Written for the Muggle Media class.
Elf: Write about reconnecting with estranged relatives.
Extra prompt: (object) mistletoe
WC: 648
"Hello."
Harry jumps at the sound of the voice.
He's sitting on a bench, watching as one if his sons plays in the park. He's running around with Hermione and Draco's boy, playing a muggle game and he's just sitting there, enjoying his coffee and keeping an eye on them.
Turning his green eyes towards the one person he thought he would never see again, he replies. "Hi."
The blond woman nods, holding her cup more firmly on her hand. "Mind if I sit here?"
He shakes his head, moving to the side.
She sits and he eyes her discreetly. She doesn't look like her mother, not one bit. Her hair is blond, not like the sun, more like sand and she has blue eyes. Her nose is big and she doesn't have any freckle on them.
And yet, he remembers her smile. Sometimes, when he was little, he caught her smiling at something and it panged his heart because it almost looked like his mother's smile.
Almost.
"Bet you're wondering what I am doing here."
"Actually, I'm wondering how the hell do you remember me."
Her smiles dims and she looks ahead. "I don't know the details of it. But a woman with black hair and grey eyes appeared on my doorstep one day and she did some, well, magic on me, and I remembered everything."
Harry tries to temper his anger. Andromeda didn't have to meddle on his business. Especially with someone who wanted to see him dead.
"At first, I yelled at her because I didn't want to remember any of it. I hated you, and I hated my sister and… Well, you know what was like. You were there."
He nods, and decides against saying anything. She's here for a reason and he will let her do whatever it is that she wants to.
At least for now.
"And then… Then she told me her story." She swallows hard, and Harry can feel his anger towards his cousin dissipating. "It really is a sad story but, in a way, it's similar to ours."
He sips his coffee because he agrees with her.
"I hated my sister for so long, just because I couldn't see how special she was." Her voice catches on her throat and she stops for a minute.
The young man can feel the tears gathering on his eyes. Even after all this time, it still hurts to think about all the lost time. He misses his mom so much.
"And that made me unable to see how special you are." She turns to look at him.
His green orbs meets her blue ones and he can almost hear a click.
"My sister was my best friend and I lost her. You are her son, and I lost you too."
He opens his mouth a few times but he's unable to say anything.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is… Actually, I'm asking you to forgive me, if you can. I know that I've been, well, a bitch to you, and I wanted to make amends."
Turning his head, he watches the people around the park.
His son and Scorpius are still playing catch, while there's a couple kissing under a mistletoe. There's a group of girls giggling over something and a young boy taking pictures of the trees around him.
He runs his hand through his hair, blinking a few times. "You know that it will take time, right, Petunia?"
She gives him a hopeful smile. "Yes, I do. I can't erase a life of mistreat and humiliation, can I?"
"No, you can't."
His son and Scorpius are still running around when he offers her his hand. "But I guess we have to start at some point, right?"
She smiles at him, her eyes full of tears, before taking his hand on hers, squeezing it.
"Yeah, I guess we do."