* ~ The Eighth Year Universe ~ *
Love Wins
What a Waste of Stolen Moments
The chapter title is from the song:
About Last Night – The Shires
Monday morning at St Mungo's was usually quiet. That meant it was a perfect time for the Healers who had been up all night doing the graveyard shift to gossip over coffee at a receptionist's station.
"Have you worked with the new cardio guy yet?"
Edith shook her head, "No. I saw McDreamy showing him around the hospital though."
Lilly put a patient's file on the desk and made a face, "You still call Michael that?"
"Uh-huh," Victoire said calmly.
"I really wish you wouldn't," Lilly muttered.
"Well, he is dreamy," Nevee pointed out.
"He's the creep who married my mother," Lilly said with a roll of her eyes.
"And considering his reputation for sleeping his way around the pretty young things at this hospital, I would caution you all to remember whose mother he is married to."
"You mean the terrifying trauma turned midwifery healer who took out four Death Eaters with one spell at the Battle of Hogwarts?" Victoire quipped. Raising an eyebrow at Lilly.
Lilly smirked, "Exactly," she said, grabbing a cup of coffee and walking away.
"I am way too scared of her to sleep with Healer Corner, however dreamy he is," Nevee whispered afterwards.
Victoire nodded, and Edith shrugged, "He's not my type, anyway."
"Oh, that's right, you prefer Aurors," Victoire teased.
Edith's boyfriend of about two years was Alexios Rosier. They had been in the same year at school, Edith in Ravenclaw and Alexios in Gryffindor. He was the son of Felix Rosier, the brother of the Death Eater Evan. Alexios had a Greek mother and was born in Greece. But after his father and brother's death, Felix moved back home to the family estate and raised his son there.
"And you prefer Curse Breakers," Edith shot back.
Victoire snorted, "At least I don't sleep with other Healers in break rooms," she looked pointedly at Nevee.
Nevee rolled her eyes, "Caius and I have so much sex; we're basically a couple."
"I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way," Edith said matter of factly.
Caius was – in Nevee's words, her on/off boyfriend. But in his own words, Nevee was his friend with benefits. He was a Selwyn, the son of the Death Eater, Cadmus. But he had been raised by his mother, Laurel Brown, so he was a nice enough guy if something of a player.
He had been in the year above Nevee at school (Nevee being the oldest of the three girls), and he had been in Slytherin. He had just been promoted to Senior Healer, and he worked in the trauma ward as a Trauma Healer and Consultant.
"Look," Victoire whispered, "There's the new guy."
They all looked over as the man in question walked into the corridor. He had dark skin and jet black hair that was silver at the tips.
"I hear he's Egyptian," Nevee whispered.
"Look at that bone structure," Edith whispered.
"And how kissable do those lips look?" Victoire swooned.
The man smiled when he reached them, "Ladies."
Edith was the one who pulled herself together first, "Welcome to the team, Healer Hayes. I'm Edith Sumner; I'm a Mental Health Healer here. These are my colleagues, Victoire Delacour and Nevaeh Hall; they are Trauma Healers."
The man smiled, "Kian Hayes," he said, holding out his hand to Edith, "I'm hoping to be where Senior Healer Corner is, someday."
Edith shook his hand, then dropped it, "I'm sure you will love the hospital once you get settled in."
"I'm sure I will," He said, smiling at them once more then continuing along the corridor.
Victoire sighed, "He needs a nickname."
Nevee sipped her coffee, "How about McSexy?"
Victoire made a face, "No."
"McYummy?" Edith suggested.
"No," Victoire and Nevee echoed.
Victoire cocked her head at Hayes retreating back, then grinned, "McSteamy!"
"Yes!" Nevee exclaimed, "That's it!"
"Ugh," A voice said from the storeroom behind the three girls.
Edith turned around and saw Lilly organising some potion vials, "Are you okay, Lilly?"
"Yep," Lilly replied, "Just choking back some McVomit in here."
Edith snorted, and Victoire and Nevee rolled their eyes at each other.
Hogwarts Castle
The Grounds
"After graduation, I'm going to tell Mum and Dad that I'm gay."
Andrea looked over at her brother. They were lying underneath the big oak tree on the grounds. Andrea had a book propped open in front of her, and Alastor was throwing a snitch into the air, letting it hover, then catching it.
Roxanne Weasley, Alastor's best friend, snorted. She was a beautiful girl; she looked a lot like her mother but with freckles scattered across her face, which came from her father. She was as Quidditch crazy as Alastor, which was how they had bonded. Noah Wood was usually with them every second of every day, but ever since he had started dating Ella, those two had been off in their own world more often than not.
It left Andrea out in the cold a little, Ella being her best friend and all. But she had other friends, and her brother and Roxanne were included in that category.
"Wow. What a way to treat my great outcoming," Alastor said sarcastically.
"Outcoming?" Roxanne sniggered, "I've never heard coming out referred to as that."
"Also, if you are coming out, it's from a closet with glass doors," Andrea said, shooting her brother a grin.
Roxanne snorted, then burst into laughter.
Alastor rolled his eyes, "It's obvious to you, but not to Mum and Dad."
"I'm pretty sure it's always been obvious to Mum. Dad, I'm never too sure about. Still, Mum totally knows," Andrea said matter of factly, "But I suppose we'll find out for sure at graduation."
"Speaking of graduation," Roxanne said, rolling onto her front on the grass, "Do any of us have any fucking clue what we're doing when we leave school?"
"Ella does," Andrea said thoughtfully, "She has it all mapped out."
"She always has," Alastor said with a shrug, "What's she gonna do, something profound, probably?"
Andrea frowned and looked down at her book, "She's been accepted into an elite alchemy programme in Egypt. It's what Sadie was doing, you know, when she got pregnant with Mina and Charlie."
"And Ella's always looked up to her," Alastor said thoughtfully.
Andrea nodded sadly, "She leaves in July, I think."
"Does Noah know this?" Roxanne asked, raising an eyebrow at Andrea.
Andrea bit her lip and shook her head, "No."
Roxanne rolled her eyes, and Alastor said, "Well, at least he'll have his spot on the Puddlemere team to soothe his broken heart."
"Hmm," Roxanne mused, "I have tryouts for a few teams, but I don't have a spot yet."
"Your Dad isn't the chairman of Puddlemere though," Andrea pointed out dryly.
Alastor made a face, "That's not how he got the spot."
Even Roxanne gave Alastor a sceptical look, and Andrea said, "Uh yeah, it is. You're a great Quidditch player, Rox. You'll get a spot somewhere."
Roxanne smiled, "Thanks, Andie. Do you know what you're going to do yet?"
Andrea shook her head, "No. If I'm honest, the only thing I feel like I want to spend my life doing is teaching, but I don't know how to break that to Mum and Dad. Teddy followed in Dad's footsteps, and I know they are expecting Alastor and I to become Aurors or Curse Breakers or to change the world somehow."
"Teachers change the world," Alastor said wisely, "One child at a time. Sure, it's not all explosions and curses, but changing kids' lives, teaching them how to be the best they can be? That's changing the world, Andie."
Andrea smiled weakly at her brother, "Thanks, Al."
Alastor smiled back and grabbed the snitch once more, "At least you two have an idea of what to do with your life. I have no clue."
"You could be a world-class seeker," Roxanne said, "For any team."
"If I wanted to," Alastor said, "I like Quidditch, but it's my hobby. I don't think I'd enjoy it so much if I made a career out of it, and I definitely don't want to follow in Mum or Dad's footsteps."
"How about Uncle Nev's?" Andrea asked, cocking her head at her brother, "You always loved Herbology."
"You've always looked up to your Uncle Neville, more to the point," Roxanne said with a slight smile, "How many evenings a week do you spend out in the greenhouses with him?"
Alastor chuckled, and Andrea answered for him, "Every night that there isn't Quidditch practice."
"Exactly," Roxanne said, prodding him in the side, "You could get a job in the Herbology labs at St Mungo's, extracting oils and stuff from plants for potions."
"Or," Andrea said, looking at her brother curiously, "You could be the Newt Scamander of Herbology and travel the world, finding rare and wonderful plants and writing about them."
"Oh, and call it something like One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?" Alastor asked sarcastically.
Andrea swiped him over the head with her book, and Roxanne sniggered.
"Oi! I'm the older sibling," Alastor objected, "You don't get to bully me."
"She's your sister, so I'm pretty sure she does," Roxanne said with a grin.
Having three Potters at Hogwarts at the same time was one thing, but having two in the same year? That was something else entirely. Because of how their birthdays fell – Alastor being born in October and Andrea in August the following year – they were almost a year apart in age but were in the same Hogwarts year.
A few people had made comments along the lines of "your parents were eager" because there were only 11 months between them. Thanks to the blood adoption, Alastor and Andrea did look alike. They both had pale skin and dark hair, but Andrea's was darker.
Andrea had green eyes, the only one of Harry's children to inherit them, and Alastor had brown eyes with a green tinge in the right light that had come after the blood adoption.
All the same, Alastor and Andrea had gotten good at punching or cursing the people who made those comments. Occasionally, and to their great amusement, they still got confused as twins.
"Anyway," Andrea said, "One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi is a textbook; it's boring. Most of the plants in there are British or European, at the very least. The plants in there are the sort we need to learn about to become Healers or Potioneers. What I meant was a book about exotic plants, things you only found in the depths of darkest Peru or the rainforests of South America."
Roxanne cocked her head at her best fined, "That's not a bad idea, you know, Al."
"Yeah, it's actually not," Alastor admitted.
"Your mum will flip her lid if you leave to travel the world though," Roxanne pointed out, "Remember how worried she was when your brother became an Auror?"
Alastor grinned over at his sister, "Ah, it's okay. I'll blame it all on Andie."
"Oh, you little shit!" Andrea remarked, whacking him over the head with her book, much to Roxanne's amusement.
Addison was in a good mood when she finished her shift in the DMLE, but she quickly realised that her girlfriend wasn't.
"I'm going to quit," She said, slinging an arm around Natasha's shoulder, "I'm going to follow my heart, not my mother's, just like Edith said."
Natasha frowned, "What are you talking about?"
Addison gave her a sidelong look, "How I only joined the DMLE because it was what the women in my family have always done."
"Oh," Natasha said, "Right."
Addison rolled her eyes, "Alright, we'll talk about my news later. What's going on with you?"
"Nothing," Natasha shot back quickly.
"That was way too quick," Addison said, stopping in her tracks and frowning at her girlfriend, "What's going on, Nat?"
Natasha bit her lip, "I uh….well, I like you a lot Addy, but I just feel like our lives are taking us in different directions right now."
Addison stared at her in disbelief, then scoffed, "This is because of how your dad reacted, isn't it?"
"No," Natasha began to object.
"No?" Addison echoed, "You take weeks to mention to your parents that you've got a girlfriend, and then within days of doing so, you're breaking up with me?"
"Exactly," Natasha said calmly, "If I had known I was going to break up with you, I wouldn't have bothered telling them at all, would I?"
Addison's heart pounded, "Then why? I thought…I thought this was good."
"It is good," Natasha said quietly, "You're nice and….and kind. But I'm not the right person for you."
They were standing outside the ministry, in the middle of Muggle London, but somehow that was all blurring into nothingness.
Addison swallowed, and her gaze hardened, "What did you do?"
Natasha bit down on her lip again, worrying it between her teeth. It was a sure-fire sign that she was feeling guilty.
"I'm sorry, Addison," Natasha said quickly.
"I put it behind me, and I wasn't going to tell you because it didn't matter, but then my parents started asking me to invite you over, and my mum kept talking about how good you were for me and, she's right."
Addison crossed her arms but said nothing.
"Then my dad told me not to screw it up," Natasha said weakly, "And I realised I already had. You just didn't know about it yet."
Addison's expression was steely, "Who?"
"Iris," Natasha whispered, "It didn't mean anything."
Addison scoffed, "That makes it worse."
Natasha swallowed, "It was after that big fight we had. I was so angry at you, and I went out for drinks with Iris. God, Addison, it was so stupid."
"Yeah," Addison said, pulling her coat closer, "It was and this? It's over, Natasha."
"Addison-"
Addison spun on her heel and glared at Natasha, "No amount of apologies will change my mind. A cheater will cheat again; it's a statistical fact. I might be a Hufflepuff, but I won't put up with that kind of bullshit."
Natasha swallowed but nodded, "I'm sorry."
Without saying anything else, Addison stalked in the direction of the nearest alley so that she could apparate home.
It was only when she got to the alley that she realised she didn't want to go home; she wanted to go and talk to a friend. Hence, she apparated to Exeter and knocked on the door of a ground floor apartment.
Feet padded towards the door, and it was pulled open by a beautiful young woman with skin as smooth as porcelain and hair as dark as coal. Her name was Sophie Knight, and she was a Muggle-born who had been Addison's best friend throughout Hogwarts. She was a Slytherin, and Addison had been a Hufflepuff. They had a long-running joke: Addison plotted gardens, and Sophie plotted to kill.
"Hey, Snow."
Sophie smiled slightly, "That old nickname? God, what happened?"
Addison called her Snow because of her pale skin and black hair, which looked remarkably like Snow White from the muggle fairytale, combined with her blue eyes.
"Natasha broke up with me," Addison admitted, not tearfully, but the bitterness in her voice made her opinion clear enough.
"Oh, Addy," Sophie sighed, "Come in and help me finish a bottle of gin. If it doesn't make you feel better, it will make you forget for a while."
Addison laughed weakly, "Thanks, Soph. That's exactly what I need right now."
Sophie smiled and ushered her friend into the house, commenting as an afterthought, "She didn't cheat, did she?"
Addison nodded and pushed the door shut, "Yeah. She slept with Iris."
Sophie made a face, "Iris Holt? That prissy little Ravenclaw? Fuck off!"
Addison nodded glumly.
Sophie sighed and poured out two strong gins, "Why the hell would she do that when she had you? You're a bombshell, and Iris is a plain jane!"
Addison shrugged, "Because they're friends? And looks aren't the only thing that matter to Natasha. She's all about the integrity of a person and shit."
"She's a terrible Slytherin then," Sophie said, smirking at Addison and putting a glass of gin in her hands.
Addison managed a half-laugh.
Sophie sipped her gin, "Well, she cheated, so she's the villain, and you know I would help you kill her, but-"
"- We are way too pretty for prison," Addison finished with a smile.
It was the same spiel she had given Sophie when her boyfriend broke up with her two months ago.
"Exactly," Sophie said, raising her glass, "But, on the bright side. You can be my wingman again!"
Addison laughed and clinked her glass against Sophie's, "And you can be mine."
"Cheers to that," Sophie said, "And fuck Natasha Wolfe!"
When Addison did the walk of shame at 6.30 am the following morning, she expected to find her mother alone in the kitchen.
She did not expect Caroline Sumner to be sitting at the table, chuckling and wearing one of her mother's nightgowns.
Walk of shame abandoned, Addison stepped into the room, "Uh, good morning?"
Susan jumped, her eyes widening when she saw her daughter, "Addison! You were supposed to be at Natasha's last night."
"Well, I'm not," Addison said bitterly, "Because Natasha is a cheating skank."
Susan frowned, "She cheated on you?"
"Yeah," Addison shrugged, "We broke up. I got drunk with Sophie and felt better about it for like five glorious hours, then I came home to tell you, and you've got my friend's mum in your kitchen, and she's half-naked."
"I think I should go," Caroline said sheepishly.
"No, no," Addison said, shaking her head, "By all means, stay. I mean, it's up to my mother to tell me why she didn't say anything about this."
Susan raised an eyebrow, "Not everything is your business, Addison."
"I didn't say it was, Mum," Addison said irritably.
"But when you finally decided to move on after Dad, after ten years, I thought we might have talked about that first."
Susan's face fell, and Addison scoffed, "And that look? Combined with the guilty as hell one on your face when you saw me here, tells me you had no intention of doing that."
"Addison," Susan cut in, "There have been other people since your Dad died-"
"I know, Mum, I'm not oblivious," Addison said sharply, "But there's never been someone you loved."
Caroline breathed in quickly – it was a stifled gasp of shock.
Susan narrowed her eyes at her daughter, "Addison, enough."
"No, you love her, and you have for ages," Addison snapped, "I know it, and Edith knows it! I don't care that you love each other, but I do care that you denied it for years, and then you acted on it and didn't even speak to me!"
"Addison!" Susan snapped, and it was so rare that she lost her temper that Addison actually listened.
"I have never kept my sexuality a secret. I made sure you and Alyssa both knew as soon as you were old enough to understand. And I was nothing but supportive when you came out because I understand how terrifying that is," Susan said, giving her daughter a stern look.
"When I keep something from you, it isn't to hurt you. But sometimes, it's hard for me to talk about things. It took me years to realise how I felt about Caroline, and I am still untangling that now. That's why I haven't spoken to you about it yet."
Addison scoffed and headed for the door into the main house, "D'you know what? It's fine. Maybe I'm just over-reacting like always, right? Because I'm the messed up little girl who found her dead father, and that's the only way you'll ever see me."
"That's not true, Addison," Susan said in a pained whisper.
"Yes, it is," Addison said, spinning around, her red hair flaring out with her anger, "So it's fine. You have your second happily ever after, and I'll move out."
"Addison-"
"I'm leaving, Mum!" Addison yelled, thundering up the stairs without another word.
Susan made to follow her, but Caroline grabbed her hand and shook her head.
"Let her go. There comes the point when they need to," Caroline said softly.
Susan sighed and leaned into Caroline, who automatically wrapped her in an embrace.
And Susan, who didn't cry, felt her body shake just a little as she held in the tears that wanted to fall.
As she did every morning, Daphne left the house to head to work. But something was different on this particular morning.
"Susan?"
Susan held out a cardboard coffee cup, "Hey."
Daphne frowned and took the cup, "Is there any reason you're ambushing me at my house at 7 am?"
Susan shrugged, "Is it an ambush if I bring you coffee, though?"
"Hm," Daphne mused, "Is everything okay?"
They fell into step together, walking towards the gates where they could then apparate from.
"No, not really," Susan sighed, "Addison moved out this morning, and Natasha cheated on her."
"What?" Daphne scoffed, "Natasha cheated on her? What an idiot."
Susan nodded glumly.
"Why did she move out?" Daphne asked, sensing there was more to this than met the eye.
"Because she walked in on me and my new…girlfriend, whom I hadn't told her about," Susan said, carefully picking her words.
"We fought about how it wasn't right that I hadn't spoken to her about it, and she decided to move out."
"Well, that's not her business," Daphne said firmly, "You are perfectly within your rights to date, and you don't have to tell her."
"She made a good point, though," Susan said miserably, "Maybe I should have told her that I fell in love again. Considering that the last person I loved was her father, and we know she's traumatised by his death."
Daphne stopped by the gate, "You're in love?"
Susan bit her lip, "I'm pretty sure I am, yeah. I mean…I've not felt the things I felt last night since Percy died, so," she shrugged.
Daphne looked at her friend, and then it clicked, "Oh my god, you slept with Caroline."
Susan sighed and rested her head against the pillar for the large ornate gate into Potter Manor, "Yeah."
Daphne grinned, "Was it amazing?"
"It was so amazing," Susan admitted, "But I hardly have the right to gush about that when Addison hates me for it."
"Addison is rebelling," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "All kids do it at some stage. We were relatively lucky with Teddy, but his blue hair and tattoos phase was his way of rebelling. Thea is only 15, and she has already started."
Susan chuckled weakly.
"She will be mad because you're right; you haven't fallen in love or had a serious relationship since her dad died," Daphne said. As she looked at Susan, her eyes were full of concern, "But she's a good girl, Suse. She has your temper, but she also has your kind heart. When Addison calms down and sees that her mum is happy again, she will apologise."
"You're sure about that?" Susan asked, looking vulnerable, which was a rare occurrence.
Daphne smiled and put her arm around her friend's shoulder, "I'm positive," she promised.
They stepped out of the gates together, and Daphne added, "Now, let's get breakfast somewhere in Muggle London. I want to hear everything about last night."
Susan laughed, "I'm pretty sure you don't want to know everything, Daphne."
"Nope," Daphne said, smirking and spinning on her heel, "You're telling me everything."
With a chuckle, Susan spun on her heel and followed her friend's lead. The two women disappeared with two loud cracks, and the countryside fell silent once more.
"Do you have a new lodger?"
Sadie looked up at Daphne, who had just let herself into the small study attached to the drawing-room.
"Hi, Daphne," Sadie said sarcastically, "Lovely to see you. I'm great. How are you?"
Daphne raised an eyebrow at her old friend, "You want to give me that bullshit? Little miss 'I've missed the last three weeks of lunches because I have to work' Sadie?"
"I have had to work," Sadie said, looking up at Daphne, "My job is busy and important, Daphne."
"Yes, you Black-Nott's are awfully busy and important these days," Daphne agreed with a nod, "No time for fun, apparently."
Sadie gave her an amused look, "Did you come here to rant or because you want to interrogate Addison Weasley?"
"So you admit it, she is here," Daphne said, smirking triumphantly and resting on the edge of Sadie's desk.
Sadie gave her an exasperated look, "Of course she's here. You know she and Mina are close. She's staying in the gatehouse cottage, but I would rather you didn't grill her. If she and Susan are fighting, you poking your nose in will not help."
"On the contrary, I am the queen of complicated relationships with mother figures," Daphne said matter of factly.
Sadie snorted, "Do you have your mother's ashes in a strategically placed urn, so they get spilt at least once a week?"
"No, you win that round," Daphne said. She grinned at her friend, "I miss you, Sade."
Sadie's reserve broke, "I miss you too, but things have been busy at work, and I can't tell you why you know that."
Daphne nodded solemnly, "You can't tell me, I know. But since you're working on a way to remotely break the imperius curse. Have you considered casting the counter-curse on an object then using a gemino curse on it to duplicate it? Thereby creating several objects that would break the curse upon being touched."
Sadie gave her a long look, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Daphne chuckled, "Oh, Sade, it's cute that you think you can lie to me. I mean, don't get me wrong, that is an excellent poker face, but you forget I've known you forever. I'm the person you snuggled all year during the war, remember?"
Sadie rolled her eyes, "Do you have to keep reminding me of that?"
"Sorry, I know you try to pretend you weren't a cute little nice Slytherin back in the day," Daphne said, grinning mischievously.
"Before you were a badass, mysterious Unspeakable."
"Careful, it's starting to sound like you're chatting my wife up."
Daphne grinned and looked to the doorway at Theo, "Don't worry, I'm into redheads."
Theo chuckled, and Sadie gave her husband an exasperated look.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone what your tell is," Daphne said with a smirk, "But just FYI, I'm not any Curse Breaker. I'm Bill Weasley's partner. We're the best in Britain."
Theo knew where this was going. He chuckled and looked at the files scattered across Sadie's desk, which looked incomprehensible to 99.9% of the population.
"You can read Sanskrit."
Daphne grinned, "Yes, Theo. Yes, I can."
Sadie clicked her fingers, vanishing all the files instantly. She looked up at Daphne with a smirk, "There, now you can't peek."
Theo shook his head in amusement, "If you're here to tell Addison she's an overdramatic pain in the arse like her mother, she's out in the garden right now."
"Thank you, Theo," Daphne said, shooting an amused look at Sadie and disappearing from the room.
Sadie rolled her eyes, "You're such an enabler."
"You're a cold bitch when you're with Daphne," Theo said, his eyes flashing with amusement, "Maybe you should hang out more often."
Sadie raised an eyebrow at him, "Do you think so?"
Theo stepped into the room with a boyish grin, "Oh yeah, I definitely think so," he said, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her into a kiss.
Sadie smiled against his lips and returned the kiss, pressing herself onto her tiptoes and wrapping her arms around her husband's neck.
"I'll bear that in mind," She murmured before deepening the kiss.
"Good evening, Addison."
Addison rolled her eyes, "Ugh, really, Aunt Daphne? My mother sent you here to clean up her mess?"
Daphne raised an eyebrow at the young redheaded girl, "No, Addison, she didn't. She came to me with coffee at 7 am this morning to discuss how guilty she felt."
Addison scoffed, "She should feel guilty."
"No, she shouldn't," Daphne said, clicking her fingers and trapping Addison in a bubble as she tried to walk away.
"Ugh!"
"We're having this conversation, young lady," Daphne said matter of factly, "Like it or not."
Addison glared at her and then sat down inside the bubble. She crossed her arms and legs and glared at Daphne some more.
"You look like a petulant child right now. You are aware of that, aren't you?"
"I am a child," Addison muttered.
"No, you are 20 years old," Daphne corrected, "So yes, maybe you were right to move out of Bones Manor, but your reasons are completely unfair."
"Unfair?" Addison asked in disbelief.
"Yes," Daphne remarked, "Unfair to your mother."
"Of course you're on her side," Addison said irritably.
"I am not on anyone's side," Daphne said honestly, "Your mum is one of my best friends, but you are also my Goddaughter. I know what happened between you and Natasha, and I expect that you are angry and sad. So, you took that out on your mum."
"No," Addison said, looking resolutely at the ground, "I was mad at Mum for finally getting together with Caroline and not telling me about it."
Daphne laughed, "Addison, she would have told you if you had just given her half a chance. Yes, she was scared to talk to you about it because telling you she was in love with Caroline would have made it real. I know you lost your dad, but she lost her husband."
Addison looked up at Daphne.
"She lost the love of her life, the person she had sworn to get through every obstacle with," Daphne said, looking Addison in the eye, "And it took her a long time to get over that, a very long time. Because you don't just get over love like that, you don't just move on."
Addison swallowed and looked down again.
"Admitting that she loved Caroline would make it real, and she was scared for it to be real," Daphne said softly.
"But you came storming in, all ablaze the morning after she and Caroline finally admitted that there was something between them," Daphne finished.
"You didn't give her much chance to tell you anything."
"I know," Addison said quietly.
Daphne saw the tears in her eyes, so she popped the bubble and pulled Addison to her feet.
"It's not about that, is it?" Daphne asked perceptively.
Addison let the tears fall and shook her head, "Not really, no."
Daphne sighed and held out her arms, "Come here, honey."
Addison was proud, but she wasn't that proud. She stepped forward, allowing her Godmother to envelop her in a hug.
"It's about how Natasha could just throw everything away," Addison said tearfully, without pulling away from the hug.
"I loved her so much, and I thought she loved me. How could someone you love do that? How could they just get mad and sleep with someone else? I just…."
"I don't understand it either," Daphne promised, "But sometimes people do stupid things because they're scared or angry. Or because they don't feel worthy of the other person's love. I know that you deserve better, and you owe it to yourself to accept better, not to go back to her because it's easy."
Addison sniffed, "I won't because I'll never trust her again, but I thought she was it, you know?"
Daphne pulled back and smiled sadly at Addison. She wiped a few tears from her cheeks and said, "So she wasn't the one. But, there will always be another one. The world keeps turning, and life goes on. People fall in and out of love all of the time. Your mum is proof of that, Addy. She loved your dad so much, he was the one for her, and she never thought there would be another. But then Caroline came along, and your mum loves her just as much, but in an entirely different way."
Addison wiped her eyes hastily.
"We never love just one person in our lifetime," Daphne said, smiling sadly at Addison.
"We love three, and we need each of those loves for a different reason."
Addison looked up at her, "You've loved more people than Harry, then?"
"Of course I have," Daphne replied. She sat down on a bench and motioned to the spot next to her.
Addison sat down and surveyed her Godmother with interest, "Really?"
"Really," Daphne promised, "I had a first love, just like you. And he broke my heart, in much the same way that Natasha broke yours. I remember how raw that pain was at the time, but now I look back on it, and it's insignificant. That doesn't mean I wish it hadn't happened, though. Because it needed to."
Addison frowned, "Why?"
Daphne smiled, "Your first love, whether that's while you're in high school or not long after you leave, it's idealistic love. The love that seems like the one in fairytales we read as children, or like our parents expect. For me, that idealistic love was with Draco because I had always been told I would marry him, that I would be a Malfoy one day. The fact I actually liked him as a person and felt he would make a good husband only made that opinion even stronger."
Addison's frown deepened, and Daphne continued.
"But it didn't last because it was the sort of love that appealed to what we should be doing for society's sake and our family's sake. We entered into it believing that it would be our only love, and it didn't matter if it didn't quite feel right because we told ourselves it was meant to be."
"But it wasn't," Addison whispered.
"It wasn't," Daphne agreed, "Because with that type of love, how others view us is more important than how we actually feel. It's the love that looks right, not the love that is right."
Addison frowned, "That's not how I feel about Natasha."
"No, it wouldn't be," Daphne agreed, "Because she wasn't your first love, Alfie was."
Addison shook her head, "I didn't love him. I was just lying to myself."
"You did what you thought society expected you to do," Daphne pointed out, "You dated a boy, a nice Hufflepuff who you had been friends with for years. Maybe it wasn't romantic love, but it was love."
Addison didn't argue because she did suppose there was a degree of truth in it.
"Natasha was your second love," Daphne said with a frown, "And the second love is the hard love."
"It definitely feels hard right now," Addison said.
Daphne reached down and took her hand, "I'm sure it does, but it will pass, I promise. The second love is the one that teaches us lessons about who we are. We all learn that the hard way, I think."
"Who was your second love?" Addison asked curiously.
Daphne smiled sadly, "She was called Tracey, and she was my best friend."
Addison knew who Tracey was. She knew why Almina Nott and Theodora Potter both shared that middle name.
"She taught me to love selflessly, not selfishly," Daphne said quietly, "She taught me to accept the love I deserved, not the love I thought I deserved. Loving her taught me some hard lessons, and losing her hurt more than anything else ever had. But I had to because loving her and losing her helped me grow as a person."
"So you're saying losing Natasha seems hard now, but it's for the best?" Addison asked.
Daphne nodded and smiled slightly at Addison, "Exactly. Because, whether it happens next week, next month or next year, you will find that third love and trust me, that makes it all worthwhile."
"Your third love was Harry then?" Addison guessed.
"It was," Daphne agreed. She looked out at Hogwarts Castle, which could be seen in the distance, lit up like a beacon.
"That is the love that lasts," Daphne said with a smile, "It's the love we never see coming. The one that, on paper, usually looks wrong for us. It destroys any lingering ideals we clung to about what love is supposed to be. It comes so easy, it doesn't seem possible, and sometimes we try and sabotage it because it seems too good to be true."
Addison smiled too. She knew how much the Potters loved each other. It was kind of legendary, actually.
"Nothing can explain the connection," Daphne continued.
"It doesn't play by the rules we thought love would play by, and it's not what we envisioned love would look like as naïve little children. But it's the love that just feels right."
Addison looked up at the school, "So if Dad was Mum's hard love, the one that shaped her into the person she is, then Caroline is the love that lasts?"
"I think so, yes," Daphne nodded.
"Who was her first love, then?" Addison asked, looking sidelong at Daphne.
"That would be Professor Longbottom," Daphne answered with an amused smile.
Addison made a face, "Professor Longbottom? The weird Herbology teacher who sings to his plants?"
Daphne bit back a smile, "Yep."
"Ugh, Mum's taste got better with time then, didn't it?" Addison exclaimed.
Daphne chuckled and said, "Neville Longbottom is quite a national treasure, actually. Even if he does sing to his plants."
Addison laughed and looked back at the school, "I need to apologise to Mum, don't I?"
"I think so, yes."
Addison smiled at Daphne, "Thanks, Aunt Daphne. I feel a bit less floored by it all now."
"Good," Daphne said warmly, "But if you need a little more time to process, you know the Black-Notts will put you up here for as long as you need."
"I know they will," Addison smiled, "They're good people."
"Yes," Daphne couldn't help but agree, "They are."
When Addison walked back into Bones Manor, it was silent. For a moment, she thought her mum was at Caroline's and that coming back here to apologise had been futile. But then she saw the light in the distance, and a lump rose in her throat when she realised where her mum was.
Addison walked around the large country house to the walled garden that her mother loved so much. She'd heard the story several times – back when her parents got married, the house was still a ruin, but they had wanted to have the wedding there. So, they got married in the beautiful walled gardens.
One garden held more significance than others. It was the memorial garden, and it always had been. For a long time, it had been where Susan went to remember her Aunt Amelia, who had raised her like she was her own daughter.
But then Percy had died, and he had become the most significant name in that garden.
Addison approached the garden quietly and saw her mum sitting on a stone bench by his memorial stone. It was surrounded by honeysuckle and tulips, the flowers he had always bought for her, every birthday and anniversary.
She didn't want to eavesdrop, but she didn't want to encroach on the moment either. Addison knew that her mum came out here to talk to her dad periodically.
"I hope you're not upset," Susan was saying, "I doubt you would be. All you ever preached was kindness and love. I hope I'm right to think that you would just be happy to see me moving on, finally. I've held onto you for too long, Percy, but it only made letting go harder."
Addison swallowed. She felt awful for losing her temper.
Susan sighed, "But maybe Addison was right. Everyone gets one epic love, and you were mine. It's probably greedy to expect anything that good will happen to me again."
"It isn't."
Susan spun around when she heard her daughter's voice, "Addison."
"I'm sorry," Addison said, her voice choked as she held back tears, "I took out all my anger and bitterness on you, and that wasn't fair."
Susan smiled sadly and patted the seat next to her.
Addison walked over and sat down next to her mother. Her eyes fell on the stone in front of them.
Percy Ignatius Weasley
1976 – 2011
Beloved Son, Husband and Father
Fairness does not govern life and death.
If it did, no good man would die so young.
Addison took her mother's hand, and Susan said, "There was some truth in your words. I should have told you how I felt about Caroline."
"But it took you a long time to realise that," Addison finished, "I shouldn't have been so selfish."
Susan looked over at her, "Who are you, and what have you done with my daughter?"
Addison smiled slightly, "You mean because I'm not shouting."
"I mean, because you're talking about this calmly with me, like an adult," Susan said, raising an eyebrow, "What brought about the change of heart?"
"A visit from my Godmother," Addison admitted, "With her wise words and her world-weary demeanour."
Susan chuckled, "Of course, Daphne spoke to you."
"She said I was projecting my grief over Nat onto you, and she was right," Addison admitted.
"But she kind of helped with that. Because I realised now that we don't only love one person in our lifetime, I thought Natasha was the one for a little while, but there will be another one."
"Is that what she told you?" Susan asked thoughtfully, her eyes on the darkening sky.
Addison nodded, "She said you fall in love three times in your life. The first love is the one that looks right, the second is the hard love, and the third is the love that lasts. Natasha was my second love, but I understand now that sometimes it takes a while to find that last love."
Susan smiled slightly, "You're talking about Caroline?"
"I'm talking about Caroline," Addison said with a nod.
"You approve then?" Susan asked.
"I love Caroline. Of course, I approve," Addison said, resting her head on her mum's shoulder, "I'm really grossed out by the fact that your first love was Professor Longbottom, though."
"Is that what she told you?" Susan asked, a smirk playing on her lips, "Well, maybe she's not as clever as she thinks she is."
"What, so you mean it wasn't Professor Longbottom?" Addison asked hopefully, "Please tell me it wasn't because he's so weird."
"No, it wasn't Professor Longbottom," Susan said thoughtfully, "Although, it probably would have been better if it had been."
Addison frowned, "Who was it then?"
"That would have been Theo," Susan said, her eyes on the sky.
"Theo?" Addison asked slowly, "You mean…Headmaster Nott? From my primary school? The guy you've been working with for the last 15 years?"
"The very same one," Susan said with a nod.
"Oh my god. You didn't….like…after dad died, you two didn't…?"
Susan shook her head, "No, of course not. I'm friends with his wife. You grew up going to playdates at Black-Nott Castle. Do you really think I would have an affair with him?"
Addison's frown deepened, "But….how could he be your first love and now you two run the school together? Don't you still have feelings for each other?"
"Oh, lots of feelings," Susan answered honestly, "Frustration at his inability to do paperwork, mostly."
Addison snorted, and Susan smiled, "In all seriousness when I took the Assistant Head position, we talked about that. We knew it was all in the past, but that confirmed it."
"Still," Addison said, "Surely that must have been a bit weird, Mum."
"Not really, no," Susan said, looking at her daughter.
"Because Daphne is right, we love three people throughout our lifetime, and each one teaches us something. Loving Theo taught me to treat myself with more respect if I wanted that respect returned. He taught me that people are seldom simple but all the more beautiful for their complexity. I'm glad that I loved him because loving him helped me love your father."
Addison nodded thoughtfully, "Why did Aunt Daphne think your first love was Professor Longbottom?"
"Because a little while ago, I probably thought he was," Susan admitted.
"He was there for me during a very tumultuous time in my life, and he was a fantastic friend. I think I confused that for more at the time."
Addison hummed, and they both fell silent for a moment.
"But, you didn't sleep with him, did you?"
Susan made a face, and Addison gagged, "No! Mum, you did not sleep with Professor Longbottom."
"Sorry to break it to you, Addy, but I did. After all, he was rather a hot commodity back then," Susan said, trying to hide her amusement at her daughter's disgust.
"Oh my god, I think I'm gonna be sick."
Susan chuckled, "You guys might only know him now as the odd professor who talks to his plants, but Neville did a hell of a lot in the war. He led a rebellion, beheaded a giant snake with the sword of Gryffindor. And he was Harry Potter's Auror partner for a long time."
"I thought Draco was Harry's Auror partner," Addison said with a frown.
"He was, for ten years," Susan agreed with a nod, "But for the five years before that, Neville was his partner. You wouldn't remember because you were so young when Neville left the force because of an injury. But I bet if you ask Harry now, who he would want to have his back in a fight, it would still be Neville Longbottom every time, despite that decade he spent on the force with Draco."
"Wow," Addison said dryly, "Well, if I hadn't had enough mindfucks for one day, that's definitely done it."
"Language, Addison."
"Sorry, Mum," Addison said, grinning sheepishly at her mother.
Susan smiled, "Are you going to move back in then?"
Addison shook her head, "No, I'm not angry at you anymore. But I think me moving out was the right thing, even if I did it for the wrong reasons."
"Hm," Susan said, a smile making its way onto her face, "So all it takes for you to see sense is a visit from your Godmother? I'll have to bear that in mind in the future."
"Don't tell her that. She'll get even more bigheaded than she already is."
Susan smirked, "True. If I tell her that, she might not fit her head in that mezzanine office of hers anymore."
At those words, Addison snorted, which turned into a fit of the giggles, and Susan couldn't help but join in.
Neville could always tell when Lilly had bad news to deliver. She liked to think she was good at keeping things bottled up and that Neville couldn't tell, but he could. And it was in the smallest of things, like most things with Lilly tended to be.
Those who knew her well knew her little tells. She spun her wedding ring around when she was nervous, and she did this little smirk when a funny thought flitted through her head.
And when she had to deliver bad news, she made a pot of tea. Maybe it was the east end girl her mother had raised, or maybe all the times Linda Slater had said, "Y'know what you need? A nice cup of tea," but every time something bad happened, the kettle went on.
Either way, when Neville stepped into the kitchen and kicked off his dirty shoes, then scrubbed his hands in the sink, he knew the minute he spotted the teapot on the table that there was bad news.
"Hey," Lilly said with a smile, "How was work?"
"Great," Neville replied, sitting down opposite his wife for supper – they rarely ate dinner together these days, with him being a professor at the school.
"Only two second years passed out in the mandrake class," Neville added with a grin.
Lilly laughed, "At least one of them wasn't your son, like last year."
Neville chuckled, "That was pretty funny."
"Harry doesn't think so," Lilly said, giving her husband an amused look.
"Course he doesn't," Neville grinned, "James took the piss out of him for weeks. I think that was the day when he realised how much he hated the fact that Gryffindor and Hufflepuff share Herbology."
Lilly smiled slightly and motioned to the pot on the table, "Do you want a cup of tea with your supper?"
"Sure," Neville said with an easy smile.
He watched her pour the tea out, then he put a sugar cube in and asked, "So, who died?"
Lilly looked up in alarm, "What?"
That took Neville by surprise, "I was joking because you made tea. Wait, did someone actually die?"
Lilly sighed, "No…but…they will."
Neville narrowed his eyes, "What's your name, Trelawney?"
"Neville!" Lilly exclaimed, "Would you quit making jokes?"
"Sorry," Neville said sheepishly, "But you really need to get to the point, Lilly. You're confusing me."
Lilly took a breath, "I spoke to Delphi a few weeks ago. She has been doing a lot of work on the Janus Thickey Ward. Clara is basically training her to be her replacement. She told me that there has been no improvement in your parents' condition over the last few weeks. Their bodies are deteriorating so badly, Neville. The only thing keeping their organs functioning are spells and-"
"It's time to put them out of their misery," Neville finished.
Lilly nodded and looked at him, "Yes. I've been trying to find a way to tell you nicely for the last few weeks, but there isn't a nice way to tell you that your parents are going to die."
Neville smiled sadly and reached across the table, "Lilly, my parents have been dead for a long time. Maybe when I was young, there was some recognition there, but it deteriorated over the years. There's a reason I haven't told the kids about them, and you know that."
Lilly nodded.
"They are shells of who they were," Neville said, looking down at the table, "And I knew, deep down, that there was no way they would recover from that. But by being in that ward, by being monitored over the years, hopefully, people like Clara and Delphi can use what they learned from my parents to save someone else."
"That's why you kept them alive all this time?" Lilly asked, surprised she hadn't known that detail about her husband.
"My Grandmother wrote it into her will," Neville admitted, "That they would want to help people, even if they just did that by existing. She named me as their power of attorney after her death on the condition that I did not sign a 'do not resuscitate' order until there was no hope left. From what you are telling me, that's where we are now."
Lilly nodded, her eyes meeting his, "If you sign that order, we will remove the life-sustaining charms, and they will die."
Neville nodded too, "Okay."
"Okay?" Lilly echoed.
"Lilly, everybody has a time, and I think they have overstayed theirs for quite a few years now," Neville said quietly.
"Letting them go allows their bodies to be where their minds and souls are – in a better place."
Lilly sighed and reached across the table to kiss him, "I hope your heart always stays this pure and kind, Neville Longbottom."
"With you around to guide my conscience, how couldn't it?" Neville returned, smiling lovingly at his wife.
- TBC -
