Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 122: Epilogue 2
10 Years Later.
South of Ottery St. Catchpole was the massive field where the Weasley, Lovegood, and a few other wizard families settled down a long time ago.
Recently, a new house has been constructed. It was further south of the Weasley property, around two miles away.
The comfy-looking house sat atop a small hill, and in the distance, one could see a white tower rising in the background.
The peaceful scene was suddenly disturbed by the appearance of two individuals.
"Tempus." One of them moved their wand around and displayed some numbers. "Damn it, Ron. It's so late. Why can we never arrive at the scheduled time?"
"My sister won't care, and Harry would care even less. Trust me…" Ron shrugged and walked toward the door.
Hermione looked down at herself and adjusted her robes. "Fine! Let's go."
But then she noticed that her husband was already knocking on the door. "Wait for me!"
The door opened by itself, and they were welcomed by a pleasant aroma.
"Treacle tart…" Ron guessed. "When did she learn how to bake?"
"I am still learning, you jerk."
From the entrance, they heard the voice of Ginny coming from the kitchen.
"And you are late," Ginny added.
Hermione glared at Ron with an expression that clearly said, 'I told you so.'
"Sorry, Ginny." Hermione walked into the kitchen. "Let me help you out."
"It's okay." Ginny turned around and moved her long red hair out of the way. "I am done with preparing the dinner. And the dessert will be coming out soon. But you can help me set up the table."
"Of course," Hermione responded as her eyes moved to the swollen belly that Ginny had. "Should you be doing all of this by yourself? I mean… how far along are you already?"
"Eight months, thank Merlin… it's almost over." Ginny groaned. "And it's okay. It's not like I could stay on the couch all day. I need to be moving around."
"Are you still planning on returning to the team after this?" asked Ron while pointing at her belly as he said 'this'.
Ginny frowned. "Why not? I can get back in shape very quickly. And Harry agreed to take care of the baby."
"How considerate, but…" Hermione looked around.
"Where is he?" asked Ron.
"Upstairs. Working on a project. He didn't tell me what it was," Ginny told them.
"I'll go check on him," Ron offered.
"Do that. And tell him to come down as well. Dinner is almost ready."
Ron made a gesture with his hand and walked up the stairs, leaving the women to talk alone.
He found Harry inside a room at the end of the corridor.
"Hey, Ron," Harry greeted him before he had the chance of even opening the door.
Ron shook his head and walked inside. "Are you always watching your surroundings?" He understood how Harry's senses worked.
He could use all the magic in the area to detect movement and identify any individual inside the range.
"It doesn't cost me anything to do so. And it could help avoid any potential danger," Harry explained.
But to Ron, it made little sense. After what happened to Voldemort, no one else had caused trouble in Magical Britain. They had some very peaceful ten years, and he didn't expect things to change any time soon.
"Ouch!" Harry moved his finger away from the wooden structure he had been working on after hitting it with the hammer.
"What are you doing using those Muggle tools?" Ron just took note of what Harry was doing in this room.
He appeared to be working on constructing a cage made of wooden sticks. "What even is that thing?"
"Can't you tell?" Harry looked concerned by the fact that Ron couldn't guess what it was when he was so close to completion. "It's a crib, for the baby."
"What? It's all crooked. I wouldn't put anything in there, unless you want to get rid of it," Ron commented.
Harry frowned. "That's harsh… I have been working on this all day."
"Is this the project that my sister mentioned? No wonder you didn't want to talk about it," Ron said.
"I didn't want to mention it until it was finished. Just in case it didn't come out right," Harry confessed.
"Well…" Ron looked away.
Harry sighed and placed the hammer down. "I guess I need more practice." He waved his hand, and the 'crib' was disassembled. The wooden planks used for its construction flew to the other side of the room and placed themselves in a neat pile.
"Why not just use your magic to make the damn thing?" Ron asked. "I mean, you can construct castles, towers, giant statues… surely, you can make a magnificent crib for your future son."
"I could make a million of them at the same time. But that is not the point," Harry said. "I wish to build this with my own hands. No magic."
"Pff… no magic. The most powerful wizard in the world doesn't want to use his magic. It's kinda tragic, you know? Such a waste…" Ron shook his head.
The two of them never saw eye to eye on that matter.
While Ron wanted Harry to use his powers to change the world, Harry just wanted to live a normal life, the one thing he never had before.
He had had enough adventures and fights already. He had been training and using his magic for thousands of years.
Now he just wished to rest and live in peace with his family. That was his next adventure.
But Harry knew that Ron would never truly understand him, so he did not push the matter. "How are things at Hogwarts? Enjoying the new job?"
Ron's eyes shone with excitement. "It's amazing! Although some of the brats are insufferable."
"You shouldn't say that about your students," Harry responded.
Ron was the new flight instructor and Quidditch referee at Hogwarts after Madam Hooch retired, a job that he had been very enthusiastic to accept after his Quidditch career didn't pan out.
"Hey! What are you two doing? Come down here already!" they both heard Ginny shouting.
"We shouldn't make her wait…" Ron said. "Is she getting louder? She is starting to remind me of Mum."
"Please, Ron…" Harry grimaced. "Don't say that ever again." He did not like to hear that comparison.