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SIYE Time:9:28 on 28th 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: 352127; Chapter Total: 4246
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Thank you Arnel for beta'ing!

Please, PLEASE go check out my novels! Sarah Jaune is my name. My latest book, Remnants, just came out and it's a mixture of the end of the world meets Psycho. It's a small price for you, but it means the world to me and keeps me writing! Please check out my books and share with your friends. Thank you again!




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Scorpius had a girlfriend and her snide remarks could have filled the Hogwarts library where they were all currently studying for exams.

Nat stared at the pretty blonde from Slytherin and wondered what on earth he was thinking, for about the millionth time, as she giggled at something not even remotely funny. She hadn’t pegged Scorpius for shallow, but the only thing the girl, Avery, had going for her was her looks! She was dull as a brick, dense as a post, and every other cliché Nat could think of except for her looks!

She was quite good looking. She had green eyes, long lashes, and a pretty heart shaped face any boy would like. She was nice, at least when Scorpius was around. When the boys weren’t there, Avery would drop the act. “That’s not your best color, you know,” Avery told Nat over her hair ribbon.

“I don’t have any best colors,” Nat had assured her dryly. “I look equally bad in everything.”

“At least you know your own limitations.”

Rose was still dating Andrew. Nat couldn’t decide if they were going to make it or not. She rather suspected on not, because people who started dating when they were fourteen did not have an amazing track record, and also she rather thought the pair of them were growing distant. The problem was that Andrew was a major part of their group and if he broke up with Rose, it would be like breaking up with the group. Nat had advised both of them to part amicably, and stay friends so he could still hang out with them, but she didn’t trust in newly minted fifteen-year-olds to navigate a breakup amicably.

Al had gone to Hogsmeade with a third year Gryffindor. He’d been staring at their friends, clearly morose at not having a date, and she’d fixed him up with the girl, Ivy. Ivy had had a lovely time, but Al had informed all of them she wasn’t the girl for him. On the plus side, he’d had his first date, so that was out of the way. It helped Nat to think of him as dating other people. It helped with the loneliness and the heartache by putting it into the proper perspective. Al was going to end up dating lots of girls and eventually he’d end up married, and she had to be okay with it. In fact, she could help him along so he could find happiness.

It was weird having all of her friends dating, but Nat was pragmatic about it. She’d wallowed in self-pity for too long as it was. No, she wasn’t pretty. No, she wasn’t sexy. No, she wasn’t going to attract a guy. But she was smart, and nice, and a good person. She had just as much worth as anyone else, and while that may not amount to having a boyfriend, that didn’t make her worthless. A boyfriend was not the measuring stick she wanted to be judged on.

So when snotty Avery insulted her looks, she let it go. The only thing Avery had going for her were her looks, and that was pretty sad since it was the one thing Avery hadn’t chosen for herself. She was born pretty, not a mean bully. She’d chosen to be a brat.

The boys returned a moment later with a large stack of books and Nat pulled the top one from Andrew’s pile towards her, flipping to the section she needed on potions ingredients.

“Thank you!” Avery giggled as she took the book from Scorpius.

Andrew made a gagging face, which no one but Nat and Rose could see, and they both had to fight to hide their snickers. Nat shook her head and scrunched up her nose.

Seriously, what was Scorpius thinking?

After another hour of giggling, Nat decided she didn’t care what Scorpius was thinking. She’d absolutely had enough. “I’m beat,” she told everyone as she closed up her books.

Knowing she’d opened a chance to escape, Al, Rose, and Andrew all cleared up their things and joined her to leave Scorpius with his bad decisions.

“She’s just dreadful,” Rose groaned as they left the library. “She says the meanest things to Nat when you boys aren’t around.”

“I don’t care about that,” Nat promised sincerely as she pushed back a lock of her strawberry blonde hair which had fallen out of the ribbon that simply was not her color. “It’s the giggling!”

“I couldn’t stand that in a girl,” Andrew agreed with a shudder.

“She’s pretty, but a twit,” Al agreed with a frown as he glanced back towards the library. “You’d think he’d know it was time to break up with her.”

“Speaking of break ups,” Nat said as she pulled all of them into an empty classroom. She’d decided she’d had enough of it. There was no point in not saying what was on a person’s mind, and that was all they could do with Scorpius was keep silent and hope his insanity would end quickly.

Andrew and Rose both shifted uncomfortably as Andrew leaned back against a desk and Rose folded her arms tight. Al, bless him, was clearly confused.

“Look,” Nat said with a grin. “You both would rather be friends. Just agree on it. Andrew can still hang out with us; you can enjoy each other without the messy feelings.”

“Wait, what?” Al spluttered as he turned between his cousin and Andrew. “You two want to break up?”

Andrew shifted uncomfortably before turning to Rose. “I wouldn’t hurt you for anything. You’re one of the best people I know…”

Rose let out a laugh and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him hard for a second. “I feel the same way,” she said as she let go and cupped his cheeks. “I just… I feel more like friends.”

“Agreed,” he grinned and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Friends.”

“My work is done,” Nat said cheerfully as she took Al’s arm and stuck her cold fingers onto the warm skin there.

“Bloody hell, woman!” Al laughed as he wrapped an arm around her. “How are you cold? It’s June!”

“This castle is cold,” Nat replied as all four of them walked out of the classroom.

“I’m going to head back to my common room,” Andrew said with a wave. “I’ll see you tomorrow for class.”

The moment he was out of earshot, Rose spoke. “I told you not to interfere… but I’m glad you did. That was so much easier than I expected it to be.”

Al slipped his arm around Nat’s waist and pulled her in close, thankfully warming her up even more. “I mean… I saw you holding hands less and all that, but I didn’t realize you didn’t like him anymore.”

“I mean… I actually love him,” Rose said thoughtfully, to which Al spluttered and she let out a snort of laughter. “It’s not that way, and that’s the problem! I love him like I love you, Scorpius, and Nat. At the moment, though, I’m trying to decide what on earth Scorpius is thinking about Avery. She’s such a twit.”

Nat rather suspected he wasn’t thinking. “Anyway, I’m glad it worked out with Andrew. He’s such a nice guy.”

“You want to make a pass at him?” Rose asked her curiously.

Al’s arm tightened around Nat’s waist. “That would be weird.”

“It would be weird,” Nat agreed, “and I know he’s not interested in me. I didn’t want to lose him as a friend, but if I had to pick, I’d pick you over him.”

“Well, I’m glad we don’t have to,” Rose sighed happily. “I am so glad we’re going home soon. I can’t wait for the hols.”

~*~

Ginny kissed Emma’s sweet, chubby cheek and set the baby down with her toys in the living room, just off the kitchen where she’d be able to see her while she cooked. Victoire had started back at work with her studies to become a Healer, and she and Fleur were taking turns watching the baby while Victoire was in class, on rounds, and studying. It was the final push Ginny had needed to retire from her job with The Daily Prophet, although she’d agreed to special assignments as they came up, where she had full control of if she went or not. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the game, but she’d decided to write a book instead of reporting. Women in Quidditch. It was long overdue, as no one had ever tackled the complete history of women in the sport.

Of course, it was just an excuse. She’d also started a cookery book with her mum, and she rather thought Lily and Nat would want in on it for the summer. Nat would be with them all summer, again, and they would need things to occupy themselves.

Emma cooed happily, her pale blonde hair shone bright from the rays of the setting sun streaming in through the windows. The baby rocked herself over to her hands and knees and crawled for the bin of colorful toys Ginny had dug out from storage. It wasn’t so long before that Lily had been playing with them. It was still difficult to believe her baby was already thirteen. Time kept flying by, making a mockery of her attempts to hold on to every single moment.

The front door opened and Ginny grinned as her husband strode through. He was supposed to be at the office, still, but on days she had Emma, he often left the office early so he could spend time with her. Harry greeted her as he hung up his cloak and spun her around a bit, kissing her soundly, even as Emma let out a happy gurgle and tried to crawl for him. “Go on,” Ginny told him as she pushed him towards the baby. “I have to start dinner.”

Harry scooped Emma up and held her tightly, kissing her cheek. “How are you my darling girl?”

Emma was just fine, especially as she rested her head on Harry’s shoulder and smiled for Ginny.

“She’s been teething a bit today,” Ginny told him as she pulled out what she needed for supper. “The vial Victoire left did the trick, though, and put her to sleep for a bit, thankfully. She’s in a much better mood since her nap.”

“Teething is painful,” Harry agreed as he sat on a stool at the edge of the counter. “I remember James and just what a rat he was. He never seemed to stop crying.”

It was true James had been a terrible baby. He’d been colicky, and crying over teething. It had been so stressful, Ginny hadn’t even realized she was pregnant with Al until months into the pregnancy. Still, compared to James, Emma was an angel. “What time is Teddy coming for her?”

“He wasn’t back in when I left,” Harry told her as he snatched a carrot from her and turned Emma around to face the counter. He handed the baby a small spoon, which she promptly stuck in her mouth. “I have him on a very safe mission to observe an old man,” he assured her at her look of concern. “I don’t put the new parents at risk.”

“How is Susan doing?” Ginny asked.

“She’s on maternity leave, now,” Harry informed her as the front door swung open and Victoire called out to them.

Handing off the baby was always a bittersweet moment for Ginny. On the one hand, she missed Emma, who would be with Fleur the next day. They were picking up the kids from Kings Cross the next day, including Louis, so Fleur wouldn’t have to take the baby to the train station.

Harry pulled her in close, his body a familiar warmth and comfort. They’d been together for so long, now, she didn’t know what she’d be without him. She often felt like her parents were the same way. They weren’t too old, not by wizarding standards, which she understood were not the same as Muggles. They were heading towards eighty, but still very young and spry. It was difficult to believe both she and Harry were over forty. It felt like such a great age to have attained, and it wasn’t something she took for granted. They’d been through hell when they were younger. It could have easily gone another way. She’d actually spent time believing Harry had died at the Battle of Hogwarts. Now, that was going on twenty-four years before. Next year they’d have another remembrance ball to commemorate all those who fought, and all who were lost.

“The years are flying so fast,” she said and hated how cliché it was, even though it was true.

Harry kissed her soundly and grinned. “We have one last night of freedom before the children come back. Then we’ll be inundated with their noise and chatter.”

“But soon enough, even that will be gone,” Ginny reminded him. “We have two years left for James, and then he will move out! We have only two years.”

Harry nodded thoughtfully and considered her for a moment. “We could spend much of the summer at the beach house.”

“We can’t,” Ginny told him and wished they could. “It’s too far to drive to get Emma, and Victoire needs me. I can ask Fleur about taking a full week, though, so we can get a proper vacation.”

“Soon enough they’ll be begging us to take Emma with us for a week,” Harry laughed and she knew he was remembering their own adventures with that when James turned two. “I was never so happy as to hand that little monster over to your mother for a few days, just to get some peace. Of course, we had Al by that point.”

“Emma is still nursing, too,” Ginny mused as she thought about taking her granddaughter to the beach for a week. “Maybe next summer we’ll be allowed to take her.”

They ate dinner and talked. They cuddled together on the couch and read books. They went up to bed and slowly made love, knowing the feel of each other’s bodies, understanding perfectly the other’s needs. It wasn’t the blinding passion of youth, or the fickle mood of young love. They’d moved beyond that so many years before.

Ginny had learned long ago that Muggles divorced, and for some relationships she really could understand why they might need to split. There are a lot of reasons, but to her it felt that if someone saw love as only the blinding, all consuming passion of first loves, then it would be easy to become discouraged and to feel as though they had fallen out of love. Real love was tempered in the fires of life, and it grew stronger for it. She wouldn’t have traded this for anything. She rather thought her parents were the same way.

Harry slept naked next to her, a luxury they would have to forgo for the summer, and she soaked it in, holding on to this moment for what it was.

He’d told her about their theory over Isabella Crabbe and her plans for Lily. In a sick way it made perfect sense to Ginny, even as it left her terrified. They would have to double down on making sure Lily was never out of their sight, even for a moment. She would have to be protected at all times… but not quite yet. She was still so young. Even if Crabbe had a plan for her, Ginny doubted it was for this moment. The crazy woman was out of the country and out of their hair, at least for the moment. They would be careful with her.

It was with thoughts like that that Ginny fell into a fitful sleep.


She made it to the train station early and met up with Ron, who was getting Rose and Hugo. “I think we’re going to take the kids to the beach house for a week.”

“Yeah?” Ron asked clearly not paying attention to her.

“I want to take your children, dolt,” Ginny sighed as she poked her brother’s stomach. “At least for a day or two. You alright with that?”

Ron laughed and shrugged. “Of course I am. They spend most of their days with you anyway. You do what you like, Gin. I’m just glad Rose has broken it off with that Andrew kid. She’s too young to be dating, anyway.”

Ginny rolled her eyes, but not so he could see her. Then she nearly laughed out loud when Andrew gave Rose a long hug goodbye before they split. The look on Ron’s face was priceless. Personally, Ginny had liked Andrew. She’d heard a lot about him and thought he was a nice young man. She was glad they were still friendly.

It wasn’t until they were almost home, and she’d told the five children about the beach, that problems started up. “Can I ask Honor to come, Mum?” Lily wanted to know. “She’d love it! You know she would.”

And without even thinking through it, Ginny said that of course she could ask Honor to come because she’d truly forgotten what it meant to be a parent.

“Hang on,” James said slowly. “We can’t just invite Honor and not Caroline.”

Ginny had seen the hug the two of them had shared at the train station, and she was very certain inviting Caroline would mean many, many more troubles for her that she really didn’t want to deal with. They’d exited the train holding hands, after all. “Are you and Caroline a couple now?”

She glanced over at James, who sat next to her in the passenger seat, just in time to see him squirm uncomfortably. “Not… no, not really. More than friends, maybe, but she’s not my girlfriend.”

“Leave off on that one, Mum,” Al piped in, surprising her so she flicked her eyes to meet his in the rear view mirror for a moment. “It’s all complicated with Caroline, but James is watching out for her, you know?”

“I get what you’re thinking,” Nat agreed as she pulled Lily’s cat, Ducky, off of her head. “But there won’t be the drama if you invite her. Unlike with Scorpius…”

“Yeah, that was a mess,” James jumped in, turning around to face them. “What happened there?”

Nat shook her head and laughed. “Rose told him she’d had enough of Avery’s snotty comments and she wasn’t going to hang out with her anymore.”

“Who is Avery?” Ginny wondered, trying to keep up.

Nat launched into the whole story and rounded off by saying, “He broke up with her on the train. It was pretty ugly, actually.”

“We heard them yelling from the other train car,” Louis assured her with a snicker. “Avery has a reputation as being a snake, which is fitting since she’s in Slytherin.”

“Not everyone in Slytherin is bad,” Ginny reminded them as she pulled into their driveway.

The kids piled out and grabbed trunks, owls, and one cat. “Can I stay here tonight Aunt Ginny?” Louis asked as soon as they walked through the door.

“You have to ask your mother,” Ginny told him as she dropped the BMW’s keys in a basket on the counter and smiled for Polly, the house-elf. “You are a miracle, Polly.”

She heard a commotion at the door and found Al hauling a trunk in on his broad shoulders. He was getting so big, now. He was already fifteen and it just didn’t seem possible he could truly get any bigger. James had really shot up, but he wasn’t nearly as wide as Al, who was probably a good four inches shorter than his brother, but several inches wider in the shoulders.

It was an odd thing, gazing at one’s son, and seeing a man where the boy should have been. Right behind him was Louis with another trunk, and James with yet another. Neither Lily nor Nat had offered to carry a trunk, and the boys had assumed they wouldn’t. Maybe it was sexist, but the two girls would have had to work together to even attempt to lift a trunk.

“Can I help with anything?” Nat asked Polly, who shook her tiny head, her ears waggling.

“I has it miss,” Polly assured her. “Coconut chicken curry tonight.”

“Oh, Polly,” Nat laughed and hugged the tiny elf, who was only slightly smaller than Nat herself. “You are my hero! It’s been so long since we’ve had a good curry.”

“I have something else for us to do,” Ginny informed Nat as she started pulling out ingredients. “We’re going to make a cake you can eat. I tried to make it two days ago with magic, but it turned into soup.”

The two of them started in on the cake, made with almond flour, coconut oil, many eggs, stevia, and carob.

“What is that?” Al wondered as he came up next to Nat and peered over her shoulder. He swiped at an edge with his finger and stuck it in his mouth to taste. Ginny covertly studied the two of them as Al’s expression turned pensive.

“It’s crap,” Nat sighed dejectedly, appearing to shrink in on herself. “We should make something everyone else will want to eat.”

Ginny opened her mouth to object, but Al beat her to it. He wrapped an arm around Nat’s shoulder and shook his head. “It’s good, Leah!” he said, surprising Ginny at the use of Nat’s middle name. “I was just expecting sickly sweet.”

“You don’t have to eat it,” she said as tears filled her eyes.

Ginny stared at Nat and wondered what on earth was going on with her. Nat was not a crier!

“Hey,” Al soothed as he pulled her in for a hug, completely enfolding her in his arms. “I like it! It just wasn’t what I was expecting, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

Ginny eyed her son, who mouthed, over Nat’s head, ‘I have it.”

So she walked off and left him to deal with it. She checked in with Louis, who told her is mum had said it was fine for him to stay. “Midnight hide-and-go-seek,” her nephew told her, “after dinner! Rose and Hugo are coming, too.”

By the time she made it back to Nat, Al was helping her make the cake and they were smiling. By the time she had Nat alone again, she almost hated to bring up the tears.

“It’s the hormones,” Nat explained with a shake of her head. “It’s been bad the last week, and then this morning I got my first period and promptly bled through everything I was wearing.”

“Oh Merlin!” Ginny exclaimed as she ran a hand over Nat’s head. “That had to be embarrassing!”

Nat shrugged, but her feelings were easy to read on her face. “We were on the train, and I stood up to find a huge puddle of blood there. Rose helped me get everything I needed, but Al and Andrew were there to witness the whole thing. I was crying so hard when Rose dragged me back to the compartment, in the midst of the screaming match between Scorpius and his girlfriend, but Al was really good about it. They both were. The boys cleaned up the blood, and they both said it wasn’t a big deal. I still felt really awful, just weepy and so embarrassed, but… well, you saw. I’m still a little weepy.”

“It’s your first period,” Ginny reminded her. “It’s a big deal. I should let Audrey know, actually.”

“I sent her a letter,” Nat informed her as she poured the cake batter into a baking pan. “She wanted to know because it meant the hormones they’d been giving me had finally worked. Sadly, I still look like I’m ten.”

“You’re tiny,” she agreed as Ginny opened the oven they almost never used for Nat to stick the pan in. It was a gas oven, something which had fascinated Ginny’s father. There were no electronic parts on it to break in the magical house, so Ginny had left it alone. She rather thought the people who owned the house before them had used it often. “Still, it doesn’t matter so much since you’re a girl. The world is sexist like that.”

Nat laughed and shook her head. “Did Al tell you he had a date to Hogsmeade the last trip?”

“No!” Ginny said with bemusement, then confusion when she realized her son had gone on a date with someone other than Nat. Then she was sad when she learned Nat was the one who had set the date up for Al. “You want him to date someone else?”

“I want him to be happy,” Nat explained.

Harry missed dinner and the game, but Ginny’s parents joined them for a while and Molly had played referee so Ginny could join in on the fun.

Ginny was already in bed by the time he crawled into bed. “What happened?”

“A bomb went off in Muggle London,” Harry told her. “It’s the third one in a week and a hundred people were killed today.”

“Was it a wizard?” she asked, unsure why he would have been involved otherwise.

He shook his head and sighed, resting his head on her breast, hooking a hand around her hip. “The Muggle prime minister is beside himself, desperate for any help. Normally we wouldn’t get involved, but they have no leads and no idea how to stop it. The person who is doing this is very cunning, but they’re definitely Muggle. I had a look at the scene and we did what we could to try to help them, but there wasn’t much we could do. The Muggle police were quite confused as to why we were there, but they’re so desperate for leads they’ll do anything.”

“You’re sure it isn’t Crabbe?”

“It’s not her,” Harry confirmed confidently. “There wasn’t even a hint of a trace of magic. It was an ordinary Muggle bomb, one with a timer that a wizard would have ended up frying if they’d tried to use magic on it.”

“We can use Muggle things, though,” Ginny said as worry filled her at the possibility of someone out killing so many Muggles.

“That’s true, but this is a terrorist act.”

“A what?”

So Harry explained about how one group of Muggles hated another group of Muggles. “They’re like us, except they pick things like skin color, religion, or sexual orientation,” he said heavily. “We pick on blood status. It’s all pretty bad. You could call the Death Eaters terrorists, including taking credit for their crimes with the Dark Mark. The Muggle terrorists also take credit. One of their groups claimed they did it, but that doesn’t help anyone track them down.”

“Is this what you’ve had Teddy working on?”

He nodded and let out a long, slow breath. “I have him following the man we suspect is the head of the terrorist cell in London. He’s an old man, definitely a Muggle. He’s absolutely dangerous, but not to a wizard. It’s a good assignment for Teddy, since he can change his appearance constantly and look like new people all the time. He’s been able to piece some things together, using some of the listening devices George has given us.”

“You’re allowed to use the magic against the Muggles?” Ginny blurted out in shock. It had to be really serious if they were doing that.

“We have been given permission by not only the Muggle prime minister, but our own, as well,” he confirmed as he tilted his head to kiss the underside of her chin. “It’s getting really serious. Today’s attack was not the biggest. The body count is over five hundred, and more than a thousand wounded. Our biggest problem is they don’t always speak English, which means we have to record what they’re saying and get it through the translators. We actually diverted an attack last week because of the intel Teddy gathered, but today’s was no good. The old man was quiet over it, so we think he knows he’s been bugged. We have to figure out who the other leaders are, but they don’t go see the old man so that’s partially on the Muggles to figure it out.”

The next morning started out to be such a lovely day, and then Lily informed her she’d started her period for the first time.

Because of course.

Teddy arrived with Emma not five minutes later, of course, and Ginny begging him to be careful that day, irrationally worried he might be hurt on the stakeout.

“I’ll take her,” James offered as he took the smiling baby from Teddy. “She’s so big!”

It was one of those days. Lily spent a good hour in bed with a hot water bottle for her cramps, Scorpius came over and apologized to Al and Nat about Avery, and James willingly offered to change Emma’s nappy.

She was pretty sure she was going to have whiplash before the day was out.

~*~

Scorpius squinted as he left the house and edged towards Lily. She’d sat herself under a tree and hadn’t moved for closing in on an hour now and no one would tell him exactly what was up with her. He hadn’t talked to her much over the year, just in passing as they saw each other in the common room or at meals, but he felt as protective of her as her brothers did. Lily inspired that feeling in those around her.

She glanced up and the sun caught her amazing copper hair, setting it alight. Her face was pale, paler than usual as he sat down next to her and bumped his shoulder into hers. She was a slight thing, although not as small as Nat. Still, even sitting, he could have propped his chin on the top of her head. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” she lied as she picked up a blade of grass and twisted it between her fingers. “I’m just tired.”

He nodded and leaned back against the tree.

“Why did you date her?”

Scorpius fought the urge to squirm in embarrassment. Avery had been a monumental mistake of epic proportions. “Honestly,” he admitted, “I don’t really know. She was pretty and she seemed nice. I thought I liked her, you know? We only dated a few weeks and I didn’t really know her.”

Lily didn’t say anything, simply took his hand and tied the grass around his pinky finger so it was in a pretty bow. It was actually rather impressive she’d managed it without breaking the grass. She pulled another blade of grass and went to work on the ring finger and he let her because it was Lily. Lily could do whatever she wanted.

“I thought my father would be happy with her,” Scorpius said and was stunned to realize it was the truth. He hadn’t thought about it until that very moment, but his father would have been pleased he was dating Avery. She was from a family that was Malfoy approved.

“Why are you trying to make your father happy?”

Honestly, he didn’t know. “I think I enjoy impossible tasks.”

Lily grinned and it was her turn to bump his shoulder with hers. She was so young, so bright, so impish and sweet. Being with her always helped him settle. It was difficult to believe she was already thirteen. She didn’t look it, and in many ways she didn’t act it. “Your dad loves you, you know. I saw it in him. He just doesn’t know what to do with you.”

It wasn’t much in the way of consolations.

“Lil,” he went on gently. “Why are you out here? What’s wrong?”

Her cheeks and the tip of her nose went bright pink as she tied the last blade around his thumb, so he now appeared to be wearing a green ring on each finger. He studied her handiwork, then took her hand with his. “Lily…” he said again with more insistence.

“It’s embarrassing!” she told him with a hitch to her voice.

He wondered what could possibly embarrass her, but then suddenly he knew and he nodded, feeling his own insides twinge a bit in embarrassment. He’d dealt with several years of Rose telling them she had her period and to be nice to her, and on the train he’d come back to find Nat in a state because she’d bled everywhere. Well, it was bound to happen to Lily, too, and as Al had pragmatically said on the train, “It’s just part of life.”

Scorpius looped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “Are you feeling okay?”

She rested her cheek against the hollow under his chin and he closed his eyes, drawing in the comfort of simply having her there. She was like warm Butterbeer on a cold day. She always had been.

“I feel weird,” she admitted reluctantly. “Like, I was hurting earlier today, but now I just feel so odd. It’s a definite turning point and I don’t feel ready for that.”

That was an extremely startling thought. Lily was still a little girl! She was… well, maybe not so much anymore. “I can see how that would be weird,” he agreed although he’d really wanted to say it was utterly alarming and he had no idea how to cope with it. She was too young for any of these things!

“Will people look at me funny? Will they whisper about me? Will it always hurt this much?” she questioned without really expecting an answer. “I don’t think I’m ready to grow up.”

“I don’t think anyone is ready for you to grow up, truth be told,” Scorpius assured her as a butterfly flew past them, fluttering on the slight breeze that had blown up. “But I suppose we’re all going to be facing it.”

“Mum was trying to be nice, but with Emma here, and Nat also a mess, it was just not a good day,” Lily said morosely. “I wanted so badly to spare her, but I had to tell her. Now she’s looking at me like I’ve grown a second head and she ordered me to stay near the house! Honestly, what’s that about?”

Scorpius had no idea, but there was a lot going on. The baby was cute, as one would expect with a part-Veela parent. She’d also been fairly good today, only crying for a bit that morning. He’d taken a turn holding her when Mrs. Potter had unceremoniously plopped her in Scorpius’ lap and led Lily upstairs. He was assuming, now, that was when Lily had told her mother her period had started.

Emma had looked up at him, and he’d looked down at the baby, and the baby grinned. He’d only held her for a second, though, before Nat had swooped in and claimed her. That baby was going to be seriously spoiled by the end of the summer. She’d always be in someone’s arms.

“Lily!”

They both turned to see Ginny stepping from the house. She studied them for a moment before coming over to them. Scorpius thought about taking his arm from around her, but Lily didn’t move, so he didn’t push her away.

“Nice rings,” Mrs. Potter laughed as she spotted Scorpius’ hand. “Are you okay?” she asked her daughter, taking her hand. “I’m sorry today has been so rushed and frantic.”

“I’m okay,” Lily promised as she rose up onto her knees and hugged her mother. “It’s really hard getting older.”

“I know it is, Lily-Lu,” Ginny said as she kissed her child’s brow. “Are you ready to come in yet, or is Scorpius helping with everything?”

Lily sat back down and resumed her position of leaning against his side. “It’s helping. He’s explaining to me how he could have been daft enough to date Avery the awful.”

“Was she really that bad?” Ginny asked Scorpius. “She got on Nat’s nerves, I know, and that’s hard to do.”

Scorpius nodded heavily and grinned when Ginny let out a snort of laughter. “She was really pretty but had nothing else to her,” he explained sheepishly. “I feel really stupid about it, actually. When I confronted her about what she’d said to Nat she lied to me about saying it, and then started screaming at me when I called her on the lie.”

It had been really ugly, all things considered. The fact that she accused Nat of lying, when Nat wouldn’t lie to him, had been the last straw.

“Well, we made ice cream,” Ginny told them with a sad smile. “It’s safe for Nat to eat, so it’s not terribly sweet, but I think it’s good. Want some?”

“Yes!” Lily said instantly, scrambling to her feet and taking her mother’s hand to head for the door. “You coming?” she called over her shoulder to Scorpius.

He nodded and waved her off, considering the day he’d had as he gazed down at the grass rings Lily had tied on his fingers. She was such a sweet kid, really more… he didn’t know how to explain it. Nat was smaller than Lily, but Lily was definitely younger and acted like it. She was still a child in so many ways. Nat knew all kinds of things about life that showed she’d seen a lot in her time. Lily didn’t have anything like that. She was all light and sunshine, bright hair and a big smile.

He left the rings on and headed for the door. He was barely through when James thrust the baby into his arms. “Hold her for a second!” he called as he went to retrieve a rag to wipe a bunch of gunk off of his shirt. He cleaned Emma up, as well, as Emma fussed at them.

“What was that?” Scorpius asked, absolutely positive he didn’t want to know.

“She spit up on me,” James grumbled as he took the baby back and held her up, his face splitting into a grin. “I don’t like vomit, you know. It’s good that you’re cute.”

“Here, have some ice cream,” Lily said, handing him a bowl and a spoon. She grinned happily as she took another bite. “It’s a bit like these things Aunt Fleur makes with dark chocolate. I think you’ll like it.”

And truth be told, he did, even though it tasted absolutely nothing like any other ice cream he’d ever had before.


A/N: My latest novel is out at most retailers online: Sarah Jaune Remnants
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