It\'s All Done With Mirrors

A/N: Mel, deblovesdragon, It took me a while, eh? But I couldn\'t keep them apart any longer!
Amanda, I\'m so glad you\'re enjoying this :-)) And I agree normally on the doctor front!
Lee (ginnylover)ow, ow, what a compliment!!! I\'m quite overcome! Thank you so much and I will definitely check out your fic :-D


Chapter Twenty Four
Overcoming


Outside The Library, Hogwarts, August 2010


\"St - Standard Book of Spells, Chapter For - Forty-Three,\" he stammered, lowering the wand slowly, as if it were going to explode in his hand.

His eyes were large, brown, serious...it was like looking into a damned mirror!

\"Miss Granger? Are you all right? Did I do it wrong? The spell, that is.\" My son crouched in front of me, his expression one of awe.

\"Robin...\"

\"I know I\'m not supposed to do magic outside school classes. But I didn\'t know what else to do. Will I be expelled, Miss Granger?\" A tear welled in both of his eyes, and while one rolled down his cheek, the other dripped down his aquiline nose.

\"No, \" I whispered. \" But I wouldn\'t let them, even if they tried. You did right, Robin.\"

As I gazed at his exquisite face, a perfect blending of my features with Severus\', I melted inside all the ice that had frozen my feelings for a dozen years.

And I could not think what to say, lest I push him away from me forever. So I contented myself with taking his hand and squeezing it gently.


*

Robin decided Miss Granger was in shock. She was looking at him funny. What was it that Lavender said was good for shock? He squeezed Miss Granger\'s hand right back, trying to think how to make her feel better.

Hot sweet tea! That was it. Robin stood up and slid his wand into his sleeve.

\"Where do we go to get some tea in this Castle?\"

\"The best place I know is Gryffindor Tower,\" she smiled up at him, still pale with shock.

\"Great! That\'s another place I haven\'t been to yet,\" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

With a strength that belied his slender form, Robin pulled the Cleverest Witch in Hogwarts\' History to her feet, escapee tendrils of her hair tickling his face a little. The sensation reminded him of something from long ago, but he pushed that thought aside, intent on getting Miss Granger a hot cup of tea...and exploring Gryffindor Tower.

Hand in hand, the two of them headed for the staircases.


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Ravenclaw Common Room, Hogwarts, August 2010


\"It\'s pretty nice in here, Neville. Luna was right.\" Nymphodora Tonks tossed a hot piece of toast to Neville Longbottom, who caught it deftly.

\"You know something, Tonks?\" he looked at her as he buttered it, and tossed it back to her. Tonks caught it and brought it to her mouth. \"Wha\'?\" she said, chewing.

\"I\'ve no idea what house you were in at Hogwarts.\"

\"Mfflflpp,\" she replied, concentrating on her snack.

\"Huh?\"

Tonks swallowed. \"Sorry. Hufflepuff. I think that was because I\'d just had this little Metamorphmagus incident, and my hair was black and white stripes. The Sorting Hat probably thought I looked like the Hufflepuff Badger.\" She laughed, and gave Neville a demonstration.

\"I often wonder why it put me in Gryffindor,\" remarked Neville, when he\'d finished laughing. \"Or Luna in Ravenclaw.\"

\"You know, I don\'t rate all this House stuff, Neville.\" Tonks sighed, and flicked crumbs off her lap into the ashes of the fire. \"It marks you for life...makes you think what would have happened if Snape had gone into Hufflepuff. Or Minerva into Slytherin. Gods, can you imagine?\"

Luna poked her head round the Common Room door.

\"Wotcher, Luna!\" Tonks leapt up, promptly tripping over the toasting fork and nearly landing in amongst the burning logs. \"I\'m such a clumsy clot,\" she said, sadly. \"I despair of myself sometimes, I really do. Anyway, Luna - did you get past all the Wards all right?\"

\"No...which was a relief, because well...that\'s the idea really,\" Luna said dreamily. \"Professor Snape had to let me in through the Floo from George and Fred\'s place. He\'s in an abusive mood tonight. Snape is, I mean. Was sat in Minerva\'s office, gnashing his teeth on the butt end of his wand. I think he might have been waiting for Albus. Then I told him Albus was doing the new twins\' Naming Ceremony, so he\'d be in Gryffindor Tower. He swore at me, Neville,\" she added, reproachfully.

\"Never mind, love,\" Neville smiled at her affectionately. \"You ready for bed, then?\"

\"I think so,\" she replied, yawning.

\"Well, I\'ll be off then, folks,\" Tonks pinched the last slice of toast and headed for the door. \"I promised to play George at Wizard Chess when he gets back from the Naming Ceremony...or was it Fred? Anyway, it\'s one of them! See ya both tomorrow!\"

\"Watch out for Snape, Tonks. Goodnight!\"


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Gryffindor Common Room, Hogwarts, August 2010


\"So what were you doing in the Library so late at night? Isn\'t anyone supposed to be looking after you?\"

I\'d decided that any talk about the past could wait, and instead sat with Robin in front of a cheerful fire, drinking tea and eating toast and jam.

\"I gave Lavender the slip. Told her I\'d found someone to take me on a tour of Hogwarts...which wasn\'t true, actually. But I could tell she really wanted to go and see the babies, so I decided I would sit in the Library and talk to Miss Quinke. But she wasn\'t there, so I got a couple of books off the shelf for a little light reading.\"

I was interested immediately. \"What books were they?\" I asked.

He bit his lip, and I nearly gasped to see my mannerisms on another face. I pulled myself together though, and gave my son a stern look.

\"Let me guess...was one of them \'Moste Potente Potions\'?\"

He started guiltily. I shook my head as laughter threatened to bubble up inside me. It was no use.

\"Merlin\'s robe, Robin! At least I waited until I was in the Second Year before sneaking that book off the shelves!\"

He stared at me, but I couldn\'t stop laughing. \"Look, Robin. You are going to get yourself into so much trouble. You have an absolute need to get into things you shouldn\'t, haven\'t you? A certain disregard for School Rules? An outspoken temperament, I\'ll bet. You\'re going to be a puzzle to every single person in thisool,ool, beginning with the Sorting Hat!\" I paused, and looked at his adorable face, which was written all over with confusion.

\"You\'ll go far at Hogwarts, Robin. Just be careful!\"

*

He liked Miss Granger. A lot. Not in a boy/girl way, of course. No way. But she was funny, and she liked books, and she was clever. Really clever.

\"Were you in Gryffindor, Miss Granger?\" She nodded. \"I can\'t decide what House I\'d like to be in. Maybe Ravenclaw, because according to \'Hogwarts - A History\' they\'ve got thousands of books in their Common Room!\"

She looked at him. \"I thought that, but Madame Pince told me that they were just the same books as were in Hogwarts Library. Useful if someone\'s checked out the book you want, though...\" She took a drink of her tea, and went on, speaking softly. \"The Sorting Hat will place you right, Robin. Most of my friends at Hogwarts were Gryffindors, but it\'s not as if you have to keep away from everyone else.\"

He liked Miss Granger\'s voice. It sounded like singing.

\"Are you tired?\" she asked him then.

\"A bit. I told Lavender I would meet her in the Library, but I didn\'t know when she\'d get back.\" He looked at the clock, and swallowed. It was after ten at night!

\"Tell you what, Robin. I\'ll go back down to the Library, see if Lavender\'s hanging round there, and bring her back. If you came to Hogwarts with her, then you\'re probably sleeping here in Gryffindor anyway. Snuggle down on the sofa, and I\'ll be back before you know it!\"

And with that, Miss Granger tucked a blanket around him, and crawled through the portrait hole.

Robin felt oddly lonely, all of a sudden. He hoped she would come back soon.


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Opportunity Squibs Office, Knockturn Alley, August 2010


Millie glared at the hooded figure, collapsed in her favourite armchair.

\"Like to tell me what the fuck is going on?\" she demanded, glowering.

\"Millie, I\'m hurting. Just let me get warm for a few moments before I go into all the details,\" the voice groaned.

\"You have five minutes. Five. And then you start talking, or I throw you out.\"


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Outside Ravenclaw Common Room, August 2010


Nathan watched the tall Auror with the multi-coloured hair crawl out through the portrait hole, trip over her feet, and skid across the polished floors on her face.

He took the opportunity to sneak in through the opening while the resulting confusion drew both the current inhabitant of the Ravenclaw Portrait - a Golden-haired Witch in a blue hat - and the ghost of the Grey Lady - who was visiting for a chinwag - over to the poor girl, to see if she was all right.

He knew he was about to do a terrible thing. But he\'d not been Sorted a Slytherin for nothing. And anyway, it wasn\'t going to do any harm. He just needed his Portkey, and to get that, he needed the new Passwords.


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Outside The Library, Hogwarts, August 2010


\"Lavender!\"

\"Oh, hi, Hermione. I was just...waiting for...someone. Library\'s closed, you know.\"

I hadn\'t really thought this through. I didn\'t want to let Lavender know I knew...

\"Yes, I know it is. Look, there\'s a little boy asleep in the Gryffindor Common room. I think he might have got lost - he muttered something about the Naming Ceremony?\"

\"Oh yes that\'s right, Hermione! My...nephew. My goodness, well I\'d better go and get him off to bed.\"

\"Can\'t he stay where he is? You\'re supposed to be staying in Gryffindor aren\'t you?\" I couldn\'t resist making her look uncomfortable. Payback is a bitch...

\"Well - I was just about to take him to...\" she trailed off.

I guess I\'m not cut out to be nasty. Either that or I was too pissed off with all the planning and plotting behind my back to want to spend any more time with my meddling friends.

\"Tell you what, Lav - why don\'t you leave him where he is and you go on ahead to Draco\'s rooms, eh? Your nephew will be quite safe in Gryffindor. I\'ll be there, too, after all. I take it you\'re not going back to your hat shop tonight.\" I might have sounded harsh, but Lavender Brown smiled gratefully, if a little gormlessly, and literally scampered off towards Slytherin Tower, throwing a \"Thanks, \'Mione!\" over her shoulder as she took the stairs three at a time.

Shaking my head, I took the opposite staircase back towards Gryffindor. And my son.

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Opportunity Squibs Office, Knockturn Alley, August 2010

\"Well? Your five minutes are up.\"

The cloaked figure sat up, wearily, and took a deep breath. At that moment, however, they heard a sharp rapping at the door.

\"Millie. I can\'t get in, Millie. Open the bloody door!\"

Millie pointed her wand at the door, and flicked it. \"Alohamora,\" she intoned.

The door flew open, and Pansy Malfoy stalked in.

\"Oh, Ron. Glad you made it. That was a rather close shave you had, wasn\'t it?\"

Ronald Weasley shoved his hood back, and glared at Pansy. \"Where\'s Hermione?\" he demanded.

Pansy just laughed.