Aug 28

When the

Roses Bloom

Again - Home Having received the brief note from Charlus, Minerva had

barely slept and had spent much of the night pacing back

and forth, waiting for any further news, waiting to hear

from Harry himself.

Minerva,

Harry killed Grindelwald. He is f ine but is resting and will be

in touch as soon as he possibly can.

Expect company, but until they arrive, stay at home.

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Charlus

On its own, the note was ominous, and she had read it

dozens of times, unable to believe the words.

She likely wouldn't have had they not been penned in the

familiar scrawl of Charlus Potter.

Minerva had done as she was bid, and though it was

difficult to not seek further clarification the night had

passed, and she had busied herself caring for Rosa.

She was nearing her second birthday now, was growing

quickly into a curious, adventurous girl.

For almost a year she had been displaying bouts of

accidental magic, nothing dangerous much to Minerva's

relief, but she had become rather adept at escaping her cot.

Thankfully, Kora was on hand to intervene when needed,

and often enough, Minerva would hear the little elf gently

chastising her giggling daughter who found no end of

amusement from her own escapades.

She was just like Harry in so many ways; quiet, observant,

but proving to have quite the fiery temper, though that

could have been inherited by both her parents.

With a snort, Minerva recalled trying to feed the girl some

mashed carrots, only to find that Rosa did not want them.

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Instead, the bowl had somehow been propelled into

Minerva's face, much to the joy of her daughter.

She was pulled from her reminiscing by the sound of an

alert, letting her know that someone was at the door.

Picking up Rosa who had been playing with a set of

Quidditch figurines, she headed to the entrance hall and

opened it to be greeted by the sight of Reg Yaxley and

around a dozen others.

"Minerva," he greeted her warmly. "Harry has sent us to act

as a guard for you and the little one."

"Is it necessary to have so many of you?"

A smirk tugged at Reg's lips as he nodded.

"Orders from the commander himself," he snorted. "Some

of Grindelwald's followers are still out there and he is not

taking any chances. We will try not to get in your way."

Minerva tutted but allowed them to enter the house.

Had they not been given express permission by Harry, they

wouldn't have made it passed the gate, after all.

"Well, haven't you grown," Reg cooed at Rosa as Minerva

led her guests to the parlour room that looked over the

grounds.

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Harry had brought the man to visit Rosa shortly after her

first birthday, and the girl had been quite taken with him.

Rosa eyed him curiously for a moment before blushing and

hiding her face in the crook of Minerva's neck, eliciting a

chuckle from Reg.

"Oh, that is so cute," an American woman who was

unfamiliar to Minerva commented.

"What can I say, the ladies love me," Reg returned with a

grin.

The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head amusedly.

"You've spent too much time with Potter and Gilbert."

"Probably," Reg conceded. "As you can already see, the little

lady that is hiding is Harry's daughter, and her beautiful

mother was somehow charmed by our commander.

Minerva, this is my wife, Nancy."

Minerva offered the woman a tight smile.

"What happened, Reg?" she asked as she took a seat and

gestured for others to follow suit.

Reg's expression darkened and he released a deep breath.

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"I don't know how much you are aware of what we have

been doing, but we managed to enter France undetected

and catch Grindelwald's men unaware," he began. "It didn't

take long for him to hear what had happened and he

arrived shortly after. Seeing that he was going to lose, he

challenged Harry to a one-on-one duel."

"And Harry accepted," Minerva sighed.

"Would you expect anything less from the prat?"

Minerva shook her head and allowed Rosa, who had finally

emerged, off her lap to roam around the room.

"Is he alright?"

"He's fine," Reg assured her. "Nothing more than some

superficial wounds, but bloody hell, none of us will ever

witness anything like we did between them. They were at it

for hours, and when Harry won, Grindelwald's lot

surrendered. We took them into custody. There are still

things to deal with, but Harry has promised that he will be

home by tomorrow to see you, and I'd like to see anyone try

to stop him."

"Tomorrow?"

"He's already been summoned for a debrief by the ICW,"

Reg sighed irritably. "He's not happy, but I suppose they

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want to hear what happened from him."

Minerva nodded her understanding.

"Am I allowed to leave the house now?"

"You can do whatever you like," Reg replied. "We're not

here to keep you prisoner, just as an extra precaution. You

know what Harry is like."

"So, he sent twelve of you?"

Reg chuckled.

"He was going to send twenty, but I managed to convince

him that was too much."

Minerva snorted amusedly.

"Has the news broken yet?"

"It will in The Daily Prophet this morning," Reg explained.

"We've already had reporters sniffing around, taking

photos, and trying to talk to Harry."

"I bet he loved that."

"He doesn't know," Reg said with a grin. "They haven't

managed to get past Arcturus yet, and they're not so wiling

to push their luck with him."

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Minerva couldn't blame them.

The name alone was enough to deter anyone.

"I'd like to visit Diagon Alley. I need to see it for myself,"

she declared.

Without hesitation, Reg nodded.

"It happened, Minerva," he reassured her, "but we will take

you. I'm sure most of this lot will appreciate being in

civilised company and enjoying some fresh London air. Get

yourself ready, we will be waiting for you."

Minerva offered the man a grateful smile, retrieved Rosa

and headed to her bedroom.

Harry was okay, and the worst part of the war was finally

over.

For years now, he had been on the continent doing all he

could to put an end to Grindelwald, and though it wouldn't

seem real until she saw Harry for herself, she allowed a

sense of relief to wash over her as she dressed Rosa.

When they were ready, half of the group sent to watch over

them used the fireplace to travel to The Leakey Cauldron

before Minerva and Rosa followed where they waited for

the rest.

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The pub itself was full to capacity with people drinking

even at this early hour as they sang the praises of those that

had fought, the name of one person in particular being

mentioned time and again.

On the wall was a haphazardly created banner that simply

read; Evans for Minister, and Minerva couldn't help but

laugh to herself.

Harry would hate it, but the best part of the last four years

had been difficult. There wasn't a single person in Britain

who hadn't been affected by the war.

Whether it was a family member or a friend who had

volunteered to fight, it had touched each of them, and with

it now finally coming to a close, a collective breath of relief

could be taken.

Exiting the pub, Minerva found the alley to be in very

much the same mood. The witches and wizards of Great

Britain had come out in droves to celebrate with each

other.

It was quite the heart-warming sight, and Minerva felt

herself fill with pride as the gathered crowd began cheering

for Harry as vendors handed out copies of The Daily

Prophet, and others did so with ice cream and drinks.

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"They're cheering for your dad, Rosa," Minerva explained

to the clueless girl as she looked around interestedly.

"Da?" Rosa asked, her eyes searching for the man.

"He will be back soon," Minerva promised.

Rosa merely stared at her before she was quickly distracted

by the sudden explosion of fireworks that erupted from

near where Gringotts was situated.

"Harry won't like this," Reg guffawed as he held up the

paper he'd been handed.

On the front was a picture a photographer had managed to

snap of him in Bulgaria. He was helping a family find their

belongings amongst a pile of rubble that had once been

their home.

Minerva smirked at it.

In the photo, Harry was blowing bubbles out of his wand

to entertain the children as he helped pull a large portrait

from the remains of a collapsed fireplace.

When her gaze shifted to the other accompanying photos,

Minerva's smirk fell.

"Is that what was left after?" she asked.

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These photos depicted an area of land that looked as

though several bombs had been dropped on it.

Reg nodded.

"That's it," he confirmed. "It was a mess by the time they

were done."

As she suspected, this was where Harry and Grindelwald

had fought. How any of them came out alive from the

devastation that had been wrought, Minerva didn't know,

but seeing the images of the aftermath made her realise just

how dangerous it must have been.

"He really is fine," Reg reiterated, seeing her demeanour

shift. "He won, and that's all that matters."

Minerva nodded and tore her eyes from the page.

She didn't want to look at it anymore. If anything, she

wanted these past years to one day fade so that they seemed

to be nothing but a long, bad dream she'd once had.

She wanted to forget the war had ever happened at all, but

that wasn't possible. Minerva would settle for Harry

coming home so they could begin healing, so that they

could begin finally being a family.

She could settle for that.

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(Break)

With the students away for the summer, it was the time of

year that Albus and Armando switched their focus to the

less urgent aspects of running the school, the things that

were either put on hold whilst the students were here, or

that were merely not needed to be discussed until now.

For the most part, they tried to get this done at the

beginning of the break so that they could enjoy a respite

themselves, and it was no different now.

"Any thoughts on who should be head boy and girl?"

Albus hadn't given it much thought. His mind had been

rather distracted as of late and who would take up the posts

was not something he had considered much.

"I think Mr Fawcett of Ravenclaw would be an excellent

choice," he offered thoughtfully.

Armando nodded and made a note on his parchment.

"I was going to suggest him myself," he replied, his

expression darkening as he released a deep breath. "I am

surprised that Horace has not visited to plead his case for

Mr Riddle. They do not seem to have been as close this

year. If anything, I would say they have drifted apart."

Albus frowned at his colleague's observation.

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"Has Horace not said anything?"

Armando shook his head.

"No, he hasn't mentioned the boy once this year. That itself

is unusual."

Albus hummed as he drummed his fingers across the desk.

What had happened between them for the man who

advocated the boy so strongly to suddenly stop?

Had Horace simply grown tired of being rebuffed by

Armando?

"Do you think we should talk to him?" he asked.

Armando shrugged.

"I will monitor the situation and broach the subject if I feel

it is needed."

Albus nodded his agreement.

"Perhaps Rosalina has some thoughts on the matter," he

chuckled. "She is heading in this direction rather quickly."

Even before Armando could reply there was a frantic

knocking on the office door.

"Come in," Armando called.

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Rosalina was uncharacteristically excited as she entered

clutching the morning edition of The Daily Prophet.

"Have you seen this?" she asked as she dropped it on the

desk between them.

Reading the headline on the front page, Albus experienced

several emotions at once: jubilation, anger, sadness, and

even heartbreak.

EVANS KILLS GRINDELWALD IN SENSATIONAL

DUEL!

By Peter Stanforth

Albus didn't know what he was supposed to feel. He was

glad that the war was over, pleased that the fighting would

finally stop, but there was still a part of him that would

mourn for Gellert.

He felt guilty for taking the easy way out, for avoiding

confronting his old friend when he could have been the

difference between life and death.

Albus knew he could defeat Gellert in a duel, but he hadn't

been able to face him, not after what happened to Ariana.

Perhaps he should have.

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If Albus had managed to muster enough courage, Gellert

could have been defeated yet his death would have been

avoidable.

Not that he could change that now.

"Albus?" Armando pressed gently.

The transfiguration professor swallowed deeply as he stood.

"I'd like some time alone," he requested before taking his

leave of the room.

He and Gellert had once been best friends, more in truth,

and Albus had never truly gotten over what he had lost in

the pursuit of that relationship: his sister, his brother, and

now the one who had been his greatest inspiration.

Despite everything that had happened, and all that Gellert

had done, Albus had never stopped hoping the man would

change his ways, had never stopped loving the enigmatic

young man he had made the acquaintance of all those years

ago.

Now, Gellert's foolish ambition had gotten him killed, and

though Albus abhorred violence of any kind, he might just

be able to endure it for a reprieve from his aching heart.

(Break)

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Nicholas could only gawp at the newspaper as the owl

delivered it, and he blinked several times to ensure his eyes

weren't playing tricks on him. For the first time in as long

as he could remember, he ran towards the kitchen with an

excited Camille in tow.

"Perenelle!" he gasped as he entered, clutching his chest,

and breathing heavily.

His six-century-old body was certainly not cut out for

physical exertion.

"Oh, Nicholas, look what you made me do," Perenelle

huffed as she gestured to a fallen flower she had been

pruning. "I've been growing these for months."

Nicholas said nothing as he handed the woman the paper.

Perenelle frowned before her eyes widened and she looked

between her husband and the headline.

"Can it be true?" she whispered.

Nicholas nodded and Perenelle murmured to herself.

"The boy did it," she declared emotionally. "He really did

it!"

Nicholas beamed as he wrapped his arms around her.

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He couldn't remember a time he had felt prouder, not even

when he and Albus had finished their work on the twelve

uses of dragon's blood.

"He did," Nicholas confirmed, truly relaxing for the first

time in almost four years.

Both he and Perenelle had been worried for Harry, and not

a day went by that his wife didn't look out for a letter from

him.

There would be no need of that anymore.

The war was all but over, and Nicholas had no doubt that

Harry would return home to be with Minerva and Rosa as

soon as he possibly could.

Once more, Perenelle spoke to herself under her breath as

she dried her tears of relief, and Nicholas found it hard to

not let his emotions get the better of him.

Harry had won the war, and though Nicholas had no doubt

that what he'd experienced would haunt him for years to

come, the man would have the opportunity to live.

'As soon as he puts his parent's murderer to rest,' he added

internally.

That was another problem in itself, but one that only Harry

had the right to address in any way he chose.

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Nicholas knew he wouldn't outright murder the boy whilst

he was in school, but when he left and was considered a

man grown, there would be nothing that would stop him

finishing what began more than twenty years ago.

Then he could live.

(Break)

The last time Harry had been within the chambers of the

ICW, the mood had been tense, and the expressions fixated

on him grim at best. Now, however, that atmosphere was

absent.

The representatives of each country had given him a

standing ovation as he entered, and even once that ended

after several awkward moments, they offered him smiles,

and nods of appreciation when he met their stares.

It was something that Harry was not comfortable with, but

something he had been advised to accept, nonetheless.

Arcturus and Charlus had taken it upon themselves to offer

him advice before he had left, the thought of which left

Harry fighting the urge to smirk to himself.

"Everyone will want to kiss your arse, Evans. Let them get it

over with, accept whatever they want to give to you, and then

they will have no reason to bother you anymore."

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That had been the suggestion of the Lord Black, as blunt

as ever but an approach Harry had come to appreciate.

"You earned everything, Harry. You have sacrif iced more than

they will ever be able to give you."

"So has everyone else," Harry pointed out.

"But no one else fought as long or as hard as you," Charlus

retorted. "This war would still be happening without you and

how you led us, and we won't let you think otherwise."

Arcturus had nodded his agreement firmly and the two of

them had insisted on escorting him here.

They were currently waiting outside the chamber, only

content to do so when Harry had insisted he did not need

them to guard him within.

He didn't need them to guard him at all, but he appreciated

the gesture from the duo, though their presence may have

shielded him somewhat from the continuous flashing of

cameras coming from the public gallery that was full of the

world's press.

"Commander Evans," Abreo addressed Harry, pulling him

from his thoughts. "I would like to begin by thanking you

on behalf of everyone in this room for what you have done.

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Without your efforts, we would not be here today

celebrating victory."

Once more, the representatives of the ICW broke out in

applause, and Harry waited for an awkwardly long time for

it to subside so that Abreo could continue.

"The wizarding world owes you a debt that it can never

hope to pay, Commander Evans," the Supreme Mugwump

said sincerely. "These past few years, I have come to know

you quite well. You have proven to be a competent leader,

an incredible wizard, and an even more extraordinary man.

You have overcome adversity and persevered when most

others would have given up, and in the end, you personally

stepped up to confront one of the most dangerous men in

recent history to preserve the life of your own men, and

even the enemy. There truly are no words that we could say

that would do justice to the gratitude we all feel."

The other representatives called their agreement, nodding

animatedly as they did so.

"You will, of course, receive the highest honour that we can

bestow upon you and many other benefits befitting your

achievements during the war."

"As he will from our own Ministry," Doge broke in with a

smile. "Minister Fawley plans to make some

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announcements of his own to the Wizengamot in the

coming days and wished for me to offer his appreciation on

his behalf. He is very keen to make your acquaintance once

more, Commander Evans."

Harry offered the man a slight bow in response, doing his

best to ignore his own thoughts regarding politicians and

their own agendas.

"As would be expected," Abreo declared before turning his

attention back to Harry. "Although the fighting is

concluded, we hope, there are still matters that must be

attended to, Commander, and we would be most

appreciative of your input."

Harry had known his work was not done but hearing the

Supreme Mugwump speak it made his stomach sink.

Before he could speak, however, Abreo continued.

"The war will not officially be concluded until Germany,

Austria, Hungary, and Japan formally sign a declaration of

surrender," he explained. "Once that has been done, we will

need to negotiate treaties for each country who supported

Grindelwald to ensure that something like this does not

happen again."

Harry nodded his understanding.

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"What are your intentions for these countries?" Harry

asked.

Abreo released a deep sigh.

"We have never faced anything like this. It is something

that we must discuss in depth before any decisions are

made, but we would like you to be a part of those talks in

your current capacity. Your input will be invaluable as the

man who led our forces."

"I'm no politician," Harry pointed out.

"No, but your opinion is valued, and you have already

demonstrated a propensity towards fairness with the

suggestions you made regarding Italy. Those were your

terms, Commander Evans, we simply agreed with them,"

Abreo returned.

That, Harry couldn't deny.

Many of the representatives wanted to punish Italy harshly

and in a way that would only breed further resentment, but

Harry had been very vocally firm that should not be the

approach taken.

One merely needed to look at muggle Germany over the

past decades to see what unfair and harsh treatment would

result in.

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"Okay," Harry agreed.

Abreo offered him a smile.

"What would your recommendation be in dealing with the

rogue countries as they stand?" he asked. "We have yet to

address them. Do they still have a standing force on the

border?"

"Germany, Austria, and Hungary do," Harry confirmed. "I

am uncertain of Japan, but they have little resistance to

offer. Many of those killed in France were Japanese."

Abreo nodded his understanding.

"As for my recommendation, I believe that you should open

negotiations for terms of surrender but make it clear that

they must do so and that they hold no advantage. Extend

something of an olive branch. Without Grindelwald and

much of his army having been captured, their position is

not favourable. Remind them of this, and they may be

more willing to take a diplomatic approach."

Abreo nodded thoughtfully.

"Not a politician," he muttered to himself amusedly.

"Speaking of the prisoners, what would you suggest being

done with them?"

Harry released a deep breath.

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"We captured more than three thousand men," he

explained. "Holding a trial for each of them here is

unfeasible. It would be much more convenient to send

them back to their own countries and hand out fitting

punishments to those that have committed war crimes.

What they are deemed to be is at the discretion of the

ICW. For this to be fair, an agreed upon set of criteria will

need to be created."

It was what Harry would do if given that decision to make.

"The idea has merit," Abreo mused aloud, eliciting

murmurs of agreement from his peers. "That is something

to add to the agenda of things we must discuss."

"May I make another suggestion?" Harry broke in once

more.

"You may," Abreo allowed.

"I just want to emphasise that punishments should be

fitting," Harry reiterated. "Those who willingly and

knowingly harmed civilians should receive the harshest of

these, but those that killed in battle should be treated

differently. If we were to harshly punish those, then I too

would deserve to receive that punishment, as would many

good men I know."

Abreo nodded.

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"Your input is duly noted, Commander Evans."

"What of Nurmengard?" Harry enquired.

"The prisoners will be freed as soon as possible," Abreo

assured him. "We already have a team of cursebreakers

ready to be dispatched as soon as Austria is deemed safe

enough to do so. We are also in the process of ensuring aide

is given to those countries in need of it."

That was the only other topic Harry wished to broach, and

he offered Abreo a bow of acknowledgement.

"When do you expect that you will hear a response from

the countries that were occupied by Grindelwald?"

"That is something we cannot be certain of," Abreo sighed.

"They may take time to ponder their positions, and even

when that is done, it could take weeks for emissaries to be

sent to begin negotiations. I will, of course, keep you

informed of progress. Why do you ask?"

"Because I have thousands of men who are keen to go

home," Harry answered. "Some have not seen their families

for months. I would suggest that each representative

summon their commanders and begin making

arrangements for that to change as quickly as possible."

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"We will do that as a priority," Abreo replied. "We will aim

to have our forces disbanded in the coming weeks. The

quicker the treaties are in place, the quicker that can

happen."

Harry nodded gratefully.

"What do you plan on doing, Commander Evans?" Doge

asked curiously. "With the war over…"

"There is no need to retain my position," Harry cut in

firmly. "I will assist you with what loose ends need tying

up, but as soon as agreements are in place, I will no longer

be required."

"Nonsense," Doge snorted. "You have proven to be

indispensable; it would be foolish for us to not keep you on.

The Department of Justice still requires a head, does it

not?"

"It does," Abreo confirmed, and Harry shook his head.

"I'm not interested," Harry sighed. "The world knows who

I am, so being a Hit-Wizard is no longer a viable option,

and I have no desire to train others to do it. If Fox is still

alive, she is welcome to it."

Doge did not appear to be pleased by Harry's dismissal, but

he didn't comment on it.

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"Let us not make any decisions about the future when there

is still much more to do," Abreo urged diplomatically.

"There will be lots of time to discuss that when our more

pressing matters are resolved. I think it would be prudent

for Commander Evans to take his time and consider what

it is he wishes to do. You will have the full support of the

ICW whatever you decide."

Harry offered the man an appreciative nod.

"Is there anything else you need me for?" he questioned.

"I do not believe so," Abreo replied before anyone else

could speak to the contrary.

"Then I am going home," Harry declared. "It will be my

daughter's birthday tomorrow, and I have missed enough of

her growing up already. If you need to reach me for

anything relating to what we have discussed, then do so

through Reginald Yaxley. For anything else, speak to Petr

Sokolov who will be acting in my stead."

With that, Harry turned and headed towards the door,

ignoring the flashes of cameras and the questions fired at

him by the gathered members of the press.

He had nothing to say to them, and he had somewhere else

he would much rather be.

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"Done?" Charlus asked as he exited.

Harry nodded.

"Done," he confirmed. "For now, everything else can wait."

Charlus chuckled.

"I'm going to get my mother and bring her home," he

announced happily. "Everything else can wait," he agreed.

"Arcturus?"

"You'd best not leave Dorea waiting too long," Arcturus

snorted. "For me, I just want to spend some time with

Melania and the boys. I've barely seen Orion and Cygnus

since they were born."

Harry could empathise with the man.

Rosa was going to be two and he had barely been around

for more than a few weeks for her.

Now, however, he would make it up to her and Minerva.

Although the ICW had requested he assist them, that

didn't mean he had to spend all of his time on the

continent after Germany and the other rogue nations were

dealt with.

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No, there was nothing more than Harry was looking

forward to than going home.

Whatever he decided to do later mattered not.

He did not wish to even think about it until he had grown

tired of home.

Not that he would.

If he ever had to leave his family again it would be too

soon.

(Break)

Angelica Potter was never one to put much stock in

rumours, so when talk of the war ending reached the

island, she did her best to ignore it. According to the locals,

Grindelwald had been killed by Harry Evans, the mere

mention of the name almost enough for her to believe that

there may just be some truth to what was being said.

Had Harry truly triumphed?

She had not seen him for so long, and no matter what he

had achieved, he would always be the quiet boy Charlus

had brought home to share the festive period with them.

How long had that been? Six years, maybe?

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Since William had passed on and Charlus had gone to war,

Angelica's sense of time had been skewed, but there was no

mistaking the figure of her son as she spied him walking

towards the house.

Her chest tightened as she took in his appearance.

Her boy was truly a man now, scarred by whatever hell it

was he had endured in Europe, yet, he was alive, and

Angelica could not ask for anything more.

"Is it true?" she asked, fearful that the rumours would be

unfounded.

Charlus smiled, though their remained an edge to his gaze.

"It is," he confirmed happily. "I've come to get you."

Although Angelica was ecstatic, the thought of returning

to the home she had shared with her husband terrified her.

She knew that everywhere she looked she would see

William, and as much as she wished he was here, she could

not face being haunted by his presence.

"I don't think I can," Angelica choked.

Charlus said nothing as he pulled her into his arms and

simply held her for a few moments.

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"Why not?" he probed gently.

"Without your father, it's not my home anymore."

Charlus hold on her tightened, and she melted into him.

He was like William in so many ways, yet so different now.

Charlus had become his own man in the wake of his

father's death.

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

Angelica shrugged.

"I don't know," she answered honestly.

"Then we will stay here for a while," Charlus decided. "At

least until you know what you want to do, but you will have

to return to Britain for my wedding."

"You're getting married?"

Charlus nodded before he explained what had transpired

between himself, Dorea, and Selwyn's plot.

"He would never have dared had your father been alive!"

Angelica snapped angrily.

"Well, he won't try it again," Charlus said confidently. "It's

fine, mum, I dealt with it."

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Angelica smiled at the man.

"He would be so proud of you, Charlus," she offered

sincerely. "I'm sure he is resting easy knowing that you are

doing so well."

Charlus returned the gesture.

"They are big shoes to fill," he chuckled.

"You're already doing an amazing job. He would tell you

the same."

"Thanks, mum," Charlus replied. "Now, I know you're

itching to ask me some questions, so, should we get those

out of the way with?"

Angelica nodded.

"How many stupid things have you and Harry done?" she

asked.

Judging by how Charlus's face fell, Angelica knew that she

wouldn't like the answer to that question, and after he had

spoken for barely a minute, she could feel the beginnings of

a headache setting in.

If William was alive, he would tan both their hides,

something that she herself was considering, though

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knowing both had made it through the fighting curbed that

urge for the time being.

For now, she was merely happy to have her son with her, so

everything else could wait.

(Break)

Becoming aware that someone else had just arrived at the

house, Minerva took in her reflection and began fixing her

hair, eliciting a snort of amusement from Reg.

"Bloody hell, girl, you could be dressed in a bin bag and

Harry would worship the ground you walk on," he

commented.

Minerva shot the man a glare, but she couldn't hide the

blush of her cheeks.

Still, Reg held up a hand to prevent her from leaving the

room, doing so himself to see who was approaching the

house.

He had taken his guard duty seriously since he'd arrived the

previous day, and Minerva doubted the man had even slept.

Her heart began to race as she heard the voices drawing

ever closer, both now quite familiar to her, but one more so.

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The very same one she had come to love and miss during

his absences the past eight years.

As Harry entered the room, Minerva felt herself fill with

warmth at the easy smile that graced his lips, lacking the

usual tension that hung over him like a lead weight.

"I'll be in touch soon, Reg," he said, embracing the man

briefly and thanking the others before they took their leave,

offering Harry bows and words of gratitude as they did so.

When they were finally alone, Minerva did not hesitate to

close the distance between them and wrap her arms around

him.

"Is it really over?" she asked.

She felt him nod against her.

"For now," he replied, breathing her scent in deeply. "There

are things to do, but not for a while, hopefully."

Minerva smiled as she relaxed.

She didn't want to speak about the war anymore, or about

the fight Harry had with Grindelwald. She knew him well

enough to know that he didn't wish to discuss it either, and

all he would want to focus on was being home and

spending some time with their daughter.

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"Where is she?" he asked only a moment later.

Minerva laughed as she looked up at him, his eyes

searching for Rosa.

"She's asleep, well, she was. Would you like to see if she's

awake?"

Harry nodded and the two of them made their way to

Rosa's room where the girl was indeed sleeping, clutching

the training broom that Harry had brought for her birthday

the previous year.

"She sleeps with it often," Minerva explained. "She loves

that broom."

Harry smiled as he simply stared at the slumbering toddler.

"Let's leave her," he suggested, though it was clear that he

wanted nothing more than to wake Rosa up. "I'm not going

anywhere."

Minerva nodded and led him away from the bedroom and

to another one only a short distance down the hall.

"What are we doing here?" Harry asked.

Minerva released a deep sigh.

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"I know you don't want to talk about the war, but I don't

think you'll be able to ignore this for long," she said as she

pushed the door open.

"Bloody hell, what is all that?" Harry gasped.

"Mail, for you," Minerva said casually. "Kora has been

sorting it into piles of official correspondence, business

letters, and letters and gifts from anyone else who has sent

them. They began arriving last night and haven't stopped."

Harry looked horrified and cursed under his breath.

"I only set wards up to block anything dangerous," he

groaned. "What am I going to do with all this?"

"Well, usually, you would open it," Minerva replied with a

smirk. "I would probably start with the official ones.

Several of them have Ministry seals on them."

"From our Ministry?"

"From several Ministry's," Minerva corrected amusedly.

"Bollocks," Harry grumbled as he looked towards her

pleading, the very same way he did when they had been

teenagers and he needed something. "Help?"

Minerva hummed thoughtfully to herself before caving at

the expression of helplessness of the man.

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"Fine," she huffed dramatically.

Harry shot her a winning smile and the two of them sat

down to begin the task.

Although sizable in its own right, the ones that had arrived

from the Ministry's paled in comparison to those that

arrived from whom Minerva referred to as Harry's

'admirers,' much to his chagrin.

They worked through the pile of missives, some containing

medals of some description, and personal letters from

Ministers and other leaders offering their congratulations

and gratitude on his victory.

In truth, it was quite overwhelming for Harry, something

that Minerva couldn't miss.

Amongst them, she found one from the British Ministry

and handed it to him.

"The Minister would like to see me at my convenience," he

sighed.

"An open invitation?" Minerva questioned.

"Well, he hasn't given me a time or date, so I suppose so.

Maybe I'll arrive in the early hours so he can't try to use me

as a show pony," he mused aloud.

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Minerva snorted as she shook her head.

"I know you don't like it, Harry, but it will blow over

eventually," she assured him. "The more you hide from it,

the worse it will be."

"I know," Harry grumbled. "I'll see him, but everything else

can wait until we are married. How soon do you think we

can do that?"

Minerva was taken aback by the question.

She would never forget that he had asked her, but with

everything that had happened, she hadn't seen it as a

priority.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "We would have to

ask him."

"Then we will do that," Harry declared, as he pulled

Minerva to her feet. "I think we've both waited long

enough. If that's what you still want?"

It broke her heart to still see the insecurity he carried from

his childhood.

Despite everything he had done and how highly thought of

he was, Harry's opinion of himself would always be lower

than anyone else's.

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It bothered Minerva, but at the same time, it was an

endearing quality.

Harry was as humble as anyone else she had met, even

though he had reason to be more boastful than others.

"It is," Minerva answered easily, "but I think our

conversation with dad will have to wait," she added,

nodding over his shoulder.

Harry turned to see a sleepy Rosa walking towards them,

still holding her broom and pausing as she looked up at

him, her eyes widening.

"Da?" she asked curiously.

That simple query was all it took for Harry to sweep her

into his arms, the final vestiges of irritation melting away as

he held their daughter who began giggling happily.

Rosa was just as happy to have her father home as Minerva

was, and as Harry shot her a glance, she could see that

there was nowhere else he would rather be either.

There were things that would need to be addressed in the

coming days and weeks, but for now, nothing was more

important than this, not even the dark cloud on the

horizon that Harry would soon look towards.

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Comments (17)

Cuteness overload by the end! Lol

I'm going to have a good laugh if the protections set up to

catch the rogue Black daughter end up catching Tom

Riddle when he tries to harm Minerva or Rosa.

very sweet, glad to be home now he has to start living (after

Tom of course)

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Please write the next chapter already. Thank you very

much. I really appreciate it and liked it a lot. I am sorry if I

am being rude or annoying you with my reviews; I don't

mean to be rude or annoy you with my review; I just really

like your story a lot.

Well, this has been a wild ride, and I am ever so grateful

that I got to be a part of this experience.

Thank you, Baron, for all the work you put into this, and

for the story itself, of course.

Now, with all that touchy feely stuff aside, I look forward

to your next works, and the resolution of this great story.

I hope that his identity is actually not revealed, and only

those who already know are left with that knowledge. It

doesn't seem to have any bearing on the story for it to be

revealed so it would just be weird, and there are already

Justin 2 months ago · 0 Likes

Not Logged In - great name, I know... 2 months ago · 0 Likes

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established dynamics with Harry, as a person, as Evans not

Potter. To the Potter's anyway, he is already family and that

is just as good.

I too hope the same, as that is just meaningless at this

point. I do think, though, that a dramatic reveal to Tom

alone, or perhaps Charlus and Arcturus as well

(if they are present), when Harry confronts him and then

kills him would be cool. Which still is meaningless, but

cool.

There are a few things that may or may not be resolved by

the last chapter, and there are a couple that I really

definitely want to see. Tom Riddle is an obvious one,

general after war conversations and gatherings like with

Dumbledore and others... but mostly I want to see the

secret of his identity finall revealed. Harry using the stone

to bring back William's shade and telling him his true

name. Or Charlus and his mom figuring it out somehow.

Somethinng like that.

Not Logged In - great name, I know... 2 months ago · 0 Likes

StoneTheLoner 2 months ago · 0 Likes

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Thanks for the story!

Harry has already spoken with William's shade, go back to

chapter "The Cold on my Cheek" for the summoning and

chapter "To War Once More" for a short flashback

conversation with the shade

Oh yeah... I remember William's shade being summoned,

but my brain is completely blanking on what they actually

talked about. Thanks for the reminder!

Brilliant chapter. The author did an excellent job capturing

the behaviors of a toddler Rosa.

Harry played it smart with Reg and his crew. He's 100%

correct that the war really isn't over until Grindelwald's

dead-enders are dealt with.

Warvillage 2 months ago · 0 Likes

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I really liked this chapter a lot! Thanks for crafting and

sharing.

Harry has been visiting home for the past ten chapters,

how's he missing it all the time lol

when is the next chapter coming out?? I really liked it a lot.

Should probably inform Churchill of what happened and

the fact that the magical side of the war is about to end

What a beautiful chapter

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Author/Site Owner: Lee : TheBlack'sResurgence

Email: (For all enquiries)

When the Roses Bloom Again - The Most Precious of Things

When the Roses Bloom

Again - The Road to Home

no. No dark clouds on the horizon please

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