Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling.
1 April 1978
'William! WILLIAM!'
William froze as shock and alarm crept through him. His wand at the ready, he dashed into the living room, to see two familiar faces in the fire.
'What's the matter?' he asked urgently. 'Is everything alright? Is Molly okay?'
'Everything's fine,' said Gideon hastily, seeing his worry. 'Molly's had her twins - boys!'
A deep wave of relief and joy swept through William, and he sighed, a smile playing on his face. 'What's she naming them? Gideon and Fabian the second?'
His cousins laughed. 'No,' said Fabian in mock-hurt, 'Fred and George, she said. Fred's the first born.'
'But their middle names are after us!' Gideon declared. 'Fred Gideon Weasley and George Fabian Weasley.'
'And why not Fred Fabian and George Gideon?' asked William, intrigued despite himself. 'Matching initials, you know?'
'She wants to mix and match, I guess,' said Fabian, smirking.
'That, and -' Gideon puffed up his chest in pride as he looked at Fabian - 'I'm the first-born, little brother.'
'Does she still want a girl?' said William seriously. He was worried about Molly. He liked Arthur, liked him very much - they were good friends - but Molly was a sister to him. 'Five kids, you know…It's going to be pretty hard for her.'
'Well,' said Fabian, his eyes flashing, 'we're going to be there for her.'
'Every step of the way,' Gideon said firmly.
'Me and Edith too,' said William, just as firmly, and saw his brothers' face brighten.
'William Ignatius-' began Fabian.
'-our brother-' continued Gideon.
'-fair and true-'
'-there for us-'
William looked from one to the other, and felt his worry ease away into a small smile.
'Always.'
November 1980
'Alright, Mary, that's enough,' William said to his seven-year-old daughter, who obeyed, and dived so that she came smoothly to land on the grounds of Prewett Manor. 'Mummy's here.'
'Mummy!' Mary put her Cleansweep back in the shed, then ran up to her mother who had just flooed into the living room, whose pale face broke into a smile as her daughter ran into her arms.
William summoned a butterbeer and offered it to Edith, who sank down into the couch and took it gratefully, sipping lightly.
'Are you alright?' he asked her with concern. She nodded, lowering the bottle. Mary jumped up onto the sofa and cuddled up near her mother.
'Good news,' said Edith, and William's ears pricked up, 'we've got leads on Selwyn.
Moody's going after him tomorrow. And we caught five more of You-Know-Who's Imperiused servants.'
'Impehriused?' Mary repeated curiously.
'It means,' William hesitated, and Edith caught his eye, 'people being forced to do something they might not want to.'
'Oh,' said Mary sadly. 'That's bad.'
'Yeah,' William swallowed, 'Yeah, it is.'
There was a pause before William spoke. 'We're due at the meeting at Sirius' place in ten minutes…do you need to rest, though, Edith?' he asked her seriously.
'No, I'm fine, Will,' she reassured him, and stood up. 'We'd better go already. Best to be early.'
'Yeah, and you miss Marlene,' said William, the hint of a smile on his lips. Edith's lips twitched and she shot him a playful glare.
'Aunt Marly!' Mary jumped up in excitement at the mention of her godmother. 'We're going to Aunt Marly?'
'No, we're going to Sirius's,' said Edith, looking amused, 'but Aunt Marly will be there.'
Mary gave a whoop of joy, before tugging impatiently on her mother's arm.
'Right then,' William headed over to the fireplace, and his wife and daughter followed him. 'I'll take Mary with me?'
'Alright, but be careful, William. Make sure you speak very clearly.'
'Yes, dear,' William tried not to roll his eyes. Edith was always so overprotective - not that he blamed her, he felt the same way himself. He took Mary's hand tenderly in his own, and threw floo powder into the fireplace.
'Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!' he shouted, Mary's hand gripped in his in a vice-tight hold, and they fell out into the dining room of Grimmauld Place.
'William - and Mary!' said a familiar voice, and the grinning, ever-handsome face and pale blue, shining eyes of Sirius Black greeted them, as he rose from the table, where other Order members sat. A moment later Edith appeared from the fireplace.
'Cousin Sirius,' William gave Sirius a half-hug, who then shook hands with Edith, before smiling down at Mary, who gave him an eager 'Hello, Uncle Sirius!' in return.
'Do come in, and sit,' said Sirius, waving around at the others, who stood up to greet them, and William, Edith and Mary the familiar faces. Remus Lupin, pale and tired-looking but smiling, James Potter, his black hair as messy as ever, and Lily, with her dark red hair and bright green eyes.
'James, Lily, Remus,' William and Edith shook hands with all of them.
'Hello, Mary,' said Lily kindly.
'Hi, Mrs. Potter,' said Mary, blushing bright red. She had always thought that Lily Potter - after her mother and godmother - was the most beautiful woman on earth.
'Still shy, I see,' observed Remus, and ruffled Mary's open black hair, chuckling.
'Good evening, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Potter,' Mary rattled off in greeting, then her eyes widened as she caught sight of a small black-haired baby in Lily's lap. 'Harry!'
Edith and William looked to see the baby, and their smiles widened as the eyelids opened, revealing emerald green, almond-shaped eyes.
Mary rushed to Lily's side, and looked up at her with pleading eyes. 'Mrs. Potter, can I please hold him? Please? I promise I'll be careful,' Mary added hurriedly,
William saw James forehead crease in automated worry, and hid his smile. It still felt strange to see him as a father, and not as the young Auror trainee, not much more than a boy, who had joined the Order not so long ago.
'Don't worry, Lily,' said Edith, casting a Cushioning charm on the table. Lily relented, and Mary, with obvious nervousness, lifted Harry from his mother's lap, carefully supporting his neck with one hand.
Harry giggled and playfully stretched his tiny fingers to grab Mary's thumb, and Mary beamed as if she had won a Quidditch match.
'How about Mary takes care of Harry while we have our meeting?' said Lupin, with a significant look. William nodded approvingly.
'Good thinking, Moony,' James said, flicking his wand twice; a conjured carpet and a couple of blankets on it, appeared on the floor beside the table.
Mary, with the caution of a goblin holding his newly crafted ornaments, placed Harry gently on the blankets.
'I can read him a story!' she said, standing on the tips of her toes in excitement. 'Do you have a storybook, Uncle Sirius?'
'Ah, well,' said Sirius, looking slightly bewildered, 'I think, yes - erm, Accio Tales of Beetle the Bard!' A few moments later, a thin book came whizzing through the door, and slapped Sirius smartly on the face. 'Ouch!'
James roared with laughter, as Mary blinked at Sirius with a mixture of bemusement and concern, asking him if he was alright, at which Remus choked on his butterbeer.
Lily glared at them, snatching the book from Sirius and handing it to Mary, who finally burst into sweet, innocent laughter as she bounded over to Harry.
They chattered until the room filled, more and more Order members flooing in. Dorcas Meadowes, Edgar Bones, Benjy Fenwick, Elphias Doge, Caradoc Dearborn, Emmeline Vance, Sturgis Podmore…Peter Pettigrew came in rather hastily - 'sorry I'm late!'; Dedalus Diggle would not stop fussing over Harry; Frank and Alice Longbottom, 'we left Neville with Augusta'; Alastor Moody barked, 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' the second he entered, making everyone jump; Hagrid banged his head on the ceiling, and James conjured a special chair for him to sit on; Gideon and Fabian, as undistinguishable as ever, banging William on the back as they yelled, 'We've caught the Carrows!' to great applause even from Moody; Marlene McKinnon, whom both Edith and Mary bombarded with endless hugs; and at last Albus Dumbledore, followed by a man who very closely resembled him - William eyed him curiously, he had never seen him before - appeared from the fireplace.
All talking ceased at once as everyone stood up to greet Dumbledore, who looked around at them all, and whose face, wrinkled with lines, smiled at the sight of Mary reading softly to Harry, who was staring up at her with wide, enchanted eyes.
'It is a pleasure to meet again,' said Dumbledore solemnly. 'I hope you are all well?'
A chorus of affirmative nods and replies went around the room.
'I am glad. I would like to introduce my brother, Aberforth.'
Ah, of course. William bowed a little as Edith smiled, and polite greetings rang around the room, and being the closest, he extended a hand.
Aberforth Dumbledore surveyed him with shrewd, brilliant eyes, and William looked calmly back. He took in the dark shadows under the old man's eyes, and the fact that he seemed older than Albus, somehow, even though William was fairly sure he was at least a year or two younger. The man gruffly held out his hand, and William shook it briefly. He couldn't help but think, as they sat down, even though he had never seen him before, that this man had had a rough time of life.
July 1981
'I can take the photo, Professor!' Mary offered with a wide, sincere smile. Dumbledore looked at her keenly, and agreed.
'There you go, Mary,' said William, placing the camera on the stand. 'When I give you a thumbs-up, click the button, alright?'
'Yes, Dad.' Mary readjusted the camera, and looked through it as Dumbledore, William and Edith walked into the crowd, Dumbledore standing between Mad-Eye and his brother, Edith nudging herself beside Marlene, William in between his wife and Frank Longbottom, who smiled at him.
William returned the smile. He liked Frank. He was gentle and kind, and one of the most skilled Aurors of his age. He looked to see Mary, who was watching him intently, waiting for the thumbs-up. Making sure everyone was looking at the camera - he raised an eyebrow at Sirius, who seemed to be flirting with Emmeline Vance for some absurd reason; on catching his eye Sirius winked cheekily at him, before turning to face the camera, and William gave Mary a thumbs-up.
His daughter smiled back at him as she clicked the button. She had grown up to look so exactly like Edith except for having his black hair instead of Edith's soft brown, and the sweet smile that made her dimples appear and shining brown eyes never failed to remind William of young Edith Shafiq, with a black-and-yellow scarf around her neck and a gleaming Prefect's badge on her chest, laughing along with Marlene McKinnon as they duelled playfully in the Hogwarts grounds, silver and golden jets of light flying from both wands.
A/N- How was it? I know that in canon Mad-Eye stated that the only time he had ever met Aberforth was when they took the picture; here I've made everyone meet twice. Please review!
I'll try and upload the next chapter soon.
To Rayn030 - Thanks! I'm glad you think so. I thought it might be interesting to explore how someone born, as I have written, to a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, related closely to both the Blacks and the Weasleys, might fit into HP (talking of both William and Mary here).
