'He learned to walk while I was away.' Henry Chapin, Cat's In The Cradle

Ginny's POV

"How do I look?" Al mutters to Lily, adjusting the polo shirt I didn't even know he owned.

"You look gorgeous, son." I smile at him.

He instantly turns to me, looking horrified. "Mum, I wasn't talking to you!"

I open my mouth to tell him off for being rude, but my daughter cuts me off. "Chill, Al. Why does it matter anyway? You see her every day at Hogwarts. She's seen you look your worst, which let me tell you, is pretty horrendous."

Al swipes Lily's hair, annoyed, but Harry leans forward eagerly. "Oh, she goes to Hogwarts, does she?"

James, Lily, Al and I send him a 'get real' look. "Where else would he have met her?" I roll my eyes at my clueless husband. He may be the Head Auror and I do love him, but sometimes when it comes to obvious things he can be a bit dim.

Harry looks embarrassed and shrugs. "Doesn't he go on all those holidays with Scor and Ria? He could have met her on one of those."

For some reason James and Lily find this hilarious.

Al frowns. "'HE' is right here, you know, and would like to tell you that yes, she goes to Hogwarts, and you'll meet her soon anyway, so stop trying to guess who she is."

"It's just that we're so pumped to meet this girl." I grin at my raven-haired son.

My three children turn to stare at me, dismayed.

"Mum. Don't ever say 'pumped' again." Lily shudders.

Harry laughs. "What, you think we're not cool enough? Sweetheart, when we were your age, we were a lot cooler than you."

I nod and lean back into his arms.

"STOP TRYING TO RUB THE FACT THAT YOU DEFEATED A DARK LORD WHEN YOU WERE A BABY, IN OUR FACES!" Al suddenly yells, standing up, fists clenched. "IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU, DAD!"

Not again.

Lily reaches up and pulls him back onto the sofa. "Al, you're just stressed. Calm down."

He takes a deep breath and slumps back onto the sofa.

"Sorry." He surprisingly mutters, looking away from us.

But it's an apology, and I'll take it where I can get it, because my youngest son doesn't often apologise.

It really does sadden me that Al doesn't get on with Harry, though to be honest, he doesn't talk to me either. James tells Harry everything, and Lily and I are as close as a mother and daughter can be, so Harry and I just can't figure out where we went wrong with our second child. In fact, the only person in our whole extended family with whom he actually gets on with is Lily, though he does seem to be getting along better with James now. I sigh. I feel like I'm losing him, now more than ever.

"So," Harry tries to ease the awkward tension that has built up in the living room since Al had his outburst, "Will she like the steak pie your mum's made for dinner?"

Al rolls his eyes, anger forgotten, "It's not a big deal, okay? She'll eat anything."

"It's just that you've never brought a girl home to meet us before. We've been looking forward to it since last week when you told us you were bringing her for dinner today. I've been worrying about what to cook, all week."

James snorts. "You know, she's eaten your steak pie many times before." He frowns at our confused expressions. "Al did tell you that you've met her before, right?"

My eyes widen. "No!" I try to run through all of the Hogwarts girls around Al's age who I've ever met, but I give up after a while. There have been too many teenage girls at our New Year parties to remember each one. "Albus, why can't you just tell us who she is?"

He grins. "I want it to be a surprise."

I scowl and my children laugh at my expression.

"In fact, you know her really well." James smirks as he teases us with another clue as to the identity of Al's secret belle.

I turn to Harry, who is lying against the cushion on the sofa, next to me, eyes closed and brow furrowed in thought as he tries to work out who this mystery girlfriend could be.

I nudge him and he opens his eyes and shrugs at my unspoken question.

The tinny sound of 'A Cauldron Full of Hot Strong Love' echoes through our living room, and we all make a dash for the door. A sudden Shield charm pushes Harry and I back onto the couch as James pockets his wand, satisfied.

Impressive, but annoying.

The doorbell rings.

Lily looks at us sternly. "We'll get it." And after a last threatening look at us, our children rush out to open the door.

Harry relaxes and smiles at me hopefully. "I can't believe he's bringing a girl to meet us. This could mean he's finally warming up to us, Gin!"

I smile too, infected by my husband's enthusiasm. "Merlin's pants, I do hope so. It's only been, what, 18 years?"

Harry shrugs. "Better late than never."

I match his posture, relaxing against the cushions, "I can't believe our kids are growing up so fast. James has already bought a flat, ready move out in the summer, Al's a legal adult, Merlin help the world, and Lily's just about to do her OWLs."

Harry rubs my arm, smiling mischievously. "Can't say I'm not looking forward to more alone time with you."

My gaze falls on his lips, and I'm about to lean in when we hear voices in the hallway.

"No, you don't look like an idiot." Lily's clear voice floats through the open door.

There's a reply that we don't hear.

"Well, she did a great job of dressing you. You look beautiful, like always." Al.

"Awww." I look at Harry, and see my surprise reflected in his eyes, "I never knew Al could be so sweet."

He laughs. "This is one lucky girl."

"Get a room, you two. You're so perfect together it's disgusting." James' groans reach our ears.

There's a muffled thwack and James cursing. "No, I am not jealous. Amy's my love and I have to say we're pretty good together."

I have to agree. James and Amy Livingston fit together like two jigsaw pieces. They argue a lot, but then so do Ron and Hermione and no one could deny that those two were made for each other.

Lily laughs. "I knew you would bring Amy up sooner or later, James, but stop talking about her for one evening, yeah? Tonight's about Al and - ."

"Mum and Dad are so excited to meet you. They've been trying to guess who you are for ages." James has deliberately raised his voice so that we can hear him.

There's a quiet reply.

"No, I wanted it be a surprise." Al replies to whatever the girl said. "Look, they'll love you. Babe, they already do."

"Oh, it's someone we like." Harry whispers in my ear.

"Well it's got to be someone we like if I've served her my steak pie more than once."

James and Lily strut into the room, grinning like crazy.

Next Al, smiling and holding hands with …

"RIA!" I leap up and embrace the tall girl who I've loved like a daughter for seven years.

Harry follows me and pulls her away from me, hugging her tightly.

Ria smiles at us. "Hi, Aunt Ginny, Uncle Harry."

Al whacks her with a cushion. "Hey. Stick to the traditional script."

"Love, since when have we ever been traditional?"

Al scowls at Ria, but his eyes are warm and he turns to us. "Mum, Dad, meet my girlfriend Ria Black."

"There was no need for so much suspense!" I complain to the kids, but Harry just steps in front of me eagerly.

"Pleased to meet you, darling." Harry winks at her and she grins back, but I don't have time for that. I grab her and hold her at arm's length, looking her over. "Honey, we haven't seen you in ages. You look great."

"Thanks, Aunt Ginny." She blows a kiss at me. "Emma made me wear this and I feel like an idiot."

She gestures at the carefully coordinated gold skirt and grey shirt.

"Well you look gorgeous." I tuck her under my arm and lead the way to the kitchen.

She laughs. "And you're looking even more beautiful than I remember you."

Harry swoops in and gently pushes her into a chair at the table, pulling me to the opposite side. "Ria Black, if I didn't know better I'd say you were trying to flirt with my wife."

"She'd never go for me after being with someone as handsome as you." Ria winks at him as Al slides into the chair next to her, with James and Lily on the ends of the table.

I snort when Al scowls darkly, but Harry throws his head back and laughs, so infectiously that soon we're all laughing along with him.

And so dinner goes. It's fun and lively, and Ria fits right in, like she always has, but nevertheless it's weird to see her without Scorpius at her side.

By the time she hugs Harry and I goodbye and leaves with Al for a sleepover with Emma and Lysander, and James and Lily have gone to bed, I am exhausted, but grinning widely.

Harry and I head upstairs and sink onto our comfortable bed.

"I didn't notice it when they were just friends, but now they're dating, you realise that they're kind of perfect together, aren't they?" Harry muses.

I nod; I have to agree. I was watching them all through dinner, the way they were never out-and-out cheesy like Rose and Scorpius were at the New Year's Party, but so much more subtle. And yes, it's perfect.

I am feeling nostalgic as I snuggle under Harry's arm as he turns the lights off and sleepily curls his arm around me, under the warm duvet.

I remember the first time I met Scorpius and Ria.

In the summer of 2018, Al, ever the moody teenager, scowlingly told us that two of his new friends were coming over. His only ever friends had been Lysander, one of Luna's boys, polite and down-to-earth, who mellowed out Al's snarkiness; Emma Longbottom, who contrasted Al with a sweet and cute demeanour; and (however unwillingly) Rose, who is ridiculously similar to him (they hate it when I mention that to them). These were the only three friends that my youngest son had ever had, so I was curious to say the least to meet these two new friends of his.

So while Harry was working in his study, I had been waiting by the front door the whole morning, and flung it open when I heard voices coming up the driveway. And I just stared at the sight that greeted me.

There was a boy skipping up the driveway backwards, singing loudly, his back to me, so that all I could see was the back of his crisp blue shirt and brown trousers, and a head of familiar combed ice-blond hair. Al was following him up the driveway, carrying a girl on his back. My eyes were drawn to her. I could see that she was wearing a brightly coloured playsuit a few sizes too large for her with blindingly white trainers and striped knee-high socks. Her outfit would attract butterflies, but it was her face that shocked me. Long wavy black hair, high cheekbones, slanted eyebrows and a sharp nose; she hadn't quite gotten rid of the baby fat to grow into her face yet, but there was no mistaking the classic good looks of the famous 'Noble and Most Ancient House of Black'. Her facial features were so like Sirius it hurt, and if it hurt me, I knew there was no telling what Harry would feel when he met her. She was singing loudly in sync with the dancing boy, and the singing may have been good, but my chest tightened. And then my gaze travelled down to my son's face. He was smiling. Grinning from ear to ear, he laughed out loud like I hadn't seen in a few years. I smiled.

The dancing boy twirled around and spotted me, and stopped dancing immediately. He bounded up to me, a bright smile on his face, and to my shock, he took my hand and kissed it, bowing low. "Scorpius Malfoy, at your service madam." I grinned at his antics before his words struck me. Malfoy. Was this why Al hadn't mentioned his friends' names in his letters? The family name choked me and I saw the boy still smiling, but watching me closely for my reaction. At the time, Draco Malfoy had never publicly renounced the Death Eaters, but as Harry said, he had worked hard to bring his family name out of the mud, and he had been polite enough to me the few times we had spoken at Quidditch formals. I shook myself. There was no reason for me to be hostile to his son; after all, it wasn't the boy's fault that he was born into one of the most hated families after the War. So I smiled at the charming boy and his eyes warmed. His hair, while the same colour as Draco's and similarly combed, was not gelled back, but the facial features were the same, and the style of clothing, although muggle, was just as formal as Draco had always dressed. It again took a lot to remind myself that he wasn't Draco, and should not be treated as such.

Al's face fell when he spotted me, but the girl jumped down from his back and mimicked her companion's old-style greeting by curtseying to me. "The name's Ria Black, milady." Black. So I was right. I wondered who her parents were in that famed pure-blood family tree. But the shock of this family name was one I'd already overcome, so I smiled at the girl warmly. "It's always great to meet some of Al's friends. Come in."

They followed me in and I crossed the lobby to stop at the bottom of the stairs. I held my wand to my throat to amplify my voice (our house is pretty big) "HARRY!" There was a loud crack from somewhere upstairs and Harry suddenly appeared at my side. I directed his gaze to the two newcomers. "Meet Al's friends, Scorpius Malfoy and Ria Black."

Harry's never been good at hiding his emotions, and I watched, along with the two observant twelve-year-olds, as Harry's face tightened immediately. A shadow crossed his eyes as he looked at Scorpius, and his jaw jutted out, but then his eyes found Ria. Harry's eyes widened and I held his arm supportively.

Al swiftly stepped in front of his friends. "For Godric's sake dad, a simple 'hi' would do."

My middle child has never been the most sensitive of people.

Harry smiled slowly. "I suspect many people have told you that you look a lot like your father." The blond boy held his head higher, as if proud. "Yes, I've been told."

Harry turned to Ria, but she cut him off before he could say anything. "Yes, I look like my father, and his mother, and her mother, and basically my entire cursed family, save for a few mutated relatives."

Harry looked surprised. "Well, yes, but what I was going to say is that you look like my late godfather, Sirius Black."

Her face didn't betray any emotion, but her eyes flickered slightly, so Harry pulled out an old photograph from his wallet that he's shown me many times before. It depicts Sirius, James, Remus and Pettigrew, as young boys in their Hogwarts years. He handed it to the girl and she bent over it, hair swishing forward to hide her face, with Scorpius gazing at it over her shoulder. Then she looked up and gave it back to Harry. Al was looking at her worriedly. "No," she said quietly, "No one's ever told me that. So thank you."

Harry nodded, speechless, then Al was shoving him to the side to take Scorpius and Ria round to the back garden.

"Wow." Harry said softly, when they were gone.

"Wow indeed." I muttered.