It had been less than a month since the war had ended.

Though, one could not quite say that it was entirely over of course. Voldemort was gone, yes that was true, but now there was another war to face. For many years, he had suffered, but he had never truly dealt with any of his feelings. When had there been time to adjust to one loss when the next one would come so soon after? Now that everything was over, he had the time to sit back and mourn... To adjust to a life without fighting and suffering. It didn't mean the world was entirely safe yet- there were still fights to be had, Harry was certain of that. But now he was fighting the hardest fight of them all: the one against himself. All of the people he'd lost, starting with his parents and going down a long line of people that included fatherly figures, mentors, and friends... All of those people had died because of him. Or for him, depending on how one looked at it. They had all put themselves on the line to protect him, to fight alongside him, to stop Voldemort. And now Voldemort was gone and so were they.

After a long while, Harry felt himself beginning to drift off when he heard it... The soft sound of a baby crying. His eyes opened and he sat up a little straighter in his bed, head swiveled towards the door, wondering for a moment if the sound was coming closer. It was. The door to his room suddenly swung open and there stood Ginny, her brown eyes blazing as she looked at him. It took him only a moment to realize in her arms she held a small baby with a shock of brown hair, though he swore for a moment it flickered purple and then back. "Ginny..." He spoke, his voice hoarse, his emerald eyes locked onto hers. She was frowning but her eyes softened and she was smiling then, shifting the baby in her arms to turn and face the boy on the bed.

There was no mistaking who the baby was, of course, he looked just like Remus after all. Harry knew he came often and though he was more than two months old now, he'd yet to even set eyes on him. For several seconds they merely stared at one another, he and Teddy, until the baby gurgled and offered him a gummy smile that eased the knot in his stomach. "You look like shit," Ginny finally said as she crossed the threshold of the room and closed the door behind her. Harry looked from the baby to her then, his brow arched in his surprise at her words. But, he couldn't blame her for saying them, they weren't a lie after all. He took in the sight of her then- she had begun to gain weight, looking healthier than she had looked in ages. She came and sat down on the edge of his bed then and held the baby out to him, not saying a word at all. He must have looked bewildered because she chuckled and slid closer to him, slipping little Teddy into his arms.

Harry said nothing as he leaned back against his pillows, shifting his elbows to prop the tiny baby up a little bit better. Teddy looked up at him with a look that told Harry he somehow knew he was a friend, even if they'd never met before. His little arm extended up into the arm, fingers grasping at the air, and it was then that Ginny's hand appeared and Teddy's tiny fingers wrapped around her index finger. "He needs you." Was all she said as she sat back, her eyes never moving from Teddy's face, which was all sunny smiles as he caught sight of her. Harry felt his heart turnover and he looked up from the baby to instead look at her, watching her as she watched the baby. There was something in that moment, something so poignant in his mind... it was as if they were hurtled into the future and this was not Teddy that they peered over together. It was another child, one with jet black hair and deep brown eyes, one that was theirs.

He looked back to Teddy then and realized just how right Ginny was. Teddy was, like he was, an orphan. He would be raised by his grandmother of course, but he had so much more family than Harry ever had growing up. Ginny was right- he needed him. He needed a family. When he looked back at her, she was smiling and he handed the baby back to her as he began to softly fuss. The moment he'd been returned to familiar arms, Teddy ceased his crying and instead a yawn escaped him. She rose wordlessly then, turning to walk across the room, and as her hand reached for the door knob she heard him speak. "Thank you..." She paused then, turning back around to face him, seeing for the first time a smile on his lips. Ginny gave one single nod and then exited the room, to where she would move down the hall to place the now sleeping baby into his crib. For a moment, she stood above him, wondering if what she'd just done truly would make the difference.

[ x x x ]

3 am.

The baby's shrill cries were loud enough to jostle her from her slumber and she pushed back her blankets, knowing she could get there before anyone else did. From across the room, Hermione mumbled something about helping, but Ginny dismissed her with a laugh and she left the room, heading up the one flight of stairs to the hall where Teddy's room was, the room that had once belonged to her older brother Percy. As she crept down the hall, carefully avoiding any creaky floorboards, but to her surprise the baby had already stopped his crying. For a moment she wondered if perhaps he'd soothed himself back to sleep, perhaps a bad dream had woken him for only a moment... But then she saw the lamp come to life from behind the slightly ajar door and she knew someone had gotten to him first.

Creeping down the hall, she pressed herself flat against the wall, before she craned her neck around, peering into the room through the crack it was open. To her surprise, it was Harry that stood in the center of the room, the baby carefully cradled in his arms; she watched as he jostled the baby up and down, softly shushing him as he patted his back. Ginny remained there in the hall, watching until Harry must have deemed the baby asleep, because he was leaning over the crib placing him carefully back down. He stood at the bedside for a moment longer before the light went out and he came towards her. Stepping back, she made a split second decision, and backed up until she reached the room that he shared with Ron, who was so conveniently not home that night.

When Harry opened the door to his bedroom, he knew at once that he was not alone. Flipping the light switch beside the doorframe, the room was flooded with light, and then he saw her sitting there on his bed. She was dressed for bed and her hair was tousled as if she'd been asleep only seconds before, as if she had been asleep in his bed and not one a floor below him. "Ginny." He murmured her name softly, turning the light back off and shutting the door behind him. "The baby...?" He asked, knowing that surely had to be what had her awake so late into the night. "He's asleep again." She was nodding, he could see it as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Walking across the room, he sat down on his bed beside her, and the bedside lamp flared to life with a touch of his wand. The lamp illuminated her, giving her a hazy golden crown atop her brilliantly colored hair, and her brown eyes were shining as she stared at him. "I have to thank you," he said after what felt like hours of silence and she then arched a brow, as if surprised by such a comment. "For what you said earlier. For what you did." Ah, that. She looked away then, shrugging her shoulders as if it didn't matter all that much. He reached out, taking her by the hand, their first contact in weeks. "You saved me."

Ginny blinked and swallowed, trying to not let her emotions get the best of her in this moment. She wasn't a crier, after all. "You saved all of us so many times, it was time someone saved you for a change." She whispered, giving his hand a gentle squeeze as she peered into his emerald eyes. "And no one else had any ideas," she said, indicating that he'd been the topic of many conversations up until that point. He grinned and for a moment, it was two years ago and they were sitting beneath the old oak tree that overlooked the lake by Hogwarts. It was two years ago and they were as happy as they could be during a time of violence and war. It was two years ago and their love was only just beginning to blossom. "I'll always be here, Harry," she then said, so softly that he wondered if he'd only just imagined her words. But then he met her gaze and he knew he hadn't just imagined them.

Without a moment of hesitation, he leaned forwards and brushed his lips against hers, his free hand reaching up to slide into her hair. It was soft and slipped through his fingers like silk, the feeling comforting and familiar. It took only a moment for her to take control of the moment and she was kissing him back with a fiery passion that took his breath away. Their hands separated then and his other one snaked around her waist, drawing her closer to him until she was actually on his lap facing him. Her arms were around him too and she had yet to break their kiss, her tongue sliding tauntingly across his lower lip. Despite his body's protests, he drew back then, his hand then moving to her face, his palm cupping her cheek. "Thank you," he said softly and she grinned, though her eyes were misty. She nodded and he drew her in again, embracing her tightly, knowing there was nothing in the world that would make him let go of her again.

Until they both heard the sound of a baby crying from down the hall.

Chuckling, Ginny swung herself around and off his lap and instead stood before him as the crying intensified. She offered him a hand, which he readily accepted, and she helped him rise off the bed. Leading him from the bedroom, together they made their way down the hall and into the room where Teddy lay crying. Harry watched as Ginny stooped low over the crib and picked the crying infant up, cradling him close to her chest as she cooed softly, speaking words he could not quite make out. Harry knew then, right then and there, that someday he'd see her in this very same position, but in a different house with a different child. Someday, he would ask her to marry him and he'd take care of her as she had always taken care of him. Someday he would call her Mrs. Potter and would watch as she cradled their own children to her breast. The thought was the happiest one he had truly ever had.

For once, he could be excited for the future to come, whatever it may bring.