Disclaimer: Nope I don't own Harry Potter. Which is a shame, because it'd have gone Harmony if I did…
A/N: An idea I had just after reading DH to make right things after the crapilogue. Hope you'll like the story, and please if you read, review, thanks.
After The Night, Sun Shines
Chapter One: Married Life
An alarm sounded into the by now almost empty Auror Department, at the Ministry of Magic. A raven haired wizard let out a sigh, and started packing the sheets on his desk. He would need to bring some work home tonight, as he could not stay anymore in the office. He had set the alarm so that he wouldn't forget to leave at the right time.
His wife had made him promise he would be home early that day, well, earlier than usual, and in the years of their marriage Harry Potter had learned to know it wasn't pretty to mess with his wife, Ginny Weasley. She was all her mother, he thought smiling, while taking his last few things before heading to the lifts.
Molly Weasley had always been the one to command at the Burrow, and it seemed Ginny was on her way to become the same in their house. Harry didn't mind a bit, because while it could become annoying at times, still he loved her.
How could he not? She was the mother of his three children, James, Albus and Lily.
As he headed to the fireplaces in the Ministry main hall, to get home, his mind went to them. James was almost the spitting image of himself, although he did have his mother's brown eyes, and he seemed to have developed a personality more similar to his dead grandfather, and Harry's father, than to Harry's one.
From what he had heard, the boy was quite the ladies' man, and he was also very interested in pranking others. Harry thought that maybe he could have been like that too, if he had not had a madman looming over himself all his teenage years. But maybe he would have never been friends with Hermione if he did, and he cherished their friendship much, so he was overall happy on how things went.
Then there was Albus, who had his mother's red hair, although a little darker, and sparkling green eyes. He seemed more the quiet kind of guy, not so confident, and Harry was reminded of himself at that age. He, too, was mildly scared about Hogwarts, when he got there for his first year.
Then there was Lily…she was all him, with black hair and green eyes, but he could already tell she had her mother's feisty personality. He loved them all, and he couldn't imagine himself to be more happy. He had what he had wanted all his life, a family to call his own, and he wanted to give his kids all the love he had been deprived at their age.
As he threw some powder in the fireplace, spelling the name of his house, he welcomed the usual sensations of Floo travelling with a smile on his face.
He landed in his living room, and dusted off his clothes.
"You're here" Ginny welcomed him with an hug and a soft kiss that he was just happy to reply to. As they embraced themselves, savouring the moment, an owl tapped the window.
"Bloody bird, couldn't have worst timing" Harry joked, going to retrieve the letter.
"Who is writing?" Ginny asked, curious, after that Harry had taken the envelope, given the owl a treat and set the bird free to fly back.
"It's Ron, he says he and Hermione are going to be a bit late, and to go ahead to the restaurant"
"They are going at it again, I'm sure" Ginny replied with a wink. Harry felt queasy. He always did when images like that were proposed to him. He could never think of Hermione and Ron "going at it", as his wife loved to say.
"As much as they are my best friends and I love them, that was definitely an image I could live well without, you know" he said, feigning to be sick.
"Dad, you're so silly" a voice startled him. He turned and saw his daughter peeking from the door.
"Munchkin, you ready to go to have dinner with Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron?" he asked, going to pick her up. He loved doing that even if she wasn't that little anymore.
Lily nodded, and then did a twirl to show him the pretty robes her mother had bought her just that day. She loved them, they were a velvety, dark blue, and she looked really good in them. Harry nodded his appreciation, then took her in his arms and kissed her cheek.
"Well, then, since the both of you is ready, and I'm not, I better go have a shower and a change of clothes" he said then, placing his daughter back on the floor, and blowing his wife a kiss. Under the steaming hot water, he washed away the stress of another long day of work.
He was now the Head of the Auror Department, and he had lots of things to take care of. Ginny was glad he rarely was on the field anymore, but he got a bit bored with all the paperwork he had to go through, and then plan activities for the teams, decide which one would be better for a certain assignment…if he had known what his new position would have been like, he would have never accepted the promotion.
Scratch that. Who was he kidding? He had talked about it with all his friends, too, not only with his family, and the proud look on Hermione's face would have made accept it no matter what. Not that he minded, at the time.
After all, he had been offered that spot just after he came back from a truly gruesome mission, where ten people died, two were of his team, and other five got badly hurt, one of them being himself. He had been in St. Mungo's for two weeks, gashes covering his body, and with a curse that made him feel sick all the time, before the healers sent him back home as new.
It had been the most risky mission he had ever been into, but it was vital for the security of the Ministry, as he had to take down a group of dark wizards in Netherlands that menaced to invade England. The success of it had made Kingsley decide to hand him the position as head of the Department.
Minutes later, he got dressed and joined his family in the living room, then they all Apparated to "The Magical Garden", a restaurant in Diagon Alley they had often gone to with Ron and Hermione and their kids.
Once there, they asked a waiter for their table, and sat there, making small talk, while waiting for the other family to join them. It was just few minutes, really, and then Harry could see the ginger hair of his friend, followed by his wife, coming toward them through the crowd that filled the place.
"Here we are!" Ron happily announced, Hermione coming out from behind him and smiling at both Harry and Ginny, their youngest son, Hugo, immediately going to greet his cousin Lily, with whom he loved to play.
As the kids engrossed themselves in each other, the adults properly exchanged greetings. Harry stood up to hug first his best mate, and then Hermione. The two of them shared a connection that their spouses had learned to respect and not feel threatened by. They knew nothing would ever make the bond between Harry and Hermione diminish, not even being married to someone else.
Soon enough, a waiter came to take their orders.
"Hermione, luv, what do you think about this lasagne?" Ron asked her tenderly.
"Seems good. Maybe if you take it I'll have a bite. I'm not really hungry tonight, so I don't think I could handle all of that on my own"
"Oh, ok. So, I'll take it, and this Hippogriff Steak, thanks" Ron said, placing their orders. Then Harry placed his own and Ginny's ("A chicken salad for her, and for me clams spaghetti and an Hippogriff Steak too")
Then it was the kids time. They ordered both hamburgers with fries, and for once Harry convinced Ginny to not force Lily into something more healthy, although his wife did huff a bit about the matter.
"Now that the orders are done, I want to make a toast to my best friends for their twentieth anniversary" Harry said, lifting his glass. Ginny, Ron and Hermione mimicked his actions, and once they clinked their flutes of champagne, they drank it.
"Thanks mate" Ron said. He had taken the day off to pay attention to his wife, since she had accused him to be too involved into his work lately. Harry had been understanding, since at times Ginny accused him of that too, so he had been more than happy to comply.
"Yeah, thanks Harry" Hermione said, barely touching his hand across the table, and everything else she wanted to say was left to their non verbal communication, through their eyes. She thanked him for being such a good friend to her all those years too, and in his eyes she could see how much he was happy for her.
Dinner went on quietly, with just a laugh here or there as the girls gossiped on something and Harry and Ron would roll their eyes at them, earning glares from their spouses, or as Harry and Ron droned on Quidditch, and Ginny and Hermione looked at each other annoyed, but smiling.
Then, the two families went to have an ice cream to the near Fortesque's parlour. Hugo chose chocolate and cream, while Lily went for strawberry, lemon and melon.
As the six of them strolled through Diagon Alley's main street, the heat of the early September could still be felt. It was just few days since their other kids had gone to Hogwarts again, and they often reunited after that to feel less lonely, as their respective houses felt a bit empty.
The small talk continued through all their walk, and only the little ones starting to yawn convinced the adults that it was really time to part ways and go home.
They exchanged their goodnights, then Harry gently took hold of Lily's hand and sidelong Apparated her to their house, Ginny doing the same.
As for Ron and Hermione, soon they landed into the living room of the Nest, their home. She took Hugo with her upstairs, and tucked him into bed, kissing his forehead.
"Good night, darling" she softly said, once she was sure he was asleep, which didn't take more than five minutes to happen. She then walked out of the room as silently as she could, clicking the light off as she went.
She changed for bed, then joined Ron in front of the TV and scrunched up her face in disapproval when she saw he was drinking Firewhiskey.
"You shouldn't indulge in alcohol you know" she said while snuggling close, scolding him.
"Oh, come on, love. It's just a glass after dinner" he said with a smile, putting an arm around her shoulders.
She let it go, after all he was right, he did usually drink only one glass, so it was ok. She would prefer if he quit it altogether, but one glass couldn't hurt, and she had learned married life required to let go of some little things.
As they snuggled in front of the TV, yes, they had found a way to make it work in a magical environment thanks to some charms Hermione discovered in a book, she couldn't help wondering how she got so lucky in her life. She came to Hogwarts feeling like everyone her age hated her, it was how things were back at her primary school, she was alone because of her love for reading and doing schoolwork, and in seven years she not only found love with Ron, and was happy with him, but she also got a wonderful friend like Harry, who would always understand her and be able to make her smile no matter what.
With her two boys, now grown to middle aged men, but to her they would always be her boys, she felt safe, and happy. She couldn't see herself without both of them in her life now, although the three of them had a rocky start back in their first Hogwarts year.
And she was more than happy that both had survived the war. When she had discovered about the prophecy regarding Harry and Voldemort, in fifth year…well, she honestly feared Harry would not live to have a family and be happy. And if he hadn't, she and Ron would have been dead too, as Voldemort would have killed them as closest allies of his nemesis.
Instead, Harry had come out victorious, giving all of them a new hope and chance at happiness, and Ron had sensibly matured and learned how to pay attention to her. She couldn't have asked for more.
As these thoughts filled her mind, she slowly drifted off to sleep, and Ron smiled at her, kissing the top of her head. Then he turned the telly off, took her still fragile form in his arms, and lightly carried her to their bedroom, where he placed her on the bed and put her under the sheets. Then, he changed for bed himself, and joined her, pulling her close. In few minutes, he was asleep too, dreams of his beautiful wife filling his slumber.
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