As young men, they had all been fathers and husbands. As old men, they were all together, simply providing companionship to each other — romance had died with their wives, and their youth had died with their children.

Orion Black, who had been a father to Sirius and Regulus Black and husband to Walburga Black, liked to not remember them — especially Walburga, who he'd been unwilling to marry but only had because of custom. He hadn't loved his wife very much; she had been bossy and overcontrolling, but at least she'd raised their sons the right way — well, almost, if one hadn't run away at seventeen and the other had had a change of heart and switched sides moments before his death.

Fleamont Potter, father to James Potter and husband to Euphemia Potter, had mourned the death of his son and daughter-in-law greatly. Then, his wife had died of dragon pox, and he'd been left alone with no one to love. Harry, his grandson, had been raised elsewhere and Fleamont had never gotten to meet him, only heard stories of him defeating Voldemort twice.

And finally, there was Lyall Lupin, who had been a father to Remus Lupin and husband to Hope Lupin. Both were dead, and like Fleamont, he'd been alone — except he had met his grandson, brought to him by a woman with red hair who said she was Harry's wife. Teddy was small and bright-eyed, his hair changing colors every second, and Lyall absolutely adored spending time with him. In fact, so did the other two men.

The three of them were cooped up in a wizarding nursing home, where their needs were catered too and was equipped with the best amenities — but that didn't mean that they were happy.

"I miss my son," Fleamont told Orion one morning as they took a stroll around the fountain. "I wonder how my grandson is doing…"

"At least you have a grandson," Orion muttered gloomily. "My sons never married and died too young...I wonder what could have been."

"Excuse me."

Both men looked up to see James — well, a spitting image of James. The man had his hair and his glasses, but he looked a lot like — like —

"I'm Harry," the man said, smiling tentatively. "Harry Potter. I believe you're my grandfather?"


391 words

Auction - 17-2 - Orion/Lyall/Fleamont