Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter; that would be J.K. Rowling. I do thank her though for allowing me and others to dabble and play with the fantastic world she created.
Credit: I would just like to take a moment to thank DarkQuartz for being my awesome beta.
This story is also being published on Hogwarts Extreme
It had been almost 11 years since the Battle of Hogwarts. So many families had been ripped apart creating widows, widowers, orphans, and childless parents. The wizarding world was left in shock for quite some time and it took quite a few years for them to recover.
Slowly the rebuilding process began, and with it, the healing started with the funerals. Tonks and Remus went to as many of them as they could to show their support for the families. Fred Weasley's funeral was one of the most difficult to attend. Remus and Tonks had gotten quite close to the Weasley family through their work with the Order of the Phoenix. To see the family shattered over the loss of one of their own was heartbreaking. For Tonks watching Molly mourn the loss of her son was almost more than she could bear; she couldn't imagine what she would do if she ever lost little Teddy. The same was true for Remus as he was a silent presence for the inconsolable Arthur who just hugged him and thanked him for being there.
The Weasleys were all gathered together in the front rows, sniffling and crying, as they mourned their loss. All except for one, that was.
Partway through the speech being given by the same tufty-haired ceremony official who had presided over Dumbledore's funeral, George stood up in an outrage and cried out "Fred would never have wanted any of this! This is an insult to his memory!" Then from within his robes he brought out a box, jabbed it with his wand, and set off a spectacular display of fireworks.
It seemed that everything that went into Wildfire Whizbangs had also gone into this box, however what came out instead were displays that clearly were all in memory of Fred. There were sparklers that spelled out 'Rest In Peace Fred Weasley' in shimmering oranges and greens which stayed in the air for hours, and a giant blue Dragon which swooped around the sky. The dragon shifted into a Gryffindor lion before dissipating into hundreds of smaller fireworks that lasted for hours.
The appearance of the dragon signaled a shift in the gathered crowd. No longer were people mourning, they had decided to celebrate the life and legacy that was Fred Weasley instead. Yes, he was still going to be missed; however, they were now gathered to celebrate the man he was in the way he would have wanted it.
The weeks that followed saw the couple going to the other funerals as well; Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown, and Severus Snape were among the many that they attended.
Severus Snape's funeral didn't follow the normal protocol either, though in a different way than Fred Weasley's funeral. Harry Potter had requested the attendance of members in the Order of the Phoenix to be there specifically alongside the Hogwarts professors who had not been part of the secret society.
After the usual ceremony, Harry stood up to give a eulogy. He spoke of his hatred for Professor Snape and the dour man's mixed feelings for Harry as well. When the potion professor would look upon Harry, he would see both James and Lily - one person he despised, and the other whom he loved dearly. However, due to his love for Lily, Snape resolved to protect Harry at all costs.
At this point Harry explained everything. How Snape and Dumbledore had arranged the latter's death, that Severus would stay on to protect the students - though regrettably the students were still abused - and that, in the end, Snape gave his life out of love for Lily.
There were many gasps of surprise and shocked faces from the audience that day. However, soon it was accepted that although Severus Snape was not the nicest person - he was rather cruel and could be abusive to the students and his colleagues - he was not the traitor everyone believed him to be, either.
The rebuilding continued with the restoration of Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and Hogwarts. Witches and Wizards poured in from all over to assist. In no time at all the buildings looked better than ever. Muggleborns who no longer had to worry about being oppressed were starting new business while a lot of old businesses were beginning to boom in the now thriving economy.
The Aurors were kept rather busy since they were still trying to round up the last of the Death Eaters. They didn't overtly make their presence known, however, their actions left none in question as to whether or not they were still around. They committed such crimes as muggle baiting, flooding the market with dark objects, and appearing during small gatherings to cause havoc. However, seeing as the appearances were few and far in between, the apprehending process was painfully slow.
Harry, Ron, and Neville had joined the ranks of the Aurors, though they were still in training during this time. It seemed that without the need to suppress the bit of Voldemort's soul, Harry's magic could fully emerge, and he was quickly proving to be a powerful wizard. The full use of his magic was allowing him to move through the training rather quickly.
Hermione had had enough with fighting. She went to Australia to find her parents to restore their memories, then upon her return, she went back to Hogwarts when it reopened on September 1st and completed her final year. The following year she really delved into S.P.E.W. then took it further by working with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures after her graduation and the completion of her N.E.W.T.s.
As time passed Remus and Tonks continued their day to day life, albeit a little hesitantly at first. Eventually, weddings, births, and celebrations signaled that things were going back to normal. Tonks and Remus were among those bringing in a new life. They welcomed a set of twins in May of the year 2000 - younger sisters that were named Andromeda Minerva 'Addy' and Hope Lily Lupin. Two years later, Tonks also gave birth to a son they named Sirius Alastor Lupin.
The majority of the Death Eaters, Snatchers, and werewolves that were loyal to Voldemort finally got rounded up and imprisoned in Azkaban which was no longer under the control of the Dementors. Trained wizards from the new MoM under the leadership of Kingsley Shacklebolt were working in shifts to guard the inmates who now had improved prison conditions.
Over the next couple years, Kingsley Shacklebolt worked with Remus Lupin and Hermione Granger to help end the stigma against werewolves. Laws were made which helped those infected with lycanthropy by removing job discrimination against them and giving them easier access to the Wolfsbane potion. By this point, the last of the more elusive Death Eater fugitives and their allies had been arrested and imprisoned.
Following the new werewolf laws and continual prodding from Tonks, Remus contacted Professor McGonagall to make the necessary arrangements to resume teaching at Hogwarts as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor once again. Tonks, Teddy - 6, Addy - 4, Hope - 4, and Sirius - almost 2, moved to their new home in Hogsmeade which they named 'The Cavern' to be closer to the school.
The Cavern was a quaint cottage on the outskirts of Hogsmeade that had everything a young family needed. The cottage was a cheery yellow - "It's perfect Remus!" - with a thatched roof. Inside there were four bedrooms, a bright and open kitchen that doubled as a dining room, a small pantry, a spacious living room with a large fireplace, and a cellar. To top it off there was a large garden where the children could play. It worked out great since all of them enjoyed racing around on their toy brooms while playing Quidditch to pretend to be a professional player like Ginny. When finished, they could store their brooms in the broomshed while imagining that it was their locker rooms.
The years passed quickly for the Lupin family. Remus excelled at teaching DADA while Tonks enjoyed raising the children, though she found it equally as challenging as the time she had spent as an Auror without the element of danger. Of the four, only Teddy had inherited the metamorphmagus ability. However, all four had inherited their father's marauder tendencies.
This was helped along considerably by Harry and Ron, who often came to visit the Lupin family with their wives and children. Though their children weren't old enough to join in the fun, Harry and Ron were often begged to tell stories from their days at Hogwarts, and that fired their imagination since they got to hear of the great adventures of the Harry Potter first hand.
To Remus and Tonks who had never been happier, it felt like the blink of an eye when Teddy was eleven...
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