Liquor and a Letter

The Return

"Unca Harry, Unca Harry, wake up."

Little Amelia Weasley happily bounced on her feet and tried to shake her uncle awake. She giggled when he batted her arm and climbed atop of him, patting his head and singing his name in a high pitch.

"Amy, can't you let Uncle Harry sleep for five more minutes," Harry begged the child tiredly.

"Nope."

And that was that. He had no other choice but to wake up and let the rest of the world batter his senses into oblivion. If there was one thing Harry Potter hated about an all night bender, it was the morning after. He drowsily opened his eyes to find the little girl sitting on his chest, wrinkling her nose at him.

"You stink," she said in a giggle, making a show of gagging.

"And you're mean," he grumbled halfheartedly with a small upturn of his lips.

"Oi, get your lazy arse off my couch," Amelia's father boomed as he swung his long legs into the living room of The Burrow.

"Let me guess, Ron, you found me and brought me home," Harry sarcastically told his best friend of eleven years.

"No, that would be Luna. I had half a mind to leave you but you know how she gets," said Ron in a guffaw, tossing Harry a vial of what he knew to be hangover cure potion.

"Gee, thanks for the kind words, it means a lot."

Ron chuckled at his best mate but felt a twinge of sadness for the man. For nearly four years the life—if you could even call it that—Harry had been leading was one of drunken nights of debauchery and painful mornings of hangovers. They had multiple talks about it and all of them ended with Harry promising to be better only to fall into the arms of a bottle of whiskey a day later. Ron had all but given up on his friend.

"Unca Harry, can you play with me today?" Amelia asked hopefully.

Unlike her parents who were thoroughly disappointed in her uncle, Amelia adored the man. To her, he was loads of fun and way better company than her strict father. He was her 'fun' uncle. She also had him wrapped around her little finger and could get him to do practically anything, not that her parents let her get away with it a lot.

"Sure, munchkin, just let your smelly uncle take a bath," Harry joked and ruffled the girl's hair.

"Clothes are where they always are," Ron called after him once he stepped upstairs to use the bathroom.

As soon as he left the room, Luna arrived to greet her husband with a morning kiss. "Morning, sweetheart," said the woman calmly. "Has he taken the potion?" She asked.

Nodding, Ron turned to look mournfully at the stairs. It was his experience that when Harry Potter was determined to do something, there would be nothing on earth that could stop him. Currently, the man seemed bent on drinking himself to an early grave. It was painful to watch and Ron knew there was no fixing it. The only person that could even have some semblance of hope to do so had left them four years ago.

"Don't worry, dear, I have a feeling things will change soon," Luna spoke again, smiling at the stairs.

"What makes you say that?" Ron questioned incredulously.

"Something in the air has shifted."
———
Twenty three year old Hermione Granger knocked on her parents door with her boyfriend, soon to be husband, behind her. In her four years since departing England, she had never once returned to the place or even considered doing so. Now, however, circumstances saw fit to bring her back. In a way, she was happy and looked forward to planning her wedding with her mother.

"Poppet, oh it's so wonderful to see you," Hermione's father, Dan Granger, happily cried and swept his daughter up into his arms.

After the raucous greeting and exchanges, Hermione and her fiancé were seated in the house as her mother, Emma, gushed over the ring on her finger. She felt more than a bit of pride and love for the man who gave her it. While her mother continued to gush over the ring, Hermione let herself admire the man of her dreams and her father as they conversed.

As she continued her studies in New York City, they ended up meeting one fateful Sunday at a nearby bar that all the students frequented. While it was initially hard to open her heart to him for a multitude of reasons, it became clear that she more than fancied him. It culminated with her asking him out, surprising even herself, and then going steady for nearly a year.

It also helped that he was British like her and had connections in their home. Granted, he was a muggle but he accepted her status as a witch easily enough and, surprisingly, was beyond interested in Harry Potter and her part in his story.

Hermione's mood grew dour at the thought of her former best friend. It looked like it was nigh impossible for them to have grown apart given how much time they spent together but it happens quicker than a flash of lightning. Before she knew it, she walked out of his life with ease that shouldn't have been conceivable. Deep down, she knew she had made the right choice.

"So, aside from our family, do you want to invite your friends to the wedding?" Emma gently asked her daughter, knowing the topic was more than a tad sensitive.

It was her fiancé who answered. "I think that would be splendid, love. We can invite Harry and Ron, I'm sure they'd be more than up for it," the man, Justin, said flippantly.

It never ceased to amaze her how much Justin adored Harry Potter. She got the sense that she could have mentioned him in passing and Justin would still find a way to admire the man. She supposed she only had herself to blame because she spoke at length about Harry's character and their adventures together. Don't get her wrong, she tried to cut every bit of Harry Potter out of her life but it was insurmountable. For a large part of it, Harry had been her life.

"I second that motion, Poppet," Dan agreed. He reclined back in his seat to consider her for a moment and she could have sworn she saw a flick of mischief in his eyes.

"Don't I get a say in this?" Hermione questioned indignantly. At her parents shocked look and Justin's hurt one, she continued to talk. "I just mean that I can get in touch with Ron but Harry's going to be a lot more difficult. We haven't spoken in four years," she lied through her teeth.

"We're sure you'll figure it out, dear. Wouldn't you want your best friend to come see you on the happiest day of your life?" said Emma.

He would only ruin it, Hermione angrily thought. She had spent all of four years without Harry Potter and it was going marvelously. Why rock the boat? It's not like he was of any significance to her anymore. She worked long and hard to get to this point. Even so, she couldn't find it in her heart to deny her parents and Justin's wishes.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do."