Harry had finally gotten Teddy tucked in and James down in his crib when Teddy called out from his room "Uncle Harry." Harry turned back and went into his room. "Yes Teddy?" he asked gently from the doorway "We have bedtime stoweee….pweeeease" Teddy pleaded. Harry grinned at the young boy "Of course! Now, which story will we be reading tonight?" Teddy beamed "dis one!" he said excitedly as he pulled a book from under his pillow. "Hogwarts: A History again Teddy?" Harry teased. "Pwweeeease?" the boy cried. "Ok, ok, we'll read it."Harry climbed onto Teddy's bed and Teddy snuggled up to him. Harry began to read, filling Teddy's head with pictures of enchanted armor, ceilings, and a world full of magic. It wasn't long before they both were asleep, the pair dreaming completely different dreams of the castle and the magic within.
Ron was stressing out. Tomorrow he would be going back to Hogwarts to restart his seventh year. He wasn't really sure about it yet. He knew that Harry and Hermione had helped out with the rebuild. He wondered if it was all going to look the same, which he didn't really think that it would ever be the same. It was all going to be so different and so many people weren't returning and Fred… Ron's throat caught. He hadn't really thought about his brother that much, hadn't been around the family that much either, it was just too difficult. Ron had spent most of his summer going between a local Quidditch team and visiting Hermione and Harry.
He was glad that George was taking the time out of re-opening the shop to take him to King's Cross Station. Since things had become so tough, he figured it would do both of them some good. Ron shook his head, trying to think of something else when he realized that neither Harry nor Ginny were returning either. Harry was now an Auror and Ginny a Healer. They also had a family to take care of. Ron scoffed. He remembered when Harry and Ginny announced their engagement. Everyone was at the Burrow celebrating Teddy's first birthday. They also announced that they had formally adopted Teddy and were expecting a child of their own.
Ginny was so excited and so happy, she was practically glowing. Ron had never seen her or Harry that happy. He was happy for them; he just wished he could find that special person who made him feel that happy. Yeah, he and Hermione were dating, but it just didn't feel like true love to him. They were happy, the snogging was great, and he enjoyed every moment they shared so Ron wasn't going to complain. After a few minutes had passed, Ron reminded himself that he needed to finish packing. With a flick of his wand, his robes, textbooks, and other important items from his room all neatly fell into his trunk. Ron locked it and sat it on the floor. He then changed and crawled into his bed, promptly falling asleep.
When Ginny awoke she was slightly surprised to see that Harry still hadn't come to bed. She got up and wandered to the end of the hall where there was a dim light coming from Teddy's room. When she reached the doorway the scene before her only made her adore Harry more. Teddy was tucked under Harry's arm snuggled against him, and Harry had Hogwarts: A History splayed across his lap. It wasn't the first time she had caught them like this and knew it wouldn't be the last, however, it made her heart soar everytime.
As Ginny made her way to Teddy's bed she laughed silently to herself, Harry never can say no to a bedtime story. "Harry…Harry" she whispered to him gently as she shook him to wake him up. He awoke with ease and ran his hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly at Ginny. "Hey Love, he just wanted a bedtime story." Ginny just smiled as Harry got up and tucked Teddy in. As she cut the light off she said to Harry "C'mon, let's get you into bed."
Hermione awoke with a start, practically jumping out of the bed. She immediately checked her clock and let out a sigh of relief. It was only 5, and she didn't have to be to Kings Cross until 8. Usually, she wouldn't have to be there until 9 but she had to be there earlier to meet with the head boy and the other prefects to go over duties and other matters. They also had to help the first years load their trunks onto the train.
Hermione was glad that she was up early. It gave her plenty of time to get her morning run in. She got up and began going through her routine and as she was putting on her socks she began to think about how different this year was going to be… especially without Ginny there for her to vent to. Hermione sombered a bit as she remembered this past summer. They had worked so hard to try and figure out how to reverse the memory charm that she had placed on her parents before the war but so far she had made no progress. Hermione hoped that when she got to Hogwarts Professor McGonagall could add some insight. She lightly shook her head as she remembered that McGonagall wasn't just a professor anymore she was headmistress now.
Hermione grabbed her wand and slid it into her hair to hold it into place, knowing it wouldn't come out while she ran. She grabbed her keys from the dish beside the front door and headed out. As she walked down the pavement to the park, she began to think about the war and all the lives that had been lost. Tonks and Remus, Fred… her throat caught as she remembered him. He and George were the funniest guys she knew. Hermione knew how bad his death affected George. He hadn't been in the shop or even had it open since then due to the photographs and memories.
Ron had told her that George was going to go with him to Kings Cross. She figured that she'd let them have their time before going to meet him. It would do both of them some good. She liked Ron and how easy it was with him. She didn't have that "head over heels" factor, but she was happy for now and that's all that mattered. When she reached the park, Hermione stretched to clear her head and started her run, thinking of the day ahead.
Draco sat in the armchair by the fireplace in silence and watched the flames as they licked the walls. He sipped his tea slowly, trying to remember why the hell he was going back to Hogwarts. He was the last person that anyone would want to see. After the war, the Malfoy name was forgotten in the high ranks of society along with its reputation. People no longer feared the name but they hated it just the same.
Ever since the aftermath of the battle, Draco had found himself alone. His father had been taken to trial and executed for his crimes as a death eater. He didn't miss him either. Draco knew that no matter what he had done, he was always a failure and a disgrace to him. I was good in school, second in my year, but even that wasn't good enough all because I was behind the mu- Draco stopped mid thought as he had sworn that he was going to change. He had promised his mother.
Draco missed her terribly. She had gotten sick at some point during the war from all of the stress that was going on and never got better. She passed away shortly after his father had been executed. The last few hours Draco had spent with her, Narcissa explained that blood status, or anything else that his father had spouted at him, didn't matter. She told him that she had never believed all the pureblood bullshit that Lucius had gone on and on about, but still followed him just the same because she loved him. Draco scowled, even after everything his father had put her through she still loved him.
He doubted that his mother had even known how badly his father had treated him. There were times Draco had lied about his scrapes and bruises "Quidditch practice my ass" he muttered. He then shook his head to clear his thoughts of painful early childhood memories that were threating to come forward.
He rubbed his temples, snapped fingers, and called his house elf "Idrisa" "Yes Master Malfoy?" "Please bring me some more tea, and is my trunk packed?" "Yes sir, everything is all set to go" she then dissapparated into the kitchen and returned with a pop "Your tea sir." "Thank you Idrisa. You may now retire to your quarters for the night" "Thank you sir" the house elf replied and then she promptly left with a crack. Draco sat in silence once more, dreading the hours to come.