Chapter Five – Moving on

Authors Notes

So, longest chapter yet, ~5,130 words. What a surprise, just writing normal characters makes the process so much easier and the words just seemed to flow onto the page. Please note that the layout of this and the previous chapters is temporary. Moving forward there won't be a need to keep track of the dates. Additionally, I had been running titles through my head and settled on this one. I even checked FF to make sure someone hadn't used it yet...

Wednesday 22nd March

Harry was sat in Grimmauld Place with Daphne and Andi. Harry had spent the last few days cleaning up the house to get ready for Lily to move in. As Harry and Ginny had bought the house in Hogsmeade quite soon after marrying, Grimmauld wasn't much different to how it had been when Sirius had passed. Harry also made sure to bring two Potter House elves in to speed things up. At the moment however he was reviewing the final approved divorce settlement and what steps he still had to take.

"So, this document authorises the payment of the 100,000 galleons, I'll just need you to sign there" said Daphne "and this is the custody form, you'll see this marks you as visitation only for the boys and 100% for Lily. Note that the visitation rights are conditional on you continuing to fund their schooling. Just sign on the back page"

Daphne had been an absolute godsend and Harry had thanked Andi about a dozen times for getting her. She had been expensive, but she was amazing and explained everything in simple English for him.

"I've also taken the liberty of drafting up a request to Gringotts to remove everyone except yourself, Andi, Teddy and Lily from the Potter accounts as well as your personal account. I just need your seal and a drop of blood there and there." She continued "and finally you take custody of Lily in two days' time. I would recommend leaving her in her current primary school for the remainder of the year, as from what I've been told by experts in previous divorce cases, stability is key for children during these times."

Harry did as she had instructed, lastly pressing his Head of House ring against the Gringotts letter and pricking his finger with the letter open on his desk.

"Oh, and your ex-wife sent the final draft of the letter for the boys at Hogwarts. It read fine to me from a legal and personal image perspective for you, but I'd strongly recommend reviewing it to make sure you're happy with it. The last thing you want is them getting the wrong message while you are hundreds of miles away."

Harry reviewed the letter and was fine with it, he still had trouble coming to terms with the fact his sons weren't in fact his sons…

"That is it for me Potter. It was a pleasure doing business with you and I hope you're happy with the outcome we've reached here. If you ever need legal support or services in the future, please don't hesitate to reach out." Daphne said as she collected the finalised documents.

Harry followed her out to the front door. "I know you were only doing your job Greengrass, but if there is anything you need in the future please don't hesitate to reach out. You've been a rock for me during this entire process and I couldn't have done half as well without you, and in the future please just call me Harry."

Daphne's professional persona vanished, and her face and eyes softened. "This was certainly far from just a job Harry. You saved me and my family from a dark future during the war, I was more than happy to take on your case and fight for the best outcome. I will keep that offer in mind though Harry, be careful with statements like that in the future, you might give a girl ideas." she purred as she walked out the front door.

Harry stood stunned and then heard Andi snort and burst into laughter from the other room. Harry walked back into the dining area and sat down across from Andi, who was still laughing.

"Oh Harry, that girl is something special. If I didn't know you were pining for different more bushy haired bookworm, I'd have suggested her as Lady Black." Andi said while trying to calm herself.

"What do you mean pining? I'm not pining for anyone!" Said Harry caught off guard and wanting to avoid the Lady Black comment.

"Oh please Harry, ever since you got back every time we find a book it's "I'll set this side for Hermione" or when we take a break "I wonder what Hermione is up to" it couldn't be more obvious if you tried!" Andi said, she was almost shocked at the lack of self-awareness, before remembering who she was talking too.

Before Harry could respond Andi continued "For my piece, you need to remember you've been off the potions and had the charms removed for 3 months already. She has been dosed as recently as today, so don't go all Gryffindor charging forward hoping to get in her good graces. She needs to wake up and deal with clearing her system. I wouldn't even write to her for a month at least."

Harry realised she was right, the feelings he felt for Hermione in fourth year had come roaring back in the last week and having lost the last twenty years, he wanted nothing less than to go and confess to her right now.

"Additionally young Romeo, Hermione is a Muggleborn married to a Pure Blood, she has effectively no rights when it comes to the marriage and can only get divorced if her husband decides. It was the same with Ted and I, once married I was the only one that could break things off, not that I wanted too of course." Said Andi, further explaining some of the challenges he was going to face.

"Lastly, to touch on something I KNOW you haven't thought about. But you need an heir, technically three. You would have been fine with the boys James could have been Potter and Albus Black, then Lily could have had a line continuation agreement for Peverell. But now you're missing two heirs and while she's still married to Ron, assuming things go the way you want, she cannot bear you any legitimate children."

Harry was horrified at this topic. Treating children and wives like this was still foreign to him, even if Molly had explained it too him in a similar manner many years prior.

"Well, I am still young for a wizard and regardless of what else is going on I won't be holding back. Hermione will know my feelings whether she reciprocates them or not." Harry responded.

"I know that Harry, just be careful and don't get your hopes too high. We've only just gotten you back, I don't want to have to take care of a broken-hearted teen." Andi said starting serious but ending with some mirth. Harry however, just sat there silently.

Wednesday 5th April 2017

Life for Harry had been slow, he'd effectively resigned from being a Hit Wizard and become a fulltime dad. Harry had picked Lily up from school on the 24th of March as Daphne had confirmed and she'd been living at Grimmauld with Harry ever since. He'd also kept her at the local primary school in Hogsmeade, simply side-along apparating her from London and back each weekday. While she was at school, Harry worked with the house elves to make sure the house was safe and as homely as possible for her. The change had been difficult for Lily, and he was being as accommodating as possible to ease her burden.

Additionally, Harry was in the process of cleaning up some of the mess left over from his marriage with Ginny. Unfortunately, with access to the accounts it appeared Molly had been rather liberal with his funds to try and establish the Weasley family in a more prominent position, while neglecting the actual responsibilities of asset management. Harry had spent a sizeable amount of time at Gringotts with his account manager, each time returning with a larger headache and the need for support. He'd reached out to Daphne again for some assistance, but she highlighted that it really wasn't her area of expertise but suggested he contact one of the last people he expected, Draco Malfoy.

Harry had incurred a debt to Narcissa Malfoy during the war, she had covered for him at the Battle of Hogwarts that enabled him to trick Voldemort and ultimately get the jump on him. Therefore, when Draco's trial had come up, he had spoken out on her behalf and voiced his confidence that Draco could change and become a positive contributor to society. Surprisingly to Harry this had proven true. While still holding many of his Pure Blood believes and sitting on the more Traditionalist side of the Wizengamot, Malfoy had dropped a lot of the more "dark" positions that he'd held during his school years. This had led to Harry actually working with him and his bloc on more than one occasion to get laws passed while contending with some of the more radical blocs of both "the dark" and "the light".

Given this, and his newfound trust in Daphne, he sent Malfoy an owl requesting some guidance on the big picture part of family trust management and especially the financial planning side of things. Thankfully Malfoy replied promptly and with some sound advice that boiled down to "Leave it to the goblins" and suggesting that he seek their guidance on any big investments he wishes to make himself. Therefore, instead of trying to burn his brain out cleaning everything up, he handed the books back to his account manager with simple instructions.

"I understand I'm not cut out for this kind of thing, so I am going to trust that Gringotts' self-interest will align with my own. I would just ask that any drastic decisions you come to me, I don't want to hear you're kicking families out of rental properties because their a week late on their rent…"

Harry then began spending his spare time in self-reflection, trying to find himself after 20 years under the influence of charms and potions. Andi's comments a few weeks ago about Hermione needing to clear her head rang true for him as well. He'd been running full steam ahead since December, whether it was the realisation in Germany, planning things out with Andi and Teddy in January, working through the divorce proceedings with Daphne in February and March or cleaning up Grimmauld and getting Lily moved in more recently, he hadn't stopped to conduct an internal audit on himself. He began asking himself what seemed like simple questions at first.

"What are my hobbies?" These kinds of questions seemed simple at first, however the fact he'd been under the influence of compulsion charms meant that if Ginny or Molly had said "You enjoy cooking" he would take that and run with it. So, Harry began writing out lists of information about himself and then meditating to work through whether the statement was true or false.

While going through this today he realised how much he didn't know about himself and how useless he was going to be to help anyone, whether that was Lily, James, Albus or Hermione….

Wednesday 19th April 2023

Harry had spent the last two weeks rebuilding a healthy relationship with his daughter and rebuilding himself. After having broken himself down as part of the internal audit he felt he was truly himself again for the first time in 20 years and getting to know his daughter without the cloud of the compulsion charms enforcing Molly and Ginny's opinions on parenting had proven a big part of establishing said healthy relationship. Simple things like helping Lily with her homework instead of "Leaving her to become an independent woman" had opened Lily's eyes to how much Harry really cared about her.

Harry had also spent the time connecting with the boys again and explaining that although he wasn't their biological father and they weren't his heirs anymore, they'd always have a spare room at Grimmauld, and they'd have his ear if they required advice. He'd also strongly advocated for them reaching out to their actual fathers and establishing a relationship.

Harry had also hosted Andi and Teddy for dinner a number of times, as he felt it important Lily developed a relationship with them both. At first, she'd been hesitant but had quickly taken to calling them "Nana Andi" and "Cousin Teddy", which won her significant brownie points with them both. Harry also enjoyed listening to Teddy talk about his Auror training and the challenges he was having. While listening to Teddy talk about things, he'd realised how much of Teddy's life he'd missed out on. He'd taken Teddy aside to the study during one of the dinners for a chat.

"What's up Dad?" Asked Teddy, concerned that something was seriously wrong.

"I just wanted to apologise Teddy…" replied Harry, a lump in his throat stopping him from going further.

"For what, I don't think you've done anything wrong and believe me, I'd certainly let you know if that was the case!" Teddy said with a laugh.

Harry laughed wetly, he then looked up to Teddy with tears in his eyes "No Teddy, that isn't right. I've let you down severely. When your parents told me I was to be your godfather I swore until I was blue in the face that were the worst to happen, I'd be there for you. Having grown up an orphan myself, I know how important family is when you don't have any surrogates around."

Teddy wrapped his godfather in a hug "I won't have you talking down about yourself like that Dad, could you have been around a little more when I was younger? Yes. Was I angry with you through my teenage years? Sometimes. But hearing what's been going on in your life I can't really hold that against you now, can I?" Tears starting to sting Teddy's eyes as he thought back to some of the negative thoughts he'd had about Harry in the past.

"That shouldn't matter Teddy, I've failed. Andi had to raise you by herself effectively. I should have had you both living with us, you should have grown up alongside James, Albus and Lily as their older brother, not the distant cousin they kind of know…" Harry retorted "I just… I…" Harry couldn't continue, sobbing into Teddy's shoulder.

Teddy took a step back, his hands still resting on Harry's shoulders. "I might have been angry at you a few times in the past, however I never questioned that you loved me as much as your own children. I knew kids in my year at Hogwarts who got less mail from their actual parents than I got from you. The information you shared with me about how mum was treated as a Metamorph proved priceless for me, as it helped me survive dating as a teen. Then when I think back to when I was much younger, my fondest memories are of you telling me stories of your adventures with Aunt Hermione and Ron during your Hogwarts years." Teddy said, looking directly into Harry's eyes "Please Dad, understand that I'm not accepting your apology because I don't forgive you, I'm not accepting it because there is nothing to forgive."

At this point Harry broke and wrapped his arms around Teddy "Careful Dad, if you squeeze too hard with this Hermione-esque hug I might pop" Teddy said as he morphed his head and shoulders larger exaggerating the effect of the hug.

They both burst out laughing, completely removing any tension in the air. As they started walking back inside Teddy asked, "By the way Dad, when are you going to reach out to Aunty Hermione?"

Tuesday 3rd May 2023

Harry was again repeating the same argument he'd been having with Andi for the last two weeks.

"I will just come out and say it!" Yelled Harry, frustrated at having this argument for what felt like the hundredth time.

"No, think about this Harry. She is married, regardless of whether it's a loveless marriage. Her emotions and mental state are no doubt all over the place, with the potions and compulsion charms wearing off, assuming Ginny and Molly have stuck to the agreement, she's going to have to go through what you did back in March. She won't know what is "her" and what is potion or charm." Andi paused for a moment "Start by rebuilding your friendship Harry she was your best friend before she was a love interest. Just be there for her while she rebuilds and then once she's on secure ground, start dropping hints that you want to take things further. IF ITS SUITABLE!" She finishes quite forcefully, knowing how tactless Harry was when he was younger.

Harry just sighed "Andi, I know you're right, but I just don't want to miss this opportunity. What if we're both like ships in the night, both wanting the same thing but neither brave enough to voice it!"

"Or you could be the submarine that sinks your friendship before it even starts under its own power…" Andi said, trying her best to stick with the ship analogy.

"That was terrible Andi" Harry says with a laugh, the horrible response taking most of the tension out of the air.

"I know, but you're smiling now, and I think it gets the message across." Andi replied "Take things slow and treat the relationship you want as a medium to long term goal. Think of it as one of your slow burn investigations."

"Fine, but if things look to be going the wrong way, I reserve the right to make a hard turn and bare my soul!"

Andi sighed "I'm not controlling you Harry; I'm just giving you advice. By all means, if things start going against you, lay your heart out but remember it may get embraced or crushed…" Andi responded with a sad tone.

Wednesday 4th May 2023

Harry was stood outside Ron and Hermione's house; it was a modest single-story cottage that had seen better days. He'd chosen this time specifically because Ron was not here, and it was close enough to the end of the school day that Harry could excuse himself with a reason should it not go well. He was about to knock but paused for a minute, his thoughts had drifted to Ron. He'd been so caught up with Ginny and Molly, in addition to working out the Hermione situation, that he'd not put any thought into how involved his "best mate" was in all of this. Was he clueless and therefore innocent or was he a knowing contributor to this all. Harry knew Ginny and Molly had been providing the potions to Ron, but maybe he thought they were nutrient potions or "women's potions" as Ron would have called them. Harry held out hope that he was innocent, as he'd wanted to try and preserve his first friendship if he could…

Harry dragged himself out of his thoughts and knocked on the door, waiting nervously and hoping to any power out there that this went well.

The door swung open, and Harry was taken aback by the women standing before him. Hermione's hair was as bushy as it had always been, the years had also been kind to her figure as although she was a little softer around the edges, it was all in the right spots. Hermione hadn't been gifted with the largest breasts when they were at school but obviously motherhood had helped a bit and of course her hips were as generous as they'd always been, Harry just had to hope that the wonderful bottom he'd watched climb stairs at Hogwarts innumerable times had been maintained. He then realised he'd been staring dumbly, hoping she hadn't noticed he spoke up.

"Hey Hermione… long time no see." He said awkwardly. 'Oh, good work Potter, anymore suave and you'd risk dying of embarrassment' Harry thought as the words left his lips. Harry however was surprised when he was the recipient of his first Hermione hug in near enough 20 years. Having gotten over his issue with touch a long time ago (an active sex life with your wife assists with that) he quickly responded and held the women that had been his best friend before the chaos as tightly to himself as possible, hoping to convey that he wouldn't be letting her go anytime soon.

Harry relaxed his hug a little however realised Hermione hadn't. He looked down and noticed that his robes were slightly wet.

"Hey, Hermione, I know I've been a terrible friend, but I hope me turning up hasn't driven you to tears." Harry said trying to brighten the mood. He might be fine with touch, but he was still just as rubbish as always with crying women.

Harry then heard a muffled wet laugh as Hermione laughed into his chest. "How is it that we don't speak for what feels like half my life, but when I need you to act my hero again like in first year, you appear like magic?"

Harry assuming, she was talking about the potion situation and realising things are far from disastrous, he'd not been screamed out of the house so he took that as a win, just says "Well, why don't we go inside and we can talk it out. I know it's near enough pick up time for school however Lily does an after-school program so I'm not on a tight deadline, what about Hugo?"

Hermione takes a deep breath, then releasing her hug and stepping back towards the door. "Hugo is the same, so I'm good for an hour or two, given everything going on we might need it…" She mumbles the last bit walking into the house. "Come on, we can talk at the dining table and I'll put some tea on".

Harry followed her inside, taking a seat at the table while Hermione put the kettle on to boil. He noticed that she looked tense, but he thought back to how he'd been in Germany and just scratched it up to the confusion still going on in her mind. Harry remembered Andi's comments the prior night and reminded himself that she was his best friend first and foremost and she required support and guidance to see this through.

As it didn't seem Hermione was going to progress the discussion, Harry laid out an olive branch "When did you find out?" He asked vaguely.

Hermione turned around with surprise on her face but responded. "Just today, I got a letter detailing the whole situation and I'm just really not sure how we got to this point, I mean how is my family going to survive this?"

"Well, mine didn't, I divorced Ginny as soon as I realised. I don't think it would have come to light if I hadn't needed to head off to Germany at the last minute." Harry was quick to throw in that he was single now. He might not put his heart on the table, but he could make sure many of the cards were in place.

"Oh my god Harry, I'm so sorry I was so caught up in my situation I forgot about that. I only found out about the divorce today when I spoke with Arthur, Ron seems to be leaving important information out when we talk... Was it debt that drove you and Ginny apart?" Hermione responded, still standing by the stove waiting for the kettle to boil.

"Debt?" Harry asked confusingly "Hermione, I'm talking about the fact that for the past 20 years you and I have been dosed with love and loyalty potions, and in my case charmed, to keep us with members of the Weasley family. What on earth are you talking about?"

"WHAT. THE. FUCK." Hermione yelled, covering her mouth quickly when she realised she'd just sworn. "What do you mean potions Harry?"

"Well, why don't bring those teacups over and I'll explain, we're obviously talking about different situations and once I'm done we can talk about your other problem" Harry replied calmly.

Harry then spent the next 30 minutes walking Hermione through the whole thing, from the realisation in Germany, the divorce proceedings, where it was revealed that James and Albus weren't his and that Ginny and Molly had been helping Ron dose Hermione and finally, trying to finish on a positive, the most recent work he'd been doing rebuilding his relationship with Lily.

Hermione for her part sat there with her head in her hands. "When do you think this all started?" Hermione quietly asked.

"My theory is that it was either the end of fourth year or the start of fifth year. The reason is, I was going to confess to…someone…. but then suddenly my attention was shifted to Ginny, and I never looked at the person the same way." Harry responded, realising that he needed to tread carefully.

"That makes sense, I had a similar situation." Hermione responded "It also helps explain the last month and a half. I've gone from worshiping the ground Ron walks on, to not being able to stand the git when he's home. I've even taken to sleeping on the couch."

Harry reached over the table and covered Hermione's hand with his own. "Hermione, I've just gone through what you're experiencing. If you need anything please just let me know, I will put Merlin to shame with the effort I'm willing to put in to help you through this."

Hermione looked up into Harry's eyes, and through the tears in her own, saw nothing but care and sincerity that warmed her heart.

"Thank you Harry, that means a lot, I'm still working through a lot and one of the things I couldn't work out was what happened to our relationship. It just seemed to take a nosedive at one point and I thought I'd lost you forever…" Hermione responded sadly. "But to have you sitting across from me now like old times makes me feel a lot better."

"I feel the same Hermione, even though the effects are weakening, I would recommend going to St Mungo's and getting a mind check and a purging potion. You might have more than we just discussed, so better safe than sorry. Although from recent experience, the purging potion is not fun…" As Harry finished his sentence, they both burst out laughing.

Hermione then took a deep breath and seemed to steady herself, Harry suddenly got concerned about what was coming. "Harry, I hate myself for asking this of you, but I don't know what else to do…"

"Anything Hermione, just ask." He said, meaning every word. Even if he felt like his heart was about to break, dreading the worst.

"Ron… has ruined us financially. Wait here." She said suddenly, rushing out of the dining area and then returning a minute later with a letter. "I got this letter from Gringotts today, which is what I was meant earlier about only finding out today. In short, Ron has spent all our money and driven us into crippling debt with Gringotts and then with 'non-bank lenders' is what the goblins called them." Hermione said as she sat down, handing Harry the letter.

Harry quickly read the letter and then relaxed; he was a little annoyed that Ron would have done this but at least it wasn't Hermione destroying his hopes.

"Let me guess, you'd like me to help out?" Harry asked calmly.

"Yes…no…yes… I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't. It's so much money and we've only just started talking again…" but Harry cut her off.

"How about this Hermione, find out from Ron how much he owes to the non-bank lenders, I can then buy the debt as an asset for the Potter Trust, and we can talk about repayment when you're in a better position."

Hermione just stared at Harry, dumbfounded.

"I appear to have made the famously chatty Hermione Gran…Weasley speechless. I'll count that as an achievement" Harry said when she didn't respond, kicking himself that he'd almost used her maiden name.

Coming to her senses, Hermione finally replied. "You're too good to me Harry, how can you even say something like that so casually? Gringotts is 150,000G and Merlin knows how much Ron has borrowed from the non-banks. What if it's double?"

Harry just looked at Hermione and smiled. "Hermione, between the Black and Potter vaults I have more than enough to cover it and it's not like I'm giving you the money. You'll still have to pay it back, just without the risk of losing your house."

Hermione stood up, walked around to Harry, dragged him from his seat and threw her arms around him again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you. I promise we'll pay it all back.

Harry placed his arms gently around her again and said with a little emotion this time. "I'd be happy to have you back in my life for the next 30 years and maybe we can call things square then." Harry had missed Hermione, yes his heart yearned for her, but he also missed having his best friend around and whether she was around as his lover or his friend he would be content with either.

Hermione looked up from his chest with a thoughtful look in her eye. "Well, given we both have school kids to collect, why don't we continue this at a later date. I'll weasel the total amount owed from Ron and we can plan a dinner catch up. You can come round and we'll host, would Andi be able to look after Lily and Hugo?" Hermione asked suddenly. "I don't want to leave him with Molly given what you've said today and my relationship with my own parents isn't great at the moment…" Harry had heard when they'd first gotten engaged that Hermione's parents had been against the marriage and he assumed that bridge hadn't been repaired.

"I'm sure she would, Andi and Teddy come round to Grimmauld quite often, so she could host them there. The kids would have a ball."

"Done, I'll owl you a date and time and you confirm whether Andi is willing to look after the kids. I promise my cooking has gotten better." Hermione said with a laugh.

"Done!" Harry said, tightening his hold on Hermione, breathing deeply of her scent and then with a heavy heart, letting her go. "Can I apparate from here or are there wards?"

"No wards, we could never afford them." Hermione said as she stepped back, giving Harry the space to disapparate.

"Thank Hermione, I look forward to the owl." He said as he disapparated.

As Harry appeared at the apparition point nearest to the school, a park about 500 metres away. He thought that the afternoon had gone well, even 300,000G was worth having his relationship back with Hermione.

Authors Notes

So, we're starting to get to the juicy bits now. For those that have read Payment Plan I'm sure you have an idea of what is going to happen next chapter. For those that haven't (PLEASE DO IT'S A GREAT READ) one word…. SMUT.