Disclaimer: Do we really need to go over this again? We do? Ok, here goes. Not mine, except the plot.

Letters from the Road:

Upon waking up the next morning, Harry took a nice long shower, to wake up for the day. As he dressed afterwards, he was thankful that the Twins had only included one enchanted mirror in the apartment. One thing he'd gotten a bit tired of at school was listening to the mirrors in the bathroom flirting with him, as he tried to get ready for classes in the morning. It was cute, the first couple of times, but almost every day for seven years? Thanks anyway. He rummaged through his trunk for a few minutes, to find his writing supplies. He took a quill, a bottle of ink, and some parchment out to the kitchen. Once he had finished his breakfast and cleaned everything up, he sat down and started writing his letters.

Dear Molly,

The trip is going great, and yes, I'm getting plenty to eat. Thank you for asking.

To be honest, I've always been very proud that you considered me family. As

far as I'm concerned you and Arthur, Ginny, and all the brothers are all the

family I need. The blood relations I have left (I don't think I need to mention

the name here) are most definitely not my family. Family are people who take

you into your hearts, not just their house. Family takes care of each other,

watches out for and over each other. They never did that. You did. You will be

my family until the day I die. Lily Potter is my mother, and I will always miss

and love her, but, privately, I have considered you my mum since my first

day at the Burrow. You took me into your heart, treated me like one of your

own, worried over me, and even gave me my first proper Christmas present.

In my mind, that's the definition of a mum. I don't remember if I've ever thanked

you for that, so Thank You.

It was great to hear about Arthur. It couldn't happen to a nicer, more deserving

man. I know he'll make the changes that need to be made at the Ministry.

I think we all know there's a lot that needs to be done, but I have faith that he's

up to it. Please pass along my congratulations to him, and wish him luck for me.

Also, let him know I have some ideas for how that money can be used, which

I'd like to get his opinion on, when I return. Please let him know that I will get in

touch with Albus Dumbledore when I get back, to discuss the other matter.

It's not a big surprise to hear that Ginny was accepted to the Advanced Program.

She's always been very smart, as well as caring. I was recently given some

extremely good advice about facing my feelings, and I'm starting to realize

that my feelings for her run deeper than I ever thought they did. I'm still not

quite sure what they are, but I hope to be able to work through that soon. She

deserves to know, one way or the other. I just hope she'll be patient with me,

while I do that. It really feels wierd to be saying that to her mum, but maybe

that's a sign of where my feelings lie. Merlin! Oh, well.

As far as Remus and the Twins, they seem to have hired him on as a

consultant for the stores. What they're coming up with, I don't think I want

to know. By the way, you may want to give him a floo call, and find out about

the other bit of news he passed along in his letter to me. Let him know I

mentioned something, and he'll probably tell you all about it.

I'd better wrap this up for now, as I still have a few letters to write, and a few

errands to run today.

Love,

Harry

That had turned out to be a bit more revealing than he had planned on, but Harry decided to leave it as is. It was long past time for him to stop hiding his feelings. He folded that letter and sealed it, setting it aside for later. Time to start another one.

Dear Hermione and Ron,

It was brilliant hearing from you. The trip has been great so far! Just the drive

up here to New York was worth it, all on it's own. The scenery along the road has

been incredible. When they talk about open vistas, they really mean it. Just

the feeling of riding up the road on a motorcycle, with nothing around you,

except open space is almost indescribable. It's the closest thing you can get

to flying without a broom. I think even you would like it, Hermione.

Ron, I finally saw a game of Quadpot last night. You're right. Those blokes

are complete nutters! I couldn't believe how close they stayed to the quaffle,

when they knew it was about to blow up. It was amazing. Fun to watch, but you'd

never catch me playing it.The bike's been working great, just purring along

like a kneazle. By the way, I picked up a book on Quadpot, with a lot of pictures

showing how nuts these people are. I think you'll like it. I hope everything went

well with your tryout. Let me know, ok?

'Mione, you were right about some of the historical sites over here, both muggle

and wizarding. You can't go an hour on the highway without seeing a scattering

of historical markers. It would probably take you about a week to drive from Boston

to New York. For reference, that's about what it would take most people to drive

across the country. You do know I'm teasing, right? By the way, I picked up a couple

of disposable wizarding cameras last night, so I'll get plenty of pictures.

Time for me to get going for now, so I can get the rest of my letters written and get

out and start taking pictures. And Ron, have you asked her the big question yet?

Nice blush, the both of you. Bye for now.

Love,

Harry

Harry chuckled, imagining the reactions on both of their faces when they read the closing lines. Maybe it would give Ron the nudge he would need to finally propose to Hermione. He hoped so. More than anything in the world, he wanted to see his best friends happy. Sealing that one, he set it with the other one already done, and pulled another piece of parchment to him.

Dear Remus,

It's great to hear that everything's turning around for you! And no, you didn't do a bad

job at all when you taught us DADA. You were brilliant, mate! It's about time things start

working for you.

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to say anything before I left. I just had the feeling that

I needed to get away, and get some perspective on everything. I spent the past seven

years preparing myself to fulfill a prophecy made before I was born. The past few years

were filled with almost nothing but that preparation. There was never a real chance to

really relax, or to give some realistic thought to what would come next. For a long time,

I thought that I would want to be an Auror after school. At this point, however, like I told

Hermione before I left, I've seen enough of violence and Dark Magic, and everything

that goes with them, to last me a lifetime. I don't know what I'm going to do next with my

life, but I don't think that's it.

Thanks for the tip about the gas guage. I'll definitely make sure I fill up before I leave the

city. The last thing I need is to run out of gas in the middle of nowhere. And yeah, that

sounds like something Padfoot would have done. He was a goofy mutt, but a lovable one.

Most of the time, at any rate. You're right. I do miss him, too. Always will. I'm grateful to

you for being there to help me through that time.

Hmmm...was there anything else I needed to say before closing this? Let's see...

Oh, yes...

Of Course, I'll be your Best Man! I'm honored that you asked me, and will proudly stand

up with you on that day. Congratulations to you both. Remus, please give Tonks a hug

for me. Tonks, make sure you give him one back for me.

Time to go for now. I still have one more letter to write today, before I head out. Talk to

you soon.

Love to you both,

Harry

He had decided at the last moment that he couldn't let Remus dangle, waiting for an answer to that particular question. He had considered it for a moment, but just couldn't do it.

Dear Gin,

It was great to hear from you, and I don't mind you using Hedwig for the letter. I had

missed her. It really has been a great trip so far. You would love how open it is out

here. Maybe some time you could join me on a trip like this. I wish I would have

asked you to come along. It would be even more fun with someone along to share

it with.

I miss you, too. This is the first time I've ever done something like this by myself,

and it feels kind of strange, like something's missing. We got so close over the past

couple years, with Ron and Hermione getting together, and the two of us spending

so much time together. You're the first person, after the two of them, that I've ever

felt this close to. You were there for me during the darkest days I've ever had, and

hopefully, will ever have. You will never know how much that means to me. I owe

you so much. If the truth be known, I probably owe you my sanity, and my life.

What meant the most to me was knowing I had someone I could talk to, who

wouldn't judge me or anything I said. Someone who was willing to accept me for

myself, not what I was or what I represented to our world. Just knowing I could look

into your eyes and feel your soft touch to soothe me after one of my nightmares

was really the only thing that pulled me through, and allowed me to do what

needed to be done. Thank you.

When I return home, I think we need to sit down for a long talk. There are a few

things I need to ask you, and they aren't the kind of things that I want to ask in

a letter.

Your mum told me about your being accepted into the Advanced Program at

St Mungos. Congratulations! That's great! Not that it was a surprise. Not at all.

I always knew you had the makings of a great healer. They've just proved me

right.

By the way, you'll probably be getting an owl from Remus soon. He's going to be

asking you something. I won't say what it's about, because I don't want to ruin

the surprise.

I have to cut this short for now, so I can send all my letters off, and get out and take

some pictures for Hermione. I'll talk to you soon.

Love,

Harry

Harry sealed this last letter, and tied it along with the one for Molly to Hedwig's leg. He tied the letters for Remus and Hermione and Ron to Hermes' leg, and asked the two owls if they were ready to take the letters where they needed to go. "Hermes, take the one for Remus first, then go to your home to deliver the other. Hedwig, take your letters to the Burrow. I need you to stay there, unless somebody there needs to send me a letter. Ok?" Both owls gave him affectionate nips, as he walked them out through the store to the front door, releasing them into the air. He returned inside to grab one of the cameras, resealed the door to the apartment, and left for a walking tour of The Street.