Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Forever and Always	By : cls2256 Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 6832 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter or any of its characters or details, nor do I make any money from this fanfic.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
- 28
Remus seemed much calmer at dinner that evening; Mia figured since he took his potion it was diminishing his behavior issues that always arose with the cycle. Her butt cheek was sore from where he had smacked her, so she had to sit awkwardly in her chair, which he gave her a sly sideways glance when he saw her adjust herself for the 12th time at the table. She let him know she had enjoyed their afternoon romp by rubbing his thigh inconspicuously under the table, smiling slightly when she felt him grow hard when she ‘accidentally’ brushed too close to his crotch. When sunset came around, he retreated into the cellar that Kingsley and Arthur designed to keep him in for transformations, sealed with a spell that once enacted, it couldn’t be broken until the moon set and the sun was up. Mia wished she could be with him, she told him multiple times she could keep him company as the white wolf, but he refused, just as he usually did.
“It’s safer if I’m in there alone” he said, but she thought he was being daft, especially if he took his potion.
The next morning, the group tasked with escorting the Weasleys and Hermione were gathering in the living room, getting ready to head out. Arthur and Kingsley were helping get Remus upstairs into bed to recover, and then they would be off.
“Now remember, if one of us is killed…” Moody started, lecturing everyone on safety protocol.
Mia caught a glimpse of Remus as Kingsley and Arthur helped him hobble up the stairs. He gave her a small smile, but looked terrible. His eyes were bloodshot and looked weighed down by dark bags of sand, his skin was sallow, and his hair was disheveled. She wished she could ease the transformation for him; It took a lot out of him, and made him age prematurely due to the stress on his body.
When the two men returned, everyone broke off into their groups. Bill and Moody were supposed to stay close to Mia, but out of sight just in case a Death Eater came around, they would think Mia and Hermione were alone and not get swarmed with a large group of them. Bill was to take Hermione’s things back to headquarters, retrieving them a couple minutes after they left, while Moody followed the ladies inconspicuously. When it was time, she gave a nod to Moody and thumbs up to Bill, closed her eyes and felt a tug just behind her navel.
When she opened her eyes, she was around the corner from the Granger’s house. She felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach when she saw that Bill and Moody were nowhere to be seen. She knew that was the plan, so she shook it off, reminding herself that Moody was overly cautious. She walked up to the front door and grabbed the door knocker, rasping 3 times. She took a step back and picked at her fingernails as a middle aged man with mousy brown hair opened the door.
“Hello! You here to get Herm….” He began but Mia cut him off.
“Yes sir, may I come in?”
Moody was strict about not letting anyone around hear that she was escorting Hermione anywhere. He had wanted it to appear as two girls simply walking around London, potentially just out for ice cream. She stepped inside, Mr. Granger closing the door behind her.
“I apologize, Mr. Granger, I didn’t mean to cut you off.” She said, giving him a polite smile.
“No matter, Hermione said the witch or wizard that would be coming by to get her might be jumpy. You look so…”
“My father is a muggle” Mia smiled, knowing he was referring to her very ‘normal’ jeans and led zeppelin t-shirt. “Amelia Roswell, but I go by Mia.” She said, sticking her right hand out to shake his.
He gave her a firm handshake. “Pleasure, Mia, would you like anything to drink? A snack for the road?” he asked.
“Oh no thank you, we’re expecting lunch when we return.”
Mia heard a trunk bumping its way down the stairs as Hermione came into view.
“Oh, Mia, I didn’t know it was you coming…” Hermione said, looking surprised to see her.
“Hey. Bill will be coming to get your things in about 10 minutes. I hope your wearing decent walking shoes. We’ve got a hike ahead of us.”
The girls set off down the street, walking to the nearest bus stop. The only things they carried were their wands, hidden of course, and small purses. Bill was taking care of everything else; even though Hermione insisted she could carry some of her things as well.
“Mad-eye wants us to look like a couple of normal girls headed out for shopping or whatever” Mia had told her as they were leaving.
Standing and waiting at the bus stop, they were the only ones around. Mia scanned her surroundings, trying to see where Moody was hiding, but didn’t see him.
“So… you joined the Order?” Hermione asked her.
“Yeah, I did.” Mia said casually.
“What can you tell me about what’s going on?”
“I can’t really tell you much. For one, Molly thinks you guys are too young to know everything, but things are quiet for now. We think he’s recruiting in secret, building his numbers.” Mia explained.
Hermione knew ‘he’ was Voldemort, so she didn’t have to ask.
“Harry has constant monitoring. I’ve actually got watch duty tomorrow.”
“Dumbledore has asked us not to tell Harry anything-- not that Ron or I know much anyway. The Order is watching him?” Hermione asked.
“He doesn’t blow his nose without us knowing about it. We’ve been keeping a very eye on him.” Mia said, looking at the red double decker bus that was pulling up.
The girls entered the bus and situated themselves at the front; Mia scanning the bus for anyone she might think looked suspicious. Moody sat in the corner of bus, having entered just after the girls, in a large trench coat and a black bowler hat pulled low over his magical eye. The girls chatted about what Hermione did this summer, keeping it casual. Hermione was an intelligent witch, and knew Mia was keeping the conversation light in case there was anyone undesirable around that may be listening.
When the girls exited the bus, Mia whispered to Hermione “Mad-eye is so paranoid; he’s close by watching us”. Hermione looked around furiously, but Mia grabbed her arm and dragged her along. “We’ve got 27 blocks, then we turn right, and it’s another 30. But that’s it at least”
“Where are we going?” Hermione asked.
“Headquarters” she said simply.
The girls turned a corner just a few blocks from 12 Grimmauld when a very dirty man with a bushy gray beard limped out from around a dumpster.
“got a spare bit of change?” the man said, holding his hand out.
His hands had on fingerless gloves that looked so dirty the color was indistinguishable.
“No sorry…” Hermione said, looking sympathetic look as Mia grabbed her upper arm and drug her along.
The man began to limping after them, his pace quickening.
“Come back here you bitches!” the man growled, Mia holding tight to Hermione’s arm.
The girls broke into a jog just as a flash of red light came out from seemingly nowhere, making the man drop to the ground. Mia took a deep breath.
“Thanks, Mad-Eye” she said quietly.
When Hermione and Mia arrived, it had taken them over an hour to take the bus system and walk to 12 Grimmauld place. Bill had already taken Hermione’s things upstairs to the bedroom that she would be sharing with Ginny. The Weasley children had arrived before them, and were settling themselves in. Mia was showing her around the house, letting her know where everything was.
“There’s the kitchen and dining room down there, living room and parlor is through there, 2nd floor there’s a few bedrooms, your room is up on the 3rd floor though…” Mia explained.
“Girls, can you spread the word that dinner is in 20?” Molly called from the door to the kitchen.
Mia gave her thumbs up, and they kept walking. When they reached the landing of the second floor, she turned and whispered to Hermione
“Just keep your voice down in halls”.
“Why?”
Just as she asked this, Tonks kicked the umbrella stand in the entry way, causing a loud bang.
The curtain on Mrs. Black’s portrait flew open, and she and the other paintings began screaming.
“Mudbloods! Blood Traitors! Half Breeds!”
Sirius came running out of one of the bedrooms, yelling “Oh shut it you old hag!” and was forcing the curtains closed.
“Goddamnit Tonks” Mia said under her breath, chuckling. “She’s a total klutz”
The girls continued up the staircase to the 3rd floor, where the sounds of Fred and George taunting Ron came into earshot. Mia poked her head inside the bedroom that Ron and Harry were going to share, seeing Fred and George tossing something of Ron’s back and forth over his head, as Ron tried to furiously grab it.
“Oi, tweedle dee and tweedle dumb” Mia called at them.
Fred and George stopped and grinned at her.
“Mia! We didn’t know you were in the Order.” Fred said.
“Yes and your mother asked me to send you two downstairs.” She said, winking at Ron.
They gave Ron back what she could now see as a chocolate frog box, and they left. Ron grumbled as the twins apparated with a loud crack downstairs.
“Thanks” he huffed.
Mia nodded at him and the girls walked to the next bedroom, finding Ginny unpacking some clothes.
“Hey, Hermione” She said with a wide smile. “Mia, I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Yeah, I’m in the Order” Mia said, leaning against the doorframe.
“So you can tell us what’s going on, right??” Ginny asked eagerly.
“If I want to face the wrath of your mother, not everything, but I’ll see what I can do.” Mia said, winking at her.
“When is Harry getting here??” Ginny pressed her for as much information as she could get.
“Next week maybe, I’m on watch duty for him tomorrow, were formulating a plan to get him here safely. Your mother says dinner is in 20 minutes, I’ll see you guys downstairs”
Mia trotted down the stairs to the second floor, and rounded the corner in the hallway to see how Remus was getting along. She walked in the room to find him chatting with Arthur. She felt a slight jolt of disappointment to see he wasn’t alone, not getting the chance to speak with him much since the day before.
“Hey, sorry I hope I’m not interrupting…” she said.
“No, not at all,” Arthur said with a warm smile. “Any chance you know how long until dinner?”
“20 minutes” Mia said, situating herself on the edge of the bed.
She looked at Remus, he was sitting up well and his eyes looked far less bloodshot.
“Fabulous, Molly is making lasagna. It’s one of her best” Arthur beamed.
“Sounds amazing, I’m starving” Remus said, swinging his feet around to stand up.
Arthur helped him stand, letting Remus use his shoulder to balance.
“I’ll go down and make your plate” Mia said smiling at him, skipping out of the room.
“She’s a sweet girl, Remus” Arthur said as they were following the same path out.
“Yeah, I don’t deserve her” Remus chuckled.
Arthur stopped at looked at him with a serious expression. “Yes, you do. You deserve someone like her. Don’t sell yourself short.”
Arthur helped Remus to the table where Mia had already fixed his plate of lasagna. She was bobbing around the kitchen, already steeping his cup of earl grey tea, and fixing a glass of water. Mia brought over his drinks and sat down next to him, handing him a vial of pain potion that she pulled out of her pocket.
“Thanks” he mumbled to her, smiling.
“5 star service” Arthur chuckled, situating himself next to Molly.
Hermione was eyeing Mia and Remus, picking up on how helpful she seemed towards him. Ron was digging into his lasagna like he’d never eaten before, sauce splashing all over his face and down the front of his sweater.
“Ron, honestly…!” Hermione hissed at him, her eyes narrowing and nose turning up.
“wha’?” he said, mouth so full the word was barely audible.
Fred and George sat at the very end of the table, whispering back and forth to each other. This raised Molly’s suspicions as to what the twins were up to, not wasting anytime to holler at them across the table.
“You two are being awful quiet over there; if I find any of those wretched dung bombs today you will be scrubbing toilets until you go back to school!”
Mia stifled a giggle, knowing full well that the twins would not be afraid of this threat, and were probably planning the trick on their mother.
“Tomorrow is Harry’s birthday” Hermione said to the whole table. “Will he be joining us here then, or…?”
“No, not yet, were still working out those details.” Arthur told her.
Hermione and Ginny looked disappointed, Ron’s expression unchanged as he plowed into another piece of lasagna.
“I go’ ‘im some ‘oney-ooks ‘ocoat” he said as he ate.
“What was that Ronnie?” George said laughing.
“He said he got him Honeydukes chocolate, as did I. Seriously Ronald, can you chew your food?” Hermione scolded. “We’re going to send it to him tomorrow morning.”
“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that” Remus said, giving Hermione a kind smile.
“He’s been watching the muggle news every day; his aunt and uncle find it strange” Mia said.
“I bet he’s looking for any news that may be related to Voldemort’s return; disappearances, murders, things of that sort.” Hermione said as she looked down at her lasagna sadly.
The entire table was quiet, Mia felt instantly sad for Harry. She couldn’t imagine herself at 14 having to go through what he was.
On the afternoon of August 2nd, Headquarters erupted in chaos. News of a dementor attack on Harry caused the Weasley children and Hermione to panic, and sent Sirius, Molly and Dumbledore in an uproar. Mia couldn’t tell who was more upset, but all their anger was directed at Mundungus Fletcher. He had skipped out on guard duty early to purchase stolen cauldrons, leaving Harry unattended and forced to use the patronus charm to save him and his cousin, the Ministry catching wind right away due to the trace on underage wizards. Molly hated Mundungus, Mia didn’t think it was possible for her to loathe him anymore than she had, but after this, she was proven wrong.
“I would’ve covered the rest of his shift had he asked…” Tonks had said to her and Remus, looking irritated at Mundungus’s lack of common sense.
Dumbledore swept in thankfully and got Harry a trial, but everyone in the Order knew that Fudge wanted nothing more than to expel Harry from Hogwarts to keep him from spreading news that Voldemort was back.
It took the Order another few days to fine tune the plan to move Harry from 4 Privet Drive to 12 Grimmauld place. Mia had decided to stay back at Headquarters to keep Sirius company during this, as he had been increasingly getting grumpier by the day due to feeling useless for the organization. This seemed better than joining the Rear Guard, which would swoop in and fight in case the Advance Guard that was escorting Harry got ambushed. Seeing as how Susan was leading the Rear, Mia didn’t want to have to spend any extra time with her mother than she had to.
When Harry arrived, he was shooed off upstairs to find his bedroom while the Order members had a meeting. This meeting was the first time Mia had been in the same room with Susan for more than 5 minutes since the first meeting, and the tension was thick between them. Susan made it a point not to look in her and Remus’s direction, eyes transfixed on Dumbledore the entire time.
When the meeting was over, Mia quickly volunteered to go upstairs to retrieve the teens for dinner, praying when she returned to the kitchen Susan would not be there.
“Mia? What’re you doing here?” Harry asked, surprised.
“She’s in the Order!” Fred replied before Mia got the chance to speak.
“Her mum is too, Susan, too intense for her own good; doesn’t fancy our dung bombs” said George, grinning at Mia when he said this.
Mia chuckled, knowing very well that the twins had gotten an earful about their pranks from not only Molly, but Susan as well.
“Dinner is ready, your mum says hurry up” Mia winked, and exited the room.
She and Remus hadn’t told any of the kids that they were together, she was waiting for one of them to ask or Remus to say something first. She had caught Hermione exchange a glance or two at them a few times during meals, but had never asked her about it. She received another glance from her when she brought Remus his cup of tea to the table, sitting down next to him like she always did.
“How are you feeling, Harry?” Remus asked him, referring to his impending trial.
“Ok, I guess” he muttered, unsure of how to feel. His trial was in the morning, and everyone was on edge with anticipation.
“Just remember, the law is on your side, Harry” Remus said to him, attempting to give him a reassured smile.
“You should just tell ol’ Fudge he can suck his own…” Mia started, but Remus cut her off
“Mia!” he shot her a glaring expression, then turned back to Harry. “No, I wouldn’t give any cheek, especially with the stakes of this trial.”
“I won’t” Harry said, taking a sip of his tea.
“Fine, I’ll tell him myself” Mia said snottily, mostly to herself.
“And when will you be seeing the Minister of Magic?” Remus teased with a hint of a chuckle.
“I’ll send him an anonymous howler” she said, sounding quite matter of fact.
“No, you won’t” Remus snickered.
“Remus you are no fun.” She spat “Sirius would find it funny, and encourage me to speak my mind”
“He would, which is why I am the voice of reason between us”
The three of them laughed, but Harry still looked uneasy.
“You’re going to be fine, I can feel it.” Mia winked at him, getting up from the table and retreating out of the room.
Remus watched her leave the room with a small smile on his face, which Harry found peculiar.
“You will do fine, but honestly, don’t tell Fudge to suck his…” Remus started but Harry held his hand up to stop him from finishing his sentence.
“Don’t worry, really, I won’t” He said, managing a laugh.
News that Harry was cleared of all charges was a relief to everyone. The Weasley children, Harry and Hermione were spending the rest of the summer holiday at Headquarters, to be escorted to Kings Cross by the Order to ensure the safety of Harry and his friends. Most of the time spent before sending the kids off to school was spent cleaning and de-creaturing the house, putting them to work as they awaited their school lists to arrive via owl. Remus had to run out on small missions for Dumbledore quite a bit, but Mia usually volunteered to stay back and help Molly and Sirius with the house work. She noticed how depressed Sirius seemed to get about not being more helpful for the Order, and she wanted to lift his spirits by keeping her friend company.
One night at dinner, Mia noticed Tonks making eyes again at Kingsley.
“I bet you 10 galleons they are fucking by Christmas” Mia had whispered to him.
“Nah… Tonks and Kingsley?” Sirius said in disbelief.
Mia raised her eyebrows and held out her right hand to shake on it.
Sirius grinned and shook her hand furiously “get ready to pay up, kitten”.
Mia and Sirius were thick as thieves; they even started trying to prank Fred and George for entertainment, which drove Molly mad. Wherever Sirius was, Mia seemed to be right around the corner, and vice versa. Their friendship was stirring questions amongst the teens, curious to how Sirius and Mia seemed so close.
“Do you reckon there’s something going on with Mia and Sirius?” Harry had asked the group while they were getting ready to head downstairs for breakfast one morning.
“Sirius and Mia? Nahh, there’s no way” Ron said through mouthfuls of his licorice wand he was consuming.
“Ron you are going to spoil your breakfast” Hermione snapped.
“I know there’s the bedroom on the second floor that she stays in, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Lupin come and go out of there, not Sirius.” Ginny interjected
“She seems so close with Sirius though…” Harry said, perplexed
“Well, yes…” Hermione started again, “Harry, remember when we helped him escape, she had obviously known Sirius for longer than we had, but didn’t tell us how she knew him. Sirius told her ‘make sure he takes care of you’. Maybe he was talking about Professor Lupin”
“I don’t believe it!” Ron interjected through another mouthful.
“You think they were together while she was a student??” Harry asked, surprised.
“It would make sense” Hermione shrugged. “She is very helpful to him; bringing him cups of coffee in the mornings, making his dinner plate for him. I’ve seen him take her plate to the sink also, but he doesn’t ever take anyone else’s.”
Harry thought back to that year at school, he did run into Mia coming and going from Remus’ office that year more than any other student, and he remembered the tense conversation he walked in on the last day of term.
“It does make sense, she does call him by his first name too, despite being her teacher at one point.” he said softly.
“Why don’t we just ask them?” Ginny said rolling her eyes.
They were interrupted and side-tracked by a loud crack, Fred and George suddenly standing in front of them. “School letters!” they cried in unison, passing out everyone’s envelopes.
News that Ron and Hermione were made prefects travelled fast, Molly was beaming with pride when she learned her son had been chosen. Remus was reminiscing at breakfast with Sirius about the day he had been made prefect over his friends, Sirius claiming he never wanted the badge. Mia couldn’t help but sneak a few glances at Harry in the whirlwind of congratulations everyone was giving Ron and Hermione. Mia knew how it felt to have her best friend chosen for Prefect over instead of her, and she could tell by a couple of Harry’s facial expressions he was trying hard to conceal his disappointment.
That night, Molly had thrown an impromptu party to celebrate, many Order members coming by to enjoy some mingling and appetizers she had prepared. Susan and Kingsley came together after work, Susan giving both Ron and Hermione big handshakes, telling them
“Congratulations, it’s truly an honor to be chosen as prefect…”
Mia rolled her eyes at overhearing this from across the room, remembering how disappointed her mother was when she opened her 5th year school envelope that didn’t contain a prefect’s badge. Susan walked by Mia and gave her a forced smile, which she was sure, was a show for Kingsley.
“Hello, Mia dear” she said, giving her a stiff hug.
“Hi mum” Mia replied, forcing herself to be cordial.
Just as they broke their awkward hug, Remus had walked up and was shaking hands with Kingsley.
“Remus.” Susan said curtly, giving him a slight nod.
She looked as if she had dung smeared under her nose, a similar expression that Severus Snape wore on the regular.
“Susan” Remus nodded back, giving her a small smile.
Susan didn’t say anything else, but made her way over to where Molly had laid out trays of food. There was a large banner hung that said ‘Congratulations Ron and Hermione, prefects’ that was stuck to the far wall of the kitchen. Mia noticed Harry lingering alone on the outskirts of the crowd, and excused herself from Remus and Kingsley’s conversation of scotch they had gotten deep into. She grabbed two slices of cheesecake from the dessert table Molly had laid out, and trotted over to him.
“Look alive, Potter” she said with a grin, coming up to him by his side and playfully bumping his shoulder with hers.
“Hey, Mia” he said with a forced smile.
“Here, have some cheesecake” she said, handing him one of the small plates.
He took the plate and opened his mouth to thank her, but she cut him off.
“How are you doing with Ron making prefect over you?” she asked frankly.
“Oh, its fine, I’m really happy for him. It’s great, honestly” Harry exclaimed with a big smile, but Mia saw right through him.
“It’s ok to feel disappointed.” She said though a large bite of dessert.
“I’m not, honestly, he deserves it way more than me” he said again, his happy tone forced.
“When Penelope made prefect over me, I felt like I got punched in the gut. Part of it was that my mum was furious I didn’t make prefect and follow in her footsteps, but it was really hard to be happy at first. I was very jealous. It got easier though at least.” Mia said truthfully.
Harry’s body language relaxed at hearing this.
“Who am I to think I’m better than Ron and should’ve gotten it” he said quietly.
“A human being” Mia laughed, Harry chuckling with her. “It’ll get easier, Harry. Plus, the prefect bathroom is amazing and they may let you use it once or twice.”
“Cedric let me use it to work out a clue for the tri-wizard tournament last year, it was amazing” Harry said, his face falling after making reference to Cedric.
Mia didn’t ask him about Cedric, knowing that was probably the last thing he wanted to talk about, but clasped a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
“Mia, can I ask you something?” Harry said after a moment of silence.
She nodded at him.
“Is there something going on between you and Professor Lupin?” he asked.
“Yes.” She chuckled. “I wasn’t sure if Remus told you or not”
“How long has that been happening?” he asked, thinking he already knew the answer.
Mia let out a bark of laughter, mouth full of cheesecake. “Oh, a while; you actually walked in on him breaking up with me at the end of term” she smirked. “To tell you the truth Harry, Remus and I had a relationship while I was his student. I met Sirius through him, during the months that he was hiding in Remus’ office. That’s how I knew him so well when we helped him escape.”
Mia smiled at remembering the fun times she had visiting with him and Sirius during that year.
“I hope this doesn’t make you think any less of Remus. He is a good man with a good conscience. I don’t think he would’ve pursued me on his own, because of ethics.”
“No, it doesn’t actually” Harry said. “You seem so close with Sirius though…”
“I am. Sirius is my best friend.” Mia said very matter of fact. “We’re friendly, but I’m not double dipping, by any means”
Harry let out a gentle laugh, giving her a half smile. “Thanks”
“For not double dipping with your godfather and teacher??” she crinkled her nose
“No, for the pep talk” Harry grinned
“Any time; Come on, let’s get more cheesecake; I fucking love that shit” she winked, motioning him to join her by the snack table.
When September the 1st rolled around, Mia had made her way downstairs to find Sirius sitting by the door, wagging his tail.
“Sirius, Mad-Eye said no!” she said, and his tail stopped wagging.
He proceeded to whine, lying down stubbornly. He was hoping to be able to accompany Harry and the others to Kings Cross as the shaggy black dog, but Moody had been adamant on him remaining at headquarters. Mia rolled her eyes at him, and when Molly walked into the entrance way with the other Order Members and kids, she scolded the dog as well. After a moment of him not budging, she hissed “oh fine, it’s your head on a platter if you get caught”.
Moody was furious when Sturgis Podmore didn’t show up to escort the kids to Kings Cross, but they had no issues thankfully with getting them there safely. Mia’s heart broke when she saw Sirius running after the train, barking madly at Harry until the train was around the corner and out of sight. She knew how much Sirius loved having Harry in his life, and in some selfish way was hoping he would’ve had to stay back with him at 12 Grimmauld Place. Mia wrapped her arm around Remus’s torso, watching Sirius retreating back over to the group.
“You think he’s going to be ok?” she asked.
“I think so” he replied quietly, looking down at her with a reassuring smile.
“I have to work with Penelope today” Mia said flatly, changing the subject.
“How are you two?” Remus asked, figuring he already knew the answer.
“We’re polite.” She said, beginning to pick at her fingernails. “I should apologize, shouldn’t I…?”
Mia hated being wrong, she knew she had overreacted, but didn’t want to admit it.
“Yes, you should” Remus said frankly.
Mia shot an irritated glance up at him. He chuckled at her and kissed her forehead.
“You hate to admit you are wrong, I know, but you shouldn’t push your best friend away because of pride. Proudness isn’t always an admirable trait. Humble yourself and apologize, she’ll accept it.”
“And if she doesn’t?” Mia sneered, irritable that Remus was playing the logical, cool as a cucumber mediator that Penelope had always been for her.
“She will.” He said simply. “Come on, you want to grab lunch before your shift?”
Mia paused for a moment, looking around at the Order Members beginning to disperse and disappear back through the barrier from platform 9 ¾. She caught sight of her mother, who gave them a distasteful look as she stepped through the barrier. Mia sighed, knowing she was doing the same thing to Penelope as Susan was doing to her and Remus was irritating, and she didn’t want to be stubborn and cold like her mother.
“Yeah, let’s go.” She said, giving his torso a little squeeze before letting go.
He watched her walk through the barrier first, and then he joined her on the other side, taking her hand and smiling down at her.
Mia walked into work, grabbing her time card silently and punching the clock. Penelope was on a ladder in the front of the store, stocking the shelf of Rieslings imported from America.
“Hey, Penny, can I talk with you for a moment?” She asked quietly, looking up the ladder at her.
“Give me a minute. Ask Bruce to cover the register for you.” Penelope said flatly, not looking down at her.
“Sure, thanks.” Mia mumbled, and went to find the kind old man named Bruce to sit by the register for few minutes.
Mia liked Bruce; he worked there out of boredom in his retirement, and loved to show Mia pictures of his 15 grandchildren. He was known by the employees as the store’s grandfather. Mia went back into the manager’s office in the back of the shop, and leaned against the desk, picking her fingernails. It was maybe only a minute before Penelope had made her way back into the office, but it felt like ages to Mia, feeling anxious about talking to her.
“What can I do for you?” She asked in a very professional tone.
Mia looked at her with a sad expression.
“I… am not good at this stuff.” Mia said, furiously picking at her left index finger.
“Not good with what?” Penelope asked.
Mia was unsure if Penelope was playing stupid for the sake of it, or if she truly didn’t know what she wanted to talk to her about.
“I’m… sorry”
The word sorry came out sounding overly enunciated, as if it was not in her normal vocabulary.
“For?” Penelope asked, her hand making her way to her hip.
“Being an asshole” Mia said quietly.
Penelope’s eyebrow raised, but said nothing.
“I was wrong, ok? God, I hate admitting I’m wrong”
Mia was doing a number to her left index finger; her cuticle was bleeding slightly where she was picking.
“I shouldn’t’ve gotten upset at you for not joining the Order, it’s your right to choose whether you want to fight or not, and I just got carried away with the excitement of being in it together that I didn’t even think that you might not be able to join.”
Penelope softened her posture, and gave Mia a sad smile, “And I’m sorry I wouldn’t join. I know it disappointed you.”
Mia looked up quickly “Pen, you don’t have to apologize, I’m in the wrong here”
“I’ve been just as much of an asshole to you the past couple months as you have to me. We’re both wrong.” Penelope said calmly, walking over and hugging Mia. “Can we just be friends again?” she whispered.
“I’d like that” Mia said tears stinging her eyes.
They broke their embrace and linked arms, walking back to the front of the store.
“It’s about time you two finally made up!” Bruce said jovially, his eyes twinkling with happiness to see the girls in good spirits.
Mia grinned as well; it felt good to have her friend back.
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Forever and Always