Harry held Teddy in his arms as McGonagall's speech flowed in the air. Behind her sat the area of the grounds that was deemed the graveyard where everyone who died was now resting.
Including Remus and Tonks.
Beside him, Andromeda wiped her eyes, trying not to lose it. Hermione sat on his other side, her eyes watering and cheeks wet.
Teddy started crying, and he stood up and walked away from the crowd. He started to gently rock him in his arms, trying to soothe his upset godson.
"I am so sorry, Teddy," he whispered. "You deserve to get to know your parents, and now you never will. They loved you very much; I know they did."
He looked out towards the lake, still rocking Teddy in his arms as he did so. He smiled a moment later and looked back down at his godson, whose green eyes stared back up at him.
"I want to promise you something," he said quietly. "I want to promise you that I will be here whenever you need me. Hermione and I both will be. You may have lost your mum and dad but we are still here for you. We will protect you. We will raise you like they wanted us to. You will never be alone."
He stared down at Teddy, sadness coursing through his body at the thought of him being an orphan. It all disappeared, however, when he saw the little boy smile up at him, as though understanding what Harry was telling him.
Tonks' smile.
"Always," he said, as his mother's voice rang in his head.
"Harry?"
"He was fussy," he told Hermione, turning towards her.
"Are you ok?" she asked, placing her hand on his arm.
"I'm alright."
"He'll be ok," she said, rubbing the top of Teddy's head. "We'll remind him of Remus and Tonks."
"I wish they could be here with him."
"I know," she said, rubbing his back.
Teddy started crying again, and Hermione took him from Harry, bouncing him lightly in her arms. She stared humming, and Teddy quieted down once again.
"I think he's getting hungry," she said, and he nodded in agreement.
"Let's take care of him today and give Andromeda some time."
She nodded in agreement, pulling the baby closer to her chest. They turned back to the crowd and saw that everyone had left their seats and were moving among the various tombstones. They walked back to Andromeda, who was dabbing at her eyes once again. Harry looked down at noticed that they were standing at Remus and Tonks' graves.
"Let us take care of Teddy tonight," he said to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I couldn't ask you to do that."
"We want to," Hermione said.
"He might be getting hungry," she said, handing Harry the diaper bag. "Thank you."
She dabbed her eyes again and walked away. Hermione took the bag from Harry.
"I think we need to head home."
"Go home. I'll be there in a minute."
She nodded and kissed his cheek before she turned and walked away. He bent down to stare at the headstone, dropping his head as he did so.
"Teddy is in good hands," he started, raising his head again. "You both have my word. Hermione, Andromeda and I will raise him to be the best he can be. We'll make sure he knows what his parents fought and died for. Like you asked of me, Remus."
He closed his eyes, and the night of the final battle came back into his mind. He saw Remus' ghost standing before him, telling him that others would tell Teddy of why his parents died. He reopened his eyes and stared at the stone again, taking a deep breath as he did so.
"You help me with my parents, and I will help Teddy with his. The both of you were great to me, and I'm glad I got to know you."
"Harry?"
He turned his head slightly. "Luna?"
"Hi," she said, helping him stand back up.
"How are you?"
"I'm good. I just got back from visiting my father."
"How is he?"
"He's doing better. They released him from Azkaban the day after the battle, and he's been at home ever since. He wanted me to send his apologies along for what happened."
"I would have done the same if I was in his shoes. Don't worry about it, Luna."
"Is this Professor Lupin?"
"Him and Tonks, yes."
"I'm sorry you had to lose them."
"Me, too."
"That baby that Hermione was holding-that's Teddy, isn't it?"
He nodded. "He's my godson."
"Everyone thinks he's yours."
"I'm sure," he replied dully. "I don't care what they think. He is mine; just not biologically. I promised Remus and Tonks that I would take care of him and I am going to live up to that."
"You'll be a great father," she said with a smile.
"I wanted to thank you for helping me out with the diadem. Without you, I would have never found it."
"What are friends for?" she asked, and he turned to smile at her.
*****
"Teddy, please go back to sleep," Harry begged, bouncing his godson in his arms. Across from him Hermione sat in their bed, rubbing her eyes as she did so.
"Maybe he needs changed."
"I've fed him, changed him and tried to burp him. He's still crying."
"Let me see him," she said, and took him from Harry. He sat next to her on the bed as she rocked him back and forth in her arms, singing softly to him as she did so.
"Hush little baby
Don't say a word
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird
And if that mocking bird won't sing
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring."
Teddy's brown eyes began to slowly close. She sang the verse again, and he was soon fast asleep on her chest. She carefully stood up and put him into the bassinet.
"You have a pretty voice," Harry whispered, when she climbed back into the bed with him.
"My parents used to sing me that when I was a baby. I guess I still remember some of it."
"I don't know what I would do without you," he whispered again, pressing their lips together. She smiled.
"Try not to focus on that."
"Let's get to bed before he wakes again."
*****
"This is going to take a while," Ron remarked, looking around at the damage. Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement.
"Have you made the decision to return yet, mate?"
"If you two are then I might as well."
"You know you'd miss us," Harry replied, grinning at him.
"Yeah, yeah, sod off," Ron replied, rebuilding a wall. Harry went over to help Hermione, who was struggling on her own to rebuild a part of the roof.
"Let me help," he said, raising his arm up. The roof repaired itself, and she turned to smile at him.
"My hero."
"Here to help," he said with a grin.
"It's looking so much better," she replied, looking around.
"Shouldn't be much longer now," Ron replied, repairing the bench. He then took a seat on it earning a look from Harry and Hermione. "What?"
"You just started and you're already tired?"
"I've done a lot," he replied, resting his head against the wall. Harry shook his head and chuckled before he turned back around to continue rebuilding.
"Hello, Ronald," a soft voice said, and he turned around to see Neville and Luna standing there.
"Luna, Neville," he replied, nodding his head at them.
"Hello, Luna," Hermione said, giving her a hug. "How's your father?"
"Oh, he's doing much better. Congratulations, by the way," she said, looking between Harry and Hermione.
"Thanks," they said together.
"How have you been, Luna?" she asked.
"I've been good. It was good to see my dad again. Our house is repaired now."
"Sorry about that," Ron said.
"It's wasn't your fault."
"Need some help?" Neville asked, looking around at all the damage.
"I can't believe how much damage the school took," Hermione remarked. "Neville, has there been any update on the Great Hall?"
"McGonagall is adding a second Great Hall," he replied. "It'll be on the first floor. She's calling in everyone to help build it later on."
"It'll be fun," Luna remarked.
"Sure it will," Ron said, glancing at her.
"We'll be there," Harry said, turning his head towards Ron.
"There you are," Ron remarked, when Ginny walked up to them. "Where have you been?"
"I've been talking to McGonagall, not that it's any of your business."
"Hi, Ginny," Neville said, and Hermione noted that he sounded a little nervous.
"Hi, Neville, Luna."
"How have you been?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"I'm doing better. I miss him like crazy."
"He didn't ask how I was doing!" Ron whispered, and Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Ronald," she sighed, shaking her head. Harry chuckled beside her.
"Let's give them a minute," he said, and she nodded in agreement. They pulled Ron's arm and dragged him further down the hallway.
"Help us fix this, would you?"
"Fine," he groaned, repairing the columns. Harry and Hermione started working on the walls.
"Potter," McGonagall said, walking up to them. They both turned around. "Sorry. Harry, I need to speak with you."
"Be back soon," he told Hermione, and started following McGonagall down the corridor. They went to the staircase and walked down to the first floor, stopping at a blank wall.
"What is this?"
"This will be the new Great Hall."
"So this is where you want it?" he asked her.
"That's right."
"Shouldn't be too hard," he remarked, running his hand across the stone. "We'll get started on it right away."
"Actually, Potter, I require your assistance in the Memorial Chamber."
"Is that the new name?"
"Yes. Follow me."
He followed her down to the chamber before he pushed the doors open and looked around. The hall was still plenty damaged, but all Harry could see was the several bodies that lined the floor.
He blinked, and they all disappeared. All he could see now was the wreckage.
"I'm glad you're moving it. I couldn't imagine eating in here every day."
"I want you and a few others working in here. Get this place fixed up for me, and we'll move forward from there."
"Of course, professor," he replied with a nod, and sent a patronus off to Ron and Hermione. She nodded her head at him and walked out of the chamber. Harry let out a sigh and began to repair the outside wall of the school.
"What's the matter?" Hermione asked, as she, Ron, Neville, Ginny and Luna entered.
"McGonagall wants us to repair the hall."
"We better get started then," Hermione remarked, and they all nodded in agreement.
It didn't take them long to repair the hall with all of them working efficiently. Within a few hours the entire hall was fixed with no reminder that a war had been fought there at all.
Except for everyone who was in the battle.
Hermione let out a sigh as she looked around, wondering what McGonagall had in store for the former hall.
"You would think it wouldn't look any different, but all I can see is everything that happened in this hall that day."
"It will take a long time to move on from this," Harry remarked, standing in the exact same spot that he had defeated Voldemort at. He closed his eyes, and he could see the beams of light that connected the two wands together.
"Looks better," McGonagall remarked, as she walked into the hall. "Great work."
"Now what?"
"When the new hall is complete, we will move the tables over and start the memorial. I have all the names of the people who died in the battle, and we will make sure they are honored. Kingsley and several members of the Ministry are working on memorial plates to be placed around the hall. As for you all, you have done enough today. Go home and get some rest."
"We'll be back tomorrow, professor," Hermione said, nodding her head.
She nodded, and they all walked out of the hall. They all turned to each other.
"I'm staying here tonight," Ginny remarked to Ron, who raised an eyebrow at her.
"Mum and dad know?"
"Of course they know, you dolt."
"I'm assuming the two of you are heading back to Grimmauld Place."
"That was our intention," Hermione remarked.
"Married couples," he groaned, and Harry shoved his chest.
"Sod off. Are you wanting to do something?"
"Wizard's chess?"
"Sure."
"Boys," Hermione murmured, and Harry kissed her cheek.
*****
"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be," Harry replied, sitting on the bench. Hermione sat next to him.
"It's probably because we don't have as much muscle as we use to," she replied, rubbing his forearms.
"That's probably why McGonagall doesn't want us to build the new hall," Ron replied, sitting across from him. "She probably thinks that we're not strong enough yet."
"Which gives us more of an opportunity to help around the rest of the castle," she said, turning to Harry.
"I think I'm going to rest for a few minutes," he said, leaning his head back again the wall.
"I'm going further down the corridor. Meet me down there when you feel like it."
He nodded and she took off. She moved to the back wall when voices began to carry over. She stopped working when she heard her name.
"Can you believe that Harry married Hermione?"
"Of all the people!"
"She's not even pretty," Romilda Vane said, and Hermione closed her eyes. "What would be possibly see in her?"
"I thought he'd marry Weasley for sure."
"He was probably desperate," she replied again. "Maybe he feared that he wouldn't live past the war."
"He probably wouldn't be with her if he knew he would make it past."
Hermione walked away and wiped at her eyes, running into a quiet part of the castle where she could get some space for a while.
*****
"Ron, have you seen Hermione?" Harry asked, as he immediately felt sad. Ron shook his head.
"I haven't seen her in quite a while, actually."
"I think something's wrong," he replied, furrowing her brow.
"Why do you think that?"
"She feels sad or upset or something."
"You can actually feel her?"
"Yes. We are bonded, you dolt. I need to find her."
"If only you had a map that told where everybody is at Hogwarts."
"Right!" Harry replied, shaking his head. He pulled the Marauder's Map out of his pocket and activated it, hoping that he could find Hermione on it.
"She's in Gryffindor Tower," Ron replied, spotting her immediately. "No one's up there right now."
They rushed upstairs and entered the common room. Hermione was sitting on the couch staring into the fireplace.
"What are you two doing here?"
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, sitting on the coffee table opposite her.
"I just came up here to think."
"About what?"
"Nothing," she replied quietly, putting her head down.
"What's going on, Hermione?"
"I overheard Romilda Vane talking about us."
"So?"
"She wondered why you chose me."
Harry sighed and turned towards Ron, who nodded in understanding. "I'll head to the seventh floor and help out there."
"Thanks, mate," he said, turning back towards his wife. He waited until Ron left the common room before he grabbed hold of her hands.
"Why do you care what they say?"
"Because it makes me wonder!" she said, standing up. "We both know you would have ended up with Ginny had the bond never happened! Now you're forever stuck with an ugly woman who may mean nothing to-"
He cut her off when he stood up and pressed their lips together. She moaned into his mouth and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled away a moment later and placed his hands on her cheeks.
"You have been by my side for the last seven years. You have never turned away even when everyone else did. You went on the run with me and were tortured because of it. You took my name even though we've only been dating for about two weeks. There is no other woman in this entire world who is as loyal to me as you are.
"I told you that I love you and I meant it, Hermione. I love you. I don't care what would have happened if the bond never did. I'm happy that it did. I don't think of you as ugly. I never have. I don't know if you saw my reaction when I saw you walking down the stairs the night of the Yule Ball, but I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You looked beautiful. You will always look beautiful to me. I don't care what anyone says."
"Harry," she sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"You know me. If I didn't want to be with you I would have filed for divorce already. I'm enjoying this. I love being with you. The week in Australia was the best week of my life."
"It was a really fun week," she replied, laughing slightly at her stupidity. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let them get into my head."
"Who cares what they say. They don't know what's going on with us. As long as we're happy that's all that matters."
She smiled at him. "I love you."
"I know," he replied, pressing his lips to her head.
She buried her head into his chest and smiled against it. Yes, they've only been dating for a few weeks, but they've been friends for seven years. They spent those long few months in the tent together, unsure of the future, and scared of the now.
That's when, she believed, they really became close. Maybe had even fallen in love.
The night he asked her to dance with him would forever be burned into her mind. It was the first time she ever let go of her mind and actually focused on enjoying herself. No one had been able to do that before.
Except Harry.
"You felt me, didn't you? That's how you knew I was upset."
"I have my ways," he said with a grin, and she rolled her eyes but smiled at him. "Next time someone causes you trouble you let me deal with them."
"Fine," she sighed.
"I mean it."
"I know," she said softly, pressing their lips together.
*****
"Have you seen this?" the man asked, throwing the paper onto the table. The other man in the room turned back towards him.
"Yes, I've seen this rubbish. Potter got himself a girl, did he?"
"The mudblood."
"Typical."
"Snider, we're running out of time. If we're going to do something we need to do it and soon."
"Relax," Snider replied, brushing his fingertips across the table. "We have all the time in the world. We will have our revenge, don't you worry."
"What's your plan?"
"This," Snider said, pushing the paper back towards the man. "We use this to our advantage."