wildest dreams ━ james potter

000. ━ a hard goodbye

prologue
( a hard goodbye )

❝She'll be okay.❞

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐖𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄?

That was the only thought on Andrea's mind as she looked around her unusually full house. Remus and Sirius stood to the side with James, a small child in the man's strong hold. Maisie was speaking with Matthew and Lily near the fireplace. In the middle of the group were Andromeda Tonks and Albus Dumbledore.

"Now is the time." She tore her sight away from the group and looked at Dumbledore who met her gaze. "Nobody will know if we leave now."

Andrea looked over her shoulder towards the couch next to the fireplace. She sucked in a shaky breath and walked over, kneeling in front of the small blonde girl. "Mia..." The little girl looked up at her mother who willed her tears not to fall. "Listen to me, sweetheart. You're going to spend some time with Uncle Sirius' cousin, okay?"

Mia looked at the woman who wore a kind smile on her face. "Why?" she asked in a small voice, turning back to her mother. "Mummy, why?"

Andrea opened her mouth. "Because somebody very dangerous wants to hurt your brother," she answered, glancing back at the little boy who was sleeping soundly. "And we don't want you to get hurt."

"Daddy?"

James knelt beside Andrea and smiled sadly at his daughter. "Daddy has to stay with Mummy and Harry, sweetheart. But we'll all be together again soon, I promise."

"You're going to have to be brave for me, okay?" Andrea said to Mia, pulling her onto her lap and holding her close. "Can you do that for me, sweetheart?"

"I will, Mummy."

She nodded, resting her chin on top of Mia's little head, feeling tears travel down her cheeks. She sniffled and rubbed at her cheeks. "Good," she whispered, letting Mia jump off her lap. "Good. Go—Go say goodbye to your aunts and uncles, okay?"

As Mia hurried off to the adults who loved her as their own, James wrapped an arm around Andrea and pulled her closer to him. "We're doing it for her." She nodded, no longer hiding her tears while watching her daughter hug Matthew tightly. "So she'll be safe."

"I know," she replied, her voice breaking. "I just wish we didn't have to send her away. We're her parents, Jamie. We're supposed to be with her."

"We will," he told her and she glanced at him. He rubbed her tear-stained cheek with his thumb. "We will be with her after all of this is over."

"Mummy!" Andrea and James looked over at Mia who held up a small stuffed bear. "Bear! Maisie!" She smiled brightly up at the woman and Andrea felt her eyes well with fresh tears.

"He's adorable," she said to her, hearing her voice shake. "That was very nice of your aunt." She sent Maisie a thankful smile and she nodded. She looked up at Dumbledore who nodded slowly. "Okay. Mia?" The little blonde ran over to her. "Do you have your bag?"

Mia nodded. "Yes, Mummy."

"Okay." Andrea picked her up and hugged her tightly. "We'll see you soon, sweetheart. Be good for Andromeda, okay? I don't want to hear that you refused to sleep. Can you do that for me?"

"I will, Mummy."

James pulled Mia into his arms and stroked her light hair. "We love you, Mia. Remember that."

Mia nodded and looked down at the sleeping baby Remus was holding. "Bye-bye, Harry."

Andrea tilted her head and hugged her tightly once more. "Be good, my darling. We'll see you so soon."

She set Mia down on the ground and watched as Andromeda took her hand. The older woman looked at her. "She'll be okay." Andrea nodded wordlessly and walked over to the door as they disappeared from sight.

"We'll see you soon..."

___________________________

━ author's note:

well, welcome to the rewrite of 'wildest dreams', everybody!

the prologue is among the many changes. this felt more fitting with there being a sequel all about mia.

in this rewrite, I'm hoping to make some of the chapters longer, flow better, and be better altogether. nothing major is being changed. I just want to fully flesh out some things that could've been better the first time.

so, without further ado, welcome (back) to wildest dreams!