Back in the house the soup was nearly done and the conversation was comfortable, Molly, Arthur who had just come down, Tonks, Remus, Percy and Charlie: both of whom had arrived within the past five minutes, were sitting around the enlarged table in the kitchen listening to Charlie's tale of the latest dragon escapades. Right as he reached the end, the door opened and Ginny walked in, her arm around Harry, who was now carrying Teddy. Right behind them were Ron and Hermione, holding hands and grinning ear to ear.

"There you are! For heavens sake, you shouldn't have kept Teddy out there in the rain! That's so irresponsible, if he catches a cold it'll be on your shoulders!"

Her rant over, Mrs Weasley hugged both Ron and Harry telling them they were both "far too thin" and looked like "urchin kids begging for food". Harry hugged Tonks and Remus and handed Teddy back to Tonks who smiled as only a mother can at the sight of her son.

"Harry, good to see you mate."

Charlie drew his attention over by slapping him on the back and ushering him into a chair in-between himself and one which Ginny was lowering herself into. Harry gladly sat down, resting his legs for what seemed like the first time in days, or even weeks. He loved the training, but there was no denying it was hard work. He and Ron were on call 24/7 and were frequently woken up at 3am to run a few laps and do 30 pree-ups before being told to get an hour sleep then report back.

"So Harry, how's the training?"

"Pretty good Percy, thanks. How's the job going?"

Percy, the same old Percy noted Harry, puffed up with pride and went into a long-winded description of his new job at the Ministry. "You see, I am a ' Junior Admissions Officer to the Authorized Apparation Exam, in charge of Complaints and Injustices'"

"So basically Percy, you listen to bratty 17-year olds saying they didn't pass their tests?" Ginny spoke so sweetly and innocently that those that didn't know her well would have mistaken her sarcasm for sincerity. Percy looked slightly abashed at this, but nevertheless ploughed onwards, digging himself deeper and deeper.

"Well no, not exactly...that's what my boss does..."

Charlie roared with laughter and Ron, with as much dignity as possible ventured forward.

"So, what exactly do you do?"

"Well...I...I...bring him tea and...hang his coat up and...get his lunch." Silence fell around the table while everyone either looked around awkwardly or tried to stop themselves from launching into hysterics. Percy looked around reluctantly.

"Well Percy, I think it sounds very...like it...has a lot of...potential"

Tonks, who had been the latter category broke the silence but this was the last straw for Ginny, Harry, Ron and Charlie who let go and howled with laughter. Hermione looked vaguely amused with the slight air of someone trying to hold a smile in. Molly and Arthur congratulated Percy and patted him on the back, as did Remus. Teddy clapped his hands together and giggled at his mother, who was trying so hard not to join in the laughter.

A knock at the door calmed them all enough to be able to speak and to greet Bill and Fleur who had just arrived, both slightly bemused by the giggling and references to "tea-maker" and "errand boy" being made in Percy's direction. General 'how are you's' and 'what have you been doing's' filled the time for a while before George and Katie arrived bringing flowers and a cake. It was easy to see, just by a glance at the two, that they were soulmates. They were always together and both wore an expression that said they couldn't believe how lucky they were and also that they needed nothing but each other.

Andromeda was the last to arrive and once she had been greeted and pleasantries exchanged everyone sat down to dinner.

"Bill, how are the goblins?"

"They're good, I'm making progress I think. Many of them seem willing to take part in a peaceful debate at least, but if they don't get wands I dread to think what will happen. I've literally had to promise them they'll get their own way just to get them not to murder the opposition."

Everyone laughed, then paused, each remembering losses and feeling slightly guilty. George raised his glass. "To laughter, and continuing it even in the darkest of times."

"To laughter" echoed everyone else.

Katie squeezed George's arm and Harry held Ginny's hand. The silence lasted about a minute before Teddy clapped his hands together. "Laf-ta!"

Immediately, all the women at the table cooed and all the men smiled proudly. Tonks beamed and held Teddy up."That's right Teddy. Your first word! Laughter!"