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twoidiotwriters1 · 2 months ago

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Until The Very End —(WITS Sequel)

A/N: I'm always going to miss them -Danny Words: 3,668 Masterlist Previous chapter Listen to: 'Don't You Worry' -by Oh Wonder

2017

Grimmauld Place was unrecognizable. The curtains had been changed, the windows washed, the furniture fixed or replaced, the bedrooms remodelled, and most important of all, the portrait of Mrs Black had been removed after several attempts and replaced with a family picture including Sultens, Potters, Weasleys, Lupins, Flints, and a very grumpy-looking Aberforth.

Regulus had changed the darkness into light, the house that once was gloomy and claustrophobic was now open and welcoming, and Mel's chest swelled with a strange mix of feelings. Sirius would've loved living in this version of the place, he would've loved getting to know his son.

"Oi! If you've finished standing there like a statue would you help me deal with this thing?" Regulus called, holding the family tapestry, now just a ragged piece of rubbish. The house's magic had weakened throughout the years, and Mel and Regulus had no problem getting rid of it all.

"You'll throw it away?" Mel asked.

The young man raised a brow. "Why should I keep it? My dad's not in it."

"Well, no... but your uncle Regulus is."

"He's the only one that matters, but it's not worth keeping the whole thing."

"Don't you care about tracking your legacy and whatnot?"

"Legacy?" Reg makes a face. "The names on this left nothing worth remembering, nothing but cruelty and war. Besides, none of them raised me—if I care about tracking legacy, all I have to do is look up."

He nodded at the picture hanging in the middle of the main staircase, where their friends and family were waving and laughing with each other. Mel felt another tug in her tummy and she choked back a sob. Regulus looked at her. "What's that about?"

She shook her head. "I'm getting old, I think. Memories are turning dangerous... they always were, but now they're really starting to weigh on me."

His expression turned to concern. "What's the matter, Mely?"

"Oh, Leon," she cried softly. "I know your father, wherever he is, loves every bit of the man you've become. He'd be so proud to see what you've done, the man you are..." She pulled out a handkerchief. "I spent so much time with him and you so little..."

Mel paused, realizing Sirius had said something awfully similar to her and Harry about two decades ago. The thought, so specific and comforting, made her laugh. Regulus scoffed. "Mel, I think you've gone off the rocker..."

"Sorry, sorry," she said, half-crying and half-grinning. "I just remembered something." Mel hugged her brother, almost as tall as her but not quite yet. "I understand so much now that I'm his age... actually, I'm a year older than he was when he died..."

Regulus tilted his head. "And how does that feel?"

"Well, exactly like when I turned older than my dad," she responds. "I'm grateful I get to be here and see all of this, I'll be able to tell our dads their sacrifices were worth it."

"And once you're with them, I'll live some more and then tell you all about it," Regulus smiled, unaffected by his sister's mood.

Mel wasn't surprised, he'd been his own person long enough that she knew her brother was a man in charge of his emotions, that somehow, he'd learned from his father's mistakes through her sister's stories, and he'd grown up to be a strong and determined man, full of his family's courage and lacking all of their cracks.

"I'm home, pup!" Teddy Lupin's voice came from the hallway. "Emily's here!"

Regulus scowled. Perhaps he didn't lack all cracks, jealousy was alive and well. "Why is my girlfriend with you?"

"Relax your wand-hold," Teddy's grinning face showed up followed by Emily Flint, rosy-cheeked and sheepish after Regulus confidently called her his girlfriend. "We ran into each other at the front door. Hi, Auntie!"

"Evening, Teddy," she beamed. "Hi, Emie, you came here alone?"

"I apparated," she announced proudly.

"You did?" Regulus wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek. "You're so clever."

Teddy rolled his eyes and walked past them. "Where's Abe and Uncle Harry?"

"Upstairs fixing the attic," Mel pointed up with a smile. "I left you boys dinner in the oven."

"You're the best!" Teddy rushed upstairs, almost tripping on his own foot. "I'll go get the others!"

"This house is beautiful!" Emily commented in awe. "I can't believe it's the place from Dad's stories..."

"Yeah, I was born here," Regulus said, sounding pleased. "One day our kids will too."

Emily's face flushed as she looked up with horror. "We've been dating for a week!"

Regulus smirked, and just then he looked strikingly like his father. "I know what I want."

"Don't let him scare you, he's always been a talker," Mel rolled her eyes. "Except during his first two years, I miss those times."

Regulus pulled her in and playfully wrestled with her. Despite the 16-year age gap, he'd always treated her as if they were equals, and Mel couldn't say she minded, for years she'd wanted a sibling and she cherished every moment shared with Regulus like a rare jewel.

Their laughter was interrupted by a sharp whistle and they stopped, swiftly breaking the fight when they spotted Aberforth at the top of the stairs. Time had taken much of his ruggedness and left only a severe-looking ancient man. However, time had also softened him around the edges enough to allow Regulus to call him grandad just like Mel did, and enough to visit Mel and her children almost every weekend.

"Behave," he scolded them, though there was a glint of amusement in his eyes that reminded Mel of her uncle Dumbledore. "You're too old to be rolling around like toddlers."

"We weren't rolling around," Regulus argued. "I was choking her."

"That makes it sound way better," Harry replies sarcastically, helping Aberforth down the stairs. He didn't need to help, but Aberforth also reminded Harry of Dumbledore, and even if they weren't the same person, he felt in debt with both men. All he had was thanks to the Dumbledores, especially Mel, and that was the most important piece in his life.

"Well, we should get going," Mel went to get her coat and Harry's. "It's late and we're expecting the Grangers for dinner—that, I can't stand another minute of knowing the kids are home alone—Merlin knows they could blow up the entire house if they realize no one's there to stop them..."

Regulus laughed. "Have a guy night, then. Not you, Abe, you're staying!"

The old man stopped looking startled. "What nonsense is that?"

"Come on, gran, humour us a bit!" Reg walked up to him and patted his shoulder, gently guiding him to the kitchen. "It's my sister's cooking anyway, so you can't say you won't like it!"

"Yeah, Abe, stay and tell us your pub stories," Teddy grinned and attempted to lean on the bannister, but toppled over and stabbed his ribcage with the end of it.

Emily rushed forward and clicked her tongue. "You klutz have to be protected in bubble wrap— that's gonna leave a bruise..." Both kids—kids? Mel and Harry never felt as such at their age—turned and spoke at Harry and Mel. "Good night!"

"Bye, dears!" Mel called. "Bye, Gran! See you next Sunday!"

"Come on," Harry said taking her to the entrance. "Time to go home."

They left Grimmauld Place and Mel offered her hand to Harry so they could disapparate together, but Harry stood there, watching her with a soft smile. "What?" She asked with a hesitant grin.

"It's a lovely evening," he said. "Care to walk?"

"Walk home?" Mel raised a brow.

"For a while," Harry shrugged. "Then we can go for a train ride, and we'd still make it home before dinner. The kids will be fine, they're clever and good just like their mother."

The woman hesitated, looking at the setting sun and then back at him. "You sure?"

Harry smiled and took her hand. He felt safe out in the open, he realized, he'd never felt like that. "Let's walk."

Harry heard children's voices coming from the drawing room as soon as he got home, and eager to see his kids, he followed them, only to be met with his son Matthew and Amy Flint, the youngest of Erick's daughters, closely huddled up while looking at one of Mel's old photo albums.

"Is that really your grandmother?" Amy was asking in awe. "She looks like Lily!"

"It's the other way around," Matthew replied wisely. "Lily looks a lot like my grandmother."

"She's so pretty!" Amy continued, unbothered by his dry teasing. "And both of your grandfathers were very handsome!"

"James looks like my mum's dad," Matthew commented. "Does that mean you think my brother's handsome?"

Amy huffed, unable to stay indifferent to his jabs. "Your brother is too silly and loud."

"You forgot ugly."

They snickered and put their heads together while changing the page, eagerly examining their parents's younger versions. Harry stood there in silence, and a strange pull of familiarity stirred. Amy with her soft brown locks, and Matthew, with his inky tufts of wild hair standing up in all directions just like his father's.

He could see himself, many years in the past, huddled up and reading Mel's fairy tales in her mother's drawing room, snickering at their own jokes, making fun of Dudley by comparing him to every odd-looking character. Had it been that long ago? It felt like an entire lifetime apart, the Harry in those memories wasn't him, but an entirely different human, certainly not Matthew's father.

"My dad doesn't have pictures of himself from when he was younger," Amy said after a while. "Your parents are lucky to have so many."

Lucky.

What a strange concept, the luckier people in comparison. But he felt it too, looking back on things. The tidbits of his childhood shared with Mel and Emily had outlived the bad ones, and his memories of Hogwarts, despite all the madness, never failed to bring a warmth to his chest that could cure any heartache.

He stepped forward, politely clearing his throat. "Shouldn't you two be packing for school?"

Matthew gave a start and looked up, his emerald eyes sparkling with affection. "Dad!" He left the photo album and rushed to welcome his father, wrapping his arms around the man's waist.

Harry chuckled and happily reciprocated. "Excited for tomorrow?"

"He's worried," Amy stated out loud.

"Oi!" The boy scolded her, glaring at her the same way Harry would whenever Mel put him on the spot. Matthew brushed it off, looking at his dad. "It's nothing, I'll be alright."

Harry decided not to push it. If Matthew said he could handle it, Harry wouldn't doubt him. He looked every bit like Harry but on the inside he was all Mel, and both hated it when people didn't believe them, or trusted in their word. "Very well. Then put that back where it was and we can walk Amy home."

"Mr Potter, your pictures are very pretty," Amy said while Matthew took the album.

"Thanks. I'll let Mel know, she took most of them," he disclosed. "She was lousy at first, but with time she learned and took some of the nicest pictures of our friends and us in Hogwarts. Are you excited to go?"

"Very," Amy smiled giddily. "Dad says I stink of lion."

Harry hesitated, unsure how to respond. "Yes, well, your dad has an interesting choice of words for a house he loved a bit more than snakes used to at our time studying there."

"Oh, he isn't mad about it, not like I'm the first to go there anyway," Amy brushed it off, having inherited her mother's lighthearted demeanour. "I should go, Josie and Eliot are probably stressing Dad by packing everything wrong on purpose."

Mel and Harry woke up on time that year. They rounded up their children and had them ready before nine, then sat together for breakfast as a family, chatting about the year to come, and giving the twins advice on the subjects they choose for their third year. Mel had to talk Emmeline out of adopting a mandrake, apparently one of her Hufflepuff friends liked to raise them at home during the summer.

"Is it a Hufflepuff thing, wanting to mother every odd living critter on the planet?" Mel huffed while taking the luggage to their car.

Harry laughed. "It's a Sultens trait, my love."

Lily clung to her siblings for as long as they allowed it. Her pout was so pathetic and touching Matthew didn't push her away as they reached the station, waiting for their parents to put every trunk in a cart. Everyone was there to wish Matthew John Potter, Amy Flint and Rose Granger-Weasley good luck on their first year at Hogwarts.

"You'll be going too," Harry eased his youngest daughter. "Be patient."

"A year," Lily bemoaned. "I want to go now!"

"Why is everyone always here?" Groaned James.

Mel looked down at him with surprise. "You don't want everyone to wish you a nice year?"

"They make such a fuss over it, and we're only going to school," he argued.

Mel smiled. "It means a lot to everyone. We went to that school, and now our kids are going. You'll understand one day."

James huffed, terribly vexed as any kid when they hear the ever-mysterious assurance that one day all the secrets of adulthood will be revealed. One day, much too far from reach for a thirteen-year-old.

As they made their way through the crowded station and crossed the barrier, James and Emmeline were quick to rush past their parents in search of their friends. "Look at that, they couldn't get away fast enough," Harry commented.

"Oh, they're not gone yet," Mel dismissed it. "The greetings to their friends stall the farewell to us."

Lily sobbed. "I don't want to be left alone! Amy's leaving this year too, I'll have no one to play with or have slumber parties!"

"You can invite your friends from school," Mel offered.

"I hate having to lie to my friends, and if I bring them home I'll have to hide our magic!" Lily complained.

"You won't be alone, Lily, you'll have us," Harry said, though that was a small comfort for the little girl.

"You and Hugo can ask Reg and Teddy to let you have slumber parties at Grimmauld Place." Mel was quick to fix it. That quieted the girl long enough for them to reach Ron and Hermione.

"Look," Ron said, abandoning all discretion as he stared at some point far ahead. Draco Malfoy and his wife Astoria were sending their only son off to school. Draco spotted them as well, and he nodded in recognition before turning his back. "So that's little Scorpius..."

"Matthew," Mel's gaze lingered on the frail-looking child who got on the train, all alone. "You be kind to that boy, I'm afraid he'll have a hard time."

"Rose," Ron turned to his daughter. "You make sure you beat him at every test."

"Ron!" Hermione scolded him. "Don't go around turning them against each other!"

"I'm not! I never said she should mock him, did I? Just keep him humble..."

Mel rolled her eyes. "That poor boy has had enough humbling inherited from both, his granddad and his father."

"Besides," Harry added, "Draco's almost tolerable nowadays."

Ron snorts. "You never seen him."

Harry grinned. "Exactly."

Hermione and Mel shared an exasperated look but decided to drop the subject. Matthew took the opportunity of his sister leaving to sulk with Hugo, and shared his worries with his parents. "You'll write to me, won't you?"

"Every day."

"James said I should be mindful of Thestrals or they'll bite my arm off."

"Thestrals are gentle beings, and they usually don't bother those who can't see them anyway," Harry eased him. "Remember Hagrid invited you for tea this Friday, take Amy and Rose with you if you can—otherwise Rose will develop Hermione's ill habit of drowning in books."

"Stay as far as you can from Peeves, and please, do not pick fights on your first week of school, that temper of yours could get you in serious trouble," Mel added.

"Mum," Matthew's face grew worried. "What if I lose control of my magic the more I use it? I'm not as good as you at keeping it in."

Mel's expression softened. "Keeping things in isn't the solution, Matty. If you feel like your magic is getting out of control, talk to McGonagall. And that new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, I heard she's quite good. You don't have to be as good as anyone else, just be kind to yourself."

Harry crouched and placed a gentle hand on his son's shoulder. "Whatever happens, Matt, you'll always have us. You have Uncle Neville and Hagrid in the castle, your brother and sister, the Flints, the Weasleys—and your great-grandfather lives near the castle, remember? It'll be alright."

"Besides, you'll make new friends too," Mel beamed, excited for her son's endless possibilities. "Enjoy Hogwarts for us, won't you? We miss it."

"You do?" Matthew made a face. "It's just a school, home is much better."

Harry and Mel paused, hit with the strong revelation. For their kids, Hogwarts would be school, and home was them. Harry managed an earnest smile. "Either way, you'll enjoy it. Make sure to cheer for James and Emmeline during their quidditch tryouts, alright?"

"Who should I cheer for when Gryffindor and Hufflepuff play against each other?"

"Whoever's losing," Mel said humorously.

"Alright," Matthew smiled, genuinely this time. "I'll do that. And I'll be kind to Scorpius Malfoy as well, mum, like you were to Uncle Erick. I'll tell Rose not to humble him too badly."

Mel laughed and kissed his forehead. "That's my boy."

"Matt!" Emmeline and James showed up, ruffled and flushed after going through the attentions of a dozen different relatives. "Grandma Mily says you have to go and say goodbye before we leave!" The girl ordered.

Harry hugged his son one last time before he went to meet the rest of the fussing adults. James walked up to his mother with a face of deep disapproval. "I saw Uncle Reg and Teddy snogging Victoire Weasley and Emily Flint. Is every man in this family losing their minds?"

Harry chuckled. "One day you might, too. I was your age when I fell in love with your mother."

James looked positively grossed out by the thought. "Never!"

Emmeline glanced at him with a little smile. "Dad, I saw him blush when Alice Longbottom waved at him from the train."

James drew out his wand. "Shut it!"

"Oi! Are you joking?" Mel snatched his wand. "Don't try to get expelled before the year even starts!"

James mumbled an apology after sending a glare at his twin sister, warning her of the war to come. "Sorry."

"All ready?" Ron approached them again with Hermione close behind, fixing her daughter's robes. "Hop in you lot," he sighed. "I envy you lot, the feast that's waiting for you... I sure miss it."

"They don't make the mashed potatoes like mum does," James dismissed it. "I like those better."

Matthew came back a second time to hug his little sister and promised to write to her every day, then told his parents he would write the very next morning, and they knew he meant it.

Remus and Mel's mother approached them, both with a nostalgic gleam in their eyes. "And that's your third kid going to school," the man said proudly. "You've done a remarkable job raising them."

Harry took Mel's hand. "They've done us a greater favour by coming to our lives."

"Lily! Harry!" Mel walked out the garden door calling for her husband and daughter. "Dinner is ready!"

"Mum!" The girl was making a flower crown for his father, seated next to her on a blanket. "Can we have dinner outside?"

"Outside?"

"A picnic!" The girl offered giddily. "Please? It'll start to snow soon, and we won't be able to until next year!"

Harry looked at Mel as pleadingly as their daughter, and the woman could hear his thoughts perfectly. Let her have this. "Alright," she gave in. "Come help me carry out the food, then."

Harry and Lily went to work, talking animatedly and making Mel laugh, because they both adored the woman's laughter. Lily was as good as Harry had always been at distracting Mel, or talking her way out of everything, really. Mel could see the girl's future for next year, the hat would barely graze her forehead before yelling "RAVENCLAW!".

Funny how it worked, four kids each going to a different Hogwarts house despite having the same upbringing, or perhaps because of it. James in Gryffindor, Emmeline in Hufflepuff, Matthew in Slytherin, and Lily, if Mel was correct, in Ravenclaw. And Mel Dumbledore was never wrong.

She shared these thoughts with Harry while Lily napped quietly on his chest, the three of them still on the picnic blanket. "Why do you think that is, our children ending up so different from each other?"

"Dunno," Harry's voice was gentle and quiet to not wake the girl in his arms. "We never forced them to fit into things—we only wanted them to be happy."

Mel looked at Lily, peacefully asleep knowing she was safe in the company of her parents. Mel's chest tightened once more, for the things she never had, that she would never know, and that her children had never considered could ever be missing.

"You told me once before that I would grow to like silence," she said. "One day, after years of hard work, after handling enough nonsense, making endless cups of tea—or picnic dinners for our daughter," her eyes lit up, "I would find myself happy and at ease in the silence of our home."

Harry reached for her hand. "And?"

"I've made my peace with the silence," she admitted, squeezing his hand and staring at the girl between them, knowing the rest of her kids were just as happy, that they were always happy, and they would never know the kind of solitude that plagued their childhood. "I understand why my mother did so too, after my dad died."

Harry pressed a soft kiss on the top of Lily's head. "I do too," he confessed. "I didn't know, but something in me could see them in you. What we could have, if we fought for it."

Mel let out a soft, teary chuckle and nodded, then spoke what had been running through her mind since leaving their kids at the station. "We're home, Glasses."

"I know," he said, locking eyes with her and sounding slightly choked. "But I knew we'd be, you've always been mine."

"You'll always be mine," she leaned closer and kissed him. "Until the very end."

FIN

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It's over!! I started writing about 5 years ago and I enjoyed every second of it, I came up with Mel when I was about 10 years old, and since then she's been at the back of my mind, she'll always be at the back of my mind. You may think it's silly since it's just an OC but you know how polluted Harry Potter's story has become, and it simply doesn't spark as much joy as it used to for me, so with Mel, I'm saying goodbye to all of it. I might write a few other one-shots for hidden moments before finally closing the door, but the main story is officially over, and I thank you for reading this lengthy bible and the lovely comments you were nice enough to leave. I will revise the first three books since they need it, so you'll finally get to enjoy a well-written WITS series in the future! lmao

Once again, thank you. And thank you for always being at the back of my mind, Mel.

-Danny

#twoidiots writing #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter xoc #hp fanfic #witt fic #UTVE fic

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