A/N: Oooh, meet-the-family time this chapter! A huge thanks again for all the great reviews, a special mention to trotha, Victoria., and rachel hewitt for their particularly uplifting ones! Keep them coming people, they really do go a long way to keeping my muse fuelled and the chapters coming!

"So let me get this straight," she looked down at the pad she had been writing on, "Umbitch is Minister; Ronald Weasley is head of the Aurors and Draco is his second in command; Hermione is the top Unspeakable; and the majority of the other heads of departments had Death Eaters for parents." It wasn't a question, but Harry nodded all the same, and she growled lowly before slamming an article on the table.

They had been working through all the papers Ellen had delivered to their closet for the past ten hours, and Harry could taste the ink on his fingers – but he read the article all the same. He was happy that he had his wife nearby to calm him down.

Golden Duo Breaks the Trio for the Good of the People!

By Rita Skeeter

On Wednesday the second of September 2002, terrifying information came to light about the man whom the Wizarding world holds as a saviour. Hermione Weasley nee. Granger (23) and Ronald Weasley (22) brought information to the courts implicating Harry James Potter in the Dark Arts, and a plot to become the next Dark Lord. Had it been any other witch or wizard to come forward, their accusations surely would have fallen on deaf ears, and they would have been sent to the nearest psychological ward – but these are the two people that defeated the Dark along with Mr Potter. This reporter is of the opinion that the Ministry should have seen the evil plot at an earlier point.

"Substantial evidence was found in both Mr Potter's apartment, and pensive memories from witnesses undoubtedly prove The-Boy-Who-Lived's guilt," announced Minister Umbridge the day after Mr Potter had been transported to Azkaban to serve a ten year sentence. "Mister and Missus Weasley did what was truly required to keep the magical world safe, at the possible cost of their reputations and lives. I assure every witch and wizard that the allegations brought to light were proven beyond a doubt, and that they are telling nothing but the truth – and so I am promoting them for their loyalty to the magical world; loyalty that we should all strive to equal."

The Golden Duo agreed to an exclusive interview with the Daily Prophet three days later, in which the loving young couple detailed the evidence that they had brought against their ex-friend. I asked when they had first realized that something was wrong with Mr Potter, and Missus Weasley replied that it had been in third year. "It was truly horrible," she confided, "I had just come back from the library and I saw Harry torturing a cat in the hallway. It was sickening, and that he was laughing and smiling as it screeched only confirmed my suspicions – Harry had gone Dark."

At this point Missus Weasley broke down in tears, and Auror Weasley comforted her while he spoke. "Herms told me about what she had seen as soon as she saw me in the Common Room, and we both went to Dumbledore with our suspicions. He told us to pretend as if nothing had happened, but to keep an eye on Harry and report back to him every week." I watched his eyes glaze over as the horror from the memories overtook him, and as his wife clutched desperately at his hand to comfort hi-

The paper burst into flames at that point, and Harry glared at the ashes that were left in his hand. "Those bastard traitors!" The glowing in his eyes increased and Bella reached over the table to rest her hand on his clenched fist. He calmed slightly, and took a few deep breaths to regain his composure. "I still have a hard time believing that they did that to me simply because of jealousy."

"Me too."

He smiled over at her, and placed his previously-ash covered hand over hers. "At least I know that I have people that I can trust now – and the one I trust the most is sitting with me keeping me from going insane."

She blushed, but smiled at the praise. "Thanks." She took her hand back after a moment and then shuffled through the copious notes she had made. "So the Ministry is being run by the greedy and backstabbing…" she pulled out a piece of paper and begun reading off it. "Ron, Molly, Arthur, Hermione, Seamus, Draco, Umbitch, Percy, Nott, Parkinson…the list goes on for…" she flicked through the pages of notes, "twenty pages." She sighed. "The people we can truly trust however can fit on one sheet. Neville, Luna, Ginny, Remus, Minerva, Fillius, Hagrid, Tonks, Andromeda, Ted, Teddy," Harry chuckled at that, "and that's about it. People that we need to keep an eye on to see if they are trustworthy are Bill Weasley and Fleur, Charlie, the twins, Daphne Greengrass, Colin Creevey, Susan Bones and Blaise Zabini." She shrugged. "There are probably more, but I think those are the people to worry about at the moment."

Harry nodded in agreement, and then smiled at her before reaching over the table and circling five names. "I think I know where to start."

The pair popped into a secluded park, one of them looking decidedly more nervous than the other. "Harry, are you really sure about this?"

He smiled down at the black haired woman at his side and hugged her. "I know that this is hard for you, and it's probably going to be awkward for you after Remus has finished firing off his curses, but I want you to have what I never did; a family." He kissed her on the top of her head and then met her glowing orbs with his own. "Besides, the fact that I'm here, and that I'm not casting the killing curse at you should break the ice a little."

She punched him in the arm and pouted. "Gee, that's reassuring – thanks a bunch."

He huffed and then pulled away from her before folding his arms, imitating her pout, and adding his childish pose to the mix. "Gosh, see if I try and comfort you again." She chuckled and reached out to him, but he pulled back with a sniff. "Don't want to."

He found himself encased in a bodybind a moment later, and then Bellatrix the moment after that. He quickly nullified the spell and she laughed as he tickled her. "St- oh god, Harry st- stop, I ca- can- can't brea- breath!"

"Surrender you ungrateful wench!"

She cried out in laughter, and Harry tickled harder, making tears run down her face. "N-n-ne-neve-NEVER!" Two seconds later when he employed a small spell that made the nerves in her body more sensitive however, she cried out, "OKAY!"

He laughed and caught her collapsing form before dragging her over to a small chair beside the swings. "You're so stubborn."

She shakily wiped the tears from her cheeks and mock-scowled up at him. "And you're a cheater; I can't believe that you used magic to make it tickle even more."

He whistled innocently, but the mile-wide grin on his lips belied his lack of regret – much to Bella's amusement. After a few minutes she snuggled into his side and smiled happily. "I never imagined that I would one day sit in a park with the love of my life and genuinely laugh." She turned her head upwards and captured his lips in a gentle but meaningful kiss. "Thank you."

He smiled down at her. "It's no problem; I never imagined that I would ever be loved full stop." They sat for another minute before Harry sighed mock-disapprovingly. "You've stalled enough; it's time to face the music."

She pouted cutely. "Do I have to?"

He groaned and looked away. "Don't pull that out at a time like this love, else we'll be a lot later than we already are."

She laughed and stood up, followed shortly by Harry, and took his hand. The walked out of the park and down the cul-de-sac silently, and caught a delicious smell on the warm night air. Bella closed her eyes and breathed it in, and Harry's mouth began to water; it had been years since he had had a barbecue. The pair had just walked onto the front lawn when the door burst open and a grey haired man shot out. "HARRY-" was followed quickly by, "OH SHIT!" and a barrage of rather deadly spells. Harry's eyes glowed a little brighter, as did Bella's as they shielded against the onslaught, and Harry was a little apprehensive when it was still continuing after several minutes.

He hated to do it, but he quickly cast a bodybind at the attacking man. He froze stock still in the middle of an incantation, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Bella and grinned, "What did I tell you?" She mumbled back, and he chuckled before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and walking forwards until they were standing in front of the frozen werewolf. Harry crossed his arms and frowned disapprovingly at the man. "Remus, I was hoping for a warmer welcome than that." He rubbed his eyes tiredly and then looked back at Remus, coming to a decision. "Now you are going to stay right there and think about the way you acted, and Bella and I are going to head inside and say hello to Andromeda, Tonks, Ted, and your son." He peered at his watch, "You'll be released in ten minutes."

Harry strode away towards the front door, and Remus was left completely and utterly confused when Bella walked by him with a quiet, "Sorry about that." The pair continued on into the house, and Bella slowed until she eventually came to a halt in the middle of the hallway. "Harry, I really don't know about this…"

Her eyes glowed worriedly, and he nodded before taking her hand. "I know, but I'm here with you now; and no matter what happens today I will never leave you." He squeezed her hand for emphasis and she nodded, still looking uncertain. They continued through the house, and eventually came to the door leading out onto the back lawn. Harry felt Bellatrix freeze in her tracks, and turned to look at her; her eyes wide, her mouth slightly agape, and tears gathering in her eyes. He took a step back to give her the space to move, and it was at that moment that Andromeda turned around from the barbecue and saw them. Her eyes smiled happily at Harry, but then turned shocked, and then confused when she saw the young woman at his side. Before she could even reach for her wand however, she found herself being tackled to the ground, and her Bellatrix sobbing into her chest, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry for what I've done!"

Andromeda had absolutely no idea what to do, and neither did Tonks, who was looking at the entire scene with a slack jaw and wide eyes. Teddy had no idea what was going on at all, Ted was just as confused as his grandson, and Remus was still frozen out on the front lawn. Andromeda peered desperately over Bella's shoulder at Harry, and her eyes widened when she saw the warm, caring smile on his face as he looked at the two embracing sisters. After a few minutes Bellatrix pulled back from the hug, and wiped at the tears running down her cheeks before looking down at her sister pinned beneath her. Andromeda looked up at her, confused, and it took her a moment to place the face because of both the emotions in her eyes, and the incredible change in her appearance, but she gasped when it clicked. "Bella, is that really you? The real you?" The dark-haired witch nodded to her, and then found herself pulled back into a tight hug. "How, how is this possible?"

Bellatrix was too emotional to even manage a single word, so Harry answered for her. "She tells me that it is because of me, but I disagree...to an extent." He took a step towards a deck chair and sat down before continuing, a warm look in his eyes as he looked at his wife crying. "She is so strong; she survived four years in Azkaban, and it was there that she was able to overcome the darkness that had seeped into her soul. She came back." He looked straight into Andromeda's eyes. "She is the funniest, most caring, loving, and beautiful woman I have ever come across, and will ever come across."

The conviction in Harry's voice swayed the older werewolf that had just walked through the door, and Harry turned to face him when he spoke. "You mean that?" Harry nodded and Remus looked deep into his eyes. "You really mean that?" Harry's eyes flared a magnificent green and Remus took a surprised step backwards. "What the hell is that?"

It was at that point that Andromeda noticed the change in his sister's eyes, and she gasped. "You too?"

Harry nodded and sat forward. "It's a gift of power from the purest source that I know of, and it is proof that Bellatrix is not the Bellatrix we all knew during the Wars." He stood from his chair and walked over to Bella before gently pulling her to her feet and wrapping his arm around her shoulders, much to her joy. "I'm thirty three, Bella's fifty three, even though we both look twenty five, and really, don't ask about that, but I don't care what other people think; I love her more than anything."

Bella noted the disbelieving looks on the faces around her, and leaned up to kiss Harry lightly on the lips before looking at them all one at a time. "I love Harry as well." The conviction and love in her voice beat down any disbelief that had been remaining, and Andromeda took a step towards the couple.

She peered into Harry's emerald orbs, and Bella's glowing golden eyes, and then a smile broke slowly out on her face. "You both truly mean this don't you?" They both nodded happily, and the woman embraced them both, smiling in-between their heads. "I have my family back."

Harry smiled across at his wife behind Andromeda's head, and she returned it in force; her arms wrapping tightly around her sister's back. "You're sure you want me to be a part of this?"

Her sister nodded and Bella stepped back to Harry's side, amazed. Harry chuckled at the disbelief on her face and leant down to whisper lightly in her ear, "I told you so."

She didn't even have the resolve to tell him to shut up, and instead rested her head on his chest, a beautiful smile on her soft features. Tonks gurgled slightly at the expression she was witnessing, and peered suspiciously at Harry; trying to gain access to his mind. He felt the probe, and smiled as he let his shields drop – and began feeding the memories he had with Bella through to her. He saw her developing emotions, at first there was shock and a slight disgust at the condition of her aunt, and then amazement at her personality. Her expressions went through wonder at what Harry had done to the cell in Azkaban, then startled at the care and love Harry had held for Bella from the moment he entered the prison. After several minutes, her expression finally turned understanding and accepting, and she smiled warmly at Bella before giving her a small nod.

The lead-up to dinner was what Harry could only call nice. It was a comfortable atmosphere that he had never really experienced in his life, and was glad he could now share it with the one person who he loved with everything he was. Andromeda and Tonks had paired up with Bella, and were discussing their lives. Harry noted that Bella didn't contribute an awful lot to the conversation, and understood implicitly; it had taken her nearly three years to trust him fully; to tell him what had happened to her in the four years before he had arrived – and it was an unspoken agreement that he was the only person she would ever tell about it. He wasn't about to betray that trust.

Ted, Remus, and Teddy, who was sitting in a chair next to his father, had migrated to the deck chairs, and the three adults were sipping occasionally at the black label firewhiskey. Remus sat back in his chair and let out a long sigh. "Harry, what happened?"

"I got stabbed in the back and thrown into Azkaban is what happened." Remus looked apologetically at him and he sighed. "I changed. I learned that I really need to evaluate who I trust, because I could be betrayed at any moment." His gaze softened. "Bella I trust implicitly, and a few other people are included in a group just below the one in which I hold her – including you three, Andromeda, and Tonks – and over the next few weeks I'll be getting in contact with those people."

"Harry, Hermio-"

Harry sighed and held up his hand. "I know; Ellen has been keeping an archive of all of the Daily Prophets while I've been locked away, and Gringotts provided me with dossiers of everyone who testified against me. Bella and I worked through them all over the past two days; I can't say I'm overly surprised really."

Remus looked disapprovingly at him. "Harry, they were your frie-"

"Remus, shut the hell up before I do something both of us will regret." The cold tone in Harry's voice did just that, and Remus quickly closed his mouth – stunned at the change in the man before him. "They stabbed me in the back because of greed; eleven years of what I thought was true friendship, gone because they would gain power from it." He snorted. "Azkaban was a joke, I could have broken out of there any time I wanted to; but I found that I liked it there with Bella." He looked at Remus inquiringly. "Do you have any idea how it feels to be free of rumours, fan mail, threats, jobs, deadlines, resentment, and fear, and instead spend every moment with the love of your life?" Remus shook his head dumbly and Harry sank back into his chair, his anger completely gone and a pensive look in his eyes. "I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to come back to this world."

"But Ha-"

Once again Remus was cut off by a cold glare. "But what? I was the golden poster boy of the light; I had stalkers following me everywhere, even sometimes breaking into my apartment to get at me. I had Dark wizards and witches that attempted multiple times to assassinate me, I was feared by nearly every magical person in the world for my power, and witches wanted to marry me for the gold in my vaults. I woke up at four in the morning every day and immediately apparated to the ministry once I had gotten dressed.

"There I would be assaulted by the press, and then after that I would be assaulted by Umbridge demanding better results – even though she was giving me and my team one eighth of the budget the others had. I would then proceed to get chewed out by various people until midday, at which point I would head out and murder a couple more wizards and witches that were being particularly naughty. I normally got home at one in the morning, after paperwork, getting chewed out a little more, and then taking all the potions I needed to keep me from dying of stress, starvation, sleep deprivation, dehydration, malnutrition, and various poisons that had been in the little food I had eaten that day."

Remus gaped at Harry, but the saviour of the Wizarding world was not yet done. "On top of that I had to attend public functions to keep up the Ministry's image, fight against love potions and charms when my own magic and neutralizing potions could no longer stand up to the barrage, put up with Ron's incessant badgering for me to get him into a higher position, and constantly deny Hermione the knowledge of where I got my power." He looked at Remus and raised an eyebrow. "And you really think that it was unreasonable of me to want to give that all up and live out my life with the one I love? After what I've already done for this world I bloody deserve the option."

He took a large gulp of the amber drink in his hand, and Remus stuttered for a moment. "B-but Hermione asked you about your power under Veritaserum!"

Harry chuckled humourlessly, "Veritaserum? Remus, I don't even need potions to fight off the effects of that, especially after sitting in a cell for four days actually sleeping properly and being free from the normally-constant battery of compulsion charms and love potions."

Remus gaped at him, and Ted finally spoke. "Harry, I know that you didn't do any of the things that you were accused of, and I would have been terribly sorry for the time you spent in Azkaban if you hadn't told us how much you enjoyed it, but I must ask: why did you come back?"

Harry nodded appreciatively at Ted. "Good question. The reason I came back, the reason that Bella came back as well, was because we want a place our children can grow up safely, and be accepted for whoever they are." He smiled, "That is all."

Ted nodded with a smile and raised his whiskey a fraction. "I couldn't think of a better reason myself."

Harry chuckled, and it was at that point that Teddy spoke up. "Mister Harry, why are you having dinner here if you are so famous?"

Harry peered down at the young boy and smiled warmly. "I don't particularly like the fame I have now."

"But you're nice!"

Harry grinned widely and patted Teddy on his head. "Thanks, but other people are afraid of me because I can do things like this." He raised his hand to the sky, and the three men raised their heads to see an incredible sight. Out of one of the lofty clouds in the pristine blue expanse burst into a flurry of colour, before exploding outwards; showering the darkening sky with hundreds of colourful stars that glowed brightly above them.

"COOL!" The three women had been alerted by the loud yell, and followed the young boy's eyes to the sky above, Tonks and Andromeda gasping in amazement, and Bella smiling warmly at Harry.

Once things had settled slightly, Harry turned to Teddy with a sad smile. "I'm glad you like it, only magical people can see it." He sighed. "The thing is Teddy; people have seen me do things far more powerful than that. In my third year as an Auror, I was sent on a solo mission to a cave where most of the remaining Death Eaters were hiding. I sensed the presence of nearly fifty Ministry workers nearby, apparently watching me, but I did as I was told." He lifted his hand once again, and then clenched his fist – causing all of the newly made starts to fly into a singular ball which begun to pulse ominously.

Everyone watched as it pulsed brighter and brighter, save for Bella who was looking sadly at Harry, and Remus's eyes widened when he saw the completely relaxed and unstressed expression on Harry's face. It grew to a crescendo; the ball of light taking up a huge amount of the sky, and pulsing with an almost blinding intensity, and it was then that Harry released his fist. The ball of light exploded outwards, engulfing the entire sky with a blazing white light that decimated any and every cloud in its path – before fading slightly over the rapidly darkening horizon. Teddy slowly turned back to Harry, and the black-haired wizard smiled unhappily. "They saw me do something ten times more powerful than that – now that you've seen me have that kind of power, and know that I can do far, far worse, tell me that you aren't afraid of me."

"I'm not afraid of you." Harry looked down at Teddy in shock, and the teen raised an eyebrow at him. "You show up here, clearly completely and utterly in love with my aunt, then you do something so cool, and you expect me to be afraid?" He laughed. "You wouldn't use that power against me, unless I turned Dark, so I actually feel a fair bit safer than usual."

Remus had just gotten over his shock, and so punctured Harry's amazement with a hard stare. "Harry, why are you really here?"

Harry smiled when he noticed that Tonks and Andromeda were listening intently for his answer, and sat back in his chair with a happy, carefree smile on his face. "Well I came here to see you, Ted, and my new niece, great nephew, and sister-in-law."

Remus spat out his mouthful of whiskey, Tonks fainted, and Andromeda squealed. Harry, on the other hand groaned, instantly regretting spitting it all out at once; tonight was going to be a long night.

A/N: Just thought I'd let you all know that I'm still writing hard, but also to tell you that the Resistance won't really start executing their plans for about thirteen more chapters; till that point I'm establishing relationships, revealing what happened in Azkaban, actually making the resistance, and some other cool stuff. Coincidentally, I'm also writing the biggest chapters I've ever written in my life at the moment: upwards of 6000 words a piece, and one even smashing through 8000!