A Book 5 Outtake
Between accepting/acclimating Kreacher as one of her elves and avoiding her best mates, Harry finally found herself alone in the kitchen of 12 Grimmauld Place one morning.
Harry stared aimlessly at her cup of tea on the table. She'd woken from a rare nightmare and had to convince her chamingly sweet boyfriend to go back to sleep without her- much to George's complaints. After, dressed in Fred's jumper and her newer sleep pants, she ambled down and quietly greeted the older elf; accepting the cup he offered to make.
So, Harry stared- aimless- when a noise from the stairs startled her. She quickly stood to face the potential intruder, only to sigh in relief. Her smile was wry as she greeted, "Oh. Mis- Arthur. Morning."
"Harriet." The Weasley Patriarch- a tall-ish and slender man with thinning red hair and glasses- smiled apologetically. "Didn't mean to startle you."
Harry shook her head and slumped back in the chair. "No, it's fine. Should've been following Moody's 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE' thing."
Arthur chuckled and took a seat across from her. "Well, Alastor should've learnt that 'Constant Vigilance' can only help so much."
The young witch smiled at her cup and shook her head, missing the contemplative look on the man's face. They lapsed into silence, caught in their own thoughts.
"… That was some acting, Harry." The use of her nickname caught her attention, drawing her gaze to Arthur. He didn't look upset, just curious.
"… Caught that, did you?" she asked, sheepish. He smiled reassuringly.
"Same as I did last summer." He gave her a meaningful look. It was the kind her dad- Severus Snape- would give her when he wanted to talk about something that might be upsetting for her, and her shoulders fell slack. "You want to tell me about that?"
"…you going to tell if I do?" she mumbled just loud enough for him to hear, gaze dropping back to the cold cup.
"And risk Molly's wrath at never having told her before? No, thank you. I'd rather not find out how comfortable the couches here are." Harry laughed, the tone so similar to Fred's she couldn't stop herself. She laughed until she didn't.
Her laughter quickly hitched into tiny sobs as she quietly cried.
"If it h-ad just be-en you," she hiccoughed, "Fred-die would've been fi-ne… But Mo-lly… She is so-o hard on 'im an' Geo'gie…"
A small, folded stack of charcoal grey handkerchiefs appeared next to the lone cup and Harry gave some watery gratitude to Kreacher, who had likely sensed her need of them. Unfolding one, she wiped her nose and dabbed at her eyes. Harry took a shuddering breath and looked at Arthur, determination darkening her eyes.
"She loves them, but she doesn't understand that she's hurting them. They're smart and determined, ill-suited to be prefect- AND! What use is it to them anyway? You can only have one boy prefect and they do most everything together," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "And if she'd just take a few moments to listen to them… She'd see. She'd see all… All of them as the individuals that they are…"
Arthur gave a hum and a sad smile. "… I will admit, Harriet, that as parents, we forget that you lot grow up to be different from us. And I am a bit at fault for Molly's behaviour."
Harry reared back, stunned. What could he possibly mean? As far as Harry was concerned, Molly was responsible for her own behaviour and no one else. Arthur shook his head with a wry chuckle.
"I'm afraid I'm just a touch too willing to let my Molly have her way. Always had been the case." He sounded wistful and it struck her odd once more at how very Fred-like it was. For as different of people they could be, it seemed as though father and son were more alike than they thought. Arthur's smile brightened when he noticed Harry's head tilt in curiosity. "I fell in love with a girl, who I thought was the embodiment of fire, and swore that I'd marry her, her scary older brothers be- well. I would've done anything for her."
"… Heh! The apple really didn't fall far from the tree, did it, Mis- Arthur?" Harry hid her giggles in her hands. At the older man's own curious expression, Harry explained in between giggles, "'It was love at first sight, I swear it, Firecracker! I looked into your enchanting gaze, was gone, and didn't even know it!' Verbatim, I swear!"
Absorbed in her giggles, she didn't notice Arthur's fond smile and warm gaze. He rose, catching her attention, and looked at his pocketwatch. He glanced to her and smiled reassuringly. "I best be headed off. Don't want to be late to work. Worry not, I'll have a talk with Molly. See if it changes something."
Harry nodded and stood, as if to walk him out- though she didn't know where he'd leave- and Arthur rounded the table, telegraphing his movements plainly. She allowed the hug, trusting him as she would Sirius, though she ended up stunned still.
Not from the hug, no. That was fine and just as comforting as one of her three father's hugs. No.
She froze, then absentmindedly waved him goodbye, before sitting back in her chair as she attempted to make heads and tails of his parting. She sat there long enough, that Kreacher had reappeared to start breakfast, and the early risers started to trickle in.
"Cub? You okay?" Remus, her father-Moony, brought her from her thoughts and she tried to smile at him. "Didn't sleep good?"
"… Yeah, you could say. Try as one might, sometimes the nightmares still find a way." Her smile wavered. "But, maybe some breakfast will help. If not, I'm sure I can persuade Fred into taking a nap with me somewhere."
And maybe she'll be able to put the strange parting out of her mind.
"I look forward to the day I'll get to call you my daughter-in-law, Harriet."