JK Rowling ended her story "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" at the end of the second war with Voldemort. She then followed up with an epilogue entitled "19 Years Later". This is the story of those 19 years in between. Please note that the information provided by "The Cursed Child" will not be taken into account for this fanfiction.

All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.

Chapter Sixty-Six: Wands

Harry Potter – Present Day

April 1, 2001

Harry laid on his back on Aberforth's couch, staring at the ceiling. It was almost time to meet up with Ron and Hermione again and yet he had no new information. Although Aberforth allowed him to stay at his house and kept him fed, he flat out refused to provide Harry with any information. He sat up, frustrated that he hadn't gotten answers from Aberforth, but knew that he had to keep trying. He walked around the living room looking for any photo or piece of parchment that could miraculously lead to something, but other than a large portrait of Aberforth's sister Ariana, there were no other photos or parchments about. "H'lo," Harry said quietly to the portrait. It had become a habit to talk to Ariana, even though she never spoke back. "I don't suppose you know how I can get information from your brother, do you?" he asked, not expecting an answer. Ariana just smiled back at Harry. "There's got to be a way to get him to talk," he continued to speak, but knowing that he was simply talking to himself. "He probably doesn't realize that he knows something important, but if he would just start talking about that summer when Grindelwald was in Godric's Hollow, maybe something will trigger a clue." Unexpectedly, he saw Ariana raise her arm, and point towards a shelf behind Harry. "What?" he asked, surprised and excited. "Over here?" he said, racing to the shelf and examining it. The shelf only contained four items: an empty milk jug, a candle, and two books. Harry looked at the books and saw that one was called The Complete Wizard's Guide to Goats, and the other, surprisingly, was The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore. Harry immediately grabbed the book by Rita Skeeter and began flipping through it, looking for a page marked by Aberforth. After a quarter of an hour, however, Harry was certain that there was nothing altered in Aberforth's copy of the book. "Are you sure?" he asked, looking back at the portrait of Ariana, but she merely smiled at him. Harry went to the kitchen and sat down, going through the book page by page. It was only a few moments, however, until Aberforth walked in to the room.

"Why are you reading that filth?" he asked Harry, grabbing some toast and sitting across from him.

"If it's such filth, why is it on your shelf?" Harry responded, determined to get some answers for once.

Aberforth was silent for a while. Finally, he spoke. "I wanted to know what she knew about Albus."

"Is there any truth to this?" Harry asked him.

"Some, yeah," replied Aberforth.

"Anything about Grindelwald?"

Aberforth scowled. "I don't know how many times I need to tell you that I don't know the bastard, Potter!"

"I know that, but your brother did, and you knew your brother."

Aberforth laughed. "I barely knew Albus; the only person who did know him was Grindelwald. All I knew was of their obsession with the Deathly Hallows."

"What can you tell me about Grindelwald?"

"Are you not listening, Potter?"

"I mean, what did he look like back then? Did he wear robes all the time? What made him laugh? What colour was his hair? What kind of wand did he have? Did he have pets? I know it sounds silly, but there may be some detail that can help!"

Aberforth rolled his eyes, but obliged. "He always wore robes; never once had I seen him in muggle clothing. He didn't have pets but I'm pretty sure he kept Bathilda's owl when he left. His wand…" Aberforth thought in silence for a moment. "I honestly can't recall his wand. Maybe there's a photo of it in the book?" Harry flipped through the chapter on Grindelwald, but did not see one. "The last time I saw him," Aberforth spoke, but so quietly that Harry had to strain his ears to listen. "Was one final time after Ariana's funeral. He had come by the house and pleaded for Albus to go with him, but Albus had refused. He kept saying that the plan would allow him to see Ariana again, whatever that meant, but Albus turned and walked back into the house, and I'm almost certain that was the last time Albus saw him until he defeated him years later."

Harry was focused on what Aberforth just said. He did not explain out loud, but he was almost certain that Grindelwald was speaking to Albus about the Resurrection Stone. He made to ask Aberforth another question, but a loud noise in the next room made Harry jump. "What the bloody hell was that?" Harry asked, pulling out his wand, but Aberforth just slammed his fist on the table.

"If you all keep coming through that bloody vanishing cabinet, I am going to have it removed! You keep knocking over my plants that are supposed to keep it hidden!"

"Vanishing cabinet?" Harry repeated. He ran into the next room and almost leaped in the air with joy when he saw a beautiful redhead emerge from what looked like a broom cupboard. "Ginny!"

Hermione Granger – Present Day

April 1, 2001

"Are you ready?" Hermione asked Ron, as she packed away the tent into her beaded bag.

"Yeah," he nodded, pulling on his beard. "Do I look like me?"

"Not really, no," she said, taking a good look at him. "You look like that time we broke into Gringotts; just another ginger male with long hair and a beard."

"Good."

"And I?" she asked.

"Straight blonde hair? Definitely not Hermione Granger! Especially those blue eyes, what do you call them again?"

"Contacts," she responded, examining her reflection. "Okay, this is the best that we are going to get without Polyjuice potion," she said, closing her beaded bag and tucking it under her robes. "Do you remember the plan?"

Ron nodded. "Straight to George's shop and don't look around."

"But don't be conspicuous either! We need to blend in and make it look like we are just a normal witch and wizard on their way to a joke shop."

"Er, shall we hold hands?"

"What?"

"Well, we would blend in more if we looked like a couple just going about their day, wouldn't we?"

"Yes, alright," she said, taking his hand. "Okay, let's go." The pair walked into Diagon Alley hand in hand, and joined the crowds of witches and wizards going about their business. They uneventfully made their way to Weasley's Wizard Wheezies, and immediately caught George's eye when they entered the shop.

"Ah, Mr. and Mrs. Fleabottom, right on time! Your order has only just arrived! Come on back and take a look, I'm sure you will be pleased!" Ron and Hermione followed George to the back of the shop, impressed with his improvisation. "What the bloody hell are you two doing here?" he said, once they were in private.

"What do you mean? Nobody can recognize us," said Ron.

"Only a fool couldn't figure out who you two are!"

"Yes, but only if they were looking!" responded Hermione.

"Which they always are!" George answered, in a tone very much like Molly Weasley. "Today especially!"

"What's so special about today?" asked Ron.

Hermione looked at the calendar. "Oh my goodness, it's April the first! Happy birthday, George!"

"You fools," he responded, shaking his head. "Did you see those two wizards just outside of the shop? They work for Umbridge and have been there all morning, and you two idiots just walked right past them!"

Hermione peered through the curtain and saw that one of the wizards had entered the shop. "Uh oh," she whispered, trying to see where the other went.

"I've got it," said Angelina, coming down the back room stair case which led to the loft upstairs. "George, you get them out of here."

Hermione watched Angelina join Lee Jordan in the front of the shop, with a pigmy puff in hand, trying to get the inquisitive wizard to purchase one. "George, we can't go without information," she said, turning back to the tall redhead.

"You can and you will," he said, shoving them towards the back door. "That other wizard is probably on his way back here so you need to be gone before we all get chucked in Azkaban."

"But Fortescue-" Ron started, but George cut him off.

"The Order has no leads and neither do the Aurors, now go!" he urged, pushing them towards the back door. "And don't come back!"

"Fine, we'll go," Hermione said, "but we will be back with Polyjuice potion," she added stubbornly.

"Well that will be a whole lot better than those stupid disguises! You two look like-" but George stopped suddenly, once he realized that there were only two of them.

"Harry's fine," Hermione said, reading his mind. "He's on another mission, but will be meeting up with us again shortly."

George nodded. "Alright then, get going, Mr. and Mrs. Fleabottom!"

"Of all the names…" Ron growled, but he gave his older brother a hug, before heading towards the back exit.

Gellert Grindelwald – Present Day

April 1, 2001

Gellert studied the two books in front of him. He had The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledoreopened to a page towards the end, which showed a picture of Albus, probably a year or so before he died. The magical moving picture showed a very annoyed and tired Albus, who kept reaching for his wand, next to a disgruntled Harry Potter, who, too, had his wand out. The second book, The Golden Trio, was opened to a page in the centre, which showed a large dragon flying out of Gringotts, and, if one looked very carefully, three people were sitting on its back.

"Studying again?" came a voice, after a few taps of a heel walking towards him.

"Sharon!" Gellert smiled, looking up at her. "Just the witch I wanted to see! Tell me, what do you know about Harry Potter's wand?"

"Nothing," she answered honestly, sitting across from him at the table. "Although the book is quite detailed about it," she added. "An examination was done by Ollivander on all the wizards who participated in the Triwizard Tournament, and the bit on Harry was included in the book."

"The wand pictured here," he said to her, pointing at the photograph with Albus, "is different from the wand pictured here," he said, pointing to the photo of a tiny Harry on a dragon.

"How could you be sure?" she asked, squinting at the photo. "If I didn't know that it was Potter on that dragon, I wouldn't be able to make out who it was!"

"I know wands very well, Sharon, and that right there is not the same wand."

"Okay, and if it's not, so what?"

"I have seen Harry Potter's recent wand," he explained to her. "And it is the same wand as the one in the photo with Albus."

"And?"

"And the photo of the dragon was taken after Albus' death. Don't you see, Sharon? Harry Potter is using more than one wand. A wizard only changes his wand if his previous breaks, unless…"

"Unless?" Sharon questioned, not very interested.

"Unless he was using the Elder wand. That's it!" he exclaimed, after finally having figured it out. "Albus left the wand to Harry after he died, and Harry had tried to use it, but because the wands allegiance was not to Harry since Harry didn't kill Albus, the wand wouldn't work for him, meaning-"

"Meaning Potter went back to his original wand but knows the location of the Elder wand," Sharon finished for him.

"Exactly!" said Gellert, quite excited.

"But You-Know-Who had it, didn't he?" asked Sharon.

"Yes he did," said Gellert slowly. "But when he had it and when Harry had it, I do not know." He was silent for some time, trying to determine a timeline. "What I need is a Death Eater to put some dates into perspective," he finally said.

"Your puppet was a Death Eater."

"Pius is not a knowledgeable one. No, I need one from Riddle's inner circle."

"Well, the ones that are alive are locked up in Azkaban."

"Yes, but not for long. Pius!" he called out.

He watched Sharon vanish from sight, just as Pius walked in. "You called, Master?"

"Yes, Pius, I need to speak with Narcissa Malfoy," he told his ally. "Bring her to the shack immediately."

Pius left at once, and Sharon reappeared, accompanying Gellert towards the old shack. "What do you need her for?" she asked, as they made their way over.

"She owes me a favour," he said. "I hadn't planned on cashing in so quickly but I suppose now is as good of a time as any." He said nothing else to her, and once at the shack, Sharon hid away just before Pius appeared with Narcissa.

"I don't do well with these forced meetings," Narcissa said bravely, staring straight into Gellert's eyes.

Gellert gave Pius a small nod signaling for him to leave, then he looked at Narcissa and smiled. "Luckily, my dear, this is the one and only time. As I recall, you owe me a favour, and it is time for me to cash it in."

Essa Delacour – The Past

December 30, 1998

"Are you sure we can't celebrate the New Year together?" Ron asked Essa, in between kisses.

"Only if you're willing to do so with my parents," she responded, not willing to remove her lips from his.

"Nope, see you next year," he said, sitting up and trying to catch his breath.

Essa laughed. "You'll have to face them eventually, Ron."

"Later works for me. Shall we resume?"

Essa laughed. "Daisy is coming by, so you need to leave," she said, kissing him again.

"Why do I have to leave?"

"Because I haven't seen Daisy since the summer and we have plenty of catching up to do! You'll meet her soon though, as my best friend I'm almost certain she is going to force me to introduce you!"

"Why?"

"The best friend seal of approval!" Essa joked.

"Okay, then she can give it today," Ron responded, pulling Essa in closer to him. "Because I am not done with you yet."

"Oh yes you are!" she teased, pulling him away. "It's been too long since we've seen each other; we have so much to discuss!"

"Why doesn't she go to Beauxbatons again?" he asked her.

"Because she is a muggle."

"Really? You never told me that."

"You just don't remember. I told you that I met her that time my parents and I went on a trip to London and I walked into her hotel room-"

"-Because you thought she was Harry Potter since the tag on the luggage that was brought up to her room said Potter on it," finished Ron, remembering the story.

"Right!" Essa smiled. "I just had to meet the famous Harry Potter!"

"And now you're dating his best friend!"

"And my best friend is also a Potter!"

"What are the odds?" Ron laughed, thinking about it.

"I could have sworn she was lying when I first met her; there was no way a Potter wasn't a witch or wizard. But after some research, I realized that there were over one hundred muggles living in Britain with the surname Potter."

"And yet Harry is the only wizard," stated Ron.

"Since all the remaining Potters in his lineage are dead," Essa added sadly.

The pair were silent for a moment until Ron pulled her onto the bed again. "Well, I require a few more kisses before your Potter steals you from me."

"Gladly," Essa responded, kissing her boyfriend once more.

Author's Notes: Hello everyone! Okay, first, I realized that I have not posted in a month. Between working full time, raising a toddler, writing a novel (with intentions of publication) and everyday life, things get hectic! But I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am committed to this fanfic and I will never leave you guys! For those of you sticking it out with me, thank you! For those new followers, welcome! For anyone who is choosing to leave, you will be missed!

Alright, story discussion! There's a lot of unanswered questions that are going to be answered in the fall of 2001 (right now it is April in our story). From now until then, we will find out how Malfoy's Ritual Knot took place, an answer to a huge plot twist that is happening in the next chapter (no spoilers!) What is going on with Jessica, what is going on with the Hermione and Draco relationship (is that what you would call it?) Ginny and Harry's wedding (and if it is going to happen) the muggle girl (remember her?!) annnnddddddd Grindelwald's mysterious witch! (I think.. I am anxious to tell you all who she is but I also like keeping it a secret lol) To respond to a review and answer your questions: 1. Nothing is wrong with Draco's Ritual Knot (but you'll eventually learn how it all worked out) 2. Daisy was not put with Remus' dad 3. Richard is a wizard from Beauxbaton that Daisy is dating in the past scene 4. Ginny went through the secret vanishing cabinet that leads to Aberforth's house.

A final thought to leave you all with: I would just like to remind you all that my story is canon to the Harry Potter stories (book one through seven) but does not include the Cursed Child or the Fantastic Beasts series. With Crimes of Grindelwald just being released (have you all seen it yet? Protect the secrets!) I would like to reiterate that my Grindelwald was created from my vision before the Fantastic Beasts series and he will not be like the Grindelwald that we meet in JK's Fantastic Beasts series.

Until the next chapter - thanks as always!