A/N: I own nothing... sadly.
A/N 2: A friend wrote this, but I added about 2000 words. Descriptive things and the like...
The sun rose slowly over the distant mountains, banishing the moon to its daytime slumber. Twenty-nine year old Ginny Weasley sat beneath a towering oak tree on the edge of her property. Tears leaked down her face as she recalled the events of eleven years ago. Not that she regretted anything she had done, it was he that should have been more careful! It was all his fault that Emily had grown up without her father. No, that wasn't fair. She couldn't blame him; it wasn't his fault that his spell claimed his own life after it was cast…
There were only three days during the year when she allowed herself to lose control like this, two birthdays and a deathday. She looked at the dull glow of the orange sun and steeled herself. She couldn't allow Emily to see her like this, especially on her birthday. Drying her tears, she got to her feet and willed them to carry her back to her home.
The muggle weatherman had predicted a heavy snowfall to start sometime later in the week, filling everyone full of hope for a white Christmas. Walking back home, Ginny was glad that the snow had decided to wait until after Emily's birthday, unlike last year when she had made the trip back from her favorite tree in nearly three feet of snow. Emily should be waking up soon. If I don't have breakfast ready soon… Ginny shuddered at the thought. Her daughter had certainly inherited the Weasley hunger.
Mummy! Mummy! Uncle Ronnie says I eat like a true Weasley! Ginny smiled, remembering the day that she had returned from the cemetery and found her brother and her daughter eating enough food to feed an army. Emily was just under three years old then, and in the past nine years she hadn't changed a bit. Ginny was sure she could still find Ron and Emily having an eating contest if she visited Hogwarts during a feast.
Later that evening, the remaining members of the Weasley family, and its new additions, were gathered in Ginny's home to celebrate Emily's birthday. Ginny glanced at the crowd of people, thinking of those that should be there. Her father had died in the final battle with Voldemort, Charlie and Percy died a few months before that.
Ginny glanced at her mother's face. Twelve years and six months ago she had been distressed to learn that her sixteen-year-old daughter was three months pregnant after only one night of passion, though when the fathers of both Ginny and Emily had been killed on the same day, two days after Ginny learned she was pregnant, Molly quickly dismissed the fact that her daughter was pregnant and distressed that her grandchild would be fatherless.
Ginny was brought back into reality as Emily sat down to open her presents. Fred, Angelina, George, and Katie had given their "favorite niece" (though she was their ONLY niece) a vast assortment of their products from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Bill gave her a pendant that he had found in a tomb in Egypt, saying it would protect her from most minor curses. Hermione and Ron had sent a giant box of assorted candy from Honeydukes, dozens of sugar quills, slabs of chocolate, six pounds of Every Flavor Beans, and a gross of chocolate frogs. Molly had given her a Weasley jumper, and a beautiful tawny owl. Ginny had decided to wait three more days and give her birthday presents to her at Christmas, since most of her family had combined Christmas and birthday presents.
Long after the party had died down and most guests had gone home, Ginny sat with her mother and her daughter in the kitchen of her home. The three women had large, steaming mugs of hot cocoa and were talking about Emily's second year at Hogwarts. They discussed everything from her favorite and least favorite classes down to what boys she thought were cute.
This girl is going to be dangerous when she gets a bit older… Molly and Ginny both thought for about the hundredth time that evening. The youngest female had been working her way through the box of candy Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione had given her. She had successfully managed to get sick from eating vomit, earwax, and some other foul beans that she didn't recognize, then moved on to the Chocolate Frogs. Three frogs into the pile caused tears to leak down her cheeks.
"What's wrong, dear?" Molly asked, putting her hand on her granddaughter's back to comfort her.
Emily was still holding the card that came in the wrapper with the frog, sobbing silently. She lay the card down on the table. "I got Harry Potter…" she said before crumbling into pieces in her grandmother's arms, tears flowing like rivers from her emerald eyes. Molly began to cry as well, stroking the young girl's raven colored hair.
Ginny crouched beside her daughter and gently pulled her from Molly's grasp. "Come on, honey, lets get you to bed." She said, pulling the shaking form of her child into her arms. Moments later she returned from upstairs and sat at the table with her mum.
"Oh, mum, I don't know what to do. I just wish Harry could have survived to see the wonderful little girl he gave me." Ginny laid her head on the table and cried for the second time that day.
"I know, dear." Molly said, remembering the day she learned about her daughter's pregnancy. "Poor Harry didn't even have a clue that you were pregnant, and then…" Her mind flashed back to the day her husband and the boy who would have been her son-in-law were murdered. Arthur had fallen near the end, killed by some low-level Death Eater by a killing curse from behind. Harry's life had been taken by some spell that he had cast that ended Voldemort's life, dissolving the Dark Lord into a pile of ashes and some thick black liquid. Since Voldemort had been revived by Harry's blood, the spell connected them and moments later had destroyed Harry as well. Thankfully, Harry hadn't disintegrated and the Weasleys were able to have a proper funeral for the two they had lost.
Molly gave her youngest child a glass of warm milk and led her to her bedroom. "Get some rest, dear. I'll be back in the morning, I have something I need to do." Molly told the softly shaking mass of blankets that was Ginny. Planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead, Molly Disapparated.
The next morning, Emily Potter found herself in her bed, clutching a small figure to her chest. Looking down, she saw an old Harry Potter toy that she had begged her mother to buy her when she was no more than three years old. She could feel the dried tears from the previous night on her face. Embarrassed that she had lost control over her emotions like that because of a Chocolate Frog Card, she got out of bed to find her mum and grandmum to apologize. She found her mother lying in bed, so she had chosen to leave her alone for a while. Her grandmum, however, was sitting at the breakfast table and the sounds and smells of breakfast cooking were coming from behind the older woman. Emily found herself wrapped in her grandmother's arms before she even registered what was cooking on the stove.
"Good morning, dear. Are you feeling better?" Molly asked, releasing the little girl. Not believing the nod she received as an answer, she moved away and checked on the food. Moments later, Ginny joined them and Molly had repeated her question to her daughter, again not believing the answer she got. "You girls are horrible liars." Molly informed them. "At least when it comes to Harry…"
The crimson and raven-haired women growled lightly and waved it off when Molly placed food in front of them, commanding them to eat up. "I have something for you, and you may need your strength." She told them.
After breakfast, Ginny and Emily eagerly awaited whatever Molly had planned to give them. The older woman had gone into another room, only to return moments later with what looked like a shallow stone basin. Ginny recognized it as a Pensieve and knew that it had once belonged to Harry. Seeming to read her thoughts, Molly informed her that Headmistress McGonagall had been keeping it for Emily until she was ready for it.
"What does it do, grandmum?" Emily asked, fascinated by the swirling memories inside of it.
Molly swirled her wand around in the memories, seeing faces in them. She pulled her wand out and instructed them to touch it. Tumbling through the darkness, they were shocked to land on their feet in the kitchen of the Burrow. Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were eating breakfast while Molly berated her children for flying the old Ford Anglia they owned to liberate Harry from his relatives. Ginny groaned and placed her forehead on her daughter's shoulder. Confusion shone in her emerald eyes until she saw a familiar looking girl enter the kitchen, squeal, and then leave twice as fast as she had entered. Ginny looked up as the twelve-year-old form of her brother spoke to the boy she loved in a hushed tone. "Ginny, my sister. She's been talking about you all summer." Ginny blushed deeply as her daughter giggled. She looked at the fourteen-year-old version of her uncles. Fred glanced at Harry and said "Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry." Which earned him reproachful looks from both the Molly standing behind Ginny and Emily, and the Molly from the memory.
The youngest girl laughed loudly until the scene changed and she found herself staring into the emerald eyes that she had inherited. She turned and found herself facing her mother, though she was rather younger. Emily moved to the side and gasped as she saw her mother and father share their first kiss. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see her mother's eyes fill with tears. She turned back to the sixteen year old form of her father and smiled.
The scene changed again and Emily found herself in a strange room. She could tell that she was in Hogwarts, but she didn't know where. Her mother was pulling her father behind her, their Quidditch robes billowing out behind them as they entered the room. The older version of Ginny gave a loud gasp and covered both her daughter and her mother's eyes. "Ginny, what are you doing?" Molly demanded, pulling her eyes away from Ginny's hand. The sight she saw caused her to pull Ginny's hand back to its former position. Ginny looked down at herself and Harry on the floor. Her sixteen-year-old form was busy pulling Harry's robes off as fast as she could. Ginny smiled, within hours her memory-self would be pregnant.
The three of them found themselves back in the kitchen, standing beside the table. "Mum! Why did you cover my eyes? What was going on?" Emily demanded, hands on her hips.
"Yes, dear, what was going on?" Molly asked, in the same stance as Emily.
"Oh, come now mum, you know it happened! If it didn't, we wouldn't have this beautiful little girl standing here with us." Ginny said in a mock outrage. Molly laughed and Emily shook her head, trying to clear the mental picture she had received.
That afternoon Ginny had summoned her family to her home. Molly had returned to the Burrow that day, but was now standing around the Pensieve with the rest of her family. Ginny cleared her throat and stood to face the crowd of Weasleys, Remus Lupin, and a few more people from Harry's life.
"Everyone, you all know that Emily has grown up without knowing her father. Everyone in the wizarding world has heard stories about him, but we are the only people who really knew him." She motioned toward the Pensieve. "Please, if you would, donate a few memories of Harry so that she may learn who he really was." A single tear escaped her eye before she turned to look at the Pensieve.
"Where should I start?" Ron's voice rang like a bell in Ginny's mind. "My best friend from our first Hogwarts train ride… I think I have a fair amount of memories." He smiled and rubbed his niece's head, ruffling her hair. Ron removed roughly a dozen memories for Emily to sort through later and made way for everyone else. Hermione put almost as many as Ron in the Pensieve. Fred, George, Angelina, Katie, Bill, Fleur, and Molly donated five or six each. Remus was about to give his own when he smiled at his Goddaughter.
"I've got a question for you, Miss Potter." Remus said, lifting her into his arms as if she were five years old. How would you like to see your dad when he was a baby? I have some rather fond memories of your grandparents taking care of one of the cutest babies with messy black hair that I've ever seen. Of course, you were a much cuter baby, but you were bald." She laughed and nodded furiously. Remus extracted many memories of James, Lily, and Harry, and then moved on to Harry's teenage years.
The rest of the people there were members of the Order of the Phoenix, and had only known Harry for a few years. Nymphadora Tonks, Emily's Godmother, was the only one who extracted more than three memories for Emily. Placing a kiss on Emily's forehead, she laughed and said that Harry wouldn't want her to see those memories, but she would enjoy them thoroughly.
Ginny's doorbell rang while she was pulling her own memories out and putting them in the Pensieve. Emily answered the door and found herself staring at a few people she barely recognized. Neville and Luna Longbottom were the only two she could name. Inviting them in, she led the crowd to where the rest of the guests were gathered.
"You came!" Ginny exclaimed, seeing many of Harry's school friends. Every Gryffindor in his year was now in her house, along with some of his other friends. Susan Bones, Hannah Abbot, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and even Cho Chang had answered Ginny's letter. Most of the newly arrived guests had never met Emily, and few had been aware that Harry had a daughter. Cho Chang bent down slightly and looked into Emily's eyes.
"Merlin! Those eyes!" Cho gasped and looked at Ginny. Ginny knew that after Cho had gotten over Cedric Diggory, she had tried dating Harry again. Harry, however, was with Ginny at the time and offered to be friends. Cho agreed, though she definitely wanted more, and conceded defeat to Ginny.
"Everyone, you were all great friends to Harry. I'm sure he would want you here for this. For those of you who don't know, this is Emily." Ginny motioned to the girl in front of her. "She is mine and Harry's daughter. Harry died six months before she was born. Since she has never known her father, I called you here to ask if you would put some memories into a Pensieve for her, so she could see what he was like. As you all know, those rumors and legends about him aren't who he really was." Each of them agreed and stepped up to the Pensieve.
Later that night, Ginny taught Emily how to leave the Pensieve when she was inside a memory and left her in her bedroom before retreating into the empty house. Emily stirred the contents around, looking for a good place to start. Soon she was absorbed into the Pensieve and found herself in Godric's Hollow. She saw two people that looked a great deal like her parents mooning over a baby, though she knew that her father had never been able to hold her. This must be my grandmum and granddad… she thought as she walked around them and peered inside the crib. And this must be my dad. She would have continued staring at the infant that was her father, but a noise from behind her grandparents made her jump. "Sirius! Harry's asleep, you'll wake him!" her grandmum hissed. Even Emily knew that she was a force to be reckoned with. Remus entered behind the one her grandmum called Sirius. He was laughing softly at his friend's subdued expression. Emily got the impression that she would have really liked her grandmum if she had ever gotten to know her. The fiery redhead turned back to her slumbering baby and smiled. Emily looked up into her grandmother's face and saw herself. Every detail of the long dead woman had been copied into her own body years later. The only difference was the hair. Emily had her father and grandfather's hair; the only thing she seemed to have escaped was the Potter Hair Curse.
The nursery faded and was replaced by a park of some sort. Emily looked around and saw her uncle Ron and her father. They were having what looked like a serious discussion while the swings they were sitting in were slowly moving through the air. Moving closer, she heard Ron groan in despair. "Harry, mate… Why do we need women?" She looked at her father expectantly, wondering what his answer would be. The pair of them couldn't be more than sixteen and she had always heard that they were a bit thick when it came to girls.
"Trouble in paradise?" her father asked, laughing. Ron punched him in the arm. Even though she could tell the gasp of pain and the elaborate show of rubbing his arm was all in good fun, she felt a stab of anger for her father. "Ok, ok, what's troubling you Ron?"
"You know how much I care for Hermione. In fact, if it wasn't for you and Ginny, I wouldn't know it." Ron looked up into the bright blue sky before slamming his hands into his forehead. "Why can't she see it? Why does she have to pine after Terry bloody Boot?"
"Ron, I hate to break it to you mate, but Hermione gave up on you. She's been waiting since first year for you to come around." Harry looked down and frowned. What was Uncle Ron thinking when he gave me this memory? Emily wondered as she saw the hurt look on her uncle's face. "But then, Ginny gave up on me, and look at us! I can't walk down the halls without being summoned into a closet for a good snog." Emily's face contorted into a look of horror. She couldn't imagine her mother snogging anyone! It wasn't normal, and shouldn't be done…
The scene faded again and she found herself in a large room with a wooden floor and bright white walls. Looking around, she saw Harry dancing with her mum… no… that's grandmum. But… she died when he was a baby… the pair of them stopped dancing and her grandmum began to change shape. Tonks! That explains a lot. She laughed and moved closer to hear their conversation. "Thanks, Tonks. I really appreciate you teaching me how to dance, Ginny would never let me hear the end of it if I asked her." Harry and Tonks started laughing loudly.
"Anytime, Harry. I love these little dance sessions. Your mum had a great body for dancing." She put her arm around his shoulders. "Besides, it's not like I'll get to be a Potter any other way." Harry's face turned bright red he started stammering. Tonks laughed loudly. "Oh, come on, Harry. What does Ginny have that I don't?" Tonks changed her body to mirror Ginny's, though Tonks-Ginny had vastly over-proportioned breasts. Tonks soon returned to her original shape. "Harry… you should… see… your face!" Tonks managed to choke out between fits of laughter. "Oh, come on! You know I don't mean it. It's just a little harmless flirting," she said before they faded away into nothingness.
The stars were shining brightly above Emily's head and a bright fire roared on the ground. She didn't know where she was, but the place seemed familiar. She heard giggling and squeals from somewhere nearby and went to investigate. Before she could locate the source, however, voices broke through the giggling. "Harry! Stop! You know how ticklish I am!" It was her mum, laughing uncontrollably.
"Ok, ok." Harry said, "I'll stop, but only if you don't hex me!" Ginny's laughter died down. Emily moved on around the fire to where her parents were lying on a blanket by the fire.
"Harry, do you ever wonder what life will be like after the war?" Ginny asked without warning. "For us, I mean."
"Sometimes, Gin. Sometimes I wonder if I'll survive the war, and if I do, where could we go? What would we do? Right now, we still have school. I still have one year, and you have two, but after that… what do you want?" Harry's voice was soft and quiet, like he was afraid someone would hear him.
"Well, I would think that I've made it fairly obvious. Marriage, a family… things all women want." Emily smiled at her mother's response. "Do you think we'll ever have children?"
Ginny was startled when Harry got to his feet and extended a hand to her. She took it and he pulled her up. When she was firmly standing beside him, he dropped to one knee and fumbled around inside his robes. Emily and Ginny both ran out of breath. "Ginevra Molly Weasley, I know we're both young, but even someone as thick as I am can tell that we're so deeply in love that nothing could ever come between us. Even though we won't be able to for a while, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"
Ginny and Emily both had tears pouring down their faces. Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and buried her face in his chest. "Of course I will!" she mumbled into his robes. They kissed with all the love and passion they had, making Emily cry all the more for what had been stolen from her and her mother. Minutes later she found herself lying on her bed, tears streaming freely from her eyes. She somehow managed to put the Pensieve away, unable to face more memories of her father. She would have to find some way to compose herself before continuing with her journey through the memories of her family and friends.
The next morning, Emily woke with the smell of breakfast permeating her nose. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn that her mother was cooking right outside her door. Seeming to levitate by the will of her stomach, she made her way to the kitchen to find Ginny ushering her into a chair and piling food into her mouth. This wasn't exactly out of the ordinary, but Emily still had to wonder what had gotten into her mum, though she suspected that it was about the Pensieve.
"Did you have fun looking through the memories?" Ginny asked casually as she sat down to eat. Nodding, Emily began to giggle. "What?" Ginny demanded. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, you should see Tonks imitate you, mum." Emily laughed and cupped imaginary breasts a great distance away from her body. Ginny blushed furiously and demanded to be shown that particular memory.
They discussed the things Emily had seen in the Pensieve for a long while before going out to do a bit of last minute Christmas shopping, or something like that. Ginny said they needed to go get some things, but she wouldn't say what. She just told her daughter to grab some Floo powder and go to Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley was always a fun place for Emily, especially Quality Quidditch Supplies. Being related to people who held every position on a Quidditch team had rubbed off on her. It had long been her intention to join the Gryffindor team. As soon as the current seventh years on the team left, there would be only two people left and she knew she could easily capture a vacant Chaser spot, though it would break Uncles Fred, George, and Ron's hearts. ("No, Emi! You should be a Beater! What could be better than slapping dangerous objects at Slytherins?" "Be a Keeper, Emi, it's the best!") Sometimes their arguments made her wonder what they would say if she said she was going out for Seeker, which had been her original plan. It's not that she wasn't good as a Seeker, or that she didn't like the position, it was just that her father was a hard act to follow, and she was afraid she wouldn't live up to the family name. The daughter of the youngest Seeker in a century would have more to live up to than the daughter of a star Chaser.
The problem was that Ginny, for fear of the predicted snowstorm, had told Emily to stay with her, and she was browsing around Flourish and Blotts, even worse than that was the fact that she was in the section that housed some of the dustiest books in existence, before giving up in her search, Ginny made her way to the counter and asked the person standing there something in a whisper. He nodded and ushered her into the back, after she told Emily to browse around for a moment. Minutes later, she came back with a book wrapped in a cloth. Leaving the shop, the two made their way to the Leaky Cauldron to Floo home.
Emily had grown rather suspicious when her mother started looking for an ancient book and then ferreted about their house trying to find potions ingredients. Ginny told her not to worry about what she was doing, and asked her to go practice her Quidditch skills for a while. Shrugging, she pulled some warmer clothes on and grabbed her Firebolt V before running to her private Quidditch pitch. Her family normally used the pitch during the summer holidays, what with there being enough people for two makeshift teams. In the winter, however, the woods surrounding the pitch were perfect to fly through at breakneck speeds, darting through the trees and dodging the outstretched branches was perfect Chaser practice.
Back inside the house, Ginny was making a potion from the book she had borrowed from Flourish and Blotts. Though Emily didn't know it, she would be given the potion that night. Ginny hated to keep secrets from her daughter, and slipping this potion into her drink would be terrible, she took comfort in the fact that it wouldn't hurt her in any way. The only problem with the potion was that it bordered on the fine line between powerful magic and Dark arts. Ginny would never hurt her daughter, and if the potion was Dark, so be it. Emily needed it. Harry would have done the same thing.
That night, Christmas Eve, Emily went to bed early at her mother's bidding. Ginny had poured the odorless, tasteless, colorless potion into an unknowing Emily's pumpkin juice before they ate. Emily would need to go to bed soon for the full effect of its magic to work. Ginny didn't exactly regret what she had done, but she was a bit wary of what her daughter was sure to say in the morning.
Emily looked around, seeing nothing but smoke, or fog, or mist, or whatever it was that was clouding her vision. Voices called to her from various directions, but she couldn't understand any of them. As she tried to get her bearings, the smoke parted in front of her, forming a path through it. Summoning the courage that had gotten her a place in Gryffindor, she took a few tentative steps forward before breaking into a run.
At the end of the darkened, mist-lined path, she found herself in a grove of trees. Moonlight shone through the canopy of leaves, and a light summer breeze ruffled her hair. That isn't right, it's not summer… she thought as she stared at her new surroundings.
"It took you long enough to visit us." A deep voice called through the trees.
"Yeah, you'd think she didn't love us!" another voice called, followed by a bark-like laugh.
"Now, now, don't scare her! Boys…" a woman's voice, filled with scolding tones, rang closest to Emily.
"Who are you? Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" Emily demanded, a slight overtone of fear was present in her voice.
Five figures stepped out from the trees, walking toward Emily. The first thing that Emily noticed was that she had seen these people before. The second thing was that they were all dead.
"Ah, she gets it! We always knew you were a bright one!" A man on her left laughed. "Yes, I read your mind. We can do that, you know, we're dead. There are loads of things we can do that the living can't."
Four of the figures stopped moving roughly three feet from her, but one continued, walking up to wrap her in a tight hug. Tears prickled in Emily's eyes as the figure broke away. He stood before her and smiled widely, glancing into her eyes. The eyes she had inherited from him.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Emily. The five of us have watched over you since you were born, but we've never actually been able to communicate until now." Harry said, stepping back from her so she could see the rest of the crowd. "I suppose you're curious as to who the people around you are?" Emily nodded meekly. "On my right," Harry pointed to Emily's left, "Is your grandfather, James. As if you couldn't tell he was a Potter." Emily laughed, looking at the man who had informed her of their mind reading ability.
"On his right is your grandmother, Lily." Emily turned to see a redheaded copy of herself smiling at her. "On her right, you'll see your other grandfather, Arthur." She turned to see the familiar face from so many pictures at the Burrow. "And over here we have Sirius Black. He wasn't supposed to come, but considering he's as good as a grandfather to you, he broke the rules." Sirius punched Harry playfully, eliciting a reprimand from Lily.
"And I suppose you have guessed who I am?" Harry asked, his voice suggesting that he was the least important figure there. Emily rushed forward and hugged him tightly, soaking the robes he was wearing with her tears.
"Oi, Potter! Let the rest of us have a moment!" Sirius called, jokingly. Lily was about to rush over until James held her back. She settled for yelling.
"Sirius, you great insensitive prat! Leave him alone! He never had a moment with Emily and deserves all the time in the world!" Arthur laughed with James, knowing Sirius was in deep, deep trouble. "James and I had a year with Harry, and you had a little longer, and you saw how we were when he died!" Lily would have continued, but the thoughts radiating from Emily stopped her.
"Am… am I dead, daddy?" she asked in a weak voice, afraid of the answer.
"Oh, honey, no!" Lily rushed to her side, putting her hands on Emily's shoulders. "No, you're far from dead." She drew the young girl into a hug that only a grandmother could give.
"Though it was extremely irresponsible, my daughter has spent a great deal of time to find a special potion. The potion draws you into a place that is neither the living world, nor our world." Arthur spoke up, coming to Emily's side. "She's seen you crying in your room on many occasions, and has decided that you should meet us."
Sirius strode to her, keeping his distance from Lily. "I always knew that Ginny was rash, but to make that potion… Not that I'm not glad, you know, but if she had mucked it up, well, you might have ended up staying with us."
James was the last to come over to her, lifting her into his arms and hugging her nearly as tightly as Harry had. "Oh, stop scaring her, Padfoot. We all helped her out with the potion!" He put her back on the ground.
"Right, I suppose you have some questions that you would like to ask us?" Harry said, waving his hand to create a blanket on the ground. "Have a seat and we'll answer what we can." The six of them moved to the blanket, seating themselves in a circle.
"Um, why did the spell that killed Voldemort also kill you, dad?" she had finally asked the question that had been plaguing her for years.
"Ah, that is a tricky one. Because he took my blood to restore himself, the spell connected us. I'm just glad it didn't kill you as well. In fact, I don't know why it didn't." Harry replied, looking forlorn. "Though if that had happened, I wouldn't have been able to watch you grow from the cutest baby ever into a beautiful young woman, and don't worry, we're going to keep watching you after this.
Emily blinked her tears away, willing them to either fall or disappear. "Would… would you have gone to that battle if you knew mum was pregnant? You too, grandpa." She said, turning from Harry to Arthur.
"Love, I promised your mother that I would make the world safe from Death Eaters and Voldemort before we ever had children. I wish that I had been alive to watch you grow up, but had I not been there, Voldemort would likely have been after you and your mum just to get to me. If I had known that Ginny was pregnant, I would have made sure she was safe from all danger, then I would have went to find Voldemort. I would have gone through every Death Eater he could have thrown at me, and then the Dark Lord himself. I made a promise to Ginny that our children would be born in a peaceful world, and I kept it."
Emily's tears fell freely, and doubled when Harry scooped her into his arms and held her. He kissed her forehead and rocked her gently for a long while. "Emily, you asked what I would have done," Arthur began, thinking of his answer, "I would have gone with Harry. Nothing could have stopped us if we had known."
A long time passed, Emily asked many questions of her family, getting to know them personally, rather than vicariously through memories of other people. She learned secrets about her family that not even their closest friends and family knew. James, Lily, Harry, and Sirius really didn't mind telling her anything, but Arthur had living relatives and was a bit reluctant to say anything too incriminating. Before long, the sun started to crawl above the trees around them, and she knew it was almost time to go.
"Emily, my darling daughter, I'm going to give you the same advice that I received when I discovered the comfort of my family through a mirror. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. You now know us as well as anyone alive. We will always be here for you, as will your uncles Charlie and Percy, who regret that they couldn't come." Harry smiled at his daughter before wrapping her in a hug and kissing her cheek.
"He's right, you know. That is a great bit of advice. Please, dear, don't seek us out again. One can only visit this place so many times." Lily kissed Emily's forehead and stepped back into the shadows. "Bye, love. We'll meet again." Her voice was no more than a whisper.
James ruffled her hair and bent down to her level. "Don't forget, you can do anything. You're a Potter, we make the rules." He hugged her tightly and placed his lips in the same spot Lily's had touched. He retreated, following his wife. "Use your lineage to your advantage sometimes, it's great for rule breaking…"
Sirius was next to come to her. "Emi, don't you dare lose that fiery temper! You may need it one day. You didn't come from a long line of people with excitable tempers… and Lily… to be like your father." Sirius gave his bark-like laugh and walked backwards into the shadows. "Tell that Godfather of yours that he needs to hurry up… but don't let him leave you…" Sirius's voice faded into nothingness.
Arthur was next, wrapping her in the same fatherly hug that his children had all received during his life. "You're not only a Potter, you're a Weasley too. Potters make the rules, but if your uncles are any indication, Weasleys break them." He laughed and stepped back into the trees he had appeared from. "Tell everyone we miss them… and we're all ok…"
Harry was the only one remaining with her in the clearing as the sun climbed dangerously high. Emily didn't know why the sun was bad, but she knew she couldn't be there when it rose. "Emily, remember everything you learned tonight. Remember that you come from two very powerful magic families. Remember that you are always loved, and you always will be. And tell your mum that I love her." Harry broke away from her daughter. "Live your life as well as you can… and watch out for Oliver Wood's kid… he seems to have his eye on you… I love you, Emily. We all do…" Harry disappeared and Emily felt the sensation of a Portkey pulling her away.
Emily sat upright in her bed, tears streaming down her cheeks. Running to her mother's room, she enveloped her in a warm hug, thanking her for giving her the best Christmas present ever.