Disclaimer: I don't own HP, the song 'Let it Be' is a Beatles song (I'm particularly fond of the Glee version myself).
Posted 5-March-2022
I'm so delighted this is already so popular! This is just a short chapter showing a glimpse of the two couples' lives and their thoughts on what's going on.
Chapter Three
Husbands and Wives
Cottage View, Godric's Hollow, West Country, England
30th June 2015
"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
And when the broken-hearted people living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, there is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
There will be an answer, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be, be
And when the night is cloudy there is still a light that shines on me
Shinin' until tomorrow, let it be
I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be
And let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be," Lea let her voice trail off with the last of the lyrics, ceasing her gentle stroking of Lily's hair. Her daughter always slept on her right side, facing the door and curled up into a ball like on the ultrasounds during Lea's pregnancies (she had hidden her pregnancies for the sake of privacy, using glamours to hide her enlarged stomach and going to a Muggle OB/GYN. They'd managed to successfully hide all of her pregnancies right up until they announced the births when each child was a month old, much to Lea's relief and the media and public's dismay). It made Lea smile, and she gave one last stroke to Lily's long red hair, before rising from her perch on the side of the bed and slipping quietly from the room, closing the door and activating the ward and monitoring charms.
She went down the stairs, checking her watch. Lily's bedtime was 7.30, with lights out (along with Lily herself, who only fell asleep by her mummy singing the same song) at 8 after she had brushed her hair and teeth. Reggie was for bed at 8, and the twins 8.30, with lights out a half-hour later each, meaning it was time to gather up her baby boy and get him ready for bed before sending the twins up after him.
"And then I caught the Bludger with my bat," George was saying when she entered the living room, finding her three children (though with how George acted, sometimes she thought it was four) hanging onto his every word.
Each of their children were just as Quidditch mad as their parents, with George and the twins being fans of the Appleby Arrows, Teddy and Reggie the Montrose Magpies and the girls as Holyhead Harpies (the team once played for by their Aunt Ginny) fans. Of course, family loyalty to Percy's husband, Oliver, demanded they support his team Puddlemere United as well (a Bludger to the head one to many times had ended his Keeping days, but he remained as their coach, and had seen them to victory on multiple occasions). It was a grim day in the Potter household when their teams played against one another, and it wasn't uncommon for George to be kicked into the guest room or fist fights to break out between them.
"And-"
"And you can finish this tomorrow," Lea cut in mildly. "Right now it's time for Reg to go to bed and I want the twins to start settling down, not get all hyped up from your Beater stories."
"Aw, Mum," the three boys whined, and her heart gave a pang. The twins only used 'Mummy' on rare occasions now, and Reg had started calling her by 'Mum' every so often too. Her babies were growing up so fast, and Lea could have sworn it was only yesterday that she was telling George she was pregnant.
"No 'aw Mum's, " she replied sternly, her heartache skilfully hidden. "James, Freddie, start settling down. Reggie, kiss Daddy goodnight and come on." He pouted but did as she ordered, hugging his dad and waving to his older brothers before following her out of the room, grasping her hand when the twins were out of sight and unable to tease him for it. She rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand.
"Mummy, where did you go earlier?" Reggie asked, peering up at her with his lovely green eyes. Lea had always considered her eyes to be her prettiest feature, but they looked even better on the small face of her beautiful boy.
"I told you Darling," Lea replied vaguely. "I went to see an old friend who needed some help with something, that's all."
"You looked upset when you were leaving, though," Reg observed. He was the cleverest of her children, and very wise for his. Too wise, Lea sometimes worried. Her babies ought to be more innocent, but how could they be when their grandparents and uncle had all been murdered and people stopped their mother in the streets to thank her for avenging this relative or saving that family member and they had to wear emergency Portkeys around their necks in case someone tried to kidnap them. (It had nearly happened once, when the twins were toddlers and Reggie was a newborn. Lea had taken them and Teddy to the park, her magic still a bit off-balance as it re-adjusted to being responsible for one life, instead of two. If not for Teddy's accidental magic knocking the two would-be kidnappers unconscious, Lea could've lost her boys. It was, and remained, the worst day of her life, and their executions were only a slight consolation.)
"I was just a bit worried for them, that's all," Lea insisted. "But it's all fine, I promise. Now go into the toilet and wash up for bed while I get your bed ready. I expect you forgot to make it this morning?"
He flushed and Lea let out a fond sigh, a doting smile on her face as she kissed his forehead and then swatted his bum gently, directing him into the bathroom to get ready. She went into his bedroom and started to remake the bed by hand, not magic. She admittedly did most chores by magic, simply because she liked a clean (not sterile showhouse like her aunt) home and she was very busy with work and the children, but she also did most of the simple chores, like gardening with Lily (who was probably destined to be her Uncle Neville's best student) on the weekend and cooking dinner with Freddie (who wanted, despite his mischievous nature, to be a chef one day, not take over WWW like Jamie wanted) by hand, both to encourage the kids not to rely wholly on magic and to be grateful for what they had, and also because she got to spend one-on-one time with them by doing so.
She and George both spent one-on-one time with each of their kids, doing different things. George spent his time with Teddy learning Muggle sports (a fascination they had developed when they saw a football game when Teddy was five), he taught Jamie the ropes of running WWW and they played with ideas for inventions together, he and Freddie went to different muggle zoos and magical menageries, Reggie he took to a different magical or muggle site for tours and Lily he went to Daddy-Daughter Dance classes with at the local Muggle activities centre. Ali cooked with Freddie, gardened with Lily, taught potions to Jamie (who would no doubt be Professor Slughorn's prize student, given his potions skill and heritage), did various research projects with Reggie and trained Teddy in duelling in preparation for him entering the Auror Academy. And of course they did family bonding activities too. It was time Lea savoured, memories that powered her Patronus. She wasn't about to neglect any one of them.
She had just finished straightening the sheets when Reggie came in and she tucked him in, before picking up Dumbledore's old copy of 'The Tales of Beetle the Bard' that lay on his bedside table.
"What story do you want tonight, my love?" She asked, perching on the side of his single bed and opening the book. She had read all of them save for the Warlock's Hairy Heart, which she felt was too inappropriate even for the twins, more times than she could count, along with regular Muggle fairy tales to her children. She read tales from both worlds because she wanted her children to know the Muggle part of their heritage as well as the wizard, and also so that they could blend in better with the non-magical world. Things had improved since Muggle Culture (formerly Muggle Studies) became legally required for all wizard-raised students whether they were a Hogwarts student or a Hengist's School for Wixen in Manchester one, just like Wizarding Culture was mandatory for all Muggle-raised, but there were still many people who had no clue how to navigate the non-magical world, making fools of themselves, and Lea refused to allow any of her kids to be one of them.
"The Tale of the Three Brothers," Reggie answered instantly with his favourite story and Lea gave a wry smile.
"Why am I not surprised?" She asked teasingly, before flipping to the final story in the collection. She cleared her throat and began. "There were once three brothers who were travelling along a lonely, winding road at twilight," she began, the many years of Mind Healing (a secret known only to her Mind Healer, Honoria Blishwick, her husband, Ginny and Neville) allowing her to read the story without thinking of the Hallows and everything related to them. As such, she was able to read the story in a steady, soothing voice that soon lulled her youngest boy to sleep, at which point she closed and set the book down silently, before creeping out of the room, again activating the ward and monitoring charms.
Lea finished up and headed downstairs, where the twins were chatting with their father. Lea was instantly suspicious at the glints in their matching blue eyes and planted her fists on her hips. "If you two are up to something, you'll have me to deal with," she warned. They paled and nodded hastily as they jumped to their feet.
"Us? Up to-"
"Something, why Mother dearest-"
"It's almost like-"
"You don't-"
"Trust us." Lea felt like she was watching a tennis match, her head bouncing from one twin to the other, and she huffed in irritation.
"You two are just like your father and uncle," she complained. "Now, it's time for bed."
"Yes Mum," they chorused, their obedience further increasing her suspicion which she made clear through her pointed look. They smiled angelically, hiding the little devils they really were, and gave her and George hugs before bouncing off to bed.
Lea supposed that whatever it was they were up to, it wouldn't be until at least tomorrow, so she'd take the respite while she had the opportunity. Sighing, she slumped onto the couch, leaning into her husband and letting her eyes drift closed.
"Tired?" He asked her, tucking a stray lock of hair out her face.
"Exhausted," she sighed back.
"How'd it go with your cousin and his family?"
"Surprisingly well actually," Lea admitted. "Dudley-he's a completely different man to the bully I knew. He's broad and muscled now, not dangerously obese, and his attitude-I had to see it to believe it. Apologized to me and everything."
"What, really?" George asked in surprise. Lea nodded against his chest.
"Really," she confirmed. "And he clearly just loves and wants what's best for his daughter. I could tell."
"So you aren't worried for her safety?" George double-checked. They had been prepared to go to Percy, the current Minister for Magic, to have custody of young Jasmine awarded to them if it turned out that Dudley was showing himself to be his parents' son. And while she would have been a welcomed and loved member of their family should it have come to that, neither of them wanted it to.
"Not in the slightest, at least, not from her parents," Lea corrected herself. "I am a bit worried about Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's reactions to her being a witch, though, and the impact it'll have her. From what was and wasn't said, they clearly haven't changed in the slightest. I think she might need Mind Healing actually. They clearly weren't shy about stating their opinions about 'freakish' things. Poor girl thinks magic is evil. She doesn't want to go to Hogwarts, but I explained that she legally had to learn to control her magic. I'm not sure they're completely sold on sending her to Hogwarts instead of home-schooling or a closer school like Hengist's though. I thought we might invite Lucy and Alice over for dinner with the Dursleys on Saturday, so they can reassure her about it. Poor thing even said that magic is evil."
"They're coming over for dinner, Saturday?" George asked, bemused. "Also, why am I not surprised that those racist pricks you're unfortunately related to would embed such cruel nonsense in their grandchildren's heads?"
"They are," Lea nodded, gave a sharp look to her husband. "And there is to be no messing about, terrifying the poor things even more than they already are! Understood? That goes for you and the boys! Also, because you listen when I talk, so you know what they're like."
George raised his hands in surrender. "Noted, noted!" He exclaimed before she could start hitting him with the couch cushion. Much as he loved her, Lea could be violent. Actually, he had always found it really attractive, even when she was a tiny First Year glowering up at him with fists on her hips and an adorable (but also surprisingly intimidating) scowl on her scarred, dark-skinned face.
He leaned down to kiss her, and she returned it, the two of them cupping each other's faces.
"We can worry about all of this in the morning," he said huskily after they pulled apart. "For now, let's go to bed."
She gave him a hooded look and licked her lips in that way she knew made him groan as she gave a slow, enticing nod. "Sounds like an excellent idea," she purred seductively.
George grinned at her. "I do have them on occasion," he replied. She smirked back.
"On occasion," she acknowledged. She kissed him again before rolling off the couch to her feet, George rose and they grasped hands as they made their way upstairs to their bedroom.
44 Primrose Avenue, Greater Whinging, Surrey, England
30th June 2015
"She seemed nice," Laura volunteered as she brushed her hair at her vanity. Looking in the mirror, the thirty-two-year-old wondered not for the first time how it was someone like Dudley Dursley, tall, broad and muscled with a charming smile and a heart of gold, had fallen for plain, mousy-haired, shy Laura McCauley. Whatever had possessed him to fall in love with her and marry her, she thanked God for it. He and their children were her life and soul and she thought she might die of heartbreak if she were to lose any of them.
"She is," Dudley murmured from where he was changing into the undershirt and blue-and-white striped pyjama bottoms that served as his sleepwear. "God knows how she turned out so well with my parents raising her."
"Did they really lock her in a cupboard?" Laura still could hardly believe it. She wasn't very fond of her parents-in-law, in fact they both frightened her, but to think they would actually lock an innocent child in their care in a cupboard? Beating her until her back was bloody? How could they claim to be good Christians while doing something as awful as that? How could they teach their son to act like that? She couldn't reconcile the loving, gentle man she knew with the cruel bully he described himself as being.
Dudley nodded grimly. "They did. I remember she drew a little sign saying 'Lea's Room' and stuck it to the wall, and I used to jump on the steps when I was getting up in the mornings to shake dust on her, and she'd be coughing when she came out." His voice was full of guilt, and she could see the shame radiating from his slumped shoulders and lowered head.
She stood, putting down her brush and went over to hug him. "You're not that man anymore," she insisted. "If you were, you wouldn't be so good about Jas' magic, you'd be calling her a freak like your parents did to Lea. Hell, Jas wouldn't exist because you would never have looked my way. I heard you apologizing, Dudley. She forgave you, so you need to forgive yourself."
He rested his head on top of hers, pressing a kiss to her hair. "How did I get so lucky as to convince you to fall in love with me?" He wondered with a loving smile.
"I'm pretty sure it's the other way around," Laura replied with a smile, completely their frequent 'argument'. "I'm the lucky one for convincing you to fall in love with me."
He smiled again before it faded and he sighed. "What are we going to do about Jas?" He worried. "You heard what she was saying earlier, all that nonsense about magic being evil, how desperate she was not to be a witch. It can't be healthy for her to have that mindset."
Laura felt her expression crumple. "It's all my fault," she sniffled, pressing the bottom of her palms into her tears to stop the tears. "I should've made your parents stop all their comments. Even if magic wasn't real, what harm is there in the children believing in it? But I've never been able to stand up to them and now Jas is suffering for it."
"No, if it's anyone's fault it's mine," Dudley argued. "They're my parents, and I knew they were trying to pass on their prejudices. I should have put my foot down and made them stop being so cruel to you as well as their comments. It shouldn't have been up to you to stop it."
Laura wanted to object to him blaming himself, but they were getting off-topic. "I don't agree, but that's not the problem at hand," she sighed. "What are we going to do about Jas? I think we can agree that she needs to go to Hogwarts, it sounds like the best option for her even if I don't like the thought of sending her so far away for so long. Yes?"
"Yes," Dudley agreed. "We might have to tighten our belts a bit, but we've always agreed that our kids' education is a top priority even if it means cutting back on some stuff or me working extra. But..."
"There's her attitude," Laura sighed. "She wouldn't let me in to say goodnight. I'm really worried about her, Dudley."
"Me too," he murmured, running a hand through his blond hair. "She needs to see a therapist," he stated after a moment.
"But there're those secrecy rules you mentioned," Laura wrung her hands in worry. "And it won't help if she can't tell the whole story."
"Maybe wixen have their own therapists," Dudley sighed. "We can ask Lea at dinner on Saturday. Right now, I think we both need to go to bed. It's been a long day, after all."
"Yeah," Laura agreed, feeling exhausted, worried and guilty over her daughter. Jas had locked herself in her bedroom after Lea left and refused to come out despite all their pleas.
How were they going to help her?