All the Time in the World, a harry potter fanfic

This is the first Harry Potter fanfiction that I've ever written and my first time posting on this particular website (nerve-wracking much? Jeez.). Reviews and constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!

All the Time in the World.

Harry somehow finds himself at the entrance to the Gryffindor tower with absolutely no recollection of how he came to be there. He was lost in his own mind, covered by the Invisibility Cloak with his newly-fixed wand and the Marauder's Map clutched in his hand. He's surprised to find that the Fat Lady is actually in her portrait and not off in one of the other frames like most of the paintings in the castle. He pulls the Cloak off of himself and the Fat Lady smiles at him.

"I knew it was only a matter of time before you showed up here," she says brightly.

"I don't know the password," he admits, voicing his sudden realization, but the Fat Lady's smile doesn't falter at all.

"You don't need one, darling," she tells him. "You did beautifully tonight."

And with that, the portrait swings open to reveal the common room that Harry had missed so badly the entire past year. It's almost exactly how he remembers it, untouched by the battle that had destroyed most of the rest of the castle. He figures he can appreciate it more thoroughly later, but at the moment, all he wants to do is sleep. He's so tired. His last night of sleep seemed ages ago. It was hard to believe that not even twenty-four hours had yet passed since their near escape at Gringotts. It seems days, if not weeks ago. So much has happened since then. Voldemort is dead. As is Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, Tonks…. None of it seems real yet.

Falling into his old four-poster bed is almost the best sensation in the world. He stretches out his limbs, muscles aching with fatigue, doesn't even bother to remove his shoes or glasses, and closes his eyes. He had imagined that he would be asleep within seconds, but his mind is racing so fast that he can barely even make out the thoughts or images running through his brain. He kicks off his shoes, takes off his glasses, and covers himself with soft blankets, willing himself into the mindless oblivion of sleep. But nothing happens. He lies there, wondering if he will ever be able to sleep again.

"Quicker and easier than falling asleep."

Sirius's words ring out in his mind, clear as day, and he grips onto his pillow, not wanting to think about that, not wanting to think about anything. He considers going down to Madam Pomfrey for some of that dreamless sleep potion that she'd given to him once about a year earlier, but he cancels the plan almost immediately, knowing that there are more people who need Madam Pomfrey's help right now more than he does. People who are seriously injured. He just can't fall asleep. It's nothing compared to some of the others.

So he does what he did during all of those sleepless nights in the tent. He pushes his glasses onto his face and grabs his wand and the Marauder's Map. Almost immediately, he finds Ginny's dot, nestled between her mother and Percy in the Great Hall. He stares at it, and she's so close, finally, at last, but still just out of reach. He wishes that he could call to her, let her know where he is, give her the option of coming to him. An idea strikes him and he sits up rather abruptly, speaking before he's really thought it through.

"K-Kreacher?" he asks timidly, and right away, there's a loud cracking noise and the house elf is standing beside his bed, Regulus's locket still worn proudly around his neck.

"Yes, Master Harry?"

"I…," Harry starts, and suddenly, the whole idea seems incredibly silly. He's not going to send an elf after Ginny when her brother has just died and she'd probably much rather be with her family at the moment. Time with Ginny can wait. He knows this. They have all the time in the world now.

"Does Master Harry need something?" Kreacher asks, breaking Harry's loss for words.

"No. No, Kreacher. I just… I wanted to thank you for… everything. Everything you did for me, Ron, and Hermione at Grimmauld Place and for fighting tonight," Harry says, and for a moment, Kreacher's big eyes seem to water up, but then he sinks into a low bow.

"It is Kreacher's pleasure, sir. Master Regulus would be pleased."

"Yeah, I'm sure he would be," Harry agrees with a nod. "That's all I wanted to say, Kreacher."

"Would Master Harry like anything from the kitchens, sir?"

"No. Thank you. You can go."

Another loud crack and Harry is left alone once again. He settles down onto his pillow again, finds Ginny's dot on the Marauder's Map and stares at it.

He falls asleep, the map in one hand, his wand in the other. When he opens his eyes again, sunlight is streaming in, and it must be hours later, but Harry is still exhausted. He realizes with a hint of triumph that he did actually fall asleep, though.

"I didn't mean to wake you up," Ron mutters above him, and Harry opens his eyes wider to see Ron with both the map and Harry's wand in his hands, moving them towards Harry's nightstand. "Go back to sleep, mate."

He dreams that he's flying on the back of a dragon while Hermione flies next to him on a broom. It doesn't even make sense because Hermione is awful with brooms. On his other side, Ron rides on Buckbeak, and the three of them are laughing. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are all in hysterics for no real reason, but they're flying and they're laughing, and it's perfect.

When he wakes again, the dorm room is dark. Harry wonders what time it is, how long he's been sleeping, if everything that's happened was all just a dream. Before he can decide if it was all real or not, he's asleep again.

"He's sleeping."

"I'm not going to wake him; I just want to see him."

"He needs his rest, Ginny. He's been through a lot."

"Ron, I know. That's why I'm not going to wake him."

"You might do it on accident."

"Just shut up, please."

The words barely even register in Harry's brain. He hears them, but he doesn't fully understand them, doesn't care to understand them, but when a waft of subtle, familiar, flowery scent floats past him, he instinctively opens his eyes and raises his head a bit. He sees Ginny, looking the other way as she sits herself down on the floor next to Harry's bed.

"Ginny," he says softly, his voice hoarse from being unused. And Ginny turns her head to look at him, her red hair swishing behind her, and she looks at Harry with what he thinks is as much happiness that she can muster at the moment.

"Hi, Harry," she whispers. This is the exact moment that he's been waiting for for so long. He doesn't really know what he's doing; his mind is clouded by sleep and the ecstasy of finally being around Ginny once again. He scoots over to the side of his bed farthest from Ginny and pats the surface of the vacant spot next to him.

"Lay with me?" he asks, and she simply nods, pulling herself up from the floor, and then she's beside him, their heads sharing a pillow, inches away from each other, and they both just stare.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she breathes, and Harry blinks, drinking in her image. She looks older, more mature than he can ever remember, but just as beautiful. Perhaps even more beautiful.

He thinks about all of those nights in the tent he spent thinking about her, worrying about her, watching her on the Marauder's Map. He thinks about how, even on his darkest days, the blazing image of her was enough to keep him going, to give him a purpose. He thinks about the way he thought of her as Voldemort raised his wand in the forest.

He won't tell her about all of this. Not now, not all at once, perhaps not ever. He doesn't need to tell her now. There will be time for it in the future. So much time. For now, he figures he can sum it all up nicely.

"I love you," he tells her for the first time in his life.

He watches as her eyes well up with tears, and it's so uncharacteristic for the strongest girl he's ever known that he almost begins to think that he said the wrong thing, but his panic melts away as she moves closer to him, pressing their bodies together in a tight embrace as a sob wracks through her body.

"I love you, too," she responds. And that's all either of them need. He wraps his arms around her and she molds against him, and they sleep.

There's so much to be done and it seems as though nobody knows where to begin. Plans to fix Hogwarts, plans for funerals, plans for memorials, plans for interviews and speeches that Harry would much rather avoid.

Harry sleeps for twenty-two straight house after the battle, the last six with Ginny curled up beside him.

They leave for the Burrow using Floo Powder in Professor McGonagall's office. Most everyone had left the castle some time during the twenty-two hours that Harry had been asleep, and only a few people remain. It's the first time coming face to face with the Weasley family after Fred's death, and Harry can barely even look any of them in the eye. Ginny stands beside him, even though they haven't spoken much since waking up next to each other. Harry watches as one by one, the Weasleys step into the fireplace and then disappears. He catches a brief glimpse of George's grief-stricken face just before he vanishes, and there's a horrible lurch in the pit of his stomach. Once Ginny leaves, Harry is left with Ron, Hermione, and McGonagall.

"You three…," McGonagall starts, but seems unable to finish. She just looks at them with adoration and fondness, and Harry feels his heart swell with affection towards her.

"Professor," Hermione says. "I was… I was wondering if… well, if when the school opens again… if it would be possible to come back and… and the complete seventh year?"

"Yes. Yes, of course, Miss Granger. I would be very pleased to have you back and for you to finish your education here."

Hermione is the first to leave, and then Ron, and then Harry turns towards McGonagall.

"Professor, I," he begins, but realizes that he doesn't even know what to say. She somehow understands, though, and moves towards him to envelope him in a tight hug. Under normal circumstances, it might have felt weird, but the circumstances were anything by normal and it seemed perfectly natural to be hugging his professor.

"Go on now, Potter," she tells him, sounding a bit choked up. Harry obeys and in no time at all, he's at the Burrow.

George locks himself in his bedroom and barely emerges. Nobody asks any questions. Molly cleans and cooks with a frenzy and only cries when she thinks she's alone. Arthur and Percy work constantly, but Percy always comes home to the Burrow. Harry and Ginny don't speak much. It's as if their declarations of love happened in a far off land a long, long time ago. It's all furtive glances and quick brushes of hands. They'll get around to discussing things later. They both know they will.

The day that they had returned to the Burrow, Hermione spoke briefly of returning to school while Ron dismissed the idea.

"But what about N.E.W.T.s, Ron? What are you going to do?"

"Dad reckons that Kingsley's thinking about letting those who fought to enter Auror training even without N.E.W.T.s."

"What do you think, Harry?" Hermione has asked him.

"Dunno," he shrugged, wondering if it would really be possible to become an Auror without returning to Hogwarts. The truth was, he hadn't thought about it at all. The past year had been all about Horcruxes and defeating Voldemort that he didn't consider his life after Voldemort. He'd never wanted to consider it when his future was clouded by Voldemort and he never saw a way around that.

"Of course," Hermione had continued, "I think my first order of business is to find my parents and fix their memories."

"I'll go with you," Ron assured her, grabbing her hand, and she smiled softly at him.

"Thank you, Ron. And Harry? What about you?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. He figured that Ron and Hermione could use the time by themselves, and besides, he felt like he had other priorities that he needed to tend to. "No, I think I'll stay here. I… I think I'd like to meet my godson. And spend some time with him."

And so, while Ron and Hermione make their plans to travel to Australia, setting to depart the day after the final funeral, Harry arranges to pay a visit to Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin.

He goes two days after their return to the Burrow, and when he arrives, Andromeda greets him with a smile. A real, genuine smile, even though she's lost everyone except for her grandson.

"Teddy's sleeping," she tells him. "Come and have some tea, though."

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had all offered to go with him, but Harry wanted to go alone. He felt as though he needed to go alone.

She serves him tea and they sit and they speak, and Harry tells her how sorry he is for the loss of her husband and daughter.

"It's hard," she admits, "But we still have Teddy, and that's all that matters. Sadly, he'll never know his parents, but he can grow up in a world free of the hate and destruction that would have been if… if it hadn't been stopped."

"May I see him?" Harry asks, setting his tea down.

"Yes, of course. His room is just down the hall, dear. First door on the left."

When Harry walks into the room, he's not entirely sure what to expect. He thinks that maybe seeing the child of Remus and Tonks will be too much to handle, but when he peers into the cot against the wall, he just sees a baby with bright blue hair sleeping peacefully. He can't even point out any physical traits that remind him of either of the child's parents. But he stands there and stares at the last remaining traces of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks.

"I held him. I'd never held a baby before," Harry tells Ginny later that same evening as he helps her out in the garden. With Molly's plan to have Fred's funeral at the Burrow in only a few days, there was much to be done. Although, unlike with Bill and Fleur's wedding, Mrs. Weasley wasn't handing out orders; everyone was just chipping in wherever they could without being asked.

"That's lovely, Harry," Ginny replies, reaching out to grab a gnome, but not fast enough, and cursing as it runs away.

"I think he'll be alright. It's not easy growing up without your parents, but I think Teddy will be okay."

"He's lucky," Ginny says, looking straight at Harry. "To have you as a godfather, I mean. You know what it's like. You'll know how to make it better."

"No, I won't. But I think I'll know how to try."

"That's what counts."

Harry doesn't realize that he's slowly moving closer to Ginny until he's right beside her, looking into her eyes. He wants to reach out and touch her, but something inside of him seems to stop him. It doesn't feel like the right time. Not now. Not yet.

"Harry," she mutters.

"Yeah."

"I should…go help Mum with dinner."

"Er. Yeah. Right. Probably."

"Okay. See you later."

Harry stands there and watches her walk away, her hair gleaming in the setting sun. He wonders momentarily if things will ever feel normal again, but then he's struck with the thought that maybe he's never really known normal to begin with.

The next time Harry sees Teddy is at Tonks and Lupin's funeral. Andromeda lets Harry hold him throughout most of the service, and he finds that he really enjoys holding his godson.

Harry receives a letter from Dennis Creevey inviting him to stop by Colin's funeral, and even through his feelings of obligation, he senses a desire to pay his respects to the boy who had always admired him so much. The boy who had admired him enough to give his life.

Fred's is the last of the slew of funerals that Harry is obliged to attend. The morning of it, Harry wakes up just as the sun starts to rise with a feeling of something like anxiety pressing on his chest. Ron is still asleep and snoring and Harry gives up on going back to sleep after only a few moments of trying. He goes downstairs with the intention of making himself a cup of tea and then going back to Ron's room to busy himself with something until Ron wakes up.

But when he goes into the kitchen, he's startled to see that he's not the first one awake. He finds Molly sitting at the kitchen table and she jumps a bit when she notices him.

"Harry, dear, you startled me," she says in a soft voice, and she quickly wipes her hands over her cheeks and under her eyes and Harry immediately understands that he's not the only one having issues with sleep.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's fine. Tea?" she offers, and he nods, so she flicks her wand and a cup of tea zooms over from the counter onto the table. Harry sits down and grabs his tea, avoiding looking at Molly.

During the period of time when Percy hadn't been speaking to his family, Molly had been very open about her feelings, bursting into tears at any given moment. But with Fred's death, she seemed so much more closed off. She didn't cry in front of her children, she didn't hand out orders or chores, and she rarely smiles. It was different and almost a little bit scary, as if she had been hardened from the battle and from losing her son.

Harry feels responsible. Of course he feels responsible. He feels as though he was the cause for every bad thing that had happened because of his fight against Voldemort. Nobody blamed him out loud, but he can't help but wonder how many people, in the back of their minds, agreed with him that it was his fault. The idea is unsettling and he tries to ignore it, but it's hard to push it away completely.

"Mrs. Weasley," Harry says, looking up from his cup of tea at her. "I… I don't think I've gotten a chance to tell you how sorry I am. About Fred and…everything else."

"Thank you, dear," she responds with a tiny, sad smile. "But you needn't be sorry about anything, Harry. You've saved us all from so much. I don't think anybody will ever really know how you did it. So young… and stopping someone nobody else could."

"It sounds a lot better than it really is," Harry mutters.

"You're modest, Harry," Molly says, but Harry shakes his head.

"I'm not. It's not modesty, it's the truth. Sure, I stopped him, but all those people that died at Hogwarts wouldn't have died if I hadn't been there," he spills, and he's not sure what's causing him to say so much, and even worse, he doesn't know why his eyes are suddenly filling with hot tears. His eyes burn as he tries his hardest to keep from crying.

"Now, you listen to me, Harry," Molly says, a hint of sternness in her voice as she reaches across the table to place her hand over his. "Nobody is going to blame you for anything that happened, and you shouldn't be blaming yourself, either. You're the hero here. You didn't cause any of the deaths that happened that night. Voldemort did. Voldemort and his followers. He killed them all and you stopped him from killing anyone else. You saved us."

Unconvinced, Harry glances away, blinking rapidly, eyes still threatening to spill for some reason that Harry can't figure out. He hasn't cried since the battle happened, so why now?

"You'll see it eventually, I'm sure you will. But you've been through so much, it must be difficult."

"Yeah, I guess," Harry mumbles, still looking away from Molly.

"The happiness will come eventually," she tells him. "After the grief passes. The only think aside from that that most of us are feeling is relief that it's over. But we'll be happy again eventually."

"Nothing will ever be the same."

"No. It won't. But we'll adjust."

"Will it ever stop hurting like this?" he asks, finally looking back at her, and he doesn't know what's causing him to ask a question that seems almost too personal, but it's out of his mouth before he even thinks about it.

"No, I don't think it will," she answers. "Not completely."

"It still hurts when I think about Sirius. Or…," he trails off, thinking about everyone he's lost and how fresh the pain is the minute any one of them crosses his mind. Sirius, Lupin, Dumbledore, Fred, even Hedwig. Even the thought of Snape, whom he had loathed up until he had already died, put an uncomfortable pressure on his chest.

He's too busy staring off into space that he doesn't even notice Molly standing up from her chair and coming over to him, so he's surprised when he feels her arms wrapping around him, pulling him into a hug. He's even more surprised when the gesture somehow manages to push his emotions to a breaking point and he lets out an anguished sob that sounds like it came from someone else entirely. He can hardly even believe that the pained noises that he's hearing are coming from his own mouth as he cries and as Mrs. Weasley holds onto him, letting him cry. And he holds onto her, too, grasping onto the closest thing he's had to a mother since his own mum died.

The sun fully comes up not after long and Harry's sobs finally fade out, and as the overwhelming surge of emotions die down, he starts to feel slightly foolish for his outburst.

"I…," he mumbles, pulling away from Molly awkwardly. He notices that her eyes are red and freshly wet, but she smiles gently at him.

"Thank you," he finally tells her.

"Of course, dear."

Fred's funeral brings a lot of familiar faces to the Burrow. Harry says hello to Neville, Luna, Lee Jordan, Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet amongst others.

George sits stony-faced between Lee and Angelina while Ron sits between Harry and Hermione, his hand being held by Hermione's the entire time. Ginny sits on the other side of Harry and midway through the service, she slips her hand into Harry's and he gives it a gentle squeeze and doesn't let go.

"I rather liked Fred," Luna says after the service is over. "I didn't know him well, but he was very funny."

"Yeah, he was," Ginny nods with a tiny smile.

"How's George been?" Neville asks.

"Not so great," Ron answers with a frown. "Hasn't said much at all."

"Poor George," Luna frowns. "It's like he's lost a part of himself."

Harry glances over at where George is, still sitting in the seat he was in for the service, staring at Fred's coffin. Lee and Angelina are still beside him and they seem to be speaking to George, patting him on the back, perhaps coaxing him to move, but he sits completely still. Harry's heart seems to ache for him, the sight of his mourning almost too much to take in.

And even though his conversation with Mrs. Weasley early that morning had made him feel a little bit better, seeing George in that condition freshens the feeling of responsibility for Fred's death. He stands up and Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville all look at him.

"I'll be right back," he tells them, and then turns away and begins walking, not even sure where he's going. He ends up a far distance away from his group of friends and everyone else before he falls down onto the grass below him and stares straight ahead at the scenery of vast countryside. He rips a few blades of grass up from the ground and idly twists them around in his fingers as he thinks about Fred. Fred and George, who, like Luna said, has lost a part of himself. His twin, his brother, his best friend. Together, they were the two most energetic and seemingly always happy people that Harry had ever met. And now one is lifeless in a coffin while the other is barely moving beside it.

"Were you not having fun with all of us over there?" Ginny asks, plopping down on the grass next to Harry. He looks over at her and she looks at him with an expression that he can't quite read.

"Sorry, I'm…."

"Secluding yourself?" she supplies with a raise of her eyebrows.

"I guess so," he shrugs.

"Why? Is it because you're blaming yourself for something you're not responsible for? Because you tend to do that when these things happen."

"You can't understand," Harry mutters, looking away from Ginny and squinting a bit in the sunlight.

"Can't I? Don't you remember when I put the whole school in danger and caused several people to be petrified?"

"Ginny, that wasn't your fault. That was Voldemort—"

"Exactly. Voldemort killed my brother. Not you. Technically, it was an explosion."

"I know. I was there," he reminds her.

"So you should know that you did nothing to cause it," she says, and Harry opens his mouth to speak, but Ginny cuts him off before he can even begin. "Don't argue with me. And stop making this all about you anyways. Your nobility is usually admirable, but right now, it's bloody annoying. I love you, Harry, but you're acting like a fool."

And with that, she stands up and turns back towards the direction that she came from.

"We'd love for you to rejoin us. When you're ready," she adds, beginning to walk away.

"Ginny?" he calls out after her, and she pauses, turning back to him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Everything," he says with a quick shrug, and to his surprise, Ginny smiles and takes a few steps in his direction.

"Come on," she says, holding her hand out for him. "We can go back together."

Hermione and Ron leave for Australia the day after Fred's funeral. Harry spends time with Teddy and it feels so odd to have so much time for anything that he wants, but he welcomes the feeling of infinity.

The afternoon that Ginny comes with Harry to visit Teddy is one of the best afternoons that Harry can remember having in a long time. It's not even anything special. They simply agree to watch Teddy for a few hours while Andromeda runs errands. Harry shoots various coloured lights and sparks from his wand and Teddy squeals and gurgles with delight as Ginny holds him, and Harry and Ginny both laugh at the baby's amusement. Teddy ends up falling asleep in Harry's arms as he feeds him from a bottle.

"I've never really been a baby person," Ginny says softly as she peers over Harry's shoulder at Teddy. "I've never seen the appeal. But… he's pretty amazing, isn't he?"

"Yeah. Yeah, he is."

"You're pretty amazing, too," she says, and she smiles when Harry looks over at her. He wants to say something in return, but before he gets the chance, Ginny dives in and plants a small, soft kiss on his cheek.

"What was that for?" he asks her.

"Oh, nothing," she shrugs with the same smile.

Hermione and Ron return from Australia with high spirits and smiles on their faces. Ginny makes lewd jokes under her breath and Harry has to glare at her several times to make her stop. He doesn't want to think about his best friends in that way even if Ginny's jokes are incredibly funny.

By the end of their first night back, Ron and Hermione let everyone know that they're officially together. Nobody seems surprised.

"Nothing's really gonna change," Ron tells Harry later while the three of them are alone. "Hermione and I will just be snogging more often."

"No we won't," Hermione interjects, and Ron looks over at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm not just going to start snogging you whenever I feel like it when—"

"You had no problem with that in—"

"When Harry is around, Ron. Or anyone else."

"You're right, Ron," Harry says. "Not much is gonna change at all. So far, everything seems exactly the same."

"Anyways, Harry," Hermione says. "What have you been doing since we've been gone?"

"Nothing, really. Enjoying having all the time in the world for the first time in as long as I can remember."

Harry's eighteenth birthday brings with it an article in the Daily Prophet announcing that it's his birthday and a delightful meal and cake made by Mrs. Weasley.

"You should probably be thankful that nobody knows where you've been staying, otherwise you'd probably have like, a thousand cards and gifts from people you don't even know," Ron laughs as he reads the Daily Prophet article.

"I'm surprised that they didn't just declare it National Harry Potter Day," Bill says with a chuckle, standing behind Ron, reading the paper over his shoulder.

"Yes, it's all very hilarious," Harry says dryly.

"Oh, so the world loves you. Can you blame them?" Ginny smiles.

"Did any of you bother to read any other part of the Prophet today?" Hermione asks them.

"No, this Harry article is just too funny to not keep rereading," Ron answers.

"Well, there's a bit in there about Hogwarts. They're going to have it opened again almost in time for the new term. Just two weeks later than usual," she announces.

"Really?" Ginny asks. "Have they fixed it all already?"

"It won't all be fixed, but certain parts will be off-limits while they continue to repair it while classes are in session."

"That's great and all, but I'm still not going back, Hermione," Ron declares.

"But Ron—"

"Hermione," Ron starts, and Harry, Ginny, and Bill all just glance at each other as Ron and Hermione start to bicker.

"Oh, look, it's Fleur," Bill mumbles, walking out of the kitchen as fast as he can.

"Fancy a walk?" Ginny suggests.

"Sounds great," Harry nods, and then they stand from their chairs and leave the happy couple to argue in peace.

"So," Ginny says once they're outside, walking around the yard. "We both now know what Ron and Hermione each plan to do about school… do you know what you're doing yet?"

"No," Harry answers, shaking his head. "Not exactly, anyways. But I'm not going back to Hogwarts."

"I expected as much. Can you even imagine how it would be if you went back? How people would act around you?"

"I think it'll probably be that way no matter where I go."

"At least for the next fifty years or so. Maybe you should stay in hiding until your sixty-eighth birthday."

"I've done enough hiding in the past year. I think I'd rather brave the madness," Harry laughs.

"Speaking of the past year… do you remember your birthday last year?" Ginny asks him, looking over at him as they continue to walk.

"Of course I do."

"Well, I got you a real gift this year."

"That's a shame. I rather liked last year's gift."

"Good, because I've been waiting a whole year to do that again," she says, and in barely a split second, they both stop walking and turn towards each other, and then they're kissing with the ferocity of having waited an entire year since their last kiss that got interrupted. But this time, there are no interruptions. There's no Ron walking in on them and there's no reason to hold back; no danger or shadows or life-threatening obligations in the way. Just them in that moment is the only important thing in the world. Time seems to disappear completely. It could be standing still or speeding past them and they wouldn't know the difference either way, and if they did, it wouldn't matter.

When they break apart, Ginny smiles at him and reaches down to slip her hand into his, and wordlessly, hand-in-hand, they walk back towards the house.

Their hands fall apart as they go inside and they're met by Ron and Hermione sitting close together at the kitchen table, apparently having resolved their conflict. George is sitting at the table, too, looking at the Daily Prophet with the closest thing to a smile that anyone's seen on his face in a long time. And next to George is Bill, looking straight at Ginny and Harry with an odd expression on his face.

"Hey, you two," he says, standing up from his chair. "Can I see you both for a second in the living room?"

Harry glances at Ginny who looks just as confused as he does, and then he looks over to Ron who shrugs, but they follow Bill into the living room anyways. Once they're alone, Bill turns and looks at them.

"What the hell was that outside?" he asks, looking expectantly at Harry and Ginny.

"Er," Harry stammers, not sure how to respond. Bill has always been incredibly nice to him, but he's suddenly getting the feeling that he might not be too friendly when it comes to being a protective older brother.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asks him, completely calm.

"I'm talking about the two of you going off and kissing. I go outside to do something for Mum and that's what I see? What's the big idea?"

"We were just kissing, Bill. It's not a big deal," Ginny says, folding her arms over her chest.

"Not a big deal? You're my little sister. It is a big deal."

"Oh, come off it. It's not like it's the first time it's happened and you're not the first one to know, either."

"It's not the first time it's happened?" Bill repeats, shooting a glare in Harry's direction while he just stands there silently.

"No, definitely not. In fact, Harry was my boyfriend for a period of time about a year and a half ago. We did quite a bit of snogging then. Ron knows, Mum knows, they're both okay with it, so you should be, too."

"Well, I'm not. Considering that I had no idea of any of this. You just decided to keep it a secret for a year and a half, then?"

"No. It wasn't kept a secret, it was just never brought up. We ended things before we came home from school last year and it seemed pointless to discuss it after that."

"Okay, well," Bill says, pacing back and forth in front of them with his arms crossed. "If you ended it, then what are you doing going around and kissing each other now? Who broke it off with who?"

"I did," Harry says, speaking for the first time in the conversation and immediately wishing he hadn't with the way Bill turns on him, glaring at him.

"So, if you broke up with my sister over a year ago, why would you think that it would be okay for you to just kiss her whenever you feel like it?"

"Bill," Ginny starts, but Bill holds up a hand, silencing her.

"I want to hear from Harry."

"I didn't break it off with her because I wanted to," Harry tells him, looking him in the eyes. "I had to. I didn't want her to be in danger by being linked to me."

"Okay,…I guess that makes sense," Bill mumbles, then looks at Ginny. "He's older than you."

"You're older than Fleur," she replies coolly.

"That's beside the point."

"If you say so," she shrugs.

"So are you two together again now? Or just messing around?" Bill asks, looking back and forth between the two.

"Um," Ginny says, and then glances over at Harry.

"Together," he answers, looking straight at Bill, but he sees a smile break out onto Ginny's face from the corner of his eye.

"Good answer," Bill nods.

"Okay, so now that you know, could we please be excused from this touching, yet equally annoying display of brotherly overprotection?" Ginny asks. Bill sighs.

"Yeah. That's all I needed to say."

"Thank goodness," she breathes, turning to leave, and Harry follows, but then he feels a hand grabbing him by the elbow and he stops.

"One more thing, Potter," Bill says, and Harry faces him. "I don't care that you are the saviour of the entire Wizarding world; if you hurt my sister, I will kill you. Okay?"

"Um. Yes… sir," Harry replies. Bill releases his elbow and smiles kindly at Harry.

"Alright. Oh, and consider it a birthday gift that I didn't hex you the second I saw you all over her. Because I thought about it."

"Oh, er… thank you," he says, and then moves as fast as he can out of the living room, more terrified of Bill than he thought he would ever be in his entire life.

"So, if I hear correctly, you're dating my sister now?" George asks the minute Harry is in the kitchen.

"Bill's loud," Ginny says. Harry looks at George as for a moment, George glares at him, but just as Harry is about to beg him not to get mad at him like Bill did, he smiles. He actually smiles.

"That's fantastic news. I approve," he says. "If you two get married, Mum will probably explode with happiness. She's always wanted Harry as a son."

Harry laughs and glances over at Ron, seeking his approval as well. He just gives a half-shrug and says,

"Okay." And that's enough.

Hermione and Ginny leave to return to Hogwarts on the fifteenth of September, and less than a week later, Ron and Harry begin their first day of Auror training.

For a while, Harry had been toying with the idea of leaving the Burrow and moving into Grimmauld Place. No matter how much Molly insisted that he wasn't a burden in the slightest, Harry felt badly for hanging around for so long, especially now that Hermione and Ginny were gone.

He doesn't act on his idea until the middle of October after a trip with Ron to Hogsmeade to meet Ginny and Hermione.

Ginny tells him about the new Hogwarts, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, this year's Gryffindor Quidditch team that she's the captain of, and how a first year girl had overheard her talking to Hermione about Harry and now wouldn't leave her alone.

Harry tells her about Auror training, how there are still a handful of Death Eaters that are hidden very well, the way his fellow trainees – aside from Ron and Neville – all treat him as though they worship him, and his idea of moving to Grimmauld Place.

"Just temporarily, maybe a year at most, until I find somewhere else," he explains.

"It must be tiring working with Ron and then going home with him, too," Ginny jokes. "But really, if you want to, I think you should go for it."

Grimmauld Place is just as gloomy as Harry remembers it and exactly the way that he, Ron, and Hermione left it when they were there last. He finds the Daily Prophet from the first of September the year before announcing "Severus Snape Confirmed as Hogwarts Headmaster" and instead of throwing it out with the rest of the old newspapers, he simply folds it up and places it off to the side.

Auror training keeps him so busy that Harry barely even spends any time at Grimmauld Place except to sleep. On his few days off, he prefers to spend time with Teddy, or if it falls on a Hogsmeade trip day, with Ginny.

When Christmas rolls around, Harry finds himself spending most of his time back at the Burrow once again. The entire Weasley family is there for the holiday, but Fred's absence hangs heavy over all of their heads. George, who had made so much progress in the past few months and had even recently began creating new Wizard Wheezes products, seems shut off once again as if Fred's death has happened all over again.

The day after Christmas, during breakfast, Ginny makes a casual comment about wanting to go to Grimmauld Place to see what it's like now that Harry's living there. Just as Harry is about to tell her that it's not much different, she shoots him a look that clearly tells him that the house itself is not what interests her about going there.

"Oh. Yeah, I'd love to show you," he tells her, nodding, loving the idea of spending more than just a few moments alone with Ginny. But Ron seems to sense the underlying intentions of going to Grimmauld Place because he looks between the two and then says,

"Alone? Ouch, Hermione, don't kick me!"

"Ron has a point," Mr. Weasley says, peering at Harry over his plate of eggs. "Maybe you shouldn't go alone."

"Excuse me? I'm seventeen years old. I can go alone wherever I'd please and with whoever I'd like," Ginny argues.

"Sure, as long as that 'whoever' is not your boyfriend," George adds. Harry sits there, feeling suddenly like an outsider, realizing that the Weasley family seemed to like him much more as Harry, Ron's friend rather than Harry, Ginny's boyfriend.

"Ron can be alone with Hermione," Ginny points out.

"I'm older than you."

"You were nearly the same age as I am when you went to Australia together…alone."

"Yeah, well…," Ron starts, but doesn't seem to know where to go from that point and falls silent.

"Will all of you just stop it?" Mrs. Weasley says as she clears the empty plates off of the table with the flick of her wand. "Ginny, of course you can go with Harry."

"But Molly, she—"

"Is seventeen years old," she cuts Arthur off. "And we trust her. Not to mention that her boyfriend happens to be Harry who we know very well and also trust very much."

"Thank you, Mum."

When they go to Grimmauld Place, they barely even waste any time pretending that they're there to do anything that they could do at the Burrow, in front of Ginny's family. Their bodies are immediately entwined as they kiss fiercely, Ginny's hands on either side of Harry's face, Harry's arms around her waist. They're right there in the hallway in front of all of the elf heads, kissing in a heated way that they haven't done since before Ginny went back to Hogwarts.

"I love you," Ginny whispers as Harry trails kisses from her mouth down to her neck. "Do you… want to…?"

Harry pulls away from her and looks at her. Her cheeks are slightly flushed, but she smiles, waiting for him to answer the unfinished question.

"I…don't know. Do you?"

"I…think so. But only if you want. We don't have to."

"No, I. I want to. But should we?"

"Why not?"

"I don't know," he answers honestly.

"Ron and Hermione did it when they went to Australia. She told me. We've been together much longer than they were then."

"You've convinced me," Harry says, and Ginny grins, reaching down to grab his hand.

"So, which way is your bedroom?"

Harry avoids looking at Ginny as he puts his clothes back on and Ginny avoids looking at Harry as she does the same. He had always imagined his first time going a lot better than it just did, and he can't seem to quite figure out what they did wrong – other than the fact that neither of them had a clue what they were doing. And just when Harry thought he had figured it out, it was over.

"Well," Ginny says, breaking the silence between them. "That was…um."

"Yeah," Harry nods, finally looking over at her, and she looks beautiful with her hair ruffled and sticking up in the back. He feels ashamed for being suck a disappointment for her. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry," she tells him.

"What are you sorry for?"

"For being so awful!"

"You weren't awful. I was awful."

"You were perfectly fine," Ginny insists. "If I hadn't kept making you stop, I'm sure it would have been…satisfactory."

"If you hadn't kept making me stop, it would have been over even faster than it was," Harry says, and then Ginny laughs, reaching over to him and pulling him towards her.

"Perhaps we just need some practice."

"I'd say so, yeah."

"We can try again."

"Now?"

"No! I mean, nothing to do with you, I promise. It just… it still really hurts."

"I'm sorry," he says, hating the fact that he's caused her any sort of pain.

"Don't be," she says, leaning in towards him and placing a small kiss on his lips.

"I love you," he tells her, pushing her hair away from her eyes so that he can peer directly into them.

"I love you, too," she says, and then she closes the gap between them once more and kisses him.

Harry wishes that he had somebody to talk to about sex. He can't talk to Ron about it, seeing as how it is his sister that he's sleeping with. He imagines that the best person for this type of conversation would have been Sirius. But as he's not there, Harry is left to try and figure things out on his own.

He and Ginny don't get another chance to try it again before she leaves to go back to Hogwarts, so Harry tries to stop worrying about it, knowing that it will be a while before they have time alone together again

Auror training makes time seem to fly by at an alarmingly fast rate and it's April before Harry even realizes it. He spends the entire day with Teddy on his first birthday and brings him far too many presents. Harry remembers how just a year ago, Lupin had come to Shell Cottage announcing Teddy's birth and telling Harry that he was to be his godfather, and how Harry wasn't sure if he would ever even get to meet Teddy. He's incredibly happy that he did, but he longs for Lupin and Tonks to be here to celebrate their son's first birthday as well.

The one-year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort's downfall feels like a normal day, but it's really anything but normal.

Ginny soon becomes the first Weasley since Percy to finish her seventh year at Hogwarts and Harry is there to meet her off of the Hogwarts Express. He greets Hermione first while Ron greets Ginny with hugs, and then Ginny is in his arms, and they're kissing, and Harry barely even cares that nearly half of the people on the platform are staring at them.

Most evenings after Auror training, Harry and Ron return to the Burrow for dinner. With Ginny home, Harry spends more time at the Burrow after dinner than he did while she was gone.

One particular evening, when Ron and Harry arrive at the Burrow after a long day of training, Ginny greets Harry more enthusiastically than usually and Ron shoots her an odd look.

"Because you haven't seen each other in such a long time," he says sarcastically.

"Don't be grumpy at us just because Hermione's at her parents' for the next few weeks," Ginny tells him. "Besides, I have exciting news."

"What is it?" Harry asks curiously.

"I'll tell you in a bit. Come into the kitchen. Dinner is nearly ready."

Ginny leads them both into the kitchen where the table is set up for five people. The Weasley house had become increasingly empty. George spends most of his time at the shop, Charlie is abroad once again, Percy stays at his own place, although he comes over for dinner about once a week, and Bill and Fleur do the same.

"Have you told them yet, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asks as Ginny, Harry, and Ron come into the kitchen.

"Not yet, no," Ginny says, sitting down at the table.

"Told us what? What's going on?" Ron demands, looking at the smiling faces of his sister and both of his parents.

"I got a letter today," Ginny says, seeming to enjoy drawing the explanation out as long as possible, keeping Harry and Ron in suspense.

"And?" Harry urges.

"What kind of letter?" Ron asks.

"And," she smiles, "I've been asked to play for the Holyhead Harpies."

"What? No way!" Ron exclaims.

"That's fantastic!" Harry grins.

"My sister, a professional Quidditch player!"

"We're all so proud," Mr. Weasley says.

"You'll be brilliant!" Harry tells her, and Ginny beams at them, grinning from ear to ear.

"Training begins at the end of July," Ginny says when she and Harry are alone, sitting in her bedroom, not daring to do much, with Ron and her parents so close by.

"You're going to be wonderful, Ginny."

"Right, but what I'm saying is that…training starts…the same day as your birthday."

"Oh," Harry says, frowning slightly. "But that's okay; you can just be here after training."

"No, actually…. The first two weeks of training is almost like a camp. The whole team stays together and we sleep in dorms. It's supposed to be like…team-building or something."

"Well, that's fine. So you won't be here for one of my birthdays, no big deal. There will be plenty of other birthdays," Harry tells her.

"I feel bad, though," she admits.

"Ginny, you're going to play for a professional Quidditch team; my birthday is nothing compared to that!"

"I knew you would understand," she grins, pulling him in for a kiss.

Harry and Ginny spend time at Grimmauld Place whenever they can. They eventually perfect their now-favourite way to spend their alone time together, and in the days leading up to Ginny's departure for two weeks, they don't do much else.

When Hermione gets a job at the Ministry, it almost feels like old times again with the three of them going to work together and then hanging out together afterwards, with Ginny occasionally joining them in the evenings. The familiarity of it is comfortable, in a way.

Ginny's first game with the Harpies against the Appleby Arrows happens towards the middle of October. Harry, Hermione, and the entire Weasley family go to support her. The Harpies win by twenty points and when he meets her after the game, Harry plants a congratulatory kiss on her lips right in front of her entire family and team. He hears whistles and catcalls coming from the directions of the other Harpies and Ginny laughs, burying her face in Harry's neck.

"This situation seems vaguely familiar," Ginny whispers to him, and he can't help but laugh, thinking about their similar first kiss in the Gryffindor common room.

"I thought you were only going to stay at Grimmauld Place for a year at most. Hasn't It been about a year?"

"Around a year, yeah," Harry nods, his hand wrapped tightly around the much-smaller hand of Teddy. Ginny is on Teddy's other side, holding onto his other hand as the three of them walk down the Muggle street leading them to the entrance of Diagon Alley. After more than two years, Harry decided that it was finally time to get a new owl, although he's convinced that he will never find another owl as perfect as Hedwig was.

"Do you think you'll be there longer, then?" Ginny asks. Harry shrugs.

"I haven't really thought about it much."

"I was only wondering because I… well, I've been wanting to move out of my parents' house and I thought that if you wanted to live somewhere else, too, then… maybe would could…."

"Live together?" Harry finishes for her, looking over at her with a curious expression.

"Yeah, maybe," she smiles.

"You think your parents would like the idea of us living together?"

"Lately, Mum's been in such a good mood thanks to Bill and Fleur's baby news that she'd probably let anything slide."

Harry's mind is flooded with images of Ginny and himself living in their very own house, eating dinner together in their very own kitchen, going to sleep in their very own bedroom. He can see himself coming home from work to Ginny, and Ginny crawling into bed with him after a long night of Quidditch practice run late. The scenes of domestic bliss cause Harry to grin and he looks over at her to tell her that he would love nothing more than to share a home with her. Before he can speak, though, he's interrupted by an old Muggle woman who stops right before she passes them on the street.

"Oh, your son is absolutely adorable!" she coos, looking at Teddy who grins up at her, his hair a pleasantly normal shade of dark brown today.

"Oh, he's not—" Harry begins to correct her, but Ginny cuts him off.

"Thank you!" she smiles.

"How old is he?" the woman asks.

"A year and a half," Harry tells her.

"What a precious little family you three make," she says. Harry and Ginny both thank her, and then she continues on her way, leaving Ginny looking as though she's trying very hard not to laugh.

"What a nice lady," she comments, and Harry can't help but burst into laughter.

"Mum deemed it untraditional and inappropriate for an unmarried couple to live together," Ginny sighs, falling down next to Harry on the couch at Grimmauld Place. "Not that she can really forbid me or anything, but she doesn't approve."

"Maybe she'll change her mind," Harry suggests.

"I don't really see why she would."

"Yeah, me either," he says, watching her as she stretches out her limbs and then leans against Harry, letting out a yawn.

"Either way, I'll probably bring it up with her again in a month or so."

Harry discovers that sometimes, when Ginny laughs too hard, she'll occasionally snort, which will make her laugh even harder, but mostly, she ends up gasping for air and clutching her stomach. He finds out that it only takes two Butterbeers for her to start giggling more often and more loudly than usual. When she falls asleep when she's really tired, she tends to snore, and she almost always drools. He finds that she's extremely ticklish on the back of her neck down to right between her shoulder blades and he uses this to his advantage whenever he can. He notices a birthmark in the shape of a crescent moon near her bellybutton and another that looks like a rabbit on the inside of her left thigh. He learns that when she chews her bottom lip and when creases appear on her forehead that he shouldn't cross her, and when she does lash out at him, all he has to do is make a stupid joke or lightly sarcastic remark and she'll tell him that it's not funny, even though he can always see her fighting back a smile.

Harry enjoys watching her do the simplest of tasks, from brushing her hair to helping her mother set the table for dinner. He especially loves watching her with Teddy, how he'll run towards her when he sees her and she'll scoop him up into a hug and won't let go until he demands to be let down, and how she'll tickle him and blow raspberries on his stomach until he's shrieking with laughter.

Sometimes he worries that he tells her that he loves her too much and that he's getting annoying, but she assures him that she could hear it a million more times and she still wouldn't get tired of it, and he feels the same way about her.

"How would you feel if I asked your sister to marry me?" Harry asks Ron one day during their lunch break, and Ron nearly chokes on his ham sandwich. Harry hands him his drink, but Ron waves it away, coughing for a few moments, and then grabbing for the drink. When he finishes, he looks at Harry with watery eyes.

"Blimey, Harry," he says. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," he nods, waiting for a reaction that he can actually understand.

"You would really be a part of the family!" he exclaims, breaking out into a grin. "Harry, we're going to be brothers!"

"So you think it's a good idea then?" Harry smiles.

"I think it's brilliant! I mean, I know I've been a bit hard on you when it comes to dating my sister, but marrying her! It's brilliant! How soon are you going to do it?"

"I haven't decided yet," he says, and just then, Hermione bustles into the small café where the three of them usually all meet for lunch.

"Sorry I'm late," she tells them. "I had to finish up a report that'd been buried under things on my desk for the past week and I can't believe I forgot about it, but it didn't take too long to—why are you both smiling so much? Have I missed something?"

"Oh, nothing much," Ron says as he pushes Hermione's usual salad order in front of her. "Harry's only just been telling me about his plan to propose to Ginny."

Hermione's excited shriek rings throughout the tiny restaurant, but she doesn't seem to mind that the two other diners and the workers all turn to stare at her as she practically runs over to Harry to hug him.

"When? How are you going to do it? Have you gotten a ring?"

"For the love of Merlin, Hermione, sit down. You're causing a scene!" Ron says, but he's smiling.

"I don't know when or how and no, I haven't gotten a ring," Harry answers her, laughing.

"Oh, Harry!" she exclaims.

"Are you tearing up?" Ron asks with a laugh, and Hermione simply swats his arm lightly.

"Oh, hush. It's one of us getting married!"

"Getting possibly engaged, actually," Harry says. "She still has to say yes."

"Of course she'll say yes," Hermione assures him.

"She's only been in love with you since she was ten years old; she'd be an idiot to say no," Ron says. Harry grins and his happiness is reflected back at him on the faces of his two best friends.

Harry goes to every single one of Ginny's Quidditch games, occasionally hurrying through work as fast as possible to leave the Auror office exactly on time. In mid-November, before a game against Puddlemere United, Harry gathers at the Burrow with Ron, Hermione, and George, who brings along Angelina Johnson, both of them anxious to see Ginny face off against their old Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood's team.

While most of them are gathered in the sitting room, Harry notices Molly go into the kitchen, and then he spots Arthur not too far from him.

"Mr. Weasley?" Harry asks, coming close to him. "Could I have a quick word with you in the kitchen?"

"Of course, Harry," he nods, looking slightly worried. Before he proposes to Ginny, he desperately wants the approval of her parents, and he figures that now, while she's not there is one of the best opportunities that he's going to get. When they step into the kitchen, Molly looks at them.

"Do you need anything?" she asks.

"No, dear, Harry just wanted a word."

"Oh, should I leave you two alone?"

"No," Harry says. "I actually wanted to speak to both of you."

"What is it, Harry?" Arthur asks him and Harry suddenly feels incredibly nervous. Earlier, the idea of letting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley know about his plan to propose seemed easy, but now it seems incredibly difficult. What if they don't approve?

"Um. I wanted to talk to you about, er. I wanted to ask you… I mean, tell you, no, ask you, well, get your opinion, I guess…."

"Harry, dear, what is it?" Molly asks, smiling kindly at him, and for a fleeting second, Harry gets a feeling that she already might have a clue as to what he's about to say.

"I want to ask Ginny to marry me."

Molly starts crying. Arthur claps a hand over his shoulder and beams at him.

"You're already a part of this family, Harry, and it would be an honour for me to call you my son-in-law," he tells him. Molly nods in agreement, rushing forward to pull Harry into a tight hug.

"You're both still so young, though," she says, despite her happy demeanor.

"I know," Harry nods, understanding her worries. "But I've known for years that I wanted to marry her and I know that she's the only one I'll ever want to marry. We've known each other for so long and I…want her to be my wife. Whether it happens tomorrow or ten years from now, it doesn't matter. I just want to be with her forever."

"Oh, Harry," she says, pulling him into another hug. "There's nobody I'd rather see my daughter marry."

Harry buys a ring, but he refuses to let Ron or Hermione see it until it's on Ginny's finger. He imagines different scenarios of how he could propose to her, ruling almost all of them out immediately as too cheesy. He wants it to be absolutely perfect, but he can't help but think of all of the different ways in which it can go wrong.

"Tie the ring to Humphrey's leg and have him bring it to her," Ron suggests, referring to Harry's new owl, but Harry shakes his head.

"Just put it on her finger while she's asleep and then see how long it takes her to notice it after she wakes up," Neville says, having joined the other three for lunch.

"How romantic," Hermione laughs. "Take her out to dinner, get down on one knee, and do it."

"That's so…used, though."

"Challenge her to one-on-one Quidditch, put the ring on the Snitch somehow, and then let her win!" Ron exclaims, sounding very proud of his idea.

"No way I would ever let her win," Harry jokes.

"Okay, fine. But seriously, get on it, Harry. Just do it already because I hate carrying around this secret. I'm scared I'm going to let something slip and then the whole thing will be ruined!"

"It's not that easy, you know! I don't know how much experience you have when it comes to proposing marriage to girls, but I have none and it's not the easiest thing to just pick up," Harry says, frowning slightly.

"It's amazing to me that you can defeat the darkest wizard in the world, but when it comes to something like this, you're hopeless," Hermione laughs.

"Yes, it is hilarious, isn't it?" Harry grumbles, but he can't help but laugh.

"Ten points," Ginny grumbles, pacing back in forth in the sitting room at Grimmauld Place. "Ten little points, and we were so close! If only I could have held off catching the damn Snitch until we scored another couple times, but I really had no choice…. We'd been doing so well, too! But there goes our winning streak because of ten points!"

Harry sits on the couch, watching her pace, and he can't help but admire the way her cheeks are flushed and how her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail, still looking windblown from the game.

"You played great, though," Harry says. "The way you caught up to the other seeker and stole the Snitch right out from under his nose… it was amazing."

"Thanks," she sighs, slumping down on the couch, next to him. "I'm still upset, though."

"Will you marry me?"

The words fall out of Harry's mouth before his brain decides to alert him that right now, right here is probably not the best or most romantic moment to be proposing. But something about the moment seemed perfect in an unconventional way. And Ginny looks at him, all traces of upset feelings gone from her face and replaced with mild shock.

"What?" she asks.

"Shit, hold on, I have a…," he mutters, searching his pockets, but then realizing that he doesn't have the ring on him, seeing as how he did not exactly plan to do this right at this exact time. Instead, he grabs his wand and says, "Accio ring!"

The little box comes zooming towards him from his bedroom while Ginny continues to stare at Harry, looking amazed and surprised. He catches the ring and then, in an attempt to make his proposal somewhat normal, he moves to kneel in front of Ginny.

"Ginny—"

"Yes!" she exclaims, suddenly grinning. "Yes, yes, of course!"

And then her arms are around him and they're kissing and Harry can't remember ever feeling happier than he does in this moment.

Two days later, nearly everybody that Harry passes at the Ministry, in or around the Auror office, congratulates him on his engagement. He doesn't really understand how everyone seems to know about it until lunchtime when Hermione hands him a copy of Witch Weekly, already opened to a certain page. And he sees a picture of himself and Ginny kissing. In the picture, Ginny's hair is up and she's wearing her dark green Harpies robes, with a group of girls in matching robes laughing in the background. After a moment, he recognizes that the picture is from after Ginny's first Quidditch game. It's no surprise to him that neither of them noticed that they were being photographed.

Beneath the picture, Harry reads the headline out loud.

"The Boy Who Lived Soon to be the Married Man Who Lived. Wow, what a creative title."

"You've been engaged for two days; how do they already know?" Ron asks.

"News travels fast," Hermione sighs.

"It is reported that Harry Potter will be tying the knot soon to none other than the newest addition to the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team, Ginny Weasley," Harry says, reading the article aloud. "Sources reveal that Potter and Weasley dated briefly in early 1997 while both attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and then rekindled their romance shortly after the Second Wizarding War and the downfall of You-Know-Who.

"Most of Weasley's teammates refused to comment, although team captain, Gwenog Jones told us 'They're both lovely people and we all wish them the best, now please go away and mind your own business.'

"The marriage will also result in Potter becoming brother-in-law to best friend and partner in defeating You-Know-Who, Ronald Weasley. There's no word yet as to whether or not the couple has set a date for the wedding. We here at Witch Weekly would like to wish the bride and groom to-be the best of luck, but if things don't work out, Potter can have his pick of witches to choose next."

"Lovely," Hermione says dryly.

"Wow, I was mentioned?" Ron grins. "Awesome!"

Most of the wedding plans are easy for Harry and Ginny to decide. It will be at the Burrow, Ron will be Harry's best man while Hermione and Luna will be Ginny's bridesmaids. It won't be a big fuss. It'll be small, with just family and close friends in attendance.

Harry wonders briefly what the Dursleys would do if they received an invitation. He knows without a doubt that Vernon would probably just throw it away without even bothering to read all of the details, but Petunia and Dudley, on the other hand…. Shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts, Dedalus Diggle had told Harry that as he was escorting the Durleys out of Hiding, Dudley had asked at least three times to hear about exactly what happened between Harry and Voldemort, and had then asked the question "So Harry's alright, then?" at least another three times. Harry remembers this story as he jots down Dudley's name on his list of people to invite.

On the two year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, Bill and Fleur welcome the first addition to a new generation of Weasleys. They name her Victoire.

Harry and Ginny decide to schedule their wedding for October. Invitations are sent out and plans are made. They buy a house in Godric's Hollow to move into when they're married. It's relatively small with three bedrooms, a short distance away from the graveyard with James's and Lily's tomb.

The morning of the wedding, Harry doesn't feel nervous at all. Excited and slightly anxious, but not nervous. He doesn't think that he has anything to be nervous about. It's Ginny he's marrying, after all. Ginny, who he's known for nearly half of his life. Ginny, the girl that he is completely in love with.

The set-up of the wedding is reminiscent of Bill and Fleur's with all of the guests outside, though there's no marquee; just rows of chairs – to be replaced with tables and a dance floor – under the sun, with the gentle fall breeze blowing lightly.

When Harry goes to stand up at the front with Ron by his side, he glances over the small crowd of guests. Hagrid sits in the back, already looking weepy. He spots Neville, Andromeda and Teddy, Xenophilius Lovegood, Auntie Muriel, the entire Holyhead Harpies team, and then a man that Harry doesn't immediately recognize. And then with a jolt, he realizes that it's Dudley. Slimmed down, but still muscular, looking much older and more mature than he remembers him. He's sitting next to a girl he doesn't recognize that he assumes must be his date, but before he can consider it for too long, music begins to play and all of Harry's attention is at the other end of the aisle.

He barely even registers how lovely Hermione and Luna both look in their deep red dresses because all he can really see is Ginny. It's almost like staring directly into the sun. Harry thinks that even an entire flock of veela wouldn't be able to distract from Ginny's shining beauty.

Her hair is piled to one side, strands of it falling down in elegant curls onto her bare shoulders. Her dress is white and simple, straight and hugging her curves until it flares out around her knees. She grins at him as she comes closer, Arthur escorting her with watery eyes.

Hermione and Luna reach Harry, and then Ginny is there. He wants to stand there and stare at her forever, but marrying her sounds like an appealing alternative.

It feels like it happens very fast and in slow motion at the same time.

"We are gathered here today…"

And then,

"Do you, Harry James Potter take Ginevra Molly Weasley…"

"I do."

"Do you, Ginevra Molly Weasley take Harry James Potter…"

"I do."

He doesn't even hear the cheers from the guests as they're pronounced husband and wife and they embrace, kissing, holding onto each other as if their lives depend on it. He never wants to let go of her, even though he knows that they have the rest of their lives together to do this, but in this moment, he feels a sort of happiness that he can't really explain, even to himself. Elated, in love, infinite. And it's the best feeling in the entire world.

Harry speaks to Dudley shortly after the ceremony. He greets him with a handshake, telling him that he didn't think he would show. Dudley tells him that he had a difficult time actually getting there, as his taxi driver had no idea where to go and he had to walk quite a bit. Harry apologizes profusely, but Dudley laughs and tells him that it's okay. He introduces Harry to his date, his girlfriend who grins and expresses her excitement about seeing real magic. Then Dudley congratulates him, Harry thanks him, and that's all.

Harry and Ginny move into their house in Godric's Hollow. They eat dinner together in their very own kitchen and they go to sleep in their very own bedroom. He comes home from work to her and she crawls into bed with him after long nights of Quidditch practice run late. It is domestic bliss and everything that Harry could have ever wished for.

Harry enjoys married life. It isn't much different than before aside from living with Ginny and waking up next to her and falling asleep next to her every night. Little things somehow seem more special than they did before. Their first Christmas as a married couple, New Year's, Valentine's Day. Sometimes, Teddy comes over and stays the night. For his third birthday, Harry throws him a small party and he babbles on about it for days afterwards. Ron and Hermione come over often and Harry and Ginny visit the Burrow every weekend for dinner. They fall into a kind of routine, but it doesn't feel boring at all. In fact, Harry loves it.

Towards the middle of summer, George makes a surprising announcement that he's marrying Angelina Johnson. Nobody in the family seemed to know that they were even dating, but it's a happy occasion either way. They have their wedding only a month and a half after their announcement, and shortly afterward, they make another announcement that Angelina is pregnant.

Baby Fred is born just six months after their wedding.

Before the arrival of Fred, though, Harry and Ron finally finish their three years of Auror training and become real, official, trained Aurors. Mrs. Weasley has a party for them at the Burrow, during which, Ron pulls Harry aside to speak with him.

"I was wondering, since you've been married almost a year now…do you like it?"

"Do I like being married?"

"Yeah. Do you?" Ron asks.

"I love it. It's incredible," he tells him. "Why?"

"I'm just thinking, now that Auror training is finished, I think I might like to…."

"Marry Hermione?"

"Yes. Should I go for it?"

"Are you kidding? Of course you should!" Harry says, and Ron grins at him.

"I think I will!"

Ron and Hermione get married in a small ceremony at the beginning of spring. Harry is Ron's best man and Ginny is a bridesmaid. Hermione looks more beautiful than Harry can ever remember seeing her, and when she walks down the aisle, he can hear Ron mutter "wow" under his breath as he sees her.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" Ron says later, after the ceremony. "I mean, ten years ago, would you have ever guessed that we would all end up related to each other?"

"Ten years ago, I think we were too concerned about getting past three-headed dogs to think about ever ending up on the same family tree," Harry laughs.

It's almost a surreal feeling for Harry when he celebrates his twenty-second birthday and he realizes that it was only, and already five years ago that he was turning seventeen and unable to imagine how wonderful his future would turn out to be.

When Harry and Ginny got married, it was nearly impossible for them to have a real honeymoon because of Harry's Auror training getting in the way, so for their second anniversary, Harry takes a week off work and takes his wife on a real honeymoon.

They go to Italy and Greece and spend their time in Muggle towns and cities where nobody knows who they are and nobody stops them to ask for an autograph from the Boy Who Lived or the best Holyhead Harpies seeker in two decades. It's one of the best weeks that Harry can ever remember having.

Shortly before the fifth anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry agrees to sit down for an interview to be run in the Daily Prophet on the day of the anniversary. It's his first real interview since it all happened; his first real interview since the one with Rita Skeeter that ran in the Quibbler in his fifth year at Hogwarts. He'd had plenty of offers, plenty of reporters and journalists practically begging him for interviews, but he'd turned them all down, wanting to be normal for a little while. But he finally agreed to this one interview.

The journalist comes to his house. Harry serves him tea and they sit out in the backyard and the interviewer, an older man named Bradley Douglass begins to ask him questions.

"Coming up on the five year anniversary of the end of the Second Wizarding War, how is your life different now than it was then?" Douglass asks.

"Everything about it is different," Harry says. "There are the obvious differences, such as the fact that I'm older, married, have a job…. But then there are the other things, like no longer worrying about what Voldemort is doing and the idea of time…. Five years ago, I was certain that my time was limited and was just ticking away. When it was between me or him being the one that got to live, of course I hoped it would be me, but realistically, I wasn't so sure it would be. All of my time felt limited, but now…it's the exact opposite. It's unlimited."

"When you say that it came down to either him or you getting to live, does that put truth into the old rumours of you being 'the Chosen One'? The only one who could defeat him?"

"In a sense. But even so, I didn't defeat him alone or single-handedly. Defeating Voldemort was a lot more than just making his heart stop beating. Ron and Hermione Weasley and Neville Longbottom all played huge roles in getting fully rid of him, as did Albus Dumbledore before he passed, not to mention every single person that fought in the battle, especially those who gave their lives. I may have been the one who cast the spell to destroy him, but defeating him took everyone that was there."

"You're an impressive wizard, Harry Potter," Douglass says, looking up at him, his quill hovering over his parchment, quite still.

"I'm really not all that impressive. A lot of stuff just…happened, and I happened to be a part of it all."

During a game, Ginny gets hit directly in the head by a bludger and falls off her broom. Harry is out of his seat and running towards the field before she even hits the ground. He's unsure as to whether he wants to rush directly to her side or go curse the other team's beater who sent the bludger in her direction. He chooses to rush directly to her side.

She's sent to St. Mungo's and stays for a week. Harry hates having to leave her every night. He doesn't know how he went so long sleeping alone and being fine with it, because he's gotten so used to falling asleep with Ginny is his arms that it's hard to get used to an empty bed again.

She goes home with orders from her Healer to not play Quidditch again for at least three months. She fights it, arguing that she went years without getting hit by a bludger and she can certainly do it again, but her Healer is strict and won't budge.

The Harpies give her the three months off and hire a temporary replacement and Ginny is in a bad mood about it for at least two weeks.

During her first month off, Ginny experiments with cooking. Harry comes home every evening to a new, freshly-cooked meal made by Ginny. Some he enjoy, others he eats just so he doesn't hurt her feelings. When Teddy comes over for dinner, though, he'll come right out and say that one of Ginny's meals is repulsive, but she'll just laugh and agree to never make it again.

During her second month off, Ginny seems to go a bit stir-crazy. She complains about not knowing what to do with her extra time. She goes to visit the burrow, takes Teddy to the park, occasionally joins Harry, Ron, and Hermione for lunch.

Halfway through Ginny's third month away from the Harpies, Harry comes home from work to a great-smelling dinner and Ginny smiles as she serves his food.

"Guess what I did today?" she says.

"Made this delicious dinner?" Harry suggests, taking a bite.

"Well, yes, but what else?"

"I have no idea."

"You probably wouldn't be able to guess it anyways. I've retired from Quidditch."

"You what?" he asks, trying not to choke on his dinner.

"Retired. No longer going to play. You know, I expected it to be a lot harder than it really was. I have loved playing, but it wasn't very difficult at all. I've had a good run. Four years, can you believe it?"

"But…I thought you hated being away?"

"I did," she nods.

"Then why aren't you going back?" he asks.

"Harry," she smiles. "I'm pregnant."

Hermione screams when she finds out. Ron smiles, looking shocked by happy. Mrs. Weasley cries. Fleur starts to tell Ginny about the best potions to take for morning sickness and creams to get rid of stretch marks "like zat".

Harry feels ecstatic. Every time he thinks about it, a bubble full of happiness and excitement bursts inside of him. He's going to have a baby. He's going to be a father.

Even though Ginny's stomach is completely flat, he finds himself placing his hand on it and just knowing that their baby is inside makes him swell with joy.

He tells Teddy about the baby when Teddy comes over one evening for dinner. The little boy frowns, looking up at Harry.

"Does that mean you won't want to hang out with me as much?" he asks, and Harry can practically feel his heart shatter into a million little pieces.

"Of course not, Teddy!" he tells him, sitting down next to him on the couch and putting an arm around his shoulders. "Why would you think that?"

"If you have a baby, you'll like it more than you like me, won't you?"

"No. If anything, I'll like you both equally."

"But it's your baby. People always like their babies more than they like other kids," Teddy insists.

"But you're not just some other kid, Teddy," Harry says. "You're my godson and you'll always be special to me. Millions of people have kids, but not everyone has a godson. And most importantly, nobody has a godson as great as mine. And a baby most certainly won't change that."

"You promise?" Teddy asks with a hint of a smile.

"I promise."

Bill and Fleur have their second daughter when Ginny is three months pregnant. When Harry holds Dominique, he realizes that in six months, it will be his own son or daughter that he's holding. He tries to prefect his baby-holding skills with Dominique. When Teddy was a baby, even though Harry had enjoyed holding him, he had always felt nervous and unsure and scared that he was doing it wrong. With Victoire and Fred, he never held them often or long enough to really worry about it too much. But with the arrival of his own baby so close, he takes every chance to hold Dominique, trying to learn the best way to do it.

Harry loves feeling the baby kick. It's like real, physical proof that there is an actual human life inside of Ginny's ever-growing tummy. It amazes him. Ginny teases him every time he places his hand over her stomach, hoping to feel the tiny flutter of a kick, or when he talks to the baby, putting his face right up next to her tummy and saying "Hi, Baby. It's your daddy. I love you!"

When they discuss names, a decision is reached very quickly and they know exactly what they'll name it, whether it's a boy or a girl.

"It's going to be great at Quidditch," Harry says, moving his hand over the bump of Ginny's tummy.

"Not to mention incredibly good-looking," Ginny laughs.

Ginny decides that she wants a boy. Harry tells her that he doesn't care what it is and that he'll be happy with either.

"Boys are more fun. Teddy and Fred were both more fun that Victoire or Dominique."

"Dominique can barely even sit up on her own yet. I don't see how she could be much fun," Harry says.

"Okay, fine, just Victoire, then. Besides, if we ever have more kids, if one is a girl, I'd like for her to have an older brother. As much as they can be a pain, they're also really great to have."

"I'll still be happy either way," Harry tells her.

"Well, me too! I'll just be especially happy if it's a boy."

Ginny gets her wish.

When Harry holds his son, James Sirius Potter for the first time, it's like every good feeling he's ever felt all combined. Being told he was a wizard, stepping foot into Hogwarts, flying, House Cups, Quidditch Cups, best friends, first kisses, falling in love, getting married… none of it can even compare to this one moment. This moment and this feeling of having created this perfect life form, this amazing, incredible, tiny person. He would be able to create the brightest and most powerful Patronus in the world right now, holding his newborn son.

Harry feels as though he'll never be able to look at James enough. It amazes him that just yesterday, he had no idea what it was to be a father and now, with his son in front of him, so new to the world, he would already to anything in order to protect him and keep him safe.

He and Ginny lay on their bed, James asleep and so tiny between them. It seems so strange that he wasn't here before, and now he is. Their lives are so dramatically different in such a short period of time.

Harry thinks of his own parents and how he wishes that they were here to meet their grandson. He laments the fact that James will never get to meet Grandma and Grandpa Potter, but he knows that he'll know of them, just the way that he knew of them even though he had such little time with them.

But James, he'll never know what it's like to be without his parents because Harry will never let him. He'll make sure that James will never feel unwanted or unloved and he'll try his hardest to make sure that he'll never feel sad or unsafe or limited. Harry will give him everything that he never had as a kid. He'll give him a real home and all of the love he has. He'll give him truth and advice and protection from anything that could harm him. When he leaves for school, Harry will send him off, write to him, bring him home for holidays. He'll throw him parties for his birthdays, buy him broomsticks and teach him to fly and play Quidditch, allow his friends to come over during the summers.

As he stares at his son, Harry doesn't feel like a Wizarding World hero or the Boy Who Lived or the Chosen One or anything else that everyone else may think of him as. He feels like a father. To James, he'll be 'Dad'. He won't be anything else. Just Dad. It's so perfectly normal. For the first time in his life, he feels perfectly normal.

James squirms on the bed, opening his brown eyes and blinking up at Harry. He lets out a yawn and Harry can feel his heart flutter with affection and he reaches out to touch his tiny hand. James's little fingers wrap around Harry's pinky, clutching onto it.

"He's perfect," Ginny whispers, gently stroking the top of his head, lightly covered with the shadow of soft dark hair, and Harry nods, agreeing.

"Perfect."

Life feels perfect.