Bearings
Disclaimer/Author's Notes: A little teaser. More to come soon. JK Rowling owns Harry Potter.
Hit me like a ray of sun
Burnin' through my darkest night
Beyonce
Halo
Interlude: The Newest Granger
Saturday, December 14, 2002; 9:20 pm
Remus stood in the corner of the waiting room, quietly watching all that had gathered to support Dan and Jane Granger. Although this day was supposed to be for Neville and Ginny, they had gladly accompanied the group to St. Mungo's as soon as Jane had announced that her water had broken. They were taking this slight interruption in stride, and Remus was glad that they were not letting it affect their wedding day. A wedding and a birth… quite the day for what he had come to think of as the Potter clique.
His eyes were drawn toward Tonks and William. His son rested against Tonks, sleeping; she caught his eyes and they smiled at each other. He still couldn't believe his luck for catching the eye of such an incredible witch, but he loved Tonks with all of his heart and he knew that she felt the same. William had been somewhat of a surprise, because with his lycanthropy and her metamorphmagus abilities, they had been unsure if they would be able to have any children. They had quickly found out otherwise, though, and had brought their own little bundle of joy into the world almost five years ago already.
Remus marveled at how time passed. It had already been four and a half years since the Second War had ended. Between the First and Second Wars, the conflict with Voldemort had been raging for nearly four decades, so the end of it all had brought such relief and respite that the daily passage of time had gone largely unnoticed for many of them. Their society had been pockmarked and gouged by Voldemort's campaign of terror, but that same passage of time had filled in many of those gaps, returning the world to some semblance of normalcy.
Of course, when Harry Potter was involved, things were hardly ever normal. Now that Harry had been back in his life for about a decade, Remus knew he took for granted the amazing capacity Harry held within himself for empathy, gratitude, and a host of other endearing traits. It was easy to overlook the fact that Harry was an incredibly formidable opponent in magical combat because of his mostly mild-mannered demeanor, but Remus had seen Harry in battle with his own eyes. There were some things one could never forget, and Harry casting spells at the height of his battle readiness was one of those things.
His eyes slipped from Tonks to Harry and Hermione. They were sitting close together, talking quietly, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the room. While they still moved, sounded, and-yes-smelled like Harry and Hermione, the two people he was looking at were very different from the two people that had graduated from Hogwarts. One had been a restless hero, ready to exit the spotlight as soon as possible; the other had been an incredibly brilliant sidekick, hopelessly in love with the aforementioned hero.
Though he hated to admit it, Remus thought their time apart had been good for both of them. Hermione was not in love with the Boy Who Lived, as Ginny had been at one time, but she was in love with someone Harry could not have been just after the war had ended. Harry's entire life had been leading up to that confrontation with Voldemort, and he was not ready at that time to settle down into what Remus considered a normal existence. It had been worthwhile for Harry to spend some time away from Britain, to gain some much-needed perspective on his life and the lives of his friends. The same could be said of Hermione, but perhaps she had attacked her work too thoroughly.
All of that was water under the bridge at this point, because Harry was back in Britain, he was with Hermione, and he was now the Vice Minister. When Remus thought of that thirteen year old boy to whom he had tried to teach the Patronus spell, he could almost see this physically, mentally, and magically powerful young man. There had been some kind of leap, though, that Remus had missed during Harry's time abroad. He thought they all must have missed it, because although Harry Potter would always be Harry Potter, there was something different, something more about him now.
Hermione was a very lucky woman and Harry was a very lucky man. Remus expected great things from them-greater than from anyone else, even himself-because they were the heart and soul of their little group, as they had been from the beginning. Harry had been a flashpoint because of his name and his legacy, and Hermione had been the same because of her incredible mind. The Trio (and later the Six) had been a stroke of luck for the Light, because without those teenagers, Voldemort would have surely won.
He shook those thoughts away as his gaze continued around the room. Luna and Ron were there, as were John and Erin, Winky, Dobby, Libby, Minerva, Fred, George, and Arthur and Molly. This clique was the Potter group, his closest friends and family, and Remus felt privileged to be included. Not only did that mean he was at the forefront of what was happening in the magical world, but it also meant that he still had a link to his oldest and dearest friends. James and Lily Potter had been two of the most extraordinary people Remus had ever met, and he was glad to see their personalities manifest themselves in Harry every now and then. It reminded him that all of the sacrifices of the past were not in vain, and that the future of their world was in very good hands. He would never say something like this to Harry, but Remus could not wait to see where the Vice Minister brought their society.
He left the corner and moved to sit next to his wife, on the other side from William. His son was snoring lightly, and Remus grinned at Tonks as she rolled her eyes at him. As he settled in next to hear, he slipped an arm around her shoulder.
"Hey," she said.
"Hey yourself."
"Like what you saw?" she asked.
He looked at her. "What?"
"You were watching everyone," she pointed out. "And thinking about something. I could almost see the steam coming from your ears."
He laughed. He squeezed her to him for a moment. "I guess I was," he said, through his smile. "I was…I was just thinking about everyone here and how much has changed, I suppose."
Tonks nodded. "I figured it was something like that."
"It's hard to believe, sometimes… you kind of get lost in the memories," he continued. "Here we are, safe and secure and comfortable. I find myself forgetting the reality of the hard times more and more."
"It is nice," she said. "Peace…and security. And love." She leaned against him; William shifted against her and his snores came just a little louder. Listening to William, Remus was struck by one thing: he loved his life. He would change nothing about it, neither the past nor the present, because everything had transpired to get him to this point, this moment. He had his wife and his son in his arms and all of his friends around him.
Movement caught his eye and he turned his head to see Harry and Hermione extract themselves from their seats and move toward them. Several pairs of eyes in the room tracked their progress, though no one else moved. The young couple sat across from Tonks and Remus, both looking at William with a slight quirk of their lips.
"He's precious," Hermione said, quietly.
"Glad you think so," Tonks said, running a hand through William's thick, dark hair. "We don't think he's half bad, either," she added, smiling up at Remus. He nodded his assent.
"Give it a few years, and you two will be joining us and your parents, Hermione," Remus told them, enjoying the brief, alarmed looks that passed over their faces.
"There's plenty of time to think about that," Hermione said, and Harry nodded.
"Some day, yes," he said, enclosing one of Hermione's hands in his. "But for right now, I'm just happy with what I have right here." Somehow Remus knew that Harry's main subject was Hermione, but that he was also talking about everyone else in the room.
"Ah, to be young and in love again…" Remus said, smirking.
"You certainly wouldn't know anything about being young," Harry shot back, "but I think you have the `in love' thing covered very well." His eyes tracked to Tonks and William. For just an instant, Remus was reminded of the way that James had looked at Harry himself.
Before Remus could say anything else, the door to the waiting room shot open, revealing a sweaty, disheveled Dan Granger. All heads turn his way; Harry and Hermione jumped up and started toward him. The grin on Dan Granger's face was like a beacon, and Remus found himself grinning along with the other man. He knew what the grin meant.
"She's here!" Dan exclaimed. "A healthy baby girl!" He was positively glowing.
Hermione and some of the other females in the room made an excited squeak. She and Harry were the first to reach Dan.
"Can we see her? What's her name? How's mum?" Hermione asked, all at once. Dan looked flabbergasted.
"Yes, as soon as soon as the doctors say you can. Your mum's fine, she said it was much easier this time. As for her name…"
"Well?" Hermione asked, impatiently. The room was engulfed in silence as every single person waited for Dan to reveal the name of Hermione's new sister.
"Viola. Viola Granger," he said, obviously relishing the sound of his new daughter's name as he said it aloud.
"Viola…" Hermione breathed. She was smiling and there were tears in her eyes. "My baby sister is Viola."
She turned to Harry and melted into his arms, still whispering that name over and over again.
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