AN: Okay, sooo... this will be quite the long journey! The REAL story will begin AFTER The Cursed Child. However, a lot happens between the end of the war and then, and so each chapter will cover a year of Harry's life, plus his friends and family. Sometimes, Harry himself won't even be the main focus of the chapter, as the Weasleys, Neville, Luna, Hermione and others also have their own lives.

There'll be LGBT plots on this story. There'll be character death. There'll be divorces. I love all the characters and I want to explore their personal growth, but sometimes they'll be in a bad moment in their lives and they'll lash out. That doesn't mean they'll always be like that - it just means they have stuff to figure out. No bashing, promise.

As for ships: Harry/Hermione, Draco/Ginny, Ron/Luna. They'll only happen waaayyy later in the story, though. Until we reach 2020, everything is as canon as possible. So buckle up!

CHAPTER ONE – 1998

Harry James Potter sighed as he looked up to the stars in the sky. It was a very warm night and, after spending the last two weeks chasing a group of Death Eaters, Harry was simply exhausted. He checked his watch and realised it was late. With a 'pop', he Apparated to his godfather's family's house, Grimmauld Place.

Kreacher, the house-elf who served the Black family, appeared immediately and, before Harry could open his mouth, a plate with food was on the table for him.

"Master, had I known you'd be arriving tonight, I'd have prepared something special." He said in a tone that showed he disapproved of Harry's inability to warn him of his arrival.

"Sorry, Kreacher. I'm not hungry. I'll see you in the morning." The house-elf seemed even more offended at that, but he quietly left the room without another glance at his master.

With another sigh, Harry slowly made his way to his bedroom. There were multiple letters on his bed, all unopened and waiting for him. He grabbed them and checked them without much interest.

"Event, special event, another event. Don't these people realise I don't have enough time or interest to attend to their stupid balls?" He grunted to himself. Harry was about to throw the letters away when one caught his attention. "Ginny…" He whispered before opening the letter.

"Dear Harry,

I know you're on a very important mission with Ron and I don't expect you to receive this letter anytime soon. To be honest, I don't even know why I'm writing this. Things here at home have been awfully quiet. I guess I just wanted to tell you that I miss you, and I hope you're safe.

Please let me know when you get back?

Love,

Ginny"

Harry shook his head. He had missed Ginny very much while he was away, and yet he couldn't reach out to her. For some unknown reason, he didn't feel comfortable writing back to her. He shrugged, figuring that Ron would be arriving at the Burrow any moment now – if he hadn't already – and Ginny would be reassured by her brother that Harry was fine.

He went through the other letters quickly, wondering why he couldn't set them aside and finally get some sleep. The truth was that Harry had been sleeping very little ever since…

No point in thinking about that, he told himself, as he found an envelope from Hogwarts. He opened it, knowing that McGonagall, now the Headmistress, would want to at least offer him the option of going back for his final year.

Harry was touched. McGonagall had always been strict, yes, but he knew how much she cared about him. The fact that, after everything he had been through in the past year, there was still a place for him at Hogwarts was something that truly moved him.

However, he couldn't imagine himself going to classes again. As if nothing had happened. As if nothing had changed. A lot had happened. Everything had changed. Hogwarts was no longer a safe haven for Harry. Remus and Tonks had died there. Fred had died there. Colin had died there.

I died there.

"Harry." Ron called him. Harry, who still felt too exhausted to do much, simply stopped walking and waited for his best friend to catch up with him. "Ginny asked me to ask you if you got her letter."

"Oh." Harry's mind went blank for a second. How could he explain to Ron that he felt too overwhelmed to talk to his little sister? "I'm not sure. There were many letters in my bedroom when I arrived last night, but I was too tired to read them. Tell her I'll see her this weekend for her birthday party?" He quickly replied, hoping Ron wouldn't see through his lie.

"Can't you just write a letter to her and let her know about it?" Ron muttered, obviously annoyed. Harry couldn't blame his friend. They had been working too hard with very little sleep, which meant that they were always tired and cranky. It didn't help that they hadn't heard from Hermione in over a month.

"Sure, mate. I'll do that." Harry said, wishing the conversation would be over then. He was relieved when Ron seemed to accept that. They sat down at the same table and sighed together. "I don't mind the long missions and the danger and all. But writing reports on them? That's a whole new level of torture."

"I'm with you on that one." Ron replied, opening the Daily Prophet instead of starting his work. He whistled as he read the front page. "The Malfoys finally got a date for their trial. Now that should be interesting."

"Hey, you two, you're back!" Neville exclaimed as he joined them. "How was everything?"

"We're alive." Ron grunted, still reading the paper. Neville sent Harry a concerned look, who just shrugged.

"I guess we're still pretty tired. We got home pretty late yesterday." Harry added, hoping that Neville wouldn't push Ron. Again.

"Right. You do seem like you could use some sleep." Neville slowly said to them, still looking concerned. "How are you feeling, Ron?" He asked. Harry shook his head.

"What is that supposed to mean, Longbottom?" Ron spat, his ears as red as they could be. "So I'm tired. How does that concern you? If you're so worried, why don't you ask for your girlfriend about something that'll make me sleep? Loony should have all the right answers, right?"

"Don't talk about Luna like that." Neville calmly replied. Harry had to give him some credit for never losing his temper whenever Ron had one of his moments. "She's your friend and she cares about you – just as much as I do."

"Well, don't waste your time. I'm fine." Ron stood up and walked out of the room. Neville looked miserable.

"Harry, we should really talk to him. I don't think he's done mourning Fred yet, he shouldn't be here, he should be with his family." He said after a few seconds. Harry shrugged, unwilling to think of the Weasleys at the moment.

"Just leave him alone, Neville. He needs some time, that's all."

Harry, Neville and Luna went to the Burrow together for Ginny's party. While Harry had to admit he wasn't feeling festive at all, he was glad that Luna was with them. If there was one person who could keep a conversation going, with or without another person, it was definitely Luna.

"And then I told Dad that a Blibbering Humdinger would never be in our backyard, as they prefer a very specific type of weather." She told them. Neville was holding her hand and nodding, listening to every word she said. Harry, however, couldn't focus on his friends. "Ah, here we are. Don't worry, Harry, I'm sure everything will turn out just fine." Luna happily said before knocking on the door. Harry shot her a surprised look, but she didn't seem to notice it.

"Harry, dear!" Mrs. Weasley cried when she opened the door. She quickly hugged him, then let him go and hugged Neville and Luna at the same time. "And you two as well! I'm so glad you could come." Harry took one good look at her face and realised he wasn't the only one not getting enough sleep.

They entered the Burrow and Mrs. Weasley took them to the kitchen. Harry felt nervous and it only got worse when he met Ginny. She looked gorgeous and pleasantly surprised to see him and her friends. With a big smile, she gave Luna a long hug. Once the girls had let each other go, it was Neville's turn.

And then Harry's.

"Happy birthday, Gin." He awkwardly muttered as he held her. He let her go and stepped back, feeling all eyes on him. Ginny smiled at him, touched his arm and chuckled.

"I'm glad you came, Harry. Now don't be all tense. It's supposed to be a party." She laughed and, just like that, Harry felt lighter. How silly he had been, worrying about being around Ginny. She was an expert in making everything seem simple and he was very thankful for that.

They all sat at the table and started talking and eating. Harry didn't feel like talking, so he ate as he listened to Bill and Fleur discuss their plans for the future. Fleur wanted some time away from the UK and was trying to convince Bill that they should spend some time in France with her family. Harry thought that kind of discussion in front of Mrs. Weasley was rather dangerous, but Molly barely seemed to register the conversation.

"Anyway, George! How's the shop?" Charlie asked after an awkward silence between Fleur and Bill. The question caught his attention, as he hadn't even noticed that George was there in the first place. He looked around and found the lone twin sitting quietly in a corner of the living room, away from the others.

"I haven't reopened it yet." George finally muttered, probably once he realised everybody was waiting for his answer. "And no, I don't know when I'll do it. Was there anything else?" Harry was taken aback. He hadn't been at the Burrow recently, and he certainly hadn't expected George to bounce back from Fred's death so soon, but he had never seen him act so bitterly.

"Right. Sorry, mate. Just asking." Charlie said, before quickly turning to Neville and Luna. "So you two, huh? You seem pretty happy together." He forced a smile, clearly hoping they'd save him from the awkward moment. Thankfully, Luna didn't need to be asked twice.

"Oh, yes, despite all the darkness and sadness from the war, we've managed to find some happiness in each other." Luna replied in her dreamy voice. "And he gives me ice cream. That makes me happy too." She added, making most of them laugh.

"There's nothing like ice cream to get the girls." Bill chimed in, with a tiny wink at Fleur. She rolled her eyes, but smiled. Harry was glad to see they seemed to be putting their discussion behind them, at least for the moment.

"Oh, that must be Percy." Mr. Weasley said as they heard a knock on the door. "I'll get that, don't worry." He told Mrs. Weasley, making sure she stayed on her seat.

"I wish Percy would stop being so formal. We have forgiven already, he could just come in." Charlie muttered. Bill shrugged. "I know, I know. 'Give him time' and all."

"Hello."

Harry turned his head so fast that his neck made a rather alarming noise. He ignored it. Hermione was standing there, after being gone for over a month. There was another awkward silence where the Weasleys kept looking at Hermione, at Ron and at Harry. However, the Golden Trio was frozen, unable to say anything.

"Hermione! I'm so glad you're back!" Ginny finally exclaimed. She stood up and ran over to Hermione, hugging her. That finally broke the spell and suddenly almost everybody was standing up and making their way to the young woman.

"How are you?"

"Did you find your parents?"

"How was Australia?"

"When did you come back?"

Hermione was clearly overwhelmed by all the questions and she kept stealing glances to Ron and Harry, hoping one of them would rescue her. Unfortunately, she was out of luck. Ron was glaring at her, visibly upset. Harry was frozen in his seat.

"We should give 'er some room, she just got 'ere." Fleur said, noticing Hermione's discomfort. The others quickly agreed and went back to their seats. They found Hermione a chair and put it next to Ron, and then everybody pretended to be looking somewhere else.

"So. You're back." Ron muttered. Hermione nodded in response. "Brilliant." He said. Then, he stood up. "I'm still tired from our mission, so I'll get some sleep. See you later." Without another word, Ron left.

"All I'm saying is that he didn't have to treat me like that." Hermione said, still angry. Harry nodded, though he was sure she hadn't even noticed. "I mean, yes, I could've sent him a letter letting him know I was on my way back, but maybe, just maybe, Harry, I've been busy with my parents."

"I know, Hermione. And I'm sure Ron does too." He replied. "We came back from a mission earlier this week and we're both exhausted. Just give him some time and then talk to him."

"I just…" Hermione sighed. "What if he hates me now, Harry?" She asked, her voice suddenly very quiet.

"You know he could never hate you, Hermione. Ron's been a bit moody lately, that's all." Harry told her. "Listen, I'm happy that you're back, but I need to rest too." He added. "Don't read too much into what happened today. I'm sure Ron is happy."

Harry finished his breakfast and got ready to go to King's Cross. He had agreed to meet Ginny, Hermione and Luna there, as they were all leaving for their final year. Hermione and Ginny had tried talking him into going as well, but nothing could change his mind on that matter. He was an Auror and he was happy with that. Going to Hogwarts was simply unthinkable.

He Apparated and found Neville and Luna. Harry quickly joined them, ignoring the whispers around him. People kept pointing at him and some even waved. He tried to pretend there was nothing going on.

"Hey, Nev, Luna." Harry awkwardly said. Neville's ears were red, and Harry could tell that his friend was also having a hard time with the attention. Luna, on the other hand, seemed genuinely unaware of people staring at her.

"Ah, there's Hermione!" She exclaimed and waved. Hermione joined them with her parents.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Granger." Harry muttered. Hermione smiled at her friends, also looking bothered by all the attention they were gathering.

"Oh, please, Harry. Call me Howard." Mr. Granger replied, a smile on his face. The Grangers, unlike their daughter, seemed perfectly fine with hundreds of people pointing at them. Harry was slightly envious of them.

"Right, sorry, Mis—I mean, Howard." Harry corrected himself.

"Now I wonder where the Weasleys are…" Mrs. Granger said with a tiny smile. She was obviously amused at her daughter's nervousness.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon." Neville answered, before chucking. "See, there they are!"

Ginny was walking ahead of the rest of her family, clearly trying to make them move faster. Ron was slightly behind her, followed by Charlie and Mrs. Weasley. Once they had all greeted each other, the awkward silence that was becoming a regular occurrence in Harry's life presented itself again.

"Right, so. We should probably get going." Mr. Granger said. He hugged Hermione and smiled as Mrs. Granger did the same. "Have a lovely year, and don't forget to write us."

"And be careful. No more wars, do you hear me?" Mrs. Granger added. Hermione rolled her eyes at her parents.

"I always write, you know that. And it's not like I began the last war." She replied, though she was smiling.

"Yeah, I'm going too. Have fun, Gin." George muttered without looking at anybody's eyes. Before they could say something, he Apparated. Mrs. Weasley looked like she was going to cry at any second.

"I don't know what to do with him." She whispered, tears in her eyes.

"He'll be fine, Mum." Ginny said, hugging her mother. "It's just. It's harder for him." She added. Harry looked away, wishing he could be anywhere but there.

"Well, we should get a compartment for ourselves, don't you think?" Luna asked. Harry thought that even she looked uncomfortable. Ginny and Hermione quickly nodded, hugged everyone and got on the train. Mrs. Weasley whispered goodbye and Apparated, leaving Harry, Ron and Neville on their own.

"I guess we should get to work, huh?" Neville suggested, breaking the silence. Harry nodded, but Ron didn't seem to hear him.

"She said she doesn't want to be in a relationship." He finally said. Harry and Neville shared a concerned look. Ron finally glanced at his friends. "Hermione. I talked to her earlier this week. She said she cares about me. But she'd rather finish her education before starting a relationship. I mean, what does that…" He stopped himself and huffed in anger. "What does it even mean?"

Harry was quiet. He didn't want to get involved in his friends' relationship – or lack of it. Especially considering he didn't know where he and Ginny stood themselves. He knew he had feelings for Ginny, but he couldn't even think about dating at the moment. And he hadn't even bothered to discuss it with her. Harry suddenly felt very ashamed of himself.

The rest of the months passed by rather quickly. There were many Death Eaters to catch and Harry was never idle. He had focused only on his work and was soon a hero in the Auror Department. And so, before he knew it, it was Christmas and he was, of course, joining the Weasleys for the holiday.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Weasley." Harry said as he entered the Burrow.

"Harry, welcome. Merry Christmas." Arthur led him to the living room where everyone was waiting for them already.

"I'm completely nervous about this, to be honest. Shacklebolt plans on making me Head of the department in less than a year and I'm just not sure I'm ready for that." Percy was saying. He looked up when he heard Harry and his father. "Ah, hello, Harry, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, everyone." Harry replied quietly. He sat down next to Bill, hoping they wouldn't ask him too many questions.

"Ron told us you got a huge case last week." Bill commented. "Good job, Harry." He added, an easy smile on his face. There was a knock on the door and he stood up. "I got this, Dad, don't worry."

Harry looked around and his eyes met Hermione's. She was sitting next to Luna and Neville, but she seemed rather miserable. When Harry raised his eyebrows at her, she glanced quickly at Ron. Harry looked at his best friend and realised that Ron was doing all he could to ignore Hermione.

"Good evening." McGonagall said as she entered the room. Harry was surprised to see the Headmistress there. "Thank you for inviting me, Arthur, Molly."

"Glad you could join us, Minerva." Mr. Weasley replied, though Mrs. Weasley simply nodded. Before the situation could get more awkward, Harry made an excuse to go to the kitchen, as he needed to be away from so many people.

"Hey." Ginny said as she joined him. Harry turned to her and tried to offer her a smile. He failed, but Ginny was graceful and didn't mention it. "I know you're not feeling well, Harry. We've all been through so much in the last year. Mum couldn't even knit her famous jumpers this year."

"That's terrible." Harry muttered. He didn't know what to do or what to say, so he focused on getting a glass of water for himself. He heard Ginny chuckling behind him.

"You really don't need to be nervous around me, Harry. I get that you aren't ready to talk about what happened or about the future and I can live with that. I can wait. It's frustrating, mind you, but I don't want to force you. I just need to know…" Ginny sighed and, for the first time in months, Harry saw a vulnerability in Ginny he had forgotten even existed. "I was just wondering. You and I. Us. Are we still…?"

She left the question in the air and Harry pondered. He had feelings for Ginny, even if he couldn't express them at the moment. Was it fair to ask her to wait, though? He knew it wasn't. Harry didn't know what to say to her and so they stood there in silence.

"I see." Ginny said. Her face and her voice betrayed nothing. "Well, I won't bother you again. Merry Christmas, Harry." She turned to leave the kitchen, but Harry grabbed her hand.

"Wait, Ginny." He whispered. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth. "I like you, I really do. I'm just not in a good place right now. And I can't make you wait for me, it's not fair."

"How about you let me decide that?" She asked him. Harry nodded. Before they could say anything else, they heard raised voices from the living room and quickly went there to see what was happening.

"I already said this a thousand times! I'll reopen the shop when I decided to reopen it!" George cried out, clearly angry.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall fired back, sounding completely exasperated. "If you continue to behave like this, you'll never reopen it. Nor do anything else with your life. You need that business of yours and I am quite certain your brother would have agreed with me. He would have hated to see you like this, wasting away day after day, especially knowing how much joy you have to offer to the world."

Harry stood next to Ginny in stunned silence. Everybody else seemed just as shocked as he felt, as nobody had expected McGonagall, of all people, to snap at a grieving George. The seconds dragged, making the mood of the room heavier. Finally, George stood up and walked over to his former Transfiguration professor.

"Fred would've understood my pain. And he'd have given me as much time as I needed to make it go away." He said, his voice low. McGonagall put a hand on his shoulder.

"The pain will never go away. You simply must learn to live with it. It's all you can do for him." She replied, not unkindly. George looked to his feet for a very long time. When he looked back to McGonagall, he was openly crying. However, he nodded.

"Fine. I'll do it. For Fred."