So You Thought You Were Finished
Chapter 1: So You Thought You Were Finished
Harry’s eyes shifted around the bland décor of the Ministry. He had spent much time there since the war ended. Voldemort may have been defeated, but damage had still been done and controlling it was a different battle entirely. There were reparations to be made, trials to attend, an entire doting public whose fears and concerns need to be alleviated, and Harry Potter really just wanted to crawl in his bed at Grimmauld Place, take his floo off system, and sleep until the Wizarding world grew tired of him and moved on to the next big ‘hero’. But Harry couldn’t do that. Not to Hermione who still hadn’t found a way to bring her parents’ memories back, or to Ron who had gone months without seeing his girlfriend and was still mourning the loss of his brother, or to Mcgonagal who had graciously accepted Harry’s assistance in restoring the castle to its former magical glory. That had been a tiring project, but since when had Harry ever done anything that wasn’t tiring. For three months he had shown up earlier than anyone else. Putting Hogwarts back together brick by brick. That’s something you won’t find in the History of Hogwarts. It doesn’t tell you that you have to place each piece back by hand, or that magic can only hold the pieces in place, not place them there. He worked all day and late into the night. Harry barely ate or slept, which didn’t bother him too much. He was lucky enough not to have nightmares like a majority of the other war survivors. Instead his sleeps were light and restless, never satisfying but always just enough to keep him going. When the castle had been fully restored, Harry had moved to the next item on the seemingly endless list of post-war tasks. Of course, he wished he could disappear. He wished he could simply vanish without telling anyone where he was going. But there was still so much to do, and he might as well do it. So, he spoke at the trials. One by one, deatheaters and public enemies of the wizarding world were put on trial. Lucius Malfoy was sentenced to life in Azkaban. Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were pardoned. It was fair. Narcissa and Malfoy were not innocent, but war is messy, and in the end they hadn’t killed anyone, had only committed crimes under duress, and had both made final choices in favor of the light. “We wouldn’t have won without them”, said Harry at the trial. And who would argue with the word of the savior.
Harry had been in the lobby for a very long time. He was told to come in as it was an extremely urgent matter, but then again everything these days seemed to be extremely urgent when it involved Harry. Over an hour had passed when the door to the newly founded ‘Victims of War Probate Service’ office finally opened. A heavy man with the thick grey beard motioned for Harry to come into the room. Once inside, Harry realized that no, the lobby was not bland. This office was somehow even worse. The man, who introduced himself as Jay Holland, wore a dull suit that matched both his carpet and the walls.
“Mr. Potter it’s great to meet you in person and let me just say thank you for everything you’ve done for us.” Harry settled in the chair across from Mr. Holland’s desk and offered him a polite smile and nod. “My daughter would kill me if I didn’t get your autograph for her. She’s a big fan. Would you mind? Her name’s Cindy.” Harry did mind. But he took the pen Mr. Holland was offering up and quickly signed the notepad laid in front of him. “Perfect! She’ll just love it!”
“My pleasure. So, Mr. Holland, any chance you can tell me what this is about? I’ve been here for nearly two hours and no one has told me why.” Harry shifted in his seat. It was rather uncomfortable, and he thought the ministry should probably invest in some better furniture- or decorations for that matter.
“Yes, yes of course. It’s about your Edward Lupin.” At the mention of his godson Harry took a more attentive sitting position.
“What about Teddy?” Asked Harry. Teddy had been staying with Andromeda, his maternal grandmother. Harry had tried to visit as often as he could, but what with the trials and the castle reparations he just hadn’t found the time, which left him feeling guilty for not giving the young child the attention he very much so deserved.
“Well you see, Mr. Lupin had established a will before his unfortunate passing and it has just been acquired by this department. You’re heavily mentioned as it pertains to his son. Mr. Lupin has requested that his son be raised by his godson and his wife’s closest living relative.” Mr. Holland looked up from the parchment he was reading from and glanced at Harry over the rim of his glasses. “I’ve been made aware that you’re planning to continue your education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry this coming September, however this should not be a problem as Edwa- I mean Teddy’s other guardian will also be attending his 8th year.” Harry’s eyes popped open at that last sentence. That didn’t make sense. His other guardian will also be attending his 8th year? His?
“I’m sorry, what? I thought Teddy was staying with Andromeda? Isn’t she the other guardian?” If Mrs. Tonks wasn’t Teddy’s closest living relative- then that meant..
“Andromeda is no longer a young witch, and with that comes a lot of health problems. She’s very wise and loves her grandson whole heartedly, but has relinquished her guardianship rights to Draco Malfoy, Ms. Tonks’ cousin. He has accepted and agreed to a co-guardianship with you. If you are not interested you are free to relinquish your guardianship rights as well, but if you’re ready to commit to a co-guardianship with Draco Malfoy in the raising of four month old Edward Remus Lupin, then I’ll need you to fill out a lot of paperwork as soon as possible.” Harry Potter, giving up a piece of his family in their time of need. Yeah. Sounds crazy to me too.
“Where do I sign?”