April 22nd, 1998

The day after the war officially ended was quiet.

The castle was still filled with the majority of the fighters. The students that hadn't fought had been sent home or, in the case of orphans, taken to Potter Manor where they were looked after by a rotation of people.

Rebuilding was delayed until everyone was healed. While few had died, many were injured, some horribly so. Percy Weasley had been nearly crushed by a falling wall. He'd shoved Fred out of the way and was only saved by his uncles, both of whom had been nearby at the time the wall had fallen. Aside from Percy, most everyone had some injury or another.

As for those with the paw prints, they were being looked over by Madame Pomfrey when, twelve hours after the final battle ended, the marks hadn't faded at all. While they weren't overly concerned, the mediwitch had concern over what magic was feeding the marks and who, if anyone, it was draining. When Severus had told her it was Mia but was unable to explain more, she went to find someone that was more of an expert on core magic. It led to a bit of an awkward meeting between all of them without their leader and for the first time with the newly marked Slytherins.

"You really had no memory of… all of this," Draco said to his godfather, who looked away from the still unconscious Regulus.

"None at all. She made sure of it."

"Okay, but what exactly did you think the mark was?" Astoria questioned, her head resting in Daphne's lap.

"That's a good question," Kat agreed. "Did you think you, like, got super fucking drunk and got a random tattoo?"

"It was placed under a heavy notice-me-not charm," Severus said, rolling his eyes at Astoria and Kat both.

"Does this ever stop hurting?" Blaise wondered, staring down at the mark with a glare. He'd removed his shirt shortly after Voldemort had fallen and hadn't yet bothered to replace it.

"Not until she dies," Avery answered shortly. He was given a number of uncomfortable looks and he just nodded at Severus, Leon, and Rodolphus. "I mean it. It'll stop when she's dead or healed."

"Then she should make up her fucking mind," Draco muttered bitterly. "What's taking her so long?"

"Mia went through a lot with us," Avery told him sharply, obviously not happy with his remark. "And even more before she ever went back in time as I'm sure you'll remember. She has every right to be a little fucked up."

"Well I have a question," Daphne said, glancing to Regulus's unconscious form and then at the others from the 70s. "Why did any of you even join her? That must've been dangerous."

"It was," Severus told her slowly, thinking it over. "But she had a goal. She wanted to help us regardless of the future she knew, so she did. It started with Regulus, of course."

"She mentioned once that he found out she was from the future right after they realized they had a bond," Avery continued. "And then he held her at wandpoint because she'd let down her Occlumency shields and he knew she wasn't who she said."

"After Regulus was me," Severus continued. "She was avoiding him and worked with me in potions one day. I would equate this to her status as a Legendary, but she was… charismatic. We trusted her instinctively to do what she promised she would."

"But what about you?" Draco asked, staring at Rodolphus. "You're married to Aunt Bella."

"Your aunt had a habit of Imperiusing me," he told his nephew slowly. "I told Mia and she taught me how to throw it off and gave me my mark."

"So it was obvious she was collecting a little army of Death Eaters," Kat guessed, pressing a hand to her mark with a wince as it grew a little hotter for a moment before relaxing again the way it had been for hours.

"Only to someone watching closely, which I was," he explained. "She asked a lot of us. She made me Vow to watch her be tortured, but I think she asked no more of anyone than maybe Severus."

"And then she took my memories so I had no choice," Severus added with a nod. "She is right. I never could have done it had I remembered her and knew who she was to become."

"But what's it like now?" Astoria questioned him. "You know, now that you know everything."

"I see everything in a different light," he replied quietly. "I know who she was, I know what I said and did and I know that, despite hating that I did it, she was right that I had to. Those twisted memories she created for me are… mostly gone. I remember them but not the way I used to. They made me a very different person from who I actually am."

"It's incredible that Granger turned out to be so powerful," Theo said, speaking for the first time in a few hours. He looked at the older men and Avery. "What if she dies again?"

The men exchanged a glance and it was Leon who answered him. "Sirius will bring her back again."

"She said she came back with all of the injuries she had when she died," he explained his point further. They understood his question: what if she couldn't be healed ever?

"I think there are enough of them that they'd fight magic itself to see her healed," Daphne told her friend. "We just have to suck it up while we wait."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

The Potters sat in the room together quietly, having gathered all together after the students had been sent to Potter Manor. Dorea and Charlus had planned to stay there to take care of them but Molly and Arthur had sworn to take care of it and sent them back to the castle.

"What was it like?"

Harry looked up in surprise at the voice to see his father looking at him with a frown. "What was what like?"

"Death."

"Oh," Harry breathed, looking to Sirius with a frown. His godfather looked broken as if he already knew the answer, prompting Harry to turn back to James. "I don't really know. It was… weird. I was in King's Cross. I saw the dying Horcrux and also… Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore?"

He shrugged. "He accused Mia of having spread her hatred of him to me so I told him to fuck off."

"Harry James," Dorea said, though she gave a startled laugh.

"I think that's bloody brilliant," Sirius told his mum. "If we can't let Mia go back in time and kill him, the least we can have is Harry telling the dick to fuck off."

"What was she like?" Harry asked softly.

"Mia?" Sirius wondered, pondering the question. Harry shook his head.

"Mum."

When James didn't answer, Sirius did, taking in a deep breath. He'd talked with the boy about his parents a few times but nothing in too much detail. "She was one of the most brilliant people I've ever known. She had a strong sense of right and wrong that didn't falter one bit in the war. Mia told us, you know, that there is no right and wrong in the war and I- well, I believed her, so did your dad. Never Lily. Lily knew better than us, better than even Mia."

"She took you to your first flying class," James continued, surprising Harry. "I was completely against it. Too dangerous, I told her. She reminded me how often I'd preached the safety of brooms and that toddler brooms were even safer than that. I asked her, you know, why she cared since she hated Quidditch and she told me that as much as she wanted you to get a good muggle education before Hogwarts, she also wanted you to know the wizarding world the same way I did."

"I went with her," Charlus agreed. "She held my hand through the entire class. She was terrified you'd fall of."

"And it was Lily that gave me permission to buy you your first toddler broom," Sirius added.

"We have plenty of memories to give you," Dorea assured Harry. He looked at Mia's tense and pained body.

"She said she knew what Mum did," he said softly. "But she gave her a ring. She gave her a ring and she didn't even warn her or- or tell her not to do whatever she did."

"We would have to… ask her about that," James said slowly. "But she did say that whatever Lily did, it saved you. I'd guess she didn't want to make the decision to save Lily and risk you dying and.. I don't… disagree with her."

Harry's eyes fell on Sirius. "Is she really that different than Hermione?"

"She is, Pup," Sirius confirmed with a small smile. "The Hermione I remember at the end of your fifth year, she was still… she hadn't seen much darkness, but she also hadn't been given such a strong reason to want to live and be happy. That's us, but more than us, it's Reg. Those two quite literally cannot live without each other."

"Do you think she's gonna wake up?"

"If she doesn't, I'll go to the ministry and drag her back to life kicking and screaming again," Sirius told him firmly. "She doesn't get to die again."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

"No."

"Yes!"

"No! You aren't ready. I'm weak. You know that means something."

"Neither of us know if anyone is safe. I won't fucking let anyone else die."

"Voldemort is dead."

"But his followers aren't."

"You aren't ready. Full recovery will take quite a while. Wake up now and you'll be in as much pain as you were when you woke up after dying."

"And I fucking survived that."

"Because I was stronger!"

"Let me wake up!"

"No!"

"Let- me- wake- up!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

All conversation was stopped abruptly by Regulus screaming and shooting up into a sitting position, grabbing his head.

Kat let out a screech and jumped behind Theo, who rolled his eyes at her. "It's alive!"

"She's awake," Regulus groaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Poppy said she wouldn't wake up for some time," Severus said, putting a hand on his back. "Is she okay?"

"No," he answered shortly with much effort. "She shouldn't be awake. I shouldn't be awake. Where is she?"

"They're in a classroom down the hall," Theo provided. "Her family is with her."

Before Regulus could even get up, the doors burst open and a manic Mia sped into the room with her brothers, parents, and Harry rushing in behind her. Her eyes scanned the room and she visibly relaxed upon seeing them all there, though she ran over to Regulus.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked her sharply, though he stroked her hair gently. "You woke us up."

"I can't afford to sleep," she told him, pressing a kiss to his lips. She turned to see everyone staring at her. "What?"

"You're awake," Daphne told her. "But we're still glowing."

"Yeah, this shit hurts," Blaise added.

"Well I'm not healed," she scoffed at them as if they were ridiculous to assume so. "I forced my magic to release me so I could wake up because I was concerned for everyone's safety."

"Sano, this is dangerous," Severus tried. "You need to rest. Heal."

She offered him a smile and touched his cheek. "And you already know I won't listen to you, Sev. I appreciate the worry."

"Mia Mine, you almost died," Sirius told her gently, walking over with James behind him. "You have to heal or you could hurt yourself more. Look at your wrist, your mark. They're still glowing. You're still at risk of dying."

"I'm not going to die," she disagreed, though she did glance at her wrist. "And I couldn't stay there while I wasn't sure that everyone was okay, could I?"

"Wait, you were conscious?" Kat wondered, stepping out from behind Theo finally. "Dude, you were in a coma."

"Well, it's sort of hard to explain," Mia allowed. "I wasn't conscious enough to hear what everyone was saying, but I was talking to my magic and shit."

"Mia, it's dangerous," Regulus told her again. "This is dangerous."

"I'm fine."

"It's not just you," Dorea told her carefully. "Mia, dear, if you die, Regulus will, too. You're putting him at risk, too. Sirius can only bring you back."

Mia paused to look around at the people around her. "My magic is weak. She said it'll… take time. I don't want to wait."

"But you need to," James said, taking her hand. "Please, Mi. Rest."

"With Regulus," she decided firmly. Her entire family breathed out a sigh of relief and agreed to the request. The couple were moved down the hall to where she'd been resting and Madame Pomfrey was called to place them both once more in a healing coma.

Once they were asleep, Madame Pomfrey demanded to run tests on them and kicked the Potters and friends out of the room, leaving them to wander around the castle and begin helping with rebuilding.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

April 23rd, 1998

Hogwarts

Neville was walking through the school with his parents when he spotted Remus Lupin talking with Sirius Black and James Potter. His parents smiled at the sight of them, too. Neville had learned just the day before that his parents had been a part of the Marauders' wider friend group and that they'd gotten closer after Hogwarts, too.

"I'll hex you," Remus warned James, who let out a laugh.

"Look, I'm just saying, you're a wimp."

"Why's that?" Frank asked, looking between them. The other men smiled at him and Alice brightly, as well as Neville.

"This big wimp freaked out when Mini Tonks told him she was pregnant," Sirius explained, putting a hand on Remus's shoulder. "Tried to go on the run with the kids."

"How did that go?" Alice asked gently. "Neville's told us about what happened here but we don't seem to know about on the run for them."

"Mia told us about it a little bit," James admitted. "Sirius more than anyone."

"It sucked," the man in question admitted. "It sucked for them. They had to break into the bloody Ministry and then escape. Mia said that the worst part for her was always waiting for something to happen."

Remus nodded along. "She told me that too."

"You guys knew the entire time they were there," Frank shook his head. "You're shit at keeping secrets. How the hell did this not get out?"

"No fucking clue," Sirius admitted. "Fred was probably the biggest risk. He doesn't always listen to himself when he speaks."

"What're you guys doing?" Remus wondered, looking at the small family. "I figured you'd go home."

"I didn't want to leave," Neville explained. "My friends all stayed to rebuild and I should too. Ginny did."

"Well, to be fair, the people that came back to life for her weren't her parents," James pointed out. "You guys should go and get some rest, we've got it handled here."

"I figured you'd all be sitting with Mia," Alice told the trio. "Why aren't you?"

"We got kicked out," Sirius pouted. "Mum and Dad did, too."

"Then perhaps you should all go home," McGonagall suggested, walking down the hall. "You can do nothing productive here."

"I'm offended," Remus looked at the woman. "I haven't been pouting over Mia's bedside for two days."

"Sure," Sirius agreed. "Just pacing and pouting. Not much better, Moony."

"Go," McGonagall instructed all of them. "Come back tomorrow."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Harry sat on the bench with Ginny, his eyes on the courtyard around them. They'd sat there for three hours already, both silent as Harry tried to work through whatever was bothering him.

"I can't date you again," Ginny said suddenly, startling Harry. The boy blinked at her, confused. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I can't. I love you, and I always will because you'll always be… family, but we can't date again."

"I didn't- what? I… what?"

"I just needed to tell you before anything happens or any assumptions are made."

"Ginny… I know. I'm not thinking about dating you, no offense. I love you, but we're not-,"

"We don't fit," she agreed, relieved. He nodded along and she relaxed and bumped his shoulder. "Then what is it that you're thinking about?"

"Mia," he admitted.

"She's different."

"She's not Hermione," Harry said softly. "Hermione would have tried harder to save my mum."

"Oh, Harry," Ginny breathed, looking at him. "You don't know that she didn't."

"My dad told me," he disagreed. "He told me she made a ring for my mum but said nothing. She gave my dad the ring for my mum, but she didn't do anything. She just let her die."

"Maybe she had a reason for it."

"She saved my dad but she didn't save my mum. I don't… know if there's any reason good enough to do that, Ginny."

"You heard them," Ginny waved at the door in front of them. "She got really fucked up. Maybe she did the best she could. You didn't have your dad for seventeen years, Harry. Now, because of Mia, you do. Don't you think that maybe you should think about that? She gave you something incredible."

"I just want to know why," he whispered.

"I know. But… maybe there isn't a good reason. Maybe you won't know your mum personally, but now you've got so much more than you did two weeks ago and it's all because of her and Fred. You need to think about that, Harry. You've got a father, a godfather, and grandparents now. Be thankful for that. They can tell you about your mum."

Harry glanced at Ginny and nodded quietly. She was right. As much as he couldn't help but be upset with Mia, he also knew Ginny had a point - when Hermione and Fred left, he'd had no family left. But when she came back, she brought so many people he'd lost back with her. He had no right to be upset with her. He could grieve, maybe, but not be angry.

OoOoOoOoOoOo

April 25th, 1998

Potter Manor

While Potter Manor had been used as a temporary orphanage, it had been cleared out on the third day after the end of the war. The three days in between, Narcissa had hired a large team of curse breakers to search Malfoy Manor top to bottom for any and all dark magic. Once they'd cleared it, all of the children and those that had volunteered to take care of them had been moved to the newly cleared Malfoy Manor. Narcissa had told Sirius she wanted to put it to good use, so she'd begun paying those helping to take care of the children and assured Kingsley she'd soon put in the papers to make it an official orphanage.

Since Potter Manor was finally emptied again, it began to fill up with close family and friends. Dorea and Charlus asked all of their children to move in again and only Fred had declined, preferring instead to stay in the flat he shared with George. Aside from their children, they welcomed Narcissa and Draco to join them at Sirius's request. Mia's Death Eaters had been invited as well, and Avery, Severus, and the Miles sisters had agreed. Severus wanted to be close to Mia while she healed, Avery had nowhere to go, and the Miles sisters had nowhere to go because their home had been destroyed by Death Eaters during the attack that had killed their parents. Daphne and Astoria stayed in Greengrass Manor, and Theo moved in with Blaise so that he could take on the exhausting task of cleaning out Nott Manor the same way Malfoy Manor had been. With his father having been a curse breaker, the entire place had been filled with many dark items that needed to be carefully handled.

Kingsley stopped by that evening to speak with them. Truthfully, he wasn't sure who he came to see - family, close friends, or everyone? Regardless, everyone that was either staying there or just visiting gathered in the library when he got there to give them the information he had. All in all, the entire group that had been invited to stay in Potter Manor was there, plus Remus, Tonks, Teddy, Andromeda, and the Prewett twins.

"Thank you for coming," Charlus smiled, guiding Kingsley into the library, which was rather full of the people that fought in the war. It wasn't mostly Order or mostly DA, it was mostly Mia. She was what brought the groups together, and it was interesting to Kingsley to watch them from the outside. Harry was sitting close to Draco, talking calmly with Blaise, who looked bored. That alone was an impressive sight.

"I wanted to update you all on who was arrested," he explained, gathering their attention. The group all turned their attention to him, surprising him. "I'll be straight with you - we arrested much fewer than we hoped to. Many escaped before we got to them, some even before Mia managed to kill Voldemort. A lot were killed in battle, too."

"Who?" Astoria asked, breaking the moment of silence.

"Rookwood," Kingsley began. He had the list memorized as he'd visited each prisoner in their cells. "Rosier, Yaxley, Crabbes Senior and Junior, Goyles Senior and Junior, Jugson, Snyde, Rowle, and Macnair."

"Not Dolohov," Sirius said softly.

"Not Bellatrix," Fabian added. Kingsley shook his head sadly.

"We did our best, but many Death Eaters left during Mia's fight with Voldemort."

"My father?" Draco asked, looking sick. "My father, he wasn't arrested?"

"Perhaps we should discuss this in private-,"

"What happened to him?" Narcissa questioned, staring him down. Kingsley looked between mother and son and sighed.

"It seems he was killed. We have his body."

"Well, who killed him?" Draco asked sharply. Kingsley shook his head.

"It was a war, you have to understand. People die."

"But you know," he pushed. "You can see who cast the last spell on him and what it was. I know you can. Who killed him?"

"Mia," James answered when Kingsley wouldn't. Everyone turned to stare at him in surprise. "I ran into her not long into the battle. She was fighting him and I was going to help her, but she hit him with-,"

"She killed him," Kingsley interrupted. They didn't need to know the harsh curse that had managed to slip through Lucius's shield.

"Good," Narcissa said firmly, looking pleased. Everyone looked at her in surprise and she rolled her eyes at them. "He was a vile man. The only reason I ever stayed with him is because there was no Lord Black to protect Draco and I, had I left."

"Arcturus didn't die until 1991," Sirius disagreed. "He could have helped you."

"Arcturus Black spoke to no one and helped none of his family," Narcissa informed him. "He didn't leave Black Manor for years. He was unreachable and otherwise unwilling to help."

"What about Dolohov?" Kat asked Kingsley, interrupting. "He killed our parents and tried to kill Jess and I. Someone needs to find him."

"Mia won't stand hiding," Avery agreed. "She'd hex us all before we kept her here."

"We have people looking for him," Kingsley assured them. "And Bellatrix, but wherever they are, they can't be tracked. We're doing our best."

"It's fucking pointless," Sirius huffed. He was tense and had jumped to his feet to pace angrily. "We're never going to get him. One of these days, he's going to fucking kill her and it'll be our fucking fault."

"Sirius," James snapped loudly, grabbing his arm. "She wouldn't let us go after him, remember? Upholding time and all that bullshit? We can now. It's different."

"Well, what did he do to Mia?" Jess asked, looking around. The sisters hadn't been told anything aside from Avery's bitter remark about how many people wanted to kill Dolohov.

"A lot, I guess," Harry answered her when no one else bothered to. "He killed her."

"Well, I'll help," Tonks told Kingsley.

"Nymphadora, you can't," Andromeda disagreed. "It's been three weeks since Teddy was born, you need more time."

"I'm an Auror," Tonks scowled. "I know how to track people, mum. No one else here does."

"We do," the Prewett twins said together.

"So do I," Sirius nodded.

"And me," James raised his hand.

"None of you are active Aurors," Kingsley frowned. "I suppose we could put you through some fast training…"

"Yeah! Do that."

Kingsley sighed at the group and shook his head. "Fine. We'll dedicate you to finding Dolohov and Bellatrix, but the pay won't be good and you'll have to go through all of the training once things calm down."

"I… would like to join them."

Everyone looked at Snape in surprise and he resisted the urge to scowl. The bitterness and anger were leaving with the fake memories, but it did linger a little bit. "I did what I had to do for Mia, but I did want to be an Auror. Becoming one for her seems right."

"Hey, can we be Hit Wizards again?" James asked. "For me, it's only been a few months, so I can still do it all."

"I'm not sure we can guarantee your reserved hospital bed anymore," Kingsley joked. "Yes, you can. All of you come into the Ministry tomorrow and we'll get to work."

OoOoOoOoOoOo

April 27th, 1998

Potter Manor

"If you're doing better, we can wake up, right?" Mia asked. She'd been conscious in the coma ever since she'd been put back in it by Madame Pomfrey. She was certain the only reason she was still asleep was, once more, her magic.

"No," Hermione huffed, annoyed with her. "I don't understand how you lost the incredible virtue of patience when you became Mia. You should really work on that."

"There's so much to do," Mia sighed, ignoring her words. "I have to check on everyone, my friends and my family. I need to help rebuild the castle! Oh, Merlin, it was so messed up. I need to talk to Harry and Jamie about Lily… they're probably so mad at me."

"You need to rest."

"But it isn't dangerous anymore," Mia pointed out. "Right?"

"You're no longer in danger of dying," Hermione confirmed slowly. "But you are in danger of being more permanently damaged. If you wake up before you're ready again… Mia, you may never get better."

"Well, let's put this in perspective. I can't have kids, I'm scarred all over, I shake and am in pain constantly, and we don't know when that will go away, right?"

"Maybe a few years," Hermione confirmed. "Maybe longer."

"So how much worse could it get?"

"You don't seem to understand what I'm doing, do you? I'm not trying to heal you. I'm trying to heal Regulus. If you wake up too soon, your long term issues could transfer over to him. Give it time and he'll be perfectly fine when he wakes up."

Mia threw her hands up. "Why didn't you start with that?"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

May 2nd, 1998

Potter Manor

It was Regulus that woke up first. As soon as he did, monitoring charms sounded and Dorea rushed into the room to check on him. Her kind smile did very little to soothe his nerves. He was surprised to find that he was in very little pain and mostly just stiff.

"Better," Dorea muttered to herself. "Much better. How do you feel, Regulus?"

"Fine," he said after a moment. He glanced to his left to find Mia lying on the bed, still unconscious and still horribly pale. "Is she still…?"

"She needs more time," Dorea confirmed softly. "Her magic seemed to be working more on you than on her. For a while, it seemed like nothing was happening for you and then suddenly there was a surge of magic so strong that it set of my charms. I would guess that it won't be long for her now. Maybe a few hours."

Regulus was quiet as she spent another few minutes fussing over him. Multiple diagnostic spells were cast and once she was satisfied with his health, he was allowed to get up and eat, shower, and change his clothes. By the time he got back into the bedroom, Avery was sitting next to the bed and holding Mia's hand. "Avery."

"Dorea said you were up," Avery commented, not bothering to look at him. "She also said Mia should be getting better quicker. She isn't."

"Did Dorea-,"

"She did her scans," Avery confirmed, grabbing his wand. When he waved it over Mia, Regulus froze. "She isn't getting better. At all."

"I don't… understand," Regulus frowned. He moved to sit on the bed with Mia and grabbed her free hand, stroking it with his thumb. The feeling of her magic racing to her hand to meet his thumb shocked him. "I can feel her magic."

"Dorea isn't the sort to lie," Avery reminded him. "Something is wrong."

"Why would she lie and say Mia should wake in a few hours if she isn't going to?"

"I don't know," his friend admitted. He used his free hand to lift his shirt up, pointing out the still glowing mark. It wasn't a shock to Regulus - he'd already seen his own when he went to shower. He'd hoped it was some sort of mistake. Obviously, he was wrong. Despite the way the mark wasn't as bright as before, it still worried them both deeply.

Regulus shifted in the bed until he was partially leaning over her and pressed his forehead to hers. Her magic ran up to meet the spot where their heads were touching as well and he sucked in a sharp breath at the feeling. "Wake up, Mia."

The whispered words were meant only to express his fear that perhaps she wouldn't wake up, but they did much more than that. Their magic touching, his words were a wish thrown into a well. There were ripples of magic itself throughout her and suddenly, her eyes opened.

And then she shot upward and slammed her head into his.

"Ow," Mia groaned, her hand coming to touch her head. "Ow! Merlin, you have a hard head."

Regulus stared at her, his head beginning to throb. "Mia? You can't be awake, you're not healed!"

Mia looked between him and Avery, catching the shock on her friend's face. "What? I thought you guys wanted me to wake up."

"We did, but you shouldn't be- Mia, he's right," Avery told her slowly. She squeezed his hand in comfort and didn't bother to interrupt him. "You're still badly hurt, Mia."

"I was talking to my magic," she looked between them like it was obvious. "We came to a decision. The damage to me, it's done. There's no taking that back, no real healing it, either. She was putting so much effort into healing me while you were still badly hurt, Reg, and we decided against that."

"You… decided against it," Regulus repeated. Mia nodded, eyeing the spot where he was rubbing his forehead absently.

"Yeah. Look, I'm fucked up, there's no changing it. But you… we could heal you. So we did that and then it was just a matter of waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"For you," Mia said. She raised her hand and touched it to his forehead and suddenly he could feel that same magic rushing into the bruise that was forming. The pain dissipated quickly and when he touched it again, the small bump was gone as well. "Needed you to touch me, to ask me to wake up. I dunno why it worked, really, but it did. I was trying to wake up and then I heard your voice and I… well, gave us concussions, I guess."

"None of this is normal," Avery informed them both. The couple shared a look and Mia just shrugged.

"I think I've given up on normal. Whatever my bond with Regulus is, it's fucking strong. It's a lot different from any bonds I've read about before, too. I'm not really complaining right now since we're both awake and okay."

"Maybe we can pivot into the fact that you're not okay," Regulus suggested, eyeing her shaking body. "You need to keep healing, Mia."

"Weren't you listening to me?" she frowned at him. "I can't. I tried and I can't. I'm not necessarily going to die anymore - your marks are lying, I promise, and they should stop glowing sometime soon - but I can't really heal much further than this."

"She's right," Hermione said, startling Avery from her sudden spot on his side. "I did my best but I was damaged and transforming, too. I missed the precious hours in which I could have done most of the work. Her waking herself up, of course, made matters quite a bit worse."

"Transforming?" Avery asked her curiously. "You transformed?"

"Ah, right," Hermione glanced at Mia. "We weren't a Legendary before, not technically. Now that you've killed Voldemort, however… the power boost from that had me somewhat out of commission for some time. Our arguments did us no good, either."

"If you weren't so bloody annoying, we wouldn't have argued," Mia huffed, crossing her arms. "What's done is done. Regulus is healed and that's all that matters."

"That isn't true," Hermione disagreed. "It is important that you know that without your bond to Regulus, you will die. You will never get better and you will always rely on your bond to stay alive, so be very careful."

"Well it's not exactly like he's going to go get himself killed," Mia furrowed her brow. "And I'm fine, so please go away."

Hermione rolled her eyes and, thankfully, did just that.

"How did Dorea know?" Avery asked, breaking the beat of silence they'd lapsed into. "She said you'd be waking up soon, how did she know?"

"She's probably the smartest woman I know," Mia told him. "And I've sort of learned not to question her. She just knows things."

"Mia," Regulus said softly. When she glanced at him, Avery got up and quietly made his way from the room, obviously sensing their need to be alone for the moment. Regulus carefully gathered Mia in his arms and closed his eyes, relaxing at the feeling of her warmth and how alive she was.

"I told you we'd make it," she whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of his face. "I told you I'd be okay."

"But you're not."

"But I am," she disagreed, pulling away to look in his eyes. "I am because I'm alive and I'm with you and my family and Voldemort is dead. That's a win to me, Reg."

"You got hurt again," he reminded her. "During the battle before you ever got to Voldemort."

"I told you we'd talk about it later," she remembered, sucking in a breath. "I guess now is later."

"Do you remember everything?"

"I'm pretty sure," she said with a frown. "Except… um, I don't exactly remember killing Voldemort."

Regulus let out a short, surprised laugh. "I didn't catch it either but… that's a hell of a thing to forget."

"Yeah, I know."

The pair quieted once more. Mia looked at him critically and was glad to see that he really did seem better. He wasn't shaking or wincing the way that she was and since she didn't see any empty potion bottles on his bedside table, she hoped it meant he was all healed. She knew that she was basically the complete opposite. The final battle on top of what Dolohov had done to her before he'd killed her and Bellatrix both in the 90's and the 70's, it had all messed her up pretty badly.

"What happened? When you were fighting Dolohov, I mean."

Mia bit her lip and thought about it. "You really wanna know?"

"Yes."

"I got caught trying to get to the Great Hall to help. Ron said they were being backed in and needed help pushing them out in front of the castle. He hit me with something, a cutting hex maybe, and bound my legs. He… told me I was his and cut up my shirt to… I don't know. Stare at it. I reminded him that you and I are bonded so if I belonged to anyone, it would be you. And he asked me how I did it, how I came back and I told him because I thought he'd be upset at the prospect of never actually killing me, but-,"

"He enjoyed it," Regulus guessed softly. She nodded a little.

"I… bit his arm," she winced. "And he just called me a bitch and hit me with Sectumsempra. I could hear someone coming, so I yelled and managed to hit a wall with a wandless Bombarda, but I'm an idiot and some of the wall fell on my foot. And he got on my legs and he was so mad at me and he… bit me."

Regulus's eyes flashed at the reminder and they trailed over to her neck where the scar was in plain view. It was completely healed but would be visible with just about any neckline, much to his frustration.

"He also slapped me," she breathed out shakily. "It was so… muggle that it shocked me. Severus got there after that and he tried to leave and I said it, I needed- I wanted him safe, Reg, but-,"

"He would've killed you," Regulus said softly, his hand coming to stroke her cheek. "I know."

"He was torturing me when Severus was able to… I just remember passing out a little bit after he got to me. And then when I woke up, you were stunned? No one bothered to really explain that to me. What happened?"

Regulus, to her surprise, looked ashamed. "I lost control. I said things in front of Harry that he did not know about. I'm certain Severus will have Obliviated him. I'm sorry, Mia."

Mia nodded slowly. "But why did they stun you? I don't get that. I figure Sirius would've just yelled at you."

"Accidental magic."

Mia's head shot to the door where James stood leaning against it with his arms crossed. "Jamie."

"He was so angry that he lost control of more than just his mouth," James explained, walking in to sit where Avery had just been. "When his magic began breaking things, he was stunned. Snape did Obliviate Harry, by the way. He doesn't know anything you wouldn't want him to know."

"Avery told you?" Regulus asked. James shook his head.

"I just came to check on her," he explained, glancing between them. "Regulus, can we have a moment?"

Despite how desperately Regulus looked like he wanted to say no, he nodded once. He pressed his lips gently to Mia's before slipping off the bed and out of the door. He clicked the door closed behind him to give them privacy.

Mia shuffled a little until she sat up in bed with her back against the headboard. "What day is it? How long has it been?"

"It's May 2nd," he answered quietly. "It hasn't been as long as we were worried it would be."

Mia nodded and fell quiet once more. She didn't want to ask him for updates on everything. She knew from the way he was looking at her that he had a reason for being there and as much as she wished she could put off the conversation forever, she knew that she couldn't.

"Mia," he said softly. She stared down at her hands, unwilling to look at him while he spoke. She knew he had plenty of reason to be mad at her, even to hate her, and while she didn't blame him, it still hurt.

"Go ahead," she muttered.

"Mi, look at me," he requested. She bit her lip hard and forced herself to look up. She was surprised to see concern in his eyes. "Don't avoid me. What is it?"

"Aren't you mad at me? Hate me?"

A look of understanding and pain crossed his face, but he shook his head at her. "It wasn't your choice that a prophecy was made, Mia. It wasn't your choice that Voldemort decided to believe the prophecy. It wasn't your choice to come to our home that night and try to kill us all. It was your choice to give Lily and I each a ring. That's why I'm alive today."

"Jamie, you don't get it," she muttered. "I gave Lily the book that let her save Harry. I knew she'd use it because she already had - because that's why Harry lived through first year at all with Quirrell attacking him. I knew she wouldn't use the ring."

James looked a little startled but not the least bit angry, just unsettled. "Fuck, Mia, did you hear yourself? You just told me that you're the reason that Lily was able to save Harry and you think I'm mad at you for that? I miss my wife, I miss her more than anything, but I don't- I don't blame you for her death. I don't want to lose my sister and my wife, Mi."

Mia stared at him in surprise. "I know I've been- I was terrified of changing time, but I sort of wished that she'd find a way, you know. Somehow keep him safe and stay alive."

"I wish you were never in that position," he told her softly and honestly. "It wasn't your responsibility to save my family, Mia."

"I've been saving Harry since I was eleven," she laughed softly. "It's been my responsibility for a long time, Jamie."

"Oh, yeah, he's been telling me plenty about you. You were petrified when you were twelve?"

Mia threw her head back. "Harry's got a big mouth."

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