The Eighth Year Universe
Love Wins
Family's Family til the End
The chapter title is from the song:
Only Money – A Day to Remember.
St Mungos Hospital for Magical Maladies
Wednesday 1st September
Lilly was happy that she could see Daphne and Neville in shifts, but god, she missed her kids. She'd tried bargaining with the Healers who were in and out, who had known her and worked with her for years. But they all said the same thing – rules were rules.
And Lilly couldn't argue with that, even if she really wanted to.
Before Neville had left last night, she had asked him where Harry was because it seemed a little unusual that he hadn't been in to see her yet. Neville had replied, "He really wants to, trust me. But the kids are struggling, and he's got a lot on his plate delaying the term, so he says he's sorry for not being able to drop in."
Which Lilly had accepted, Harry did have a lot on his plate. As Headmaster, he had a duty now and as much as he hated it, that included consoling parents, talking to the board of governors and giving interviews to the WWN and the Prophet.
The last thing she had heard was from Michael. He expected the bone regrowth to be complete by the end of the day; after that, the physical therapy would begin, which sounded as dauntingly unbearable as it probably was.
A click distracted her, so Lilly opened her eyes and looked at the door. It opened, and two Healers rolled another bed into the room.
One of them was Nevaeh. She smirked and said, "You were complaining about being treated like the pope, so Michael said you ought to have a roommate to stop your whinging."
Lilly snorted, "Fair enough," she remarked. She hated having a room to herself while the hospital was over-capacity; it made sense to squeeze as many people into the wards as they safely could. Once the café was up and running again, and reception was less chaotic, hopefully, she, along with everyone else, could see their families again.
Still, Lilly didn't realise who her new roommate was until Nevaeh and the other Healer left the room. That was when she looked at the bed opposite her and saw Ron Weasley.
He opened an eye and gave her a feeble wave, "Is this the special ward for people who have no feet?"
Lilly didn't smile at the joke. Instead, she replied, "I have one. It just isn't working right now. Ron, I'm so sorry about Felicity and for your leg - "
Ron held up a hand, "Don't be sorry about my leg. If you hadn't cut it off, I'd be dead too, and then my kids wouldn't have any parents."
Lilly swallowed, "How…how are they?"
"I don't know," Ron sighed, "Mum says they're doing okay when she comes in to visit me. I got a Patronus message where they all said they missed me and wanted me home, but I haven't seen them since the attack…."
Lilly nodded, "I know. I want to see mine too."
Ron frowned at that, "You haven't seen your kids either?"
Lilly shook her head, "I've tried to bribe every Healer I know into letting me see them, but they all say that rules are rules, which they are. If things are serious enough to effectively lock down the hospital…."
Ron nodded, "Hermione resigned."
"Yeah, I saw that in the prophet," Lilly admitted, "Draco Black has stepped in to save us all. Just like Churchill did in World War Two."
Ron looked at her blankly, and Lilly shook her head, "Muggle war, Muggle Prime Minister."
"Oh, right," Ron said with a nod, "I should probably have known that. Felicity is - "
He stopped himself, and his voice shook, " – was a muggle-born too, like you and Hermione. She never talked about Prime Ministers and stuff, just movies and football. She was obsessed with football."
Lilly smiled sadly, "I know. She was as Chelsea FC mad as you are Chudley Cannons mad."
"Yeah," Ron said, his eyes filling with tears, "That was her team too when it came to Quidditch. I swear I fell in love with her the minute she started talking about the Cannons."
Lilly was a little tearful too as she nodded.
Ron took another shuddering breath and wiped his eyes, "She was everything I could have wanted, Lilly, and….I don't know what I'm going to do without her."
Lilly wished she could get up and hug Ron, but she hadn't been able to move since the attack, and she wouldn't be allowed to until the bone and tissue regrowth was complete. So all she could do was look at him sympathetically and say.
"It will be hard, Ron. There's no point in anyone lying to you and saying it won't be," Lilly said softly, "But you can do it because you have so many people around you who want to help you. All your siblings, your parents, Harry and Daphne, Neville and I. We'll do whatever we can, I promise."
Ron sniffed and looked down, "Yeah, uh…thanks, Lilly. I'm sorry, I've been holding it together until now."
"It all has to come out at some point," Lilly said wisely, "Better now than when your kids are here though, right?"
Ron just nodded, "Uh, yeah."
Before Lilly could say anymore, the door clicked open again, and this time Harry stepped into the room. He was speaking before he noticed that Ron was there too.
"Sorry Lil, I feel shit for being the last one in to see you. Neville gave me a hell of a guilt trip about it last night but – oh, hi Ron."
Ron smiled slightly and raised a hand, "Hey, mate."
Harry temporarily forgot about Lilly and crossed the room to hug Ron, "I'm sorry about Felicity. I found her, and…I thought I was gonna be sick on the way over here to tell your parents."
Ron's calm composure flickered again, "You were the one who told Mum and Dad?"
Harry ran a hand through his hair and nodded, "Uh, yeah. It was….I've given a lot of people bad news working with the Aurors for as long as I did, but that was the worst one. I'm really just so sorry, Ron."
Ron nodded and cleared his throat, "Yeah, I uh, I appreciate that."
Harry sighed in a disheartened way, "I dropped via the Burrow yesterday, just to make sure everyone was doing okay. It's a bit sombre, but Freddie's being the crutch Evie needs, and the twins, well, they're like Fred and George, aren't they? They're keeping each other going."
"Good," Ron replied, his voice breaking.
Harry watched his friend for a minute, torn between wanting to say and do more and accepting that there wasn't anything else he could say or do.
"Thanks," Ron said, brushing the tears away from his eyes, "For checking in on them, but I just…I need a minute, so if you wanna talk to Lilly…."
Harry recognised the dismissal, so he nodded and crossed the room in three strides to perch on the edge of Lilly's bed.
"You look like shit."
Lilly snorted, "Yeah, I love you too."
Harry smiled slightly and leaned down to kiss her cheek, "How are you doing, really?"
"I'm fine. I just hate being bedbound. It's…it's going to feel hard tomorrow when the physical therapy starts," Lilly admitted.
"That will be hard," Harry murmured, "You remember how hard it was for Neville when he did his back in, and you're more independent than he ever was. You're going to have to be less stubborn and accept that you won't be running around a ward two weeks after nearly losing your foot."
"I know," Lilly admitted, "But enough about me, how are you?"
Harry scoffed, "I'm fine."
Lilly grabbed his hand and looked him in the eye, "The truth this time, Harry. How are you?"
Harry sighed and wove his fingers through hers, "I don't know, Lil. I just feel numb to it all. Do you think a person can just go through so much pain that they stop feeling it all together?"
"No," Lilly said softly, her eyes meeting Harry's, "I think a person learns how to push it down and separate themselves from what's happening to them. Especially when they've gone through what you have. Harry, 133 people died in that attack, and I bet you know how many bodies you found."
Harry looked down at the crisp, white sheet. He kept his hand in Lilly's and whispered, "37."
Lilly sighed and pulled him down so that he was a little closer to her, "And there was nothing you could do to help them. They were gone by the time you got to them, weren't they?"
Harry could only nod.
"You couldn't have done it any faster, Harry," Lilly assured him, "You did all that you could, but sometimes your best isn't good enough. My best wasn't good enough. I lost more people than I saved. Does that make the lives of those I did save any less important?"
Harry shook his head and rubbed his eyes hastily with his free hand.
"Exactly, so the same goes for you," Lilly murmured.
Harry sighed and rested his forehead against hers, "I miss you. The house feels off without you."
"I don't even live there," Lilly teased.
"I know," Harry murmured, "But Neville's tense and Daphne is…she's holding it together for the kids, but when they go back to school, Lilly….I don't know if she'll be able to keep it up any longer."
"She's hiding in her ice fortress, but she'll be okay," Lilly promised, "When I come home, I'll goad her out of it."
Harry smiled slightly, "We should start calling her Elsa, shouldn't we?"
Lilly chuckled, "It would be a rather fitting nickname, yeah. How are the kids doing?"
Harry drew back slightly and replied, "Laurel isn't really speaking to anyone. She lost one of her friends, a girl called Ava?"
"They were in the same year," Lilly nodded, "Ava was in Ravenclaw; they were close."
Harry sighed, "Neville spoke to her about it, but she's still distant. The twins are doing okay now, Jamie kinda lost it when the Prophet released the list of names, but Daphne spoke to him about it."
Lilly nodded, "And how are your four? Does Teddy know yet?"
"No, thank Merlin," Harry replied, "They get back on Friday, so they'll find out then, but for now, I'm happy for them all to remain blissfully ignorant."
Lilly nodded, "They should be allowed to enjoy their honeymoon without this hanging over their head. There is an argument about how they're going to get home, though? With no apparition or floo travel into the country."
"I know, but Daphne already thought of that," Harry said with a slight smile, "She's made up a portkey which she's going to send to them on Thursday night. They'll know something's off, but they won't find out the full story until they come home."
"Daphne Potter," Lilly tutted, "Engineering illegal ways to get her son back into the country."
Harry shot her an amused look, "Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing."
"Oh, I would have," Lilly admitted with a smile, making Harry laugh lightly.
He smiled at her warmly and said, "I'm really glad you're okay, Lil."
Lilly tightened her grip on his hand, "And I'm really glad you're here, Harry."
Potter Manor
Thea stayed in her bedroom for as long as possible when they were due to leave for France. But Lareina came down for breakfast, so when Daphne got a chance, she took her mother off to Harry's study for a word in private.
Lareina raised a brow, "Are you having doubts about whether I am trustworthy enough to flee the country with your daughter?"
"No," Daphne replied honestly, "I saw how you were with her during the Diagon Alley attack. I can see you have her best interests at heart, and I think you are in a unique position to help her."
Lareina narrowed her eyes slightly, "Then…this is goodbye?"
Daphne looked down at the desk with a slight frown, "Goodbye and…an apology."
At this, Lareina looked up in surprise, "An apology?" she echoed.
Daphne sighed and pulled something from one of the drawers, "I lied about Dad not leaving you anything in his will. He did leave you one thing – this."
She handed something to Lareina, who quickly realised it was a baby box.
Lareina swallowed and ran her finger over the writing that had been engraved onto the top of the old wooden box – it said, Daphne Lareina Greengrass.
"He kept it," Lareina breathed.
Daphne nodded and rubbed her eyes, "In his study, yeah. Narcissa said he took it out and looked at it from time to time."
Lareina let a few stray tears fall, and Daphne tried to keep her composure.
"He said I could not have one for Astoria because he did not want a constant reminder of my - " her voice caught, " – my betrayal."
Lareina took a breath, "But I made one anyway, and I kept it locked in the top drawer of my desk in my study of the house. I supposed he burned it after I went to Azkaban."
Daphne shook her head, "Nobody went in that study until he married Narcissa, then she took it over. She found the box, and she told Dad about it. He had adopted Astoria by then, so …he was different."
Lareina could only nod.
Daphne opened the drawer and pulled out another identical wooden box with Astoria Aphrodite Greengrass on top of it.
"It wasn't in his will, but I think he would want you to have it anyway, so here."
Lareina blinked a few tears away and took the box from Daphne, "Thank you, Daphne. I'm sure you think I don't deserve the kindness of anyone, after all that I did."
Daphne sighed and shook her head, "I used to think that, but my perspective changed as I got older. My husband was an alcoholic, and I know how hard it is. I know how easy it was to lean on Neville and Lilly during that time, so I can understand why you searched for the love you wanted in all of the wrong places."
Lareina swallowed and wiped her eyes, "I was so foolish for so long."
"And I held a grudge for longer than I should have," Daphne admitted, "Life is too short, and if we learn nothing else from what happened in Diagon Alley, then we should remember that."
Lareina put the boxes down and enveloped her daughter in a hug, "When you did get so wise, my love?"
Daphne smiled sadly and replied, "Time does that to a person, I suppose."
Ivy House
Michael waited until Linda had been home and settled for a couple of days before he broke the bad news. There was a degree of waiting for the right time, but he couldn't keep it from her forever.
They were sitting around the breakfast table with Grace. The Longbottom trio were coming over later so that Neville could go into the hospital to see Lilly. That had prompted Linda to ask how Lilly was getting on, and Michael had said that she was doing well, all things considered.
Then he'd pushed his cereal around for a moment before letting the spoon drop against the edge of the bowl with a loud clink.
Linda looked up and raised an eyebrow at him, "You alright?"
Michael shook his head and ran a hand through his curly hair, "No. Look, Lin, I wanted to wait for the right time to drop this on you, but there doesn't seem to be a right time so…when things go back to normal at the hospital, in a few weeks or however long it takes, I'll be getting fired or at least demoted."
"What?" Grace cried.
Michael grimaced and looked at his wife.
Linda frowned slightly, "Why? You should be getting a bloody promotion after everything you did after the attack!"
Michael sighed, "Things were tense when the hospital was in lockdown. It took the most senior person in the hospital to open it up again, and in the ward that we were locked in, that was Hubert Davies."
Linda narrowed her eyes at him, "Oh god, Mikey. What did you do?"
Michael caught her eye and sighed again, "I argued with him about how it was our duty to be out there helping the people who were hurt, and he implied you weren't worth saving because you were a Muggle, so I…well, I punched him in the face and knocked him out."
"Dad!"
Linda was trying her best to hold back a smile though, "You knocked him out to defend me?"
"Of course I did," Michael said, his eyes still on Linda's, "You're my wife, and I love you. Your genetic makeup doesn't come into it, does it?"
Linda grabbed his hand across the table and commented, "That was almost romantic til you started on about my genetic makeup."
Grace made a face, "Can I finish my breakfast outside if you two are going to be all gross?"
Michael laughed and nudged his head towards the door, "On you go, Gracie."
Grace grabbed her croissant and headed out the porch door. Michael got up and walked around the table, pulling Linda up into his arms for what he intended to be a hug until she shifted in his arms and captured his lips in a kiss.
The Surrey Hills
Lareina had shrunken the boxes Daphne had given her and gone for a walk up to the Surrey Hills. She had stopped on the one where Daphne and Astoria had scattered Cygnus's ashes, which coincidentally was the spot he had proposed to her several years ago.
Not that Lareina looked back on that as a fond moment. It hadn't been; she had been fresh out of Hogwarts when she was married off to Cygnus, who was ten years older than her. It had felt like a prison sentence, not a blessing.
Still, one thing Lareina had always liked about Cygnus was his home, and from this spot, she could see Greengrass House. She could look down into the valley and see images dancing through her mind of Daphne and Astoria, giggling and whispering about something in that little belltower atop the house.
She smiled as the happier times returned to her –when the girls were young, and they would play together in the fields around the house. They would come home with mud on their dresses and flower crowns in their hair, and Astoria would gleefully yell, "Look what Daphne made me, Mama!"
She had been a better mother then than she ever was as they grew older. It made Lareina as sad as it did happy to think back on those times.
Lareina cleared her throat and wiped her tears away. Then she stiffened when she heard footsteps falling behind her.
"Sorry to intrude. I just…walk up here sometimes."
Lareina took a breath to compose herself then turned to look at Narcissa. She looked as dignified as ever and annoyingly, much the same age as Lareina these days. There were six years between them, but Azkaban had aged Lareina prematurely.
They had never gotten on despite both having been in Slytherin and sharing a couple of years at Hogwarts. But they had been so different. Lareina remembered Narcissa as the Head Girl with her nose in the air who was to marry Lucius Malfoy. It was a great honour, apparently.
Of course, now Lareina knew that it hadn't been like that at all.
"It's fine," Lareina said calmly, "I was just leaving anyway."
"You don't have to," Narcissa cut in, "You could stay."
"I doubt that is what Cygnus would want," Lareina said, trying to keep her tone even.
"Maybe not, but Cygnus is dead," Narcissa said, her voice wavering a little, "Those who loved him should be allowed to grieve him wherever they wish."
Lareina frowned and shook her head, "I have no right to be lumped into that category. I could never truly love him the way he wanted me to."
"And I could never love Lucius that way either," Narcissa said simply, "But I still missed him after he was imprisoned, despite all the awful things he had done to me. When you are married to someone, they leave a lasting impression whether you want them to or not, Lareina."
Lareina paused while she thought about that, then she sat down on a wooden bench close to the look-out point.
Narcissa crossed the grass and sat down next to her.
"You could come to the house and have tea if you like?"
Lareina shook her head, "No, I can't. Looking at it from a distance is one thing, but I can't go back into that house. It doesn't have happy memories for me like it does for you."
Narcissa bowed her head and nodded, "He had a lot of regrets about the way he treated you during your marriage."
Lareina frowned at the house in the distance, "He wasn't a good man when he was my husband. You got him whole and healed. I had him when he was broken."
Narcissa was quiet for a moment, "Cygnus was the husband I had always dreamed of. But I had several years of torment at the hands of a broken man before I found him."
Lareina nodded, "I know you did."
There was a pause, and a breeze swept through the air. Narcissa took a breath and said softly, "The only lesson to be learned in all of this is that marriage contracts ought to be banned by law."
Lareina contemplated that for a moment, "Under your son's jurisdiction, they may well be."
"I hope so," Narcissa said, her voice still quiet.
"I'm happy you found love again, after Lucius," Lareina said honestly, "And I know I have no right to the title after walking out on my family but…my grandchildren, they call you Grandma."
Narcissa turned to look at the woman sitting next to her, "Children can have more than one grandmother, Lareina."
Potter Manor
Harry got back from seeing Lilly at the hospital just in time to see off Lareina and Thea. Daphne was already holding back tears when Harry got there, which prompted the words, "Why don't you go with them?" to roll off his lips.
Daphne looked at him in surprise, "What?"
Harry ran his thumb along her cheek and looked his wife in the eye, "You're hurting, Daphne. This has been hard for you as well as Thea. What happened to Cheryl…it cuts you to the bone more than you're saying."
Daphne swallowed and broke eye contact.
"You should go with them," Harry said softly, "It would be good for you, too."
"And what about you and Neville? What about Lilly?" Daphne asked, her eyes searching his.
"Neville and I will visit Lilly in shifts, and we'll keep each other busy," Harry promised, "I have enough to be going on with to distract myself from all of this, and Neville is helping out with the homeless at the school and the orphans at Lupin House. It's a lot, Daphne, and if you want to escape from all that for a while, then go."
Daphne shook her head, "No, the kids - "
"The kids will be fine," Harry assured her, "Neville and I are capable fathers, you know? And Narcissa checks in every single day, you know that."
Daphne smiled slightly, "I know she does."
Harry leant down to kiss her lightly, and Daphne deepened the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and breathing against his mouth as she drew back.
"Okay."
Harry smiled and kissed her one last time. Daphne let go of him and turned to Lareina and Thea, "Change of plan, I'm coming with you. Give me a minute to pack!"
Lareina raised an eyebrow at Harry as Daphne dashed upstairs, "She hates boats."
Harry shrugged, "It takes less than an hour to get across the English Channel, she'll be fine."
Lareina gave Harry a dubious look, but Thea smiled, "I'm glad she's coming."
"Me too," Harry said, stepping forward to hug his daughter, "She needs it," he added, catching Lareina's eye.
Lareina nodded and kissed Harry on the cheek, "I will look after them both."
"I know you will," Harry returned with a smile.
Andrea and Alastor stepped forward to hug Thea, then Neville hugged her and murmured words of encouragement to her as well. By the time they had said their farewells, Daphne was finished packing.
She stepped into the kitchen with a bag slung over her shoulder and kissed Neville on the cheek, murmuring, "Tell Lilly I said goodbye."
He nodded and hugged her tightly, "Look after yourself."
"I will," Daphne promised. She took a step away from him to hug Harry, then she kissed him lightly and whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too," Harry promised, letting go of her so that she could kiss Andrea on the cheek and tell her to keep her chin up.
Alastor hugged her tearfully, and Daphne held him tightly, murmuring that it would all turn out alright in the end.
Then she joined Lareina and Thea by the door, and they waved their farewells before leaving the house and heading down the path towards the large iron-wrought gates.
TBC -
