A/N: Sorry for the delay - I had quite a tough couple of weeks with family issues, a not so satisfying grade at an oral presentation and a few problems in another site where I post that led me to having to edit about 10 chapters... Anyway, today you get an extra big chapter (sort of two in one) for your patience. It's a bit slow paced but, well, it's the best I could come up with. Enjoy!
Although Mia frankly hated to admit that fact, Sirius had been completely right. Going out with Elizabeth had helped dissolving the huge amount of stress she'd been sinking under lately. By a lot.
She wasn't sure how her best friend had pulled it off but, at some point, she had found herself in a much better mood. Certainly, it couldn't have been much about the shopping part, which had mostly consisted of her sitting on a sofa while Elizabeth tried dozens (many, many dozens) of outfits, only to actually buy a couple of them… followed by a shockingly large amount of shoes. In a way, it seemed a bit frivolous to join her friend in a (one-sided) shopping spree in times like the current but it had been just what she needed – a little Mia and friends time without thinking of her worries or problems. A break from all that stress almost without thinking of war and imminent tragedy surrounding her godson's fate.
How they'd managed to fit all of Elizabeth's shopping into less than two hours (and a single pay check) was a mystery to Mia but her friend had undoubtedly been able to pull it off just in time to drag her into a café in Muggle London and smother her sorrows under several slices of cake. She hadn't spoken of what was bothering her and Elizabeth hadn't asked her to – Sirius has filled in the healer enough and she understood that, at the moment, the last thing Mia needed was for her to bring the matter up, which couldn't have been more right… One afternoon escaping from stress and problems seemed to work miracles.
"Well, don't Sirius and I work well when we gang up on you?" Elizabeth asked triumphantly as they walked through the streets of Muggle London on their way back to the leaky cauldron. "Although, since I was the one dragging you around all afternoon I have to say, I should get most of the credit for it."
"I'm sure he'll have something to say about that," Mia pointed out.
The blonde chuckled. "Sure he will: 'Thank you, Elizabeth, for fixing my stressed out wife. I'm your eternal faithful servant,'" she said. "You know, if he hadn't asked me to take you out in such a short notice, I would have taken you to this place at Bath where they have really great massages. I went there a few months ago with Kingsley and it was so relaxing I nearly lapsed into a coma."
Mia rolled her eyes. "I'd rather keep comas out of the equation, thank you very much," she pointed out dryly, before turning to her best friend with a much more serious look on her face. "But thank you, Elizabeth, I feel much better now."
"Well, you'd better, wouldn't you?" Elizabeth told her. "Just don't let it happen again – getting this stressed out, I mean."
She sighed. "Sometimes it's a bit hard to help it."
Her friend gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know, Mia. Merlin, I can only image how I would deal with… anything if Harper was in Harry's situation. But you can't jet let this… stress take you over, no matter how hard it is. Give yourself some Mia time every once in a while or you'll go mad – this is my advice as a friend and a healer's. And you know I'm always a floo call away if you need to vent about anything."
She sighed. "I know, Elizabeth. I do. You're a good friend."
Trying to cheer her up, Elizabeth frowned. "Good? Why, Mia, no. What I am is a great friend…"
Mia has to chuckle at that. "You know, sometimes I wonder how Sirius never got to you in his let's-date-every-girl-at-Hogwarts phase – you two can be so unbelievably smug sometimes."
The blonde shrugged.. "Likely because we'd strangle each other by the end of the first week together." Even though she couldn't that Sirius had always been attractive, even in her standards, she'd never felt an actual attraction for him. Maybe it was because, from an early time, she'd been aware of Mia's own attraction for him or maybe for any other completely different reason. It just hadn't been there with Sirius. "I like my match better than him."
"You know, I'm still getting used to you and Kingsley being together," Mia admitted.
Elizabeth smiled. "I've got to admit part of me feels that way too. " She absently rubbed the finger where her engagement ring was supposed to be. To keep appearances and the secret safe, it was at home, tucked in her jewellery container – she couldn't wait for the moment when she'd be able to wear it freely. But that couldn't happen until the war was over. Hopefully it would happen soon… her children needed a father that wasn't on the run from the goblins from his immense gambling debts.
"I actually had no idea you liked him. That way, I mean," Mia admitted. "It's frustrating – you were sure I was in love with Sirius before I even admitted it to myself."
"Well, I did secretly harbour a little crush for Kingsley back in our Hogwarts days but it was just a crush – why else did you think I joined the gobstones club back then than because of its quite attractive captain?"
Mia laughed. "Lily and I did wonder what you were doing there at all. You never quite seemed like the type to like playing gobstones."
"It's all about where the boys are," Elizabeth told her cheekily. "But then Ludo came all charming and athletic… I know you and Lily didn't like him, by the way."
"You… oh, well, it's true," Mia admitted. "I'm sorry he was just so… dumb sometimes. All he talked about when he was with us was Quidditch. It just… he didn't seem like the right fitting for you."
Elizabeth laughed. "Which proved itself to be true. And, yeah, Ludo could be dim-witted that way, I suppose…" She smiled, then. "He did manage to produce two non dim-witted children, who I wouldn't give up for anything in this world, though," she said as they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron and stepped in. There, Elizabeth checked her watch and turned to Mia. "Well, it's five thirty. What do you say? Do you want to stick around another hour to push Sirius's buttons by going back home late? I believe he'd established your curfew at six…"
"Maybe next time," Mia told her, a little amused. "I actually am not planning to go straight back home. Alex spent the afternoon at a playmate's place – Darcy Finnigan. I suppose that, since I'm outside of home already, I might as well pick him up."
"Oh, well, I can always hope he'll throw a tantrum and you'll get home late anyway," Elizabeth joked as they approached the fireplace.
Mia rolled her eyes. "You get too much of a kick out of irking Sirius."
The blonde grinned. "What can I say? He's the annoying cousin I never had."
Both of them laughed at that admission and parted ways shortly after, with Elizabeth flooing home from the pub, reminding her friend not to be a stranger.
Mia herself made it back home less than half an hour later, after having dropped by the house that had once been hers at Wales – now occupied by the O'Dells, Darcy and Seamus Finnigan's grandparents and guardians after the death of their parents the past autumn – in order to pick up Alex.
The little boy seemed to have had quite a good time there with his young friend Darcy and, just as soon as he'd landed eyes on his mother (and promptly nearly knocker her to the floor, so tightly he's wrapped himself around her legs) had gone on and on, in his own simple two-year-old dialect, about what he'd done that afternoon, apparently spent at the pond near the house.
The floo journey back home seemed to be the only thing that managed to calm his excitement as, by the time they got home and Mia stepped out of the fireplace, he was very silent, clinging tightly to her neck and his stuffed dog, his little face buried against the crook of her neck. Floo seemed to have a slightly… petrifying effect on him. Alex had never been a big fan of any means of Wizarding transport, either it was floo travelling, apparition or portkeys – in a way, it seemed a bit odd since he'd been side-along apparating and floo travelling practically since he'd been born. But then again, Mia herself didn't find them all that pleasant either despite her decades of experience in those. She supposed their lack of comfort was a small price to pay for commodity of travelling across the country in a matter of seconds.
Softly, Mia rubbed her son's back and kissed the top of his head after dusting a small amount of ash from his dark hair as well as his stuffed toy. "There, honey, the trip's over. We're home," she told him in a soothing tone.
The little boy seemed a bit hesitant as he tentatively pulled his face away from her the safe warmness of his mother's neck and looked around in order to confirm if they were really home. Like a light had been switched on, he smiled as soon as he saw they were indeed in the house's familiar kitchen and immediately pointed at his beloved cookie jar. "Wanna cookie, Mama."
Mia laughed at him softly. "Little boys only get cookies after dinner," she replied, kissing the tip of his little nose and placing him down on the floor.
Before Alex had any chance to complain, the sound of steps came from the staircase leading to the ground floor, which clearly stole all the attention his two-year-old self could provide – soon, the curious little boy was running towards the kitchen door as fast as his short legs would allow him, pulling his stuffed dog behind him by the tail, more interested in finding out who was coming down then in getting himself a cookie snack.
Mia head a delighted squeal from her son, followed by her husband's surprised tone. "And how did you get here on your own, little monster?" she heard him asking the little boy, to her amusement.
Her son's giggling followed. "No, Daddy! No… twickewing!" the little boy said between laughs right before Sirius stepped into the kitchen, holding him on his hip as he poked his ticklish ribs.
Sirius's eyes landed on her a fraction of a second after he entered the room and his eyebrows, previously raised in confusion at his son's presence, returned to their usual place. "Oh, you're back. Thank Merlin – I was starting to wonder if this one had learnt how to use the floo on his own." He shivered at the very thought – considering how much of a hell-raiser that kid was at times, that would definitely be a problem. "I was just about to go pick him up myself."
"I was already outside of home – I figured I might as well pick him up and bring him home," Mia quickly explained, lazily taking a few steps closer to Sirius but not reaching him yet. "As for Alex learning how to use using the floo on his own – let's hope that doesn't happen anytime soon. He's not even two and a half years old yet – I'd say he's not quite that advanced."
Sirius gave her a dubious look. "You never know. With parents as smart as us, he may be a genius for all we know. Isn't that right mate?" he asked his son.
"No, Daddy," Alex said, giggling, even though he didn't exactly get what his father meant. He really just felt like saying 'no'. Daddy usually made funny faces when he said 'no'.
As per his son's expectations, Sirius mock-glared at him. "Hey, mate, you're supposed to agree with me! Us blokes have to stick together against the ladies!"
"No!"
"Little tyke," his father mumbled, ruffling Alex's hair with one of his hands.
From her spot, Mia saw herself sighing as she watched her husband and her little boy's interaction. They looked awfully adorable like that… and awfully alike too, sharing the same silky black hair and dazing grey eyes. It made her smile just a little.
Sirius didn't miss it when he turned his attention from his son back to her and smiled back. "Well, don't you look much more relaxed now, love?" he asked, closing the distance between himself and Mia, touching her lips with his own softly when he reached her. "Looks like the attentive, loving husband in the room was right about you needing to spend some time with Elizabeth."
She slapped his shoulder softly. "Yeah, well, don't get too cocky about it. I had to sit through hours of torture, watching as she spent a small fortune in various shops. She reclaims all credit for cheering me up, by the way."
"Phew, let her. As long as I get to be the one snogging you at the end of the day," he said in a lax tone, chuckling before kissing her once more. That time, he made it last longer than before, just up until Alex started making 'yuck' sounds and complaining to get his parents' attention. Sirius pulled away, then, and Mia reached to caress the little boy's cheek, which seemed to be enough to please him – he didn't even notice it when he dropped his stuffed dog on the floor.
"Whatever she did, I'm glad it worked," he declared as he circled her waist with his arm and walked her to the kitchen table, sitting on a chair with Alex on his lap. "What about you, mate? Had fun this afternoon?" he asked the little boy.
Alex nodded enthusiastically, clearly over his 'no' mood for the moment. "Funny fun, Daddy!" he replied grinning.
"Tell your Daddy what you did, honey," Mia tole him, sitting by Sirius's side and brushing her son's slightly damp hair away from his eyes with her hands.
"I Fwound a fwog!"
"A frog? Was it ugly and green?" his father inquired in amusement.
Either he was sure of his answer or not, Alex nodded enthusiastically.
"And what did you do with it?"
Alex giggled before answering. "Dashy kish it. Yuck!"
Mia couldn't help laughing. "Really? Did it turn into a prince?" she inquired, recalling a muggle story Lulu had told her once when she was a little girl.
Her son gave her a confused, nearly serious, look, not quite understanding the concept of a frog turning into a prince. Typically, the he confusion inside his little head was forgotten just as he spotted his beloved black stuffed dog again on the floor. "Shwafas!" he said, squirming out of his father's lap and running towards the dog in order to fetch it.
Sirius chuckled and sighed, watching as Alex ran to rescue his favourite toy from the hard, cold kitchen floor. "Well, looks like he had a better afternoon than mine."
Mia turned to him, frowning at his tone. "What happened?" she asked as her son settled at her feet, playing with 'Shwafas, the dog'.
Her husband sighed and leaned against the back of a chair. "Well, apparently dealing with two teenagers can be harder than I expected. I think I mucked it up this time."
"What do you mean you 'mucked it up'?" she inquired in concern. "What exactly did happen, Sirius?"
Sirius straightened himself on the chair and took a deep breath. "Well, after you left with Elizabeth I went to the library to have a word with Harry about… you know, the Horcrux hunt," he carefully said, observing Mia closely trying to see if any sign of stress returning by him bringing up the main cause of it. He was happy to see that that wasn't the case but the occasion didn't allow him to let that feeling last long as he continued the story. "We were talking about it and eventually it came up that he still hadn't told Izzy about intending to leave."
"Oh," Mia mumbled. "That's not good."
"No, it isn't. And it gets worse," he said, still quite disbelieving. "Guess who showed up just as I was telling Harry that he'd better tell Izzy soon."
She didn't need more than half a second to guess as it was so painfully obvious. "She did." Mia shook her head in disbelief. "Why does that always happen?"
"That's what I'd like to know," Sirius mumbled, at least glad she shared his view. "Anyway, it wasn't that Harry wasn't intending to tell her at all – apparently, in the middle of his… I don't know, researching and worrying… plus our… er, intense reaction to him leaving… he just starting putting it off and then… forgot."
Mia looked at him oddly. "Forgot"
"Unbelievable, I know," Sirius said, all but guessing her thoughts. "But I'm positive it's true, bearing in mind the worrying that kid has had to go through lately. And, well, since the cat was partially out of the bag already, the moment seemed as good as any for him to tell her."
"I take it she wasn't happy," she guessed.
"Oh, that's an understatement," her husband replied. "It wasn't much about the overhearing part, from what I gathered – mostly, Izzy got angry because she was the last one to know… well, at least out of the people that usually know… Apparently, it's been happening a lot lately. And one argument let to another and then another… long story short, there was a lot of yelling afterwards."
"Dear Merlin and Morgana…" Mia mumbled, imagining the scene.
"Blimey, Mia, it was a mess," Sirius told her. "I had no idea what to do, so I just sat there… no, I didn't, actually. What I did was walk away at some point and leave them there to do the yelling on their own. Who does that? I mean I had Mary with me and, well, she was getting upset with the noise but still…" He paused and let out a long, heavy breath. "I figured getting in the middle would only make it worse but, Merlin, I'm sure there was a better way to handle it… I think I really messed up this time."
"No, you didn't," Mia told him honestly. She tried to imagine herself in Sirius's position between two squabbling teenagers, one probably close to worn out by all the responsibility falling on him, other frustrated for her powerlessness in it all… She couldn't come up with a way to handle that that would trump over Sirius's. "Look, everything that's happened lately, every word of what you've been telling me to, well, make this thing with Harry leaving to chase the Horcruxes feel better on me… We both have to know that they're not little kids anymore – and, that being the case, they can handle their own quarrels, Sirius. You're right – getting in the middle of their fight wouldn't do any good. Likely, you'd just end up smashed between the two of them. What's left for us to do now is, well, hopefully helping them figuring out how to make amends. We can't fight their battles." She sighed, inwardly noting the double meaning of her words. It hurt, but it was true. They couldn't fight for their children forever. "Just… have you talked with them afterwards?"
"Well, I had a few words with Harry," Sirius said. "He was a bit stunned, so I don't think that worked very much. I tried to let him… 'unstun' himself before giving it another try."
"And Izzy?"
"Er…" he mumbled. "That's a bit harder since she sort of stormed out to the Burrow after the first. Don't worry, I sent Kreacher after her to make sure she got there safely. I imagine Ginny may be acting as her 'Elizabeth' right now."
Mia sighed. "Oh, well, one thing at a time," she said, more to herself than to Sirius. "Ginny will likely knock some sense into Izzy herself before we get to her," she observed, trying to think positive. At the same time, it wasn't much like Izzy to storm out. That must have been some fight. She felt bad for Sirius having had to handle it on his own…
Sirius nodded. "Yes, Ginny would probably like Harry to reach the end of the day in one solid piece," he observed. "I suppose the fact that snogging a bloke covered in bumps and bruises is a bother happens to be a positive point to take into account."
Despite noting Sirius's humour was apparently restored for the most part of it, Mia opted to ignore his words, more worried with trying to set up a plan of action in her mind. First things first and Harry, being the one side of the fight that was still present at the house, was first that time. "Listen, why don't you let me go have a word with Harry myself while you give this one a bath," she suggested to Sirius, nodding at Alex, who was still sitting on the floor with his stuffed dog. "I suppose it's my turn to talk to Harry since I've been sort of… avoiding talking to him lately."
"Yeah, right, you just want me to be the on the wrong end of water splashes, courtesy of Mr. Alex here," Sirius joked, getting up and picking up his son from the floor. "How much do you want for a quiet, no-getting-Daddy-all-soaked bath?"
"Cookie!"
"Don't you dare," Mia warned her husband, poking him on the chest with her index finger, her eyes narrowed. "Don't even think of giving him one of those before Dinner."
Sirius chuckled, waving at her as a way to get her to leave the room. "See you in forty-five minutes, love," he told her in amusement.
She rolled her eyes and got up, making her way to the door and climbing up the stairs as her husband's voice reached her ears. "Now, about that cookie…"
She was pretty sure he was just saying that to annoy her but, in any case, figured she ought to give him a warning. "I heard that, Sirius!"
His laughter filled her ears and he appeared at the bottom of the stairwell with a cookie-less Alex a few seconds later, grinning in amusement. "I know."
She glared at him for a moment. "You think you're hilarious, don't you?"
"I am hilarious," he pointed out in return, turning to his son. "Aren't I?"
"No, Daddy!"
He narrowed his eyes at the amused little boy. "We've got to work on those 'no' moods, mate."
She bit her lower lip to keep herself from laughing and shook her head before turning around and resuming her 'pursuit' for Harry, leaving her husband and son to discuss their nonsense together.
Harry wasn't very hard to find as Kreacher, who she ran into on her way to the upper floors polishing a pile of silverware in the living room, quickly informed her that her godson had left the library a few hours before to go his own room, where he was alone at the moment.
She quickly thanked the house-elf, who was happy to resume his thorough polishing and walked towards the stairs in order to reach the second floor, where Harry's quarters were located. His door was closed when she got there and she wondered if that was some sort of hint for them to leave him alone. Either it was or not, she knocked and waited for an answer, unwilling to put up with any moody stalling.
"Come on in," Mia heard his voice saying from the interior of the room, to her relief.
She found him sitting up on his bed when she came in, the wings of a golden snitch, given in the previous Christmas by herself and Sirius, peaking out of his closed hand as if he'd absently been working on catching it. He looked a bit nervous – worried, even. But at the same time he seemed relieved to see her there.
"Is it a good time to talk?" she asked him softly.
Harry nodded. "I thought you'd gone out with Elizabeth," he said.
"I did," she confirmed, closing the door behind her as she entered the room. "But it was getting late and we still need to get to the Burrow."
He seemed to gulp at the mere thought of it, likely nervous about running into Izzy after their squabble.
"So," Mia started, "first of all, I think I owe you an apology for the way I've been acting, Harry."
Harry seemed confused at that. "What do you mean?"
She sighed. "I've been avoiding you for the past few days, Harry. Ever since you told me about…" she paused, feeling a lump in her throat as she tried to say it – it was still hard to acknowledge "… about your plans to leave after your birthday. I didn't do it on purpose, really… and I should have known how to handle that better. So, I'm sorry. I should have been there for you in a better way."
"It's okay. Everyone needs time sometimes," he told her easily before the look on his face became sort of tentative. "Does this mean that now you're… okay with me going away?"
She pondered if she should lie and tell him she was, just so he'd be less concerned or if she should simply be honest. A dilemma of sorts. But at the same time she clearly knew that lies tended to bring resentment and that was the last thing she wanted to stand between herself and Harry. Honesty was the safest bet. "You know, Harry, I don't think I'll ever be fully… okay with you leaving. It's hard letting your children go, especially when you know the path they'll be taking is full of dangers – one day, when you have your own children, you'll feel that too," she explained softly as Harry listened attentively. "But I understand that it is what you have to do and that's enough for me to live with it. I can't be wasting time stressing over it when I could be using it to help you." Part of her would always be anxious for his safety – she couldn't deny it – but she'd never forgive herself if something happened to Harry because she'd been too caught up with her own issues to help him with his own…
"I… er, thanks," he said, not quite sure of how to show his gratitude. A bit hesitantly, he hugged her – he'd never been one for hugging, really, but that time he knew his godmother deserved it without a doubt.
He felt lucky – very lucky. Many parents, guardians or godparents would have simply said 'no'. Many wouldn't have made such an effort to understand and to help him in what he has to do because they would rather ignore the problem existed so they could leave it for someone else. He would always be thankful that it wasn't the case with his family…
"Well," Mia started, as both pulled away from each other's hold, "now that we're done with this issue – for the moment, at least – there's something else we've got to talk about, Harry."
"Sirius has already mentioned what happened this afternoon with Izzy," he guessed easily – he'd actually been expecting her to bring that up ever since she'd walked into his room.
Mia nodded. "He gave me an outside perspective of it," she declared. "Do you have anything to add?"
He shrugged and looked down. "Not really – there's not much more to say. I left Izzy out of this plan up until today. I didn't think it would bother her much but apparently I've been leaving her for last in a lot of things… She's got a right to be upset at me – I'd feel just the same if the situation had been the inverse." In fact, he had felt just that way back when the Order had been created and he hadn't been allowed to join even though he's been Voldemort's main target from the time he was an infant. He understood perfectly.
"You didn't do it on purpose," Mia pointed out, resting a hand on his shoulder, hoping her words would get through her godson's self-blaming ways. "Izzy will know that once she's cooled down a little."
"Still," he countered. "I didn't even realize I was doing it until she told me this afternoon. What does that say about me?"
"It says you have a whole lot of things to worry about," Mia told him. "Izzy does have a right to feel upset for being the last one to know about your intentions to leave and, well, all other things but you also have a right to get a break from time to time for everything you have to deal with. Knowing Izzy, I'm sure she'll understand that too – she can be a fairly reasonable person… provided she'd not running on fumes of rage."
"Well, that's still not the casa by the time we get to the Burrow," Harry mumbled, mostly for himself.
Mia chuckled. "I'm sure the Weasleys are working on that. In any case, I can go check before you go and talk to her yourself."
He huffed at that. "What am I supposed to tell her?"
"The truth," Mia said simply. "That you're sorry and didn't mean to hurt her."
"I've already said that…"
"Then say it again. People are much more receptive after having the time to vent about whatever is bothering them. Just be honest, Harry, and all should be okay." Mia sighed. "I don't think I need to tell you that I don't like seeing you and Izzy at odds but at least you two never managed to stay angry at each other for more than one or two days in a row. Hopefully, you haven't gotten any better at it."
He couldn't help letting out a faint laugh at that. "Hopefully," he agreed before sighing. "She thinks I don't treat her as a friend anymore. Just as a sister."
"Well, then show her she's wrong," Mia told him.
It was a usual Tuesday as far as her brothers were concerned, Ginny thought. Or, well, a Tuesday as usual, spent dealing with their mother's wedding fever and that ended up with guests coming over.
As she sat the tables outside, she could identify many sounds coming from the house: her father telling Remus, who'd just arrived with Tonks, both having just been invited for Dinner, about a broken mobile 'fellitone' he'd gotten a hold of recently; the radio Quidditch commentary announcing the Chudley Cannon's ongoing smashing under Puddlemore United's heavy fist, followed by Ron's moans of disappointment; Bill and Charlie discussing a wager on by how many points the losing team would be defeated; and, finally, the twins singing the Cannon's anthem, replacing several words of the lyrics with insults and curse words, for their mother's chagrin. A Tuesday as usual indeed.
Hoping to fetch the cutlery for the table, Ginny made it back into the house and quickly spotted Izzy at the living room sitting with Tonks – while her best friend had happily offered to help her setting the tables, her mother had been quick to dismiss it, claiming that there was no need for guests to put their hands to work. Well, it was probably for the best that Izzy stayed in the living room instead of the yard or the kitchen, where Harry was bound to apparate or floo to at any moment – Ginny really wanted to have a word with her boyfriend before Izzy had a chance to.
It wasn't that she wanted to yell at him or anything. Well, maybe she'd give him a little of grief for being quite thick. But, truth was, she could understand both parts – why Izzy felt so left out and why Harry had caused that, no doubt without intending to. He'd made the decision with Ron and Hermione because, at the end of the day, they'd be the ones on his side during his odyssey, then her because she was his rock… and finally his godparents because it was his blessing he needed the most. Izzy had, in a way, unwittingly been left out of it all. No one had seen it coming, no one liked it. It just happened. And Ginny hoped, for her best friend and her boyfriend's sakes, that they would be able to make amends despite that.
A cracking sound filled her ears just as she stepped outside and Ginny quickly spotted Harry standing with Kreacher a few yards away from the front door, apparently thanking him for something before the house-elf disappeared again – seemed Harry had side-along apparated with him,
Sirius and Mia appeared too, a few seconds later, respectively holding Mary and Alex closely through the process of apparition. They greeted her warmly on their way into the house and, after Mia inquired about her daughter's whereabouts, quickly stepped in while Harry remained outside, nervously looking at her. Ginny could just tell he was waiting for her to yell or something…
But before she could approach and say anything, Harry did do himself, surprising her with his words. "I'm a dolt, I know."
She just looked at him in disbelief for a few seconds before managing to find her voice. "Go on…"
And he actually did. It was a bit bizarre just standing there as he proceeded to take fault for pretty much every point she had intended to give him not more than a little grief over while also calling himself a bunch of names from dim-witted to thick. It was sort of mad and also adorable at the same time, actually. If he could get her off guard like that, she gave Izzy five minutes before she forgave him in tears…
By the time he was done, not quite a couple of minutes after starting, Ginny was biting her lower lip to keep the laughter from sounding as he just looked at her expectantly. "Well?" he asked.
"Well what?" replied Ginny.
He furrowed his brows. "Don't you have anything to say?"
She nodded. "You're a pretty odd bloke, you know?"
"Er… yeah," he awkwardly agreed. "But I actually meant if you had anything to add to what I said…
"Honestly, I'm pretty sure you've already covered all bases," the redheaded pointed out with a chuckle. She reached for his face and patted his cheek lightly. "If you're going to spare me from having to yell at you like this often, I think we have a brilliant future ahead of us."
He looked at her oddly. "That's all?"
"Pretty much. I was actually going to take pity on you and let you off the hook after a couple of minutes of lecturing as far as I was concerned but, hey, you taking care of that yourself was just as fine to me. A bit more amusing, even," she said with a smirk.
"Hum… I was sort of expecting you to stick with Izzy against me… like she took your side when she thought we'd actually broken up after Dumbledore's…"
"Yeah… let's say I find your idiocy a bit understandable this time around," his girlfriend informed him. "Disappointed?"
"Not particularly," he admitted.
"It wouldn't hurt if you did make an effort to look like I'd just kicked your puppy when you see Izzy, though," Ginny stated. "She might get a kick out of it and find you pitiful enough to let your case rest."
"Right," he mumbled. "On a scale of one to ten, how upset is she at the moment?"
Ginny thoughtfully scratched her chin, pondering her answer. "Three… maybe two."
He raised his eyebrows. "Just that?"
"Oh, don't look so surprised. She was really furious when she got here – you could practically see her steaming. Definitely a twenty in your one to ten scale then. But then my Mum made me go try on this stupid dress and I had to leave her alone with George for a while… surprisingly when I got back she didn't look half as furious."
Harry looked surprised. "Really? What did he do? Did he… did he slip her some of his products?"
"You never know but I doubt it. His version is that they spent the whole time snogging," she said, making Harry's eyes nearly bulge out of his skull. "But, once again, I don't think so – first because she didn't have a hair out of place when I got back, second because we both know you can't believe anything Fred or George say without it going through a thorough scrutiny first…"
"Oh, that's… that's true," Harry admitted, still slightly disturbed. "So, is it safe to go talk to her now?"
Ginny lifted a finger, telling him to wait and moved towards one of the living room's windows, she spotted her best friend having words with Mia at one of the sofas at the same time she heard Sirius apparently arguing with Tonks about which one of them little Mary liked the most. Near the radio, Fred and George seemed to have taken Alex under their wing as he sat on one of their laps, being taught how to cheer for Puddlemore United, to Ron's annoyance.
"I think now is as safe as it gets," Ginny informed him.
Harry sighed and nodded, letting out a long breath before taking a step towards the house's door.
"Wait!" Ginny told him. "There's something else you should know."
He stopped and turned to her, eyebrows rose. "What?"
"Izzy feels left out," she said.
"Oh," Harry responded. "I figured that much."
"No, Harry. Not just about you not telling her about your plans until today. She feels like you may be drifting apart for good. Like now you have a new circle of trust that's me, Ron and Hermione and she's not part of it anymore."
"That's… that's completely ridiculous," he said defensively. "Of course I trust her!"
"Good. Then go tell her that. Or rather…" she looked again at the living room through the window and counted at least ten people in there – Merlin, that was a bit crowded. "Why don't you go to the shed and I get her there instead? No need for you to make your heartfelt apology in front of a crowd."
She did have a point there, Harry pondered. He nodded finally. "Okay."
Ginny gave him a short smile and approached him just to quickly kiss him on the lips. "Good luck," she said before turning around and walking away.
He thanked her and made his way to Mr. Weasley's usual domain as Ginny went to fetch his sister. Inside the shed, there was scrap everywhere, mostly objects he used to see at his Muggle studies class. A toaster, a lawnmower… even what seemed to have been a vending machine like the kind there was all over the Muggle side of King's Cross. Who knew, maybe Mr. Weasley had gotten it from their rubbish…
A large rectangular table surrounded by a few dozens of chairs rested in a less messy corner and Harry assumed that was the spot reserved for Order meetings, now that they had moved the headquarters from his parents' old house in London to there.
He heard the door of the shed opening behind him and turned around to see Izzy stepping in, arms crossed against her chest. There was an awkward look on her face as she looked at the room around her and he wondered what she was thinking. It didn't matter, though. He was there to make amends and that was what he would do. No time to waste.
"I'm sorry," was the first thing he told her.
Her eyes finally met his and he sighed. "Harry…"
"No, let me just finish," he pleaded. "I'm really sorry. I'm an idiot and you were right – I've been leaving you for last in a lot of things lately and, honestly, I didn't even notice it until you told me before. It's not because I don't trust you. It's not because I don't see you as a friend but just as a sister. Well… maybe I was just treating you as a little sister for a while but… just a little. Mostly, I didn't tell you because…" he paused, thinking his words through "…because I guess I took you for granted. I got new friends, that's true, but that doesn't mean I forgot we were friends too – I suppose I just assumed that because we'd been friends for so long… I wouldn't have to worry about you thinking otherwise. And I shouldn't have. So… I am really sorry. I am."
Neither spoke for some long twenty seconds after that. It was positively frustrating, especially for Harry who stood there, among scrap of all kinds, wondering if his apology had worked.
When Izzy did speak, it wasn't to say anything he expected. "Ginny didn't really yell at you, did she?"
"Er…" he started.
"Because she sort of avoided the question when I asked if she was too hard on you. She usually does that when she doesn't want to say the truth but doesn't want to lie either…"
"She figured you'd feel a little… pleased if you thought I'd already heard it," Harry justified. " I actually did most of the lecturing to myself – she didn't have much more to say. So, Sor…"
"Don't apologize!" she told him suddenly. "Just don't, okay?"
"Izzy…"
"Because I owe you my share of apologies too," she said.
He was taken aback. "What?"
"I talked to George. And then I talked to Ginny. And now to Mom. You know what all said? That whatever the reason why you left me for last, you'd never have done it if you thought it would hurt me. And then you made that whole speech that just confirmed that." She sighed, then. "I was kind of a brat by walking away without letting you explain yourself."
"Well, I was sort of an idiot so…"
She laughed. "Yeah."
"And I know you think you're out of… 'the circle of trust'. Ginny told me. I should probably point out there's no such thing."
Izzy rolled her eyes. "Yes, there is."
"No, there isn't."
"Yes. There is. Maybe it's not called 'the circle of trust' but you four form sort of… an exclusive group that it's pretty hard to infiltrate, Harry. George says it's about couples and stuff."
"Er… Ron and Hermione are not a couple," he told her.
Izzy rolled her eyes. "And how long do you think that's gonna last? Listen, the point is that… you're a group and I'm outside of it. I'm the fifth wheel, according to George. I know caring about this sounds stupid and… petty but it sort of sucks, Harry. We used to be the group."
"The fifth…" He shook his head as it sounded so absurd to him. "Look, it's not… Ron, Hermione, Ginny and I are not a group. There's me, Ron and Hermione and then there's me and Ginny. We're not an exclusive club just… best friends. And if there's any exclusive club in this whole story, that would be the one called Harry and best friends. And you can bet you're part of that one too – it runs just fine with five wheels even though, well, haven't been doing a great job in maintaining one of them. I promise I'll work on it, though…"
She couldn't help chuckling at his metaphor and sighed. "So… five wheels work too?"
"It helps supporting the weight and there's a lot of it," he told her. "I know it's not easy on you. Being my sister. Lesser people would resent me for getting so much of their parents' attention."
She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't think I'd want that type of attention on me, Harry. No offense."
He shook his head. "None taken."
A short pause followed his words – both of them knew by then that they were okay again. Or very close to. It was a relief.
"So, you're leaving," Izzy murmured. "Chasing Horcruxes."
He nodded. "I have to. You're not going to insist I take you too, are you?"
"Oh, I've been preparing my argument all afternoon," she informed him.
"Izzy…"
"But Ginny convinced me to stick with her deal and don't bug you about it until I'm of age," she told him. "It does make sense if you put it in perspective."
Thank Merlin for that, Harry thought. He simply didn't have the power to talk someone out of going into the Horcrux hunt at the moment…
Izzy continued. "But if you die, you'd better hope the two of us end up in very different ends of the afterlife because I'll hex you senseless just as soon as I land my eyes on you over there. And I can name a handful of people who would help me with it."
He raised his eyebrows – she did mean it, he knew. Izzy didn't make promises she didn't intend to keep. "I'll add that to my list of incentives to win, then," he told her, before taking a deep breath and sitting on a working bench. The responsibility, the risk, the unknown he was about to face. "Do you want to be the first one to hear a secret?"
She grinned. "That would be a change," she observed in a mock-resentful tone.
He didn't smile back, so she guessed it had to be something really serious…
"Sometimes I wish he'd picked Neville. Voldemort, I mean," Harry confessed, his eyes falling to the floor. "And then I hate myself for thinking it because Neville is as close as anyone gets to a sixth wheel in that exclusive 'Harry's best friends' club…" He looked up at her, troubled. "Does that make me an awful person?"
It was awful, yes… but she couldn't blame Harry for wondering, Izzy thought. A prophecy that could mean one of two boys… fate could have easily taken a different turn. "No," she finally responded. "It just makes you human." After all the grief he'd had to deal with… more than anyone, Harry had a right to wonder what would happen if such turn had been taken. "A bad person would be someone who resented Neville for not having been picked as the Chosen One. And I know you too well to even wonder if that's the case."
Harry nodded quietly and silence filled the shed for the third time that day… They'd be in charge of Hogwarts in the following year. Izzy, Ginny, Neville and even Luna. He trusted them to keep each other safe – he had to. Hopefully, when it was all over they would just sit down and reminisce.
He looked up at Izzy to thank her for what she'd said but forgot it when he saw the uncomfortable expression covering her face once again as she observed her surroundings. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said, quickly.
"Liar," he said.
Izzy bit her lower lip a little. "It's just… I'm pretty sure Fred shagged Angelina somewhere in this shed a few hours ago…"
"Oh…" Harry mumbled. Somewhere in that shed… including the workbench he was sitting on, he thought all but jumping off it in horror. "Let's just… get out of here now."
"Sounds good to me," Izzy agreed eagerly.
A/N: Not much to say now - I hope you liked the chapter. Feedback is welcome! Review!