'It was fabulous meeting you, too,' Harry heard Kit saying to Carrie and Jake as they left and he put Nate down for a nap. As Kit closed the door behind them, Harry moved to the top of the stairs.

'We have to be there by four,' he told her as she climbed the stairs towards him.

'Then you had better go and do the dishes while I find us all clothes.'

Harry grimaced, moving into the kitchen, which had been made a mess by Kit as she had made the pistachio dessert. Harry peered at it in the fridge, the vivid green filling staring back at him. Sighing, Harry closed the fridge and turned back to the kitchen workspace, which was littered with graham crumbs, whip cream, bowls, measuring cups and spoons, pistachios, the remains of tea, and the abandoned drum set. Harry sighed in frustration. If only he had his magic.

As he filled the sink, he thought back to those painful days following the final battle. With Voldemort gone for good, the aurors arrested the remaining death eaters with ease. None of them were able to weasel themselves out after Dumbledore had gone. Mad Eye was strict, but McGonagall had reached Barty Crouch Senior's level. Azkaban was filled to bursting with the wrong doers, and the dementors were back under control. The entire wizarding world celebrated the end of the war.

Crying filled his ears. A familiar crying. He could feel a clean, cool breeze on his fingers, his arms, and his forehead. A soft breathing was coming from his right, and the gentle rustling of turning pages was heard as the crier took a breath. Of course, Harry knew who the crier was, but could do nothing to curb his son's distress. A chair squeaked and footsteps were heard, a soft hushing sound from a woman becoming the backdrop for the renewed wails.

A book fell with a 'thunk'.

'Why don't you go home, Remus?' a soft voice at Harry's right asked. A very familiar, tired, feminine voice.

'Or to a party,' another woman added, breaking the soft hushing. 'Merlin knows you'll find one.'

Remus must have shook his head, as the conversation died. Nate's crying ceased, and Harry heard him ask 'can I sit with daddy?'

'Not until the nurse says,' the second woman, Kit, said softly. Harry heard the sadness in her voice, and the disappointment in Nate's tiny 'oh'. He could feel his heart breaking.

His eyes fluttered open, adjusting slightly to the dimly lit room. Kit was pacing the room slowly with Nate in her arms, whispering softly to him. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun and was wearing one of Harry's shirts above her sweats. Looking to his right, Harry saw Hermione, her hair as bushy as ever, dressed in what could pass as pyjamas, her eyes staring unfocused at Harry's right hand. Her head was on Ron's shoulder, whom of which was fast asleep and dressed as though he had been there for quite some time. Behind them sat Remus, a haphazard pile of books, magazines, newspapers, and pamphlets surrounding his exhausted, dilapidated figure. Harry watched as the werewolf turned the page of his current book listlessly.

Harry looked back at Nate and Kit. Nate caught his eye and grinned. Harry managed a small smile and waved with his fingers.

'Good mo'ning, daddy.'

Hermione gasped, sitting up. Remus dropped his book. Kit cried out loud. Ron woke with a start. Harry's grin widened.

'You're awake!' Kit rushed up to him, grasping his hand as she put Nate on the floor. 'Oh, you came back!' Tears filled her eyes as she kissed his knuckles.

'I'll get the doctor,' Remus announced, standing up and reaching for the door.

'I'll take Nate and get ice cream,' Hermione offered, grabbing Nate's hand and pulling him behind Remus.

Ron looked slightly uncomfortable. 'Did you want me to leave?' he asked, starting to get up.

'No,' Harry whispered hoarsely. 'Stay.'

Ron smiled broadly, shifting his chair closer to the bedside. 'It's about bloody time you woke up.'

'How long –?'

Harry saw Kit and Ron shoot each other a look. 'Well, you've only been asleep for a couple days,' Kit said nervously.

'But?'

Ron sighed. 'After we admitted you, you had sort of woken up.'

'But, I don't –'

'Remember? Good,' Kit said, stroking his hand. 'Now stop trying to talk. We'll tell you what happened.'

'You woke up in the middle of the night and were in a sort of trance it seemed like,' Ron said, shifting uncomfortable in his chair. 'Only, you weren't in a trace, you were sort of hallucinating. Kit and I were the only ones here and you didn't know who we were. Made us think that you had amnesia or something like that. So we called in a couple healers, and they gave you a shot of something that made you fall asleep.'

He fell quiet, and Harry had no reason to say anything, as Kit tightened her grip on his fingers.

'You eventually woke up again. It was me and Remus, and you still didn't know who we were. Well, you thought you did. You kept calling us different names. I was scared out of my wits. So Remus went to get one of the healers, and this time he let you carry on doing whatever you were doing. You never got out of bed, you just sort of talked about nonsense. None of it made any sense. But you wore yourself out and fell asleep again. That was when the healer talked to us. Your blood tests were in, and they had come to the conclusion that you were perfectly healthy, only –'

Harry's eyes were wide as Kit broke off. 'Only what?'

Ron took Harry's other hand, and Harry noticed the tears amid his eyelashes. 'You lost all your magic.'

A stiff silence filled the room. Kit had released his hand and was stroking his hair out of his eyes as Harry lay there, unable to speak.

'They thought it best to move you here. A muggle hospital. The healers said these doctors and nurses could help you more than –'

Ron broke off. Kit was still running her hands through his hair as he shut his eyes tight. That was it. In destroying the last horcrux he had lost all his magic. The one thing that had always remained a constant in his life was gone. He could feel the tears building up, and furiously wished them away. He felt Ron let go of his hand and Kit stop touching his hair. He opened his eyes to find a nurse clad in baby blue scrubs looking at his vitals.

'Good to see you're awake, Mr Potter,' she said happily. 'Do you know where you are? Who these people are?'

'Yes,' Harry said softly, his voice choked with unshed tears.

'Could you tell me, please?' the nurse asked patiently.

'Kit, Ron, and I'm in a hospital.'

The nurse smiled. 'Good. Now, we'll just run another blood test, make sure you really are fine, and I'll go get the doctor to see you.'

She left swiftly, and Kit took his hand as Ron sat back down. In no time, a middle-aged man entered, smiling at his patient.

'Alright, Mr Potter, let's see if you can move.'

'You mean I –?'

The doctor wasn't listening. Instead, he took Harry's arm and gently bent it back.

'Does that feel normal?'

Harry nodded, bewildered as the doctor laid it back on the bed.

'I'd like you to do it.'

It seemed simple enough for Harry, but as his muscles worked under his own strength, it seemed as though he was being put under the Cruciatus curse. A blinding white filled his eyes as he clamped them shut, but did not utter a sound. He vaguely heard gasp, but his hearing soon went fuzzy. It felt as though his nerves were on fire. Then the blinding white light was replaced with darkness and he relaxed.

When he woke up next the room was darker than before and much less inhabited. He looked next to him to find Ron, asleep, in the same chair as previously. He sighed, trying to piece together what had happened when he tried to move his hand. More warily now, he looked down and slowly attempted to make a fist. He felt no pain, so he tried to, very slowly; raise his hand off the bed. Sharp pains ran up his arm. He gasped, abandoning his attempts.

'I knew you would try,' Ron said amusedly beside him.

'Why can't I?'

His best friend sighed. 'The healers say that the loss of you magic has made you sort of weaker. The doctors here say you're suffering from shock and an after effect of being in a coma.' He smiled. 'They all say you'll make a full recovery.'

Harry nodded. 'How long have you been here?'

'As long as you, mate,' Ron said, and Harry noticed for the first time the bags under his companion's eyes. 'I haven't left your side. Kit and Remus haven't left the hospital. Hermione takes Nate to mum every now and then.'

'That's –'

'We weren't going to leave you and let you wake up alone,' Ron said firmly.

Harry smiled broadly. It felt so good. 'I want to see everyone,' he said.

Ron nodded. 'Oh, and Fred and George say that as soon as you're up you had better be ready to keep saving the world.'

'From what?' Harry asked incredulously.

Ron grinned wickedly as he stood up. 'Oh, cancer, thieves … nothing you can't handle.'

Harry rolled his eyes as Ron swung open the door and nodded to the others. Harry's family. Later he would realize all he had done was done for them. The people he loved the most.

'Hey, just because you've lost your magic doesn't mean we're going to let you stop saving people, now, are we?'

Harry laughed out loud.

Harry started as Kit wrapped her arms around his waist.

'Thinking about it?' she whispered, laying her forehead on his shoulder blade.

'Kind of,' he said softly, pulling out the stopper of the sink.

'Well, stop it,' she said briskly, pinching his sides playfully. 'It's time for you to get dressed.'

Harry smiled, following her up the stairs and into their bedroom. Kit had laid out a pair of black trousers and a white dress shirt with green pinstripes running down it. Obediently, Harry changed as Kit went into the bathroom. She slipped out as Harry was pulling on his shoes, and he felt his jaw drop. Dressed in a simple, light turquoise cocktail dress, she frowned as she pulled at her hair.

'What should I do with my hair?' she whined.

'You're beautiful,' Harry said hoarsely.

Kit narrowed her eyes. 'Keep it in your pants and tell me what to do with my hair. You look good, by the way,' she added. 'Stand up.'

Harry stood. 'It looks good down like that,' he said as she un-tucked his shirt.

'Okay – nope, tucked in – then as soon as Nate wakes up you can dress him and we'll go,' she said as she tucked in his shirt.

Harry nodded, his hands snaking around her waist as she bent down and kissed her neck.

'Not now,' Kit whispered, unwrapping his arms and fixing his cuffs.

Harry sighed. 'I don't know why you're trying so hard,' he commented as she straightened the collar of his shirt. 'It's only Petunia –'

'Who of which doesn't approve of me,' Kit snapped quietly, eyeing him before brushing his shoulders. 'And you might as well do as I say or there will be no shagging for a fortnight.'

Harry fell silent as she watched her retreat to the bathroom, a grin on his face. A faint shout of 'I'm awake, now!' shook Harry from his thoughts, and he proceeded down the hall to dress Nate.