Harry and Cho's wedding arrived overnight it seemed. It was a simple occasion with only close friends and family in attendance. They chose to have the ceremony in the Room of Requirement. It provided them a quaint, but beautiful, chapel-type setting with stained glass windows and wrought iron chandeliers that created a romantic ambiance. There were also just enough padded wooden benches to accommodate the fifty guests.

Though he was the officiant, Albus had to remain seated, but elevated his chair so he was easily seen. Minerva assisted him with a modified Sonorus spell so his weak voice would carry in the small room.

"We're gathered together once more to celebrate love," Albus began with a weary, but genuine, smile. "Mr. Potter and Miss Cho have chosen to unite together in wizarding matrimony before their close friends and family. I had the extreme pleasure of teaching both of them during their seven years at Hogwarts and couldn't be happier that they've discovered love together." Minerva handed him a wooden tray that contained the couple's wands.

"Harry and Cho have decided to have a wand binding ceremony," Albus explained. "Please take your wands."

Harry lifted his wand, made of holly and one phoenix tail feather, while Cho lifted hers, made of hemlock, and touched the tips together. Albus whispered a spell and twirled his wand around so the couple was bound with what looked like sizzling twine.

"In the name of Merlin, I magically bind these two together in their hearts, their minds and in their magic. May this wand binding strengthen their love and power until death do they part." He gave a quick flick with his wand and everyone watched as the twine absorbed into their bodies.

Harry gave Ron his wand while Cho gave hers to Marietta Edgecombe, her maid of honor and best friend, before joining their hands.

"The rings," Albus whispered in reminder to the couple, then smiled and winked at the guests.

Harry and Cho both blushed in chagrin and quickly retrieved their rings from their attendants.

"Harry, do you take Cho as your chosen witch?" Albus began. "Do you vow to honor her and protect her all the days of your life?"

"I do," he answered with a nervous smile.

"Cho, do you take Harry as your chosen wizard?" Albus continued. "Do you vow to honor him and protect him all the days of your life?"

"I do," she answered quietly.

Albus watched as their rings magically adjusted and glowed briefly to symbolize the completion of the wand binding spell. "By the magic vested in me," he concluded. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. Kiss your bride, Harry."

They giggled before tentatively pressing their lips together in a chaste kiss while their friends and family cheered.

"May I introduce Harry and Cho Potter!" Albus announced happily, while the couple walked down the aisle under a flurry of wand sparks.

The Great Hall was decorated in Gryffindor red and Ravenclaw blue while the ceiling was enchanted to resemble the evening sky, complete with a luminous crescent moon. Bottles of sparkling champagne and trays of Chocoballs, Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes levitated around, magically refilling for the guests. Harry and Cho didn't want to be too much of an interruption over the summer break when families were on holiday (plus they were anxious to floo to Paris to begin their honeymoon), so they only allotted a couple hours for the reception.

When she found herself alone momentarily at the table, Ginny looked around and reflected on her life. The past six years had changed so much. Most of her friends and siblings were married and/or had children. Hermione was married to Severus and had Malachai and Sabine, with thoughts of possibly adding a third. Harry was now married. Ron was married to Tess and had Eliza, Elizabeth and Emma. The twins were engaged to Tilly and Tiara and planned to be married in about five months. Bill was married to Fleur and had Richard. Percy was married to Audrey, but since they'd moved to Australia to organize a new wizarding community, the family rarely saw them. Charlie was the only Weasley child still single and he resided in Romania to work with his beloved dragons, so he wasn't seen often either. To Ginny, it seemed like just yesterday when she and her siblings were all adolescents and squeezed in around the table at the Burrow for meals and getting yelled at by their mum. She missed those days.

"You're a million miles away," Harry noticed, interrupting her thoughts. "You okay?"

Ginny was startled, having been unaware of his approach, but she smiled at him. "Just thinking about how things were when I was younger," she shared. "And how things are so different now."

Harry nodded and sat down beside her. "That they are," he agreed. "I can't believe Cho and I are really married." He reached for Ginny's left hand to get a better view of her engagement ring. "And congrats, by the way. Ron told me about Remus' proposal over the camping trip."

"I couldn't believe it," she said, admiring the ring for the hundredth time. "We'd been having some disagreements lately so I wasn't expecting anything like that."

"He loves you dearly," Harry pointed out. "I think everyone knew before he did. It was just so obvious by the way he looked at you and how he treated William." After Tonks' and Neville's tragic deaths, he had been afraid that Remus and Ginny would close up completely. "Did you resolve the children conflict?"

Ginny nodded. "We've decided to adopt," she answered. "Thanks to Albus and Minerva's gentle prodding."

Harry chuckled at her emphasis on the word 'gentle'. "I know all about their prodding," he sympathized. "But I'm happy for you two. It's the perfect solution." He leaned closer to Ginny. "Don't say anything yet, but Cho thinks she might be pregnant."

"Harry, that's wonderful," Ginny commented, noticing the sparkle in his bright green eyes. "I'll keep my fingers crossed. I know you wanted to start a family soon."

"She stopped the contraceptive spell a couple months ago," Harry shared. "So we've been trying."

"Let me know when you find out for sure," Ginny said quietly as Cho approached.

"Hi Ginny," she greeted, reaching for Harry's hand. "Ready to cut the cake?"

"Sure am," Harry answered enthusiastically, standing up from the table. "Gin, why don't you get William and Malachai? They can help hand out cake."

"Anything to keep them occupied," she laughed and shook her head. They were growing up and way too fast to suit her. Everyone was.

When Hogwarts closed for the first two weeks of August to be cleaned and organized for the upcoming school year by the staff of house elves, all of the personnel flooed to their respective summer homes. Ginny and Remus returned to their flats, but he stayed mainly at hers. Severus and his family returned to Spinner's End while Albus and Minerva returned to their home on Loch Gairloch that was hidden from the local Muggles by a concealing charm.

Ginny spent the first couple days cleaning since it had been months since she'd been home. Remus kept William occupied with books, toys and age-appropriate spells until the fourth day.

"I'm bored," he announced during lunch. "When do classes start? Can I play with Malachai? When can we go back to the castle?"

Ginny and Remus looked at each other, but neither was really surprised by his listlessness.

"Would you like to go to the zoo tomorrow?" Ginny offered, having thought of it days earlier in anticipation of this very conversation. "I can ask Hermione if Malachai can go."

William's freckled face lit up. "Can we, Mummy?" he asked excitedly. "I want to see animals."

"If you're good today," Ginny cautioned. "I'll ask tonight."

William looked much happier as he focused his attention back to his lunch.

"What do you say?" Remus prompted with a stern expression.

The child looked up at him and then at Ginny. "Thank you," William said with a big smile.

"You're welcome, Baby," she replied, winking at Remus. It was times like this that made her impatient about adopting. She knew that they had lots of time, though. A few months wouldn't change anything.

"Severus, come on," Hermione was saying. "It'll be fun. Have you ever even been to a zoo?"

Her husband was going through his personal stores of potion ingredients when she entered his lab after firetalking with Ginny. "Perhaps when I was a small child," he answered, noticing that he was low on lacewing flies and setting the bottle aside to refill.

"It'll be fun to watch the animals," Hermione continued. "The lions were always my favorite."

Severus turned around to face her and cocked his eyebrow. "Why, I'm shocked," he quipped, his voice deadpan.

"Ha ha," she replied with a grin at his sarcasm. "So you'll go?"

"Why in the world would I want to visit a place that contains wild animals caged for Muggles' amusement?" he asked, setting aside his vials of Re'em blood to move to another location so his children couldn't stumble across them accidentally.

"Most of the animals they house have been injured and can't return to the wild," she explained. "Besides, don't you want to see your children's reactions to a lion's roar or to monkeys swinging about?" She knew the mention of Malachai and Sabine would catch his attention. It always did. "Or to observe them watching a python slide around on its belly and ask you how it's possible with no legs?" That would get him.

Severus sighed and turned around to devote his full attention to his wife. "Will you always use our children as blackmail?" he asked impudently.

Hermione grinned, knowing that was his way of saying that he'd go. "For as long as I can," she answered cheekily. "I'll let Ginny know so Remus can set up a portkey for us."

Severus shook his head as she turned and walked out of his lab, successfully missing the small smile that formed on his face. His children were a constant source of wonder and amazement and he wouldn't miss an opportunity to watch them experience new things for all the galleons at Gringotts, even if it meant being surrounded by Muggles. He also couldn't miss an opportunity to needle his wife with his fake irritation. Sometimes he did it just to see what she'd come up with next. And somehow, she never ran out of material. It was just one of the many things that he loved about her.

"Now, remember," Hermione began as she addressed her son and William. "We're going to be around Muggles. They don't know about our world of magic so be very careful what you say and no practicing any of your play charms. If you do, we'll all be forced to come home immediately. Do you both understand?"

"Yes, Mummy."

"Yes, Miss Hermione."

"Is the portkey ready?" Ginny asked.

"Ready and waiting," Remus answered. "Are we all set?"

"I just need to grab Sabine's bag," Hermione said, glancing around.

Severus, who was holding their daughter, turned slightly to show his wife the bag already hung on his shoulder. They usually performed a Reducio spell on it, but couldn't since they were going to be around Muggles.

"I should have known," Hermione remarked with a slight shake of her head. He always seemed to be a step ahead of her. "Okay, let's go."

The trip to the zoo had been a much needed outing for the group. The kids enjoyed watching the monkeys and the giraffes the most while the wolf paddock was avoided completely.

Severus found extreme pleasure in Sabine's fascination with snakes. When he held her where she could watch the slithering creatures in their glass confinement, her eyes enlarged and followed their slow movements, as if she was in a trance.

"This one will be Slytherin," he proudly whispered to Hermione.

"Keep dreaming," she teased and winked at him, though somehow she knew both of them would more than likely be Slytherin, whether she liked it or not.

"Mummy, can we get a monkey?" William asked as they walked.

Ginny laughed. She'd never seen him so excited as when he watched the furry animals swing and play on their wooden jungle gyms. "No, Baby," she answered. "But there are other animals at the school you can play with when we return."

Remus saw William's face fall at her answer and asked, "How would you and Malachai like to ride on an elephant?" They were approaching the rather foul smelling pen and, when he saw they were giving rides to children on one of the large animals, he thought that might divert William's attention.

"Okay!" Malachai answered enthusiastically while Severus grimaced and rolled his eyes.

"I don't care how many Muggles are around," he whispered. "I will perform a scent removing charm from them when they return. I will not have them smelling like that filthy animal."

Ginny nodded and wrinkled her nose at their scent. "I agree."

By late afternoon, Remus was carrying a sleeping William, Severus a sleeping Malachai and Hermione a sleeping Sabine.

"If we want to wear them out," Ginny began. "At least now we know how."

They reached the portkeys and quietly said their goodbyes before being whisked away to their respective homes.

William woke briefly as they walked back to Ginny's flat. "Today was fun," he mumbled before resting his head on Remus' shoulder.

Ginny smiled at Remus. "If we put him to bed early," she whispered. "Maybe tonight could be fun, too."

He grinned. "You always have such wonderful ideas," he replied, looking forward to some intimate time with his fiancé.

All of the faculty and teachers returned the last week of August to get settled in before the students arrived on the first of September. Everyone spent their days arranging and organizing their classrooms, offices and labs while dinners were spent excitedly retelling events from the summer, discussing course outlines for the upcoming year and getting to know three new teachers.

Albus was the worst he'd been and Minerva constantly looked as if she'd explode into tears at any moment. He could not walk at all and could do very little for himself. Most of his days were spent secluded in his chamber while Minerva addressed issues around the castle. Most of the faculty had not expected him to even make it back for the start of the new school year, but they were relieved that he had.

One afternoon in early October while Ginny was grading quizzes, Remus decided to show William how to fly, or at least the basics of flying. It would be a few years before he could handle a broom on his own, but he figured that there was nothing wrong with showing him just a bit now.

"Do I really get to fly?" William asked eagerly as they walked out to the empty Quidditch field.

"I'm just going to show you a little," Remus answered. "You'll solo your first year here when you take the flying class." He stopped when they reached the center. "This should be a good spot."

Remus held up the broom. "This is a standard broom," he began. "There are other kinds for sports and travel over long distances, but this one is for regular travel." Next, he pointed to each section and named what they were.

"And you are never to touch one unless an adult is with you," he concluded. "Understand so far?"

"Yes, Remus."

"Very good," he continued. "Now, watch as I mount the broom and how I hold it." Remus demonstrated for William, but he only hovered in the air briefly. He got off and shrunk it some with a Reducio spell so it would be appropriately sized for William's smaller frame.

"Climb on," Remus instructed. "Yes, just like that. Put your feet here. There you go. Now hold on." He held the very end of the broom and placed a hovering charm on it. When it began to lift, William squealed and laughed. Keeping hold of the broom handle, Remus slowly moved it from side to side to simulate flying and he was rewarded with watching the little boy's face light up like a Christmas tree.

"Higher, Remus!" William laughed, enjoying his first broom ride.

"Okay," Remus acquiesced. "Hold on tight." He lifted the broom about a foot higher, and he found himself laughing as he watched the expressions of awe and excitement play upon the child's face. To be young like that again and experience magical firsts was certainly something to be treasured.

"Faster!" William exclaimed, rocking from side to side with his body.

"Sit still," Remus warned before increasing the speed just a little. "Isn't this fun?"

"Yeah," William answered. "Let's play broom all the time!"

Remus began taking slow steps as he continued to sway the broom back and forth. "Maybe we'll look into a trainer broom for you," he suggested. "Would you like that?"

"Yeah!" William exclaimed again. "Higher, Remus!"

Before he could tell William to sit still again, the child dug his heels in and lifted the handle up and out of Remus' hands, instantly sending him tumbling off to the ground.

"William!" Remus yelled, dropping to the ground beside his still body. "William!"

The little boy was curled up and motionless. Remus' heart raced madly. What had he done? He'd just wanted to play with William and show him something new. He carefully picked the child up and hurried to the hospital as his racing heartbeat thundered inside his skull like a herd of hippogriffs.

"What happened?" Poppy exclaimed, rushing to the bed where Remus placed William.

"I was…we were out on the field…I was holding the broom so I could help him fly," he stammered, running both hands through his speckled hair. "I didn't let go…I wasn't moving it fast…but he lifted up on the broom and fell off the back. Merlin, Poppy, is he okay?" He was nearly in tears. William had to be okay. He just had to be.

Slowly running her wand over his body in wide sweeping motions, Poppy answered, "Looks like he's just knocked out, but I do see a small wrist fracture, too."

Remus was pacing. He was thankful nothing more serious had happened, but he chastised himself nonetheless. He shouldn't have put him on the broom. What had he been thinking? He should have known he was too young. How could he have known, though? He had no experience with children. Merlin. What else didn't he know? What else would he think would be fun, but would end up hurting William? He sat down and buried his face in his hands. He'd been trying so hard with Ginny and William, too. Dammit, he thought. When will I stop screwing up?

"Remus," Poppy addressed gently, laying a hand on his shoulder. "William is a little boy. He's going to fall. He's going to get hurt occasionally. It's all right."

Lifting his head, Remus forced a smile at her kind attempt to placate him. "Is he really okay?" he asked.

"He's fine," Poppy answered. "I expect him to come around within an hour and then I'll give him some Skelegro for the fracture. Why don't you get Ginny and let her know what's happened?"

Remus sighed and stood up. "I hope she won't be too mad at me," he muttered.

"It wasn't your fault, Remus," she soothed. "He's just a little boy."

"Ginny, there's been an accident."

The head covered with red hair snapped up from the quizzes she was grading. "What?" she asked. "What kind of accident?"

"I was showing William how to fly," he began. "And I was holding the broom securely, but…he fell off and – "

"He fell off?!"

"He pulled up on the handle and fell off," Remus explained. "He's with Poppy now. It knocked him out, but he's got a small wrist fracture."

Ginny jumped up from her chair and bolted for the door. She ran through the hallways and down the stairs to reach the hospital in record time.

"William!" she exclaimed, rushing to where he lay. "Poppy, is he all right?"

The older woman smiled. "He's fine," she assured. "He should come around soon and then I'll give him some Skelegro." She reached over and patted her hand. "He's a little boy, Ginny. You can expect more incidents like these."

Ginny leaned over to kiss his freckled cheek and smooth his red hair. "I know," she said. "It's just so scary. I can't help but worry about him."

"Boys are tougher than you think," Poppy told her. "Remus, however, is not. He looked like he might break down sobbing at any moment. He's a sensitive soul, he is."

"Remus," Ginny breathed and looked around, assuming he'd followed her. "I'll be back, Poppy."

The witch shook her head as Ginny rushed out of the hospital wing. Young mothers, and often young fathers, were always the same.

Returning to her classroom, Ginny found Remus standing at a window and gazing out across the Quidditch field where the broom still lay.

"I thought you'd follow me," she said, walking over to him.

He shrugged, but remained silent.

Standing beside him, Ginny continued. "He's all right. There are no serious injuries."

Remus looked towards her with a grave expression on his face. "This time," he commented.

Reaching for his hand, Ginny soothed, "You can't shield him from ever getting hurt, you know. Neither of us can."

He looked up and then back outside. "I should have known better," he insisted. "I should have known he'd get too excited and want to go faster or higher or something."

"You can't foresee accidents," she told him. "That's why they're called accidents."

Remus shook his head. "Doesn't make me feel any better."

"How do you think I felt when he was bit?"

"That's different."

"They're both accidents," she clarified.

Remus sighed and shook his head. "I think I'll go for a walk," he said barely above a whisper and headed for the door.

"Okay." Ginny watched as Remus slowly walked out of the classroom, unable to ignore the overwhelming sadness that engulfed her. Would things ever go smoothly for them?

Thanks to all of you following this story! I appreciate each and every one of you! :)