Harry

It was officially three months after the war, and Harry Potter was tired. Tired of fame, tired of fortune, tired of… well, life in general, to be honest. Unfortunately for him, though, his life didn't allow him to be tired of it quite yet.

He was happy, he supposed. Ginny was the best girlfriend he could ask for. In fact, all the Weasleys had been the most caring family he had ever had. Ron and Hermione were still close friends, and remained in a dedicated relationship. Harry was on his way to becoming an Auror, studying for his required NEWTs. His life was going the way he had hoped for so long, he thought.

But he also recognized the increasing turmoil in the wizarding world. Everyone heard the reports of a lowering population, the rewards for marriage. Hermione was suspecting the Ministry might impose a Marriage Law- the likes of which had not been seen since 1802, when there was a sharp decline in the population. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic, was keeping the family updated, but even he was worried the Law might get passed. Everyone was hearing the news- the population had to increase- and fast.

Harry stretched as he emerged from the deep sleep he had enjoyed for far too long- glancing at the clock, he noticed it said 11:13. He was getting far too used to sleeping in. He emerged from under the covers, stretched, and headed to the bathroom, then downstairs.

Downstairs, Mrs. Weasley was already chopping lettuce in preparation for an early lunch. Today, the house was surprisingly empty. Ginny and George were working at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Ron and Hermione were out at Diagon Alley, picking up groceries and new clothes. Mr. Weasley and Percy were gone at the Ministry of Magic. This left Harry and Mrs. Weasley at home. "Good morning!" She called from the kitchen and walked over to greet the young man with a hug. Pulling back, she asked, "Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, thanks." Harry punctuated his reply with a yawn.

"I saved some breakfast for you, dear. It's on the table- I tried to keep it warm." Mrs. Weasley returned to her salad-making. "Oh, and Harry dear, when you finish eating, can you do me a favor and clean up the back yard? Just make sure everything's in its place, and all the trash is in the bin."

"No problem, Mrs. Weasley." Harry replied, trying to make his voice sound cheerier than he actually felt.

Just like the Matriarch had said, a steaming plate of eggs, bacon, and three slices of toast waited for him on the table. He ate it, taking his time. He wasn't very hungry, but he felt obligated to eat. When he was done, he journeyed back upstairs to get dressed, then headed into the backyard, where just yesterday quite a few members of the former Order of the Phoenix had come over to an end-of-summer barbeque. The cleaning was a mindless task, perfect for his current mental state. Piece after piece of trash he levitated into the bin. Chair after chair he placed back around the tables or against the outside wall of the burrow. Harry saw a few gnomes frolic around the garden as he worked, but didn't make any move to remove them. Finally, the task was complete, and just as he heard a surge of noise coming from inside the house.

Ron and Hermione had just arrived from Diagon Alley, loaded down with bags from different stores. Ron was enthusiastically describing to his mother a bundle of new herbs and their properties in both potion brewing and cooking. Hermione was unwrapping a bundle of books when she saw him come in. "Harry! Look what we found at Flourish and Blotts!" The young woman was clearly excited, her bushy brown hair tied back in a low clip. Pushing aside books with titles like Wizarding Art and Culture in China and Retigula's Theory of Numbers Explained in a Modern Context, she produced a slightly thicker book: A History of Crime and Aurorship, by Alastor Moody.

"Mad-eye wrote a book?" Harry turned the book over in his hands.

"Well, I think he contributed to it. He doesn't seem the type to devote his life to a book. But I flipped through it, and it's pretty clear where he wrote. He had a very… unique style. I thought you might like it." Hermione said, gathering up all the rest of the books to take them up to her room.

"Oh hey- did you see that book, mate? Yeah, I didn't believe it when I first saw it, but it looks pretty real, dunnit?" Ron seemed pretty cheerful, too. "Oh yeah, here- we stopped to get some Quidditch stuff- you said you were low on broom polish, right? Here, I got some. It was only two sickles, so not too bad."

"Oh, thanks, I was running out." Harry took the small bottle.

"Yeah- speaking of Quidditch, we should play! Maybe when George and Ginny get back we could play two-on-two." Ron said, grinning.

"Yeah, that sounds great." Harry said, meeting Ron's smile. "When will they be back?"

"Probably around 5-ish. Oh yeah- When are you going to clean out Grimmauld Place? Aren't you going to move out? I mean, not that I don't like living in the same house, but we are adults… so…"

"No, yeah, I understand. We could go over tomorrow, maybe round up some friends, clean. I'm sure Ginny could help, and maybe Neville, Luna… Seamus?" Harry said, scratching the back of his head, unsure.

"That sounds great!" Hermione called out as she came back down the stairs. "We could make it a party!"

"That's a great idea!" Ron said, wrapping his freckled arm around her shoulders as she joined them.

"Alright! I can invite them, if you want." Hermione said, "I've been dying to throw some sort of bash."

"Other than the one last night?" Ron asked.

"Yes- I mean my own little get-together, one where the Weasleys aren't the planners." Hermione replied, already contemplating whom to invite.

Harry thought maybe having people around may bring him out of his funk. "Please do. That would be great. I do want to move out eventually."

. . . .

The next day dawned, and Harry slept in again, exhausted after an evening full of Quidditch, but today was woken because of someone banging on his door. He could easily recognize Ginny's voice through the door. "Yeah?" He called back.

"HARRY!" Ginny barged in and jumped on his bed, an orange blur to him as he sat up without glasses on. "Good Mo-or-orning!" She sang in a bad opera voice as she attacked him with tickles.

They both were laughing as hard as possible as they started to tickle-fight, with Harry eventually pinning Ginny under him, their faces only a few centimeters apart. He slowly leaned in for a chaste kiss, before leaning back. "You should wake me up like that more often." He said, grinning.

"Well, I thought I could surprise you; it's been a while since I've woken you up." Ginny said, brushing back her flaming hair.

"No kidding." Harry said, leaning back in for another kiss.

"Not right now, Boy who Lived." Ginny said, pushing him back gently, grinning. "Get dressed. I'll be downstairs." She slithered out from under him and quietly left his room.

Harry leaned back onto his haunches, grinning stupidly.

. . . .

As he emerged from the stairway, Harry make eye contact with his girlfriend as she sat with her family and smiled at her. Crowded around the dining room table with her were the three Weasley brothers still living at the burrow- Percy, George, and Ron, along with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and Angelina, George's girlfriend. Hermione was in the kitchen, and had obviously forced Mrs. Weasley out to where she unwillingly sat and constantly glanced at Hermione as she washed dishes.

Harry was greeted by a multitude of "Good mornings" and a few "Look who finally woke ups". "Oh, Harry dear, we were just discussing F-… George's joke shop." Mrs. Weasley smiled, but he could see the pain in her eyes. Ever since Fred's death, the impact on almost everyone in his life was evident. It still was hard to not say, "Fred and George."

Angelina was slowly rubbing George's shoulder while the young man hid his face behind his steepled fingers. "I'm just not sure we can keep the shop up… without… you know." She said softly.

"If you wanted, I could always help out here and there." Percy volunteered, his face solemn.

"Seriously? Perce, this is a joke shop we're talking about." Ron said disbelievingly.

"No, I mean it. I think it would be beneficial for me to separate myself from the ministry for a while- you saw how bad I was. I think I should find a new job to help me be… well, less of a pain in the neck." Percy said, adjusting his glasses.

"Alright." George spoke up suddenly. "Let's try it." He jerked up, pushing back the chair and strode over to the back door and out into the yard.

"What did I do?" Percy asked, looking concerned for his brother.

"Nothing- just let him process. We are all working through this together. It's hard to move on." Mrs. Weasley said, hugging herself.

"I think it's a wonderful idea to help at the shop, Percy." Ginny stated confidently.

"It's true- you were a pain in the neck." Ron agreed, before he was hit upside the head by Hermione as she rejoined the group. "Ouch, woman!"

"Really, though, Percy, It'll be great to keep the shop under the control of a couple Weasley brothers." Harry said. "And I'm sure you could help with the mischief making."

"It's true!" Angelina giggled. "I can see right through you, Percy. You have a deviously cunning mind! You two will make more prank products than ever before!"

. . . .

Harry pulled aside another stack of books and handed them to Hermione, who received them and began dusting them off. "Regulus had some awful books. "The Tragedy of Befouled Blood"? "A Brief History of Purity versus Mud"? This is just… awful." She pronounced, making a face, then sneezing, "Achooo!"

"Just get rid of them. No one should read that trash." Harry recommended, pulling out more thick tomes and brushing them off with his hands. "Take these too. How could anyone enjoy reading such rubbish?"

"Ugh. Aaaa-choo!" Hermione sneezed explosively. "I can't stand all this dust! Maybe I should just go and prepare lunch."

"Go ahead. I can finish this room." Harry said, pulling the last of the books off the shelf.

With Hermione gone, it took a lot longer to finish his task, but eventually he was done and ventured downstairs. There, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Dean, his girlfriend, Daphne Greengrass, Seamus, and Hannah Abbott all were eating simple turkey and cheese sandwiches with big plates of chips and chocolate chip cookies. They were chatting so loudly, they barely even noticed his entrance as he grabbed a handful of chips and went to stand between Ginny and Ron.

"Hey, Harry, did you have any specific plans for the family tree? I mean, It's kinda cool, but honestly, do you really want a bunch of dead, arrogant, purebloods covering your wall? I dunno, but I mean…" Ron said as he paused between bites off sandwich.

"Actually, Ron, I think I'll leave that, at least for now. I just feel like I should leave some traces of the Black family around. Speaking of those traces, though, has Luna had any luck removing the… er, portrait?"

"No, though I'm not sure if she's doing much. I think I heard something about Flibbering Tutus or some such nonsense." Ron said, grimacing at the blonde's behavior. "I think Hermione might go and help her. Merlin knows she needs it."

"Ron," Ginny leaned towards her brother, "Just trust Luna. She is a very clever young woman, and I think you should let her work. She's at least made some progress- it wobbles a little now."

Ron shrugged. "Okay. I just hopes she gets done with it by tonight." He then proceeded to stuff his mouth with more sandwich and grab a cookie before heading back to work.

Once he was gone, Ginny turned to Harry as she ate a cookie. "That boy just confounds me. Why can't he just accept Luna's brilliance?"

"He's stubborn, like most of your family." Harry said, grinning.

She shrugged. "Fair enough."