This is a plot bunny that came to me one day. i have a good idea where it wil lead, but don't be surprised with sudden changes.

this fanfic is canon until the end of the 6th year. any changes will be explained in a note or by the characters themselves.

This story is also being posted on Ao3, with the same name and username. it's a safeguard in case the contents of future chapters are questioned.

Unless you do not know them and they are OCs , all characters belong to JK Rowling and Warner Bros.


CHAPTER 1 - AQUARELA DO BRASIL

He looked at the inside of the old home with hopeful eyes. The place was a fucking mess. Abandoned for so long, then occupied temporarily as the resistance headquarters, most of the missions that toppled the Death Eaters were planned right here. Some people suggested turning it into a museum, but Harry refused he wanted to live here, it was his only real inheritance, the money was kinda immaterial, stuffed at a Gringotts vault somewhere , always distant. This place could be touched, seen, felt. The nights he spent here, talking to the Order, about his parents, about Voldemort, about the war. It was here that he stopped being a scared child and became the adult who lead many to victory in the war. Somehow, It just felt right to raise a family here. To keep the legacy going.

But Ginny wanted none of it.

As he started dusting the place, with a conjured broom, he remembered the fight they had that morning.

"We can't live here Harry. This place is a mess. No one has been here since the end of the war for a reason." She shook her head at his insistence. "You have money, if you want to live somewhere, why not just buy a new house? Why do you want to live in this shack?"

"Ginny, love. This is my house now. I'm not gonna abandon it. It need a little work, of course-"

"A LITTLE? Harry, this place was falling apart when you found it. Took us all an entire summer to make it habitable. I still don't get your problem with living in the Burrow, since my parents moved out-"

Harry actually laughed at her mention of the burrow.

"Oh, so living in your family's house is ok, but living in mine is a problem? And this house may be a 'shack', but at least it can stand without magic."

This was true. As old and run down the place could be, its foundations were still solid. After years and at least 3 battles fought there, the Burrow was only still standing because of Molly's insistence and the order's solid wandwork.

Ginny turned angry red at that. He knew things were gonna get ugly now.

"Oooh, don't go there Potter. Don't you DARE insult the place I grew up in. The place that received you so many times when you needed! I don't get why you want to live here Harry, I really don't. But I am not. If you want to live with me, it will be somewhere else, if you really care about our relationship. Then you're going back to the Burrow with me!"

Something clicked inside Harry. That was it. The last drop. He spent his teen years being pushed around, ordered around, and being told what to do, how to feel. All the big decisions of his life were either made for him by others, or imposed on him 'for his own good'. He was an adult now. He had enough.

"Ok Ginny, you are right"he said. She opened a huge smile, and raised her hands as if waiting for a hug. But Harry sat on the old, moth-eaten couch, and looked at her. "I'll be fine here by myself. You can go back to your home."


Several Years Later.

Harry took one last look through the huge windows of the hotel room that had been his house for the last 2 months. Brazil. Copacabana Beach. The carnival was over, and it was time to leave for a new country. He liked Brazil. The sun, beaches, one of the most likable people he had ever met. And the woman. Not only the Brazilian ones, even those who were only here for a while, like him, seemed different, more beautiful, freer.

Freedom. That was the defining word of his life since leaving England. He spent the last years traveling across Europe and the Americas. Sometimes staying in for a while, like when he decided to learn Aztec runes in Mexico, or just staying for a few days, enough to see the sights and then leave. this was his life now. Everything he owned could fit in his traveling chest, which was more like a portable closet then a chest. His books, his clothes, he even had an entire potions set inside it, in case he needed to make a potion for some reason. Last time he used it was to try and make soup while camping in the Rocky Mountains

He looked at his room, the muggle hotel was a tad more expensive than one in the magical area, but here he was just another tourist. He paid in advance for the 2 months, already planning to leave by the end of February, so it was time to get ready, pack, and get back on the road, so to say.

With a wand movement, his pajamas went to the bag, and he entered the shower. Fifteen minutes later, clean and changed, he picked up the chest, activated the disguise that made it look like a normal traveling bag, and went to the hotel reception, to check out.

He had breakfast in a wooden kiosk at the beach, simple things, bread and butter with some local coffee. He had acquired a taste for the local food in this time, breakfast in special. Something light and easy to digest to start the day. And no pumpkin juice in sight. It was early in the morning, but people were on the beach already. He considered joining them for a while, but decided it was better to leave.

His next destination was the magical quarter of Rio, where he would board a magical cruise ship leaving for Portugal. It was an expensive way to travel, but Harry did not care. The month he would spend on the ship was well worth it. it would give him time to think about his next destination, and the one after that. And was a chance to meet people. One of the good parts of his travels was that, making friends and contacts everywhere. You never know when you would need a hand. Or where.

Before leaving, he looked around the magical area of Rio. It looked older then the diagonal alley, but much more solid and colorful. An entire neighborhood hidden away by magic. Luiza, a local witch he spent some nights with, explained that the whole zone was from the colonial times, more than 300 years old, and kept protected and hidden from the development of the city around it by powerful wards, it also had the distinction of being one of the few magical ports in the world. Back then, it was only a small wooden dock, now it was a modern port, capable of receiving 5 ships at the same time. And it was not the biggest one, there was one in a city to the south that was even larger. Something he never thought that could exist while in England. But it was only after leaving that he realized how limited wizards in England were. A literal world of possibilities was open before him.

The Carnival decorations were still hanging everywhere , with proofs of the tremendous party that happened here last night still around. Looking at the palm trees, Harry saw a bra hanging from one of the branches. He remembered that. It belonged to a red-headed witch that had way too much to drink. He wondered how she went home without it. And then remembered that there were other witches and wizards with her, and that she probably was staying somewhere around there, as he had seen her before during the carnival days. Not that it would matter anyway.

With an eye to his watch, he walked the cobblestone streets to the docks. A line was already in place to embark, where a man in blue uniform checked the documents. Two girls talking in Portuguese queued up behind him, and started chatting about something. He knew enough of the language to get some things. A party, a guy, something about a port. No, a city in Portugal, Porto. He was distracted trying to make sense of it when his turn arrived.

"Documentos e passagem por favor, senhor. "

Harry checked the pockets of his pants for the rectangular piece of paper and his ID, the dock worker checked both, marked the passage with a wand touch, and the velvet rope opened itself to allow him in.

"Tenha uma boa viagem Senhor Evans. "

Harry smiled and thanked him, and went into the stairs to the ship. A huge magical purple wooden staircase, as big as the ship, with red velvet carpet. The ship itself was modern looking on the outside, and could pass for a normal, if small, touristic cruiser. But on the inside, the ship was huge and luxurious. The wooden interiors decorated with paintings of wizards and witches in relaxing situations. A huge restaurant that surely was manned by house elves, a pool with magical jets of water and a waterslide that was actually made of water, and a sundeck where some people were working on their tans.

His room was the only on his floor, and Harry knew exactly why. It was the 'Royal Suite', with enough space for 10 people. It was a tad expensive, but was worth it. No people walking around, no noisy neighbors banging on the walls and agreeing repeatedly with each other. Only silence, a nice hot tub, and a beautiful view of the sea. He entered the room, locked the door, and kicked his shoes off, took off his pants and his fancy shirt, and threw himself in the soft, king-size bed. On top of the bed, a huge circular painting of the constellations and the night sky moved slowly. The Aries constellation bowed, as if welcoming the new room inhabitant, and pointed with its head to the bedside table, where a small wooden plaque was. Inspecting it, Harry realized it was some type of controller for the room, he could read some of the words in Portuguese: windows, lights, bed, mirror. Wait, mirror? He looked around the room and saw no mirrors. He touched with his wand on the word, and nothing seemed to happen. The windows closed at the command, making the room dark. The lights could be dimmed with a simple movement, and the bed covers changed and straightened themselves. But no mirror.

Deciding to think of it later, he lied again in bed, and a 20-something man with vivid messy red hair and soft brown eyes wearing only a pair of Gryffindor boxers looked back at him. A mirror in the ceiling? Why on earth would he need that? He looked at his hair and face. His glamour charms were quite good this days. And were the best way to move around avoiding looks, stares, and the eventual British reporter who managed to track him down. He waved his wand, and the charm vanished, with his hair going back to black, and his eyes shining green again. He moved his hair, and looked at where his scar used to be. Now a normal piece of skin with no marks. Amazing what a magical surgeon with muggle training could do.

He waved his wand towards the radio, and a upbeat song filled the room, a woman's voice singing something about the had listened to that song quite a lot in his time here, and tried to follow the lyrics. The ship took its time to leave, but eventually Harry felt the engines turning on, and the Brazilian coast slowly becoming smaller through the now opened windows. His voice was not as good as the singer, but he did his best.

...Esse coqueiro que dá coco

Onde amarro minha rede

Nas noites claras de luar

Por essas fontes murmurantes

Onde eu mato a minha sede

Onde a lua vem brincar

Esse Brasil lindo e trigueiro

É o meu Brasil Brasileiro

Terra de samba e pandeiro...

Oi! Essas fontes murmurantes

Onde eu mato a minha sede

Onde a lua vem brincar

Esse Brasil lindo e trigueiro

É o meu Brasil Brasileiro

Terra de samba e pandeiro

Brasil!

His Portuguese was terrible, but there was time to work on it. He would go to Lisbon, meet his local friends, then maybe spend some time in Paris or Bordeaux. Maybe even visit Italy or Greece. But one thing was certain. He was definitively coming back next year.