A/N: Hi, this was supposed to be a double, but instead will be a single. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: You know the drill.
~*~*~*~
The Taking of Aimee Potter
He knew he should have been used to it by now. It was months since that first morning in his classroom, since that first night when they came running round Hagrid to greet him, since he learned the truth, but Ron couldn't help it. Maybe it was some of that Beauxbatons refinement, he couldn't be sure, but somehow Maia and Aimee always appeared the daintiest, most elegant perfumed little ladies he knew.
And for the fact that they were the biological daughters of the two most genetically messed-with people he knew, and had only been included in the ceremony at short notice, it was a wonder how they pulled it off.
Standing at the top of the stairs in Northbridge Manor, they both wore identical sea green princess-line, duchesse satin bridesmaids' gowns with matching faux fur-lined woollen short capes, their hair in a single braid laced with ribbon and tiny flowers, and bright smiles that lit up their honey brown eyes. Apart from the obvious bias in favour of his wife and own infant daughter, they were the most beautiful things he had ever seen. And apparently, Harry thought so too.
He stood frozen, struck dumb at the sight of them beside him, and just stared. If it wasn't for the faint sound of his breathing he would have thought he had died right there.
But presently he did make another movement, to walk up the stairs to them, kneel and after taking their little hands, kissed them both. The sisters blushed, and Maia playfully whined, "Dad, you're embarrassing us in front of Uncle Won-Won!"
"What?" demanded Ron, slightly startled at the mention of his old nickname, but they ignored him.
Harry reached up to fix the buttons on the front of her cape and said, "I missed so many things, you're both almost all grown up… forgive me one day."
Aimee gave her sister a scolding look, and then turned to Harry with a smile, "We can forgive you more than that, you-"
"-just don't do it at the wedding-" cut in Maia.
Aimee gave her a glare this time, and continued, "You don't look too bad yourself, as a matter of fact."
"I agree," cut in a voice from Ron's left, and they all turned to find that Hermione, dressed in a sky blue gown, had just come in with Caspar. "To me he looks just perfect; Neville is going to have to chuck you out."
To Ron, between her and her daughters, and especially in that beautiful gown with its plunging neckline and form-fitting cut, it was a toss-up. He was only her best friend, he was a happily married man, but he still could not quite draw his eyes away from where the Time Turner pendant of her necklace came to rest. A Christmas present from Harry, he had presented it to her at dinner Christmas night, to the sheer joy of her daughters and his mother. Everyone took it as a symbol of their possible reunion, that, and when they left for an evening out later on.
Harry stood at once when he saw her, gave an awkward little bow, and said, "I think maybe Ginny will be doing the chucking."
"Don't be silly, I've had three children, I-" Hermione began to protest but Ron cut her off.
"-don't look like you've had any… I think Luna might be a bit jealous too… Harry, keep her out of sight will you?"
"Gladly," said Harry, giving his wife a sly grin.
Caspar caught it, rolled his eyes, and said, "Well then step away from my escorts, here's yours."
He unceremoniously dropped his mother's hand and ran up to his sisters, and once there pushed Harry away. When Harry gave him a slightly amused look, he simply said, "Shall we? Aunt Ginny will be waiting," and led them down the stairs.
Before they were at the last step they were startled by a loud croak, and Ron noted the presence of another Christmas present. Caspar had finally received the toad he had so desperately wanted and talked about. Named Ivan, he was never to be found far from his young master since he was delivered, and in keeping with that, Caspar was apparently attempting to take him along. Hermione though, did not agree.
Almost immediately she declared, though in Bulgarian, <Ivan stays here!>
Caspar tried to protest, <Oh please Mama, he's not going to be any trouble, and he'll be in my pocket the whole time->
<He stays here!> she said again, and the look on her face plainly showed there would be hell to pay if he disobeyed.
With a groan he dug into his pocket and let the toad free. It hopped away at once, and when it was gone Caspar turned back to his mother scowling. She was unmoved though, and he took on a rather haughty pose, took his sisters' arms and stepped past the adults with his best superior air.
The three adults were left to watch them disappear into the foyer and then took turns looking at each other before bursting into laughter. And when they were finally able to control themselves again, Ron said, "I hope he hasn't forgotten that he's going to a wedding with his sisters, at least I had a proper date for the Yule Ball.
Hermione shrugged, "Well yes, you did… and she'll be here tonight too so I'm sure you two will have fun catching up… but I should tell you, if Neville hadn't asked Ginny you just might have."
"W-what?" spluttered Ron, shocked. Harry immediately started smirking.
Hermione continued nonchalant, "Oh honestly Ronald, I don't think she would have been able to stand the sight of you entering the ball dateless either. It almost broke my heart knowing that I long had a date and you two didn't, until you asked Padma and Parvati."
The two men exchanged surprised glances before Hermione could take it no more and started laughing again. But she did not wait around to hear their protests.
Walking quickly to the foyer and the waiting children, she called back to them, "Come on, you two, we don't want to be late. This day has been long in coming and absolutely nothing is going to ruin it for Ginny, and especially not you two!"
Feeling distinctly peevish and disgruntled, they had no choice but to follow.
But oh, how wrong was she.
Not wanting to take chances with the Floo Network in their fine clothes, and not at all willing to brave the heavy snow that had begun that morning, the small group Apparated from the foyer to the hotel ballroom that had been rented out and decorated specially for the ceremony. And the moment they appeared, they were quickly split up.
Maia and Aimee were dragged away by a very anxious-looking Mrs Weasley and thrust into the company of a strangely sullen Philippe. Ron was descended upon by Luna, in a set of rather conservative but nevertheless splendid empire-waist silver dress robes, and then his brothers who were the rest of the wedding party. Almost immediately after this, Hermione was sought out by Angelina and Alicia and escorted up to the room where Ginny was getting dressed, apparently summoned by the bride to "save" her from Fleur. This left Harry and Caspar alone, but not for long, for it seemed that once his attendance and arrival was confirmed, every other guest took the opportunity to "wander" over to meet him. To save the child from being lost, or worst, trampled, Harry had to scoop Caspar up into his arms… and that started a flurry of flashbulbs that made him question the strength of the security measures the Weasleys had taken for the event.
If he had had it his way he would not have attended the wedding at all. Today was Ginny's and Neville's day, and considering his relationship with the both of them, known and unknown, he did not want to do anything to ruin it. But with the cat already out of the bag, so to speak, he had had no choice.
After Christmas, there had been a short burst in the papers again when it was learned that Caspar had left after Boxing Day for a two day holiday in Bulgaria with his grandparents. Already closely eyeing Harry and Caspar's relations since the day they learned of Harry's presence, it set the media tongues wagging about the possibility of a rift. They were to be greatly disappointed though, when Caspar returned with gifts in hand and "happily" greeted Harry at the Ministry office.
However, for the family the holiday had been ruined. The rumours made Hermione worry that her relatives were planning to sue for custody of her son, and before the first day was finished she joined him in Bulgaria. That left Harry and the twins alone with the Weasleys, a time that though somewhat wonderful was made difficult by the Daily Prophet exclusive with the Montgomery family. Its headline, "Montgomery Family's First Christmas without Beloved Daughter Marred by Potter Cold-Shoulder!" told its direction. But to Harry, though Amaranthe had provided the protection his daughters needed, and to her he would always be grateful, their public desertion of the twins cut off whatever sympathy he felt.
But then he could not have snubbed the event. That would have probably generated more publicity than he intended, and completely overshadowed everything. He could imagine Witch Weekly's headline if he did it: "Harry Potter Snubs Ex-Girlfriend's Wedding! Love-Triangle at Work?" So this was the price he had to pay, and was he ever paying it.
The thousand and one voices, flashes and hands all coming to him at once was almost too much. Harry could barely make out the decoration of the room, to say the people coming at him, but once or twice he thought he saw someone that looked rather like a Ministry official. They even formed a crushing circle round him, completely blocking his path, and Caspar, alarmed by the attention, immediately buried his face in Harry's shoulder.
At this Harry became defensive, and shouted over their heads, "Back off, you're scaring him! Back off, get out of my way! You're scaring him, for goodness sake! Aren't you here for a wedding?"
They barely acknowledged him… until someone came struggling through the crowd, took hold of his arm and dragged him away. He did not fight them, and they quickly cleared the area, seeking refuge in a side room with the groomsmen. Harry turned to thank his rescuer then, but he sheepishly shrugged it off. And with good reason, it was Neville.
"After what you did, Harry, that was nothing," he told him earnestly.
Harry insisted though, "I shouldn't even be here, I'm ruining your day."
Neville quickly shook his head, "You're here, you're back, and she's still marrying me… if anything, you're making it a whole lot better."
He surely didn't entirely mean it the way it sounded, and Harry smiled, "You're a very lucky man, Neville, congratulations."
Neville blushed nervously, and then noticed the boy still in his arms, "Is he alright?"
Harry seemed just to remember him too, and they speedily separated. Caspar dropping off of him and turning to congratulate Neville, while Harry helped straighten his suit and said over his head, "I think some of your guests out there might be undercover reporters, and I might have just supplied them with some award winners…."
He was right about one of those things. There was someone undercover in the room, and he had just given them something. But it was not what he thought.
From the moment they had arrived at the hotel, he had given them their target.
~*~*~*~
With a little help from the Polyjuice Potion, a Confunded wedding invitation and a mind firmly set to the task at hand, it was with considerable ease that Pansy slipped past the heavy wedding security. It was almost too easy really, but then no one was really expecting any trouble today. The age of the Death Eaters terrorising Wizarding Britain were long gone.
Or so they thought.
As soon as she arrived too, she was greeted by the sight of her target and his Mudblood whore's bastard son, surrounded by a throng of overexcited guests. To avoid suspicion she had joined them, and then was nearly knocked over by him when that bumbling buffoon, Neville, came to their rescue. She would let it slide for now, the sight of him crying over the cold dead corpses of his beloved daughters would be enough later.
Almost as soon as he disappeared from sight though, and the guests began to disperse, Hermione appeared. Someone must have told her about the commotion, for as she emerged her eyes began to scan the room for husband and son. Despite seeing nothing, she made to head out anyway, until someone from behind summoned her and she was forced to retreat.
Mummy, Daddy and son, but no sign of the girls, and she was sure that they were there. There was no way they would invite them and leave the children behind; the reporters in this room were selected especially for their discretion. And then she spied them.
Standing just outside the room where the rest of the rather large wedding party were preparing themselves, the two girls were with Philippe Weasley and a plump little girl Pansy did not recognise. They were having a little discussion of some sort, and speaking so loudly that it didn't seem to matter that they could be overheard. From where she stood, surely over twelve feet and in a room filled with the low buzz of incessant conversation, the band tuning their instruments, loud children, and the almost rhythmic drum of tens of shoes scraping, chairs grating and glasses clinking, she could clearly hear them.
"Why do you always have to be so difficult, you're just so full of yourself!" exclaimed one of the twins, clearly exasperated.
"I'm not the one who's full of himself, why is your father here? Doesn't he care about Aunt Ginny?" asked Philippe, and he looked distinctly disgruntled.
"Of course he cares about her! He cares about your entire family, if he didn't then he wouldn't be here, and everyone would think he was snubbing them! Do you even know your aunt? She doesn't like Papa that way anymore! You saw them at Christmas, did anyone look uncomfortable?" demanded the other.
"Uncle Neville didn't look too comfortable, did he?" he asked, avoiding a direct reply.
Both girls gave him a dark look, and the first snapped, "You stupid git! I can't believe you have the gall to stand here and say something like that! You know our parents would never do anything to hurt anybody intentionally!"
"Are you sure about that? Your Mum didn't look too keen on telling the rest of us about your Dad when he first came back, did she?" he asked, sounding rather bitter.
The second twin simply scoffed and asked in return, "Where is this coming from? You were fine all through Christmas and now all of a sudden you're worried about your Aunt Ginny?"
The little girl stuck with them looked suddenly rather uncomfortable.
Pansy smiled though, she always liked the sound of trouble. Any sign of dissension in the supposedly tightly-knit family was a little victory. But again, she had a bigger one coming today, and as long as she could help it, nothing was going to thwart it.
She took one last sweeping survey of the room, and then with a nod to a rather stout, middle-aged wizard who had been eyeing her from across the room, she blended lazily into the crowd.
~*~*~*~
As wedding ceremonies went, it had been a beautiful one. The excitement began the moment Harry and Hermione came down the aisle with the family, an expected and yet still highly anticipated moment. It then heightened when the Potter twins, on Philippe's arms, were discovered in the wedding party, and finally exploded when the breath-taking bride made her grand entrance on her father's arm.
Once the ceremony began, under the blinding glare of cameras, fairy lights, rare and beautiful flowers, a snowfall from their own enchanted ceiling, Christmas decorations, and accompanied by a house-elf band, an almost reverent silence fell. Harry quietly took Hermione's hand and interlaced their fingers. She looked over at him, and smiled.
When it was over, they all stood with linked hands and greeted the newly married couple as they took their first walk as husband and wife. Saturday, December 31st, 2011, was definitely a day few would forget… save for the regrettable absence of Neville's still-living parents, it had been perfect.
And then it was all completely ruined.
When the bride and groom went off to prepare for the reception and the guests began to disperse, chatting amongst themselves and snapping photos here and there, Harry and Hermione found their children with the wedding party. Maia and Aimee were teasing Philippe, tempting him to test one of their free WWW samples (a Christmas gift from Fred and George that Harry and Hermione could never approve of).
His mood had improved considerably, but still, Rosalie, who had been allowed to the wedding at the twins' insistence, took care to stand a little way off from them.
Caspar was whispering deeply with Louis, Christian and Little Harry. He had recovered well from the earlier attack, and now that he was in the company of his favourite cohorts, it looked completely forgotten. When they met her, Mrs Weasley made no attempt to conceal a pleased smile at the sight of Hermione's necklace, and said even before they were properly with them, "My goodness Hermione, you're simply glowing. I can't tell if it's because I haven't seen you so happy in weeks, or if it's that dress… and gracious, you've gained a little weight haven't you dear?"
This made the others turn to look and Hermione reddened. Embarrassed, she replied, "I think it's because I'm happy, but I think Ginny has a brighter glow than I… she's Mrs Neville Longbottom at last."
Lupin, Tonks and Professor McGonagall, on loan from Hogwarts for the evening, just joined them then when Mrs Weasley replied, "Oh no, I don't think she has this one yet. It's a special glow that women only achieve when they're happiest… when they're involved in something truly… exceptional."
Hermione didn't quite know what to say to that, but rather timidly looked down herself and straightened her dress a bit. With her speech over though, Mrs Weasley directed her attention to the twins, and said, "And you two! Whatever is Harry going to do with you? You looked so beautiful, you are so beautiful! The luckiest men in the world will be the ones who marry you two!"
"Now Mrs Weasley…" began Harry, playfully becoming over-protective.
And then suddenly a little house-elf appeared in their midst. At first they didn't notice him; he was smaller than Dobby and much more timid. But he got their attention still, when he began loudly, "Forgive me masters, I am terribly sorry for interrupting most benevolent masters, but the Mistress Longbottom… she wants the little Misses Potter…."
Aimee and Maia, as surprised as the others at its sudden arrival, exchanged perplexed looks with their parents and the others. But they were her bridesmaids, and though she could have called anyone else, if she wanted them they had to go. They watched them disappear through the throngs of guests around them, and then they were all distracted by Fleur and Luna's arrival. And mainly because, upon seeing them Fleur gushed as her mother-in-law had, "Why `Ermione, you look incredible! You must tell me your secret!"
Then Luna looked her over and concurred, "You do look incredible… and a little pregnant…."
Harry had just been taking a drink, and promptly expelled it.
But before she could answer they were abruptly derailed by the sound of shouting. And then the cameras started again, and then there was a gathering at the door and as the men with them began to move to find out what was going on, they were all given the answer.
Two men shoved their way out of the crowd, or rather, one stumbled out as if pushed and the other purposely strutted. One was Severus Snape, and the other, Draco Malfoy.
At once Harry drew his wand, and the room fell silent as all eyes snapped in their direction. What was he doing? Had he gone mad? Was there something about to happen that they needed to see?
Snape was unfazed, "Put that away Mr Potter… actually, keep it, you're going to need it."
"What the hell are you doing here?" demanded Ron, and one look at him showed that he was on the verge of inflicting serious damage. He had pushed through the others to stand beside Harry and had also drawn his wand. The last two people he wanted to see on any day were in the last place he wanted to see them. If they didn't have a good excuse, they were going out, the very hard way.
"Mr Malfoy has something to tell you," said Snape, casually. Or maybe it wasn't casually. As a matter of fact he seemed decidedly on edge and there was a dangerous gleam in his eyes that they had not seen in years.
Hermione instinctively gripped Harry's hand, at once a sign of her alarm and then also a plea for reason. Harry gave it to him.
"What does he have to say, I don't think there's any-"
Draco cut him off impatiently, "Don't talk about me as if I'm not here, I have something important to tell you!"
"Then spit it out and leave!" Harry snapped, as angry as Ron at the intrusion.
"Pansy Parkinson is here!" declared Draco, rather proud of himself.
"What?" the others asked in unison, shocked.
"She's here. She and her little friends, I'm sure you've heard of them Potter, the Neo-Death Eaters or whatever the hell the little snots are calling themselves… they don't know what they're getting into-" he began to explain.
Harry swiftly cut him off, "Of course I've heard of them! What do you mean 'she's here'? Why are you telling me this?"
Draco looked at him surprised, "Because I thought you needed to know? Besides, I'm keeping my promise; I'm telling you all what I've heard… Pansy's come here with her little friends to hurt your children! Blaise practically came running to my house when he heard-"
But Harry never heard the rest. Once he heard her intentions he took off across the room, heading determinedly to the side room where Neville and Ginny were with Ron and the others at his heels. Guests turned to them confused, and especially as Harry barrelled through them, brusquely shoving men, women and the occasional child, out of his path. A house-elf dropped his serving tray, Harry skidded, and then side-stepped another before it happened again.
They were not yet to the doors when they heard Neville suddenly call out, "What are you doing? No! NO!" and then there was a sharp thud. Seconds later it was followed by a scream, and the "pop" of someone Disapparating.
Harry nearly tripped over another guest as he pushed past them to the doors, but when he got there he froze.
Lying on the floor before it, protectively spread over a twin, and both stunned, was Neville. A quick look at her forehead revealed it to be Maia, and apart from being stunned they were both alright. Nowhere to be found though, was Ginny and the other.
They didn't want to think it, they didn't want to believe it, but it was true. Ginny had taken Aimee.
~*~*~*~
Technically though, that wasn't exactly the truth. Undeniably it had just been Ginny, Neville and the twins in the room before the attack. Ginny had summoned the girls to help her, and as they were her bridesmaids this wasn't an unusual request. The problem was, that the Ginny who entered the room in the first place was, was not the same Ginny who had just walked down the aisle.
When Ginevra Weasley-Longbottom suddenly drew her wand on her new husband and the twins, she was under the effects of an Unforgivable. When she stunned Neville, and accidentally, Maia as well, the tears that welled in her eyes was the only indication that something wasn't right. When she stunned Aimee as well to prevent the girl's escape, and then opened the closet door where Pansy was hiding, she was merely unwillingly obeying a magical command. And when Pansy forced her to Disapparate with them away from the hotel, into the freezing cold of the snowy evening without, all she could do take hold of the girl, pull the hood of her cape over her head, and disappear.
Once they were outside though, Pansy released her from the curse, and then stunned her. She fell into the snow with a soft "plop", and in her white gown nearly perfectly blended into the blanketed earth. If not for her hair, splayed out behind her like a splash of blood, she probably wouldn't have been found at all.
Pansy then turned her attentions to Aimee, the only twin they could take as her screams and Neville's shouts had shortened the available time for escape. The girl looked so peaceful, so harmless, so vulnerable that it was almost a curse itself what they planned to do to her. But then, so was what her father had done to theirs.
She revived the girl, twisted her arm painfully behind her back, and as she screamed, protesting her rude awakening, promptly Disapparated.
~*~*~*~
Harry barely allowed himself to fully recover from the shock of the sight in the side room before he turned on Draco. And when he turned on him, it was with more fury, more pure rage, and more violence than even he knew he had.
He literally pounced on him, knocking him flat, and bellowed, "Where the fuck is she? Where the fuck did Pansy take her?"
Ron was right behind him, but as Harry already had Draco down he could do nothing but stand with his wand drawn and aimed at the sleek, white-blond head.
Someone nearby gasped in alarm, the newly revived Maia cried, "Papa!", someone else fainted, and out of the corner of his eyes he saw a hint of sky blue flutter and then pool as it fell. Hermione had apparently fainted. More gasps followed this, though this time joined by Mrs Weasley's anxious cries, and Fred and George stumbling over the others to help her up. Harry wanted to turn to her, he knew that he should turn to her, but in his rage he couldn't. He had to find Aimee.
Draco, beneath him, was having a little trouble helping him with that though. When Harry had attacked him, he had managed to fist the collar of Draco's robes and draw them tightly round his neck. This, of course, meant that he was being strangled, and as Harry shook him in his fury, the noose-like grip tightened.
But at least someone was thinking. Snape swooped down on them and tried to pull Harry off, "Let him up! You're choking him, Mr Potter! If you don't let him up he'll die and you won't find out anything! LET HIM UP!"
Maia began to scream now, and with terror that no one had ever known her to have.
Harry, with a little help from Ron, shrugged him off, but when he came back again, this time Bill and Charlie went with him. But Harry went ahead choking Draco as if they weren't there, and every now and then shook his shoulders as if ridding himself of a bothersome fly. And all the while he continued his yelled interrogation… that is, until Draco released a burst of wandless magic that sent him flying off.
And the moment he was off Draco scampered to his feet, hair and robes ruffled, face red with fury and spat, "The bitch just came to my house and told me the plan! I don't know where your fucking child is! This is what I get for trying to help you, I should have just let her… but no, I'm not some coward killer. I want you dead, not your child…."
He took a few moments to compose himself while the others tried to hold Harry off, and then continued, "All I can tell you, is that she just showed up at my house this afternoon looking like the cat who got the canary, blabbing about how you were going to get what you deserved. When I asked her what the hell she was talking about, she said that her friends had decided that you were going to get what cowards like you deserve, and then went off on some nonsense about taking this back to the beginning-"
"Are you in this with her, is this why you're telling me this?" asked Harry, sceptical and even more incensed.
Draco looked amused, "What would I gain? I can't leave my house without permission; it would be pretty stupid to try to trap you when you all can always find me."
"Did she give you any more than that?" demanded Ron, who still had his wand drawn beside Harry.
"No… well, yes… something about fire. I suggest you hurry, Potter, she's out of her bloody mind!" Draco warned.
At this Harry finally turned his attention to Hermione. She had been revived by the others, and was being attended to by Angelina, Alicia and Fleur while she tightly cradled Maia and Caspar in her arms. He did not need to go to her; one look conveyed all she had to say: "Find our daughter and bring her home."
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