Butterfly Effect ; H. Potter

epilogue: forever and always.

May 3rd, 1998

Antheia Lupin believed she was too young.

Too young to inherit a home, too young to fight a war, too young to lose a father, and too young to remain the last Lupin alive.

She was turning eighteen in a bit less than three months. She was barely an adult. But here she stood, in the living room of her house, having lost too much. Antheia couldn't bear to go upstairs so she walked the halls, desperately avoiding any family photos. However, her eyes met a small, framed picture of three people and once they did, they refused to look away.

The photo was simple: a young Remus Lupin and Mary Macdonald holding a baby Antheia in their arms. Beside the photo were a glass of Firewhiskey and a scribbled note. Antheia held up the note until she could read the small handwriting:

Antheia's eighteenth day with us! Mary and I are setting aside a bottle to drink on her eighteenth birthday.

Her hand was shaking. In fear of dropping the bottle, she quickly placed it down and ran out to the yard, in need of fresh air.

The first thing she spotted was a garden. She scrunched her eyebrows, not remembering a garden the last time she had been here, which she realized was over a year ago. She hastily picked up some flowers and began digging them into the dirt.

"Is this a lily?" she asked out loud to herself, examining the flower's petals. She shrugged and poured some water over the plant before moving on to the next flower.

What started with over three dozen flowers ended after a few hours, Antheia having zoned out multiple times. As she went to clean up the flower pots, she heard the doorbell ring.

"What?" Antheia said, taking off her gloves and approaching the door. "Who could that be?"

She had taken the train home the day after the war had finally ended. After cleaning up for hours and seeing the faces of the fallen, she had had enough. So, as the younger students were sent home, Antheia slipped on the Hogwarts Express as well, leaving nothing but a note for Harry, Ron, and Hermione and a hug for Professor McGonagall.

Antheia opened the door, expecting a lost Muggle who needed to use her phone or a young girl scout selling treats. However, Harry was in front of her, looking nearly as dusty and exhausted as she did.

"Harry?"

"You left so early in the morning," he explained. "I couldn't follow you. I flew all the way back here with my Firebolt."

"You could've waited until tomorrow morning," said Antheia, in disbelief.

"Then, you'd be lonely, wouldn't you? Why not be lonely with me?"

"I'm not lonely," said Antheia firmly, perhaps trying to convince herself rather than Harry. The last thing she wanted was a reminder of everything she had lost. But she knew she couldn't keep secrets from him. "I couldn't stay there any longer. It's like I've lost everything ... and I almost thought I lost you!"

"You didn't," said Harry. "Another secret Dumbledore had kept from me. Makes me question all I've believed in."

"He's brilliant but he's also a liar," said Antheia. "He's a manipulator and we've just been his puppets. If he hadn't gone to these lengths, couldn't this journey have been easier?"

"I dunno, Theia, but it's over," responded Harry. "We're done. We've gone to hell and back. All that's left is to recover, right?"

Antheia realised Harry was still standing on her doorstep with bright rays of sunlight accentuating the small scars on his face. She pulled him into the house before wrapping her arms around his neck.