Sirius slowly stepped up, chestnut wand in hand, his eyes closed as he reached his
empty hand out to Mia for support. "For... for Regulus Black." Breathing heavy and
struggling with his words, he exchanged Mia's hand for Remus's. Sirius visibly warred with
himself until he finally, and very quietly whispered, "And... Peter Pettigrew."
"I want you and Sirius to be happy," Jamie had said through the power of the
Resurrection Stone. "To let go of all that anger. I want you to learn to forgive Dumbledore, Snape...
and Peter. The war is over. Put us all to rest."
Mia smiled sweetly at Sirius and Remus, who were both obviously struggling with
their emotions. She knew they were not mourning Peter, the traitor, nor regretting
Wormtail's inevitable demise. But Peter had once been their friend—a scared boy who
made all the wrong choices. His life had been stolen by a Death Eater; that Death Eater
just happened to be himself.
She took a breath as she tried to follow Sirius's shockingly good example, searching
inside of herself to see if she could, at the very least, release all the hate. Hating enemies,
especially the dead ones, was a heavy burden, and she was ready and eager to be relieved
of it.
"'Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out
hate; only love can do that,'" Remus said softly.
"Martin Luther King Jr," Mia said quietly, merely out of habit. "Muggle."
Finally, Harry walked forward, Ginny's hand clutched in his, their fingers
intertwined to show each of them wearing a Potter family ring. Harry's, the symbol of his
authority; Ginny's, the engraved, ruby engagement ring that once belonged to another
redhead besotted with a messy-haired wizard.
Smiling through his tears, Harry said, "For James and Lily Potter."
May 31st, 1999When Sirius and Mia told Remus they planned on building him a new home, they
were not lying. What they failed to mention was that in addition to a small, four-bedroom
cottage, they had wrapped a large, stylish, brick wall with wrought iron gates around the