Chilly autumn #4

Chapter #4: Secrets of the past

Harry was confused, he didn’t know how to feel about this, there was a small child on his lap, and for some reason, he didn’t mind that much that she was at this place for the moment, he couldn’t help but look at her messy raven hair and her emerald eyes that seemed to gaze deeply into his own.

He looked at her for a few moments, the little girl was smiling at him, it seems like she was studying him too, she was trying to see the way Harry was going to react to her presence, neither of them said anything and they were too focused on their thoughts to say something.

But they weren’t alone, Andromeda and Narcissa were stunned, they were having some difficulties believing that this was happening, the thing that they were trying to avoid from happening was becoming a reality.

- I’m sorry sister… Her accidental magic is just too strong – Andy said to her younger sister.

Narcissa just sighed, she was used to the behavior that the girl had, she knew that she had to take her back, and when she was about to reach for the little girl, the small child decided to grab one of Harry’s fingers and then something strange happened.

In the space between her little hand and Harry’s finger, something started to glow, it was like a blinding light that lasted for a few seconds until they got back to normal.

- W-What’s going on here Narcissa? Why do I feel like I know this little girl – Harry mumbled before he decided to grab the little girl from her hips.

The raven-haired man decided to lift her in the air and the little girl didn’t waste time, she started to giggle as soon as she could, she was having too much fun by being lifted by Harry.

- Uh… You see, there’s something… A perfect explanation for this is—Narcissa was about to say but her older sister quickly stopped her.

- Enough Narcissa… It’s time to tell him, there’s no point for you to run away once the secret is already on the open – Andromeda said in a stern tone.

Narcissa felt cornered, her older sister had given her an ultimatum, she had no other choice but to do what she was telling her to do, the blonde woman looked directly at the ground before she sighed and remained thoughtful for a while, and once she felt better, she walked towards where the little girl was, she managed to take the girl away from Harry who was still surprised by the presence of the little girl, for some reason he felt familiar around her and he felt his warm at her presence.

- Is she your daughter Cissa? – Asked Harry bluntly.

There was no point for him to mask his thoughts, for some reason he wanted to know everything about that little girl.

- Yes – Narcissa answered calmly before she accommodated her daughter on her lap.

- Is Lucius her father? – Harry asked in a serious tone.

He felt a little angry at himself for being so rude with his questions, but he wanted to get some answers, after all, this girl might be the reason why the relationship between him and Narcissa failed, Harry waited patiently for the answer while he stared directly at Narcissa’s eyes, and to his surprise, she shook her head negatively.

- No Harry, thankfully she’s not Lucius' daughter, to be honest, her father is a little clumsy, but he’s the most amazing man I’ve ever meet – Narcissa started – Harry… Let me present you to Lilith Deneb Black… And she’s our daughter… You’re her father – Narcissa said with a happy expression but there were some tears that were threatening to fall.

Harry’s eyes widened, he was finding a hard time processing the words he has just heard, of all the things he expected to hear tonight, to hear that he has a daughter was the last of all, not even in his wildest dreams he imagined himself hearing something like that from a woman that isn’t Fleur.

- W-What!? – Harry was still confused.

Narcissa just smiled at him and she nodded, Andromeda decided to join her sister to be by her side and her niece’s, Andy suddenly started to play with the little girl.

- We call her Lily… I hope you don’t mind that I used a name inspired in your mother to name our daughter – Narcissa said before wiping the tears that were threatening to fall.

Harry didn’t say anything, he remained in complete silence, this was still too shocking for him to say anything, suddenly, he got on his feet and walked slowly towards the little family in front of him, he didn’t know what was possessing him to act like this, but once he was as close as he could from them, he stopped.

Narcissa, Andy, and Lily were curious to see what the raven-haired man was about to do, and then, he did it, he got on his knees with regret, he didn’t know why, but he felt guilty about his daughter.

- I’m sorry – He said disappointed in himself – Please forgive me for not being with you when you needed me – He confessed and it didn’t take too long for him to get close to his daughter.

The little girl was surprised but happy to see the green-eyed man so close to her, she extended her hand and Harry didn’t waste time and decided to grab her little hand.

- No… Don’t feel like that… It’s not your fault, it’s actually mine – Narcissa said trying to suppress the happiness to know that Harry wasn’t rejecting them – It was my fault that you lost the best days of our lives… But please forgive because I don’t regret doing it – She confessed as she patted her daughter’s head.

Harry was confused by her words, she seemed so weird right now, at first, she surprises him with shocking news like this, and then she says that she doesn’t regret letting him in the dark.

- Wait, Harry… This isn’t what you think it is, this situation is far more complex than you think – Andy started.

Harry didn’t say nor did anything, he just stared directly at Narcissa’s eyes and she nodded at him.

- Harry… As you remember, we saw each other after the war and we shared some special moments, I was ready to start a new life with you, I was going to give you everything, my heart, my body, my soul… Everything, that’s why I didn’t even take the potion to avoid the pregnancy, I was happy with the idea of bearing many of your children – Narcissa confessed and he nodded.

- What happened then? What happened to make you change your mind? – Harry questioned getting desperate with each word that they were voicing out.

Narcissa remained in silence before she sighed, she looked at the younger man, and then her expression turned serious.

- Lucius – She confessed – He was already aware that I was pregnant, I don’t know how he realized I think the domestic elves told him… Still, I didn’t care too much about it, was already locked up, I didn’t saw himself as dangerous, but as you know… A few weeks later he managed to escape – Harry nodded – That’s why I ran away to hide… I feared for my daughter’s safety and the only persons that knew about my whereabouts were Andy and Draco – She confessed and Harry nodded with clear guilt.

He has been thinking the worst things about this woman for the last few years, he thought that she just played with him or that she just wanted to have fun and use him to save herself and her son.

- That’s why after I heard that he had already been locked up I decided to come back only to realize that you already moved on – She confessed with a sad expression.

Harry felt guilty, all the things that he was planning to tell Narcissa since the moment his wife convinced him to talk with her had already disappeared, there was no point for him to tell her about something that she didn’t have any fault on it, she did whatever sane person would ever do against a treat.

- Harry… I know that I’ve already lost you forever… But that doesn’t matter, I know that you moved on with your life, I hope that I may be able to do the same one day or maybe never, I don’t know, I honestly don’t care… - Narcissa smiled weakly at him – I can’t blame you for continuing with your life, I disappeared without telling you I have no right to complain and also… You gave me something that I wanted for a long time… Another child and most of all… A daughter – She said happily while she played with her daughter.

Harry couldn’t help but smile at the sight in front of him, the scene of the mother and daughter was too cute, there was no other word to describe it.

- Harry, as for this situation… I’m not asking you to leave Fleur and get back together with me… No, I would never do that, Fleur’s mother is one of my best friends back in France, I can’t do that to her – Narcissa sighed after she said this – The only thing I’m asking for is for you… To have some presence with your daughter… She’s been thinking about you and has wanted to meet you for a long time – Narcissa said happily – She admires you, right Lily? – Asked Narcissa happily while she continued playing with her daughter.

Harry didn’t say anything, he didn’t know what to say, there was a thing that he was certain for, he wanted to spend as much time as he could with the little girl, he wanted to get to know her, he felt responsible for her and wanted to be by her side at every step of her life.

The dinner ended when the little girl finally fell asleep, but Narcissa promised him that she was going to bring her to the club, so she could see him play or to spend more time together.

Harry decided to sign the contract that was being proposed to him, he didn’t think about it twice he just signed it, he wasn’t in the mood to get back to his home, he had many things left to explain, he wasn’t ready for the conversation, thankfully he didn’t have practice the next day, because as soon as he got back home he went straight into his office to drink.

Of course, it wasn’t possible for him to be alone for a long time, Fleur decided to join him in the office, she was wearing a long white dress made for sleeping and once he saw her he couldn’t help but greet her.

- Hey Fleur – Harry said calmly.

- Hey Harry – She said before she joined him, she sat on his lap.

The raven-haired man smirked, he liked what his wife just did, but still, he decided to restrict himself, the only thing he did was kiss the blonde’s neck, and that made the veela yelp.

- Oh… Please, Harry, it’s too late to do something like this, mom and Gabby are already sleeping – Fleur said calmly.

- That’s fine… I want to be with my wife alone from time to time, I’m a little selfish after all – Harry confessed and the veela just rolled her eyes.

After that comment, neither of them said anything, they continued like that for a while until Fleur realized that her husband was drinking, and he was taking it directly from the bottle, which made her feel as if something wrong happened at the meeting he had.

- Harry… What’s wrong? What happened at the meeting? – Asked Fleur curious to know about it.

Harry remained in silence, he didn’t want to talk about it, but he knew he had to, there was no point for him to hide her the truth.

- Well, the contract was fine… I accepted the extension, I will play with them for the next five years and I will earn around twelve thousand galleons and it can increase – He said happily.

Fleur smiled before she decided to kiss him, Fleur has always insisted that he doesn’t even need to work, after all, she’s the head and owner of a fashion label, one of the most important in the wizarding world, but she’s also happy to see her husband having success, still, she sensed that something wasn’t right, she looked directly at Harry’s eyes to study his face.

- Did something bad happened? Did you two talk about your past? – Asked the blonde and Harry was in silence for a while.

- Yes… Many secrets came out to the surface – Harry sighed – I was wrong all this time Fleur… All the things she did, the reason why she disappeared… - He stared at Fleur’s face with a serious expression – It was just to protect our daughter – He finally confessed.

He felt as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders, but still, he knew that the possible outcome of this wasn’t going to be good, he was expecting Fleur to kick him out of the house or even hex him, after all the things he did with her mother and sister, he was convinced that Fleur was going to explode at any moment.

But surprisingly, she wasn’t mad, she was stunned actually, of all the things Harry could tell her, this was the last one she was expecting to hear, she looked directly at her husband’s face and then she gulped.

- Are you serious? – She asked calmly.

Harry wasn’t expecting that attitude from the veela, but still, he nodded at her, he was expecting her to do something against him, turn into her beast form and attack him just like she did the last time, but then, something happened.

The lights in the house started to decrease and increase in intensity, Harry knew what was happening, he grabbed his wand and walked towards the main door of the house, his wife was walking by his side.

- Fleur… Get back with your mother and sister… I will scream if something is wrong but please… Get away from here… The wards detected someone trying to get inside the house – Harry gritted his teeth.

- No Harry, don’t—Fleur was about to argue with her husband.

- Please Fleur… This isn’t just for you or me… It’s about our baby, if there’s something dangerous I want you to get away from here, is that correct? – Asked Harry desperately.

Fleur was about to answer but then something happened, the door was opened with extreme care.

- No one is going to stop me from coming here… Hey Harry – The person responsible was a known female.

She had short blue hair and was dressed like a soldier.

- Dora!? – Harry and Fleur asked at the same time.

- The one and only! – The older woman said funnily before she landed on the floor unconscious.

Harry and Fleur got worried, they decided to get close to the older woman to help her, this night was getting weirder and weirder for them.