(1) Family Ties (D. Salvatore)

Chapter One

Following the phone call with Sheila Bennett, Tansy clears up the books in the living room, putting away the ones she has yet to sort and finishing up packing away the ones she had into the right boxes. She'll come back and finish the rest when she has finished in America. Whenever that might be. She sighs as she picks up a couple of books to find where they belong on the shelf just as the living room door opens and Harry walks in. Just getting home from whatever he has been up to at the Ministry with the Aurors. Tansy doesn't ask very often, too much of a reminder of what they have already been through.

"You got through those books quick" Harry comments as he shrugs out of his coat, his eyes looking over the boxes and book stacks around the living room. Tansy snorts from where she slides a number of books back onto the shelf.

"I didn't finish" She admits. "I..." She pauses and then looks at him over her shoulder. "I'm going to America" Harry blinks and then frowns.

"Okay, I wasn't expecting that" He admits and sets his coat over the back of a nearby chair. "Why are you going to America?"

"Professor Bennett called me" She answers and turns to lean back against the shelf. "She wants me to go and mentor her granddaughter through her magical awakening" She explains. "She thinks that because Bonnie is a teenager and I got my Ancient magic at fifteen...." Harry hums and nods, understanding. Their fifth year was an experience with Tansy's new magic on top of everything else they had to deal with. It was probably Tansy's toughest year, education-wise anyway. "I don't have to go," She tells him. "You know...you are rather useless without a girl around" She teases and he gives her a look. "Me, Hermione, Ginny, Luna..."

"Alright," He stops her with a small smile. He knows that he would not have survived the war without the people around him, and yes, a majority of those people are girls. Intelligent and brilliant girls.

"Will you miss me?" Tansy asks him, Harry nods.

"We have been together every single day basically since I was born" Harry reminds her warmly. "Side by side in everything...." She nods in agreement. "Of course, I am going to miss you" He shifts closer to her. "Last year was just practice, right?" He asks, she nods and gives him a sad smile. She hates the idea of leaving him. Because he is right. They have been through so much together, so much, that leaving feels weird to her. Doing anything alone feels weird. Just like going back to school without him. That time they spent apart could be considered practice for her leaving, to cross the world. It will be the furthest they have been apart before. And given that it took her nine years to get a full education, who knows how long it is going to take to teach Bonnie? It could be months, it could be years. "If you need to do this, then I am behind you, Taz" Harry assures her softly. She gives him a small smile and nods. She knew this. She's been behind him every step of his own journey, she knew he'd do the same for her. She leans up and closes the distance between them.

"I know" She whispers softly.

"How are you planning on...getting there?" He asks, she shrugs a little. "Portkey from the Ministry?"

"You know how long the process of getting a Portkey set up takes" She reminds him. "More so now with all the dark wizard checks they put in place. It'll be easier for me to take a flight..." She then chuckles a little. "Good thing Hermione talked us into getting those passports" Harry snorts and nods in agreement. None of them understood the need, especially Ron who needed a passport explained to him. But Hermione was determined that they get passports. Just in case. Now Tansy is grateful that they did. Otherwise, she would have to wait weeks if not months for one to come through now. "I will need a muggle-proof suitcase" She adds and Harry nods.

"I can go to Diagon Alley tomorrow and grab one if you want" He offers, she hums and shakes her head.

"No, it's okay, I can go...." He raises an eyebrow in question at her. Tansy hasn't left this house in weeks now and he was worried that she was isolating herself from the outside world. No one would blame her, she's been through a lot and at such a young age, they all have, and they are all dealing with it in their own ways. He is actually surprised she agreed to go to America without much argument. That she seems excited to be going proves that they were wrong about her. She has just been so caught up in working on the house that she just hasn't had the time or the desire to go outside anywhere, she probably just lost track of time. "What?" She asks noting a look on his face, concern and worry. He has been worried about her, he is worried about her now. None of them are over what happened, now he's got to watch her leave to a place that he can't follow, a place where he can't help her if something goes wrong or she gets into trouble. It's a huge distance for them to be apart.

"Nothing" He answers and shakes his head. Tansy tilts her head in question, and he just clears his throat. "I'm just going to miss you" He settles on for explanation, and it is not a lie, he really is going to miss his sister.

"Do me a favour whilst I'm gone?" She asks him, he raises an eyebrow. "Go see Ginny," She tells him. "I know you haven't spoken to her since we left the Burrow...over a year ago" Harry pulls a face and looks away from her. She knows why he hasn't spoken to her. He's been throwing himself into the clean-up of the war and Ginny was finishing school, but she graduated the same time Tansy did, and he has yet to reach out to her to rekindle their relationship. If she is leaving, then she needs to know that he is going to have companionship. That he is going to try and make a life that isn't just all about chasing dark wizards.