Broken Fate

Chapter Seventeen ~ Settling In

Jamie stood in Professor McGonagall's office with Remus Lupin, Molly, and Will. She had already said her good-byes to Shay--of course, Shay had simply told her not to cause too much disaster while she was at the Weasleys, if she could manage it. Ron and Hermione had stopped to bid her and Molly farewell, and then Ron had dragged Hermione off to dinner. Jamie knew that when they hadn't been having classes, both of Will's parents had been in the hospital wing with Will and Molly, getting to know them a bit.

"Take care of yourself, James," Will said, embracing her. He picked up Molly, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and passed her to Jamie.

"Oh, Will--I want you to keep this with you here. I think you'll need it more than I will." With the hand not supporting Molly, Jamie reached into her robes and pulled out an invisibility cloak. Harry's invisibility cloak. "Dumbledore returned it to me this afternoon," she said, a blush creeping across her cheeks. She was still embarrassed about forgetting it in the first place.

"Are you ready, then?" Remus asked gently. He had been briefed by Dumbledore on the situation, enough to know who Jamie, Will, and Molly's parents were.

Giving Will one last hug, Jamie nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. She had rather hoped that she might have had the chance to see Harry and Ginny one last time before she left, but she really couldn't blame them for not coming. They probably didn't want anything to do with her...

"We'll be traveling by portkey," Remus said, motioning at a tin cup that sat on Professor McGonagall's desk.

Jamie nodded, hitching Molly up higher in her arms. "I'm--" she was cut off when the door to the office burst open. To her everlasting surprise, Harry and Ginny stood in the doorway, both dressed in Quidditch robes, and both panting for breath.

"Hermione...told us...you were leaving," Ginny gasped, catching her breath. "We were at Quidditch practice when she told us. We...er...wanted to at least come and see you off," she said, looking a bit awkward.

Harry looked even more out of sorts, but he nodded in agreement.

Jamie forced back tears that threatened her eyes. "Um...thank you." Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry...you'll only make them more uncomfortable. She cleared her throat. "I appreciate it. She stood uncertainly for a moment, and then said, "Well...I have to get going." She stepped over to the portkey, her eyes still locked on her young parents.

Silence ensued for a moment, and then Ginny cleared her own throat. "My mum can be a bit...um..." she searched for the right word. "Overpowering, sometimes," she said delicately.

Remus coughed, and Jamie thought he looked suspiciously like he was trying to hold back a laugh.

"But she means well," Ginny assured Jamie. "Don't let her intimidate you."

"And Ginny's dad is obsessed with Muggles," Harry put in. "So if you know anything about them, you can expect a thousand and one questions."

"And if you have any questions or concerns, you can always owl me," Ginny offered.

Jamie looked back and forth between Harry and Ginny, and managed a smile. "Thanks," she whispered.

Silence fell again, and Lupin finally said, "Jamie? Are you ready? I told Arthur and Molly we would be there before supper."

Jamie drew her attention away from Harry and Ginny. "Right."

Will gave his sister another quick kiss, and Lupin said quietly, "On three."

"Oh, and Jamie?"

Jamie paused and looked over at Ginny.

"Don't eat anything Fred and George offer you," Ginny advised, a wry smile on her face.

Jamie raised her eyebrows, but nodded.

"One...two...three." He and Jamie reached out to touch the portkey, and Jamie pulled Molly's hand down to touch it as well. In a flash, they were gone.

~*~

When the world reoriented, Jamie found herself standing in the middle of a kitchen. She recognized it instantly. It was the Burrow kitchen. Of course, it was in much better shape than she ever remembered seeing it. A pot of something was cooking on the stove, and a big wooden spoon was stirring it. Dishes scrubbed themselves in a sink full of soapy water, and a broom danced across the floor.

Molly's head popped up off of Jamie's shoulder, and she looked around the room.

"Welcome to the Burrow," Remus said with flourish.

He had barely gotten the words out of his mouth when a woman with graying red hair bustled into the kitchen. "I thought I heard you come in!" she exclaimed. She stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing Jamie and Molly, and stared at them for a long minute. Then, just as suddenly, she crossed the kitchen floor and had her arms around the two of them. She held them tightly for a moment, and then stepped back, saying, "Oh! Let me look at you!" She did just that, studying Jamie and Molly up and down with wonder on her face. "Of all the strange things..." she began. She shook her head. "Please, come in. Have a seat. We'll be having supper in about an hour, so that should give you some time to freshen up." She ushered Jamie over to a chair, and Jamie sat, settling Molly in her lap.

Scurrying over to the cupboard, Jamie's grandmother--what am I supposed to call her? I don't think Grammy is suiting in this case. I guess I'll just call her Mrs. Weasley--pulled out two cups. She pointed her wand into the cups, and something poured out of it. "Here you go," she said kindly, setting the cups in front of Jamie. "You look a bit rattled, dear. Hot chocolate should help. Remus? Would you like any?"

"No, thank you, Molly. I really must be going. I have business to attend to."

Mrs. Weasley nodded knowingly. "Well, thank you for bringing them safely to us."

"Of course." Smiling at Jamie, Remus said, "I'll be sure to come and visit. I have many questions, if you are willing to answer them, of course."

Jamie could only nod, swallowing hard. As much as she knew he had to go, she didn't want him to. She had so many things she wished she could say to him, but knew that none of it would be relevant to this Remus Lupin. He'll be back. He just said he would, Jamie reminded herself.

Still smiling, Remus Disapparated with a loud crack.

Jamie stared down at her hot chocolate, then picked it up and took a sip. It was just the right temperature. She tested Molly's drink to make sure it wasn't too hot and handed it to the little girl. Molly looked down at the cup, then up at Jamie, who nodded encouragingly. Finally, Molly raised the cup to her lips and took a sip.

Mrs. Weasley sank into the chair across from them. "Oh, I'm so glad that Dumbledore called us last night. We were surprised, to say the least, but..." she trailed off. "So you're really my Ginny's little girl?"

Jamie looked up and met Mrs. Weasley's eyes. To her surprise, she realized there were tears in them. "Um...yes. Ginny was my mother."

Mrs. Weasley pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her eyes. "I always hoped she would get together with Harry," she said conspiratorially. "He's such a sweet boy. Now, you're Jamie, aren't you?"

Jamie nodded.

Mrs. Weasley turned her attention on Molly. "And I heard that you're Molly. Very good name, if I may say so myself," she told her in a gentle voice. "Is that right?"

Jamie winced. Of course--Dumbledore hadn't known about Molly's condition, and so he hadn't told Mrs. Weasley. Brown eyes wide, Molly simply stared at Mrs. Weasley, clutching her cup of hot chocolate in her hands. Jamie felt bad telling Mrs. Weasley what was wrong with her right in front of Molly, but she knew that being in a strange house, with unfamiliar people, Molly was going to be sticking to her side like glue for several days. There might not be a good opportunity to say this.

"Molly...Molly doesn't talk," she finally told Mrs. Weasley, who looked back up at her.

"Doesn't talk to strangers?" Mrs. Weasley wondered.

"No. She doesn't talk at all. She was...hurt very badly when she was a baby." She didn't want to say any more than that in front of Molly.

"Oh! Poor little dear!" Mrs. Weasley looked at Molly in sympathy. "Now, young Molly here is Ronnie's, Dumbledore said."

Jamie nodded in affirmation. "And Hermione's."

Mrs. Weasley sighed and shook her head. "You know, I predicted that coming from a years ago! I was surprised to hear it, but it really does make sense. Two people who argue as much as they do would have to end up together. That's rather how it was with Arthur and me," she added thoughtfully.

Jamie's eyebrows rose, but she didn't argue with Mrs. Weasley's logic. That's not always true, she thought, or by that notion, Shay and I would wind up together. That idea almost made her burst out laughing.

"Well, now. Don't you worry a bit," Mrs. Weasley said. "We'll make sure you're both taken care of. Now then, why don't you finish your hot chocolate, and I'll show you to your room? I've set you both up in Charlie's old bedroom."

~*~

Mrs. Weasley left them in Charlie's old room. "I'll come fetch you when supper is ready, if you want to get settled in. Of course, you're welcome to go anywhere in the Burrow that you want. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," Jamie said. She set Molly down on the floor, and she clung to Jamie's robes. "It's all right, Molly. We're going to be staying here for a while, all right?" She looked around the room. It might have been Charlie's, but Mrs. Weasley had obviously spent the morning re-decorating the bedroom. There were two beds, covered in brightly-colored patchwork quilts. A trunk sat at the bottom of each bed, and there was a cushioned rocking chair in the middle of the room. One of the beds had numerous stuffed animals on it. For Molly, Jamie thought. Portraits of moving landscapes hung on several walls.

She walked forward to the trunk at the bottom of her bed and opened it. When she checked Molly's trunk, she found that it, too, had small articles of clothing in it. Tears threatened her eyes, and she hugged Molly. "These are for you," she whispered. "And so are the toys. You can play with them if you want to." She pointed at the stuffed animals.

Molly looked up at her solemnly for a minute, and then peeled herself away from Jamie. She wandered over to the bed and climbed up, digging through the pile of toys until she found one that she liked. Once she had the fluffy stuffed dragon in her arms, she buried herself amidst the other toys. If it hadn't been for her bright hair, Jamie thought laughingly, she might have missed seeing her.

Jamie was sorting through the trunks when a knock sounded on the door. Thinking that it was Mrs. Weasley, she called, "Come in!" The door opened and she turned. She was surprised when she realized that it wasn't Mrs. Weasley, but two young men. Two identical young men, except that one of them had much shorter hair than the other, only half an inch or so in length.

"Hi, there," the one with longer hair said.

"We just arrived and thought we'd come introduce ourselves," said the other one.

Jamie smiled. "You must be--"

"I'm Fred. This is George. And you're Jamie Potter," the boy with longer hair stated.

Jamie nodded.

"She really does look like Harry, doesn't she?" George asked Fred.

Fred nodded in agreement. "Not much like Ginny, though. And no red hair."

"Or freckles," George interjected.

"Are you sure you're half-Weasley?"

Jamie blinked at them. Was she actually supposed to answer that? "Um..."

"Not very talkative, are you? Mum told us about you--well, she told us a little about you," Fred amended. "She told all of the family, since we're in and out of here all the time. Well, except Percy. I don't think she told him. Prat that he is--oh, he admitted last summer that he 'might have been a little brash,' but he didn't even apologize."

Jamie wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. Her Uncle Percy had been one of those that disappeared from the wizarding world--it had happened during her father's seventh year and her mother's sixth. No one knew what happened to him. Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione hadn't talked about him much, except to say that he had been a stickler for whatever the Ministry believed, and that he hadn't gotten along that well with the Weasleys for several years before he vanished.

"He's too pompous for apologies, Percy is," George agreed. "He thinks he's too good for us. He's not part of the--" Here, he broke off and exchanged glances with Fred.

"The Order?" Jamie asked, eyebrows raised. "Yes, I know all about it," she assured them.

"Well, then. Precisely right; Percy's not part of Order at all--doesn't even know about it." George shook his head. "Don't worry, though. None of the rest of us will tell anything about you--we're sworn to secrecy. Say, do you want a Canary Cream?" He held out his hand, in which a candy rested.

Jamie blinked again at this abrupt change in subject. She didn't really remember her Uncles Fred and George, but she had heard numerous stories about them. Hearing stories was one thing, though--meeting them was something else entirely. Right now they both wore extremely innocent looks, and Ginny's final words came back to her: "Don't eat anything Fred and George offer you." "Um..." she said again.

"Fred! George!" Mrs. Weasley appeared at the door. "I thought I told you not to pester the poor girl! And...is that one of your Canary Creams? I told you I do not want to see any of your merchandise in this house! And no experimenting! It's bad enough that George spent a month being green and bald! Now out!"

"Aw, Mum, we were just trying to be nice," George said in an offended sort of way.

"Really! Can't the poor girl get a nice welcome from her uncles?" Fred asked indignantly.

"OUT!" Mrs. Weasley repeated loudly.

Winking at Jamie, Fred and George disappeared downstairs.

Once they were gone, Mrs. Weasley smiled kindly at Jamie. "Don't mind them, dear. They're always into mischief." She sighed.

Jamie hid a smile. "It's all right."

"I just wanted to let you know that Bill and Charlie are coming over for supper. They both wanted to meet you. Charlie's been teaching at Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley added.

Jamie nodded. "Will told me."

Mrs. Weasley brightened. "Now, Will is also Ron and Hermione's?"

"Yes. He's Molly's brother," Jamie said. She turned to go back into the room, but stopped and added, "Oh, and thank you for...for everything." She waved her hand to indicate the room. "It means a lot."

"Oh, you're welcome, dear." Mrs. Weasley beamed. "Supper should be ready in about ten minutes."

~*~

Jamie couldn't remember the last time she had been so happy, or had this much fun. Supper was a splendid affair--with her grandparents and four of her uncles in attendance, there wasn't a dull moment, especially with Fred and George present. No one asked her about her past, though Fred and George certainly tried. Every time they did, Mrs. Weasley cut them off with a sharp glare and said, "We're not going to talk about it right now. Give Jamie some peace while she eats. Besides, she might not want to tell you, anyway. It might not be safe for you to know." Which, of course, made Fred and George want to hear it all the more.

Bill filled the family in on his work at Gringotts, and Charlie talked about the Care of Magical Creatures class that he was teaching while Hagrid was away. The dragon egg that the class was caring for had hatched, he said, and Oscar the Antipodean Opaleye had emerged. Fred and George were full of tales about running their joke shop. Mr. Weasley told about his day, in which he had been tracing down teakettles that had been sold the the Muggle community. These teakettles apparently spat hot water at anyone who tried to use them.

Toward the end of the meal, Molly, who was seated on a chair next to Jamie, reached over and pinched Jamie's leg. That was Molly's signal that she needed to use the bathroom--yet another indication that Molly did, in fact, understand and learn things. When Will and Jamie had decided to attempt to potty-train her, they hadn't been sure if it would even work. It had been hard, especially for fifteen-year-olds who knew nothing about it, but it had not been impossible. Their success had been very encouraging.

Once she had taken Molly to the bathroom, the family had dessert, and by the time everyone began to head out to their respective homes--Bill to an flat in London, Charlie to Hogwarts, and Fred and George to a flat above their joke shop--Molly had fallen asleep, her legs on her chair and her head in Jamie's lap.

"Can I help you clean up?" Jamie asked Mrs. Weasley, after her uncles had Disapparated or used the Floo network to leave.

"Oh, no, no! All you need to worry about is heading for bed. You look exhausted. We'll talk more in the morning, all right?"

Jamie nodded. She picked up Molly. "Thank you," she told Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. As she headed upstairs, she couldn't help feeling, for the first time that she could remember, that she was home.

~*~

Back at Hogwarts, things continued in a fairly normal manner. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville slowly adjusted to the fact that their future children existed, and in some cases were in classes with them, and pretty soon, it had simply become part of their lives. Several things of significance happened; one occurred when Neville came stumbling into the common room about a week after finding out about Shay. He was extremely pale, and he sank into a chair across from Ginny, who was working on her homework. Ron and Will were also present, playing a game of wizard's chess.

"Neville? What's wrong?" Ginny asked.

"I...I..." Neville began. He stopped and shook his head, looking rather dazed. "I talked to Shay," he said quickly.

Will sat up straight, startled. "You what?"

"I talked to Shay," Neville repeated. "I...I told him that I knew who he was. And I told him that I'm sorry."

Will stared at Neville. "You told him...that you're sorry," he repeated, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

"Yes. I told him that I'm sorry that the future me never got to know him."

"And...what did he say?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing." Neville looked around at Ginny, Ron, and Will. "He just gave me a look that could kill a basilisk, and turned and walked away."

Will sank back in his chair. "Neville..." he stopped, hesitated, and tried again. "Shay...he has a lot of issues with his father. He's my best friend, and it's not my business to talk about it, but...well, thank you. For saying that to him."

Neville smiled wanly at Will, heaving a sigh. "I know I haven't really done anything to him...but...well, I felt better saying it to him anyway," he confessed.

September turned into October, and the month passed very quickly. The Hogwarts Coalition continued to meet and grow in members, and many of the Slytherins were still intent on trying to cause any damage that they could to the Coalition. Madam Pomfrey was irate at the number of students who ended up in her hospital wing because they had boils growing on their face, or worms slithering out of their ears. Teachers were even more hard-pressed to maintain order in the corridors and in some cases, the classrooms.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Will, Shay, and Neville took turns scanning the Marauder's Map at least once a night, and kept an eye out for anything or anyone suspicious. They kept an especially close eye on Dumbledore and his activities. Harry was sure the headmaster noticed this, but he never commented on it.

Hermione was frequently seen scouring the library, a completely common occurrence for her. She looked everywhere she could to see if she could find out what had killed Dumbledore in the future. "This is so frustrating!" she said one day. "There are numerous curses that can kill someone--Avada Kedavra, obviously, is the most efficient. But there are other spells...like the one Peter Pettigrew used to blow up all of those Muggles on the street years ago. I've found different mentions of curses that will burn someone...I just don't know! I can see why the Ministry officials wouldn't have been certain--they wanted to study the body to see just what curse had been used," she sighed. "I suppose that's a dead-end. Any learned witch or wizard could have performed one of the curses."

Ginny took to writing to Jamie, "to make sure she's surviving the family," and Jamie always wrote back. She had settled very well at the Burrow, and shared stories of things that had happened to her, which Ginny sometimes reiterated for the others. She hadn't told the Weasleys much about her future--she had told them she preferred not to talk about it, for the safety of everyone involved, and they respected that. Fred and George, Jamie wrote, paid frequent visits to the Burrow, and delighted in slipping their Wizard Wheezes into things she was eating or drinking. Mrs. Weasley was irate at the number of times Jamie had suddenly sprouted a nosebleed, or began to vomit, or had fainted in the middle of the living room. I would stop eating and drinking whenever Fred and George are around, Jamie said, but they often do it before I realize they're at the Burrow!

Molly, she told Ginny, was flourishing. She had become comfortable with the Weasleys, and would often trail Mr. Weasley around the house, or sit on Mrs. Weasley's lap while she was read a story. Fred and George had the decency not to bother her. Your Mum's threatened them with death if they do, Jamie confided.

Their first Hogsmeade weekend came just before Halloween, and Dumbledore gave Will and Shay special permission to attend. Ginny laughingly said, "Well, I suppose Ron or Hermione could write a note for you, Will, but somehow I don't think Filch would be satisfied with that."

On Halloween, while Harry was eating breakfast in the decked-out Great Hall, Ginny slid down into the seat beside him. "Do you want to sign this? Everyone else already has." She passed Harry a card.

Harry looked down at it. On the outside of the card was a picture of a lit birthday cake, the candles in the picture flickering. He opened the card, and a chorus of voices shouted, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" They then began to sing a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday to You."

"It's for Jamie," Ginny informed him. "Today's her sixteenth birthday, remember?"

"Yes." Harry stared at the card for a minute, and then signed his name on it, passing it back to Ginny.

"Thanks." She smiled and stood up. "I'm going to take this to the owlery. I'm sending Jamie a box of Honeydukes chocolates. I doubt she's ever had them before, and everyone should try Honeydukes chocolate at least once. And if I don't send them now, I'm going to end up eating them myself, and then I'll have to buy another box. The self-restraint I've already exerted is extraordinary." She grinned and headed out of the Great Hall.

Harry thought long and hard all day, and finally, when classes were over, he slipped up to his dormitory. Going over to his bedside cabinet, he pulled out a photo album that Hagrid had given him at the end of his first year. He leafed through the pictures of his smiling, waving parents. He finally found one that had James and Lily Potter standing in front of a small house, their arms wrapped around each other. He stared at it for a minute, then pulled it out of the album.

He grabbed ink and a quill and flipped the picture over. On the back, he scribbled, Jamie--I thought you might like this picture. These are my parents, about a year before I was born. Harry. He hesitated, then wrote, Happy birthday. He tucked it into an envelope, then took it to the owlery so Hedwig could deliver it.

Two days later, he received a response. Dear Harry, thank you so much for the beautiful photograph. It means more to me than I can say. I've hung it on my wall so I can look at it all the time. Love, Jamie.

~*~

Besides adjusting to his present life and situation, Harry's mind was on the first upcoming Quidditch match of the season. It was coming up fast, and he was fitting in as many extra practices as he could without running his team ragged. He kept an extra-close eye on Sari, since he knew that no matter what distractions had come Draco Malfoy's way the last two months, he had yet to exact revenge on her. It would be so like him to wait until just before the Quidditch match to try to do something to sabotage her, and Harry was determined not to let it happen.

He also heard from Angelina Johnson, his former Quidditch teammate and the second captain he'd ever had. She arrived at Hogwarts several days before the Quidditch match. "I just thought I'd come watch the game," she said. "For old time's sake." She grinned at him. "I knew you'd become captain one day."

Harry half-smiled. "I'm trying do a good job. I'm starting to realize just how you and Oliver must have felt, though." He shook his head. "It's a lot of work."

"It is. But it's rewarding," Angelina told him.

"So what are you up to these days?" Harry asked.

"I just got accepted onto the Appleby Arrows Quidditch team," Angelina said, grinning. "They lost one of their Chasers--he got whacked in the head with a Bludger. Still in St. Mungo's, poor chap."

"Oh. Well, congratulations...I am sorry about the other player, but not sorry you're on the team."

"So what's new with you, Harry?"

Harry thought about Jamie, about everything that he was trying to help prevent, and said, "Um...nothing much. Well," he conceded, "Ron and Hermione are dating." It was a perfectly normal occurence for him to think about now. They still had their fights--which sometimes escalated into shouting matches--but they always made up, and wound up as goggle-eyed about each other as ever. After one such match that half of Gryffindor House was witness to, Will had looked at him and said, "They do get better. Really."

"I heard," Angelina grinned again. "Katie mentioned it in one of her letters. I always figured it would happen sooner or later. So tell me about your team. What are your tactics? What have Slytherin's moves been this year?"

Harry launched into a detailed account, and Angelina listened in rapt attention. When he was finished, she clapped him on the shoulder. "Sounds like you're doing a great job," she said.

"Thanks." Harry grinned.

"Well, I'd best get going. I want to say hello to Katie and some other friends. I'll catch you around, Harry."

"See you, Angelina."