Hii, in addition to the one about Zar Malfoy, I'm also working on one where Harry and co are in their late twenties/early thirties. As the title implies, all of them deal with tragedy and all incredible odds, even deeper than they ever faced at Hogwarts; it'll take all their Gryffindor courage to overcome it; in addition, a piece of Harry's past shows up unexpectedly which will change the course of Harry's life forever…enjoy!
All Incredible Odds
By: CNJ
PG-13
1: Prologue:
Harry:
"Harry, have you seen my wand?" my close friend Hermione Granger poked her head into my room.
"Did you check behind the door?" I asked. "I saw a wand there this morning."
"Thanks…" she darted out, her changing color lavender and red wedding robe trailing behind her. I tried to smooth out my own wedding robe, a glittering one that changes between blue and silver. Yes, both of us are getting married as of today, the second Saturday in November. But not to each other. It's a double wedding; I am marrying a wonderful woman by the name of Janice Potts, whom I've been in love with for almost four years. Janice and I have also shared an apartment outside of Hogsmeade for the past year. We actually met in college, but didn't really get to know each other until a few years after we'd graduated from Andrews and Wallace Arts College where we both went. From our union, we also have a daughter, Beatrice Lily, who will be three in March.
I'm an auror, class B, which is the equivalent to a barrister in the muggle world while Janice is a spell developer for defenses against the dirty arts. Only until recently, dirty arts used to be called dark arts here in the wizard/witch world that we all live in.
Hermione is marrying my dear friend and college roommate, Trevor Robinson. When I first met Trevor, we were both stunned at how much alike we look…same dark, rather messy straight hair, large almond-shaped eyes, very fair complexions, thin, curvy lips, thick heavy brows, and snub noses. But there are some differences…Trevor's eyes are blue while mine are hazel-green; Trevor is about three inches taller than me; Trevor's hair is dark brown while mine is jet black; I'm a wizard while Trevor is a muggle. Also, I wear thick glasses and am very nearsighted while Trevor only wears glasses for reading. I've worn glasses since I was five while Trevor only started needing glasses in his early twenties. Trevor is bubbly, dramatic and outgoing while I am quiet and reserved.
It was a year after we graduated from college that Trevor and I found out that we are actually cousins, which explains the uncanny resemblance between us. Trevor used to be an actor in his teens, but is now a script writer. Hermione is a reporter for the Daily Prophet.
It's so hard to believe I'm actually getting married. Married. Janice and I love each other like mad and love our daughter, but I'm still imagining us being a married couple. Janice says it's mostly the ceremony and a legal document, but both of us know it's something more…I guess it's the fact that we'll be publicly declaring our monogamy to each other in front of our friends and families. I thought of my friends as I finished getting dressed.
One of my friends from Hogwarts, Ron Weasley has been married for almost five years, since our mid-twenties. He and his wife Jill have two sons and plan to have more kids soon. Ron's a professional chess player while Jill is a charm breaker for the Ministry of Magic.
Ron also has a younger sister Ginny, also a good friend of mine along with Hermione. Ginny's still single, but has been going with Neville Longbottom since she was sixteen and Neville was seventeen. Neville is our age. Ginny now designs various brands of flying brooms and broom supplies that sell worldwide. Many of her broom product lines have been bought by professional Quidditch players; she has made a lot of money from her business.
Picking up some lipstick and smoothing it over my lips, I tried to relax my thick brows, which were taut with nervousness. I'm rather reserved and shy, so being the center of attention makes me nervous. Thinking back, I did often used to be the center of unwanted attention back in my teens as a Hogwarts student. My dear parents were killed by an evil wizard by the name of Tom Riddle way back when I was a year and three months. How I wished I could remember my parents, James and Lily Potter, but I can't and as always when I try to remember them, I feel a small twinge of sadness in my stomach.
Thank Merlin Tom Riddle is gone for good now, defeated by a group of us students in my final year at Hogwarts. In fact, it was Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and I along with the rest of the Gryffindor house who chanted spells to squash the evil out of him on a windy November night, causing him to dissolve into ashes; once he was gone, he could no longer terrorize the magical world as he'd done for many years.
Thinking of my parents also reminds me of Dad's friend, Sirius Black, who'd been my godfather. I'd met Sirius when I was thirteen and we'd developed a close relationship. Sadly, Sirius died near the end of my fifth year at Hogwarts in a battle with a death eater. If only they could meet their wonderful granddaughter.
But I count myself fortunate to have other relatives and special people in my life…my great-aunt Miranda, who finished raising me, my aunt Marge, Trevor and his mum, my friends and their parents. My mum's two closest friends from Hogwarts will be here at the wedding also.
A soft knock sounded on the door. "Come in…" I said softly, smoothing my black hair in place. Janice came in, her blue and silver robe shining and glittering.
"Wow…" we simultaneously gasped at the sight of each other. She had on lipstick like me. Now I know most conventional thinkers squirm at the thought of males wearing lipstick, but I've since figured that why should it be only females that get to have bright lips at special occasions? It's something I've often wondered at most of my life...why should people be rigidly categorized because of their gender? I remembered reading how long ago, females were excluded from many professions and even Quidditch until the twentieth century. How fortunate I feel that our daughter will grow up with more freedom than we had in the past.
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It was another hour or so of scrambling around to get everything and everyone ready. Trevor dashed around in a mad frenzy looking for his cufflinks, then the metal pin for his robe. By that time, Ron, Jill, Neville, Ginny, and another friend of ours, Luna Lovegood had arrived.
"Now can he panic?" Ron jokingly told me as he and I stood in the kitchen.
"Uncle Trevor..." Bea called. "It's here."
"Oh, thank you, honey," Trevor let out his breath, then came into the kitchen, flushed and slightly flustered, but holding the pin. He made a lovely groom, though. With shaky hands, he struggled to put the pin on his robe. I had to hold his robe still, then help him put the pin on.
"Thanks," Trevor's blue eyes peered down at me. "Oh, Harry, sometimes I wonder what I'd do without you."
"Panic," Ron quipped and we all chuckled. Hermione, Ginny, and Janice came in then and we were ready to go.
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Copperlong Concert Hall is near the border that separates the magical world from the muggle. Since there was a mix of magicals and muggles at this wedding, the wedding itself was a mixed wedding.
The November day was crisp, cold, and clear. Perfect for a wedding, I thought, looking around at the last of the multi-colored leaves. The leaves now carpeted the ground in a magnificent explosion of color.
"Back here..." An usher showed us a small narrow room. We sat and waited for the guests to come in. I was still nervous about being the center of attention. Janice kneaded part of her robe while Hermione and Trevor whispered things back and forth. After what seemed like hours, everyone in the hall was apparently seated and the usher came to summon us. Since Trevor and Hermione were taking on the name of Granison, they'd walk down the aisle first, then Janice and I would follow.
The door opened and what do I know, but that moment is when my throat elected to go dry. I swallowed, feeling a nervous knot in my stomach. Come on, Harry, it's just your friends and family there, I told myself as Hermione and Trevor headed down the aisle in a graceful glide, almost seeming to float.
I swallowed again as Janice and I started down after them. I kept my eyes to the front and tried not to be too aware of all the eyes on us. Come on, I told myself as I swallowed a third time. There's no need to be gulping like this, Potter. But I couldn't stop gulping, even when the four of us stood in the front in front of the floating fairy, who was performing the ceremony. I knew others could see me swallowing. Janice gave my hand a gentle squeeze as if the try to relax me. I tried to smile back at her but swallowed hard as I listened to Trevor and Hermione say their vows.
"By my power, Hermione Granger and Trevor Robinson, you are now officially married," the fairy finished, waving her wand and bathing them in a golden glow. They kissed in the light and grinned at each other, then kissed again.
"I...can't believe we're married..." Hermione whispered in amazement.
"That makes two of us," Trevor whispered back, his cheeks turning red.
Then it was Janice and my turn. We said our vows with me still gulping away like a partially clogged drain. I could feel my face turn pink as the fairy briefly touched my dry throat at one point. It seemed to help and I finished my vows without another intruding gulp. Gulping and blushing groom, I thought ruefully as the fairy united us with the gold light. Janice and I kissed several times, then hugged, feeling deep passion flowing through us. Oh, we were going to have a lovely life together! I looked over at where Bea was sitting with my Aunt Miranda and Aunt Marge, who were beaming. I let out a shaky breath.
"Oh, I love you, Jan..." I breathed, my breath catching.
"I love you too, Harry..." Janice told me, her eyes moist as we walked back up the aisle with Trevor and Hermione. What a wedding! I thought.
"Getting married's made me hungry," Janice told us with a grin.
"Me too," Trevor added. We all chuckled. The four of us had a car to ourselves, so we headed on over to Blarney's in the fall dusk to join our friends for the party. By then I was free of the gulping attack. Here's to a new chapter in our lives, I thought as my new wife and friends chatted on the way there.
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Somewhere outside of Surrey, about the same time as the double wedding...
Ellen:
"Remember what Daddy said," I told Eva as I peered at the cast on her shoulder. "What are you going to tell people when they ask what happened to your arm?"
"That I fell down the stairs," She solomnly repeated what my husband, Dudley, had told her to say in explanation of her broken shoulder.
"Right." I nodded. It really was an accident. When Dudley and I married at twenty-one, we'd dreamed of a happy family life. But good jobs are hard to come by and Dudley hasn't had much luck in holding a job. Yes, he does have a temper and yells and sometimes hits the girls. But then the girls don't help when they cry or when they cause strange things to happen.
Who could have figured how Eva got up on top of the frozen food rack when she's only two years old? She says she didn't know. Dudley, however, would hear none of it and we had to get maintenance to get her down. She'd been misbehaving. Dudley had scolded her and she started to fuss, which made Dudley really yell. Then the next thing we knew she was up there. We went home...it really was an accident, maybe Dudley grabbed her shoulder too hard.
Dudley's told me that he had a rocky childhood. He had to grow up with a cousin who was...very weird and often did things to him like set a cobra constrictor loose on him at the zoo. This cousin, Harry Potter I think his name was, also wore a lot of weird clothing.
"Thank God he ran away for good at fifteen," Dudley often says with a wave of his large hand. "That boy had serious mental problems and it took my parents long enough to figure it out. Then when my parents died in that car crash back when I was twenty-one, he has the nerve to show his ugly, four-eyed face at their funeral and cry his eyes out like a baby. Thank God that's the last time I've seen that little freak."
As a result of his parent's deaths, he'd had to move in with his Aunt Marge. That's when I met him. He complained continuously that Marge nagged him about his job search and a lot of other things until he got fed up; they had a huge argument and she ordered him out of her flat. So, that's when we decided to marry.
We didn't have our two daughters, Eva and Margo until a few years ago; Eva's two and Margo is one. I'd hoped for a real family life, but so far it doesn't seem to be fitting. Dudley is drinking more and more. I'm saddled with more and more housework and tending the girls, who are a handful. Moreover, the girls are so withdrawn and sullen that it's really hard for me to feel much tenderness for them.
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I waited for Dudley, but he didn't return until well after midnight. "About time," I hissed from my bed as Dudley crashed down almost on top of me, reeking of liquor. "You spend more time with those bar drinkers than with me!" I snapped, sick of my excuse of a husband.
"Shut uuuup..." Dudley snarled. "I had a crappy day and my boss yelled at me for supposedly not being at my work place." I heard a soft noise down the hall and got up. Dudley was too drunk to check it out, so I went. Eva was headed down toward the bathroom. Those kids know they're not supposed to be out of bed after hours! Once she saw me, Eva's eyes widened in fear and she froze a minute, then darted back to their room.
"That's right, you get back
into that bed or you'll get it!" I snapped after her.
More later!
