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SIYE Time:23:42 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: 352187; Chapter Total: 1619
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
The chapter got too long, I'm sorry! I will have another up in a month. Don't hate me... also leave a review and tell me how much you dislike me right now... I can take it lol Just remember I almost never leave them on a cliff like this...

Go check out my books on amazon (Sarah Jaune) or find me on pa treon under the same name. Same with Faceboo k.

Thank you to Arnel for beta'ing!




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“I am so glad we are done with this year,” Lily exclaimed to the whole house. Ginny smiled at her as she twirled a bit and then fell onto one of the armchairs. “I wish Scorpius could have come to the station. Work is so lame.”

“You are a spoiled brat,” Ginny called over to her, trying not to laugh.

“It’s so true, I am,” Lily agreed with a giggle. “We only have weeks until the wedding and oh, Mummy, I don’t have to deal with that annoying Adam again for the whole summer!”

Ginny frowned as she turned away from the mail she’d been sorting. “I thought he wasn’t bothering you anymore.”

“He doesn’t say or do anything to me,” Lily assured her, “but he does stare at me whenever he can get away with it. It’s creepy and I’m ready for a break from it. Is Nat out in her workshop?”

Ginny nodded and went back to the letters. “Yes, she has some things to finish today as she has to be at the Ministry tomorrow.”

“Poor Nat,” Lily said as she picked up Ducky. “Come on Sera,” she said to her dog who had been laying at her feet, “I want a shower and then I want to do nothing until dinner tonight. I’m so tired of exams.”

They were having the whole family over for dinner that night, partially as a welcome home for Lily, Hugo, and Honor, but also as a last minute chance to go over the safety measures they were putting in place for Rose and Andrew’s wedding. Nothing would matter here for the soul bounding at Ivy Run, but at Andrew’s ancestral home, there was definitely going to be a security issue. The only blessing was Andrew was extremely wealthy. His father had invested in some kind of Muggle company many years before. Apparently, it was a store that was available on the internet. Nat had tried to explain it to her, so she understood enough to know they shipped things to people, although she didn’t know how the Muggles could ship so much the next day. In any case, it left Andrew’s family extremely wealthy and he’d been able to completely redo his home with the latest in security, at least to a Muggle standard.

It wasn’t going to do anything against a wizard. But that was a problem for tonight and for Harry’s team. Andrew would be able to pay every single Auror, plus a decent number of the MLE overtime to stand guard that night. There was no hiding the event was happening. Everyone in England knew about the wedding of the duke of… come to that, Ginny couldn’t remember what his title actually was. He was simply Andrew to her, the boy who was so kind and funny and made Rose happy. That was all that mattered.

Ginny glanced over to Polly, who was working at the stove. “Do you need any help, Polly?”

“No miss,” Polly answered quickly. Teeny had decided she was going to live with Victoire and Teddy as their house-elf and Ginny admitted she’d cried over it. She’d wished, fervently wished, Teeny would have chosen to do anything else, but it was what she wanted. She’d said to Ginny that they needed her and she was going to live with them. The only comfort she had in the whole situation was that Teeny hadn’t even bothered to ask Teddy or Victoire if she could live with them. She’d simply packed up her belongings and moved in.

The next time she’d seen Victoire, she’d been clearly flummoxed over the whole thing. “Suddenly I don’t have to cook or clean anymore and she’s absolutely refusing to budge on it! I want to complain, but mostly I just want to sleep, so I’m letting it go for now.”

Two more grandchildren. Ginny was so excited for the prospect, but there was still an ache in her heart that her babies were growing up so quickly. James would have two children before much longer and Teddy would have four.

She glanced up the stairs to where she could hear Lily humming and knew her baby girl was going to be married in about a year. Scorpius was planning on asking her this summer. He’d already talked to them about it, but they both agreed Lily would be ready. She was seventeen, after all, which was older than Ginny had been when they’d married.

Her mind flew back to finding out that she was pregnant, when she’d never even been with a guy in that way, and how much Harry had stepped up. When she’d lost Hope, giving birth to her too early up in their bathtub, she’d felt like she might never be happy again, but when it had come down to it, she’d been able to live again. It had taken awhile, but she’d gone on to play professional Quidditch, which she’d thoroughly enjoyed, and then she’d had James. They’d planned for James and Lily, although they had not planned on Al. Al’s pregnancy had been a total shock and Harry had been checked out for much of James’ early life.

She was just grateful that Victoire wasn’t dealing with that. Teddy was a fantastic father and he was present at all times, but of course he’d had parents who loved him. His grandmother had adored him and he’d always had Harry. Harry didn’t have anyone, so when James was a difficult baby, Harry hadn’t known what to do.

“You okay?”

Ginny turned to see Nat standing next to her in the kitchen. She must have really been deep in thought to miss Nat coming into the kitchen. “What? Oh, yes. I was just thinking of the new grandbabies and how everyone is growing up too quickly.”

“It doesn’t feel all that fast to me, but then again I don’t have a lot going on,” Nat told her with a sad smile.

Ginny pulled her into her arms and rocked her back and forth. “Your day will come, luv. You deserve to have all the happiness in the world.”

Nat let out a sigh and then pulled away from her. “Well, what else needs to be done before the family descends upon us tonight?”

They were having their typical end of the school year feast. It was so strange to think that this was the second to last one they’d have until Emma went to Hogwarts.

“Miss,” Polly said, grabbing her attention.

She turned and saw the house-elf wringing a dishcloth. “What’s wrong, Polly?”

“I is… I is…” Polly’s nerve seemed to fail her.

“She’s going to have a baby,” Nat filled in.

Surprise flashed through Ginny as she glanced to Nat. Nat just shrugged. “You knew?”

“I figured she’d tell you when she was ready,” Nat said with a shrug. “It’s hers to tell.”

“Well,” Ginny gave Polly a big smile. “I’m very happy for you, Polly. When is the baby due?”

Polly gave Nat a glance and Nat said, “I think a month. I’m not as familiar with house-elves. I can’t remember what it was like when Teeny was born.”

“I is liking Teeny’s father,” Polly said quietly. “I is going to see him at Hogwarts.”

“Do you want him to come here to live with us?” Ginny asked gently. “I can arrange that.”

“Oh, no miss! No!” Polly protested instantly. “I is liking him much better at Hogwarts when I can come home.”

Nat bit back a very obvious snort and Ginny had to fight hard not to laugh herself. “Well, I can certainly understand that.”

~*~

Al could not stop thinking about what he’d heard Louis say. It had been eating at him constantly to the point that he knew he was going to get an ulcer if he couldn’t stop it. He’d tried pushing himself harder in training, and that did help him sleep better, but it didn’t do much to ward off the words of what Louis had said. It didn’t help erase what Lena had said about her father. He figured James had to know most of it, though, which was why he’d arranged to meet his brother at his flat while Scorpius was over with Lily. Since Lily had arrived home last week, he’d not seen much of his best friend, but he understood. He also, admittedly, would have seen more of him if he hadn’t been trying to work himself into exhaustion every night.

“This had better be good,” James said as he came through Al’s door without bothering to knock. “I’d much rather be kissing my wife than staring at your ugly mug.”

Al gave him a weak smile and James paused, really studying him. “Alright,” James said, sitting across from him. “What’s wrong?”

“Did Louis talk to you about what really happened in Egypt?” Al asked him hesitantly.

James’ brows went up. “He has told me things. What did he tell you?”

“He told me nothing,” Al admitted miserably. “I went to spy on him and Lena because I was worried about what he’d do to her. I think she’s developed feelings for him, but he is not good for her.”

“Are you good for her?”

The question caught Al so off guard he could only gape at his brother. “What? No! It’s not like that! She’s… she’s a really good friend, that’s all. She knows how I feel about Nat.”

“Why is it that only Nat doesn’t know how you feel about her?” James wondered wearily as he sat back in his seat. “Why can’t you just nut up and tell her?”

“I’ve tried to, several times, and she turns it around to set me up with someone else!” Al shot back angrily. “I should just give up on her but… I can’t. I’ve tried and I can’t.”

“So, there’s nothing between you and Lena?” James asked pointedly.

“She’s my Auror partner,” Al said with the shake of his head. “I feel protective over her like I do for Rose and Lily, only she’s not nearly as helpless as Lily is.”

James considered him, tapping a foot, then he nodded. “So, what was this about? Why did you spy on them?”

“Like I said, I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t doing anything to her. I dragged him out of so many pubs and it was all about the girls, and some blokes, who were hitting on him. I don’t trust his judgment and I’m not sure she could say no to him, but…” Al swallowed hard and he remembered what all he’d heard. “Louis told Lena about the man and what he did to him.”

James’ eyes narrowed. “He would not want you to know that.”

“I don’t want to know it!” Al assured him miserably. “Almost as soon as I arrived and heard how they were talking, heard it wasn’t a date, I wanted to leave! But they’d have figured out I was there if I had so I stayed and he told… he told how the guy raped him. Well, he didn’t call it that, but Lena convinced him that’s what it was and she’s right. It was rape.” Al dropped his head to his hands and fought hard to control his breathing. “It’s been eating me up and I don’t know how to deal with it. I feel so guilty for spying on them and I feel really badly for how nasty I was to Louis when he was getting drunk!”

James let out a long sigh and pushed to his feet. He came around the coffee table and sat next to Al, draping an arm around his shoulder. “I don’t think you should tell either of them that you were there. That would only hurt Louis more. It might be a good idea to talk to a therapist about it.”

“I don’t know who to talk to,” Al admitted.

“I have a therapist,” James told him. “He’s really good and totally vetted by Dad.”

Al leaned back to study his brother. “You have a therapist?”

“Yeah, I do,” James promised with another long sigh. “Sometimes what happened to Caroline overwhelms me and I need someone to talk to. I only see him once every few months, but if something comes up, I make an appointment and get in to talk it out with him. It’s been really helpful. Caroline had a therapist for a while, but she hadn’t wanted to go and see her since before Alex was born. Now with the pregnancy, even though she’s happy, I nudged her into making an appointment and she’s back to going regularly.” James paused for a moment, then went on. “After Louis told me what really happened, I went to see my therapist again, so he’s going to know the story. What he said to me was I just needed to treat Louis the same way I’ve always treated him, and to support him as he deals with this. Being an alcoholic… it wasn’t a choice. It was Louis’ way of dealing with a lot of pain. He didn’t just have the pain of the rape, but the pain of knowing he’d done something to a girl. I have that guilt, Al. Alex’s birth mother was just a young girl. I don’t know how she ended up pregnant, but she was pregnant with my son, so while I didn’t do anything consciously, I’m part of why her life ended. No,” he said when Al began to protest. “I know logically it doesn’t make any sense, but logic isn’t all there is. I feel guilty. I feel responsible. I feel the weight of being so happy with my wife and son when her life had to end for that to happen.”

Al nodded his head slowly. “So, therapy.”

“I’ll give you his name. You should make an appointment.”

“Thanks, James.” Al hadn’t been sure how this was going to go, but he hadn’t expected this. James was definitely a changed man.

James pulled him into a hug. “I love you. You’re my little brother, and I’m always going to be there for you, but don’t spy on people anymore or I’ll kick your arse.”

“I won’t,” Al laughed in relief. “I love you, too.”

James let him go and clapped him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you come home with me and play with Alex. You know that always makes you feel better.”

It did. However… “Daisy loves me too much.”

“Daisy was picked up yesterday by Hagrid,” James told him. “She’s out of the therapy dog business. I’m not sure when we’ll get another puppy.”

He went to play with Alex, enjoyed his nephew’s antics and a good meal with family, then he came home and wrote to the therapist to make an appointment.

It was only two days later that he was sitting in his first appointment with Healer Preston. Al sat down and started off talking about what happened with Louis, but finished the session laying out his feelings for Nat and how he didn’t feel like he could say anything to her. All of it ended up being a lot, and Healer Preston told him he was coming back in the next week to continue this.

He hadn’t said much to Al about how to deal with it, yet, except that he needed to remember that if he could have done differently, he would have not spied on his cousin. But also, if he hadn’t spied on his cousin, he might have continued to judge him too harshly for the alcoholism.

It was a lesson Al knew he needed to focus on. He didn’t know what was going on in anyone else’s life and he shouldn’t be judging them too harshly.

So, he made an appointment for the following week which wouldn’t interfere with any of the wedding preparations. He wasn’t in the wedding party, as Hugo was the best man, but he knew he was going to be called on to help.

“Thank you,” he told Healer Preston at the end of their session as he shook his hand. “I really needed this.”

“You’re welcome,” Preston told him with a firm shake. “Send me an owl if you need me sooner.”

Al nodded and left and decided to go see Nat. Nat was the maid-of-honor for the wedding and maybe it was pathetic to continue to hang onto feelings for her when she didn’t have any for him, but no one had ever said he wasn’t pathetic. Plus, she was one of his best friends and she didn’t get to leave the house. He knew she was feeling lonely and isolated.

When he arrived at his parent’s house, it was to find that it looked like a ribbon factory had exploded. He gaped at the mess on the table as Nat glanced over to him and grinned. “Oh, good, come help me tie these.”

He couldn’t help but grin back. Yeah, he was pathetic, but she made him happy, even if she was only his friend.

~*~

Ron stared at his daughter and tried very hard not to burst into tears. She was so beautiful. She looked so much like her mother, so much like his own wedding day, but Rose was her own person, and as she smiled up at him, he knew his heart was going to burst. She was getting married to Andrew in a matter of minutes. In minutes he would walk her down into the early morning light and give her away to a very good man, one he knew would take care of her. He’d spent several nights with Andrew over the last several months. They’d met at restaurants and pubs and he’d talked to the young man about all sorts of things. The first few times they’d met, it had been awkward as hell, but by the fourth meeting, they were both learning to trust and open up.

Andrew told him about just how much Rose meant to him, and how much he loved her. The light in the younger man’s eyes had been absolutely genuine. He’d worried, at first, that they were more like friends who had decided to marry, but in the last few months, Ron had decided he must have been mistaken because there was no doubt how much Andrew was in love with his girl. The way he looked at her when she came into the room told him everything he needed to know.

Of course, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Ron had eventually opened up about all the ways his own marriage had failed so completely. He’d told him all the ways he’d felt like he had failed as a husband and a father. For once, he felt like maybe his mistakes could be a guidepost for how to not be married. He felt like Andrew had taken him seriously.

Ron still loved Hermione, but she didn’t love herself and she didn’t really want to try. A few times a year they still ended up in bed together, usually when the pull of their soul bond started to tug at them. It was never a pretty thing. Sure, it was a release of sorts, but it wasn’t the love-making he wanted to be sharing with her. It simply reset the clock as to when he’d need to do that again. He knew from his father that being intimate wasn’t required as long as the couple was physically close and touching a lot. He said there were plenty of times with his mum that led to them not being together, sexually, but that tug was not there, not in the way that Ron and Hermione were experiencing it.

He’d heard stories of Voldemort and Bellatrix… he absolutely could not imagine what that would do to Bellatrix, who was bound to her husband. Yet she’d betrayed it. Her soul really must have been black.

But no, he had to focus. Today was the best of the best of days. Rose was dressed in white, her hair pulled back away from her face with the curls a bit more orderly down her back. Nat, who was her maid of honor, was dressed in a light blue dress, and Andrew’s little sister, Claire, who was now eight, was dressed in a very puffy white dress with a blue something that matched Nat’s dress, tied around her waist.

“Are you ready?” Ron asked her as he kept his focus on his girl and not on his wife, who stood behind her in a pale green dress.

Rose nodded and moved to him, letting him pull her in for one last hug when she was still completely his girl. He kissed the crown of her head and whispered, “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” Rose promised. “Now let’s go get me married!”

He grinned and escorted her down the stairs. Ginny waited at the door and she directed first Hermione, who was escorted to her seat by Hugo, then she sent Claire out, then Nat.

He took a deep breath and tried to calm his nerves. He hadn’t even been this nervous at his own wedding, but that was probably because he knew now what he didn’t know then. He didn’t ask her if she was sure. If Rose hadn’t been sure, she’d have said something, but still he longed to ask.

Then he thought about doing this all over again in a few hours at Andrew’s house, only in that bloody awful Muggle suite with the thing around his neck that made him feel like he was choking constantly. Give him good, old-fashioned dress robes any day!

“You’re up,” Ginny said to them. “I’ll scoot down to my seat and as soon as I’m in, the music will change and it’ll be your turn.”

He watched his sister go and then whispered, “Are you sure we have to do this twice?”

Rose laughed and grinned up at him. “Oh, yeah, we definitely have to do this twice, but this morning is just for us. It’ll be fun, Dad. You’ll see.”

“I guess I will,” Ron said as he heard the music change and he began to slowly walk his girl to the man at the end of the aisle. He watched Andrew’s eyes light with joy as he caught his first glimpse of Rose and it was to Andrew, he focused, because he needed Andrew’s joy and reverence to help him remember that this was the right thing, the best thing.

“You are so beautiful,” Andrew whispered to Rose as Ron handed her off and he watched Rose’s cheeks flush with a happiness so full it practically lit her from the inside.

Ron went and sat with Hermione and to his surprise, she reached over and clutched at his hand. He glanced over to see the tears in her eyes, so he simply patted her hand and held on. He needed it as much as she did, after all, and she’d reached out. He wasn’t going to slap her away.

The officiator began to speak of love, union, and the joining of souls. He listened as he outlined the joys and responsibilities of the soul bond and then asked if they were ready for that commitment. He watched as they both agreed and then the bond, which was always beautiful to behold, was placed around them. “You may now kiss the bride,” the man told them and he watched Andrew lean slowly into Rose, taking his time, drawing her in for a very slow, sweet kiss.

On one hand, Ron hated that, on the other, he absolutely loved Andrew for showing that kind of care and concern for his girl. Rose deserved that and so much more. Cheering erupted around him and he turned to tell Hermione something… but his eyes saw hers were haunted and filled with too many emotions, so he simply pulled her in for a hug and kissed her brow. “That’s our baby.”

“That’s our baby,” she agreed with a hitch.

~*~

“Come here,” Andrew called to her and Rose moved into him as they entered their new room at his estate. He kicked the door shut and she giggled as he pulled her against him, then pulled her over to the bed.

“Andrew…” she laughed as he tugged her down on the bed. “We really don’t have time for this. We have to get changed for… ohhhh.” Her head fell to the side as his lips skimmed her neck and his hand crept up in a way he’d never done before.

“I’ve been waiting to touch you for years,” he croaked out in a hoarse whisper. “I need to touch you. God, that pull…”

She knew exactly what he was talking about. The moment their bond had formed, it had felt like he was the center of gravity for her. She’d already longed for him, but this was a new kind of longing, a longing that ached through her bones.

Rose didn’t say another word as he pulled down the zipper of her dress and slowly tugged it off of her, leaving her in only some lacy white knickers. “Rosie…” he whispered reverently. “So beautiful… I’m so glad you’re mine.”

His mouth found hers and he kept up kissing her until she’d managed to tug up his dress robes and throw them to the side.

He made her feel beautiful. In a room full of gorgeous women, his eyes were only for her. “I love you so much,” she whispered, unsure if it was loud enough for him to hear.

“I love you, too,” he promised fervently. “I didn’t know I would fall so hard in love with you, but I have. I need you so much. Please Rosie… let’s take this moment.”

She studied him and then turned to the door to see he’d locked it. She nodded and grinned. Hopefully everyone would get the message and give them space.

~*~

“Aren’t we supposed to be getting ready?” Al grumbled as he paced around one of the rooms set up for them to get ready.

Nat, who was already in her second dress for the Muggle ceremony, only shook her head. She had watched the bond form between Rose and Andrew and how it had been pulling them together and she rather suspected the second ceremony was going to be late getting started.

“You don’t know what it’s like being a newlywed,” James pointed out as he finished changing Alex’s nappy. “Here, take your nephew and go for a walk. We’ll find you if you’re needed.”

Nat almost said Alex might spit up on the tux and then shut her mouth when she realized they could simply use magic to remove it. Sometimes those simple things were lost to her.

“Do you want to play a game, Claire?” Nat asked the girl as she twirled around in her dress. This one was a royal blue with a white bow at the waist. Aunt Emma had picked the colors for the Muggle ceremony. Actually, according to Rose, Aunt Emma had done most of the work to this event. Sadly, the woman, who Nat had seen when they arrived, looked to have no more than a few months to live. Her body seemed to be failing her quickly.

“Noooooo,” Claire sang out as she continued to twirl.

Al, who had ignored James, sat down next to Nat with Alex, who immediately squirmed off Al to climb on her and snuggle in. He was clearly tired, but there was so much excitement going on around him, she knew they’d never get him down for a nap.

Hugo and Honor came in followed by a couple of servants who were pushing carts of food. “We found lunch!” Honor told them happily. The girl had changed so much in the last few years. She had really blossomed out of her shell. “Where’s Lily?”

“Bathroom,” James and Scorpius said at the same time, pointing to the door that led off the room.

Moments later Teddy came in, carrying Amelia and Olivia and trailed by little Emma and a pale Victoire. She watched her cross over to sit next to Caroline. “This can be the puking couch.”

Caroline grinned and held up a glass of something bubbly. “One of the maids gave me this when I said I was going to throw up. It’s made from ginger.”

“Is it working?” Victoire asked, peering into it.

“So far,” Caroline told her, handing it over. “Give it a try.”

“Nat…” Lily called from the bathroom.

“Are you okay?” Scorpius asked through the door.

“My zip is stuck,” Lily called out.

Nat stood and walked to the door, only then remembering she held Alex, passed him off to Scorpius, and pushed through the door to help Lily finish dressing.

“You’re like a game of pass the parcel,” Scorpius told the baby while Al and James laughed.

The Muggle ceremony was excruciatingly formal. They’d all had to have lessons upon lessons about how to behave. The king and queen were in attendance! It was the most ridiculous spectacle Nat had ever attended and the level of Muggle and Magical security was unbelievable. It was the once in a lifetime kind of event that sadly Rose would now be attending on a regular basis. She did not envy her friend, not that, but she did envy her happiness and marriage. Unfortunately, the press was going on and on about how young the two of them were and what was the rush to marry? They didn’t understand the magical world or how it worked, how it really worked, for Rose and Andrew. Yes, Rose was so happy. She knew Rose was in love. She practically glowed with it.

Alright, to Nat she did glow with it. It was obvious she and Andrew had sealed their bond in the time they’d slipped away, but she was happy for her friend even if it was a bit weird to know that her friends had just had sex. But it was good they’d already sealed it. By the time this whole thing was over it was likely to be early tomorrow morning and they might not feel up to doing much of anything but falling asleep.

When they were pronounced husband and wife, she watched Andrew lean over kiss Rose in the proper kiss the etiquette woman had told them they had to use. Lights and cameras flashed all around them, a few even blew up which made Rose wince. The amount of magic in the room was definitely interfering with all of the Muggle electronics. Andrew had told them they didn’t typically have problems with the magic and the lights in the house because it was such a big house and only two people using magic, but she suspected that when they eventually had children, things were going to change.

Nat clapped along with everyone else and then took Hugo’s arm to proceed towards the antechamber where they would wait for the guests to clear towards the ballroom before they could come back in for pictures.

Frankly, she was ready to go home and get out of the shoes which were pinching her feet.

“You okay?” Hugo asked her as they walked down the aisle.

“My feet hurt,” Nat grumbled even as she kept a smile plastered firmly on her face for all the Muggles to see. She knew they all wondered what on earth she was doing as the maid of honor to the new Duchess. “We have to remember to say ‘your grace’ from here on out.”

“Bullocks that,” Hugo laughed as he led her to the room they were directed to. They had two Aurors standing by there and Rose and Andrew were once again locked up in a tight embrace. Nat couldn’t see if they were kissing or not, but turned back to Rose’s brother and waited for the rest of the family to join them.

“Food for you,” Audrey came in with what Nat recognized as a beef jerky stick. “Eat up quick.”

Nat nodded and took it from her, eating so she could continue to feel alright until it was time for dinner.

Pictures took over an hour. It was miserable. They couldn’t even stop to use the loo because someone had to go with them at all times. The Aurors were being absolute sticklers about it. All of them had Portkeys to get them home if something happened to them, but no one was taking a chance because they could still get kidnapped by a house-elf. Crabbe had used house-elves before and she could again.

Thankfully the king and queen had left, so that let up on a lot of the Muggle security around the house. Now they only had to deal with the Aurors.

“This is the longest day ever,” Hugo said as he poked at his dinner with his fork. She was sure he wasn’t using the correct fork, but she like Hugo all the more for it. Nat had obsessively made sure she picked up the correct fork while Hugo had refused to relinquish his salad fork from the first course, claiming he was still using it. “The food isn’t half-bad, though.” He eyed her steak, which was definitely bigger than his. “You going to eat all of that?”

Nat had to bite back a snort. “If I pass my food over to your plate, at least three women are going to fall over in a dead faint. Fill up on sweets during the dancing. You can definitely have my portion of cake.”

Hugo let out an abused moan. “When I marry, I’m going to insist on a lot of really good food. She can have everything else, but that’s what I want.”

“I think that’s a reasonable stand to take,” Nat assured him as she cut into her steak.

The ballroom was massive. It could easily have held five hundred or more people, which was good because there were at least four hundred in attendance. She didn’t know all of the nobles who were in attendance, but she saw at least one prince. She’d always been fascinated by the social structures in societies, but she had to admit it was quite a different thing to be part of it.

“Dance with me?” Al asked as he came over to her. She’d seen him dancing with some girl she didn’t know, so she supposed she was a Muggle.

“Sure,” Nat agreed as she took his hand. “You looked good with that girl,” she said, hoping her voice sounded level.

“What?” Al asked, confused, then his face darkened for a bit before leveling out. “Oh, yeah, she’s one of Andrew’s Muggle cousins. Margaret or something.”

“You didn’t even get her name?” Nat asked as he pulled her into the dance, grateful for the hours of lessons they’d put into this evening. She saw Lily and Scorpius dancing and they both looked beautiful.

Al shrugged. “She asked me.”

“Ah,” Nat said and then let it go. She let him lead her through first one and then another dances.

The only interruptions happened when others in the family cut in to dance with her. Fred, who was a very exuberant dancer, kept her laughing through their whole dance. “Go back to Eva,” she said at the end of the dancing, grinning from ear to ear. “Your wife is better equipped to put up with you.”

“Shows you what you know,” he winked as he took her hand. “She told me I was exhausting her.”

“That I can believe,” Nat said as Lily pulled Scorpius over towards her.

“I have to pee so bad,” Lily told Nat, grabbing her hand. “I cannot do that in this dress. You have to come.”

“Do we have the Aurors?” Nat asked, glancing to Scorpius.

“Al is getting one,” Scorpius told her. “He’ll meet us over by the hall.”

Nat nodded, waved to Fred and let Lily lead her towards the far side of the ballroom. She grinned as she saw Andrew holding Rose close, when he kissed her brow. Oh yeah, they were going to be just fine.

She spotted Al waiting for them with a burly Auror she had seen many times at the Auror office name Raeburns. He was an older man, but Nat knew Harry respected him implicitly. They walked with Raeburns in front, leading, and Al taking up the rear, with Scorpius.

“One moment,” Raeburns said as he went in and did a sweep of the room. He came out, motioned to Al, who did a second sweep. It seemed silly, but if two of them did a sweep, then they might catch something the other had missed. Also, Nat rather suspected it was so neither could try to pull something.

Al came out and held the door open. “It’s clear, in you go, but make it fast.”

Lily bounced into the room and turned her back to Nat. Nat was too enamored with the room to really pay her any mind. There was a sitting area out here with couches and the carpet was so plush, Nat really wanted to kick off her terrible shoes. The actual toilet was on the other side of the room behind a wall with a beautiful landscape on the wall that created the toilet and sink. She turned back to see Lily still waiting.

“Just pull it up,” Nat told as she squared off with the zipper from hell. It had been truly stuck before.

“I can’t, it’s too many layers,” Lily pleaded. “Nat I’m about to pee my pants!”

“Alright,” Nat said as she pulled the zipper down and let out a small sigh of relief when the dress came open. She let it drop and Lily quickly stepped out of it, rushing to the other side of the wall. Nat would have preferred to lock the door, but knew that no one was getting in through the guys outside. She heard Lily’s groan of relief as she finally started to pee, so she picked up the dress and draped it over an armchair and sat down, pulling off her shoes and rubbing at her aching feet.

A magical explosion of lights suddenly ricocheted through the room. Nat let out a scream, she scrambled to her feet even as another wave hit her, knocking her over, this time from the sound. Chaos exploded around her as she fell back against the cushions and closed her eyes, trying to orient herself. Her vision was ruined from the lights!

Yells and screaming filled the room around her as she felt someone pick her up, touch her bracelet, her Portkey, and yell, “Home!”

Nat didn’t even have to process that Al had sent her back to Ivy Run before she’d fallen onto the living room carpet at her home with the Potters.

She lay there, stunned, for a full minute before she realized something had gone very, very wrong, and sick dread sank through her as she realized the magical explosion had come from where Lily had been!

Nat scrambled to her feet and wished she could get back to that bathroom, but knew if she went, she would only be in the way. Her teeth began to chatter and she sat down on her favorite spot on the sofa and began to cry, hard.

“Mistress Nat!” Polly called, coming out from where she slept. “Is you okay?”

For a moment, Nat almost asked her if she could find Lily, but then stopped herself. Polly was pregnant, and she didn’t know what kind of situation she’d be sending Polly into if she went. “They took Lily,” Nat cried. “I… I think. I think they took Lily!”

Polly’s big eyes went even wider. “The bad lady?”

Nat nodded. She closed her eyes and tried to stop the tears, but the loud crack from the house-elf Apparating startled her into opened her eyes to see Polly was gone. “No! NO! Polly!” she called out frantically. “Polly, I order you to come back!”

She waited, hoping that would work, but nothing happened. Where was she? Where could she have gone to? Was Lily okay? Shouldn’t she be back by now?! She began counting as she paced. Counting, counting, counting…

When she hit four hundred sixty three another massive crack rent the room and Polly appeared with Lily, who was lying motionless on the floor.

Nat took one look at Lily and nearly screamed. She was alive, but… oh Merlin it was bad. It was so bad. “Polly, I need Audrey right now!”
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