The Eighth Year Universe
Love Wins
You Left A Scar in Your Smile
The chapter title comes from the song:
Never Chase a Boy - Emily James.
When Bill stepped into the house that Charlie shared with Astoria and Amberley, it was very quiet. Then again, it was late. He peered outside, but there were no lights, so he figured Charlie had to be inside somewhere.
He just hoped he wasn't locked in some blood-letting threesome with his wife and her lover. Then again, they probably wouldn't do that in the school holidays, not with Will being down the hall.
"Hey, Uncle Bill."
Bill smiled weakly at the boy standing in the kitchen doorway. He was the youngest in the clan of Weasley grandkids. After this summer, he would start his third year at Hogwarts. He and Arthur (Bill's son) were relatively close, despite there being a couple of years between them. Ironically enough, they reminded a lot of people of Bill and Charlie when they were young.
Arthur with his shoulder-length dark red hair, tall and slim, with slighter darker eyes than Bill – that was because he had his mother's eye. That thought sent a stab of guilt through Bill's heart, so he tried to squash it down.
But William, who Astoria and Charlie had named after him, was the perfect mixture of his parents. His hair was a little more vibrant, just like Charlie's. His skin was pale, like Astoria's, but freckled like Charlie's, and he had those signature icy blue eyes that Daphne and Astoria had both gotten from their mother.
"Hey, Will," Bill managed to say, "How is your summer going?"
"Good," Will replied, "How's Artie?"
"He's good," Bill said with a forced smile, "Kind of bored, but good."
That was another reason why the boys were close – despite Arthur being two years ahead of Will at school – they were both in Slytherin. Lara had laughed because she had been a Ravenclaw and Bill had been a Gryffindor, but as most of his close friends knew, Bill was a hat stall. He had very nearly ended up in Slytherin himself.
And Will, he had his father's fiery temper, but his mother's brains and wit. That was why he had ended up in Slytherin, Bill supposed.
"Where's…" Bill cleared his throat, "Where's your dad?"
"He's downstairs with a baby dragon," Will shrugged.
"Your mum out of the country?" Bill guessed.
Will nodded, "Wars bad for business, apparently. She's been in a lot of meetings and stuff."
Bill felt sorry for the kid. He'd been raised by Charlie, with very little help from Astoria and a hell of a lot from –
"William, my favourite kiddo!" Amberly said as she dashed into the hall, "Guess who just scored us tickets to go and see the freakin' Winged Snitches?"
Will grinned, "Seriously?!"
"Yeah!" Amber said, hi-fiving him and grinning. She hadn't changed much. She had aged, but her hair was still dyed cherry red, and she had only managed to acquire more tattoos somehow.
"Me, you and Dad – next week," Amber said eagerly, then she noticed Bill and waved, "Hey Bill."
Bill smiled warmly, "Hey, Amber."
He honestly thought that squib girl had been the best thing to happen to Astoria and Charlie. They both loved her, and she kept them together when they threatened to rip each other apart in one of their fiery arguments. She was nothing but good to Will too, and her influence on him had been entirely positive.
"You're awesome, Amber," Will chirped.
"I know I am," Amber said with a grin, "You looking for Char?"
"Yeah," Bill said with a weak smile, "Will told me where he was. I'm just gonna head down now."
"Alright, but I gotta warn you, he's in a mood," Amber said. She crossed the hall and lowered her voice, "Astoria had a temper tantrum before she left. Char got the brunt of it."
"Same old," Bill said with a half-smile.
"Oh yeah. Everything okay, Bill?" Amber asked, "You seem uncharacteristically solemn."
"Fine," Bill lied, "Just really got to talk to Charlie."
Amber nodded and left it there, so Bill crossed the hall and headed downstairs to Charlie's study, which was basically a heated cellar where he incubated dragon eggs.
When Bill walked in, Charlie looked up and gave him a nod.
"Hey, Bill."
Bill shut the door, turned around and hit his head against it.
"Huh, turns out my brother's been a house-elf all along," Charlie joked, "Now I know why the kids have such pointy ears."
But Bill wasn't in the mood for it. He shook his head and sank down against the door, "I cheated on Lara."
Charlie's hand froze halfway to the nest he was building.
"What?"
"I cheated on Lara," Bill said, his voice a choked whisper.
"With who?" Charlie asked in disbelief.
"Fleur."
"Fleur?" Charlie echoed, "Hot, French, ex-wife who you hate, Fleur?"
"Yeah," Bill said.
Charlie looked at him for a moment, then whistled, "And to think of all the shit you gave me for fucking my therapist. Man, talk about a deep-fried twinkie."
"A deep-fried fucking what?" Bill bit back.
"It's this thing they eat in America," Charlie said offhandedly, "I tried one when I was over there with Tori once. The point is that it's a guilty pleasure, right?"
Bill looked at him like he was mad.
"Fleur's a great fuck," Charlie said, throwing his hands out as if to say 'it's just true, sorry', "So you know, fine to go there once a year or so, but to have sex with her everyday? It would kill you unnaturally soon."
"I don't think you're quite getting the point," Bill said dryly, "If I was single, I wouldn't care about the mindblowing sex I just had with my ex-fucking-wife, but I'm not single. I'm married to a woman I already fucked over once, and I just….did it again."
"Because you're a dick," Charlie retorted, "I mean, what's difficult to grasp about this, William?"
Bill cursed, "I feel sick, Charlie."
"That's the guilt, Bill."
"No, it's not," Bill said, his eyes full of torment, "I should feel nothing but guilt, but there's this part of me that's screaming at me to go right back to Shell Cottage…god, I'm fucked. I'm so fucked."
Charlie looked at him in disbelief, "You really haven't had sex that good in years, have you?"
"No," Bill groaned, "She's part-Veela, Charlie. She can handle the…."
"Wolf," Charlie said, trying not to grin.
"This isn't funny," Bill said, throwing a glare his way.
"Not for you, maybe. But for me, it's fucking hilarious," Charlie snorted, "And totally cliché, it's like something out of a bad porno."
Bill grunted irritably.
Charlie added, "Also, I've never liked Lara, so caring about her feelings is hard for me. I mean, I can tell you that you're a dick because you cheated, so you're going to burn in hell. Does that make you feel better?"
"No," Bill groaned.
He let his head drop onto his knees, "I've not had sex on the full moon for over 20 years. I feel like…that unleashed something I can't just put back in its cage now."
Charlie snorted.
"Charlie, could you just be fucking serious?" Bill snapped.
"I'm trying," Charlie promised, "The innuendos are just killing me, man. I'm really not the person to talk to about any of this, you know that, right? I wasn't a good guy before Astoria. I wasn't particularly faithful. When Astoria and I split up for like three months, I hit double figures, and I fucked my therapist."
"You're right; you were a terrible person to go to for advice," Bill muttered, "You're not even in a monogamous relationship."
"No, I'm not," Charlie agreed, "But do you know what? I'm a damn sight happier for it. Unconventional as it is, Astoria and I didn't work on our own, but with Amber? We work."
Bill gave him a long-suffering look, "If you think for one minute, I'm going to end up in some polyamorous relationship with Fleur and Lara, then you're mad."
"No," Charlie said, making Bill pause with his hand on the door handle.
"I don't think that," Charlie admitted, "Because I think you and Lara have been doing it for Arthur's sake for quite a while now. You've not wanted to admit it, and you're not unhappy, she's your friend, and it's okay, it's fine even. But the sex isn't frequent, and when you do have it, it's not good. That's because somewhere along the line, the intimacy was lost, and it was replaced with friendship."
Bill swallowed hard but didn't turn to look at him.
"Since when were you a fucking therapist?"
"I'm not," Charlie said softly, "But I've been unhappy in a monogamous relationship, trying to be like you. Then I realised I wasn't you, so I let myself be me, and me is far happier loving two women than one."
Bill frowned and rested his head against the cold metal door.
"You're saying Fleur and I could have worked if there was…someone else," Bill realised.
"But you never gave it that chance," Charlie agreed, "You gave up too soon, then you fell into this domestic thing with Lara, and now you don't want to admit you made the same mistake twice."
Bill sighed.
"Fleur's part-Veela," Charlie said calmly, "I know I'm no Magizoologist, but hell, I've studied magical creatures and magical genes a lot, Bill. Veela's don't have one life partner; they have several, they need several, they'd bleed one man dry."
Bill fought a laugh at that comment, "She's only quarter-veela, and she's engaged to some French bastard. So whatever it was, it was just a one-time thing."
"Does she know that? Or did you run away like a fucking coward?" Charlie asked calmly.
Bill hit his head against the door once more.
"It was a one-time thing," Bill said, and Charlie wasn't sure which one of them he was trying to convince of that.
"Which is why you aren't going to tell Lara," Charlie said darkly, "Yeah, fair enough. That sounds exactly like the logic a cheater uses."
Without saying another word, Bill yanked open the door and stormed out of the room.
Charlie turned to the nest and dragon eggs and remarked conversationally.
"Well, that went well."
It was late.
Neville had gone home to ensure that the kids had eaten something. So Daphne found herself alone in Harry's hospital room until Lilly stepped inside with two steaming mugs of coffee.
She looked at her friend's Healer robes and said, "You're working?"
Lilly smiled tiredly and nodded, "The world keeps spinning even when ours stops, but babies are the one constant."
"One of the only constants," Daphne corrected, "Everyone is born, and everyone dies. All that's in between is the real mystery."
Lilly sat down next to her and said, "You're feeling awfully sentimental."
Daphne sighed and looked at Harry, "I thought they would have given you sympathetic leave."
"He's not my husband," Lilly reminded Daphne, "But I am essentially my own boss. I put myself on call. I've not been working long shifts or anything. I got called in tonight because of a prolapsed umbilical cord. The little girl was born with the cord wrapped around her neck. The poor mother was absolutely terrified. She's okay, though, just a little jaundiced from the ordeal."
Daphne smiled slightly, "What did they name her?"
Lilly smiled too, "Lily, with the one 'L' because it's more classy. I told them I'm actually called Lillian, which is why I spell it with two."
Daphne took her hand, "How many witches called Lily are going to grace Hogwarts in the coming years, thanks to you?"
Lilly laughed, "Too many. I'm just doing my job. I do tell them all that."
"I started the tradition, naming my firstborn Andrea Lilly," Daphne teased.
Lilly smiled and said, "I know you did. How's Harry's doing?"
Daphne shook her head, "No change. Healers have been in and out all day. His vitals are still good. He just won't wake up. It's his birthday in two days."
"I know," Lilly said, "It's Neville's tomorrow. I think he's forgotten, or he just doesn't care this year with everything else that's going on."
She looked over at the blonde woman, "He's fighting this, even if we can't see that right now."
Daphne wanted to agree, but she just couldn't find it in her to do so. Then, the door opened, and Hubert Davies stepped inside. Lilly dropped Daphne's hand, and both women turned to look at the Senior Healer.
"Good evening, Mrs Potter," Hubert said politely. He then nodded his head at Lilly, "Healer Longbottom. This is not your ward."
"I'm here on my break, Hubert," Lilly said dryly, "I didn't think that was a crime?"
Hubert gave her an exasperated look, "No, I suppose it is not. However, I must speak to you about your husband's prospects, Mrs Potter."
"His prospects?" Daphne echoed.
Hubert bowed his head, "It may be time to accept that your husband is not going to wake up. With that in mind, I do think that you ought to consider your options."
Lilly scoffed, "Her options? Really? You're coming in here with the 'consider your options' speech because it's been a week like he's any other patient? He's not any other patient!"
"Lilly," Daphne said quietly, "He wouldn't want people treating him differently because he's Harry Potter. He wouldn't want special treatment."
"I don't care," Lilly said fiercely, "Because he deserves special treatment! After all that he has done, we owe him that!"
Hubert fixed her with a long look, "Healer Longbottom, I think you should calm down - "
Lilly laughed bitterly, "And do you want to know what I think? Because I think you are cocky, arrogant, bossy and pushy! You also have a God Complex. I think you do not get to come in here and tell us what our options are. Maybe I'm not the head of Spell Damage, but I never wanted to be. I save babies and help vulnerable women for a living, but I know as much about the brain as you do, Davies. I'll decide when we give up on him, not you."
Hubert's calm façade broke. He shook his head and spoke with a little more force, "This decision does not concern you, Healer Longbottom. You are not assigned to his care, and you are not his next of kin."
"Yes, she is," Daphne cut in fiercely. "If I am granted the authority to make that decision because I'm his wife, then the weight of Lilly's opinion is equal."
Hubert raised an eyebrow, and Lilly looked at Daphne in surprise.
"Because she loves him as much as I do," Daphne finished hotly.
Hubert's eyes flicked from Daphne to Lilly, and he nodded, "I see."
"And I know you're going to run straight to the Prophet," Daphne added hotly, "Just like you leaked the story about Harry being in the hospital to them. I know you don't need the money, so the only reason you have for doing that is maliciousness. You are a nasty, small man, Hubert Davies, but you can do me a little favour."
Hubert scoffed, "What's that?"
Daphne smirked, "When you die and go to hell, tell the devil I said hello."
He shook his head and left the room, shutting the door a little harder than he needed to. When he was gone, Daphne let out a breath, and Lilly looked her in the eye.
"You just outed us."
"I don't care," Daphne said honestly, "I'm sick of hiding it behind closed doors. The Black-Notts have always been open, and it hasn't made a dent on their public opinion, Hermione became Minister for Magic for crying out loud."
Lilly smiled and stepped forward to hug her, "I'm proud of you."
Daphne reached down and placed her hand on top of Harry's, and Lilly followed suit, placing her hand on top of her best friends.
"And what's Harry going to think when he wakes up?" Lilly asked.
Daphne's eyes flickered at the use of the word 'when', but she replied all the same, "He'll say fuck it."
Lilly smiled warmly, "Then fuck it," she agreed, leaning forward to kiss Daphne lightly. Lilly brushed her lips against Daphne's, and Daphne deepened the kiss, bringing her free hand up to cup Lilly's face. Lilly did the same, melting into the kiss and not caring that a Healer could walk through that door at any minute.
But no one did walk through the door. What did happen was a twitch, and it made the two women break apart and look down, hope fluttering like butterflies in their stomachs.
"Did he - "
"He just - "
They both began to say.
"He moved a finger, didn't he?" Daphne asked hopefully.
Lilly nodded and checked the brain scan above the bed, "There was the smallest flicker of recognition, but yes, it was there."
"So all we need to do is kiss to get him to pay attention?" Daphne joked weakly.
Lilly half-laughed, but there were tears in her eyes too.
"See? Never give up. We're going to bring him back."
Daphne nodded. For the first time, she allowed herself to truly believe that.
Lilly got to her feet and said, "I need to get back to work, but I'll check in on you two soon, okay?"
Daphne looked up at her, "Okay. Thank you for standing by me with Hubert."
"Always," Lilly promised.
Draco nearly choked when he read the newspaper.
"Hermione!"
She looked over quickly, panic setting into her face, "What? What's happened?"
"Nothing bad," Draco said apologetically, "I just got a shock when I read the headline this morning."
"Why?" Sadie asked, putting a cup of coffee in front of him and peering at it over his shoulder.
Her eyes widened too, "Sweet Salazar!"
"I know," Theo said, stepping into the room with his own copy of the Prophet rolled up in his hands, "I never thought they'd come out."
"I think someone outed them, to be fair," Draco said, his eyes scanning the article.
"Outed who?" Hermione asked irritably. She grabbed the paper out of Theo's hands and stared at the headline in disbelief.
"POTTER SECRET AFFAIR."
"After years of speculation, proof that Harry Potter has been having an affair with Lillian Longbottom."
"It's not the usual speculative dross either," Theo said from where he had just set the kettle on the stove.
"No, I can see that," Hermione said. She scanned the article quickly, picking out the key points.
"Lillian Longbottom [nee Moon], is the Muggle-born who reformed St Mungos Hospital with her husband, Neville Longbottom. This reporter has to wonder what Mr Potter's best friend, former Auror partner and fellow war hero must think of this scandalous news."
"There is no speculation about what Mr Potter's wife, Daphne Potter [nee Greengrass], thinks of the affair. She exposed it to a reputable source in St Mungos Hospital. Mrs Potter was quoted as saying,
"She [Longbottom] loves him as much as I do."
"They're going to have to be open about their arrangement," Draco mused.
"We always were," Hermione pointed out.
"It's different with us," Theo admitted, "Regardless of how famous any of us are, we aren't Harry Potter."
"It's not that," Sadie said. She leant against the kitchen counter and sighed, "There were three of them who could have cared less about a scandal like that coming out, and there was one who was always tight-lipped about it."
Draco nodded and looked up at Sadie, "Because of her mother?"
Sadie nodded, "Daphne's mother had affair after affair. She never wanted to be compared to her, and while we know that nobody has had an affair, the less educated aren't going to see it that way."
"They do need to open up about the exact nature of their relationship though," Theo said, "Draco's right about that."
"And I'm sure they will," Hermione said calmly, "When Harry wakes up."
With a slight frown, Sadie looked down at her feet, "If he wakes up."
Draco shook his head and got to his feet, "When he wakes up."
Potter family meetings were usually held in the drawing-room of Potter Manor. However, this one was being held in Harry's hospital room, and Daphne stepped in for Harry as Head of the Family.
"So, by now, you have all read the newspaper," Daphne said calmly, "And I suspect most of you all know that they got it completely and utterly wrong."
"Yeah," James said with a nod, "Mum's not having an affair with Uncle Harry. It can't be an affair if everyone's cool with it, right?"
Laurel rolled her eyes, "Nobody is having an affair, dumbass."
Harry kicked James in the leg, "Yeah, they're all like together."
"Like the Black-Nott's?" James asked, wrinkling his nose at the thought.
"Not…exactly like the Black-Notts," Neville cut in, "Your Uncle Harry and Me, we're friends, and we're brothers."
Thea raised an eyebrow, "So you and my mum…?"
Daphne nodded.
"Ugh," Thea muttered, "Weird Professor Longbottom, really, Mum?"
Daphne gave her daughter a stern look, "He's your Uncle Neville, not your weird professor."
"Technically, he's both," Thea pointed out.
Teddy cut in, "Look, it doesn't matter at the end of the day. Does it? There are four of them, there are lots of different relationship dynamics between the four. I mean, I get it, and I've never cared."
"Nah, I haven't either," Alastor shrugged, "I worked it out years ago, to be fair."
"Me too," Andrea admitted, "It's just Thea who's a bit slow, I guess."
"And the Longbottoms," Alastor added.
"Oi!" Laurel objected, "I worked it out when I was 11! It's just those two dumbasess who had no idea."
Lilly smiled slightly, "Look, the main thing is that we are going to have to be honest about it now that some idiotic Healer has leaked half the story. So obviously, most of you have left school, but for Thea, James, Harry and Laurel, there may be a degree of bullying when you go back in September."
Thea scoffed, "Laurel and I are Slytherins. You think we can't handle anything they throw at us?"
Laurel nodded her agreement, "The idiots who would don't have a leg to stand on. Mason MacMillan, whose dad is having an affair with a bloke."
Thea snorted and agreed, "And Freya Flint, whose dad probably isn't even her dad because her uncle was shagging her mum. Like, come on, if they try it, they're not going to get very far."
"And I don't take crap from anyone, Mum," James said with a grin, "I'm a Gryffindor."
"And between the three of us, we'll protect our pet Hufflepuff," Laurel said, patting Harry on the head.
"I'm not your bloody pet Hufflepuff!" Harry objected.
Neville smiled slightly, "I'm also the Headmaster. So if anyone tries to give my kids shit, then they deserve the punishment I'll dish out, so don't worry, Lil, we'll all be okay."
"Harry and I are used to being slandered by the press anyway," Daphne said with a tired smile, "They've been doing it ever since we got together. At least for once, it will be for something that's true."
Lilly nodded, "I know. Now, Neville is going to take you guys home, and I'm pretty sure it's a night for ordering take-out."
"Yes," Laurel and Thea high-fived.
"Aren't you coming, Mum?" Harry asked.
Lilly shook her head, "Not tonight. I need to work."
"And I'll stay here with Harry," Daphne said, to which all of the kids nodded.
"Come on then, guys," Neville said, clapping his hands and shepherding them out of the room.
Teddy left last, kissing his mum on the cheek and saying, "Try to sleep."
"I will, love," Daphne promised.
He left, leaving her and Lilly alone in the room. Daphne sat down next to Harry's bed, and Lilly watched her from the other side of the room.
"That went better than expected."
"I knew that most of my kids had worked it out," Daphne said with a half-smile, "We were never that subtle about it."
"True," Lilly said, the ghost of a smile on her face.
"Did you get anywhere with your mission to Hogwarts the other day, by the way?" Lilly asked, stepping closer to Daphne.
Daphne didn't take her eyes off of Harry when she replied, "Yes, I found something. I spoke to Sadie about it, but she couldn't confirm or deny it…I'm waiting for her to do some research and get back to me."
"Are you going to tell me what it is?" Lilly asked, looking at Daphne curiously.
Daphne shook her head.
"Because you don't trust me?" Lilly asked, her tone hinting that she was a little hurt.
Daphne looked over at her, "No, because if I tell you, then you're going to get mad and try to talk me out of it."
Lilly raised an eyebrow, "Now you have to tell me."
Daphne sighed, "The person controlling all of this? The judge, in this thing in his head? It's Death. If Death can prove he's a sinner, then Death claims him. It's like the Tale of the Three Brothers."
Lilly nodded slowly, "That makes sense."
Daphne looked down at Harry's hand, which hers was resting above.
"The only way to fix it is to make a deal with Death."
Lilly looked at Daphne in disbelief, "If you think you're trading your life for his, then you have another thing coming."
Daphne looked sidelong at her, "Which is why I wasn't going to tell you. I'm not going to do it anyway. Sadie was right. Harry would be furious at me."
"Damn right he would," Lilly agreed fiercely, "We all would be."
Daphne let her head drop into her hands, and Lilly placed a hand on her back. She didn't cry, but she did squeeze her eyes shut tightly and focus on Harry's heartbeat because she could do that. She could reassure herself that despite everything, he was still breathing.
They fell silent for a while. Lilly drank her coffee, and Daphne let hers go cold on the little table by Harry's bed. Eventually, Lilly broke the silence.
"I've been meaning to ask you…that passageway in Hogwarts with Slytherin's portrait?" Lilly began, "You found that as a make-out spot with Susan."
Daphne looked up at Lilly, "Well, no. Tracey found it, actually. Susan just discovered this crawl space that went down to where Salazar's portrait is."
Lilly nodded thoughtfully, "So you took Susan there?"
Daphne frowned slightly, "Yes….why?"
Lilly shrugged, "I just…didn't know it was such a thing, I guess. I knew you two had your thing with Harry, but mostly when you and Susan made comments, I thought you were just joking around."
Daphne bit her lip and looked away from Lilly, "We were friends for a long time. It was only for a few weeks at the start of eighth year. I'd been kinda sick of guys, having spent the summer with Draco and Theo."
Lilly nodded, "So did you two…?"
Daphne shot Lilly a slightly amused look, "Is this jealousy, Lillian Moon?"
Lilly gave her a long-suffering look, "It has been Longbottom for years, and no, it's not jealousy. I'm just…curious, I suppose."
Daphne nodded and turned away from Lilly, "The first girl I kissed was Tracey; we were 14, it was pretty innocent, and it didn't go anywhere. The second girl I kissed was Ginny; you know the story behind that."
With a nod, Lilly sipped her coffee.
"The third girl I kissed was Susan, and that did go…a little further," Daphne admitted with a slight smile, "But you were the first girl I went all the way with, so don't worry, you're still special."
Lilly sighed, "That wasn't what I meant. I guess…I mean, did you love her?"
"Susan?" Daphne echoed.
Lilly nodded.
"No," Daphne admitted, "Not like that."
"So when you told me in Paris, there was only one girl you'd ever loved – it was Tracey?"
Daphne looked at Lilly properly. She saw the insecurity written all over her face, and she sighed, "In Paris, yes. I meant it then. She was the only girl I'd loved but now? I'd say I've been in love four times – with two guys and with two girls."
"So the other one is Susan?"
"No, you idiot," Daphne said softly, "It's you. Why can't you see that?"
Lilly met her eyes, "Because we're not exactly like the Black-Notts, are we? I'm not Harry. I don't mean…that to you."
Daphne's eyes hardened, "Yes, you do. If it were you in that bed, do you really think I'd be any less cut up? Because I wouldn't be. This is killing you as much as it's killing me, Lilly and if it were Neville…Merlin, we'd all feel the same."
Lilly swallowed and looked from Daphne to Harry. She nodded but couldn't quite find the words to express it.
"I love Harry like I've never loved anyone else," Daphne agreed, "It's so different, but that doesn't mean I love you any less."
Lilly looked at her and saw tears in Daphne's eyes.
"And right now, I'm relying on that love," Daphne admitted quietly.
"It's all that's getting me through this. Knowing - " her voice cracked, " – knowing that whatever happens, at least I have you and Neville, at least I won't truly be alone."
Lilly sighed and murmured an apology. She reached for Daphne's hand, which was on top of Harry's.
The door clicked open, but Lilly didn't move her hand, and Delphi didn't blink at the scene before her anyway.
"I love you too," Lilly whispered.
Harry's finger's twitched again, and Daphne looked up at the scan in surprise as even more activity appeared.
"Delphi!"
"I see it," Delphi said, rushing forward to zoom in on the scan. She smiled broadly, "Internal awareness just reduced because he became externally aware. This is a great sign. We don't see this in people who are never going to wake up again."
Daphne breathed out a sigh of relief and looked at Lilly, "Then whatever Sadie comes back to us with, we do it, right?"
Lilly held her gaze for a moment, then she nodded.
"Whatever it takes."
- TBC -
