Their first summer at the Harlech cottage was the most eventful one to say the least. All four bodies involved had different agendas, and definitely used the cottage to the fullest advantage. Hermione, of course, overtook the spare bedroom and turned it into a makeshift library where she planned on studying as much as humanly possible to expedite her final year. Harry occupied the attic, where he spent his time studying old records and books of Dark Magic throughout the times. Although Voldemort had finally been defeated, Harry had no room for naivety, especially since it was no secret he was on the path to becoming the best Auror that ever existed. It also didn't help that Harry was able to find the letters that Hermione and Lia would attempt to destroy or hide of stray Voldemort follower letters that were sent to the cottage with extreme hate bled into the pages. Harry had been used to being threatened at that point, so it was no skin off of his nose.
Ron was mainly found in his bed, or on the sofa, sometimes spending days at The Burrow with his brothers. Ron was more optimistic about the world and figured once Harry and him had joined the Ministry, there would be no chance of any Dark Magic getting past them. Finally, Lia occupied the 3 seasons room, where it was overgrown with random plants and covered in phials, beakers or cauldrons of potions constantly brewing. It never failed that in the evening, the four of them would gather for a charming dinner, always ending the night on a high note.
The four appreciated the abundance of nooks and solitary places that were sprinkled throughout the cottage. If you didn't want to slip on your shoes and take a walk into the forest, or even feel the sand between your toes, there were plenty of places to lose yourself just in the cottage alone. This became mostly useful when Harry would have an episode, and need to separate himself from everyone else. The whole lot suffered from nightmares, or even moments where it was hard to stand on their own feet from what they saw during the Second Wizarding War. Harry suffered so intensely that at times it would be completely debilitating, and the only way he could come back to the present day would be sitting on the damp forest floor for hours, finding his way back home.
As fall neared, it was more interesting going to Diagon Alley as mature souls where three out of the four of them were gathering supplies for their careers instead of dancing about like excited students. Even Hermione felt different, knowing that deep down inside this was just for papers purposes, and she wouldn't be able to sleep at night if she hadn't been a proper student. Diagon Alley also hadn't had the same flare as before, due to that the lot of them couldn't walk into a store without one witch or wizard stopping at least one of them to commend them for their courageousness.
"Harry Potter, the boy who lived….. Ronald Wealsey, The King who cared, …..Hermione Granger, The most clever witch in the world…. And Ophelia Bloom, the girl with the wolf born in her chest. Bless my beard, what a glorious day to see the lot of you gracing my shop with your presence." A plump shop owner praised as the four of them shopped around for robes.
Although they mainly were annoyed from the attention, there was also a sense of guilt by the amount of merchandise that was given to them for free. Lia recalled a moment where she tried on a necklace once worn by Rowena Ravenclaw, where the owner insisted on her having it. She graciously declined when she took a glance at the price, which was more valuable than her Uncle's entire home in the U.S.
The days became shorter and time became closer to when the four would embark on their journey to adulthood. Summer had only a few weeks left, so the group at the cottage decided to enrich each second with the maximum amount of pleasure allowed. Their cellar came to them filled with at least one hundred wines, which they promised to only drink on special occasions. Lia used to her wand to spin boiling pots of water, while Hermione chopped up diced tomatoes and ordered Ron to hang a handful of orb shaped lights over the patio.
"Everyone will be here soon, Ron. Stop dragging your feet!" She yelled while waving a knife in his direction.
"I'm moving, don't have a bloody heart attack." Ron spat back at her.
"I swear, if I wasn't always yelling at that boy…" Hermione trailed off.
"Where's Harry?" Hermione wondered after scanning the room and not being able to spot him.
"I sent him out to the garden to pick some fresh blueberries. They're planted right next to the lavender sprigs, and I figured he could use the aromatherapy." Lia admitted, looking over her shoulder making sure Harry hadn't come back inside.
"Bad day?" Hermione asked while tossing an array of spices into a giant pewter pot.
"No, not yet. He hasn't really seen a lot of these people since, you know…." She covertly stated.
"No, Draco Malfoy tonight then, I take it?" She pried.
"I don't think Harry is quite ready to have Draco inside of his home yet." Lia chuckled while draining noodles into a colander.
"I always imagined what it would be like to sleep with him. There was always so much anger that I imagine it would be out of this world. Too bad you didn't try that on before Harry."
"Hermione!" Lia screamed while tossing a maroon colored rag at her.
A loud pounding came from the giant wolf shaped brass knocker attached to the door, sending Hermione in to an excited whirlwind toward the front of the cottage. After Hermione had exited, Lia watched from the kitchen window as Harry stood with his back toward the cottage, staring off into the peach colored sky, clutching onto a tiny glassy bowl. She let him have the last moments of the sunset, allowing for as much peace as his mind could absorb in any moments time. Lia understood that Harry sometimes felt lost and sometimes the certainty and safety the Earth gave him was enough to understand what he needed.
"Come on, love. Guests are starting to arrive." Lia gently breathed against his chilled neck.
"Hold on, two more minutes." He urged as the sun was almost completely hidden behind the ocean.
"Your blueberries look lovely. Really learning about the garden, eh?" She giggled while taking a bite into one of the fresh berries.
"How could I not almost be an expert living with you?" Harry joked as he kissed the sweetness from her lips.
A loud commotion came from the house as it was obvious that more guests began filling their humble home.
"Ready, lightning bolt?" Lia smiled pleasantly at Harry.
Harry didn't answer, just grabbed her hand and lightly pulled her toward the house and away from his safe zone. Neville and Luna were standing in the mudroom, while Bill and Remus were already buzzing with glasses of strong whiskey in their short cups. Hermione performed a charm on their normal small round dining room table and made it to comfortably seat at least 10 individuals for their dinner. Ron and Lia carried over the steaming dishes, while Harry was lost in the crowd receiving many of hugs and cheers to his health. The Weasley twins were both chipper eyed, leading in the group carrying boxes of candies, bottles and novelty toys from their shop. Ron had been surprised to see that Bill had come alone, and more saddened to see Remus also without Tonks.
"Harry, these chairs are quite lovely, seems to be made from ailanthus wood, is it not?" Luna dreamily asked.
Harry hadn't quite picked his head up from his steaming plate of noodles to even hear Luna from across the table.
"Harry…" Lia nudged him lightly with the tip of her foot.
"Oh, ummm….." Harry scrambled to say anything that would appease her.
"These chairs were here when we moved in, Luna. I'm not quite sure where they're from." Lia politely smiled as she seasoned her pasta.
"Luna just spent a month in Taiwan with these wild naturalists who she met in some nutter café in London. Tryin' to catch a glimpse of some water dragon or something of the sort."
"A teng. Quite an elusive creature." She answered while staring into the interesting chandelier.
"Neville, I am so excited to have you in my classroom in the fall. I am definitely do not feel prepared, so I am happy to have your helping hands alongside me." Lia admitted.
"You'll do just fine Ms. Bloom." Remus assured her while sipping on his glass of stout.
"You were a werewolf, Remus. These kids will eat me alive without that kind of allure." Lia chuckled, where the table joined her.
"You're close enough-" Hermione was barely able to squeak out before Lia threatened her silently with her creased blue eyes.
"Bill, where's Fleur?" Ron asked with a half of a baguette shoved in his mouth.
The remaining Weasley's went silent until Fred let out a subtle clearing of his throat.
"Fleur is back in France. She's with her mother in Dinan for the time." Bill conservatively replied.
"Is it er' birthday or summin?" Ron inquired with more food nearly bursting from his mouth.
"They split up, Ron…" George softly said across the table.
The entire party went silent as they watched for Bill's reaction; luckily, Bill hadn't seemed to take the moment roughly.
"I'm sorry, Bill." Hermione empathized while resting her small pale hand on top of his.
"No, don't be sorry. Our wedding was rushed on a wild note of some kind of young love. We panicked with the war happening and figured if we were going to die, it wasn't going to be alone. Shell Cottage was lovely at first, but Fleur became homesick and realized that our marriage wasn't what she expected it to be. I'm posted up alone for now, but I am planning on moving back with Mum and Dad until my new flat gets prepared in London." Bill finished his sentence with an extended sip of his water.
"Wine! And desserts!" Lia shouted and broke the stale air.
"Hermione and I prepared a few pies and cakes, and there's plenty of wine. Who would like a glass?" Lia offered, holding a deep burgundy color of alcohol.
Harry was the first to jab his empty glass in her direction, and not soon after the entire table had their cups filled and the emptied not too soon after. The crowd dispersed throughout the home after Ron flicked his wand to entice the record player into jamming music throughout their home. Harry and Neville spent time catching up together in the living area, farther away from the noise of the music talking mostly about their careers starting. Harry made sure to throw in a couple of playful jabs about Neville keeping his eyes off of Lia as they two worked closely together.
Hermione and Luna sat tightly together around the dessert table, picking at nearly any of the pies that hadn't been fully eaten by everyone else. The two were mainly heard giggling from the few glasses they had devoured by then. Fred, George and Ron took a walk down to the serene beach, out of sight from the cottage to try out some of Fred and George's new creations in private.
The sea breeze was cool enough to rush past the sands and meet Lia kindly on the picturesque patio while she chatted with Remus and Bill.
"Seriously Bill, if you want to crash on our couch until your place is ready, feel free. It might be a little less weird to stay with us." Lia offered, while sipping graciously on her cup on wine.
"No, no. Having some time with mum might do me some good. Actually eating good food will help the healing process too. I always hated French cuisine" Bill chuckled and Remus loudly joined in.
"I must be off, though. I'm still have an entire house to pack up as soon as I can." Bill nodded toward the empty glass of wine.
Bill shook Remus's hand, yelled into the indoor guests and then pulled Lia in for a gracious hug. He set off in the direction of where his brothers could be heard laughing in the distance.
"I'll have you know that the newest suppression supply has been the best yet, Ms. Bloom. Keeps me under control better than a trained German Shepherd." Remus laughed while gulping his last sips of wine.
"How's your animagus journey coming along?" He pried, now that Lia's silver hair was more noticeable under the bulbs.
"It's slowly coming. I'm still not quite sure how it all works, but I am positive that it'll work itself out…." She trailed off, while watching Bill completely disappear into the horizon.
"Is he going to be okay?" Lia pondered thinking about Bill all alone in Shell Cottage.
"Bill is a strong soul. This will not break him…. But… I mean…."
"What? What is it?" Lia urged Remus to continue talking.
"This didn't come from me, but I may have heard that another reason the couple split was from Fleur's jealousy…."
"Of what?" Lia spat.
"Bill may have had a habit of speaking highly of another blonde witch he may know…. and that witch now has the very own brightness of stars coming from her head that Bill adores so. Doesn't help that the two of you like your meat on the rarer side now, as well….."
"That's ridiculous…. Although I did find it strange that she didn't come see me after the war, we were friends after all…"
The remaining guests of the party gathered in the main living area, where now many of them had heavy lids and were sunken in some furnishing. Lia was passing out large fluffed pillows while Hermione was attempting to guide Ron up the steep staircase to their room.
"Lightweight…." Fred laughed watching his brother struggle.
Neville had already been leaned over the arm of the sofa next to Harry, nearly hidden behind the grouping of green wine bottles on the table. Harry was also obviously drunk as he lifted himself from the sofa and nearly fell onto the rug. Stumbling into the kitchen, he poured himself a glass of whiskey and offered it around the room, where Remus was the only taker. Lia had felt more tired after cleaning up the kitchen area, and laid down after assuring every guest had a place to rest their heads. Although she was worn out, she had trouble sleeping without Harry, who didn't make it in to bed until roughly 4am reeking of whiskey and wine.