CHAPTER NINETEEN:
BEYOND HER

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DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU began the story, it was about Fraser McKinnon. He was the lost soul, the heartless man; sometimes, even when it came to his own daughter, though Fraser did try his best not to hurt Freya. Be that as it may, Freya McKinnon's story started the day Fraser's life collapsed in on itself, and so everything would begin and end with him in one way or another, even if it broke her in the process.

Freya truly hadn't expected him to show up, not after the impact of Travers' escape and certainly not after Sirius Black lost his life in the Order's most recent fight in the Department of Mysteries. Freya hadn't been there, but Fraser had been dragged along to help Harry Potter and the likes. He was already spiralling beforehand, so if Freya knew her dad even the tiniest bit, she knew Fraser would have to hit rock bottom and then some after losing yet another friend to death. So she donned her graduation cap and smothered down her sadness, and plastered on her prettiest smile as she followed Solana and the rest of the Hufflepuff Seventh Years down to the Great Hall. It might've been Graduation Day, but for Freya, it was just another day of pretences.

She didn't see him at first. Of course she didn't. Freya refused so much as to glance at the crowd of loved ones who were there to watch their sons and daughters, nieces and nephews celebrating their hard work. It would only torture her, but the human mind always had a horrible habit of putting itself through unneeded pain. With Solana separating from her side to hug her mother and Dean, Freya was left momentarily adrift, encouraging her eyes to move until they located Fraser standing by the doors.

For a split second, she thought she'd imagined him, her very own Mirror of Erised. But after blinking several times without Fraser disappearing, Freya determined this to be reality.

Fraser McKinnon might've been a lost soul, a heartless man, but he was also a father. At times, he might've been a distant one, but like called to like even when the conscience resisted. Fraser wouldn't just abandon Freya on one of the biggest days of her life. He knew Estelle would never have forgiven him for missing any of their daughter's milestones let alone graduating Hogwarts, and quite frankly, the part of Fraser who wanted to be better wouldn't have forgiven himself either.

Bit-by-bit, Freya's smile relaxed into a genuine expression of happiness. George wasn't there and neither was Fred, but she had her dad, and she had Solana -- she always did -- and for just one second, the whole year felt like a dream. Everything started with Fraser, extended to Solana, and finished with them both.

Freya would be lost without them.

Together, Freya and Solana took their seats, for Dumbledore was waiting at the front of the room. And from there, the ceremony went by fairly quickly. Before either of them could truly comprehend it, they each had a diploma in hand and Hogwarts was, technically speaking, behind them. They followed the dispersing crowd out to the Black Lake where their families had regathered to continue the celebrations. Freya searched passing faces for her father, freezing once she spied him towering uncomfortably beneath the shade of the oak tree that resided beside the lake.

"Dad," she murmured; then, as her feet pulled her towards him, "Dad!"

Her body collided with his just as his eyes met hers, Freya's arms wrapped tight around his neck. With just one hug, Freya felt like a child again; a daughter without a mother, a niece without her aunt, a grandchild without her grandparents. Everything was Fraser, Fraser, Fraser. Dad, dad, dad. A girl who only had her father. A man who only had his daughter. Fraser held onto Freya for dear life. For once, he didn't smell like Firewhiskey or any other substances, and Freya wasn't sure what to make of the sudden change. It was too early to have hope.

"You're here," she said, though she almost immediately regretted it when Fraser's arms tensed around her back.

He pulled away to look at her face. "As if I'd be anywhere else. I'm so proud of you, kid."

And for the time being, it was enough.

Hours bled past, and with one last glimpse of the castle behind her, Freya found herself boarding the Hogwarts Express for the final trip home. Everything was quiet, but not necessarily sad like Freya might've expected. Solana was quick to commandeer an armful of snacks from the trolley that she and Freya gorged on until both their stomachs were fit to burst. Maximus decided to curl up on Solana's lap where he refused to move for most of the train ride. Even Lee made an appearance of his own at one point, not-so-subtly creeping into their compartment to steal Solana's last chocolate frog before he disappeared again, most likely to snog Alicia, if Freya's suspicions were correct.

And when they arrived at King's Cross, Freya knew for certain this time that Fraser would be waiting.

"Well," Solana scanned the platform with a strikingly grim frown. Not too far away was her mother, who was hugging Dean like she hadn't just seen both of her children earlier that same day. Solana winced at the sight, knowing she'd be subjected to a similar hug any moment now. "This is it, I suppose."

Freya couldn't hold back her laughter. "You're making it sound like we're never going to see each other again, Sol. It's just one Summer, and you said yourself we could look at sharing a flat--"

"I know, but it's not really the same, is it?" Solana heaved another infamously melodramatic sigh. "We actually have to be adults now."

"Oh, the horror," Freya scoffed, then quickly darted out of Solana's reach when she attempted to punch her arm. "Come on then, Mrs Dramatic. It's time to face the music."

Solana groaned but said nothing as Freya grabbed her arm and dragged her over to where Ms Thomas and Dean were waiting. Not too far away from them was Fraser, the Weasleys and a number of other Order members, most of whom were distracted greeting Harry, Ron and Hermione. Freya caught George's eyes and beamed, ignoring Solana's amused smirk as the two of them watched George eagerly nudge Fred's arm before the twins broke away from their family to greet them.

It was hard to miss the way that George's bored expression brightened at the mere sight of Freya McKinnon. With her heart on her sleeve, Freya reached out and hugged him the second he came within arm's reach.

"I missed you," she admitted, loud enough for only George to hear.

She'd never hear the end of it if Solana or Fred caught what she said -- or worse, Fraser. As it was, her dad was glaring at George's back like he was Voldemort himself. An admission of feelings, romantic ones? Why, that could be enough for Fraser to keel over...

Freya was forced to release her grip on George when Ron -- who, unlike Fraser McKinnon and pretty much everyone else with half a brain, would probably remain oblivious to Freya and George's blooming relationship until the day they got married, or maybe not even then -- wandered over to eye up his brothers.

"What are they supposed to be?" he asked, tugging on the sleeve of Fred's jacket. 

George was wearing a matching one, both made out of what looked to be dragon skin, or a very accurate fake. Freya thought it suited them - well, more so George than Fred, but maybe she was just biased -- however, their brother didn't seem to think so.

Ron snorted as Fred replied, "Finest dragon skin, little bro. Business is booming and we thought we'd treat ourselves."

"So everything's going well, then?" Freya asked, feeling pride swell in her chest when George nodded eagerly.

"We've never had so much money, Frey," he said, lowering his voice and glaring when Ron leaned in to eavesdrop. "You'll have to come by and see things for yourself. We'll give you a good discount."

"Discount?" she echoed with a mocking gasp. "I thought as your girlfriend, I'd get something better than a discount--"

Despite knowing she was joking, George furrowed his brows. His hands instinctively reached for hers, but hesitated as he saw Fraser watching him carefully from the corner of his eye. "Well, I haven't asked you out yet, have I?"

"Guess you'll have to change that," she shrugged, struggling to remain nonchalant when her heart was pounding a mile a minute.

George made a humming sound, neither confirming or denying what both of them knew he intended to do. With one last smile, and an impulsive squeeze of her hand that Fraser keenly glared at, Freya left George with his family to make her way over to her father.

"I didn't know you and the Weasley boy were so chummy," he grunted the second she reached him, his mood only getting worse when she grinned sheepishly and shoved Maximus' cage into his hands. Max was moving around inside it restlessly, much to Fraser's chagrin. "Do I need to have a talk with him?"

"No," Freya insisted, dreading the mere idea of her dad having a talk with her almost-boyfriend. George would never want to date her if he was scared to death by her father. "Don't you dare."

"Oh, I think I need to have a talk with him." The tiniest of smiles appeared on Fraser's face. He was still weary, but the thought of embarrassing his daughter was tantalising, tempting when George was not-so-subtly glancing over at them every few seconds like a lost puppy.

"Dad, don't."

Fraser laughed and ruffled Freya's hair. He made no promises for the future, but stayed firmly in place beside her as the large group headed for the exit. They certainly looked like an odd bunch to the muggles, who made sure to give them a wide berth as they followed Harry to where his family were waiting. Freya wasn't sure when the decision had been made that Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley needed some kind of magical intervention, but it was safe to say she was intrigued to see what it involved. She watched in amusement as Vernon Dursley's face went a dangerous shade of red, caught somewhere between crimson and beetroot purple. He stood to his full height (which was barely to Freya's shoulders, and she was hardly the tallest person out there) as Mr Weasley regarded him with an eerily pleasant smile.

"Good afternoon," the redheaded man held out a hand for Vernon to shake. Of course, the petulant man refused, but Mr Weasley didn't seem bothered. "You might remember me, my name's Arthur Weasley."

Fred and George shared a wicked grin, already eyeing up Dudley Dursley who was trying and failing to hide behind his mother's wiry frame.

"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry."

"Yeah," grumbled Moody, who failed to hide his disgust for the family. "About how he's treated when he's at your place."

Vernon Dursley bristled with indignation. "I am not aware that it's any of your business what goes on in my house--"

"Oh, I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursley."

"Anyway," Tonks cut in with a pointed look in Freya's direction. Freya forced down her laughter. "That's not the point. The point is, if we find out you've been horrible to Harry..."

"And make no mistake, we'll hear about it," Remus Lupin added with a cheerful expression that could've easily rivalled Mr Weasley.

"Yes," the man in question gave an earnest nod. "Even if you won't let Harry use the fellytone--"

"Telephone," Hermione corrected as Fred and George snickered at their dad.

"Yeah, if we get any hint that Potter's been mistreated in any way, you'll have us to answer to."

The threat was obvious in Moody's words, but Vernon couldn't quite bring himself to back down so soon. "Are you threatening me, sir?" he gasped loud enough for passers-by to hear.

Much like Freya, Moody was unimpressed by the man's display of bravado. "Yes, I am," he deadpanned, to Vernon's disbelief.

"And do I look like the kind of man who can be intimidated?"

"Is that a trick question?" Freya heard George mutter and smiled.

"Well..." began Moody, whose strange bowler hat suddenly made sense to Freya. He pushed back the brim to reveal his revolving eye, making a point of leaning in close for Vernon to see it. The other man leapt back in horror, knocking over a nearby luggage trolley as Petunia Dursley wailed in fright. "Yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley."

With that, he turned to nod at Harry. "Potter, give us a shout if you need us. And if we don't hear from you for three days in a row, we'll send someone along..."

Petunia gave another whimper, but she went ignored as everyone else bid Harry goodbye.

"We'll see you soon, mate," Ron said, looking anxious as he clapped Harry on the back.

Hermione added on with a woeful frown, "Really soon, Harry, we promise."

Their concern seemed to reassure him, for his smile seemed genuine as he raised a hand in farewell. The Dursleys made sure not to linger, hurrying toward the sunlit street where no magic could reach them (if only they knew.) With Harry now gone, everyone else began to also disperse, the Order members going their various ways while the Weasleys parted the crowd towards another exit.

As George disappeared from view, Freya turned to her dad.

"Are you ready to go home?" Fraser asked. He was still struggling with Max's cage. Any second now, Freya had a feeling he'd lose his temper and throw him into oncoming traffic. The road wasn't that far away...

Freya smiled and took the cage from his hands. "I'm ready," she nodded, to which Fraser huffed in relief.

Almost a year ago, they had stood on this very platform where Fraser told Freya to make the most of her final year. It's a scary world out there. He certainly hadn't been wrong. More so than before, their world was a horrifying place, one with more dangers than either of them would ever know. But it was time for Freya to face it.

There would be no more hiding from the truth. 

Arm-in-arm, the father and daughter went home.

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A/N: act one is done! who else is excited?