A/N: Happy New Year everyone! The year has flown in already, and we kickstart it with this chapter.
The Portkey landed them slap bang in the middle of the USA office in the Ministry of Magic - exactly where they had set off from. The debriefing took just under an hour, and when Minister Bones finally let them go, Dorea was almost bouncing on the balls of her feet, desperate to get back home to Black Manor. Harry and Amelia were too.
Sirius grinned at them knowingly, and with that they started filtering out the room with the rest of the party. It was slightly begrudging when they remembered that they now had to traverse past all of the other countries' offices in order to even get to the elevators that took you to the main atrium of the Ministry. On this occasion, the Colombia offices had their countries flag displayed as banners down their corridor, and Dorea soon discovered it was to mark the countries Independence Day on the 20th of July. With a similar idea, the offices dedicated to The Comoros islands had banners marking their Republic Day.
It seemed to be a busy and bustling day in the Ministry, as there was quite a long queue formed just waiting for the elevators alone. Dorea started tapping the handle of her trunk, gradually getting a bit more impatient.
When they finally all got into one of the lifts, they were getting more excited, especially when the door opened to the main Atrium. Less than five minutes now, surely…
"Sirius!"
Oh great, another delay… Dorea shared a look with Harry and Amelia. They each were now looking at the man who was speaking to Sirius. They were speaking rather in a hushed manner, and her father seemed to jolt randomly after being told something.
"What's going on, I wonder? Has something happened?" Amelia said quietly. Dorea wondered too - if something terrible and tragic had happened, then surely the Ministry would be more sombre? Everyone you looked at seemed to be either upbeat or in at least a halfway-decent mood, so clearly it wasn't a national tragedy.
The man had to leave rather abruptly, as Dorea caught him saying he had to get to a committee meeting, but even after he left, Sirius was still standing in the same spot. His hand came up and he seemed to be holding it over the bottom half of his face in concern.
"Dad?" Dorea said at last, stepping forward.
She had a sudden thought - what if something bad had happened at Black Manor?! What if the Death Eater's had discovered it? Her mind was racing with sudden scenarios.
"We'll talk when we get home."
Ominous much? She thought. Sirius then suddenly dropped the concern and smiled at them to go over to the Floo network, but even so, Dorea could tell it was somewhat of a fake smile, one to give the impression that nothing was wrong. But she knew her dad better than that.
She knew he wasn't going to say anything until they were home. So with that, she grabbed some Floo powder, stepped into the Floo fireplace, and stated "Black Manor!"
When they had all landed on the front path at Black Manor, as if on cue, Regulus, along with Ophelia, Theo, Blaise, Barnaby and the house elves Ditsy and Dippey, came out of the front door and were either striding or jogging forward to greet them again. Harry got swamped into a hug from Blaise and Barnaby, as well as a good natured handshake and side-hug from Regulus. Ophelia was as motherly as ever, and Ditsy and Dippey were as glad as anyone.
After reuniting, they made their way inside and upstairs to at least get their trunks out of the way. Sirius actually told them to just unpack and come downstairs when ready, which was odd, but then Harry remembered that he'll be wanting to reveal whatever the news was. Harry hoped it wasn't devastating.
Whilst he unpacked, he told Blaise how the trip to the USA was from start to finish, and he seemed very impressed when he told him about working with the Native Americans.
"So do you think that was why Minister Bones wanted you three to go?" Blaise asked as Harry sorted out his dirty and clean washing.
"That's certainly what we think. She knows we're empathetic and would want to help them."
It wasn't long before Ophelia was in the doorway. "Harry. Why don't you come downstairs and have a cuppa?" She said in her very kind voice.
He nodded, and Blaise followed him downstairs. When they walked into the kitchen, it seemed everyone else was waiting for them. The kettle seemed to be the only thing making noise.
Once they made tea for themselves, Harry sat next to his twin, who likewise had Theo next to her. Blaise sat next to Barnaby. Once Ophelia took her seat, Sirius finally spoke about what had happened.
"I'm sure you younguns will know Hannah Abbott. Yesterday, Death Eater's raided her property. Hannah was out at the time, and when she had come back… they had killed her mother, Octavia Abbott, who was a colleague of mine." Sirius said forlornly.
Harry had felt dread when Sirius had said that the Death Eater's had raided the property. Even though Hannah was unharmed, he felt absolutely awful for his good friend - to come back and find your mother dead… he was sure no words could describe how Hannah felt in that moment. He glanced beside him, and Amelia looked gutted, and Dorea close to crying.
"W-where is Hannah now?" Amelia voiced.
"She's staying with her father. She has an older brother and sister too, but they moved out a few years back. They've been informed." Sirius replied.
Harry wondered if he was thinking along the same lines as his twin sister; what if Hannah could come stay with them, here, at Black Manor?
"When is the funeral?" Theo asked.
"Next Wednesday."
"Maybe we could go? She's going to need all the support she can get." Barnaby suggested.
"That's really thoughtful, Barnaby. I'm sure that can be arranged." Regulus said.
Sirius certainly agreed, but they would need to check out the details regarding the funeral; it may just be close friends and family only. The details of the funeral would likely be in tomorrow's Daily Prophet.
The rest of that afternoon was on a slightly more quiet note, as no doubt everyone was thinking of Hannah and the rest of her family right now. Once Harry got his trunk away, he decided to lay down for an afternoon nap, in order to try and readjust his body clock back to UK time again.
A great, refreshing trip away, and yet with the highs and lows of life, partly came crashing down with the news of what his friend was going through.
On Monday, they were in slightly better spirits for the grand opening of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, which was at long last open for business on Diagon Alley. The six 'kids' of the household were going without the adults - Sirius and Ophelia were both working, and Regulus couldn't exactly just rock up in public, being 'long dead', so Sirius promised them to be careful and not stray away too far from each other. They got there at half past eight, as the shop was opening at 9, and already the queue of people was around the corner and halfway up another street.
When doors opened, and they finally got inside, Amelia could see that Fred and George had put their heart and soul into this - products upon products, some of their own developments, some other brands, and yet everything about it was so captivating. It was definitely a hit as well, as people of all ages turned up. Those two will be set for life, Amelia knew, and the Weasley family deserve the cash.
They spent about forty-five minutes in the place, and the six of them left with at least two products. They found some time to talk to the twins themselves (and Dorea, being Fred's girlfriend, probably got the most time out of the six of them), but because it was so busy they understandably didn't have much time. They caught up with the Weasley family and Hermione, and said they would be in touch regarding more days they could come over. Weirdly, Harry and Ginny seemed to disappear for about ten minutes, and when they came back looked very flushed and giddy.
This wasn't their only stop on their trip out today - Sirius had managed to arrange for them to meet up with Hannah Abbott. They'd been given an address to Floo to, so after a quick stop to buy her flowers, a sympathy card and some chocolate to cheer her up, they used the Floo in the Leaky Cauldron, which took them right into her living room. Theo, Blaise and Barnaby weren't coming; everyone agreed that Hannah may get very overwhelmed if too many visitors arrived at one time, especially since it had barely been five days since her mothers' death. Amelia was the last to come through, and when she got to the address, Harry and Dorea were already standing in a spacious living room.
A man came through to greet them, and a woman did too. "Ah, you lot are Hannah's friends, correct?" the man, presumably Hannah's dad, asked. He had a Northern English accent.
"Yes, we are." Harry replied for them.
"She's upstairs. First room on the right." he said.
As they walked past him, they each said something along the lines of "sorry for your loss." He nodded appreciatively after each one. Amelia assumed the woman was Hannah's step-mother.
Hannah was already standing out on the landing of the first floor when they climbed the stairs. Dorea was the first to reach her, and immediately swamped her in a hug, which quickly turned into a group hug. Hannah quickly ushered them into her room.
Surprisingly, when they entered her spacious and cosy bedroom, there was already one Pansy Parkinson. Their newest friend stood up and had a brief look of bewilderment.
"Pansy! It's good to see you!" Amelia said,
"Hi." she replied, and made to get up.
"No, no - stay. Don't leave on our account." Dorea said gently.
Pansy looked relieved, and grateful. Amelia could see why Pansy would be here - the morning after the Hogsmeade attack, when Pansy decided to turn a new leaf and not support the Death Eaters, Hannah was one of the first people to accept her and befriend her. It seemed the two had blossomed into a friendship.
"I-I wanted to be here," Pansy stated, "knowing that Hannah had to witness something like that at the Death Eaters hands… I couldn't let her go through that alone."
"We understand. It's very kind of you." Harry said, smiling earnestly.
After a minute or so, where they gifted Hannah her flowers and sympathy gifts, Amelia popped the question. "How are you holding up?"
Hannah seemed to answer earnestly, and with some determination not to get upset. "It gets harder and harder to process that I will never see her again. Will never go shopping or out to eat with her, ever again. To know what or who she might have been thinking about in her last moments alive… I just don't understand why her? What did my mum ever do to them?"
Amelia silently applauded her friend's mental strength, as her voice only barely wavered. They each listened intently. In a way, it was good to just allow Hannah to talk about everything.
"And your dad? How is he? Your brother Michael and sister Sophie?" Pansy enquired.
"My dad has been depressed. Though he and mum split up years ago, they remained as friends and did get along very well. So you can only imagine how he's feeling."
The subject changed slightly, and to take Hannah's mind off her mum, Amelia spoke about their trip to America, which was also news to Pansy. They also spoke about who all had been to visit Hannah since the tragedy - Susan, Megan and Ernie had been round, as had the three other Hufflepuff girls in their year; Zara Valli, Poppy Caxton and Jessica Tring . Parvati Patil had sent a card, so had Daphne and Astoria, Tracey Davis, and the Ravenclaw girls - Sue, Amanda, Padma and Lisa. Amelia shared a grin with Dorea when Hannah had said that Neville was coming round tomorrow. After another ten minutes, there was a knock at the bedroom door, and it was Hannah's step-mum, who asked if they wanted tea or coffee. They all asked for tea, and the woman emerged five minutes later, with a younger teenager helping her carry the cups up.
"Your step-brother?" Pansy asked when they were left alone again.
"Well, sort of. My step-mum had him with another man in a previous relationship. I suppose if my dad and her get married, he will be my step-brother properly." Hannah answered.
They only stayed another half-hour, as it was edging closer to lunchtime. Just as Pansy left through the Floo, Harry spoke. "Do you think you'll ever go back to your mum's house?"
Hannah didn't get upset by the question. "After the funeral I'll have to get the rest of my things and move them here. If I'm honest," she then lowered her voice, even though there was nobody in the living room but them, "I feel like I'm a bit of an outsider in my own father's home. Because I didn't properly live with him full-time, and only went to his house on certain days, it feels like I'm inconveniencing this family dynamic that he's established with my step-mum and her kids. Don't get me wrong, there's no problems between us, but it's not as easy to bond when I've spent less time with them."
Harry considered. "Well, if you ever feel left out, you could come and stay with us for however long you'd like."
Something in Hannah's eyes twinkled. "Woah… really?"
Amelia nodded encouragement. "Yeah really."
Their Hufflepuff friend looked like she was considering. "I'll need time to think, with everything going on. I'll make a decision after the funeral."
"No worries, and no rush." Dorea said reassuringly.
When they got home, the boys, with the help of Ditsy and Dippey, were putting two pizzas in the oven for lunch. As they sat and ate, Amelia couldn't help but think just how many people would be able to fit in Black Manor. In her mind, she wished for all their friends to be here, completely secure and away from any danger, sheltering away from Death Eaters and their ilk.
She wanted the place to be bustling with more people so badly, for their own safety's sake, but even though logistically it would be hard, it was a nice fantasy.