After some very needed nice silence and alone time, Harry started to explain to them everything that happened. From the last Hallow being hidden in the Snitch to what he had seen in Snape's memories. There was so much they didn't know from the last hours but Harry noticed Jade didn't look as surprised as Ron and Granger.
"Did you know?" Harry asked, meaning about Snape and Dumbledore's arrangement.
"Sort of," she admitted. "It's weird. Do you remember I've said that I'd have killed Dumbledore if it wasn't for Snape?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's not entirely true. I had said almost the whole curse, I was ready for it when I heard Dumbledore's voice. His thoughts. It's weird because I wasn't trying to get into his mind, not like if I could, but it was like he was invading my mind to tell me things."
"What did he say?" Ron asked.
"'Don't. Snape must be the one to kill me. Your soul is untouched, don't rip it apart by murder.' And I knew the whole situation was bigger than we thought. I asked Snape but he never fully explained and that's another reason why I was so upset at Dumbledore. I couldn't understand."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked.
"Snape said it was extremely important to not talk about it before time. And Dumbledore said that too. Snape actually made me do a vow, I guess he didn't fully trust my word. I was so angry at times because I wanted to say something but I kept my mouth shut. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Harry said in a reassuring tone. "You would have died if you told us something."
"What I want to know is, how are you alive right now?" Jade asked him. "I saw the green flash, I saw it did hit you. And you were dead! Narcissa Malfoy saw you were dead! She confirmed it!"
"Actually, when she saw me, she noticed I was breathing," Harry said and for the first time Jade looked even more shocked than Ron and Granger. "She asked me if Malfoy was still alive. I nodded, trying not to move much and then she told Voldemort I was dead."
"So she lied to him."
"She did!" Harry said with a smile. "I was actually so lucky that it was her the one to check if I was dead."
"So she knew about it? All this time?" Jade said in surprise. "And she didn't tell me or hint at it!"
"Maybe she knew you wouldn't be able to hide your shock or that you'd make a scene," Harry guessed with a shrug.
"So," Jade said with a chuckle, as she finally realised something. "When she said to me she needed Draco to be close to her because things were going to get ugly, she meant you, basically coming back to life."
"Yeah, she knew it was coming."
"Okay, so we have cleared that. Now, please explain why you didn't die and did you even feel the Cruciatus Curse? Because I saw when Voldemort did it on you and you didn't move at all. Anyone who is alive would have jumped and screamed out in pain. I can assure that without a doubt from experience."
"Well…" Harry said. "Turns out Voldemort destroyed his own Horcrux, the one he never intended to make."
"Sorry, but you've lost me, what Horcrux?"
"So, apparently when Voldemort tried to kill me when I was a baby and I didn't die, his soul got fragmented into one more piece and it attached to me. So I became a Horcrux," Harry said. He was still overwhelmed with the news. "So when he attempted to kill me, he actually destroyed his own soul, that part that got attached to me."
"So, if we had attempted to kill him after killing Nagini, we would have failed as there was one remaining Horcrux," Jade muttered. "You."
"Yeah, it would have been like last time," Harry told them. "He would have roamed the earth without a body and then find someone fool enough to basically host him in their body until he was strong enough to get his own body again"
Suddenly, they thought of Professor Quirrel. Jade hadn't been there to see the man with two different faces but the whole school had found out about it. They didn't have enough details of that situation but they knew Voldemort had kind of possessed Quirrel. At some point last year, Ron had given her a few more details of that night, but he also had missed that last part of that situation.
"I guess we were lucky to be there when Snape died. If we hadn't been we would have never found out the whole truth," Ron said.
"Are you sure it's the whole truth?" Jade said, biting her lip. She didn't mean to say that outloud.
"Well, at least enough of the truth to win this."
Harry continued to tell them stuff. Including what happened during the few seconds he was dead, or he thought he was dead, he wasn't sure if he had actually died or not. He also mentioned stuff he had seen in Snape's memories, he left out things that were embarrassing to Snape. But he told the good things, like he saw when his mother was just a little girl and Snape told her about Hogwarts.
"So, they were friends before Hogwarts?" Granger asked.
"Yeah, he was the one who told her she had magic," Harry replied. "They were friends for several years."
And Harry was also interested in what had happened when he was away. So he asked them, and the other three told their own version of the night before. They all had a different version as they had been doing different things.
Granger had spent a lot of time helping the injured ones and mentioned one guy had died while she tried to help him, she was very affected by it. Ron spent most of his time mourning Fred, he didn't remember very well what had happened from the time Harry left to where it started to get light. He claimed everything was a blur and didn't know how time passed by so quickly.
"Perseus and Malfoy were looking for you, I remember my mother asking me about you, that those two were asking if anyone had seen you," Ron said to Jade as he finished his story. "We were all so worried. How did you end up with them?"
"My brother took me away. I was unconscious. When I woke up all I saw was my father, brother, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. You can just imagine how I felt," Jade told them. "I stood up and saw all the Death Eaters there and I knew I was in a messy situation."
"That must have been so intimidating," Ron commented.
"I tried to escape but I didn't have my wand and there were Dementors surrounding us. I was trapped there," Jade commented. "And bloody Amycus started to tell my family I have betrayed them and I was so surprised to see my father standing up for me. Defending me. I was literally so scared at that moment, I thought he would do Crucio on me to get the truth out, or that Bellatrix would do something twisted and nasty to me."
"He's such a pain, he always tries to stir up drama," Ron said. "I'm surprised they all acted so chill after those accusations."
"Me too, but I'm so grateful. They wouldn't have just killed me. They would have tortured me," Jade said. "It would have been a hundred times worse than any punishment from my father. It's a very scary thought."
"That's all over you know?" Harry told her. "They can't harm you anymore. They are gone."
"That depends on how fast you move on," Jade admitted.
"Everything will be okay," Ron told her with a smile. "Like Harry said, they are gone. They will be locked up for good."
"It actually pains me that they are gone. I'm not happy about it. I even cared about my uncles and aunt, as sick as that sounds. Especially Rabastan, he was fond of me. He helped us escape from my wedding, do you remember that?"
"I do," Ron admitted. "He did help us."
"It's messed up," Jade said, looking down at her hands. She was nervous and uncomfortable. "I should be okay with the fact they won't hurt anyone. I mean, they hurt me so I should be feeling less sad about them going to Azkaban."
"Well, with time you will organise your feelings and your thoughts and it will get easier. I'm just glad you are safe, Jade," Harry told her. "When I saw you there, I almost lost it."
"Well, I did lose it when I saw you. I thought you had lost your mind."
"All I kept thinking was what would happen once he killed me," Harry admitted. "I didn't want you to even move or show any emotion that would give you away. I was so worried they would get you too."
"I almost did. I think I sort of flipped a switch. I remembered how easy it used to be to just bottle things up. Just use a smile or a smirk or a laugh or mocking someone to hide how I actually felt. It was so so easy. And then I don't know what happened but I started to feel things and it became harder to push them to a corner in my heart or mind and pretend it didn't matter. So, I had to become that Jade again, at least for a couple of hours. I told myself I needed to if I wanted to get out of there," Jade said, looking at the three of them.
"And you did?" Ron asked.
"I was so shocked at how easy it became once I set my mind to it. And it felt good to sort of just not feel anything for a little while. I did cry when Harry supposedly died and then Narcissa told me to stop or I'd die with you. So I flipped that switch and everything was gone for a bit," Jade told them. "The thing is that maybe the pain was gone as well as the sorrow and the sadness but all the good feelings went away too. Love, compassion, empathy. Caring. I couldn't feel any of that. And I knew if I allowed myself to feel love or any other good thing, the bad things would come back too and I would break."
"So you felt nothing?" Granger asked, interacting with Jade for the first time.
"I did feel one thing," Jade told her.
"What was it?" Ron asked.
"Emptiness," Jade told them. "All the emotions were gone. There was nothing left. I didn't realise until that moment that most of my life, when I thought I was okay, all I had was numbness. Going from nothing to feeling again felt overwhelming but good, I felt joy and happiness for once and I realised feeling was a good thing. But going from that to that numbness again, shutting myself up again, that's when I noticed the difference and how miserable it is. How miserable and sad and empty I was for years. I truly thought I was strong and cool and above other people but I was just empty and I wasn't strong. I was weak and pathetic. I was scared of my feelings. And I wasn't living fully. But… this is getting too deep, let's move to another person." Jade chuckled nervously.
"We all already shared," Ron told her. "I'm glad you changed, Jade. You've become our best friend. We all care about you."
Jade quickly glanced at Granger. She knew things were okay now compared to maybe one year ago, where they were very hostile. They would never be best friends but they could be civil to each other.
"And I care about you all," Jade said with a smile. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd still be miserable and not even know it."
The four of them kept exchanging stories for the next twenty five or thirty minutes. Sometimes mentioning who had sadly passed away, including Ron's brother, Fred, and some of their school mates.
"Well, I think it's time to get moving," Ron said as he stood up. The other three looked at him confused. "I need to look for Luna."
Ron walked away, the others watched him as he turned left and he wasn't in sight any more. They all knew Luna was safe and alive, they had seen her with Ginny, eating something.
"Uh, Lias?" Granger said, breaking the silence, making Jade turn to look at her. They were sitting right next to each other, and Harry was in front of them. Ron used to be next to Harry, right in front of Jade, while Harry was in front of Granger.
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"What for?" Jade asked with a small smile and she looked very confused.
"You helped me when your own uncle was trying to kill me," Granger said. "You could have turned around and avoided the situation completely but you ran across the courtyard and helped me. So, thank you."
"No problem."
"I gotta admit I didn't fully trust you until that moment. Even after you destroyed the Horcrux and broke into Gringotts with us, I still didn't trust you. But now I do. Thank you, Lias."
"I'm glad you finally do," Jade said with an awkward smile. "I couldn't let him harm you, you know?"
Five minutes later, Ron came back. It was actually so quick. They expected him to take around half an hour or to not even return. Luna smiled at them and the three of them waved. She looked good. A bit tired but she wasn't injured or had any wounds and her hair looked better than Jade's or Granger's even though it was way longer than theirs.
"We are actually going to go," Ron told them. "We need to see Daryl. You are okay with that, right Harry? Otherwise we could stay a bit longer."
"No, there is no need. You can go. Many people have left already," Harry told them.
"Alright then."
"Can I come?" Jade said as she basically jumped to her feet. She knew Daryl wasn't in the same place with Leo, but she felt like it was time to go.
"Of course."
Harry needed to stay a bit longer as he was the 'Chosen One' and the one that killed Voldemort but promised he would join them soon. He also wanted to make sure everything and everyone was okay. Granger offered to stay with him so he wouldn't be alone. Ron, Luna and Jade held hands and they disapparated.
Jade hadn't been there before. Ron informed them they were at his Aunt Muriel's house. She let them in once she made sure it was safe. The three of them went upstairs where Daryl was sleeping peacefully. He had gotten bigger and you could see more of his red hair, which was getting curly, like Luna's hair. He was absolutely gorgeous.
Ron didn't care he was sleeping, he lifted him up and held him against his chest. Daryl cried for a bit but then Ron got him to calm down. Luna and Jade glanced at each other in surprise. Then Luna approached them, kissed Daryl on the top of his head. Ron held Daryl with only one hand
and then used the other one to embrace Luna. Jade smiled at them.
Knowing they needed some privacy and time alone, Jade excused herself and walked out of the room. She said good-bye to Aunt Muriel and then left the house. Jade also wanted to see Leo but wanted to go accompanied by Harry and she needed to go somewhere else first.
Jade stood in front of her house. She didn't dare to go inside, not now that her father and brother were captured and mother was dead. She couldn't go in yet. It felt weird, knowing none of her relatives would return anytime soon and it was hurtful to face that truth. So she turned to her left and walked away and then stopped in front of a house just as big as hers.
She knew how to bypass the spells but she didn't need to as she could actually get in because she was a Malfoy too and Lestrange blood ran inside of her either way. She announced herself and Draco went at once to meet her. He hugged her tightly.
Draco seemed broken. He and all his family were still in shock. Jade had seen them in the Great Hall at some point after everything was over, they were just sitting there and no one seemed to mind them but they had returned home at some point while Jade was eating with Cassius.
"I'm so relieved you are okay," Narcissa said as she hugged her.
"Harry told me you lied for him," Jade said to her. "That you knew he was alive. Thank you."
"I didn't do it for him. I wanted everything to be over and get Draco safe and alive."
"I know, it was a good thing what you did, no matter the reasons."
Narcissa excused herself then, none of them had taken a shower or nothing. When Jade showed up, they were all in the main living room, just sitting, without talking, just letting everything sink in. Lucius then stood up and approached Jade. Draco was standing close to Jade, eyeing his father.
"Jade," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm so sorry about what happened to your family. I know you are an adult and you can take care of yourself but I wanted to tell you that you are not alone. You can count on us. I'm your Godfather after all. I don't know what will happen to me, but Draco will be here. Hopefully, Narcissa will be too. You can come here any time you want or whenever you need us, and stay as long as you need to. We are here for you."
The weight of the realisation of being the last member of her family kept shocking her. Everyone, at least there in the United Kingdom, was gone, one way or another, and she wouldn't move to Greece. She barely talked to that side of her family.
"Thank you." She gulped and then forced a smile, not showing how afflicted she felt. "I appreciate it."
"Of course, we are always here. You are part of our family."
Lucius patted her shoulder, offered her a smile and then he also went upstairs. He claimed he needed to sleep but Jade knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, not after the horrors everyone lived just hours ago.
"Can we talk?" Jade said firmly, turning to look from Lucius to Draco. He nodded, leading her to a sitting room.
Jade didn't sit and neither did Draco after he closed the door. He reached inside his pocket and handed Jade an envelope. Jade had completely forgotten about it and she was glad he had it all this time.
"Have you read it?" she asked and Draco shook his head. "Well, this is why I came to talk to you. Sort of."
"Are you breaking up with me? Are you leaving me?" Draco asked and Jade noticed how his tired eyes filled with tears. "Because I'd understand."
"I came to explain and at the end it's up to you if you want to leave me or stay with me."
"Jade, you know I lo..."
"Let me explain."
"Okay, go on."
"I love you, Draco. I do. And I don't regret marrying you... I regret the way we did it, but not what we did," Jade told him and Draco smiled a bit. "But I won't deny I have feelings for Harry. Dumbledore said we were soulmates so I suppose I can't really control that. Can't really stop feeling this way but the one I love, it's you."
"So... are you leaving me for Potter or not?"
"Listen... You already know of Leo, my son."
"Yes, in the other reality. So?"
"There was an accident and he's here... The letter you just gave me will help me keep him here as if he had been born here and after tonight I've decided I do want to keep him."
"What? You brought him here? You messed with times and realities?"
"Yes and I know it's horrible timing but he's here and I'm not taking him back. He's Harry's son as you know... and that means I'll always be connected to him in some way," Jade said nervously. "And I know Leo is not yours and I'll understand if you don't want to be involved in this drama."
"What are you trying to say?"
"I want to be with you but if you don't want me with a kid, I understand. It's a messy situation, especially with Harry being part of it. Harry loves him and he knows he is here, so he'll be part of Leo's life. And I know it's selfish of me to put you or ask you to be in such an awkward and tricky position."
"Wait... what position?"
"If I stay married to you, you'll be like Leo's step-father. Harry would be around and part of our lives forever," Jade chuckled nervously as if she had just realised something. "Yeah, it was stupid of me to even consider you want this. I'm sorry, Draco."
"I'm still confused."
"Don't worry. I know I've been a burden and now I'm a bigger one with Leo and all that. Yeah, I shouldn't have even asked you to be part of this messy situation I created... Leo is not even a Pure-Blood and I'm asking you to..."
"So? Do you think I still care about blood status? After all I've seen and lived?" Draco asked, shocked and hurt.
"Well..." Jade shrugged, not sure of what to think. "I don't know."
"Jade, if I understood correctly, you are asking me if I want to be with you now that Leo is involved and it actually hurts me that you think I wouldn't want you and him," Draco said and Jade turned to look back at him. "I think I proved that I loved you when I accepted your friendship with Weasley and then with Harry or when you joined that damn group or when I saved you from your own family on your wedding day, not caring about the consequences if they knew it was me."
"I know you love me," Jade told him. "But I also know that's it's not fair of me to ask you to stay with me when I have a kid with the person you've hated since our first year and having to see that person often from now on and to force you to be part of a kid's life when he isn't yours and..."
"Jade, it's not ideal but nothing's been ideal in our lives. I'm okay with it though. I'm willing to stay with you and I'm happy to do so but only if... and I'm serious here, only if you truly want to be with me."
"What do you mean?" Jade asked, confused.
"I blame myself for this because if I hadn't broken up with you in our sixth year, maybe this wouldn't have happened. But I know you have a thing for Potter and it might not fade away... ever, as you said. And it might be hard seeing my wife being around Potter for the rest of our lives, but I'll accept it. The thing is that..." Draco took a deep breath then. "If you love him and you want to be with him, then you should."
"What?"
"You love me but you love him too... if you are going to stay with me you need to be sure of what you want. Otherwise you'll feel the same way as if you were with Cassius now. Stuck with a man you don't want. I don't want you to be unhappy, Jade. I love you and I want to be with you but we both know what it's like to be forced to be with someone you don't want to be with."
"But I'm not being forced here."
"I'll accept it all. Potter being part of our lives, raising Leo with you, only if you are completely sure that's what you want. I don't want that in five years from now, maybe ten years from now, maybe even with kids on our own, you realise how miserable you are because you made the wrong choice and you love Potter more than me. I don't want to build a life with you if we aren't all in. Both of us."
Jade couldn't deny it would be way easier and maybe healthier for Leo to go with Harry and form a family together. She had strong feelings for him and she knew Harry was in love with her, they were meant to be. And Harry was a good person and they were friends, Jade knew things would work out between them even when maybe they could be a bit tough at the start because of their different upbringings and environments where they grew up.
But when Dumbledore changed that little thing in their future, it created the chance for Jade to love Draco. And she knew that her feelings for her best friend were bigger and stronger than what she felt for Harry.
It was distressing to shut down the possibility of having a 'happy life' with the person she was meant to end up with, especially now that Leo was added in the mix but Jade was sure of her decision.
She knew that now she belonged with Draco, she knew from the time he had given her the ring. She felt it deep inside her heart. She never told him or anyone else about it. She felt this sort of electricity wave every time she looked at the ring, her heart warmed.
Jade didn't say anything else to Draco. She smiled at him and without warning, she kissed him full on the lips. Draco was taken aback but he eventually kissed back. Jade's arms tangled around his neck. The moment her lips touched his, she knew she had made the right decision.
"You sure?" Draco asked, pulling away, looking straight into the eyes he loved so much.
"Are you?" Jade asked him.
"Absolutely," Draco said with a smile, pecking her lips.
Draco then let go of her and Jade just looked at him weird. Draco bit his lips as she usually did, it seemed he was picking up some of her habits. He took her hand in both of his and then he got down on one knee. Jade was confused.
"Jade Leonie, would you unmarry me and marry me again?" Draco asked with a huge but nervous smile. "This time doing it the right way?"
"You serious?" Jade asked.
"Yes, I want to do it out of love... not out of urgency."
"Me too," Jade said and Draco's smile widened. "I want to marry you again, Draco."
Draco stood up, put his hands around her waist and lifted her up. She then put his legs around his waist and Draco supported her weight by putting his hands under her thighs. Jade looked down at Draco, smiled brightly at him and kissed him.
Harry finally met Jade outside of her house close to 8:00 p.m., it was still quite light because of the time of the year. They probably still had one hour and a half of light left, making that day feeling eternal, they had been up since the day before and no one had been able to sleep yet.
By the time Jade and Harry made it to the Tonks' house, the news of her daughter's death had already reached her. The woman, who had only seen them both once, Harry when he was taken from Private Drive to the Weasleys before his seventeenth birthday, and Jade when she was about five, hugged them both as if they were her nephew and niece.
"Bellatrix is also dead," Jade told her. She looked so alike to her older sister that it just slipped. "But Narcissa is fine."
"That does surprise me. Bellatrix was one of the most skillful people out there. She was mad but brilliant."
Jade was overwhelmed by rage and sadness but she couldn't tell Andromeda that Bellatrix, her own sister, had killed Tonks, her daughter. It was so sick. And in some way, Jade felt also responsible. Bellatrix went specifically after Tonks because she had killed Raven, Bellatrix's sister-in-law.
"I'm sorry Jade, I heard what happened to your family," she told her. "I'm really saddened by your brother, such a young man."
"He made his choices and now he has to pay for them," Jade said, looking down at the floor. What else could she say?
"Yeah but it's sad that someone so young has to go to spend his life in prison. And you my dear, how are you holding up?"
"I think I haven't processed it," Jade admitted.
"I heard your mother was killed," Andromeda told her and at that Harry looked from her to Jade and back to Andromeda. Jade hadn't told them her mother was dead. They just assumed she was captured too. "My condolences, Jade."
"Thanks," she whispered, feeling extremely awkward. Did she know her daughter killed her? Of course Jade wasn't blaming her. Jade assumed Andromeda wasn't told the details.
When Leo heard their voices downstairs, he ran down the stairs and hugged whoever was first, who happened to be Harry and then let go and hugged Jade. Jade kept his arm around the boy as they continued to talk to Andromeda. Luckily, Leo had interrupted the awkward situation.
Then they finally met Teddy. Harry had been named his godfather and he was happy to finally meet him but it was hard as he felt terribly sorry that the young baby didn't have his parents anymore.
Harry spent some time holding the baby, he even fed him, while Jade sat in front of Harry and Leo sat on her lap and Jade had her arms around his stomach. He wasn't letting go of either Jade or Harry. During that time, Andromeda sat next to Harry as she watched her grandson and asked them both about the battle. She was so happy Voldemort was dead that Andromeda cried.
"Is he really dead?" Leo whispered to Jade. By now his back was against Jade's chest, while he was still sitting on her lap.
"He is," Jade said with a smile.
Once Teddy was fed and back in his crib, Jade and Harry thanked Andromeda for taking care of Leo, she didn't ask who he was or anything and they were also grateful for that.
"I didn't know your mother had died," Harry whispered when they left the house, so Leo wouldn't hear. He was currently holding Harry's hand and with his other hand he was holding a chocolate cookie Andromeda had given him before leaving. "I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't. I think she got it better than my father and brother. I don't even know what will happen to them."
For a moment they didn't know where to go, so they just kept walking, discussing their possibilities. Jade didn't want to go inside her house yet and Harry couldn't go back to Privet Drive. They also considered the possibility of going to Grimmauld Place.
At last they did decide to go to the Lias Manor, they needed to check the security on Sirius' old house and tidy it up and arrange a room for Leo before they could go there. Once they apparated, Jade just stayed there, looking at her house, unable to go in.
They had just made it by sunset time. The sun was a mix of orange and purple and because it was the countryside, it looked even prettier. She could hear some wildlife nearby. She would love to go to the backyard, by the river and enjoy the view there.
She was unsure why she was feeling that way. But she was dreading going inside her family home. It was like as soon as she walked in everything would be official and real. Jade quickly called her House-Elf Ilvie and gave orders to allow Harry and Leo in and to prepare a bedroom for Harry. She also ordered her to make some food even when she knew no one was hungry right now.
"And Ilvie please take Mr. Potter and Leo to my bedroom," Jade said to her.
"Yes, Mistress."
"Take Leo to bed. They will prepare a room for you but you can stay there in my bedroom too" Jade told him. "If you need anything, feel free to ask Ilvie."
"What about you?"
"I'm not ready yet, Harry."
"Alright. Take your time."
While Harry took Leo inside and tucked him in bed, Jade put protective charms around the house. Her family was gone but she would rather be careful, she didn't know about Rabastan or Rodolphus, or Olisca and her parents or even Amycus and he knew where she lived.
Once Jade was done protecting her property, she stood in front of her house, staring at it a bit more, hesitating to go inside. She still didn't dare so she went to the back of the house the long way, surrounding her house on the outside. She sat on a bench that was in front of the river, the purple sky was getting a darker purple shade, close to changing to a very dark blue and eventually to black.
Harry joined Jade in the garden, on the place where she had broken her back when she fell from a broom, the place where she and Cass and Lex played almost every day before Hogwarts, the place where Draco and Jade promised to always be there for the other when they were seven and the place where Cass had proposed to her against his will.
That place had all kind of happy memories unlike the rest of the house and her favourite part was the river. At the moment she could see five swans in it and then she had no doubt why her patronus was a Swan, which symbolises purity, beauty, love and elegance. She had always admired the animals and spent hours looking at them when she was a kid. She remembered asking the House-Elves for food to feed them.
There were seven swans that lived there permanently, Jade named them when she was about four and they knew and trusted Jade. Two of them had passed away recently and both were buried in the Lias property with their names engraved to never be forgotten.
Both of them sat on a bench only metres away from the river and Jade handed the letter she had in her pocket to Harry, he read it in silence as Jade used a spell to illuminate it, so he could read. It was the letter Snape had left for her that she luckily found in the Headmaster Office.
"I'll do it," Jade told him once he was finished.. "Or we can have a nine year old not ageing a day for the next eight or seven years."
"But Dumbledore..."
"He lied, as usual. He probably knew I'd give in and bring Leo so he lied to keep me from messing with the timeline, I guess. Or maybe he thought I'd stay over there, Sirius was alive and he had adopted me. If I hadn't died, I would have had a better life over there. So he either probably suspected I'd stay there or bring Leo here, I don't know honestly."
"But we don't have the instructions," Harry pointed out.
"Revelio."
Jade pointed her wand at the envelope and reddish letters appeared on it. She had figured it out earlier but hadn't tried it. If she was wrong, she knew where to look for the instructions, Snape had hinted it months ago. Or she could go to the other reality and ask the other Snape.
"I won't do it now. I'll just relax for a bit, I suppose, enjoy having Leo here and then I'll tell him the plan and start working on it. Maybe in a month or two. So, are you on board with it?"
"I'm scared of losing the Leo we know but if there's something that can make his life better, meaning that technically he wasn't taken by Voldemort and suffered for about two or three years, and he doesn't remember as much of that, then I'm in."
"There's something else I need to talk about," Jade said, knowing she couldn't wait. It had been a tough day, after horrible and hard months and they wanted to rest but she couldn't just rest and then inform Harry about her decision.
It wasn't like Harry expected Jade to dump Draco for him. He hoped, he wished for it but he knew deep inside of him that she wouldn't do it, or at least not immediately. That didn't mean it didn't hurt.
Harry was completely and utterly in love with Jade, he didn't even know when his feelings got as strong as they were but they had. He wanted to be with her. It wasn't until he was ready to die and actually died that he accepted how strongly he loved her. He wasn't pushing those feelings away anymore.
"So, Malfoy will be the father of MY son?" Harry exclaimed angrily. He couldn't help it.
"No. But he'll be part of his life."
"This isn't fair, it was you the one who didn't want anything to do with him at the start, you wouldn't even look at him! And now I have to share him with Malfoy?"
Jade had thought of many ways of making it work, she had suggested to have Leo a week each and spending holidays together. It was hard but they had to find solutions.
"There aren't divorces in the wizarding world, how do you know all about custody and all these arrangements?"
"I took Muggle studies for two years," Jade said, shrugging.
"And out of everything you could have learnt, you learnt about divorces, just absolutely brilliant, Jade," Harry snapped. "What if I want his sole custody?"
"That's not happening."
"I don't want Malfoy to be Leo's dad."
"He won't!" Jade exclaimed, finally raising her voice. "I'm not erasing you from his life!"
"Did you read how messed up the kids with divorced parents are? The kids that have to live in two different homes?"
"We are not divorced."
"Yes, but we are acting as if we are!" Harry exclaimed. "He has already gone through so much. First he lost his parents, aka, us. Then he lived with Sirius and had to tell people Ron was his father so he could be safe. Then he got two sisters but had to pretend they weren't and then got kidnapped by Voldemort and was taught dark magic before he was ten and he was told we never loved him! And now you want him to live a week with me and a week with you? He wants a home! One! With happy parents that love each other!"
"And we do... don't we? But things happened and this is the life we've got to live."
"If we love each other, why can't we at least try? I'm not asking to marry you or live together but give us a chance. We could be happy and you know it. I can give you all the time you need. We should try... at least for Leo."
"Don't use Leo to manipulate me, Harry! I dated Draco before I knew about what Dumbledore had done to my future! I fell for him before I knew anything!"
"So? You fell for me too. I saw it, Jade. Didn't you avoid me on purpose because you liked me too?"
"And Dumbledore told me that would lead to our deaths!"
"Yes but now we are safe! That danger is gone, we ended it. I love you, Jade!"
"I… I… I know…" she whispered, biting her lip.
"And you love me too, I know, okay? I know you love me too! You can't lie to me!" Harry exclaimed. "If we love each other and we have Leo now, why can't we try? I'm not proposing to you, Jade! I'm just suggesting we should try and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But you don't even want to do that."
"I can't." Jade looked down at the ground and shook her head. "This is already messy, I can't make it messier."
"It doesn't have to be messier!"
"It is because Draco is involved, I started dating him years ago."
"You broke up though," Harry exclaimed quickly. "And you never officially got together."
"We got married, though."
"But it was because you needed to do it, not because you actually wanted to marry him."
"That doesn't mean I don't actually love him because I do."
"Jade, okay, all I'm asking is time. Put on hold whatever you have with Draco and give us a chance, six months. Then you can make up your mind and I will take it, whatever it is."
"Are you listening to yourself?" Jade asked, looking up from the floor to glance at Harry. "That's a very arsehole move. How would you feel if you were Draco? Oh sorry, I just want to have a taste of what my life with Harry could be, wait for me six months and then I'll come back to you, or not. I might just stay with Harry if I like him more… Like, no, that would be just awful on everyone. I couldn't do something so heartless."
"Okay, not my best idea but please Jade, I love you and I want to be with you."
"I'm sorry, okay?"
"So, this is it? Just like that?"
"I'm sorry," Jade repeated. "I never meant to hurt you or any of this to happen!"
Harry had now stood up and started to pace in front of Jade. She felt terribly sorry, she didn't want Harry to suffer. She didn't want Leo to suffer. She didn't want Draco to suffer. But no matter what decision she took one of them would suffer and she would suffer too.
"Harry," Jade said as she stood up and attempted to grab Harry's elbow but he jerked it away.
"I can't deal with this right now," Harry exclaimed and hurried inside the house.