The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon as Lily Luna Potter sat on the rooftop of her home, hugging her knees to her chest, staring at her wedding ring which was nestled perfectly on her left hand ring finger. It was cleverly enchanted so that it could only be seen while it was on her finger. When Lily wasn't wearing it, it was on a chain around her throat that also held her precious Potter family heirloom locket. The locket was also invisible except when she was holding it in her hand. She had placed a picture of Sirius on one side of the locket and a picture of James and Lily in the other. Both pictures smiled at her and waved when she opened the locket.
Feeling more nostalgic than she had since her return to her rightful time, Lily sighed and squinted into the bright sunlight. Her eyes closed in a mock image of peace while her emotions were actually roiling below the surface. She let herself remember Dorea's smile when she bestowed the Potter heirloom to Luna on Christmas Eve. She remembered James's laugh when he told a particularly crazy story and the blush on Lily Evan's cheeks whenever James would show her affection in public.
Lily Luna Potter remembered how it felt to be held in Sirius's strong arms while he spun her around the dance floor. Before she let herself cry, she stood up abruptly and dusted off her skirt. Despite the early hour she was already dressed and seemingly ready for the day. She had only found out she was pregnant the previous day and she was still in shock. Standing tall on the tip of the roof, the sunlight just reaching the tips of her toes peeking out from her sandals, she spun around with a little jump and Disapparated.
Potter Manor was just as she remembered it. The wrought iron gates opened at her touch and the grounds inside the gate were a little cooler, not quite as muggy, as the air outside. Recalling how the grounds had been magically warmer when she'd visited the manor during the Christmas holidays she realized that there was permanent magics in place to keep it a constant comfortable spring temperature.
Someone had kept up with the grounds, though. The gardens were perfect, the fountains still spewing crystal water, and the grass freshly cut. But she'd inherited the house. Being a Potter would mean she was the only person to be able to even enter this place. Who was keeping up with it while it was empty for the past forty plus years? Because she had discovered that Dorea and Charlus Potter died before James and Lily. With curiosity at the forefront of her thoughts, Lily trotted quickly up the path to the front door and let herself in.
"Mistress!" a familiar squeaky voice startled her and Lily glanced down. There was Tilly and Tippy, both standing at almost hip height and beaming at her happily. Both house elves hugged her legs in greeting. Tippy was unashamedly weeping with joy into a handkerchief while Tilly just wailed loudly.
"Tilly? Tippy? But...what? You don't look a day older than when I last saw you!" Lily knelt down to embrace the house elves. They were reminders that her trip to the past had been real.
"Magic, Mistress," said Tilly and Lily was glad that she'd stopped wailing long enough to answer her unasked questions. "When Mistress went back to the future we went to the future, too, Miss. We has been here for two months, Mistress, getting the manor ready for you to come home."
"Why did you go to the future when I did? How is that even possible? Can house elves travel through time normally? I'm afraid I don't understand," Lily blinked at them rapidly in confusion.
"We belong to Mistress Black," Tippy said and took hold of Lily's hand. "Master Charlus and Mistress Dorea gave us to Mistress and so Tippy and Tilly are bound to Mistress. House elf magic pulled us into the future because that was where our Mistress was."
House elf magic was still something beyond wizard comprehension. The need to serve their wizard masters sometimes evoked stronger magic than any witch or wizard could have managed. It seemed that since Dorea and Charlus had transferred their ownership to Lily, Tilly and Tippy were bound to her time frame as well. Lily assumed that if she decided to go back in time then Tilly and Tippy would be there as well. Serving Lily was their highest calling.
"Where is Master Sirius?" asked Tilly who made a tray of tea and tarts appear with a snap of her slim fingers.
"Master…Master Sirius is dead," Lily whispered and dropped both hands instinctively to her abdomen.
Both house elves started wailing and sobbing again which caused Lily to lunge forward and catch the tea tray that almost fell to the ground from Tilly's grasp.
"Tippy and Tilly are so sorry, Mistress," said Tippy with a deep bow, tears dripping off of her long nose onto the carpet.
"Tilly and Tippy loved Master Sirius and love Mistress Luna. Tilly and Tippy will take good care of Mistress and Little One," Tilly wiped at her eyes with one hand while reaching out to pat Lily's stomach with the other.
"You can tell?" Lily asked with a forced smile.
Both house elves bobbed their heads in assent. "It is the duty of a good house elf to always know the affairs of their Masters and Mistresses."
"Will Mistress be living here again now?" asked Tippy hopefully, with her hands clasped together in front of her light pink apron.
"Ah, not right now. Mistress might move back into Potter Manor after the baby is born but for now I will be living with my parents in Godric's Hollow."
"Then Tippy and Tilly will live there also. House elves like small cupboards and small spaces for sleeping. Other than that Tippy and Tilly only need work to be done to be happy."
Lily opened her mouth to argue. She wanted to tell them that they couldn't come with her because her parents would ask too many questions. That they would constantly be a reminder of her former life. But seeing their happy faces at being reunited with their rightful Mistress stopped her in her tracks. "Fuck doing the easy thing, from now on I'll do what I want and what I think is best for my baby and myself," Lily said the words aloud but was talking more to herself than Tilly and Tippy.
"Gather your belongings," she said to the house elves, "We will leave Potter Manor soon. When I call for you, meet me in the foyer and we will leave for my home."
Lily grabbed a couple of tarts from the tray, turned, and strode confidently up the grand stairs to the room she'd once shared with Sirius. The entire manor was untouched. She passed the same portraits on the walls, the same decorative vases, the same furniture. It was all hers. She had inherited a fortune in antiques, and furniture, and this manor itself was worth more than she could spend in her lifetime. Yet none of this would have meant a thing to her if not for her child. With all that Dorea and Charlus had left her, Lily and little baby Black could live happily and comfortably here all their lives.
Lily knew that she would have to tell her family the truth before the child was born. After all, she was going to give her child the Black family name and she was going to move out of her parents' home to stay here, in Potter Manor, and for that she needed to tell them the truth as explanation. But today was not the day.
When Lily reached her bedroom she hesitated for one heartbeat before entering. Everything was pristine and exactly as it had been the last time she'd been in here. Except for that single slip of parchment propped up on her pillow. With great trepidation Lily crossed the room on shaking legs and gently lifted the aged parchment.
The letter read:
Mrs. Lily Luna Black (nee Potter),
After much discussion and deliberation, Lily and I have decided that we do not want a single thing from my family home. My parents' will was worded in such a way that while you inherited the house elves and the house, I could still take any belongings from the house. I also inherited the contents of their vault at Gringotts. It's a fair trade, really, since whatever Lily and I leave behind will be left to your father when we're gone.
You should know that I've come to see you more as a sister than a granddaughter and I'm more than happy to share my would-have-been inheritance with you. Lily and I were there when my parents died – killed by Death Eaters, in case you haven't taken the chance yet to look up in history books everything that has happened between our time and yours. Voldemort himself was there and I saw him kill my mother.
As selfish as it is, I'm glad you're not here any longer, Lu-Lu. More than anything I want my loved ones to be safe and happy and I know that you are now. Tippy and Tilly have gone and I'm wondering if they are with you? I suppose I'll never know for sure, but I can't imagine where else they might be. Please take good care of them and let them know how much we loved and appreciated them.
I don't know if you've told your family about the time you spent with us or not but if you have then you're welcome to show your father this letter. He has not yet been born, Lily and I are not yet married, but he will be more loved than any other child on the planet. Don't cry for us, Lu-Lu, don't feel guilty or sad when you think of us. We all love you more than you know and we are so thankful that we got to know you. Live a long and happy life. When you're ready you should find someone who makes you happy. Have children, and grandchildren, and don't live in the past. Live the life you were meant to live.
With our blessings and our love,
James & Lily
Lily was simultaneously crying and smiling when she reached the end. She felt relieved and loved and so much comfort from this letter. Her main desire now was to find every tie she could that bound her to the past. Today would be her day to say goodbye to all the she was and embrace all that she would be.
….
Once back home, she found her father's special photo album where it always was on the coffee table. She felt exhausted from her day at the manor and the scolding she'd received from her parents when she'd returned for not telling them she'd left that morning.
Harry was at work now and Ginny was in the kitchen grumbling under her breath about Lily – how could she be so irresponsible? Being pregnant didn't mean she could start breaking all the house rules. Lily still had to tell her parents when she was leaving the house, where she would be, and who she would be with.
Ignoring this, Lily rolled her eyes and began flipping through the album. Hagrid had gotten all of these pictures from James' and Lily's old school friends. Sure enough there were images popping out at her on every page of people she recognized. Aside from obviously James and Lily there were also pictures with Alice, Mary, Remus, Peter, and Sirius in them. Others were in the background of photos. When Lily looked closely she could see Severus in the corner, or Regulus striding down the hall, and she had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from making noises of surprise.
Toward the end of the photo album, which looked to be arranged chronologically, there were two pictures that she was in herself. With a start she sat up straighter and squinted. Someone had snapped a photo of James, Lily, Sirius, and Luna seated on a sofa in the Gryffindor common room. Working as quickly and carefully as she could she edged the picture out of the album and flipped it over. On the back in faded ink were the words, "James, Lily, Sirius, Luna. 1977. Sirius's 18th birthday party."
Lily remembered that. She remembered Sirius's party. That was the night he discovered she was from the future and she'd given him a journal. A blank journal that had been meant for him to write in and leave to her. But somehow she had not yet found where he had hidden it. She was sure he would have left it somewhere easy for her to find yet somewhere it would be safely hidden until she could go looking for it.
That was something to think about later. For now she flipped to the next page and found photos from James' and Lily's wedding. They both looked to be the epitome of happy. Sirius stood on James's side and Mary stood on Lily's. Which reminded Luna that she still had not visited Mary's grave and didn't think she would be able to until after the baby was born. Her Healer had dropped by the previous evening to remind her that her emotions would influence the child and if she became upset she would faint again.
Everyone had been so distracted by her fainting and her pregnancy that nobody seemed to recall why she'd been at St. Mungo's in the first place and she was grateful that she wouldn't need to explain her reason for visiting Alice Longbottom.
It wasn't until several hours later that Luna was woken from a nap on the sofa by a quiet shriek in the kitchen. She sat up abruptly as two bobbing house elves came out of the kitchen carrying trays. Tilly had tea and Tippy had a bowl of fruit. "Mistress needs to eat healthy foods now," said Tippy as she set the tray on the coffee table beside Luna. Tilly set her tray down, poured out a cup of tea in a delicate cup that Luna knew was from Potter manor, and handed it directly to Luna, motioning for her to sip at it.
"Lily Luna Potter!" Her mother yelled and came striding into the sitting room. "What the hell is going on?"
Her dad came in the front door from work at that moment and Albus came stomping down the stairs at the sound of his mother's raised voice. "What's all this?" asked Harry as he looked pointedly at the two house elves who seemed oblivious to the tension in the room as they bustled about, fluffing Luna's pillow and tucking a blanket around her legs.
"Mum, Dad, this is Tilly and Tippy; my house elves."
"Your what?" screeched Ginny Potter.
Harry put a calming hand on Ginny's shoulder and asked Luna, "Where did they come from?"
"I – ah – would rather not say just yet."
"This is enough," said Harry firmly. "Parvati told us that she could tell the parentage of your child and that the father of your baby is a powerful pureblood wizard and now all of a sudden there are two bloody house elves who are waiting on you hand and foot! We can only assume that whoever got you knocked up sent them over here to serve you but where is the bloke?"
Expecting this sort of eruption eventually, Lily stood from the sofa, stuck her chin out, planted her hands firmly on her hips and said with narrowed eyes, "I said I would tell you when I was ready."
"And I said enough with the secrets!" Harry retorted.
They glared at each other, father and daughter, waiting to see who would back down first, when to her surprise it was Albus who stepped between them. "Dad, it's her decision. She said she would tell us eventually. We can be patient," he put a hand on his dad's chest. "Trust me, I want to know just as badly as you do, but Lily is seventeen and she can make her own decisions. We need to give her some space."
Albus turned away from his father and knelt by the house elves who were staring at Harry and Albus now in surprise. Luna knew that they must be thinking of their resemblance to James Potter and hoped they were smart enough not to say anything. "Hullo," Albus greeted them with a smile. "I'm Albus Potter, Lily's brother, and I'm very glad to have you here. Have you found suitable accommodations for your stay? There's a lovely closet down the hall if you'd like to sleep there I can clear out some of the muggle contraptions my father keeps in there."
"Thank you, Master Albus," said Tilly with a curtsey, "but we is staying in Mistress's closet."
Albus nodded. "Alright, well if you need anything don't be afraid to ask us."
"Who were you serving before Mistress Luna?" asked Harry on impulse.
Both house elves shook their heads so quickly that their ears were flapping. It was Tippy who answered, "Mistress does not want you to have that information, oh no. We is good house elves. We keep our Mistress's secrets."
Harry sighed and wiped a hand over his face in exasperation. "Alright. I'll give up for now. But you will tell us eventually? Not just the name of the bloke but why he sent you house elves and why he obviously isn't around?"
Lily gave a small nod. She had about seven months to think of a good way to break the news to them. "I'll tell you before the baby is born."
…..
James Sirius Potter, Luna's eldest brother, joined them for dinner that night and it was Lily who broke the news to him gently. "I – er – have something to tell you, Jamie," she had a difficult time calling him "James" since she'd been back and had taken instead to using his nickname.
"What's up, Lils?"
She waited until he finished swallowing the food in his mouth before blurting out, "I'm pregnant."
James froze, fork halfway between his mouth and his plate, his jaw dropped slightly open, and his eyes widening. "You're…what?"
"I'm pregnant. About two months pregnant, actually. You should also know that I refuse to tell anyone who the father is until I am ready and that I will not be returning to Hogwarts. I'm going to do an owl course study from home until I feel ready to take my NEWTs."
"You're joking," James insisted. "You can't possibly be serious! You're seventeen years old, Lily, you can't be a mother!"
"James," Ginny scolded.
"No, this is a bad idea and you know it. You should just get rid of it."
"Get rid of it?" squealed Lily and she rose to her feet to glare across the table, "So help me, James Sirius Potter, if you ever speak of my child like that ever again I will curse you into oblivion and never let you see your nephew!"
"Nephew?" asked Albus.
"Well, I don't know it's a boy yet, I didn't actually take a pregnancy potion to find out, the Healer just told me I was pregnant, but I'm sure it's a boy," she couldn't help but smile just a little.
After a prolonged silence, Harry cleared his throat and said, "Erm – speaking of the owl course study, I spoke with Neville today and he agreed to it so long as your professors don't mind putting in the extra effort to record their lessons and send your assignments here."
"Hey, family, are we late for dinner?" Teddy Lupin came in the door at that moment with his wife, Victoire, and their son, Jasper.
"You're right on time, Teddy," said Ginny quickly, "the food is still hot."
The three newcomers sat down at the table and began talking, laughing, and eating with their family. With one look at Lily they all knew she wasn't ready yet for her pregnancy to be broadcast amongst their extended family so the meal continued as normal.
…..
It was a house she was only somewhat familiar with. She'd been here a few times – on a holiday for a quick hello before going on to the Burrow. It was the home of her father's Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. After knocking on the door sharply she took a step back and glanced around, taking note of the flowers growing up the walk and around the sides of the house.
"Yes?" Petunia asked as she opened the door. "What do you want?"
Petunia Dursley's hair had gone completely gray over the years but she continued to dye it back to her natural blonde. Slim reading glasses were perched on the end of her nose as she appraised Lily.
"Do you know who I am?" asked Lily bluntly. As if her clothes weren't enough of a give-away. She stood before Petunia in witches' robes of a lilac color and had her wand in hand out in the open in a way that the Dursleys hated.
Petunia scowled. "Of course I do. You're Harry's girl. Come in," Petunia opened the door wider for Lily to step over the threshold. The entire family had warmed even more to Harry after he saved Vernon's life. A few years previously Vernon Dursely suffered a heart attack and Harry used his connections at St. Mungo's to not only to save him but also to fix the problem so that another heart attack would not be imminent.
"Who is it, Petunia?" called Uncle Vernon from upstairs.
"Just Harry's daughter," Petunia called back. Lily could hear Vernon muttering under his breath but he had never made any nasty remarks to Lily so Lily took the mutterings good naturedly and followed Petunia into the kitchen. "I'll make us some tea."
Lily waited in patient silence while her hostess bustled around the kitchen. When Petunia sat at the table beside Lily and poured each of them a cup of tea, Lily said, "When I asked if you knew who I was I didn't mean Harry's daughter. I meant do you recognize me from anywhere else?"
Petunia squinted and shook her head. "Should I?"
"Perhaps not. It had been a very brief meeting. Do you remember the Christmas holidays when you and Vernon were still dating and your sister brought home James Potter?"
Petunia snorted. "How could I forget that? They made a mess of everything that evening." Then she gazed suspiciously at her great-niece. "How do you know about that?"
"Do you remember the girl who came around to pick up Lily to spend New Year's Eve with the Potters?" Luna prompted. Petunia sat there with a furrowed brow as if carefully picking through old memories that she hadn't brought to her recollection in years. It was a longshot, Luna knew, for Petunia to remember their brief meeting, but very slowly concentration gave way to a look of a curiosity then a dawning comprehension on Petunia's face.
"That was you?"
"It was. Time travel and whatnot," she wiggled her fingers mysteriously. "But I wanted to ask you if your parents really died in a car crash. I thought it was odd that was the same lie you told my father about James and Lily. I figured it might have been another lie."
Petunia sighed heavily, as if the weight of her past was finally catching up with her. "Yes, it was a lie." The fact that Luna had time traveled didn't seem to bother Petunia much. Knowing as little as she did of the magical world, for all she knew time travel could be perfectly normal.
"Why? Why would you lie to Lily about something as important as that? I don't understand. That was pretty terrible even for you-"
Petunia interrupted Luna's rant. "I did it to protect her! If she had known the truth she never would have forgiven herself."
"Forgive herself for what?"
"It was her fault. Maybe I should've told her and let her take the blame but I just couldn't. It was some of your lot. They came while we were sleeping. I heard my parents screaming…there were bright lights flashing around the house…they didn't know that I was upstairs sleeping and I managed to…to sneak out the back," she confessed in a horrified whisper. "There was nothing I could have done to help them."
Luna sat there; stunned. Lord Voldemort had been the cause of death of so many more of her family members than she'd known previously. How had Petunia never mentioned this to Harry? "I'm sorry," Luna said softly.
"I was so bitter," Petunia continued, wringing her hands in her lap. "It was Lily's fault that our parents were dead. I didn't want to see her again so I didn't tell her about their deaths until after the funeral. If she'd been there I don't think I could have stopped myself from taking my anger out on her. Knowing that she suffered the same fate as our parents was…strangely vindicating for me. It felt as if I'd been right all along to associate all of you with nothing but evil."
Luna shook her head sadly. No wonder her aunt had always been so awful to Harry his whole life. She didn't know what to say other than what she'd already said, "I'm so sorry."
Petunia shrugged her slim shoulders. "That was all a long time ago. I never realized that was you…"
Luna shrugged in an imitation of Petunia. "That was a long time ago."
Petunia gave her a very small tight-lipped smile. "You were a good friend to her. I was a terrible sister. It's no wonder she hated me."
"She never hated you. Never. Lily loved you in spite of all the two of you had been through."
For the first time in her life, Luna was hugged by her great-aunt Petunia.
…
There was a back-to-school party thrown at the Burrow for Lily and Hugo who were both entering their seventh year at Hogwarts and who were the last of the family to be graduating. Harry, Ginny, James, Albus, Ron, Hermione, and Neville remained the only ones who knew that Lily would not be going back to Hogwarts.
The entire family was there – even Charlie came in from Romania more often these days as he was in charge of the dragon reserve there and as the boss could take time off whenever he wanted.
Whenever the entire family got together they had to eat outside in the spacious yard. A few modest additions had been made to the Burrow over the years but the kitchen could still not accommodate the large extended family of Arthur and Molly Weasley. For a while when the children were young there was a separate table for them but now Jasper was the only member of the family below the age of seventeen. Victoire was six months pregnant with their second child and Lucy was due any day with her first child. It was only a matter of time before Roxanne and her husband decided to start having children so Lily was secretly grateful that her son (or daughter) would grow up with loving cousins just as she had.
But for now the entire family was seated at one magically extended table. Arthur, Molly, Charlie, Bill, Fleur, Victoire, Teddy, Jasper, Dominique and her boyfriend Trent, Louis, Percy, Audrey, Lucy and her husband Richard, Molly, George, Angelina, Roxanne and her husband Joel, Fred, Ron, Hermione, Rose and Scorpius, Hugo, Ginny, Harry, James, Albus, and Lily. It was overwhelming to Lily who had gotten accustomed to much smaller gatherings.
Arthur clinked his glass toward the end of the meal and stood up. It was normal during family gatherings for her grandfather to give a speech and this was no exception. "I'll keep it short," he said with a smile and the family chuckled in appreciation. "It pleases Molly and I more than you know to watch our family grow. To see new members added through marriage and babies being born into the next generation of Weasleys. This is an odd transitional year with Lily and Hugo going back for their final year at Hogwarts and welcoming two new grandbabies into our lives. You are all so loved and we are so proud of all of you."
Arthur lifted his glass, everyone did the same in a toast, and took sips. Lily was the only person at the table aside from Jasper to have gillywater in her glass instead of butterbeer or firewhiskey. After her grandfather took his seat again, Lily stood.
She saw that all eyes were on her and felt Albus give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I need to tell everyone that I will not be attending Hogwarts this year with Hugo." Mutterings erupted up and down the table and Hugo, who Lily used to consider her best friend, was staring at her as if she'd sprouted an extra head. "I will instead be completing my education via owl study course so that I can stay at home because I just discovered that I am about two months pregnant." She paused and was met with absolute silence. With a devious little smirk she lifted her glass and said happily, "Cheers!" Took a sip and sat back down.
Immediately she popped back up onto her feet and added, "Oh! Also, I don't give a damn what anyone says or thinks about my situation. I'm happy, I want this baby, and I will tell everyone about who the father is when I am ready to talk about it. Until then, don't badger me about it or I'll make you eat slugs."
With a happy and innocent smile she went back to eating her meal trying her best to ignore the fact that everyone was still dead silent and unmoving. Rose was the first to squeal, seemingly in excitement, and practically dove over the table to hug her cousin. "This is so exciting! We'll have three babies in the family soon! Oh, Lily, can I plan your baby shower? Please, can I?"
With that outburst everyone began talking at once. Some of her female relatives began asking about any morning sickness or cravings. Her male relatives were naturally curious about the father and offered to hex him for her if she wanted. Overall they took it very well. "We've never had quite this situation before," commented her gran, "Angelina got pregnant with Roxy before she married George but never a single mother in the family. I imagine everyone will be wanting to step up and be even more involved because of the situation."
Lily took her grandmother's words graciously because she knew that she meant well. But for the first time Lily realized that she wasn't just a single mother, she was a widow. Her husband was dead. She knew that if her family was this supportive of her now they would be even more so once she was able to share with them the truth and severity of her situation.
…..
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione had closed themselves off in Harry's study in the Potter home once the meal at the Burrow had ended. "How is she doing?" asked Hermione.
Harry sighed and dropped down into his swiveling desk chair. "Pretty well considering. She has had bad morning sickness the past two days and another dizzy spell before we went to Arthur and Molly's for dinner. A couple of days ago two house elves showed up to look after her."
"House elves?" asked Hermione with a furrowed brow. "But…they're all regulated now. It took me a couple of decades but I finally have it under law that all house elves in the country are to be registered. What are the names of the house elves, Harry? I could look them up and find out which family owns them."
"Tippy and Tilly."
"Do they have foreign accents?" asked Hermione.
"No, they don't. Why?" Ginny replied.
"If the father of the child was a foreign pureblood wizard then the house elves would also have accents. Unless he has an estate here where the house elves live…in which case they would be registered. I will look into it and let you know what I find," Hermione promised.
"I don't know," Ron rubbed his chin. "Something about this doesn't feel right. Snooping into Lily's business."
"What else can we do, Ronald?" Ginny snapped. "Something upsets her very much about this bloke. She doesn't even want to talk about him. I have a bad feeling about this. She's my daughter and I would do anything to help her."
Ron had to agree. Something just didn't feel right about this situation. There was something deeper and darker in Lily's eyes when she spoke of the mystery man she'd copulated with. And this was always what the Golden Trio had been best at; delving into mysteries.
…
The next day Hermione popped into the Potter home just as Ginny was cleaning up after breakfast. "Where's Lily?" Hermione asked.
"She went back to bed after breakfast. The poor girl could only eat one piece of toast before getting sick," Harry said as he flicked his wand at the sink and the dishes began washing themselves.
"There are no house elves registered by the names of Tilly or Tippy. We are talking about an extremely powerful and ancient wizarding family if they somehow evaded the Ministry."
Ginny and Harry exchanged dark looks. "Do you think anyone might have bribed the Ministry into not registering their house elves?"
"I did look into that possibility but there is nothing to suggest it. This is all very strange and I don't like it one bit," Hermione asserted. Harry and Ginny could not have agreed more.
…..
A/N: Did the family's reactions shock anyone? A lot of people portray the elder Molly Weasley as being very old fashioned and disapproving of such things but I wanted to show that while she was surprised and not entirely approving of the situation she still loved and accepted Lily. Thoughts? I have the next two chapters planned out and then maybe an epilogue.
Yours,
MofDA