Author's Notes: Please, PLEASE consider going to patreo n's website and check out my page. Sarah Jaune. It's a very minimal fee, but you get access to ALL of my original novels. Please :D
I've been in and out of internet access, so I'm sorry for the delay!
Thank you to Arnel for beta'ing
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Harry went into the hospital room before Daphne and studied Anthony Bugatti's face as the man studied him right back. When he stepped aside to reveal the man's wife, he watched Bugatti and was disappointed to realize he had no idea what the man was actually thinking.
He smiled for his wife, but it was clearly forced. It could have been because he was restrained in a hospital bed, or it could be due the fact that Daphne didn't move towards him.
"Go ahead and leave us," Harry told the Auror guards. "I'll stay."
Bugatti shot him a dirty look, but then turned back to Daphne. He didn't speak until the door had closed behind the backs of the retreating Aurors. "I don't know what happened," he said to Daphne, clearly choosing to ignore Harry.
That was fine with him, of course. He stepped back and watched, wanting to get a better read on the man.
"You tried to kill a bunch of people after teaming up with my psychotic aunt," Daphne told him quietly, her only movement, the twisting of her hands around her small handbag. "You know how she is! I told you about her."
Bugatti shook his head slowly and for one single moment Harry almost caught a read on him. "No," Bugatti croaked out the word. "They keep talking about her, but I don't know who she is."
"That's a lie," Daphne whispered, taking a step back.
"No!" Anthony shouted out, fighting to sit up in the bed. "Please, Daph! I don't know anything! Please!"
Daphne hesitated and then glanced to Harry before looking back at her husband. "I don't know how to trust you."
Anthony kept focused on her, pleading with her. "Please give me a chance! I came to England to find you! I didn't know what happened or where you'd gone."
"How did you find me?"
Anthony blinked and then shook his head. "I… I don't… know. Why don't I know?"
"It's because she told you," Harry added quietly. "She told you where to find Daphne."
Anthony glanced down at his lap for a moment as he flexed his restrained arms. "Did I work for her?"
It was not the question that Harry had expected. "I don't know. You did things for her, but whether you did them of your own free will is up for debate. We may never know."
Finally, the man focused on Harry. "You asked me if I was going to hurt anyone and I said no, but how do I trust that?"
Harry let out a long sigh and wondered if the man was playing him or playing Daphne. Or maybe, just maybe, the bloke was sincere and he'd had his life ruined by Crabbe along with damn near everyone else on the planet. "You said it while under truth serum. You can't lie and we were sure you weren't lying and that you were fully under. I suggest that if you don't want to fall prey to Isabella Crabbe again that you lock yourself away and maybe never trust any drink you didn't make yourself."
Daphne hesitated for a moment before she said, "Unlock his cuffs please. I want a word alone with him."
"Alright," Harry agreed immediately. He'd told her it was her call and he'd abide by it. He had to let the man go that day anyway as they had nothing to hold him on.
He left them alone a moment later and went out into the hall, only to find a messenger from the Ministry striding towards him with a piece of parchment. "Daniel," he said to his assistant as he took the note and scanned quickly. Harry let out a long sigh. "Thanks," he told the other man. "Let the Minister know I'll be back shortly to deal with it."
"Will do," Daniel told Harry with a small nod of sympathy before he turned and left.
Harry turned to the guards and instructed them to wait, letting them know that Bugatti was free as soon as the hospital staff cleared him. "Tell his wife I had to go to the Ministry and she can find me there if she needs me."
If it wasn't one thing, it was another, but at least today's catastrophe wasn't as serious as it could be. Rick had been practicing magic with Al and Lena and somehow he'd managed to melt the training room, which was now unusable.
This was the one thing Harry appreciated about Nat's powers. They weren't showy. Harry could only imagine what Dumbledore's teachers went through when he was first at school.
~*~
Al stared at the wreckage of the training room and tried very hard not to laugh, because it definitely wasn't funny and he had no idea what his father was going to say.
He and Rick had sparred many times in the last few months and there was no question that Rick was the more powerful wizard. It wasn't even something that bothered Al anymore, as there just wasn't anything he could do about it. After the first few weeks of being around Rick, he'd realized he had a valuable opportunity to train with someone like Dumbledore and he'd be a moron not to take him up on it. Lena would get involved sometimes, but in general she'd stand back and moderate the duels or she'd work on other skills. She was very talented, but when it came to combat, it wasn't her strength. She was better at concealing and stealth and no amount of work was going to turn her into something she wasn't.
The day had been one of relief. They'd all had a bit of sleep and the Ministry was still standing and he and Rick had both been in a good mood, so when Rick had suggested they spar, Al had been all for it. They'd begun as they normally did with physical sparing. It was the thing that Al could help Rick improve, as Al was a good bit bigger and stronger than the other man and more than that, he was quick. Once they'd warmed up for half an hour, they'd set to trading spells and somewhere in there, Rick had shot a spell at him that had surprised Al enough that he'd thrown up a strong shield and the whole thing had blown up into a firework display that melted everything around them.
Thankfully Lena had left to use the loo and hadn't been caught in the backfire. Also remarkable was that Rick wasn't hurt, either, from his spell gone wrong.
Al shook his head as Teddy grilled them both on what had happened. "I really don't know," he told his godbrother. "The only thing different was how surprised I was. I expected him to feint to the side from spell and rather than doing that, he fired back and I blocked."
"It was a really powerful shield," Rick told him as they, along with half the Aurors in the department, stood there looking at the carnage of what they'd done.
Before they could say another word, his father appeared in the doorway and his steps faltered as he took in all the melted bit around them. "What on earth…" his dad said under his breath. Al only knew what he'd meant to say because he knew him so well.
"The spell rebounded off his shield," Rick told Harry with a helpless shrug. "I honestly thought he knew it was coming, but he didn't and the power he put behind the spell just sort of magnified the whole thing. I think I didn't get blasted because I instinctively moved the energy away from myself, but the rest of the room was roasted."
Harry scrubbed at his face and shook his head. "Alright, you two start figuring out how to put the thing back together. I'm glad no one was hurt."
Neither Al nor Rick had any clue how to put the room back together, but they did go down to the Magical Accidents office and had someone come up to advise them and once they had spells to undo what could be undone they set to work.
It was while they were working that Rick told Al he didn't want to go back to America, at least not anytime soon. "The American Auror team is just… it's different," he told Al as they worked. "They have so many people because it's such a big country and it feels really impersonal. Here everyone knows everyone else and it's more of a tight unit."
"Your boss will not be happy if you don't go back," Al pointed out as he attempted to undo the melting of the foam mat, but instead made it vanish. "Well damn."
"I think we're going to have to clear out most of it and put in new things," Rick told him with a snort. "I'm not having much luck either."
"I'm sure that's in the budget," Al grimaced. "But back to your boss…"
Rick shook his head, "No, he won't be happy, but I dunno. I didn't feel like I had a choice. I was plucked out of school to go do this and everything since then has been dictated to me. Staying here was the first thing that was really all my decision. I could have gone home, but getting the chance to work with Nat and learn from her… I learned a lot. So," he shot Al a sideways glance, "When are you going to make a move on her?"
"Not talking about that," Al told him with the shake of his head. "It's complicated."
"I'm not sure it is," Rick said, but let it go when Teddy came in to check on their progress.
Al went to see Lily and Scorpius that evening because Nat was there and he'd heard from Nat that Scorpius was worried about his aunt. "You okay, mate?" he asked Scorpius just as soon as they had a moment to themselves.
"I had an owl from Aunt Daphne that they're staying in London for a bit and she'd let me know what she decides to do," Scorpius told him miserably. "I just don't know what to think about any of this, Al. She's always been a loner because of the abuse she endured and… and I really think she loved him." Scorpius glanced over to the living room where Lily was sitting on the sofa with Nat, her hands on her large belly. The look in his pale blue eyes said it all. Scorpius had been given a family with the Potters. He had Lily, the girl he'd loved for years, and even if they were very young, it didn't matter. This was it for them.
"She's always gone her own way," Al said, referring to Scorpius' aunt. "You've never known what she was going to do next, but she has a good head on her shoulders and she's always landed on her feet. I think you have to trust her."
"But if she loves him, he might be able to lie to her," Scorpius pointed out as his gaze went back to Al's. "She's not going to be totally rational about him."
Al silently agreed with that but didn't really want to say it. "Dad had him take the truth potion and he said he didn't want to hurt anyone. If he can be manipulated again, then that's what's going to happen but at least for right now I think Daphne is safe from him."
They didn't have a chance to say more before Rose and Andrew came through the Floo.
"Where's Claire?" Nat asked, as they noted Andrew's sister wasn't with them.
"She was playing with her friend and didn't want to come," Rose told them with a grin. "She said we were boring and Catie's mum didn't mind. She thinks we're just having a quiet night in our room, though."
Al shook his head as it hit him that they were still in the middle of a huge Muggle pandemic and they were only now beginning to roll out the safe vaccines for the Muggles. All of Andrew and Rose' Muggle staff lived in the house and couldn't leave, including Catie's parents. It had been a blessing for both Catie and Claire that they lived in the same house or they'd have no one to be with.
They all sat down to eat dinner a few minutes later and conversation swirled around them as it had when they'd been back at school. Very soon the last of them, Honor and Hugo, would be home from school for good and they would have even more voices around the table.
They would also have a baby very soon. Al could imagine his sister as a mother, but at the same time she was only just about to turn eighteen and it felt like she was so, so young. They all were. Still, James and Caroline had managed, without any warning, when Alex had been brought to them and if he'd have been forced to place a bet, he'd have been certain that Lily could do a much better job at parenting than James.
But James had been surprising him, all along. He was a great father and he absolutely adored his sons. Al glanced over to Nat and suppressed a sigh. He wanted that for himself someday.
~*~
"Lily is in labor."
Scorpius glanced up from his desk and gaped at Al, who was standing in the doorway, an inpatient hand tapping and his face grim. He couldn't have heard him correctly. Lily wasn't due for another month. "What?"
"Her water broke and you weren't answering the mirror!" Al told him hurriedly. "Let's go!"
Scorpius shot out of his desk chair, toppling it backwards until it hit the floor. "Is she okay? Is the baby okay?" he asked as he hurried towards his brother-in-law and they ran for the Floo.
"I dunno, I was with Dad at a meeting when the mirror went off and Mum was trying to get ahold of you. Dad sent me here to get you," Al told him as Al stood back at the fireplace. "Go on through and I'll tell your boss. I'll be through shortly."
It felt like it took forever to get through the Floo network, but when he arrived at home he found Daphne and his mum waiting in the living room. "They're upstairs," his mum told him quickly as she stood from the sofa. "Audrey says she is fine and so is the baby. You're supposed to go up."
"Alright," he agreed with a smile that didn't quite feel authentic. He wanted his wife and baby to be safe and he was excited for the baby to be here, but at the same time he did not feel like he was ready for the baby to be here.
But when he saw Lily's face, her cheek's flushed and her lips pressed together in pain he found he could only focus on her and that moment.
"She's doing really well," Audrey assured him as he moved over to her side, throwing off his dress robe onto the dresser as he went. He was down to slacks and a shirt and it still felt very overdressed for having a baby, but he didn't want to waste more time in getting to her.
"Hey," he whispered as he pressed his lips to her damp brow.
He thought maybe he'd have hours yet before she had the baby, but less than ten minutes later their daughter was born with a bright, full mop of copper hair. They named her Lorelei Hope after Lily's sister, the one who didn't get to live. He watched the baby on Lily's chest and felt tears pricking his eyes as he studied the tiny, tiny baby in her arms.
"She's gorgeous," Ginny whispered to them. "She's just perfect, Lily. You did such a great job."
Scorpius finally had a chance to hold his baby about ten minutes later and he carefully carried the baby down to the waiting family. "This is Lorelei," he told everyone, not even sure he was taking in all of everyone who had crowded into his living room.
He glanced down at her to find his daughter looking back up at him with blue eyes that he thought might just be like his and unexpectedly a tear slid down his cheek. He had married Lily in what felt like a whirlwind. His love for Lily had only grown and intensified, but he'd felt so usure of how he'd be as a father. His own father was absolute crap, even though Draco was standing there with Harry, both of them watching him.
But he loved this little girl with all his heart and soul and he knew, straight down to his toes, he was going to do a better job than his own father had. He had to. He glanced over to his father and met Draco's eyes for only a moment before someone else distracted him and he ended up passing the baby off to his mother so she could hold her granddaughter.
"I always wanted a girl," she whispered to Draco so only he could hear. "I wanted you to have a sister, but this is more wonderful than words. Thank you."
He gently hugged his mother and then let her go, watching as his baby was passed around. He didn't have long, knowing he'd need to get Lorelei back up to Lily in a few minutes, but he gave the women in the family space as he moved over to his father, Harry and Al who were off to the side.
"Congratulations," Al told him with a grin.
"I can tell you now, that's exactly how Lily looked when she was born," Harry told him. "She was just that small, as she also came early."
"She has blue eyes," Scorpius told them. "She looked at me and…" but he let the statement go because he didn't know how to finish it.
"Yeah?" Harry asked with a grin. "Maybe she'll keep them, but they might turn brown. We'll have to wait and see. Ireland was born with all that brown hair, but she's already going blonde."
Draco cleared his throat and all three of them turned to face him. Scorpius felt himself tense, unsure if he wanted to hear what his father was going to say. His father had been better in the last eight months, but it didn't mean he was someone Scorpius trusted.
"Well," Draco said after a moment. "I am glad she's here safely. I was a little worried as I know it's early for her." Scorpius waited, usure if his father was done or if the other shoe was about to drop. "Lorelei means powerful, I believe. It's a good, strong name."
Scorpius waited but it seemed Draco was done. "Thanks," he said after a minute. "She's already made a powerful impact on us, so it seemed fitting. We gave her Hope as her middle name," he said, turning to Harry and seeing the spasm of grief on his face. "We wanted to honor her sister, as well."
To all of their surprise, Draco clasped a hand on Harry's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Well, it's a lovely name. I can see Ginny at the top of the stairs, so I expect it's time for the baby to go back up."
Scorpius soaked in every single moment of the rest of that day and into the night. Lorelei definitely had a feisty personality and she didn't let them slack on anything. Gran told them later that Ginny had been exactly the same way, and although he absolutely loved Lily for who she was and how she operated, he wouldn't be sorry to have a girl who might just curse a bloke who stepped out of line.
"Oh, sweet girl," Ginny cooed as she supervised Scorpius learning to change nappies while his daughter screamed at the world. "You're going to be eating very soon."
"Turns out you're starving her," Gran chuckled as she folded cleaned linens. "I always said, Ginny, that you were spared with having Lily. She was always the sweetest baby."
Ginny laughed while Scorpius focused on fastening the nappy on correctly. She was so small they'd had to get special nappies for her, but despite how tiny she was, she had a powerful set of lungs on her. "There," he said as he pulled down her night dress and didn't bother to fasten it before scooping her up and taking her to the bed for Lily to feed. The moment she was in Lily's arms, she quieted and began to nurse.
"Maybe I should change her," Lily said, not for the first time.
"Absolutely not," Ginny told her without a moment's hesitation. "Audrey wanted you to rest in bed as much as possible for three days. You are going to do what you're told and we will handle everything else."
Gran finished folding the last nappy from where she sat on their bed and then reached over to pat Lily's hand. "Your mother is right, Luv. Just let us fuss over you. This little miss is going to learn soon enough that getting her nappy changed won't be the end of everything. She's just new and doesn't know yet."
"How did you deal with Mum screaming when you had six other kids?" Lily asked Molly. Scorpius settled gently on the bed next to her and held out his finger to Lorelei, loving how she instinctively grabbed for his finger.
"Oh, that wasn't too bad," Molly told her. "It's harder when you only have small children, but I had your Uncle Bill and he was, what was he when you were born?"
"He was ten years older than I was," Ginny told her mother.
"Yes, that's right! I had this big, strapping boy who would hold her and walk the garden with her when I was dealing with one mess or another. It's why she always had a soft spot for him, but of course then he went off to Hogwarts and that was hard. But I still had Charlie. He wasn't quite as good of a minder, though."
Ginny burst out laughing so hard that Lorelei startled. "No, he wasn't! I learned all the ways I could get in trouble from him and just as soon as he was gone, I had the twins." Her smile stilled for a moment and Scorpius knew she remembered Fred, but the memories were sweet, now, and he knew she was alright when the smile was back in full force. "We teamed up together, along with Ron, to make Percy's life miserable. It was such good fun."