AN - Sorry about the Chapter 10 problem. I accidentally posted it yesterday when it was unfinished. Well it here now. Enjoy!
Chapter 10
They arrived into the grounds of Potter Manor. It looked just as beautiful as ever. The manor was surrounded by acres of green land that were full of flowers. Beyond them, the estate was surrounded by a forest. The house was really in a secluded area.
The Lord of the Manor, James Potter, led them inside and towards the informal living room while Lily informed Masie, the house elf, to put dinner on the table. Moments later, dinner was on the dinning table and everyone present started eating.
They all ate in uncomfortable silence. Susan was absent mindedly playing with her food, she did not at all feel hungry. She every now and then sent Hadrian discrete glances, still processing that he was her cousin. Alexander, was calmly eating his food, waiting for the incoming conversation to start. Bracing for the shouting match that was bound to happen. Rose however was quietly talking to Hadrian, who was sitting next to her. The smile on her face could light a thousand stars. This was the first time, she had been this happy in a long time, and it was all because she finally had her brother back. The marauders, minus Sirius, were discretely sharing smirks with each other. Despite knowing that Sirius was about to get what he deserved, they found it amusing as they saw the look on Sirius's face. His face was pale. He looked like he was shaking in fright. Amelia and Lily, were well known witches. Nobody would want to cross them when they were angry. Speaking of the two, they were calmly eating dinner, as if there was nothing wrong in the world. However, they both had matching smirks on their faces. It was quite unnerving.
After dinner had finished, they had all went back to the living room and sat down, getting comfortable. It soon became clear, that everyone was waiting for someone to start. After a few moments, someone cleared their throat. Surprisingly, it was Sirius.
"I know that what I did, was extremely stupid and shameful -" The matriarchs scoffed. "And I know that I deserve whatever you have in store for me. So before you do whatever your going to do to me, please ask me anything, and I will answer it truthfully. I think you all deserve that, at the very least."
Lily and Amelia glared menacingly at him, slowly drawing their wands. However before they could say anything, Remus, the wise man he was, said,
"I think that would be acceptable, Sirius." Sirius breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why? Why did you do that to me? You placed a memory charm on me. YOU HID MY CHILD FROM ME. MY SON!" shouted Amelia while pointing towards Hadrian.
"I know what I had done was extremely stupid but at the time, I was worried, so I wasn't thinking about it. I hate to admit it, but at the time, I thought I was doing the right thing. It was only after Voldemort was defeated all those years ago did I realize what I had done. I have regretted what I had done every day since."
"Alexander defeated Voldemort years ago. You could have removed the memory charms on myself, James and Lily and given him back to me. Why didn't you?"
"I couldn't bring myself to it." When he saw the look on her face, he continued, "Hadrian was at that age that he started remembering things. When I saw Hadrian look all happy with James and Lily, I couldn't bring myself to separate him from the people who thought were his parents. Even though I should have." guilty replied Sirius.
"You should have." stated Amelia angrily. "You could have told me multiple times through the years. I just can't believe you didn't."
"You should have told us everything. If you wanted to keep us or Amelia from not wanting to knowing about Harry, then we would have understood, despite not liking your decision. However, myself and James, had every right to know about this stupid plan you and Dumbledore engineered and Harry's involvement in it. Do you know how bad we all felt knowing what we had done against Harry, thinking he was on the bad side, when in reality he was on ours." affirmed Lily.
"Padfoot, we raised him. We had every right to know what was going on in his life. And I don't know how you managed to hide this from us for seven full years. We should have known from day one." added James. Everyone nodded their head, agreeing at what he had just said.
"That would be mine fault." injected Hadrian before Sirius could reply. All faces turned on him, shock written all over them.
"What do you mean?" asked Remus.
"Sirius and Dumbledore were considering tell you all about the plan, well at least parts of it. However, when I heard what they were going to do, I persuaded them against it." admitted the young man.
"Why?" all of them asked at the same time, appalled.
"I knew that non of you would get on board with the idea. Moreover, if someone got any wind of it, your life as well as mine could have been in great danger. We couldn't afford a lot of people knowing about it. The less, the better."
Non of them could argue the reason behind his decision on not informing them. However, non of them were at all pleased about it.
"Well, we cannot argue against your reasons however that doesn't mean we at all approve of what done." huffed Lily angrily.
"Please forgive me. I will do anything, in order for you all to forgive me." implored Sirius.
"Please do. Especially Sirius. I know how much he has been suffering, especially these last few years. He has been there for me, through thick and thin. We may have done something stupid, reckless, dangerous and selfish, however you have to agree that we done it for the right reasons. Voldemort is now gone. And the Magical World is slowly but clearly returning back to normal." urged Hadrian. "You all can punish us in any way you see fit"
Everyone shared a look with each other. They remained quiet. Pondering over his words.
"I think it would be wise if myself, Amelia, James, Remus and Peter, discuss this in private." carefully stated Lily. The people mentioned immediately got up and left the room and went towards James's lords office. Leaving Susan, Alexander, Lily, Hadrian and Sirius alone.
Meanwhile at Greengrass Manor...
Daphne was currently in Greengrass Manor, waiting patiently in the living room, waiting for her family to portkey in. It had been about four years since the last time she saw her them. They had remained in good contact through the years however due to the war, it was unsafe for any of them to meet each other.
Daphne couldn't keep the smile of her face. It was their for two reasons. The first reason was due to the fact that she was finally meeting her family after many years of separation. It was one thing communicating in letters and another thing doing it in person. Secondly, she had managed to get the love of her life, Hadrian Sirius Black, free. She could finally start mending the bridge between them. However she knew that it was up to Hadrian, if he wanted to or not. Her thoughts were put on hold, when the four elegantly dressed people appeared on to the living room floor.
"Mother! Father! Astoria! Damien!" exclaimed Daphne as she engulfed them all in a group hug. They all eagerly returned the hug. No one moved, relishing the warmth of the hug.
"Daphne, how are you? It has been so long." asked her mother.
"I'm fine. I couldn't be any better, now that you all are here." The new arrivals beamed at her reply. "Damien look at you! You've grown so much. So have you Astoria!"
"Well that was expected Daphne." snorted Astoria as she gave her older sister a hug, who was quickly followed by Damien.
"I hope foods already on the table, Daphy. I'm famished." asked Damien just as his stomach rumbled.
"I see that your the same as ever Damy." laughed Daphne. "Tippy has already put dinner on the table." she added.
The happy family then made their way towards the dinning room.
Cyrus and Roxanne Greengrass couldn't keep the smile of their faces as they saw their children interact and catch up with each other. During their time in France, the house had felt quiet and gloomy. The war was going on and they all feared for Daphne life, as she stayed in England. The years had been hard on all of them. Then a few months ago, they found out the war was miraculously over, and Daphne was prosecuting all the remaining Death Eaters. They had never been so proud of their daughter.
"So Daphne, how are you fairing with the prosecution of the Death Eaters." asked her father.
"They have all done well. All of the high priority ones were sent through the veil, while the rest were sent to Azkaban with varying sentences. In fact the trials have now finished. There was one today and it was the last one." replied back Daphne.
"Oh. And whose was it today?" questioned Roxanne
"Hadrian Sirius Black,"
"Who the hell is he? I've never heard of him." said a bewildered Lord Greengrass.
"You all know him as Harry James Potter."
Cyrus and Roxanne's expressions immediately darkened. Nobody spoke about him. That man had hurt their family a lot. They had treated that boy as if he was their own. The doors of Greengrass Manor, were always opened to him. And what did they get in return? They broke their daughters heart and the families trust. Astoria and Damien did not know the full story of Harry James Potter. All they knew about him, was that he had dated Daphne previously and then had a bad break-up. Their parents had forbade them from reading any news about what was happening in the war, so they didn't know who he really was. So unsurprisingly, they were shocked to hear his name.
"So did he get what he deserved?" asked an angry Cyrus. His magic slowly starting to come out in waves, making everyone at the dinning table shiver.
Daphne hesitantly took a sip of water before she replied. "He got of scot free. He was exonerated."
"What!" shouted her parents at the same time.
After a few minutes of silence. Cyrus vehemently proclaimed, "Voldemort's right-hand man was exonerated. That man may be free from the Ministry. But no way in hell, is he free from me." He placed family above everything else, and there was no way he was going to leave the man alone after what he made his family go through.
The younger two of the siblings were equally as shocked as their parents.
Damien then asked, "Who was defending him?" All eyes then set on Daphne.
She slowly gulped and looked at him straight in the eye and said, "I was,"
Cyrus dropped his glass of wine onto the floor. Roxanne, chocked on the food that she was eating. Damien and Astroia, who were both drinking pumpkin juice, spitted it all out onto the food in front of them. They then all looked at Daphne with dumb looks on their faces, totally ignoring what they had just done.
"You done what?" dumbly asked Astoria.
"I defended him and won the case." confidently said Daphne. Not at all deterred by their reactions. If anything, she found it amusing. Before things could get out of control, she decided to show them the memory via the Pensieve in her fathers office.
"Father, I think it would be better if you all see the trial before you get the wrong idea."
Cyrus blinked multiple times before agreeing to what she said. He got up from the chair, completely ignoring the wine and broken glass shards on the floor next to him, and headed towards his office. He was quickly followed by everyone else. Daphne immediately, took out a copy of the memory out of her mind and placed placed it into the Pensieve. Moments later, everyone present dived into the Pensieve to witness the trial.
More than an hour later, the entire Greengrass family emerged out of the Pensieve. Damien and Astoria had looks of shock written all over their faces. On the other hand, Lord and Lady Greengrass, were looking at Daphne in disbelieve. Neither of them could believe what they had just watched. The office remained quiet for quite a few minutes. Nobody moved a muscle.
Roxanne then softly said, "Well that changes everything." She then looked at Daphne with a raised eyebrow and questioned, "Where did you get all of that information from. I expected you to prosecute him the first chance you got. After all, you gave him your heart but in return he broke it and left you as if you meant nothing to him."
Daphne had been expecting this question but not this soon. However, she replied back all the same, "I never told you this, but I never got over Harry. I loved him. But the night he told me that he was a Death Eater. I didn't know what to say. My brain stopped working. He was about to give me an explanation why he was one, but I broke up with him and apparated away before he could say anything. I knew his real identity by then. He had told me a few days before." They all remained quite as she spoke. "It was only the next day, did I find out what I had done. I should have let him explain but I didn't. I apparated back to his house, but he was gone. I tried owling him, but I got no response. I even tried communicating with our one-of-a-kind two-way mirrors but there was still no response. I tired for three years." Daphne eyes were a bit wet as she continued to speak. "Then I got my chance. I found out that Hadrian, was getting moved from Azkaban to a Ministry cell, for his trial that was going to happen in a week. So I managed to get through security to speak with him. And then he told me everything. After that, I contacted his father, Sirius Black, and together we managed to get him free."
Cyrus then said, "You have given us a lot to think about. I think we should retire for the night. Its been a long day, and I really need a clear head before I do or say anything stupid."
"Yes I think its the best idea," backed up his wife as she gracefully stood up. Which was followed by everyone else.
"Tippy has already got the bedrooms ready. Goodnight." said Daphne to everyone. She then left the room and headed towards the grounds to clear her head, whilst the rest of her family went upstairs to their bedrooms for the night.
Back at Potter Manor...
It didn't take the adults that long to make a decision. About 10 minutes later, they returned back to the occupants in the living room. They were sll in the same position as they left them in. It seemed as if time had stopped in the room and had only restarted when they walked in. All eyes immediately landed on them as they walked into the room. Susan, Rose and Alexander looked at one and other and then at the adults. Rose narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, as if daring them to take her older brother away. Hadrian looked on indifferently however, they all noticed him tense a little. Sirius however looked very nervous.
Once they sat down, the adults all looked towards Lily. It was clear that she would be the one speaking. She cleared her throat, "We have to come to a conclusion." All eyes were on her.
"Hadrian. We cannot punish you for your actions. You've been through enough. However, we wanted to tell you how upset and hurt we are. As your family, we had every right to know what you were doing. You never even knew if we would stop you. You just disappeared one day. Do you know how we felt that day when after hours of searching, you were not found. And then the next thing we hear is that you are now a Death Eater. You broke our heart. Rose has never looked happy once these last few years. Our family was on the breaking point." Hadrian nodded his head in shame. He knew what he did was wrong. There were many betters ways that he could have done about it.
Lily then looked towards Sirius. "Sirius you on the other hand is a totally different problem. To you we may all look calm but in the inside we are all angry, upset and betrayed. Firstly, how could you do that to Amelia. She was the mother of your child, and you the child away from her, despite knowing how much she wanted one. The only person who does something like that is a selfish bastard. You only cared about yourself. Do you have an idea how Amelia is feeling right now. Amelia has missed out raising her own child and witnessing his achievements, instead it was myself and James. Do you know how bad that's making us feel. Secondly, you and Dumbledore put Hadrian on the spot. Who tells their child that your entire life has been a lie and then tells them that he could choose to do this or not. However, the biggest problem was because you betrayed our trust. You could have told us from the beginning, all those years ago. But you didn't. You have constantly been lying to us through the years. Its going to be hard for us to even tell if your lying or not. You managed to get away with it for years, so who knows what else you've lied about."
Sirius was looking down with tears in his eyes. He knew that what Lily was saying was absolutely true. He had nothing to say in his defense. He never lied to them except if it had anything to do with Hadrian. However, a lie is a lie.
"However, despite us not feeling like we cannot fully trust you, That does not mean we do not want you to leave our lives. We may just be a bit wary around you." add Peter hastily.
Sirius gave them a weak tearful smile, "Thank you. Thank you all so much."
As Rose looked around the room, she got a brilliant idea in her head. She immediately got and with heart-breaking puppy dog eyes said, "How about we all hug it out." As nobody could refuse that face, they all chuckled at made their way towards Rose, where one by one, everyone joined the hug. It seemed that all the negative feelings in the air had evaporated. Everyone relished the group hug, relishing the warmth that it provided.
Then out of the blue, they heard a muffled voice, "Ok! Ok! Thats enough now! I can't breath. Let me go!"
Shocked everyone immediately separated from the hug, finding a red face Rose, breathing heavily. The someone started chuckling, which was surprisingly Alexander. The chuckling was so infectious that it prompted the marauders to start laughing. Within a few moments the entire room was shaking with laughter. Rose glared at them furiously, but you could see she was struggling not to laugh. Eventually, she too started laughing, which started another fresh rounds of laughter.
Hadrian and Sirius then shared a happy look. Slowly but surely, everything was going back to normal.
AN - Hope you liked this chapter. Next Update will be in a few days. Please leave a review and follow if you want to see more. Thank You!
