Chapter-1

The war was over, or atleast for all technical purposes it was. Survivors still fought everyday, trying to pick up their broken pieces, telling themselves their loved ones would have wanted them to move on and live. Some pretended nothing was wrong, some faced it head-on, some celebrated, some grieved. It was a weird world, not that it always isn't, but the entropy seemed to have increased, not that it always doesn't. The things for which people had fought this battle were the same things that kept them alive and sane. This whole war ordeal had done some irreversible changes and carved untreatable wounds, but it had also made people appreciative towards what they had taken for granted before- peace, freedom. After all, hope can be found in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light.

Hidden in these remenants, somewhere there lived the war hero with his girlfriend at Grimmauld place. That was certainly not their favorite place to be in, neither did they choose it out of free will. They had talked about selling it and buying a new house near the Burrow, given that they already spent almost every evening there. But they were in the middle of their respective training programmes, Harry with the auror force and Ginny with her quidditch team (she had been accepted as an extra on Tutshill Tornadoes fresh out of school when the coaches and selectors had visited and seen her remarkable flying skills on Hogwarts pitch). It was a testament of how much time they had lost, that they missed no opportunity to spend it together.

Ginny had just passed out of hogwarts along with Hermione. Hermione, after much pondering and contemplating and many nights spent with Ron with her speaking continuously to herself laying out all her options and Ron yawning and begging her to go to sleep, she finally decided she wanted to be a healer and Ron couldn't have been more proud.

Harry and Ron had already started their auror training, but one year into it and Harry could see the toll it was taking on Ron. Unlike Harry, he never really felt the adrenaline rush during fighting the death-eaters in do or die situations, he never felt the unbearably compelling force of doing everything he could to vanquish the dark. That was all Harry's forte. Ron either didn't realise it or was too proud to accept it, so it was upon Harry that the duty lay of saving his best friend from himself. It was by no means an easy task, as apart from pride there was something else too that was binding Ron to his auror career.. he didn't want to leave Harry alone, they had always fought together, they had given each other strength in tough spots, and the one time Ron had left him had been the biggest regret of his life and he didn't plan to do that to Harry ever again. After several talks with Harry, and a lot of reassurance from Harry's part that he will be absolutely fine ("I can make other friends too you know, probably better than you", he said jokingly) and that he would want Ron to do something he loved, not something that sucked the life out of him, did he manage to convince Ron to find another career path. And as if Ron had always known deep down what he had wanted to do, one day trotting in the Diagon Alley his feet automatically carried him to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. George took him in, no questions asked and between product designs and marketing he was having the time of his life. George would never admit it, but he was humongously relieved to have Ron, though he would never replace Fred it was still some consolation.

After Ron began work at WWW, he and Hermione bought a house near Diagon Alley. It was a perfect blend of Weasley-Granger, with book shelves and Quidditch trinkets and study rooms and food posters. They still fought like always, but that was their love language only few could understand. In years to come Rose and Hugo would look at their parents with exasperation as they bickered on and on and then kissed passionately (Hugo would call it 'gross').

Harry was in a particularly good mood as he had just passed his 'stealth and tracking' test with flying colors with relative ease given his history in that genre. Now he was happily watching the show as his classmates had a go at it. Someone whose name Harry didn't remember, but who looked like a low- ranking officer, arrived in a hurry looking around trying to find his audience. After a couple seconds, as he scanned the room, his eyes fell on Harry, and Harry had a sinking feeling something was seriously wrong, as he could recognise that expression from a hundred miles.

Ginny pulled Harry close with her right hand on his waist and his left hand curled over to her shoulder. Tears slid down the green orbs and were absorbed by the blanket little Teddy Lupin was wrapped in who slept on peacefully oblivious to the somberness around him. It was obviously painful for Harry to see her lying there motionless, no spark in her eyes which admittedly had gone out the day her husband and later daughter and son-in-law had died. But there was a certain peace in knowing that she was with them now, she would be okay. She had had nothing, if you didn't count her sister.. and somehow she never did count her sister. Still, said sister was at the funeral in flesh and bones.

Narcissa Malfoy stood there with a bouquet of flowers, few steps away from the tombstone. Those few steps filled with years of resentment, estrangement, separation, yearning, bitterness. As if an invisible field of all these feelings through time was preventing Cissy from getting any closer to her sister's tombstone.

Flashback begins

"Andy I saw you! I saw you with him. What the hell were you thinking? Are you determined to spoil the identity of Black that has been built over years of pure-bloods?"

"I.. it wasn't what you think"

"Is that so?", she asked with a smirk, "And how would mom and dad see it if I were to write a little letter to them?"

"No, don't! I won't go near him, I won't talk to him I promise"

Later that day when Narcissa returned to the slytherin common room, she spotted Andromeda in a corner. She could distinctly see blood-shot eyes and puffy cheeks. When Andy caught her staring, she hid her face quickly and ran up the dormitories. Narcissa felt a twinge of pain for a split second which was quickly replaced by bitter anger.

Flashback over

"In the event of death of Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, she wishes to leave her grandson, Teddy Remus Lupin, in the care of his godfather, Harry James Potter. Harry James Potter, do you accept primary guardianship of Teddy Remus Lupin?"

"Yes, I do"

Teddy had been screaming and crying the whole car ride. Harry thought he must have sensed something was wrong. How could you explain to a one-year-old that the only family related by blood he had, had been taken away from him? That his grandma died of grief over his parents. That all four of them had been buried somewhere deep down right next to one another. That they were all together now but he would never see them again. While Harry was driving, Ginny tried to rock him, sing to him, soothe him, but nothing worked. The toddler with deep gray hair at the moment wailed on and continued to break his godparents' hearts.

HEYYY.. hope you liked this little chapter. Pleaseee review if you want more. Every single review makes my month! Take care ya all 3