Okay you know the drill, I own nothing but the story JKR owns everything else. Fair enough, good! On with my part.
Harry woke the next morning more rested than he had in years. He thought that if this was what he could expect for the rest of his life, after the war, he was a truly lucky man. Still, he worried about what he must do to get that life. He didn't want to murder anyone, not even the most evil human the world had ever known. The thought scared him to death, how would he be able to face a life of peace with Ginny after he had been the cause of so much pain and destruction.
Ginny woke slowly enjoying the wonderful feeling of lying in Harry's arms. As she enjoyed the feeling of security and love she thought back to last night. She and Harry had said goodnight to his parents and entered the suite his parents had setup for them. Harry had graciously left her the bathroom to change in while he changed in the bedroom. She had come to him in a silk robe and nightdress that Lily had loaned her. Harry had told her that he didn't expect her to want him after such a sudden wedding and would be more than happy to sleep elsewhere if she wished. Although, he did add that he would love to hold her through the night. She distinctly remembered being touched at his courtesy and thoughtfulness. She had been nervous about the night ever since the wedding and it meant a lot to her that Harry would not demand her body like many boys his age would have. In the end she had just smiled at him and dropped the robe before kissing him and leading him to bed.
She wished they could stay in this moment all day, but knew that there were other things that Harry would want to do today. In fact, as she became more conscious of her surroundings she began to sense uneasiness in Harry. He hadn't said anything; it was more that his embrace was slightly stiff. She knew better than to pry into his concerns, even if she was his wife, so she shifted so that her body was pressed a little tighter to his and looked up into his green eyes.
Harry felt Ginny shift closer to him and glanced down at his wife from his musings to find her staring into his eyes. "Good morning love," he said smiling at her. "Good morning," she responded brightly, "You know, I think I could really get used to this kind of a morning. Especially if you weren't silently worrying yourself into a mental breakdown" Ginny said smiling up at him from his chest. Harry smiled to himself and pulled her even closer to him until she was lying on top of him, her head just under his chin. He rested his chin on her head and sighed, "I hope we'll always wake up like this after the war Gin." He said staring at the wall "But I'm afraid, killing changes a person. What if you don't like the man that comes home from the war? More importantly, what if I don't like him?"
He could feel Ginny's laugh but not hear it, it didn't last long; more of a chuckle than anything. He looked at her questioningly surprised to see a merry light in her eyes. "Oh, Harry." She said still smiling up at him. "There is nothing that you could do to change how I feel about you; I thought you'd know that by now. As for you, well if you don't feel like you can kill him we'll figure something else out so I wouldn't worry about it."
Harry loved how she could always make the biggest problems seem unimportant. "Well, just what would you worry about?" he asked with a mischievous look. "How about your wife?" Ginny answered kissing him passionately. Harry decided that worrying about Ginny was much better that worrying about the war.
An hour or two later when Harry and Ginny finally emerged from their room, they got two wonderful shocks. They entered their dining room to find Ron and Hermione eating breakfast with his parents.
"Sorry we didn't wait on you but we weren't sure how long you'd be this morning." Harry and Ginny's jaws dropped at the sound of James' voice.
"We stopped by to try to plan our next step Harry, but you're parents said that you and Ginny were sleeping a little late today. They said that the four of you were up pretty late last night talking about the future." Hermione said as Harry and Ginny looked sidewise at each in confusion.
"Well Harry, I guess we don't have to wonder about your charming ability do we?" Ginny said half teasing and half amazed.
"I guess not" James and Lily said both completely seriously.
"I'll agree with that, not that I ever doubted your power Harry" Hermione added.
"Care to fill me in?" asked Ron in confusion.
"Mum and Dad's echoes should have faded away last night but they didn't obviously." Harry explained still staring at his parents.
"Why don't you two come and eat something?" Lily offered "we'll all discuss what this means later." The newlyweds couldn't resist the wonderful smell of food so they sat and enjoyed the rest of breakfast with Harry's parents and his best friends. After he and Ginny were full and their plates were cleared away by the house elves Harry and Ginny got their second shock of the morning. Harry had commented that he would really have to compliment his staff on their cooking only to be told that his mother had cooked breakfast this morning to give the elves a rest.
Harry couldn't say anything to express his feelings so he got up, walked around the table and hugged his mother tightly. "I thought that smelled familiar" he said quietly when he found his voice.
Lily smiled, "Your father always loved those dishes, so I guess your more like him than anyone knew." Everyone else in the room was tearing up, but Ginny looked downright scared. Lily caught the look and knew she was worrying that Harry might not like her cooking now. "Don't worry Ginny," she told her daughter-in-law. "We'll spend some time later swapping recipes. Your mother could make a car bumper taste good." That lightened the mood up considerably.
"Well," Ginny said brightly, "What do we have to do today?"
"Let's see" Harry replied conjuring a parchment and quill. Ginny noticed that the parchment already had several items listed on it already.
"When did you start this?" she asked Harry.
"Oh, I had some time yesterday and sat down with Dad talk about what we had to do after I married you." Harry replied causing both him and his father to smile. "Now then, first we have to go to the Ministry of Magic and register as a married couple. Second we need to visit Gringotts so that we can give you access to our vaults."
"What vaults?" Ginny asked forgetting for a moment that Harry's money was hers now.
Lily was the one to answer, "Ginny," she said gently, "Remember that I told you that this house was now yours as well Harry's last night."
"Yes, of course" Ginny replied.
"Well dear, that means that everything that Harry inherited is yours as well." James finished for his wife.
"Oh, uh... right." Ginny said somewhat ashamed.
"Don't worry dear," Lily said, "I had the same thought when James and I married." This statement caused everyone else at the table to laugh. Even Ginny had to smile and chuckle a little.
Harry brought everyone back on task saying, "after that I am going to take you shopping for a suitable wedding present, and no you lot can't come with us or badger her about it when we get back" he finished glaring at Ron and Hermione in mock seriousness. Hermione, James, and Lily laughed at his tone.
Ron, on the other hand, scowled at Harry and Ginny and mumbled "can't even bug my sister anymore, what is the world coming too."
Ginny didn't even notice the jab; she was too busy trying to protest while her eyes lit up like Christmas tree lights. A small argument broke out between Harry and Ginny about whether or not they would be as Ginny put it "wasting money on gifts that she didn't need." Everyone else laughed at the fight knowing that neither was really upset and that Harry would definitely win this one. James and Lily laughed even harder than Ron and Hermione because they knew exactly how much money Harry had to spend.
Harry and Ginny left the table to dress properly for the day still "arguing" but smiling all the while. "Well Ron, it looks like they have a busy day ahead of them." Hermione commented.
"Yeah, but I don't want them to rush it. They deserve to enjoy their first day together; our business can wait another day." Ron said smiling at her.
"Perhaps it shouldn't" James said quietly surprising them both. "Yes, Lily and I know all about the horcruxes, and the prophecy. I think that the four of us should have a nice long chat about all of this" he said surveying them seriously.
"I don't know Mr. Potter, this is Harry's task, we're just here to support him, he calls the shots on this one." Ron said nervously.
"Trust me Harry won't mind if we can give him a lead or two tomorrow, and as Lily and I are on borrowed time anyway I'm afraid that we don't have time to wait." James said looking Ron in the eye. "Lily and I have fought this fight before and we want to make sure that Harry knows everything we knew when we died."
Harry and Ginny stepped out of their front door fifteen minutes later dressed as anything but a couple of Hogwarts students. They both wore robes of deep purple and black traveling cloaks. As they walked down the lane in front of Potter Manor Ginny began to pelt Harry with questions about her new status in the magical world. "Well Ginny, you are now of age by marriage to me so you can do magic whenever you want. You are also the lady of Potter Manor so the staff, meaning Dobby and Squeaky and all the other house elves, will obey any command you give them just like I gave it to them. They will also keep any secret you wish, even from me." Harry said as they neared a small white circular stone on the side of the lane.
"Why on earth would I want to keep a secret from you Harry?" Ginny asked incredulously as Harry led her onto the stone which expanded to allow them to stand comfortably on it.
"I don't know, surprise party or something?" Harry answered smiling at her.
"Oh, never thought of that." Ginny said thoughtfully, "Uh, Harry, why are we standing on a stone?" she asked as she noticed the stone expanding.
"Ginny you need to remember this stone and everything around it very clearly." Harry said seriously. "This stone marks the apparation point to Potter manor. Eventually I'd like to install one in the garden and one in the tree line beside the house, but for now during the war this is the only place not protected by anti- apparition wards."
"Right, so we are apparating to the Ministry then?" Ginny asked him, "But, Harry, you don't have a license yet do you?"
Harry smiled at her, "Not yet but I do have a temporary license to allow me to apparate directly to the ministry for my test as I have no legal magical guardian anymore. So we'll register and then I'll go take my test. By the way, as you are of age you can take yours too if you feel ready to." Harry told her as she grabbed his arm.
"That would be great, wish I could practice more though." Ginny said looking at her husband admiringly. "Tell you what; try to apparate to the entrance hall of the ministry yourself while holding my arm. If it doesn't work you'll be able to follow me. But if it does then you'll know you can." Harry said smiling again. Ginny looked astonished at the brilliance of his plan and started to say so but Harry stopped her. "Dad gave me the idea yesterday while we were getting ready. Said that's what he did before his test. Said it worked like a charm, and after his dad tested him that way the ministry test was a joke." Ginny smiled and kissed Harry's cheek while mentally thanking her father-in-law for his brilliance. Then releasing Harry's arm but taking his hand they both turned on the stone and disappeared.
Meanwhile, back in Harry's study James and Ron sat at the large oak desk poring over several parchments covered in notes that James had acquired while fighting Voldemort the fist time. The notes detailed everything from the victims to locations even the style of the murders and other crimes committed by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. "The horcruxes will be far worse than Riddle himself won't they Mr. Potter?" Ron asked.
"Probably Ron," James answered him thinking, "He likes pain and torture so I imagine he would protect the pieces of his soul with those things. And call me James please, I can't stand being called Mr. Potter. Reminds me of school." He said grinning at Ron's astonished face. "When you cause as much trouble as Padfoot and me you get called Mr. a lot, and it's never means anything good is about to happen." Both men laughed as Sirius walked into the room to join the meeting.
"You didn't have the worst of it Prongs. At least you were Mr. Potter, me I had to deal with Mr. Black, always made me feel dirty or something." Sirius said sitting down as Ron and James howled with laughter. "Oh shut it Prongs, what are you two working on anyway?" he asked James.
"I wanted to make sure that Harry knew everything that we knew when he faces…" he looked at Ron questioningly, "Riddle?" Ron nodded.
"Good idea James," Sirius said , "got the notes on his dueling style we found at Hogwarts?" "No, I'd forgotten we had those. I was going to tell Ron about his style from memory." James said in an awe struck voice. "Do you remember where we put those Padfoot?" he asked.
"Of course, I'll be right back."
Lily and Hermione sat in the sitting room discussing Horcruxes and when and when not to help Harry in the fight. "You must understand Hermione, Voldemort is an exceptionally gifted wizard. In a duel only Dumbledore equals his skill, to face him and survive you must be totally focused on him. He duels entirely silently and uses curses that cannot be blocked along with those that can. I'm not sure he even flinches when cursing, he didn't against me; but that was a very short duel." Lily said quietly but seriously. "I was no match for him in a duel; I might have been clever enough to hold my own in a battle of wits but not skill."
"I always heard you were a very gifted witch Lily" Hermione said smiling, "But it's like Harry said in our fifth year. If Riddle wants to kill you, very few people can stop him."
Lily smiled at her son's wisdom. "Maybe he did inherit more than my eyes" she said fondly, "although he takes after his father more."
"Oh, he is incredibly intelligent Lily, but he can duel with the best of us all too. I think he takes after both of you a lot; he just looks more like James."
"That's a comforting thought, Hermione," Lily said, "James was deadly in a duel, but he couldn't afford a distraction when in a duel. Just remember that when the time comes." Lily said more seriously, "and I'm not just talking about Harry either." She said inclining her head knowingly at Hermione. "You might want to consider this in regards to Ron as well."
"How would I be a distraction to Ron or Harry?" Hermione asked bewildered.
Lily just laughed at her. "For all of your considerable intelligence Hermione you are really rather thick concerning those closest to you."
"What?" asked Hermione somewhat offended.
"I meant no offense Hermione, but it's obvious that Harry loves you like the sister he never had and Ron…" she paused to smile a maternal smile at Hermione. "Ron loves you more than you could ever realize, far more than friend or sister. I truly believe he would move heaven, earth, and hell to spare you from the coming war if he didn't know you wouldn't let him." Seeing the troubled look on Hermione's face, Lily continued softly, "James was the same way; it took me years to figure it out. Don't wait that long to tell him you love him Hermione, the knowledge can only help you both deal with what is to come."
Hermione looked shocked, thoughtful, and pleased at the same time. "How did you know I loved him?" she asked Lily.
Again Lily laughed quietly at her, "Because I remember how I was before James and I married. I was just like you, except I couldn't control my temper as well as you" she said. "Just keep my advice in mind when the time comes, okay?"
"I will Mrs. Potter."
Sirius returned a few minutes after he left holding an enormous pile of parchment, "Dumbledore always asked people in the school dueling club to make notes of their opponent's style. Then he'd make you study them and write a report about it laying out any peculiarities in your opponent. He said that studying your opponent's style gave you an advantage, much like in poker. For example, your dad always tossed his hair out of his eyes before he cast a body bind curse" Sirius explained setting the pile on the edge of the desk.
"Really," said Ron grabbing the top sheet and examining it closely.
"Yeah, but your dad was sharper than most. Dumbledore always offered these reports to the opponent; your dad spent hours studying his own style. By seventh year he and James were almost undefeatable in a duel. Neither had any real reliable tells in their style."
Harry and Ginny appeared in the entry hall to the Ministry of Magic just like they left the apparition point in front of their house. Ginny realized that she was still only loosely holding Harry's hand and stared at him with wide eyes. "Doubted yourself Mrs. Potter?" Harry asked smiling at her.
"Yeah, I've never tried to apparate on my own. Mum and Dad explained it to me and tried to teach me enough so that I could go on if something happened during side –along, but I never tried by myself." Ginny said breathlessly.
"I never doubted you Ginny; you are a very gifted witch." Harry said folding her into an embrace. He held her for a moment before they moved to check their wands at the security desk. The guard weighed Ginny's wand and gave it back to her and then started when he realized he was checking the wand of Harry Potter. He started to say something but Ginny spoke up, "Call attention to us here and you will regret it." She whispered menacingly. Harry looked at her curiously. "Don't really feel like dealing with the minister or my brother right now" she said sweetly. But Harry knew it was to protect him from the press that she knew he hated.
"Oh right, Percy Weasley" the guard said quietly, "Arthur said you might want to avoid him. Sorry about the wait lifts are at the end of the hall, family registrar's office is on the fifth floor. Good day to you ma'am." He winked at Ginny as she and Harry turned to go to the lifts. Harry immediately saw why he had not used Ginny's name. Rita Skeeter was across the hall staring at the guards desk as if waiting for someone. They hurried past her careful not to let her see Harry's scar and entered the fist available lift.
"That was kind of him" Harry told Ginny referring to the guard's behavior as the lift rose silently.
"Yeah, glad to see other people hate Rita's stuff too." She said smiling. The registration took less than five minutes, The couple merely had to sign a form that stated that they were married in a ceremony that was legally binding in either the muggle or wizarding world. Then a form that stated their new address. Harry immediately demanded that this form be sealed to protect their privacy.
"Of course Mr. Potter," the ministry witch said smiling at him. "The parchment has an enchantment on it rendering the information on it invisible unless the Wizingamot files a legal request for it. The request must prove that they have a legal reason for accessing these files."
"And what would be a legal reason for knowing my address?" Harry inquired.
"The only reason that we release any personal information is in the event that the witch or wizard in question is under reasonable suspicion of a crime or in the event of a death in your family so that the appropriate communication may be owled to you.
"Very well." Harry said and he and Ginny turned to head up to the fourth floor to take their apparition tests. An hour later both Harry and Ginny walked out of the testing center with their apparition licenses on file with the ministry. They stopped by Arthur Weasley's office on their way out to say hello.
"Ah Ginny," Arthur said warmly hugging his daughter. "I assume you took your apparition test as well?" he said smiling at her.
"Yes, and we both passed" she said releasing her father.
"Wonderful," Arthur said shaking Harry's hand now. "So to what do owe the pleasure of this visit from my newest son-in-law and favorite daughter?" he asked smiling at Harry.
"Nothing special I'm afraid Mr. Weasley, we just stopped by to tell you how the test went and say hi." Harry said.
"Well, that is special in and of itself is it not?" Arthur said.
"Dad" Ginny said exasperated, "I am still a part of your family you know." Arthur smiled at her,
"Of course you are Ginny, and so is your new husband." Harry put and arm around his wife and smiled at his father-in-law. "I'd love to sit and chat for a while but I'm afraid you caught me on my way out. We had a report about some fool selling instant polyjuice potion, so I'm on my way to investigate" Arthur said apologetically.
"Just as well Dad, Harry and I have a few other errands to run today too. You and Mum will have to stop by the manor for dinner soon though," she looked at Harry questioningly realizing she probably should have asked him first, "right Harry?" she finished hopefully.
"Of course they must, you don't think that the staff is going to like cooking for just us all the time do you?" Harry answered smiling at her. Arthur and Ginny laughed at him as they all walked out of the office.
"I'll save you a trip" Arthur said quietly, "There's an employee apparition point at the end of the hall, Fred and George used to use it all the time to visit. So long as the Minister doesn't catch you using it, you'll never have to go back to the entry hall."
Ginny looked at her father and caught the familiar wink that he always used when letting a secret out and said quietly, "Thanks a lot Dad."
"Just don't go telling everyone about it" he said as they reached the apparition point.
"Don't worry we're good at keeping secrets," Harry said grinning, "runs in the family."
Arthur couldn't help himself, he had to laugh as Harry and Ginny apparated while he shielded them from the view of the hallway.