Maybe it's All For The Best

Chapter12: Storm

The water was icy cold but it was an instant relief to the heat of the day. I sighed and turned to my friends behind me.

"It's perfect!" I exclaimed.

Roe let out a yell and ran past me, taking a running leap into the water.

That was all it took before Ron, Harry, Draco and Theo followed her in, creating a splash so big I was almost wet without even getting in the water.

I laughed and went over to where Ginny and Hermione were setting up picnic blankets and umbrellas.

"I can't believe how hot it is today" I peeled off my shirt and tossed it over an overhanging tree branch.

"It's really strange" Hermione agreed, settling down under the umbrella and opening a book. "But this is great... It's been ages since we all hung out" She smiled.

I sat down with them and started applying sunscreen. "So Ginny... how did the Nott thing happen?" I gestured to the quiet Slytherin splashing my sister.

"Well it kind of started back in school... but then during the war we were paired up a lot and it just kind of... happened" She smiled.

"School?" I wrinkled my eyebrows.

"I wasn't about to mention Theo when you were so pissed with your sister, now was I?" She laughed. I pulled a face at her but laughed too.

I felt a tug on my shoulder and turned to see Teddy looking at me with wide brown eyes. "Can I go in the water too?" He asked, turning his head to eye off the crazy bunch of kids in the pond.

"Yeah I can take you in" I nodded. "We can play with everyone else if you want?" I tickled his ribs and he laughed. I stood and held his hand and walked to the water. "Guys be nice, Teddy's coming in" I ordered them.

"Jump in Teddy!" Roe exclaimed, swimming to the edge. "I'll catch you!"

Teddy looked at me hesitantly.

"Go on" I laughed. "She'll catch you" I assured him. He grinned and took a flying leap into the water. I sat on the rocks and dipped my feet in to watch.

"Not coming in?" Harry swam over to me and rested his arms on the rock next to me. I glanced down at them, trying not to make it obvious that I was checking them out.

"Not yet" I shook my head. "I don't want to get my hair wet anyway" I shrugged.

"Pfft" He laughed and splashed my kneed. "You have to come in... you'll melt if you don't" he laughed and pulled himself right out of the water.

"So you try and convince me to go into the water, but you're hopping out?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to give my glasses to Ginny" He explained. I smiled and turned back to where the others were. They were taking turns tossing Teddy into the air and letting him fall back into the water. He was shrieking with laughter as well and it made me smile.

He had to be the luckiest kid despite everything that had happened to him... I mean, he got to grow up with 6 parents instead of two. He was just adored by everyone.

I heard footsteps behind me but turned too late, as two arms scooped me up into the air. I screamed and flung my arms around the neck that was attached to those gorgeous arms.

"Harry! PUT ME DOWN!" I shrieked as he dangled me over the edge of the water. "My hair! I don't want to get it wet!"

"But it's so hot!" He laughed, his hair plastered to his face.

"Don't throw me in Harry... I swear it will be the last thing you will ever do because I will kill you... Don't Haaarrrryyyyyy" I screamed as I hit the water with a splash, my arms still around Harry's neck. I sputtered and blinked water out of my eyes as we surfaced. "YOU'RE DEAD!" I exploded, pushing away from him and swimming to the rocks. My hair was now saturated. I would have to wash it tonight. Damnit.

I turned back around to glare at Harry but he was gone. I frowned and looked around. "Damnit, where did he go?" I sighed, trying to peer through the water to see him. I felt a tickle on my left foot and kicked out.

"Boo" His voice behind me made me jump and I spun around to glare at him. He was so close behind me that our noses were almost touching. I felt his hands rest on my hips. I shivered.

"I told you not to throw me in" I slapped his chest lightly.

"Exactly" He grinned, shaking beads of water from his hair.

"Then why did you!" I splashed him lightly.

"I didn't" He shrugged and shook his head. I raised an eyebrow.

"You did"

"No... I didn't" he grinned, looking very smug. I folded my arms across my chest.

"You so did!" I exclaimed.

"I didn't" He shook his head. "I jumped in with you still in my arms" he said quickly. "Technically, I didn't throw you in, I jumped with you in my arms" He gave me a cheesy grin and my face fell.

I stared at him before I burst out laughing. "Well shit... you got me" I felt the rocks behind my back and leant against them. I was still very aware of our close proximity, his hands on my hips and the way he was looking at me.

Goosebumps erupted on my skin but I shook myself.

"Cold?" He asked.

I shook my head and smiled. "Nope" I shook my head. "My hair is wet though" I groaned and reached up to pull some pond weed out of it. "I look like a drowned rat" I sighed.

Harry brushed a strand of hair off my cheek, tracing a line down my cheek with his finger in the process. I shivered. "You look beautiful" He murmured. My heart thumped in my chest and I found it difficult to swallow. That rope was tightening, I could feel it.

"DADDY! DADDY WATCH ME!" Teddy screamed out from where the others were playing with him.

"You should go be a dad" I smiled softly, pushing his chest away from me.

He nodded and smiled. "Yeah I guess I should"

I took a couple of deep breaths to make sure I wouldn't pass out and swam over to join them in a game of piggy in the middle with a ball of water they'd conjured. Teddy was giggling hysterically and I swung him up onto my shoulders to help catch the ball.

The day continued like that, and one by one people started going back to the Burrow. Ginny and Theo went first because they were going out for dinner; then Ron and Hermione because Hermione had assignments for her Healing course; Roe and Draco took Teddy back to the Burrow... and then it was just Harry and myself alone in the pond.

Somehow, this was too convenient but I wasn't going to complain. I stretched myself out on a towel next to Harry to soak up the last of the sun.

"It looks like a storm is coming" I nodded to the clouds gathering above our heads. Harry sat up from his position on his stomach and looked up.

"It was hot enough today" he agreed with a nod. He turned on his side and propped himself up on his arm. I reduced my risk of a heart attack by not looking at his fit form. Obviously Auror training must work them hard because his body was made of smooth, hard planes of muscle... The kind of body that all of the guys in Hollywood would kill to have.

"I can't believe how hot it got today" I said quickly, struggling to form a coherent thought. Harry ran a hand through his almost dry hair, making it stick up at odd angles. I smothered a smile. Adorable.

"Doesn't it get hotter than this in New York?" he asked with a laugh.

"Yeah but we usually go up to the Hamptons when it gets this hot... Beach front houses, private estates... It's probably my favourite place other than the city" I sighed remembering how great it was to tan on a private beach without having people take my photo.

"You're never going to move back here, are you?" he asked in a soft voice. I turned my head and pushed my sunglasses onto my head so I could see him properly.

"Probably not" I admitted. "I'll be back to visit all the time though" I smiled.

"Good. We missed you" he smiled back. "I missed you" he added, almost like an afterthought. He raised his hand and pushed some hair off my cheek. Again, the contact of his skin made me shiver. "I really did miss you Riles... Every day since you've been gone" his voice was no more than a murmur but I heard every word as if he'd shouted it at me. My mouth went dry.

"It was your fault I left in the first place" I shrugged, tipping my glasses back down over my eyes.

"I'm so sorry for how I handled everything back then Riley" he sat up and looked down at me. I sat up too and sighed. "I only did it to protect you"

"I wasn't incapable of protecting myself, you know" I shook my head.

"You got taken once Riles... And it terrified me. I couldn't let that happen again" he reminded me with a one shoulder shrug. He opened his mouth to say something else but hesitated like he didn't know if he should say what he was about to say.

"I got taken because they a)surprised me and b)thought I was Rosalie... It wouldn't have happened again" I tied my hair up into a messy bun and started gathering stuff. Low thunder rumbled in the distance, a forewarning of something big.

"But it might have" he grabbed my wrist and turned me to him. "I didn't want to leave you Riles. I didn't want to hurt you, leave you or break up with you... But it had to be done because they would have used you to get to me" his eyes were wide with desperation, like he would die if he didn't tell me this. I gritted my teeth and tried not to let his words affect my mind in any way. Too bad other bodily functions like breathing didn't follow my mind.

"Why didn't you tell me this when we broke up?" my voice cracked but I took a deep breath. Thunder rumbled again. The storm was moving in fast, the wind picking up slightly.

"I told you most things... I just didn't tell you the whole truth because it had to be believable... Just in case they did get hold of you and read your mind" he started pulling me into him but I resisted slightly. "They had to think I hated you"

"But you did. You said you never loved me. You said you never wanted to see me again" I choked on a sob. I could feel my chest restrict like someone was sitting on it. Old wounds came to the surface, like a scab that hadn't properly healed. It stung. How did we go from having a great day in a Pond with our friends to... this... this painful, painful memory?

"I lied Riles. I had to lie to make it believable. I had to lie to make it easier on both of us" a pained expression crossed his face. "Do you think I wanted to lose the one thing that I loved more than anything? Do you think I wanted to hurt you until you hated me? Do you?" he shook my hands lightly. Thunder rumbled as lightning flashed across the sky.

I couldn't think for a minute. My mind was whirring a million miles an hour. I didn't know if I could handle this right now. I didn't want this rope to tighten anymore.

"Harry... I... I don't..." I stammered, pulling my wrists from his fingers.

"I regret everything Riley. I regret hurting you, I regret listening to your parents and Avery. I regret – "
"What was that about my parents and Avery?" I demanded, cutting off whatever else he regretted. A fat raindrop plopped onto my head and slid down my nose.

Harry winced. "Your mother and Avery wrote to me and suggested that we end our relationship for your safety..." He sounded guilty. He looked guilty. I narrowed my eyes. "At first I disagreed, I knew you would be ok... But then I met them in Hogsmeade and we talked about it and I realised I hadn't been looking at the whole picture" he ran a hand through his hair. "We did it to protect you"

More rain fell, fat and cold against my skin but I shook, more from anger than cold.

"You broke my heart and hurt me because my mother and Avery said so?" I said in a low voice. My eyes were welling up with tears but I didn't bother to stop it.

"To protect you" he winced, realizing how bad it sounded.

"Why do you all think I can't protect myself?" I shrieked, standing up with a huff. The rain got harder and lightning cracked across the sky.

"Riley wait!" Harry called out as he scrambled to his feet. He grabbed my hands and pulled me into his chest. "I'm sorry Riles... So sorry. I love you so much but it was the right thing to do" he murmured against my hair. The rain poured down over us and I shook. Not from cold or pain, but from anger. How dare they do this to me? All of them. Who gave them the right to break us apart? For my safety? Didn't they have any faith in my ability to take care of myself? Didn't they have any faith in themselves to help protect me?

"You know the reason why I haven't been home in 3 years is because of you!" I pushed him away from me but he kept a tight grip on my wrists again, he didn't want to let me run. "I was so scared of seeing you again. Scared that if I did I would be right back where I was three years ago - in love with someone who didn't want me" I wrenched my fists from his and shoved them into my eyes to stop the tears falling.

"But I did want you Riles... Hell I still do but I can't have you" He yelled over the thunder.

Lightning cracked across the sky and made the ground shake. I stared at him, his words hitting me like a kick to the gut. "I can't do this Harry. I'm engaged, I'm happy now" I whispered desperately, trying to hold back the tears.

"I don't believe that for a minute, but ok" he murmured. Anger bubbled up inside me. Who the hell did he think he was to tell me that I wasn't happy! He'd been doing it since I got here and this time, I snapped. I slapped his cheek hard, so hard that it made his head snap to the side and my hand sting.

"Stop trying to tell me I'm not happy. I'm much happier away from you" I snarled before turning and stalking toward the house. I was soaked when I stepped into the kitchen, wearing only my blue string bikini and sunglasses. I stood in the door way shivering, trying to blank my mind from what I'd just been told.

"EYELEY!" Teddy exclaimed when he noticed me.

"Riley, you're soaked through! Why didn't you guys come in when it started to rain?" Avery laughed from the table. She'd obviously finished work a while ago and had arrived. I glared at my sister and at that moment I hated her. I'd never hated anyone in my entire life as much as I hated her.

"You bitch" I said, my voice a low growl. "How could you and mum do that too me, Avery? How could you tell the one person I loved more than anything to break up with me?"

Her face paled and she bit her lip. She didn't deny it.

"Riley... what?" Roe stepped forward with a frown.

"Did you know?" I demanded from her, snapping my gaze onto her.

"Know what?" She cocked her head to one side and stared at me. Everyone in the room was quiet, watching with wide eyes.

"That Mum and Avery spoke to Harry and convinced him to break up with me" I dead panned. Roe's eyes widened and I knew that wasn't a lie. "To protect me" I added sarcastically.

"They what?" She exclaimed, glaring at Avery. The older sister just stared at her hands in her lap.

I ignored her. "Can you go home and get my stuff. I'm gonna come stay with you and Draco for the next few weeks ok?" I said in a dead voice.

"Eyeley?" Teddy said in a small and worried voice. I smiled at him, tears in my eyes.

"Hey little man... I have to go now..."

"Riley, how did this happen?" Hermione interrupted me. I ignored her too. I kissed Teddy's head lightly and then apparated with a crack into the living room of the apartment Roe shared with Draco.
I couldn't stay at home knowing what my parents and sister did. I never wanted to talk to them again.

Plea's Note:

Hey guys... SORRY it's so late... I wasn't COMPLETELY happy with it this morning so I've tweaked it a bit. :) Hope you like it now because I do.

The plot just got thick.

Xo Plea