Chapter 1: Family

Harry fell to the ground and all the air was pushed out of his lungs. He was wandless and without any means of defending himself. He looked up and saw the hideous face of his enemy. A cruel grin made the snake-like face even less human.

"You were right about one thing, Potter. This is the end."

Harry closed his eyes. A bright green light reached through his eyelids. The last thing he heard was the terrified scream of the girl he loved.

"No…"

"Harry!"

"No. Ginny…"

"Harry, wake up!"

Someone was shaking his shoulder firmly and Harry sat up in his bed, drowsiness still controlling his brain. Blindly, he grabbed his glasses from the nightstand beside his bed. After blinking a few times he realized that it was Remus and Tonks who were both looking down at him worriedly.

"Sorry." Harry mumbled, embarrassed by the fact that he was still affected by bad dreams this much.

Remus face softened and he and Tonks sat down on the rim of his bed. Tonks slowly stroked Harry's hair away from his brow. "Don't you ever apologise for having a nightmare." she said softly.

"You went through a whole lot, Harry." Remus said. "You fought in a war, for Merlin's sake. And you ended it. You're allowed to have bad dreams."

Before Harry could say anything they were interrupted by the arrival of Dobby, who shuffled inside, carrying a tray with three cups of steaming hot chocolate. The loyal House-Elf had moved back to Grimmauld Place with Harry, Remus and Tonks after the war. They insisted that he would take one of the spare bedrooms and after a lot of negotiating, Dobby agreed to move into the smallest bedroom of the house. That room happened to be the one next to Harry's and more than once the Elf had been woken during the night by Harry's moans or screams. Every time that happened, Dobby had made a cup of hot chocolate for Harry and had stayed with him until he fell asleep again. It had become sort of a ritual between the two friends.

"Thank you, Dobby." Remus said as the House-Elf placed the tray on Harry's nightstand.

"Is everything alright with Master Harry?" Dobby asked, looking at his idol.

"I'm fine, Dobby." Harry smiled at him reassuringly.

Satisfied by the fact that Remus and Tonks would watch over his favourite master, Dobby bowed to them and left Harry's bedroom.

"Did I wake you?" Harry asked as Remus handed him a cup of hot chocolate.

The werewolf shook his head. "We were just on our way to bed when we came past your room and heard you."

"Are these dreams bothering you a lot, Harry?" Tonks asked.

Harry shrugged. "Not every night, but quite regularly yes."

Remus bit his lower lip and seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Tonks looked at her fiancé meaningfully. "Maybe we should ask Severus to make it for him."

"Make what for me?"

"The Dreamless Sleep Potion." Remus explained. "And I guess you're right. But that's only a temporary solution. That potion can be dangerous if it is used abundantly."

"I don't need – " Harry started, but Tonks cut him off.

"Yes, you do."

Harry knew it would be pointless trying to argue with her, so he shrugged and drank his hot chocolate. To be honest, it was kind of nice to be fussed over like that. He never had caring parents around when he was younger, so when he was a little kid, there was no one there to comfort him and to tell him everything would be okay when he would wake up after a bad dream. Now he was almost seventeen years old, what would make him off age in the wizarding world, but the fact that Remus and Tonks were both there to make sure he was okay made him feel loved more than annoyed. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone. When the two adults had left him alone, Harry fell asleep peacefully for the first time in months.

Harry woke the next morning, feeling unusually well rested. When he arrived downstairs in the kitchen, he cheerfully wished the rest of his family good morning.

"What are you doing up this early?" he asked Jacinta, while Tonks poured him a cup of tea. "I'm not used to seeing you before 10 o'clock during the holidays."

"Tonks is taking me to work with her today!" Jacinta said excitedly. She had been looking forward to seeing the Auror Office ever since Tonks had gone back to work. Tonks had put off taking her as long as possible, because there were still a lot of Death Eaters on the loose and she could be called on a mission any time. Today however, she would be forced to do some paperwork. Gawain Robards, who succeeded Kingsley as Head of the Auror Office, wasn't as strict as his appearance told you, but she had been delaying it for weeks.

"Is she now?" Harry smiled. "Don't let them talk you into joining them after you graduate. Only crazy people want to be Aurors." He winked at Tonks, who was raising her eyebrows at him.

"But you want to be an Auror!" Jacinta laughed.

"Exactly my point."

After Tonks and Jacinta had left for the Ministry, Remus turned to Harry. "So, what are you up to today?" he asked as Dobby was clearing the table.

Harry shrugged. "Ginny, Ron and Hermione might stop by this afternoon. If Mrs Weasley will let Ginny and Ron go, that is."

The Weasleys and the Grangers had stayed at Grimmauld Place during the first weeks after the war, but had now moved back to their own homes. The Burrow had been almost completely destroyed, much to the distress of Mr and Mrs Weasley, but with the help of their five oldest sons and the members of the Order of the Phoenix they had been able to restore the house completely. Both The Burrow and the Grangers' house still had some protective enchantments on them, monitored by the Ministry and Kingsley had made sure that both houses were guarded by Aurors. Although the war was over, they couldn't be sure that there weren't any Death Eaters out there, seeking revenge.

Mrs Weasley was still keeping watch over her family as a Bowtruckle watching over its tree. She didn't like Ron and Ginny leaving the house very much, even if they just used the Floo Network to visit Harry at Grimmauld Place. A feeling that was even strengthened by her other children leaving the Burrow and starting their own lives. Bill and Fleur had moved into Shell Cottage, on the outskirts of Tinworth. It was a small, cosy house at the beach. It had once belonged to Molly's aunt Muriel and seeing as she had always been fond of her niece's oldest son, she had allowed them to live there, despite the fact that she didn't fully approve of the relationship between Bill and Fleur. Charlie had moved back to Romania to work with his beloved dragons and Fred and George had moved back to the flat above their shop in Diagon Alley. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes had reopened after the war and business was better than ever. Of course Fred and George had cleverly used Harry's victory over Voldemort to their advantage. They developed a wide range of Anti-Voldemort and Anti-Death Eater products, based on earlier inventions like Edible Dark Marks and U-No-Poo.

"Molly won't forbid them from coming." Remus said reassuringly. "She knows how close you are." Harry didn't ask if he meant Ron or Ginny. "I was thinking about going to Godric's Hollow this morning." Remus continued. "I haven't really been there since the war ended. You want to come?"

"Sure." Harry said. "It's been a long time since we visited them."

Remus nodded. Both of them remembered the last time they visited Sirius' and Lily and James' graves vividly. Not only had Remus told him that he would be marrying Tonks in a week then, they also walked straight into an ambush of the Death Eaters. They had been lucky that they were close enough to the Potter house and that they were able to send a message to Dumbledore's Army and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry grew quiet as he thought about that day and how proud he had felt about his fellow DA members, but he would remember that day for more than one reason. Not only had Ginny almost been attacked by Greyback, it was also the day that Draco Malfoy had proven his loyalty, although they still falsely accused him of being a Death Eater after seeing the Dark Mark on his arm. Harry remembered that he had saved Malfoy's life back then by inadvertently killing his uncle, Rodolphus Lestrange. He realized now that that was probably the reason that Malfoy came back to fight at the Battle of Hogwarts instead of fleeing and saving himself.

"Are we apparating?" Harry asked as Remus summoned their coats.

Remus shook his head. "Not this time. We're taking the Floo."

"The Floo?" Harry asked, confused. He knew it would be impossible to use the Floo Network of the Potter house.

"There's someone I want you to meet." Remus smiled. "An old friend of mine. She has been eager to meet you for quite some time, but with everything that's been going on… She went into hiding herself over the past year."

"Who?"

"You'll see." Remus smiled. "Just follow me." He grabbed a hand of Floo Powder out of the pot by the fireplace, threw it in the fire and shouted: "Willow Cottage!"

Harry shrugged and followed the werewolf. After the uncomfortable feeling of passing through dozens of fireplaces, Harry tumbled out of the right one and landed stretched out on the rug before the hearth.

Remus was grinning broadly as he offered Harry his hand to pull him up. "You defeated the most evil wizard known to humankind and ended one of the greatest wars in wizarding history, but you can't step out of a fireplace decently, can you?"

"Oh, shut it." Harry grumbled as he allowed Remus to pull him up. Only then he saw the old lady that was sitting in one of the armchairs in front of the fire. She was smiling at him and raised from the chair with difficulty.

"Harry, this is one of my oldest friends and also one of the oldest friends of your parents, Sirius and Dumbledore." Remus said as the woman shook his hand.

"Bathilda Bagshot." she introduced herself. "It is an honour to meet you."

"Bathilda – wait a minute…" Harry looked at Remus, who nodded. "You wrote 'A History of Magic. Your one of the most important magical historians in the country!"

"Well, I don't know about that." Bathilda said modestly.

"It's an honour to meet you, miss Bagshot."

"Call me Bathilda." the old woman said. She gestured at two other armchairs in front of the fire. "But why don't we sit down? Holly has made tea."

As if on cue, a female House-Elf, who looked as if she was at least as old as Bathilda was, entered the living room, carrying a tray with three cups of tea and a plate of freshly baked cookies.

"I have been wanting to meet you for a long time, Harry." Bathilda said when they were all provided with a cup of tea. "Albus always spoke very highly of you. But of course you have been rather occupied over the last few years!"

"You really knew Professor Dumbledore well then?" Harry asked eagerly.

"Oh yes, my boy. I don't think there are a lot of people who knew him so well as I did. Except for Aberforth of course, and maybe dear old Elphias. I was very sad to hear about his passing."

"We all were." Remus said sadly. "He was a great man. It's a shame he didn't live to see the end of the war."

"To be honest, I think he never expected to." Bathilda said thoughtfully. "He never really said it. You know how he is, always speaking in riddles. But the last couple of times that I spoke to him, I got the feeling that he was convinced he had played his part in this world."

"I don't think a life time would be long enough for him to play his part." Harry said softly. "He was the greatest wizard in this world."

"That he was." Bathilda admitted. "And he has always used those powers to help others and to fight the dark arts. But he seemed certain that there would be another powerful wizard to continue his work when he was gone." She looked at Harry meaningfully.

Remus looked at him proudly, but Harry frowned. "I'm not nearly as powerful as he was. And I doubt I will ever be."

"Only the future can tell us that." Bathilda said calmly.

"You don't think there will be another war, do you?" Harry asked carefully.

Bathilda laughed. "Oh Merlin, no."

"I think what Bathilda means is that Voldemort is not the only dark wizard." Remus said. "Surely, he was the most powerful and the most cruel that the wizarding world has seen in years, probably centuries. But he was still only one of them. I'm afraid the dark arts will always exist. Dumbledore fought against them his entire life. It was his only concern beside teaching."

"It's a good thing that I'm beginning Auror training next year, then." Harry said.

Remus thoughts wandered away from the conversation as Harry and Bathilda talked about Dumbledore and Harry's parents. He knew that Harry was a very powerful wizard. He had seen him fight on various occasions and had seen his abilities develop. At the Battle of Hogwarts even he, who knew about what happened to Harry when he was hit by Voldemort's Killing Curse a year ago, had been amazed to see what an accomplished duellist Harry was now. He had been blissfully happy and extremely proud when Harry killed Voldemort. Now he was still proud as he heard Harry's determination to join the Aurors and still fight the dark arts. On the other hand, he had to admit to himself that he was silently hoping that Harry would change his choice of career. It was already hard enough on him to see Tonks leave for work every morning and not being sure that she would come back to him. Remus loved her with all his heart and he would be devastated if something happened to her. But if he were to lose Harry, the closest thing he had ever had to a son and the last remaining link to Lily and James and Sirius… He felt like that would be the end of his world as well.

"There's no way I could pay you back, but the plan is to show you that I understand." – Tupac Shakur (Dear Mama)

A/N: I decided to take a break from writing after I finished 'This Is The End', but I already missed it after a few days. I'm afraid I won't be able to update as frequently as during the last two stories, as I am starting with my new job tomorrow and things will probably be rather busy during the next couple of weeks. This is the first chapter of my new story. I really hope you will like it. Please let me know what you think!

Teddy