A/N: Hello… So here I am back after a year. Real life gets to you. Anyway, I am working on all of my incomplete stories but I have no idea when I can put it up.

I received positive and encouraging reviews for the prologue and I have decided to continue this story. But it's been a year since I have written and there might be a change in the writing style. I don't know if you will like it, but please do let me know. Hope I haven't disappointed anyone.

Eleven Years Later

The corridors of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry were dimly lit by the morning sun. The faint glow bathed the ancient castle warmly. It provided a peaceful atmosphere for the castle's occupants. But the only person awake during the time walked the corridors lost in his own world. He saw nothing and thought of nothing but his legs walked of their own accord.

"How do you always brood so much? You have to get tired of it at some point right?"

Her voice penetrated his thoughts again. But the voice wasn't hers, no. How he hoped it was. It was his own internal struggle. It was his own subconscious taking her voice and torturing him further.

He stopped walking when he stood near an abandoned corridor. It held so many memories for him.

"Filch is sure to catch us now!" he hissed as she giggled.

"I am sorry but I remember that it was a certain saviour of mankind who suggested his invisibility cloak for 'adventures'." She said with a stifled giggle.

Harry grumbled and rolled his eyes. "Go on. Tell me what other unknown names I have." He muttered.

Ginny snorted under her breath and deadpanned.

"Bespectacled scrawny git."

Harry opened his mouth to argue and had raised his arms to trap her but Ginny already had pushed him and ran away from his clutches as he tried to reach out for her. Her laughter resounded in the corridor as she ran with Harry staring after her.

But she didn't come back. She was gone and not coming back. Harry took a shaky breath and shook his head to clear his thoughts.

This was his morning ritual. All the other times of the day, he lived, he laughed and he enjoyed. But every morning he walked in these halls and tortured himself with these thoughts again and again.

'Don't do this to yourself', his rational self told him. 'It's not worth it. Let go. Move on, its time.'

How Hermione like it sounded…

Shrugging to himself, he continued walking. It was the last day of the term and just in a few hours; all the students would be preparing to go home.

Home. The word still sounded foreign to him. What was home? A place where you lived or a place where you were loved? He owned a house; he was always welcome at his friends' place. But were any of those his home?

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed that he reached his quarters. Sighing tiredly, he walked inside and closed the door. His belongings were half packed having been thrown haphazardly into his trunk the last night. With a flick of his wand, he packed the remaining items and closed his trunk.

He sat on his favourite armchair and watched out of the window as the time ticked by. Teaching the students provided him a distraction from his woes. This was his safe haven in the circumstances when he had to escape from his life.

So lost in his own thoughts was he that he didn't realise the knock on his door. The door opened of its own accord and a bushy head popped in.

"You are doing it again, aren't you?" Hermione asked tiredly.

Harry jumped a bit but hid his surprise well when he looked at his friend. "Morning to you too." He said cheerfully.

Hermione rolled her eyes in response. "Fake cheeriness and ignoring the topic won't help you, you know?" she said as she pulled a chair and sat opposite to him and watched him for a while.

"We are leaving in about two hours. Want to grab anything in the kitchen?" she asked.

"Sure." Harry said with a shrug and stood up. He walked with her to the kitchen in relative silence.

"It's going to be two more days before Ron comes home from his tour." Hermione began. "Are you sure you don't want to stay at our place for a while?" she asked.

"Nah." He replied. "I have promised Teddy that I will be spending two weeks completely for him. And I am sure he is waiting for me." He said with a grin. Teddy had been the light of his life in his dark times. He had a fatherly bonding towards the boy and loved him with all his heart. The thought of Teddy starting school next year terrified him as well as excited him. Terrified because he couldn't believe Teddy was already eleven years old and excited because he would get to spend more time with his godson.

"Teddy. Yes." Hermione said with a smile. "Good thing you still have someone to make you smile." She whispered.

Harry's smile dropped and he looked at her. "I- I am sorry." She said looking away guiltily. "I shouldn't have…" she mumbled.

"It's ok." Harry said. "It's fine." He said as they reached the kitchens. The rest of the time Hermione spoke nothing. She was quiet and breakfast was a silent affair.

"HARRY!" Teddy's voice yelled from the noisy garden of the Burrow. Grinning, he ran towards his godfather and tackled him with a hug.

Harry ruffled his hair with a chuckle. "How is my favourite godson?" he asked.

"I am your only godson." Teddy said with a mock scowl as he flattened his hair.

"Hi Uncle Harry." Victoire said as she looked from behind Teddy.

He was Uncle Harry to everyone. Well everyone except Teddy that is. To Teddy he was Harry. To every other Weasley, he was Uncle Harry, just like Uncle Ron. He wasn't family to them by blood but by heart.

"Hello Vic." Harry said with a smile at her which she returned back.

"Teddy and I were playing wizard's chess." She said grinning at him. "And I beat him for the third time in a row!" she said proudly.

"Don't remind me." Teddy grumbled. Then adopting a mature look on his face, he said, "You learnt from Uncle Ron Vic, while I learnt from Harry." He said reasonably.

Ouch. His chess skills were mocked even by his godson.

"Making fun of me now, are you?" Harry asked grinning as he lifted Teddy up in the air and holding him upside down.

Teddy squealed and started wiggling. "Harry! Put me down!" he said with a small giggle.

"Nope." Harry said as Victoire grinned and tickled Teddy. Teddy squealed and giggled. He was extremely ticklish. "P-Please!" he gasped out.

Deciding to end his godson's torment, Harry gently lowered him to the ground where Teddy then stood proper.

"Thank you." Teddy said with as much of dignity as he could muster. Harry snorted and Victoire burst out laughing.

"You!" Teddy pointed at her as he was ready to tackle her now. Victoire squealed and took away running with Teddy right behind her.

Laughing to himself, Harry walked inside the Burrow where he was greeted with the beautiful aroma of Molly's dishes. But before he could actually step inside, a little girl of about five years stood blocking his way. Her ginger hair was tied in pigtails and her eyes clearly spoke of the mischief she would be up to. She grinned at Harry with a devilish smile.

"All or Ash?" she asked.

Harry grinned right back at her. "Ash." He said confidently. Her grin dropped and she stared at him with amazement.

"How does he know every time?" her twin hopped over to her from behind the door and they both stared at Harry.

Allison and Ashley, twin girls of proud parents George and Katie stared at him suspiciously.

Harry grinned at their likeliness to Fred and George. "Ask me no questions and I shall tell no lies." He said patting their heads which earned him an annoyed scowl from the two girls.

As he walked inside, he found himself in the middle of Weasley chaos.

"Dominique Weasley! Come down here this instant!"
"Arthur! Put away those eye pods!"
"Then what did the dragon do Uncle Charlie?"
"Is anybody even listening to a word I am saying?"
"Nope Perce."
"The dragon-"
"ARTHUR!"
"Mummy! Ash called me a-"
"Where are those firew-"
"Louis poo-"
"My head's aching!"
"But…"
"MUMMY!"

"Harry's here!" Ron announced loudly over everybody's yells. Everybody froze and turned towards the door where Harry had stood still.

"Hello." He said slowly.

"Harry!" Molly Weasley was the first to recover from her shock. She dashed over to him and held him in one of her bone crushing hugs.

"Hi Mrs Weasley." He mumbled as he hugged her back.

Molly rolled her eyes. "Call me Molly." She repeated for the umpteenth time which definitely fell on deaf ears, she knew.

Harry just shrugged apologetically. Old habits die hard. Smiling fondly at Harry, Molly patted on his shoulder and made her way back.

"Hey mate!" Ron called out to him from a corner. He waved at Harry to join him and George.

"Hello." Harry smiled as he made his way over to them.

"Hello yourself kiddo." George grinned at him. Harry glared at him which made George double up in laughter.

"So how was your trip?" Ron asked him.

"I wouldn't call it a trip though." George told him. "It's more of a service thought, innit?" he asked looking at Harry.

"Call what you like. But I like spending time there." Harry said with a shrug. "Spending time with those kids makes me… it just… makes me happy." Harry said with a smile.

Every year for a month during the summer, Harry visited one of the orphanages they had constructed after the war. It was dedicated to the memory of all the heroes that laid down their lives during the battle. At the orphanage, there were kids that were orphaned during the war, kids who were unwanted by their parents and kids who were abused at their homes. It wasn't a place built just to provide a shelter for the children but to provide them with love and care too.

After his promised two weeks with Teddy, Harry had left to the orphanage to spend his time there with the children. Angelina Johnson and Andromeda Tonks were the chief caretakers of the place.

Angelina, after Fred's death had seemed shut herself down. Her condition was similar to George's and both had seemed to bond over the loss of their loved one. But it had been Katie who finally pulled George out of his depression. It had been Katie who held his hand and pulled him out of the darkness. But there had been no one for Angelina. Still, she dedicated her time to the orphanage where she spent most of her time. Among those kids she had found a way back to life again.

Andromeda spent mixed time between the orphanage and Teddy. When Teddy wasn't with her, he would spend time with the Weasleys.

It wasn't just Harry, Andromeda or Angelina though. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and countless others spent their free times at the orphanage. It was where Harry felt he had achieved something by ending the war. It was a place where people found their way back to life. It was a place which provided hope. Hope for the future.

"-Ginny would have been proud though."

George's voice brought Harry out from his thoughts.

"She would be more pissed than proud." Ron said with a reminiscing smile. "After all, the Cannons finally beat the Harpies." He said.

"And thanks to keeper Weasley that it was possible." George said with a smile at Ron.

Ron had joined the Chudley Cannons after the war. He no longer wanted to be an Auror. The three friends had gone separate ways in their career. At first Ron had worked with George while setting the shop back up. When George was stable enough, he had signed up for the trials of Cannons and was selected in first shot. Without doubt, he was the best player there had been to the try outs. After a year as reserve, he was finally allowed to the main team. He had gone ahead to make a spectacular history for the cannons and just two years prior, he had been made the Captain of the team. Hermione was very proud.

Hermione had decided to complete her education and left for her seventh year. After her education though, she was given an opportunity by McGonagall to teach Transfiguration. After giving it some thought, Hermione had chosen to teach instead of her career in the ministry.

Five years after the war, Ron and Hermione had tied the knot and had a home in the village of Hogsmeade. Ron usually spent half of the year on his Quidditch tours. When he was home, Hermione would go back to their home after the school hours.

As for Harry, he had jumped from place to place trying to find peace. He had immediately joined the Aurors and spent about five years in the department. When the job didn't give him the satisfaction he had hoped, he had anonymously lived in the muggle world for about two years. He disappeared from the magical World without as much as a note and the whole act had scared the Weasleys. When he did come back, he decided to go back to teaching. Old professor Wilkinson had been retiring that year and professor McGonagall had given him the offer. After giving it some thought and lot of persuasion from Hermione, he gave in and agreed.

"Dinner's ready and it's set outside in the garden!" Hermione called out to everyone. Harry snapped out of his thoughts and looked up. Already? He sure was lost in his thoughts.

"So how's your teaching going on?" Ron asked as he stayed back with Harry who took his own time making his way out.

"So and so." Harry said with a shrug. "And your Quidditch?" he asked.

Ron frowned in response. "I have been talking about it for the last thirty minutes right in front of you. Where were you?" he asked him.

"Err… just lost in thoughts." Harry mumbled with a shrug as they made their way towards the tables. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat at one end of the table and had their plates loaded with food.

"So when are you taking Teddy to Diagon Alley?" Ron asked Harry.

"Probably next week." Harry said as he looked at Teddy having an animated discussion with Bill and Charlie. "He's been really excited about school. And uh… I think I am going to pass on the Marauder's map to him." He said avoiding Hermione's accusing glare.

"I think it's brilliant." Ron grinned. "Imagine all the trouble he'd be up to!" he said with glint in his eyes. "And join him with a couple of Weasleys." He added as an afterthought. Harry shuddered at the very thought. The amount of mischief they would all be up to…

"I fear the day Allison and Ashley start school." Hermione said looking at the far end where the twin girls had managed to trick Percy into eating a trick sweet. Now Percy couldn't utter a sentence without ending the sentence with 'in my pants'. This seemed to cause George double up in laughter looking at his brother's discomfort. Seeing no help from his brother in the issue, he turned to his wife. "Audrey! Help me… In my pants." he said to his utter horror.

"Percy!" Molly yelled at his son. "Mum… It was George!" under his breath he added, 'in my pants'. Audrey seemed to be laughing at Percy's predicament while Molly turned her glare towards George. "Not me! Your granddaughters!" he pointed at the twins who had angelic smiles over their faces.

"I know what you mean." Harry said with a chuckle. "And imagine them if they end up in Gryffindor. What with you being the head of the house." Harry smiled at Hermione.

Hermione shuddered and looked over at the edge of the table where Molly and Fleur seemed to have gone to their previous discussion about something after giving a nice lecture to George.

"You know…" Hermione started. "Gabrielle's supposedly coming here." She said.

"That's nice." Harry said with a nod.

"And uh… Cho's back in town too…" she added.

Harry looked at her sceptically. "Okay?" he said.

"And you remember Audrey's sister-" she started but was cut off by Ron.

"People are trying to set you up." He said with an eye roll.

Noting Harry's disbelieving look, Hermione hastily added, "It's not like that…" she said. "We just… want you to move on." She mumbled looking anywhere but him.

Taking some time to keep his temper in control, Harry whispered. "Hermione… I have moved on." He said. "I am just not interested in dating anymore. I am happy with what I have now." He said stabbing a potato.

"Oh really?" Ron asked his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Or have you still not over my dead sister yet?" he asked.

Harry closed his eyes. Not again. Not this discussion again. It always ended in a punch and somebody ended up crying.

"It's not like that…" Harry mumbled. "I jus-"

"Forget it." Ron said with a tired sigh. "I shouldn't have said that. I am sorry. Just forget it." He said rubbing his eyes.

Harry nodded and let the matter drop and turned to Hermione. "I know what you are trying Hermione." He said. "But I can't… I won't move on." He said. "I am not ready. And I don't think I ever will be." He said and looked straight at his friends, "This is what gives me peace. This is what gives me comfort." He whispered to them. "I am not ready yet. And I don't think I will ever be ready to let go."

A/N: So… please Read and Review. Give me your opinions and suggestions. But no flames!

And a big thank you for reading.