A/N: Thank you so much for all of your reviews and messages. For reference, the last chapter took place July 1966. Happy reading!

For the disclaimer, please see the prologue.

Chapter Sixty-Three: August 1966

As it turned out, Lucy's intuition was correct, and Iolanthe announced her pregnancy shortly after Athena and Dalton's wedding. As a result, Iolanthe and Charlus Potter had decided to move up their own ceremony to late August.

Minerva had teased Callum for weeks, saying that Iolanthe truly was her father's daughter.

Callum had not been amused.

The day of their wedding was proving to be lovely with perfect waning summer weather, and Albus was very intrigued at the prospect of visiting one of the famous Potter manors.

"I can't believe the Potters have three ancestral homes," Albus said to Minerva as he finished putting on his dress robes. "I'll admit that, even after all this time, I still find Purebloods and their traditions a bit odd."

"Well, the Potters were always rich, even in my Seanmhair Ross' time. It drives the Malfoys mad," Minerva added from the bathroom, just a hint of a grin on her face. "It'll be nice to visit their home in Godric's Hollow. I haven't been there since I was a young girl; Ma was friends with one of the old Potter aunts."

"Minerva?" Albus' voice took on a nervous tone. "May we talk for a moment?"

"Yes, just give me one second." She finished putting her earrings in and then exited the bathroom into her bedroom. "What is it?"

"You look beautiful," Albus breathed, forgetting his nerves for a moment.

Minerva smiled gratefully. "Thank you. Now, what's on your mind?"

He simply held out his hands, so Minerva sat on the bed and grasped them tightly. "I've told you about my father being in Azkaban before, right?"

"You know you have." Minerva searched his face, concerned. "What has you thinking about that?"

"Have I ever told you that my family sought refuge in Godric's Hollow after he was arrested, and my mother couldn't bear to stay in Mould-on-the-Wold any longer?"

"Oh, Merlin, no. No, you never told me that." Minerva squeezed his hands. "Albus, if this wedding will bring back too many unpleasant memories, I don't want you to feel forced to go. There's no sense in going back to Godric's Hollow and drudging all that up for a wedding. Iolanthe will understand."

"It's not that." Albus shook his head. "I've made a—perhaps uncharacteristically cowardly—decision to avoid the town since. I don't know how I'll react when we arrive, that's all."

"I appreciate you telling me," Minerva said softly. She squeezed his hands. "I'm glad you feel like you can tell me."

"I have tried to grow in the past twenty years." Albus managed a brief smile.

"And you have. The Albus of yesteryear wouldn't have told me that."

"Thank you for having faith in me, but that's not all." Albus sighed wearily. "It's also where I met Gellert."

Her face softened. "Al, you know I don't care about that. I haven't given much thought to your relationship with Gellert since the war."

"I know, and I love you all the more for that." Albus stroked her palm. "I have a point in telling you this, though: I'm hoping you will come with me as I visit my family home. It is my hope that, by going back to see it and facing my demons, I won't have such an aversion to the place."

"Of course." Minerva kissed his forehead. "I'm honoured that you would even ask me, Albus. I understand why you've avoided it, and it means even more to me that you're willing to accompany me to the wedding today." She frowned for a moment. "Wait. If this is your family home, then where the hell did we all stay when Riddle's henchmen captured Cal?"

Albus chuckled. "I knew you'd ask about that. That home is actually my true family home, the one we left in Mould-on-the-Wold. I've worked extensively to fix it up since we left it; that's why it was suitable for you to stay there."

"It was a very pleasant place to stay. Perhaps we could go back sometime? It would make for a lovely vacation home. I know we have the Manor, but that feels like a family home, not a nice little escape."

Albus rose an eyebrow. "I wouldn't have imagined that you'd want to return there. After all, you were essentially there in captivity. Besides..." He hesitated for a moment. "I hope I'm not overstepping, my dear, but I don't want to infringe upon any of your memories with Aidan. You were there as newlyweds."

"This is my turn to say that I love you all the more for considering that." Minerva kissed him gently. "While I appreciate the thought, it's been a long time. Surely we could change the bed out. Make us both a bit more comfortable?"

"Why...oh, Merlin, I didn't need to think about that," Albus grumbled.

"Pretend it's because we're both older and need more lumbar support. A new bed would do us good." Minerva winked and stood up. "Will we go to your old home after the wedding?"

"I thought that would be the best plan of attack, yes. That way, if I'm feeling despondent after, we can just come home together."

"Makes sense to me," Minerva replied. She applied a swipe of lipstick. "You know, I'm glad that Cal and Lucy like you enough to invite you to the wedding. No need to invent an excuse for you to come with me."

"We could tell them about us, you know," Albus laughed. "They're family."

"You'd be comfortable telling them before we tell our kids?" Minerva raised an eyebrow. "If they were to ever discover that they weren't the first to know, there'd be hell to pay."

"That's a good point," Albus mused. "Didn't you say Ro already knows, though?"

"Yes, but I didn't tell her outright. She figured it out. I'd be shocked if she has managed to keep it a secret from Poppy, though, so we should consider that two people already know." Minerva chuckled. "Perhaps you're right: the cat is already out of the bag."

"And if Ro knows, I doubt we'll be able to keep it a secret much longer." Albus smirked at Minerva. "Ro, while a wonderful, dear friend, is not the best at keeping secrets."

"Apart from her entire identity, you mean?" Minerva looked at him pointedly.

"Touché. Perhaps I should phrase it as: Ro can't keep the secrets of others."

"There you go." Minerva extended her arm. "Care to escort me out of the castle?"

"You know I would, but I'm surprised you're not concerned about the risk." Albus stood and looped her arm through his.

"Can't I want to walk with you?"

"Of course you can. I'm merely surprised, that's all."

"Forgive me for wanting to bask in the freedom while we have it. We got lucky this summer; our colleagues seem to be avoiding the castle. It will be harder when they all start returning," Minerva admitted. She sighed as they walked. "It's been rather nice to be holed up together all the time: doing work, reading, eating, sleeping. We have a nice routine going. I'm not looking forward to getting back to the 'real world'."

"Perhaps we don't need to go back to our old ways." Albus grinned as an idea popped into his head. "I'm sure there's a way for us to coax the castle into connecting our rooms. That way, we could stay together and yet everyone would find us where they expect us to be."

Minerva simply looked at him. "My love, if you can figure that out, then power to you."

"I'm sure we could," Albus murmured. "After all, the castle readjusts itself for staff members with families, or when guests come to stay."

"Well, if anyone can figure it out, it's you," Minerva assured him, knowing he wouldn't rest until he found a solution. "It's really not a problem, though. It's more of a nuisance, if anything. Don't worry about it on my account."

"I shall worry about it on both our accounts." Albus stopped walking and spun around, cupping her face. "I told you that I liked waking up next to you, and that's still the case. I'd like to do it for as long as you'll have me."

Minerva kissed him sweetly. "I won't complain if you figure it out, my love. I'll be just as happy as you."

"Then I shall set my mind to the task post-haste," Albus murmured. "Shall we?"

When they arrived at the Potter home, Albus found himself very impressed with the estate. "Has it always looked like this?" he asked Minerva.

"Yes," Minerva said, laughing. "It's quite formidable, I know."

"It makes your Manor look like a small country home."

She swatted his chest. "Careful, now, or you won't be coming home with me."

"I feel like that would go against your interests, my dear."

"Do you?" Minerva turned to face him and arched an eyebrow. "Do you—" Her eyes widened. "Dalton!"

Albus whipped around to see Athena and Dalton coming up the drive. "Hello, you two."

"Hi, Min. And Albus," Athena added, giggling. Despite the fact that it was Iolanthe's wedding, the Potters did not know Athena and Dalton's true heritage. They believed Dalton to be a good family friend of the McGonagalls, and Athena was able to tag along as his wife. Iolanthe had begged her aunt to be able to tell her fiancé the truth, and so, in true auntly fashion—after consultation with Albus, of course—they allowed Iolanthe to tell Charlus. Charlus had proved himself to be a man of worthy character, asking for Albus to perform the Fidelius charm in order to demonstrate his loyalty to his new family.

Lucy had cried for days about how wonderful her new son-in-law had turned out to be.

"How are you feeling?" Albus asked quietly. His eyes quickly travelled to Athena's stomach. They had glamoured Athena's growing baby bump so the Potters couldn't see it, but Albus obviously knew it was there. "I know it has been a rough few weeks."

"The morning sickness won't stop," Athena replied sadly. "Nothing new to report. I simply feel sick, all the time."

Albus furrowed his brow. "Do you need help? Can I help?"

Minerva smiled gently. "Al, I doubt even you could get rid of pregnancy pain; at least, not in any permanent way. Have you been to see Poppy?"

Dalton nodded. "Poppy comes by every day."

"Every day?" Albus yelped. "Is it that bad?"

"Poppy doesn't think it's serious," Athena soothed. "She just wants to keep an eye on me, given the amount of pain I'm in." She rolled her eyes and jerked her thumb in Dalton's direction. "I already have this one worrying about me day in and day out. I don't need you worrying about me too, Albus."

"Min?" Albus bewilderedly looked at Minerva for help.

Minerva sighed. "Albus, surely you can understand that Athena doesn't want to feel smothered at the moment. Athena, I would hope that you could understand that he will always be worried about you, no matter what you say to the contrary." She looked pointedly at both of them. "What if I visit Athena during the day? That way, Dalton can go to work without worrying, and Albus can trust that someone is monitoring Athena. It would take some of the visiting pressure off of Poppy, as well. It's something we can do before school starts, at the very least."

"Merlin, Min, I love y—that idea," Albus corrected quickly.

"Athena?" Minerva asked. "Is that all right with you?"

"I'd love to have you," Athena confessed. "I love Poppy, but she can be too...doctor-y at times."

Minerva laughed. "I know that feeling all too well. Now that we have all of this sorted out, can we head inside, please? I don't feel like missing the wedding."

"My dear?" Albus proffered his arm.

"Lead the way." Minerva smiled and held on to his arm as they walked into the house.

"Woah," Dalton gaped, looking around.

Although the wedding was intended to be small, the house was clearly decorated ostentatiously, as perhaps was to be expected of a family with as much wealth and power as the Potters.

"Close your mouth, dear," Minerva murmured. "Don't embarrass yourself."

Dalton glared at his mother. "This place is huge."

"Yes, and you can express that with your mouth closed," Athena teased. "Come now, let's go see them all."

Much like her cousin, Iolanthe had opted to have her guests mill around together before the ceremony.

"Aunt Min!" Iolanthe ran over to give her aunt a hug. "Thank you for coming."

"Did you really think I'd miss this?" Minerva asked, laughing. "I'm your godmother, never mind your aunt. I love you too much not to be here. Besides, your Da would kill me if I didn't make it."

"Still, it means the world to me." Iolanthe grinned, and Minerva had to smile. Her niece's joy was infectious, and she genuinely seemed happy. "With everything going on, it's nice to see all of my family."

"Speaking of everything," Minerva asked, "how are you feeling?"

If possible, Iolanthe's grin grew wider. She cupped her stomach gently, letting everyone see the slight bump. "I feel brilliant. Pregnancy feels so easy. I'm shocked I haven't been sicker, to be honest."

Athena barely restrained herself from groaning.

Minerva felt Albus' hand tighten around her elbow, and she knew she had to say something before he caused their bond to ripple with anxiety. "I'm happy to hear that, Iolanthe. Pregnancies can be easy or hard—sometimes both at the same time. I'm thrilled to hear that it's going well thus far."

"Thanks. Me too, honestly. Could you imagine being sick on your wedding day?" Iolanthe shuddered. "Not something I'd fancy, I reckon."

"You're quite lucky," Athena said, smiling hollowly. "We're happy to be here with you."

"I wanted you here. You're family." Iolanthe kissed Athena's cheek and then ran off, presumably to find her fiancé.

"Are you all right?" Dalton asked quietly. He knew it couldn't have been easy to hear that Iolanthe's pregnancy was seemingly problem-free. "Can I get you anything?"

"I'm fine. I just feel...well, rather robbed, to be honest." Athena sniffed and wiped a tear away. "Goodness, I need a moment."

"Here, let's go to the restroom, shall we?" Minerva suggested kindly. She withdrew from Albus' grip and draped an arm around Athena's shoulders. "Let's take a deep breath, and take a moment alone."

"I'll make your excuses," Albus said, smiling gratefully at Minerva. He had known he was lucky to have her as his partner, but the depths of her love never ceased to surprise him.

As Minerva and Athena left, Callum approached the men. "Thank you for coming—both of you."

Dalton looked around before whispering, "Well, I am family."

"And I'm happy to tag along," Albus added. "Thank you for including me in this. You must be excited for Iolanthe."

"I'm excited, yes, but it feels like she's much too young for this." Callum shook his head. "I'm sure you feel the same way, Albus."

"Mhmm." Albus nodded, unwilling to make Dalton uncomfortable by saying much more. "It's hard when they grow up."

"It is. Especially when they're fighting a war," Callum said, a touch of steel in his voice. He rounded on his nephew. "Any news on that front? How did your mission last week go?"

Dalton looked nervously between Albus and Callum. "Well enough. I can go over the report with you next week, if you'd like."

"I would." Callum took a swig of whisky. "Something's coming, and I don't like it. I want us to be as prepared as we can be. But you're right: that can wait until the work week begins again."

Albus didn't like their tones, and suddenly, it wasn't only the impending visit to his old home that was making him uneasy.

After the ceremony and an obligatory dance or three with the Potter patriarch, Minerva happily found herself in her son's arms. Unfortunately, Athena still didn't feel much like celebrating, and Albus had wanted to stay with her. They sat on the sidelines, watching the festivities.

"Thank you for going with Athena earlier," Dalton murmured. "She needs a motherly perspective. That's more helpful than her husband, apparently."

"Oh, darling." Minerva smiled. "Sometimes it's just easier to talk to someone who has had the same experience. Really, I should be thanking you for letting Albus sit with her. He's extremely worried, even if he won't come out and say so."

"You know, you and Albus are funny." Dalton shook his head. "You two are truly like an old married couple."

"Oh, for the love of Merlin." She rolled her eyes. "I hear enough of these rumours at school."

"Don't worry, I'm not insinuating anything," Dalton said, chuckling. "No, it just made me think.

"About?"

He answered her question with one of his own. "Ma, why did you never date after Da?"

"Where did this come from?" Minerva asked amusedly. "Save my bonding, I don't think you've ever taken much of an interest in my love life."

"All the weddings lately, to start," Dalton said, shrugging. "It made me think about you and Dad, and your wedding, and then I wondered about the fact that I've never seen you date. I've only ever really seen you interact with Albus, and watching you two piqued my curiosity."

"Did you ever consider that I might have just been good at hiding my romantic excursions from you? I have gone on dates, you know."

That much was true. Minerva had gone on a number of dates over the years, but no one had intrigued her, so it was the rare man who got more than one date with Minerva.

In fact, the luckiest man had made it as long as ten dates before Minerva had cut him loose.

"No one was ever so serious that you introduced them to me," Dalton countered. "Now that I would have remembered."

"No," Minerva conceded, "no one that serious." She looked at her son. "Darling, I was a busy single mother. I had to prioritize my time—everything I did was scheduled. If I went on a date, I didn't have the luxury of feeling things out. I had to decide quickly if that person was worth my time. And it wasn't even just my time: it was our time together. No one ever came close to being worth that."

"I don't tell you often enough: you're the best parent on the planet."

Minerva laughed. "It means the world to me that you'd say that, but that is far from the truth."

"Seriously," Dalton said, shaking his head, "I can only hope that I'll be a responsible enough parent to make those sorts of sacrifices for the little one."

"You will." Minerva kissed his cheek and stepped back. "And if not, Athena will sort you out."

Dalton snorted. "Will she ever." He looked over at his wife fondly. "Actually, can we go see them? It looks like Athena would like to go home sooner rather than later."

"She's had a rough night," Minerva said sympathetically. "It's probably best that you take her home for some rest."

"I wish she were having an easier time with this," Dalton muttered as they walked in the direction of Albus and Athena. "She's sick, and it's never-ending."

"It can't be fun for you, either." Minerva raised a knowing eyebrow. "I know you can feel some of what she's feeling."

"It's not pleasant," Dalton confessed, "but I'm not stupid enough to complain."

"I am always here if you feel the need to complain. I am..." Minerva looked around. "Well, I am who I am."

"I know." He grinned. "Thanks, Minerva."

Minerva rolled her eyes. "That stops tonight, thank you very much." She looked at Athena and Albus as they arrived at the edge of the dance floor. "How are you two faring?"

"Well enough." Albus' eyes glittered amusedly. "You know, Minerva, for someone who claims to hate dancing, you seem to be doing a lot of it lately."

"Unfortunately, dancing is expected at weddings."

"I wish I felt well enough to dance," Athena grumbled. "Everything bloody hurts." She winced. "And that lamb definitely didn't help my stomach."

"On that note, we should get you home," Dalton said gently. He extended his hands. "Come on, I'll help you up."

"We should say goodbye to Iolanthe," Athena protested.

"She won't notice. Look." Dalton gestured at the dance floor, where Iolanthe and Charlus were jumping around wildly. "We can send her an owl in the morning if you feel that bad about it."

"The only reason I'm agreeing is because I feel like utter shit," Athena muttered. "Goodbye, Albus."

Albus rose and hugged his daughter. "Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"I'll be over to see you tomorrow," Minerva promised, squeezing her daughter-in-law's hand.

Albus sighed as he watched them leave. "At least Dalton takes good care of her. Am I overreacting?"

"No, I don't think so. Pregnancy isn't fun at the best of times, and she clearly isn't having an easy time with it. I'll talk to Poppy tomorrow and see if I can figure out how best to help her." Minerva smiled. "She'll be all right."

"I'll feel better when that baby is out," Albus murmured. "I hate seeing her in that much discomfort."

"I know." She patted his arm. "Shall we leave, too?"

"I suppose we have another trip to make," Albus said, almost bitterly. He looked at Minerva hopefully. "Do you suppose we could just go back to the castle?"

"We could," Minerva replied gently, "but after your big step forward today, that wouldn't help much, would it?"

"As usual, you're right." He took her arm and led them quietly out of Potter Manor. "Would it be all right if I took you by Side-Along apparition? I know you don't enjoy it—"

"—But I don't know where we're going." Minerva smiled. "It's all right. I can manage. Whenever you're ready."

Albus nodded and tightened his grip around her, whisking them away. When they had arrived, he asked, "Do you feel all right?"

She grimaced. "I'll be fine. Now, how did you want to do this?"

"I...I don't know." Albus faltered. "What should I do?"

"Do you want to go inside the house?" Minerva asked softly. "Or just wander the grounds? If you want, I can stay here while you do what you need to do."

"No." Albus shook his head vehemently. "Whatever I'm doing, I want you with me."

"I'm here. I'm right here." She kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand. "Would you like to tell me about the house?"

Albus inhaled sharply. "Sure. Yes, let's do that." He slowly led her around the garden until they were at the back of the house. "Do you see that bench back there, under the tree?"

"Mhmm."

"That's where Gellert and I spent many an afternoon." Albus spoke softly, as though his words could be picked up into the wind and float far, far away. "It's where we made all of our grand plans—where we plotted to overthrow the world."

"You didn't plot to overthrow the world," Minerva responded. She did her best to keep her voice low, too. "Please don't blame yourself."

"I'm not. I'm taking responsibility." Albus turned them to look back at the house and pointed. "That window there should look familiar to you."

"It was in your memory that I saw. The one where Ariana died."

"She didn't die, Min." Albus looked at her, tears in his eyes. "She was murdered. Most likely by me." He choked up and burrowed his head in her shoulder.

"No, my love." Minerva ran her hand through his hair. "Murder implies some form of intent. You did not intend to hurt your sister. Neither did Aberforth, and, although I despise the man, I don't think Grindelwald did, either."

"But I was part of it!" Albus sobbed.

Minerva let him cry, standing quietly until his breathing calmed. "Al, I have a suggestion."

"Yes?" Albus sniffled and took a step back. "Oh, I'm sorry about your robes."

"Albus, it's fine. There are cleaning spells for a reason." Minerva put her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look at her. "What if we came back here and built a nice memorial for Ariana? Perhaps we could take some of the bad memories and make them into something special that you, Aberforth, and Athena could come and visit."

"I love that idea. It's marvellous!" Albus beamed. "I wonder if Pomona could bloom some special flowers that I could repot here."

"I'm sure she would, if you asked her nicely. Is there anything else you want to say about this house? Any more demons you want to exorcise?" Minerva asked.

"Not right now, no. But perhaps we could come back some other time? If I ever feel the need to come back and think, that is."

"We can do that whenever you want. But now, my love, it's almost midnight and it's getting rather chilly. If you have finished for tonight, may I suggest we head home before either of us catches a cold?"

"That is a good idea." Albus kissed the top of her head. "Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for inviting me. Home?"

"Home."

Minerva hugged him, and they Apparated back to Hogwarts. They walked silently until they arrived at Minerva's quarters.

Both agreed that her quarters felt much more like home than his own.

"Thank you," Albus said again once they had sat down. "Truly."

"I told you, Albus: it was absolutely no problem."

"Not just for that. Thank you for making me into someone that wants to face my past for the first time in a very long time. I've struggled to be a good father–as you know—and I feel that if I had done this a long time ago, I could have been a much better person."

"Al. It doesn't matter that you didn't do it earlier. What matters is that you did it at all. Now," Minerva said, wanting desperately for him to feel better, "would you care for hot chocolate? I know it's still technically summer, but I find that tea always helps me relax after a cry like that. I can only imagine that hot chocolate does the same for you."

"I'd love some. Thank you."

"Stay here. I'll get it." Minerva kissed him softly and walked into her kitchen.

Albus watched her go to prepare their beverages, and realized he was the luckiest man in the world.