Harry Potter and the Heart of Regenesis

Chapter Twenty-six

...And a Wedding

Katie led her somewhat bemused friends through another doorway into another corridor, decorated with deep red and gold flock wallpaper then she counted three doors down on the left. She opened the door and when they walked through it they appeared to be in the more familiar corridors of the Ministry of Magic. Going then through another door, five to the right, they were in a neat and spacious recovery room. There was Nita and there was Sam - and in two tiny cots sleeping peacefully were beautiful little reddish-blonde twins.

"Congratulations," four voices chimed as one, only Ron out of the adults so captivated by the beauty of the babies he could not speak. Hermione gave Sam a big hug as he sat on the edge of his wife's bed and Harry bent over to kiss Nita. Then Ron hugged his sister tightly and with tears of joy in his eyes. Sirius looked out if the window and realised they were back in Diagon Alley.

"So, we're back in the Alley," he stated. "That's quite a network of secret doors you aurors have," he nodded, seriously impressed.

'Must be good if I can get through them,' Harry thought and he wondered if that meant that he might be able to get through Platform 9¾ after all...

The girls and Ron all took turns holding the babies, one of whom woke up when handled. Ron stroked her cheek and 'coochy-cooed' at her for a while, calming his little niece instantly and a smile lighting up his face once more. Katie's face, though, simply glowed with delight. She had been through so much in her life - losing her mother in the way she had...then losing her father as well for so long. Now he was happy - happier than she could ever remember him - and she had these beautiful little baby sisters to help nurture. Sam was well over fifty - old to be the parent of baby twins even in the Wizarding World - so she was sure she would get plenty of chances to help look after them...'if only Percy would get the message,' she secretly thought to herself.

Hermione had remained silent throughout, however, since the first shout of 'congratulations'. She also seemed captivated by the babies and by watching Ron's reaction to them. She sat gazing either at the twins or her husband in turn but then suddenly seemed to shake her head and come back to life.

"What are their names?" She suddenly realised no-one had asked this simplest of questions.

"Ah!" replied Sam. "That's something we haven't even told Katie yet." He looked across at his grown-up daughter and smiled in that special way only a father can to his 'special little girl'."

"This one," he said, looking down at the tiny baby in his arms and smiling lovingly, "is called...Margaret."

"That's mum's name," grinned Ron and Sam nodded.

"That's right - we're going to call her 'Little Molly'! You see, Nita grew up away from her real mum for so long she thought it would be a nice gesture to name our first daughter after her grandma!"

Harry noticed Katie had frozen, holding the other twin. Her eyes seemed to be filling with tears and then one rolled from the corner of her eye and ran down her cheek. Sam saw this and handed Little Molly to Nita, walking over to Katie and putting his arm around her tightly. He turned his head to the rest of the group and said,

"I think Katie's guessed the other name." He gazed down at the open eyes of the other baby and announced,

"And this little darling is Phoebe, after Katie's mum - she grew up without her for so long as well." Katie was shedding tears liberally by now but with such elation she felt her heart would burst. She leaned her head forward and kissed Phoebe on the cheek, wiping her own tear from the baby's nose afterwards.

Hermione dabbed her own eyes with a little handkerchief and Ron put his hand on her shoulder. She reached up with her own hand and held his.

Sam then said to Katie, "I'm going to call her Pebbles, for short. When you were tiny you used to say that if you ever had a sister we should call her Pebbles..."

"...And a brother should be Bam-Bam," Katie finished, laughing.

"You used to watch 'The Flintstones' round at your nana's and your favourite word as a two-year-old was 'Yabba-dabba-doo'!"

"I remember that!" Katie said, suddenly very excited. She could remember hardly anything from her earliest years, having blocked out much of it because of the trauma that had marred it when she was two-and-a-half. "And I can see mum!" she half shouted, hugging her dad. "Putting me to bed and reading me a bed-time story at nana's house. It's about a little girl who loved picking flowers..."

Katie had never been able to picture her mother. She had seen photographs but had no real memory of her at all. Yet something in the previous conversation had stirred her subconscious mind somehow and Katie had just had these precious memories of her mum reawakened. It was a beautiful moment to watch yet a little awkward for most of them - it ought, perhaps, to have been private - between Katie and her dad - but everyone was touched. Ron said,

"I couldn't remember much about when I was a baby until I smelt baby sick."

"Thanks, Ron, for that touching revelation!" Sirius said.

"Well, I couldn't," Ron tried to justify himself. "I was always asking mum what my old room was decorated like but she couldn't remember. Then, at Christmas last year when Maggie and Sirius were staying - and Ginny - " he added for no particular reason, looking a little embarrassed at Harry, "Little Stu threw up all over me."

"He obviously has good taste," joked Sirius.

"No...when I smelt the baby sick I suddenly could see my old bedroom wall - with broomsticks flying about on the wallpaper! And I could see my cot as well..." *

"Shut up, Ron!" said Harry, Hermione and Sirius together before bursting into laughter. Sam and Nita joined in as well while Ron and Katie shrugged at each other - the exchange had meant something to them at least!

"I suppose we ought to be going soon," Harry said, thinking about the rush hour traffic and how little he liked driving in London. "The motorway will be chock-a-block if we leave it much later. He looked down at his watch. If they left now they might beat most of the rush hour chaos.

"No..." Nita interrupted him. "Please stay. There are..." she seemed to be looking for the right words to say and glanced furtively in Sam's direction. "More people are coming soon...we..." She kept looking at Sam to take over but he just smiled serenely and pretended to ignore her jabbering. "We'll be having a sort of...celebration. Can you stay? Please?"

"Of course we can!" replied Harry, Ron and Alicia as one. Sirius didn't look quite as pleased and Hermione seemed tired but they nodded too. At that very moment a large eagle-owl, very similar to the one Hagrid used to own, flew in through the open window of the room. It landed on Nita's outstretched arm and she smiled thinly as she took the letter from its leg. She handed it a few scraps of ham from a saucer and it flew out again with a rather gruff sort of hoot.

"Aunt Cissy," Nita announced, almost apologetically. She had always stayed in touch with her aunt - Narcissa Malfoy - who was incarcerated in New Azkaban. New Azkaban had been one of Sam's biggest responsibilities since his return to the Wizarding World. He had tried to make the experience less of a soul-destroying, punitive punishment than the old Azkaban, which had been staffed by the dreaded Dementors and he had strived to make the experience more of a rehabilitation process. It was hard to measure success quite yet, however; most sentences were at least seven years in length - and seven years had not yet passed since New Azkaban opened. Early indications were, however, that signs were promising; some leaves appeared to have been genuinely turned over and although it would still be five years or so until the first of the surviving Death Eaters would be due for possible release many had appeared to exhibit shame and remorse for their actions and misguided loyalty. Narcissa herself was categorized as a 'model prisoner'. She had spent most of her time studying, according to Sam, and she hoped to be able to find a positive role in wizarding society if and when she was ever deemed ready for release.

Sam had not got as far as persuading the Wizarding World that all prisoners might be capable of rehabilitation - there were many who stuck firmly to the old principal that 'Unforgivable Curses' were just that - unforgivable - and that anyone convicted of using them should be locked up for good - 'sine die' as it were. Sam wasn't stupid - he knew that a core 30% or so of the inhabitants of New Azkaban would never be set free - and most of those would never deserve to be set free. There were mass murderers who still relished in their crimes and threatened to repeat them if they ever got the chance. There was Morta de Groot, the Dutch wizard, for example, who had later been found responsible for the deaths of 15 Muggle-born pupils at his wizarding school in Amsterdam and countless other atrocities perpetrated with the intention of 'cleansing' the Dutch wizarding community of 'mudbloods' - or 'modderbloed' in Dutch. He had only been caught when he attended a seminar at the Ministry of Magic in London on, of all things, broomstick speed limits when he had walked out of a debate led by a young, trainee Unspeakable with rather bushy brown hair and who had let slip her Muggle background. He had derided her over coffee to another Dutch auror who began to suspect his colleague was not as committed to 'protecting all witches and wizards alike' (the motto of Dutch aurors). An investigation followed which led to a full confession to 36 murders and countless acts of torture and persecution.

Sam's progress in penal reform often seemed painfully slow to him, though. He had made absolutely sure that the first thing he had changed was the fundamental right of every witch and wizard to a fair and full trial. He had been sent to Azkaban for using a Disarming Spell on his wife, of course - Katie's mother. Unfortunately for him, she had fallen out of a window as a result, landed on a brick path and died. Sam had been sent straight to prison for 'using magic to cause another's death' without trial or the chance to prove that either:

a) his actions were justified (which they were - his wife was putting Cruciatus on her two-and-a-half year-old daughter at the time) or

b) that the death was accidental (which was irrelevant anyway according to the law at the time).

There were twenty-five immediate trials (not re-trials as they were reported in the Daily Prophet) of prisoners in the first three months that Sam's new law was in operation, twenty-two of whom found themselves released and pardoned. Eighteen of those now lived in the Muggle World having turned their backs on the wizarding community, as Sam himself had done for a long time. He was more aware than anyone else that he still had a long, long way to go.

"She sends her love, Sam and thanks for the softer mattresses and new curtains. What else...?" Her eyes scanned the letter and she read out very brief highlights to the gathered crowd. "da-de-dah...she hopes I'm feeling Ok...can I send her a photo of the babies...da-de-da-de-dah...thinks Narcissa would make a nice name...or how about Anderssen-Bell for a double-barrelled surname? Hmmmm...that's about it...look after yourself...keep an eye out for Draco on the Alley and ask him to get in touch if you see him...love Aunt Cissy."

Harry had bumped into so many of his old school friends (those who had survived, anyway) over the last couple of months and he was now suddenly rather surprised that he hadn't crossed paths with Draco Malfoy yet - not that he particularly wanted to, of course! He thought that he'd cross that bridge when he got to it, however and was certainly not going to go looking for him - even if only to pass on his mother's message!

As Nita folded the letter and placed it with the few cards she had already lined up on her bedside cabinet there was a loud double crack and Molly and Arthur Apparated into the room next door. The door opened and Harry saw through it, as he had suspected, that it led to Nita's main surgery room above the shop two doors away from 'Quality Quidditch Supplies'. Harry suddenly realised he could ask Nita about Abanazer Scrotum, the Apothecary next door whose name had always made him smile and he wondered what sort of a man he was. If that had been his name he knew he would have changed it!

But now was not the time. No sooner had her (real) parents arrived than her adopted mother, who worked for the Swedish Ministry of Magic and organised the famous annual broom race, Apparated into the room. All three of the new arrivals cooed over the babies and proud 'aren't they gorgeous' type statements filled the air again.

Percy came up the stairs into the clinic from Diagon Alley then Bill and Charlie came in from behind. They had been in to see Nita earlier and had, pretty obviously been toasting the new arrivals in 'The Leaky Cauldron' for the last couple of hours! By now the little room was becoming quite crowded and Harry began to wonder why, with so many people arriving, Nita had been so keen for he and his little party not to leave. But people continued to arrive: Maggie and Severus with Savannah and Stu, a tiny man Harry didn't recognise - he was shorter even than Professor Flitwick and wore a long, wispy white beard and silver half-moon spectacles on a chain. He was also puffing on a small pipe but it did not appear to be lit. Harry introduced himself but the little man's response was,

"I know who you are! I prescribed eye-drops for your father before you were born - to stop them watering when he was playing Quidditch professionally! I'm Abanazer Scrotum and I..."

"...Run the Apothecary next door," Harry finished for him shaking his hand warmly. So that was who he was; his question had answered itself!

Most of the assembled group had moved out of the bedroom into the main surgery area by now. It had been magically enlarged, Harry thought, so that everyone could fit in very comfortably. George and Angelina appeared with Rufus and Rowena in posh clothes - what was going on? Then Harry's heart leapt with shock. He heard another loud crack over the mumble of twenty different conversations and there were Ginny and Dai, standing almost alongside him with an old box-brownie camera in her hand - obviously now a used Portkey! Ginny was very clearly dressed like a bridesmaid (as was Rowena, he now realised) and Dai was a pageboy (as was Rufus). Before he had chance to gasp in astonishment, however, little Dai jumped up into his arms with a 'hi, dad' and Ginny politely said hello and kissed Harry on the cheek.

Sam and Nita were getting married! And they'd obviously kept it a very big secret from almost everyone gathered! Katie transfigured her robes into a third bridesmaid's dress and Nita and Sam did the same to find themselves in their wedding suits. Sam had the very finest tailored wizard robes - he looked so different from when Harry first met him (working as a scruffy Muggle gardener) that he was barely recognisable as the same man. For a start he looked ten years younger. Nita was stunning - no-one would have believed she had given birth to twins barely fourteen hours ago!

Her dress was white silk with small blue and yellow flowers sewn into it, making a beautiful pattern on the shoulders, bodice and waist. The colours were her tribute to Sweden, of course and the bridesmaid dresses were also the same forget-me-not blue with yellow trims. Nita's headwear was a tiny veil topped with a silver tiara bejewelled with sapphires. The gems brought out the blue of her eyes and the pinkness of her cheeks and corn-gold hair painted a picture of perfection as she walked into the 'enlarged room' with Arthur on her arm. Molly was already crying but she was rapt with joy as well, cradling Little Molly in her arms.

A smiling, slightly overweight witch in royal blue robes stepped forward to conduct the ceremony and the onlookers stopped talking and paid attention.

"What a special day for these lovely people," she began and the guests greeted the wedding with spontaneous, warm applause. "Sam and Nita have been planning this occasion for quite some time - although we couldn't confirm the exact day until three o'clock this morning, of course!"

Now the assembled friends and family laughed. It had been quite a feat - even in the Wizarding World - to get everyone together at the same time on the same day and at such short notice!

The ceremony was beautiful. Nita sang a little Swedish folk-song about a boy and his true love; she was unaccompanied and sang with an often-quavering voice but she sang looking up into Sam's face throughout and it was a very touching moment. The song told the tale about how the boy had been heart-broken through being rejected by the girl he loved. A girl he had known for years, however, was madly in love with him but he had never known this. He saw her as the 'girl who brushed her hair' and spent years living alone and sad because he couldn't see her love right in front of his eyes. Finally, when she was an old woman and he an old man they met again and he recognised her as the 'girl who brushed her hair' once more. They fell in love and married and were able to spend some happy years together. When she was dying he brushed her hair for her and they both regretted the fact they'd wasted so many years. It was both sad and happy, like many other folk songs. Harry felt so glad that Sam and Nita had found each other - and Sirius and Alicia, Percy and Katie for that matter. Each had lost people they loved - and in a variety of ways: Sam lost Phoebe, Percy lost Penelope, Alicia had been through so much with her father and Roger - Sirius had lost just about everyone he'd ever loved. They all deserved some happiness, Harry thought unselfishly. Then he looked again at Ginny, looking so beautiful today, but whom he knew he no longer loved and wondered, 'What do I deserve?'

Later in the service Severus and Maggie sang a duet from Mozart's 'Don Giovanni' - he in his rich baritone and her voice a demure soprano. They even acted out the flirty interplay - it was very amusing and Harry once again wondered how this man could possibly be so frustrating! At times he could be the nicest man you ever wished to meet yet on other occasions it was as if he were a completely different person. Sometimes so 'in control' yet at other times a complete dipstick!

Severus: LÃ ci darem la mano,
Là mi dirai di sì.
Vedi, non è lontano;
Partiam, ben mio, da qui.
Â
Maggie: (Vorrei e non vorrei,
Mi trema un poco il cor.
Felice, è ver, sarei,
Ma può burlarmi ancor.)
Â

S: Vieni, mio bel diletto!
Â
M: (Mi fa pietà Masetto.)
Â
S: Io cangierò tua sorte.
Â
M: Presto... non son più forte.
Â
S: Andiam!
Â
M: Andiam!
Â
Both: Andiam, andiam, mio bene.
a ristorar le pene
D'un innocente amor.

La la la la la la la...

They ended by encouraging all the other guests to 'la' along with them to the familiar melody. By the end they were all swaying from side to side as well - although Percy, Bill and Charlie had been doing a lot of swaying all afternoon it seemed!

After the wedding there was a lot of dancing and a lot of eating and drinking. Harry had to drive home, of course, so after one glass of champagne he had nothing stronger than butterbeer. He danced with Katie and Angelina and watched, amused, as Rowena and Arne seemed to get on very well together! They'd both be at Hogwarts in a couple of years...that was quite a frightening thought - they were not far off as old as he, Ron and Hermione on that first day all those years ago!

********************

As Harry drove the white Toyota back to Stratford Hermione and Ron crashed out on the back seat with Dai and Arne while Sirius sat in the front alongside Harry (Alicia Apparated back after realising there would not be room for all of them now they had Dai as well). They talked about their futures, reminisced about Remus and the strangest funeral either of them had ever attended and hypothesised about exactly how he had died. Unbeknownst to them, in the back seat of the car Hermione was listening - the answers to their questions were starting to formulate in her mind and she wished that she were able to join in their conversation and help them to further come to terms with yet another loss - but she could not - such information was strictly 'Unspeakable'.

******************

* Ron's recollection is based on an incident from my own life. When my first son was born in 1991 I was feeding him a particular type of baby food when an image flashed into my mind of a baby's cot and the wallpaper behind it. I described the cot and wallpaper to my own mother and she confirmed that I had just described my own bedroom from nearly thirty years before.