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The Space Between | ||||||
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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: 584 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: 353312; Chapter Total: 938 Awards: View Trophy Room Author's Notes: |
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James closed his locker in the team’s locker room and sighed. Today had been absolutely brutal for practice. They shouldn’t even be practicing, since the World Cup had just finished, but his coach had decided to bring everyone in and put them through their paces one last time before tryouts for the team. It was something he could have cheerfully done without, but he did want to keep his job so he suited up and joined in. Resting his head against the cool locker, he closed his eyes and took a moment to breathe. He wanted to get home. Every fiber of him was ready to go home and hug his wife and his son, but the moment he left the locker room he was going to have to get home, gather his family, and turn around again to leave for the party at his sister’s new house. He was ready to be done with people today and instead he would have to face Scorpius’ parents, and truthfully, Scorpius’ dad scared him a bit. Draco was definitely unhinged, or at least he had been. He didn’t know that he wanted the man around his family, but now he was related to the bastard by marriage and there was no help for it. He had to give him a chance, but his father had assured him that if Draco made even one wrong step, he would be out and there would be no coming back from that. Scorpius’ mum seemed like she was a good sort. She had never abused her son, although she’d also never stepped in for him, either, at least not until he was older and pushing to get away from everyone else. James honestly didn’t know how to feel about that. On the one hand, he knew she was also a victim in this and he did not want to victim blame, but on the other hand, how could the woman not stand up for her child? Or was that still victim blaming? From yet another angle, James could look at the whole situation and see how Draco had been victimized and abused by his parents and grandparents and since that was the case, should he not be given the grace to grow, go through therapy, and change? Should he never be given another chance? The whole thing was a mess and James was very thankful he didn’t have to deal with it in his parents. He would have had to if Caroline’s parents had lived, but sadly her mother had been murdered, along with her grandparents, and James had killed Caroline’s father. It hadn’t taken him long to process that one and be glad. Alright, it had taken a few years. Even if he knew it was the right thing to do and there was no other choice, it didn’t make it any easier to take a man’s life and not think on the ramifications of it. But years out from it, he was glad Donald Baker was dead and never coming back to hurt another person, especially Caroline. She was healing and growing from the experience and while he would wish it all away, if he could, he also knew that in some ways she was a stronger person for having survived it. It didn’t make it better or right, only that she had scars and she’d learned to live with them. She was growing in other ways, too, James reflected with a grin as he pushed off from the locker and headed for the door. In another few weeks Caroline would hit the halfway point in pregnancy and she was already beginning to show. He absolutely adored her tiny baby bump. He knew it was probably weird, but he couldn’t help how much he enjoyed cupping her small belly. She was already feeling the baby move, but he couldn’t as yet. He’d seen the baby when his aunt had done pregnancy checks and the baby was amazing looking! Now if only Caroline would agree to finding out if they were having a boy or a girl… he laughed softly and shook his head. He’d almost broken down and asked Nat what it was, but he knew she wouldn’t tell him. She was honest to a fault and she definitely wouldn’t say anything to anyone. James had even asked Al if she’d told him but no, she was keeping everyone in the dark just as Caroline wanted. Since Alex had been a surprise in every possible way, he figured they could handle not knowing what the baby’s sex was beforehand. They’d already picked out names for the baby. If it was a girl, they were going to name her Alice Hope and if they had a boy, they were going to name him Asher James. They’d talked about it and decided they wanted to use all ‘A’ names for their kids. Well, Caroline wanted to and James had no strong objections. Alex’s birth mother had picked his name, but he liked the name anyway. They’d been debating on Anthony, but had decided on Asher instead. Andrew was also a strong contender, but James hadn’t yet asked Rose if her husband might not want a junior and in any case, it could get confusing at family gatherings. James pushed open to door to the locker room and immediately spotted Heather. She had apparently showered, because her long brown hair was still wet. She was fit, as all of them were, and about medium height and the build of an athlete. Her blue eyes fixed on him and she smiled. She was standing with another one of their teammates who waved and said, “I’m off to talk to coach.” “See you, Ben,” Heather told him. She still made him uncomfortable, but she hadn’t tried to flirt with him in the last few months so James was starting to relax around her. “You did well today,” he told her as he began to move towards the exit. He was less than thrilled when she fell into step next to him. “Same to you,” she agreed casually. “Any fun plans this weekend?” “Quiet time with the family,” he told her vaguely. It was true… or rather, he hoped it would be true and they would have quiet time with the family. He didn’t think they would end up in a screaming match that evening with Scorpius’ parents, or worse yet, an actual fight. Come to that, they’d have two Aurors and almost all of his uncles in the house. It would be stupid for Draco to pick an actual fight and apart from everything else, Draco wasn’t stupid. So yes, it would be at least a night that wasn’t violent. “What about you?” “Oh, not much,” she said indifferently. “I might go see my family if they make it into town, but that’s not certain yet.” “Well, I hope you do,” he said as they hit the outer door. “Family is important. I’ll see you at tryouts.” “Yeah, see ya,” she agreed as he walked away to Apparate home. He arrived back at his house to find Alex in his nappy, sitting on the dog, yelling baby nonsense at the top of his lungs, and Caroline tying her shoes. “Here,” he said as he moved towards her, bending down to get the shoes knotted. She could still do it, of course, but he didn’t mind helping. The dog, who appeared to be asleep, let out a small chuff and then fell silent again. “How was your practice?” Caroline asked him as she watched him finish with her laces. “Good, but hard,” he sighed as he putted through the last knot. “I’m glad we will have an excuse to leave early and come home. Are we bringing Rufus with us?” James asked as he rose and plucked his son up. Alex let out a laughing squeal as James tossed him gently onto his shoulder and went to grab the clothes Caroline had laid out for him on the sofa. “I think we will,” Caroline said hesitantly. “I might want him there since it’ll be more than family.” “It’s what I was thinking,” James told her as he said the toddler down and began the intricate dance of trying to force clothes on what amounted to a bucking hippogriff. “Having him there is just fine and it’s only a twenty-minute drive over to Lily and Scorpius’ place. We can take the car.” “Alright,” Caroline said as she stood and he grinned over at her, appreciating her figure. “What?” she asked with a knowing smile as she tilted her head and put her hands on her disappearing waist. “You,” he told her easily. “Just you… you’re gorgeous.” She rolled her eyes but her grin was wide as she went to grab the nappy bag. “Alright, let’s get out of here. I’m starving. Honor is already there; she went over about twenty minutes ago.” “Alright,” James said as he finished dressing Alex. Strapping Alex into his car seat was always a struggle, but it helped having Rufus in the car. The big dog would stick his nose in Alex’s face and his calming aura flowed into Alex and helped keep him still long enough so James could fasten the belts. It wasn’t as though they could get into a car crash. Magically modified cars weren’t capable of crashing, but the police could still see in and it was not done in the Muggle world to have a baby not in a car seat. Besides that, the straps on the car seat kept Alex from roaming all over the car while they made the trip over to Lily’s home. And was her home something… it had looked terrible when they first bought it several weeks back, but the family had come together and quickly they’d redone or repaired everything that needed doing. He was fairly certain his aunt had been helping Lily to decorate. He studied the huge Victorian and knew they’d be coming here much of the time for family gatherings. They needed a massive house to hold everyone now that most of his cousins were marrying. He pulled the car to a stop and Sera ran over, wagging her tail as she waited for Rufus be let out. As soon as the dog was out, the two pups went for a romp in the grass before coming back to wait for James, who had unstrapped Alex. He set the boy down and watched as Alex toddled after Rufus, grabbing his fur and babbling constantly. The dog led him slowly towards the house, Sera on the other side of him. Just then Emma came running around the side of the house, her blonde hair flying behind her. She had on a pretty pink dress and sparkling pink shoes. “Uncle James!” she yelled as she flew towards them. “We in da back! Come play, Alex!” she told her cousin as she went to take his hand and lead him around the house. “You go in,” James told Caroline. “I’ll walk him around and see who is back there.” “Alright,” Caroline said as she went up the steps, Rufus following her, clearly sensing Caroline’s unease. For a second, he considered following his wife, but she waved him off and he took the hint. She wanted him to follow the baby. James walked slowly behind Emma and found Teddy and Harry in the back garden which now housed a massive playset for the kids. Amelia and Olivia were on a smaller plastic set with a slide while Emma left Alex and ran up a large slide towards a wooden playhouse. Sera continued over to the slide with Alex and settled herself at the bottom of it where she laid down and closed her eyes, barely moving when Amelia slid down into her, crawled over her, and ran back around to climb the small ladder again. “Hey,” Teddy called out from his seat near the play sets. “Grab a beer and pull up a chair.” James watched to see what Alex would do, but rather than going to the slide, he moved over to the trucks in the sandpit and climbed in to start digging. He went over to his father and clapped him on the shoulder, taking the beer his dad held out. “How’s it going?” “We’re doing alright,” Harry told him as James sat down with him. “We’re waiting on Draco and Astoria to get here, but Lily said they won’t be here for another hour at least. They’re coming for dinner and not staying long, at least that’s the impression I was given.” James sincerely hoped so. He didn’t want to have to deal with the man for too long. He wanted to enjoy his family and the evening. “Is anyone else here?” “Roxy and Gwen are here,” Teddy told him as he stretched out his long legs. “Gran and Granddad, obviously. Bill and Fleur, Percy is here, but Audrey is running late. George and Angelina, Ron and Hermione, Honor, Hugo, Al and Nat.” “We’re here now,” Brayden said, coming around with Molly, her hand in his. “I think Rose and Andrew just arrived with Claire,” he told them as Harry stood up to hug Molly. “I’m going to go in and see if they need help,” Molly said as Brayden took a seat. He had his brown hair cut short, at the moment, and as James studied him, he saw his eyes, the same brown as his hair, looked tired. “You okay, mate?” James asked him. “Work,” Brayden told him with a long sigh. Brayden worked in the Department of International Magical Cooperation and while he was still a junior in the department, he was tasked with dealing with a lot of the paperwork that was coming with all the women who were seeking medical treatments in England because of Crabbe. “The stories I’m hearing… and I can’t just approve everyone.” Teddy reached over and patted his back. “You’re doing what you can. She’s doing what she can.” Brayden nodded but they fell silent on the matter and Claire burst out of the house and ran towards the play set. “Hi!” she called with a wave towards them but ran towards Emma and the bigger playset. “We’ll talk more later,” Harry told Brayden, who acknowledged him with a nod. ~*~ Teddy had set up a silent alarm to alert them to when Draco and Astoria arrived and as soon as the alarm went, he was up and moving towards the house, right along with Harry, leaving Al and Brayden with the kids. James was on edge about Draco’s visit. Teddy could tell because his brother kept constantly looking towards the house. He didn’t mind leaving his kids in Al’s care. Al was good with his nieces and nephew and all the kids liked Brayden, who could be a character when he wasn’t exhausted from work. They made it into the house even before they rang the bell and he was at Victoire’s side when the bell sounded. “Here we go,” Scorpius muttered under his breath as he squared his shoulders. Teddy glanced over to see Lily with a genuine smile on her face. He could only marvel at her. Lily walked over with her husband, taking his hand, Sera following behind her. Draco and Astoria’s arrival ended up being absolutely anticlimactic. They came in quietly, greeted everyone, thanked everyone for the invitation, and then accepted drinks. Teddy stood with Harry, Arthur, and Bill making small talk with Draco while Astoria went into the kitchen with Molly, Ginny and Lily and helped put the finishing touches on dinner. “So you’ll have seven grandchildren in the coming year?” Draco asked Harry. “Yes, seven,” Harry agreed. “It seems like just yesterday that Emma was born, but she’ll be five this coming January when the other babies come along.” “And Lily is due in April,” Draco commented. “Their baby will have cousins just about the same age. That will be nice.” Yes, it would be nice, and yes, this was really, really weird. He was talking to someone who had been branded a Death Eater when he was still a child. Teddy had to force himself not to think about that. “I was the oldest of the group, with Victoire a few years behind me. I wouldn’t have minded having family who was about the same age.” Draco cocked his head to the side and considered him. “You’re more related to me than you are to Harry, but yet he’s your family and I am not. It’s strange how things work out.” Teddy hadn’t thought about that. Technically his grandmother had been the sister to Draco’s mother, Narcissa. Of course, a lot of the older magical families were related in one way or another, but this one was definitely… odd. “Harry helped raise me after my parents died,” Teddy said by way of not answering. He didn’t know how to respond to that, exactly, except to state the truth. “He’s the only father I’ve known.” “And I was in jail,” Draco said absently as he glanced over towards the kitchen, then back to his son. “You and Teddy are actually cousins, and yet I’d never even considered it.” Scorpius shifted uncomfortably. “Well… we’ll have to pay more attention to family.” “Indeed,” was all Draco said and then he fell silent as the kids stormed into the house and yelling in only the joy that kids could bring. “Excuse me,” Teddy said to the other men as he went to round up his children and help settle them in their seats at the table. Dinner was a noisy, boisterous affair, as it often was. It might have been awkward, but none of the children had any idea that it was supposed to be awkward with Draco there, so they kept up their normal, happy chatter, and soon enough the adults had followed along until everyone had relaxed, even, it seemed, Draco and Astoria. “We have an announcement,” Fred said, clanging on his glass and grinning over at his wife. “Please tell me I’m going to be a grandmother,” Angelina said, pointing her fork at her son. “I am done with waiting.” “You are going to be a grandmother,” Eva confirmed, absolutely beaming with happiness as the table erupted in cheers. “When are you due?” Gran asked Eva as tears of joy ran down her face. “Just imagine! I’ll have eight great-grandchildren soon!” “I’m due in May,” Eva told everyone as she turned to Lily. “We’ll be due about the same time.” “That’s great,” Lily told her, clearly happy about it. “I’m so glad we’ll have so many children growing up together.” Truly, life didn’t get much better than this. “A toast,” Louis said, standing up and holding up his glass of water. “To family, old and new and very new,” he said, glancing around at everyone. “To family!” they all called back. ~*~ Al had volunteered himself and Nat to watch the kids outside after dinner so that the adults could take a break. Truthfully, he just wanted some time with Nat and knew this was an excellent way to get out of helping with cleanup without being scolded by his mother. Alex, who was getting tired, had reached up for Al to hold him while Nat pushed Amelia in a toddler swing. Olivia, Emma, and Claire were all playing in the sandbox, but clearly Amelia and Alex were about ready to drop. Alex was playing with Al’s shirt collar and was growing heavier by the second, so Al knew his nephew was about to pass out. “It went better than I thought it would,” Nat mused as she continued to push Amelia, talking in a low voice so the other girls wouldn’t hear. “I wasn’t sure if we would have any drama, but it seemed unlikely.” Al hadn’t known what to expect when Scorpius had told him they were all having dinner with his parents. For as long as they’d been friends, Al really hadn’t hung out around Scorpius’ parents. He’d met them a few times, but he’d never spent any appreciable time in their company and tonight had been an experience, for certain. Overall, he really like Scorpius’ mother. Astoria Malfoy was a very nice, if somewhat reserved woman, but she’d made a real effort to interact with everyone tonight and it showed that she was trying. Draco had seemed almost drugged, although Al doubted he was. He’d been subdued and on his very best behavior. If Al were to place a bet, he suspected his father had spoken to Draco beforehand and had warned him to behave, but when he’d asked his dad, Harry had promised he hadn’t. He didn’t think his father lied to him, so he’d have lost that bet. Still, it had worked out and for that, Al was grateful. He didn’t want Lily’s family situation to be stressful. “Do you think he’ll continue to behave himself?” Al wondered and realized he’d set it out loud. “I think so,” Nat said slowly. “I think he knows he’s going to lose everything if he doesn’t. He doesn’t want his son to disown him. I’ve heard his father has stopped speaking to him, and I think he gets the sting of that and doesn’t want it on both sides.” Al had heard that story, too, from Scorpius. Lucius was still so upset about Scorpius marrying Lily that he was holding Draco accountable and both his mother and father weren’t currently speaking to him. “They will probably change their minds at some point.” “I don’t know whether to wish for that or not,” Nat mused as she slowed the swing, having noted that Amelia had fallen asleep in the seat. Thankfully it was one that had a full back and straps so the little girl could sleep there safely. “If they were my parents, I’d rather they didn’t speak to me.” That was true enough, but it was what Draco was used to, so he likely didn’t see it for the dysfunctional disaster it truly was. “Is Alex asleep?” “Yeah,” Nat confirmed as she went to sit on one of the ladder rungs while Al continued to stand, swaying with the little boy to keep him asleep. “So… another baby.” “Yeah,” Al said with a grin. “Fred is going to be interesting as a dad.” “Yes, yes he is,” Nat laughed and shook her head. “At least he has Eva to balance him out.” “I wonder when Molly is going to want one,” Al wondered and then raised a brow at the look that crossed Nat’s face. “What?” “She told us they’re going to wait at least another year or two,” Nat told him with a shrug. “But why that look?” Nat hesitated for a moment and then shook her head. “I’m just… I’m just a little jealous, that’s all.” She looked ashamed of herself and glanced away. “I don’t have the options they do and I wish I could have it. I wish I could just casually say, oh not yet. I mean, I get it with Rose. She has another two years of school left and then she wants to work for a bit to get established. It makes sense and she’s only nineteen. It isn’t as though she’s very old. Molly is only twenty-three, so she has a lot of time yet, as well.” Al could hear it, even though she hadn’t said it. He knew her too well. “But?” “But,” Nat continued as she stuck her tongue out at him. “I just wish they would get on with it. These are the babies I get to have,” she said, pointing around at the children. “I’m enjoying being an honorary aunt.” “You’ll have your own family someday,” Al told her and nearly said he’d make sure of it personally, but just that second James came out the back door and called out to them and the moment was lost. |
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