A/N-Finally updated! I like to thank everyone for reading, reviewing, and following this story!
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"It takes nothing to join the crowd. It takes everything to stand alone." – Hans F. Hansen
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"Someday, someone will walk into your life and make you realize why it never worked out with anyone else."
- Anon.
Ch. 3- Surprise /The Prodigal Son
When Hadley Evans - only son of Mr. and Mrs. Evans - accidentally bumped into a woman and causes her papers to spill down the stairs in Japan, he thinks nothing of it. In fact, like the cold bastard he was in dealing with business, Hadley had been about to walk past the Japanese woman with barely a glance and a quick insincere apology on his lips when he somehow caught her gaze. Eyes the color of dark brown stared at him in anger and resignment. She knows he will walk past her and not help her and Hadley briefly thinks of his mother. How would he feel if someone does this to his mother?
With a soft sigh and a quick glance at his watch (he had time before his meeting started), Hadley bent down and began to gather up the papers for her. After a moment, she too bent and began to shift the papers back into their proper place in the folders they have fallen off. Their hands briefly touched as Hadley handed her the last of the fallen papers and she gave a tiny smile to the handsome foreigner with gorgeous emerald eyes.
"I am sorry. So sorry." He apologized in English and in his horrible broken Japanese.
In broken but perfect English, she replied in a soft voice that it had been an accident and not to worry about it. The faint smell of cherry blossoms reaches him as they straighten up. It hits him then that the Japanese woman is beautiful and he opened his mouth to smoothly ask her out for coffee (after checking his watch to see if there was still time) when she, after giving him a quick polite bow, continued down the stairs.
It is when one hour passed in the meeting that Hadley Evans realized he never asked for her name and mentally cursed.
0o0o0
"What?" exclaimed Lily in loud surprise and Alice Longbottom hurried to shush her while looking around.
"Lower your voice! It's a secret!" Alice whispered.
Her best friend, one of the best rising Aurors, had just told her she was three months pregnant. This came from the young woman who had sworn she would not start a family until Voldemort and his followers were vanquished for good. Her husband Frank had backed her promise to his mother's horror, who wanted grandchildren by the bundle.
Lily whispered, "I'm sorry! It's just-you were obsessed to cover any loopholes so this wouldn't happen."
Alice nodded in understanding.
"It's true. But there was one night I completely forgot about taking precautions," she said before leaning even closer to whisper the next part, "The night the four of us barely escaped him."
A shiver ran down Lily's spine at the mention of that event. Frank and Alice Longbottom were Aurors trained by Moody himself, who devoted their free time to helping the Order. They were rising to be the best, their reflexes lightening fast, and each could read their partner's next move like a book.
Her husband James was no slacker either. His creativity and effortless casting of transfiguration made him unpredictable to those he met in battle. Lily herself was not shabby in battle. Professor Flitwick had given her pointers at dueling and she used them to the best of her abilities.
The four of them had encountered Voldemort face to face three times and lived.
The first two times had been seperate and individual but the third encounter, the four of them had barely escaped. Lily didn't held it against Alice, she herself had done the same to reassure herself that she was still alive. That James was still alive. But even caught up in the moment, Lily was practical and had quickly casted the contraceptive spell over herself.
"Frank and I are telling everyone that Augusta has called me to her side to learn the family magic. He'll continue to help the Order while I stay out of it." continued Alice, tearing up.
"Augusta must be thrilled." stated Lily drily.
"Of course. As soon as the baby is born, I'll sent Frank to get you. After all, our baby needs to get to know the godmother immediately."
Smiles were wide on both women as they hugged in sadness and joy. Neither noticed the rat resting underneath the bench they were sitting on.
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"Auror Alice Longbotton has withdrawn to the Longbottom manor due to her secret pregnancy." announced Peter in the disguise of the Death Eaters.
They all suspected his identity but none had dared to bring down the wrath of Voldemort on their heads by asking the inner spy his name.
Snape wondered if James Potter knew what one of his 'friends' was up to.
He never knew James suspected the wrong one.
0o0o0
The second time he bumped into her, it was technically her that bumped into him. The cab he called for had pulled up to the curb finally when all of a sudden; Hadley had been pushed aside by a group of giggling women that then entered the cab. His cab. The one he's been waiting for thirty minutes now. He inhaled deeply and told himself he could just walk or take public transportation back to the hotel he was staying at.
Yeah, in a country where he could barely read and understand the language. He had been lucky enough to even manage ordering a cab over the phone.
Too busy trying to calm himself down, he barely registered the faint smell of cherry blossoms and his green eyes automatically locked on a woman wearing familiar clothing. But there were many women that wore the same thing right? Even buy the same perfume? It isn't until one of her friends comment on something, she turns and smiles to her friend that Hadley realized it was the same woman he had bumped into before.
A week has passed since the accident.
Somehow their eyes meet and her lips made an 'oh' as her eyes widen in recognition.
The cab pulled from the curb.
Hadley Evans decided then that if the Japanese beauty and he will keep on bumping into each other, he was going to get her name the next time it happens.
0o0o0
In her dreams, Hadley Evans haunted her, seconded by the image of Petunia's shocked fury at being burnt. Lily Potter becomes an insomiac, sleeping only when her body forces her to, as she tries to gather more information on the brother she never knew. If James notices that his wife spends more time over books than him, he says nothing of it for the war is escalating near the turning point.
And it constantly worries James Potter that he might be on the losing side. That he would die fighting.
The only respite for the two of them was their friends. Lily clung to each letter Alice wrote, as if salvation was withen her reach, about her pregnancy and Lady Longbottom. The pregnancy was drawing to a close, the excitement growing. As was per ettiquette of the old families, Alice formely wrote Lily and James Potter the request of becoming the godparents of the coming heir and they agreed immediately.
It was James who penned the reply. The familiar undescribable scrawl shifting to become elegant calligraphy, and Lily wondered just what she married into.
0o0o0
Ironically, the next time takes place where they first bumped into each other. The same situation too, only this time they saw each other since climbing the stairs. The woman speaks to him first, her long dark hair cascading over her right shoulder.
"Should I worry about you stalking me?" she asked jokingly in English. Hadley however noticed that there was fear in her brown eyes.
"I should say the same. My name is Hadley Evans, madam. What is your name, may I ask?" he asked cautiously.
"Kamiya Mayumi. Or rather Mayumi Kamiya." she says quickly bowing and a moment too late, he does the same.
His eyes and hers meet once more and before he thinks about it further, he blurts out that they should have coffee if she wasn't too busy and though her eyes widen at the random aburpt invitation, she agrees.
Kamiya Mayumi is taken aback by the foreigner she keeps bumping into. So bold to ask her out for coffee right away! As they sat down in one of the coffee stores to order, she took a quick look at Hadley Evans.
Blonde hair cut short and only a strand occasionally got into his eyes, eyes that drew her to him immediately. A brilliant green, emerald to be exact that stood out among the foreigners. He was tall, five inches taller than her. The suit he was wearing was tailored to his body, revealing he was lean and muscular.
While she was giving him a proper look over, Hadley was doing the same to her.
Mayumi Kamiya was shorter than him and looked frail, so fragile that he would panic if she fell down. Long straight black hair fell to her waist in sharp precision. Uneven bangs framed her face and brought attention to her dark brown eyes. She wore the classic women suit for work that didn't exactly fit her properly. She was possibly a secretary for someone in the office building he ran into her twice in.
The waitress came and asked for their order, bored about it. They each ordered and as soon as she left, they sat there in awkward silence until Hadley decided to break it.
"So...do you work in one of the offices?" Hadley asked awkwardly in Japanese.
Mayumi smiled, crinkling up the corner of her eyes as she did, and answered in English, "Yes, I do. I work as the secretary on the fifth floor. Do you work in one of the offices?"
So went on the conversation until a different waitress came and set their orders down, shooting them a weird look.
Yes, perhaps they did look out-of-place together. Ignoring her and looks of others, they began to know each other better.
They stayed until closing time.
0o0o0
Lily finds what she is looking for in the familial Grimoire of the Potters. It is the Line of Succession spell, used by ambitious family members who wanted to see if they could inherit, its original intent was to straighten out the messy relationships interwoven with other inheritances, to reveal who is the most worthy to succeed.
When she is certain her husband would not wake up, Lily casts it, offering up a drop of blood on a blank piece of parchment. For a moment, Lily's heart sank in disappointment, she knew there were certain spells only the Lord and Heir could use but she didn't think this spell-
The drop of blood began to spread.
Her parents' names wrote themselves on the top, followed by three seperate lines. As the youngest, Lily's names is written first, on the far right of the parchment, the last to succeed the Evans family. Next was Petunia, with her two week old son Dudley (this revelation hit Lily hard, she hadn't been told anything), and finally the name she had been waiting for.
Hadley Conrad Evans.
His name was tied to a foreign name, one she recognized came from Asia, and underneath was the name Shiori Evans. His daughter, her niece, was older than her but younger than Petunia and her name was tied to another.
Lily had thought that was all and moved to roll the parchment up when the forming of another name underneath Shiori's stopped her.
A son.
A branch of family lived on, besides Petunia, and Lily never knew about it until their parents were gone. If Petunia and she had left on good terms, perhaps she would've told Lily the whole story instead of resorting to trying to piece together the story herself.
But Petunia was clearly still angry if the fact that she wasn't told about Dudley Dursley was anything to go by. Lily would have to go directly to the source.
0o0o0
There was an owl sitting in the windowsill.
It baffled Hisoka, who had a fright at seeing those eyes greeting him in the soft darkness of early morning, but he went about his usual routine, ignoring the unusual owl. It ruffled its feathers as if offended by the slight and pecked at the window twice but Hisoka just rolled his eyes and went up the stairs to warn his wife.
"There's an owl downstairs." he said, shaking her softly to wake her.
"Hmm?" she responded, her eyes blearly snapping open for a moment.
"There's an owl sitting in the windowsill of the kitchen, Shiori." he replied.
"Is there?" she mumbled before falling asleep again. Amused, Hisoka just shooked his head and left the house for work.
When Shiori woke up, she had the nagging sensation she was forgetting something, but as she entered the kitchen, her thoughts were interrupted by the sight that awaited her.
Shuichi was staring at the owl that was outside. If he had been older, Shiori would've said he was glowering at the owl, willing for it to leave, but his face was just too cute for her son to pull it off yet. She giggled, drawing her son's and the owl's attention to her.
"The owl won't leave." he stated as he turned away to start preparing the table for breakfast. The owl began to tap the window, wings fluttering wildly as she drew closer to the sink. There was something around the claw and Shiori wondered if it had been waiting for someone to help free it.
She quickly opened the window.
Eating utensils and placemats clattered to the floor as Shuichi quickly mumbled something that resembled curses used by Sasaki (out of all the things to pick up from his godfather!) and ducked just in time to avoid being clipped by the wings of the owl that regally swept onto the back of a chair.
It hooted imperiously before sticking out the claw that had something around-tied to it- in Shiori's direction.
She untied it, unrolled the heavy parchment, and began to read.
0o0o0
Somehow, they kept seeing each other again. Though they no longer bumped into one another, and they didn't have almost everything in common, Hadley and Mayumi quickly fell in love as the days went by. Soon, it was a common sight in the city to see the English man and the Japanese woman together.
So it came to no surprise to Mayumi's friends when she announced her upcoming marriage to the foreigner.
That came as a surprise to Mayumi's parents who had planned on a possible marriage to a first son of a close friend, who held multiple chains of hotels in Japan. It was her father's last attempt at achieving his dream of being rich and Mayumi was ruining it. They sat their daughter down and discussed why she shouldn't marry this Hadley Evans. Mayumi listened calmly, never interrupting her parents, and in the end, declared she would rather marry a foreigner she knew than someone she didn't really know. With her chin stubbornly set, she got up and walked to the door.
Mayumi left with no hesitation.
In the spring, Hadley Evans and Mayumi Kamiya were married by both civil and church. In the Koseki (family registry in Japan), under Mayumi's name, it was written that her husband was the former Hadley Evans who changed his name to Haddori Kamiya. It had been Hadley's idea to take a Japanese name and Mayumi had done her best to get one close to his name.
It was weird to Hadley, switching his last name to his wife's when it was usually the woman changing hers, but it was for the best. If they had children, he would prefer that they had a traditional Japanese name than a foreign name in Japan to fit in more.
For their honeymoon, they decided to go visit England and Hadley's parents.
0o0o0
Hadley calls his parents and tells them the good news - he finally got married. To a woman named May that he meet in Japan and they were honeymooning in England. Overjoyed, though miffed at the fact that they had been forgotten about for the wedding of their only son, they quickly tell Hadley to bring his wife over for a visit.
They went to visit.
As soon as Mrs. Evans opened the door, it takes all her willpower not to be taken back at who Hadley's wife was. A contrast beside her son, May was frail looking and had dark looks against her son's light looks. Not to mention she was clearly Japanese.
"Mother! How are you? You're looking a bit pale." asked her only child as he hugged her in joy.
He motioned towards May and says, "This is my wife, Mayumi, Mom. Mayumi, this is my mother Anne Evans."
Mayumi smiles brightly, made a motion to bow before catching herself and waves at her. Liking the girl's sincerity ( she wasn't a gold digger like she originally thought), Mrs. Evans herded them into the dining room for dinner which had already been laid out.
"But...where's Dad?" asked Hadley as he sat down.
"Your father had to stay and work late but he assured me he would get here for dessert." she answered as she took off the covers of the plates and began to served them.
"I see."
There was something laced into those two words that caught Mrs. Evans' attention and she briefly looked up from serving Mayumi a huge heaping of pudding to see that her son had That Look on his face. The look that clearly displayed his stubbornness to the world, the one that was always mirrored by Hadley's father and started fights between the two.
"He was very pleased to hear you settled down Hadley Evans." she said as she served him next, giving him a pointed look. Hadley's mother didn't want there to be discord in the family but knew that the new addition to the Evans family was possibly going to bring it.
Hadley merely gave her his very sweet smile.
Mayumi looked a bit confused but Hadley patted her hand and whispered something to her in Japanese. She shot him a look, one that said she half believed his assurances, and Mrs. Evans chuckled inwardly. At least, May wasn't fooled by Hadley.
The dinner was quiet and Mrs. Evans took the opportunity to analyze her new daughter-in-law. There must have been something about her that drew Hadley to her, to be willing to live in a country he knew almost nothing about. So far she liked what she saw and perhaps later on, she'll be that mother-in-law who doesn't go anywhere without her precious daughter-in-law instead of how her mother-in-law was to her, the stereotypical one.
Meanwhile, Mayumi also took the opportunity to analyze her mother-in-law. Hadley clearly took after his mothers in everything except for his hair. Mrs. Evans was a fiery red-haired woman with the same emerald eyes as her son and the same easy friendly smile on her face. She was an open book to everything except to Mayumi herself. Mayumi could tell she was going under the same treatment, being read and judged.
After the dinner was over, they retreated to the parlor for tea. The atmosphere was a comfortable one as if Hadley and Mayumi had been married for years and just decided to visit now. Mrs. Evans was surprised to find out Mayumi spoke English very well (but couldn't quite understand it quickly) although she realized soon after that, duh, Hadley barely knew Japanese all that well.
The door opened and Hadley heard the familiar sounds of his father arriving home. His hand automatically went to Mayumi's and gave it a soft squeeze of reassurance. Whether he was reassuring her or himself is unclear.
"We're in the living room, dear." called out Mrs. Evans as she poured some more tea into Mayumi's cup while motioning to Hadley to eat more biscuits.
Mr. Evans entered the living room and stood at the doorway, a half smile already quirking on one side of his mouth.
Blonde and blue-eyed, Mr. Evans was the opposite of Anne Evans. While she had been charismatic and sweet, he was standoffish and cold. Looking at Hadley's parents, the Robert Frost poem about Fire and Ice came to mind.
His eyes, a hard blue resembling ice, glanced at everyone before his eyes settled on Mayumi.
Then everything exploded.
0o0o0
Greetings,
I apologize in advance if Hermes frightened you. He's such a proud mail carier owl and it was one of the reasons why I chose to trust him with this letter. He would make sure this letter gets to you safely. I am Petunia's sister, Lily, and it is unfortunate that I found out about my brother when it was too late. I hope that it is not too late for us and wish to get to know you better. Hoping to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Lily Potter
A few days had passed and it seemed Hermes was a permenant fixture in the Minamino household. Hisoka had been surprised to learn it had carried a letter all the way from England and mused on the potential eccentricity that was Shiori's Aunt. After all, what kind of people trained owls to carry letters?
Hermes was fed and treated as a pet by Shiori despite the fact that Shuichi hated the owl and wanted him gone.
He said so to Hisoka, who merely said, "If you want him gone, then ask both your mother and I by addressing us properly."
Shuichi's eyes narrowed at the challenge but said nothing. The next day after that, Shiori penned a response in her best stationary, and with a mournful hoot, Hermes departed from the Minamino household to return home.
0o0o0
Mayumi's English wasn't exceptionally good. It had improved with the help of Hadley but otherwise, she was still the same about English-speaking people –of what they were talking about.
Mr. Evans had arrived from work and entered the living room with a smile on his face. She didn't need to understand what he was saying to know she was the cause of Mr. Evans' smile –the same as Hadley's polite smile – disappearing off his face.
She didn't need to know English to realize Hadley's father completely disapprove of their marriage, just like her own parents.
The remark Mr. Evans makes is said too fast but Hadley immediately gets up and shoots a quick reply of his own. Mrs. Evans catches the darkening of her husband's face and rushes to calm him down, her words flying from her mouth as well.
She regrets that her mind takes a long time to register all that they're saying because it meant that she still understood the insults coming from her father-in-law. Mayumi felt ashamed and hated that she felt ashamed. Was it really that wrong to love someone radically different from what your family wanted?
Had she thrown away her family for merely a quick whim of love?
It didn't matter that Hadley and Mrs. Evans were defending her. Didn't matter that Hadley was fighting his damn hardest for their love because the change Hadley makes while making his argument is eye-opening for her as well. He had the same temper as his father when angered. Gone was the well-mannered man she knew and in his place was a replica of Mr. Evans.
Despite the fact that she told herself not to cry, to be proud, tears leaked out and her hands began to make the tea cup and saucer she was holding rattle. Mayumi tried to regain her composure.
Voices grew louder as words were exchanged. She occasionally hears her name thrown in here and there.
A deep fear struck in her heart. Just how well did she know Hadley? Will he leave her if his father won the argument? Will he throw away their love?
Immediately, Mayumi stood up and sit the tea cup with its saucer on the coffee table before striding over to take Hadley's arm. She won't let the opposition win.
Hadley's green eyes flash angrily at his father and he shouts, "How dare you! You haven't even tried to know Mayumi!"
"You're dead to me, Hadley! Go back to Japan and you're not welcome back into this house." Declares Mr. Evans as he points a finger at who had once been his pride and joy. Mrs. Evans began to cry as Mayumi looked on, shocked resignation on her face.
Hadley snorts.
"I don't care what you do. I'll never forgive you for being like-like this!" He spat at his father before turning to his mother.
"Mom, please stop crying." Continued Hadley as he laid an arm on his mother. Mayumi rubbed soothing circles on the back of Mrs. Evans.
"You're...happy...and that's all that matters to me, sweetie." hiccupped Mrs. Evans as she dabbed her eyes with one cuff of the sleeves of the sweater she wore. Hadley straighten up and briefly touched Mayumi's delicate wrist. Mayumi looked up into green eyes as Hadley said (in much improved Japanese), "Let's go, Mayumi. We're not wanted here."
'I'm not wanted here' she translated bitterly as she took his hand and lead her out of the house.
'But you fought for me.' The thought entered her mind and she flashed Hadley a smile before entering the car Hadley had borrowed from one of his university friends. He returned it briefly as well, the smile illuminating his eyes for a moment. Mayumi and Hadley took a moment to take one look at the house before, with a sigh; Hadley turns on the car to leave.
And left both of their pasts behind them in England to create a future together in Japan, in the furthest distance they could get from Mayumi's parents.
0o0o0
More than a month later, Frank Longbottom flooed James and Lily Potter at two in the morning.
Alice was ready to give birth.
As was custom, the godparents were to be the first after family to recieve the child into the world, to forge a magical bond of familial immediately. James and Lily quickly rushed to St. Mungo's and waited with Lady Longbottom in the waiting room.
While waiting, Lily thought back to the letter she had received from Shiori. Her response had been bright, happy to hear from Lily, but chastised her for making Hermes fly far away from home. Shiori had followed that by a phone number, and told her to call.
But the Potter Manor had no phone and electricity was impossible to wire into the magic. She began to ponder on how to get access to one in private when James leaned over and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"The Charms assignment Flitwick assigned." she lied smoothly. Her stomach clenched painfully at the lie but she ignored it. It had happened frequently, her stomach cramping, and she had gained a bit of weight from her insomnia. But the pain was tolerable and fleeting to the point that Lily hadn't bothered to go to a healer or a doctor about it.
In a way, Lily realized why Petunia kept their brother a secret. There was power in secrets and Lily hoarded this one greatly. if she told James, no matter how much she made him swear to secrecy, he'll go and tell the rest of the Maruaders about it.
Maybe she'll ask Petunia if Vernon knew about their niece, and if she says yes, she'll tell James.
A baby's cry pierced her thoughts and she automatically jumped up along with James. Lady Longbottom calmly got up from her chair and smoothed away any wrinkles as Frank suddenly appeared at the doorway.
"It's a boy!"
0o0o0
Although his wife begged and pleaded with him to stop and think things through, Mr. Evans quickly went through his plans to disowned his son.
Pictures of him were quickly put away in a safe deposit by Mrs. Evans for her husband's plan was to burn them all. Clothes of his went to people in need. The rug with the burnt spot from the time Hadley had been sneaking a smoke and tried to stamp it out before they came? Thrown out. Every trace of him was quickly erased from the house despite efforts to save and hide them from Mrs. Evans. There were daily arguments, shut doors, seperate rooms, and cold shoulders as they both argued the other was wrong concerning Hadley. All of this was having an ill effect on her.
Mrs. Evans cried her heart out at both of her men's stubbornness. She barely smiled anymore and her eyes no longer shone. Admitting defeat, she retreats to her bed and becomes so depressed, her doctor worried she might committ suicide. But Anne Evans won't go that far because she soon realizes there will come a day that they'll speak again. She'll make sure of it. She has to make sure of it. And with that revelation, Anne Evans got up one day and reconciled with her husband as if disowning sons was an every day thing.
When people asked about their son, Mr. Evans replied, "He died. Car Crash in Japan."
They murmured their condolences as Mrs. Evans' heart clenched painfully and her mouth quivered at the thought. She'll see Hadley soon because these type of serious fights always blew over between her boys. This is what she tells herself over and over again. Luckily, out of this sadness, came something good to distract them.
Mrs. Evans was pregnant again.
Upon hearing this news, Mr. Evans gave her a look of 'See? You don't need him anymore' and announced that the town they were living in, unsuitable for their second child. (The child could hear something about the older brother who died.)
So they moved to the house in Cokesworth that had been left to Mrs. Evans when her parents had died. It was a difficult pregnancy since she was still reeling emotionally from what had happened between her husband and son. That and she was no longer the healthy vivacious 24 year old she had been when she gave birth to Hadley. However, nine months later, she was presented with a warning from her doctor to refrain from having children at her age and a healthy baby girl.
Staring into her baby's blue eyes, Mrs. Evans decided to subtly continue what she had started with her son and named her Petunia. Petunia Marie Evans who would missed out at being held and protected by her brother, Hadley. Who didn't know he had a sister now. The sibling he wanted all those years ago.
Even if the similiarity of the genre of names was all that connected them in the end, Mrs. Evans wanted to give her children simply that-a connection.
0o One Year Later o0
"We don't rent out to foreigners." stated the man bluntly before shutting the door in Hadley's face.
Hadley sighed and finally letting go of his pride, decided to let his wife do the searching for a house. Running his hand through his hair, his face twisted into one of fury, helplessness, and frustration.
On the phone, they were fine and polite as they listened to what "Kamiya Haddori" wanted to look for. But taking one look at his blond hair, green eyes, and obvious foreign features, the majority of them had sent him on his way. The few who hadn't, had been desperate enough to sell or rent out their houses which unfortunately were in shabby and dangerous conditions for any future additions to his family.
Since it was the last apartment on his list, Hadley decided to go home.
He entered the apartment Mayumi and he lived in to find his wife's best friend, Ayame Togu was staying over for dinner. The very contrast against Mayumi due to Ayame's outgoing personality, they had been friends since elementary school. Ayame was a bold woman, the type that felt if a man could do it so can a woman, and it was that mindset that helped Ayame greatly in her career. Hadley and Ayame had taken a while to get used to each other at the beginning and were now good friends.
"Hey, your husband is here and he keeps staring at me with his creepy eyes, Yumi!" announced Ayame as she stuck her tongue out at him in jest as she stirred the soup.
Shooting a quick glance at him as she went to set the table, Mayumi laughed.
In a couple of minutes, the food was laid out and they all sat down to eat.
"So how did it go?" asked Mayumi hopefully.
"The usual." Hadley said and sighed.
Ayame's interest perked up and asked, "What is going on?"
They both told her about their housing problem. The lease on the apartment Mayumi had managed to get was soon coming to an end and they wanted a more family friendly atmosphere because they wanted to start trying for a baby. They had money due to Hadley landing a job at a American company that was merging with a Japanese company and Mayumi's regular job. Before they could go on, Ayame interrupted them.
"Enough! I will solve your problems!" cried Ayame as she pulled out a card from the air and gave it to Hadley. He wondered if she was drunk by the way she attempted to slap it into his hand and missing.
"What is this?" he asked as he tried to figure out the kanji written on it. Reading and writing Japanese was still a struggle for him and took him forever. He barely figured out Ayame's name when she exclaimed in indignation.
"Whaa? It can't be that my friends had forgotten I am a realtor agent in my right? One of the three women to be exact?"
At this, Mayumi put her head down and scratched it in embarrassment but Hadley had shrugged and said, "You'll be willing to sell us a house?"
"Duh." was all Ayame said before she shoved rice into her mouth and continuing to talk after she swallowed the majority of it, "I can't believe my closest friend and her hubby didn't immediately come to me. Such an insult."
"No! It wasn't like that! You were complaining about how there weren't enough of hours in the day to the amounts of showings you have to do and how the clients were just stringing you along!" defended Mayumi.
"I would book my whole day just for the two of you!" countered Ayame as she motioned to the card in Hadley's hand
"What do you want in exchange?" he asked warily. It was in his experience that if one did you a favor, he/she wanted something in exchange.
"Your firstborn child." she said simply.
"What?" cried Hadley at the unexpected response but Mayumi had a immediate look of realization and patted Ayame's hand.
"Of course we're going to name you godmother! Did you honestly think I would forget?" Mayumi exclaimed.
That made more sense to Hadley and he nodded in agreement as Ayame gave a quick glance in his direction.
"There! Your problem is solved! Now time to solve my problem." Ayame exclaimed, her cheeks brightly red.
"And that is?" asked Mayumi and Hadley.
"My glass is empty and I want more wine." she said simply.
And so Hadley quickly solved her problem. The day after the next, Ayame sat them down and drilled them completely on the type of house they wanted. Did they want a two story house? One that had a big backyard? Western? Or a traditional Japanese house? When she was completely satisfied with their answers, Ayame Togu went and did what she did best. Try to sell a house.
It took two more months of searching before they finally found the perfect house. It was on the very last of the list of houses Ayame had, one of the ones that was slightly out of their price range but after looking through the house, they knew it was the one. With Hadley's bargaining business skills and foriegn charisma, Mayumi's slight translation skills (Hadley's Japanese had improved to only having an accent and mixing the sentence patterns), and Ayame's persuasion skills (like the fact that the house was starting to need a renovation and a lot of repair), they managed to get the price down to one the sellers and buyers agreed on.
So Kamiya Haddori and Mayumi brought it, and moved in. Three months later, they were expecting their first child.
0o0o0
Neville Longbottom, born on July 30th at noon, took after his mother in the plump round face. He was a demanding baby, crying if he sensed his parents' attention laid on something other than him.
When they handed him over to Lily to hold, she felt her maternal instinct stirring. Neville felt fragile, and she couldn't believe the trust Alice had in placing him in her inexperienced arms.
Her stomach cramps began and with her breath slightly hitching, she transferred the baby over to James.
"Oh, the things I will teach you." he grinned mischeviously at his new godson.
Frank and Alice groaned.
.
.
.
For the first time in a while, Lily slept peacefully besides her husband. But she was soon jarred awake by the sudden painful cramps that began in her stomach and she let out a startled cry of pain.
Immediately, James was awake.
"What's wrong, Lils?" he asked frantically before his Auror mode kicked in and he swiftly took her in his arms. Pausing momentarily to throw floo powder and shout "Emergency Wing, St. Mungo's," he quickly flooed to the hospital.
Where James and Lily Potter were quickly stunned into disbelief silence when the healer announced to them that the baby was coming.
.
.
.
It usually required skill to wake up Sirius Black before the sun even rose but Remus Lupin merely said the words "James" and "baby" and Sirius quickly woke up.
"What? Is this a joke? It isn't funny, Moony." Sirius said.
"Good, because it's not a joke." replied Remus as he replicated the Look of Professor McGonagall's that the Marauders knew well meant detentions for them.
In a few minutes, they were in the waiting room with Peter. All of them were still reeling from the news that Lily had been pregnant and tried to look for clues that pointed at the pregnancy but found none.
And at noon, on July 31st, the surprise baby named Hadrian James Potter was born. While he took after his father in the face, the murky green eyes told them all that he might inherit Lily's eyes. He was quickly handed over to Alice as his godmother and then to his godfather, Sirius.
"Oh, the things I will teach you, Harry." smirked Sirius as he envision his godson's Hogwarts years and chuckled.
Remus and Lily sighed in resignation as James joined Sirius in chuckling.
0o0o0
On his way to the shopping district to meet up with his wife and future child's godmother, Hadley accidently ran into an old University friend. His friend, Addison Smith, had been in Japan to oversee the building of a new branch of his family's company. With Addison's connections, Hadley found out his parents have suddenly moved to Cokesworth and that Addison occasionally passed through that town once a month.
Hadley quickly penned a letter and made sure it had a return address inside before he asked Addison the favor of going during the morning to hand the letter over to his mother when he had the chance.
Addison agreed.
.
.
.
To my son Hadley Evans,
How are you? How is Mayumi?
I would like you to know that you have a sibling! Years later, your wish has been granted. Your sibling is a girl named Petunia Evans. She is such a darling!
I have set up a PO box and enclose the address. Do not hesitate to write to me, my son. Just because your father has cut ties off with you does not mean I have too. I will and forever be...
Your loving mother
At this, Hadley lowered the letter in disbelief.
He has a sister now. Petunia Evans, she was called.
His heart clenched painfully at the fact that Petunia will never really get to know him as her brother.
Three years later, it was Hadley who called his mother to give her the good news. His daughter has been born, Shiori Kamiya. Two years later, his mother called to announced the birth of his second sister, Lily Evans.
He chuckles.
"Mother certainly has a fondness for plants."
His beloved daughter, Shiori comes crawling in the room, babbling happily as she spotted her father.
"What's this? You should be walking, Shiori! Don't come see Daddy unless you're walking!" he says playfully in English as he picked her up. Shiori squeals and grabs tuffs of Hadley's hair. Though Hadley was careful in speaking Japanese around Shiori, there were times where he'll forget and speak English at her. As the years passed by and Shiori grew older, she spoke back to her father in English.
And when he had thoughts of regrets, of returning to England and being there for his sisters as the protective brother, Hadley merely had to look at his wife and child. At what he would have to give up in order to be part of the Evans family again.
0o0o0
Chuckling at her sweet baby, Petunia paused briefly to get the mail before entering the house. There were the usual junk mail and bills, followed by an international letter and - a birth announcement?
It was a beautiful card that revealed the Potters had a baby boy by the name of Harry James Potter and that he had been born a week ago. The calligraphy was exquisite and what marred the beauty of it was the neat swirly handwriting of her sister.
Does Vernon know?
Vernon knew about Shiori, that she was related to Petunia, but Petunia knew Vernon well enough that he would applaud the disinheritance of Hadley Evans and would turn his nose up at kind, gentle Shiori. So Petunia omitted Hadley and his foreign wife out of the explanation Vernon demanded when he discovered the international letters.
And if Vernon would reject Shiori, how would the old money, blue-blooded James Potter react to Shiori?
.
.
.
When Lily went to her mail box at the post office to retrive her correspondance, she was surprised to see a London postcard with Petunia's carefully elegant script on it. At seeing it, the heaviness of her heart lifted in joy.
Petunia was slowly getting over her anger.
Only one sentence was on it.
Congratulations on your son, you must have quite the story to tell everyone, and no, he doesn't.
0o0o0
Shiori had been delighted at receiving the news of Dudley's birth and she was so at receiving Harry's. She proudly displayed their baby pictures on the fireplace mantle and made sure Shuichi knew he was related to them.
Hisoka smiled at seeing his wife joyful and from the corner of his eye, he saw a look of amusement cross his son's face. It was a look one would give to a pet when it did something they thought amusing and Hisoka's smile brightened even more.
"Can we go to the garden now?" Shuichi demanded.
Maybe Shiori's love was getting through to Shuichi.
0o0o0
The last time Hadley Evans-Kamiya bumped into Mayumi Kamiya was unexpected, just like the first time they had met. He had come from a business meeting and was going to pick up a bouquet of roses for his wife as a surprise.
Mayumi Kamiya had gone shopping and holding many shopping bags, had looked at the clock in surprise. Her child was about to be dismissed from school in an hour and she wasn't going to be there with the snacks ready.
She walked faster, weaving through the crowd until she bumped into a familiar figure.
"Eh? Hadley? What are you doing here?" she asked as she raised one of her hands up to her mouth in surprise.
"I could ask you the same thing!"
They chuckled and he handed her the briefcase in exchange for the shopping bags before hailing down a cab and getting in.
"At least, no papers fell down the stairs this time." he remarked playfully, emerald eyes dancing with amusement.
Mayumi elbowed him and said, "I would've been horrified if the vegetables had fallen on the street."
They smiled at each other lovingly before being jarred by the abrupt honk of the horn, the driver cursing and swerving hard to the right, making Mayumi fall into Hadley's side. Hadley automatically wrapped his arm around were sharply jolted as a horrifying crunch echoed and the driver lost control of the car.
The car flipped and they knew no more.
0o0o0
When Professor McGonagall proudly displayed the part of the wedding and birth announcements in August to the rest of the staff during lunch, Dumbledore thought nothing of it. He figured it had to do with the current bet on whether the recently widowed Mrs. Zabini would lure away Mary Sander's fiance and his heart felt for the quiet plain girl.
He didn't expect for Flitwick to beam back happily at seeing it and exclaim, "I saw it as well! The cheeky girl never once dropped a hint about it."
"Are you talking about the Potter's announcement?" Sinistra asked as she leaned towards them before continuing, "It was such a surprise."
Minerva nodded before fondly replying, "All James's work, I'm sure. He was always one for dramatics and dropping bombs on people. Literally and figuratively."
Sprout murmurred, "I pity the Longbottoms though. Their baby announcement was overshadowed by the Potter's."
What?
Dumbledore quickly opened his newspaper and flipped to the section they were talking about. There, taking up equal space, were two birth announcements by two prestigious familes- the Longbottoms and the Potters. The baby boys were born on July 30th and 31st.
He felt a chill of cold dread go down his spine as he recalled a piece of Trelawney's prophecy.
Born to those who have thrice defied him,
Born as the seventh month dies...
0o0o0
When Mr. Evans got home, his wife was waiting at the foyer for him. She was sobbing her heart out and if he hadn't passed by them on his way home, he would've thought something had happened to his girls. His eyes caught sight of a familiar photograph, one where it depicted a young man with blond hair and emerald eyes.
He immediately lit up with righteous anger.
"Put that photograph away!" he yelled and made to grab it.
"This is your fault! You jinxed him! You jinxed our son!" she accused him between sobs as she clutched tightly unto the photograph and refused to let go of it.
"What are you talking about woman?" he snapped and he almost fell backwards as she let go of the photograph in order to throw something at him.
A police report.
He quickly skimmed through it, frowning as he read over the name of the foreign girl and feeling a pang of sadness as he read that Hadley had immediately passed away as a result of a car crash.
"Hadley? He died in Japan. Car crash."
The guilt rushed in as memories he had refused to acknowledge flashed through his mind. Of a baby boy in his arms, a toddler, a boy who wanted to be just like his father...
And he began to cry.
0o0o0
When Severus Snape casually glanced at the wedding and birth announcements, he scoffed at the announcement that proudly told everyone of Neville Longbottom before moving on to the one next to it.
The birth of Harry Potter slapped him in the face and left him feeling as if the Dark Lord had just finished casting Crucio at him.
Born to those who have thrice defied him,
Born as the seventh month dies...
That night flashed into his mind, the harsh tone of the woman filling his ears. How, after he was banned from Hog's Head, he immediately went to the Dark Lord and retold every single line of the prophecy.
He knew how she fought off his bullies, how she defended him with everything she had, and knew she would do thrice more than that to defend her son.
Had he unknowingly set up Lily's death?
A/N - Well, at least Harry's finally born. The next chapter should wrap up the background story and will perhaps, be the shortest chapter so far.
Please review!
Sneak Peek on the next chapter:
Ch. 4 - Your Kiss Is So Soft, I Can Barely Feel It, Judas
In which there are three betrayals and only one survivor.