Disclaimer: In short, I don't own anything except any original characters, such as Kat and Nick. So don't sue me.

AN: thanx for the reviews, they're soooooo uplifting! Here's the end of 'Flying' so i hope you like it.

Hopefully i'll have all my review replies for the last post up later today on my livejournal (see my profile page for the address).

Now the story

Lives Repaired

By ravus85

Last time

There was a hesitant nod, before Nick answered. "Can you stay awake until I'm asleep?"

Evan nodded in return and watched as his son's eyes slowly drifted shut, the heavy breathing of sleep following soon after. "Goodnight Nick," he whispered softly before kissing his son's forehead and then settling down to sleep still fully dressed, the broken door to his son's room completely forgotten.

Flying (part 2)

Evan entered his living room the next morning, almost tripping over his own feet as his groggy mind tried to discover which way was up. Nick had obviously been up for a while as he sat munching happily on his jam toast in their kitchenette. Evan was happy to notice that his son had kindly boiled their magically enhanced kettle in preparation for his morning coffee. Evan didn't know how he would get through each day if he failed to have coffee. The very thought made him shudder in dread, silently hoping such a thing would never occur in his lifetime.

"Thanks," he muttered huskily as he took a cup down from the cupboard and stared at the kettle for a moment before silently deciding that instant coffee would have to do this morning as he had no energy to make anything more complicated.

Just as he was sitting down at the table, Nick swallowed the last of his toast and looked at his father expectantly.

Evan just stared back, as if to ask what Nick was waiting for.

After a moment, Nick seemed to come to a decision and voiced his question. "Can we go flying today Dad? It's been ages since I've been on my broom and the Quidditch pitch outside is amazing and..."

"I get the idea Nick," replied Evan, holding up a hand and interrupting Nick mid-sentence. "You can go flying this afternoon, but first I would like to know what your nightmare was about last night."

Nick hung his head as he was reminded of the night before. "It was silly."

"It can't have been silly if you got scared that much." Nick's head remained low, so Evan continued. "I won't be ashamed of you for being scared of something Nick. Everyone get scared sometimes, even me."

"Even you?" asked Nick as he lifted his head slightly.

"Even me," confirmed Evan. "Now what was that dream about last night. Maybe if someone else knows about it, it won't be as scary anymore."

Nick nodded hesitantly before speaking. "I was just... worried about tomorrow. I dreamed that the people at school wouldn't like me and the teacher would think I was dumb and..."

"Hey, no one's going to think that Nick," said Evan as he moved around the table to scoop his son into a hug. "You're certainly not dumb, 'cause all the teachers back in Canada thought you were almost the top of your class, and I'm sure there'll be lots of people who will like you. I know it might be a bit strange, but there'll be other new people too. Plus, if you ever feel uncomfortable I can come and pick you up straight away, okay-?"

Nick nodded into his father's embrace with a small 'uhuh' before extracting himself from the hug and looking up at his Dad. "Thanks Dad," he said with a small smile.

"You can always talk to me, Nick, always," Evan replied as he gave Nick's shoulder one last squeeze. "Now, how 'bout you get our brooms, while I grab some breakfast and then we can go flying."

The brilliant smile he received in return was a joy to see after his distress the night before.

HPHPHPHP

Nick was already off the ground, whooping and yelling as he flew at outrageous speeds around the Quidditch pitch, by the time Evan reached the pitch. As soon as they had left Hogwarts, Nick had practically sprinted to the pitch before taking off with a certain flair that was reminiscent of Evan's school days. Evan watched his son proudly, glad that his son had received his own passion for flying.

However, Evan didn't stand around watching his son for long. It seemed like years since he had last flown on his broom. Living in a Muggle neighbourhood back in Canada had had its setbacks, a lack of flying being one of them.

Although Evan certainly didn't have the impatience of his son he was no less eager to get in the air once more.

Soon, both father and son were wheeling around the pitch, maneuvering as though they had been born in the air. Eventually, Nick came to a stop at one end of the pitch and gestured that his father come over.

"Can you show me your Wronski Feint again?" asked Nick in an innocent tone.

Evan frowned at his son before answering. "You know very well that that is one move I refuse to let you do until you start Hogwarts. You know how dangerous it is."

Nick pouted for a moment, before relenting. This conversation was never going to go his way, so he figured he might as well settle for seeing his father do the maneuver at least. "Can you just show me though? I promise I'll just watch."

Evan looked over at his son and saw the pleading look on his face. He knew Nick practically worshiped his flying skills, and there was a certain temptation in doing something as daring as a Wronski Feint. He hadn't pulled off something of that magnitude since Nick was five years old. He always remembered that particular memory with a grimace at the thought of Emily's reaction when she had seen him diving almost vertically towards the ground with no hint of pulling up until it was almost too late.

Now, grinning madly, Evan could only nod at Nick before pulling his broom upwards in order to get to a greater height for the dive.

Neither Nick, nor Evan had noticed the growing crowd that was slowly filling one section of the stands, but one blonde head was watching Evan Jameson's flying with a certain calculation.

Evan finally pulled his Firebolt X to a halt well above the Quidditch stands. He took a moment to compose himself before pointing his world class broom downwards and speeding towards the ground far faster than gravity would ever pull him. He hardly noticed as he passed his son in a blur of colour, his only thought was concentrated firmly on how fast the ground was coming closer. Evan knew that his instincts had always aided him in pulling out of a feint at just the right moment, but there was always the possibility of even his instincts failing him. Concentration was the key to such a maneuver. If his speed, balance and steering was not exact, the possibility of Nick having no father in a few moments was high.

However, just as Evan's instincts had led him to trust Emily just moments after meeting her, along with how to finally defeat Voldemort, he trusted that they would pull him through this as well.

From the stands many of the teachers and students watched in fascination and horror as their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher plummeted towards the ground. Hermione stood next to Draco Malfoy, a member of the Board of Governors, as they both watched Evan Jameson fly. Hermione's jaw had dropped when she saw the insane speed Evan was reaching as he continued his descent. Even Draco was shocked by the insanity of such a dive. Not even Harry Potter had ever done a Wronski Feint so fast.

Nick had started his own, slower, descent as he realised just how fast his father was going. He only hoped that his Dad had judged it right.

Evan saw the ground coming towards him a lot faster than he was used to. Foolishly he realised this was the first time he had ever done a feint on the new X-series Firebolt, which had the capability of going three times faster than his old broom.

As soon as Evan realised he had misjudged things he pulled out of his dive sharply.

The crowd gasped collectively as Evan pulled upwards, and it was not a moment to soon as the tail of his broom brushed the ground before snagging on something and sending the broom flipping end over end.

Evan felt the tail snag and let go of the broom immediately, hoping that his own body's speed would not splatter him on the Quidditch pitch. He watched as his broom flipped end over end above him, the tail narrowly missing his eyes as he hit the ground and skidded to a halt.

"Dad!" screamed Nick as he fly towards his father. As he reached the ground he jumped off his broom and ran the last few metres to where Evan had landed.

Falling to his knees beside his Dad, Nick noticed the grin that had spread across Evan's face as his shoulders shook with mirth. Evan was looking towards the sky as he lay on his back, and didn't notice Nick until he leaned over his Dad and peered at him closely.

Evan saw Nick's worried face and lifted an arm to grab his son's shoulder. Still his grin remained as he shook his head in defeat. "Well, that had to be the worst Wronski Feint ever."

Nick gaped at his father. "You could have died Dad!"

The smile slipped momentarily from Evan's face as he truly looked at his son. Using Nick's shoulder as leverage he dragged his bruised body up from the ground and into a sitting position before cupping his son's face with his other hand. "I'm okay Nicky," he whispered. "I was always going to be okay." He knew he had to reassure his son, but lying to him just didn't sit quite right. "I just... misjudged it, that's all."

"Dad, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked..."

"You know very well that I could have said no. This was not your fault Nick. I made my own choice."

Nick looked at his Dad for a moment before nodding in acquiescence. "I just don't want to lose you Dad."

"I know son, I know," sighed Evan. "And I'm sorry for scaring you." Suddenly the grin returned. "I guess I'll just have to practice a bit more with this new broom won't I."

As Nick gave a small smile in return, Evan noticed for the first time the noise surrounding him. As he looked around properly he noticed the crowd had gathered around Nick and himself, wondering if he was okay. It was then that he also noticed the shock of blonde hair that stood out from the crowd.

Grey eyes locked with brown as Draco Malfoy stared at the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. After seeing this man fly he had had some suspicions, but after taking a good look at the man who still sat on the ground he realised how stupid his thoughts had been. Despite the similarity between their flying styles, Draco was sure that Harry Potter would never greet his presence with a smile, his change of sides in the war notwithstanding, as this man was.

Draco walked forward the last few steps and offered his hand to the man on the ground. Giving the Professor a hand up Draco introduced himself.

Evan introduced both himself and his son in reply before glancing around at the still whispering crowd.

"Maybe we should head inside," Evan suggested. The idea of crowds of people staring at him still bothered him immensely.

"By all means. Mrs Weasley, would you care to join us?" asked Draco as he offered his arm to the only other adult in the crowd.

Evan almost couldn't believe the small smile Draco's offer received from Hermione, before they all struggled through the crowd, dodging any questions, and headed towards the Great Hall for lunch.

However, just as they reached the entrance hall they heard a shout behind them and saw a red haired man running towards them. Evan noticed Hermione's face break into a wide smile before excusing herself and walking towards the approaching figure. As he came closer, Evan realised with a pang that the man in Auror-blue robes was none other than his childhood friend Ron Weasley.

He looked on with envy as his two old friends met with a hug and a kiss. It was clear just how much the two loved each other. Just watching them reminded him of all the happy moments he had had with Emily, and even before that when he used to laugh and joke with the two people he was now watching from afar. Evan had always clung to the people he loved, in fear of losing them. He had always assumed that when he left England he had doomed himself to a lonely existence, but then Emily had come along. It had seemed that he had been granted a special gift when Emily befriended him, his loneliness vanishing quicker than he had thought possible. Now, if it weren't for Nick, Evan didn't know how he would have coped without both his friends and wife.

He was drawn away from his thoughts as Ron and Hermione had reached them once more.

"You must be Professor Jameson," said Ron as he extended his hand. "My wife has told me a lot about you."

"Hopefully not all bad," replied Evan as he shook Ron's hand. "This is my son, Nicholas."

Ron shook hands with the boy before turning to Draco. "Why is it that every time I see you, my wife is hanging off your arm?" he asked, as he gripped Draco's hand in a friendly handshake, grinning the whole time.

"Well, perhaps you should keep a better eye on your wife, Weasley," replied Draco in an equally friendly tone.

Evan watched the exchange in shock. When he had left, Ron had been as unwilling to be in the same room as Draco as he had been willing to spend a night with spiders. He knew that a lot would have changed since he had left, but this had not been something he had been expecting. Thankfully he managed to contain his shock behind the facade of Evan Jameson.

"We'll leave you three to reacquaint yourselves," Evan said as he headed towards the doors of the Great Hall.

"Oh, no. Sorry, Evan,; we didn't mean to exclude you," said the ever-polite Hermione. "Perhaps we could have lunch in my quarters. There's more than enough room for all of us, and I'm sure Ron would love to hear about what you've been covering in Defense. He's always eager to know what the kids are being taught these days."

"She's right Professor," said Ron. "You've got to make sure the standard is kept high even without the war."

Evan would have loved to spend the afternoon talking to his old friend, but one look at Nick made him realise that sitting in a room full of adults all afternoon was not a seven-year-old's idea of fun.

"I'm afraid I'll have to take a rain check. Nick and I need to do some shopping this afternoon for his school supplies. It's been nice to finally meet you Mr Weasley, and you Mr Malfoy. I'm sure I'll see you both around."

Evan saw the look of relief on Nick's face, as well as the excitement of getting to go shopping again. Hopefully he could convince his Dad to stop by Diagon Alley's Quidditch shop.

"If you're sure Evan," said Hermione. She seemed a little disappointed that Evan couldn't get to know her husband, and Evan wondered if there was something more than simple friendliness behind her offer.

Mentally shrugging, Evan took his leave of the trio and headed to the Great Hall with his son.

HPHPHPHPHP

Later in the evening Evan finally got a chance to sit down and put his feet up. His son had pulled him into every shop possible in Edinburgh's equivalent of Diagon Alley, before staring at the brooms in the Quidditch shop the rest of the afternoon. They had only arrived back at Hogwarts just in time for dinner, and Evan had the chance to chat briefly with Ron as he stayed for dinner with his wife. Draco had had to return to the Ministry where he apparently was an Unspeakable, but Evan enjoyed the chance to talk to Ron, if only for a short while.

It was strange to sit next to his two old school friends and talk as if they had never known each other. Every so often Evan had to stop himself from saying things that would betray his identity. Maybe coming back here hadn't been the great idea he had once thought. He knew that Nick was enjoying the novelty of a new place, but he just hoped that his son would eventually enjoy living at Hogwarts as much as Evan had. Starting school with people his own age would be good for Nick, after around four months away from his friends back in Canada. Evan even found himself missing the company of his old work mates, as well as Emily's family. They had welcomed him into their home as readily as the Weasley's had when he was only twelve and it now felt strange to have neither family there for him now.

After dinner Evan and Nick had headed back to their rooms, where Evan finally fixed his son's door from the night before. Now, as he stretched out in an armchair, his feet upon the coffee table, Evan realised that hiding his real identity was not as easy as he thought it would be. He dreaded coming across someone like Remus, who he was sure would recognize him instantly, but he was still determined to once more be a part of the world he had always considered home.

Opening the Evening Prophet, Evan contented himself by deciding to simply take it one day at a time, and enjoy the freedom he had been granted by his anonymity.

Next Chapter: Diagon Alley

AN: I know I promised this to be up a long time ago, and all I can say is that I'm sorry for taking so long. Please continue to review and a special thank-you to "annabananna" who had the guts to give me an ultimatum and got me writing again. I have not given up this story and I don't intend to, keep pushing me guys and I'll write it quicker. Please R&R!