Harry sat in silence, cradling his family in his arms. Ginny was leaning against him, still sobbing and shaking. In her arms was Alexandra, who cried as if her hear had been torn away. In his arms was the still bundle of their lifeless son. They didn’t acknowledge the presence of the two Weasley’s or the otter-shaped patronus that came from Hermione’s wand.
“Harry, Ginny, let’s go out to the kitchen,” Ron whispered. “Mum’s on her way.”
With gentle hands, Hermione led the distressed family out of the room.
They walked slowly down the hall passed the sitting room. It was in shambles. There were great craters in the wall. Cabinets carrying many of the Potters’ china plates were destroyed. They carefully averted their gazes from the blood that was smeared down the wall and pooled on the ground from where Harry had fallen.
Once they were sitting in the kitchen, Mrs Weasley bustled in, looking worried and preoccupied. She carried several vials filled with multicolored potions. She stifled a sob when she saw her daughter and son-in-law so broken. She gave them all a strong calming draught, and Harry in particular downed a blood-replenishing potion. They Apparated to the Burrow and were greeted by several worried faces. Neither of the two Potters made any acknowledgment toward their guests, as they were lost in their own world. After several minutes of silence, Ginny broke down in renewed sobs.
“I’m a horrible mother,” she whispered in a broken voice to no one in particular.
Her mother gasped, placing her arms comfortingly around her. “No, dear. If you weren’t a good mother, you wouldn’t be feeling this pain. You need to be strong. Your daughter needs you.”
Harry stood abruptly; his eyes filled with unshed tears. Ginny watched with sad eyes but made no move to follow. Ron and Remus took off after the distressed father quickly to find him in Fred and George’s old room.
He had upset a table covered in unused prank objects, allowing his tears to flow freely.
“Harry, don’t do this,” Remus begged. “Ginny needs you now. Alexandra needs you now.”
“I failed them,” Harry said into his hands. “I promised I’d protect them, and I failed. It’s my fault Brian is dead. Merlin, how can she not hate me?”
“Because she loves you,” Ron said, almost exasperated. “She loves you, and she knows that you did everything you could.”
Harry sighed heavily and stood.
“I really screwed this up,” he said. “I underestimated what McLaggen,” the name burned his throat, “could do.”
“There was nothing you could do to prevent this,” Remus said in a way that was supposed to be comforting, but the effect was lost in the anger of his voice. “He tricked us all. He gained our trust and threw it back in our faces.”
“He can’t hurt anyone anymore,” Ron said. “Aurors are taking care of his body as we speak.”
Then, there was a commotion at the front door, calling the three men to go downstairs. By the time they reached the drawing room, Alexandra was present, already comforting Ginny, who still cradled the sleeping baby in her arms.
“You saw!” Ginny cried, weeping again. “You saw my baby die! Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Your family has evaded its fate much more than would be thought possible. It confounds me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry asked sharper than he meant to.
“You were supposed to die at the hands of Lord Voldemort twenty years ago, Harry, and also in the final battle,” Alexandra replied sadly. “And Ginny, you were meant to die in the Chamber of Secrets. You were both meant to die many years ago, and so many things concerning your futures are unpredictable.”
“Did you see this then?” Ginny asked in a weak voice.
“Aye,” she replied, even more sadly. “However, I foresaw many outcomes, each more tragic than the next.”
“What did you see?” Ginny repeated, more anxiously.
“I saw you and Harry dying to protect your children and McLaggen”- Ginny cringed visibly at his name -“rising up as the next great Dark Lord.”
Harry shuddered at the thought. History would have repeated itself. What would have been the outcome?
“I also saw Ginny being tortured to insanity- a fate worse than death.”
“Stop-“ Ginny moaned, before the ancient Seer could continue. “Please don’t.”
“I’m sorry,” Alex replied, bowing her head apologetically. “I just wish for you to know that your son will not suffer how he may have otherwise.”
“My daughter,” Ginny breathed, “Alex, how will she be?”
Alex’s eyes misted over momentarily before she replied, “Your daughter will live a long and healthy life, knowing the meaning of life and death through the loss of her dear brother.”
Harry took his place by his wife’s side, wrapping his arms around her waist as she leaned into him. He kissed her forehead, gently wiping away her tears, then he pressed his lips to his daughter’s forehead. He dearly wished he could take away their pain.
********************************************************
Harry Potter Steps Down as Minister of Magic
Harry Potter, age 20, who was the youngest Minister of Magic in over a century, has announced his resignation this morning.
After the late Death Eater, Cormac McLaggen’s attack on the Potter family resulted in tragedy, Mr Potter believes that he needs the time away from the Ministry to spend valuable time with his wife and daughter.
He plans to live off of the Potter birthright, along with the money he inherited from his late godfather, Sirius Black.
Continued page 7
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ginny asked her husband angrily.
Harry looked away, sighing. “I didn’t want you to worry more.”
“It’s been a week- one week-since my baby died,” she cried. “How much more do you think I could worry?”
“Much more,” he sighed again. “It’s in your nature to worry, but please don’t. I just want what is best for this family- for you.”
She smiled half-heartedly at him and leaned into him as he wrapped his arms around her. The glow that her eyes once held had faded slightly in her grief. Still, the family was slowly making its way toward recovery.
“But we’ll have to get jobs eventually,” she said, “We can’t live off of your inheritance forever.”
“We could,” he replied, half joking, “but we probably won’t. It’s a bridge we can cross when we get there.”
He gently pressed his lips to hers, breathing in her warm scent. Then they broke apart at the sound of Alexandra’s crying. Sighing, Harry went down the hall to where his daughter had, until moments ago, been sleeping.
“There, there,” he said, gently lifting her from where she was laying.
Ginny, who had followed him in, said in a quiet voice, “I can’t believe she’s the last of the Potter line. After she gets married, and we die, there won’t be any more Potters.”
Harry said nothing at first, bouncing his daughter rhythmically, trying not to think along those lines. Finally, he said slowly, “We can always adopt if Alex ever wants siblings.”
“Yes but-“
“Blood doesn’t matter,” he reminded her. “He or she will be a Potter because we will love him or her unconditionally.”
“Of course,” she replied, though her mind seemed elsewhere.
“What’s the matter, love?” he asked gently.
“It’s nothing,” she muttered, though her expression said otherwise.
“Please tell me.”
She sighed quietly, gently stroking her daughter’s head. “I’m just worried. What if she hates me?”
Harry looked at her earnestly. “Don’t ever think that, Ginny. She will love you as much as we love her.”
“How do you know? I love her so much, but she was hurt so young. What if she doesn’t forgive us?”
“Voldemort killed my parents when I was a baby. I was never mad at my parents for dying. I knew they loved me- just as Alexandra will know that we love her.”
Suddenly there was a flash of light and a silver Jack-Russell Terrier gambled into the room, barking loudly. Ginny paled slightly at the sight of Ron’s patronus.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, frantically.
Harry, keeping his cool, replied, “Hermione’s going into labour!”
Her mouth formed a small “O” of comprehension, and she grabbed Alex’s small diaper bag. “Let’s go then!”
He smiled slightly at her sudden excitement and followed her out the door.
When they arrived at the hospital, Harry pushed his way up to the front desk.
“M-Mister Potter,” the blonde receptionist stammered nervously. “What can I do for you?”
“I’d like to know which room my brother-in-law’s wife is staying in.”
“Her name?”
“Hermione Weasley.”
“Oh, of course,” the woman muttered, shuffling the papers on her desk nervously. “Room 511.”
“Thanks,” he replied, dashing up the stairs after his wife.
They could hear Hermione’s screams before they had even reached the right flight of stairs.
“Merlin,” Ginny breathed, “was I this bad?”
“Worse,” Harry answered good-naturedly.
They stepped into the hall where Ron was pacing nervously. Harry set a gentle hand on his best mate’s shoulder.
“She’ll be fine, Ron,” he said.
“She’s in pain,” the father-to-be moaned.
“No, duh, Ron,” Ginny retorted, shifting Alex from one hip to the other.
He glanced at her, then muttered, “Oh, yeah.”
“Yeah. I went through this. I was probably worse of than she is because it was so late. But I’m fine. She will be to.”
“Thanks, Gin,” he said, though his eyes still darted anxiously toward the door to Hermione’s room.
Several hours passed in nervous silence. Hermione’s pained cries penetrated the quiet every few moments. Alex was passed from nervous family member to nervous family member until she was back in her mother’s arms. The clocked ticked slowly, marking each passing second until, finally, it was completely calm. Healer Adamson came out, motioning to Ron.
“She wants to see you.”
He jumped out of his seat and, in his haste, knocked over his chair.
“Oops,” he said, fumbling nervously as he tried to pick it up.
“Don’t worry, Ron,” Harry said, waving him on encouragingly. “She’s waiting for you.”
“Thanks, mate.”
“Go on,” Harry replied impatiently.
“I can’t believe Ron’s a father,” Ginny said quietly, as the door clicked shut. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “With everything going on, it feels so wonderful to finally be happy.”
“It does,” he agreed, kissing the top of her head.
A peaceful silence filled the room as they waited for Ron to reemerge. When he finally did, Harry and Ginny were the first ones through the door.
Hermione was in bed, glowing from sweat and her undeniable pride. She held the bundle of blankets out for the others to see.
“Lucas, here is your family. Everyone, this is our son, Lucas” Lucas Brian Weasley.”
Ginny gasped in awe as she heard the newborn’s name.
“Thank you,” she breathed, hugging her sister-in-law.
“It was nothing,” Hermione replied, handing her son off to Ginny.
It was odd, holding this bundle in her arms. She felt nostalgic, wishing her son was still alive- wishing she had protected him better.
“Harry, Ginny,” Ron said from behind them, “we want you to be his godparents.”
“I’d love to,” Ginny replied immediately, still gazing upon the peacefully sleeping newborn.
“We’d love to,” Harry added, giving Hermione a brotherly kiss on the forehead.
He turned to stare at the tiny baby, so innocent, just like the one they had lost. They would protect Lucas as they had tried to protect their own children. Only, this time, they wouldn’t let anything happen because now they both realized something important.
There would always be loss in their lives, but in the end, they would find a way to make things right.
Even the world comes to an end, there would always be family to make things right.
A/N: Sorry about the kinda cheesy ending, but I wanted optimism!
Sorry it’s been so amazingly, horribly long. There’s been so much going on in my life. I’ve had a buttload of homework, a terrible case of Writer’s block, plus I’ve started a new fic in a different fandom.
Has anyone read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer? Because you should. It’s very good. I’m writing a fanfic for that.
Anyways, sorry. I honestly didn’t mean to make the wait so long. I have like thirty million different plot bunnies hopping around in my head and I can’t bring any of them in. They might have rabies… [ / randomness] >_>
Thanks to amy4rupert for suggesting the name Luke, which I used a variation of.
I have only an epilogue left, which will be up sooner than this chapter took to get up.
Ehh. Again, I’m so sorry.
With Love,
QP
Btw, who's excited for Deathly Hallows? *jumps wildly* ME!
This is going to be one of the best summers ever! First, OotP movie, then HP 7, then Eclipse!
Edit: Sorry, but I'm not going to have an epilogue after all. I couldn't figure out how I was going to write it, and I've been totally preoccupied with other stuff.
I like how I had it ending anyways. It leaves room for your imagination :]
Thanks for reading all of this and for the awesome reviews.
You all rock!
*huggles*
With Tired Eyes, Minds, and Souls We Slept by QuIDdITch_PlaYA
Chapter Notes: Sorry this took so long!
Disclaimer: I don't own.