The characters of the Harry Potter universe belong to Ms. Rowling, and I'm borrowing them for my own imagination.

Opening Up

"How do you want to handle this?" Hermione asked looking to Harry for her answers. She and Ron were sitting in Harry's office shortly before they were to arrive at Harry's home. With James starting Hogwarts this fall, Ginny had declared that it was time they shared their own school years with their children. It was not like that the kids didn't know anything about it, but they had tried to shelter them from as much of it as possible.

"Only the aspects everyone else knows." They had decided long ago, in those days shortly after the war had ended, that some of what they experienced was too personal to share, even with their family and closest friends. Harry opened up some to Ginny, but he didn't share anything that was to personally relating to Ron or Hermione. If they felt she should know, they had the right to share the information themselves.

"Come on, let's get this over with." Ron said standing and pulling Hermione out of her chair. Harry led the way to his private floo, and they followed him to Grimald Place.

They were surprised when they arrived to find the living room filled with people. The entire Weasley clan was present along with majority of the DA and their spouses and children.

"What's going on?" Harry asked his wife.

"They want their children to know the truth from you as well." Ginny explained.

It was strange for them to see so most of the living DA members sitting amongst the Weasley clan. Yes, they would get together as a group occasionally, usually for weddings or the memorial services at Hogwarts, but seeing them all here today was oddly different.

"Well this changes our approach a little." Hermione, who had pictured a much more intimate setting for the conversation, said.

"It's like we are going to be on stage." Ron said eyeing the three seats set together facing the crowd.

"I know that Teddy has heard things about us, and has come to us with clarification." Harry said.

"Yeah, Bill and Percy have sent their girls over with questions as well." Ron said. He had spotted his nieces Lucy and Dominique sitting with Oliver and Katie Wood's twins.

"Daddy, Aunt Ginny says you're gonna tell us all a story." Hugo said approaching his parents with his cousins Lily and Louis in tow.

"Yeah, Mummy, Uncle Harry and I are." Ron said. "It's a true story and it's important for you all to pay attention. Okay." Ron knelt down to the kids' level.

"Is it a boring story?" Lily asked.

"Not in the least." Uncle Harry said sharing a look with Ron. "Go and sit back down so we can get started." He gave his daughter a gentle push toward her mother then led Ron and Hermione to the empty chairs.

"Okay, I know that some of you know more than others, but let us tell our story, and we will answer any questions at the end." Harry said. They sat as they had as kids with Harry in the middle and Hermione and Ron on either side.

Harry started by telling them of the prophesy that was made before he was even born, and that it was Voldermort that marked him as his opponent. That the prophecy could have also applied to Neville, who paled as he always did when this fact was mentioned.

He explained how Severus Snape had been a childhood friend of his mother, and that he had made some bad choices and got into the wrong crowd at school. But when he learned that Voldermort was going after Lily Evans-Potter, he went to Albus Dumbledore and turned spy against Voldermort.

Then he explained how Peter Pettigrew, a friend of his father's, had betrayed his parents, but set it up to look like another friend, Sirius Black, did it. His parents died, his mother saving him, and Voldermort's spell rebounded on him and he wasn't killed, but was badly damaged.

He talked little of what his life was like with his Aunt and Uncle. Only that he didn't know that he was a wizard until he was eleven. Ron mentioned that growing up he had heard stories of the Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived.

As they entered they Hogwarts years, they had explained how they met, which their children knew by heart. They tried to include some of the lighter moments in along with the more serious. Rosie crawled up in her father's lap as they told about trolls, giant chess sets, and basilisks, and Ron knew that they would be dealing with nightmares his daughter's overly active mind would create. As each mention of her parents numerous hospital visits were mentioned, Ron could literally feel Rosie's mind storing all this information.

As they ended their sixth year and the death Albus Dumbledore, all three of them were horse from emotion as well as talking. Bill, Fleur, Katie, Neville, Luna and Ginny shared about their own experiences from the time period that had been discussed. When they then gave the trio the option of taking a quick break, the trio decided to forge on, wanting to get through with it.

"We did not attend Hogwarts in what should have been out seventh year. Professor Dumbledore had given me a task that needed to be completed in order to defeat Voldermort. Ron and Hermione agreed to come with me." Harry began the story that included camping, his and Ron's fight, the visit of his parents' graves, the story of the Hallows, being captured and their escape. Harry wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulders' as she told of the torture she had received at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Ron shared about the break in at Gringott's and their escape on the dragon. Several of the kids eyes glowing as they pictured such an adventure. Then together they shared the stories of the battle, recalling the many deaths. Ron noticed Audrey and Angelina clasp their husbands' hands tightly at the mention of Fred's death. They didn't focus on to many aspects of the battle, expressing that they believed that the other adults should share their own experiences in the battle with their own children.

When they were done and ready to take questions, Ron heard his daughter mumble, "I don't wanna go to Hogwarts."

"Don't say that." Ron said hugging her tightly. "When we were in school things were so different. Look at all your cousins that attend now. They all love it. Mummy, Daddy, Uncle Harry and all the other adults in this room worked to make sure that nothing like we went through would happen to you."

"Hogwarts is great, Rosie." Lucy, the most timid of all the Weasley cousins, insisted.

"Why didn't you go with them, Mummy?" Lily asked.

"Professor Dumbledore only trusted your daddy, Uncle Ron, Aunt Hermione and Professor Snape completely." Ginny explained.

"And when we were gone, your mum was only sixteen. She would have still had the trace on her." Hermione added.

"You all fought in the big battle?" Louis asked looking around the room to the other adults.

"I didn't. Molly was a toddler, and I had stayed with her while Percy joined his family at Hogwarts." Audrey said. "I know the battle was bad for them, but staying home and waiting to find out if the people I loved were alive or dead, was terrifying."

"My family home schooled me. We were traveling through the magically forests in South America during most of that time." Luna's husband Rolf stated. "They were not into the whole political scene, so I was shielded from whole thing."

"I know for myself," Neville began, "that I still have nightmares from that time."

"I think we all do." Harry said as others nodded in agreement. "But, if we hadn't gone through what we had, we wouldn't have all that we have now." Reaching over he tickled his goddaughter causing her to squirm in her father's arms.

Hermione nodded in agreement and hugged Harry and Harry smiled. Just like always there weren't any two people he'd rather have at his side.

The End