Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns all things Harry Potter.
*****************
Coming Home
Chapter 1: Remus
Ginny hummed under her breath and kicked at the small piles of remaining snow as she walked home, a bag of tacos from her favorite Clark Street grocery in hand. Her woolen hat and gloves were tucked away in the pockets of her coat, which was open to let in the warming air. Spring had well and truly come, and she welcomed it with open arms. Over her ten winters in Chicago, she had learned to deal with the snow and cold of real winters, but she had never come to love them. So every year, when it finally began to thaw, she always felt a little bit giddy. Now she was nearly skipping as she rounded the last corner.
She stopped suddenly, startled by the tall figure standing in front of her apartment building.
He was unassuming enough in his ill-fitting, slightly shabby clothing. But Ginny knew him immediately. He was her only link to her old life. He would give her news of her family and events in the wizarding world. Occasionally he would risk the wrath of Molly Weasley to pass on assurances of her health and happiness to her family without revealing where she was. But Remus Lupin had never before visited her here, and it completely unnerved her.
When she had fled from the wizarding world with all its reminders of Harry Potter nearly ten years before, Ginny had ended up on an airplane to Chicago. Remus had helped her get Muggle paperwork and had suggested that she go to the United States--it was easy to blend in there and she already knew the language. Living as a Muggle would be hard enough for her as it was without having trouble communicating as well. The first available flight was to Chicago, so that's where she went. She knew nothing about the city or how she was going to live there.
By a tremendous stroke of luck, she was seated next to Elsa Lin on the airplane. Still distraught, Ginny poured out a safe-for-Muggles version of her troubles. Elsa agreed to help her get settled in the city. Together they found Ginny a job and an apartment, and in the process they became great friends. In fact, Ginny was expecting her that evening, and she had no idea how she would explain Remus to Elsa, or keep him from spilling the few secrets she still had.
Ginny had no time to solve this quandary, as Elsa rounded the corner at the other end of the block at the exact moment Remus turned and saw Ginny. They gave her identical grins, and she would have laughed if she weren't in such an awkward position. There was nothing for it but to introduce them. She just wished she had bought more tacos.
Twenty minutes later, the three of them were relaxing in her living room, most of the tacos already gone. She loved her living room. It had lots of wood trim that gave it character, huge windows that let in the sunlight during the day, and a decorative fireplace that she had filled with candles and gave the room a cheery glow in the evenings. The atmosphere reminded her just a little bit of home. She had been lucky to find this apartment. It was large and creaked invitingly. It was on a tree-lined street one block from the el, two blocks from a quirky coffee shop, three blocks away from Lake Michigan, and, best of all, only two blocks from Elsa's apartment. Just being in this room helped her relax and stop worrying about why Remus had come.
Luckily, Elsa was quite willing to lead the conversation, as she was very curious about Remus.
"Remus Lupin. That's an interesting name," commented Elsa. "If you were in a novel, I would think you were a werewolf or something!" She laughed at her own joke. Ginny nearly swallowed her tongue. Luckily, Remus, who actually was a werewolf, took it in stride.
"Yes, it was an unfortunate choice on my parents' part. I think they were trying to go for consistency, but I would have preferred something different. It almost seems to be tempting fate, doesn't it?"
Elsa went on quizzing Remus, and he kept answering with good grace. Much to Ginny's relief, he deftly avoided all of the topics that she hoped he would. Still, Ginny had no clear idea why he had come. She knew that there could be nothing terribly wrong with any of her family, or he would have told her already, despite Elsa's presence. She found herself wishing Elsa would leave so they could talk privately.
Then the conversation was interrupted by a door slamming shut at the back of the apartment and what sounded like a herd of elephants running down the hall to the living room. Two boys tumbled into the room. One was short and a little pudgy with chocolate skin, and the other was taller and skinny with a shock of messy black hair and brown eyes. The skinny boy was yelling, "Mom! Aunt Elsa! You've got to see what we...."
He stopped short when he saw Remus. "Oh! I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know Mom had company."
"Not to worry. She didn't know I was coming either," he responded. "You must be Evan." The boy nodded, and Remus looked at him intently for a moment. "You look just like your father. Except for your eyes, of course. You have your mother's eyes."
The boy's mouth hung open. "You knew my father?"
Remus smiled. "Yes. And I knew his father as well. He was one of my best friends in school."
Evan flopped down on the floor at Remus's feet. "Tell me everything!"
***
After that, Evan was enraptured. He was dying to hear whatever Remus would tell him of his father and grandfather. Ginny was the only family member he knew, and although she was happy to tell him what she knew of Harry, it never seemed to be enough. Ginny didn't have the heart to make him go to bed when he was so clearly enjoying himself. The spell was only broken when Flo Porter came up from the apartment below and threatened to give both boys extra chores the next day if her son Isaac didn't go to bed immediately.
Evan and Isaac had been best friends all their lives. When Ginny moved into the building, she had been all alone and two and a half months pregnant. Flo was also pregnant and was happy to give Ginny advice, considering that she already had a three year old daughter. They ended up bonding over morning sickness and common cravings. The boys were born within four days of each other and were never apart for very long.
Soon Flo and Isaac had disappeared downstairs, Elsa had made her excuses, and Ginny had torn Evan away from Remus and made him go to bed. Ginny finally had a chance to talk to Remus alone.
"So, are you going to tell me why you are here? Or is it too much for me to hope that you just wanted to see the view from the top of the Sears Tower?"
"Well, since I am here, I wouldn't mind that. Or at least the John Hancock Building. I hear there is a very nice bar at the top of that one--you can pretend that all you want to do is sip your drink rather than just gaping at the view like some daft tourist."
"I'll be sure to take you to all the local bars, then, now that I know what you really want," she answered sarcastically. "Are there any other tourist traps you want to take advantage of?"
"I'm glad to see you still have the same sharp tongue you always had," he said with a laugh. "Somehow that just doesn't come out in your letters. I would actually like to see some of the city while I am here, but there is nothing in particular. Anything you and Evan would like to show me. Oh. And I want some real Chicago pizza."
"Well, the pizza is no problem, and I'm sure Evan will have all sorts of things he wants to show you. He seems quite taken with you."
"Frankly, Ginny, I think he would be quite taken with Voldemort as long as he told stories about Harry."
Ginny was shocked at first and opened her mouth to retort, but then she realized that he was probably right and hung her head. Evan had been fascinated with Harry since he had been old enough to understand that his father was dead. Ginny told him what she could, but as she hadn't yet mentioned the wizarding world, her stash of safe stories was somewhat limited.
"That's really why I am here," he said gently. "He deserves to know about Harry, beyond what you can tell him. And he deserves to know about the wizarding world. He has already shown signs of magic, no?" She nodded, remembering the time that Evan had dried up the bath water in an attempt to avoid washing. "He should know before he gets his Hogwarts letter. You know how hard it was for Harry when he found out. It will be the same for Evan. His father was one of the greatest heros the wizarding world has known. Whether you like it or not, Evan will be a center of attention at Hogwarts, just like Harry was. Doesn't he deserve to be prepared for that in a way that Harry wasn't?"
"But I want him to be a normal boy! He shouldn't have to spend his childhood dodging the press!"
"He'll have to dodge the press if he goes to Hogwarts, anyway. The only way to keep him from it is to keep him from Hogwarts altogether, and you know how bad an idea that would be."
"I know. I have always planned to send him there, but it isn't time yet. He's only nine years old! He has two more years until we have to cross that bridge."
"But the longer you wait, the less time he has to prepare. To absorb the idea that he will be a celebrity. It took Harry years to come to terms with what that meant. And if you wait, you will deprive him of something else that he deserves."
"And what might that be?"
"His family."
"He has family. He has me."
"Think about it, Ginny. You were always surrounded by a huge, loving family who supported you in everything. How would you have managed in your first year and afterwards without them?"
"Well..."
"He could have all of that support. And you know he craves information about his family. You saw it tonight. And he wouldn't have to be alone at Hogwarts if he already has a network of family when he goes. You know that Bill's oldest is the same age as Evan, don't you? If he knows his cousins, he'll have friends from the start. He won't have to rely on luck like Harry did. Do you realize what could have happened if Harry had met someone else on the train?"
Ginny picked at her nails silently for a few minutes, then finally looked up at Remus. "I suppose you're right. But it has been ten years. What will my family say?"
"Ginny, you know them better than I do, but I think that they will eventually welcome both of you with open arms."
"Eventually?"
"They are angry, and with good reason. You didn't tell them you were going to leave and then refused to tell them where you were for ten years. You have a son and never told them. Your mother will probably be incensed over being denied a grandchild for so long. It won't be easy. But they are your family and they love you."
"Will you help me tell Evan about the wizarding world?"
"If you would like."
"And will you help me find a flat in London? There is no way I could live with my family."
"Of course."
"All right then. Tomorrow we will go do something touristy and tell Evan the truth about his heritage. Then, in July, I will go back to London. There is no way I will go before that." Ginny expected Remus to protest, but he just nodded.
"I want to avoid the anniversary of Harry's death," she explained even though he hadn't questioned it.
"I understand. That is probably wise. If the press caught wind of it before, they would blow things out of proportion on the anniversary. They will be particularly observant this year."
Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. She dreaded going home, but she had been worrying so much about when to do it that she felt better having made a decision.
"I'm sorry," she said, "but I don't have a guest bedroom. Will you be okay sleeping on the couch?"
"A few nights ago I was curled up on a rug in front of the fire. The couch will be fine."
***
The next day, Ginny and Evan took Remus on a whirlwind tour of Chicago. They took the el downtown and strolled along Michigan Avenue. They had a drink at the top of the John Hancock Building and pretended that they weren't tourists. They strolled through Millennium Park and laughed at their distorted reflections in the Bean. They went to the Field Museum and Evan showed Remus all the dinosaur bones. Remus dragged Evan through the Egyptian section--Evan had never liked it before, but somehow Remus was able to make the history come to life. For dinner, they went to Giordano's so Remus could have Chicago-style pizza.
Over dinner, Ginny and Remus told Evan about magic. Much to their astonishment, he wasn't very surprised.
"Well, strange things have happened around me all my life. Like when I turned Mrs. Peterson's hair green a few weeks ago."
"You what?!" Ginny exclaimed. She was surprised that his teacher hadn't called her--Evan and Isaac had a tendency to be troublemakers and she had fielded a number of calls from the beleaguered Mrs. Peterson. On the other hand, would the woman really want to admit that her usually resplendent blonde hair mysteriously turned green?
"But I was never really sure that what happened was really so strange. Weird things happen to Isaac, too. I figured that maybe strange was really normal and didn't let it bother me. Last week he managed to put some bullies at the top of a tree when they tried to hurt his sister."
"He what?!" Ginny looked imploringly at Remus. How should they deal with this?
"Well," Remus said, "maybe Isaac is a wizard too. Ginny, have you noticed anything about him to indicate it?"
"No, but I wasn't looking either. I had no reason to think he was anything other than a Muggle." The three of them decided to watch to see if Isaac displayed other examples of magic in the future.
Evan was fascinated by the idea that there really was such a thing as magic and that you could learn about it in school. He had a seemingly endless string of questions which ranged from "Do wizards really wear pointed hats?" to "Can I learn how to turn Isaac into a frog?" His last question was the most difficult to answer. "Why haven't you told me this before?"
Ginny took a deep breath then explained the prejudices that still plagued the wizarding world, and the existence of Dark Magic. She told Evan about Voldemort, and the real reason that Harry had died. Before, she had only said that he had fallen ill and died young. Now, she told him what had caused the illness and that his father was a hero in the wizarding world. She explained to him why she had to leave in order to keep her sanity. She told him how the press had hounded her, and probably would hound them both if they ever went back. And finally, she told him that she had family, lots and lots of family, in England. They could move back there if he wanted, so he could get to know them, as long as he understood what he was getting into. By the end of her speech, she was drained. She could hardly look at Evan, but forced herself to. He was sitting quietly, looking down at his long-empty plate, clearly in deep thought.
"Dad was a hero?" he asked quietly.
"Yes. He saved many lives, and it cost him his own in the end. He was a good man, and you are so like him..."
"And there are other people that knew him, besides you and Remus? And family? Grandparents and uncles and cousins?"
"Yes."
His face lit up in a wide grin. "When can we leave?"
*****************
Coming Home
Chapter 1: Remus
Ginny hummed under her breath and kicked at the small piles of remaining snow as she walked home, a bag of tacos from her favorite Clark Street grocery in hand. Her woolen hat and gloves were tucked away in the pockets of her coat, which was open to let in the warming air. Spring had well and truly come, and she welcomed it with open arms. Over her ten winters in Chicago, she had learned to deal with the snow and cold of real winters, but she had never come to love them. So every year, when it finally began to thaw, she always felt a little bit giddy. Now she was nearly skipping as she rounded the last corner.
She stopped suddenly, startled by the tall figure standing in front of her apartment building.
He was unassuming enough in his ill-fitting, slightly shabby clothing. But Ginny knew him immediately. He was her only link to her old life. He would give her news of her family and events in the wizarding world. Occasionally he would risk the wrath of Molly Weasley to pass on assurances of her health and happiness to her family without revealing where she was. But Remus Lupin had never before visited her here, and it completely unnerved her.
When she had fled from the wizarding world with all its reminders of Harry Potter nearly ten years before, Ginny had ended up on an airplane to Chicago. Remus had helped her get Muggle paperwork and had suggested that she go to the United States--it was easy to blend in there and she already knew the language. Living as a Muggle would be hard enough for her as it was without having trouble communicating as well. The first available flight was to Chicago, so that's where she went. She knew nothing about the city or how she was going to live there.
By a tremendous stroke of luck, she was seated next to Elsa Lin on the airplane. Still distraught, Ginny poured out a safe-for-Muggles version of her troubles. Elsa agreed to help her get settled in the city. Together they found Ginny a job and an apartment, and in the process they became great friends. In fact, Ginny was expecting her that evening, and she had no idea how she would explain Remus to Elsa, or keep him from spilling the few secrets she still had.
Ginny had no time to solve this quandary, as Elsa rounded the corner at the other end of the block at the exact moment Remus turned and saw Ginny. They gave her identical grins, and she would have laughed if she weren't in such an awkward position. There was nothing for it but to introduce them. She just wished she had bought more tacos.
Twenty minutes later, the three of them were relaxing in her living room, most of the tacos already gone. She loved her living room. It had lots of wood trim that gave it character, huge windows that let in the sunlight during the day, and a decorative fireplace that she had filled with candles and gave the room a cheery glow in the evenings. The atmosphere reminded her just a little bit of home. She had been lucky to find this apartment. It was large and creaked invitingly. It was on a tree-lined street one block from the el, two blocks from a quirky coffee shop, three blocks away from Lake Michigan, and, best of all, only two blocks from Elsa's apartment. Just being in this room helped her relax and stop worrying about why Remus had come.
Luckily, Elsa was quite willing to lead the conversation, as she was very curious about Remus.
"Remus Lupin. That's an interesting name," commented Elsa. "If you were in a novel, I would think you were a werewolf or something!" She laughed at her own joke. Ginny nearly swallowed her tongue. Luckily, Remus, who actually was a werewolf, took it in stride.
"Yes, it was an unfortunate choice on my parents' part. I think they were trying to go for consistency, but I would have preferred something different. It almost seems to be tempting fate, doesn't it?"
Elsa went on quizzing Remus, and he kept answering with good grace. Much to Ginny's relief, he deftly avoided all of the topics that she hoped he would. Still, Ginny had no clear idea why he had come. She knew that there could be nothing terribly wrong with any of her family, or he would have told her already, despite Elsa's presence. She found herself wishing Elsa would leave so they could talk privately.
Then the conversation was interrupted by a door slamming shut at the back of the apartment and what sounded like a herd of elephants running down the hall to the living room. Two boys tumbled into the room. One was short and a little pudgy with chocolate skin, and the other was taller and skinny with a shock of messy black hair and brown eyes. The skinny boy was yelling, "Mom! Aunt Elsa! You've got to see what we...."
He stopped short when he saw Remus. "Oh! I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know Mom had company."
"Not to worry. She didn't know I was coming either," he responded. "You must be Evan." The boy nodded, and Remus looked at him intently for a moment. "You look just like your father. Except for your eyes, of course. You have your mother's eyes."
The boy's mouth hung open. "You knew my father?"
Remus smiled. "Yes. And I knew his father as well. He was one of my best friends in school."
Evan flopped down on the floor at Remus's feet. "Tell me everything!"
***
After that, Evan was enraptured. He was dying to hear whatever Remus would tell him of his father and grandfather. Ginny was the only family member he knew, and although she was happy to tell him what she knew of Harry, it never seemed to be enough. Ginny didn't have the heart to make him go to bed when he was so clearly enjoying himself. The spell was only broken when Flo Porter came up from the apartment below and threatened to give both boys extra chores the next day if her son Isaac didn't go to bed immediately.
Evan and Isaac had been best friends all their lives. When Ginny moved into the building, she had been all alone and two and a half months pregnant. Flo was also pregnant and was happy to give Ginny advice, considering that she already had a three year old daughter. They ended up bonding over morning sickness and common cravings. The boys were born within four days of each other and were never apart for very long.
Soon Flo and Isaac had disappeared downstairs, Elsa had made her excuses, and Ginny had torn Evan away from Remus and made him go to bed. Ginny finally had a chance to talk to Remus alone.
"So, are you going to tell me why you are here? Or is it too much for me to hope that you just wanted to see the view from the top of the Sears Tower?"
"Well, since I am here, I wouldn't mind that. Or at least the John Hancock Building. I hear there is a very nice bar at the top of that one--you can pretend that all you want to do is sip your drink rather than just gaping at the view like some daft tourist."
"I'll be sure to take you to all the local bars, then, now that I know what you really want," she answered sarcastically. "Are there any other tourist traps you want to take advantage of?"
"I'm glad to see you still have the same sharp tongue you always had," he said with a laugh. "Somehow that just doesn't come out in your letters. I would actually like to see some of the city while I am here, but there is nothing in particular. Anything you and Evan would like to show me. Oh. And I want some real Chicago pizza."
"Well, the pizza is no problem, and I'm sure Evan will have all sorts of things he wants to show you. He seems quite taken with you."
"Frankly, Ginny, I think he would be quite taken with Voldemort as long as he told stories about Harry."
Ginny was shocked at first and opened her mouth to retort, but then she realized that he was probably right and hung her head. Evan had been fascinated with Harry since he had been old enough to understand that his father was dead. Ginny told him what she could, but as she hadn't yet mentioned the wizarding world, her stash of safe stories was somewhat limited.
"That's really why I am here," he said gently. "He deserves to know about Harry, beyond what you can tell him. And he deserves to know about the wizarding world. He has already shown signs of magic, no?" She nodded, remembering the time that Evan had dried up the bath water in an attempt to avoid washing. "He should know before he gets his Hogwarts letter. You know how hard it was for Harry when he found out. It will be the same for Evan. His father was one of the greatest heros the wizarding world has known. Whether you like it or not, Evan will be a center of attention at Hogwarts, just like Harry was. Doesn't he deserve to be prepared for that in a way that Harry wasn't?"
"But I want him to be a normal boy! He shouldn't have to spend his childhood dodging the press!"
"He'll have to dodge the press if he goes to Hogwarts, anyway. The only way to keep him from it is to keep him from Hogwarts altogether, and you know how bad an idea that would be."
"I know. I have always planned to send him there, but it isn't time yet. He's only nine years old! He has two more years until we have to cross that bridge."
"But the longer you wait, the less time he has to prepare. To absorb the idea that he will be a celebrity. It took Harry years to come to terms with what that meant. And if you wait, you will deprive him of something else that he deserves."
"And what might that be?"
"His family."
"He has family. He has me."
"Think about it, Ginny. You were always surrounded by a huge, loving family who supported you in everything. How would you have managed in your first year and afterwards without them?"
"Well..."
"He could have all of that support. And you know he craves information about his family. You saw it tonight. And he wouldn't have to be alone at Hogwarts if he already has a network of family when he goes. You know that Bill's oldest is the same age as Evan, don't you? If he knows his cousins, he'll have friends from the start. He won't have to rely on luck like Harry did. Do you realize what could have happened if Harry had met someone else on the train?"
Ginny picked at her nails silently for a few minutes, then finally looked up at Remus. "I suppose you're right. But it has been ten years. What will my family say?"
"Ginny, you know them better than I do, but I think that they will eventually welcome both of you with open arms."
"Eventually?"
"They are angry, and with good reason. You didn't tell them you were going to leave and then refused to tell them where you were for ten years. You have a son and never told them. Your mother will probably be incensed over being denied a grandchild for so long. It won't be easy. But they are your family and they love you."
"Will you help me tell Evan about the wizarding world?"
"If you would like."
"And will you help me find a flat in London? There is no way I could live with my family."
"Of course."
"All right then. Tomorrow we will go do something touristy and tell Evan the truth about his heritage. Then, in July, I will go back to London. There is no way I will go before that." Ginny expected Remus to protest, but he just nodded.
"I want to avoid the anniversary of Harry's death," she explained even though he hadn't questioned it.
"I understand. That is probably wise. If the press caught wind of it before, they would blow things out of proportion on the anniversary. They will be particularly observant this year."
Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. She dreaded going home, but she had been worrying so much about when to do it that she felt better having made a decision.
"I'm sorry," she said, "but I don't have a guest bedroom. Will you be okay sleeping on the couch?"
"A few nights ago I was curled up on a rug in front of the fire. The couch will be fine."
***
The next day, Ginny and Evan took Remus on a whirlwind tour of Chicago. They took the el downtown and strolled along Michigan Avenue. They had a drink at the top of the John Hancock Building and pretended that they weren't tourists. They strolled through Millennium Park and laughed at their distorted reflections in the Bean. They went to the Field Museum and Evan showed Remus all the dinosaur bones. Remus dragged Evan through the Egyptian section--Evan had never liked it before, but somehow Remus was able to make the history come to life. For dinner, they went to Giordano's so Remus could have Chicago-style pizza.
Over dinner, Ginny and Remus told Evan about magic. Much to their astonishment, he wasn't very surprised.
"Well, strange things have happened around me all my life. Like when I turned Mrs. Peterson's hair green a few weeks ago."
"You what?!" Ginny exclaimed. She was surprised that his teacher hadn't called her--Evan and Isaac had a tendency to be troublemakers and she had fielded a number of calls from the beleaguered Mrs. Peterson. On the other hand, would the woman really want to admit that her usually resplendent blonde hair mysteriously turned green?
"But I was never really sure that what happened was really so strange. Weird things happen to Isaac, too. I figured that maybe strange was really normal and didn't let it bother me. Last week he managed to put some bullies at the top of a tree when they tried to hurt his sister."
"He what?!" Ginny looked imploringly at Remus. How should they deal with this?
"Well," Remus said, "maybe Isaac is a wizard too. Ginny, have you noticed anything about him to indicate it?"
"No, but I wasn't looking either. I had no reason to think he was anything other than a Muggle." The three of them decided to watch to see if Isaac displayed other examples of magic in the future.
Evan was fascinated by the idea that there really was such a thing as magic and that you could learn about it in school. He had a seemingly endless string of questions which ranged from "Do wizards really wear pointed hats?" to "Can I learn how to turn Isaac into a frog?" His last question was the most difficult to answer. "Why haven't you told me this before?"
Ginny took a deep breath then explained the prejudices that still plagued the wizarding world, and the existence of Dark Magic. She told Evan about Voldemort, and the real reason that Harry had died. Before, she had only said that he had fallen ill and died young. Now, she told him what had caused the illness and that his father was a hero in the wizarding world. She explained to him why she had to leave in order to keep her sanity. She told him how the press had hounded her, and probably would hound them both if they ever went back. And finally, she told him that she had family, lots and lots of family, in England. They could move back there if he wanted, so he could get to know them, as long as he understood what he was getting into. By the end of her speech, she was drained. She could hardly look at Evan, but forced herself to. He was sitting quietly, looking down at his long-empty plate, clearly in deep thought.
"Dad was a hero?" he asked quietly.
"Yes. He saved many lives, and it cost him his own in the end. He was a good man, and you are so like him..."
"And there are other people that knew him, besides you and Remus? And family? Grandparents and uncles and cousins?"
"Yes."
His face lit up in a wide grin. "When can we leave?"
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