At the Beginning With You [Harmione]

1. Settling into a New Life

Life is a road

And I want to keep goingLove is a river

I wanna keep flowing

Life is a roadNow and foreverWonderful journeyI'll be there when the world stops turningI'll be there when the storm is throughIn the end I wanna be standingAt the beginning with you

- 'At the Beginning' by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis from the movie Anastasia

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 Harry looked around the no longer dark and foreboding looking entryway of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, taking in the new atmosphere of the house. After the celebrations and euphoria following the defeat of Voldemort, Harry decided with a happy leap in his heart that it was time to start living his life, really living it, not just going day to day with the anxiety in his heart of the destiny that lie ahead of him. One of the first things he did was find a way to renew and strengthen the wards placed on Grimmauld Place, fix it up even better than he, Hermione, and Ron had done in the time they spent hiding out at Number 12. Kreacher even helped Harry, he was still surprised at the change in heart of the old house elf, and found that Hermione had been right about him all along; he just needed to be treated better. The house elf felt truly that the house belonged to Harry now; the time of the Blacks had come to pass. Using his elf magic, he had removed most of the dark objects and artifacts that belonged to the Black family, all the portraits that hung on the walls, even the mounted elf heads had come down, though Kreacher had just moved them down to his little room beneath the boiler. He even had convinced, or rather tricked Mrs. Black's portrait to unstick herself from the wall, before levitating her up to the attic with the rest of the heirlooms and valuables that came from the house. Harry had not made Kreacher get rid of the things he took down, for even though Kreacher was now completely loyal to Harry, he still felt apprehensive and guilty about throwing away all the articles from the family that he had served all of his life. Harry had let the house elf store everything in the attic, where it could collect dust somewhere in the house that wasn't in use. After all the work that had been done removing the Black family heirlooms, the house felt quite empty. A person's footsteps would echo in every room because of its bareness. The moth-eaten furniture had to be disposed, as did the wizarding appliances in the kitchen. Ginny, Hermione, and Ron had gone with him to Diagon Alley to fill the house with homey touches, new furniture, and perhaps a few things he didn't really need in the house. Hermione and Ginny had gone to work, practically kicking Harry and Ron out while they decorated. Harry recalled that day remembering when Ginny had told him to leave. He had opened his mouth angrily in protest, probably the first time he had ever gotten irritated with her.

"Ginny, this is my house; you can't kick me out of my house." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Relax, Harry, you'll get it back. It's just that we can't depend on you and Kreacher to decorate it. It needs a woman's touch."

"Better be careful, Harry," Ron muttered as he watched his sister walk away to the sitting room, "By time they're done, they'll have it covered floor to ceiling in pink, with little flowers all over." But the two witches hadn't turned it pink, or any other girly color. In fact, the house looked much like it probably would've when it was first built, if the owners hadn't been a long line of dark wizard supporters. The walls were painted in just the right colors to give it a warm and cozy feeling.

They had painted the living room burgundy with a cream color accent, put burgundy curtains on the windows, letting the sunlight stream in the now dust free windows, charmed so that no one could look into the house, it was a version of a muggle two-way mirror. The couch, loveseat, and chairs all formed three of the sides of a square, facing the fireplace with a large coffee table in the middle. They had brought some muggle things in too, like a television set ('You can actually see people in that box! How do they get into a felly-vision set? And you just push this button on this little wand?' Ron said, examining the TV and remote control), a telephone ('Oh one of those fellytone things!' Ron had said excitedly when they picked one out in the store), a laptop (which was Hermione's idea, she felt it was best that they had ways of communication other than magical means, just in case. 'Amazing! It sends a message instantly?' Ron said in awe as Hermione had demonstrated to Ron how email worked as she sent a test email to herself from Harry's computer), and (though he didn't need it) a Playstation ('Dudley had one, but he threw it out the window one summer, but I always wanted one' Harry had said when Hermione gave him an odd look while Ginny and Ron inspected the device.

The kitchen had been painted a pale green, picked out by Kreacher. Harry couldn't really decide what color to paint the kitchen, so he had asked Kreacher. His jaw had dropped when Harry had asked his opinion, muttering about that his opinion should mean nothing to Master Harry. But Harry had insisted, and after a half hour convincing Kreacher to decide, Kreacher had picked pale green. The ancient table had been replaced with a newer one, and with newer chairs set around it. New appliances were placed in the kitchen, giving it a new feel.

Since there were so many bedrooms in Grimmauld Place, Harry decided that Ginny, Ron, and Hermione should each get their own room in his house, since he said they were welcome to come stay anytime they pleased. And since they each got their own bedrooms, each room was decorated to each person's liking (Ginny and Hermione had let Harry and Ron back into the house for that). Ron's room was decorated much like his room was back at the Burrow, decked out in Chudley Cannons orange, everything in it was orange, and he had plastered the walls with pictures of the Quidditch players.

Ginny's room was the only pink room in the house, painted just a light soft pink. With her wand, she had painted flowering vines around the walls, giving it a tad more color. She also had placed flowers that would never have to be watered in her room, giving it the flowery scent that Harry had always come to associate with Ginny.

Hermione's room was the second largest one after the master bedroom, owing to the fact that most of the space in her room was occupied by books. The ones kept in her room were her favorites, the rest down the stairs in the library. Since she had gotten a small apartment a few weeks ago, she didn't have anywhere to put her books, so Harry had let her keep them at Grimmauld Place. The walls of her room were plain blue, and the only other decoration she had in her room besides her books were pictures. There were pictures covering her dresser, and only one picture on her nightstand of the trio at the celebration party. Some of the pictures were of her parents, but most of them of the trio. A lot of them were taken at the enormous party that lasted for six days after Voldemort had been defeated. There were pictures of her and Ron, holding hands, or standing with Ron's arm around Hermione's shoulder, and hers around his waist, both waving and laughing. There was one of just Harry and Hermione, holding each other close in a hug, but were both facing the camera, their foreheads touching, both smiling soft smiles as if being there in each other's embrace summed up everything they felt about each other. Sibling love. That's all it was, but Harry couldn't help remembering that trip to Godric's Hollow they made posing as a muggle couple that was husband and wife. Even though it wasn't something that was brought to anyone's attention, just a mere minor detail, they had gone as a married couple. He couldn't help but think about what it was like that night, before the evening had turned dangerous, how calm he felt to be there at his parents' grave with Hermione. He appreciated it then and now, (though he'd never admit it to anyone) that he was glad it was just Hermione that had gone with him, it wouldn't have felt the same if Ron had gone along.

Harry's room, the master bedroom, was decorated in red. Like Hermione, he also had pictures of his friends and family. Ginny had stumbled across a box of pictures in Sirius's old room that were of the Marauders and of James, Lily and Harry. Some of them were already in frames, which made Harry wonder if Sirius had recovered them from the house the night Lily and James died and somehow got them to the house for safe keeping. So Harry had placed the pictures on the dresser, the walls, and like Hermione, had the same picture she had of the trio at the celebration party on his nightstand.

In the hallway going down the stairs, Hermione and Ginny had painted it a tan color, and replaced the portraits of the Black family with pictures of Harry's family and friends, some of them the same pictures that were in his and Hermione's rooms, some that were too big to put in the bedroom. Harry looked around the house and smiled. It really felt like home, it didn't feel like the place that Sirius had despised and had run away from at sixteen. It looked welcoming, and...

"So how are you liking the newly decorated Grimmauld Place, Harry?" Harry turned on the stairs and saw Hermione standing at the bottom of the stairs, having just apparated in. Harry smiled.

"I love it. It's the first place besides Hogwarts that really feels like home." Hermione smiled too, glancing around at the entryway.

"Well, I hope you can keep it for many, many years then. Then you can hand it down to your sons and daughters, start a 'House of Potter'. I just came over for my book I left here the other day, so don't worry; I won't make it a habit of just popping up all the time and bothering you."

"I'm not worried, I've already told you and Ron and Ginny that you can come over anytime you wish." Hermione gave him a gratified look.

"How's the flat working out for you?"

"Pretty well, miniscule compared to this place, but it works for me."

"When are you leaving for Australia to bring back your parents?"

"I'm not sure; I think I want to get all settled first before making any trips yet." Harry nodded.

"Listen, Kreacher reminded me today that we never got that steak and kidney pie that he had promised when we came back from the Ministry that day, so he promised me it tonight. Would you like to stay for supper?"

"Sure. I have to be back by eight o'clock," Hermione said looking at her watch; Harry did too, noting that it was 6:45. "Ron's coming over tonight." Harry led the way into the kitchen, where Kreacher was preparing dinner for his master.

"Kreacher, would you set another plate, please, Hermione staying for dinner tonight." The elf bowed low and went to a cupboard to retrieve the extra plate. Harry and Hermione sat down at the table as Kreacher placed the meal on the table and disappeared with a 'crack'. Harry and Hermione talked about little stuff, things that were of no real importance, Harry had to admit that it was nice to be able to just have small talk with someone, not having to worry about the looming danger ahead of them and how they were going to get to that point. Simple conversations were nice.

"Harry," Hermione asked after a short silence, "did you ever think about the future before Voldemort was defeated?"

"Of course, I thought about how I had to be the one to kill..."

"No, Harry, I'm not talking about the future that involved killing Voldemort. I'm talking about a real future, you know, like family and a house in the country type thing."

"Not really. I guess I had more important things that came first on my mind then."

"But now?"

"Sure I do."

"And where do you see yourself in twenty years?"

"Well, I guess married, with children, being able to watch them grow up; to be there for them and have the family that I never had growing up. What about you?"

"Married with children too, but I still wish I could continue my education. I'm tempted to go back to Hogwarts next year and finish my seventh year and become a healer. I heard McGonagall is going to be Headmistress, a witch named Marian Wessely is going to teach Transfiguration, she's a friend of McGonagall's, and a wizard named Phillip Eckley is going to teach Muggle Studies, he was a big name in the Muggle Relations Department at the Ministry, but being a Muggle Born, he was sacked from his position. And from what I hear they're still looking for a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I want to go back and study to pass my N.E.W.T.s."

"Hermione, I'm pretty sure you could take the N.E.W.T.s right now and pass with flying colors, you don't need to go back to school."

"But I want to; I don't just want to stay here just to be a mother and a housewife, I..." Hermione stopped speaking and looked away from Harry.

"What is it? Hermione?" Hermione sighed.

"It's just that, most witches who marry Weasleys or even the Weasley witches become just housewives and mothers. I mean, don't get me wrong, I want to be a mother someday, it's just...I don't want to be just a housewife, a woman who hangs on her husband's arm to look pretty, and is there to make sure his dinner is ready when he gets home from a hard day's work. I mean, I love Mrs. Weasley like a second mother, but none of that is for me."

"Are you trying to tell me that you and Ron are getting married?"

"No, no, no!" Hermione said in a rushed and panicky voice. "No, it's nothing like that."

"You shouldn't be a stay at home mom or housewife if you don't want to; don't concede whatever happens. Talk to Ron; see what he thinks about it. He might be different and completely support your decision. If not, I can throttle him for you if you like." Hermione smiled.

"Hopefully that won't be necessary but thank you just the same."

"You said you wanted to be a mother some day," Harry said, changing the subject slightly, "How many kids would you want?"

"Hmm, maybe three or four. Since I'm an only child I want a bigger family, but not more than five. I'm not sure I could handle any more than that. What about you?"

"I hadn't really thought about it, but three sounds good."

"Hopefully you at least have a daughter, I could see you being the kind of dad that a little girl would look up too, but then so would a boy. You'd make a good father, Harry." Harry felt his cheeks turn a little pink, and noticed that Hermione's had done the same, as though she felt she had said too much. Before they could say anything else, a brown barn owl flew into the kitchen and dropped a letter on the table in front of Harry and turned and soared back out into the night sky. Both Harry and Hermione looked at the envelope; it bore the Ministry seal on the back, addressed to Harry James Potter, Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London. Harry glanced up at Hermione whose brow was furrowed in curiosity.

"I wonder what this is about."

"Well, open it." Harry flipped it over and slit the envelope open, and took out a piece of parchment. It read:

Dear Mr. Harry James Potter,

As you may know already, regarding the child, Theodore Remus Lupin, should an instance come up that both his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Remus John Lupin, were to pass away, you were appointed guardian of Theodore if his parents' deaths should come before his seventeenth birthday. As you also know, Mr. and Mrs. Lupin tragically lost their lives in the fight against You-Know-Who. The time has now come to discuss what is to become of the child. There will be a meeting tomorrow afternoon at five o'clock to converse this situation.

Good day to you, sir,

Amelia Rosemary Lynch
Department of Magical Social Services

Harry read the note again before handing it to Hermione. He had almost forgotten about Teddy and that he was the baby's godfather. He looked up at Hermione who had just put the letter down.

"I was wondering when they were going to get around to giving him to you, Harry. From what I understand he's been living with Tonks' mother Andromeda since Remus and Tonks died. Are you going to take him?"

"I have a choice?"

"Of course. If you choose not to raise him, then he'll go to the next of kin. If there's no more family left, then he'll go to an orphanage. Considering that I don't believe there's any next of kin, Harry, I would suggest you take him, because I don't think anyone should have to grow up in an orphanage." Panic had settled in Harry, he didn't know anything about raising children, he didn't know what being a father figure was all about. It was one thing to be talking with Hermione about having kids someday, but he'd figured his wife would be there to help him, that he wouldn't be raising kids alone.

"Harry?"

"Hermione, I don't know the first thing about raising kids. Hell, I don't think I've ever even held a baby before in my life!"

"Harry, you were just saying a little bit ago..."

"Yeah, but when I have kids, I pictured myself older and married. I don't expect to be raising kids alone."

"If you decide to take him, I assure you, you won't be alone. I promise I'll help you as much as I can, and I'm sure Ron and Ginny will say the same thing. Even the rest of the Weasley's will be willing to help if they can. You won't be alone." Hermione looked at her watch. "I'd better get going; Ron will be over in a few minutes." She headed for the door but stopped before pushing it open. "Think about this too, Harry, no wizarding orphanage or wizarding family is going to take little Teddy in. He's part werewolf, remember. As long as he's not a werewolf himself, he'll be sent to a muggle orphanage. There he'd grow up unloved or knowing anything about what he is, and he could become resentful towards everyone. We don't want another Tom Riddle in the world, Harry." With that, she Disapparated, leaving Harry thinking deeply, staring into his dessert.