Neither Here Nor There: Chapter Nine

[author_by_night]

Title: Neither Here Nor There

Fandom: Harry Potter

Chapter: Nine

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: Hestia/Kingsley, Percy/Audrey

Summary: It's been six months since the war, and everyone's ready to try moving on. Lyall Lupin and Andromeda Tonks are coming to terms with the death of their children, finding solace in one another - but how long can they stay close in the face of absence? Kingsley Shacklebot is trying to lead a country that has been left bitter by war, so distrustful many even doubt him. And Hestia Jones is trying to harbor all she holds dear, which is hard when there's secrets she's never had the heart to reveal.




"Oomph!"

Hestia groaned as she and Charlie set the bed on the loft floor.

"Why did we have to do it the muggle way?" Hestia asked Charlie.

"Because my Dad works for the misuse of muggle artefacts office, and would never forgive me for carrying up a couch with magic."

"Arthur used to have a flying car."

"And don't you work for the Muggle Liaison Office?"

"Details," Hestia said with a wave of her hand.

Hestia had decided to move out, as had Charlie. Not together - Fred would be renting out a spare room to Charlie, whereas Hestia had rented out the loft in Megan's flat. There was just enough room for a bed and drawers for clothes. It turned out living in London was expensive, and if you wanted a place fast, you had to rent with your sister and her best friend from Hogwarts.

While Bill and Fleur hadn't kicked Hestia and Charlie out, they all knew it was time. The baby was due in September, and while that was still many months away, Hestia couldn't help but feel she was in the way of their planning, and knew Charlie agreed. After all, one of their rooms would probably be given to the baby.

Besides, Hestia was tired of the awkwardness of living with two people whose marriage was still relatively new. She really didn't need to overhear them in the throes of passion again.

"You can sleep on the roof, too," Charlie pointed out. Sure enough, the window could be opened right to it.

"Did you get everything in all right?"

Megan had come up to the room.

"Yeah, thanks," Hestia said.

"You're welcome."

"Do Mum and Dad know I'm here?"

"They do. I don't know why you couldn't have just sent them a change-of-address note, personally."

Hestia didn't know either. She had not spoken to either of her parents since their fight;part of her wanted to apologize, but she also felt they were the ones who needed to apologize to her. They hadn't even entirely forgiven Megan, but seemed to at least contend that she'd been young and impulsive.

"I will when they admit they were wrong," Hestia said.

"And if they don't?"

Hestia shrugged. "You were mad at them too, remember? Said some mean things yourself?"

"Yeah, but it was years ago, and I was fifteen. You're twenty-six."

"Same difference."

"That's... actually a pretty big difference."

"Now that I'm done here," Hestia said, "I should go. I'm meeting Kingsley at the office."

"Hestia..."

Hestia hadn't actually planned on meeting Kingsley for another half hour, but given that the Ministry was only a few blocks away, it worked out. She couldn't think about the feud right now. There were a lot of things she couldn't think about; it was funny now in some ways, time had made it easier, but in others it was that much harder. It wasn't the big things anymore - now, it was the little things. The fact that Bill and Fleur were moving on as though their world hadn't been rocked. The fact that Charlie would probably go back to Romania. The anger at her parents, brutally brought up to the surface because she couldn't forgive anymore. The fact that the more time that passed, the less likely it was Hestia would wake up - because a part of her, a stupid, girlish, impish part of her, hoped she'd wake up from a horrible dragonpox coma, and none of this had ever happened.


But if it hadn't happened, she would never have known Kingsley, at least not like this... Teddy might not have been born, because the war was what had brought his parents together... she wouldn't have discovered her love of muggle culture...

"Stop. Thinking." Hestia told herself.

"Are you okay?"

Hestia realized she was standing in the middle of the hallway at the Ministry now, staring at the lift. Charlie had come up from behind her.

"I'm fine," Hestia told him. "Did you follow me?"

"Yes, because I'm worried. Look," Charlie began, "maybe you just try talking to your parents. It's clear to me that you miss them."

"I'm a big girl."

"And part of being a big girl is-"

"Charlie, I don't want to hear it," Hestia snapped. "Okay?"

"Fine," Charlie said, but he sounded hurt. "I'll drop it. Just trying to help."

Hestia felt a twinge of guilt. "I know. I'm sorry. I just..."

"Fancy meeting you two here!"

Audrey was walking towards them just as the lift opened, carrying a bag.

"Food for Percy," she explained as she hurried in. "I knew he had to work today, so I figured I'd drop off some snacks."

"I didn't even think of that," Hestia said.

Audrey hesitated, and after a minute, she said, "Charlie, I hate to ask this, but is everything okay with your family?"

"Some days are better than others, but we're doing all right... Why?"

"It's nothing," Audrey said quickly.

"No, why do you ask?"

"It's just... Percy's been a little odd lately. I've asked him if it's about us, and he says it's not, that he's just got something he needs to take care of, but he won't tell me what it is."

"Now that you mention it," Charlie said with a frown, "Mum had dinner a few nights ago, and he couldn't make it. We just figured he was busy with work, though. I mean, that's probably all it was," he added.

The lift opened, and they headed for Kingsley's office. To Hestia's surprise, Percy wasn't at his desk. In fact, it looked as though no one had been at it all day.

"Percy?" Audrey called, looking around.

Hestia knocked on Kingsley's door.

"You're early," Kingsley remarked as he opened it. "Audrey! Charlie! What a surprise."

"Have you seen Percy?" Audrey asked.

"I gave him the day off," Kingsley replied with a frown. "I could tell he had things to do, and the transportation debacle isn't something he can do much about.... why?"

Audrey was now holding onto the bag as though it was Percy's neck, and she was wringing it.

"So he's not here, working all day because he has so much to do," she said thinly.

Audrey slammed the bag onto Percy's desk. "What's so big that he has to keep it from me?"

Hestia didn't know, but she did know that she was tired of her friends being hurt.

"We're going over there and asking him," she announced.

"Maybe Audrey should calm down first," Charlie suggested.

"Calm down? How can she calm down? Percy's doing the same thing to her men always do to us! Besides you, Kingsley," Hestia added quickly. "We're going to resolve this once and for all. Okay?"

"At the very least, maybe Audrey should go alone," Kingsley said.

But Hestia had already grabbed her hand and disapparated, apparating in front of Percy's terraced house. A popping noise told Hestia that Kingsley and Charlie had joined them, likely less to help Audrey corner Percy and more because they, too, had grown concerned.

After a minute. Percy opened the door. "Audrey?" He looked at Hestia, Charlie and Kingsley. "What's wrong?"

"You're not at work," Audrey said accusingly. "Why aren't you at work? Have you been at work any of the times you've cancelled plans, or told me you couldn't do something?"

"Audrey..."

"What's going on, Percy? Just tell me so I can help you."

"I told you, I-"

"-I don't care anymore. Unless it's life or death, I don't care. You can't keep cancelling plans, lying to me, forgetting all about our first Valentine's Day, and expect me to just sit idly by and accept that you're 'doing something.' Clearly it's more than that, and I don't know if I should be worried out of my mind or mad or..."

Audrey stopped, and Hestia knew she'd heard it too. Someone was singing in the house.

"What's that?" Audrey asked.

"Nothing," Percy said quickly.

"Is someone with you?" Before Percy could answer, Audrey pushed him aside and walked into the house, the others following.

"Wait!" Percy was rushing after them. "Just let me-"

But all of them had stopped in their tracks.

For a minute, Hestia thought she must be mistaken; but judging from the expression on everyone else's faces, she wasn't.

Humming and dusting in the kitchen was Penelope Clearwater.





"Riddikulus!"


The Boggart vanished into thin air. Lyall turned to Glynn.


"That's the last of them," he said.


"Thank you... we've had a terrible time with them."


"You live in an old house; it's surprising that this doesn't happen more often."


"Usually we're better at banishing them. It's been a long past couple of weeks."


"How so?"


"Oh, you know. Apparently they're having issues at the Department of Magical Transportation, Phyllis had to work this morning. She's still there."


Lyall almost pointed out that he was technically working on a Saturday as well, but thought better of it. It was clear something other than Boggarts was bothering his friend.

"Right," he said instead. "How about your past few weeks?"


"Same old," Glynn said. "Do you have another place to go, or do you have time for Firewhiskey?"


"I always have time for Firewhiskey."


They moved into Glynn's kitchen; Lyall had never been in it before. It struck him that the kitchen was half the size of Lyall's first floor. It was another reminder that Glynn and Lyall came from different worlds; Glynn's family, while not as so-called "pureblood" as the Malfoys, was certainly just as old and wealthy. Lyall wasn't even sure Glynn really had a job in the strictest sense. He wasn't one to not work at all, but he had the luxury of doing just as much or little as he pleased. He was, at least, on several committees, and his free time had proved useful when they were all in the resistance together.


Lyall knew perfectly well what was bothering Glynn, but it was for Glynn to talk, not Lyall. So he engaged Glynn in conversation about Quidditch, then allowed him a break. Sure enough -


"I hope you don't mind me bringing this up," Glynn began, "but did you and Remus ever row?"


"A few times. Mostly we just..." Lyall wasn't sure how to explain; it certainly didn't help that talking about Remus was still difficult.


"Ah." Glynn seemed to understand, in his way at least. "Remus was in the Order both times, correct?"


"Yes, and no, I didn't know. Well - that's not strictly true. I knew the second time, but he barely told me anything except that he'd met Dora there, that Sirius was innocent, and to be careful. The first time, he didn't say a word about it at all."


"And you were angry when you found out he'd kept it, I gather."


Lyall sighed. "Of course I was a bit mad. Remus was my son, and he kept this... big thing from me. But our relationship wasn't like the relationship you and Phyllis have with your daughters."


"So you know?"


"Andromeda told me."


"I don't understand how she and Ted didn't tell us, at least," Glynn said. "Our daughter was putting herself in constant danger, and they couldn't be bothered to mention it?"


Glynn drank from his glass. "Then there's Hestia... and Megan. I can forgive Megan, she was under Umbridge's watch and scared, but not Hestia. She was old enough to know better."


"Better than to what?" Lyall asked.


"Keep something this big from us."


"It's possible she was afraid of the position it would put you in," Lyall pointed out. "Initially, that is. Then too ashamed of her lie to come forward."


"We're her parents. She can tell us anything."


"I will say this," Lyall began. "Remus didn't tell me a lot of things. One of the few secrets he did tell me was one I encouraged him not to tell anyone else. In hindsight, it was a mistake, but at the time I thought it was best for Remus not to be honest with Dumbledore. Dumbledore didn't want Hestia to be honest with you."


"Dumbledore was not her father."


"He was an authority figure she trusted in a time of fear."


"That may be," Glynn said after a minute, "and it's also true that I'm..."


"Terrified of what might have happened? Scared to think of how you weren't able to guide her, to protect her?"


"Yes," Glynn admitted.


"It's a horrible feeling," Lyall agreed. "I had it often. Learning Remus was in the Order the first time... when Remus went spied on Greyback without my knowledge.... I learned that after the Montgomery boy was killed, and Dora came to my house looking for Remus. I almost had a heart attack."


Lyall shifted in his seat. "But our children have their reasons. We just have to be glad for the times they came back to us."


"I'm not there yet."


"I understand.


Not that it made it okay, but Lyall knew the worst thing he could do was berate the man further,


After a minute, Glynn said, "she is right about one thing. We should never have believed Fudge."

"You're not the only one who believed the Ministry. I did. I used to regard Walden MacNair the way I'd come to regard Dumbledore."

"Wasn't he a Death Eater?"

"Not back then, but he was evil. I just didn't see it. I thought he was a force in the fight for good." Lyall laughed sarcastically.

"Funny how that ends up working."

"Indeed."

Glynn took a long sip of Firewhiskey. "So how about those Chudley Cannons?"






Percy quickly ushered them into the family room, shutting the door behind him.


"I can explain," he said.

"How long has she been here?" Audrey asked.

"Three weeks. Since the weekend before Valentine's Day."

"Three weeks?" Hestia gasped.

Audrey's eyes narrowed."So you spent that night with her."

"No, I didn't," Percy said, taking her hand; Audrey backed away.

"You can't tell me nothing happened when she's right there," Audrey said.

"I swear, it's not like that. I was going to tell both of you straight away, but she wasn't ready. She's still not ready."

"Ready for what?"

Percy took a deep breath. "She's not herself. She hasn't been herself for a very long time."

"What do you mean?" Kingsley asked.

Percy began to pace the room. "Really, it started her sixth year, when she was Petrified... Penny never entirely came back from that. Told me she had nightmares every night. When we came back the next year, she was better, but still rattled Then we left school, and well... a year after that, we broke up, as you know."

Everyone nodded.

"As you also know, I tried to persuade her to hide with me when things got bad. But she wouldn't. She stayed with her brother and his wife. Then, of course, she went missing."

Percy cleared his throat. "When I found that note... saw the other things she'd left behind.... I knew there was something going on. Then, three weeks ago, I remembered the Greensleeves music. There's an abandoned cottage slightly north of her home, Greensleeves Road.... that's where she was.

When she first saw me, she wouldn't talk until I convinced her who I really was. The short of it is... she can't trust anyone. They made her watch her brother, sister-in-law and nieces die, tortured her... somehow she got away with her wand, but doesn't remember how. I think she may have tried to modify her own memory, because she's very confused."

Hestia frowned. "Confused how?"

"At first she thought the basilisk had done it. I think part of her still believes You-Know-Who and the basilisk are one and the same. I showed her a picture of Ron, and she thought he was Ginny, who she thought was a Death Eater. She has horrible nightmares almost every night. And sometimes, she can't even tell me what she's thinking, because it comes out garbled. That's why she had to leave all of those messages. She was asking for help and didn't know how else to do so."

"You should've taken her to St. Mungo's, Perce," Charlie told him.

"Or at least notified the people looking for her," Hestia added.

"I tried. She begged me not to, told me she couldn't, she wasn't ready..."

"What does it matter? She's clearly troubled!"

"Don't you get it? After everything I did to her that year when I was with Fudge, I owed her that much! I owe everyone that much!"

Someone knocked on the door. "Percy?"

""Hold on, Penny!" Percy called.

But Penelope opened the door, and Hestia gasped.

From a distance, she'd looked the same, but it was clear a lot had changed; Penelope's hair was greasy, and her eyes were focused on the floor, which she'd proceeded to mop. A scar ran down her cheek. Penelope no longer walked with the overconfident, haughty gait Audrey had once described, but with hesitance.

Penelope looked up at Hestia and Audrey and stopped in her tracks.

"Penelope?" Audrey approached her carefully. The anger in her voice had been replaced with shock.

"It's okay," Percy assured Penelope.

"I'm Audrey," Audrey said. "Remember?"

"You went to Hogwarts," Penelope said slowly. "You were really weird, but I secretly liked you."

Audrey managed a smile.

"But why are you here? I don't want to talk to them," Penelope told Percy. "You told me you wouldn't bring them here!"

"I didn't know they were going to come, but it's okay. They're the ones who've been trying to help you - I told you about that."

Penelope shook her head. "No."

"All we want to do is help," Audrey repeated.

"I don't need help. I just want to be left alone."

"Penelope-" Kingsley began, but all blood drained from Penelope's face.

"You're the Minister of Magic," she gasped. "I read about it in The Daily Prophet."

"I told you," Percy said, "he's not like Fudge or-"

But Penelope had rounded on him accusingly.

"You told me you weren't loyal to the Minister of Magic anymore!"

"What I said was that it's changed-"

Penny pulled something out of her pocket; Hestia realized it was Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

"Wait-!" Hestia, Audrey and Percy cried. But the room had descended into darkness; by the time they'd recovered, she was already gone.

Comments

[mollywheezy.livejournal.com]

You were right! I didn't have to wait long to find out about Percy. :)

Excellent chapter! But you really like the cliffhangers, don't you?

I also loved the conversation between Lyall and Glynn. It really rang true.

Great job!

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it!

I'm very glad Lyall and Glynn rang true for you.

I actually haven't intentionally written too many cliffhangers, though this one was intentional. But it was also a good stopping point. :)

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

I do like this chapter :)