The Founding of Happiness
by Healer Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Time travel!
It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse. Thank you very much for the kind reviews for the previous chapter!
'Oh no; where's Godiva?' Harry mused, unable to hide his frustration at the thought that his girlfriend has missed his not very romantic but instead original proposal. However, all of a sudden, a loud, "Yes!" sounded through the Great Hall, and Harry turned around in surprise, seeing Godiva sit between his mother Helga and his own, empty seat at the head table.
"I love you too," she whispered into his ear as he sat down next to her and lightly hugged her, aware of the fact that several hundred pairs of eyes were watching them.
Godiva, however, decided that the audience didn't matter and pulled him into a long kiss, causing the Great Hall to erupt in applause.
"Congratulation, Lufu," Rowena whispered from Harry's other side, pulling Harry close as soon as Godiva let go. "I'm very happy for you."
Harry and Godiva spent most part of the summer holidays in the past. They visited her mother as well as her Hogwarts friends and explained that Godiva was going to live in the future, but that everyone would be able to contact her through the professors at Hogwarts, because they were going to come back to the past over the summer and winter holidays every year.
Godiva's mother had tears in her eyes when she said, "I'm very happy for you, Godiva, and if you come to see me twice a year even more so. However, I have one request to the two of you."
"Anything," Harry replied, curiously glancing at the witch.
"What is it, Mum?" Godiva queried, unconsciously playing with the ring at her hand.
"Please hold your wedding here in our time. I wouldn't want to miss it."
"Of course we'll do that," Godiva reassured her quickly. "We can ask Professor Gryffindor to wed us, can't we?"
"Of course," Harry said, smiling and promised, "We will also have a wedding party in the future, but if you don't mind travelling with me, I'll take you there."
ハリーと幸せの願い
When Harry flashed them back to the future at the beginning of August, he noticed in surprise that most of his friends were obviously spending the holidays at the castle. "Excuse me, but what are you doing here?" he asked in confusion as he saw them sit at the dinner table.
"Well, Harry, we have a surprise for you," Minerva replied, smiling, and gently explained that Hermione was the new teacher for Charms, Blaise the professor for History of Magic, Luna the head of Ravenclaw and Astrology teacher and Neville the Hufflepuff head and Herbology teacher.
"Oh, did Pomona and Filius retire?" Harry asked, astonished but very happy at the news that his friends were going to remain at Hogwarts. "And Draco? What happened to him?"
"He is working as an Auror at the Ministry," Severus filled him in quietly.
"Harry, we wanted to tell you all of this before you left for the past, but you were so busy and preoccupied with your plans for Godiva, that we decided to wait until now," Minerva explained gently.
"Seeing that you brought Godiva with you, I take it that she agreed to your proposal?" Poppy enquired, glancing from Harry to Godiva, who looked very happy.
"Yes," Godiva replied, smiling. "Poppy, Harry told me that you suggested for me to become your assistant, and if that's really all right with you, I'll happily accept the position."
"Of course, I'm glad to have you at my side," Poppy replied gently.
ハリーと幸せの願い
Probably because she had already spent many weeks in the future to assist Poppy before, Godiva became soon used to living in the future. She moved into Helga's and Salazar's quarters together with Harry. The young couple decided to continue using Harry's room, leaving Helga's and Salazar's bedroom for when the Founders came to visit them.
A few days before the beginning of the winter holidays, Harry and Godiva were having tea together with their colleagues in their quarters like they used to do every evening after curfew. Harry watched his beautiful fiancé in amazement, when a sudden thought struck his mind.
"Godiva, if we want our wedding to take place next summer, we should begin to make plans, so we can discuss everything with your mother and my parents when we go home next week," he spoke up, smiling.
"You're going to hold your wedding in the past?" Luna queried in apparent disappointment, causing Harry to chuckle.
"You can either come to the past with us or sit in my classroom and watch," he replied, grinning.
"How romantic," Blaise sneered, "watching your wedding in your classroom."
Harry glanced around at Hermione, Luna, Minerva, Poppy, Blaise, Neville and Severus. 'I want all of them to be there for my wedding,' he thought, suddenly having the impression as if a lump was stuck in his throat. He cleared his throat and said, "If you don't mind coming with us, I'd love to have all of you with me." Seeing his friends throw him incredulous looks, he explained, "Of course we don't have a group Portkey, but I can flash you. I can flash two at a time and once a day, but I can make you arrive all at the same time."
"No sweetie, you'll only flash one at a time and that not more than twice a week," Poppy objected sternly, causing Godiva to take her side immediately.
"Exactly, because I don't want you to sleep through our wedding."
Harry rolled his eyes but promised to listen to them, and they decided to hold the wedding on the seventh of July, because that would give Harry enough time to flash everyone back and forth in time during the holidays.
"7.7.999, what an amazing wedding date," Hermione spoke up thoughtfully, causing everyone to laugh.
"Godiva, what are weddings like in your time? Do you need a best man like you do here, or...?" Luna queried, dreamily playing with Neville's fingers.
"Hmmm, I don't know what that exactly means, but a far as I know you normally have the bride's father accompany her, and the groom needs his mother." She turned to Severus with a solemn expression. "Severus, I'd like to ask you if you'd be willing to take me instead. I neither have a father nor an uncle, and my friends are too young."
The Potions Master threw the girl a horrified look, but before he could voice that he wasn't capable of such a task, Poppy said soothingly, "Of course Severus will guide you, won't you, Severus?"
Severus hesitantly agreed, and everyone chuckled when they heard Minerva mumble something about transfiguring his clothing into something more colourful.
"Have you already decided what you're going to do for your honeymoon?" Luna asked curiously.
"We haven't even thought about it," Harry admitted, looking questioningly at Godiva, who threw him a confused look that caused Harry to explain the meaning to her.
"Oh, that sounds good," Godiva finally said, smiling. "We'll think about it."
"I have an idea," Severus spoke up hesitantly, "but I'll tell you in private later on. It's a place I visited once together with your mother and your grandparents."
Harry gave the man a questioning look but nodded, seeing that he obviously didn't want to speak about the matter in front of their colleagues.
ハリーと幸せの願い
With the planning for their wedding in the past and their additional party in the future and with Salazar spending several months in the future, keeping Harry busy, the rest of the school year passed in a blur.
At the beginning of the summer holidays, Harry flashed Salazar back to the winter holidays in the past, before he began to take his friends to the fifth of July one thousand years back. Like Godiva and Poppy had instructed him, he flashed twice a week, only taking one passenger with him at each time. Finally, Harry and Godiva went back home on the first of July to make their final preparations for the wedding.
"I'm glad I don't have to flash anywhere now for two weeks," Harry sighed as he tiredly lay down on the sofa with his head on Godiva's lap.
"Really? I thought you were going to take me somewhere for a honeymoon?" Godiva queried, throwing Harry a surprised look.
"Oh right, I nearly forgot," Harry said, chuckling. He had agreed on Severus' suggestion after watching his colleague's memory in a Pensieve, but he hadn't told Godiva about the details yet. 'It's going to be a surprise,' he thought, 'and I'm sure she'll like it.'
Unfortunately, as nice as the recent summers had been, the weather in that year was absolutely horrible. It continued to rain cats and dogs every day. "What a pity. We wanted to have our wedding right next to the lake," Harry said in disappointment as he looked up from his breakfast to the charmed ceiling on the day before the wedding.
"Why don't you want to have your wedding ceremony here in the Great Hall, Leo?" Godric asked and waved his hand around the hall, causing twinkling red hearts and silver stars to cover the walls.
"Wow, that's amazing," Hermione gasped, looking around in awe.
"Because I like the lake and the grounds, yeah, the Hall too," he added on a sharp look from Rowena, "but I think it would be more romantic outside."
"Who is going to attend the wedding anyway?" Harry's twelve-year-old sister Lily threw in, throwing her mother a curious look.
"Well, Harry brought all his friends from the future, then there will be our family and that of Aunt Helga and Uncle Salazar, and," Rowena made a small pause and looked at Harry in expectation, "our parents will come and attend the wedding as well."
"Godric and Salazar, are you sure you'll manage to properly wed them?" Helga threw in sternly.
"Of course," the two Founders assured her firmly, causing Harry to roll his eyes in anticipation.
ハリーと幸せの願い
In the morning of the big day, heavy rain poured against the charmed window, and the Great Hall was nearly dark under the sky that was covered by black clouds. However, after breakfast, Godric motioned the guests to head out onto the grounds, while Rowena, Helga and Poppy took Godiva with them to help her dress.
"Come on, Thunderbolt, I'm going to help you," Salazar told him and accompanied Harry to his room, where he helped him to dress in his own ancient wedding robes.
"These are from your wedding?" Harry queried, looking at the white robes with golden embroideries in amazement.
"Yes; my mother made them for me," Salazar explained.
"They're beautiful," Harry said as he admired himself in the mirror.
"You're making a handsome groom," the mirror commented, causing Harry to blush and quickly turn away.
"Thunderbolt, do you need a calming draught?" Salazar asked, glancing at his son.
"No thank you," Harry replied, sighing. "Do you think Godiva will be ready by now, Dad?" he asked quickly.
"No, I don't think so. The ladies always take hours," Salazar smirked. "Let's head out onto the grounds."
Harry raised an eyebrow at the thought of walking through the rain in his wonderful wedding robes; however, to his amazement, beautiful sunshine greeted them outside the castle.
"How..." he began in disbelief, causing Godric to chuckle.
"Your mother is a Charms Mistress for a reason, Leo. Today, we'll only have sunshine, provided we don't leave the Hogwarts grounds."
Harry turned around to search for his grandparents, who had taken him in so kindly four years ago, when he had ended up in the wrong time, and by the time Rowena and Helga stepped out of the castle, his robes were grey from all the hugs he received in the meantime.
"What have you been doing, Leofost?" Helga scolded him lightly, waving her wand at him to turn his robes white again.
"Err... nothing, thank you," Harry replied absentmindedly, unable to take his eyes off Godiva, who was just coming through the entrance doors, accompanied by Severus. She was dressed in white robes with laces and beautiful embroideries of flowers on the cloth. "She looks absolutely gorgeous," he breathed in amazement, just when Godric called everyone together to the part of the grounds that was equipped with chairs for everyone to sit.
'I hope Dad Godric and Dad Salazar manage to do this without fighting,' Harry mused as he walked up to the first row between Rowena and Helga, who led him to a seat in the first row, sitting down at his right side.
A few minutes later, Severus led Godiva to the chair next to Harry, before he took the seat to her left, next to her mother.
As soon as Godiva had taken her seat, Godric began with the ceremony. He and Salazar took turns recounting a few anecdotes about Harry's and Godiva's time at Hogwarts as students that made everyone listen with interest. Finally, Godric produced the rings out of his robe pocket and turned to Godiva.
"Ms. O'Connor, are you sure that you want to marry Harry Potter?"
"Think well," Salazar threw in, "if you anger him, he might use you as potions ingredients."
"Yes, I am sure," Godiva replied firmly.
"Harry, are you sure that you want to take Godiva O'Connor as your wife?" Godric queried. "She was one of my best students, and if you don't obey, she'll be well able to transfigure you into a baboon," he added, waving his hand at Salazar, who changed into a baboon on the spot.
"No," Harry replied, throwing his fathers an annoyed look. "Oh no, I mean yes, but don't do such things on my wedding," he said, before he pulled his wand, waving it at his father to transfigure him back. 'Well, at least everyone is having fun,' he mused as he heard the guests laugh at his fathers' presentation.
Finally, Godric handed Godiva and Harry their rings and said, "Herewith I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss her now, Leo."
Under huge applause, Harry pulled Godiva into a long kiss, feeling happier than he had ever felt before in his life.
The two newlyweds spent the day talking to their guests, eating and opening presents. After dinner, Minerva pulled them aside and handed Harry a shrunken bag. "Here Harry; you find everything you'll need for your honeymoon in it. The hotel voucher is in the side pocket. Enjoy yourselves. We'll see you back here tomorrow."
"Maybe even tonight," Harry replied. "Thank you, Minerva." He turned to his wife. "Shall we go?"
"All right," Godiva replied smiling and grabbed his back feathers as soon as Harry transformed into his phoenix form. "Where are we going by the way?" she suddenly remembered to ask, but Harry already flashed away in a small wave of sand.