The Devil in Me

Here's to Us, Here's to Love

The chapter title is from the song:

Here's to Us by Halestorm.

21st June 1998

Litha ~ The Midsummer Solstice

Stonehenge was made up for the Midsummer Solstice, and the area was packed. Tom had achieved exactly what he wanted to. Wizarding families had all been brought together. Families that had been neutral and families that had always been traditionalists were all gathered together to celebrate the peak of the year.

It was the longest day of the year, the height of summer, a time for celebration and joy.

And as Harry stood watching his wife, he couldn't think of anything that would have made him happier. The sun was beating down, and Daphne was smiling in her white cotton wedding dress; her feet were bare as she danced around the stones with Rhea.

Harry had been more nervous the previous night than he let on to Daphne. They had been forced to spend the night apart due to her family's more strict views on the importance of marital traditions. He found it odd considering that, since the war, Daphne had spent more time with Harry than she had with her family. Ever since they had restored and remodelled Potter Manor together, it had been their home, married or otherwise.

Still, on the night before the wedding, they had been forced to sleep separately, and since Harry had not wanted to go back home to Potter Manor alone, he had gone to Peverell Court instead.

….

"Hey, Tom. Can I stay here tonight?"

Tom had barely looked up from his notes, "You are included on the wards. You do not have to ask me to stay here. You can simply walk in as you just did."

Harry rolled his eyes, "I know, but it's generally considered to be polite to ask someone before you crash at their house."

Lily shot Harry a smile from where she was lying in front of the fire with Amalthea, "What Tom is trying to say, Harry, is that you are family and this house is as much yours as it is ours. You don't have to ask to stay. You're welcome here whenever you want."

"Indeed," Tom said.

"Four months since you got your soul back, and you're still terrible with human emotions," Harry said, grinning at Tom and dropping down in an armchair.

Tom made a rather displeased face but didn't try to deny it either.

Lily chuckled and looked over at Amalthea as she said, "Mama!"

Tom rolled his eyes and pressed down harder than he intended to, snapping the end of his quill as a result.

Harry smirked, "Something wrong, Tom?"

Tom looked up irritably, "Her first word is 'Mama'. Can you believe the audacity of that child? I put my soul back together and endured immense pain and metaphorical death for her, and her first word is 'Mama'? Lilith is not even her mother."

"You seem irrationally annoyed about this," Harry said matter of factly.

"It really annoys him," Lily agreed, her voice tinged with amusement.

"I put my soul back together for her," Tom muttered irritably, "Do you know how much that hurt?"

"A lot, I expect," Harry answered, "But I mean, I still beat you because I actually died. My heart stopped beating and everything."

"Boys," Lily cut in, "It's not a competition. Can we just be thankful that we are all alive and remember that it is Harry's wedding day tomorrow?"

Tom and Harry had grudgingly agreed, and Lily had shaken her head in amusement.

….

Harry smiled at the memory. Lily had charmed the ceiling in his bedroom that night to make it look like the night sky. She knew that he only slept well when he was with Daphne, and she had remembered that he had found her dorm room at Hogwarts relaxing. It had been a nice touch, and he felt lucky to call her his best friend.

"Lost in thought?"

Harry nodded and looked over at Draco, "A little bit, yeah. This is going to be you next."

"Yeah," Draco agreed, shoving his hands into his pockets, "Maybe. Sadie hasn't decided on a date yet, and if your hunch about Tom and Lily getting married on the Winter Solstice is right, then there's no way I'm crashing their day."

Harry chuckled, "Probably for the best," he admitted, "Thanks, by the way, for being my best man."

Draco smiled broadly, "Hey, you're my brother in every way but blood. You don't have to thank me for that."

Harry felt more grateful than ever, blessed to have the family and friends that he did. He caught Neville's eye across the henge, and his friend signed, "You okay now?"

Harry smiled and signed back, "Fine, thanks mate."

The ceremony had been interesting earlier that day. Daphne had been late, of course, Harry didn't know why that had even surprised him if he was honest.

…..

Neville tapped Harry on the shoulder and signed, "She will be here."

Harry signed back, "Sure?"

Neville smiled and signed, "She isn't going to leave you now after all you two have been through. Just breathe. You look kind of pale."

Harry chuckled and nodded, "Thanks," he had signed.

Draco patted him on the shoulder, "If my basic knowledge of sign language is right, Neville is right. She'll be here, but I hate to break it to you – you're marrying Daphne Greengrass. She's going to show up fashionably late."

Upon those words, Daphne had walked into Potter Manor's grounds with her arm in her father's. Harry had been reminded to breathe again, both by Draco in English and Neville in sign language.

Daphne had floated towards him in a beautiful dress. It was similar to the one she had worn at Midsummer one year before, which Harry guessed was intentional. This dress was longer, and it was embellished with silver touches, but as Daphne walked towards him with her ice blond hair hanging around her face, she could not have looked more beautiful.

Cygnus gave Harry an approving nod and put Daphne's hand into his. Harry smiled at his father-in-law and caught Daphne's eye, she looked back, and there was that little spark of magic between them once more. The same spark that there had always been since they first locked eyes- a year ago to the day.

They locked hands and maintained eye contact for one of the most important aspects of the wedding – the handfasting. The sun was rising, which was important because the ceremony was best performed when both the sun and moon were present to witness the binding of two lovers.

Daphne spoke first by giving the traditional wedding vow, "You cannot possess me, for I belong to myself. But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give. I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care. I shall be a shield for your back and you for mine."

She took a breath before saying the last line, "This is my wedding vow to you. This is the marriage of equals."

Harry smiled and bowed his head. Then he gave the same vow to Daphne.

The man presiding over the ceremony then spoke.

"As your hands are bound together, now so your lives, spirit and magic are joined in a union of trust and love."

Harry and Daphne had their eyes locked on each other as the sacred ones were spoken.

"Above you are the stars, and below you is the earth. Like the stars, your love should be a constant source of light and, like the earth, a firm foundation from which to grow."

At this point, Harry and Daphne's magic was bound – correctly, of course, not crudely as it had been on Imbolc.

The silver glow that enveloped them as that happened was so bright that it forced the guests to close their eyes.

Harry didn't know if it was because of the strength of their bond or the previous Imbolc ritual, but he and Daphne found the awed looks and noises of their guests quite amusing all the same.

"Thank you," Harry had said after he kissed her, "For loving me when I still tasted of heartache and war."

….

Back in the real world, Daphne made her way over to Harry and took his hand, "Why are you staring at me?"

"I was just lost in memories," Harry admitted.

Draco, who was still standing by Harry's side, smiled knowingly at the couple. He patted Harry on the back and announced that he had better find Sadie.

Daphne raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay?"

Harry smiled and nodded, "I'm fine. I just can't quite believe how much can change in a year."

Daphne laughed and nodded, hooking her arm through his, "Yes, that's true. This time last year, we were at Malfoy Manor, and we didn't know each other at all."

"And now look at us," Harry said, "We're at Stonehenge, and everyone is so happy, so free. You can feel the magic in the air. It's so pure like this is how it was always supposed to be, and if it hadn't been for Snape telling me the truth…none of this would have happened."

"But it did," Daphne said, pressing herself up to kiss him, "So don't worry about what didn't happen."

Harry kissed her back and let his idle thoughts drift away on the warm summers breeze. He pulled back from the kiss and pulled Daphne into his arms, breathing out a contented sigh and chuckling at a scene in the distance.

All the children were playing together, and for the first time, Amalthea was a part of that. She was nine months old now, after all, so she was capable of sitting up, crawling around and pulling herself around furniture. For that reason, Lily said they couldn't keep her in the pram forever and popped her down on the grass with the others.

Rhea had been picking flowers and handing them to Amalthea, who then shredded them and threw them away happily.

Lydia was standing nearby with Felix, she was pregnant but not showing yet, and only her sisters knew – as Daphne had expected, it hadn't taken her long to get pregnant after her and Felix's wedding. They were watching the exchange curiously, probably to get a gauge on how she was going to be with a baby brother or sister.

Then the Gibbons youngest child, Benjamin, ran through the group and knocked Amalthea over. She burst into tears, even though she wasn't hurt, just shocked.

Tom scoffed and picked his daughter up, "Control your child, Gibbon," he said to Azriel.

Lily rolled her eyes, "They are kids, Tom. They're just playing. Thea is going to have to get used to it. You can't keep her in a bubble forever."

"Amalthea," Tom corrected irritably.

Lily shot Azriel an exasperated look and muttered, "Sorry Az, ignore him."

Azriel didn't seem too bothered anyway. He laughed the whole thing off and caught Benjamin when he ran up to him. He lifted his son onto his lap, something he could do with ease now. He had been back at work a couple of months now, and he had adapted to losing the use of his legs.

"Hey, kiddo. How's married life?"

Harry was snapped out of his thoughts by Gus. He chuckled and looked up at him, "It's not even been a day yet. Ask me in a month."

Gus chuckled and hit him on the back, "If you manage to survive a month."

"I will," Harry said with a chuckle.

Gus laughed too, "Give it a year, or wait until you've got kids. You'll be pulling your hair out."

"Yeah, maybe," Harry said, glancing over at Daphne, "But I doubt it."

"Oh, come on, Potter," Reyna said, strolling up to them, "Flattery will get you nowhere with a queen."

Daphne grinned, "I remember when you used to mock me for that."

"Times change," Reyna said with a carefree smile, "Want to dance?"

Daphne took Reyna's outstretched hand and let the Ravenclaw girl drag her towards the stone circle's centre.

"That has got to be the most unlikely friendship I have ever seen," Harry admitted.

Gus crossed his arms and leant against one of the stones, "I'm inclined to agree," he said, "But as Rey says, times change."

"They certainly do," Harry said, reminiscing about quite how much had changed.

Hermione was laughing about something with the twins; Caroline had convinced Percy to dance with her. Felix and Lydia were dancing as Charlie threw Rhea around while she giggled. Arthur was sitting on the sidelines with his sister, Darcy; they were smiling and talking while their children danced and enjoyed themselves.

Even Narcissa was having fun. She was dancing with Andromeda, who quickly became not just her sister but also her best friend and rock, following Lucius's death.

Bill and Fleur were sitting close by with their twins cuddled together in a large pram. They were looking at each other, warm smiles being exchanged as they talked.

In fact, all Harry could see as he looked around the garden was love, whether that was the love between friends or the love between husbands and wives. The love between family, sisters, brothers, parents and their children.

Ginny was signing something to Neville, who was shaking his head and laughing at her. Daphne was laughing as she danced with Reyna.

Tom and Lily were standing on the sidelines as they often did. Lily was rolling her eyes and waving her hands about as she scolded Tom for being such a protective parent. Tom was pretending to listen, nodding his head every so often and biting back an amused smile. Amalthea was at their feet, crawling around, picking up flowers, bringing them to her lips, and then making faces and dropping them because they didn't taste nice.

It made Harry smile. It filled him with the warmth of the sun above to see such happiness everywhere he looked.

And more to the point, it made everything he had fought for feel worth it.

"I did the right thing, Gus," Harry thought out loud.

Gus put his arm over Harry's shoulder, "Yeah?"

Harry nodded, his eyes falling on Daphne once more, "Yeah. I've thought about it a lot, whether I did the right thing and whether some of the bad things I did are justified. You know?"

Gus nodded from his side.

"But looking around today…" Harry shook his head and let out a content sigh, "This, although I didn't know it at the time, this is exactly what I fought for."

Gus looked down at him, "What's 'this', exactly?"

Harry smiled and looked up at Gus, "Love," he replied simply.

Gus smiled too and chuckled, "Yeah, go figure. After all, what's worth fighting for if not love?"

Daphne caught his eye and beckoned Harry to join him and Reyna. He smiled fondly, "Nothing," he replied softly as he made his way over to his wife.

Nothing was worth fighting for more than love was.

* ~ TBC ~ *

A/N: I do plan on doing a sequel to this story, but I have other projects to finish first so can't promise a timing. But it's definitely something that will happen. I loved writing this story and would definitely come back to this universe one day! :)

Thanks for reading, everyone!