Chapter 13 Unexpected News

An owl woke Harry the next morning, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he opened the window to retrieve the note.

Harry,

That woman you were talking about – did you say her name was Prewett? 'cause that's my mum's maiden name, and I wondered if you were sure about her being a muggle. Prewett is actually an old pure-blood family name. Both Mum's brothers were killed in the Order during the first war, but she still has loads of cousins. It's just a thought, but maybe you should ask Mum about them. I have to go to practice now, but I'll speak to you soon.

Ron

Harry sat looking at the letter for a while and a long ago memory entered his mind, Ron mentioning a cousin – who they didn't talk about because he became an accountant. He was a squib. Harry wondered at the odds of this being Fred Prewett. The only person he could ask about Fred's occupation was Emily, and she wasn't talking to him.

Harry put the letter aside and, after a quick shower, went to visit.

"I don't remember inviting you in here," Emily said, as she opened the door to him.

"I just want to talk," Harry said quietly, "I know you're still angry with me, but if you just hear me out."

Emily left the door opened and retreated into the room. Taking this as an invitation, Harry came in and closed the door behind him. He walked over to stand in front of Emily, who was curled up in a chair, her arms wrapped around her legs, glaring at him. She looked tired and her eyes were red from crying. Harry tried to distinguish her aura but found it much more difficult to read because as a muggle it was completely different from wizards. There was no blue in it, it was mostly always pink, but today there were twinges of grey and gold.

"Emily, I know that I hurt you," Harry began, "but in all honesty, I meant to tell you all about myself that night. I never planned from us to make love so soon."

"Did we? Make love or was it just sex? Do you do that a lot? Have sex with unsuspecting women and then wipe their memories?" Emily spat at him.

"Do you really believe that?" Harry's voice was a little too loud. "Did it mean so little to you?"

"I don't know what I think, two month ago my life was normal and I didn't believe in magic," Emily shouted, "And now I discover that my own niece has these weird powers and the man that I lo…that I slept with has them too."

"So you still think that we are freaks?" Harry yelled in anger. "I thought that if I gave some time, then we could talk about it. But obviously I was mistaken. You were so hurt that I took your memories from you – well you can have them back. See if it helps to make you feel better."

Harry put out a hand and gently pushed into Emily's mind, he found the block that he had created and removed it. Emily's eyes rolled, as her mind reintroduced the new information, and then her head fell back on the chair. Harry took in her pale colour and cursed himself for releasing so much information at once. He knelt on the floor in front of her and placed a hand on her cheek.

"Emily," He said quietly, "Emily, open your eyes love – are you all right?" before she could respond, Harry leaned down the last few inches and kissed her gently. Emily responded automatically and Harry sighed in relief as he deepened the kiss, savouring her unique taste. His pulse was racing; he had missed her so much. But suddenly he found himself pushed back so hard, that he landed on his backside on the floor.

"How dare you," Shrieked Emily, "You have no right to touch me."

"I'm sorry…" Harry began, but Emily was having no of it.

"You come in here and do God knows what to me and then while I'm half unconscious, you take advantage of me."

"Calm down," Harry answered, standing up, "I wasn't taking advantage of you, I was kissing you. And in case you missed it, you were kissing me back!"

"I…I…" Emily stuttered.

"No just listen," Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I gave you back your memories, but it will take some time for your mind to process them. I also wanted to ask you about your father. Was his name Fred Prewett? Was he an accountant?"

"What? Yes he was, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Call me….after you've had time to think. I will answer any questions you have then." Harry turned to leave, and then looked back at Emily- she was standing, shaking, looking at him as though he had lost his mind. Two quick strides took him to her side, he leaned down and kissed her quickly saying, "I love you Emily that was one thing I never lied about. Something I have never said to anyone else before in my life. At least don't doubt that." With a pop, he dissappparated.

Harry went straight to the burrow and was greeted by a bone crushing hug from Molly Weasley. "Hi Molly, how are you?" He managed to choke out.

"Harry, dear, we've missed you. Did you hear the wonderful news?" Molly released him and led him into the kitchen to sit at the table. "Ron and Hermione are getting married!"

"Yes, Ron asked me to be his best man," Harry smiled.

"It's about time, I say. But at least their finally going to do it." Molly smiled as she made him a cup of tea and passed him a slice of fruit cake. "That's almost all my children now – just you left dear. Any news on that front?"

Harry smiled at her forwardness – this woman was the closest thing to a mother he had ever known, and he knew she was disappointed when he and Ginny had announced they would just be friends. But she ultimately accepted her new son-in-law Neville, much as she had accepted Harry, all those years ago.

"Actually that's sort of why I'm here," Harry began.

"You've met someone?" Molly squeaked.

"It's complicated," Harry sighed.

"When has anything ever been simple for you dear?" Molly smiled. "Tell me about it."

"I wanted to ask you about your cousin – the squib," Harry replied.

"Fred?" Molly asked, confused at the change of subject. "Why on earth would you care about him? I haven't seen him for years."

"I think I might have met his daughter." Harry began to relate the whole story to her. Molly made the appropriate sympathetic noises and listened patiently until Harry had told her all that had happened, even relating to her how he felt - something he would only do with her. She was the only person in his life he trusted with his feelings.

"Why don't you let me send her a letter, explaining the family connections? Maybe that will help," Molly offered. "I mean if she is really Fred's daughter, then we would be cousins of a sort."

"I don't think she would take that very well, she's not overly trusting of the magical world at the moment."

"Well that's because she doesn't know much about us – do you know if her parents are still alive?"

"I never asked – I just assumed that they weren't because she has custody of her niece."

"Maybe that's because she's younger – I reckon Fred would be in his sixties by now. You know Squibs don't generally have the same long life-span as wizards."

"I thought they would just be the same as us," Harry pondered.

"Some are and some aren't – depends on how much magic they actually have."

"I thought they didn't have any."

"It varies – some have a little, they can perform some basic charms and things, very few have none at all." Molly served another piece of cake and cup of tea and than sat down with a piece of parchment and quill.

My dear Emily,

Please forgive my presumptuousness in writing to you but I heard about you from a mutual acquaintance. If my information is correct, then I believe we may be distant relatives. I had cousins called Fredrick and Paulette Prewett but have not heard from them in many years. I would like to meet you and for you and your niece to meet my family. I realise that this all comes as a shock to you but I would ask you to consider this carefully. Both of my brothers and several cousins were lost to me during the dark wars. And I would love to find any of my remaining family.

Yours faithfully Molly Weasley (nee Prewett)

"What do you think, Harry?"

"I think that it's very kind of you to do this," Harry replied with a smile. "I'll take it to her though, she might be afraid of receiving an Owl. I'll let you know how it goes."

"Take care dear; I'm sure it will all work out." Molly kissed him and waved goodbye.