He looked at the flashing lights upon the board in front of him. Despite being the late night show, he was never lacking callers. They always wanted to hear some song that would ease their pain. He know they did for him. He flipped on his microphone as the song ended. "Its the midnight hour," he began, "and it's Mister Midnight, alone and blue."
The years moved by quickly, though, looking back, Harry was surprised that they had passed at all. Too much had happened for him to even understand that time had passed. He kept looking on the bright side of life, choosing to live instead of regret any mistakes he made. Oh, he tried to fix them if he did make a mistake, and he did not become one to never admit fault.
He never fully made peace with all of the Weasleys. He remained polite with the twins during their business dealings, but those did not happen too much. He left the twins to their work, only talking to them when they needed advise about expansion. Charlie and him never really talked to begin with, the only difference was a little more distance than before. His relationship with Ginny returned to normal, though if Harry was a betting man, he would say they were closer. Chalking that up to the amount of time that Luna, Ginny and Hermione spent together, he could not help but to work things out with Ginny. As for Bill, well, Bill and Fleur remained close friends of his, much closer than before the rift had occurred. He thanked Luna for this as she had been friends with Fleur before this all occurred and sparked the new friendship.
Molly and Ron were two different stories though. Molly never fully forgave him for airing the dirty laundry in public, but she never said a word of it to him. Arthur always stopped her from approaching him without his knowledge, or at least in public. Harry always had a pretty good idea of who was trying to stare a hole into the back of his head. Arthur made the attempt to have the two reconcile, but Molly would not give him the time of day unless they were on her terms. Harry was beginning to think that she never was going to understand that nothing was on her terms anymore.
Ron did not lose his job with the Cannons, though he came close. A week of drinking after the New Year's fiasco nearly cost him his job, but the manager spoke to him. Told Ron that he was being given one final chance. On the bench, and he had to earn the spot back onto the field. That seemed to snap Ron out of whatever funk he was in. He never did straighten out his life completely, as he was still reminded of his actions against Harry and Hermione by the press. They were cordial to each other at times, others friendly, but the distance between them from Ron's ploy never faded. Last Harry had heard from Ginny, Ron was dating Susan Bones for about a year now, and if he ever worked up the courage, he was going to pop the question.
Luna settled down finally with one Richard Delgato. She told him that while Fates had orginially designed her for another, she was happy with Richard. He treated her well, and loved Mary like his own. Mary liked him enough, though she still looked forward to spending time with Uncle Harry more than she did with her stepfather. When Harry approached Luna about this, she simply said that Mary had made up her mind about who the most important man in her life was at that moment. She wasn't about to force Mary to believe anything that she did not want to. Richard didn't resent it either, which eased Harry's mind a bit. He did not want to be the one that separated a father and daughter. As Mary grew older, she still came to him about problems, boy problems or Glenn problems as Harry had begun to call them. Richard was happy that he didn't have to deal with that quite yet as their oldest between him and Luna was still only three. Harry took it in stride, doing the best he could to help Mary out.
The Lupins settled into a quiet life, letting Harry choose the next course of action. He kept up contact with them, knowing that the contact was working to close what wounds had been left open. It was like with any other friends in his life. As they began to talk to him more, he felt he could forgive them more. They were expecting their first, due to a break through from Luna and Hermione in potions. Harry was glad they were apart of his life again, he wanted to know the kid. Especially when Remus asked him to be the Godfather.
The rest of his 'old' friends, he saw in passing. He never talked to them, never approached them, but he kept their light conversation polite if they approached him. While they may not have done as much as Only Neville was one to come up and talk to him. After one conversation, he realized how far away he had become from someone he considered a friend. Neville wasn't there that night, nor the night of the New Years party. Fact was simply that Neville had been traveling, gathering information for a Herbology book he was writing. Harry only started talking to Neville once Neville joined the staff of Hogwarts with Hermione.
Chuck and Shirley still talked to him regularly, and he spent some time over there as much as he could. The boys had entered Hogwarts with much fanfare for the family. Shirley held a grudge against Hermione for a long time, not trusting her fully to this day. That didn't matter to him though. The family still welcome him as a part of their life, and they were learning to accept Hermione as part of his life as well.
Hermione.
The one part of his life that seemed to flourish beyond compare. Their romantic dinner at the Le Fey early gave the manager a heart attack simply from refusing his advise and making their own choices. The added commentary about the manager's choices probably wasn't necessary but neither of them felt guilty from it. After that, they took it slow. They talked more often than they had as a couple before. Yet they slipped into being a couple so easily, like they had never stopped being one. Like the time they were apart never happened.
Time does heal all wounds it seems.
"This is my last show folks," Mister Midnight's voice said over the radio. "After nearly ten long, on-again-off-again years of being on the air, I'm saddened to say that this personality of Mister Midnight will come to pass.
"Fear not, as another Midnight shall come and you will be feeling lonely and blue. This show was created to help ease the pain we all may feel when our hearts are broken and there is no one else to turn to. When no one else seems to know how you feel, this show will be here for you. To help lift that load on your heart a little. To make things seem a little brighter in life. I helped out where I could, now its time for someone else to help you out. The voice may change, but the message never well.
"So I leave you with a final song, one that I hope will help you always look on the bright side of life. This is Mister midnight, and this is my final song for you." An upbeat tune began, one famous of British whit and humor. Harry closed his eyes, listening to the song. It was the same song he had set into Luna's music box, as well as the one that had become his mantra for the better part of five years.
"You ready?" Remus stepped into the room. Harry looked up from his desk and the radio sitting on it. The message had been prerecord, something he made in the morning. The show was his last, and he was looking forward to the bright future of tomorrow.
"More than," He stood from his chair looking back at the tuxedo he was to wear. He was getting married tomorrow. To Hermione. To the only woman he had ever loved.
It had taken him five long years to get to this point, but Hermione was patient with him. They had been engaged for nearly two years, the publicity of the engagement itself sparked the long period of time. Hermione wanted their ceremony to be a private affair, something between them and a few friends. Nothing too fancy, though, Harry had persuaded her to choose the wedding of her dreams. Even that had been simply. He wasn't privy to any of the information, just the time he needed to be there. She wanted to surprise him. Told him to be ready at 9 p.m. The portkey was set to take him to their wedding destination. Harry guessed that they were getting married at dawn, though he still had no idea where.
Changing into his tux, he looked at the clock, noting the few minutes before he had to leave. Remus was standing by the door, holding the book Hermione had set up as the portkey. "So how many people are going to be there?"
"Not many," Remus said. "But I'll leave the surprise up in the air for now." Harry shrugged his shoulders before flicking his hand toward the tux. The tux vanished into the ether and transfigured into his own clothes in a second before the ragged shirt and shorts he was wearing appeared where the tux was. No shoes or socks though. Harry didn't think too much about it, letting it be apart of Hermione's surprise. Remus shook his head as Harry fixed his tie. "Sometimes Harry, I don't know how you do it."
"With style," Harry said with a smirk. He knew he could do things with magic that others couldn't. Heck, finishing Mary's wand in record time was enough to reinforce that with all of his friends. It had been his birthday present to her, the year before she went to Hogwarts. His final piece to finish his apprenticeship and he completed it perfectly. Perfectly attuned to Mary, Ollivander let Harry work on the wands as much as he wanted as the two of them expanded the business in more than simply wands. That was another story for another day though.
"How much ime we got left?" Harry asked. He turned back to Remus, holding a book in his hand.
"A few seconds," Remus said. Harry nodded, letting himself relax. He was getting married. To Hermione. With a smile on his face, and his heart pounding in his chest, he touched book. He let the tug carry him to his love and future.
He stepped lightly onto the beach before him. He felt the salty air hitting him lightly as it filled his senses along with the impossible to miss smell of love. The sun was rising slowly over the sea, casting a glow onto the beach. "I know you're there." He turned to see Hermione standing in a white sun dress with some yellow flowers in her hair. She wasn't wearing shoes either. He barely noticed the party gathered off to the left of him as he walked to her.
"You look amazing," harry said. He did not move his eyes off hers as he said this, causing her to blush deeply.
"You ready?" Hermione asked, a smile crossing her wonderful face. Harry looked at her for a moment, completely consumed by her beauty.
"For what?" Harry asked, shaking his head in confusion. Hermione giggled, causing him to blush as he looked around. The rest of the small crowd was laughing as well. Good natured of course, but still embarrassing to forget it was your wedding. He took her hand in his, giving it gently squeeze.
He didn't remember much of the service or the people standing around them, watching them. He remembered the small tears in Hermione's eyes and reaching up to wipe them away. She gave him that smile of hers, the one that would let up the darkest night. He felt his heart start racing again. When the preacher asked for his vows, he stared at her for a moment.
"I'm a man of many words," Harry started. "But right now, none of them mean anything to me. Besides these few. I'm sorry. And I love you.
"I'm sorry I waited so long to get back together with you, and I nearly lost you and myself. I don't ever want to experience something like that again. So believe me when I say that I may not always say I love you, but I will always show you it. From here, to eternity. You and me." There were tears again in her eyes and he reached up to wipe them away. "So how about the preacher talks over us, and you and I get to the important part." She nodded and threw herself at him, the whole foot and half between them when they just were holding hands. Her lips touched his and there was nothing else.
Later he was told of the applause and the preacher talking rather quickly, which would have been comical, but Harry did not care. All that he cared about was the warmth that filled him and made a part of his rise to attention as she did her best to reach his heart through his mouth. And damn it all, she just about did too.
As Hermione pulled back, he could not help himself. "We are so making a pit stop before the wedding." She stole his breath for a second time.
I0I
For the Potters, life happened. There is not much more to it than that. Friends came and went, some stayed close friends, others passed by. As a couple, they laughed, they cried, hell, they even fought. Harry enjoyed the fighting at times, simply because he knew she just wanted to be mad for while. And damn if she wasn't right about the make up sex.
As he watched his wife walk down the stairs, their son's hand in hers and their daughter in her arms, he wanted to say that his life was perfect. He wanted to say that everything went smoothly and no Dark Lords popped up to frighten his children. But life happened. Things happened that he did not have control over. Lifting little Sirius James up and settling the toddler on his hip, he kissed Abigail Rose on the head as the babe snuggled closer to her mother. Kissing his wife chastely on the lips, he shared a smile with Hermione. No, things weren't perfect and there would always be conflict. But he had the best part of life with him right now, a lesson taught to him by the women in his life. And as the song goes, always look on the bright side of life.
A/N: I probably left a lot in the air. And part of me wants to go back and add to it, but another part says, hey, the important stuff got solved. The little things are left up to the readers to decide. Things like the identity of Mary's dad, really don't matter in the long run. What matters is the ending. And I hope I ended it well. Thank you and good luck, good night, god speed.
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