I do not own Harry Potter, the Wizarding World, or any canon characters.
Hello everyone, happy Friday! Hope all are doing well. This is my latest installment in the FamilyVerse setting. It's a story idea I played around for a while and decided, like Feathered, should be it's own separate story. Hopefully you all enjoy it. It is completed already and will be posted at least once a week in lieu of Extended Family. All my best to you and as always, thank you for your time and attention. It means a lot to me. Have a nice day and lovely weekend!
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The Family that Heals
Chapter 1 – The Unexpected Expected Event
"Girls, you have to be strong," he said, voice heavy and nearly shaking. "Promise me you'll be strong."
"No!" a girl shouted, her skin light brown and hair auburn and curly. "I don't want to!"
"Don't leave us!" a second girl shrieked. She was lightly tan from the sun and had long brown hair tied up. She grabbed onto him with desperate strength.
"Don't let go!" the third shouted. Her blonde hair flew every which way and her emerald green eyes were squeezed tight to stem the flow of tears.
"I won't ever let you go!" the man said, hugging the three of them all the tighter.
Alicia Wood buried her face into her hands. "Every time," she said through gritted teeth. "Must we do this every time?!"
Katie Potter patted her on the shoulder. "To be fair, it's only happened twice so far," she said, eyes dancing and her smile from ear to ear. "You know, first term last year and then going back after the winter holiday."
"How are you not embarrassed by this?" Alicia asked, pointing at the scene before them.
"I think it's a little funny," Angelina Weasley smiled, "and sweet."
Admittedly, where they currently were was a place used to tearful farewells and joyful reunions to differing degrees. They were at Platform 9 and 3/4s, at King's Cross Train Station, and the platform where the students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry would be leaving London to go to the castle to learn about magic and all sorts of related things. Generally speaking, the very emotional farewells were for first time students leaving.
Generally speaking.
"You are going to see him in a few hours!" Alicia said loudly, lambasting the children that were clinging to the man. "You see him pretty much every day! You are even allowed to return home once every few weeks or so and you see him then!"
"And?" Hadley Wood asked, looking up at her mother, throwing her brown hair back over a shoulder.
Alicia sighed loudly and looked at her other daughter wearily. "Please promise me you won't do this when you go."
"I can't promise that," Melanie said honestly.
"I know better than to ask you two not to do that," Angelina snorted.
A boy and girl that looked very much like each other and the girl with the auburn hair looked at each other before looking up at their mother with identical looks of insincere innocence. "We don't know what you're talking about," Abby and Alex said, smiling at their mother's snort.
"And you're already thinking of how to one-up your sister or help her, right?" Katie asked, smiling down at the little black-haired girl beside her.
Iris nodded. "Yup! I haven't decided yet. Me and Heather will do something I'm sure though."
"Of course you two will," Katie smiled. "Try not to torture us when it's your turn please," she asked her son. The small blonde-haired boy looked up at her and nodded seriously and snuggled into her side comfortably.
"Alright, up you get Sir Harry," Oliver Wood chuckled. "And say goodbye to your mum and little sister Hadley."
Harry Potter rose to his feet, smiling unashamedly and watched fondly as his daughter Dahlia, the girl with blonde hair and green eyes, hugged her sister and mother and brother, with the other two girls. Hailey Weasley, the girl with auburn hair, hugged her family fondly with Hadley doing that as well.
"Love you Mummy," Hadley said, grinned widely.
"You better," Alicia chided, smiling and hugging her back. "Love you too, baby."
"You lot got your things?" George Weasley asked. "Nothing left behind?" He smiled when they nodded. "Not like us when we were their ages."
There was a flurry of hugs and kisses between all the adults and children. It was easy to see how close the families were and all of the children were treated with unstinting affection and love. The train blew its whistle, a cheery tune that also served as a warning for imminent departure. The girls hopped onto the black train cars and waved from the open entryway.
"Stay out of trouble, as best as you can," Angelina called.
"Be good!" Alicia said loudly. "You know we will know if you aren't!"
"Be happy!" Katie called. They waved as the train began to leave. The engine huffed and puffed, the wheels turned, and it blew a merry tune as it built up speed. Families on the platform waved and shouted goodbyes and farewells to their children that were leaving who waved from windows as the train pulled away. With a final blast of the whistle and a billowing cloud of steam, the train left, leaving the platform feeling slightly empty.
"And there they go, starting their second year," George sighed gustily.
"They finally get to play on the school team," Oliver said, rubbing his hands together.
"And thus begins another dynasty of Gryffindor Chaser superiority," Alicia said proudly.
"Hell yeah!" Angelina cheered, throwing an arm around Alica's and Katie's shoulders. "As it should be!"
"Those are our girls!" Katie smiled, high-fiving the other two women. She looked over at her husband and smiled warmly, seeing him talk to a few parents that had stayed after the train had left. Harry spoke with them warmly, laughing with them.
"He looks good," Oliver said proudly. "As sad as I was seeing him leave the team, he's a great professor and I feel better with him at Hogwarts while the kids are there."
"Teaching agrees with him," Alicia said just as proudly.
"The school needs him for many reasons," Angelina smiled. She looked at her twins who were talking with other younger children and running around the platform. "All our children being part of the many reasons."
"He's going to have his hands full when the others go," George nodded. "But he's used to it."
"Have you decided if you want to do more of the older years classes?" Katie asked.
Alicia shrugged a little. "I am thinking about it. I do the occasional class now but maybe it wouldn't be so bad being a more regular professor."
"They're going to need more soon, class sizes keep growing," George said.
"Something to think about," Alicia mused.
"Sorry," Harry said, rejoining them.
"Don't be," Oliver said easily. "Parents having a few questions?"
"Yeah, just a few, but thankfully their kids have been fine so nothing to worry about there," Harry said. He picked up his son Lucas and held him with practiced ease as Lucas leaned against him comfortably. "I'll take the kids back to the village and get them settled before I head back to Hogwarts."
"Thanks Rabbit," Angelina smiled gratefully.
"We're doing dinner tonight, right?" George asked.
Katie nodded. "And Harry will come over after the Welcoming Feast."
"Sounds like a plan, see you all then," Oliver grinned.
The families left the platform together, as they had in the past, and will into the future.
-0-
"There's a lot of firsties this year," Hailey said. She and her best friends and sisters in all but blood walked down the train together. The compartments were comfortably full and they waved at students they knew and were friendly with while pointedly ignored ones they were not friendly with. Many of the compartments had completely new faces and that were younger.
"I wonder how many will be in Gryffindor with us," Hadley said.
"Hopefully a good amount," Dahlia said. "I like making new friends." They walked into a new car and she noticed something. "Aww, look."
"She's by herself," Hailey said, seeing a compartment with a single girl sitting inside. She looked like she was trying to be unnoticeable, looking out the window. She was dressed in Muggle clothing that looked well-made and presentable.
"Huh, I wonder why," Haley mused.
"She doesn't have friends," Hailey said, frowning.
"Well obviously," Hadley said back, making a face. "But a lot of the others don't have friends yet and are sitting together."
"She might be Muggleborn," Dahlia said. "Like Auntie Hermione. This must be really new and strange to her." They looked at each other for a moment.
"Let's come back out after the trolley cart goes around," Hailey suggested. "If she's still by herself, we can chat with her a little."
"Sounds good," Hadley nodded. They continued on their way and reached the compartment they had left their things in. Helena, Dahlia's snowy owl, hooted warmly at the girls. She settled into Dahlia's lap and pulled on her hair until the girl started petting her. As soon as they got settled, the door opened and more girls came in.
"Hi!" the trio trilled and helped their friends put their trunks into the racks. Soon the compartment was full of laughter and happy chatter and for the moment, the girls forgot about the other girl in the compartment they passed.
-0-
The Floo fire roared and Harry came out of it, brushing soot and ash from himself in reflex. He put his bag down and hung his cloak up, getting settled into his office. It was a small one but incredibly warm. The bookcase behind his desk had pictures of all sorts lining the shelves as well as little trinkets and affections. A large Pride of Portree flag, the team he played professional Quidditch on for many years, was pinned to the wall to his side, always in his line of sight. He arranged a few lop-sided pieces of parchment on his desk and opened a letter to read.
"Come in," he said absently when someone knocked on his door. He looked up and smiled. "Hi McGonaMum!"
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts and the senior Transfiguration professor smiled back at Harry. "Hello Harry," she said warmly. Underneath the warmth however, was something else. An unease.
Harry caught on immediately. "Is something wrong?"
She hesitated for a moment. "Not wrong, exactly," she said at last, closing the door to the office and sitting down across from him. "First, allow me to apologize for this. I would have rather addressed this in any other way but it only really came to my attention now."
"Of course," Harry said, frowning. "What's going on?" He accepted a roll of parchment from her. "The incoming first year roster. Wow, there's a lot. That's so cool." At her sad look and gesture, he looked down the list of names before stopping at one of them. His stomach clenched and he blinked slowly at the name.
"Pomona was the liaison for the Muggleborns this year," McGonagall said, looking at Harry sadly. "She met with them and it took some convincing on her part, but nothing strange enough for her to inform anyone else. Save, perhaps, for her accepting under a different name. But the roster was created using their true names and I only just now saw it and realized what I was seeing."
"Huh," Harry said, not knowing what else to say.
"If you would like, I would be happy to switch classes with you, should the need arise," McGonagall said.
"Uh…well, I really appreciate the gesture," Harry said slowly, mind reeling. "I really do."
"Of course, I care very much about you," McGonagall said.
He smiled a little, a half-hearted expression. "Same, the me caring about you, not me caring about myself." His smile grew a little when the older woman laughed. "I think I'll be fine. I can't avoid her forever. Wouldn't be fair to switch classes for the entirety of her time here at Hogwarts."
"I'm so proud of you," McGonagall said, looking at him fondly. "If you wish, anytime, we can make the change."
"Thank you," he said softly.
"Were you aware?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Last time I saw any of them was when Dally was a little girl, on my birthday that year." He blinked at the naked ferocity in McGonagall's expression, at her deep disapproval. Harry looked back at the name and snorted a little. "I hope they treat her better," he said honestly and wistfully.
"She will be checked by Poppy and Verity as all first years are now," McGonagall said, knowing full well what Harry meant.
"That's good," Harry said quietly. He rubbed his eyes. "I might have you contact the parents if it's needed though."
"Of course," she replied firmly. They lapsed into companionable silence.
Harry turned and looked at the Portree Flag and smiled, good humor returning. "It's their second year."
McGonagall beamed, clapping her hands. "I know! I am so excited! So is White. She has been waiting for this year to come and luckily the two senior Chasers graduated last year."
"Ready to see the Inter-House Cup in your office for the next six years?" Harry asked with a big smile.
"I have been waiting for it to come home," McGonagall said loudly and the two laughed merrily, momentarily forgetting the start of their conversation.
-0-
"Hey, she's still alone," Hailey said, returning to the train compartment.
"Who?" Alice Chiang asked.
"A girl we saw earlier. Firstie sitting by herself," Hadley explained.
"Really? Didn't try to sit with others?" Megan Innis remarked.
"We think she's a Muggleborn," Dahlia said, getting to her feet. "We said we'd go chat with her a bit if she was still alone when the cart came around and it's about that time."
"You lot are too nice sometimes," Sandy White grinned.
"They could be nicer," Bethany Carrow said with a small smile. "Well Hadley definitely could, not you Dally."
"I'm plenty nice," Hadley sniffed.
"To who?" Serena Abbot asked and the compartment was filled with laughter.
"Want us to get you something from the cart?" Esther White asked.
"Yes please. The usual stuff. Here's some money." Hailey gave her some coins. "We'll be back later."
"If you come back too late, we'll eat what we get you," Bethany called.
"This is why I'm not nicer!" Hadley said before Hailey pushed her out of the compartment.
"Come on," Dahlia giggled. "Helena will protect our snacks." They made their way down the train and came back to the small compartment where the little girl still sat there alone. She turned to look at them with wide eyes when Dahlia knocked on the door before cracking it open.
"Hi," Dahlia said with a big smile. "May we come in?" she asked, gesturing at herself and her two best friends.
"S-Sure," the girl stammered, looking at them with shock and apprehension.
"Don't worry, we won't bite," Hadley said as they walked in and sat across from the girl. "At least we won't," she said, pointing at herself and Dahlia.
"Hey, I only bite if I have to during a scrap and you know how hard Abby and Alex scrap," Hailey said, aggrieved.
"Yeah, that's fair," Hadley grinned.
Dahlia smiled at the girl, seeing her start to relax a little. "We're all best friends and basically sisters, we grew up together. We also grew up in the Wizarding World so if you have questions, we can answer them."
"What's your name?" Hailey asked.
"D-Daisy Du-Durton," the girl stammered, flushing a little.
"DeDaisy or just Daisy?" Hadley asked before flinching when Dahlia pinched her.
"Be nicer," Dahlia chided.
"It was a legitimate question!" Hadley cried, pinching her back.
"Just Daisy," Daisy said, voice small but no longer shaking.
"Nice to meet you," Hailey said kindly. "I'm Hailey Weasley. That's Hadley Wood. And that's Dahlia Potter."
Daisy flinched a little at Dahlia's name, something the other three noticed. Dahlia frowned a little and tilted her head and Hadley's eyes narrowed slightly.
"It's n-nice to meet you," Daisy said hurriedly.
"Likewise," Hadley said slowly. "I'm guessing you don't know anything really about magic? Does anyone in your family know magic?"
"I don't know," she replied weakly.
"There's nothing wrong with that," Dahlia said warmly. "That means you're Muggleborn. Muggles are non-magical people. One of our favorite aunties is Muggleborn."
"All of our aunties are our favorites to be fair," Hailey said.
"Well yeah, but that's not the point," Dahlia said. "Anyways, there might be some people who are ruder to you because of it but thankfully it's a lot less than before. Most people don't care about that anymore."
"The lady that came to my house explained that," Daisy said, growing more open. "She was really nice. Had grey hair and wore a hat my mum wears when she gardens. Said she teaches herb something?"
"That's Professor Sprout and she's so nice," Hailey said eagerly. "And Herbology, that's learning about plants, mostly magical ones but about all sorts and how to use them."
"That does sound nice, I like helping my mum garden," Daisy brightened. Her bright expression dimmed slightly. "I miss her and my daddy and my sister."
"Yeah, so did I," Dahlia said sympathetically. "Still do, but luckily my daddy is a professor at the school and he's the best. But you'll get to send letters and things home and the school has been working on doing visiting days for families and stuff like that."
Hadley continued to look closely at Daisy. The other girl had looked at Dahlia again when she said her father was a professor and it was an odd look. Hadley ignored the curious look from Hailey and continued to observe the other girl.
"Do you have any questions?" Dahlia asked.
"What are some of the different things that people are wearing? They're colored differently and some people wear the same ones?"
"Oh those are the Houses. You get Sorted into them when you arrive and you live in the shared dormitories and common rooms. We're in Gryffindor!" Dahlia threw her arms around her friends. "There's also Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. All of them have good people and not as good people but no one is bad. We have friends in all of the Houses. Or at least people we're friendly with."
"That sounds nice," Daisy said, nodding to herself. She noticed Hadley staring at her and blanched a little.
"Is something wrong?" Dahlia asked, noticing now.
Hadley smoothed her expression and smiled. "Nope! Nothing, just thinking." The door knocked and the trolley witch peeked in, smiling at the girls.
"I was wondering where you three were," she said warmly.
"Just being friendly," Dahlia smiled back. "Hey, let's show you what snacks there are." She pointed out the different kinds to an interested Daisy and even bought something for the girl when she looked the most at the chocolate frogs.
"Thank you," Daisy said, smiling easily. "I love chocolate."
"You'll have to see who you get as a card. There's famous witches and wizards on them," Hadley said.
"We better get back to our compartment," Hailey said, "before Bethany eats everything."
"It was nice meeting you Daisy," Dahlia smiled. "Hey, if you get Sorted into Gryffindor, then you'll have three friends waiting!"
"That'll be nice," Daisy said, eyes bright and hopeful. She tucked a lock of dirty blonde hair back. "Thank you for chatting with me."
"See you later!" The three older girls waved and left the compartment. On the way back to their compartment, Hailey stopped and pulled Hadley into a corner in the adjoining car. "Okay, what's wrong with your face?"
"What's wrong with yours?!" Hadley shot back.
"Come on, you've been giving her the eye for the longest time," Hailey said. "Why?"
"Something's funny," Hadley said, turning serious. "And not good funny."
"What do you mean?" Dahlia asked, looking concerned.
"I think she's lying about something," Hadley said softly, lowering her voice.
"Why would she lie to us?" Hailey asked.
"Exactly, why would she lie to us?" Hadley replied.
"What do you think she was lying about?" Dahlia asked.
"I think she knows some things about magic. It's not completely new to her."
"Could be from books and things. Auntie Hermione has shown us plenty," Hailey said.
"Right, but I just get the feeling she knows more than she told us," Hadley persisted.
"She did look at Dally a little funnily when we introduced ourselves," Hailey said slowly. The two other girls turned to look at Dahlia.
"I noticed that too and it was weird," Dahlia confessed. "But I've never met her before. Unless it's like something incredibly random like bumping into someone at Diagon or at one of the stadiums."
"Which she wouldn't know about if she is Muggleborn," Hadley said.
"And she had the same funny look when Dally said Papa Harry is a professor," Hadley concluded.
"Oh she better not start anything or cheek him," Hailey said heatedly.
"But why would she react that way?" Hadley persisted.
"Maybe she had a bad experience one time in a pottery shop?" Dahlia suggested. She smiled weakly at Hadley and Hailey's flat looks.
"Now if that was the reason, that'd be funny," Hailey giggled.
"I hope it's something that dumb," Hadley said. She screwed her face up, thinking deeply.
"Now that's a funny face," Dahlia smiled.
"It's my thinking one," Hadley said. She relaxed a little and sighed. "I swear, it's something I should remember but I don't. And it's bothering me."
"Well you can write a letter to AliMum tomorrow and Helena will take it home," Dahlia said.
"Yeah, might do that," Hadley nodded. The girls walked back to their original compartment. "Did you eat all our snacks?"
"No, we did not," Bethany sniffed. "Because we are good friends."
"That and Helena is sitting on them protectively," Alice smiled.
Helena was indeed sitting on a few boxes and wrapped things, fluffed up and looking very possessive over them. She barked as the girls came back, puffing up proudly.
"Good girl," Dahlia smiled and kissed her on the forehead.
"Sandy and Meggy went to see their other friends for a bit," Esther said. "How was the firstie?"
"Nervous but nice," Hailey said. She looked at the other two and Hadley shook her head slightly. "Muggleborn like we thought."
"That's tough," Alice said sympathetically.
The girls dug into the snacks and they talked and ate and laughed as the train chugged along. Dahlia looked over and noticed that Hadley still wore a pensive look and while Dahlia was able to draw her friend back into the thick of things, she too felt a certain sense of disquiet.
It faded as time passed but it never completely went away.