Meetings
The war was won and Voldemort was dead. But the price had been far too high. Ron was the only survivor of the Weasley family, Hermione had been killed during the frantic final battle, and Wizarding England was in shambles. Ron and Harry had struggled to rebuild the wreckage of their lives, with no one to support them and everyone expecting too much from them.
Help came from an unexpected corner when Ron remembered his cousin who was an accountant. Amelia Weasley had married Hiroto Irie and moved to Japan. Desperate for family, Ron had written to his cousin. There followed several months of letters, with Ron learning enough about the Muggle world that he could send emails and make phone calls as well. Ron got on great with his Aunt Amelia, but Harry felt more kinship with her son, Shouichi. Soon, Shouichi was emailing Harry more often than he was Ron. He was like Hermione, frighteningly intelligent and sometimes awkward, but he was shy where she had outgoing, a negotiator where she had been a leader. The similarities were comforting, and the differences helped him to keep his head in the present.
Soon, the media and the politics became too much for the duo. When they mentioned the pressure they were under, Amelia had invited them over to Japan without a second thought. It took less than a week to pack, book plane tickets, and fly over. As soon as he arrived, Harry knew that he never wanted to leave.
"We're really sorry for intruding like this," Harry said in awkward Japanese as he set his bags down on the floor.
"It's no problem. I'm so glad that Shouichi has made such good friends!" Amelia said as she ushered them into the living room. "Sho-kun's out at the moment, but he should be back this evening. He's bringing one of his friends from college to visit. It'll be so nice to have a full house."
Harry and Ron spent the next hour talking with Amelia. He had been afraid that it would be awkward, but the conversation flowed smoothly, from what they planned to do about school to how their Japanese was coming. Harry had a natural flair for language which had surprised him, but Ron was finding progress painfully slow. It was a good thing that both Amelia and Shouichi were fluent in English.
Before they knew it, there was a knock on the door. Amelia got up to answer it, and Harry drew in a deep breath, feeling unexpectedly nervous. He wanted Shouichi to like him. Their friendship online had been so close, and he didn't want real life to break it.
"Hello!" A cheerful voice that he didn't recognise came from the doorway. Harry turned in his seat, and saw Shouichi standing behind a tall blond teenager with a strange tattoo below one eye.
"Sho-chan's told me all about you! It's good to meet you," he chirped as he wandered into the room, Shouichi trailing behind him.
Next to him, Ron whispered loudly, "I though chan was for girls?"
Shouichi smiled uncertainly, and Harry grinned back. He got the sudden feeling that the next few years weren't going to be as peaceful as he had wanted.