I equally apologise for not thinking about the consequences of my actions. I see now that it was an unwise choice to test the three of you in such a way."

Neville looked up for the first time in a while, "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry for losing my temper. I'm normally pretty good at keeping a level head, but yesterday was just…too far."

Sumner bowed his head, "Regardless, we need to talk about what happened in that simulation yesterday. Potter, you jumped in front of a killing curse."

"Yes, I did," Harry agreed.

"What would you have done if that had been real? If you had been in the field?"

"The same thing I did yesterday, sir," Harry replied honestly, "Because as far as I was aware, that was real."

"You would jump in front of a killing curse to save your best friend and his girl?" Sumner asked, "You would widow your wife and orphan your child?"

Harry scoffed, "You make it sound like it's something I want to do, but yes, if I had to choose between one of them dying or me dying, I would pick myself every single time. What I did yesterday wasn't a fluke sir, I'd do it ten times out of ten because if I lost either of them, I would never forgive myself."

Daphne took Teddy back from Harry and said, "He's right. If he lost Neville or Lilly on the job, he would spiral back into alcoholism, he would lose Teddy and me anyway, and on top of that, Neville or Lilly would have lost each other. But if he died for them, it would be hard, it would be incredibly hard, but I would not sit and wallow, Aurors. I would get back on my feet, and I know I would have Neville and Lilly there to help every step of the way."

"See?" Harry said, looking pointedly at Neville, "Daphne would get through it because she is strong, and I know that you two would be there for her."

Neville smiled sadly and looked over at Daphne, "But you'd have lost Harry."

"We'd all have lost Harry," Daphne corrected him, "And we would help each other through that."

Lilly got to her feet and hugged Harry tightly, "Thank you."

Harry hugged her back and frowned, "Uh, Lil, I didn't think we did the whole emotional, hugging thing. That's kind of Neville, and I's thing."

"You jumped in front of a killing curse for me yesterday," Lilly said as she drew back, "So we do hugs now, deal with it."

Harry smiled weakly and sat down opposite Sumner, "Let me ask you a question. Did you know that I would have an in-depth knowledge of scarab beetles?"

"No," Sumner said honestly.

"So your plan involved Lilly getting killed while she watched Neville die," Harry stated.

"That was how we intended for it to go," Sumner admitted.

"But I was the one thing you didn't account for when you programmed that scenario into the simulation room," Harry said, "You didn't account for me knowing what to do and helping Lilly to get that thing out of him, and you didn't plan on me jumping in front of the killing curse for them, and that's what I plan on doing that for the rest of my life. I might have been a Gryffindor, but I was very nearly in Slytherin, and my fiancé has taught me something pretty important."

Daphne smiled proudly as Harry finished, "When people underestimate you, you're all the more powerful."

"Well said, babe."

"It's literally your words coming out of his mouth," Lilly snorted, "Of course you'd think it was well said."

Daphne just smirked in response.

Sumner pushed himself up on the desk and got to his feet, "Alright, I think we have all said everything that needed to be said, but this isn't going to go away in the blink of an eye. There will be consequences."

They all nodded because they had all expected it.

"Miss Moon," Sumner began, "Selwyn decided your punishment, and she had decided that you ought to work the full moon Saturday night graveyard shift in accident and emergency at St Mungo's."

Lilly groaned, "Really? A whole night of dealing with drunken idiots who have splinched themselves or cursed themselves? And full moon crazy folk?"

Sumner smirked, "If you don't like it, take it up with Selwyn."

Lilly sighed but said no more.

"As for you two," Sumner said, turning to Draco and Harry, "You are suspended from practical classes for a week."

"All practical classes?" Harry and Neville echoed.

"Every single one," Sumner said, "No duelling, no healing, no accuracy lessons. Until next Fridays simulation, you two are only allowed to participate in theoretical classes."

"But sir, we won't get any points!" Harry exclaimed.

"That's your problem, guys," Sheppard said with a smirk, "You're going to have to work out how to claw a week's worth of points back when Nott and Black inevitably overtake you this week."

Harry sighed but nodded. It was a fair punishment.

"Dismissed, all of you," Sumner said with a wave of his hand, "Even the baby."

Sheppard bit back an amused smile as Teddy waved at them and giggled. He couldn't help himself; he waved back.

Daphne smiled and got to her feet, "Come on then, boys," she said as she stepped out of the office, "You're probably starving, but our house-elf is on strike because I went to the agency to see about getting a couple more to help out and he took it as a personal insult, so we're going back to your place for food."

Neville snorted, and they began to walk along the corridor together, "Fair enough. Our house elf just gets lonely because neither of us is ever in the bloody house. She's started talking to my grandmother's portrait."

"Oh god, that's dangerous," Harry sniggered.

"Not as dangerous as I'll be if I have to come and bail you out from the Headmasters office again," Daphne warned.

"You sound like my mother," Lilly snorted, "Actually, no, you don't. The one time she had to do that, she laughed and said that Georgia Calhoun deserved it because her mother was a skanky whore."

Neville barked out a laugh, "Yep, sounds like your mother."

"Thank you, though," Harry said, putting his arm around Daphne's shoulder, "For having my back in there."

"Always," Daphne said simply.

Harry made a face, "No, don't make that a thing, please. That's a Snape and my mother thing."

The others laughed at that, and then when they stepped out into the cold air, they all apparated to Longbottom House for a much-needed breakfast.

"Thank you," Neville murmured, "For everything you said back there."

"I meant every word of it," Harry admitted. He was sitting at the kitchen table nursing a cup of coffee, and Neville had just sat down next to him.

Their gaze was on the girls, who were sitting on the floor, rolling a ball back and forth while Teddy tried to catch it, giggling all the while.

"We've never talked about it, you know?" Neville said, refusing to meet Harry's eye, "You were right. I knew you were going to the forest, but I let you go, and then we spent a couple of weeks fixing up the castle, but we never talked about it."

"It's taken me a long time to be ready to talk about it," Harry admitted, "And to realise how much strength that must have taken."

Neville sighed and looked down at his hands, "I knew you were going to meet Voldemort, and I knew that you would never just give up. If you were going, you had a plan, and there was a chance you might survive, so yeah, I let you go, and when Hagrid walked back in carrying your body…I felt so much guilt."

Harry frowned into his coffee.

"But what you said to me about the snake…I felt like you were handing the mantle over to me, and I had to do that justice because if I didn't then," He cleared his throat, "Then you would have died in vain."

Harry sighed and took Neville's hand. He looked his best friend in the eye and said, "What you did after I died…in my eyes, you're the bravest guy I know."

Neville laughed weakly and got to his feet, "Nah, I've never been that guy. I just do the right thing."

"It takes a lot of bravery to do the right thing sometimes," Harry reminded him.

Neville smiled at those words and raised his voice, "Guys, are you all listening? Because I have an announcement to make."

Daphne and Lilly shared an amused look but said no more.

"What happened in that simulation room scared the living daylights out of me," Neville said honestly, "Seeing Harry die was hell and knowing that it could have been you, Lil, it put things in perspective for me, so I'm going to act a bit more like a Gryffindor."

"Okay," Lilly said calmly.

"I need you to know that what I'm about to do has nothing to do with a loophole in your contract that states you can study from home if you are married or engaged to be married," Neville began, and Lilly's eyes widened.

Neville continued fiercely, "I'm doing this because I love you, and I cannot bear the thought of losing you. I know it's going to be hard, putting ourselves in harm's way every day, worrying about each other all of the time, but I want to do it for the rest of our lives anyway. I was blind for a long time, I couldn't see you when you were right in front of me, and now that I have you, I don't ever want to let you go."

Neville pulled a box from his pocket and knelt in front of her, "So Lillian Moon, if you'll have me, I want to keep bringing you the injured kids so that you can heal them, just like we did in the war. I want to keep fighting with you and for you for as long as we live."

He flipped the box open and said, "Will you marry me?"

Lilly, who didn't usually get emotional, had tears in her eyes. She nodded, "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Neville said, pushing himself to his feet.

"Yeah," Lilly echoed, smiling tearfully at him.

Neville slid a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring onto her finger, and Lilly wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him down to her and kissed him passionately, pouring every thank you in the world and all the love that she could into it. Neville kissed her back, and Harry grinned at Daphne. She was smiling a little tearfully too, and Teddy was looking around at the four adults in bemusement.

When they finally broke for air, Daphne pounced on Lilly and pulled her into a tight hug, "I'm so happy for you!"

"Are you crying?" Lilly asked. She was laughing, but tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"No," Daphne lied, "I just have hayfever."

"Not in October you don't," Lilly said, pulling back from the hug, "The ice queen has well and truly thawed."

"Around you lot, she has," Daphne agreed with a smile, "And I'm thrilled that you and Neville are going to get your happy ever after."

"Oh God, you've been watching too many Disney films," Lilly teased.

Meanwhile, Harry pulled Neville into a bear hug and beamed, "Congratulations."

Neville smiled, "It wasn't the big, elaborate day at the circus that I had planned, but I think it was okay."

"It was better," Harry promised him, "It wasn't about the gesture; it was from the heart. We all saw that. Look at us; we're all crying."

Neville laughed as he and Harry both wiped their eyes hastily.

"Right, you two!" Lilly said as she bounded back over and wrapped her arms around Neville, "It has been decreed by the women in your life that the four of us are spending the weekend together."

"After the events of the last week, I think a movie night is needed," Daphne added.

"That's a brilliant idea," Harry said honestly.

"So in light of recent romantic news, it's romcom night!"

Harry and Neville both groaned.

"At least we've got the last game of the season tomorrow, Nev," Harry said, patting his friend on the back, "We can take Teddy along to that and claw back some of our masculinity."

"You'll be lucky," Lilly joked.

Daphne grinned and said, "So when's the wedding?"

"Don't even start," Neville laughed.

The air in the kitchen was light and happy, the room was full of laughter, and it was what Harry lived for these days. He had been through a lot, but love and friendship well and truly kept him going.

Neville didn't often show off, but when he walked into number 12 Grimmauld place with Lilly later that day. The first thing he said was, "Guess what I asked Lilly this morning?"

The occupants of the drawing-room looked up in surprise.

Neville grinned and held up Lilly's left hand, "And she said yes!"

There was a loud cheer as all of their friends rejoiced at this news.

Harry and Daphne smiled at them from the doorway.

"Let's go to the pub and celebrate!" Theo said as he patted Neville on the back.

"We can't go to the pub; we've got Teddy!" Daphne pointed out.

"Ah, stick him in a high chair and give him some fish fingers; he'll be grand," Theo said offhandedly.

Sadie snorted, "Excellent parenting skills there, Theo."

"We also can't go to the pub because we've got Harry," Neville said.

"Oi! Don't put me in the same group as the baby."

"You're a recovering alcoholic; taking you to a pub isn't much better than taking a baby to one," Hermione pointed out.

"Fair point," Harry admitted grudgingly.

"How about we turn Draco's room of requirement basement into a soft play area but keep the bar?" Theo grinned, "We can shove Teddy off to play, and tie Harry to a chair, so he's not tempted to drink firewhiskey, then we can all get rat-arsed!"

"Are you at all concerned about the fact this man is going to be a father soon?" Neville asked, putting his arm around his friend's shoulders.

Sadie laughed heartily, "All the time Neville."

Theo grinned and said, partly to Sadie but also to Neville, "Oh come on, you love me really!"

They all laughed as they left the drawing-room together. Life had its ups and downs, and these last few months had shown that more than ever, but it was in those moments that they all truly realised how grateful they were for each other.

* ~ TBC ~ *