Thicker than Water (Marauders Era)

11 June, 1992 - Harry

Lavinia did go back to the station with Heather to pick Jasmine up for the Christmas holidays, but though she kept her eyes keen on the surrounding people, she didn't catch so much as a hint of the untidy black hair she'd seen at the start of the school year. Disappointing though that was, it was hard for anything to put a damper over that holiday season as Heather and Jasmine joined Remus and Lavinia for the few days surrounding Christmas in the little house by the sea.

They set up a tree in the living room and two days before Christmas it snowed, resulting in a lovely, picturesque countryside around them that Jasmine utterly adored and spent nearly every moment she could in. Those moments where she wasn't outside, she was busy regaling them all with tales of Hogwarts, most of which they already had heard from her letters, but which were far more entertaining when Jasmine was actually there to add her many side notes and narrative gestures.

Jasmine had, to absolutely no one's surprise, been sorted into Ravenclaw at the start of the year. Her first letter had been a jumble of information about the castle, most of which her recipients already knew, having attended the school themselves, along with new information about the Ravenclaw common room and house ghosts and her classmates which they had all been more that happy to hear about.

Nestled in amongst the hodge podge of Jasmine's rather stream of consciousness writing had been a gem of information that Lavinia had cherished for all that she hadn't said a word about it to anyone but Remus. Harry Potter had been sorted into Gryffindor. Jasmine hadn't been particularly focussed on this in her letter and actually had seemed far more interested in why no one had bothered to tell her that Harry Potter - the Harry Potter - was going to be in her year in school, but the information had been there nonetheless, a little pearl of knowledge that had felt oddly precious to Lavinia.

Naturally, she had told Remus this as soon as she'd gotten home from Heather's apartment, and for a long moment the two friends had just stared at the mantle where the photos of Harry's parents were so prominently displayed.

It wasn't that either of them was surprised. Indeed, it was more the opposite. Of course Harry was a Gryffindor. Of course of course of course. Lavinia had never known two braver people in all her life than James and Lily Potter, who had risked everything for the safety of the wizarding world. Who had lost everything for the safety of their son.

It had made Lavinia want nothing more than to find Harry and tell him everything. She wanted to tell him about his parents. About the fiery redhead who had been the fiercest and kindest woman Lavinia had ever met. About his father who was an idiot, but who had been her idiot. Her friend. She wanted him to know everything about them. Everything about the two bravest people she'd ever known.

So she'd stood on that platform with her heart in her throat and her mouth full of words about the color of her eyes and the way James had smiled and all the tiny little stories about their life she thought no one might have bothered to tell him. Stories that were silly and pointless would show him exactly the sort of people his parents had been. Stories that would let him get to know the two people who should have raised him. Stories that would help him understand why they weren't there to do just that.

But Christmas had passed with no sign of the boy so Lavinia had saved those stories for later, tucking them away inside her head and silently wishing she hadn't let things fall apart so much, hadn't let herself drift so far. Hadn't let her godson become a stranger. But he wouldn't be for long. She was now certain of this. Even if it ended at hello. Even if she never told him who or what she was. Even if she was just someone who showed up in his life randomly. Even if it was horribly, horribly awkward, she would start somewhere. She had to start somewhere.

So she resolved to wait for the summer holidays, when she was absolutely certain she would get the chance to see him if she just showed up to the platform at the right time. This opportunity, she thought, would be doubly useful because of course, it would also give her the chance to see his aunt and uncle. To see how they were around him, how they treated him. To see if Lily had really been right about her sister.