l o n e l y {Harry/Angel}

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex had been feeling rather odd as of late. And not just that she was magic living amongst mostly muggles, but rather that she was different from other witches and wizards as well. Just the other day, Alex had climbed the tree in the backyard with surprising speed. And yesterday when she had gotten frustrated over schoolwork, she had kicked a small dent in the frame of her bed. Things were certainly odd.

It was the late afternoon, nearly evening. Alex knew that her father should have been home soon, but Harry seemed to be working later and later these days. Alex thought it was likely that Angel would come over to check on her before her father got home from work. Angel had been recently taking over many of the responsibilities that Ginny had once had; she had been cleaning the house and had urged Alex's father to work. Alex didn't quite know what to make of everything, but she was glad that Harry had accepted Angel into the family again.

Alex plopped down on the couch in the living room, more bored than she had been in a while. She had briefly entertained the idea of climbing the backyard tree again, but had decided that she didn't want to cause any suspicion among the muggle neighbors if she displayed any magic. So Alex clicked on the television, hoping that someone would come soon.

[dudelsack]

Harry had come home early that evening- more like being on time as he was supposed to come home at this hour, he just hadn't since Ginny was alive. He let himself in through the front door after waving to their neighbour who had arrived at his home around the same time. Harry locked the door by magic after stepping inside, and then found his youngest daughter watching television. "Hello Alexandria," Harry said, giving her a kiss on the forehead. His depression was geeting better, mainly because he was slowly getting his revenge- target by target, he was inching closer to his goal.

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex looked up as the door opened and her father entered the house. She put a smile on her face as he came to her side and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Alex had worried about her father immediately after Ginny had died, but he seemed to be getting better these days, even if Angel was worried about his new promotion. Alex didn't quite understand that part of it, but she was glad that her father was no longer living in his bedroom. "Hello Dad," Alex said, scooting to the edge of the couch.

[dudelsack]

Harry joined hsi daughter on the couch, not even attempting to watch what was on the television. He didn't understand half the things on these days, having grown so accustomed to spending his days amongst wizards that probably wouldn't recognize a television if they saw one. "How was school today?" asked Harry as he bent over to untie his shoes.

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex shrugged, though she knew her father probably couldn't see it, bent over as he was. "Alright," Alex said in reply. She didn't really care for her muggle school, seeing it mostly as a waste of time, but today hadn't been particularly bad. Alex hadn't let any magic loose or been teased by anyone. Overall, it had been one of her better days at school, even if she had passed most of the time by staring at the wall. "Just boring, mostly."

[dudelsack]

Harry gave his daughter a sympathetic sort of smile, he had had a rough time at muggle school, particularly because of his cousin Dudley and his gang. He hoped that Alexandria had it nowhere near as rough as he had, he didn't want any of his children to have to go through that. Well, you're doing a damn horrible job, Harry thought glumly to himself. He sighed a bit as he finally pulled his shoes off. "You haven't got too much longer," said Harry, "come September you'll be off to Hogwarts."

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex perked up at the mention of Hogwarts. She felt as though she had been waiting ages to finally go to the school that her siblings went to. Sure, she never would get to be there at the same time as Angel, but Alex liked the idea of seeing more of James and Evangeline. She only ever saw them during the summer and at Christmas. "I can hardly wait," Alex said genuinely.

[dudelsack]

At that Harry managed perhaps the first genuine smile since Ginny's death. He had so many memories of Hogwarts, both good and bad, but he tended to look back on his school years fondly. He only wished that there wasn't a war, it was like Voldemort all over again. "You're going to love Hogwarts," said Harry, finding himself almost enthusiastic, "it'll probably make coming here a chore."

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex chuckled a bit, glad that her father was being so light-hearted at the moment. It had been a long time since Alex had seen Harry smile; it was certainly a nice change from his usual grim face or distracted nature. "Oh, I'm sure I'll still want to come home sometimes," Alex said with a smile. She was sure that Hogwarts would be fantastic, but Alex figured at some point she would probably get a bit homesick. She had never really strayed too far away before, and never for a long period of time. She would certainly miss her father, if nothing else.

[dudelsack]

Harry smiled once again at his daughter. He felt like such an old man- his youngest child was finally going off to Hogwarts and he was a grandfather already. He certainly hadn't planned on getting any grandchildren until he was at least fifty, but Harry supposed there wasn't really anything that he could do about it. But he couldn't help but wonder if he and Ginny hadn't sent Angel to France the year before last perhaps she wouldn't have gotten pregnant. Ginny might even still be alive.

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex fell silent after her father failed to respond. Her eyes flicked toward the television, but she found she wasn't too interested in the program that was currently running. Alex glanced back at her father; the man who had been so destroyed by Ginny's death looked different to her now. Alex couldn't quite put her finger about it, but Harry was definitely not the same.

[dudelsack]

"Making any friends at school?" Harry asked after a pause, from what he was able to see Alexandria didn't have many friends. Of course, none of his children seemed to be the kind to have tons of friends. Angel, Albus, and Evangeline it seemed had small, but tight social groups. Perhaps Alexandria was the same way. But Harry was slightly concerned about his youngest daughter, it had been a lovely spring day, had she played outside with her peers?

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex shrugged slightly at her father's question. She didn't really like too many of the kids at school, and they all seemed to feel the same about her. That was why Alex wanted to get to Hogwarts so badly, she hoped that she would have more in common with witches and wizards than with muggles. "Not really," she replied. "That's alright though, it's not like I would see them a whole lot after this year anyway."

[dudelsack]

"Fair enough," Harry said, stretching his legs out a little. He had to admit to himself that being home at this hour felt strange to him, as if he should be running around after targets rather than sitting on the couch in their living room. Harry still found himself mildly concerned about Alexandria, it was unsual for children her age to not have any friends. He could only hope that things would be different when she went to Hogwarts. And Harry did have to remind himself that he didn't have many friends before Hogwarts either.

[skyeisthelimit]

Alex nodded, glad that her father seemed to understand why she didn't connect with her classmates. Alex supposed if she was a muggle, she would like them well enough. She just found that she was angry at them for having it easier than she did. Most muggles were blissfully unaware of the war going on around them, and only a few had lost family members. Alex knew it wasn't their fault they weren't involved, but she just couldn't see herself connecting with anyone who was so out of the loop.