"I was wondering when one of you would ask me this..." Dumbledore's expression was unreadable as he tried to form the rest of his answer. "Harry, open the bottom left drawer on my desk. It might be locked but I trust you can open it by now." He said with a cheerful wink. Harry knelt beside the beautifully carved wooden desk, pulling Ginny down to do it with him. She put her hand on his shoulder as he pulled out his old Holly and Phoenix feather wand from his pocket. "Alohomora." He muttered, tapping the lock gently and it sprung open. Harry looked back up at Dumbledores portrait, where he recieved a nod of encouragement. "Go on Harry." Ginny urged and Harry lifted the few things from the drawer. Right at the bottom of the pile of parchment was a heavy wooden frame but when Harry looked at it, the frame was empty. Dumbledore began to speak, to explain. "Lily, James, Sirius, Remus and I'll admit, Peter were good students. I was as happy as I was seeing you and Miss Weasley walking through this door hand-in-hand, when your parents reached their seventh year and, as you would say, 'got together'. They were made for eachother you know, in a similar way that you and Ginny are. But as I was saying, they were good students, troublemakers not unlike yourselves, but I would go so far as to say that other than you, of course, and perhaps Ronald and Hermione, they were my favourite of all the students who have walked these halls. Your mother and father especially. When they all left at the end of their seventh year, I was sad to see them leave. I went and waved them off as they went, not knowing that they would become some of the closest friends I'd ever have. I returned to my office once all the students had left and on my desk was a tiny phoenix" Dumbledore was smiling at the memory "And this portrait. But Harry, I must warn you, do not rely on this portrait. Although none of us have left you completely, it... you need to be careful... Don't put everything you have into it. But you know that" Dumbledore warned and Harry and Ginny exchanged knowing smiles. Harry remembered a phrase spouted by Mr Weasley at the end of his second year in this very office. Don't trust anything if you can't see where it keeps it's brain. And then a huge smile bloomed across his face and a familiar voice sounded from inside the portrait. "Harry!" A rather ragged looking man stepped into view, looking younger than Harry had ever seen him and very handsome. "Sirius! I've missed you, I... Well... I" Tears choked Harry's throat as he tried to speak to the man before him. Coming into the portrait now was an shabby looking man, he looked tired although less so than when Harry had last seen him. "Lupin!" Ginny squeaked as Remus Lupin beamed up at the two of them. "I'm glad to see the two of you together finally." Sirius said rolling his eyes and Lupin laughed. Harry realised they were wearing Hogwarts robes with the Gryffindor Lion embroidered on the front. Lupin had a maroon and Gold scarf draped around his neck which made Harry realise with a pang that he would never wear those robes again. "Remus, I'm so sorry. After you and Tonks had your son and everything, and the way I spoke to you before, in Grimmauld Place. I never apologised properly..." Harry whispered, unable to find a proper voice. Ginny hugged him tight and Dumbledore looked on with tear filled eyes. "Harry, no what you said that night, you were right. I am a coward and I should have known you wouldn't let me join you, and it was the right thing to do! I just didn't want to hear it. Yes, I'm sorry too, that I'll never know my Teddy but I have left him with the best Godfather the World could give." Lupin beamed and Sirius barked out a laugh. "Ah he couldn't be better than yours could he Harry?" Sirius chuckled and Harry felt a smile move his features. "No-one could be better than my Godfather. Although maybe I'll stay away from flying motorbikes." Harry smirked and Sirius rolled his eyes. Suddenly Harry's eyes clouded as he realised that this couldn't last. "What am I going to do without you? All of you?" He was including Dumbledore in this. "Well, you're obviously going to have to find a werewolf, an escaped Azkaban Prisoner and a man with a beard." Lupin laughed and Dumbledore sighed heavily. "After all this time I am still just 'a man with a beard'" He said frowning playfully. "But seriously Harry, I think that Young Ginny here will take perfect care of you. You don't need raggedy old men like us Harry." Sirius smiled encouragingly, looking quite rough with emotion at this reunion "I completely agree." Said a third male voice that Harry knew as well as his own. "Dad..." He breathed as a man with messy black hair and a thin angular face stepped into the frame, arm in arm with a pretty woman, whose eyes matched Harry's exactly. Lily's hair was long and looked a shimmering gold in the firelight of the office. "Mum!"Harry exclaimed and Ginny took in a deep breath. Harry smiled lovingly up at her as his parents came entirely into view beside Lupin and Sirius. "Ginny, these are my parents." Harry said proudly, drinking them in with his eyes. Ginny smiled and kissed him lightly, feeling his excitement mixed with her own at finally (sort of) meeting her boyfriends parents. "Harry, my son!" Lily said, a beautiful smile spreading across her face as she took in all the details of her sons face. "I love you" Harry sniffed and tried to stop himself crying. "I know you do Mum, I've always known." Harry said, his voice rising to a pitch of hysteria. "I love you too. And you Dad." "Mrs Potter, you are so beautiful!" Ginny gasped, stunned by the radiance of Lily Potter's face. Harry smiled but looking at Ginny, saw infinitely more beauty in her than his mother. "Thank you. And You must be the youngest Weasley?" Lily smiled at Ginny and noted the way Harry was holding her to him, almost protectively but most certainly lovingly. "It's the hair, right?" Ginny laughed and James smiled at her spirits. He had apparently also seen the strong relationship between her and their son. "I'm sure my Harry couldn't have picked a better lass than you my dear. You seem lovely and I've heard good things about the Weasley family." Throughout this entire exchange, Harry remained silent and overwhelmed. "James, I think Harry would like to talk to his father!" Remus pointed out and James smiled at his son. "Y'alright there?" James' voice had a constant mischievous note that Harry's had lost quite young. Apparently he'd had no reason for mischief. "Hey Dad..." Harry could think of nothing to say and he was fighting back random bursts of extreme emotions. "Harry. You know we're proud of you , we've always been proud of you!" Harry nodded and smiled half-heartedly. "When you went to face Voldermort, you are so brave, I couldn't have done it! I don't think many people could have? Well done Harry, my son." James' face had lit up entirely but Harry couldn't share his delight. "What else could I do? So many people have already died for 'The Boy Who Lived' I couldn't let them down. I couldn't let them die in vain and sentence the rest of the World to rein under and immortal Voldemort. What would be the point in life? There was no choice." Harry insisted, wishing someone would just understand and not keep telling him he was great or brave, just a boy trapped between a rock and a hard place. "Those are the words of a truly brave and selfless man Harry. I know it doesn't feel like much, but when you die for someone you love, it's justified, it's worth it. But no-one who died did so for simply the name of Harry Potter. They did it for the hope of a better life Harry. A life which only you could give them, and not for your name!" Lily said in reassuring tones and Harry felt tired, realising he just wanted to be home, with his parents and Sirius and Lupin and Dumbledore and Ginny and Ron and Hermione and The Weasleys. But he knew that couldn't happen... He missed everyone dearly but the emotions of the Battle were too raw and he became overwhelmed with everyone's praises and adorations. "Ginny, I can't..." Harry looked at her tearfully and she kissed him tenderly, her hand on his cheek, to wolfwhistles from James and Sirius. "Harry, we know it's all overwhelming and so we'll say goodbye now. But remember, we aren't going anywhere! We'll always be here and we're always proud of you and we love you. Okay!" Lily said as she waved goodbye and clambered out of the frame "See you later Harry." Sirius shouted and he and Lupin trouped out, leaving James alone with Harry. "You did well Harry, you did really well." And then he, too, was gone. Harry broke down, tears falling down his cheeks as he relived the losses over again. Ginny soothed him, stroking his face, his hair and whispered comforting words into his ear. "Harry." Dumbledore said and Harry looked up at the frame. "Harry, you don't need to feel like this. You caused the deaths of no-one. In fact you gave them all hope Harry. And for future reference, Professor McGonagall's office is always open to you. And I think she'll have some special news for you." Dumbledore smiled "I've always known you would do it. Well done Harry, you made an old man proud! Now, Farewell...." And with that, Dumbledore froze. Leaving Ginny and Harry alone in a room full of memories...
