Thank Merlin, Morgana and every god Harry knew – Dumbledore didn't lose! He won as spectacularly as the first time around, "The Greatest Duel of All Time!", the Sunday morning paper read as an excited buzz filled the Great Hall. There was a celebratory feast that evening with Headmaster Dippet's solemn opening speech and everything – Hogsmeade, too, flashed with fireworks once or twice.

Harry's shoulders slumped in relief the moment he saw the headline, practically feeling the large boulder of suspense rolling off them. He floated through the rest of the day in an elated daze.

The professor returned to Hogwarts for the next morning's breakfast to an enthusiastic applause from the student body. He looked tired, but lighter, finally rid of the burden of the last Merlin-knows-how-many years. When his eyes found Harry in the crowd, he gave the young wizard a grateful smile.

It didn't occur to Harry until much later that his unintentional, risky intervention probably saved the wizarding world three of the most turbulent months of the Global War – he didn't know the details, but there must have been a drastic event that had finally roused Dumbledore to action in the original timeline. This time, it seemed Harry's rashness had saved a number of lives.

…And a number of complications for Custodarium, as it turned out. They got the leave to go watch the legislative assembly on Saturday. Dumbledore opened the issue with a very supportive speech; no one wanted to get on his bad side now that he was almost universally worshipped by the public, so the bill was passed with an overwhelming majority.

News of the event were printed in the Daily Prophet, but they faded into the background of all the war repercussions, Acolyte hunts, re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Germany and Austria,…

It was high time for a bit of peace, too – with two months remaining until their N.E.W.T.s, Harry and Tom were glad they could finally concentrate on the preparations… Well, as glad as teenagers could be to study.

The exam drill had been interrupted only by a (victorious) Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, and before they knew it, the first weeks of exams was around the corner.

Harry hadn't found it odd to be so calm during his O.W.L.s last year, he'd already sat his them once, but he found himself similarly lacking in nervousness this year as well – perhaps because he didn't have to worry about not being accepted into the Aurors, although he still wanted to get good results since they were under the constant scrutiny of the public eye, judging whether they would be good role-models for the children entrusted to them.

It just all felt so… unimportant. Harry supposed war does that to a person, sorts your priorities – as long as you're alive and well, you can always figure something out.

Tom was actually a bit nervous, not that anyone but Harry could tell. Then again, he had far more appearances to keep; Harry had been a good student ever since he came to Hogwarts in September 1943, but he never strove for impeccability. Tom, on the other hand, had been all Outstandings, had everyone looking up to him and a prestigious job offer to boot – that was a lot of pressure even for a cool head like his.

They somehow made it through the Nastily Exhausting two weeks with their sanity intact. It was a strange feeling to finally graduate, two years later than Harry should have. He was sad to leave Hogwarts behind, but he felt ripe – at last he had a future he was looking forward to.

There still were some classes for seventh years while they waited for the results of their exams, but they mostly consisted of useful tips for their adult lives or introductions to more advanced, academic fields of expertise. As promised, Tom dealt with the basilisk that week, harvesting the hide and using the Cloak of Invisibility to smuggle it out of the castle in pieces.

The results arrived on the third June Wednesday; unsurprisingly, Tom got Os in all seven of his subjects: Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defence, Ancient Runes, Herbology and Arithmancy. Harry got Os in Defence, Charms and Transfiguration, Es in Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Potions.

All that was left to do was to get on the boat – literally.

Forty-eight figures in black robes and hats boarded the boats they'd arrived in seven years ago (well, nine years ago for some) and, to the cheers of their younger classmates, set sail for the other side of the Black Lake. Hogwarts wasn't a dark silhouette like the first time around – it was shining in the warm afternoon sun like a proud mother waving them goodbye.

Harry clutched Tom's hand the whole ride.

͛

Tom stepped out of the fireplace and proceeded to the entrance hall. As soon as he closed the door of the Floo room, he nearly had his breath knocked out of him by the force of Harry's body.

"So? How'd it go?" he asked excitedly, holding his lover in a tight embrace.

"Good," Tom beamed. "You're officially speaking with an Unspeakable."

Harry released his hold and beamed right back. "Wicked! What will you be researching?"

"Whatever they need me to at the moment; a bit of everything. Once I prove myself, I should be able to conduct my own research and have access to the more obscure areas of the Department of Mysteries."

"Oh, what do you want to research, then?"

Tom snaked a hand into Harry's black locks and played with them casually. "…Time; to find out what gave you to me. Minds; to understand how people function. Universe; because it sounds cool," he finished, causing Harry to snicker. "How was the interpreting?"

"Brilliant! I mean, Runespoors are creepy, but you should have seen Hagrid's face! He looked like he would pass out when Mr. Scamander said he could feed the Swooping Evil!"

"Don't they eat brains?"

Harry shivered in Tom's arms. "Ugh, don't remind me… Hey, wanna see the Augurey chicks? Mr. Scamander named them Rosie and Daisy, they're really cute!"

Since Tom would mostly be inventing and creating gadgets for a while, he wouldn't need to spend much time at the Ministry, but he would have to build himself the cave workshop – that wasn't a negative point, he'd been looking forward to it.

Staffa was blooming, both figuratively and literally. There were twelve houses in various stages of completion, four already inhabited, and a charming sea-viewing spot reserved for the Pebblestones until Clarence and Claire saved enough money to build a house there.

Tom had spend the last weeks researching Muggle-Repelling Charms and illusions – his next step towards the perfect wizarding oasis. How best to hide an island of thirty acres? He'd considered the Fidelius Charm, since he was already familiar with it – it would be the perfect protection against Muggles, but it would complicate the access for witches and wizards too much.

Illusion it was, then. He'd look into space alterations later to hide the island the same way Diagon Alley was hidden; the magic was too complex for him to cast haphazardly and Staffa needed protection now – an illusion of an unwelcoming piece of rock and a strong Muggle-Repelling Charm would have to do.

Custodarium currently housed Sarah and two other Hogwarts-aged minors who had decided to join her, a twelve-year-old orphan called Perseus Cattermole, and a fifteen-year-old Muggle-born witch called Mary Hazelton, who chose their care over her abusive father's.

Their first Ministry-assigned orphan arrived the second week of July: Nona McBean, a baby girl of only two years. As expected, the Minister made it into a media event, delivering the toddler to their doorstep himself with a Daily Prophet photographer in tow (not that Tom hated the positive press).

Harry looked nervous about the whole deal, maintaining a stiff smile all the while until the delegation left. Then he tentatively crouched by baby's carrier basket.

"Um, hi?" he said softly.

The two studied each other curiously for a few moments before the girl reached up and grabbed Harry's nose, letting out a triumphant squeal. Tom watched the scene with amusement; he found it strangely adorable.

"Oi, I'm gonna steal your nose if you steal mine!" Harry mock-pouted and made good on his threat by doing that silly "I've got your nose!" thing. Nona laughed out, then something behind Harry's shoulder caught her attention and she reached out excitedly. Harry obediently picked her up and walked over to the object of her fascination.

"The cleaning broom's that interesting, eh? Wait 'till you see all the wicked toys that are waiting for you upstairs." He watched patiently as her little fingers sifted though the bristles.

Tom stepped closed and ran his palm down Harry's back and resting on his hip.

"You're good at this," he whispered.

Harry chuckled, "Holding a baby's not rocket science… See for yourself."

"Rocket wha-"

Before Tom could protest, he had his hands full of the tiny human… who didn't seem to mind as long as she could continue exploring the broom.

It was bizarre. This little thing in his arms, barely more than a helpless animal, would turn into a real, full-grown person… under his care, no less.

"She's… soft," he observed. The toddler trained her big blue eyes on the source of the unfamiliar voice. Her brows furrowed and Tom felt something dangerously close to panic rise in his stomach. He shot Harry an alarmed look.

Harry was still smiling widely. "You're doing fine, just talk to her."

"…Hello, Beanie," he said, feeling decidedly silly, but the girl tilted her head curiously, so he kept on, "Welcome to Custodarium, it's this really cool place with lots of cool toys. That's Harry, and I'm Tom, we'll be your…" caretakers? "dads while you stay here."

Harry let out a surprised laugh, and Tom felt his face heat up for the first time in years. "Beanie" continued to watch them with interest.

"Gosh, you're so cute! Did you just call her- did you just call us-"

Embarrassed, Tom did the only thing he knew was guaranteed to shut Harry up, and conveniently thrust the baby back to his arms as he kissed him.

Harry, still grinning, turned to her. "Well, come on, Beanie, let's introduce you to the rest of the family."

xXx

The basilisk hide sold for so much they wouldn't have to worry about operation expenses, or any expenses at all, for years. Tom insisted on getting a couple of House-elves, and Harry begrudgingly admitted that they were one more toddler away from not not being able to keep up with the chores and the older kids. (Sorry, Hermione.)

That's how Panpy (male), Mimmy and Kipsy (females) found themselves in Custodarium – to them, a whole different planet. Harry welcomed them warmly, showed the wide-eyed threesome around the house and to their room in the attic, complete with neat, elf-sized beds and "scraps" of fabric (actually just fabric for them to make clothes from, since he couldn't give them any the normal way). He asked them about their past duties and if they had any particular chores they liked to do, ordered them to rest whenever they needed to and instructed them to use as much magic as they liked to complete their tasks.

They reminded him of Dobby and Winky – damn, he'd have to find a way to trick the Malfoys out of their elf one of these days. Not right now, though, Dobby probably wasn't even born yet, and Harry had his hands full with more immediate matters.

In early August, the news of the horrors which took place in Hiroshima and Nagasaki reached the Daily Prophet, the atomic cloud in the magical photo captured more clear and ominous than Harry had ever seen it on Muggle TV.

Why oh why had he not remembered the dates? Could he have done anything to prevent the atomic bombing? Would he even have been right to prevent it? He squeezed his eyes shut, took a sip of his strong tea and desperately tried to chase the thoughts away.

When he relayed his worries to Tom that evening, the younger wizard assured him none of those lost lives would be in vain. Effects on the Muggle world aside, Tom used the event to write a very pacifistic statement for the Daily Prophet – he wanted to get an International Portkey and visit the bombing sites himself to add credibility to his words, but Harry (possibly having the best understanding of how radioactivity worked and affected the human body of all the people in the current world) quickly talked him out of it.

The statement was printed two days later alongside other reactions of prominent witches and wizards:

We are deeply saddened by the recent tragedies in Japan, and the Muggle World War in general. Let this be a wake-up call to our whole community: Muggles are not to be taken lightly or ridiculed, both in their suffering and their power. We cannot, and should not, aspire to confront them at this point, nor should we hold them in contempt.

Instead, let us learn from their mistakes and successes, keep up with them, hoping the day will come when both of our worlds are ready to reunite in peace. Our hearts go to the victims, magical and non-magical alike, and while we admittedly cannot help the latter, our doors are always open to those in need.

– Tom M. Riddle and Harry Potter, Custodarium representatives