Hi, so this is my first one shot and I'm not completely sure about it but I took the plunge and published it anyway. I'm not the wonderful J. , unfortuately, so I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters. Hope you enjoy the story and please review! It will be so great to know what people think of it...anyway, enjoy!
They were the children of war.
All of them.
And it didn't matter what side they fell on, each and every one of them was scarred.
Whether the scars were emotional or physical, it didn't matter because the consequences were the same.
They had grown up too fast.
Just children and yet the burden of the war had been placed upon their shoulders but somehow, despite the odds, despite the overwhelming numbers against them, they had won the war.
They had saved the Wizarding World.
And for that they would be rewarded with being the generation that had to remould the Wizarding World, lest their children be born into a world of war.
At first it was just about trying to heal, about trying to overcome the prejudices that had been drilled into their heads from the time they were born.
The few that returned to their once magnificent school found it harder than those who had gone out into the real world.
The illusion of the safe and happy place they had grown in had been shattered, leaving behind broken pieces that they so desperately wanted to put back together but no matter how much they tried, the pieces never fit back together the same way.
Still separated by the four houses they once cherished, only the youngest of the students mixed, for once setting an example for their older counterparts.
Not even the Professors seemed overly eager to implement change.
Everyone was still trying to heal and it would be counterproductive to start changing everything by taking everyone out of their comfort zones.
Despair hung over everyone.
They weren't healing though, no matter what anyone claimed.
The wounds were too fresh.
The scars too deep.
But then something changed.
They realised that the pieces were more beautiful with the cracks and imperfections on full view, there was no more hiding, no more pretending. This was them and this was their lives.
Following the example set by the younger students, the older ones started up tentative friendships with people they considered the enemy once upon a time.
After that it was only a matter of time.
The friendships went from strength to strength until they were more than just amongst friends.
Hidden in alcoves and behind suits of armour, the dream of house unity was finally realised.
At first that's where house unity stayed. In the dark. Hidden.
And then one day Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy were caught walking through the grounds hand in hand by Padma and Parvati Patil.
The Gryffindor Princess and The Slytherin Prince.
By evening it was common knowledge in the school though most people didn't believe it until they walked into the Great Hall together, hands clasped together tightly, giving each other a kiss before departing to their respective tables.
Seeing them together gave everyone else hope and soon it was a common sight to see them and other formerly impossible couples walking together through the halls of Hogwarts.
Hufflepuffs and Slytherins.
Ravenclaws and Gryffindors.
Love had helped them win the war, it had no boundaries as they all soon realised.
It was during their graduation ceremony that they all realised how much of a challenge it would be to stay with each other.
Their families were still segregated amongst themselves, prejudices not easily dispelled after a lifetime of standing by them.
During that summer several wedding took place.
Several couples broke up that summer.
Real life had hit and it had hit hard.
But the ones who really loved each other thrived, taking the views of everyone else as a challenge to last even longer, love each other even harder.
It was on the 26th of August when the game really changed.
Blaise Zabini and Ginevra Weasley eloped.
The older generations were outraged but their love burnt brighter everyday, blazing a path for others.
The next year was the hardest.
As they moved into the adult world, they started remoulding it in their image.
Some laws were eradicated while others were formed and muggle ideas were phased into the Wizarding World.
The Wizarding World was finally healing.
And on Christmas Eve when Draco proposed to Hermione, her squealing out a very excited yes, his family threatening to disown him, he followed his aunt's route over two decades before, and chose love over duty.
Narcissa Malfoy, not willing to lose her son like she lost her sister, learned to accept Hermione, and through that connected with her sister again and became a common sight around Teddy Lupin.
The Wizarding World went mad. The engagement and future wedding was a popular subject of gossip, some good, some bad, none of it matter to the future bride and groom though.
That May they got married.
It was a huge affair, much bigger than Hermione had ever wanted but at the end of the day she was married to the man she loved, surrounded by people she loved and it was the best day of their lives.
As Draco saw Hermione walking down the aisle towards him in her white ballgown dress, with a huge smile on her face and love shining in her eyes, he couldn't believe he was marrying the same girl he had once thought was inferior to him.
He swore to himself that he would never raise his children with any ounce of prejudice marring their lives, he wanted their children to hold onto their innocence for as long as possible, unlike their mother and father.
And as the years went by and children were born into the peaceful world they had moulded they realised just how lucky they all were. They were the generation that changed everything. Their children grew up holding onto their innocence until they grew up in their own time. Hogwarts still held onto the house rivalry but it was friendly instead of antagonistic. When the time came for Hermione and Draco's children to enter Hogwarts, two of them were sorted into Gryffindor, one into Slytherin and one into Ravenclaw.
The were the children of prejudice and war but together they had changed the world around them.