He was exhausted. In the forest, he'd slept on a hammock between trees while two others alternated their watch. He'd gotten maybe two hours of sleep.

But instead of going home, straight to his warm and comfortable bed, he found himself traipsing across the lawn at the Burrow, headed towards the group celebrating under the large tent. He'd changed into the nicest clothes he had on his person, and was here to surprise Liv. He had a feeling that the look on her face when she realized he was there would make it all worth it.

At the edge of the tent, he paused, observing the chaos within. He spotted Liv on the dance floor, dancing with Teddy to the fast beat song the band was playing. He expected her to look more reserved, more sheepish, but she had pleasantly surprised him. He had a feeling a few glasses of wine and her short, spiky-haired sidekick had something to do with that.

"Hey, stranger," Ginny's voice called, in an almost taunting tone. Even after almost five years, she still had the uncanny knack to know exactly where he was and what he was up to.

"Hey, Ginny."

"I thought you weren't going to be able to make it."

"I was able to get out of the field early, didn't think anyone would mind if I dropped by," he said.

"Oh no, I don't think anyone will mind at all," she said, her gaze following his and settling on Liv and Teddy, who were making their way to the chocolate foundation. "They're very close."

"Yeah," he said. "It's good. I like that Ted has more people in his life that love him."

She nodded, and they stood in silence for a few minutes, watching as Teddy and Liv shared a laugh over something in line for the chocolate.

"No one's given her a hard time, I presume?"

"Of course not," she said, crossing her arms at him.

"Good."

"I must admit, I was reluctant to like her."

"Oh?" he asked. Years of experience with her told him that she would be more forthcoming with information if he didn't ask specific questions, so he turned to her and waited for her to fill the silence.

"I believe Ron's first description of her was 'Crookshanks after we give him a bath'," she said.

He couldn't help but snort. It wasn't the kindest of descriptions… but he had to admit, it wasn't that far off base from the Liv he had first gotten to know. "She's been through a lot."

"As have you," she explained, nodding at him.

"She's grown a lot," he said, quietly. He felt the words falling out of his mouth. Part of it was how exhausted he was, perhaps another part more confident in speaking because Liv was not nearby and wouldn't know what he was saying. Not that he wasn't speaking well of her, but she was weird about him praising her to others. "She's always been lovely underneath it all, and I'm glad others are starting to see that as well. She's been a great addition in my life."

"I'm glad you've found someone that makes you happy, Harry."

He smiled. "Me too."

As Ted and Liv turned to return to their table, her eyes flickered up and saw him. The smile that spread across her face was worth all the rushing around to get here. She beamed at him, and she and Teddy rushed to join him.

"Why would you waste chocolate on fruit?" Teddy asked, watching someone dip a strawberry in the cascading fountain.

"Not everyone wants to develop scurvy, Ted," she said, handing him a skewer.

"I've got lots of years ahead of me to eat fruits and vegetables," he said, selecting a piece of pound cake.

They had quite the selection of chocolate covered goodies by the time he was ready to walk away. She put her arm around his shoulder as they made their way back to their table. She could feel eyes on her, but not the way she had all night. She looked up, searching the crowd to see who was watching her, when she saw Harry standing at the edge of the tent, just out of the darkness.

"Look who's here," Liv said, leaning down to whisper in Teddy's ear.

"Harry!" He said, taking off in his direction. She laughed, and followed him. He and Ginny stood close, and she could tell they had been chatting, but his face lit up when he saw she had noticed him.

He wrapped his arms around her when she got close enough, and she was so delighted to hug him. He smelled like damp earth and his face was covered in stubble, but she didn't care one bit.

"I didn't think you'd be able to make it," she said, barely containing her smile.

"I didn't think I would be," he said, earnestly. "But I thought at least one person wouldn't mind if I was a little late."

In that moment, she didn't care if Ginny was right next to them watching, or if people around them had noticed them, she pressed her lips against his.

"I'm so glad to see you."

He smiled, wrapping his right arm around her shoulder and keeping her close to him. It felt like ages since they had seen each other, despite the fact it had just been a few days.

"Your family does know how to throw a party, Ginny," Liv said, smiling at her. With Harry by her side, she had a newfound confidence and figured it was time to acknowledge her.

"I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself," she said.

She led Harry back to their table, where he made polite conversation with Andromeda while they devoured her plate of chocolate covered fruit. They cut the cake, and slices started to float to their table, where Harry began to devour his.

"They didn't feed you in the field?" She asked, amused.

"Dodgy food," he said, shuddering. "Only so many reconstituted curries a man can eat. It had me longing for your cooking."

She smirked. "You prick."

He chuckled into his second piece of cake. She sat there, her hand on his back, so grateful he had made it back to be with her. She felt content, truly content.

Ron and Hermione stopped at their table for a bit, and they caught up. She added to the conversation where she could, but was mostly just happy to sit next to him at the wedding. When his plans had changed, and she had lost her date, she mourned the loss of their first event… as a couple. But it was everything that she dreamed about, really.

"Ted's off to Hogwarts soon, isn't he?" Ron asked.

"Already?" Liv asked, turning to Harry for confirmation. She nursed another glass of wine, sparkling this time, left over from the toast.

"Yeah, September 1st is coming quickly," he said. "The summer's flown by, hasn't it?"

A pang of sadness hit her stomach as she considered how boring their lives would be when Teddy went back to Hogwarts. She would certainly miss having him around. She spied him across the tent, dancing with some of the Weasley children— who their parents were, she wasn't certain, but the red hair and freckles left no question. Her lips turned up at the sight of them having fun.

"Summers felt so long as a kid," she mused. "Having to be away from Hogwarts… felt like decades passed between May and September."

"I think we all knew that feeling," Ron agreed.

Shortly after, Teddy and Andromeda gathered their things— it was, after all, getting late. He leaned in to give her a hug goodbye.

"Can I come over tomorrow?" Teddy asked, eagerly. "I really feel like pancakes."

"Teddy, we've got pancakes at our house," Andromeda countered.

"I know, but Harry makes them better."

The table of adults laughed as Harry and Liv exchanged a glance. "I don't see why not," she said.

"Great!" he exclaimed, as he and Andromeda headed for the travel point at the edge of the property.

"He's really enamored with you, Liv," Hermione pointed out.

"They took to each other instantly," Harry explained.

"It was all the kid. He's just fantastic," she said, trying to play it off. "How could anyone dislike him?"

As the night was beginning to wane, the music slowed down. Harry put his arm around her shoulders. "How 'bout a dance before we call it a night?"

She smiled. "Sounds like a plan."

Although he was tired, being with Liv and his best friends and Teddy had reenergized him. Hermione was right— he was so lucky that Liv and Teddy were so close, so quickly. Instead of responding to his attention to Liv with jealousy, Teddy found a new friend. Harry had no doubt their relationship would strengthen as time went on.

He led her by the hand to the dance floor, placing his arms around waist as they swayed with the music. "You look wonderful tonight."

A blush creeped up her cheeks— part wine, and part embarrassment at being complimented, even by him. He found it endearing.

"Remember the last time we danced at a wedding?" he asked.

She smiled, and looked down at the dress she was wearing— the same silky, pink one she had worn that night. She'd gotten her chance to make better memories in it. "Of course… It's easy to say I had a better time tonight."

"Yeah, the Weasleys know how to throw a party, huh?"

"That's not what I meant," she said. "And you know that. I'm so glad you were able to make it tonight."

"Me too. There's nowhere and no one else I would rather be with tonight."

As the song wound down, he could tell she was ready to get home, and he certainly didn't need to be told twice. He looked around the room— those that were left were busy in conversation with others, and he didn't feel the need to make a fuss out of saying goodbye. They grabbed her clutch, his rucksack, and another piece of cake, before walking hand in hand to the travel point.

—

She was tired, and a little bit hungover when she woke, due to the sun streaming in their bedroom windows. At first she tried to fight it, but there was no denying the beautiful blue sky on a Sunday morning. With the windows open, the sound of birds chirping and light city traffic floated in, the constant ambient noise of the city.

She looked to her left to see the dark haired man snoozing soundly beside her. She glanced at the clock just beyond his shoulder and decided that he deserved to sleep in. What time Teddy would show up was anyone's guess, but she decided it would probably be a good idea to head downstairs.

Using the french press, she brewed a pot of coffee, knowing that they would both be drinking plenty today. After their brunch with Teddy, she had plenty of work to review before the week started again tomorrow. Two cups of coffee and a dose of Hangover Draught in, her headache started to dissipate, so she settled in on the couch with the Sunday morning edition of The Daily Prophet. She would fill in the answers she knew to the crossword puzzle, and Harry was pretty good about picking up where her knowledge left off.

A little before ten, the Floo rattled, and she stood up to welcome Teddy, who was content to sit in the kitchen with her while she cooked. She handed him the comic section, and got to work making the nicest brunch she was capable of.

"Harry's still asleep?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think he's making up for all the sleep he lost in the field," she explained, placing some frozen sausage into a hot pan.

"I'm sure the smell of breakfast will wake him up," he said, picking at some of the grapes in the fruit bowl on the dining room table. She poured him a glass of orange juice from the fridge, then she cut up some melon for him.

"You're probably right," she said. And he was— maybe ten minutes later, she heard the floorboards creaking upstairs. She felt bad for him, having gone multiple days in a row without good sleep, rushing to the wedding last night, and getting up early to hang out with Teddy. It was a lot.

She grabbed a mug out of the cupboard and made him a cup of coffee, with cream and the extra sugar she knew he would like. He sprang into the kitchen, as if he wasn't running on a huge sleep deficit, and greeted her with a quick peck on the lips. "Good morning, Liv."

"Morning, love," she said, smiling. She handed him the cup of coffee as he got settled in the seat next to Ted's, picking up the crossword.

"Good morning, Ted," he said, ruffling the boy's hair as he turned back to her. "Making breakfast for us?"

"You did say you missed my cooking," she mused, as she sliced bananas for their pancakes.

"I did," he said. "Did you enjoy the wedding, Teddy?"

"Oh, yeah," he said. "All the food was really great!"

"What was your favorite food?" Liv asked, purely out of curiosity.

"Chocolate fountain was pretty cool," he said. "Though you wasted yours on fruit."

She chuckled, as she flipped the pancakes. She had three griddles going at once, so that they would be able to eat at the same time. Between the coffee, sausage, fruit, and golden brown pancakes, they were going to be eating well this morning. Reaching into the cabinet, she selected three plates for them.

"When are you guys going to get married?"

When the words were out of Teddy's mouth, Liv found herself so startled that the plates slipped out of her fingers before she could even think about it. Harry lunged across the table, casting a charm that caused them to bounce off the floor, before slowly clanging to rest. Her cheeks grew red, but she was so shocked she didn't have time to react before embarrassing herself.

He got up, a smile wide across his face, as if there was a joke she wasn't in on, and helped her collect the plates. They did it in silence, because Liv sure as hell wasn't answering that question.

"Y'know, Ted," Harry began, as he sat down. "It might happen someday, but it's not something we're planning yet. And if it does happen, it's definitely not going to be a big deal like Charlie's was."

"But you like each other so much!"

"We do," he said, patiently. She listened intently, partly grateful that Teddy had broken this barrier for her, but also partly mortified. "But…"

"Y'know, your parents were together for a few years before they got married," Harry explained, taking a few links of sausage off the plate she had just set down in front of him. She had no other dishes to fuss with, so she took her seat opposite them. "Almost three years, I think. But they didn't tell everyone as soon as they got together, they wanted to keep it to themselves for awhile."

"Like you and Liv did?"

She looked up at him, for the first time since Teddy's first question. He didn't look nearly half as flustered as she felt, but was answering the questions very calmly. "Sort of. They also worked together, and sometimes it's just easier to keep things to yourself… when other people get involved, things can get weird for everyone."

She didn't know much about Tonks, or Remus, but the basics he had filled her in on once and what she'd gleaned from the pictures he kept in Teddy's bedroom.

"Well, I knew about you," Teddy said, proudly.

"You did," Liv said, finally finding a place she felt comfortable jumping back into the conversation. "That's a privileged position, y'know."

He smiled, before stuffing his mouth full of pancake. Liv finally was able to release a deep breath, one she didn't know she was keeping in. She took his cue to eat her breakfast, and had to admit that she was impressed she hadn't burned a single thing. It was all rather edible, and if the empty plates across from her were any indication, to the great satisfaction of her dining companions.

She waited, to see if Teddy would ask any more nosy questions. But as soon as they were done eating and breakfast was cleared off the table, he settled in the living room to listen to the Quidditch game. She remained in the kitchen, making another pitcher of coffee.

"Next time out, it's time to get you back to your Nan's," Harry said from the other room.

Teddy began to protest, because he wanted to stay and listen to the game with him, which filled her with mixed feelings. Part of her was nervous for him to leave, because then they would be without a buffer and probably have to acknowledge the big question he'd brought up.

"You can come back next week," he said, "For sure. Maybe not Saturday, but I think we can certainly do pancakes for breakfast on Sunday if you'd like."

He was agreeable to this plan, and she settled on the couch next to Harry. He wrapped his arms around her, and it felt very comforting despite the nagging insecurity inside her. Luckily, the Cannons called a time out not so long after, which meant it was time for Harry to escort Ted back to Andromeda's. She gave him a hug goodbye, before heading upstairs to shower off.

In the shower, she tried to focus on things like all the work she had to do this afternoon and what they would order for dinner instead of oh, does my boyfriend like me enough to maybe consider marrying me some day? The easiest way to deal with her apprehension in finding out the real answer was to distract herself.

When she was drying off, she heard him come into the bedroom. He was waiting for her when she emerged, wrapped in a towel.

"Let's go on a hike," he said, as soon as she met his gaze.

"A hike?" she asked, confused. She figured he would want a relaxing afternoon to recharge. "You don't want to, I dunno, nap? Order take out? Shag?"

He nodded. "Well, yes. But my adrenaline is still up and I'd like to go on a hike with you."

She blinked at him, processing what he was saying while she picked out clothes for the day. "A hike?"

"Humor me, will you?" he asked.

"Okay," she said. "We'll go on a hike. I'll get dressed now."

"Will you pack a lunch?" He asked, stripping his pajamas off.

"If you missed my meals that much, I'll make anything you want."

"Sandwiches?"

"Of course."

"I'm going to hop in the shower, then we'll go?"

"Sure."

Author's Note: How's THAT for a chapter to end the week with? Be sure to let me know in the reviews, and I'll be back with the resolution of Harry and Liv's ensuing conversation on Monday. As always, thanks to my beta, potter-reading-coastie.