Begin Again

Prologue

By the time they're all inside and the door slams shut behind Ron who was the last to walk in, the older woman was sitting down on a velvet castle throne chair that had intricate designs. Across from her was a couch, similar to the chair she was sat in, that was big enough for them.

"Sit." She tells the uneasy teenagers with a kind smile.

"Who are you?" Harry asks.

"Rhaenyra Thornhart."

"Thornhart? As in the family name of my-"

"Your mother." She cuts him off with a small weak smile as if she were reminiscing on the past. "Your mother is my daughter."

Harry and Luke exchange glances as if they were telepathically asking one another if they believed what she was saying. Asking each other if they believe they were lied to their whole lives by all the adults they trusted.

"You're our grandmother?" Harry asks warily. "But she's supposed to-"

"Be dead." She cuts him off again. "Yes, well that is what everyone believed to be the truth. No one knew that I was actually alive, except for Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore knew?" Harry and Luke ask at the same time with hurt written on their faces.

"Yes. You see, most of my family had already been killed by death eaters or even by Voldemort himself. My husband, most of my sons, daughter-in-laws and grandchildren. The only ones who were still alive apart from your parents was my oldest son, alexander, his wife and two kids. It was May 7th 1980, we were all having dinner when death eaters attacked us. They killed my son before killing my two grandsons. My daughter-in-law protected me and gave me an emergency port key that they had which was how I was able to get away. After they killed her, they burnt down the house with their dead bodies inside. By the time the aurors got there, it was too late. There was nothing left. And since they knew I was living with them at the time, they assumed I had been killed as well." She explains to them with tears streaming down her face. "I ran away after that. I hid and made sure that nobody could find me. I know it wasn't fair to your mom because I left her thinking that she lost her entire family but I couldn't bring myself to reach out to her. I thought I was protecting her by making everyone believe I was dead. It wasn't until after Halloween 1981 that I realized my mistake. But it was too late."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." Luke says with tears stinging his eyes.

"You remind me so much of my sweet girl." She replies with a small smile while tears continue to stream down her cheeks.

Harry felt a wave of emotion hit him. His eyes were stinging with unshed tears and he felt his throat close up, holding back the sobs he so desperately wanted to let out. He felt so overwhelmed. He had just fought and defeated Voldemort after being on the run for months, saw his loved ones dead bodies in the Great Hall and now he finds out he and his brother still had a living family member after believing their mom was the only blood relative the boys had left for years.

"I'm sorry I didn't reach out sooner or for raising the two of you after you lost your parents. I know it wasn't fair to the two of you but I knew that you deserved so much better than what I could have offered you. I wasn't in a good place mentally and I knew you were better off being raised by Remus and Lily."

Now Harry felt angry. He understood that she had lost her family but so had they. He understood loss better than anyone but he was angry. She made everyone believe she was dead for years and now after everything she finally talks to them for the first time. She didn't have to raise them but she could have visited. She could have visited her daughter that was in St. Mungo's for 13 years before she was taken to grimmauld place. She could have helped them when they had problems every year that they were at Hogwarts. She could have helped them when they were on the run. Hell, she could have even just sent one bloody letter a year. Or even just one letter in general. But she didn't. She didn't do anything.