August 22 2004

Hermione's p.o.v

I ignore Draco's pointed looks and fuss over Evangeline and little Scorpius. Evangeline was indulging Scorpius as they played with the superheroes figurines Draco had bought on a trip to muggle London.

"Look, daddy! Scopius fly hero!" The little boy cried.

"My isn't he flying high!" Draco replied with a smile then whispered to me, "it's flying almost as high as your lies."

I give him the evil eye. "Enough Draco, you know I haven't had time."

He looked at me incredulously. "And you think you will when you're teaching dunderheads? Please Hermione, at least have the guts to admit that you don't want to do it."

"I do want to do it," I cry, "I just have…stuff."

Draco snorted while removing Scorpius' sticky hands from his shirt. "Stuff, right, and I'm the muggle queen."

"You'd make a horrible queen Malfoy!" I snap back.

"One," he holds a finger up, "I'd make a great Queen. Two, using my last name as a deflection? really? And three, I can and will call Keelan back."

My lips press together. Keelan had gone out with Neville to explore the Hogwarts fauna. "Good luck getting him away from his animals," I say instead.

"You and I both know Keelan would drop everything for you and Eva. He's in love with you Hermione."

"Now who's the one that's lying?"

"Either we talk about Keelan or your complete refusal to go to a mind healer. And I'm more interested in your 'secret' admirer."

I stand up and grab the empty snack tray. "How about neither? Besides Keelan knows that there could never be anything between us."

The living room carpet was soft under my feet but it didn't take away from the fact that we were in a territory we were better off staying out of. I place the tray in the table away from the kids' play area and refill it with the kid-friendly snacks the house elves had kindly provided.

Draco also stood up and helped refill Scorpius's sippy cup and grab Eva a new juice box. He looked at me seriously. "Are you sure about that? Because he looks at you like you hung the sun, the moon, and the stars."

A cookie crumbles in my hand but I grab another one and try again. "Maybe I'm not ready. Maybe seeing my supposed best friends broke something in me, maybe I can't give what I can barely share with my own daughter!"

"Mama?" Ask Evangeline in a quiet voice. "Are you okay?"

I turn back to her and smile. "Sorry we got a little loud sunshine but I'm fine, go back to playing."

"But you're crying. Don't cry, Mama." Scorpius was also looking at me, his action figures forgotten on the mat.

I look sadly at my daughter and wipe away the tears. "Don't worry baby, something just fell in my eye."

Evangeline rushed up to hug me. "You're lying Mama. You've been crying more since we came to this country. And—and I know people say means things about you in the newspaper."

There was a knife in my chest. "Oh baby, I'm so sorry you had to see that. It's not just kids, adults can be mean to each other too."

"I'm sorry Mama! If I hadn't wanted to come to Great Britain so badly then you wouldn't be so sad!" I stare at her stunned. This is what Evangeline had buried inside? And I didn't even know. But she wasn't finished yet.

"I want to go home! I want to go back to Zimbabwe with Keelan or Australia with Grandma and Grandpa and Baba! I don't like this place! I wanna go! I wanna go! I wanna go!"

"NO!" Screamed Scorpius. "Eva no go! Eva no go!"

With two upset magical children, things quickly went from bad to worse. Together the two kids fed off each other's bad mood and things began flying around and slamming into each other.

I immediately worried she could have another episode. "Evangeline calm down!" I said at the same time Draco tried to reassure his son, "Scorpius no one is going anywhere!"

"NO! I WANT TO LEAVE!" Evangeline shouted. Scorpius let out a piercing scream and the glassware started shattering.

I wipe my wand out and put a shield around the children and us. Things were quickly getting out of control (not that we had any, to begin with). We had to do something fast.

"EVANGELINE ENOUGH!"

Furniture stopped flying around. Scorpius halted mid-scream. And Evangeline burst into tears. Never had I raised my voice at my daughter and I felt awful at the look of pain in her eyes. She ran out of the room in tears before I could stop her.

I close my eyes and force myself to take a deep breath. I had already lost my temper with Evangeline, I didn't want to lose it on Draco or Scorpius.

Draco stared unflinchingly at me. "Still think you don't need help?" Scorpius burst into real tears before I could respond and Draco quickly picks him up and takes him away from the remaining chaos.

I drop to the floor and let out my own cries.

August 23, 2004

My fist hovered over the door. Evangeline had holed up in her room since her playdate with Scorpius ended so catastrophically. I knew she ate dinner and breakfast because I asked the house elves to bring her food but I couldn't make myself check in on her myself.

Last night my dreams were all filled with her tear-streaked face. Tears that I had caused. I imagined her inside her room right now, hiding under the covers, wanting me to make things better but I couldn't because I was the one that messed up.

What do you give the woman that has everything?

Emotional stability.

I rasp my knuckles gently on the door. "Evangeline? I understand if you don't want to talk to me. I wouldn't want to talk to me either." Tears gather in my eyes as I feel my daughter's pain as if it was my own. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you when all you were trying to do was make me feel better. And that's not your job and it's my fault. You're supposed to be a carefree child, I'm supposed to be the one who kisses your tears away and hug you to death when you're sad.

"I'm going to change and be the parent that you deserve. So that you are free to be a kid. So that we can be familia again. I love you and I'm going to change so that we can both be happy." I press a kiss to the door and leave.

Therapy wasn't going to attend itself.

Harry's p.o.v

I tilt my head. Then I tilt it the other way. Something was missing, something that would pull the whole thing together.

"Is everything to your liking Mr. Potter?"

I return to my senses and notice the team of renovating witches in my living room. "Forgive me, I was not paying attention."

The assistant witch nodded. "Understandable given all the happenings in your life."

I hold back a grimace and smile tightly. Thanks to the Prophet and the thrice-damned Skeeter the entirety of the country knew about my life falling apart while Hermione managed to get even more recognition since her appearance in the Charms journal.

"Yes," I replied tersely, "in any case do any of you know what could be used to fill this wall?"

"Perhaps pictures of your family Mister Potter? It could be a tribute to what means most to you." The witch answered.

"I'd like to volunteer for that job." Whispered one of the girls.

"What's that?" I snap. "You'd like to volunteer to get out of my house? Gladly. My house elf can show you out."

The girl yelped at my rudeness and stormed out of the room. I flick my eyes back to the matron witch. "I will not allow for your employees to make a mockery of my life Mrs. Knoll."

The witch bowed her head and glared at her assistant and remaining girl. "Of course Mr. Potter. I will have a word with Stella."

"Make sure that you do," I reply.

"If that will be all, we'll be taking our leave, sir." The other girls both bowed their heads and trailed after their boss. Outside I could hear Mrs. Knoll tearing a new one to the girls.

I waited for the sounds of the workers to apparate away before I let myself fall to the couch. I think back to all I had achieved in the past three days. I had the main entrance redone so it was smaller and less grand without being losing its touch of elegance. The sitting room, main dining room, and parlor we're all de-glamourized. The family areas, however, got the bigger makeovers.

Ginny had not been keen on the idea of having a private side to the house preferring instead to welcome people to most aspects of our lives. I, on the other hand, accepted that I would have to share space with other people but my private dwellings were to remain just that – private.

I had two rooms built. A family game room, for the fun activities that couldn't take place anywhere else, and the sitting room where I currently was laying. We would entertain guests in the 'formal' sitting room but this one would be just for me or more hopefully for us.

Evangeline.

The daughter I had not known I had but magic knew. Oh, how magic knew. What I thought had been remnants of the war was actually my magic stretching and pulling to reconcile with Evangeline, to give her power where her own was lacking.

Would things have been different if I had been next to Hermione when Evangeline came into the world? Could my magic have been able to heal mother and child or even just stave off the symptoms?

There was no focusing on the past, however. This is the now and all we can do is live with the result of our decisions and move on.

"Miss Lovegood to see you, Master."

I sit up. "Luna is here?"

"Yes, Master. She bring little Miss Evangeline with her."

I scramble to get to my feet and out the door, "Kreacher bring snacks back and vanish anything that seems out of place please."

"Yes, Master." Answered the old elf.

I stop in front of a mirror and tidy myself off. This would be my third time meeting my daughter, I had to make a better impression than the first two.

I give the two females a warm smile. "I wasn't expecting visitors but I think I like this surprise."

"O pai!"

Daily Prophet

Weasley Fallout!

If you've been keeping up with the news recently then you've heard all about the return of the not-so-Golden princess, Hermione Granger, and the effect her presence has brought. In the latest of the drama, the Weasley family has been the one to suffer the consequences of the muggleborn's insipid return. Holyhead Harpies' first chaser Ginevra Molly Weasley knows this best. Because of the controversial (but still true) interview given by her brother, Ronald Billus Weasley, the Harpies are being denied entrance into several countries until the Weasley family offers a formal apology to the ex-war heroine herself.

"Zit's a disgrace zhat the Weasleys would zry zo accuse Mistress Granger of such a horrific and false accusation. Here in France, we ztand by our citizens even those that are abroad, and until an apology is made no Weasley will play in our stadiums."

Miss Granger has suspiciously not been available for comments.

Whispers followed the trio of redheads. The oldest one was used to being talked to behind his back for years. The middle tried to ignore what was said about him and the third fumed silently at the distrustful looks from his coworkers.

"She slighted him. That's why he's dragging her name through the mud."

"I heard that the other Aurors are thinking twice about what they say around him. Just look at what he did when he got drunk!"

"Forget the regular corps. The Werewolves are not happy their heroine is being abused like that."

"But after all she did? She both abandoned us and cheated on both her best friends."

"How dare you! I was on her security detail when she was in Germany and I can tell you that Hermione Granger is the most inspiring person you'll ever meet. If you have nothing better to share than gossip then maybe you should get back to work."

Skeeter Who?

London Times (Magic Edition.)

If you've never heard of Rita Skeeter consider yourself lucky. If Gilderoy Lockhart was the Master liar of books then Miss Skeeter is the current queen of "creative" journalism.

Everyone and their estranged mother-in-law have heard of the dark reign of Dark Lord Voldemort. Countless stories and articles have been published and even now, six years later, the scars of his control over the British isles is still felt – but not in the way you would think.

While the rest of the world was singing Mistress Granger her well-deserved praises (for a list of her contributions read our 06/19/03 edition) Miss Skeeter was hard at work destroying the reputation of war heroine and world-renown Charms and Potions Mistress Hermione Granger in Great Britain. Titles like 'An Abandoned Country Asks: Where is Miss Granger?' and 'Helping" Werewolves? More Like Golden Girl Betrayal!' kept reminding readers about the war and the consequent 'abandoning' of the country that raised and turned her into a soldier years before her age.

Now, this writer asks, how is this normal? Why does a fifty-odd woman have such resentment against a young lady who's biggest crime is wanting to protect her then unborn child? When a single woman could turn an entire nation against one of its crowning jewels with no shred of proof or even reason one wonders if this is the face of Great Britain.

If we're taught as children never to trust something if you can't see where its brain is then why would a populace like the British wizarding men and women believe a woman who refuses to cite even her sources?

It is the opinion of this writer that until Miss Skeeter can come up with factual and verified proof of her many public claims we ask ourselves, Skeeter who?