A/N: I had to relearn how to use this website so I could upload this. A fun D&D based adventure. Enjoy.


After the long months of hunting Horcruxes, Harry could only say he was tired. The amount of effort it would take to describe how he felt was not worth it.

Grimmauld Place had, in fact, not been discovered as they feared. He could have been safe and warm in his own bed, in his own home, this whole time. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that fact, but right now all he wanted was to sleep, and since the immediate danger was over, that is exactly what he did for several days.

He drifted in and out of consciousness while riding the tidal wave of Voldemort's fury. The pain of his scar was almost comforting because at least it meant that, while they had to abandon Hogwarts, Voldemort did not have a chance to have the bloodbath he wanted.

There was still hope to fight another day, and Harry wanted to be ready when he got there.

Once they all escaped the school and got the children safely back to their parents, or at least somewhere safe, Harry and his friends regrouped with the Order to tell them as much as they could. They were happy to know their mission inside Hogwarts was a success; the Horcrux the room of requirement kept hidden all these years had been destroyed soon after they found it.

Lord Voldemort was unable to breach the wards in time. By the time he succeeded, the rage was not enough to describe how he felt, but it left Harry in so much pain that he had to isolate himself in his room as quickly as possible or risk worrying them. He did not want to spoil the few precious moments they got to spend with the Weasleys and other friends.

Now all that was left was Nagini, and Voldemort could finally be defeated.

Victory felt so close— like he could reach out and touch it.

"What would that be like?" He started to wonder. Victory? Peace? Victory would mean celebrations and repairing the damage the Death Eaters had done to their society. That's what happened last time anyways.

He remembered stories of the parties they held the night his parents died, and everything that could have been, every hope he had at normalcy, was ripped from him.

But Peace? What was that like?

All he had ever known was struggling for survival: whether it be with his relatives begging for food, scavenging for comfort, or fighting for his life against the yearly disasters that plagued him at Hogwarts. How was he supposed to know how to behave when the world wasn't ending?

He had seen what war has done to the lucky ones who survived it. Some were fortunate enough to move on and find something in their lives that helped them find comfort. They had families and monotonous jobs that kept them moving and gave them a reason to get up in the morning. Others… others looked around every corner, afraid of hauntingly familiar shadows that would take everything they loved away.

Harry did not want to end up like them, but peace was something that felt more like a fairy tale, and he just did not understand how people could still believe in something like peace like it was synonymous with Santa Clause. What place was there for him in a world like that?

Turning over in bed, Harry tried to relax, but his mind kept wandering, and his scar still ached.

If he closed his eyes for too long, he would have nightmares of what could have been. He dreamt of Hogwarts burning and children dying. He saw bodies without faces blaming him for not doing more to stop Voldemort in time. He saw his own lifeless corpse being brought before Voldemort to be paraded around like a trophy.

When he was not dreaming of unthinkable possibilities, he dreamt of Voldemort.

His wrath was something he would never feel comfortable describing even to his best friends. They all experienced his anger in one form or another, whether it be directly or secondhand through his generals.

Severus Snape received the worst of it. According to Voldemort, Snape should have been able to let him and his army into the school since he was still headmaster. Snape tried to explain that Professor McGonagall bested him in battle and threw him out so there was no way that he could use his influence as headmaster, as she herself had erected the wards along with every other professor in the school.

In any case, they had their positions there for a reason. They were considered phenomenal witches and wizards and would do anything to protect the children in their care. Snape alone could not find a way into the school even if he wanted to at that point.

Voldemort did not care.

Snape was tortured until he begged for mercy. Something Harry did not think he could have ever even imagined happening.

Harry thought Voldemort would kill him then. Instead, Snape was given a different task: "I want you to strengthen my army. I want them feared by the world. This will not happen again, or I will have your head."

Knowing what kind of teacher Snape was, and his potions ability, Harry knew that having him focus on Voldemort's army was going to be disastrous for them in the future. Snape was ruthless as a teacher and without Dumbledore to hold him back, who knew what kind of battles they would soon face. They needed to do something now, or it would be a huge problem for them in the future.

So, after three days, Harry dragged himself out of bed to get back to work.

This time, he would focus on the war. The last Horcrux could wait. Harry was sure there would be an opportunity to kill the snake in the future, but right now the Order, the wizarding world, and his friends needed him.

Ten years later

"Are you listening to me?" Ginny asked calmly. She stared intently at Harry, who did not seem to be paying the slightest bit of attention to her. There was an old map in front of him laying out the Ministry of the Magic floor by floor. It was outdated, but it was all he had to work with at the moment.

"Yes, of course, I am. You want to find another safe house for your brothers," Harry replied without looking up from his work. "We don't have the resources right now."

"Yes, we do, that's what I'm saying. Their work is crucial in relaying information. If either one of them gets caught-"

"Who is asking? Them or you? They can handle themselves. They have been outmaneuvering everyone since before you or I was even born. If they need a new safehouse, they can come to ask me for the resources themselves, or they can find something on their own. They are not my main priority."

"I think something needs to shift in your priorities," Ginny snapped.

Harry finally looked up from the map. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Look at yourself. The war is important, yes, but not if you lose yourself to it. All I'm asking is for you to take a little time away. It's not healthy for you to focus on him all the time. Your friends are important, too. Your family. Just because they can do it themselves doesn't mean they should have to. You know better than anyone how important that is," Ginny pleaded with him.

He wanted to snap back at her about how childish that sounded, but then stopped. She was right, of course. He just did not have the time, nor the resources, for her to be right.

"I'll see what I can do."

"That's all I ask," Ginny smiled as she placed her hand on top of his. "You know I'm with you until the end. But maybe… maybe we can take some time for ourselves? Can't lead a war if you're not in top shape. Maybe-"

"No."

"Just for a day? Take a break. Let's go somewhere just… away," Ginny said as she placed her other hand on his arm.

"Don't make me have this argument with you again. There is too much-"

"You're giving your life away before you've had a chance to live!" Ginny interrupted him. "You keep pushing me away because there is always something more important going on, but what if we never get our chance? How much will this war take from you before you look back and wonder where it all went?"

"I…"

They'd had this argument before. It was well rehearsed. Harry had heard it all from her, her brothers, Hermione, Remus, Tonks, and anyone who ever spared him a kind thought. Some had stopped trying, and instead focused more on saving the wizarding world like him, but Harry could not risk turning his attention away even for one moment. It was like there was always something going on. Every time he turned around another disaster was waiting to happen, and he had to stop or fix the mess it made before something else was happening.

Voldemort was always one step ahead of him, and Harry could not risk him taking another.

"I can't." Harry finally said. "You know I can't."

"Harry, I want to live too. I know you get jealous of Ron and Hermione, Tonks and Remus. They have families and - lives- outside of war. They can do it, you can too. We can do it together. Please… You've done so much already." Ginny's eyes started to water. Harry did not know if he was able to give her what she wanted.

"That's not fair. You know I want that too; I just can't and you know why. He is still out there. There wouldn't be a safe place for my children, our children. He would hunt them down like he did me and my parents all those years ago and then I would have nothing!" Harry's voice started to get louder and louder as he talked. "It's… it... Idiotic to have children during a war like this!"

Ginny pulled away from him as if he had just slapped her. "Is that what you think? Your friends are idiots?"

"No, I didn't mean that"

"So just me then."

"Ginny, stop," Harry huffed in frustration. "Why do you keep bringing this up if you knew what I was going to say?"

"Because you are being stupid," She slammed her hand down on the table, knocking over a quill.

"If you want children so bad, find someone who can give them to you. Go run and hide and have your family while I stay here and sacrifice everything for you so you can have your happily ever after," Harry glared at her, but felt himself regret his words as soon as he saw her actually start crying.

"You are an idiot," She said as she stormed out of the room.

Harry watched her leave, but could not bring himself to go after her.

"It's for the best," Harry thought to himself. It did not make it hurt any less. She had been asking for a few years now. They had an on-and-off relationship that Harry ran away from every time Voldemort got close to killing him, or hurting the people he loved. Lately, she had been skipping the marriage talk altogether and telling him they could have a child in secret. One that no one had to know about, so they could have a family together.

Harry thought it was a wonderful idea for all of five seconds before he realized that it would be one of the worst things he could ever do to a person. He could never condemn a child to a life of hiding because a madman might be after them. Harry knew what that was like personally and knew it would end up being a thousand times worse.

She was persistent and tempting, but Harry stood his ground.

Having a family was the worst thing someone in his position could do; at least, that was Harry's opinion. The only thing he should be focusing on was stopping Voldemort and his Death Eaters from ruining everything and everyone in their path.

Over the past ten years, they had destroyed several Muggle towns, many people probably having been murdered without the Order knowing, and kept hold over the Ministry, leaving the British wizarding world in darkness.

Their army had indeed grown stronger under the years of Severus Snape's careful and harsh hand. Harry struggled to keep up with their strength and skill, yet he and the Order met them on the battlefield again and again without losing an ounce of their determination.

Several times, Harry had surprised his old teacher by single-handedly taking out several of their Snatchers at once. His instincts had become one of his greatest weapons during a fight, and something that had saved him time and time again. Even so, what no one was shocked to see was the power that Harry possessed.

It was prophesied, of course, that Harry was destined to be Voldemort's equal, and yet no one knew what that would look like. But, when Harry single-handedly took out five Snatchers on his own with a single spell, the army of Lord Voldemort knew that Harry Potter was no longer just a schoolboy only willing to use disarming spells because he was too meek to hurt anyone. Harry Potter had come for blood and was going to protect those he cared about by whatever means necessary. He wielded his love for his friends like a weapon that fueled his desire to destroy the Dark Lord and his followers once and for all.

It was hours later that Hermione and Ron came and found him rolling up the old maps. Dark circles under his eyes were the only indicator of how long he had been working on them.

"Ginny told us she stopped by," Ron started as he set down a warm container.

"Unsurprising," Harry said dryly as he locked the maps in the cupboard.

"What are you going to do?" Hermione asked as she took a seat.

"Do?"

"Well… you know."

"I'm not going to do anything I haven't been doing already. I don't understand what she expects from me besides what I already told her. I can't give her what she wants," Harry sat down opposite Hermione as Ron opened the warm container and the smell of ham and potatoes wafted through the air.

"Mate, we aren't getting any younger. If you really want a family, kids of your own-"

"Not this, again ," Harry rolled his eyes. "The war isn't going anywhere. I can't raise kids of my own in this." He gestured all around with his hands.

"Exactly, it's not going anywhere. People have been doing this since the beginning of time. You aren't going to be doing this alone, and we know it's something you want. Just… think about it." Ron calmly made Harry a plate of food and passed it to him.

Harry rolled his eyes and took a bite. He was done thinking about it.

"Anyways," Hermione smiled. "Rose is having her birthday party soon, she asked for you specifically. It's just a little get-together before you start. Dinner, cake, and all that."

"I… yeah, of course, I'll come," Harry said after taking a drink of water Ron handed him.

"Good," Ron finally sat down at the table. "So, any updates?"

"I think I finally have a lead."

The room suddenly became tense.

"The door?" Ron asked, shocked.

"The door," Harry confirmed.

"And?" Hermione leaned forward.

"I think I know what's behind it, and we are lucky to be alive. Apparently, the Ministry employees won't walk within ten paces of it."

Years ago, when they left on their mission to save Sirius from Voldemort and it turned out to be nothing more than a trick, Harry and his friends had found a door that was unable to open by any means they had. As it turned out, that door had been hiding a terrible secret of the Ministry.

"It started out as an experiment. The Unspeakables wanted to find other sources of magic other than what we had here," Harry started to explain.

"Here? As in Britain?" Hermione asked.

"Here as in earth," Harry answered, and Ron's jaw dropped.

"Muggles have gone to the moon and have traveled farther than anyone has gone before with their technology. Someone asked the same question they had, except they wanted to do it with magic and travel there themselves. Not just blurry pictures on a screen, but actually walk on these other planets to find other types of magic or any form of life."

Hermione's eyes lit up. "That sounds wonderful and terrible! Think of all the things we could see!"

Harry smiled at his friend and felt himself become lighter knowing that even after all of the horrors they have seen, it hasn't stolen her love of learning.

"That's what they were thinking. Except… something went wrong-"

"Of course it did," Ron sighed in exasperation. "Can't go around playing with magic and things you don't understand or people end up killed."

"Well, they were trying to learn. And with learning comes experiments and-"

"Can I finish?" Harry raised an eyebrow at them.

Both were silent and let him continue.

"Well, it opened some sort of door. I don't know if it leads to where they think it's going to go, but the people they sent in never came back. They sent in team after team, creatures, even a few Muggles, but no one heard from them again. Then the door started becoming unstable. It killed someone who got too close to it, and when the decision to shut it down was finally made, it was too late. They could not close the door, and with no information on what was on the other side, they were afraid that well… something could come back through."

Harry took a sip of his water. "And the fear of the unknown and uncontrollable led them to seal the door shut. I'm not sure what we will find if they open it, but Voldemort is interested in it and thinks it could help him win."

"He is desperate," Ron said gravely. "There is no way he knows what is on the other side either, but if he is willing to do something like this then he must feel like there is no other choice."

"Maybe," Harry said carefully. "Or maybe he knows something we don't."

"So what's the plan?" Hermione said, grabbing herself a slice of ham from the container that was still next to Ron.

"So far, keep watch and alert the others when someone starts acting suspicious around the door. We can't do anything right now except be reactive. The door itself is warded enough, we just have to make sure it stays that way," Harry explained.

"What do you think is on the other side?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.

"Space," Harry answered bluntly. "I think whatever they thought they were going to, they missed. And now you have a bunch of cold corpses floating around out there in the cold void of space."

"That's bleak, I was thinking they ended up in some alternate universe they can't come back from. Maybe there is no magic there so they can't find their way back."

"I think I would rather take a cold death than no magic," Ron shuddered. "Muggles are nice and all, but I don't think I would survive without it. Poor things, always having to do everything by hand and stuff."

"In any case, I think there is some truth to what they were afraid of. If it is a door, it can be stepped through both ways, right? It could let monsters or diseases through. That isn't counting the damage it caused by just being opened." Harry took another bite of his food.

"I think the real question is, what does You-Know-Who think is behind the door?" Hermione tapped her fingers against the table.

"Power," Harry said immediately. "The magic they used to open the door might be flawed, but it's still sound. He could do more experiments, and find other places to go if he can get it to work." He knew Voldemort sometimes better than he knew himself; finding a motive was easy. Harry just had to stop him. The same goal he has had for his entire life.

Great.

"That's…" Ron looked at his wife. "A You-Know-Who with the power of other worlds?"

"And you think I have time to focus on children right now," Harry added as he finished his dinner.

"Mate we were just-"

"I know. You care, and I love you for that. But that conversation is between me and Ginny. My only focus right now, and has always been him. I can't pretend to have a normal life with him hanging over my shoulder. Not like my parents did. Ginny and I…" Harry sighed. "I love her. You know I do, but this is why our relationship has been the way it has been. I can't give her what she wants, what she needs. And it will break my heart the day she realizes that too. But, it's time for her to move on."

Hermione looked at him sadly and placed her hand over his. "We love you, too. We just…"

"I can just imagine our kids running around together sometimes, you know? It might be too late for them to attend Hogwarts together, but they would have loved each other. Played one of Fred and George's classic pranks on one another, played quidditch and stuff." Ron had a soft smile on his face as he spoke.

"All I can see is them dying because of me. Because they aren't strong enough or I can't protect them." Harry could only be honest with them. "I'm not going to have a family. I'm not going to have children. I'm not going to have someone to go home to at night even, after this is all over," Harry took a deep breath. "I'm messed up. I don't think I can ever be normal after this. I have too many nightmares and look over my shoulder for things that sometimes aren't even there. I'll do that for the rest of my life. That's not someone anyone deserves."

Hermione was crying now, and got up and moved around the table to hug her best friend. "We can get you help. Don't think like that."

"Yeah, this isn't forever," Ron encouraged.

" But isn't it, " Harry thought to himself. This was all he ever knew.

They stayed like that until Hermione stopped crying. They spent a little while longer together until they said their goodbyes and left Harry alone in Gimmald place with his thoughts.

As Harry crawled into his bed that night, the last thought he had before he went to sleep was the dead faces of children he would never meet.

A week later, a colorful present wrapped badly in his hand, Harry appeared on the doorstep of the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley greeted him warmly as she took the present from him to add to the small pile. "The kids are in the living room dear. Would you like me to get you something to drink?"

"Yes, please," Harry smiled at her.

"Of course dear," She hugged him again before moving back into the kitchen.

Thundering footsteps came from inside the house and soon Harry heard a shout of "Uncle Harry!" before Harry felt arms wrap around his legs. "You came! You came! Pick me up!" Rose was as beautiful as ever. Her beautiful red bushy hair did nothing to cover her wide toothless smile.

"I don't know. I think you're too tall for me now," Harry grinned down at her.

"No, I'm not," She said, stomping her foot. "Pick me UP! It's my birthday party."

"If you say so." Sighing dramatically, Harry reached down and easily did as she requested. Rose squealed as Harry spun her around, and tickled her stomach. "Oh wait, is it really your birthday?"

"Yes! I have on a pretty dress and everything . Mum made me wear it, but Dad said I don't have to wear shoes if I don't want to." Just to prove her point, Rose spun around, and her dress lit up in rainbows around the room around them. Her feet looked like she had been running around barefoot in the mud.

"I can see that," Harry laughed. "Were you hunting for gnomes outside again with Teddy?"

"YES! They say the funniest things, especially when Teddy mimics them. One time, Teddy grew a beard just like one of the old ones and they said," Rose scrunched up her face and started talking in a nasally voice, "if you don't stop that, you little twerp, I'll use that new beard of yours to wipe my-"

"Rose!" Ron shouted from the kitchen. "Don't repeat it! Your mother will have a heart attack. Go back and play with your friends!"

Rose groaned but kissed Harry's cheek and did as she was asked.

Mrs. Weasley walked out of the kitchen, handed Harry a cup of tea, patted him on the same cheek Rose just kissed, then headed into the living room with the other children.

Harry found Ron in the kitchen decorating a two-tier cake with maroon frosting and pink glitter.

"I have no words."

"Don't ask. It's what she wanted," Ron sighed without losing focus in his work.

"I wasn't going to. It looks great. You could have a career on your hands," Harry praised genuinely.

"Oh, haha. Hand me the glitter, will you? I don't think it's enough."

Harry watched Ron pour three handfuls of glitter over the cake before writing "Happy Birthday Rose" in white frosting down the side. It really was something to behold. "If it looks this good, I bet it tastes like rock cakes. You can't have it both ways."

"Hey, my baking is immaculate. My decorating is fair game."

Harry just smiled as he sat down on top of the kitchen table. "Where is Hermione?"

"Still setting up her last birthday present. She went all out you know? Now that Hugo is in the picture, you can tell that Rosie has been getting a little jealous."

"Jealous?"

"You know." Ron's ears turned a little pink. "Competition. She's not the center of our world anymore."

"Oh," was all Harry said. He remembered how Ron used to be jealous every time one of his brothers achieved something. To him, it just meant more he had to live up to. He only stopped feeling so burdened in recent years when he was able to look back and see his own accomplishments.

Harry spent the next several hours trying to enjoy Rose's birthday party. His godson Teddy screamed when he saw him and acted too cool to want to be picked up like he did Rose, yet Harry did it for him all the same.

They laughed, ate cake, opened presents, and told stories as if their world wasn't constantly on the brink of collapse.

Remus and Tonks even made Harry sit down and have a glass of firewhisky with them while Remus retold him another story about his parents.

It was late in the evening when everything had settled down, and Harry was ready to go home. The front door opened, and Ginny walked through. She wished her niece a happy birthday, handed her a present that looked suspiciously like a toy broomstick, and made her way up the stairs without sparing Harry a glance.

"I wish you too would make up already," Mr. Weasley said as he relaxed in his chair. "This on-again-off-again thing is getting old."

"Arthur, dear, let them handle it," Mrs. Weasley chided. "They can make their own decisions."

"Well, I'm still her father, and I have a right to know. Harry, what do you intend to do with my daughter?"

Ron spat out his drink, and Hermione gasped at his boldness.

"Uh… nothing," Harry stammered. "I haven't done anything, sir."

"Don't give me that bullshit, Harry. You love her; she loves you. I don't understand why you two aren't married yet. War be damned. Everyone does crazy things when they are in love and there is danger around every corner. Makes it more romantic if you ask me."

"Arthur, Harry doesn't feel comfortable making these kinds of decisions right now," Remus defended.

"You mean he is a coward," Arthur said looking directly at Harry. "Either man up, or back off. I want to see my little girl happy. Not waiting around for a maybe."

"Arthur! That is too far!"

Harry stood up and suddenly made his way toward the door. "Thank you all for a lovely evening. See you all later."

"Harry no, please. At least say goodbye to the kids-" And before Hermione could finish, Harry apparated away.

He had enough. If he was going to get talked down to for something he knew deep down was the right choice, then he did not need to stay and listen to their remarks over and over again.

There were more important things to be working on anyways.