THE SILVER LINING

"Hi Albus. How are you doing? Good morning Professor Snape, Professor Bedlington."

"I am doing just fine my boy. You tell me. What about the adventures of your youth?"

"I know exactly what you want to ask Albus and no I don't want to discuss it."

"But why Harry? I am like your Grandfather."

"That's exactly why I am not discussing it with you Albus. Have you ever seen ANYONE discussing about their love life with their grandfathers?"

"Well no, but surely I am exception to the rule?"

"No you are not. Don't pry old man. You are not getting anything out of me."

"Well you know Harry, if you asked anyone on a date, no one will refuse you." The till now silent Prof Bedlington said. "How about we meet up for drinks this Friday afternoon?"

To say Harry was gobsmacked would be an understatement. He composed himself for a few minutes and said, "If you are implying what I think you are implying then I am really sorry Professor Bedlington. I sure respect you a lot and think of you as a friend but I do not think of you in a romantic way and never could. I am sorry."

"It's okay Mr Potter. It was just a friendly suggestion anyway. I have some work before I leave for my vacation. Please excuse me gentlemen."

After Bedlington was gone, Harry looked at Dumbledore. "What brought that on?"

It was Severus Snape who replied to his question. "Well the article has reached to every part of Britain. It won't be a surprise if it has crossed the country borders. In fact, bets were being placed before you came."

"What bets?"

"Who is your dream man of course. And you have announced to the whole world that you are interested in older men. Hence Bedlington."

"Geez. I can never think of him like that. Do you know Bedlington Terrier is a rare breed of muggle dog Professor?"

"Well I was aware of it."

"Good." Harry shuddered at the remembered proposal. "Anyway, I had actually come to invite you both to the monthly celebrations of The Silver Lining. The kids really light up with joy when people come to visit them."

"Ah yes, The Silver Lining. Amazing endeavour of Molly."

"Well, who better to mother orphans than Molly Weasley, don't you think?"

"Yes. That woman has a lot of love in her, and it only grows with each child she takes in."

"I would know. I was the first one."

"If you don't mind me asking a personal question Mr Potter?"

"No Professor. Please go ahead."

"You have such good relation with the Weasleys except your former best friend and the youngest Weasley. Why so?"

"Ah! But it is a rather long story. I wouldn't mind sharing it if you can give me that much time. I really trust you both to keep my confidence."

"We are all ears Harry. Please go ahead." said Dumbledore, who had been listening to the conversation so far.

"Well it all started nearly six months after the final battle..."

Flashback

Ginny and Ron are sitting in the kitchen, nursing cups of tea. The flat was shared by Harry and Ron. After their graduation, they had rented the flat. While Ron had joined the offered Auror training, Harry was still thinking about what he wanted to do. He did not want to become an Auror for sure. He had had enough of chasing Dark Wizards. Right now, Hermione and Harry were off to somewhere to talk to various delegates around Europe. Their aim was to establish something like the UN. Ron did not know exactly what it was; just that it was some peace keeping organization among nations. They were scheduled to return the day after. Unknown to Ron and Ginny, Harry and Hermione had decided to arrive early to surprise Ron. What they walked into changed their lives forever.

For it to be really a surprise, Harry and Hermione decided to sneak in. Just outside the kitchen, as they knew Ron could be found only there at this time of day, they heard voices. Against her better judgement, Hermione stopped Harry and cast an eavesdropping spell. She had never told anyone but she had felt that Ron and Ginny had changed after the war. Her suspicions were proven right in just a few moments. It is said after all that an eavesdropper never hears good things about themselves.

"Are you sure you want to do this Ginny?" Ron was saying.

"Of course Ron. This is the only way. You have seen him. He doesn't show any inclination to take me out. A Love Potion is the only solution. Think Ron. When I become the Lady Potter, I will have everything I have ever dreamt of, all the things that our parents could never provide because they were too bloody honest. And of course when I am the Lady, you will have your own benefits. Harry will never stop me from giving you expensive gifts."

"That is true. But you know Harry. He is extremely intelligent in detecting such deceptions. If he comes to know what you have done, I will simply wash my hands from all the blame."

"That will not happen Ron, trust me. I found this potion in a very old book in Knockturn Alley. He will not even suspect. And it doesn't leave any trace. That is why I chose it."

"I always knew you were shrewd Ginny. Now all we have to do is get Harry to marry you and then I will marry Hermione and have many, many babies."

"Do you think she will agree? She has a bright career ahead of her. Law firms are clamouring to get her attention."

"Of course she will agree. She is a woman first. Every woman wants children. And once they are born, she will be too busy to think of anything else, let alone working."

This was more than enough for Hermione, who was crying silent tears by now, while Harry was fuming beside her. She just held his wrist and pulled him out of the house. They apparated to her flat where she cried herself to sleep, her head in Harry's lap.

End Flashback

"She did not let me confront them. The Christmas celebration the next month at the Burrow was a blast in many senses. Hermione broke up with Ron. He accused her of being an opportunist; that she left him for me. With a resounding slap she said she did not want to be with a man who encouraged his sister to administer a Love Potion to his best friend and who thought women were good only for giving birth and nothing else. His face was so pale. That was my cue. I pretended that I came to know about these things only then, and broke it off with both Ron and Ginny. Before leaving though, we both assured a trembling and embarrassed Molly that we did not blame her."

"And you still trust the other Weasleys Harry? What if they too are greedy like the youngest two?"

Harry smiled a very calm and serene smile. "I never had a doubt about Molly. One cannot just radiate such motherly love without the affection being true. But I still checked. After all, one can never be too cautious. As our dear old friend once said CONSTANT VIGILANCE. But I am tired of speaking so much in a single day. Can I show you instead? I would love to relive that memory."

So, Albus brought out his penseive and asked Harry to fill it. Harry pulled several memories and dumped into the penseive. All three wizards dived in.

The scene unfolded in front of them. It seemed as if Harry was watching through the kitchen window whereas inside Molly and Arthur could be seen conversing with each other.

"Molly dear, you worry too much. Harry will like whatever you give him."

"But Arthur, I want to give him something meaningful this birthday. After what our youngest two had planned for him..."

"I know. I myself cannot imagine Ron and Ginny could even think like that. We tried to give all our children an honest life. How did those two turn out to be so greedy?"

"Arthur, will Harry believe us if we say we don't think like them? That we don't love him for his money but for himself? After all these years, I have come to love him as a son. He was so fragile when we first saw him and he has been ever so respectful of us. He feels so happy when we invite him to this poor house. How can they bluff this boy for money Arthur? I feel so ashamed. I don't want to lose a son Arthur."

"Neither do I Molly. We can only wait and see."

"As for the gift, I have an idea." Molly was astonished to see her eldest standing by the kitchen door.

"What do you have Bill?"

"Well, we all know Harry doesn't care much about the money but the intentions and love behind gifts. He wears each and every sweater mum has ever knit for him. I was actually thinking of giving him my ward and curse breaking books. I found he was really fascinated the last time I explained some things."

"Oh really? That is the best we can do right now. And of course if he agrees to come for dinner, I will cook all his favourites."

Slowly the scene changed to his birthday dinner. The table was laden with food which would make a king envious. After dinner, they shifted to the living room where the fire burnt merrily. Bill presented him the gift on behalf of the entire family.

When Harry finally ripped off the wrapper, he gasped in surprise. "Bill, is it what I think it is?"

"It is." Bill smirked.

Taking Harry's astonished silence as rejection, Molly plunged in with her nervous apologies. "Harry, we are really sorry. I should have known to buy you something better..."

Harry just turned to Bill and asked, "She doesn't know, does she?"

"Nope" was the simple reply.

Harry turned around and hugged a still sputtering Molly. "Calm down Molly. This is the best gift I have ever had. These books, these are the rarest of their kind. They went out of print a decade ago. Now, they are passed down from a master to his apprentice. It is impossible to own them. By giving this, you and Arthur and Bill are giving me a chance to do what I want to. I want to be a curse breaker like Bill. You are the best you know?"

Molly beamed with happiness and hugged Harry tighter. "You will be a very good curse breaker Harry. I know it."

"Thank you mu... Molly." It seemed as if time had stopped for the entire room. Molly struggled to contain her tears as well as joy.

The scene changed again. It was a year into his apprenticeship with Bill. Harry came home for a week worth of vacation. Instead of going to his flat, which he had kicked Ron out of, he came to the Burrow. As soon as he was spotted from the kitchen window, Molly came running out to meet him. The full week went by in joy and cheer and happiness. The twins on one side and Harry and Bill on the other tried to outdo each other in their pranks. Everyone got equal amount of scolding from Molly, even Harry, because he was no longer separate from them. They were all siblings.

When Severus and Albus came out of the memory, Albus had a smile on his lips while Severus looked less tense, almost relaxed.

"So, how is being a Weasley treating you?" asked Albus.

"You cannot imagine. I never wished anything more than having a family. Now that I have one, I am not going to lose them. Well Hermione too is a member of the family but not as much as me. It's just frightening sometimes when the entire clan meets at Christmas."

"Yes, yes. I can see what you mean. Though, you convincing Molly to take up the orphanage for war orphans was a tremendous boost to her own self-worth. She looked really devastated whenever she spoke about what her own son thought about women."

"Yeah. That was a major point to convince her. Hermione never leaves a chance to rub it into Ron's face since Molly became so well known for the endeavour, especially when she joined to fight for Death Eater children who were orphaned, along with Hermione."

"Yes. That was very noble indeed. So, what do you do in these monthly celebrations?"

"We celebrate life. It's nothing much really. All through the weeks, there is only Molly and occasionally Hermione or now me, since I am back from my training. But every Sunday, we make a point to visit the children. It's mostly me and my friends, Hermione, Dean, Seamus, Neville, Susan, Hannah, Collin, Blaize, and Millie. Arthur manages to come most Sunday evenings and Fred and George drop by every night for an hour after they close their shop. Even Percy comes sometimes though not often. The kids just like the attention and care.

Every Sunday morning since the last two months I have been giving them physical training as they cannot use a wand yet. Hermione lectures them over wizarding history and culture every saturday evening. Neville comes by often to teach them about plants. Blaize is often with him, teaching them to identify and harvest potions ingredients simultaneously. Susan and Hannah teach them wizarding etiquettes and the like. Dean and Seamus just play with them, usually outdoor games like football. Fred and George are all for teaching them pranks and whenever Percy comes, he speaks to the older ones about Wizarding law and customs.

All in all, we just like to keep them engaged, so that they don't despair."

"That is a fantastic endeavour indeed. We would surely come to visit Mr Potter. And may be, I could find some time in my schedule to start them on beginner's lessons on Potions Making."

"That is a brilliant idea professor, only if you are free. They will love it. I can tell you at least five of the thirty tykes ask questions not even Blaize can answer."

"I will make time don't worry."

"Thanks. So, see you this Sunday gentlemen. Have a good day."

"You invited him didn't you?"

"Yes 'Mione. I invited him. It's a Celebratory Sunday. Every well-wisher should at least be invited. They come or not is up to them."

"Harry look at me. It kills me to see you like him so much but he doesn't pay you any attention. Why must you put yourself through this?"

"'Mione, my feeling are my own. I cannot force him to love me. I will be happy if he finds someone he is happy with."

"Oh Harry! I hope you also find happiness someday."

"I am happy 'Mione. I have a loving family, and so many siblings. It was all I ever wanted. You know that right?"

"Yes, I know."

"May I have this dance with you?" Victor came up to Hermione and asked. She seemed reluctant but when Harry pushed her to go, she accepted Krumm's request for a dance.

Harry moved over to Albus where most of the younger kids had surrounded them and were listening raptly the tale that he was spinning of when he was a student at Hogwarts and a cat of his classmate was on a scratching spree. Near him, Severus was surrounded by six older kids who were asking him about potions and ingredients and he was replying with ease of a potions master. The rest of the kids were playing with Dean, Seamus, Fred and George. He smiled and waved but somehow that smile never reached his eyes. Severus noticed it. He called Harry to sit beside him and began telling them how he, Harry Potter, was the bane of his existence when he was at Hogwarts. Soon, even Harry got involved in giving his own input to the outrageous tales where Professor Snape had supposedly saved his hide, though most of them were true, but Harry would not accept it easily would he? Soon they were arguing and laughing at the same time while the kids enjoyed the banter.

On the dance floor, Victor asked Hermione, "Can I ask you something Hermione?"

"Yes."

"Is the older man Harry is in love with Professor Snape?"

"What… No… Ah… No he is not in love with Professor Snape. He admires him yes, but that is due to all the times he has saved Harry and his work for the defeat of Voldemort. Why do you ask?" there was a certain gleam in Hermione's eyes.

"Ah… nothing special… they looked cozy together that's why I asked."

"Oh… So it's nothing like you are jealous because you like him?"

"What? No… No it's nothing like that."

"He likes you too you know. The Older man he is in love with is you. The way you go out of your way to ignore him has made us both believe that you don't like him at all."

"Ah… Well… now that you have already caught me… I stay away because I thought he likes someone else and I wanted him to be happy with whoever it was, but, being near him while he is with someone else, I could not bear that."

"Now that you know it's you that he likes, go ask him for a dance."

"No way. What if he rejects me?"

"Just now I said he loves you. What else do you want me to say to convince you. Take the chance Victor, before you regret it."

"Okay… Okay… I'll go."

"Ah… Harry…"

"Yes… Ah… Victor… Did you…need something?" behind him, Severus rolled his eyes. How can young men these days be so very dumb?

"Will you… Will you dance with me?"

"Ah… Yeah sure…"

After nearly three dances, back to back, everyone looked on with a smile on their faces, Harry swinging to the rhythm of the music, his head on Victor's shoulder, a smile on his face while Victor said something in his ears, most probably some words of endearment. As the song ended, Victor pulled Harry into a passionate kiss, while the others looked on in awe and then Fred and George began to whistle and cat call while Molly scolded them to stop in between her happy tears.

The news hit the papers like a storm. Everyone wanted a piece of the two men. The happiest among them all were Harry's family. Amidst this chaos, Blaize Zabini proposed to Hermione Granger to marry him. He was one of the people who had always supported and admired Hermione for being the strong woman that she was. Of course Hermione agreed. The bonding ceremony of both the couples was held after three months of rigorous planning by Molly. It was presided over by Albus Dumbledore who seemed the happiest in the union. Everyone lived happily ever after, or as happily ever after as one could with Harry's knack for attracting trouble and Hermione's ever expanding desires for world justice. But their respective husbands were always by their side, as they had vowed to be.