The Second Chance | James Potter

Chapter Two - 1976?

Time for that surprise.... And some other fun.

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Astraea woke with a start; her violet eyes greeted by the twinkling stars of the night sky. A splitting headache made her wince as she sat up, looking around at her surroundings. A tiny grin appeared on her pink lips when she saw the mansion in front of her. The Laurent Estate; the home of her ancestors. A loud groan pulled her from her thoughts as she looked for who made the noise. Hermione, Neville, and Luna lay a few feet away from her, each of them struggling to sit up. Astraea rushed over to them, helping each of her struggling friends to sit up.

The four of them stood before the beautiful mansion after a few moments of rest. It was weird for Astraea to look at her friends and see eyes that looked exactly like her own. Their hair even changed a little with Hermione and Luna's having the biggest transformation. Gone was Luna's pale blonde hair replaced with hair that is almost the exact shade of dark brown as Neville and Hermione. Hermione's hair was tamer now, no longer falling in the riotous bushy curls she was known for. Now it looked much like her own beautiful shiny curls. Neville was the only one whose changes were about as subtle as hers; his hair becoming a little more finer but staying the same dark brown as before.

With a glance at her friends, she led them into the home that her ancestors had abandoned so long ago. It was made of beautiful dark marble with dark wooden doors. She could see the excitement on all her friends' faces, each of them excited to take in the mansion and its beauty. The four of them walked through the tall doors and were immediately ambushed by an overemotional elf with a crying toddler in their arms.

"Mistress Black! Kreacher was so worried for Mistress and her friends," Kreacher cried, losing all decorum that the elf was known for as his small arms wrapped around Astraea's legs, holding the toddler out to her. Her instincts came over her as she reached for the crying baby; rocking him until his crying had stopped. Realizing who it was that she was holding the young woman froze. She pulled the toddler away from where he was resting his head on her shoulder and stared at the kid, trying to see if this was some dream or something. The baby stared back at her, his hair still the same vibrant green from last she had seen.

Astraea burst into tears as she cuddled the confused toddler to her heaving chest. She didn't realize for how long she had been sobbing until she felt warm arms wrap around her and Teddy. Pulling away, she looked at the tearful eyes of Hermione and Luna; her friends each happy that Teddy was with them, with her again. The two girls both pressed a loving kiss to Teddy's before they pulled away. Neville rushed over next, a teary grin on his face as he pressed multiple kisses to Teddy's face and then to hers. Neville and she had bonded after Harry had been killed. The sweet boy stepping in to be the now only male presence in her life besides Teddy with her father, Remus, and now Harry gone.

Once Neville stepped away, she pulled the still crying Kreacher into her arms now. She embraced him tightly, happy to still have her most loyal and courageous friend by her side. "Kreacher is so happy that Mistress is ok. Kreacher was so worried but Kreacher is happy now." Astraea could only grin widely before kissing the elf on the forehead and thanking him over and over again for protecting Teddy; even if it meant having to leave her behind to face danger and possibly be killed.

The six of them are pulled from their little circle by a loud voice demanding to know who they were and what they were doing in his home. Astraea walked confidently towards the portrait of her ancestor that hung in the front hall but faltered at the last moment, remembering that in this time she had not yet met him and that not a single Laurent had returned to this house in over 90 years. With these thoughts in mind, she cautiously approached the man, silently preparing herself for the gruelling that she had also received the first time she had come to this house and had seen his portrait hung on the wall. She appeared in front of his portrait and waited for the questions..... that never came instead the man greeted her and Teddy happily. He must have seen the shocked look on her face because his questions of why she had not visited him in so long died down slowly.