Shadow - Sequel To Light

Chapter Two: Lost The Plot

The weeks after sending the letter had been difficult. The family had had only one question, one simple question that we didn't have the answer for. Why? Why was it their daughter? Why weren't we able to stop it? Why didn't we send the kids home if we thought there was a threat to them? Why?

It had been so hard to try to explain things to them and comfort them when we were wrong. I don't know what we could have done but I just knew there had to have been something we could have done. I cried at night, holding my babies and thinking about if it had been one of them. I kept wishing I had been there to do something, anything. Harry and Ron had ran interference a lot with the family because they knew I was barely holding on. Harry tried to comfort me but all I could do was cry. I was pretty sure that the remaining of the pregnancy hormones were having a large effect on me. Add hormones to an already damp squid situation and it was a tosh time.

Harry and Ron helped set up the burial ceremony and I sent out letters to all the students, announcing the death of one of their own. I set up for all the passageways to Hogwarts to be open for the children that wanted to come back and say good-bye to their passed friend. Two weeks after her death, Kimber was ready for her burial ceremony and most of the Hogwarts' students were coming back for it. I thought it was ace that they were all making the trip and I had a new pride for my school.

Despite the crying when I was alone or with Harry, I had held it together quite well in public. I thought I was going to be able to make it but, once the ceremony began, I lost the plot. I cried so hard I had to give James to Ron and I rushed out of the Great Hall. I had tried to stay strong but I just couldn't. The evil was supposed to be gone but, just as we were getting to be happy and moving on, it came back to bite us in our asses. Kimber shouldn't have had to pay for us not finding the culprit sooner, that was our fault and we should have been the ones to pay.

Malfoy had been in contact multiple times, letting us know what the underground was talking about. He had been gobsmacked and gutted that he hadn't known that this new guy was going after anybody that soon. He had been working non-stop since we told him about the incident, finding whatever he could and staying just nonchalant enough that nobody suspected. His reports were short and not very often but he was doing the best he could, considering the risk he was taking. He was a good wizard though and, despite the things that we had been through before, he had a good heart underneath his thirst for danger and evil.

"We have to find this student now, Harry." I whimpered, sitting on our little couch after the ceremony. "I can't go through this again. I'm already going through a low-grade postpartum depression period and I don't need this added stress. I just..., I need this not to happen again. These kids don't deserve this, don't deserve to be put at risk like this. We didn't deserve it when we were their age and they don't deserve it now."

"I know. I don't want them to go through what we did. In some ways, I'm grateful for the experiences we had because they made us strong but, in other ways, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy because it resulted in so much death. We're stronger from our trials but I don't want them to have that kind of strength, they deserve to be kids." He sighed. "We'll get him but, Hermione, you know we can't stop all evil. Evil is going to be around as long as good is and, sometimes, evil might win. That's just the way it is sometimes."

"I know." I sniffed, straightening. "But I'm not going to let evil win as long as I have a say in it and this time we're going to win." I turned to our bed chambers.

"And what makes you so sure, Mrs. Potter?" he smiled slightly.

"I thought we established I was going to be fighting. I don't lose when I'm determined to succeed at something." I smiled over my shoulder. "How do you think I got you?" I joked, knowing full well us being where we were was more from his sheer determination than mine.

"Oh really, Headmistress?" He jokingly asked, getting off the couch and walking towards me in a predatory manner. "I think that was my determination that made this happen."

"Hm, I don't recall." I said innocently, ducking into our room quickly but he was right behind me and he grabbed me up.

Most of my baby weight was dropping pretty fast and the matron had given me some herbs to keep my body leveled as it change back to basically it's pre-pregnancy state. It was nice to be getting back to my old size but I kind of missed the babies being inside of me. Sometimes I just laid them on my chest to feel close to them again and they seemed to enjoy it just as much as I did. One of my points of happiness with losing the weight was feeling sexy enough again to be with Harry. He always made me feel like I was sexy but I sometimes didn't feel like it while I was pregnant and while my belly had still been big.

Once the amniotic fluid and the placenta had come out though, I had dropped down in weight pretty quick. I loved being able to be with Harry again. I had also had to stop having relations with him for those two weeks to ensure I didn't do any damage after the babies. I had been drinking a special potion for that as well and it had been a struggle to keep from being with him. During that time though, I had spent time just being held by him and that was almost better than making love..., almost. I was happy that I was going to get reacquainted with my husband and it was just the pick-me-up we both needed, it was just the right kind of escape.