Chapter Text
Harry sat at his desk as tears filled his eyes. He didn’t know what to do. A love potion..A LOVE POTION!!! All these years. He had never known if not for Ginny slipping up. She had admitted to it. That since second year, Molly and her at the behest of Dumbledore had been slipping love potion into his food. She didn’t even look sorry, there was no remorse as she told him, he couldn’t do anything about it. Love potions aren't illegal in the wizarding world, and they had children together. Was he just to leave? His poor children did nothing wrong. He loved them, no matter how they came to be.
“Don’t be a baby, Harry. You should be happy we have three beautiful children and I love you…and you love me.”
“I… That's only because of that potion… I don’t even know if my feelings are my own. That’s cruel ginny. Do you understand!?” He was sobbing.
The people he trusted more than anything betrayed him.
“R-ron? Does he?”
“No… The twins too. Hermione. They would have told you. It was for your best interest…” Ginny walked over to him.
“My best interest, how was that any of your business." He said dumbfounded.
"Dumbledore…You had to be on the side of the light. He couldn't risk letting you fall on the wrong side. He knew that I had a huge crush on you. You would have fallen for me eventually, Harry."
"Ginny, that's basically assault. You took away my choice. And forced…"
"It's not assault. Men can't be assaulted by women. Plus it's not like you didn't like being with me." She stated.
"I didn't have a choice. That potion takes away autonomy. If I had done that to you…"
"That's different…you're a man. Act like one move past it."
Harry went silent and turned away from her. Not wanting to look that woman in the face. The doorbell rang at the front of the Potter's home.
"That should be everyone…let's just move past this." She said in a sickeningly sweet voice, placing her hand on his shoulder. He pushed her hand.
"Whatever. I'm going to greet the family. You better be down stairs with a smile in ten minutes."
He heard as she stomped out. He had never felt so alone in his life. Well that wasn't true, his early years were much like now. Was he to tell his friends, what would they say? He couldn't say anything. Putting sister against brother. Son against mother. He couldn't do that to Ron or Hermione. They were her family too.
"Papa…" He turned to see little lily peeking over the desk. "Papa crying?"
He tried to dry his eyes, not wanting to scare his baby.
"No baby…come here."
He said, opening his arms to her. She smiled and ran to him. He pulled her up on his lap and hugged her. "
Papa are you sad…cause me?" She asked worriedly. "Did Lily do something wrong? Lily will try better." She said tears forming her eyes.
Her red hair that once reminded him of his mother's seemed a little duller much like Ginny's. It made his heart ache looking at her. The child he adores was created because of a love potion.
"My little firecracker. You have done nothing wrong. Papa could never be sad because of you…you are Papa's perfect little girl. Papa is sad because of…adult problems. Nothing to worry your little mind about."
"Really?" She sniffled, burying her head in his chest.
"Papa loves you more than the entire world. The sun, everything." She peeked up at him.
"More than Albus and James?"
He smiled a small bit. "I love more than any girl in the world. I love Albus and James more than any boys in the world."
A knock on the door startled him. He looked towards the door towards one of his friends.
"Ron. I see you got here early."
"Yeah Rose wanted to show Albus her new stuff."
He chuckled looking at the boy who lived. Ron's smile dropped seeing Harry's red eyes.
"Lily, why don't you go down stairs for a second okay? Me and your dad got to chat about grown up stuff."
Lily looks at Harry to Ron and back. "Okie dokie Uncle Ron." She said hopping off Harry's lap and running off.
Once Lily was out Ron shut the door behind him.
"What's wrong?" He sat beside him.
Ron always knew when something was wrong. Curse him, for finally growing a brain.
"If I tell you, you might not believe me and it might ruin everything. You'll hate me." Harry said not looking at his best friend.
"Harry there is nothing that you can say that can change the way I feel about you. It's always been us two…well us and ‘Mione don't tell her I left her out. " He said, trying to make a joke to lighten the mood.
Harry gave a half hearted smile.
"Tell me. We will get through it like I always do. You, me, 'Mione, Ginny, everyone. We are here for you. Did you tell Ginny? You want to get her?"
"No!....I mean no, I'll be down in a minute."
Ron should have said no. He should have stayed and talked to his best friend. Made him talk. Maybe it would have saved him. It was only ten minutes. Hermione was the one to find him lying on the ground, eyes staring straight ahead. Dead and drained of life. Neville found the note. Harry wanted to make sure his kids knew it wasn't their fault. That he loved them and no matter what had happened to him, that he did not blame nor regret having them. He wanted his friends to know that it wasn't theirs either and that he loved all of them.
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Snow fell that day. It reminded Ron and Hermione the times when they were young. 'If only Harry could see. He always loved the snow.' Ron thought.
Hermione nearly killed Ginny at the funeral. Ron would have let her if not for the three Potter children mourning the loss of their father. Hermione hugged Lily and refused to let Ginny near the child. She continued to say words of love to the little girl and tell her how much her father loved her.
Ginny and Molly stood away from everyone else Thankfully.
Neville cried the whole time. Harry had shown him not to hide his emotions. So he mourned for his friend loudly. Neville and Ron stayed close to James. They wanted to make sure he had someone to cry to with him. James, being the oldest, tried to be calm for his younger siblings. Little Hugo held his hand trying to be strong for his older cousin.
Though they were friendly now Draco didn't consider them friends but he had to go. Scorpius had to be there. Draco watched as the little white haired child enveloped Albus in a hug. Albus's cries softened and Scorpius hugged him and whispered kind words into his ear. Rose behind them doing the same thing. Draco watched them and thought about when he was young. How they reminded him of the three young Gryffindors he bullied and harassed.
If he had done that for him. Would things have happened differently?
A tear fell from his face as he laid a lily on the boy who lived’s casket.
"I'm sorry, Harry."
Draco felt his shoulder be tapped. He turned to see Pansy and Blaise. They silently greeted each other as they both hooked arms.
“She’s a bitch.” Pansy said glaring at Ginny.
“Language.” Hermione warned. “But…yes cruel heartless bitch.”
Pansy walked over to Hermione, giving her condenses to the children.
“We were bad, when we were young. But everyone looked at him like the pillar of good. I didn’t think of the pressure he must have been under. Or that he would have people in his circle that would use him like that…You can still tell him you know?.”
“Hush Blasie.” Draco shushed him.
“I’m just saying.”
Ron walked over to the men with a somber face.
“Um, we are going to my house. The kids don’t want to go home right now. Do you maybe want to come? I know Scorpius wants to stay near Albus.” Ron said, looking towards the boys hugging each other tightly.
“N-”
“Yeah, Do you guys mind taking Scorpius with you? Me, Draco and Pansy want to hang back a bit and pay our respect.”
Ron nodded as the clan headed out. All that was left was them and Harry’s headstone….and Ginny.
Draco couldn’t help but glare at her.
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Ron walked outside with some candles and set them on the ground.
"Ron, come back inside it chilly." Hermione said walking outside to her husband.
"In a few minutes."
“What are you doing?”
“A ritual. My dad taught me when my grandad died. We did it for him. I did it for my dad…Now Harry. It’s a happiness ritual.”
Hermione bit her lip, she was angry and wanted nothing more to lash out at the nearest person. But she wanted to be strong for everyone, her niece and nephews needed her. But she had just lost someone as well. Someone who would never know how much he had meant to her.
"A happiness ritual, what good will that do him, Ronald?! Harry is dead! He’s gone! He was abused and sad and broken and we didn’t help! He needed us and we couldn’t tell! Harry is gone!……" Hermione sobbed falling on the ground into the snow.
Ron fell to his knees, grabbing her and hugging her close.
"Deep Breath. It’s okay to be sad. This is awful. And there really is nothing we can do but be here, cry, mourn. And I don't know if it will do anything…maybe nothing but… I want to send Harry off with something.” He looked down at her. Her brown eyes met his. “All I can do now, all we can do now is care for his children, but if there is something after death. If there is somewhere that Harry is going I want.. I need to send him there with love and happiness. We should have been there for him. You’re right. But we can’t change that. This spell is a promise that wherever he is going he can be at peace and happy and know that we will be okay… his children will be okay. That we will take care of the three gifts he left for us."
He looked inside the house at the three Potter children, looking numb.
“I need this, after this I can focus on what to do with them….Ginny…my-....Molly. I need to say goodbye, with a smile and ‘a see you later’. Harry would never want to be the reason we cried.” Hermione got her bearings as Ron helped her up.
She clung to him.
“Can I help?”
Ron nodded. Hermione began lit the candles as Ron laid roses, lilac and dove feathers around. Neville came out to help, his wife offering to watch the kids for a short time.
“Okay, Now to say the words. Let's hold hands.” Ron said with a shaky breath.
“Have room for three more, Weasley?” Ron turned to see Draco, Pansy and Blaise.
“Yeah the more the merrier.”
The three slytherins held hands with the three gryffindors.
“Repeat after me.” They all nodded.
"Amor mitto. spem mitto. felicitatem mitto. Eum qui transivit. Bonas cogitationes mitto. Spero unum diem cum iterum viae nostrae transibunt. Anima occurrit animae. Nos ambo ridemus. Et vides amorem I missus es ad me ".
They watch as the flowers catch fire drifting into the dark night sky. Still holding hands.
Harry's life at the end was sad and lonely…Oh what will come of his next one?