Ch 7. Family Ties
St. Mungo's, as always, held the mourning aura of grieving wizards. It was as though the building itself understood the strife of its many occupants, and echoed silence rather than sound to show sympathy.
Scorpius and his parents walked in silence as well, but theirs wasn't restricted to the mournful occasion. Malfoys had always felt actions spoke louder than words. They had been here so many times over the last three months of the summer they no longer needed a guide, and the receptionist recognized them on sight. Scorpius watched his father gently brush his mother's arm, who then reached down and gripped his hand for comfort.
Walking on the other side of his mother Scorpius found himself tempted to do the same, then he firmly reminded himself he was fourteen years old and didn't need his mother holding his hand.
A few seconds later though when she put her hand on his shoulder, he didn't brush it away.
The three of them walked that way into the Intensive Care ward, and tensely walked into the private room to see Lucius Malfoy resting calmly in his bed. His face was pale and his body was gaunt, and the sight of their paternal authoritarian deep asleep let the rest of the Malfoys breathe a sigh of relief.
The youngest Malfoy watched his father pull up a chair next to his grandfather silently, resting his elbows on the bed while staring at the face that had once commanded respect and dignity but now only looked tired. Scorpius put away the dead flowers that sat on the bedside table and refilled the vase with water, letting his mother use a summoning spell to conjure more daisies before she sat down as well.
He would have made Grandfather Lucius birds of paradise, but though his wand rested in his pocket he wasn't allowed to use it for another week. It didn't feel quite right to go back to Hogwarts while his grandfather was still recovering from a heart attack, but he didn't want to relinquish his education either and doubted Father would have let him do so anyways.
They sat in silence for half an hour, until a tear silently rolled down Father's cheek. Two more joined it before Mother noticed, and when she raised her white handkerchief to wipe them off it seemed to release a flood. Scorpius watched in stunned silence as his father's shoulders started to shake with stifled sobs, and realized the man was preparing himself to say a final goodbye to his own father.
This was not something he was supposed to see. His father certainly wouldn't want him to, so Scorpius darted out the door without hesitation.
Scorpius had only seen his father that vulnerable once before, and he did not like reliving that memory. Setting his face and walking away faster, he realized he couldn't even go home. The receptionist would ask why he was leaving without his folks and they in turn may not realize he'd left.
Rubbing his temples, Scorpius decided to wait in the dining room where visitors could eat and talk to the patients capable of making the trip. Lucius had yet to join them, but the Malfoys sometimes suffered one of their tasteless meals after visiting. His parents would probably check for him there.
He had to walk through the reception desk again to get there, and as he expected the lady behind the desk asked why he was alone. Feeling like letting out his bad mood, he blatantly ignored her as he filled a cup of cold water at the fountain, where a group of trainees was talking about what was apparently an interesting patient.
"...keeps suffering repeated amnesia for no apparent reason. Head Healer's baffled," He heard one Healer comment to the other. "Been here nine years, the poor woman, but she's convinced it's only been a week. Always asking about her husband, too. Only thing she ever seems to remember properly is her daughter."
"Still gets visits, then? That's kind."
"Bit painful, honestly. Breaks my heart every time to have to tell her that we haven't learned anything new…"
It seemed in some ways, Scorpius mused as he walked away, they were fortunate this was happening so fast. Then again there was nothing truely fortunate about their situation.
He sat down in the empty diner and stared at his reflection in the cup of water. Unnerved by the silence and worried where his thoughts might lead on their own, Scorpius willfully turned his mind to someone else's problem. He wondered how someone could live in denial of the truth for so long. His father had accepted defeat after two and a half months. He caught his mother crying about it a few weeks before that. And he? He'd been resigned since they'd gotten an owl saying Grandfather had collapsed.
Sitting alone while one man in his family lay dying and another grieved in the arms of his wife, Scorpius wondered at which point hope went from courageous to painful.
Harry Potter was doomed to live a busy life. While the wizarding world may think that defeating Tom Riddle was the climax of his achievements, it had only led to a long and exhausting career as an Auror in the reclaimed Ministry of Magic.
First, there had been the Dark Wizards that had tried to seize control of the Death Eaters in the power vacuum created after Tom Riddle, better known by society as Lord Voldemort or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, died that night in Hogwarts and became a martyr to his followers. That had taken years to clean up. Then when Kingsley Shacklebolt was appointed Minister he recruited Harry, Ron and Hermione to reconstruct the British Ministry of Magic from the bottom up to 'purge lingering corruption'. Harry had spent many sleepless nights worrying about the people they kept and those they let go, wondering if he had perhaps made a mistake in either direction.
Thank god for Hermione's talent in Magical Law; it shouldn't have surprised him that her words proved to be just as skillful as her wand. With the same determination she had once faced her N.E.W.T.s, the witch ruthlessly set forth to redesign the Wizengamot Court System to be entirely fair to all wizards, muggle or wizard-born. Somehow she even found time to officially incorporate S.P.E.W. in the Ministry Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures.
Ron had helped them both while he could, but George's depression over losing his twin had cast a shadow over the Weasley family and the career had never really suited him, so Ron's early retirement from the Ministry was no shock to anyone. He now works as a business-partner in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, something that suited the tall red-head well, and having a brother around again had lifted George's spirit immensely. He would still stare at some of their original products with misty eyes, but then, Fred would have been insulted if his twin hadn't learned to laugh again.
When Harry was appointed Head of the Auror Office he expected things to slow down, and was quite ready for the biggest problem of the day to be which form went where and what flowers he should get Ginny on the way home. Magical paperwork, though, went absurdly quick and the promotion largely resulted in Harry being called away to consult on more issues and arriving back only to sign off a few hundred forms before flooing home to land, exhausted, in his bed.
After a while though Harry got the hang of his job, and was able to make time to raise his three wonderful children with Ginny. He made sure they watched every every one of their mom's Holyhead Harpies games as they'd grown up, and all of his children knew the rules of Quidditch by heart. He hardly ever needed to leave his Auror's office for the field anymore as the tumult of the Second Wizarding War settled down, and after twenty-three years Harry's heart no longer pounded in apprehension when he received a request to visit the Minister.
His comfort was rattled when he arrived outside the Minister's embossed door to find Hermione there as well, then it turned into full-out dread when Ron arrived with a visitors badge on his chest. The three of them looked at each other in silence for an uncomfortable minute.
Hermione looked at her husband and as always was the first to speak. "Ronald, I thought you said you renewed your shop license last week."
"I did," he said, looking mildly offended. "Kingsley sent me a letter today saying he had to see me at two. Even sent a man to take over the shop while I'm gone."
Her gaze turned to Harry, who reflected that maybe it wasn't such a good thing that she'd gained a talent for cross-interrogation. "And you, Harry? What are you here for?"
"Same thing." He held up the little note that had been on his desk that morning. "He told me to drop everything and come see him at two."
She wordlessly took the letter and read it, stepping aside and casting a few spells to test its authenticity. Ron shifted from foot to foot nervously, then said "Rose really improved on a broom over the summer. I'll bet she'll make Gryffindor Beater when she gets back to Hogwarts next week."
"Good for her. How's Hugo doing? Is he ready for his first year?"
"'Ready'? He's been talking about it all summer. Bit annoying, really." He grumbled in a tone that reminded Harry of something similar that had once been said about Ginny. The thought of her brought back his good mood until Ron asked "How are your kids doing?"
"Well." Harry answered tersely, even though his tone implied something entirely different. He looked into his best friend's eyes for a moment then sighed "Something's up the with the boys. Albus and James have been so… different, this summer, with no explanation and it's thrown us all for a loop. They won't talk to me, or even Ginny. Lily won't say anything about it either, though it's obvious she knows something."
"Blimey that sucks. But that's teenagers for you, idn't it?"
Kingsley walked out out his office and looked at the Golden Trio, nodding in satisfaction. "Good, you're all here. Come with me."
Trusting the man they had known since the Second War and knowing there was no way someone had managed to Imperius the Minister with the defenses they themselves had helped set, they did. Harry wondered at the man's secrecy on the matter and why he would need all three of them. They stepped into the Minister's private elevator and as it descended, they shared a look. Ron and Hermione were plainly waiting for Harry to ask the Minister what he was up to, but Harry found he wasn't actually in any hurry to hear what Shacklebolt had to say.
When the Minister waved his wand and made another button appear on the panel, Hermione gasped "Minister, surely you didn't-"
"I did," he cut her off with a flat glare. "four years ago, and with good reason."
"What reason could possibly be good enough?" Her anger was making her hair bristle.
"Hermione, darling? What did he do?"
She looked at her husband from the corner of her eye, and visibly reigned in her outrage down to incredulity as she accused "He re-instituted the Department of Mysteries."
Kings Cross station looked the same as it always did. Packed with people crossing platforms and checking arrival times, pastry stands tempting weary travelers for something warm, and on September the first, the unusual amount of people walking about with owl cages attached to their luggage. It looked like it always had, Mrs. Weasley thought with surprise.
"Com'on, Mum! We're almost there!"
Hermione smiled down at her youngest son and felt her lips slowly curve upwards, as though they'd forgotten how smiling was supposed to work. "We've plenty of time, darling."
"But Moooom!"
His sister piped up. "Hugo, why give mum the cart so you don't run anyone over, and I'll go ahead with you through the barrier, is that fair?"
"Okay Rose," He grinned and abandoned his stuff in the middle of the walk, taunting "Last one there's a dung beetle!"
"Give the cart to mum! I said-" She grunted as she ran into a muggle as she chased after her little brother, apologizing quickly to the man even as she dashed forward "I told you to give it to her! And why are we running?"
Hermione sighed as she watched her children vanish into the crowd. She wasn't worried about the two of them getting lost, they'd been making the trip for years now. As she ran her fingers through her hair and found some grey strands, though, she admitted the other reason she wasn't chasing them properly was because she was getting old.
Much too old for the news Kinsley had dropped on them, Hermione thought as she looked at the two carts of stuff she now had to get through the barrier somehow. Rose's offer to her brother had been sweet, but it seemed she had forgotten their father wasn't with them on this trip.
Her lips pressed together in a thin line. When they heard what the Minister had to say, her husband had decided to come out of retirement and retrain to join Harry with the other Aurors. Oh she supported the decision and understood their panicked urgency, but really, couldn't the Minister have waited just one more week so that Ron could be there to send Hugo off to his first year with a smile?
She was considering whether she should risk using a bit of magic to help herself with the carts when someone asked, in a smooth voice, "You seem to be in a spot of trouble, Granger."
Hermione tensed. There was only one person who still called her that after she'd married Ron. Only one person who had ever called her that, really. "Draco," she tried to keep her voice courteous as she looked at the tall, balding man, "Good evening. Good evening, Astoria."
Astoria Malfoy smiled openly at her, holding onto Draco's elbow. "Hello, Hermione. How are you? Where's Ronald?"
"He couldn't make it. Something came up at the office." Hermione's office, not his, but that wasn't for them to know.
"An emergency in Wheasley's Wizard Wheezes? Now that is something to worry over. One must wonder how many… accidents occur in such a place." Draco stared her down for a little while, his tone and eyes saying that he didn't believe her excuse, then snapped "Scorpius. Help her with that other cart."
His son seemed to materialize out of the crowd to help as his father asked, and Hermione felt as though she'd been sent back twenty-five years as she looked at him. He was so young, and looked so similar to Draco when they'd gone to Hogwarts. It seemed he'd even had the same rapid growth spurt as his father, since the lad was now taller than his mother and easily her own height.
"Is this Rose' trunk, ma'am?" He asked politely after a few moments, and Hermione realized she'd been staring at the boy.
She pushed her cart toward the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, "That's Hugo's, her little brother's. He's starting this year."
"Another Weasley?" His tone and inflection once again echoing his father, who looked amused by his son's comment as well. "Aren't there enough Legacies at Hogwarts already?"
"Enough what?" Hermione asked, surprised there was still a wizarding word she didn't know after thirty years. Goodness did that number make her feel old.
"You know, Legacy Children. All the many spawn of you and the original Potter and most of the graduates from Dumbledore's Army. Whole school calls them that, they're always sticking together." Scorpius lined himself up with the wall between platforms 9 and 10. "Right, I'll go first Miss Weasley."
Astoria looked at the other woman quietly for a few moments after her son left, then asked softly "You didn't know?"
"No. No, I-" Hermione just shook her head. She knew, obviously, she and her friends were famous in many circles and that it affected their children. People in the office were always asking if her Rose was showing any interest in Magical Law. But to have that much external pressure at such an early age… she thought back to how stressful it had been for her and Ron to be friends with 'The Boy Who Lived', and how the reporters like Rita Skeeter had haunted their days. Reporters still flocked around the Weasleys and Potters got together with eachother or people from the old days, but they had become like background noise to their lives. She no longer really paid attention.
Her children though… well, they were children. She didn't know why she had assumed Hogwarts would release them from the spotlight they suffered every summer and holiday, but assume she had, and wrongly so.
However her mistake wasn't as unsettling to her as the fact that her children hadn't approached her about it even once, and Hermione was certain they hadn't spoken to their Aunts or Uncles. It would break her pride and heart as a mother if they had considered anyone else, family or not, more trustworthy than her.
"Trouble in paradise, Granger?"
Hermione looked up at Draco's pale face and wondered how much of her shock and inner turmoil had shown on her face to induce such a gentle tone from her old rival. Smiling for real to him and his wife, she assured them "Nothing I can't handle, Malfoys."
Fred Weasley II helped his younger sister set her trunk in the compartment beside his, then rolled his eyes in amusement when she started straightening his robes as they draped from the hanger. "Roxanne, enough. You and mum already ironed it three times in the car, it you make it any stiffer I'll be walking around in a tent."
She huffed and though she stopped he asked, though she reached up to straighten the two badges already proudly displayed on the new robes. "Fine, Freddo. But don't expect me to stop being excited for you. I'm just glad that creep Creevy got Dragonpox over the summer; I always knew you'd make a better Prefect." Roxanne had never been interested in the position for herself, but she had been livid when the Professors hadn't picked her big brother two years ago. Rumor was the faculty break room was still pink and smelly from her retaliation.
"Temporary Prefect, Rox. The letter said I'm only filling in for him temporarily until he's well enough to come back to Hogwarts. Besides," Fred thought of his seventh year Gryffindor classmate, "It's not very nice to be happy someone else is sick. He's lost his chance at being Head Boy because of this."
"I'm not about to lie about it," Roxanne huffed, giving the small Prefect badge a final polish. "You stick to your political correctness that makes teachers love you, and I'll stick to being brash and open with what I do."
He smiled at her in amusement. Accurate as always, he could see that as being exactly how the first few weeks of this year at Hogwarts would go for the two of them. "You know, while I'm Prefect I won't be able to secretly help you and Lorcan make new spells for your 'adventures' with James." He used finger quotes for the generous adjective about their rulebreaking shenanigans.
"Damn," She murmured as she looked at the badge in a new light and Rox asked, with a trace of seriousness in the joke, "Think it's too late to return this?"
He grinned at her. "Just a bit. And don't think I won't do my job just because you're my favorite sibling."
"I'm you're only sibling." She teased back, although all the cousins in their large family were certainly close enough to be brothers and sisters. Goodness knew all the red hair was a dead giveaway that they were related.
"Eh, po-tA-to po-tah-to," Fred elbowed her playfully. "Now go find your partners in crime, I have to sit through a meeting about how to properly walk through Hogwarts when I'm on patrol."
She raised a red eyebrow at him dubiously. "The train doesn't leave for another thirty minutes. Aren't you a bit early?"
"Nope," He declared with a wink as he left to go find his peers. "Actually I'm two years late."
As soon as he'd left she'd pulled out a bag of experimental items her dad had been testing in his joke shop and stuffed it into her brother's trunk. She knew the Prefects always checked her bags trunk times for such banned goods, but with the Prefect mark on Fred's baggage his would remain untouched. She was certain she'd have another chance to get it back without her brother noticing when the arrived.
Roxanne grinned at her success and left to find her 'partners in crime', as Fred had so aptly put their relationship, and knew precisely why the Sorting Hat once debated placing her in Slytherin.
Lily Luna Potter could not wait to be back inside the hallways of Hogwarts. As the twelve year old girl pushed through the crowds outside the train she held her new rabbit Charles to her chest protectively. The little guy had been her best friend over the summer since Albus and James had started not-fighting and Lilly, as always, was caught in the middle.
Albus had been sore at James for something that only he seemed to know about, but whatever it was, it had Albus acting like a completely different person. Her brother had refused to go anywhere alone with James and James, pining for attention, had started dragging Lily around instead until Albus snapped and started yelling at him.
Albus Severus Potter never raised his voice, but Lily had heard both their voices echoing across the backyard from her room. The only words she could actually make out was James swearing to call Albus by his middle name, since "He cares about Slytherins so bloody much!". When mum got home and scolded the two of them about yet another argument, the both of them had shut their mouths and refused to say a word to defend themselves.
Lily hadn't thought much of the dispute as first, sure she could help them come to terms within a week, but now she was boarding the Hogwarts Express and she'd barely managed to get them to say ten words to eachother in the past month. James was still calling their brother 'Severus' and the longest thing Albus has said was "pass the salt" over dinner one night. They spent time with her separately and though they would complain to her about the other, both refused to say what had started it.
She prided herself on being an excellent mediator for the two of them, but found her skill lacking when neither of them would talk. And the icier they were getting the harder it would be for them to move past it. Lily even started to suspect each was trying to win her over to their side as the 'better' brother, which was confirmed when they started randomly buying her stuff over the summer.
The two of them had managed an amicable front when Mum and Dad were around, but Lily was sure their parents knew something was up. She buried her cheek into Charles's soft fur as she finally reached the Hogwarts Express and decided that if they wanted to fight like a couple of brats the whole year, this time she would let them. She would, Lily promised herself firmly, and she would enjoy herself with people who actually wanted her around.
As though summoned by her need for him in that moment, the cousin she most wanted to see burst from the barrier onto Platform 9 ¾, looking around as though seeing it for the first time even though he'd been there several times before. Hugo caught her eye and grinned at Lily while his sister came after him, her face red.
"Hugo!" Rose cried, "What was that about? You can't just run off like that!"
"You're a dung beetle." Hugo stuck his tongue out at her with his arms crossed. "Of course I ran from you."
"Why you little Brat, I hope you fall of the boats when we get there-"
Lily heard them arguing first thing when walked up to the two of them, and the twelve-year-old finally felt herself break under the pressure she'd been facing for two months. Tears started rolling down her face as she begged between sobs "Don't- sniff- don't you two- hic- start too!" and then the rest of her words were lost in a wail and a sea of snot as Lily buried her face back into her bunny.
The Weasley children stared at her in utter shock for a moment, their squabble forgotten, then pulled her into a comforting hug when people started noticing, pulling her away from the crowd gathered around the train.
Lily didn't question or protest, babbling her distress even though her cousins barely understood any of it "They've been terrible... actually shouting, I couldn't… and then bribing… passing salt… calling Albus Severus!" She finished with a shout, still buried in her poor rabbit, who seemed used to being treated as a face rag.
Hugo grabbed best friend's hand after the three of them were safely secluded and looked up at his sister imploringly, hoping she would know what to do.
Rose crouched in front of her younger cousin, trying to understand what she'd managed to hear. "We're not fighting anymore, Lily, promise."
"Yeah Lils, promise we're not." Hugo chimed in and gave her shoulder a light squeeze.
With a loud sniff the youngest Potter slowly lifted her eyes from her pet and looked at them, her gaze almost daring them to break their promise. After a few more sobs she pulled her head up completely and started to flush with embarrassment too. "Sorry about that," she finally whispered softly. "I know that wasn't really a fight."
Both of them sighed in relief and helped Lily put herself back together, cleaning her clothes and rabbit while they gently asked her about what happened. She told them exactly everything she knew, which wasn't much, though when she mentioned James's Slytherin comment Rose immediately stopped fussing with Lily's hair.
"Is that exactly what James said? Are you sure?" After Lily confirmed it Rose's face paled and flushed at the same time as she swore "Oh Merlin I told Albus to let that go."
"What!" Lily screeched. "He told you about it?"
"No, no Albus didn't tell me anything about the fight." Rose was quick to assure her. "It's just something happened in one of our classes last year, and I think that's what started it."
Hugo looked at his sister and asked "What happened?"
She hesitated a moment, then sighed. "James did something really bad to a Slytherin classmate end of last school year. Really crossing a line bad, and no," Rose firmly met her brother's eye, "I will not say who or what it was, just that it was worse than embarrassing and James could have been expelled if he'd been reported." She'd been sick with worry for her cousin until the school year mercifully ended.
Hugo Weasley pursed his lips. As the youngest of the clan he was used to his family thinking he wasn't ready for things. Last to know, last to ride a broom, last to help and apparently- he glared at his sister- last to be trusted too. But he wisely chose not to get any more upset about it in front of Lily.
Instead he watched as Rose pulled their cousin in for a Weasley hug, holding only Lily for a long moment. Lily was a loyal Hufflepuff through and through, and she didn't deserve to be pulled apart by two of the people she loved most. "We're here to help Lily, whatever you need."
The younger ginger pulled back with a sigh, looking down at Charles's twitching nose as she confessed "They've been at it the whole summer and- and I dunno what to do anymore!"
Hugo draped an arm around her. "Then do nothing, Lils. It's not your job to fix their problem."
"But…" despite having promised to do just that Lily didn't think she could stand sitting by and just watching. Their conversation was silenced as the train blew a ten minute warning and someone frantically dashed around the corner, knocking into Rose and ricocheting off her onto the ground.
The three red-heads stared incredulously at the girl who rubbed her forehead wearily, looking up at her three spectators with an apologetic smile. She was about the same size as Lily and was dressed in new Hogwarts robes. She had green eyes and her deep turquoise-green hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. There wasn't a house emblem on her robes yet so Rose realized this must be a first year as she helped the girl get to her feet.
"Sorry about that," The girl smiled and took the help gratefully, bouncing up in a smooth motion that made Rose think this girl fell down a lot. "Came right round the corner, couldn't see you. Hey, you haven't-" she faltered a little bit as she started to stare at Lily, and Rose felt her protective instincts rise. Despite their best efforts it was obvious at a glance that Lily had been crying recently, and if this girl made it happen again Rose was prepared to lose her temper over it.
"That rabbit is so cute! Can I pet him? Is he Magical? What's his name?"
Lily tentatively her arms out out so the girl could stroke his fur, and proudly announced the new pet she'd gotten over the summer as "Charles Fluffington."
"That is so perfect!" the girl grinned with a squeal, seemingly lost in her own world with the rabbit before she cleared her throat and said "Back to seriousness. Sorry I ran into you three- and you literally, my bad- but there's only ten minutes till the train leaves. You haven't happened to see a pet running about and looking for its owner, have you? The owner and I are trying to find his pet."
It took a moment for Rose to work around her circular statement, but when she figured it out she shook her head pointed to the rabbit. "Only pet we've seen around in Lily's. My name's Rose, by the way."
Lily held her bunny back to her chest as she wondered what it'd be like to lose him. "What kind of pet did you lose?" She asked helpfully, instant friends with anyone Charles approved of.
"I didn't lose him, Jon did. But he's got big, adorable brown eyes and a black nose and-" A piercing scream came from the last crowd of students boarding the train and the girl's head snapped over as more shouts joined the first. "Ooh that might be him!"
Hugo paled and was very glad this pet hadn't been around to eat Charles.
The girl started to run off then stopped and waved back at them. "My name's Zoey, Rose, and I'm starting Hogwarts this year. And by the way, I just love ya'lls hair!"