Chapter 130: Tiring morning

Lily sighed out of tiredness as she went through the entrance door of Blackmoore. Her morning had been quite an unpleasant one. First she went to confront this world’s Petunia and Vernon. While there was less bitterness with her own sister and brother in law in her own reality to the point she could say they were cordial to each other, their alternate versions were absolutely distasteful. Alt-Vernon had been nothing but a shouting Walrus and Lily had quickly shut him up with a Petrificus Totalus. To be fair though, he had reason to shout, Petunia had fainted when she opened the door of her home and saw Lily alive.

Dudley, who wasn’t as fat as Harry had described him, had been shocked but welcoming. He was a bit scared of Lily for the magic she displayed but was non-plussed by her apparent resurrection.

“I was attacked by something that sucks souls. At this point, magic being able to bring back the dead to life is not an impossibility.” He had told her as he picked up his mother from the floor and carried her to the couch in the living room.

He was both happy and apprehensive in meeting her, she had noticed, and he confessed that he was a bit scared she would use her magic on him because he had been awful to Harry. He understood that she wanted payback for the way his family treated her son, although he asked to not do anything hurtful. His parents may not be good parents or good people but they were nonetheless his parents and he loved them. He was also happy to have the opportunity to meet his aunt. For years he had believed his parents’ lies; they fed Harry about her being a whore and her husband a drunk, drugged pimp who died in a car accident. When he learned the truth about how she died, he confessed that he thought she was very brave and cool and that he understood why Harry had saved him two years ago when he could have let him die.

Lily had not expected that from her ‘nephew’. Alt-Dudley saw the confusion in her face and explained himself. That attack from the dementor simply made him grow up as a person. He stopped bullying, stopped hanging with his thug friends and started doing something with his life. He was training to be a professional boxer. He asked her if Harry was alright and if that terrorist was still after him. She quickly answered that Harry was fine and that Voldemort and his cohort had been defeated for good. She also explained that Harry will not be coming back as he was now an adult in the magical world and chose to remain there. Something Alt-Dudley was happy about as Harry had never been happy in the ‘normal’ world even at school when he was left alone. He was also glad that Lily was back in Harry’s life as he really needed a family.

Internally she winced as technically she wouldn’t be in his life for much longer but Harry had a family already even if they were not related. The hurt in her heart quickly subsided as a result. Not wanting to spend more time than necessary at her sister’s home, she asked for Harry’s room so she could pick up his belongings. Alt-Dudley was kind enough to lead her there, ignoring his father, stuck still under Lily’s spell. He did ask if he was alright and was affirmed that he was just paralyzed and not hurt in any way.

She had not been happy when she saw the many locks and the cattrap on Harry’s door.

“Even before I grew up, I found it excessive.” Alt-Dudley had said with a grimace. “I understand the fear of magic, especially when normal people… I mean people who don’t have it, can’t do anything to defend themselves against it.” He was opening lock by lock now, Lily could have used her wand but her ‘nephew’s’ words made her reconsider it. “That doesn’t excuse my parents’ actions though. Nor mine. While I did like they did because I believe it was normal, they knew better. Being scared is one thing but… they were hateful. Especially mom.”

“Petunia had always been jealous because she didn’t have magic. She doesn't hate it, she hates she doesn’t have it. Our parents were proud of me being a witch. A bright one at that. And she saw it as them showing some favoritism. In truth, your mother is as smart and talented as I am.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Even if it was the seventies and women were barely beginning emancipating themselves, she could have become anything she wanted. Maths was her best and favorite subject, just like me. She was the one who taught me in fact.”

Alt-Dudley had said nothing but she saw the shock on his face. He opened the last lock then the door and invited Lily to go inside. The sight was not quite what she had expected. Everything felt old, there was little furniture but everything was well ordered. She picked a miniature trunk from one of her pockets and gave it back its natural size with a flick of her wand. With another, everything in the room belonging to Harry went right into it. The lid closed itself once there was nothing left. After shrinking the trunk again and putting it back into a pocket she left the room to go back downstairs.

She ignored Vernon and went back to the living room to have a look at Petunia. Plenty of things went through her mind. Words, curses, actual curses and hexes. In the end she just sighed. The scare of seeing Lily alive and unhappy with her would have to be punishment enough. She had thanked Alt-Dudley and gave him a ‘good luck’ for his boxing dream. As she passed Vernon, she undid the body bind.

“In case I never see Harry again… Please tell him, I’m sorry. And thank you for saving my life. It was nice meeting you, Aunt Lily. And thanks for… well.. not cursing mom.”

“I’m not really your aunt. I come from a different reality where I survived. I… had no right to curse her.”

“Oh. So… You’re not…”

“Harry’s mom and your aunt? Biologically I am. But no. The Lily of this world died on Halloween of 81 and has been on the other side since then.”

“Is… you’re not staying in this world?”

“I’m afraid not. But Harry can contact me whenever he wants. Magic is great like that.” She had smiled at him.

“I wouldn’t know. My encounters with magic had been rather negative.”

“Magic is a tool that’s part of you. Like a limb. With it you can do beautiful things.” She used her wand to conjure a bouquet of white lilies and handed them to Alt-Dudley. “Or it can hurt people. Just like your hands. You can do things, like gardening, being a carpenter, or you can pick up a gun and shoot someone or beat them to a pulp. Magic is not good or bad. It’s the person who uses it who is.”

“That… makes sense,” he admitted. “I won’t tell mom that you’re not her sister. She deserved a bit of guilt for what she did. So does dad. For a while at least.”

Lily had given him a smile, a nod and apparated away, not wanting to deal with a shouting Walrus.

Afterwards she had paid a visit to Severus in Cokeworth. To see how he was doing and if there was still hope for him. It had been more unpleasant than visiting her sister. Her alternate childhood friend had acted like a sick-love puppy behind his stoic face and she swore to herself to give a nice hug to her Severus back in her world for not turning like this. She stayed there the rest of the morning and did give some advice to the man for a better life before leaving. She simply couldn’t stay there any more. Not just Severus’ house but Cokeworth in general. After twenty years, the town she was born in and lived her whole childhood, disgusted her still.

Which brought her to this moment. Sitting down on the couch in the living room. She removed her shoes to let her feet breath and put her legs on the coffee table to relax. Eyes closed, she sighed loudly.

“Aunt Lilian?”

Opening her eyes, Lily saw Harry with a curious expression on his face at the entrance of the room. ‘Aunt Lilian’ still felt weird in her ears. That was how she, James and Harry decided to define their relationship. Obviously, she and James were not Harry’s parents and the three of them agreed that it wouldn’t be right for him to call them ‘mom’ and ‘dad.

Yet they were Lily and James.

In the end, Lily argued that in a way they were like twins of Harry’s parents and that if Harry wanted he could call her Aunt Lilian. It wasn’t her name at all and her middle name ‘Jean’ she didn’t like very much but she was fine with Lilian. James’ middle name was Henry from his grandfather after which Harry had been named for, so it didn’t fit either. In the end, Harry chose to call him ‘Uncle Prongs’ and James was more than happy with that.

“Yes?”

“Was it you who entered the manor? I felt someone breach the wards and I wondered who it was. That’s all new to me. Being linked to the wards, I mean.”

“It was. I just came back from visiting Petunia and Severus. Speaking of Petunia.” She pulled the trunk from her pocket and tossed it at Harry who had no problem catching it. “All your belongings are in there.”

“Thank you.” He looked at the object in his hand. “Are they…”

“Alright? Yes. Petunia fainted when she saw me and I body-binded Vernon. Dudley had been surprisingly… a good host. And nice to talk too.”

Harry blinked in confusion when he heard that. “Dudley?”

“Yes. He had a growth spurt in maturity ever since you saved his life from dementors. He recognized the way they treated you was wrong. He sent his thanks for that by the way, and his apologies for… well everything. He’s… glad you found your place in the magical world and that you can be happy there.”

“... Dudley?” Harry repeated in a disbelieving tone that made Lily chuckle.

“Yes. He turned his life around apparently. No more bullying, no more thug friends and he’s training to be a pro-boxer.”

“Wow.”

“Quite. Traumatic events, Harry. They change you. Sometimes for the worst, sometimes for the better.”

“... I can see that.”

Lily gave him a knowing smile and changed the subject. She was tired but teasing the young man would give her back a bit of energy, she knew. “Your letter for Luna?”

Immediately, Harry’s stance shifted and became rigid. His facial expression closed on itself and a small blush appeared on his face. “I’m done with it. It’s just an invitation to spend some time here. As friends.”

“Good. Boys almost always go for the end goal not caring about the smaller steps. I’m glad you didn’t.”

“That was what Rick said. Less pressure that way and I admit it helps a lot. I haven’t panicked or been a wreck yet and I like that very much.” he grinned.

She continued pushing. “Did you get an answer from Cho?”

“This morning. She’s…” he paused, trying to find his words. “Thankful. Less for the apology and more for sharing what happened with Cedric. She’s not against corresponding but she wants the curse on her friend broken first which I understand. Proof that I’m genuine in my apologies and patching up. Putting my money where my mouth is, you know?”

“Oh, believe me I know. I spent all my seven years at Hogwarts with Marlene.” she chuckled, remembering some of the things her sister of choice did because she held a grudge.

Harry was confused. “Marlene? Not Rick?” He didn’t have the opportunity to meet the woman yet, but from the bit he heard about her, he believed she was an okay person.

“No.” Lily shook her head “Rick had either ignored things because he had better things to do or forgiven for his peace of mind and to go back to said better things. I was the one hung up on forgiveness when a line was crossed otherwise I simply forced myself to forgive. Marlene? She can hold a grudge like no tomorrow.

Pettigrew spilled his failed potion on her robe in first year and she never said another word to him until the day he died. Sirius? Boy, she made him put his money in his mouth for a decade.” That piece of information made Harry’s eyes widened in shock. “And that was only because Rick and I intervened.”

“What did Sirius do?”

“Something stupid.” She sighed. “Marlene became pregnant and of course Sirius was the father. Except he didn’t recognize it as his own because he was scared shitless.”

“Oh.” A simple sound but the way it was said, told everything about Harry’s thoughts about Sirius’ actions. He wasn’t quite surprised however.

“Much like your Sirius at that age, they weren’t yet quite mature enough to be considered adults. Mine matured faster though because an hour later after he rejected them, Marlene’s family was slaughtered by the death eaters and everyone believed she was killed with them. That made Sirius mature on the spot and when he found out Marlene was alive? He was here for her and their son. She never quite forgave him until Duncan started Hogwarts.”

“That’s… very long to hold a grudge.”

Lily laughed. “That’s Marlene for you. From what I know of Cho. At least mine but there isn’t much difference with most people between our worlds… She’s going to forgive you with time. Not ten years though. I’d say a matter of months.”

“I hope so,” he mumbled as he looked at his feet.

“And Harry?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t chase two girls at the same time.” He gave her an utterly dumbfounded look and she explained herself. “I know, I know but Rick is not really a reference. He never chased after anyone. Not even me. I was the one to initiate our relationship and pushed him towards others. He’d been fine with just me.

What I’m pointing at is… Taking care of yourself and another person, as in a partner, is difficult. Rick would be crawling under the pressure and obligations if the girls and I hadn't all agreed to be nice about the whole ordeal. Most of all we all put our claws into him one after the others, not at the same time. If you try going after Cho and Luna at the same time, you will get neither.”

“That’s… Thanks for the advice, Aunt Lilian.” Harry hesitated with his answer at first, not really used to talk like this.

As he left Lily alone to get back to his reading on ancient runes, she had a pleased smile on her face. She hadn’t been lucky in having a son and while she had been a good step-mother to Vega, he was Bella’s first and foremost. Him being a natural occlumens didn’t help either in having the proper experience in helping raising a son. Harry was a bit of a missed opportunity she could enjoy even though he was already an adult.

The thought of having another child crossed her mind but she quickly dismissed it with a shake of her head. While she had accomplished most of the goals she had when she graduated Hogwarts, she didn’t see her wanting a son as anything more than a passing desire. She wouldn’t do that to Rick either. Soon enough, Nymie and Fleur would want their own children and Marlene and Amelia needed a few more too. She wouldn’t impose the responsibility of another child on her husband’s shoulders.

It was irony at its finest in her opinion. She had felt trapped and like a broodmare when she found out she was pregnant with Veronica, yet now, it was Rick who was. He had yet to realize his professional goals because he took upon himself the raising of the children so she could live her life.

‘Huh. I really need to do something more than nice for him.’

The realization that she took her husband’s devotion for granted didn’t make her feel that good on one hand but on the other she had let him play quidditch professionally for twelve years and despite pushing down her fear and worry of him getting hurt.

‘Don’t be an idiot, Lily. A marriage is not a tally of who does what for the other. That’s unhealthy.’

She dismissed, too, the idea of doing something nice for him because he had treated her well. She would do something nice for the simple reason that she loved him. Simple but the truest of them all.

Getting up, she went to the Lord Black’s office on the second floor. Harry, despite being the official Lord Black now had let Rick continue using the room as he saw fit for as long as they were in this world. When she stepped inside, she saw the love of her life standing in front of a huge blackboard. Arithmantic equations and a litany of runes took most of the space which wasn’t occupied by the drawing of an arch.

She walked to his side and raised his arm to put it around herself so she could melt into him. All the while, her eyes were fixed on what was on the board.

“You’re creating a doorway.”

“Hmhm.” He looked down on her. “A better mode of travel than the floo. Since you got attached to him I wanted you to have the possibility to visit Harry more easily.”

The smile on his face was enough to melt her heart but the intent behind the project made it a sure thing. She grabbed his head with both hands and pulled him down for a kiss full of love and thanks.

“I love you.” she said slowly with nothing but love in her eyes.

“I love you too.” he simply answered back.

She turned back to the board after releasing him. “That’s brilliant, Rick. Absolutely brilliant.”

He gave her an amused smirk in return. “Of course it is. You came up with the idea after all.”

“Me?” Confusion settled on her face. “How did I?”

“Your comror. You basically connect two together during a call. Connecting two arches like this is more complicated but the core principle is the same. It’s just more complex arithmancy and runes.”

Her jaw lowered out of shock. She hadn’t thought of that at all. Her work on the comror transmitted sound and light so transmitting matter was just a step above it. ‘More than a few steps’ in truth but it was possible.

“That will take time. Lots of it and lots of experiments to succeed and then get everything right, especially regarding security but it’s doable. Who knows? Once you’re done curing lycanthropy you can join me on the project? It’s been years since we worked on something together. Besides the children I mean. And Sex. Aaaand-”

She didn’t care what he had to say. This time instead of pulling him down, she jumped into his arms, hers and her legs wrapping around him. Face to face she kissed him again but this time there wasn’t just love in the kiss. There was unbridled lust. That was why no one else, no other man caught her attention as much as Rick did, or at all. All fell short in front of his intellect. Intellect who put her emotional engine in overdrive. Of course she had met other intelligent men but none had the care and devotion for her which Rick possesses.

“You. Me. Bedroom. Now.” she ordered. The office couldn’t suffice. She wanted a very comfy bed for what she wanted to do to him.

“Bella is in there trying to convert Dromy.”

Lily frowned at the news. Snaring Alt-Andromeda in their shenanigans would end badly, she just knew it.

“Then let’s go back to our reality for the rest of the day.”

She called Tipsy and they both grabbed the house-elf hand to go back to their world.