Harry Potter: Redemption in Time

Neville was struggling to cope with life, back living with his grandmother. He had gotten so used to having his friends around him all the time that being alone again was hard to take. A pecking noise from his window heralded the arrival of an owl carrying a note from Millie, this put a smile on his face. He was not the shy, lonely boy who left this place a few months ago to make the terrifying journey to Hogwarts, he now had friends.

Hearing that two of those friends were all right had lifted the mood of the entire group at the station. He couldn't blame Harry and Hermione for staying away while Dumbledore was obsessively hunting them, he'd seen the old wizard lose it and wouldn't put anything past the crazy old goat.

Neville understood why they had acted quickly to contact Luna and Ginny. If the first Neville had heard of the commotion at Hogwarts was the headline screaming at him from the front page of the Daily Prophet, he would have been worried sick.

He also understood that his two friends would write to him as soon as they knew what was happening, after all they'd done it before. McGonagall had apparently mentioned to his gran that he had stood with Harry and fired curses against Voldemort, she kept glancing at him as if to see he was still the same boy and had even said she was proud of him.

He read again the letter from Millie before climbing into bed with a smile on his face, he would write back to her tomorrow. He would also write a few of his other friends, no one knew how long Hogwarts was going to be closed and they were all determined to keep in touch. He wouldn't write to Harry and Hermione as they would probably be hidden from owls, he could only hope they were ok.

....

Harry was also struggling to cope with his change of environment, he was currently trying not to breathe in as the wave crashed over him. When his head broke the surface, he spluttered and spat out the salt water while being taunted by his wife's giggling. "You're supposed to surf on the wave love, not through it!"

Harry was wearing a fake pout, "How can you be terrified on a broom yet fly on the waves?"

"I'm not terrified on a broom, I'm terrified of being high-up in the air on a broom. If I fall off my board I only get wet, if I fall off a broom I get splattered!"

Harry now had a grin that puzzled Hermione, "I think I've got a new patronus worthy thought, you on a broom wearing that bikini. Prongs would be powerful enough to clear out Azkaban with an image like that!"

He found himself again struggling to breathe as Hermione pushed his head under the water, her giggles turned to squeals as Harry picked her up and playfully threatened to throw her head-first into the next wave.

On the beach, Emma, Dan and Sirius were sitting together under the welcome shade of a palm leaf parasol. Emma thought she could quickly get used to this life. "It's so good to see them behaving like kids, instead of people with the weight of the world on their shoulders."

Dan wholeheartedly agreed with his wife. "Yeah, this was a brilliant idea Sirius. It gives them time to unwind before we head off to Australia on Wednesday." It was easy to see Sirius had other things on his mind at the moment, both Grangers were sure they knew what it was. "Don't worry Sirius, she'll come with us."

"I must really be losing my touch if I'm that transparent. I'm asking a lot without being ready to ask the one question she probably wants to hear. I don't know Dan, Hestia's a classy lady. Asking her to uproot her life to come half way around the world with me, just so we can get to know one another better doesn't seem like much of an offer to me."

Emma was watching her two kids playing in the surf, "I wouldn't worry about it Sirius, the last couple I know who tried that turned out pretty well. I agree that Hestia is very 'classy' but don't sell yourself short."

Their eyes were drawn to the young couple that meant so much to them, "I think that comparison makes it worse Emma. I look at those two and see how right they are for each other, I want to find the same. That's quite a high standard to set yourself!"

"That's what everyone wants Sirius, it doesn't happen overnight though. What you see out there is the result of those two being together almost every day for eight years, and some of them were very, very bad days."

Sirius could only nod in agreement with Emma, he really liked Hestia but felt they were a bit away from being able to talk about spending the rest of their lives together. He certainly hoped they had a long future together and would tell her so. He'd decided to be honest with her and expected the same in return, neither were looking at this as a casual relationship.

Dan interrupted his thoughts, "We're all agreed though that those two don't return to Britain until Albus Dumbledore is no longer a threat?"

"Yes Dan, I'll handle the trial and set the portkey to take us directly to the airport. I can only hope there's more than five of us on that plane, you're sure you wouldn't rather travel by international portkey?"

Emma was adamant, "This way should be safer, we'll hire a couple of cars until we can buy some. That should make us pretty untraceable to that crazy old man."

There was a pause until Dan asked the next question, "How do you think Harry will react to being told he's not going to the trial?"

Sirius just chuckled, "He would probably explode if you put it like that, I have no intention of doing so. I was thinking more along the lines of 'Harry, would you like to attend a trial where you will be gawked at by everyone or spend the day on the beach with Hermione?' What do you think his answer will be?"

The sound of laughter coming from the surf gave them all a big clue to what answer they would receive.

.....

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