* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 71: Millennium

A/N: The chapter title is from the song:

Millennium by Robbie Williams.

As everyone filed into the ballroom for the New Years Party, they had no idea that they were actually at a wedding. The guests who had witnessed the ceremony had been sworn to secrecy, and although the hall was decorated, there was nothing to suggest that it had been for a wedding.

Everyone was in their dress robes and smart dresses, but the hosts were missing. This was because Harry and Daphne were planning to make a grand entrance.

The curtains on the stage drew back magically, and the Weird Sisters (who nobody had known were playing) walked forward. This in itself was the cause for a massive round of applause.

"Thanks for the warm welcome, guys!" The lead singer, Myron Wagtail, said when the crowd had quietened down enough, "We just want to welcome you to the Potter New Years party on behalf of Harry and Daphne. Your hosts have asked me to inform you that there are free drinks in the bar downstairs, but without further ado, let's welcome your hosts!"

There was a rumble as the music began to play; it was one of the bands slower songs.

"Wish a Happy New Year to Mr and Mrs Potter!"

There was quiet confusion as Harry and Daphne stepped out onto the balcony on the upper level of the ballroom. Theo set off a couple of Weasley fireworks to draw the attention of the guests to the balcony.

Once they saw Daphne in a wedding dress, they all erupted into cheers.

Theo, although this should have been Neville's job, then shouted loudly, "Happy surprise New Years wedding! Now let's party like it's the millennium!"

The Weird Sisters struck up the first few notes of one of their most popular, rocky songs and the party well and truly began.

Everyone had a great time, Daphne spent the night dancing her feet off with her best friends with a brief break to walk her father back to his room when it all got a bit too much, but he had done so well that day. Harry enjoyed himself too. How could he not on his wedding day? He danced, he socialised, and he laughed with his closest friends.

Most of all, he watched Daphne and wondered how the hell he had ever gotten so lucky. But sometime around 11.30 pm, he slipped outside for a break from the hall's noise and heat. He thought he was hiding pretty well in a secluded little corner of the garden, but someone found him.

"Hey, you all out of steam already?" The voice asked, "I lasted longer than you and that was with Death Eaters trying their best to ruin my wedding."

Harry smiled slightly, "Hey Bill," he said as the eldest Weasley sat down next to him.

Bill leant back and handed Harry a hipflask.

Harry shook his head and leant back against the cold wall.

"It's water," Bill said, nudging him in the ribs, "I'm not the worst brother in the world, you know? I know you're a recovering alcoholic."

"Why have you got a hipflask of water?" Harry asked with a frown.

"I drink it in-between whiskeys, in the only way I can keep up with Char," Bill admitted with a grin, "But don't go telling him that, alright?"

Harry laughed, "Alright."

"What are you doing hiding out here anyway? Your wife has been looking around the hall for you for the last five minutes," Bill pointed out.

"I just needed a minute to think about the people who should have been here today," Harry said, his voice caught a little, "I don't know if Daphne has given much thought to the fact that her mother isn't here. I mean I doubt it with the way it all ended but…" he sighed, "I look at all I have, and I feel so goddamn lucky, I do Bill, but I also see the things I've lost."

Bill nodded but said nothing.

Harry took a shaky breath, "I see Sirius getting too drunk and being an arse, only to get dragged away by Remus."

"That is definitely how that would have gone down," Bill said with a fond smile.

"And I see Tonks rocking out with all the younger ones to the Weird Sisters," Harry continued, "I see Fred setting surprise fireworks off and pranking everyone with George."

The fond smile on Bill's face faltered slightly.

"And I-," Harry's breath caught again, "I see my Mum and Dad dancing, my Dad being silly about it and my Mum rolling her eyes and smacking him around the head."

Bill sighed, "You have lost a lot, Harry; we all have but you more than most. I can understand why that is hitting you today, but you need to focus a little bit more on what you do have. Fred isn't here to set fireworks off with George, but Theo managed just fine as George's accomplice when they turned your guests into flamingo's earlier."

Harry chuckled at the memory.

"And Sirius isn't here to get too drunk and be reprimanded by Remus," Bill agreed, "But I'm fairly sure you're going to see a just as hilarious, if not more so, exchange between Draco and Hermione at some point if he doesn't ease up on the firewhiskey."

Harry smiled at the thought.

"And your parents aren't here," Bill finished, "Not in body anyway, but I think we both know that they have not missed a second of this day. You died in the final battle, and although you won't talk about it, you know something. You have been so much more content since then because you know that there is something after this. You know that wherever they are, they are together, and they are happy."

Harry couldn't argue with that.

"So get your arse back into that ballroom and dance with your wife, kiss your wife, love your wife because this is your wedding day. Once this day is over, you can't get it back, so do not miss one second of it moping," Bill said firmly.

Somehow, although it was harsh, it had been exactly what Harry needed. Feeling far less sorry for himself, he got to his feet and smiled at the Weasley, "Thank you, Bill," he said before jogging back to the house.

When he got back to the ballroom, Daphne beamed at him, so he made a beeline for her.

"Hey!" She said, pulling him in close, "Where did you go?"

"Just outside for a breather," Harry said quietly.

Understanding flashed in Daphne's eyes, "Are you okay now?"

"Perfect," Harry said honestly.

"Alright, everyone! I'm going to need the bride and groom up here to count us down to the millennium!"

A drunken cheer went around the hall as Daphne grabbed Harry's hand and dragged him up onto the stage.

Harry smiled out at their friends and family and conjured up a giant, glittery countdown above the stage.

"Thanks for joining us for this extraordinary day, everyone!" Harry said as he stood with his hand in Daphne's, "We wanted to get married on New Year's Eve because Daphne made a promise to me last year that she would be standing next to me this year to ring in the millennium with style."

"She wasn't kidding!" Theo shouted.

"It's definitely got style!" George added.

Harry laughed and said, "So we're going to need your help to do that. Are you ready?"

There was a general cheer along with several shouts of "Yes!"

Harry grinned. As they approached the millennium, he couldn't help but think back on the last ten years and the fantastic memories he had made, even in the midst of a war.

Daphne squeezed his hand tightly as the countdown began.

"10!"

Harry thought of the previous New Year, of Daphne making her promise and kissing him in this very room.

"9!"

Harry thought of dancing around the tent with Hermione, laughing and forgetting for a while that they were surrounded by war and death and pain.

"8!"

Harry thought of the Weasley's and how they had just taken him in, more so than ever in his sixth year.

"7!"

Harry thought of Sirius; of how he had stood there with a crooked smile, holding a glass of wine, grinning at him and smiling fondly at Remus in a way Harry hadn't understood until much later.

"6!"

Harry thought of Cho and how tentative that first kiss of his had been. He thought of Cedric and how much of a life had been wasted. He thought of Fleur and Viktor and the lasting friendships that he had made.

"5!"

Harry thought of Remus and that year when he had come into his life. He thought of that half-smile of Remus's, of his tendency to offer chocolate to those in need.

"4!"

Harry thought of Ron and Hermione and how they had stuck by him in second year. He thought of Hermione and how she had rushed at him when she woke up at the end of the year. He thought of Draco as he remembered how much the blond boy had glared at him for that one.

"3!"

Harry thought of his first Christmas and New Year at Hogwarts. He thought of Hagrid lugging the tree about. He thought about Flitwick decorating it. He thought about floating lanterns and fairy lights and Dumbledore with his twinkling blue eyes.

"2!"

Harry thought of the moment that he got that fateful letter. The day that he knew that his life was going to change. He thought about owls and Diagon Alley, and the Hogwarts Express.

"1!"

Harry grinned at his wife and thought about their life together, the life they had built together. He thought of how happy she made him, of how seeing her with Teddy made his heart swell.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Somebody, Harry was pretty sure it was Theo again, screamed that it was time to party like it was the millennium, but he wasn't paying much attention. He was far too busy kissing his wife, thinking about the memories they had made together and the memories they would make in the future.

He knew, somewhere deep in his soul, that she would fulfil every wish and desire in his heart.

"Thank you."

Daphne frowned as she broke away from him, "Thank you?"

Harry nodded, "Thank you," he said sincerely, and somehow it needed no further explanation.

The party went on well into the early hours of the morning. After all, not only was it a wedding, but it was also the only time they were going to have the chance to ring in the millennium.

They had moved the party down to Harry's little room of requirement/bar after they rang in the New Year as that was when the Weird Sisters went home. The only people who were left now were the hardcore drinker (and Harry). Even Theo had been forcibly dragged away by Sadie sometime around 2 am.

They were unsure of the time, but it had to be somewhere in the region of 3-4 am. Harry and Daphne were both very grateful that Andromeda had offered to stay in the guest room upstairs near Teddy so that they could enjoy their wedding night.

Harry smiled at his friends; those that were left were his closest friends. Fleur had gone home with Victoire hours ago, but Bill was still here with George. Charlie was sitting on a sofa with Astoria. Ron hadn't passed out yet, and Percy was holding his liquor pretty damn well, although not anywhere near as well as Susan. Hermione, miraculously, was still awake and semi alert and Draco was pretty far gone, but still with them for the moment. Neville and Lilly were doing pretty well, but Lilly was more sober than Neville, which was no surprise.

"I never thought I would see this day," Harry admitted.

"What your wedding day?" Ron asked cluelessly, "I know you were a bit shit with girls, but that's kinda extreme."

Daphne snorted in amusement, "I think he meant he didn't think he would live till the millennium Ron."

Harry chuckled, "Yeah, I did. I thought that arsehole Voldemort would have killed me by now."

"Nah," Neville yawned, "We always knew you'd beat him."

Hermione nodded and said unsteadily, "Well yeah…he was pretty fucking stupid."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, "Wanna elaborate?"

"Well," Hermione said, pushing herself to her feet and then grabbing the bar for support, "What age was Dumblydore when he fell off the tower?"

"I think he had a bit of help from Snape," Lilly snorted.

Hermione waved a hand, "Details, details. But he was like…one hundred and something, right?"

"Yeah," Harry said slowly.

"And Voldymort was what like 80?"

"Voldymort?" Harry sniggered.

"Shoosh," Hermione hushed drunkenly.

"Yeah, he was like 70 or 80 or something," Draco agreed.

"So," Hermione said, "Having Horcruxes didn't exactly help him live forever."

"How many did he have again?" Lilly yawned.

"Like six. Well, no – seven – if you include the one inside Harry."

Ron snorted, "Mione! You're not supposed to tell people that Harry was a Horcrux."

Harry hit his head off the table, "Hermione, you are never allowed to drink again."

Charlie raised his hand, "Fancy telling us what a Horcrux is?"

"Oh, it's really bad magic," Hermione explained, "Like you put your soul in something else, but only a little bit, not the whole thing, but you have to kill someone to do it, so it's very bad, very very bad."

"So that's why you had visions of Voldemort," Bill said to Harry.

Harry nodded, "Yep, I was a Horcrux thanks for throwing that one out there, Mione."

Hermione shrugged, "But seriously, Voldymort was so useless because he basically just thought magic was the answer to everything like a silly little pureblood even though he wasn't even a pureblood."

"She kinda has a point," Lilly agreed, "If he just ate well and exercised, he could have lived till at least a hundred, probably."

"But no," Hermione said dramatically, "He had to go and split up his soul and ruin perfectly good jewellery, what a fucking dumbass."

"Yeah…" Draco agreed.

"And why did he have to go and fuck himself with the killing curse when Harry was a baby?" Neville asked.

"Yeah…Why didn't he just throw him out of the window? Babies are fucking delicate, man," Ron added.

There was a general ripple or more of a roar as it was, of laughter at this.

Until, of course, Bill said, "Kinda concerning that you came out with that since you have a two-month-old kid Ron."

Before anyone could insult Ron for his parenting skills or lack thereof, a loud thud told them that Hermione had just passed out.

When Harry woke up the following morning, he felt exhausted but otherwise in perfect health. That was one pro of being a teetotal recovering alcoholic. He reached over for Daphne but realised that the bed was empty and that light was streaming in through the window.

Harry yawned, stretched and got up. He threw himself in the shower, got dressed and headed downstairs.

He felt the chill when he reached the entrance hall, so he headed for the backdoor, where Daphne was wrapped up in a warm jacket.

"Careful baby!"

There was a soft thump, then the sound of Teddy's laughter. Harry smiled and snuck up behind her, "Morning, babe."

Daphne smiled and leant back against him, "Good morning. Have you seen what your son is up to?"

Harry looked out into the garden where Teddy was playing on a junior broomstick. He had just climbed back on and whizzed across the garden, only to fall off again into a snowdrift.

"He's doing it on purpose," Harry laughed as the little boy got up and beamed over at them.

"Don't you think he looks just like a little teddy bear in his fluffy snowsuit?" Daphne asked.

"Hmm, he does," Harry agreed, kissing her on the cheek, "I love you, thank you for marrying me."

"You are very welcome," Daphne said with a natural smile.

"How long have you been up for?" Harry asked, "And what time is it?"

"It's just after 11 am," Daphne replied, "And I've been awake since 7 am. I didn't feel great, not surprisingly after all of that alcohol last night, so I got up, threw up, took some hangover potion, had some toast, then picked Teddy up."

"He had a lie in this morning then," Harry noted.

"Are you really surprised?" Daphne asked, without taking her eyes off of Teddy, "It was a busy day for him yesterday."

"It was a busy day for all of us," Harry yawned, "When did we hit the sack?"

"4 am," Daphne said with a shake of her head, "I'm going hit the wall this afternoon after my two hours of sleep."

"I'll let you have a nap," Harry joked, "Did everyone get home okay?"

Daphne snorted, "Are you serious? Did you see the state that they were in last night? They are all still here. I managed to get some of them into the guest rooms, but the rest are sleeping in the bar downstairs."

"It's going to be a mess," Harry grimaced.

"The house-elves don't mind tidying it, but I asked them to wait until tomorrow," Daphne said honestly, "They have to spend Christmas Eve cleaning and Christmas Day cooking, so I like to give them New Years off. We can handle a messy house for a couple of days."

Harry smiled, "That's very considerate of you. Hermione would be proud."

Daphne just chuckled and called, "Teddy, time to come inside and get ready for lunch!"

"Play, Mumma!"

"I think you've had quite enough playtime in the snow!" Harry called out, "Listen to Mummy and come inside for lunch."

Teddy huffed about it but dragged his broomstick inside anyway.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "He always listens to you first time."

"It's because I'm the authoritative figure," Harry grinned, "You're too nice, babe."

"You would not have said that a year ago," Daphne said, an amused smile slipping onto her face.

"Well, a lot can change in a year," Harry said, looking down at the shiny new wedding band on his finger.

"It certainly can," Daphne agreed.

The drunkards from the night before surfaced at lunchtime after Harry plied them with Daphne's magical hangover potion, and Daphne cooked a full, delicious smelling English brunch for them.

When they were all sitting around the table, in various states of hungover/disarray, Harry said, "So Hermione, do you remember telling everybody about me being a Horcrux last night?"

Ron snorted as Hermione's face paled, "I…what?"

"Yeah, you told everyone about how Harry had a Horcrux in him," Daphne said, putting a plate of sausages in the middle of the table.

"Oh…shit."

"Hey, language!" Harry exclaimed, "No cursing in front of my son."

"Sorry," Hermione said sheepishly as Ron sniggered at Hermione's expense.

"You were really drunk last night, Hermione," Draco said, an amused smile on his face.

"Coming from you?" Daphne snorted, "Draco, you kept walking into the support pillars then apologising to them!"

Draco's cheeks flushed as the others laughed at them.

"Bill, do you actually want me to cook this bacon?" Daphne asked, glancing over her shoulder at her colleague, "I mean, the full moon is like…tomorrow?"

Bill nodded, "Just give it a quick blast in the frying pan, and it will be grand."

Charlie shook his head, "Alright then, wolfy."

Bill nudged his younger brother and asked, "Where's your other half?"

"Complaining that she's dying and that she's never drinking alcohol again and going on about some Niffler she found in her bed last night."

Harry spat out the coffee he had just drunk and looked at Daphne, who was smirking, "Daphne! You didn't?"

"What?" Daphne asked innocently, "Did the Niffler escape from the greenhouse last night? That is so unfortunate."

Charlie grinned, "Do you know what? I think I'm going to have to marry into this family after all."

Harry barked out a laugh, "Anyway, back to the point. As I was saying, since Hermione told everyone about Horcruxes last night, I thought I better clarify. I'm sure you know that the reason Voldermort was defeated was because his Horcruxes were destroyed, but the Prophet didn't tell anyone any more than that. But when everyone was at Hogwarts or fighting the war, Hermione, Ron and myself were hunting down and killing Voldemort's Horcruxes so that when the battle came, he would be mortal and therefore he would stay dead. That huge snake that Neville so awesomely beheaded? She was the last Horcrux. When she died, Voldemort was mortal, which was how I defeated him. As for how I became a Horcrux, Voldemort's soul was so fragile that when he killed me, it split again without him realising, and part of it latched onto the only living thing in the vicinity; me."

"How did you get rid of it?" Charlie asked curiously.

"I died," Harry said honestly, "When I died out in the forbidden forest, the part of Voldemort's soul inside me died, but I came back. It had something to do with the fact my mother sacrificed herself for me out of pure love."

"Wow, that is deep," Susan said after a long silence.

"But Harry is no longer a Horcrux," Daphne said, depositing a plate of well-cooked bacon for the ordinary people and a plate of barely cooked bacon for Bill, "And the only weird side effect is that he can still talk to snakes, so let's drop the issue, never talk about or think about Horcruxes again, and eat brunch. Okay?"

"Yes, Mum," Charlie joked.

Bill chuckled, "You are kind of a feeder."

"And you do look after everyone," Harry said, smiling fondly at his new wife as she sat down next to him.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "Great. I'm totally the Mum of the group," she conceded to the laughter of their friends.

After lots of hugs and at least three "Be good for Grandma". Harry and Daphne headed off on their very short honeymoon. It was only a couple of days away, but it was exactly what they needed after the stress of planning Christmas and a surprise wedding right at the back of it.

"So, where are we going?" Daphne asked as Harry slung a bag over his shoulder and led her down the garden path towards the gates, "You have been very secretive about it."

Harry smiled at her as he opened the gates, "It's a surprise."

"It's Paris, isn't it?"

"It's not Paris," Harry said. He clicked his fingers, "Because Paris is your roaming ground, you already know it like the back of your hand."

Daphne narrowed her eyes at him, "So where are we going?"

At that point, a chariot descended from the sky and landed in front of them.

"Is that a winged horse?" Daphne asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's just a Thestral that Charlie used some weird but totally ethical charm on," Harry grinned, "But do you get the hint?"

"Greece!"

Harry frowned, "No…Rome."

"But winged horses are from Greek mythology," Daphne pointed out.

"Are they?"

Daphne nodded and hid a smile behind her hand.

"Well…fuck. I messed that one up a bit."

Daphne couldn't help herself. She let out a snort of amusement, "I've never been to Rome though, so don't sweat it."

Harry blew out a sigh of relief, "Alright, then I didn't mess up too badly, that's fine."

Daphne laughed as he helped her into the chariot. Once the doors were shut, Harry hit the roof, and it took off. Daphne couldn't help but smile as she looked out of the window at Potter Manor, the house that had very quickly become not only her home but their family home.

Not for the first time, Daphne thanked the stars for all the luck they had granted her.

* ~ TBC ~ *