Ch. 7

Amelia stood waiting on Platform 9 and ¾ as the Hogwarts Express pulled to a stop, the steam from the engine billowing around the waiting parents in the cold London air. After a minute, the doors of the train cars sprung open releasing a wave of students, eager to find their families. Cries from her fellow parents arose all around her as each family was reunited with varying degrees of affection. Amelia kept her eyes moving, looking for either the strawberry blond, or the raven black hair that identified the two kids she was waiting for.

"Auntie," an excited cry came from her left. Looking that way, she saw her Susan weaving her way towards Amelia, her hand securely held in the hand of Harry. Seeing the two kids, she knew something had changed in their relationship. Their hands were together in a way that indicated they were quite used to each other's hand, and they seemed to be walking closer together, almost constantly touching the whole time.

When the two reached her she smiled at her two wards. "Hello you two, did you have a good term?" Both nodded excitedly and Amelia didn't miss the looks that they kept shooting back and forth. "Did something happen this term that you would care to share," she asked raising her eyebrow. Both teens blushed scarlet and Harry's eyes refused to meet hers while they darted around the platform and he seemed to be fidgeting on the spot. Susan on the other hand, just smiled and Amelia noticed she her squeezing Harry's hand.

"Auntie, Harry and I have been together now for a month. We 'officially' became boyfriend and girlfriend on the first Hogsmead weekend in November." Amelia didn't understand what 'officially' meant but assumed it was just how kids did it these days. She smiled at her two kids happy for them.

"That is wonderful," she said causing Harry to lose some of his nervousness. "Of course there will be a few new rules in place now, but we will discuss that at home." She pulled out her customary length of rope and handed it to the two kids. She tapped it with her wand, the three portkeyed away in a swirl of color and light.

Materializing in the entrance hall of Bones Manor, she turned to the kids, her hands on her hips. "Ok, since the two of you are dating, there will be some new rules in the house. First rule, if you are both in the same room, no closed doors. Second, please refrain from overt displays around the house. I really do not want to walk in on you two snogging." Both teens blushed again but each had different expressions. Harry's face looked down right terrified, while Susan just looked embarrassed. Deciding she needed to have a talk with her niece, and maybe have Kinglsey talk to Harry, she shooed the kids away to put their things in their rooms while she went to go make a floo call.

An hour later, Amelia was standing outside Susan's door giving it a light tap. A moment later the door opened and upon seeing her aunt standing there, gave an exasperated sigh. "Okay Auntie, let's get this over with."

Smiling Amelia walked into her niece's room and closed the door behind her. She took a seat on the bed and tapped the side indicating Susan should sit down also. "Okay young lady, I think the proper term is 'spill'. Your letters have said nothing about the two of you."

"We decided to tell you in person," Susan defended.

"Okay, that makes sense. Now tell me everything. This is the closest I have to girl talk at my age." Susan laughed a bit.

"Oh auntie, you're not that old, I don't see why you aren't trying to find someone. What about Sirius?"

"To young, both mentally and physically, and I doubt that Sirius will ever settle down. Besides, I'm married to my job and you two. Now stop trying to change the subject young lady."

Huffing in defeat, Susan resigned herself to telling details. "Well, I guess it started during our first Hogsmead trip. We ended up going as a large group which included Daphne, Tracey, and a few others. Daphne had been flirting rather openly with Harry for a few weeks by this point, and even though Harry didn't seem to notice, I still got rather nervous. So I did what you suggested and dressed up a little nicer, and made sure that I stayed around Harry for most of the day. About half way through the day, I found my inner Gryffindor and took his hand. We had held hands before, but this time it felt different, and I think Harry felt it too." Susan's eyes went out of focus and a goofy smile came over her face. "I will never forget the look on his face. It was a mixture of confusion, nervousness and joy. I don't know how he put all three of those emotions together in one face, but he managed it. After a few seconds of us just looking at each other with our hands together, he just nodded and squeezed my hand. We didn't let go for the rest of the day."

"How did Daphne react," Amelia asked remembering Susan mentioning the girl before as a potential rival.

"When she saw us holding hands she raised an eyebrow while looking at me and I just smiled at her. I will admit, the smile might have been a little smug, but I couldn't tell you for sure. After that she just shrugged. She seems to have backed off lately, but I suspect she hasn't given up. I got the distinct impression that if Harry and I break up, something I will try hard to prevent, she will be right there to pounce."

Amelia nodded. "So have you too snogged yet?" Amelia felt a satisfied smirk appear on her face at seeing her niece's face turn scarlet.

"No, not yet, the most we've done is hugs and light kisses. I don't think Harry is ready for that much affection yet. He is a lot better in a lot of respects from when he first came to live with us, but I can tell he is still uncertain about a lot of things. We had a long conversation when we decided to start dating, and he was terrified that he would do something wrong, and it would ruin our friendship, or worse, he would no longer be welcomed here. I think deep down, he still feels that he is imposing and that we will leave him."

"I'm sure the events of last year haven't helped much," Amelia asked in concern.

"No, he regressed slightly and withdrew a bit into himself at the start of the year. I think he was scared everyone would blame him for what happened with the Basilisk, as he still blames himself. Madam Pomfrey has helped a lot though, and he seems to be getting better, but the physical part of our relationship is very slow going as he is very reluctant to initiate anything." Susan seemed to be talking to herself now, lost in thought. "I suspect that it will be up to me to initiate many of the steps in our relationship."

"Now hold on a second missy," Amelia broke in causing Susan to blush her deepest scarlet as she realized she had been talking out loud. "I don't want you rushing into anything, nor pushing Harry into anything he is uncomfortable with, do you understand? Think of how you would feel if it was the other way around, and Harry was trying to push things to a level you were uncomfortable with." Amelia hid her satisfied expression at Susan's guilty look. "I don't want to be a Grand-Aunt any time soon, so don't go rushing into things."

"I didn't mean that auntie," Susan defended hotly. "It's not like I was planning to go shag Harry tomorrow. It was more of an abstract thought." She let out a deep breath. "But your right, I shouldn't try to push too hard, even if I do want to snog his brains out."

"Just be honest with each other and talk about your feelings. It sounds like you two are already doing a good job at that, so just keep it up. The best way to avoid misunderstanding is to communicate. You two already have a strong foundation built as friends, just keep building on that and you will be fine."

Susan nodded looking like she was deep in thought. "Now," Amelia said rising from the bed. "Puck is probably almost done with dinner, let's go get your boyfriend and enjoy a nice dinner. I have a surprise for you two."

-(=)-

Amelia put her fork down and sat back in her chair languishing in the afterglow of the delicious meal that Puck had created. The small elf had outdone himself this time in his excitement for the kids to be back. The exquisitely prepared pheasant that made up the main course was one of Amelia's favorite, while the treacle tart and peach cobbler was the kids' favorite desert. Rubbing her full stomach, Amelia let out a contented sigh. "That was quite possibly the best meal you have made Puck," Amelia told the small house elf sitting at the table. Both Susan and Harry nodded their agreement sitting, to Amelia's amusement, side by side on the rather small table leaving one side completely open. Puck blushed at the praise dropping his bulbous eyes to the table and his large ears twitching.

"Now, as I mentioned to Susan, I have a bit of a surprise for you. Tomorrow, we are leaving for Switzerland to go skiing. Surprisingly, Sirius's family owns a chalet at the base of one of the more popular skiing resorts in Switzerland. According to Sirius though, it has been in the family for generations and dates back to long before muggles began taking skiing vacations there. He assures me, that unlike the house in London, this house has been properly looked after even though it hasn't been used by a Black in probably thirty years. Apparently, Sirius's uncle owned it and leased it out as a vacation rental to muggles. Since it is completely muggle, we will be traveling there the muggle way also. We fly out of London tomorrow morning and will be renting a car when we get to Geneva and driving the rest of the way. Sirius is already there and Remus will be joining us in a few days." Both teens had matching smiles on their faces at the prospect of the skiing holiday. At Amelia's urging, they excused themselves from the table and dashed upstairs to pack.

-(=)-

Amelia had to admit, she rather enjoyed skiing. The rush that came with zooming down the snow covered mountain, her skis swishing back and forth sending up clouds of white powder as she worked her way down the mountain. They had been at the resort for a week now, and both Harry and Susan were having a blast. Both kids had taken to skiing like a mermaid to water and had already asked numerous times if they could come back next year.

When they had arrived at the mountain home, they found that Sirius had already procured all the necessary equipment and signed everybody up for lessons the following day. Throughout the trip, Harry and Susan had talked about their year at Hogwarts, Harry half joking about how much easier it is to focus when someone wasn't trying to kill him. Both kids seemed to be loving their classes and doing well in them and only Sirius found something to grumble about commenting one night after the kids had gone to sleep on how Harry seemed to be all Lily and very little James as he had pulled no pranks on anyone or gone sneaking around the castle at night.

When Sirius had told Harry that he would be inheriting the Black Title when Sirius passed, along with the Potter one when he turned seventeen Harry had hardly reacted. All he said was the he expected to be old and grey before Sirius passed on that title to him, so Sirius better keep himself alive for a long time. Susan had said, with a completely straight face, "Now we need to have at least three kids to pass on each of our names," causing Harry's face to try to blush and pale at the same time while Amelia's just paled, and Sirius to letting out a bark of a laugh. Susan held the serious expression for all of a minute finally breaking out in giggles pointing at Amelia and Harry's face. "You should have seen your face; oh I wish I had a camera for that one." Sirius and her shared a high five as the two continued to laugh.

They stayed at the Chalet for two weeks, returning back to Bones Manor the day before Christmas Eve and Amelia was working catching up on paperwork in her office when she heard a soft nock on her door. Looking up she saw a nervous Harry standing in the door.

"Can I talk to you Auntie," he asked fiddling with his hand. Amelia nodded and Harry came and sat down in front of her desk. "I was wondering if it was possible to visit my parents' grave." Harry asked all in a rush. "I've never been there, and I don't even know where they are buried. I just thought, you know, it would be good to see it, and maybe talk to them."

Amelia nodded. "We can do that. They are buried in Godric's Hollow. I visited them a time or two after their deaths, but I haven't been back for a while. I don't see any reason we can't go. How does tomorrow after lunch sound?" Harry nodded looking relieved. "Good, we can apparate to a small cops of trees just outside the village tomorrow. Do you want me to see if Sirius and Remus want to come?" Harry nodded again and Amelia said she would talk to the Marauders. Harry thanked her and left looking a bit happier. Amelia caught the top of a strawberry blond hair peaking around the doorframe and smiled wondering whose idea this was. The two definitely were a lot closer and Amelia was thankful that she had yet to walk in on a full snogging session, but knew that it was only a matter of time.

-(=)-

The small group materialized on the outskirts of the small village of Godric's Hollow. The snow fell gently from the sky adding to the already thick blanket of snow that covered the ground. Amelia looked towards the small village, the midday light reflecting off the snow, giving the village a picturesque glow. Looking to her left, she saw Harry gazing at the village, a look of uncertainty in his emerald green eyes. "Shall we," she prompted the group making her way through the ankle deep snow towards the village. As she led the way, she saw Susan take Harry's hand and together they followed with Sirius and Remus bringing up the rear.

The walk to the village was slow going, as the snow was hampering their speed, and they did not want to use magic a s perfectly melted trail would be a little obvious to any passerby. Instead, Amelia conjured snow shoes for the group to wear to make walking on the powdery snow easier, if not quicker. As the group entered the village, they made their way down the high street towards the center of the town. When they reached the town center, they came to a tall obelisk that Amelia knew was disguised. AS they approached it, the illusion lifted and a statue of two smiling adults and a laughing baby appeared.

"That looks nothing like them," Sirius complained from beside Amelia. "You would think they could at least get that right." Amelia nodded but noticed Harry wasn't paying attention, as he gazed up at the bronze statue. Harry seemed to shake himself out of a thought as he continued to look around the small village. On the other side of the central square sat a large church, with a large Christmas tree adorned with lights and ornaments for Christmas. Amelia followed his gaze and spotted the church's graveyard, where she knew Lily and James were laid to rest.

Harry began to walk towards the graveyard along with Susan, who had shifted her grip from his hand to hold onto his whole arm. The adults followed behind the two kids passing through a small kissing gate. It took the party a few minutes of searching but finally they came to a small plot marked by one head stone proclaiming this as Lily and James Potter's final resting place. The group stood in the snow for a few moments, and Amelia could tell that Harry didn't know what to say or do.

Amelia moved up closer to the gravestones standing next to Harry. "Hello Lily and James," she said in a quiet voice. "I'm sorry it's been a long time since I've come to visit, but I brought some guests this time. Harry is here, along with Susan, Sirius and Remus. We finally got a hold of you will and were able to get Sirius out of prison and give Harry the home he deserves. You would be so proud of Harry. He has inherited all of your best traits and is turning into a wonderful young man with a bright future." Amelia turned to look at Harry and she smiled encouragingly.

He cleared his thought and looked between the gravestones and Amelia still uncertain. A gentle squeeze of the hand from Susan for encouragement was the last push he needed. "Uh, hi mum and dad," he started hesitantly. "I'm sorry I've never come and visited you, but Aunt Petunia never even told me your names. But that's okay, cus I have a real family now." That opened the floodgates it seemed. Harry began to tell everything that had happened in his life catching his parents up on 12 years. Amelia had long since conjured a stone bench for the group to sit on while visiting with the Potters no one minding the snow falling from the sky. As the sky began to darken, Amelia stood up and noticed that Christmas lights began to illuminate around the village and music began to seep out from the church.

As if her rising was a cue, the rest of the group stood up too and Amelia vanished the bench. With her wand still in her hand she waved it over the Potters and conjured a lovely Christmas wreath, complete with holly and ivee and placed it in front of the grave stone. After a final farewell and a merry Chistmas, Harry and Susan turned and began to walk out of the graveyard, followed by Remus. Amelia began to follow but noticed that Sirius had stayed. She stopped a short distance away to give the Marauder a bit of privacy but she could still hear what he was saying.

"I'm sorry I failed you James. I know that one day, when I see you again, you will give me a punch to the jaw, and I will deserve it. I failed him once, but I will do better." Silence filled the air as Sirius continued to stand in front of the grave. After a few minutes, he turned and joined Amelia and together they walked out of the graveyard.

"Where are your parents buried Suzy?" Harry was asking quietly as Amelia approached.

"Back at Bones Manor, I used to visit their grave every year at the anniversary of their death, but now I am at Hogwarts during that time."

"We could go visit them when we get back, if you want," Harry suggested. Susan smiled and nodded her acceptance of the plan. "And during the year, we can light a candle on the anniversary in remembrance."

Susan smiled widely at her boyfriend's suggestion. "That sounds wonderful Harry."

Harry looked down at his feet. "I feel bad that I've never thought about what you do for your parents, especially after everything you've done to help me. I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for Harry," Amelia turned away as her Niece gave her boyfriend a kiss ending the discussion. Clearing her throat, Amelia declared it was time to get home and into some warm clothes. With an adult taking one of the kids, they all apparated back to Bones Manor where Puck had hot cocoa with marshmallows and a warm fire waiting for the snow covered group.

The rest of the holiday passed quickly for the residents of Bones Manor. A week after the kids had returned to school, a large barn owl flew into her kitchen carrying an official looking envelope from Gringotts requesting a meeting.