JK Rowling ended her story "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at the end of the second war with Voldemort. She then followed up with an epilogue entitled "19 Years Later". This is the story of those 19 years in between. Please note that the information provided by "The Cursed Child" will not be taken into account for this fanfiction.

All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.

Beta: Roman's Sundial

Chapter One: The Following Year

Ron Weasley - Present Day

October 7, 1999

Ron Weasley walked down the hallway towards the marble staircase. He felt something hot in his pocket, but he didn't bother to take a look. It was probably Essa, and he wasn't in the mood to deal with her at the moment. He still jumped when he felt the warmth in his pocket. It had been about a year since everything had happened, yet it still took some getting used to. Muggles knowing about the wizarding world, Hogwarts going past year seven, and most recently, burning galleons to communicate. Hermione's famous communication galleons from his fifth year had become ever so popular, particularly because it could now be bewitched to send a worded message to one person of your choice as opposed to everyone in a group. She claimed that she got the idea from "muggle texting," whatever that was. He had to admit though, out of all the changes that his two best friends, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, along with The Order of the Phoenix, had seen to, Ron had liked this one the most. It was far more easier than sending out an owl and waiting sometimes days for a reply. He was also impartial to the muggles knowing about them. Sure it was a change, but it didn't really affect him. He had always known about them, the change would have had a much larger impact on the muggles. What had affected Ron the most was the extended years at Hogwarts. Hermione thought that seven years simply wasn't enough for a witch or wizard to be fully educated, and somehow she had convinced the entire Order to agree with her and in turn got the Ministry of Magic to agree to extend the magical education. It probably helped that the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, was also part of the Order. Ron felt his pocket grow hot again, and he pulled out his galleon to see a message from Hermione:

Heard you had a tough Runes assignment. Let me know if you could use some help.

"Yeah," said Ron aloud, "I only have a tough Runes assignment thanks to you." Not only did Hermione push to have extended school years, she also pushed to have all elective courses become compulsory. At least she's forced to take Divination, Ron thought to himself. It was a class that he knew she completely despised. He looked back down at the Galleon. Only last year would he have jumped on the possibility of having Hermione help him (or rather do) an assignment for him. That was before Hermione had become his girlfriend, and definitely before she had become his ex. Ron put his galleon away without replying. She's lucky that I even talk to her, he thought to himself. He could have dealt with them breaking up, he could have gone back to the way things were before the wizarding war, he could have even been fine with the fact that she was now dating Viktor Krum again. All this could have been acceptable had she not broken up with Ron and dated Draco Malfoy for a full year.

Ginny Weasley - Present Day

October 7, 1999

Another bloody owl from Mum. When was she going to give up? She supposed she should be thankful that Mum never adapted to the new galleons, otherwise she would get messages almost every hour. Ginny read her newly arrived letter. "Less of a Weasley, am I?" she said aloud to herself. So it made her less of a Weasley since she dyed her hair black? She was simply tired of the red; it clashed with everything. How did that make her less of a Weasley? It didn't matter anyway; one day she would be a Potter. She knew that her relationship with Harry would last forever. It was so different compared to all the other relationships around her. Ron and Essa, Ron and Hermione, Hermione and Malfoy, Hermione and Krum! No, her and Harry's relationship was completely different. It was calm, stress-free, and dare she say it- normal. There were no problems, no fights, no jealousy. It was just them. She finished reading the rest of the letter. Great, turns out she would have to apparate home on Saturday. Mum wanted everyone there for dinner and since she also Owled Harry, Ginny knew Harry would never say no. Putting the thought of Saturday behind her, she grabbed her Galleon and messaged Harry.

Meet me in the great hall before Transfiguration?

Ginny loved that the new education regime focused on a student's skill level rather than their age. You no longer had to wait a whole year to complete the course load before moving up to the next year. Now, you simply had seven levels of each subject, and would move up to the next one once you successfully completed the one you were on. That meant that Ginny was able to take some courses with Harry if she worked hard enough and moved up levels quickly to catch up to him. She knew she would never have Defense against the Dark Arts with him, as Harry had already received his NEWT and was finished with the program, but she had a chance of having the new compulsory courses with him as they both had to start from the bottom at the same time. There was no longer an age set for when you finished Hogwarts either; once you received all of your NEWTs, you would be finished school. (Unless, of course, you failed your OWL for a course, you would therefore not be able to continue to your NEWT in that case.) Ginny wondered how Hermione had not yet graduated from Hogwarts; she had already gotten several NEWTs. She supposed it must be because her, Harry, and Ron did so much work at the Ministry as well as attended school that she simply didn't have the time to completely finish all of her courses. Ginny felt her galleon heat up.

Can't, at the Ministry. Will probably miss Transfiguration too.

Ginny frowned. Harry spent almost every moment at the Ministry these days. The war had been over for more than a year; what could they still possibly want with Harry that couldn't wait for him to graduate first? She put her charmed galleon away and headed towards the great hall. Maybe Luna would be around and would want to have lunch.

Hermione Granger - Present Day

October 7, 1999

Hermione knew she should return Viktor's message as he had been attempting to contact her all morning, but she had her Arithmancy NEWT coming up and she was nose deep into her notes. She would message him before her next class, she told herself as she continued to study. She hadn't done pretty much anything all day except for study. It was getting harder to focus on her studies with everything going on around her. She found herself at the Ministry almost three days a week helping the head of the Muggle Association deal with all the changes in the muggle world. The wizarding world coming clean about who they were hadn't been easy. With all the changes occurring in Muggle politics, the American Minister of Magic along with the British Minister agreed that they needed to out their secret before the Muggle President did it for them and misrepresented who they really were. Hermione pulled her planner towards her. She had two meetings this week at the Ministry, her NEWT, her regular classes, dinner at the Weasley's (she had received an owl that morning), a meeting with the head healer at St. Mungo's, one of Viktor's quidditch matches, and a study session with Ron to help him with his Runes paper. She frowned, looking at her planner. She was not going to be able to do everything that was scheduled. She considered telling Viktor she would catch the next game. After all, the season had only started a few months ago. As she grabbed her galleon to message him, she realized she had already cancelled for his last two matches. She really had no interest in the sport, but she was his girlfriend after all and knew that he supported her through everything she did. She frowned again and stared at her planner. "Help Ron with Runes," she read aloud. She took her quill and put a line through it. Who was she kidding, Ron wasn't going to accept her help; he didn't even bother to reply to her message. She knew it was too good to be true when they agreed to be friends, just like before the wizarding war. Her galleon grew hot again. Viktor. She knew she should reply to him but she put the galleon away anyway. Hermione really only had three boyfriends before so she wasn't always sure what she was acceptable and what was not. One was an international quidditch player who was busier than she was, one was a mistake that never should have happened, and one was (although she hated to admit it to herself) her one true love. She frowned yet again. I love Viktor, she told herself. But no matter how many times she tried to forget, she knew that her heart would always belong to Draco Malfoy.

Draco Malfoy – The Past

July 22, 1998

Draco walked into the Ministry in his finest robes and his head held high. He was definitely terrified, but he was a Malfoy, and Malfoys were proud people. He had been looking forward to this day for a while. He would finally have his trial, be released of all charges, and be given his wand back. Now that the day had arrived, however, he was incredibly nervous. Mother was released of all charges last week, he reminded himself. I was just a boy, an innocent boy. He tried to ignore the nagging voice in the back of his mind. He knew he was not innocent. His mother was just the wife of a Death Eater who helped save famous Harry Potter. Draco, on the other hand, was given the task to kill Albus Dumbledore and had quite the hand in his death. Furthermore, Draco had the Dark Mark. Not a single witch or wizard with the Dark Mark had been let off so far. He walked into the court room expecting to find the entire Wizengamot. Instead, he saw five people. In the center of the high table sat Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic. To his right was Rubin Yaxley, head of Magical Law Enforcement, and to his right was one of the Weasley sons whom Draco recognized but did not know. To the left of the Minister was Harry Potter. Of course Potter would be here, Malfoy thought to himself. He did not know who was next to Potter but knew the witch must have worked for the Daily Prophet.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Malfoy," the Minister said to him, not unkindly. "July 22, 1998, the trial of Mr. Draco Malfoy," the Minister began. Both the Weasley son and the Daily Prophet witch started to write. "Present council members are myself, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic, Rubin Yaxley, head of the Magical Law Enforcement, Harry Potter, head of the Dobwig Association, and Percy Weasley, secretary. Also present, Serene Evelston, Daily Prophet reporter. Leading the trial is Rubin Yaxley. Mr. Yaxley, you may begin."

"Thank you, Minister." Yaxley looked down at Draco with cold eyes. Why on earth would they allow a relative of a death eater conduct these hearings? Draco wondered. "You are Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, known followers of You-Know-Who?"

"Narcissa was acquitted and Lucius has yet to stand his trial," Harry interrupted. Yaxley ignored him and stared at Draco.

"I am Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa, yes," he responded. And so the trial began. Several questions were asked of Draco, including his involvement with the Dark Lord, his association with other known Death Eaters (although Potter interjected a lot when a Death Eater who had yet to be convicted was named), his involvement in Dumbledore's death, and his actions during the final battle. He answered the questions as best he could. His mother's words stuck in his mind. "Please Draco, don't be proud, be sweet and pleading, I need my son to come home." And so Draco put on his best face of sorrow and tried his best to seem terrified and remorseful. He seemed to think it was working. That was until the next question.

"Do you have the Dark Mark embedded on your skin?" Yaxley asked him. Draco frowned. Shit, he thought. The truth was that he did have it, but never wanted it. If he had denied The Dark Lord, both him and his family would have died. He knew Yaxley would never have believed him though. This was the end of his trial, he was going to go to Azkaban. "Well?" Yaxley demanded. Draco rolled up his left sleeve and showed the mark to the council members.

"I had no choice," he told them.

Yaxley snorted. "Well I think that concludes this trial then, no other proof is needed," he said as he looked towards the Minister for approval. Before the Minister could respond, Harry leaned forward.

"The Healers at St. Mungo's are working on a way to have the Mark removed," he said to Draco. "Should they succeed, would you willingly go through with the procedure?"

"Wha- yeah I would," Draco responded, unsure where Potter was going with this.

"You cannot possibly deem this boy innocent!" Yaxley said, staring at Potter. "Come now, he has the Dark Mark! He is the son of a known Death Eater!"

"I do not believe having the Dark Mark should be the one thing to seal your fate Mr. Yaxley," he said, staring at Yaxley. "There are many other factors to consider. And as stated already at this trial, Lucius Malfoy has not had his trial as of yet and has therefore not been convicted as a Death Eater." Draco sat there bewildered. Was Potter actually defending him?

"Very well," Yaxley said turning to the Minister. "I have concluded my questioning. It is my opinion that the defendant is guilty and should therefore be held responsible."

"Noted, thank you Mr. Yaxley. Mr. Potter?" Kingsley asked, turning towards Harry. There was a long pause where Harry surveyed Draco. Seven long years of hatred were brewing between the two. How ironic it was that Potter of all people was going to be the one to seal Draco's fate and send him to Azkaban. The thought infuriated Draco more so than the trial itself.

"Not guilty," Harry replied. Draco was stunned. Had he actually heard correctly? Not guilty?

"Thank you, Mr. Potter." The Minister said. He turned to Draco. "Have you heard of the new education program at Hogwarts, Mr. Malfoy?"

"I have, Minister," Draco responded.

"Should you be released from this trial free of all charges, would you attend and complete the new program, as well as remove your Dark Mark should the solution be created?"

Draco was in shock. "Yes, of course, Minister."

"Would you submit yourself as a client to the Dobwig Association, which forces you to attend meetings and allows members to check on you whenever they deem appropriate to do so?"

"I would, Minister," Draco responded. Normally he would be reluctant to do such a thing, but he could not afford to be right now; he may have been the most luckiest he has ever been.

"Very well, Mr. Malfoy. You must do all that it is you just agreed to, as well as oblige to every wizarding law. Note that you will still be under review and this decision made today may be revoked at any time. You will have a review hearing in approximately one years' time. Do you understand, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, Minister."

"Very well, you may go." And just like that, Draco was free.

Author's notes: Hey everyone, hope you enjoy what is going to be a very long and very detailed story! Please feel free to message with questions and comments, I will try and post as frequently as I can!