The next time Harry opened his eyes, all he saw was white. White ceilings, white walls, white curtains. Even the floor was white. The next color he saw was red, although that was mostly red hair. Sitting around him in a circle were at least three people with red hair. Harry would have properly identified them but without his glasses, he was practically blind.
"Where am I?" Harry asked, his voice thick from a lack of use.
"St. Mungo's," came the unmistakable reply of Arthur Weasley. "You've been here for ten days."
Ten days? What the hell happened that he had been here ten days? Harry had no sooner asked that question in his mind when all of the memories of his last conscious moments came rushing back to him all at once. He had been attacked by Legion.
"Teddy!?" Harry shouted as he tried to sit up, only to find that motion caused excruciating pain.
"Rest, dear," Molly replied on Harry's right as Harry slowly slid back onto his pillow.
"What the hell happened to me?"
"Well, mate, you decided to go one on one with a god," George replied from somewhere down towards his feet. "Didn't go so well for you."
"Teddy is fine, by the way."
That voice was not one that Harry immediately recognized. Harry looked around and saw a bedside table to his right. Feeling around, he managed to find his glasses. When he looked up, he saw Arthur and Molly on his right, Bill, Ginny and George on his left.
Standing at the end of his bed was none other than Cho Davies, formerly Cho Chang, dressed in the typical attire of a St. Mungo's Healer.
"Cho?" Harry wheezed out, the effort of having leaned over nearly causing him to pass out.
"Technically it is supposed to be Healer Davies, but I suppose I can grant you a pass," Cho replied.
"Have you been-"
"I have been the Healer in charge of your case for the last week and a half, yes," Cho replied, easily anticipating his question. "As I said, Teddy is here and he is fine."
"Why is he still here?"
Cho opened her mouth to answer before closing it once more. Harry looked around the room and saw that no one wanted to make eye contact with him.
"What? What is it? What's the matter with him?" Harry said in a panic.
"Nothing is wrong with him," Arthur assured him. "He needed to be kept for observation until his magic had replenished itself."
"Did it?"
"His magic is just fine," Arthur replied. "Thankfully, he's young and so his magic restores itself very quickly. According to Healer Davies, his levels evened out a couple of days ago."
"Then why is he still here?" Harry questioned.
Again, no one would answer him. In fact, everyone seemed to find a place to look other than towards Harry. Why were they all acting so strangely? Clearly something out of the ordinary was going on. What was it?
It was right about then that Harry remembered that not only had Legion attacked Harry and Teddy, but he had outright killed Andromeda Tonks, Teddy's grandmother.
And legal guardian.
Teddy didn't have a guardian.
That's when he realized why they were being so strange. Teddy did, in fact, have a legal guardian.
It was Harry. That's why Teddy was still at St. Mungo's. Until Harry awoke, no one was able to do anything with him.
"Merlin…" Harry muttered to himself as he tried to come to grips with the fact that he was now Teddy's sole protector in the world. Certainly others would help, but when it came down to it, Harry was the only family he had left in this world.
"Once we get you healed up, we can take you to see him," Cho said, filling the awkward silence left by everyone else in the room.
Harry barely heard her. All he could think about were the pieces of Andromeda that they had found, pieces that Teddy watched get removed from his grandmother, one by one. Andromeda had been a great support for Harry over the years, someone who wasn't quite in his inner circle, but was arguably as close to Harry as anyone.
Now, she was gone and the little boy who blamed him for his parents' deaths, and whose grandmother's death could also easily be placed at Harry's feet, was Harry's responsibility.
If Harry was honest with him, children hadn't really been a thing he had ever been considering for himself. While he wasn't against the idea entirely, he had never put himself in a position where having children seemed like an option.
Now, Teddy was his.
"Harry?" Cho said quietly. It was clear based on her tone of voice that she had said his name more than once.
"Ah, yeah, sorry. Just...I don't know. Thinking, I guess."
"We all understand," Cho replied. "Now, before you can go see him, I have to heal you."
"Yeah, speaking of that," Harry said, eager to change the subject, "why haven't I been healed yet?"
Cho smiled at Harry, but he could tell that she was frustrated with the question. More than likely, the Weasleys had been asking a similar question for nearly two weeks now.
"As I told you friends here, when you were brought in, your body had almost entirely shut down. The amount of damage that you sustained, both internally and externally, was incredible. If you weren't a magical being, you would have most assuredly died."
"Instead, your body absorbed most of your magic so that you could stay alive. Once I saw how much damage had been done, I started running scans on your magical levels. Unfortunately, they were too low for us to do anything. Then, you slipped into a coma. At that point, it gets very dangerous to try and do any healing magic, because we can't be certain how your body will take to it."
"Long and short, we needed to wait for your magic to return and for you to wake up. Now that both of those things have happened, it shouldn't take more than an hour or two to get you back to normal."
"Great," Harry replied as Cho turned away to start prepping for the spellwork needed to cure Harry. At the same time, Arthur replaced Molly in the seat directly next to Harry.
"We'll help with Teddy anyway we can," Arthur said softly. "We know that right now is not the best time for this."
"I can't imagine losing a grandmother, especially one who was your parent, is good at any time."
"I meant for you."
"I honestly don't care about that," Harry replied. "That kid's been through hell. What might be an inconvenience to me doesn't really matter at this point."
"Well, like I said, Molly and I will help however we can, especially until this whole thing is over," Arthur said before leaning in further so that no one else would overhear them. "By the way, you've been officially cleared in your cousin's murder."
That was not the news that Harry was expecting.
"How?"
"Six Aurors saw Legion wearing Andromeda's face after they had already confirmed that she had been killed. The news got out about Legion about a day later."
"I'm sure that went over well."
"We've done a good job of managing the panic that people are feeling," Arthur sighed. "The one thing that we have not been able to manage is your reputation. You might not have killed your cousin, but between your relationship with Hermione and the fact that you attacked the Minister of Magic, the press has had a field day with you."
"They can say whatever they want," Harry growled. "I honestly don't care about that. I just want to capture Legion before he can hurt anyone else."
That's when Harry became aware of a pair of people that weren't there.
"Arthur, have Ron or Hermione been here?"
Arthur once again looked uncomfortable.
"Not much, son, no," Arthur replied. "Ron told us that the two of you sat down to talk. But he also told us that you left to go get Teddy without him."
"I was trying to protect him," Harry protested.
Arthur answered back with a warm smile.
"Ron is an adult, same as you, Harry. Maybe you need to stop protecting people so much? Isn't that a similar excuse for why you neglected to tell anyone about your relationship with Hermione? I don't know about you, but I think that it ended up hurting more people in the end."
Arthur wasn't wrong. He was tactful enough to present it without scolding Harry, something that he wouldn't have blamed Arthur for at all. Yet the kindness that he showed Harry, even after all the lies that he had told over the years, almost hurt worse.
"As for Hermione, she has been at the Ministry for nearly sixteen hours a day, every day since the day of your assault on the Ministry."
"That's not what I went there to do," Harry said. "I just couldn't focus on anything."
"I'm aware and so is Hermione. Even Amos, having lost a child himself, understands where you're coming from."
There was one name notably absent from that list.
"Kingsley?"
Arthur sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Time changes everyone, Harry. I'm afraid that Kingsley might not be the man we remember. He's not a bad man by any stretch, but I think the amount of time he's spent as Minister of Magic has clouded his judgement. If this would have happened even two years ago, I think Kingsley likely would have supported you through thick and thin."
"What did he say?" Harry asked, knowing that it wasn't going to be good.
"He publicly rebuked you more than once," Arthur answered. "I know that he feels like he's doing the right thing by keeping the country unified. But I think in time, he'll regret his response to this. He'll especially regret that he wasn't as supportive of you as he should have been."
Harry chuckled.
"It's not like I've made it easy on him."
"That is true," Arthur conceded, "but remember, Kingsley was Alastor Moody's man until his death. If he can support Moody, then he can support you."
Finally, Cho came over with a list of charms and enchantments that she would use to restore Harry's body. The entire process was far too complicated for Harry to understand, other than the fact that Cho would use Harry's magic to accelerate the typical healing process. Instead of the months that it would have taken for Harry to get back to normal, Harry would get a clean bill of health in about a day.
Even then, he started feeling noticeably better the moment that Cho started her spellwork, a feeling that only improved the longer she went on.
Nearly three hours later, Harry was standing next to the bed that he had unconsciously occupied for the last ten days, dressed and ready to start moving again. Cho performed a quick series of checks to ensure that her enchantments would hold up long enough for Harry's magic to do the work needed to heal him.
"You seem to be healing nicely," Cho replied. "Remember, no magic for twenty-four hours. If you do, you risk only partially healing any one of your numerous injuries."
"Got it," Harry said with a thumbs up for emphasis. "Now, I would like to see my godson."
Teddy was in a room on the fifth floor where there were a series of temporary rooms for people whose relatives were in one of the long term care units at the Hospital. The rooms were cramped and dingy, but they did the job.
When Harry walked into Teddy's room, he was pleased to see that Arthur and Molly were already there waiting for him.
"Harry!" Teddy said upon seeing Harry. In a single motion, he leapt from his bed and raced to Harry, wrapping his arms around Harry's midsection. If there had been a reaction that Harry was expecting, this was not it.
Harry dropped to his knees, returning Teddy's embrace as he wrapped his arms around the boy's neck. For several moments, neither moved as they held the other. Harry didn't know what Teddy was thinking, but all Harry could think about was how close he had come to losing Teddy. After having been given the responsibility of being his godfather, Harry didn't think he could have survived losing Teddy, both because of how much he would miss the young man and because of the sense of shame he would have felt, knowing that he had failed in the one task that Remus and Tonks had given him.
"How are you?" Harry asked as he wiped tears away from his eyes.
"I'm alright," Teddy said, although he hadn't quite mastered lying to that extent. "Mrs. Davies has been really nice."
"She has?" Harry said in surprise.
"Yeah, she came to visit him a couple of times a day. She even took me for ice cream once!"
"That sounds wonderful," Harry said, mentally reminding himself to tell Cho just how much that meant to him. "Listen, before we leave, I would like to talk to Molly. Is that alright with you?"
"Sure."
Harry gave Teddy a big smile before leading Molly back out into the hallway. Once he was sure that Teddy couldn't see them, he cast the Muffliato Charm around them to ensure that Teddy couldn't hear them.
"I need you to take Teddy for a little while," Harry said, fighting back tears. "I need to make sure that he is safe and the only way to do that is to take Legion down."
"What makes you think that he'll be safe with us?" Molly asked.
"I thought he would be safe with Andromeda. I told her to leave and she did. I still don't know where she went, but Legion found them. If Legion can find him anywhere, then the next best idea is The Burrow. At the very least, the number of wards you've placed on that place will mean that you'll have a warning if it's coming."
"Do you think that he'll come after Teddy again?"
"Honestly, I don't know. If I had to guess, I would say no. Even though it didn't kill Teddy, it got what it wanted. It proved to me that it could get to anyone, anywhere."
Molly nodded gently before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Harry.
"That boy needs you, Harry Potter. We'll do what we can, but in the end, this is going to fall to you."
"Well, I am pretty sure that I quit my job at the Ministry rather spectacularly. If we manage to get through this thing, then Teddy will be my whole focus."
"Teddy and Hermione, you mean," Molly replied with a knowing smirk. Harry opened his mouth, intending to apologize, but Molly cut him off.
"Harry James Potter, some of us weren't quite fooled," Molly interjected. "I didn't know exactly what was going on. Merlin knows I didn't need all of that information. But I could tell that there was something going on there. Call it maternal intuition, hell, call it whatever you like."
"I can't say I wasn't madder than an insulted hippogriff when I found out. You should have told Ron at the very least. You know that and you don't need me to harp on that. Ron is still upset and he's going to be upset for quite some time. But he'll come around."
Harry didn't quite know what to say so he kept it simple.
"Thanks, Molly."
"You are quite welcome," Molly said, obviously pleased with herself. "Now, I'll grab Arthur and you can talk to Teddy. Then, we'll have a nice dinner together with Ginny before you race off to kill that damned thing."
"Ginny?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Yes, Ginny will be joining us," Molly replied. "She and Dean have been having some...troubles. If she wants to tell you anymore than that, well then that's up to her."
Molly and Harry walked back into the room. Quickly, Molly walked over to Arthur and whispered something in his ear. Arthur immediately got to his feet and walked out of the room, leaving Harry alone with Teddy, who sat on his bed, staring up at Harry.
"Where are they going?"
"They're giving us some room to talk," Harry replied as he sat next to Teddy. "Now, there's something I have to tell you. You're not going to like it much."
"Who am I staying with?" Teddy suddenly asked, stunning Harry.
"What? How did you...how did you know?" Harry finally managed to say.
"I spent a while with Legion," Teddy said, his hands balling up into fists as he spoke. "He kept telling me about all the bad things that he was going to do to you."
"Oh, Teddy, I'm so sorry," Harry said, wrapping an arm around Teddy, whose head immediately dropped onto Harry's shoulder.
"Then, he started to show me all of these bad things. They were like pictures, but in my mind. You were dead and my friends from school. It was awful."
Harry felt a rage like he had never known boiling inside of him. Only a few times in his life had Harry ever truly wanted to hurt someone or something, but this was far beyond that. If given the chance, Harry would have gladly killed Legion, brought it back to life, and killed it again.
Truthfully, Harry just wanted the chance to do it once.
"What does that have to do with you staying somewhere else?" Harry asked, still not quite seeing Teddy's train of thought.
"You came to save me. I know that it wants to kill Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione. I know that they mean a lot to you."
"Yes, yes they do," Harry replied.
"So you're going to stop him before he can hurt anyone else, right?" Teddy asked. "That's why I can't stay with you right now. You're going to take him down."
With everyone else, that sentiment had been a question. Teddy had seen what Legion was capable of firsthand. He had experienced its power and the nightmares that it could induce. Still, he believed that Harry could beat him.
Harry, the same man who had been at least partially responsible for his parents' death. Harry, the man who would now become his sole parent. The man who he had never really connected with.
Still, he believed that Harry could beat him.
This was Legion's first mistake, Harry realized. If he had gone after anyone else, Harry would have likely fought back, but it would have lacked the same fire that Harry would fight with now. By killing Andromeda, Legion had assumed that he would destroy Harry and Teddy's relationship.
But after everything, Teddy believed in Harry and Harry would be damned if he let the young man down.
"I am going to take him down," Harry said firmly. "It's not going to happen overnight, but I will do it. In the meantime, you are going to stay with Arthur and Molly."
"Well, they're not too bad," Teddy replied with a grin.
"They're the best," Harry said warmly. "They'll treat you like one of their own. Hell, you are practically one of their own."
"That sounds nice," Teddy replied.
"It is nice," Harry agreed. "Now, Molly mentioned something about dinner."
"Yes!" Teddy hissed as he leapt from the bed. For the first time in a long time, Harry truly and earnestly smiled as he followed his godson out of the room. All four of them returned to The Burrow where Molly quickly whipped up a three course dinner full of Harry's favorite food, including her world famous (Harry's world anyway) deep fried fish and chips.
It was nice to have a quiet meal with Molly, Arthur, and, strangely, Ginny. No one said much, but the look on Teddy's face throughout the evening told Harry that he was momentarily content. Things would get worse for him before they got better. In the weeks to come, he would dream about Andromeda, he would hear her voice, and he would see her out of the corner of his eye.
It would take time for all of that to fade away and even then, he would have the mental scars left by Legion for the rest of his life. All Harry could do was hope to be there for him as best he could. But right now, as much as he hated to leave Teddy, the best thing that he could do was make sure that Legion was taken care of, once and for all.
But before he could do that, there was someone else he needed to talk to.
Once dinner was completed, Ginny said a quick goodbye to her parents, Harry and Teddy before walking out the backdoor. As she left, Harry took Teddy upstairs and tucked him into Ron's old bed. Teddy, who had spent ten days in St. Mungo's, the same as Harry, fell asleep almost immediately. The Burrow might not have been his home, but it certainly felt like it more than a hospital.
Harry came back downstairs and thanked Arthur and Molly again for taking Teddy.
"Get to work, Harry," Molly said firmly. "Teddy is putting on a good act now, but we all know that sooner or later, that boy is going to break. He'll need you when that happens."
"I know," Harry replied. "Trust me, I want this done as soon as possible. It's just a matter of figuring out how."
"I have faith in you. And if not in you, then definitely in Hermione."
"I'll let her know," Harry replied, giving Molly a brief hug before walking out of the house. As he walked outside, Harry was surprised to see Ginny standing at the edge of the pond, skipping rocks over the face of the water. While Harry wanted to go talk to Hermione, it seemed like there might have been a reason why Ginny didn't immediately go home.
Silently, Harry came up to the pond, standing next to Ginny. For nearly ten minutes, neither of them spoke while Ginny continued throwing stones. With each stone she threw, the stone skipped further across the pond and the grunt that accompanied it grew louder until finally, she picked up the largest rock she could find and threw it into the pond with an accompanying shout that echoed into the marshes surrounding The Burrow.
"Do you want to talk?" Harry finally asked as Ginny collapsed to the ground.
"Not with you," Ginny replied in between heavy breaths.
"Fair enough."
Harry knew that there had been rumors that Dean and Ginny's marriage was not as stable as they publicly made it seem. Still, the fact that Ginny was eating dinner, alone, at her parents' house and also stalling before going home were signs that there certainly were issues at home.
Of course, Harry was not in a position to judge anyone else for having issues at home.
Still, Ginny didn't tell him to leave and so Harry, like he had done a thousand times before, conjured a chair, setting it down next to where Ginny had landed and sat, looking out over the marsh as the sun set behind the trees in the distance.
Harry looked down at Ginny and noticed tears streaming down her face. Still, her face remained hard and she silently stared out into the open air beyond the lake. Without thinking about it, Harry conjured a handkerchief and passed it to Ginny without looking at her. His hand floated for a moment before he felt a tug on the fabric as Ginny took it.
"Thanks," Ginny muttered as she dabbled away the tears from her eyes.
"Not a problem," Harry replied as he leaned back in his chair.
For nearly an hour, Harry and Ginny sat in silence, watching the sun as it finally disappeared beyond the horizon. The sky above them was clear, not a cloud in sight, and as the sun vanished, the stars slowly began to glow, a billion points of light shining down on them.
"Is there something wrong with me?"
It had been silent for so long that Harry was surprised to hear Ginny speak at all. More than that, however, he was surprised by the nature of the question.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked in concern.
"I-you know what, it's nothing," Ginny said as she stood. Harry wasn't one to push people to talk. Too many times during his childhood, people had felt like the only thing Harry had needed was to talk, even if he didn't want to. Everyone was always offering an ear, despite the fact that Harry rarely asked for one.
Still, he knew Ginny. Ginny would never talk about her problems unless she was confronted by them head-on. She was, for better or worse, the most resolute person that he knew. Once Ginny Weasley set her mind on something, not even those closest to her could convince her of something else. That also meant that when Ginny decided that she didn't want to talk about something, it was difficult to convince her otherwise, even when it was obvious to everyone around her that the thing she needed most of all was just to let it all out.
"Ginny," Harry called as she attempted to storm off, "talk to me."
Ginny whipped around, her hair flashing in front of her eyes. Even in the dark, Harry could see her eyes burning.
"Why should I talk to you?"
"Because whether you know it or not, you want to talk to someone," Harry countered. "I had no problem sitting out here with you in silence. Something is clearly bothering you and I wanted to be supportive."
"Thanks, but I don't need your help," Ginny snapped.
"You're right, you don't," Harry conceded. "But we sat out here for quite a while. You've clearly got something on your mind and you want to talk to someone. So why not me?"
"Because you're part of the problem," Ginny growled.
That was not the answer that Harry was expecting. He had expected her to say something about his relationship with Hermione or his betrayal of Ron. He had expected her to say that she didn't trust Harry for lying for so long, all of which would have been good reasons to not want to talk to Harry.
But Harry hadn't been a consistent part of Ginny's day-to-day life for years now. They were still close friends and they saw each other every Sunday at the weekly Weasley dinner, but things weren't like they were at Hogwarts. Ginny was married to Dean and as a result, they spent more time with Dean's friends, who were significantly less busy, than Ginny's.
All of that meant that Harry was very confused as to how Ginny's current predicament could be his fault.
"What?" Harry asked.
"You are a part of my problem," Ginny repeated. "I've loved two men in my life, you and Dean, and both of you decided that I wasn't enough for you."
"What? Dean left you?" Harry asked.
"No. Well, not yet anyway. But I think it's only a matter of time," Ginny replied, returning to her spot at the edge of the pond and sitting.
"What makes you say that?" Harry asked as he returned to his seat.
"I found out a couple weeks ago that Dean had been meeting one of his coworkers while I was away for Quidditch," Ginny whispered. "He tells me that nothing happened. He says that they're just friends and that he wanted someone to spend time with while I'm away."
"Could that be the truth?"
"It could," Ginny admitted. "But things have been...off with us for awhile now."
"Really? None of us have noticed," Harry replied.
"Well, you haven't really been paying attention to much other than Hermione and Legion, have you?" Ginny replied icily.
That comment stung, but was unfortunately, quite true.
"Fair, but I did talk to Ron quite a bit and he never mentioned it."
"Well, I wasn't making a big deal of it," Ginny said. "Plus, it's not like we were getting into duels at home or anything like that. We just stopped agreeing on anything. We couldn't even decide what we wanted for dinner without it turning into an argument. It got so bad that I was thankful when the Harpies were selected for that tournament in Greece last year."
"How long were you gone for? Six weeks?"
"Nine," Ginny replied and for the first time, Harry could barely just make out a smile in the dim moonlight. "They were the nine best weeks of the year. Nine weeks where I could focus on Quidditch and just being myself. I didn't come home and wonder what stupid thing we were going to fight over."
"Maybe you just needed some time apart?" Harry suggested. "You wouldn't be the first couple that benefited from some separation."
"Yes, but the separation didn't help. This is about the time that Dean started spending all of his time with his coworker, a coworker that I didn't know existed until someone else mentioned that they saw him with her at the Leaky Cauldron while I was in Tutshill about a month ago. In addition to that mess, we also went back to fighting about everything, only this time it was worse because we had spent nearly three months apart."
Ginny sighed as she brought the handkerchief back to her face.
"The worst part of the whole thing was that when I found out about his coworker and confronted me about it, he turned it around on me."
"How?"
"By mentioning you," Ginny replied. "When things were winding down between the two of us, I spent a night at the Leaky Cauldron. Dean just happened to be there. We spent the night talking about how things had changed since the war. Let me assure you, nothing happened."
While Harry had long wondered whether Ginny had cheated on him with Dean, Harry found that at this moment, he didn't particularly care. Not only would he be the world's largest hypocrite if he found her at fault for doing what he had spent years doing, but it was so long ago that even if the mystery was answered, it didn't actually matter to him anymore.
"It doesn't matter," Harry replied. "It is good to know that things between us ended well at least, but that was so long ago. Why did Dean bring that up?"
"Because he said that it was just like what Dean and I had done. We were friends, we had drinks, that was it. He's not wrong. I don't know if he's slept with her or anything like that."
"But he didn't tell you about her for a reason," Harry countered, knowing exactly where Ginny's mind was headed. "That eats at you."
"How could it not? He's spent the better part of two years spending time with this woman. Hell, she might know more about my husband than I do," Ginny mused, clearly pained by the idea that a stranger might know her husband better than her.
"So are you staying here?"
"For a little while. I want to try and fix things, but I just don't know if there's anything left to fix," Ginny admitted. "The last straw was about a month ago when he suggested that you had killed your cousin."
Harry hadn't expected to hear that. While he had never been best friends with Dean, Dean had always been a pretty clear supporter of Harry's, even when others had not.
"Wow."
"He's changed as he's gotten older," Ginny replied. "Something about him seems to resent you. I don't know why. You walked away from me pretty easily."
"That's not fair," Harry retorted. "You know that it wasn't easy."
"I know, I know," Ginny said. "That's just my anger talking. I just don't get it. For years, we were fine and then, something just...happened. Suddenly, he's angry about me and about Quidditch and about the fact that I'm still friends with you."
"People change. It's why things didn't work out between you and me. The Harry that loved you, the one that only wanted a family after the war, he left the Burrow after Bill and Fleur's wedding and never came back.
"I know," Ginny admitted. "I just really wish the men in my life would stop doing that."
"Is it possible that you changed?" Harry asked. "Maybe Dean's always been this way and you're just seeing it for the first time?"
Ginny considered that thought for a moment before shrugging.
"It's possible, I suppose," Ginny reponsed. "But Dean seemed to worship me for the first few years of our marriage. And he always liked you, even if you were my ex-boyfriend. Now, he can't wait to spend time away from me and he seems to hate you for reasons that even I can't explain."
All in all, it sounded like a nightmare situation for Ginny. Harry didn't know enough about Dean to know whether it was all true, but Ginny was a relatively observant person and Harry trusted her. If she said that this was the way things were, Harry had no reason to doubt her until he saw otherwise.
"What are you going to do?" Harry asked. "You've been here for a month and you are clearly still upset."
"Your timing is incredible. Dean and I are actually meeting in London tomorrow to talk about it."
"What do you think will happen?"
Ginny hesitated just a second before responding.
"Honestly, I think we'll give it another go. Despite it all, I do still love him, although that might just be the memory of the man that I thought I married. Still, we've been married for almost eight years. Seems like a waste to just throw it all down the drain without even trying to put it back together. What do you think?"
"Honestly?"
"Honestly."
"Honestly, it sounds like you've given it a good try already, Gin," Harry admitted. "While I'm shocked by Dean's belief that I killed my cousin, that doesn't even factor into this at all. Regardless of whether he slept with that woman or not, the fact that he never told you about her tells me something and it's not a good indictment of his character."
"This coming from someone who lied about sleeping with Hermione for years?" Ginny asked. Her tone was light, but she was clearly targeting Harry for his behavior. Unfortunately, Harry couldn't blame her.
"I regret almost every decision that Hermione and I made over the years," Harry murmured. "We were stupid and foolish and disrespectful to everyone that loved us. I guess I would ask if Dean feels the same way. If he doesn't, then that would tell me everything I need to know."
"Right," Ginny said before turning to Harry. "You had hundreds of opportunities to tell Ron. Why didn't you?"
"Because I was a coward," Harry said simply. "I was more concerned with preserving my friendship with Ron than telling him the truth."
"That's disappointing, Harry," Ginny replied. "I have to tell you that I was shocked when Ron told us about it all. I never thought that you were capable of something like that."
"Unfortunately, I am as human as anyone else," Harry informed her. "We were idiots who rationalized our behavior to avoid having to deal with the consequences of it. We made dozens of mistakes over the years and I would do anything to get that time back."
"It does-"
"It doesn't work that way," Harry interrupted. "I'm well aware. Your oldest brother reminded me of that as well when I talked to him. While I may be an idiot, my life is a constant reminder that there are no second chances when it comes to most things. I certainly don't need another reminder of that."
"Are you sure?" Ginny asked. "Because you lied to my brother for years. You lied to all of us. Both of you did."
"I know," Harry whispered. "I'm trying to be better."
"Good."
That was all that needed to be said. Having each said their piece, Harry and Ginny returned to staring out over the pond, the black water reflecting the light of the night sky. After another few minutes, Harry sighed deeply and then stood, Vanishing his chair as he did.
"You going to see her?" Ginny asked.
"I am," Harry confirmed. "We're long overdue for a conversation."
"Good," Ginny said with a slight grin. "Figure things out and then make things right."
"I'm working on it," Harry replied. "Good luck tomorrow."
"I doubt luck will have much to do with it unfortunately."
"Right. Well, good night, Gin."
"Good night, Harry," Ginny replied as she returned to staring at the water. Harry turned and walked past the lake towards the edge of the wards before Apparating to a house that he had been to a thousand times. Just like before, two Aurors, hidden under Disillusionment Charms, stood outside.
In fact, they were the same two guards that Harry had Stunned weeks earlier.
As Harry got closer, the two Aurors removed their enchantments and stepped in between Harry and the door.
"I've been cleared of all wrongdoing," Harry said in frustration.
"We still have to confirm if it is you," one of the Aurors said.
"How do you plan on doing that?" Harry asked.
"Take out your wand."
Harry did so, although he wasn't exactly sure why. As Harry removed his wand from its wrist holster, the other Auror took out a piece of paper and consulted it. The paper was actually a picture of Harry's wand.
"Where did you get that?" Harry asked.
"Miss Granger provided it," the Auror replied. "Everyone else on her list got a question, but according to her, you don't like being asked questions."
"Not particularly."
"That's why she gave us the picture. No two wands are exactly alike, right?"
"I suppose not," Harry replied. "Am I good to go in?"
"Yes, Mr. Potter. Have a good night."
It was the first time an Auror had called him Mr. Potter in years. Ever since Harry had been named a Senior Auror, almost every other Auror had either referred to him by his given name or sir. Now that he had officially resigned from the Ministry (information that had clearly been passed down to Rookies like these two), there was no need for that kind of pleasantry. Now, they referred to him the same way they did any other normal civilian.
It was strange, but Harry wasn't certain if it bothered him. Of course, he knew that he would have much more time to think about that later. For now, he needed to talk to Hermione.
Unlike the rest of Hermione's visitors who had to knock on the door, Harry used the key that Hermione had provided him years ago, walking straight into the front hall of Hermione's home.
"Hermione!" Harry shouted as he opened the door.
Harry heard the sound of feet from upstairs. Seconds later, Hermione, already dressed in her pajamas, came racing down the stairs. She didn't bother to stop before she collided with Harry, her arms wrapping tightly around him. For a few moments, they didn't feel the need to talk. They just stood there and held each other.
But Harry had come here with a mission and unfortunately, that meant that they couldn't simply hug in her doorway all night.
"I'm glad you're happy to see me," Harry said.
Immediately, Hermione let go and looked up at him, clearly confused by Harry's somewhat detached tone.
"Of course I'm happy to see you. Why wouldn't I be happy to see you?"
"Well, I did just spend ten days in St. Mungo's and according to the Weasleys, who were there when I woke up, neither you or Ron came to visit me the whole time."
Hermione's entire posture changed. Suddenly, her head dropped and she stared at her feet. Whether it was embarrassment or shame that caused it, Harry couldn't be sure.
"Now, Ron, I understand. I mean he is still royally pissed off at me. But the last time I checked, I thought the two of us were still good."
"We are!" Hermione protested, looking back up at Harry briefly.
"Then why didn't you come to visit me?" Harry asked, taking Hermione by the hand and leading her to the couch. "Explain it to me. Something is clearly bothering you and I want to know."
Hermione leaned all the way back on the couch, staring off at the ceiling.
"There's a lot going on Harry. Some of it is you, some of it is me."
"Then talk to me. Tell me what's going on. Something happened for you to not even show up at the hospital."
"I did show up," Hermione replied. "Unfortunately, I showed up at the same time as Ron. We had talked before he talked to you, but there was something about seeing him there that pushed me away. I knew that a large contingent of the Weasleys had already arrived and I wasn't sure how they would react to me being there. So, I left."
"A couple of days later, we brought Ron into the Ministry to get his perspective on the events that lead to your injuries. That's when he told us that he had been with you when you decided to go to Little Hangleton on your own. When he had come to get me originally, he had conveniently left that part of the story out. I think he wanted me to focus more on organizing people to save your life rather than how much I wanted to kill you."
"I was trying to protect him. I didn't want anyone else to get in the way."
"Ron's not an idiot," Hermione countered. "If he volunteered to go with you, he knew what it could have meant. Even after everything that's happened between the three of us, the fact that he was still volunteering to go should have told you everything you needed to know."
"It did. That's why I went on my own. I wanted the chance to fix things with Ron. If he dies trying to be a hero, especially in an instance where I could protect him, I don't think I could have lived with myself."
"But that was his choice to make, wasn't it?" Hermione replied.
"I suppose it was," Harry admitted. "That still doesn't explain why you didn't come visit me."
Hermione looked over at Harry, a pained look on her face. Then, she jumped to her feet and started pacing the room.
"I couldn't do it," Hermione finally muttered with her back to him. "I tried to go back another time and I got to the doorway and I saw you lying in that hospital bed. I saw you barely holding onto life and I got scared and I ran."
"When I saw you, all I could think about was that moment during The Battle. That moment when I saw your body in Hagrid's arms and I knew that you were gone. I've never felt anything like it, until that moment when I saw you lying in hospital."
Hermione turned back to him, tears streaming down her face.
"I love you, Harry, and the thought of my life without you, it terrifies me."
Harry stood and marched over to Hermione, taking her hands in his.
"You listen to me, Hermione Granger. You asked me a few weeks ago if I loved you the way that you love me. I can't say that I do."
Hermione's face fell for a moment, but Harry took her face in his hands and guided her eyes towards his.
"What I can tell you is that the sun is brighter when I'm with you. Coffee tastes better when I'm with you. I don't know if that's sappy or pathetic or some combination of the two. But what I do know, Hermione Granger, is that my life is given meaning by the people in it and there is no one that has given my life more meaning for as long as you have. You've been there from the very beginning of my tale and I don't doubt that you will be there at the very end."
"Does that mean what I think it means?" Hermione asked.
"It means that I am with you for as long as you'll have me. You and you alone."
Hermione immediately stepped towards Harry then grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pulled him down so that she could kiss him. Harry was mildly surprised by the aggression of the action, but pleased anyway.
Harry had kissed Hermione hundreds of times over the years, but there was something different about this one. In every other instance, a kiss was simply a part of the action or the first in a series of steps that lead to him sleeping with her. In this case, there was no ulterior motive, no intention to take her to bed.
There was just the two of them, standing in the middle of Hermione's living room, finally coming to grips with the truth about their relationship.
It had only taken them twenty years.
Eventually, Hermione's soft lips pulled away from Harry's. When Harry looked down, he saw her smile in a way that he had never seen before. It wasn't any one thing. It was just different, but Harry knew that he would fight to keep that smile on her face for as long as he could.
Hermione pulled Harry back to the couch before throwing him down. Typically, when that happened, Hermione's next step was either to straddle him or take off her shit. Instead, she sat next to him and burrowed herself next to him, his arm falling easily over her shoulder.
They had been this close for years, but it had always seemed like it was a perfunctory part of their sexual relationship. Of course they were able to cuddle on the couch, because they had sex three times in the last week.
They had always said that they didn't want any strings in their relationship. Harry had known that he had been lying about that for years and Hermione had admitted as much on his birthday. How many strings had they already created? How many more would they create? Harry looked down and saw Hermione as she cuddled in closer and hoped that he would remain tied to her forever.
"You know, when we slept together that first time, I thought that we were going to get together after that," Hermione said.
"Really?" Harry said in surprise. "You were still dating Ron."
"I know, but it just seemed inevitable at the time. Not even because I consciously wanted it at the time, but because I wasn't really the "one night stand" type."
"I know. Me neither."
Hermione chuckled to herself. "Of course, then you left me in the middle of the night."
Harry had forgotten about that. He and Hermione had accidentally fallen asleep after having sex. When Harry awoke several hours later, he had realized where he was and where he was. He panicked, quickly getting dressed and racing out of the house.
He thought it would be weeks before he saw Hermione again, but she came to his London flat just moments after she broke up with Ron. Ostensibly, she had come for support, but between her breakup with Ron and the incredibly confusing state of their relationship at that moment, they had not been in quite their right minds.
That had been night number two.
"Yeah, not my finest hour," Harry admitted.
"I never did find out why you left exactly."
"Well, let's see: I consider myself to be a respectful person. So, when I awoke to find myself in your bed next to your naked body, I freaked. I knew that what we had done was wrong and it didn't line up with how I thought of myself. I knew that you had been in a tough place with Ron so I immediately blamed myself. Once that started, there was no way I could stay."
Hermione padded Harry's leg gently at that. "Harry, we both know that I make my own decisions. I wasn't drunk and I wasn't in hysterics. You did not take advantage of me. I was stressed and fighting with Ron and I wanted to feel good. You were just in the right place at the wrong time."
"Although when you think about it, it might be the right place," Harry replied. "I know that this whole thing has been a mess. But if we hadn't started sleeping together, we might have never realized just how we felt about each other."
"Or we would have and things would be a lot less complicated," Hermione countered.
"Yes, yes, of course, that is possible," Harry admitted with a laugh. "But if my choices are between the mess we currently find ourselves in or a boring life where I never realize just how much I love you, I'll take the mess."
"Me too," Hermione said as she leaned up and kissed Harry. "I'm just glad you didn't find someone along the way."
"Well, that would have been kind of difficult."
"Why is that?" Hermione asked.
Harry was nervous about what he was about to say, but he knew that everything needed to come out.
"Well, you know how I kept telling you about all of these terrible dates I had been going on?"
"Yes?"
"They weren't always the other person's fault."
Hermione sat up and looked at Harry in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"So, we slept together a few times before we kind of sat down and figured out how this was going to work, right?" Harry said. "Well, for the first couple of years, I did try and get out there sometimes. But between work and my limited capacity for bullshit, I didn't find many people that I was interested in."
"Well, you are a bit peculiar."
"That's selling it short," Harry replied. "At the same time, our relationship was evolving. Like you said on my birthday, we basically started going on dates. I found that I enjoyed our dates far more than I enjoyed any other dates, so I just stopped."
"Stopped what?"
"Well, for awhile, I pretty much stopped dating entirely. But even when you noticed that I hadn't been on a date in awhile, I might have...sabotaged myself a bit. I picked people who I was clearly not interested in or people who would get bored with me quickly. Then, I could say that I was going on dates and you wouldn't ask any more questions."
"I knew that you were out there dating. I think it was about the same time as we started going out dancing, that's when I realized that my feelings for you had changed. I just resigned myself to the fact that some day, you would find someone would work for you. On that day, I would have been happy for you and heart broken for myself."
Hermione gently took Harry's hand in her own.
"Harry, we started going dancing nearly four years ago," Hermione replied. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"
"Because I didn't think you felt the same way. I thought that we were friends and that you liked fucking me on the side. I never once actually considered that this was something that could become sustainable as a real relationship. Life just hadn't worked out that way for me."
"Merlin, I wish you had said something," Hermione answered wistfully.
"Why is that?"
"Because I think I started to fall for you right about the time you took me to that Australian restaurant."
The Australian restaurant, a Muggle establishment that Harry couldn't remember the name of at the moment, was the site of what could be considered Harry and Hermione's first date. It had been weeks since they had managed to find time to see each other outside of work or their occasional romps. So, Harry had suggested that they meet for dinner before returning to Hermione's apartment.
Of course, the nature of their celebrity meant that they couldn't be seen dining together in the wizarding world. Enter the Australian restaurant. The food had been uninspiring and it had rained nearly the entire walk back to Hermione's apartment. But that lead to wet sex on the stairs and Harry falling down the stairs with his pants around his ankles.
Not one of his best moments, but certainly one of his fondest memories, all things considered.
Notably, that had been nearly two years before Hermione's first suggestion that they go dancing.
"Six years?" Harry asked as he finally managed to make the math work in his head. "Six years?"
"I don't know what to tell you. I like a man who can organize an entire Auror division in less than ten minutes, go home that night and cook dinner, and then make me orgasm three times that night. Oh, and your personality isn't too bad either."
"Ditto," Harry replied, marveling at the star-crossed nature of their relationship. If either of them had said anything years earlier, they would likely be married by now, assuming everything went right. Instead, they had been too afraid to rock the boat, too afraid of shaking up the status quo and it had taken them eight years to get to the point where they truly and fully realized the feelings they had for one another.
Harry and Hermione sat in silence for a while, simply reflecting on all that time, all the decisions that they had made. Harry found himself thinking about what would happen once they had dealt with Legion. How would things move forward between them? Would he move in? Would she want to get married?
Immediately, one thing came to Harry's mind, something that he needed to get an answer on today.
"I'm Teddy's father now," Harry said, finally using that term for the first time. "I know that having children was not necessarily on your bucket list, but I need to know that you are still in this, even with Teddy, because as much as I love you, I-"
Harry was stopped by Hermione, who placed a hand over Harry's mouth.
"You're right, kids weren't in the plan. But to be honest, neither were you," Hermione admitted. "Besides, it's Teddy. How could I say no to him?"
"It's going to be hard," Harry replied, speaking for both of them.
"Well, then we'll do it together. You and me," Hermione said. "We'll have help, I'm sure. But we'll take care of Legion and then we'll figure out how to deal with a ten-year-old boy. I'm certain there's got to be some literature on these kinds of situations."
Harry laughed at the typical Hermione response of assuming that there was a book for everything. Just then, a letter came zooming in through the mail slot in the front door, landing in Harry's lap. Quickly, Harry opened the letter and read.
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"It's Malfoy," Harry replied. "He's on his way over. He thinks that he and Bill finally cracked The Arch."
