1998 May

Harry slid down a cold stone wall outside the Great Hall and tried to focus on his breathing. After all these years of fighting the war was finally over. He thought of all the friends he'd lost in the past twenty four hours. Too many had died for him, fighting for justice. Suddenly he sat up straight. Snape. He'd given those memories, memories that helped Harry win the war and do what was necessary. The professor deserved to have his name cleared at the very least. Especially after all he had done secretly over the past year.

Harry got up and started to make his way back to the Shrieking Shack. When he got there though, Snape's body was gone. The only evidence he'd been there was a large stain of fresh blood. Had he somehow known that Voldemort would try to kill him and been prepared to save himself? Harry had no clue but he was determined that living or dead, Snape deserved some peace.

1998 August

The Death Eater trials had just started last week and Harry was already tired. As the Boy-Who-Lived and the Man-Who-Conquered the Wizengamot had decreed that he be present for each trial. So far they were starting with the Snatcher trials and moving their way up to the hard core Death Eaters, the ones left anyway.

Harry had pushed for a trial for Snape but it would likely be years into the future, spy or not. Hermione was still in Australia looking for her parents and Ron was with his family, still grieving Fred's death. Harry was juggling the trails with spending time with Andromeda and Teddy, determined to be a better godparent/parent than he'd grown up with. He was still incensed that both Remus and Tonks had abandoned their son to fight a battle. Now he'd have to grow up without either parent, another war orphan.

Teddy was a bright spot in Harry's days now. The rest of his time was spent working to convict criminals and to clean up the only thing he had left of Sirius's, Grimmauld Place. With the end of war and Voldemort's demise, Kreacher was more than happy to help clean his house along with preparing meals and watching Teddy when Kingsley stopped by on occasion to discuss whichever new case was before the Wizengamot. The elf was surprisingly gentle with the metamorph child, talking to him and gently patting his multicolored hair.

2001 September

The Death Eater trials were starting to dwindle slowly and Harry had recently done upgrades on the wards at Grimmauld Place so that now the stuffy pureblood townhouse allowed muggle technology. After being deprived of opportunities to watch television in his youth, Harry decided he needed one to at least keep up with muggle news. Which brought him to sit in front of it on the eleventh watching in horror as two planes plowed into buildings in New York. He sat and thought about all the muggles now dying and how this would impact the Wizarding side of things. Since the end of the second blood war, some pureblood extremists had tried to attack the ministry but ultimately been caught. With this in mind, Harry thought about all the terrible things muggles were capable of. His mind turned to "what if they found out about magic" and for the first time in years he was afraid. These radical extremists were crazy enough to attack other muggles for differences of belief, what would stop them from hunting down witches and wizards?

In his free time from that day on, Harry was lobbying the Wizengamot to consider more stringent secrecy methods, telling the courts that muggle technology was fast becoming unavoidable.

2002 February

The day had finally come for Severus Snape's trial. As nobody could find the man or even determine if he was still living, it was decided to hold the trial in absentia. Harry had dressed in his best formal robes to deliver a defense of the surly professor. Andromeda, Teddy, Hermione and Ron would be in the gallery for support. None of his friends knew why this was so important to Harry and Harry himself couldn't answer why. He just felt that the man deserved his freedom and a clear name for all he had sacrificed.

Harry had started to drift from his friends so he was glad they had shown up to support him. After four hours of arguing points with the Wizengamot and even showing the portrait of Dumbledore and getting him to confirm that everything Snape did was on his command, Severus Snape was declared innocent of all crimes against him.

The group left and headed to Grimmauld Place where Kreacher had set up food and drinks. Harry couldn't stop smiling at the news. Hermione and Ron stayed for a while but eventually gave up on talking to him about anything other than Snape and his victory. Ron had argued with him, saying "We don't even know if the bloke's alive or dead. Your friends are here and alive. If you don't talk you may just find you don't have any friends left!" The redhead had then stormed out of the house dragging a regretful Hermione behind him.

Harry sat on a couch and looked at Andromeda.

" Am I really that bad? I just want Snape to get what's his."

Andromeda sighed and sat down beside the twenty one year old. "It's not a bad thing that you're doing. It's very honorable to want someone to have their freedom. But not at the cost of everything else. When's the last time you hung out with Ron and Hermione? Or anyone else from Hogwarts?"

Harry hesitated. "It's been a bit of a struggle. I just don't feel like I can connect to them any more. Ron works with George now and Hermione's starting her apprenticeship with Flitwick. I'm trying to be a good godfather to Teddy and help Kingsley with everything and it's just been a mess lately. I-I feel like maybe something broke when Voldemort tried to kill me that last time. I just feel like something's missing."

"Harry, when's the last time you did something just for you? You're still young. You don't have to drop everything to help me or Kingsley or anybody. Why don't you try going out and meeting a nice young lady or lad if that's what you're interested in?"

The raven haired young man blushed. "I actually never had a chance to figure stuff like that out. Hogwarts was just too dangerous for simple stuff like dating. I tried it with Ginny but it never felt all the way right. Like I was trying too hard or something."

"Well there you go. Take some time to figure out what you want, Harry. Nobody else's opinion matters on this. Now I think I'll take Teddy and head home for the night." She leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Good night Harry."

2002 turned into 2003 and Harry was still struggling. He had done as Andromeda recommended and started going out. Mostly to muggle clubs where he was afforded some anonymity. He had been shocked,but not terribly surprised to find his tastes in partners leaned more towards men, but some women. He didn't feel comfortable bringing partners home for one night stands and couldnt find anyone he wanted to connect with long term. The muggles thought he was broody and serious, Andromeda thought he was depressed.

She and Teddy had finally moved in to Grimmauld after New Year's and that seemed to lift Harry's spirits, but he was always wondering about secrecy laws and the mystery of Severus Snape.

Finally, Andromeda sat him down in the kitchen.

"Harry, you're so stressed over everything these days. I've scheduled a trip for you. I think it'd do you some good to get out and have experiences with the world. So in two weeks you're going to take a portkey to the States and experience western cowboy life. No arguments. I can manage Teddy for however long it takes for you to get settled. And just think how excited he'll be to hear of cowboy stories."

Harry's jaw dropped. A trip? "And, I can't just drop my work and leave the country. I've got meetings and debriefings..and I …"

"No Arguments." She said firmly, ignoring his excuses. "Give it a chance first."