A few weeks had passed since detaining Lucius. He'd gotten out, of course, using whatever tendrils he had sunk into political allies in powerful positions. The interrogation and the Veritaserum would not have been admissible in court anyway, since it was executed without a warrant. Harry didn't care about that. He was just relieved to know what had caused the turmoil amongst his close friends.

Ron and Hermione had agreed to see a therapist, and by all accounts it seemed to be going well. During work, Ron would tell him everything the two of them had been working on.

"So then he tells me that my insecurities stem from being part of such a large family and feeling like I never had a place," he told Harry one day. "Bill was the cool one, Charlie the rugged one, Percy the dutiful one, Fred and George the comical ones, and Ginny the fierce one. I never felt like I really had an identity."

"Interesting," Harry said. "And how has that affected your marriage?"

"Well, I've been carrying loads of resentment, but now that I know where it's coming from, I'm starting to act a lot better."

"Okay, but I think we need to address the elephant in the room. Has Hermione been able to forgive you?"

The smile on Ron's face left him for just a brief moment, but Harry took notice. "She's still struggling with that part. It's like she said, it wasn't Lucius's face she saw, it was mine. How do you get past that?"

"You're asking me? Sorry, Ron, I don't have an answer for that. I think all you can do for Hermione right now is be patient and understanding."

"Yeah. I just wish there was more that I could do."

"Me, too."

That's how most of the conversations went, with Harry asking about the big issue and Ron not offering much in reply. Harry realized that he would likely have to talk to Hermione himself to try to get her perspective as well. Finally, he decided to write Hermione an interdepartmental note to ask her if she wanted to grab lunch and catch up.

Hermione accepted the offer, and the two of them decided to leave the Ministry for a bit and head to a Muggle restaurant in London. They both wore appropriate Muggle clothing as they ate outside at a bistro.

"I'm sorry I haven't found more time to talk to you," Harry said. "I've been busy these last few months."

"Same," Hermione said, taking a bite out of her panini. "I'm sure you're here to talk about how Ron and I are doing."

"Nothing gets past you," Harry said with a small smile. Hermione's expression remained stoic.

"Well," she said, "I suppose we should cut to the chase. I have been dealing with horrible guilt since discovering what Lucius had been doing to us."

"Guilt? What would you have to feel guilty about?"

"You're such a man," Hermione said. "I haven't been able to forgive Ron yet, even though I know it wasn't really him who violated me. I know it's not his fault, but I'm still angry with him and I feel like I shouldn't be. That's the guilt."

"Hermione…you were the victim," Harry said. "The person who should be feeling guilty is Lucius Malfoy, nobody else."

"And look what happened there. He was able to walk free merely weeks after we detained him. The charges against him have magically vanished, although I know actual magic had nothing to do with that."

Harry grimaced. "Slimy git."

"Well, even though I know it was really him at fault, it's still hard not to separate my pain from Ron. I've been trying to, but my heart won't allow me to move on."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, taking Hermione's hands in his own. "That's not fair for either of you. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not really, but I appreciate the offer. This is something Ron and I have to figure out alone. However, you reaching out to grab lunch has meant a lot to me. Keep doing more of that, because it's nice to have someone else to talk to about this, someone who actually gets it."

"Of course, anytime."

With regard to his two friends, Harry had a feeling that he wasn't accustomed to, and that feeling was powerlessness. Normally he tackled problems head-on and was able to solve them, but a problem like this was out of his hands to fix. Only Ron and Hermione had the power to heal their relationship, and as supportive as Harry was trying to be, he couldn't fix the problems for them. He did realize, though, that he needed to make sure he wasn't neglecting his own marriage. He decided to ask Ginny out on a date night, and Ginny seemed surprised at the offer.

"You're not usually the one who wants to go out on the town," Ginny said. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion," Harry replied. "I've just been busy with work and trying to help Hermione and your brother and I feel like I've been putting you too low on my list of priorities lately. I'm hoping to make up for that."

"Alright then," Ginny said. "Where are we headed off to?"

"There's a nice place that just opened up in Diagon Alley. They're supposed to have great food and drink. It's called 'Madame Millicent's.'"

"Bit of a weird name, but alright," Ginny said. "I'll start freshening up."

Harry smiled as Ginny went to the water closet to get ready. He started changing himself, glad that he had thought of this. The two of them walked over to the Leaky Cauldron and into the back alley that served as the entrance to Diagon Alley. They headed inside and saw a bustling crowd of people.

"Look," Ginny said. "These are all students getting their school supplies. Did we really look that small in our first years?"

"Hopefully not this small," Harry said with a laugh.

The two of them made their way through the crowded streets as Harry looked for the new restaurant. They ended up walking past Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and Ginny grasped Harry's wrist.

"Before we head out to eat," Ginny said, "I think we should check on George."

Harry looked over at the shop which had plenty of teenaged wizards and witches thronging the entrance. "Of course," Harry said.

The two of them walked into the shop and saw George manning the register.

"Harry! Ginny!" he said, smiling ear to ear. "What are you doing here?"

"Date night," Harry called out. "Looks like you're pretty busy."

"Kids are looking to stock up before heading to Hogwarts. Hang on, I'll get someone to relieve me at the register."

George hurried off for a moment and came back with a young wizard with pockmarks on his face. George then went over to Harry and Ginny and gave them both a huge hug.

"How've you been, George?" Ginny asked.

Harry could already see a tear forming in his eye. "I'm hanging in there, you know. Didn't feel right to close up shop since, well, you know…Honestly, this place is the only thing keeping me going some days."

"I know it's been hard," Ginny said, tears streaming down her face. "I'm sorry I haven't been to check in sooner."

"It's alright," George said. "I know you've all been busy. How's Quidditch treating you."

"Not bad," Ginny said. "We're not that great this year, to be honest. Our Seeker got injured and I've had to fill in, and the alternate Chaser really doesn't fly very well so our offense is struggling. And we don't have Beaters worth a damn on our team. You and Fred were so much better than the twats we have."

"Sorry to hear that," George said. "Maybe you can convince Harry to get out of the Auror business and take over as Seeker."

Ginny laughed. "I sometimes think the same thing."

"So, Harry, how's the Auror business treating you?"

"It's been tough," Harry said. "Rounding up Death Eaters has been an exhausting prospect. I'm doing okay, though."

"That's good to hear," George said.

"Hey, George," Ginny said. "There's been some weird things happening the past few months. I'm sure you heard about Lucius Malfoy being detained."

"Yeah, it made the Prophet, but I take that trash with a grain of salt, especially after how they treated Harry a few years ago."

"Well, there's more to the story than what you probably read in the paper."

"How so?"

Ginny then revealed everything, how Lucius had used the Imperius Curse to try to gain possession of the Deathly Hallows, how he had manipulated Ron to hurt Hermione, and how that had hurt the relationships between them and, to a lesser extent, Harry and Ginny's own.

"Merlin's beard," George said. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Well, Malfoy made Ron and I think we could get Fred back," Ginny said. "I think that's what really made it stick, you know?"

George sniffled. "There isn't a day that goes by where I don't miss him, you know. I'd give my other ear if it meant I could bring him back. Hell, I'd give up an arm and a leg, too."

Ginny strode to George and gave him a fierce hug, and the tears started flowing. Harry started crying as well.

"Thank you guys for stopping by," George said, releasing Ginny and giving both of them a sad smile. "Don't be strangers. You're always welcome here and you can have whatever wheezes you'd like. They're on the house."

"We appreciate that," Harry said.

"Of course," George said. "Don't think I haven't forgotten everything you've done for us, Harry."

"It was my pleasure," Harry said. He and Ginny left the store and headed over to Madame Millicent's. They went to their table, secluded in a private corner of the restaurant, and looked over the drink menu.

"Do you remember when Mum found out about you funding the shop?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I asked Ron to tell her."

"Well, she wasn't on board at first," Ginny said. "I think she sent Fred and George Howlers about how they shouldn't have been taking your money and that there were better things they could have done with it. But eventually she changed her mind."

"She did?" Harry asked. "How come I didn't know that?"

"It was more of a family thing at the time," Ginny said. "Anyway, with Voldemort back, I think she realized what that joke shop really represented. In dark times, we need to remember how to laugh. Humor is one of the best ways to cope with fear. When she saw how well the shop was doing and how happy it was making people, she went to the shop herself to give Fred and George her apology."

"That's a rare sight," Harry said.

"She doesn't often admit when she's wrong," Ginny said, "usually because she never is wrong, but still. I'm glad she came around. You've really done so much for our family. It's one of the reasons I love you so much."

"You talk about what I've done for your family. How about what your family's done for me? Ron was the first person in my life that I could call a friend. Your mum and dad always treated me like a son. I never had that growing up, and until I saw it in your family, I didn't know how badly I needed it. If it weren't for you, I would very likely not be alive today. That gold I gave to your twin brothers, that doesn't even come close to how much the Weasley family has done for me." A stray tear fell down Harry's cheek, causing Ginny to start crying as well.

A waiter came over to take their drink orders. He gave Harry a double take.

"Aye, I think I know who you are," he said. "You're that kid that took down You-Know-Who."

"Well, yeah," Harry said, grinning sheepishly. "Let me guess, the scar gave it away."

"Ain't never seen one like it," the waiter said. "Look, I'm Muggle-born, and even though my wife's a pureblood, You-Know-Who and his damn cult following came after us. We had to go into hiding, and the only thing that gave us hope was listening to the radio broadcasts and hearing that you were working to stop him. Because of you, I don't have to live in fear every day, wondering when a Death Eater might finally come for us. Thank you so much for everything you've done."

"Um, you're welcome," Harry said, starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Ah, listen to me talking your ear off. You two must be thirsty! What's your poison?"

"I'll have the chardonnay," Ginny said.

"Mead," Harry said.

"Alright then. Coming right up." The waiter walked away with a bounce in his step.

Ginny started to laugh. "You must get that a lot."

"Actually, less than you would think," Harry said. "I think most people are a bit intimidated when they see me as if I'm some divine being and not just a normal person."

Ginny laughed again. "'Divine being?' Some people are stark raving."

"It's fine, I'm used to it by now," Harry said. "One minute, everyone loves me, the next, I'm trash. Got plenty of that while at Hogwarts. I guess some people just never grow out of that."

"Indeed."

For the rest of the night, Harry and Ginny exchanged stories and plenty of laughs. Harry told Ginny about some of the more bizarre arrests he had made since starting as an Auror. Ginny gave Harry stories of Quidditch games, how the Harpies were continuing to struggle, how that struggle had started causing infighting in the locker room, and how she hoped that next year would be much better. For a few hours, the two of them were able to forget all the strife they'd been dealing with for the last couple of months, and really since they had started at Hogwarts.

"It's strange," Harry said. "I always wanted a normal life, but I definitely didn't get that. I went from sleeping under the stairs to saving the wizarding world in seven years. I don't even know what normal looks like anymore."

"You want to know what I believe?" Ginny asked. "I think you have a chance at that normal life now. You and I, I think we have great things coming. I'd love to start raising a family, settle down, get to do the things you're supposed to be able to do. We're not in wartime anymore, Harry. We have a chance to pursue that normal life now."

Harry choked up. "I'd like nothing better." He took her hands in his and gave her a firm kiss on the lips.

The rest of the dinner was quite good, which made Harry happy because he hadn't been sure he would actually like the restaurant. He and Ginny walked hand in hand down Diagon Alley, which was less crowded at such a late hour, the families with kids having all gone home earlier.

"I keep thinking about it," Harry said, "the Elder Wand."

"It's back where it belongs," Ginny said, "in Professor Dumbledore's tomb."

"I know," Harry said, "but what Lucius did with the Imperius Curse still scares me. We need to end the cycle of violence that that wand provides. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and I think I have a solution."

"What's that?"

"I think I need to destroy it."

"Destroy it? Harry, that wand is invaluable. Why would you want to destroy it? And do you think you even can destroy it?"

"It's just a wand, isn't it? Ron's wand broke when we flew to Hogwarts in your dad's Anglia."

Ginny laughed. "I had almost forgotten about that. But what do you think you can do, just snap a wand like that in half? Is that even possible?"

"It might be," Harry said. "This weekend I'm going to head back to Hogwarts and see what I can do."

"Alright," Ginny said. "I hope you're right about this."

Harry could tell that Ginny was likely just placating him, but he didn't care. He couldn't risk someone like Lucius Malfoy trying what he had tried again. The wand was not safe in that tomb, and if destroying it could end the cycle of violence, then that's what he would do.