“Are you sure you want to do this?”
The question floated in the air between them as if testing it. Harry looked up from the fireplace and into his fiance’s deep brown eyes.
“I…”
“You’ve been sitting there more and more. Is everything alright, love? I mean, I assume it’s because…”
“Sirius. Yeah. It’s going on seven years now, Ginny, seven. Can you believe it? I really dunno what I expect to see. Him appear out of the flames, like he did at Hogwarts?” Harry returned his gaze to the flames, imagining his godfather standing next to him. What would it be like to tell him the news, rather than who they were about to go see? “I’m not really waiting for him. I guess I feel kinda connected to him when I sit here.”
“Well, I’ve got no problem with it. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright, going back to that place.” He felt a weight on his shoulder and raised his hand to entwine it with his soon-to-be wife’s, smiling at her. “Thanks, hon. And yeah, I’m alright. I want to do this. Try, at least. We’ve already got a yes from everyone else, and… she’s family.”
“Well, let’s be off, then.”
“Um, wait.”
Ginny raised an eyebrow.
“You’re sure it’s only her there? I’m not really in the mood to deal with anyone else.”
“I’m sure, love. Checked their travel dates. He’s supposed to be in Brighton right now. Flight left yesterday evening.”
Harry nodded, stepping up beside his fiance and placing his arm in the crook of Ginny’s elbow. With a loud whoosh, they were gone. Harry felt the world press in on all sides, and just as it was about to become unbearable, there they were, the cold nipping at their noses, standing outside the place that Harry had considered a prison for seventeen years. Number four Privet Drive. It made him a bit sad looking at it, honestly. The memories were overwhelmingly negative, after all. Countless nights without dinner. Days spent cramped in the cupboard whenever Vernon locked him up in a drunken rage and forgot where he’d hidden the key. Not to mention it was the last place he saw Hedwig and Moody alive. Another deep breath in and out. He could do this. He had done much worse, much harder things. Harry felt Ginny’s grip tighten on his elbow. He turned and gave her a quick kiss before walking up the snowy steps and rapping lightly on the door.
A few moments later the sound of a latch undoing itself was heard and the door pulled open to reveal Petunia standing there in a flowery apron. Her eyes widened as she looked from Harry to Ginny and back again, stepping back. She stammered out, “Li– Lil... J–James? I… I–” before fainting right there in the foyer, which completely jumpscared Harry.
“Bloody– Ginny!”
The witch was already on it, carefully maneuvering her wand to levitate Petunia’s body onto the sofa in the next room.
“Aunt Petunia? Aunt Petunia!” Harry said as he crouched next to her on the floor, knees cracking. He winced and mentally cursed the amount of running from death eaters he’d done as a teenager. Ignoring the pain, he waved his wand back and forth under her nose, muttering "Ammonium Inhalanti" as he did. On his fifth wave, Petunia’s eyes shot open and her head snapped forward.
“Blimey– Aunt Petunia, it’s alright. It’s only me. Harry.”
“F–forgive me, I… I must have been seeing things, I could have sworn I saw…” She trailed off as she sat up, one hand on her forehead and one on her stomach.
“Saw what?” Harry asked gently.
Petunia bowed her head and joined her hands together in her lap, drawing a shuddering breath. “Lily and James.”
Whatever Harry expected to hear, it wasn’t that. Something swole in his chest, something that felt like a mix of pride and grief. Despite everything he’d learned about his dad, the good and the bad, he still felt immensely proud to be James Potter’s son. He felt tears prick in his eyes and reached to his right for Ginny’s hand. No one had compared him to his father in over two years, since he had turned twenty two. He guessed it was due to the age his parents had passed, and it was a bit of a shock to the system to hear the comparison, especially from the woman sitting next to him. He took yet another deep breath to soothe the thudding of his heart, and swallowed the lump rising in his throat before speaking again.
“My… my mum and dad?”
“Yes…” Petunia seems to gather herself and her composure, straightening her back. “But I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”
“Oh. Yeah, right, um.” Harry lowered his eyes. “Aunt Petunia, this is Ginny… my fiance.”
“Fiance–?”
“And,” Harry cut in, before he lost all his nerve, “we’re here to invite you. To our wedding. I know you and mum didn’t get along, but… you’re family. And I want you to be there.”
Harry was met with silence. He waited for a moment until Ginny nudged his arm and he looked up. Tears were slipping down Petunia’s face as she stared at both of them. After a long while of semi-awkward silence, she took a shaky breath and grasped both of Harry’s hands in her own. “Yes, yes. I’d be honoured to come. It… it’s too late to make amends with my sister. But it’s not too late for this. Thank you, Harry. Bless you.”
And though he’d promised himself he wouldn’t cry on this visit, there he was, fresh tears spilling from his eyes as he embraced the woman who he’d once thought of as his jailer, but now he knew better. She was his aunt. His family.