DISCLAIMER: The framework of the world and many of the characters belong to JKR. No $$$ being made.
A/N: For those who may wonder, The Golden Trio is gone forever. While Ron may become friendly with Harry and Hermione, the dynamic is permanently gone. Too much has happened in all their lives to go back to the ways things were. But I really don't think any of them truly wanted that. Just a sense of peace.
As for Ginny, in this fic she's evil (or at least not very nice) and remains that way. Still haven't decided if she'll make an appearance or not…
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
SATURDAY - JUNE 17, 2006 - NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.
The place Harry led Rose, Daphne and his kids to was a late night Diner for all practical purposes. It was set just off the Atrium. He had eaten here the night before when he arrived from London. The hotel catered to the magical world, but in keeping with its American heritage, provided non-magical amenities. In addition to the televisions, radios and telephones all over the place, there were four places to eat. There was a coffee shop, modeled after the nation wide non-magical Starbucks. There was the restaurant he and Hermione dined in that evening. There was an even fancier French restaurant on the top floor with an outdoor dinning area overlooking Central Park that Harry was thinking about as a place to have a dinner with Hermione, and there was The American Diner, which was a traditional diner. It served simple, yet tasty and well prepared - hand prepared food in large potions.
In Britain, at least until recently, witches and wizards cooked mostly with magic. It was good food, but Harry always felt it lacked something. Harry grew up in a non-magical household. He was kind of a Cinderella, ward of his Aunt and Uncle and treated as a servant. He learned to cook at the age of five. He hated cooking for them, but learned to love cooking. Hand made meals - as the magically crippled called it - was a challenge and allowed for creativity. Magically prepared meals were always the same, flawless and uninspired and unaffected by lack of talent or ability. The American Diner was hand cooked, and from what Harry had tasted last night, wonderful.
During their walk to the Diner, his son pestered him with questions of all sorts. Harry noted that Rose, Daphne and his daughter were silent. He knew they were processing what had just happened and he knew that his son's easy questions would soon give way to the girls' hard ones. Might as well enjoy it while he could.
"Mommy told us all kinds of stories about you, Daddy," little Harry said. "Are they true?"
"I don't know," Harry replied. "What stories?"
"She said you played Quidditch?"
"I did."
"She said you first flew on a broom when you were eleven and made the team - the youngest player in a century the same day."
"True again."
"You like flying on a broom?"
"I do. It's the only form of magical transport I like, Harry."
"Mommy won't buy me a training broom - not until school requires it."
Harry laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"Your Mommy hates flying."
"She flies on airplanes all the time!"
"She hates magical flying. She always has."
"Oh. Mommy said you were a Seeker."
"True."
"And you once caught the snitch in your mouth?"
"My very first match," Harry replied. "I was reaching for it and fell and it just somehow flew the wrong way down my throat. I did not catch it that way on purpose, and I never want to hear that you tried to do that. It was not fun at all, okay?"
"Okay. Mommy says you saved her from a Troll."
"True."
"What happened?"
Harry sighed. "Another boy had said something mean about her and hurt her feelings real bad. She had gone off to cry. I did not know that at the time. I was at dinner and a teacher said a Troll was loose. Your Mommy's friends - that woman earlier - she and her friend had told me your Mommy was off crying because of the mean boy.
"Your Mommy did not know about the Troll, so I went to find her. I saw the Troll and watched it enter a bathroom and decided to lock it in. Problem was, I did not know that was the bathroom where your Mommy had gone to cry. She screamed, I heard it and went in to help. I wasn't alone. My other friend was with me, still… It was one big Troll."
"But you beat the Troll and saved her, right?"
"That's true." And I always will try and save her, he thought.
"Mommy says you once fought a dragon."
"It that what she said?"
"She said once there was this big contest and there were four people in it and you were the youngest by years and years. She said that a part of the contest, each of you had to take on a dragon and you won."
"That's true. Although, take on does not mean fight."
"It doesn't?
"What we had to do was take something that the dragon was guarding, a treasure of sorts."
"Really?"
Harry nodded. "But, what made it worse is we each faced a mommy dragon who was guarding her eggs and the treasure was with the eggs."
"Why's that worse?"
"Mommy dragons with their eggs or babies are really, really mean and scary."
"Why?"
"Because they don't want anything or anyone to hurt their babies and because until the eggs hatch, they can't hunt for food so they're really, really hungry. Speaking of hungry," Harry and the rest had been sitting for a few minutes and he waved for a waiter. Since each of the children wanted something different on their pizza, he ordered a pizza for each of them with whatever they wanted. Rose orders a salad for herself and Harry another cup of coffee.
"So," little Harry continued, "the dragon might try and eat you?"
Harry nodded. "And, there were rules that made it really hard to get the treasure."
"Really?"
"Yep! You were not allowed to hurt the dragon at all. You also were not allowed to hurt any of the eggs. If you did, you got penalties against your score."
"Mommy says you used a broom to fly around and all of a sudden you dove right between the dragon's legs and won!"
"That's true."
"Were you scared?"
"Of course."
"Wow. Mommy also says you rode the dragon."
"Actually, it was another dragon a few years later, but yeah."
"Was it fun?"
"Kind of. Did Mommy tell you she rode the dragon too?"
"She did?" Everyone at the table asked.
Harry nodded. "She never said that," little Harry complained.
"You said these were 'Daddy Stories.' Why would she?"
"Oh. Was she scared?"
"Not of the dragon, but yes she was."
"Why?"
"She hates flying."
"But she always is flying in planes and stuff," little Harry protested!
"Okay, she hates magical flying. She hates brooms, and dragons and hippogriffs and thestrals - at least flying on them."
"She's flown on all of those?"
"Yes."
"Wow!"
"Daddy?" Luna asked after a brief pause. It seemed little Harry was done for now. "Are you married?"
"No, Luna. I was once, but not anymore."
"Why not?"
"My wife and I did not get along at all. So it ended."
"Did you have children?"
"We did not. Obviously I do - you two. But, I also have an adopted son named Teddy."
Luna frowned.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked. "Do you know what adopted is?"
She nodded. "It's when your real Mommy and Daddy don't want you so you go to someone else."
Harry looked at her. "I suppose that is true in some cases, but not with Teddy."
"It's not?"
"No. Teddy's Mum and Dad were a lot older than I was, but they were my friends and they loved Teddy very much."
"Then why?"
"Because, when Teddy was just a little baby, his Mum and Dad died."
"So you became his Daddy?"
"Not right away. I was only seventeen at the time. Bit young to be a Daddy. But I was named his Godfather. And, I knew what it would be like for him."
"You did?"
"Yes, because my Mummy and Daddy died when I was just a baby."
"My Daddy died when I was just a baby," Daphne added. "It makes me sad sometimes. I never got to know him. But Mum and Sissy did, so I know a lot about him. Are you ever sad about your parents?"
"Sometimes," Harry said. "And it was a long time before I met anyone who would tell me about them. That was hard and I knew Teddy would be sad too. When his parents died, his grandmother took care of him and I went to visit him as often as I could. Then, when he was about two years old, his Gran died as well. I took him home and adopted him."
"Is he sad?"
"Sometimes. But mostly not."
"What's he like?"
"He was born April 10th, 1998..."
"Just like me!"
Harry nodded. "He's a little taller than you, Daphne and he's also really smart like you."
"Is he magical?"
"Yes, very."
"What's he look like?"
Harry laughed. "You never know."
"What's that mean?"
"He's a metamorphous. Do you know what that is?"
"Yes. I read about it once. That's someone who can magically change the way they look, right?"
Harry nodded. "His favorite trick is his hair color. He's been able to change that practically from the day he was born. Not long after he came to live with me, he could change into anyone his age. He used to do that at the park across the street from my house in London so I wouldn't find him to put him down for his nap. It took him a while to learn that while he looked like one of the boys - or girls - he was playing with, his abilities could not change his clothes, so I always found him. Want to see a picture of him?"
They nodded. Harry handed them a picture.
"He looks like my brother," Luna exclaimed!
"That's him trying to look like me," Harry laughed. "Here's what he really looks like," he said handing them the other picture.
"He's cute," Daphne said.
"Most girls agree," Harry laughed.
"Wait a minute," little Harry said, "you said he can look like a girl?"
"The face and hair, yes. Although he has not done that in ages."
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why look like a girl?"
"What's wrong with girls?" Luna asked.
"I donno, but…"
"Well," Harry said, "I guess he did that 'cause he figured he's be harder to find."
"Oh."
"You work like Mommy does?" little Harry asked.
"Indeed I do," Harry replied. "In fact that's why I am here. I'm here for almost the same reason she is."
"Really?"
Harry nodded.
"Mommy invents and sells things," Luna added. "Is that what you do, Daddy?"
"No. Your Mommy is here to sell things. I am here to buy things."
"So buying things is your job?"
"No. I'm kind of like a police officer."
"You are?" Little Harry said in awe.
Harry nodded.
"So you catch bad guys?"
Harry nodded.
"Are there bad guys here?"
"Might be, but I'm not here to catch bad guys. Your Mommy and people like her are selling things that might help us catch bad guys and I am here to see what they have. If we can use it, I will buy it."
"That doesn't sound like fun," little Harry moped.
"It's called work, not play."
"Makes sense."
"What is it you really do, Harry?" Rose asked.
"I'm a Chief Inspector and the Deputy Director, Major Crimes and Special Operations Department, Royal British National Magical Police. It used to be called the Auror's office or Dark Wizard catchers, but we reorganized. It's now like the Magical Section of the American F.B.I."
"Deputy Director?"
"Second in Command," Harry said.
"Bit young, you think?"
"The office was all but wiped out during the War. Most of those who survived have either been promoted or retired. I am actually the second most senior Agent in the office. There were a lot of us who joined the government right after the War about my age. We are sometimes called the 'Young Turks' and have promoted far faster than our predecessors."
They were briefly interrupted as the pizza and Rose's salad arrived. It was clear to Harry immediately that the children were hungry as they all began devouring their pizzas as if it were their last meal. Harry smiled. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"How's the pay?" Rose asked.
"What?"
"The pay? Deputy Director must pay well."
Harry recognized this as the Mother protecting her daughter kind of question. What Rose was really asking was can you take care of Hermione and your kids. Although Harry did not know it until after the War, he was wealthy - very wealthy. The Potters were 'old money' and each generation had been smart with it. Harry had made some 'small' investments before he even finished school that had added to the fortune and had managed his financial affairs with aplomb. In the eight years since the war had ended, he had practically doubled his family wealth - although most of his new money was being used to support the Potter Foundation, an educational trust set up by an ancestor centuries ago.
"Honestly, I really don't know."
"You don't know?" Rose asked. It was clear she did not like that answer.
"Nope," Harry replied. "The pay isn't that big a deal, really."
"How…."
"Last year, through investments and rental properties and the like that I own or inherited, I earned about nine million."
"Dollars?"
"Pounds. I've had better years, but I guess I can live with last year."
Harry smiled as Rose's mouth dropped.
"I generally try to live within my paycheck, but I do have a few minor luxuries."
"Such as?"
"Well, my Land Rover for one. Not cheap. But, if it's good enough for Her Majesty… There's my Aston Martin - I do love that little car. Course, it only seats two, so… Teddy thinks it's a blast! Teddy and I live in London, but I have a Manor House near Oxford. I only use it in the summer. Even then, only for a few weeks. I also have a villa in France, although I usually let it out. Minor stuff like that."
"Minor?"
"When I was a boy, I had next to nothing really. All my family's property was in trust and such. My guardians treated me like a servant. For years I hated them. But that changed. I did learn the value of hard work from them - albeit grudgingly - and learned to be frugal as well. So when I finally took over my family's estate, being comfortable was not something I thought much about, really. I appreciate the value of one pound, but cannot fathom fifty million or so. To me it's make believe - or it would be if I had not also taken over the Family Foundation. My family has been well off for almost a thousand years, I learned. For most of that time they have funded various charities, sometimes alone. Your daughter, Rose, she went to Hogwarts thanks to one of my family foundations."
"We paid for Hogwarts," Rose started.
"You paid what you could afford. When I learned of the educational foundation I admit I checked. The tuition prescribed by the Board of Governors for Hogwarts for a child such as Hermione - one of non-magical birth - was ten times what you paid. At that time there was an institutional prejudice against her. Not from the Headmaster or the faculty, but from those who truly ran the school. Money talks even for bigots."
"So, you paid for…"
"I had no clue about any of this at the time. Professor Dumbledore was the guardian of my estate and held a power of attorney over my family's financial affairs and my proxy as head of our foundations. I only learned about it after the War."
"And you continue to do this?"
"And more. I learned of all of this right about the time I became an Auror, barely a week after the War ended. The office was augmented by people from the American F.B.I., the Canadian Mounties, the Australian National Police. Many of them brought families and they all came from countries where magical education began at age five, not eleven and did not end at age seventeen or eighteen. I opened a school in London about a block from my house based upon the American System of Magical Primary Education. The first students started that fall. It was a lot of work, but…
"We started with a Kindergarten and what they call here the first three grades. In addition to the foreign students, we found most all of the - well children like Hermione - in the greater London area and most of them attended as well. A handful of magical families started sending their children not long afterwards.
"When they came of Hogwarts age, they were already at least three years ahead of most students. We set up a pilot secondary school program at Hogwarts based again on the American System, but tailored to the British system. Our students took their O.W.L.s after their Fourth Year - the first class being a year ago - and embarrassed the entire British Magical Educational System. Our worst student was have been in the top five percent of all the others. They took their G.S.C.E.'s this spring. I got the results just before this trip. They are all well above the national average."
"What about college?" Rose asked.
"For now, the Foundation will pay to send those student to college who want to go. If they want a magical degree they will come to the States, most likely. Otherwise wherever they want. But by the time Teddy and Daphne reach that age, I am hoping to have a University open in Britain."
"Goodness! Why are you doing this?"
"In part because I can. Mostly because I see a long term benefit. My goal is to put someone like me on unemployment - as it were. I and those like me can't change the attitudes of our parent's generation all that much. We cannot even do that with our own. But the children? They are the future and if they are taught right, then what happened years ago might never happen again."
"You know Harry, Janie always told her father and me how she admired you. She admired you for your idealism and how you saw a world that could be. In my day people like you were called radicals and revolutionaries…"
"That has not changed…"
Rose nodded. "But most tilt at windmills or watch their dreams wither under the harsh light of reality, yet you?"
"Most lack the financial wherewithal to do something. That's not my problem."
"Harry why are you really doing this? You're placing your family's fortune at risk and…"
"Um … Janie told you what we did during the War?"
"Most of it, I think."
"And you know about me and such?" Harry noticed that Daphne was all but staring at him.
Rose nodded.
"As you know, Janie went back to school after the War. I did not. I thought that the end of the War would change things. It did not. The same problems and prejudices existed. We rounded up the enemy, but they were but the symptom that gave rise to the illness. The underlying cause was the system itself.
"I never wanted to be a part of that War. Never. I was dragged in, along with all of my friends and just about everyone else, kicking and screaming. What child deserves that? I was seventeen when the War ended and had been fighting for almost six years. Is that a way to grow up?
"I killed the first time I can remember when I was eleven. No child should ever have to do that. Fortunately, I don't remember that all that well, but I know I did it. I, like many others, were soldiers in that War and … well … we could be remembered for that. That's not a legacy I desired at all.
"Janie went back to school. I went into the Auror's Office and soon realized that the system and society that made that damned War possible had not changed a bit. I, and many like me - the Young Turks - began meeting. We began talking. We decided to change everything to make sure something like that - something that sent you to Australia - would never happen again. In our numbers were people who had been on the other side and seen and hated what they had been asked to become.
"The Minister for Magic - a friend of mine - got wind of our … um … revolutionary zeal and asked us to make recommendations for reform. You ever study American History, Rose?"
"Yes."
"The Constitutional Convention?"
"Yes."
"That's what we became. Before the Charter we wrote was enacted, the government had not evolved much at all. The Ministry controlled the Wizengamot for the most part, which means the Minister was all but a dictator. The Wizengamot was both the legislature and the judiciary and one was born into it. You only got in if you were the heir from one of the original 600 wizarding Clans from the original Briton Council of Warlocks formed in the eight Century - even before Hogwarts was founded. Clan lines have died out over the centuries and other lines have been disenfranchised. My family is from one of the original Clans and I am the heir. Originally, my House would have had one vote. When I first appeared in Chambers, I held 107 votes plus 78 that were willed to me by my Godfather. It turned out, there were other Clan heirs in the Young Turks. Between us, we controlled a majority of all the votes. Enough to change everything - which we set upon doing.
"We wrote the Charter. It was based largely on the Constitution of the United States and the constitutional structure of Great Britain. It called for three separate but equal branches of government. The Minister would be elected based upon a majority of votes from the Legislature. The Legislature would be elected by the people over whom they governed. The judiciary would be appointed, provided they were qualified at law and approved by a majority of the Legislature. There was a Bill of Rights, written by a son of a former Death Eater that states that all humans - regardless of magical ability or heritage - are equal under the law.
"On December 26th, 2002, in special session, the Charter was sent to the Wizengamot for consideration. Since we Young Turks controlled a majority of the votes, debate was prevented. It passed and became the governing law of magical Britain in fifteen minutes. The Minister, confirmed for term as the transitional leader, then sent the lot of us off to America for two years. In part, he did this to keep us out of the firestorm we had created. In part, he did this so that when we came back we had other ideas as to how to improve the country.
"It is that and the education. That's what I want to be remembered for in the end."
"Does Janie know this?" Rose asked.
"Bits. Unless she knows from other sources, only bits. Rose, I haven't seen or heard from her in years. We both wanted to - to see and hear from each other. Until this morning - while I believed she was safe, happy and alive - for all I really knew she was dead. She could probably have said the same thing about me. We've spent most of the day talking about other things - us mainly. She told me about these wonderful children and that's been my main thing since."
"She'll be so proud of you, Harry."
Harry nodded. "I did what I did in her memory, Rose. I did it for her and for everyone like her. I did it because it was the right thing to do with my life, my memories and my fortune. I'd say, in a way, I did it also for Daphne, Harry and Luna even though until today I did not know of them, as they and the children like them are the future I and the rest of us did it for."
"Daddy?" Luna asked.
"Yes, Dear?" Harry replied.
"Do - do you love Teddy?"
"Of course."
"Why?"
"Because he's my son."
"But he wasn't always that, right? You adopted him. How can you love him then?"
Ouch! Harry thought. She's a smart one! Just like Teddy. Smart means difficult questions.
"For many of the same reasons your Mum loves you and your Gran loves your Mum and Daphne. You need us grown ups and you make us feel happy by needing us in the strangest of ways - especially as babies.
"One day, I hope, you will truly understand. When a baby smiles at you and needs you, that is special. When all you want is to see that baby and to be sure he or she is happy, that is special. Long before I adopted Teddy, he was special to me. He always smiled when he saw me and I could not help but smile back. Even before his Gran died, I was his father. One day, and I remember it like yesterday as I am sure your Gran does about your Mommy and Daphne and your Mommy does about you and Harry, one day you said your first word. Fair bet, it was Mama - or something like that. For Teddy it was Harry. One day, you'll have that and it will melt your heart. You cannot not love that child. So yes, I do love him.
"But do you love me, Daddy?"
Harry saw that one coming. The answer was a resounding yes, but would she believe a yes?
"Your Mum first told me about you and Harry just after breakfast this morning. She showed me a picture of you two. Do you know what I did?
"No."
"I cried."
"Why?"
"Because I missed so much. I never knew my parents, and I miss them. I did not know about you, but when I learned, I missed you so much. I missed your first smile, your first laugh, your first tooth, your first words, your first steps. I wanted to have been there for all of those things. I missed holding you when you hurt or were sick or had a bad dream. I missed taking you to your first baseball game or seeing you first go to school. I missed all of that. You are my daughter, Luna. I wished I had known. I really do. I wish I could have been your Daddy long before today."
Harry sighed.
"Your Mum chose to have you and Harry as her children. She wanted to tell me, but she could not. Would I have chosen to have you too? Yes! Most certainly. I chose to have Teddy become my son. I would have done that even if I had known about you and Harry. Does that mean I love him or would have loved him more than you? No. It does not. You are my daughter, Luna. Harry is my son. Teddy is my son. You are my children and I have always loved you, even before I knew you were mine. I love you and always will."
"Good answer," Rose whispered.
"Did you love Mommy?" Luna asked.
"Yes. I have loved her for a long, long time."
"Then why didn't you marry her? Why did you marry someone else?"
Harry sighed. Honesty always works, he thought.
"Your Mommy and I met when I was eleven years old. She was the first real friend I ever had in my life. I now know that I was in love with her certainly since I was twelve. But, twelve year old boys don't fall in love, so I thought it was just that she was my special friend. She was always there for me, always trying to keep me safe and happy and I was always there for her too. We had our differences, but always when we were trying to help each other. We were there for each other always. And always, I thought, what I felt for her was because I was a friend. If she was hurt, so was I. If she was sad, so was I. If she was happy, so was I. I thought that was being a friend.
"It was not until later, until your Mommy and I lost each other, that I really figured it all out. I had other friends, but not like your Mommy. I had a girlfriend - later a wife - but it was never like being with your Mommy. Deep down, I knew. I knew I loved her more than anything. But I was afraid of that. Terrified. Dragons, trolls, evil wizards trying to kill me were scary, but not nearly as scary as your Mommy could have been.
"What do you mean, Daddy?"
"What if she did not feel the same way about me? What if she only just liked me? I was afraid that she did not feel the same way about me as I did about her. I was far less worried about being eaten by a dragon than I was about her breaking my heart, for I now know your Mommy is the only one on earth who can do that and I'd rather be her friend than have had her break my heart."
"Do you still love her?"
"When I saw her this morning, for the first time since well before you were born, I knew that I did and I walked over to her table, said hello and told her so."
"Does she love you?"
"What do you think, Luna?"
"I think she does. You?"
Harry nodded.
"Are you going to marry her? I hope you do."
"We'll see. There are many things between now and then." Harry looked at Rose and she understood. It was more than just a "we'll see," it was an if at all possible. She smiled at Harry. You had better, she thought.
"Yuck," little Harry said, looking up from his mostly eaten pepperoni pizza. "Lovey dovey girly talk!"
"Perhaps," Harry replied. "But maybe one day, you'll think otherwise."
"Gross! Never!"
"Boys," Daphne exclaimed!
"Why - how - how can you talk about such stuff, Daddy," Harry asked in total confusion?
"My parents died, remember. I was only a baby. I was sent to live with relatives who did not love me. Your Mum was the first who did. Before your Mum became my friend, I did not know what love was at all in any form. Your Mum and Gran love you and always have. I was a lot older than you before anyone did the same for me. So yeah, it's yucky. But it's not as yucky if you never had it before, Harry."
"I guess."
"And someday, if it is the right girl, it'll stop being yucky."
"As if!"
"Fine. Teddy is the same way - for now."
"Lovey-dovey is yucky," little Harry insisted. "And I want to know about Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter," Harry asked?
"Yeah, Mommy says she knew him once upon a time."
Harry heard a gasp and looked and saw Daphne had placed a hand over her mouth as if she had just said a bad word or something. The expression on her face reminded Harry of a much younger Hermione when she had just figured out something that had been vexing her for ages. Daphne had figured out who he really was, just as she had figured out that he was Luna and Harry's father. He smiled at her and winked and saw Daphne smile back through her eyes as she refused to move her hand. The expression was priceless, Harry thought. Daphne was in on the joke, as it were.
"I guess you could say that," Harry said. He heard a squeak from Daphne.
"So did you?"
"Did I what?" Harry asked back.
"Did you know Harry Potter?"
"We were in school together, so yeah. I guess you could say that."
"Was he as cool as he sounds?"
Harry thought about this for a moment. Part of him wanted to see if he could get Daphne to blurt it out. Part of him, though, wanted to make sure his son knew that being Harry Potter was anything but cool. How to do both. He thought about it. What bitter irony, he thought. Tell them about Harry Potter from another point of view, he thought. That of someone who was never amazed by his fame - and later became a friend because he saw Harry for Harry. Given them his friend Draco!
"Scarhead? Some did," Harry said with mock disdain.
"Scarhead?"
"That's what I called him," Harry replied. He again winked at Daphne to let her know he was teasing little Harry.
"You didn't think he was cool?"
"What's cool about being nutter bait? Dark wizards trying to kill you from the day you were born? Nothing cool about that. I wanted nothing to do with that nonsense."
"But - but he was so brave."
"You would be too, if a third of all the world wanted you dead and you didn't want to die. Nothing fun about that."
"But he's famous! That's got to be cool!"
"Does it? Look, Harry! I don't claim to be Potty's best Mate or nothing, but I do know him. He hated and hates being famous!"
"Why?"
"Do you want to be famous?"
"Yeah!"
"You have no idea then. Potty knows. Being famous sucks!"
"But everybody knows you…"
"Few if anyone does. Scarhead knows! He was famous his whole life. He never liked it. He could never truly tell if someone was really a friend - well, there was an exception - his only real friend was Hermione. But everyone else? He never knew. His worst enemy at school - Draco Malfoy was one of two people who saw him as he really was and not for his fame. Draco hated him because Potty was famous. Draco respected him because he knew Potty hated being famous. Hermione loved him because he was a decent person, but she hated his fame. The others?"
"You don't like Harry Potter, Daddy?"
"Not the famous one, no. Never have. The Harry Potter I liked you might never have read about. That Potter would have been happy if no one knew his name, except his friends."
"Why? What's wrong with being famous?"
"For Harry Potter, two things. The first applies to anyone who is famous. Say I was famous, okay?"
He heard squeaks from Daphne and Rose, but it seemed Harry and Luna did not notice.
"I would ask you, do you like me?"
"Yeah!"
"Harry. Be honest. I am not famous, am I?"
"No. Not that I know of."
"Do you like me?"
"Yeah! You're cool, Daddy."
"Luna?"
"I do. You're a good person."
"Thank you. I try to be. But if I was famous, I might not believe you."
"Why Daddy?" Luna asked.
"Because lot's of people want you to think their your friend if you are famous. Lot's of people say they like you when in truth all they like is that you are famous and they can say they know you.
"Do you want a friend who likes you because of who you are as a person? Or a person who says they are your friend because of what you are - a famous person?"
"I'd want a friend," little Harry said. "Not someone like that."
"So did Potty. He had a few, but not many. He had an enemy at school too - Draco Malfoy. Draco hated Potty because he was famous, but he respected Harry Potter for hating to be famous. Later in life, they became friends - not best of friends, but friends. Many others have claim Harry Potter as a friend, but all they wanted was to be part of his fame and not part of his life. He hates that.
"Still, he did amazing things," Harry protested!
"Not by his own choice. Things were forced upon him. Let's say it was you. You are playing tee-ball and the coach tells you you now have to take your bat and kill six dragons or else everyone you know will die. Would you be happy about that?"
"N-no." little Harry answered. "Is that what happened?"
"Something like that - but not that. Potter had to kill the most powerful wizard in the world, the wizard that killed his parents when he was just a baby, the wizard that made him famous before he could even talk. Everyone knew that - he knew that and he hated it. He hated being famous and he hated why.
"You see? Potter was famous not for killing that wizard - which he did and which he hates being famous for - he was famous when he was a baby and he hated why. That evil wizard killed his parents. It made him an orphan. And, what's worse, they died to save him because that evil wizard did not want to kill his parents, he came to kill the baby Harry Potter. That evil wizard killed Potty's parents and then tried to kill Potty. Somehow, and no one really knows how or why, Potty stopped him. Potty was just a baby and he beat the most terrifying wizard in the world without knowing a speck of magic. He was famous all his life, almost. But not for a good reason.
"There's nothing fun about being famous. Throw on it being famous for killing, it's worse. And being famous for something that happened when you were a baby - worse again. Harry Potter has done some things since the war that he should be famous for. But no one sees past his fame for death and destruction. Harry would love it if he had never been famous.
"He married, you know. He thought she loved him. She only loved what he was, not who he was. What he was was famous. Only Hermione, his great friend - and Malfoy, his worst enemy in school - really knew who he was. He lost Hermione. He became friends with Draco. To this day, Harry Potter would rather be unknown rather than famous. If he had kids, Harry Potter would tell them to do great things, but to do their best at never becoming famous like he was."
"You don't like Harry Potter, Daddy?" Little Harry asked.
"Not the famous one and neither does your Mum."
"Oh," little Harry replied disappointed.
"We do like the real Harry Potter, though. The one who is not and does not wish to be famous."
"What happened to Hermione?" Luna asked.
"No one really knows, not even her best friend Harry Potter. A lot of people like Hermione left Britain during and after the War and has never come back."
"Like Mommy?"
Harry nodded. "Hermione was a witch from a family without a magical heritage," Harry said. "The war was hard on everyone, but particularly hard on people like Hermione."
"And Mommy," Luna added.
"And your Mommy, I suppose. Most of us who lived found we pretty much had to start over and rebuild our lives. I guess for many, like Hermione, that was too hard. It would be easier to do it somewhere else, like here in America, far from the memories and reminders of that War."
"Mommy came here because Gran did," Luna said.
Harry nodded.
"And because she could go to college here."
"Everybody who left had their reasons, Luna."
"Did Hermione leave right away?"
"No. She missed her last year of school because of the War. So she went back and finished school. We think she left right after she finished."
"What do you think happened to her, Daddy?"
"Well, first of all, I don't think she left because of the War. Not really. If that was the reason, she probably would have finished school somewhere else. No. I think she left because of a broken heart."
"You do?"
"Yes. While she was in school after the War, the whole magical world learned that Harry Potter was getting married to another girl. Deep down, I like to think that Hermione really loved Harry and really hoped she might one day marry her best friend. When she learned that was not to be the case, I think she thought there was nothing left for her in Britain."
"That's sad, Daddy."
Harry nodded. "It is a sad story. But I always like to think even a sad story will one day have a happy ending. I like to think Hermione found what she was looking for, that she has a family she loves and a nice home where she can live our her life in peace."
"Do we have to talk about love again," little Harry said. "It's icky!"
"It is not," Luna said!
"Boys Harry's age think it is," Harry said. "But Harry, you are outnumbered here and girls do like those kinds of stories."
"What happened to Harry Potter, Daddy?" Little Harry asked.
"After the War, he became a dark wizard catcher. He works in my office in London."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Is that why you call him Scarhead?"
"It's his code name, although he does not like it much. He got it when he was at school and it stuck. His nickname is Sparks, which only his really good friends can use."
"Oh. What's your name, Daddy?"
Harry heard Rose and Daphne suppress a giggle.
"Dufus," Daphne finally said.
"What," little Harry complained?
"Who were you named after?"
"Oh yeah. I was named after Daddy so he's Harry too, right?"
"That's right," Harry said.
"Is your middle name Robert? Mine is. It was Grandpa's name."
"No. My middle name is James after my Daddy."
"Oh. Are you a Granger too?"
"No."
"What's your last name?"
Harry smiled. "Potter."
Daphne burst out laughing. Little Harry and Luna stared at Harry in surprise.
"You're Harry Potter?" Luna asked in amazement!
"I am," Harry replied.
"The Harry Potter? The Harry Potter we read about in books?"
"I wouldn't believe everything you read in books, Luna. But yes. I am in a lot of books."
"And Mommy was your best friend in the whole wide world?"
"Yes, she most certainly was - and is for that matter."
"But that means that Mommy is…"
"Hermione," little Harry finished in shock!
"She is," Harry replied. Little Harry then jumped from his seat and ran off in the direction of his mother. Harry could not help but chuckle.
"I am impressed, Harry," Rose said.
"Really? About what?"
"It took you well over an hour and a half to get to that point and you've been talking the whole time."
"Still, it would have been fun if I could have avoided it a little longer," Harry chuckled.
"Well," Daphne said, "I knew much earlier."
"I know you did, Daphne," Harry replied with a wink. "Sissy told me you were really smart."