Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Harry Potter book series or the movies.

Author's Note: I have edited the chapters of this story and many of them now contain new text and additional information on some of the characters. I figured it was time to read over the story and make any changes because the story is basically over two years old and many of the things that I wrote I'm no longer happy with. All chapters that have been edited with have an (x) next to their name in the dropdown chapter menu. Once all the chapters have been edited and new chapters have been added, I'll take the xs off. Thank you!

Prologue

"Harry, I can't marry you." Tears flooded Ashlie Peterson's eyes as she said the words.

"But…why?" Harry Potter's green eyes were clouded with confusion. "I thought…"

"I just can't," said Ashlie, "I'm going back to the Muggle world."

They were three weeks shy of graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The war was over. It had been for almost two months. Harry had emerged victorious. The night he returned, he and Ashlie had proclaimed their love for each other and joined their bodies. Their lives had almost gone back to normal. Harry was ready for what was going to come after they left school for good. He was looking forward to it.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Harry reached for her, but she pulled back.

"Nothing," said Ashlie, "I…I just need to go back to the Muggle world. I don't want to stay here in the Wizarding world anymore." She turned and headed back towards the castle.

Harry didn't know what to say. He stood rooted in place, watching her walk away. He didn't want Ashlie to leave. But he didn't know what to do to make her stay. A week before they had been planning to find jobs at the Ministry of Magic and stay in the Wizarding world. Now Ashlie was saying she didn't want to be there anymore. Something had changed. Everything had changed.

A few minutes later, Ashlie climbed through the portrait hole in Gryffindor Tower into the commonroom. Her roommate Hermione Granger was waiting for her near the fireplace.

"Did you tell him?" Hermione asked, rushing up to Ashlie.

"No, I didn't get a chance." Ashlie wrapped her arms around her middle as if she were cold, despite the roaring fire in front of them.

"What happened?"

"He…he asked me to marry him."

"WHAT?" Hermione's jaw dropped. "What did you say?"

"What do you think I said? I told him no."

"Oh, Ashlie, you didn't."

"What was I supposed to do?" Ashlie slouched down in her chair and stared into the fire.

"I thought you love him," Hermione said softly.

"I do," insisted Ashlie, "But he's not ready for this. I'm not ready for this. Harry deserves to live a normal life without fear."

"But you have to tell him. He deserves to know."

"I will. I'll send him a letter or an owl when I get back to the States."

Unlike many of the students at Hogwarts, Ashlie had grown up in the United States. Her parents had both attended the school, where they met. They had married after leaving school and moved back to the States to raise their daughter.

"You're going to let him know with a letter?" Hermione was shocked.

"Hermione, I just can't tell him. I know he deserves to know, but I don't want him to have to give up his life because of it. He's had so much on his shoulders these past years and it's time he doesn't have to shoulder so much responsibility."

"I still think you need to tell him. And before we leave Hogwarts." Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Ashlie.

"And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" asked Ashlie, "Walk right up to him and go 'Harry, I'm pregnant.'?"

"You're WHAT?"

Ashlie and Hermione jumped up and looked behind the chairs they had been sitting in. Harry was standing there in complete shock. His face was pale and he looked like he was about to faint.

"Oh shit," was the only thing that came out of Ashlie's mouth.

Nine Months Later

"Harry, you know as well as I do it has to be like this," Ashlie said, as she picked up the baby carrier where two month old Mari was sleeping.

"That's what you keep saying," said Harry, "I just don't understand why. Why can't we be a family here?"

They stood at a departing gate at the airport. Passengers bustled around them, oblivious to what was going on with the young couple. To any of the passersby, they looked like any other pair of teenage parents and not a witch and wizard who were about to go their separate ways.

"The Wizarding world has never been right for me," said Ashlie, "I've known that since I started Hogwarts. I thought I'd be able to adjust, but I can't. Maybe I lived too long without magic to fully embrace it. Maybe it's just all the things that have happened within the past few years. I don't know. All I know is that I need to go home."

"But why separate our children like this?" Harry asked, gazing down at the sleeping baby in the carrier near his feet. Little David, Mari's twin, was going to be staying with him while Ashlie took Mari back to the States.

"Harry, I don't want to take them both from you," said Ashlie, "It's better this way." Giving him a small smile, she hurried towards the waiting plane, not wanting him to see the tears streaming down her face.