Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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The sun shone brightly as Harriet breathed the fresh air of a sweet, new day while she walked through a dewy meadow.
Standing in the center of the field, she noticed a table with three people seated in its chairs.
Two red-headed women and one man with glasses, but who-
"Mum!" One of the women shouted.
Harriet blinked as she watched the stranger stand from her seat and rush towards her, "Oh, Mum! It's so good to have you with us! Come sit for a while, won't you? Please come and sit!"
Harriet looked on in shock while she let the stranger lead her to the only empty seat at that odd, little table.
"Hello, sweetheart." The second red-headed woman, noticeably older than the first, smiled.
"Hey, Harriet." The man nodded, his dark hair glistening in the sunlight, which reflected off his glasses.
As the younger woman sat down beside her, Harriet's eyes widened as she recognized the couple from the photographs she had been given in her early childhood.
"Mum?!……." She gasped, "Dad?!?……Is it really you?!"
"It is and we love you dearly, sweetheart." The older woman, Harriet's mother, smiled as she reached out and took her hand.
"We miss you more than we can say, but look how you've turned out! We're proud of you, love," Her father laughed.
"Sorry, Mum." The younger red-headed woman frowned, "I'm going to stay with them…..But I'll wait for you! And for Dad…..And my brothers, too!"
Harriet furrowed her brow as she looked closer at the girl.
She recognized the emerald eyes and red hair as traits inherited from the Potter's side, but the girl's bone structure clearly bore resemblance to …...Tom's.
"No….." Harriet shook her head as she realized she spoke to the child she had not yet met, "This…..This can't be right, I chose to leave……so that you could stay."
"Dad can't live without you." The red-headed girl frowned, "He needs you, Mum, he needs you worse than he needs me, I understand. Sorry! My brothers did call me to save you, so in a way, I suppose I did what they wanted!" She said with a hearty laugh.
"What has he done?" Harriet demanded as she glanced around, "Where am I? Where are we?! What has your father done?!"
"Don't be angry with him, please!" The red-headed girl frowned, "I'll be here waiting for you all! And I already have family…" The girl explained as she glanced at Harriet's parents before she looked at her again with a giggle.
Harriet frowned as she watched her parents take each other's hands as her daughter went on, "Grandmum's already named me…..'Euphemia'……I think Granddad likes it very much…..Anyway, when you see Dad again, you have to forgive him, alright? For me, Mum, you have to forgive him."
Harriet blinked but Euphemia frowned, "You have to forgive him, Mum…If you don't, he won't be able to-"
"-No…." Harriet frowned, "This can't be right…..None of this is right."
As that golden meadow began to fade, her parents and daughter started to vanish as well.
Before Harriet slipped back through dreamless layers of deep unconsciousness, her mother looked into her eyes, placed her hand on her face, and spoke loving words of gentle reassurance to soothe her aching soul.
"We'll wait here for you when the day comes, sweetheart, we'll all be waiting…right…..here."
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Harriet groaned as her eyes remained shut.
Seated by her side, Tom's mouth fell open as he watched his wife move in the sheets, their sleeping child removed from the room long ago, before the grisly realities of her condition had become apparent.
"……Sweetling?" He dared to quietly ask.
A second later, for the first time in three days, he found himself gazing into his wife's beautiful, emerald stare.
"………You've come back to me at last." Tom breathed with a wry smile.
Harriet blinked for a moment as she tried to focus her thoughts.
"You don't have to tell me what happened, Tom." Harriet whispered, "I already know.
Afraid he would hurt her with an embrace, Tom clutched his wife's hand as he bit his tongue to hold back the mortifying tears that gathered in his eyes.
Harriet closed her eyes again as she sniffed and whispered bitterly, "I already know she's gone…..and that she was beautiful."
As Tom straightened himself to begin his speech, Harriet added, "……Euphemia."
"Euphemia?" He frowned.
"That's her name." Harriet smiled sadly as she looked up at him, "She told me so herself………I spent some time with her, how much I don't know, but she was…..absolutely lovely. Our second daughter."
Tom's expression cracked with sorrow.
"I'm not afraid to die when the time comes. One day, when you can't make a bargain for me." Harriet smiled softly, "I'll get to see her again……and my Mum…..and my Dad. We'll all be a family at last."
Tom swallowed as he started to speak, "Harriet, I-"
"-Couldn't bear to let me go." She chuckled mirthlessly, "You weren't going to lie to me, were you, Tom? I know you too well……I can't pretend that I'm not upset, but she asked me to forgive you, so I….I will, I'll forgive you…..for her sake."
Harriet's voice had lost its usual warmth.
Tom teetered on the edge of despair as he noticed the light in his darling's green eyes had grown dim.
Trapped by his own actions, he had nowhere to run.
"I'm sorry….." He breathed as he grasped Harriet's hand, "I'm sorry, sweetling, I couldn't face-"
"-I know." Harriet said as she closed her eyes and sighed, "I know, Tom, I know."
"Mae is gone." He offered, as if that announcement would somehow better their reality, "I banished her…….forever."
"And?……She'll return." Harriet sighed again, "She's too much like her father to give up. You should have learned that by now."
"No! She can never return!" Tom quickly declared, "Forgive me……She is still ours…and I could not…..I could not bring myself to-"
"-It's alright, Tom." Harriet said as she opened her eyes again.
Tom squeezed her hand.
Harriet returned that gentle pressure.
He forced his tears not to fall as he gazed at his wife, but Harriet refused to hold back her emotions.
As she lay in bed, she allowed herself to break into a series of uncharacteristic sobs that wracked her aching body.
Tom bent forward and pulled her into his arms, but made no means to silence her.
It destroyed him to realize he had caused his mate's pain.
All of it, it had all been his fault.
He could not mend his fractured family, but the least he could do would be to put the pieces back together as best they could fit.
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After Harriet had taken a long, luxurious bath and changed into a clean nightgown of her choosing, she returned to her nest with Tom's help.
While she made herself comfortable, he left the room and walked downstairs to find James and Mark drawing on the same piece of paper.
"Your mother is awake." He announced without warning.
James and Mark looked up with wide eyes.
"May we see her?!"
"Is Mummy alright?!"
"Go on, James." Tom nodded, "But be quiet and careful, she's quite weak. Mark, stay here."
James and Mark exchanged frowns of dismay.
Reluctantly, the two brothers parted as James nervously left his younger brother in the care of their father.
"Mark……." Tom began as he crossed his arms.
"Yes?" Mark answered with a wary pout as he looked up at Tom.
"You don't have a single bit of magical talent." Tom hissed.
"I…..I……" Mark stammered as his heart began to pound, "I…."
"-And yet, you are still my son." Tom nodded.
Mark's eyes widened.
"And will always be." Tom announced with a resolute frown.
To Mark's great surprise, his father uncrossed his arms and offered him a hand.
Mark leapt at the generous chance he had been given.
Seeking Tom's approval more than anything else in the world, Mark bounded over and grabbed his father's hand, with the paper he and James had been working on clutched under his arm.
Together, Tom and his son walked up the stairs in silence, hands firmly clasped.
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Harriet blinked as the door to the bedroom opened.
A quiet voice called out, "Hey, Mum……"
She blinked before she noticed who peeked into the room, "James, sweetheart! Come in! Come here! I'm so glad to see you!"
As James walked over to the bed and gave Harriet a long, loving hug, Mark and Tom appeared in the doorway.
Tom walked over and sat down on the bedside while Harriet welcomed both of their sons in for a fond embrace.
Together, James and Mark presented their mother with the handmade greeting card they had carefully designed for her.
As Harriet accepted the meaningful gift from her boys with a soft smile and whispers of praise, Tom watched his mate cuddle what remained of their brood in her nest.
It was all he could do to keep from howling like a wounded wolf.