Bonus Chapter: What's In A Name?

After so many years, Albus was finally reunited with his family. What do you saw to your loved ones after more than a century apart from them and feel responsible for the misfortune that befell them? Albus was struggling to figure out such words.

Yet, after his warm greeting from his sister, he rose to greet his mother and father, who welcomed him with open arms. They barely let him get a word out as he stammered out his apologizes as they approached.

"There's no further need for that," his father told him, embracing him hard, making Albus feel that he was a young child once again. "You have paid for your mistakes. While I can't help but question some of your decisions, know that we never stopped loving you."

"That doesn't change that I hurt so many people," Albus muttered, feeling shame wash through as he looked away from his father. The last time that he saw him was just before he was taken away to Azkaban. He, Aberforth, and his mother were all allowed to see him one last time where he would later die in that place… how he had sacrificed his own future for the sake of revenge.

And his mother? He turned to his mother's smiling face, looking younger and happier than he could remember—not since before the attack. She leaned over and he felt her warm hand against his cheek as she looked up at him with such a loving smile that he didn't feel he deserved.

"After all that you sacrificed for us, I'm sorry that I told it all for granted," he told them both miserably. "If I could, I'd go back and change it all, but…?"

Ariana took his hand and happily swung about on it as she told him, "Stop talking! You like listening to yourself too much."

At that, Albus broke down laughing and crying at the same time as his mother and father both held him tightly and he clung back desperately.

The days passed by in joyous blurs after that. He was reunited with his family and his many friends who had been forced to leave the world before their time. However, he made sure to keep a watch on all those that he left behind though, ensuring that they were well and recovering from the battle. There was much to be done after the final battle against Tom Riddle and his Death Eaters after all. The memorial service to the fallen, rounding up the Snatchers and Death Eater sympathizers, and a school to rebuild were all at the top of a very long list of things to do.

The hardest parts were watching the funerals being held for Remus, Dora, Fred Weasley, and all the others who gave their lives fighting Tom. They were laid to rest as heroes, all of them receiving Orders of Merlin for their sacrifices and their families were being informed.

The day of the funeral was also the same day that Harry was able to meet his godson when Andromeda came to attend while carrying her Teddy in her arms. It was a heart-breaking moment as she passed Teddy Lupin to Harry to hold for the first time and he was unable to hold back the tears as he looked down at the newborn.

"Don't you blame yourself," she told him, trying to remain strong, but her eyes were red from weeping. "They both had a mind of their own… and they chose to create a better world for their son to live in."

"They fought because of me," Harry muttered softly as little Teddy reached out tiny hands to touch his godfather's face curiously, his blond hair slowly turning black when he saw Harry's own dark hair.

But Andromeda shook her head firmly as he opened his mouth to apologize once more, refusing to hear it.

"They both knew that if Voldemort won this battle, our family was sure to be eliminated: both were notorious members of the Order of the Phoenix after all. And Dora was a marked woman in the eyes of Bellatrix…" she wiped at her eyes at the mention of her sister and finished, "Remus was a werewolf. And Teddy is the very image of everything that the Death Eaters hated. Even if you hadn't been there, they would still be in danger. At least now… now I know that their deaths weren't in vain. That will have to do. So please… don't say that it's your fault."

This was hard on everyone and Albus watched sadly as Harry promised that he would be there every step of the way for her and Teddy both. That if she ever needed help at all, he would be there in a flash. He wanted to make sure that Teddy didn't have the kind of childhood that he had.

Andromeda told him how worried she had been about that. Harry was not even eighteen yet and he was sure to have a lot of work for himself in the near future until things quieted down. But Harry promised that Teddy would be taking top priority and that he only hoped that he would be allowed that chance to prove it.

"They always spoke so highly of you," she said slowly. "And I will be needing help." She then gave him a rather watery smile and added, "And someone will have to give him 'the talk' when he's older. I sure as hell am not going to do that."

At that, neither of them could help it but laughed and Albus felt a faint smile on his own face at the sight. Some wounds wouldn't heal. This he knew… but he knew that little Teddy was in good hands. A loving grandmother and caring godfather, along with the help of the Weasleys and the rest of their friends would ensure that he grew up into a fine young man.

"But in all seriousness, Teddy will be needing a father-like figure to look up to when he is older," Andromeda confessed, her laughter slowly dying down. "That is, if you can handle it?"

Harry only smiled back as he wiped his own unshed tears away while Teddy clapped his hands together, as if he agreed with the idea.

It was true that Harry had been busy since the end of the war. In fact, all three of the trio were. Harry was busy helping Kingsley, who was still holding the post as a temporary Minister until their government was being reworked and they could elect another one. Though at the rate that he was going, Albus wouldn't be surprised if he found himself with the position permanently.

Harry informed Kingsley that he wanted to help change the Ministry and remove all traces of corruption. That if they were to move forward, then they would have to rethink how things were done.

"That will take time," Kingsley told him in his deep, calming voice. "But I agree that it is one that will be well worth the effort."

And so the first steps to changing were beginning to take root. Ron spent most of his time with his family, helping to keep their spirits up and supporting George, who was taking Fred's death harder than any of them. Still, such members such as Arthur, Percy, and Bill were supporting Ron's efforts to help change the Ministry alongside Kingsley and Harry.

Hermione was already offering the idea of removing several old laws and replacing them with newer, fairer ones. She was even talking about changing the laws to help support magical creatures such as House Elves and help provide more rights for werewolves in honor of Remus. Harry was supporting her suggestions and they spent days working out the best way to rebuild the Ministry from the ground up.

Kingsley even offered the three of them, along with all others who survived the battle of Hogwarts, to join the Ministry in the Auror Department, stating that after all that they have done, they didn't need help with N.E.W.T's. As surviving such a battle satisfied the skill and character requirements. Harry and Ron both agreed to this idea at once, but Hermione was more hesitant.

She was honored at the offer, but she told them that she wanted to work her way up just like anyone else. And so, she decided that she would return to Hogwarts to finish up her seventh year before joining the Ministry; but she also promised that she would be helping with the castle and everything else around here until then.

Speaking of which, reconstruction was already underway for the castle with Minerva and the surviving teachers working hard to put it back together. Many wanted to see it returned to the way it was before… but with some parts of the castle so badly damaged that they knew that it wouldn't be possible. But the idea that they could build Hogwarts into something bigger and better seemed to be a comforting thought to many others. Harry even suggested that they could add whole new extra secret passageways and rooms; where he even expressed a regret that he would not be back here to explore all of that.

Albus was glad to see that most of his staff had survived the battle as well. He watched how Filius worked on repairing the broken towers, while even giving a demonstration to his students on the best ways to use repairing and cleaning spells. Pomona spent her days working alongside Hagrid as they tried to heal the destruction that had been done to the grounds and greenhouses. Hagrid focused on the forest and cared for the creatures that were harmed in the fighting such as with the thestrals and hippogriffs.

Speaking of creatures in the forest, Firenze, the centaur, was given a chance to speak with his herd once more a few days after the battle and his wounds had recovered enough for him to walk. After a long discussion with them, he was welcomed back among them. After fighting alongside humans, the others had decided that perhaps opening their minds and reaching out hands wasn't a terrible thing after all. They now saw his pro-human leanings were not shameful, but rather honorable, and they welcomed him back into the rest of the herd.

Later on that same day, Horace was seen leading off a band of wizards to the dungeons to repair the ruined dungeons. Ah, dear Horace… Albus always knew that there was courage in him.

His heroic actions helped to turn the tide of the battle at the end. While many assumed that he fled the castle before the battle took place, what actually happened was that he returned to Hogsmeade and began to round up the shopkeepers and residents while using his vast connections from all over the Wizarding World to contact anyone who would listen. In just an hour, the rest of the wizarding world was aware of the battle at Hogwarts. And the result of that was that many of friends and family of the students, even complete strangers who had enough of Voldemort's rule, flocked to the castle to join in the fight.

Horace's courage was so contagious that even many of the Slytherin students who chose to flee, returned with him to the castle to fight. In fact, because of Horace, many opinions on the Slytherin House in general was beginning to change and there was even talk of having a portrait of him set up in the Slytherin common room.

Albus laughed as Horace tried to act modestly at that, and failed. There was always a lot of fear and regret inside him over what he told Tom all those years ago when he had been a mere student. But it seems that he finally realized that he couldn't keep running from his problems forever and chose to take this form of redemption. It was as if he had been reborn in a way, and he was never more proud of his old friend than right now.

Minerva, meanwhile, had been named the Headmistress and was now taking over the role with a new fire lit in her soul. She was now the one that many were looking to for courage and inspiration, and was already finding ways to change how things are done at Hogwarts for the returning arrival of the students in September.

With so much changes being done, Albus had little doubt that the wizarding community would be unrecognizable in just a few short years. It would be a long and difficult road ahead of them, but he had little doubt that they could do it.

It would be another two weeks after the final battle did the trio get together and decide that maybe it was time that they confess everything to their loved ones. So, it was on a warm day, nearing summer, did they gather in his old office… which was now Minerva's office. The three of them stood there at the desk as Ron's surviving family were the first to join them and were already asking questions to why they wanted to see them here. The trio didn't answer at first, saying that they would explain when everyone was here.

They didn't want too many people to know the full scale of the war they were in, but they felt that they owed it to them to tell them just what had been happening. They were soon joined by Hagrid and the teachers Minerva, Filius, Horace, and Pomona—who were curious to see what it was that they wanted to discuss. The last few up were Kingsley, who was exhausted from his reformation of the Ministry, as well as their friends Neville and Luna… and they even offered an invitation to Aberforth—who responded that he already knew enough about his brother that he didn't need to know anything else.

Ah, Aberforth… a man who was never afraid to speak his mind.

"So, what's this about?" Charlie asked curiously as they looked to the three of them standing on the other side of the desk; right underneath his own portrait. The three looked hesitant for a moment before looking up to his painting, who nodded encouragingly and they turned back to the others.

"I think that it's only fair that we tell you all just what this mission of ours was," Harry began slowly. "The one that Dumbledore left us before he died."

That certainly got their attention and many of them were looking up with excitement—others looking on with more incredulity than anything else.

"You mean now you're gonna tell us when the fighting is over?" Ginny asked and they looked awkward at that.

"Enough, Ginny," Molly said, patting her hand, and looking back up at the trio with worry in her eyes.

The three looked at each other again and Harry took a deep breath as he asked, "Do any of you know anything about… Horcruxes?"

Almost all of them looked at him with confusion. All but Horace, who shut his eyes and grew pale at Harry's words.

"You mean…?" he began and Harry nodded sadly.

"I'm sorry that I have to tell you like this, professor," he said.

"He—he really did it?" he asked, still with his face pale. "He really made one?"

Ron let out a shaky laugh. "One? Just one? You're kidding, right?"

"Made what?" asked Percy in confusion.

"I been meaning to ask, professor," Hermione asked slowly, not paying attention to Percy at first as her curiosity got the better of her, "How did you come to know about them? I searched through the entire library and still never even found that word there."

"As a teacher, I feel that it's best to know a little bit of everything," he sighed, "There were such books in the restricted section years ago that I looked through… I read them out of vain curiosity, mind you, nothing more than that. I would never mean to make one myself?"

"Excuse me," Arthur Weasley questioned, getting their attention "I'm afraid I don't understand, what are Horcruxes?"

"I can answer that," Albus's portrait stated sadly from his place on the wall. "And I can't say that I am surprised that you aren't aware of them. After all, the knowledge of Horcruxes is very rare. I encouraged the lack of knowledge by removing the books that spoke of them from the library after I became Headmaster."

"Yes, but Albus, what is it?" Minerva questioned, sounding slightly exasperated that no one was answering the question. "It sounds like a dark object, but…?"

"A Horcrux is a magical object which can enable a wizard or witch to survive beyond death," his portrait explained and the real Albus nodded dully at that as the others looked on in amazement.

"That can't be," Filius squeaked up, "No spell can awaken the dead! As powerful as magic is, we can't cheat death!"

"That is true," his portrait agreed, "However, such laws only prevent us from resurrecting the dead; even though there are stories."

Like the Resurrection Stone. The real Albus hoped that they would not go into details about the Deathly Hallows. As much as he would like the chance for them to meet their loved ones once again, he knew better at this point that they couldn't allow themselves to become so lost in the past that they could no longer see the future. Perhaps, in this case, such stories were better off as mere children tales.

"Basically," Hermione explained for the rest of them, "If someone has created a Horcrux, then they will continue to exist even if they are killed or die of disease or old age. But not without a cost. It involves splitting your soul and keeping that piece of your soul inside something… and the only way to split your soul is to murder someone in cold blood."

They all took a moment to digest this information; all of them looking sick to the stomach at the thought. But it was Ginny who gasped, the first one to realize what they were saying.

"That's how he survived!" she said, looking at Harry for confirmation that she was right. "Voldemort, I mean! That night…?"

Harry nodded sadly. "He survived that night he tried to kill me because he was already immortal and split his soul."

"There are consequences for creating a Horcrux," Albus's portrait counterpart added while they let this information sink in. "Splitting the soul makes one less human, and each successive cut destabilizes one further. It is why he looked…?"

"Like a dead snake or something?" Bill added as Fleur wrinkled her nose at the thought. "Wait… when you say each cut…?"

"He means that he made more than one, I'm afraid," Harry sighed and Horace closed his eyes in anguish at the thought.

It's not his fault. Albus did not blame Horace at all for what he told Tom all those years ago. He was not the one who told Tom how to create one, nor did he recommend it. And he ended up making up for what he did in the end. Horace had no reason to be ashamed.

Meanwhile, his portrait self then looked down at Harry and asked, "Tell me, how close was I?"

"You were right about nearly everything," Harry told him as he looked up at him. "Though, are sure you can't see the future? With how well you planned everything out…?"

Both Dumbledore's chuckled at the question.

"Unfortunately, such a gift is beyond my knowledge," his portrait self confessed. "I simply guessed. But then again, my guesses are usually correct."

"Ok, just come out and tell us," Pomona said, slightly frustrated. "Just what have you three been up to this last year?"

The three shared another look and then they went into details. Harry explained about his private lessons in that very room and how the two of them began to unravel the journey of destroying the Horcruxes. He explained about what he had seen from his trips into the Pensieve and about about Tom's past. The night that Albus died, Harry had gone with him to look for another Horcurx. He didn't go into too much details about the cave, but he told them how after he had died, the three of them decided that they would finish what he started and began to look for the Horcruxes.

"So long as even one Horcrux survived then Tom couldn't die," Harry said and Albus was pleased to hear him refer to Voldemort by his true name.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" Molly demanded, looking ready to run forward and hug all three of them and never let go.

"Blimey, you could have told us!" George croaked as they all looked at them with wide eyes, "We could have helped you!"

"The less people who knew about what we were doing, the better," Hermione reasoned. "After the wedding and we had to leave, we went to Grimmauld Place and…?"

And she then launched into the tale about how they spoke with Kreacher and his part in the tale of the Horcruxes. They were all shocked and amazed when they learned of the great sacrifice that Regulus Black made in an effort to bring Voldemort down. As well as discovering that the locket had been at Grimmauld Place all that time.

"You mean we actually held that thing?!" Ginny demanded in disgust. She had been silent since they first began talking about the Horcruxes and had turned a sickly shade of green when they told her what the diary truly was. At that, her mother wrapped her arms around her daughter protectively, looking as green—as if they were about to be sick at the thought.

"That was what I said," Ron mumbled, "And that cowardly little git Dung was the one who took it!"

And that was when they explained that after Mundungus had given the locket away, they were forced to sneak into the Ministry to retrieve it from none-other than Dolores Umbridge.

"You've got to be kidding me," Minerva said, shaking her head, smacking herself in the face at this revelation. "Of all the people it could have been?"

"You'll be pleased to know that she has been detained and is now facing an upcoming trial for her crimes against Muggleborns," Kinsley told her soothingly. "There is plenty of evidence that will easily put Dolores away for live in Azkaban."

'About time, too,' Albus thought to himself with no small amount of satisfaction. He was still furious for her cruelty towards his students and he could think of no one better than her to receive a life sentence in Azkaban.

"Long time coming," Harry nodded before Ron remembered something.

"While we were there, we helped the Cattermoles," he explained and told them how he was disguised and the way they helped the other Muggleborns escape.

"All those who escaped that day made it out in time before the Ministry realized what was going on," his father reassured him. "I later heard that Mary Cattermole, while not understanding what happened, was able to reunite with her husband and returned home to collect their children. They went into hiding afterwards and we haven't heard from them since, but in this case, no news is good news. They'll probably return home once word reaches them of the end of the war."

Ron let out a shaky laugh at that as they continued on with their tale leading up to finding the sword in the pool in the Forest of Dean. They were all shocked at this as they looked up to the case where the sword had been placed.

"The reason Dumbledore wanted to give me the sword was because it's embedded with Basilisk venom. So, in other words, the sword can destroy Horcruxes," Harry confessed. "The one that was in the office before was a fake and Snape switched them out later on."

"I still find it hard to believe that Snape was on our side all along," Ron couldn't help but mutter quietly to himself as Albus smiled slightly. Severus was not a saint, but nor was he a villain. He was a man who was constantly standing in the space between light and dark… walking the gray road between.

"But looking back, it does explain a few things," Filius stated quietly. "I never wanted to believe that he would turn against us as effortlessly as he did…?"

"And for that, I apologize," his portrait said sadly. "I fear that most of that was my fault. But the fact remains that there wasn't much time for me anyway and I knew that it was the only way to protect both Severus and young Draco Malfoy. As well as saving me from much more suffering in the process."

"Why didn't you think to tell us that?" Minerva asked as Hagrid sniffled at the reminder, and even the horror of finding out how serious that Albus's injury truly had been.

"It was for everyone's sake," both he and his portrait said. "I know that it won't mean much now, but know that I am truly sorry. Besides, even if you had known, it wouldn't have changed anything. My fate was written."

"So we were looking all over for a trace of the Horcuxes," Harry went on, and he noticed that they skipped over several parts, such as how Ron walked walked on out his friends, and even the more gruesome bits of Godric's Hallow."

Fleur then gasped and looked at all three of them one by one before finally managing to speak, "Es zat why you broke ento Gringotts?! Because zere was a 'orcrux?"

"Yeah," Ron said with a rather smug grin there at the reminder of Gringotts and received a few whooping cheers from his brothers—and a rather disapproving look from his mother. "We figured out that there was one in the Lestrange's Vault so…?"

They went into their explanation of how they were captured and brought to Malfoy Manor, where Bellatrix began to panic, thinking that they stole the sword from her vault. Which led them to wonder just what else she would have in there that she wouldn't want anyone else to see.

"And what would you have done if there wasn't anything in there?" Percy demanded. "You could have risked your lives for nothing!"

"But there was one," Hermione said and she held up her worn-out beaded bag and went rummaging through it while the others talked. She then brought out the remains of the locket, the cup, and the diadem, telling them about how they escaped on the back of a dragon.

"That was wicked!" Neville couldn't help but cry out, "None of us could believe it when we heard!"

"Turns out that jumping onto a dragon's back is a good way to get away from a bank full of angry, blood-thirsty goblins," Ron couldn't help but inform them with a laugh.

"Right, I guess we have a lot of apologizing to do at Gringotts," Harry mumbled awkwardly.

"I'll talk to them," Bill promised, still looking stunned at this development. "But still, maybe I should have you three test our security from now on."

"I can't believe that there are actually dragons in there!" Charlie snarled in outrage, "I thought that those were just rumors!" He then rounded on Bill and demanded, "Did you know about this?"

"And risk my brother killing me when he found out?" Bill retorted, holding up his hands. "No! I've never been that down deep in the vaults before. The goblins are very picky about who they let down there."

"Wha' happened to it anyway?" Hagrid asked, speaking for the first time, still emotional over everything else that he learned so far.

"Well, it was eventually rounded up and we're looking after it at a dragon sanctuary for now," Charlie said. "We won't be going into a full investigation right away, but we're making sure that it's being taken care of. We weren't entirely sure what kind of breed it was until we captured it and it started to heal from its time in Gringotts."

"What kind was it anyway?" Luna asked curiously as she hummed to herself slightly.

"A Ukrainian Ironbelly," he sighed, "The largest dragon species in the world. How they even got their hands on it, I'll never know, but I'm not going to let this go, if I can help it."

"Anyway," Hermione said as she set the remains of the Horcruxes on the desk and finished up, "Right after we got the cup out of the vault, we found out that the last one was hidden here in the castle. That was why we turned up that night without warning. But once Voldemort heard about the cup, he knew that we were hunting the Horcruxes and…?"

"And you had to race him to get to the diadem first," Arthur finished for her as Filius walked over to the desk to examine the three pieces with an air of great gloom.

"So that's why you were asking about the diadem, Mr. Potter?" he asked as he picked up the charred and cracked diadem to where he could just make out the words etched there, "To see such a piece of our school's history defiled in such a way? It simply breaks my heart."

Harry quickly explained about how the Grey Lady of Ravenclaw was actually Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter and how she stolen the diadem from her mother and hidden it in an Albanian forest before she was murdered. And how she later told Tom Riddle while he was still a student here.

"So that's why he was in Albania all those years," Minerva gasped in understanding.

"One night he came back to the castle to ask Dumbledore for a job," Harry nodded, "And I'm guessing that when he was going up to his office, he hid it. And we figured out that it had been in the Room of Requirements all that time."

"And so the reason you told me to kill the snake?" Neville said with his eyes wide and Harry grinned.

"Yep," he said, "Turns out the snake was the last Horcrux."

"You mean you can use animals as Horcruxes?" Ginny asked startled.

"It would be unwise to do so," Horace said slowly, "After all, having a piece of your soul inside of another living being? It would be dangerous."

"Which Neville proved for us," Luna said airily and Neville turned a bright red as she beamed at him.

"Very well, this certainly explains much," Minerva said, looking exhausted just listening to the story. "But what on earth possessed you to go to Voldemort that night, Potter? Were you trying to get to the snake yourself?"

They were all looking at him as a grim look appeared on his face—and he could tell that Harry had been dreading this moment. Hermione and Ron looked at him in concern, but Harry took a deep breath and told them everything. How they went after Voldemort in the Shrieking Shack where he ordered Nagini to kill Severus Snape. Severus had given him his memories and he learned the whole truth before discovering that a piece of Voldemort's soul had been inside him all that time.

The others stared in shock at him as this news settled in as his portrait self looked down unhappily.

But Harry went on bravely, telling them how he let Voldemort kill him… only to discover that it didn't work like he thought. Instead, the piece of his soul inside him had been killed in his place.

"So… you couldn't die?" George croaked out.

"Oh, I could still die," Harry said, not looking at any of them, "But because he took my blood, it just made it impossible for Voldemort to kill me."

He then remembered something and turned to Hagrid to say, "I'm so sorry, Hagrid. I didn't mean for you to see that but…?"

Hagrid, who had been crying loudly to himself as Harry explained how by willingly sacrificing his life, he did what his mother had done and protected them from Voldemort's touch. He then walked over and pulled him into a fierce hug, looking like he was about to break his ribs in the process.

"Don' say it," he said gruffly as he ruffled his hair fondly. "Don' say another word 'bout tha'. I'm jus' so happy yer not dead Harry!"

"I second that!" Ginny said as she ran forward to hug him as well once Hagrid let him go.

"You don't care?" Harry asked worriedly as he looked over them all. "Even knowing… what was inside me all that time?"

Arthur walked over this time and put his hands on Harry's shoulders as he looked him in the face with fierce pride as he told him, "That was never your fault. How could any of us have known? But you never let that part control you. You are nothing like how he was. If anything, we should be apologizing to you for forcing you to go through that on your own."

"Besides, it's gone now, right?" Neville asked as he looked over Harry. "Blimey, I could never do what you did. No way. You've got more backbone than the entire Ministry put together."

"Which brings up a good question," Kingsley said quietly, "What do we tell the people about this? Do we allow it to remain a secret or not? I would hate to give too many people similar ideas."

"But it feels disrespectful to those who died," Hermione pointed out as Kingsley waved his hand down at her kindly.

"I understand," he said, "Which is why I think that instead of telling them about the Horcruxes, we say that they were extremely dangerous weapons that Voldemort hid instead. Weapons that would have ensured that he won the war if they weren't destroyed."

They let all that sink in, not sure of what else to say.

"Well," Molly said, a little shakily before she walked over to them and pulled all three into a group hug. "You're all safe and sound. It's over. That will have to be enough for now."

They decided to leave the sword of Gryffindor in the office, along with the remains of the other founders relics. They half-heartedly talked about finding a way to restore them, but with the damaged that they were dealt, it was very unlikely. They would just be used as reminders of what this war cost them and to ensure that the future generations realize just how much they had to sacrifice to see a brighter tomorrow.

They all left, with Hermione telling the boys that she would be leaving soon for Australia to find her parents and remove the enchantments she placed on them. Ron was just offering to go with her when Albus saw how Ginny stayed behind so that she could speak with Harry. The two looked at each other for a long moment before Harry gave a small smile and took her hand in his.

Albus watched over them all as they returned to as normal lives as they could get. But he always made sure to check over Harry most of all. Harry was still haunted by nightmares and the feelings of survivor's guilt, regardless of what anyone else said.

But he found ways to keep himself busy and happy for the most part. He joined the Auror office and he, along with his friends continued their reformation of the Ministry. When he wasn't at work, he was spending his days with Ginny as they were finally allowed to have a proper relationship—or helping to raise Teddy.

After several years, Harry eventually worked up the courage to ask Ginny for her hand in marriage and they were wed outside the Burrow. The tears of joy in Molly and Arthur's faces when they saw the two at the altar… with Ron as Harry's best man and Hermione as the maid of honor… it was a beautiful ceremony, and one that Albus couldn't have felt happier for them as he watched with tears in his eyes.

At long last, the boy who had lost everything from one tragic night, was reaching the happiness that he had deserved his entire life. He had a family who loved him and his smiles were genuine now, rather than forced.

And those smiles only grew even more regular when he and Ginny held their first child together, whom they named in honor of Harry's father and godfather:

James Sirius Potter.

Albus could not help but burst out laughing when he heard that. Named for two of the most notorious troublemakers that Hogwarts had ever seen? It was pretty clear what kind of personality he would have when he was older.

Time marched on from that point as the entire Weasley/Potter family grew. One by one, Molly was allowing her beloved children to find love and marry. Bill continued his work as a Curse Breaker as he and Fleur started their family. Charlie was often teased as the single bachelor of the Weasley clan, since he chose to focus his study on dragons; while a changed Percy Weasley eventually became Head of the Department of Magical Transportation. George never fully recovered the loss of his twin, but his heart found solace thanks to Angelina Johnson, who once dated Fred. The two eventually married and they named their first-born son in loving memory of the joking Fred Weasley.

Ron and Hermione were also married shortly after Harry and Ginny were, where Ron joined Harry in the Auror Department and Hermione went through the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to continue on with her work improving the lives of House Elves.

As for Harry and Ginny… Ginny finished up her last year at school before becoming a Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies during which she and Harry dated. But she later retired after a few years to start her family with Harry and became the sports editor and Quidditch correspondent for the Prophet.

Harry was now considered an expert in fighting dark wizards and helped to reform and revolutionize the Auror department and the rest of the Ministry along with his friends. And there was even talk that he would soon be named one of the youngest ever Head of the Auror Office.

Only a few months after Ron and Hermione's wedding though, both women found themselves expecting, and they were looking forward to the new additions to their ever-growing family. It was on this particular day that Albus was awaiting the arrival of the newest Potter.

Most of the Weasleys were waiting impatiently at the Potter's cottage, waiting for news while Molly was upstairs with Ginny and Harry. Andromeda was also there with Teddy, and she was bouncing baby James on her knee while Teddy was playing with toys on a rug in front of the fireplace with five-year-old Victoire. Albus chuckled fondly as he watched the two children playing and he smiled when Teddy looked up at his grandmother as he asked when his new baby brother or sister was going to get here.

Harry certainly rose to the challenge of being a godfather, and it was even said that he and Ginny saw Teddy as their first-born with how much they adored him. When little James had been born, Teddy had been terrified that his godfather wouldn't want him to come around anymore since he now had his 'real' son to take care of. Instead, Harry merely hugged him tightly as he told him that James was now his little brother and he may have to visit even more now to help take care of him. And he laughed when the little boy's eyes widened up with happiness and flung his arms around Harry's neck in a hug.

In fact, it seemed that the only ones who were missing this exciting news were Charlie, who was running late from Romania, and Ron and Hermione—having only had their baby girl Rose a week before. Hermione has sent a patronus message earlier to Harry, promising that they would be around later that evening, where they could introduce Rose to her new cousin.

After about an hour, Harry came bounding downstairs and proclaimed with an ecstatic grin that lit up his face, "It's a boy!"

There were cries of joy and the Weasley clan rushed in to hug him. Albus applauded happily at the sight of seeing how happy that they were, and glided after them as they all took turns in small groups to go into the bedroom and meet with the baby boy, whose name they hadn't decided upon just yet—with Ginny having been convinced that they were having a girl. Yet, regardless of that, she couldn't have been any happier as she held her baby boy with loving pride.

Once everyone had their chance to meet the baby, Molly had shooed most of them out, saying that Ginny and her newest grandson needed their rest. As most of the family trooped out, with promises to come back the next day to visit, Molly stayed behind with Andromeda, preparing to make some dinner for the Potters before they went home.

Albus remained behind to watch them, with Harry bringing in one-year-old James and seven-year-old Teddy in to meet their new baby brother. James bounded on the bed happily while Harry pulled Teddy up beside him so that he could look at the tiny bundle in Ginny's arms together.

Albus leaned in to get a closer look at the boy and the first thing he saw was the shock of jet-black hair… which brought back a precious memory for him.

Albus remembered the day that Harry was born.

*Flashback*

Albus had apperated at the end of the street that led to the entrance of Godric's Hollow, having just received news that Lily and James had their baby and he was eager to meet with them. Albus wanted to make sure that both the mother and child were doing alright before they discussed more protective spells around their home to ensure their son's safety.

Just mere hours ago he had met Frank and Alice's little boy Neville, and the two of them had already planned on laying low at Frank's mother's house for the foreseeable future. After casting every protective spell around their family home that they could think of, they were all reasonably certain that they were safe for the time being. Now it was time to see the second candidate who could prove to be Voldemort's equal and take the steps needed to protect him.

He could still remember the look of anguish in the young couple's eyes when he first told them of the prophecy. How he felt that he was stealing the future of their unborn child before he was even brought into this world.

Albus pushed such thoughts away, trying hard not to think about that. This was a joyous moment for the Potters and he didn't want to take that from them. Especially since they had precious little to celebrate for the last decade.

He arrived at the Potter's cottage and knocked, waiting for a long time before he heard James's voice asked tightly on the other side of the door, "Who's there?"

"It is I, Albus Dumbledore. I am here to check in on you and your family, James," Albus called to him and he heard the sigh of relief as the door opened.

"Been awhile Dumbledore," James said, beaming as Albus had never seen him beam before.

"One would think that you wouldn't let me in so easily," Albus offered as he stepped smartly over the threshold.

"Who would be mental enough to try and personate you?" James asked before looking up and down the street quickly before locking the door and bolting it. Yet it seemed that not even the threat of war hanging over them seemed to be enough to wipe the grin from his face. He was practically glowing when he showed him inside, he all but skipped around him.

"He's here," James went on joyfully. "Sirius and Lily are upstairs with him! Oh, you got to see him! He's just perfect!"

Albus smiled warmly back as James began to climb the stairs three at a time and called up to the others, "It's alright! It's Dumbledore!"

James led him to the end of the upstairs hallway to where he heard voices inside the bedroom. As James showed him in, he saw that Sirius was sitting at the edge of the bed, grinning madly at the sight of the two of them in and invited them over. But Albus's eyes were immediately drawn to Lily.

Never had he seen her looking as happy as she did at that moment. Worn and exhausted as she seemed, joy seemed to be flooding from her… like light. Her eyes were glowing with love and her smile was simply radiant as she kept her eyes focused on the tiny bundle wrapped in a bright blue blanket in Sirius's arms.

"I suppose a congratulations are in order?" Albus asked with a chuckle as the two smiled even wider.

"Hey! Dumbledore! Was wondering when you'd show up!" Sirius called with a bright cheer before adding, with no small amount of pride, "I want you to meet my new godson!"

"You've been named godfather?" Albus asked happily, "A fine choice. A real honor."

"You bet it is!" Sirius said smugly.

"Sirius seems to be settling into his new role as godfather very well," James laughed as Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. Happiness seemed to reach every part of the room, spreading from the tiny baby that Sirius still held protectively in his arms.

"Sirius?" Lily asked, holding out her arms, wanting her baby again.

"What? Oh, right!" Sirius said as he reluctantly passed the little boy back his mother, "You look dreadful by the way, not sure if anyone told you?"

"Oh, I wonder why? It can't be that I just spent hours in labor with a baby," Lily said with a roll of her eyes as she settled right back down with her son before adding sarcastically, "And you wonder why you aren't married yet?"

"Nah, that's giving in to his fear of commitment," James laughed and Albus chuckled at their antics as they came closer to the bed.

"Everything went well, then?" Albus asked as he pulled up a chair right next to the Lily.

"It could have gone easier," Lily confessed tiredly as she looked to her old Headmaster. But she was still beaming as the newborn snuggled against her chest. She ran her fingers soothingly over the child's back, holding him tighter before sighing, "So much effort for someone so tiny. It was like he didn't want to come out."

Albus leaned in and got a good look at the child's face and the first thing he saw was the shock of jet black hair that already the infant's tiny head.

"He looks a lot like you, James," Albus smiled and James was practically swollen with pride as Sirius laughed.

"We were just lamenting the kid's terrible luck with that," Sirius told him in an exaggerated whisper as Lily laughed and James spluttered indignantly.

"How dare you!" James stated with mock offense, "Look at this gorgeous face of mine! There's a good chance he'll look just like me when he grows up!"

"Poor little thing," Lily added as she attempted to smooth the hair on the top of her baby's head. Albus laughed with Sirius at the cheeky remark.

Lily's smile faded a little as she looked back to Albus and asked, "How are Frank and Alice? And their baby? We haven't had a chance to check in with them since…?"

"They are doing well," Albus reassured them. "I saw them yesterday morning and Alice is recovering. They had a healthy baby boy and they will be staying with Frank's mother for now. They told me to pass along their regards to you both and their warmest congratulations."

Lily sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness for that," she said, "I was getting worried for them. Especially since…?"

Her voice faltered and Albus felt as if some of the happiness faded as her question trailed off. He knew that they were all thinking about the threat of the prophecy. Almost like a sword was quivering above the newborn's head and it did not set a pretty picture for any of them.

"Let's move past the bad times," James said, forcing a smile, determined not to think of Voldemort or the war right now. "None of that today! This is supposed to be the happiest day of our lives, right!? Let's not think about old Voldy right now!"

That was something that they could all do. Even when the world seemed so dark, at this moment, Albus could almost believe that the future was bright with the celebration of a new life. This was something that they all needed.

But just as they were getting back into a good mood, they heard another knock at the door and it was as if time froze for a moment. James got up again, his wand drawn as he left the room. None of them spoke a word as they heard him head down the stairs…

It was silent for another long minute before they heard James call up, "It's Remus! No need to worry!"

They all let out sighs of relief as they heard the two coming back up the stairs. Echoes of laughter were back by the time that James walked back in with Remus on his heels. Remus was looking very pale and ragged; yet he greeted them all warmly when he saw his friends there and his eyes lit up at the sight of the newborn.

"Sorry for coming so late," Remus said as he took off his worn cloak and dropped it onto a nearby chair, "But I just thought that I would check in on Peter before coming. He should be coming by tomorrow. But he told me to tell you both congratulations though."

He walked over to the bed, his eyes wide and bright as he got a good look at the baby and James laughed at his amazed expression.

"Remus, would you like to hold him?" James asked him brightly.

At once, Remus became nervous and actually took a step back. "Oh, no… maybe not now… I mean…?"

"Oh, he won't bite you," Sirius laughed, "He doesn't even have teeth yet."

"It's another three weeks until the next full moon," James added, "So you can't use that as an excuse."

"I really shouldn't," Remus tried to politely refuse while Sirius smirked at how awkward Remus was acting.

"Big baby," Sirius smirked. "I held him!"

"And you were petrified that you were going to drop him," Lily reminded him audaciously.

"Must you always rain on my parade?" Sirius demanded in mock outrage.

Albus was laughing even harder at the three men, not even noticing how Lily was looking over at him while the boys all poked fun at each other.

"I'm sorry, Lily," he said, not hearing what she just said as he looked over to her, "But could you repeat that?"

"I was just asking if you would like a chance to hold him, sir?" she asked him sweetly. Albus was surprised by the offer, but Lily was already gently holding her baby out to him. So he carefully folded the newborn into his arms and held him securely to his chest as the men continued to poke fun at a laughing Remus.

"It's almost like dealing with a bunch of kids," Lily sighed tiredly as she watched the three friends. "I hope that this one won't turn out like that."

"With you as his mother? I know he will turn out fine," Albus promised as he looked down at the sleeping face. As if the baby sensed that someone other than his mother, his father, or godfather was holding him, Albus watched as the little boy's eyes cracked open and he saw a flash of green looking back into his own blue ones.

"He's got your eyes," he chuckled and Lily grinned happily at that.

"He's perfect," she said as Albus gently stroked the baby's cheek with a finger, feeling how soft it was before the baby's hand reached up—his entire hand so tiny that he couldn't even wrap it around his finger.

"Yeah, just wait until Jr. grows up," Sirius grinned as Remus and James laughed. "When he gets older, I'm gonna teach him how to get the ladies."

"Not unless you want him to get slapped every day," Lily said in warning. "He'll be the perfect gentleman that James wasn't."

"What is his name?" Albus asked, surprised at himself for forgetting to ask.

"Harry," James said proudly, "Lily insisted on it."

"Of course," Lily said firmly. "It's bad enough he has your hair, we don't need to give him your name and confuse everyone."

"Alright! Alright, you win!" James called, but before anything else was said, he summoned up a bottle of champagne and several glasses, handing one out to all but Albus, who still held baby Harry, and Lily who was too tired for a drink. James poured the rest of them a generous amount in each glass before he held it up in a toast.

"To Harry James Potter!" he proclaimed, pride ringing out so that it was impossible to mistaken it for anything else, "A great wizard in the making!"

And they all cried out, "To Harry James Potter!"

*End of Flashback*

Albus smiled at the memory as the baby, nearly identical to the one he held that day, was passed to his father—who was staring at him in awe.

"I thought that you said it was going to be a girl," Teddy pointed out.

"Well, that's what I was betting on with Hermione," Ginny laughed. "I guess we can forget about naming him Lily Luna Potter, huh?"

"Not if he wants to get laughed at," Harry laughed as he held his newborn son securely against his chest. "Looks like we need to pick something else. I had been thinking that we could name him Fred but…?"

"Too bad George and Angelina already took that name," Ginny laughed as she leaned back against her pillows as James flopped down and into her arms. "It'll be too confusing if we do it too. But I do like the idea of naming him after someone we knew."

She hesitated as she looked into her husband's joyful face and said shrewdly, "You already have a name in mind?"

"What?" he asked, looking up at her and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Come on," she said, "What is it?"

"It was just a thought," he said as he looked at the baby, whose eyes opened up and Albus could see Lily's and Harry's bright green eyes peering back. "I wanted to wait and see what you would say before we decided. Since I named our first trouble-maker here."

He nodded his head to the babbling baby boy in Ginny's lap, who was now sucking on his hand and drooling all over.

"Everyone told me that I should just let you name the kids anyway. Apparently, I'm terrible at naming things," Ginny said as Teddy looked over new baby 'brother' with wide and excited eyes. "Why they would think that, I don't know."

"Maybe because of Pigwidgeon?" Harry asked smartly and she snorted with laughter.

"Can I hold the baby?" Teddy asked innocently, his brown hair turning back to his favorite shade of blue and holding out his small arms as Harry laughed.

"After we give him a name," he promised as Teddy sat there impatiently.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," Ginny demanded before Harry leaned in and whispered something into her ear. Albus did not make out what he said but he watched as her eyebrows shot up. When Harry leaned away from her she asked him, "You sure about that? I'm almost afraid of what kind of personality he'll have if we give him that one."

"I don't know," Harry chuckled. "But it was playing around in my mind the last few weeks. But only if you agree to it?"

"He may not thank you for it," she informed him as she laughed. "But, I can't say that I hate it either."

Albus was now dying to hear it as the little family gathered around the little boy. Teddy climbed up and hugged his godfather tightly so that he was in Harry's lap; Harry wrapped one arm around him while the other was still cradling the precious newborn. Ginny meanwhile turned baby James around so that he could get another look at the baby and said to him, "Your daddy picked the name, so don't make too much fun of him when he's older."

"What is it?" Teddy asked eagerly as Albus felt couldn't take the suspense anymore.

"This is going to be your new little brother," Harry said to the boys. "And he's going to look up to you both, so you're going to have to set a good example for him. And by you, I mean mostly you Teddy, I don't want him looking at James too much since he's not even two yet but already causing trouble for us…" Ginny gave him a weak punch in the arm as she and James laughed—though James didn't understand a world his father said.

"Teddy, James… meet your new baby brother… Albus Severus Potter," Harry said, their attention on the little boy.

Albus Dumbledore mouth fell open in shock but that didn't stop the tears of joy that fell. His heart so full of love and happiness at this honor that he didn't know what he could say. All that he could do was fall to his knees next to the bed with the happy family as they cooed over little Albus Severus Potter, who was smiling up at his father.

"Thank you," Albus Dumbledore said softly as the tears fell.

*Flashback*

At the loud toast, Harry James Potter stirred at the noise and stared up at Albus as he looked on with a hint of wonder at something so tiny and pure.

"Now," James was saying seriously to Remus, once he drank his glass empty. "Sirius may be his official godfather, but I'm expecting you and Peter to be the ones to set a good example for Harry."

"Hey! I can set a good example!" Sirius protested indignantly.

Lily snorted with laughter at that before saying, "I'll be reserving my judgement on that. Remus, you better keep him in line."

"I'll make sure to keep an eye on him at all times," Remus reassured her.

"Wow, the kid's just born but you already think that it'll take both of us to keep him out of trouble?" Sirius asked.

"We was talking about you, not Harry," Remus informed him. Another round of laughter followed, but it was clear to Albus just how much that the four of them had already adored Harry and weren't afraid to show it.

"Knowing you, you're going to be getting him in trouble instead of keeping him out of it," Lily pointed out.

"That's what godfathers are for," Sirius said proudly. "I'm going to be the fun person in his life that he turns to when he's tired of you two being strict and boring."

"Did you just call us strict and boring?" James gasped in mock outrage. "How dare you, good sir! I must insist that I duel you now for my honor!"

And they were pretending to pull out their wands and have a duel while Remus pretended to be a referee.

It looked like the beginnings of a good party and Albus enjoyed himself immensely as he joked and laughed with the others. But he never turned his attention away from Harry for more than a few seconds. Soon, he found the child's head half buried in his beard as he started to drift back off to sleep, his little fist still closed around Albus's finger.

"Aww, isn't that sweet? I think he likes you, professor Dumbledore," Lily chuckled as Harry nuzzled his tiny face against Albus's chest, right above the spot where his heart was.

(And once again, we come to the end of this story. And I really do mean it this time. I'm glad that I went back to this story and was able to come up with a couple special bonus chapters. These last two were truly enough to pull at my heart and I really do wish that we could have seen such touching scenes in the book or movies. Anyway, as I'm sure that you all noticed, the poll that I posted has been taken down. I want to thank everyone who voted and gave me their opinions, but sadly, we do have a clear winner. It was very close, both ideas were neck and neck until the last two days. I even kept the poll up an extra day just to make sure that there weren't any last minute voting. Anyway, I have my winner and it will be going up sometime this weekend. I won't tell you which one won though, so you'll have to wait and see ;)

But once again, I want to thank everyone for their support and their love for the story. While not perfect, I made plenty of mistakes and all that, it was all from the heart and I hope that you can see that. I hope that you also enjoyed this final bonus chapter and how I chose to end things. I can't wait to get the next story up and I'll be seeing you all again soon!)