Chapter 26: Responsibilities

12th June 1998

Harry closed his eyes as the wind lightly pressed against his face. There was nothing better than a summer breeze. He opened his eyes to reveal Diagon Alley. He was finally done with everything at Gringotts; The Potter Vault was, of course, the biggest vault of the three, and the amount of coin Harry saw was enough to last him and his entire generation a lifetime. He had many plans when it came to spending some of the money, but all that would come at the right time. For now, he was happy to leave the treasure where it belonged; in the vault.

Harry was not particularly enthusiastic about returning to the Potter Manor as there was no one to greet him there but Beemey. Hermione eventually had to return to her parent's place. Neither of them wanted to separate, and Hermione was more than happy to ask her parents whether she could move in with Harry, but that was definitely the last thing Harry wanted. Not because he didn't want to live with Hermione; that was his dream, but he knew that Hermione's parents wanted to spend time with her, and he would have all the time in the world with her once they started Hogwarts. Besides, Hermione always came by to visit in the evenings. There were no words to describe the happiness and desire he felt when he saw her each day. A part of him was sure that this 'feeling' would pass, that he would get over Hermione and deal with her absence. But that never came. Moreover, he missed her more and more every day. Sometimes, he would find himself hugging the pillow on which she slept, and breathing in her smell. By the time she would leave, his hands would already crave the touch of her skin.

A part of him was also scared that he might be going crazy, and perhaps he needs company from someone other than Hermione. Unfortunealty, even when he did take time off with Ron, George and Neville, he would still spend every breathing moment thinking about her. The guys were quite harsh on him and wouldn't drop the jokes about him being 'lovestruck'.

Ron was also having a bad couple of weeks; The double date which they had turned out to be rather unsuccessful for Ron. Harry and Hermione tried their best to keep him in line and on his best behaviour in Luna's presence, but all that turned out pointless after they found out that Luna has a boyfriend. The news did not come through very well for Ron, and he spent a couple days in his room, refusing to speak to anyone. Harry felt extremely sorry for him, as he knew what kind of pain that must be.

Ron managed to get over Harry's and Hermione's relationship, but the fact that he couldn't find anyone was not helping. Luna was also extremely upset that she hurt Ron, but she wouldn't reveal who her boyfriend was, which was quite suspicious. The worst case scenario was that she lied about having a boyfriend, but both Harry and Hermione knew that Luna was too pure to lie about anything. Besides, it didn't take long for Harry to find out that the secret boyfriend was Neville. It was almost blatant when Harry saw that Neville was avoiding Ron. Eventually, Ron found out and spoke to him about it. They both turned out to be satisfied with the chat and Ron promised Harry that the right girl is out there, waiting for him. Harry really wished there was. Afterall, no one deserved love more than his friends; after everything, they've accomplished.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was now the new Minister of Magic, which followed an enormous change in the ministry itself. During his first week, almost a quarter of workers were put under charges and death eaters started to get hunted down. A lot of famous families, like the Malfoys, were put in court. Harry was invited to the hearing but decided to avoid the ministry until he left Hogwarts.

School seemed to have been his main excuse to avoid tons of invitations; just last week he received a letter from Washington D.C inviting him to join a celebration with the American Ministry of Magic and a chance to meet the President. Once again, Harry's world seemed to have grown by another thousand of miles as he realised how big the wizarding world really is. But no matter what he was proposed, he simply didn't want to live that life, not yet. He wanted to enjoy the freedom and peace as long as he could, despite knowing that the adult world was waiting for him. His best support in all this was Hermione, who seemed to be very impressed and sometimes shocked by his humble behaviour towards all the invitations. At the end of the day, all that Harry wanted was her, nothing else mattered.

Harry and Hermione were able to send their letters to Professor McGonagall, informing that they would like to finish their seventh year. The headmistress was happy to accept their request, under the conditions that both of them become Headboy and Headgirl of the school. Harry was very hesitant about that idea, but after seeing the excited and pleading look on Hermione's face, he could only accept.

Now all that was left was to finally visit Teddy. Harry felt extremely nervous when he finally decided to send Andromeda his letter. He got a response from her yesterday, informing that she would be delighted with his visit. The last time Harry saw Andromeda was last year when he escaped Privet Drive. The memory brought pain to his chest. Both Remus and Tonks were still alive back then. Now, all that was left of them was their only son, Teddy. Shocked was the weakest word to describe what Harry felt when Remus titled him the Godfather. It felt weird to have that title, and Harry desperately wanted to live up to its expectations. He would take care of Teddy, and make sure that he has the best childhood anyone could dream of.

Harry didn't know when or how he would explain it to Andromeda, but he already made the necessary precautions so that Teddy's education and well being is covered by Harry's Gringotts account. Teddy was also left with the Vault of Tonks and Remus, but Harry wanted to be part of that responsibility.

Well, time to go home, Harry thought, as he slowly made his way down the marble steps of Gringotts.

"It's Harry Potter!" Harry heard an unfamiliar shriek come from a nearby crowd. Suddenly, that crowd was all around him. All wizards and witches from the street were suddenly marchings towards him, making an inescapable circle.

"Mr Potter, could I have your autograph, please!" Another voice pleaded.

Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes again, focusing on his house. He opened his eyes once all the voices and screams were gone. The pure canvas in front revealed his huge manor right in the centre.

"Home sweet home" Harry whispered to himself, as he walked slowly towards the manor.

"Beemey, I'm home!" he called, pushing past the large door and kicking off his shoes. He paced towards the living room and almost froze when his eyes settled on the couch.

"Hey" came Hermione's voice as she smiled at him, holding a cup of tea.

"Harry!" Called Beemey, turning from Hermione and rushing towards her Master, "Beemey was just serving Hermione. Would Mater Harry like some tea?"

It took quite a long time to convince Beemey to stop using the word 'Master' and 'Mistress', but the little elf was now able to simply call them by name, with the occasional slip-ups.

Harry cleared his throat and blinked a couple times, "No, I'm fine Beemey, thank you." He stepped past the elf and moved towards the couch. She was beautiful as ever, smiling at him.

"How was your day?" She asked, placing her tea down on the table, her smile not leaving her face.

He didn't answer as he dropped to his knees down to meet her lips. Her arms were around him instantly, pulling him onto the couch. Harry heard a quiet giggle from Beemey.

"Just like Lilly and James." She muttered before disappearing with a pop.

"I was hoping you missed me as much as I missed you…" she said between kisses, "Which is quite scary, considering it had only been a day".

He smiled at her, "I'm happy that I didn't disappoint."

She kissed him hard on the mouth before sitting up, "So, what are our plans for the weekend?"

"You're staying for the weekend?" He asked hopefully.

"Surprise!" she laughed, then her mouth was covered by his again.

Minutes seemed to fly as they continued to kiss. Finally, Hermione's hands pushed him away playfully, "Ok, but seriously, as much as I love this, we're not spending the whole day in bed!"

Harry chuckled, "You say that every time."

She giggled at that, "What's on the agenda?"

Harry growled into her neck, "I'm going to visit Andromeda and Teddy in the evening."

"Could I come?" She asked.

Harry smiled, "I'm not going without you."

She rolled her eyes and kissed him once again, "Okay, so what are we doing till then?"

Harry raised his eyebrows at her question and she had to laugh, "You are absolutely unbelievable, Mr Potter!"

"That's exactly why you love me so much!" He laughed as he pressed his lips to her stomach, he knew she couldn't resist that kind of pleasure. The quiet moan was enough evidence for that.

"What did I do to deserve you?" she asked herself.

"I ask myself every day." He answered, as his kisses trailed up to her neck.


I've had a couple people ask whether I was implying that Bill and Fleur had sex in Chapter 25… NO! That's absolutely sick and I was definitely not trying to imply that! Jeez, guys… I don't understand how the phrase "A slight grin on his face" could imply that they had sex. All I wanted to state was that Bill was in a better mood. Lord…