* ~ The Eighth Year Universe ~ *
Love Wins
Tomorrow May Be Shaky
The chapter title is from the song:
Save Me From Myself - Great Big World.
When all Daphne's attempts to contact Astoria failed, Harry stepped up to the mark. He knew where she went to get her nails done every Monday morning, so he lay in wait outside the salon on Diagon Alley and gave her a huge, false grin when she stepped out.
"Astoria! How nice to see you! Fancy a coffee?"
She shot him a sceptical look, "I see that when Daphne can't get a hold of me, she sends out her dog to do the dirty work."
Harry snorted and fell into step with her.
Astoria shot him a long-suffering look, "Don't you have Aurors to babysit?"
"No, because I quit my job," Harry remarked calmly, "And Daphne's actually worried about you, by the way."
"You can explain why you quit your job later. But seriously, why is she worried about me?" Astoria asked coldly, "I'm not the one who is dying."
"No, your father is," Harry said calmly, "And rather than being by his side throughout that, you're avoiding him or avoiding the issue. Daphne and I are divided over which one it is."
Astoria gave him a scornful look, but that didn't stop Harry.
"You see, she's your sister, so she's giving you the benefit of the doubt," Harry continued.
"She thinks you're in so much pain over his inevitable death that you can't face him because it hurts too much. But, I think I know you better than that."
"Is that so?" Astoria asked evenly.
"Uh-huh," Harry answered, shoving his hands into the pockets of his robes while they walked.
"Well, go ahead, Wonder Boy," Astoria remarked sarcastically.
Harry ignored the jibe and continued, "You're being petty. He didn't tell you that he was sick, and that has irrationally annoyed you. But you know, as soon as you see him on his sickbed, you'll get over it, so you're avoiding him."
Astoria scoffed, "You think you know me, but you don't, Harry. So leave well enough alone and let me deal with this my way."
Harry ignored her, "Have you told William yet?"
"Of course I have," Astoria answered tersely.
"And how does he feel?" Harry prodded. He knew that Astoria's son was closer with the Weasley's than with Astoria's family, but that was because Charlie had raised him while Astoria jetted around all over the world. They were still together, so their relationship obviously worked in some twisted way. Still, it did seem to function best when they weren't in the same country.
"He's sad, but he understands that death is a part of life," Astoria said curtly, "Now, if we are quite done-"
"We aren't," Harry said, moving to stand in front of her, thereby blocking her from leaving the alley.
Astoria crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Your father is dying, Astoria. He is sick, and he is weak. There is a war coming, and he knows that. He's worried about the world he's leaving behind for his girls and for his grandchildren," Harry said harshly.
"And all he wants, in his final weeks, is the reassurance and the love of his family. So do us all a favour and get over yourself. Then go and do what is right for him."
Astoria's eyes flashed angrily, "He may have done a lot for me since you came into our lives, Harry, but you do not know what he did to me before that! He's not perfect!"
"I know he's not perfect," Harry said calmly, "Because I know how damaged your sister was by her upbringing, her the things your father did and said. He made mistakes, but he turned his life around and as annoyed as you are that he didn't tell you he was sick, he did it for a good reason."
"But I could have had months!" Astoria hissed, "Months to come to terms with this, months to prepare myself for-" she cut herself off and blinked away tears, "Instead, he gave me four weeks, Harry."
Harry sighed and pulled her into a hug, "He didn't want you to suffer for any longer than you needed to."
Astoria let out a shaky sob, and Harry pulled back.
"Go to Greengrass House and be with him. I…I saw a man I care about die today, and as it turned out, it wasn't real. Still, at the time, I thought it was, and it made me think about all of this," he motioned between them, "About Cygnus, and how sudden death can be. It's different because he gave us that month."
Astoria nodded and wiped her eyes.
"So use it," Harry urged her, "Enjoy the time you have left with him, don't spend it being bitter."
"Okay," Astoria said shakily.
"Okay?" Harry echoed.
"Okay," Astoria said again, "You can go home and get a treat for being a good little lapdog."
Harry grinned and stepped into the doorway of the Leaky Cauldron, "Woof woof."
Astoria laughed tearfully, and Harry chuckled.
Mission accomplished.
That night, in Potter Manor, things were tense, but not because of Greengrass family drama for a change. Astoria had gone to Greengrass House and spoken to her father – Narcissa had informed them via floo that it went better than Cygnus had expected.
Harry was glad because with everything else going on, the last thing he needed was for the Greengrass sisters to get bitchy with each other.
No, the tensions in the manor that night were related to what had happened in the ministry earlier. Because of that, he needed to call a family meeting, but Harry had to talk to his oldest son first.
Teddy was pottering around in the kitchen when Harry got back, and conveniently enough, he was alone.
"Have you been home long?"
Teddy looked up and shook his head, "No. Dad, are you okay? Why didn't you tell me that you were going to resign?"
"Because it was kind of a spur of the moment thing, but I'm fine," Harry lied, giving his son a strained smile.
Teddy saw straight through it and pulled his dad into a hug. With a sigh, Harry hugged Teddy back and then pulled back to break the bad news.
"We got some news last night. I was waiting for a quiet moment to tell you, but…Grandpa is sick. He has a heart condition, and he doesn't have long left to live," Harry said, watching Teddy anxiously.
Teddy bit his lip, then nodded, "I know. Vic treated him a couple of times. She wasn't supposed to say anything because of patient confidentiality, but she couldn't help herself. We were having drinks at Nick's place one night, and she told me."
Harry's eyes widened, "How long have you known for?"
"A few weeks," Teddy admitted, "I didn't want to break Grandpa's trust by telling everyone else before he was ready, I'm sorry."
With a shake of his head, Harry said, "You acted like the kindhearted Hufflepuff that you are, don't apologise for that."
Teddy smiled weakly, "How is Mum?"
"Upset, but pushing through it by working," Harry replied honestly, "Alastor is taking it harder, I think."
Teddy nodded glumly, "He always did admire Grandpa."
"He did," Harry said, running a hand through his greying hair.
Teddy noticed the expression on his face and asked, "What happened today?"
"I'll tell you upstairs," He promised, nudging his head upwards.
And he kept that promise. Harry sat down with everyone who was currently residing in (or near enough) Potter Manor. He had sent Neville a Patronus earlier in the day, asking him to tell the kids that Draco wasn't dead and that he would explain adequately later.
Once Neville was home for the evening, Harry gathered them all in the drawing-room.
"So," Teddy said, leaning back and throwing a casual arm over the back of the chair, "This is about your epic speech this morning, huh?"
Harry chuckled, "Epic speech?"
"Oh yeah," Teddy said. He smiled at his dad, "It was pretty impressive, Dad. Nick and I were talking about it afterwards. We were kind of expecting everyone to start yelling, "I'm Spartacus!" actually."
Harry shook his head in amusement, "Well, yes, it is about the fact I resigned today."
Neville's head shot up, "You resigned today?"
"Yep, that's what the epic speech was about," Teddy said calmly.
Lilly shared Neville's shock, "You resigned? After months of all of us saying you ought to. Don't tell me Harry Potter finally listened."
Harry smiled sheepishly at them, "It wasn't quite like that."
"Of course it wasn't," Lilly said, raising an eyebrow at Harry, "Who did you piss off?"
Neville was more perceptive than Lilly, where Harry was concerned anyway. He narrowed his eyes and corrected the question, "Who pissed you off?"
"Hermione," Harry answered, "By now, you will all have heard about what happened this morning. Hermione was targeted, and I couldn't save her, so Draco took the spell, only it wasn't really Draco but a hit wizard, acting as a decoy."
They all nodded.
Lilly was the first to speak. "Did you resign because you weren't quick enough?"
Harry sighed, "That was part of it. What happened made me realise that my reactions aren't what they used to be, but…it was more than that. You see everything I just told you about what happened today? It was all a pack of lies, and I think you all deserve the truth."
Harry's eyes fell on Teddy, "Even if it's going to hurt."
Teddy leant forward, "What really happened, Dad?"
"Draco died, and Sadie said she could fix it with a time-turner. Hermione authorised that, so Sadie went back in time and used a decoy to save Draco's life," Harry said, looking around at his family, "I urged them not to, but they still did it, and I fundamentally disagree with time magic, so…."
Daphne waded in, "Harry and Hermione are not on the best of terms right now. But Teddy, we want to be sure that you know that we want you to live your life and not let this colour how you see Almina."
She sat down on an armchair opposite him and said, "Do you remember when you were 16 and terrified to tell us you were genderfluid and bisexual because you didn't know how we would react?"
Teddy nodded and glanced over at his father.
"Yeah, I remember what Dad said that day," Teddy admitted.
Harry smiled and put his hand on Daphne's shoulder, "We told you that you are our son, in heart if not by blood and that we would always love you."
Teddy smiled slightly, "You said it didn't matter who I loved or how I looked because I would always be the person you raised inside, and that was the person you loved."
"We also told you that we wouldn't hold it against you if your opinions or politics went against ours," Daphne pointed out, "And right now, that might well be the case. You are from a younger generation, and maybe we are stuck in our ways in some ways. So whatever happens, do not let this affect you and Almina."
Teddy smiled properly and nodded, "I won't, but thanks for another uplifting speech. You guys are good at those."
Lilly chuckled and said, "He has a point, you know?"
Neville was thinking a little more seriously about the entire thing, though.
"So, if you quit…who is leading the Aurors into the war against the Statute Saboteurs then?"
"Ben," Harry answered honestly, "And I have every ounce of faith that he'll do it, Neville. He's a damn good Auror, and if he makes Owen his assistant head, they will be the perfect team."
Daphne sighed and looked at Teddy once more, "Please don't volunteer to go on that task force, Teddy."
Teddy's eyes softened when he looked at her, "I know you don't want me to get hurt, but it's my job, Mum. I'm good at what I do, and I could make a difference."
Daphne smiled sadly, "I was afraid you would say that."
"Nick will have my back," Teddy said, smiling warmly at his mother, "He always does."
"I know," Daphne said, rather non-committedly.
Teddy rose to his feet and said, "Anyway, I'm going to talk to Almina about all of this. Thanks for telling it to me straight, Dad."
"You're an adult, Ted," Harry said, patting him on the shoulder as he walked past, "There's not any point sugar-coating things for you anymore."
Harry sat down next to Lilly when Teddy had left. She pulled her legs up underneath her and sighed.
"I can see this from both sides, you know."
"Of course you can," Daphne said, "You're logical, just like Hermione."
"With a Slytherin streak, just like Sadie," Harry said darkly.
"I didn't tell Teddy the whole truth because what Sadie did was so unbelievably illegal, and I don't want him to carry that knowledge."
"What the hell did she do?" Lilly asked.
"She took an inmate from Azkaban, imperiused him, forced him to take polyjuice potion and then used him as the decoy Draco," Harry said quietly.
"The Hit Wizard story? It's just that, a story."
Neville frowned, "That….that doesn't sound like Sadie."
"That's because 15 years as an Unspeakable have changed Sadie, even if nobody else has noticed it," Daphne said dryly.
"Nobody knows what she does down there, but Unspeakables bend the laws of time and magic. It's not hard to see how that could skew her vision of right and wrong, especially when she's grieving."
Neville frowned, "But she and Draco aren't that close, are they?"
Daphne sighed, "Yes, they are. Because you forget that their relationship is nothing like ours. We are what we have always been. You two are practically brothers, and your wives just happen to be a little too fond of each other. For us, it's an occasional thing. But for them, it's their life, and there are unique relationships between every person in that foursome."
Harry rubbed his eyes.
"Regardless of how much she was grieving, she could have ripped a hole in the timeline and rewritten everything we've spent years working towards."
"It was a selfish decision," Daphne agreed, "From both her and Hermione."
"What was Theo's opinion?" Neville asked curiously.
Harry shook his head, "He was so cut up by what happened to Draco that he didn't really have anything to say. Afterwards, he was angry with them, and Draco was too."
"Yeah, understandably," Neville said, frowning to himself.
"So what we're saying is their whole family could crumble because of what happened?" Lilly asked, looking up at Harry.
Harry's expression was hard to read when he spoke next.
"Cheating death and messing with time? Those are two things that always have consequences."
"You can't be saying they deserve this, Harry," Neville said in disbelief, "It's Hermione we're talking about here."
"Some rules are made to be broken, or at the very least bent," Harry said. He looked over at his best friend, "And some rules are made to be followed by everyone. The rules surrounding time magic carry the most severe penalties known to wizardkind for a reason. When she started acting like Dumbledore and Grindelwald, she stopped being 'Hermione' in my head. She's Minister Black, with the politics and prejudices of the family she married into."
Lilly cocked her head at Harry, "You're talking like this is the end, Harry. Are you really going to cut Hermione off, or when you calm down, will you see it differently?"
"I don't know how I can see it any differently, Lilly," Harry said quietly.
"Are any of us any better than any other witch or wizard? Have we not all fought for equality in one form or another since we left school? And now, because Hermione and Sadie abused their positions to save their loved one when nobody else gets that chance….Muggles have a phrase, karma is a bitch, and…I just hope they don't regret it when it comes to roost."
Lilly sighed, "And what if it were us, Harry? Wouldn't you do anything in your power to save Daphne or Neville?"
"I would do anything in my power to save any one of you," Harry agreed.
"But I wouldn't abuse my power to do it because if I did, I would become like the corrupt Aurors I made a career out of ousting from power," Harry replied. He looked over and caught Lilly's eye.
She nodded, but the air in the drawing-room was still tense.
"If Hermione ever apologises or shows any kind of remorse….even if she takes responsibility for what she did, then maybe I can consider forgiving her. But until I see a shred of the girl I became friends with underneath the persona she's built for herself over the years, I'm done."
Daphne waded in before the family meeting could turn into a family argument.
"It's been a long day. Maybe we should just go to bed."
Harry sighed and nodded, "Yeah, we should. Goodnight, guys."
Neville said goodnight, and Lilly waved absentmindedly. The Longbottoms watched the Potters leave, then they turned to look at each other.
"Have you ever seen them this angry at each other?"
Neville shook his head, "Harry and Ron? Yes, all of the time, but Harry and Hermione, no. There's a very real chance that he will never forgive her for this."
"Especially if he's right," Lilly said quietly, "That messing with time magic has consequences."
Neville nodded, his eyes on the doorway that the Potters had disappeared through, "He's angry that she didn't listen to him, but he's worried too. Even if he won't say that out loud."
Lilly reached over to take Neville's hand, "There's a war coming, Neville. I think we're all worried."
Teddy knew something was wrong as soon as he arrived at Blacknot Castle. It was too quiet for the time of night, especially now that it was the holidays. This house was always lively. It was always loud.
Lights were on in several bedrooms and the coach house, but the grounds were silent, and no shouting or music could be heard from inside.
Maybe it was the Auror in him, or perhaps it was because he had been raised by Harry Potter, but he approached with trepidation in case there was a reason for the silence. He even checked the wards, but they seemed to be okay. The only anomaly was that there were wards on the coach house, which weren't usually there.
With a frown, Teddy stepped into the house. The door scanned him, and he was permitted access. Blacknot Castle had intent wards on all of the doors. Anyone who wasn't a part of the family got scanned. If they did not have good intentions, they were automatically banished to the other side of the gates. Teddy had been banished a good few times when he arrived late at night when his intentions had not been good, as far as Almina's fathers were concerned.
But today, he was just concerned about his fiancé, so he passed the test. He didn't see anyone on his way up to Almina's room – not an elf or another person. Then, when he got to her room and found it empty, he frowned because his concern grew.
Gripping his wand and thinking about calling Nick as backup, Teddy looked out of the window and saw lights on in the Garden Cottage. When he looked a little more closely, he saw movement, so he decided to head over and ask Charlus what the hell was going on here.
"Are they really going to split up?" Angel asked.
She threw herself onto the sofa next to Charlus, automatically using her best friend as a footrest.
"I don't know," Charlus admitted as he brought his beer to his lips.
"But it kind of felt that way," Almina said as she emerged from the kitchen with two bottles of beer. She handed one to Addison then curled up next to her friend on the armchair by the fire.
Addison sighed and rested her head on Almina's shoulder, "Well, even if they do, at least they are all still alive, right?"
Angel nodded, "Exactly. You have four parents, but you might just have to deal with them living separately."
"They already are," Charlus said dryly.
Almina looked over at her brother and nodded, "Dad and Pops are staying in the Coach House right now."
"And our mums are fighting," Charlus said with a sigh, "I heard them earlier when I was in the astronomy room."
"All because of the press conference?" Angel asked.
"More happened at that press conference than most people know," Addison admitted.
"Thank Merlin for your mum's magic frying the radios, or it would have been a real scandal. As it is, enough reporters saw and heard it…by tomorrow morning, it will be all over the papers."
"What do you mean about Mum's magic?" Almina asked her friend.
"She lost it," Addison said, looking over at Almina, "Like balls of magic coming from her fist, smashing the glass in every window in the atrium kind of lost it. She screamed and….I swear, it was like the cry of the Augurey."
"Don't say that," Angel said, frowning at the other girl. They all knew each other, Addison had only been a year below them in school, after all, and she had known Almina and Charlus since they were young.
"That's exactly the kind of things the papers will say," Angel elaborated, "And then before you know it, that's your mother's nickname – the Augurey."
Almina shook her head and sipped her beer, "I knew she was ambitious, but I never thought Mum would put her career before Dad's."
"Is that why they're splitting up?" Angel asked.
"They're not splitting up," Almina replied testily.
"So they say," Charlus muttered dryly.
Almina fixed him with an irritated look, "You remember how horrible things were after Pops came back. They fought all of the time. Dad and Pops slept together for months, away from our mums, but they found their way back from that."
Addison nodded, "If they say they're not splitting up, then take them at their word. They haven't lied to you about anything else, after all."
Almina sighed, "I've never seen Dad so angry, though. Mum told the press that he had authorised the use of decoys. He's the joke of the department, the rumour went around the Auror office this afternoon, and it's all anyone has been whispering about. The fact that the head of the DMLE, a former Auror himself, was so much of a coward that he let a hit wizard die for him."
Charlus shook his head angrily, "That's not who Dad is."
"We know that, but thanks to Mum, nobody else does," Almina said bitterly.
"I heard someone say, 'I guess Draco Malfoy never did change anything apart from his name' before I left tonight. It's only a matter of time until my own team start pushing me out for being his daughter."
Angel shrugged and said, "Look, some people will judge you based on how you look or for who your parents are, but you just need to brush it off and keep moving forward. If I got myself down every time someone called me a bastard Lestrange, I'd be drowning in depression by now, but I don't let it phase me because I know who I am. Yes, my mother was a squib, and I have no idea who my father is. All I got from him is my magic, so I'm thankful to him for that, whoever he is. But those people did not make me who I am; Lupin House did. That's who I am, and I remind myself of that when someone tries to say otherwise."
Charlus smiled slightly at his sister, "And that's who we are. We aren't Malfoy's because our dad isn't one. He's a Black, and he's proud of that because he made that name mean something good again. We're Nott's because our Pops is the man who turned that name around. Remind yourself of that the next time they try and give you shit."
"And a bat-bogey hex wouldn't go amiss," Addison said with a grin.
Almina smiled slightly, "The best thing your Aunt Ginny ever did for this world was inventing that spell."
A knock sounded on the door, and Charlus rolled his eyes at Almina, "Reckon that's a parent coming to tell us that they all love us, even if they don't love each other right now?
"No, it's Teddy wondering where the fuck everyone is."
Almina smiled when she heard her fiancé's dulcet tones. She got to her feet, "He has brilliant hearing, by the way."
"I gathered that," Charlus said dryly.
"Is there a reason why your girlfriend isn't invited to this little pity party?" Angel asked in an undertone while Almina was at the door.
"Because it's not like we planned it," Charlus said dryly, "We all live here. That's the difference."
"Technically, I live across the grounds, but I wasn't gonna turn down free beer," Addison said, taking a swig.
Almina chuckled when she stepped back into the room, with Teddy in tow.
"Teddy's dad told him about what happened, and he came here to make sure the engagement wasn't off," Almina said with an amused smile as she settled back down next to Addison.
Teddy walked into the kitchen and grabbed himself a beer, then he sat down on the floor and leaned against the cold stone wall, "And apparently, it isn't."
"Gonna make for one hell of an awkward wedding," Charlus joked, "The bride's parents not talking to each other and all."
Teddy frowned, "Your parents? I thought the issue was that my dad wasn't speaking to your mum?"
Almina frowned, "I didn't know about that."
"You know about what happened today?" Teddy asked, looking around the group.
Charlus nodded, "We know the full story, and we filled in Addy and Angie."
"The full story?" Teddy prodded.
"They know about the time turner," Almina said quietly.
Teddy blew out a sigh of relief, "Thank Merlin. I don't think I could have handled keeping that secret from you, Mina."
Almina smiled appreciatively, and Teddy gulped beer.
"Well, my dad fought with your mum about it. He said nobody should mess with time, and your mum ignored him and told him to stand down," Teddy explained, "They aren't speaking right now."
"That explains why Dad moved out," Charlus said, the lightbulb going off in his head, "Dad always had those stupid little sayings when we were kids. You know – don't trust something unless you can see where it keeps its brain, and don't mess with time because it tends to mess back."
"He's angry at your mum for saving his life?" Angel asked in disbelief.
Addison shrugged, "Sometimes people have to die, as sad as it is. When their time comes, you shouldn't fight it."
"Life and death, it's the natural order of things," Teddy agreed with a nod, "When people mess with that, things get messy. It's why time magic was banned in 1899 because the effects are so catastrophic."
"We all remember the story of Eloise Mintumble," Almina agreed.
"Not all of us," Angel interjected.
"Only those of us who listened in History of Magic," Addison said, smiling at her friend in amusement.
Almina rolled her eyes, "She got trapped in the past for 5 days, but when she got back, her body had aged five centuries, and she died. There was also the un-birth of 25 of the descendants of people she met back then, which changed the course of history."
"So, you know, we don't mess with time," Teddy agreed.
Charlus frowned, "Yeah, but mate, that was five centuries. Our mum went back one hour to save one person."
"And that person is your dad, so I understand why your happy that he was saved," Teddy said honestly, "Because if it were my dad, I'd just be happy he was alive too."
Angel raised an eyebrow, "But?"
"But that doesn't make it right," Teddy said honestly, "Even going back one hour, and just changing one thing…if that thing wasn't meant to change, then there could be consequences."
"You're talking about fixed points in time," Angel said.
Charlus raised an eyebrow at her, "Uh, you're an Unspeakable, Ang. Are you sure you're allowed to talk about this?"
Angel shot him an amused look, "As long as I don't tell you what I'm doing in the DOM, I can have a theoretical discussion about time with you."
Teddy snorted and drank his beer, "Except it's not really theoretical because you literally research it every day."
"I don't, actually," Angel admitted, "Some people are generic Unspeakables, and others specialise. There are a lot of different areas in our department, and that one is not my speciality."
"Okay," Addison said, she leant forward to look past Almina at Angel, "What are fixed points in time?"
"Things that can't change," Angel said simply, "And those are the things that Centaurs can see. People say fixed points in time are written in the stars, but they are unclear to the average eye. Centaurs can see it all though, every fixed point in time in the past and the future."
"Which is why they can only predict the big events," Addison realised.
Angel nodded, "Seers can see them too, but it's different for them. They see them in dreams or visions, but it's all connected to the stars and the night sky. Some people would say the universe has plans in store for some people, and I guess they would be right."
"That's what my mum always says," Teddy smiled, "Some things are written in the stars, or the universe has a plan. Her grandmother was a seer, so maybe that's where it comes from."
"Either way, she's right," Angel said. She brought her beer bottle to her lips and said, "You can't change a fixed point in time, and if you do, time will find a way to rights itself."
Charlus frowned at his best friend, "So you're saying if Dad's death was a fixed point, he'll die again?"
"Not necessarily," Angel replied.
"But if his death was a fixed point, and it was meant to happen to prevent something from happening or to make something happen, the universe will find a way for that thing to happen to restore life's natural balance."
"There will be consequences," Almina said quietly, "That was what Dad said, right?"
Charlus nodded, "Yeah," he said, exhaling heavily.
"I guess only time will tell what those consequences are," Angel said darkly.
Addison looked between her friends. The air had just gotten icy, and the temperature felt like it had dropped by at least a couple of degrees.
"Alright, whose magic is going all icy because they're depressed?"
Teddy raised a hand and smiled ruefully, "I'm my mother's son, I guess."
His comment elicited a laugh, and for a moment, they were all able to forget about the severity of the situation.
Words echoed in Teddy's head, though, words that he had heard spoken to his father a few weeks ago when an old family friend came to visit.
These are dark times, Harry.
Dark times, indeed, his father had replied.
That night, while they got ready for bed, Daphne spoke to Harry about something that had been preying on her mind all evening.
"Harry."
He turned to look at his wife. She was sitting at her dresser in a silk nightgown, having just brushed her hair and removed her glamour charm for the day. Harry smiled at her. Even after years together, he still thought she was most beautiful like that.
"Yes?"
"How on earth did you get through to Astoria today?"
Harry chuckled and climbed into bed, "I just spoke to her like I would have spoken to you 20 years ago."
Daphne raised an eyebrow at her husband, "Are you saying that Astoria is the 'me' who wasn't fixed by you?"
"Not necessarily," Harry murmured, kissing her lightly, "But she has all the same issues you did when we met. Trust issues, daddy issues, control issues."
Daphne shot him an amused look, "Daddy issues?"
"Oh, don't deny it," Harry snorted, "You totally had daddy issues, and Astoria still does. You came to terms with your relationship with your dad being complicated at best, but Astoria never did. So, I gave her the same blunt, sassy shit I would have given you 20 years ago, and it worked."
"Mm," Daphne mused, pulling him closer, "I like it when your Slytherin sides comes out."
Harry chuckled and turned the light out with a click of his fingers. Even in the dark, he could tell that there was more to this conversation because Daphne seemed tense.
"Can I ask you something about today?"
"Of course you can."
"If you were in Hermione's shoes, with the power of the Ministry at your disposal," Daphne said, her voice was low, "What would you have done?"
"Not what she did," Harry replied honestly, "If I were Minister, I would destroy time-turners. They shouldn't have been made in the first place, and they definitely should not have made more after they were destroyed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries."
Daphne shifted closer to him, "So you would have accepted that Draco was dead and moved on?"
"I would have been angry, I would have cried and screamed, and probably relapsed, but yes, I would have accepted that he was dead," Harry said firmly.
"And if it weren't Draco," Daphne said softly, "If it were me and you knew you could save me."
"I still wouldn't do it," Harry said. He brushed his lips against hers, and she felt the little exhale of breath on her lips.
"I am terrified of losing you. Nothing scares me more, if I'm honest. But if I did lose you, I wouldn't do what they did. I would probably just put my affairs in order and let myself die of a broken heart."
Daphne sighed and reached up to cup his cheek in the dark room, "But can't you accept that people do things they shouldn't when they are in love? I know that, were I in Hermione's shoes, I would have done exactly the same thing that she did."
Harry frowned into the darkness, "What?"
"It's who I am, Harry," Daphne said pointedly, "Family first, by whatever means necessary. Whoever else needs to be sacrificed, I was a Slytherin, and I have a Ravenclaw best friend. I'm not pure or a beacon of ethics. Not like Hermione is, and maybe that's why you are finding it so hard to accept that she did this."
Harry shook his head, "You'd cross that line for me?"
Daphne smiled slightly, "I would cross every line in the world for you, and it's why I would never put myself in a position of power like Hermione has. I know I can't handle the power, I know I would use it to my own advantage, and I am terrified of the kind of person that would make me."
"So you wouldn't put yourself in that position," Harry realised.
"Because I don't want it, I don't want power over life and death," Daphne said. She ran her fingers across his cheek, and he breathed out shakily.
"And you don't either, which is why you will never run for Minister, and it's why you destroyed the elder wand."
Harry nodded, and Daphne brushed her thumb over his cheek, "But not everybody is so strong, Harry."
- TBC -
