Mary wakes up in a hot sweat from her dream, her horrible disturbing dream. She looks over to the man beside her. “Fuck.” She whispers into the quiet room. She gets up going to the bathroom. She stops at the bedroom that’s opened just a smidge. Two beds are there, one on either side of the room, both sides decorated to resemble the kids who live there. She looks at the door, one side says, Lilo and the other Lena.
She opens the door a little more to see the two beautiful children sleeping in their beds, peaceful. She sighs and continues walking to the bathroom. She looks at the wall where there’s a bunch of photos decorating the walls. She looks at the one with her and two other girls, one red-head and the other blonde. She knows them, she just saw them a week ago, but they aren’t the faces she expected them to be.
She rushes to the closet in the hallway, pulling out a box filled with photographs. She put them in a box, knowing they were important but no idea why, until now. She picks the first one up and smiles. The faces she was looking for. Marlene and Lily. She picks up another one. Four boys. Peter, James, Sirius, and Remus. The last two kissing while the first takes the photo and the second smiling at his friends.
She puts that one beside her next to the other one and pulls out a lot more, most of them with her and those four boys and two girls, but some of them included others. The faces she’s missed the most. The last one she comes across, though, is her Emmeline, and a baby. Their baby, Penelope.
She intakes a breath and shoves the photographs back in the box, standing up quickly with them and rushing back to her room and to her closet. She grabs at random, not even caring if they match and throwing them on. She grabs her phone from her nightstand, leaving a note for Darren, her husband, and waking up the two girls in the nearby bedroom.
She ignores their questions of, ‘What’s going on?’, ‘Mom?’, and so on. Instead she dresses the twins and puts them in the car, along with the box and a bag of both hers and her kids’s clothes. She gets in also and starts driving to god knows where. The sun starts peeking up at the horizon, Mary going towards it to reach a hill, one she hasn’t been to in years, but still managed to stay close.
She looked back at the kids at one point, both asleep and smiled. They looked like a carbon copy of her. Emmeline would find that funny. She thinks. Penelope had always looked like Emmeline most, but her attitude was all Mary.
She climbs the hill, hoping the car doesn’t roll back, luckily, it doesn’t and she makes it. She parks the car, making sure it’s away from the whomping willow, and gets out, unbuckling her kids and helping them out. She grabs their hands after locking the car, and starts walking to the entrance. She immediately walks to Gryffindor tower, and says the password, of course it’s not the right one. “Fat Lady, tell me the password.”
“I most certainly will not.”
“Macdonald.” The Fat Lady gasps immediately opening up for her. She walks in, going straight for the girls dormitory. She has no idea why, she knows her friends aren’t there, but she still does. She gasps at the red-headed curls in Lily’s bed. “Lily?” She asks quietly. The girl stirs and almost screams when she sees her before Mary clamps a hand against her mouth. “Shh. Don’t wake the others." The girl's eyes go wide. “I’m not trying to hurt you, I promise. Just come with me.” The girl eyes her suspiciously before nodding.
Mary takes her hand of her mouth and walks down to the common room, along with her kids, sitting down on the couch. “Who are you?” The girl asks, sitting down next to her. “And how did you get in here?”
“The Fat Lady of course. She loves me.”
The girl scoffs. “She hates everyone.”
“No, she only started acting like that when everyone started dying. Especially her favorite, Regulus.”
“Regulus Black. The brightest wizard of his age, and surprisingly nice for a Slytherin, but I guess that had to do because of James.”
“You know, you look exactly like her. Lily.” Mary stares at her kids playing on the rug. “Now, she was the brightest witch of her age.” Mary sighs. “She was my best friend. Along with Marlene. We were called the Valkyries.” Mary looks back at the girl. “We were the second best group in all of Hogwarts. Third, if you count Reggie’s group, the Skittles.”
“Pandora. Pandora Rosier.” She looks back at her kids. “She knew they were all destined to die from the beginning but didn’t acknowledge it until her brother died.”
“Evan. Evan Rosier.” Mary laughs. “God, and that boyfriend of his, Bartemius Crouch Jr. He preferred Barty, but we loved to make fun of him.” Mary sighs. “Whatever happened to him? After James and Lily’s death?”
“I- wait, James and Lily Potter? Harry’s parents?”
Mary hums. “Yes, I forgot they had a son. Merlin, they were all in my head. Every minute of every day.” She looks back at the girl. “Say, how are the twins and Molly?”
“The twins? Fred and George?’
“No, the original twins. Fabian and Gideon. The ones they were named after. Molly’s younger brothers.”
“I didn’t know mom had any siblings.”
“Mom?” Mary gasps. “Oh, my, you’re Molly’s daughter.”
She nods. “Ginny Weasley.”
“Did Pandora ever have any kids?”
“Rosier. I told her to name the child Luna Evan if it was a girl. Evan if it was a boy.” Mary laughs. “She was going to marry Lily. Luna Evan Evans. Imagine how that would’ve sounded.”
“I know a Luna Lovegood.”
“Lovegood? You mean Xeno?” Ginny nods. “Hm, I wasn’t in contact with her when she married him. Only found she was having a baby from Lils.” Ginny looks at the kids who’ve waltzed over to them, rummaging through Ginny’s pockets and pulling out a wand. Ginny tries to grab for it but they walk away. “Girls! Give it here.” They walk over to their mother and hand the wand over. “Presto Playo.” Suddenly toys appear on the carpet and the kids run for them as Mary hands the wand back to the girl.
She nods. “Muggle, just like Lily.” Mary just now realized she was so out of it, she was just rambling. “Mary Macdonald, by the way.” She stands up. “I better go find Minnie.”
“Minerva McGonagall. House head.” She pulls up her children, both willingly following their mother. Mary smiles as she heads to the sleeping chambers she knows so well from pranking her so much. She knocks on the door just as she hears hushed footsteps.
“You don’t want to go in there.” Ginny says, walking up to her.
“Nonsense, she’ll want to see me.”
The door opens and then there's a wand pointed at her. “Mrs. Weasley, I will take care of this. Go back to bed.”
“But, Mrs. McGonagall, I don’t think she’s an intruder.”
The girl hangs her head and walks back to her dorm. “Minnie, are you going to wish me a happy birthday?” Mary asks the woman, not at all concerned about the wand pointed at her.
“Birthday? But the only birthday today is- Mary?” She asks, putting the wand down.
“Hey, Minnie. It’s good to see you.”
“Mary, oh my god. You’re - you’re.”
“I’m okay, Minnie. I promise.”
Minnie pulls her in for a hug. “Hold on, just let me get dressed.” She closes the door but opens it back up. “I’ll meet you in the common room.” She was about to close it. “Gryffindor. Not Slytherin.” Mary laughs and nods as she closes the door.
Mary walks back to the common room, remembering the fun times she had sneaking into both Slytherin and Ravenclaw common rooms. She might not have been dating anyone in those houses, but her friends sure were, and she loved catching them in the act. Mary laughs as she walks back in the common room, kids crowded around the Weasley girl. Her kids run for the toys that were left in the common room to go play with.
The children look over at her when she walks in, along with Lilo and Lena. “Who is she?’ The kids whisper.
“It’s not nice to gossip.” Mary says. “But I guess I can’t say anything since I was the one spreading the gossip.”
“You and Marlene.” Minnie says from behind her. Mary turns to her. “Lily was always trying to stop you.” Mary smiles.
“So was Emmeline. God do I miss her.”
“Children, go to breakfast.” The kids argue but eventually go, not wanting to upset their head. “Now, Mary, why are you here?”
“I wanted to know about my daughter.” She says, walking out of the portrait hole with Minnie and her twins. “Penelope.”
Minnie hums. “She is a good student. Studies hard. A Ravenclaw.”
Mary chuckles. “Just like her mother.”
Minnie nods. “Yes. Just like both of them.”
“Where is she?’ Mary asks, wanting to see her.
“I have no idea. She didn’t come to school this year.”
Minnie shakes her head as they turn a corner. “No, I’m sorry. I’m trying to get custody of her, but it’s pretty hard, considering I don’t have a job I can go around and tell people about.”
Mary nods. “Right. I have a job, though.” Minnie looks at her, signaling for her to elaborate. “Interior designer.” Mary chuckles. “Emmeline always told me I could be that if I wanted, but I never believed her.” She looks up at the older lady. “She was right, of course. Like always.” She looks back at the hallway as they reach the doors to the great hall.
Mary opens the doors and spots the one teacher she despised from the beginning. “Albus.” She sneers. And beside him, “Is that Severus?”
Minnie nods. “Not a good teacher. I don’t know why Albus trusts him, let alone hire him.”
She looks to the Slytherin table. “White hair, Lucius and Narcissa?”
Minnie nods once again. “Draco.”
Mary nods to the Gryffindor table. “If I didn’t know better, i’d say Ginny was Lily’s daughter.”
MInnie laughs. “I thought she was Lily when she started here.” They walk towards the teachers table. “It startled me. And Penelope, I thought it was Emmeline all over again but she was more like you than anyone.” Minnie looks at her as they stop by the tables. “She looks like Emmeline, but is another version of you.”
Mary chuckles and a head whips to her. Severus. He stands up walking straight to her, getting all up in her face. “Severus, get out of my face or I swear I will curse you.” He doesn’t move and she turns her head. “Don’t doubt me, Snivellius. If James can do it, I can.” Severus’s eyes go dark and he backs up. Albus also stands up and walks to her, standing by Severus.
“Oh, but don’t you know me? The one who survived the first wizarding war.” Albus and Severus’s faces flash with recognition. “No, happy birthday?” Mary smirks and eyes the principal up and down. “Don’t think I don't know what you did, Albus.”
“I would like to know where my daughter is, Albus.”
Albus’s eyes flash with something Mary can’t decipher. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Mary’s face goes rigid. “Penelope Vance.” She sneers. “You know that, Albus. I want to see my daughter. Where is she?”
“If she’s not here then I don’t know where she is.”
Mary steps closer to the older man but the younger one stops her. “Severus, I will curse you.”
“You don’t have a wand, now do you?”
Mary’s eyes narrow at the man. “Snivellius, i swear-”
“Mary! What have I told you guys about calling him that!?”
Mary backs up and stares at her favorite teacher. “You can’t tell me you don't agree. You know I hate him. He called me a..”
“Mudblood? Because you are.”
Mary’s eyes darken and she snatches his wand out of his hand. She holds it in front of his face. “Call me that one more time, I dare you. Remember I was second in my class. Right after Lily.” Severus gulps and backs up. Mary smirks and puts the wand down. “That’s what I thought.”
“You’re a muggle?’ A voice asks from behind her. She turns around.
Mary’s gaze goes over to the two people standing beside her. “And you?” She asks the red-haired boy.
Mary nods and turns her gaze to the other boy. “Ah, Harry. You look just like your father.”
Mary nods. “All of Hogwarts knew the Marauders. Remus, though, he was the mastermind.” She suddenly realizes her teacher is beside her and turns to her.
Minnie’s piercing stare burns right through her. “What was that?”
“I hate to tell you, but your angel was the problem. He just decided to always blame his boyfriend.” Minnie shakes her head as Mary laughs. She turns back to the boy. “You’re mother was one of my best friends along with your aunt.”
Mary laughs. “No, your mother hated her. I meant your father’s best friend was like his sister. Marlene McKinnon.”
The doors burst open and a girl comes running in. “Sorry I’m late. The orphanage wouldn’t let me leave.”
“Orphan- Minnie, is that-”
“Penelope Vance,” Albus’s voice booms through the whole great hall.
Mary spins around to the man. “You leave my daughter alone. She had no one, Albus. And it’s all your fault. You killed my wife. You killed my friends.” Her hand goes back to the boy behind her. “You killed Harry’s parents.” Her hand goes back to the other boy. “You killed his uncles.” her hand goes back to her daughter. “You let my daughter go to an orphanage.” Her hand falls back to her side. “This is all your fault, Albus. All of it.”
“When you look at Penelope’s face do you get reminded of Emmeline, of me? Do you see James when you look at Harry, or Lily? How about those two over there?” She points to the two red-headed boys next to each other sitting at the Gryffindor table. “Do you see Gideon and Fabian?” She points to Ginny. “Do you see Lily when you look at her?” She points over to the white-haired girl at the Ravenclaw table. “Do you see Pandora when you look at her, or Evan?” She points to the white-haired boy at the Slytherin table. “I bet his attitude is all Regulus. Do you see him? Do you look at Draco and think of Narcissa and her sisters? They’re like that because you,” she points at the older man, “made their parents that way. You might be other people’s heroes, Albus, but you haven’t and will never be mine.” Mary turns around and walks to her daughter. “Walk with me.” She says to her oldest, her other two following behind.
Mary grabs her youngest two daughters' hands, pulling them along with her, Penelope following behind. She goes to the hall where the trophies are in a case. She stops in front of it, staring at the Ravenclaw Quidditch team photo. She smiles at the black-haired girl standing in the middle of her teammates. “Who are you?’
“Your mother was the best chaser on her team. They almost beat the Gryffindor team many times. Marlene, James, and Sirius got so mad, they forbade me from seeing her for a week.” Mary laughs and looks over to the Slytherin quidditch team. “They did beat the Slytherin team, though. Pandora wasn’t seen in the common room for weeks.” Mary smiles and looks over to the Gryffindor team photo. She smiles even wider and James and Sirius leaning into each other like brothers, Marlene on the other side of James, leaning in, as well. James still stares lovingly off to someone on the other side. “Regulus always got mad at James for winning against them.”
“Your mother was the love of my life and I'm so proud of her for raising you alone.” She looks over to her daughter. “I’m Mary, Penelope. Your mother.” Penelope inhales a breath as Mary looks down at the two girls holding her hands. “This is Lilo and Lena, your sisters.” Penelope hugs her, almost knocking her down. Mary lets go of Lilo and Lena’s hands, hugging her oldest.
“I missed you.” She whispers.
“I missed you, too, Penny.”
Mary came back home and told her husband the whole story and why she can’t live with him anymore, he understood and decided it was best that she take the kids so he can figure out his life. Darren has the kids on the weekend, of course but Mary keeps them on weekdays. Mary laughs as the two nine year old twins, Lilo and Lena run around the yard, playing with their new dog, Meatlog. Penelope walks up to her, watching them, too. Mary pulls her daughter to her, wrapping her arm around Penelope’s shoulder.
“Adopting me. Taking care of me these past two years.”
“You’re my daughter. Why wouldn’t I?”
“I want you to find someone to love, mom.” Penelope looks over at her. “Mama would want you to be happy.”
Mary shakes her head. “She was my one true love, Pen. No one will ever compare to her.”
“That’s not what I’m saying, Mom.” Mary looks over to her. “No one will replace Mama, but find someone to love again. Real love. Even if it’s not half of the love you felt for Mama. She would want you to find someone, Mom. Find that someone.”
Mary shakes her head and looks back at the twins. “I don’t think I’ll ever find that, Penny. She was my true love and I know she would want that, but I don’t. I never will. I’m happy with your three, right now.”
Penelope smiles and looks back at her sisters. “That’s fine with me, Mom. And I think the twins will be fine with that, too.”
Mary smiles. “I can’t wait until they’re old enough to go to Hogwarts. They’ll love it there.”
“They’re already showing signs of magic?” She asks.
Mary nods. “This was about the time I did.”
Penelope nods. “Hopefully the war is over by the time that happens.”
Mary smiles. “If it’s not, then I’ll switch jobs so I’m there to protect them and you.”
Penelope looks back at her mother. “Happy birthday, Mom. I love you.”
Mary turns to her smiling. “I love you, too.”
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