Petra Greengrass

***

Marlene was impatient, and it was almost unbearable to sit through ordering their drinks waiting to hear what Petra had to say. And there was something to say, clearly. Otherwise the other woman would have dismissed her with a quizzical look. Marlene’s understanding of the situation had been that only Order members and those who helped The Order had these memories. She had assumed that Dumbledore had been responsible somehow and part of the reason she had left was his refusal to tell her anything about the situation. What reason could he have for giving Petra memories?

When they finally had a charm cast and the chance to speak Marlene leant in to listen intently. “And the first time around, in those future twenty years, what interactions did you have with The Order of the Phoenix? Or Albus Dumbledore?” Marlene hoped she wasn’t close to him. She needed someone right now who wasn’t part of The Order that she could trust. “Your family too? How many of them? Were any of them involved with the war?”

.

“None. I kept my family out of the war. Professor McGonagall evacuated all the students who didn’t want to fight or who weren’t of age during the final battle, thank Merlin. They apparated home and we just hunkered down until it was over. If anything, we were unfortunately associated with the other side. My parents-in-law are Death Eaters. During the first war, they allowed them unrestricted access to the greenhouses for whatever they needed. I and my husband were...we were far too frightened when they showed up in the second war to try to deny them.”

Petra took a slow sip of her drink and took a deep breath. “I recognize that we were in an extremely privileged position, just protecting our own without worrying too much about how things turned out. We privately thought it was horrible, what the Death Eaters were doing. But neither of us are fighters. We just did what we felt we had to for our girls to be safe.”

She finally looked back up at Marlene. She was unable to keep the guilt out of her eyes. The question had her furrowing her brow. “Erm. My husband, his sisters, and one of their spouses are the only ones I’ve spoken to about it. One of them fought alongside the Order in the final battle, but as far as I know that was her only association with them.”

It had been several months since her injury, since her retirement, since she had decided to move into Greengrass manor full-time. Petra had been putting off packing up her flat as long as she could. She remembered last time, when she packed it up with excitement. The bittersweet excitement of retiring after a well-played season, the anticipation of a potentially positive pregnacy test in a few weeks. This time, she just felt sad about it.

She sat on her couch, flipping through one of her photo albums. The pictures were all silly, her and her teammates drunk and making faces at the camera at some party or another. She filled her glass of wine and just watched a photo of her tossing a quaffle back and forth with someone. It made her heart ache. 

When a knock came at her door, she sighed and hauled herself to her feel. After all her walking back and forth to put things in boxes, she was leaning heavily on her cane. He blinked in surprise as one of the faces from her photos was in front of her. “Emma! It’s good to see you. What’s got you dropping by?”

“The Malfoy’s son,” Julien repeated, a small smile forming on his face at the thought of Pet’s daughters; growing, falling in love. “They sound rather opposite, in the best of ways. I would’ve loved to have met them.” And while he felt a bit melancholy, the words weren’t hinged with the same sadness. Longing, rather. Joy for Pet, that she was able to live that life.

A small shake of his head followed her words. “I’m grateful,” he said. “I would never insult you with pity. We all are free to make our own choices, but I know it must not have been an easy one.” Julien knew he would’ve done the same in her position; would’ve fought to save his family’s life; to spare them the pain. “You are more a sibling to me than even my own blood. Trust me, I understand.” He smiled softly, placing a hand on her shoulder gently. “Now, shall we go get you that ink? You’ll have to do the apparating as I’ve no idea where we’re going.”

Petra chuckled a bit and tilted her head. “Mm. Never got a chance to meet him, unfortunately, but she was enamored.” It felt so wonderful that she’d had chances nobody else had. “Thad and I decided while the girls were still in school that we’d give them a chance to properly date and have careers and such. I know I appreciated the opportunity to. I like to think that it was not having any of that over their heads that let them turn out so unique from each other.”

At his declaration of her being like a sibling, Petra couldn’t help the way she turned into the touch, pulling Julien into a hug. “I got closer to my siblings after, or I’d say the same. I’m looking forward to having you around for a long time this time around Julien.” She winked as she pulled back. She linked arms with him. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

“Yes, Marlene,” she nodded curtly, eyeing up the cane that Petra held up. It was a real shame, but a miracle too considering the state she’d found the poor girl in. “No, not the worst outcome at all. I’m sure you’re sick of the other healers saying it but you’re lucky to be alive. You completely ruined my dress with the sheer amount of blood by the way, but I suppose it was worth it to see you up and walking. I’m not usually one of those gushy healers but its nice seeing a job well done. I lost a couple of patients I was close with recently, so its good to be reminded of cases like yours. Anyway I’m sure its the last thing you want to dwell on. A drink would be great.”

She started down the road towards the Leaky Cauldron, hands in pockets trying to work out how to ask what she wanted to ask without sounding crazy. Ultimately she decided to throw caution to the wind. If Petra thought she was crazy she’d never have to see her again - she could say Petra had a concussion and was talking nonsense. “Something you said at the Hospital made me think that you and I are in similar boats. There’s some strange shit going on. Some of my friends and I have lived this year before.” She hoped that was cryptic enough to not entirely give her away if the girl had no idea what she was talking about. 

...

Petra stopped walking entirely at the observation. They were just outside the Leaky Cauldron now. More people than her family remembered? She’d heard rumors, but she hadn’t suspected that the people being taken away to Mungo’s were talking about this. “Let’s...Let’s go get a table in the back, yeah?” She hooked her arm around Marlene’s and led her in. Once they had their initial round of drinks at the table, she cast a quick charm so they wouldn’t be overheard.

Still, Petra glanced around before she spoke. “I’ve lived a lot more than just this year. I’ve lived the next twenty years. Sort of. It’s not happening exactly the way it happened before.” She touched her stomach, where her tattoo was still healing and settling. “...A few of my family has too, but not all of them.”

Julien paused as Petra spoke, wiping his hands on his trousers as he listened to her story. With a small pang, Julien realized just how much he missed in her life; how much he’d lost in that space between. Still, his heart hurt for her, and he played with his fingers, knowing that his sympathy wasn’t necessary. Petra wasn’t telling him her story for his pity. 

As she finished talking, Julien gently took the paper from her hands, smiling softly at the drawing on the page. “It’s beautiful, Pet,” he said, softly, looking from the page back to her. “Truly. I think if they were here today they’d be pretty impressed their mum was getting a tattoo.” He grinned, trying to make a small smile fall on her lips. Carefully, he held the parchment out to her again and nodded. “I’d be honored to come with you. But you’re not convincing me to get one too.”

Petra couldn’t help the way she burst out laughing at the comment about them. “Daphne would be. Tori would be absolutely scandalized. She was always so proper. She was dating the Malfoys’ son, last I remember of that time.” Despite her grin, there was a sadness to her expression.

A month had passed since the terror of the Valentine’s day ball, and although the days had passed, Julien still didn’t feel quite safe. Nothing really had happened; no more attacks, no more disturbances. The Minister’s health was still in question, of course, but the Death Eaters, and the Order, had remained quiet. Thankfully. Julien didn’t think he could bear another minute of thought into those two groups, not after what they’d both had done; not after what had happened to Petra.

That morning, he’d been feeding the graphorns when he heard a careful knock on the door. His smile brightened at the sight of Pet, although his stomach still ached at what she’d done for them. “Nothing too pressing today,” he said, sighing. “Although in a few weeks I believe my newest Fwooper will be looking for a mate so…” He paused at her words, his own tumbling off as she mentioned a scheme. “I don’t think that’s mad at all,” he said, shaking his head and leaning against the wall, wiping his hands free of the remains. “I’ve always admired the art in them, although I’m rather too indecisive to get one myself. What were you thinking?”

༻✿༺

Petra licked her lips nervously, not fully sure how to explain. It hurt to explain, but she knew that she needed to. “I...before. After you died, I had two girls. Since that’s not happening this time around, I want to get something for them. Also to cover the scars on my stomach, but that’s secondary.” She looked at the graphorns instead of Julien, unable to meet his eyes. She hated being this vulnerable.

Petra had been out of the hospital for a few weeks now. She’d moved her things out of the flat slowly, saying goodbye to it for a second time. The previous evening, her team had thrown her a proper goodbye party. She'd gotten to talking to a few of her teammates about random things after the alcohol was flowing. In particular, she had a long conversation with their reserve seeker, a young man with a magical tattoo of a snitch that flew around his body. While she didn't share her ideas with him, ideas still settled in her head.

The next afternoon, after her hangover had settled, she made her way to Julian’s place. After being directed by one if the house elves to where he was, she rapped her knuckles on the door. “Are you busy? ‘Cause I’m cashing in - I helped you with a scheme, not it’s your turn.” She winked and walked further into the room. Her smile faded a bit as she tried to figure out how to talk about this. “First off - a judgement on whether I’m being crazy or it’s just that our family won’t approve. I want to get a tattoo. I already found a good one on recommendation from my teammates and may have been owling with them about the design already.”

Marlene wasn’t expecting to find Petra crying. She was alive. If Marlene were honest she hadn’t been sure that would happen when she’d first found the woman. From talking to the healers that had worked on her Marlene understood that they had reconstructed almost all of her organs, which in her opinion was incredible work. The loss of her uterus seemed so trivial in comparison, but Marlene the type of person who never thought too far into the future. She hadn’t even considered whether she wanted children, so she couldn’t imagine having to come to terms with the fact she shouldn’t. 

“Hey.” Marlene was equally awkward. She knew Petra was fragile and with her poor history with the patients, Marlene didn’t want to make things worse. Petra had requested to see her though and she felt she had to oblige. “Good to see you without the fountain…” Marlene vaguely gestured at her own pelvis for a moment before sitting down rather hurriedly. “Its Marlene, but you can call me saviour if you like.” She said, attempting to crack a joke, laughing through the awkwardness. “My boss thinks I need to work on my bedside manner, but I figure you have to put up with my shit jokes since I saved your life with that blood replenishing potion.”

***

Petra gave a few amused huffs, and the ‘savior’ joke drew a legitimate snort out of her that had her clutching her abdomen as the new scar tissue protested against the pull of her muscles. “Maybe I’m just the rare patient that likes your type of humor, Savior.” She winked. “I mean, you got half a chuckle out of a patient while they’re actively bleeding out. I think you’re doing fine, Marlene. The Tornadoes’ medics could take a few tips from you, I’d say. I’d have definitely bled out before they figured out what to do.”

She took a few slow, shallow breaths to calm herself as she was advised, waiting for the worst of the ache to fade. “What’s happened?” She finally asked. “They’re not telling me anything, trying to keep me calm. I know they’re busy and contacting my family isn’t high on the triage list, but I just...” She licked her lips, not sure how much she could or should reveal. Obviously she couldn’t reveal her memories that this wasn’t supposed to happen, but she had to say something. “I saw the Dark Mark. Bloody color’s unmistakable when it lingers that long in a room. Is He ba...” Petra just managed to catch herself before she said ‘back’. She swallowed, and her voice was soft as she rephrased. “Is this an act of war?”

It wasn’t at all the first time Petra had been in a hospital bed ––– she’d had her fair share of rough quidditch games in the past ––– but, even then, it was no easier to see. Worse still was that this instance wasn’t from the field, but from an attack; an attack that she’d shielded her sister from and suffered greatly for. She’d nearly lost Petra before they could even start again, and it was a horrifying almost that nearly robbed her of breath. The only thing that kept her from collapsing outright into a panicked heap was the steadfast grip the other woman held onto her hand, and the knowledge that she was indeed alive and well through the steady pulse she felt thrumming underneath her fingertips. With her free hand, Floretta traced across Petra’s knuckles gently, unable and unwilling to relinquish any kind of contact between them. “I’m here for you,” she said, full of care, “whatever you need.” 

When she began to ask about Cordelia, though, she merely let out a small, wry giggle. It was so like Petra; laid up and hurt, but asking for someone else. Overcome in her emotions, Floretta leaned in to cup Petra’s cheeks reverently. “She’s alright. She’ll be alright thanks to you,” she whispered softly ––– gratefully. It was a wrenching situation either way. Both the woman she loved and her little sister getting so injured. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right, and it twisted like a knife to Floretta’s chest. “Honestly, she was more concerned over seeing how you were.” 

༻✿༺

“Of course she was.” Petra laughed as well. Cordelia was fine. She'd saved her. It was difficult to say anything was worth it at the moment, but that almost did it. “I didn't think. I just...she was there. I'm glad she’s alright.”

Petra fell quiet for a long moment, just squeezing Floretta’s hand and looking at her. She hadn't talked about it yet with anyone. She didn't know who she could risk talking about it with. “Flor...they...” She took a deep, shaky breath. She needed to share her grief with someone that could remember her Daphne. “There was a pipe. Went straight through me. The healers did everything they could, but...” She put her free hand over her lower stomach where the pipe had been. “They said there’s no way I'll ever be able to carry children.”

Marlene was glad to have such a co-operative patient. She’d been surprised when she’d first arrived at St.Mungos how many patients refused to listen to her when she asked them to stay still or take a potion. This woman was happy to do what Marlene said though and it made everything easier. Maybe they’d actually make it to the hospital. The blood replenishing potion seemed to give her patient more strength, and Marlene made a mental note to thank Severus once this was all over. She needed to start carrying her own potions from now on. 

“We do have to try, but I don’t want you standing. If you can just sit up a bit we’ll test my strength and see if I can carry you.” Marlene joked. She was sure she could hold the other woman long enough to apparate but if she was wrong she would make everything a lot worse by dropping her. She tried not to think about that. She needed to psyche herself up, and apparate once she was stood, without hesitation. Marlene slipped her arm under the other woman’s back in an attempt to support her, her other arm under her legs. “Hold onto me if you can. I’ll be as quick as possible.”

Petra nodded as she took in the instructions. She took a few deep breaths and then slipped her arms behind herself to push up. “Ah, fuck.” Everything hurt and it made her arms tremble with the force of it. Her abs tried to help and just grasped at the injury to her stomach. She could feel pieces of the bones in her hip grinding as she hinged forward. Fortunately the healer had her supported in her arms soon enough. She wrapped her arms around her neck, holding on tightly. “Holding on is something I can do. Just go when you’re ready. It’s slippery.” She cried out again as the hook of apparation pulled almost directly on her wound. Everything was hazy at that point. She knew she was quickly put on a bed and that more advanced healers took over. She answered questions about who she was and then was finally put out so that they could repair the internal damage.

It was a few hours before she was brought back to consciousness. Everything still hurt, but it wasn’t agony. It was the dull ache of muscles reattaching, the prickle of bones regrowing. She took the report from the healer on how everything had gone numbly. How else could she take it? There was nothing to be done. She was lucky to be alive. Still, all she could ask for was to see the woman who brought her in. When Marlene came in, she quickly wiped away the few tears she’d allowed to fall for her daughters when she was alone. “Hi.” She chuckled at her own awkwardness. “Sorry, I’m just not sure what to say. Never been in a situation quite like this. I’m Petra Greengrass. I never quite caught your name?”

All the way through. Marlene tried not to think about all the work that would be required once the woman was back at St.Mungos. Marlene imagined the healing process would take hours, but she just needed to keep the patient alive for now until more experienced healers could attempt to reform and heal her internal organs. Thanks to Severus, Marlene had just what she needed to stabilise Petra in her pocket - a vial of essence dittany and blood replenisher. 

“No numbness, that’s good. Well maybe not for you right now, I’m sure you’d welcome being numb from the chest down…” she said with an awkward laugh she immediately regretted but couldn’t stop. She couldn’t imagine the pain the woman must be in. “Er - I need you to drink this.” Marlene said, passing over the vial of blood replenisher, hoping to move on quickly from her mistimed attempt at humour. “It doesn’t taste too bad. I’m just going to apply this to your wounds.” She said waving the other vial in front of her. “It might sting, but once I’ve patched you up I’ll apparate us to St.Mungos and someone can help you with the pain. It won’t be long.” She murmured, as she applied a few drops at a time to the large wound until the blood seemed to stop flowing. “Ok, do you feel strong enough to side apparate?”

༻✿༺

Petra managed a small twitch of a smile at the joke. “Nah. I’d suck if I couldn’t walk again. Worth a bit of agony.” She popped the potion without even asking what it was. There was an immediate rush of relief as the lightheadedness disappeared. She knew it was only a temporary solution, considering her internal organs were likely shredded and bleeding. But it would help for now.

cordelia greengrass .

Cordelia had been very excited about the idea of a ball. It was just what they needed, she thought, something happy for all of them, something to have fun with, and to have a date with the love of her life? Well, of course she would be there for that. She did feel slightly bad for Narcissa, of course, but then again, she didn’t know the whole story there. She wondered absently if she was done in the cells still while they were up here partying.

She hadn’t been sure where Julien or Petra had run off to, rather distracted by the flowers that the Ministry had used. She didn’t feel like they were particularly a good choice out of everything they could have used, but she wasn’t about to bring it up to them. She also felt like Julien was going to be very unhappy about the pixies being used, and she wondered if they’d be trying to free them by the end of the night.

The arm in hers as she stood distracted made her jump slightly, but she beamed at seeing her sister-in-law and laughed softly. “Speak for yourself, you look amazing tonight,” She chuckled, “Where has he gone off to, anyway? I though I looked away for only a moment and suddenly he was gone!” She easily moved with her though, without question.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

He’d always been rather shite with words. It was why he’d liked animals so much, he supposed; he didn’t need to talk to them for them to understand. Still, when he saw Cordelia again, his stomach felt as though it would push out all the words he was keeping locked up inside. Still, he took a deep breath and made his way over to her, nerves dancing in his bones, as he pulled a small music box from his pocket, and bowed to her, grinning ever so slightly. 

“What a surprise, running into my two favorite people,” he teased, gently grabbing Cordelia’s hand and giving it a small kiss. His heart was hammering, but with his other hand, he presented her the small music box and wrapped both of their hands around it. “Words, as you know, aren’t my strongest suit. I-I don’t know how to say the things I’m feeling, not the way you do. Luckily, I’ve got music and flowers to do it for me.”

And with that, he gently turned the golden knob of the music box and let the small tune play. It was loud enough that only the three of them could hear, enchanted to swell with the flowers as they danced with Petra’s charm. Julien grinned at Petra as the song played and the flowers slowly started blooming, curling, and changing color with her charm. He was certain his eyes were twinkling by the time he looked at Petra and gave her a small nod, and the flowers bloomed around them at the chorus. 

Blackbird fly into the light of a dark black night.

And the flowers answered. Bright pinks and reds ruffling around them like a tidal wave. Small swirls that he controlled on the left and right, dancing over them like a bridge made entirely from the petals, and then settling back down on either side, untouched ( he wouldn’t dare actually harm a flower, not in her presence ). As the first chorus finished, he grabbed her hands again and brought her close. “You were the one who taught me to fly, Lark,” he said, quietly. “And I don’t know how… I don’t know how to imagine a life without you and I refuse to waste any more time.” He gently kissed her forehead before bending down on one knee, opening the music box to reveal the ring.

It wasn’t the one she wore, but instead, a family heirloom that he’d had engraved with petals and leaves. The diamond sparkled, and in the right light, it looked the blue-ish purple of a larkspur. He flickered his eyes to Petra, and winked at her, promising with his eyes to tell her the story of how he’d had Edgar help with this one. “Cordelia Greengrass, will you marry me?”

@petragreengrass​

༻✿༺

“Oh, he’s just outside. Stepped out for some air. You know how these parties get so stuffy.” Petra actually thought that the ball was rather nice, with all the scents of flowers in the air, but it was a decent excuse. She easily passed Cordelia off to Julien with a subtle wink and then stepped back toward the edge of the courtyard. Close enough to watch and hear, but still giving them space.

She didn’t even wait for the nod, casting the charm as soon as she heard the music from the little music box. Even she was a amazed at how well the spell worked when it was cast on this many flowers. His words made her heart ache, so she could only imagine how Cordelia felt. 

Floretta always thought that she knew fear. She really had. But that was nothing ––– absolutely nothing ––– compared to the unrelenting, debilitating terror that’d gripped her once she heard what had befallen Petra at the Ministry’s ball. How she had jumped in front of her little sister and into the line of fire to save her and sustained horrible, life-altering injuries as a result. 

Despite the tragedies that had befallen their relationship, and her numerous regrets that led them there, she knew how much being a mother meant to Petra. And to have that taken away from her so horribly ––– she couldn’t even begin to imagine it. Her heart ached for her, and she wished so badly that she could just somehow take all of her pain away ––– that she could fix things for her and make her smile, though she knew it impossible. 

But it was the sight of her eyes ––– how dull and pained they were with her loss that hit her, and hit her hard. Petra didn’t deserve this. She was good ––– too good. It wasn’t fair. And when she called out so, so quietly in greeting to her as she stepped into the room, Floretta felt her heart crack.  

“Oh, God, Pet,” she cried softly, breath hitching in her throat as she hurried her way over to her bedside; hands hovering shakily above her, unsure if it was safe to touch her and far too scared of her numerous injuries or the possibility of causing her any kind of additional pain to risk it. Merlin, the last thing she ever wanted was to hurt her any more than she already had been.  

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, love.” 

༻✿༺

Other than minor scratches and bruises, the worst of Petra’s injuries were covered with blankets. so as soon as the healer had left and they were by themselves, Petra reached out to take Floretta’s hand and bring it to her lips. “I’m going to be alright. Not going to be flying anytime soon, but I’m expected to be on my feet and headed home by the end of the week.”

She didn’t know what home meant to her anymore. For the past month and a half, she’d been in the flat that she hadn’t lived in for nearly twenty years. But without her girls and with her in-laws around, she wasn’t sure if the Greengrass estate would properly feel like home either. She swallowed as tears started to well up at that thought. Instead of dwelling on it, she reached out and brushed her thumb over Floretta’s cheek gently. “Is Cora okay? Everything since the explosion has been sort of a blur. I never actually got to check on her.”

Despite not being a particular fan of dressing up, Petra felt like she was in her element tonight. The proposal had gone off without a hitch, which meant that the rest of her night was free to just schmooze and joke around. Yes, there were plenty of people who came up to her just looking to get into the favor of the quidditch player. But her suit seemed to be intimidating enough to keep most men from asking her to dance, which was just how she liked it.

A few of the people present surprised her. They weren’t the normal people that showed up to society events like this. But maybe the Minister was right. The wizarding world needed a break like this. She didn’t know how many people remembered or what they remembered, but it was a stress they clearly weren’t coping well with. Still, she blinked a few times as she processed who had ended up standing next to her, watching the crowd.

“Ted Tonks, as I live and breathe.” She chuckled and offered him a handshake. She actually couldn’t remember a time that she’d seen her classmates after NEWTs. “Hi. I don’t normally see you and Andromeda at these sorts of things. Having fun?”

who: @cordeliagreengrass​ & @petragreengrass where: the valentine’s ball. when: february 14th, 1979.

A part of him knew that he shouldn’t be nervous.

If Cordelia said no, then that would be more surprising that anything else, at the end of the day. They both knew how they felt about one another, so Julien wasn’t going in with a surprise on that front. But, still, in his mind Cordelia deserved the most outrageous, romantic, proposal that the world had ever known. He’d never quite been a hopeless romantic, but he couldn’t help but become one after waking up again on January 1st. A second chance at life meant there was to be no holding back. Why should he waste this second opportunity? Why waste such an opportunity? 

And, so, he stood with Petra by his side, the courtyard to the left of the main ballroom mostly empty except for a few meanders and hundreds of flowers. They’d worked out the charm before, and with Julien’s potion from Edgar, he was able to momentarily change the colors of some of the others to be just as he’d imagined in it his head. Now, he turned to Petra and pulled on his jacket, a bit nervously. “Right, so, you’ve got the cue? When I turn the music box–” he waved his wand, indicating that was when she should cast the charm for the flowers to start dancing.

@petragreengrass​

༻✿༺

“When you turn on the music box, I’ll cast the charm. And then you get in there and do your thing.” Petra couldn’t help her slight chuckle. Though she was playing it cool, she was excited as well. She’d been practicing the charm every moment that she could. The whole thing was over the top in the best way. Totally pointless since the two were already betrothed and very much remembered being married to each other. It was exactly the sort of scheme Petra adored, and the fact that she knew Cordelia was going to love it just made it that much better. 

She practiced a smaller version of the charm one more time, making a carnation bloom and spin. She hummed to herself, satisfied. She could handle her part, she was sure. “Are you ready? Completely ready?” They could back out now, but Petra had no doubt Julien wouldn’t want to. “I’ll go get her then, yeah?”

It was easy enough for Cordelia to find her sister-in-law. Even in a sea of red and pink, she stood out. Petra walked up and slipped her arm through hers. “There you are, Cora. You you spectacular! Julien’s been looking everywhere for you. Come on.”