the_debt_of_time

Tonks sighed, looking at Hermione with sympathy. No one walked out of the war without losing
something, it seemed. Hermione knew that Tonks had lost her own father, so she was aware at least a little
bit of what Hermione was going through.
"It's good she has you lot. Take good care of her, yeah?" Tonks gave her husband a pointed look
just as he shook his head to argue. "Don't you dare. All three of you," she said, gesturing to Sirius, Remus,
and Harry, "have lost your parents. You know what it's like and what she needs. So, do it, and don't
question me."
"What am I supposed to do?" Ron asked awkwardly, watching as Hermione clung to Harry while
Sirius rubbed her back as she cried.
"You go home and visit your mum and dad."
Ron nodded in understanding. He cast a look back at Hermione once more, offering her a smile
that she returned.
Once he was gone, Tonks looked up at Remus and sadly smiled. "There, just family now. Just
Pack."
Mia opened her eyes in the middle of the night, feeling Remus's hot breath on her
neck. She tilted her head to look at him, wondering if he was holding her so protectively
to help her grieve through Dorea's death, or because he needed someone to hold as he
grieved for his own mother. She frowned down at Sirius, his head still in her lap, and ran
her hands briefly through his hair, worried he would wake any second and potentially fall
off the deep end after losing the only mother who had ever shown him affection. The grief
felt familiar and, yet, different at the same time. She had lost her biological parents to an
Obliviation years ago, and though it was not to death, it was just as unchangeable. This felt
worse. Dorea had been her mother in every way but blood, and it was painful to think
about waking up in the morning and not seeing her there, picking grapes and blueberries
out of her usual bowl of fruit.
As the pain in her chest deepened, Mia pried herself from Remus and Sirius and
reached out for James, clinging to him tightly, snuggling her face into the mess of black
hair. A small part of her wished he was Harry; wished Harry was here, because then maybe
the family wouldn't feel so broken with the sudden missing piece. She looked across the
room where she spotted Lily sleeping soundly in the large chair.
Mia smiled as she remembered something Tonks had said long ago:
Just family now. Just Pack.