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SIYE Time:6:08 on 29th March 2024
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The Space Between
By YelloWitchGrl

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Category: Post-Hogwarts, Post-DH/AB, Post-DH/PM
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, General, Humor, Tragedy
Warnings: Dark Fiction, Death, Disturbing Imagery, Extreme Language, Intimate Sexual Situations, Mental Abuse, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Negative Alcohol Use, Rape, Sexual Situations, Spouse/Adult/Child Abuse, Violence, Violence/Physical Abuse
Rating: R
Reviews: 559
Summary: Harry and Ginny's lives have finally evened out. They've faced trauma, and loss, more than most have, but they've fought hard to find a normal.

If only things could stay that way... Old enemies find new ways to seek revenge.

This story is the sequel to Bound. It would be extremely helpful if you read that first.

Warnings are to be safe. It's probably overkill. Please message me if you have any questions or concerns.
Hitcount: Story Total: 352206; Chapter Total: 4074
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Thanks to Arnel for beta'ing

Please check out my novels. Sarah Jaune on amazon. Supporting my work is a great way of paying me back for always finishing my stories.




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James crouched down on the sand and studied Caroline with her blonde hair tumbling wildly in the wind and her knees drawn up to her chest. She was in a navy blue one-piece and she wore the absolutely best scowl he’d ever seen on her face. He couldn’t help but grin. “You know you want to come in.”

“I want to sit under this umbrella and read,” she retorted firmly.

This was only their second day at the beach and already she’d refused to go in the day before. “Aren’t you going to swim at all?”

“That water is not warm,” Caroline said with a scowl. “I hate being cold.”

“Everyone else is fine,” James pointed out. It was true. Louis, Al, Nat, Lily, Honor, Rose, Hugo, and Scorpius were all in the water, laughing and splashing about in the waves. His mother had informed all of them that she deserved an award for taking all of them to the beach for the week. He grinned again as he reached over to tuck a strand of her loose hair behind her ear and slid his hand down to cup her chin, wobbling a little bit as he tried to stay on his feet. “Any way I can convince you?”

She ran a hand up to her suit and fidgeted with the strap at her shoulder. She looked… self-conscious. “No.”

“What about a walk?”

Sighing, she shook her head and stared down at the sand.

“Okay,” he nodded slowly and twisted until he could plop down on the towel next to her. He covered his eyes with an arm and let the warm sun soak into his bones, drying the saltwater from his skin.

“What are you doing?”

“Spending time with you,” he answered without looking at her. “That’s the point of going on holiday together.”

She sighed heavily and lay back, as well, pulling out a book which she held over her head to read. She lasted all of five minutes before she put the book down and grabbed a shirt, pulling it on. Curious, James glanced over to see the t-shirt, his shirt, sliding over her head. “Where did you get that?”

“From your bag,” she said quietly as she pulled the shirt down over her knees as she rocked a little, sticking her chin on her knees again as she hugged her knees to her chest. She turned her head, her cheek still on her knees, to study him. “Do you mind?”

He didn’t mind, of course. He’d only brought shirts because his mother insisted he pack them, but they weren’t much use out on the beach. He walked around in his bathing costume until bed, when he put on a clean pair of shorts to sleep, waking the next day to get back into the costume. He had no idea why his mother thought he should bring shirts, but he’d long since learned to not argue with her.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly.

She shrugged as her blue eyes continued to meet his. “I don’t like my swimsuit,” using the American word for it.

He nodded slowly and sat up. It was a conservative one, compared to some of the women on the beach, but Caroline was Caroline. “Too exposed?”

“Something like that.”

“So wear my shirt in the water,” he offered as he ran a hand down her back. “It’s not like I’m using it.”

“Why did you even pack shirts when you never have one on?”

He laughed and leaned down to gently press a kiss to her cheek. “My mum insists I pack them.” He rose and held out a hand. “Can we go on a walk now?”

Caroline took his hand and let him pull her to standing. She didn’t let go of his hand as his red shirt slid down almost to her knees. He blinked in surprise, as he knew that particular shirt was getting small on him. Glancing down, he realized just how much he’d grown. It hit him like a tangible wave of magic blasting into him.

“What?” she asked uncomfortably, tucking her hair behind her ear as the wind continued to whip it around.

“Nothing to do with you,” he reassured her as they began to walk. “I was just startled because that particular shirt is almost too small for me and you’re swimming in it. We used to be close to the same size.”

“That was a lifetime ago,” she reminded him as the warm, wet sand passed under their feet. “I haven’t grown in years, and you have.”

James was just thankful he wasn’t going to stay short for the rest of his life. He’d worried about that a few times. “What do you want to do for your birthday?” She’d be turning sixteen in two days. “I can’t believe I’m almost a year older than you.”

“Ten months,” she retorted and smiled for the first time, bumping his shoulder with hers. “You’re going to be an adult in September.”

“Yeah, cause that’s not weird.”

Caroline laughed and wound her arm into his as their friends and family passed out of sight down the long stretch of beach. “It’s going to be weird, you being an adult for almost two full years of our schooling.”

“My aunt Hermione has a September birthday, as well, and she said you get used to it, but I think it’s just going to be weird. I want to play Quidditch, and I could technically leave to play once I’m seventeen.”

She went still next to him, pulling him to a stop. “Are… are you going to?”

He shook his head and squeezed her hand. “I’m not leaving you, plus it would be stupid to not finish since I can’t play Quidditch for the rest of my life. I need to have other skills.”

His mum had set up scouts to come watch him play this coming year. She had the right contacts for it, but he’d already promised her he would finish out his schooling. It was an extra two years of practice, and an extra two years with Caroline. She was probably his main reason for staying, though. He knew it was smart to finish, but he was honest enough with himself to admit she was really the reason. His mum, begrudgingly, told him he would be good enough to get on a team, within the next year. He was trying not to let it go to his head or his mum would make sure he was humbled. She was good like that.

Caroline glanced back towards the way they’d come and fidgeted back and forth on her feet, shifting in the sand. “I want you to stay in school.”

“I will,” he promised easily. “I’m not leaving you.” She needed to hear that again and again.

She closed her eyes for a brief moment. “I’m sorry… I’m being needy.”

James was used to this part of her, though, and honestly she was getting better about it as time went on. Also, the fact was she was telling him what she wanted and that, in itself, was a major improvement. “You’re working on it.”

“Do you like my bathing suit?”

A little thrown, James opened his mouth to say yes, but then shut it as he considered her. Something was wrong. “It’s fine. It looks a lot like Lily’s.” Lily’s was close to the same shade of blue, but hers had tiny pink roses on it.

She closed her eyes and let go of his hand to grab at her hair, pulling it away from her face and over her shoulder. “It’s not… not too…”

“Too what?” he wondered as she gazed up at him, searching him for something.

Her words were so quiet the wind almost took them away before he could hear them. “Too sexy.”

James had no idea how to answer this. It felt like he was walking into a den of dragons. “Did you see what Rose is wearing? I have no idea why Uncle Ron would have allowed that!” Rose’s suit was a bright red bikini. James was forced to conclude his uncle had not actually seen the thing or he would have burned it and forbidden her from going out in public.

“I like her suit,” Caroline admitted reluctantly. “I wish I had the confidence to wear it.”

“But you don’t want to look sexy,” he said and tried to ignore the hitch in his voice at the word. This was a weird conversation, but then again, most of his conversations with her were weird, and it was absolutely ridiculous to see his baby cousin wearing something like she was. It was just not right, at all.

“That’s my problem,” she said unhappily as she pulled at the hem of his shirt. “It’s all wrapped up in him rather than being all about you and me.”

Ah…

“I want you to think I’m beautiful,” she told him, almost angrily now as she gestured to herself. “I want you to think I’m sexy, but if you do think I’m beautiful or sexy, that will bother me!”

It was like packing for the beach. He could make himself happy or he could make his mother happy, and neither would end up totally satisfied in the end. Still, since he didn’t have any hang-ups or bad memories of the past, he’d rather make her happy because her happy made him happy. “I will feel whatever you want me to feel.”

Caroline glared at him and reached up to tweak his nose. “You think you’re so cute.”

“I think you’re cute,” he reminded her, chuckling as he captured her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “If you think the t-shirt changes how I see you, then go ahead and think that.”

Her cheeks flushed as her eyes fell to the sand. “I hate being so confusing all the time.”

“Let’s just keep it simple, then,” he went on as he cupped her cheeks. “I love you, and you love me.” He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips, resting his forehead against hers. “What brought all of this up?”

She took a moment to answer. “You’ll be an adult soon.”

“So?”

“That means… that means you’ll want adult things.”

“That means adult me will still love you,” he replied simply. “My age isn’t going to change that. Loving you means loving where you are, which is clearly not ready to be seen in a bathing costume, not even by me.”

“Swimsuit.”

“Whatever.”

Sh e hugged him then, wrapping her arms around his bare waist, and he had to admit he liked the feel of her hands on the skin of his back. “What about when you want more?”

They’d been over this more than once, but she was still struggling with this. She was going to have to trust him more than she’d trusted anyone in her life before she was going to let him through this door into her heart. “We wait for you, no matter what I want.”

“I’m scared you’ll get tired of me.”

“I’m scared you won’t give me the chance to prove we’re in this for the long haul.”

She pushed back to stare up at him. “What do you mean?”

Things had been sliding around in his mind, wondering what the future would hold for him. He was just over two months off from being seventeen and suddenly being an adult didn’t seem so very far off. His parents had married when his father was seventeen and his mum only sixteen. It was not something he wanted to repeat, not only because his parents had been forced to marry. His expression must have changed because Caroline’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“I was thinking of my parents,” he admitted truthfully as he stared down at their joined hands. “They had a rough start in life. They were married really young.”

“Why?”

That was quite a question, and one with a complicated answer. He wasn’t supposed to talk about his parents or why they’d ended up forced to marry. “Can we sit?”

It took him a good thirty seconds to collect himself. “I want to tell you something, but I need you to keep it to yourself. Lily doesn’t know yet.”

Rumors had run around the school, but Caroline was more than likely oblivious to everything going on around her. It was how she liked her life.

“Alright,” she agreed as she leaned her head against his shoulder.

So James told her the whole story of his parents’ marriage. He told her about how they’d just survived the war, and when they were at Snape’s funeral they’d been cursed. When he arrived at the point where his dad was used to impregnate his mum, Caroline started crying. He had much the same feelings about it, of course, as he held onto her. “They were practically our age,” he explained hoarsely. “A year older, maybe, and they were having a baby! I can’t even imagine.”

“Hope…” Caroline supplied her name. “Your sister’s name was Hope. I saw her grave at your house. I didn’t want to ask, but I saw and wondered.”

“They lost a child after having been through that horrible war,” he went on quietly. “They still made it. They had each other, they loved each other, and they made it through together.”

She nodded and swiped at her eyes, then at his shoulder where her tears had damped his skin. “I’m so sorry.”

“Do you remember that day I took you up to see Hannah because you were feeling suicidal? That time before you went to St. Mungo’s,” he asked her quietly. This wasn’t the first time they’d talked about it, but he knew it was still a painful topic.

“Yeah.”

“I decided that day,” he went on, pressing his lips into her brow, “that I really didn’t like the person I’d been and that I was done with him. You were facing things I didn’t know how to handle, and my biggest worry was how best to annoy my little brother. I thought… Merlin, I thought about what a selfish arse I was. I thought of all of the things I wanted to change.” He cupped her cheek and she raised her eyes to his. “I wanted to change for myself, of course, because I wanted to respect myself, but mostly I wanted to change for you.”

“Jamie…”

“So when I say the long haul,” he went on evenly, even though his heart had kicked up to triple speed as he studied her weary blue eyes, “I mean the long haul. I know what that means, and maybe what it doesn’t.”

“I don’t…”

“If your dad weren’t even a part of your existence,” he interrupted, “what would you want from me?”

Her tired eyes softened as she leaned up to kiss him. He reveled in the touch she so rarely initiated. “I… I might want…”

The words felt too big to say. He understood that completely. “We have time on our side, you and me. We can take our time and see where we go.”

She turned away as a gull flew by, squawking loudly. “What do you want?”

“I want what my parents have.” It was really that simple.

“What if I can’t give it to you?”

He felt his stomach clench at the thought, but he didn’t relax as he spoke. She needed this reassurance. His parents had spent two years in a hellish war, and it had hurt them badly, but Caroline had spent her first decade under the sick control of her father. She’d never had a day of normal, not until she’d left for England, and even then he’d still messed with her. He could give her time to get over everything. “We can be friends forever. You know that.”

“You deserve more.”

You deserve more.”

She rolled her eyes and glared at him. “I’m no prize.”

“Neither am I.”

“You–” she huffed in exasperation. “You’re absolutely amazing!”

He studied her intently, swiping his thumb gently along her jawline. “So are you. You’re absolutely amazing, and it has nothing to do with your looks or your bathing costume.”

“Swimsuit.”

He laughed even as he kissed her again, this time for a bit longer, pulling back before she could get uncomfortable. “Will you swim if you wear my shirt?”

She nodded slowly and stood, holding out her hand, this time, to pull him to his feet. She was stronger than she looked, and he wanted her to remember that so he held out his hand to her and rose.

“So what do you want to do for your birthday?” he asked her again. “And this time, don’t dodge the question.”

~*~

Teddy shook his head as he continued to present to the Aurors what he’d learned from his surveillance of the old man. They’d been cagey with him, but eventually he’d moved to a new location, one Teddy was sure they thought would not be accessible to anyone, but was easy enough to track as an Auror. Teddy had dressed up as an old man who lived in the flat next door and he’d continued his spying. This time they’d been more careful about how they gave the Muggles the information so as not to tip the old man off to anything.

They’d thwarted another terrorist attack, but that was thanks to the other Aurors who were taking a more active surveillance role. He was, admittedly, a little bored with this assignment, but with a small baby, he understood why they weren’t giving him more. He was often sleep deprived and it took concentration to do their job. With Victoire back in her training, and Emma starting to teeth, he needed an easy assignment.

He headed home a few hours later. Another Auror would stay in the flat next to the old man overnight, pretending to watch the tele way too loudly, while cursing at the Muggle government, and continuing to listen in on him. It was making for long days, but ones as rewarding as he could hope for. They were making a difference. The old man had been part of killing hundreds of Muggles. That was the most important thing.

Victoire would have already picked Emma up from her mum, as this week Ginny was at the beach with the kids, and so he headed straight home. “I am beat,” he said as he kissed his wife and took his wiggling daughter from her arms. He held her tight and rocked her back and forth, reveling in the feel of the tiny person he and Victoire had made together. She already loved him, already adored him. She smiled for him, and reached for him. She was darling. Her blonde hair was sticking up a bit like duckling down, only lighter, and her blue eyes were trusting and happy as he grinned down at her. “I meant to bring home take-out, like I’ve been doing at the surveillance, but I was too worn out to stop. I say we eat a ham sandwich and call it a night.”

“Aunt Angelina saved us,” Victoire explained as she went over to a covered dish he hadn’t noticed on the kitchen counter and raised the lid. The amazing smell of garlic wafted towards him. “I sent her a note earlier today and begged for dinner. She told me to ask whenever I needed it, and with Emma crying most of last night I knew we were going to need it.”

“Bless her!” Teddy laughed as he sat down at the table and they tucked in.

He fell into a bit of a stupor as he ate one handed with Emma balanced on his lap, attempting not to dribble food into her hair. A year before he’d been terrified of what having a child would mean. He’d had a vague notion of it, of course. He’d studied Harry and Ginny carefully because they were a family, one he always wanted to be a part of, but somehow never quite settled into. He knew, deep down, the fault for that lay with him. Ginny had told him they would have had him live with them, but that his grandmother had needed and wanted him. Plus, they’d been so young when his parents had died. Still, they’d have done their very best with him if put to it. Of course with the loss of Hope it would have bene doubly hard, no matter how much Ginny reassured him. He couldn’t imagine what he’d have done if they’d lost Emma. It was absolutely unthinkable.

But with the loss of his grandmother, he’d finally let go of the last of his reserves and had dived in fully to the Potter family. Again, it was all in his own head. To them, he was their child. He’d always been treated that way. Ginny had scolded him when he’d needed it, and Harry had guided him when he was in doubt.

The family in this room was different, though. His wife, his beautiful, amazingly kind and generous wife, was his heart, and the baby on his lap was his soul. They were his everything and he couldn’t imagine doing without them for even a single day. It had rankled a bit when he’d been set the safer task of spying on the old man, but Raeburns had pointed out he was exhausted from having a small baby and they weren’t going to risk his safety, or the mission, because of it.

It was a good call.

“Teddy…”

He glanced up to see Victoire chewing on her bottom lip, studying him. Now that he was looking at her properly, he could see she’d been at her lip a good bit. “What’s up?”

“I want to finish my schooling,” she said slowly. “I’m down to less than a year to completion.”

“Well, that’s good,” he grinned, confused as to where this was going and trying not to show his worry.

She glanced away briefly before her blue eyes flicked back to his. “I was speaking with my instructor today and she noticed I was distracted. I’m tired, so it’s understandable, but… I just…” her gaze fell to her half eaten plate.

He waited for a full minute before he prodded. “What?”

“When we first married, there was no choice but for me to get a job and work,” she reminded him quietly. “It was going to be too much for us to make it without my having a job.”

He remembered that vividly. It used to be that a family could be comfortable on one income. It simply wasn’t the case anymore. Without the money from Harry and Ginny, they would still be struggling just to pay the bills and buy food. Now, at least, they had a very nice cushion and all of Victoire’s student loans were paid off. “Right.”

“So we talked about Emma,” Victoire went on. “How… how much I hate being away from her, and how that’s normal.”

He nodded slowly and finally cottoned on to where this was going. “You don’t want to be a Healer.”

“I do!” Victoire protested instantly, shaking her head. “I’ve always wanted that! But… but, oh Teddy…” she gazed at their daughter who was watching her mother intently. “I’m missing everything to work! I’m going to miss all her firsts.”

“So quit,” he said patiently. Even if they hadn’t had the money, he’d have found a second and third job to make sure she could. He would do that in a heartbeat.

She shook her head and the light caught her blonde hair, making it glow around her. “I’m going to finish. I spoke to my instructors about working only two days a week to finish. It will mean taking twice as long, but then I will be with her more. After I finish, they said I could choose how many mothers I want to take on every month since I’m not in it for the salary.”

Teddy nodded thoughtfully, thinking through her decision to become a midwife Healer as her specialty. She would have all of the training of a Healer, of course, but she would focus on new mothers. “It will put off when we can have our second child if you do, though.”

Victoire blew out a breath and failed to maintain her scowl. “I don’t want another one right now, of course, but that thought had crossed my mind. If I push through and get it done with, we can make the decision when it works best for us as a family.”

“I can quit my job and stay home with her,” Teddy offered. At the moment he knew it would be infinitely better than his stupid stake out job.

“That wouldn’t solve the problem of me missing out on her life,” she reminded him. “Besides, she has the best care with her grandmothers, it’s not that I’m worried about her.”

“You just miss her.”

Victoire’s eyes filled and she held out her arms and Teddy boosted the baby over the table to her. Victoire held her close, and then laughed when Emma started to grab at her chest. “I’m more than a milk factory,” Victoire assured her lovingly, even as she pulled up her shirt to nurse her. She was so stunning to him. This picture of her, nursing their child, was absolutely precious to him.

“You can quit if you want, or put it off for another year,” Teddy reminded her. “Whatever you want to do.”

“I’ll want to work full time once our children are at Hogwarts,” Victoire promised as she slowly rubbed Emma’s tiny back. “I’ll be ready, then. I could go back to school later, of course, but I feel like I can work now, since we have my mum and Aunt Ginny there to pick up babysitting. I was so surprised when Aunt Ginny quit her job at the paper! I thought she’d stay in that for a while longer.”

Teddy knew it was Emma’s birth which had prompted his adopted mother to leave her job. If Victoire hadn’t figured it out, yet, she would eventually. Ginny was ready to move on to the next phase in her life, which was caring for her grandchildren. Speaking of which… “It seems James has a girlfriend and it’s serious.”

Victoire shook her head. “They’re not officially together, but from what I’ve heard it is pretty serious. I keep thinking he’s too young, but both Molly and Fred are seriously dating someone. I think Dom is, as well, but she hasn’t mentioned her in a while.”

Everyone was growing up. Teddy studied Emma’s blonde head. “She needs to stay a baby for a long time.”

“It won’t happen,” Victoire laughed. “That’s how we get suckered in to having another one.”

~*~

Harry sagged into the couch at the beach house and wearily took the glass of fire whiskey his wife handed over. The kids were all up, still, playing a game of Exploding Snap in the kitchen, but he couldn’t face them just then. He needed a stiff drink and to get his mind off of the seven hundred Muggle victims he’d seen blown to bits by the Muggle terrorists. His wife cuddled into his side, wrapping her arm around his waist and burying her face in his neck. “I heard about it from a neighbor who is a Muggle,” she told him quietly. “It’s all over the Muggle news. I’ve heard other countries are sending in aid and offering police support.”

“I made a call today not to intervene with the main boss,” Harry told her blankly. “I knew something was going to happen. We had the information needed to stop it, but when I went to the Muggles we were told to stay out of it, that they’d handle it.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Ginny reminded him gently. “It was their call to make and they made the wrong one.”

Harry drained his glass in one go and set it down on the end table next to the couch, pulling his wife towards him, holding her still beating heart as close as he could to soak in the comfort she had to offer. “Have the kids heard?”

“Not yet,” she whispered as a tear slid down her cheek. “I didn’t want to tell them until you arrived and could answer their questions. I will tell them, though.”

He closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “Hermione and Ron are coming, as well, especially for Rose.”

The door opened and they heard the footsteps of their best friends, along with the kids’ exclamations of surprise.

Five minutes later, they had the kids sitting around them at the large kitchen table. They knew something was wrong.

“There was a bombing today in Muggle London,” Hermione explained quietly to the gasps of all of the children. Harry watched James put an arm around Caroline’s shoulders, as naturally as if he’d been doing so for years. Nat’s hands flew up to her mouth in horror. Everyone was shocked.

“There were a lot of people hurt, and a lot more killed,” Harry continued for her slowly as he thought of the terrible news he had to pass on to them.

Hermione took Rose’s hand and Ron stood to put his hands on her shoulders. “We don’t have a lot of information, yet, but it appears that Andrew was killed in the blast.”

Rose shook her head at the mention of her former boyfriend, the boy who was still her friend. “No… no, I just saw him! NO!”

“Sweetheart,” Hermione went on softly as she enfolded her in her arms. “Luv, his parents and his brothers… they were all killed. They have their bodies. Andrew’s… he’s…” she broke off and shot a pleading look for Harry.

Harry wasn’t doing much better as Lily climbed into his lap and held on, sobbing hard. He rubbed at her back and tried to sooth her. “His baby sister was supposed to be there, but it’s looking like she’s magical. When the blast went off, she used accidental magic to send herself back to her bedroom where a maid found her, screaming hysterically. We’re trying to find Andrew.”

Nat held both Al and Scorpius’ hands as they cried and Ginny gathered the crying Honor into her arms.

“We all know how much you love Andrew, and how sad you are,” Ginny told them. “We… we have lost friends to monsters. We know what that is like, and we want you to know you can talk to any of us about it. When we know more, we’ll tell you.”

“I have to go help,” Nat said through hear sobs. “I can… I can help find him. I’ll know it’s him from his body, even if no one else can.”

Harry shook his head, even though he’d have sorely loved her help. She would have made things a lot simpler. “This is a Muggle investigation, Nat. I can’t get you involved. I’m not even involved.”

His heart heavy, they spent a lot of time consoling the kids and answering questions. Al, especially, had several good ones about how they knew Andrew had been killed.

“Let’s make a fire,” Ginny suggested to everyone. “I think we could all use the warmth and comfort.”

The kids moved mindlessly towards the living room, too numb to do much more than follow orders. They huddled together and vacillated between crying and talking about their lost friend.

His heart heavy, Harry considered going back to the office, but Hermione forestalled him. “There is a small chance he’s at the hospital,” she told him quietly, so no one else could hear. “I can get us clearance to go through, and bring Audrey with us. If he’s in a Muggle hospital, we can get him healed and taken to St. Mungo’s where he’ll get the best care.”

“You don’t believe he’s alive,” Harry told her flatly.

Her expression agreed with him. His whole family had been close to where the blast had gone off. No one around them had survived. “They don’t want us to be a part of it.”

“Well, that was their stupid mistake,” Hermione bit out angrily as Ron came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I’m going to fight to get you the authority to intervene next time. You know where the head of the group is?”

“I do,” Harry said slowly. “We have a tracking device on him, one of George’s inventions. We could have him in less than an hour.”

She nodded slowly and closed her eyes. “I’m going to speak to the Minister, but I think we should go try to find Andrew. He’s not a Muggle, he’s a wizard, which makes him ours to care for. His parents are dead. If he made it out, somehow transported himself to safety like his sister, then we need to find him.”

He knew she was right, but with how many people had died, he didn’t hold much hope for it. “Alright, let’s go.”

The wounded and the dead had been taken to nine various Muggle hospitals. Nat tried, again, to beg to come but he told her to stay put. He wasn’t going to ask her to see her dead friend. “Do you want me to call your parents?”

“My dad will be called back to help with the bodies anyway,” she told him sadly. “Just wait, he’ll be contacting you.”

Harry nodded and left for the Ministry where, sure enough, he had a message waiting for him from Curtis Parker telling him when he’d be back in town the next day. Hermione met him at the Ministry with the go ahead from the Minister, and shortly thereafter, Audrey joined them, as well.

It was a grim ride in the Ministry car to the first hospital. They spent over two hours combing through the bodies of the dead, and going through the living who hadn’t been identified. Burned bodies, broken bodies, pieces of bodies… only a lucky few came out with only a few scratches on them. It was a grim night and it passed through one horrible, painful image after another. They found a body in the fourth hospital which might be Andrew’s, except the poor boy had been found in the wrong place.

“He could have tried to get away,” Hermione reasoned quietly as the Muggle techs moved around them. “I say we bring in Nat.”

“I say we check all the hospitals first, and ask Curtis to check tomorrow,” Harry said through a croaking voice as he stared blurrily through bloodshot eyes. “He was one of their best friends, Hermione! I know you want answers for Rose, to give her closure so she can grieve, but we can’t do that to Nat.”

“I agree with Harry,” Audrey went on quietly, hugging her sister-in-law fiercely. “We need to keep looking. I have this boy’s information. If we don’t find anyone else, we can come back.”

There wasn’t much to the body, of course. It was badly burned and in three pieces, none of which the techs were sure went to him. It would be a job for the forensic anthologists to make sure everything was correct.

They went to the next hospital, and then to the sixth.

“Who are you again?” asked the harassed head of the hospital. She was in her late sixties but appeared to be at least thirty years older. Harry couldn’t blame her for that. After what she’d had to see that day, it would have aged anyone.

Harry very carefully used his wand to calm her and plant in her mind they were supposed to be there. They had written permission to do so, but it still gave him the creeps every time he did it.

“Yes,” she said with confusion, but trying to cover it. “Yes, I see. Go ahead then.”

They visited the morgue, first, which was overflowing with bodies out into the hallway. They didn’t even have enough beds to put them, so body bags were lined up in neat rows. They checked every one, at least a hundred, before heading upstairs to the emergency room.

They had to use magic to get into the burn unit, but it was routine at this point. They only had one more hospital to check after this one and Harry didn’t hold out hope they’d find him.

They checked every person and found a boy about the right age with the right hair color. “I can’t tell,” Hermione said quietly. “Harry!”

“I know,” he said as he gazed down at the boy who was hooked up to several machines. If this was Andrew, they could have him healed in a matter of minutes. If this was Andrew, and he wasn’t transferred, he could easily die under the care of the Muggles. They couldn’t deal with burns like wizards could. “I’ll… I’ll go back and get her.”

He couldn’t believe he was going to put Nat through this.

Nat was waiting for him, holding the cloak. Everyone else was asleep, but she and Ginny were sitting at the kitchen table with Ron, waiting.

Nat didn’t speak as she stood and threw the cloak over herself and took his arm. He took her straight to the hospital room and Nat’s gasp was all they needed. “It’s him!”

“You’re sure?” Audrey asked her quickly, even though she hadn’t removed the cloak and couldn’t see the child. “You’re absolutely positive?”

“I’m completely positive!” Nat cried out almost hysterically, her voice muffled under the cloak. “Get him to St. Mungo’s now! He’s fading fast!”

Harry sat Nat in a chair and went to alter the memories of everyone who was involved in Andrew’s care so they wouldn’t miss him, while Andrey transferred him, and Hermione waited with Nat.

They took Nat back to the house before heading to St. Mungo’s.

It was a beaming Audrey who met them in the hall. “It’s him! She was right. We are healing the burns now and working on the internal injuries. I expect him to be talking tomorrow.”

Harry felt himself sag in relief. It was a relief to have saved the one life they could save in the whole mess, but what a life Andrew would go back to.

His parents were dead. His three brothers, including his twin brother, were dead. Andrew was now the duke. They were in for a long, complicated road for him.

“I need to track down some of his family,” Harry told them as he walked away so he could cry by himself.

He took a quick nap in one of the Healer’s offices and went back to his own to get Andrew’s address. He picked up one of the Ministry cars and drove out to Andrew’s home, a large estate out in the country. There he located, to his relief, a great aunt, only in her sixties, who had come to stay with Andrew’s little sister, Claire.

“I know what he is,” she said after a cry of relief that Andrew was alright. “I know who you are. I’m really the only family left. When will he be released?”

“In a few days, I think,” Harry told her. “I’ll bring him home personally.”

It was the least he could do for the orphan, who had just had his life turned upside down.

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