"Er... you know that whole thing about leaving you alone? I probably won't. Just a warning."
— Abby
Abigail Waters has just started a new job as a waitress. It's not what she dreamed of doing, but she believes in approaching life with zest and vigour and tucking your aching heart away safely in a private corner. And then she sees a man coming in who is a bit more obvious about shutting out the world, who bothers no-one, talks to no-one, just orders a coffee every day and stares out the window. Abby is intrigued despite herself.
Harry's children are his world after losing Ginny in a tragic accident. He doesn't want to face his family and friends' efforts to be compassionate and helpful, but so long as he throws himself into being a good father and a good Auror, he can sometimes distract himself from the empty space in bed, the missing hand on the children's shoulders, and the lack of her voice in their home. The more his children grow up, though, the more he realises that there's no running away from the void in his life. Just as well there's a rather persistent waitress who won't let him retreat again...and who might even need him in turn.
Grow Young With Me is a Harry Potter Fan Fic by Taliesin19, published at FanFiction.Net (here
).
This story contains examples of the following tropes:
- Berserk Button: Harry explodes when he learns that James is flying. Because Ginny died from a Quidditch accident caused by a malfunctioning broomstick, and he hasn't forgiven the whole institution.
- Eating the Eye Candy:
- Harry shocks himself (because he's still very attached to Ginny's memory) by noticing that Abby has nice legs, the first time he sees her in a dress.
- Abby has less reservations about drinking in sights such as Harry getting sweaty from a pillow fight with his children, although she doesn't admit to it.
- Endearingly Dorky: Abby is unashamedly crazy and even obnoxious by some standards, but once Harry has given up on getting her to stay away, she grows on him. Whether she's refusing to serve his usual order because it's the weekend and so things are clearly different from weekdays, or she's cajoling him into competing to see whose Jelly Baby will be stepped on by more passers-by, she's often exasperating but never dull."Could you not call them babies?" he said in amusement. "That makes it seem much more brutal."
"There's a time and a place for pacifism, Harry," she said, holding up her hand.
"Right, sorry." - I Just Want to Be Normal: Part of the reason Harry comes to enjoy being around Abby is because she doesn't have any idea who he is beyond his first name. In the Wizarding world, he's a famed hero, even to Ron and Hermione he has a lot of history that comes with being around him, but with Abby that's all left at the door.Ron: It's like a fresh slate with her, isn't it? She doesn't know anything about you. No hero-worship. No gossip. No pity. It must be nice, yeah?
- In Vino Veritas: Getting drunk results in Harry calling Abby — around 1am — and admitting how much he likes her. Along with more detail than she really needed to know about his sex life.
- Internal Reveal: Hermione offers to help Harry find a loophole in the Statute of Secrecy that might allow him to tell Abby about magic. Then Abby inadvertently sees too much while visiting his house, and he can't stand to erase her memory and send them back to an uneasy state of her knowing he's hiding something, so he tells her everything.
- Mood Whiplash: Chapter 18. A happy family outing to a "last hurrah" Quidditch game for Ginny is cut short when a combination of a Bludger impact and a crash leaves Ginny with mortal injuries. She never regains consciousness, the children are traumatised, and Harry's world is shattered.
- Muggle–Mage Romance: The Statute of Secrecy is a large complication in any relationship between magical people and those not in the know. If a couple is actually engaged, revealing magic is acceptable, but it's hard to get to that point when so many lies have to be told along the way about what you do for work, how you can regularly visit family on the other side of the country, why you're so hesitant to bring someone into your home (full of moving pictures, self-aware toys, cauldrons, and so forth)...
- Not What It Looks Like: Abby quickly disclaims when Maggie finds her and Harry together in a back room of the café, then admits that she mostly just "always wanted to use that line".
- One of the Kids: Harry is hesitant at first to introduce Abby to four-year-old Lily, but afterward he recognises that it was inevitable they'd get along, since they're practically the same age.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Maggie has never seen Abby get angry before, ever, so when Abby gets upset and defensive in response to Maggie's probing about Harry's background, Maggie knows her feelings run deeper than she's admitted.Maggie: You got angry at me. Over him. You were trying to protect him.
- Romancing the Widow: Or widower, in this case. Not that Abby intended anything of the kind, she just wanted to reach out to someone she saw regularly and whom she couldn't understand. Her energy and optimism are just what Harry needs, though, and his stability and strong principles and family are irresistible to her.
- Silent Treatment: Lampshaded by Abby when she and Harry are walking to the Thames.Abby: Would you prefer awkward silence, comfortable silence, or heavy silence?
Harry: Heavy sounds intriguing.
Abby: Oh, it is, trust me. We'll begin...now. - Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Abby wasn't actually seeking, but seeing Harry's gentleness and kindness with his four-year-old — in sharp contrast to his aloofness when he comes to the café alone — makes a big impression on her.Abby: You do dad things and you have a dad voice and it's all so completely strange and fascinating and... and... wonderful.
- Spit Take:
- When James mentions that some children play Aurors and Death Eaters (cops and robbers) with a Voldemort and a Harry Potter, Ron chokes on his water.
- Abby chokes on her cereal when her flatmate confronts her about having had a man over (although Harry only stopped in briefly for tea).
- Sympathy for the Devil: Harry agrees that Abby's father failed terribly in how he raised her and her brother, but at the same time, Harry does understand what it's like to lose the love of your life, how it tears your world apart and destroys you.Harry: I was lucky, to have friends, family, who refused to let me slip away. Maybe... maybe your dad wasn't so lucky.
- Tsundere: Ron thinks that acerbic-yet-competent Tracey Davis secretly fancies Harry. Harry isn't convinced.Ron: No, see…it's like a love-hate sort of thing. You know, she trips you on the playground, but it really just means she's got a crush on you.
- Woken Up at an Ungodly Hour: Ron calls Harry at 3am for help when Hermione is out at a conference. (Ron managed to microwave a chicken leg in foil and became quite alarmed at the sparks and smoke.) He tried Floo-calling first, but couldn't get an answer (as Harry was asleep), and didn't want to risk leaving the house while the microwave was sparking, so he finally managed to call Harry's phone.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Harry feels terribly guilty about the fact that James worries about him. James has walked in on him crying himself to sleep, and can see through Harry's fake smiles, and it weighs on him, which makes Harry feel like a failure of a father. But Abby assures Harry that she thinks it's incredible how James is still able to be a child, mischievous and playing pranks and scuffling with his brother, that Harry has carried on well enough that James can still laugh and be happy.Abby: I admire you for that.
- Young Face, Old Eyes: Abby is a little surprised to learn that Harry is only 29, because his eyes look older. (Not that she knows anything about the war he fought or the losses he's suffered; Harry is taken aback by her insight.) When he replies that her eyes seem younger than her own age, she suggests that he could grow young with her.Abby: And I suppose I never thought about it much before, but I realise now that it's because your eyes seem sad and lonely. And when I look into them, I just...I see someone who is so much older than twenty-nine. And that just makes me wonder, you know. What could have possibly occurred to…to—
