Chapter 1 : Back to Hogwarts

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Harry was sitting on the grounds of the place that he thought of as home, the place that he had always gone to when he was thinking about things. He was finally coming home, he had some of the best memories here, and some of his worst nightmares had come true here. He had spent seven years of his life within the walls of Hogwarts. It had only been seven years since he had left school to fulfill his destiny. He had done more with his life by the time that he turned eighteen, than most people do in a lifetime.

He had always known that he would be back at some point in his life. His wife always told him that you cannot turn your back on home. This place had such an impact on him while he was a student when he was at Hogwarts the things that he learned had kept him alive through the final battle with Voldemort. Some were from his lessons, while others he had taught himself to make sure that he would come through the battle alive. This place had turned him into the man that he was today.

Since finding out he was a wizard he had been known as 'the boy who lived.' How wrong that statement about him was. All those years he had only survived. Growing up he had not known love, friendship or family. It was not until he came to Hogwarts had he known what it was to live. It wasn't until he met Ron and Hermione that he understood how someone could mean so much to another.

In the time since he had left school, his life had made drastic changes. Some changes had made him a better person for instance he was now married with a son and another on the way. While others were painful memories that he wished he could get rid of, but they served there purpose.

At a time when he should have been looking forward to his last year at school, celebrating his graduation. He instead, had dropped out of school to complete a mission that needed to be done, and he was the only one who could have done it. Not that he did not have friends and loved ones behind him, but they could only do so much. The rest he had to do himself. The battle which to the wizarding world was a win, to him it cost too much. Many of the people he considered family had been lost in the ultimate battle between good and evil, which included losing Ron.

No one was really sure what happened to him. From a distance he had seen Ron battling Bellatrix Lastange and been winning. She had shouted a curse that he could not hear. One minute he had been battling, the next he had been gone.

The news hit everyone hard. Every year since they started at Hogwarts, Hermione and Ron had battled at his side. He never really doubted that those two would make it through the battle, it had never really crossed his mind that they wouldn't make it out alive. He had trained them so well, he wanted to make sure that if something happened to him that they would be okay. He had always thought that he would be the one that would not make it through the battle. He had always thought that he would be taken down when he took down Voldemort.

It hit Hermione the hardest, she and Ron had started dating half way through the journey to rid the world of the Dark Lord. They had broken up just before going into the final battle. One of the hardest moments of his life had been watching the women who had always been so strong and wise, just crumble. He watched as the world came crashing down upon her, when she heard what happened to Ron. It had been him who told her, because he did not want her to hear it from someone else. She needed to hear from someone who was close to her. He had done the only thing that he could think of at the time. He kneeled down in front of here and embraced her. He pulled her into a hug, he held her while she cried. He rested her head on the top of hers as his own tears slipped out.

After the battlefield was cleared and loved ones laid to rest in a graveyard started at the school, for those who gave their life so others could live. It was a graveyard filled with too many people. Every time that he passed it, there was guilt that filled him, because he always felt responsible for their deaths. If only he could have protected them more or if he had trained them better. They had all given their life for him, because he asked them to fight for something more important than themselves. Though with the help of his wife, he was healing from the battle, in mind, he knew that they chose to fight at his side and knew what could happen.

Hermione had moved in with him to Sirius' house, which had been left to him after his death. He had wanted to make sure that she was looked after, he had been a friend. Making sure that she was eating and taking care of herself, he could not handle losing both of them, he needed her as much as she needed him. They had many late nights of talking about the times they had in school and the people that had been lost. And then the nights that were hard, when she would wake up screaming because of a nightmare, during these time he would just hold her while she cried and he would cry with her. Or the nights when he had woken up screaming, she would be by his side to make sure that he was okay. He needed this as much as she had needed it, this was the last family for both of them. Hermione had lost her parents in a car accident when they were in their fourth year at school.

Unfortunately, what he and Hermione had needed to heal, led to the destruction of his and Ginny's relationship. It was not the only reason, but it was a key component. She had needed more of him than he was willing to give to her after the battlefield had cleared. Their relationship had been on the rocks long before the battle had begun. This had just been the last straw for them.

Looking back he thought maybe he should have fought to keep her, but he had been drained and that he really was not in love with her. He had been in love with the idea of love. It was more of a brotherly love, especially towards the end of the relationship and she deserved better than that.

About six months after Ron's death Hermione and Harry started dating, many had claimed that it was a rebound relationship, including the wizarding press, but it was more than that. After dating a year, they decided to get married. It had been a small, private ceremony. There had only been about 50 people invited, their closest friends. All the members of the Order came to the wedding, including the Weasley's even Ginny. Everyone had supported them. Remus had been the one to walk Hermione down the aisle, he was the closest person to a father she had, because he was so close to Harry. Of course not long after the Wizarding world press had pictures for the wedding of 'the boy who lived' and soon after the rumors started.

They stopped reading the Daily Prophet because of the articles stating that they had been messing around while Ron was still alive. They had been asked to do so many interviews and refused every single one of them. The first day that the articles came out we got an owl from the Weasley's saying they did not believe a single word of the paper. It also said that they knew the truth and that we had every right to be happy with each other. Remus, Tonks and Teddy had flooed over to the house to give their support and so they knew that people were behind them. That after everything that they had been through they deserved to be happy, just because it is not what everyone else would do, it was right for them.

After being married for a little less than two years they had their son James Sirius Potter. According to members of the Order, he was a spitting image of James and followed his mother when it came to the brains, while he just turned three he is above his friends. He will soon be a big brother to either a sister or a brother.

"Harry." Hermione called out. Just hearing her voice put a smile on his face. He loved to just hear her talk.

"Hey beautiful." Harry stood up and turned to face his wife, who was holding James. "Sorry I must have lost track of the time, just thinking about our days here. What this place means to us, the experiences that we dealt with when we were in school."
He gave her a short kiss before taking their son, who was holding out his arms for Harry to take him. He rested James on his right side and used his left hand to take Hermione's right hand. They entwined their fingers.

This year Harry was to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor and Hermione was going to be the Potions professor. They had both decided to teach, that way they would not be split up for months at a time and they brought James with because they could not let someone else raise him. Especially when they found out the Hermione was pregnant again.


Together they walked into Professor McGonogall's office, which was Professor Dumbledore's old office. Since his death she had taken on the post of Headmistress of the Hogwarts. It was different coming into the headmistress's office and not being in trouble. While both had been good students, they had a thing for rules and not following them.

"Why Harry Potter, Hermione Granger it is a pleasure to see you both, and are so happy." Professor McGonogall.

"Same to you Professor McGonogall, but it is Mrs. Potter now. I don't think you have met our son James." Hermione corrected.

"Oh my I heard that you two had gotten married, but you never know what to listen to and what not to. I did not know about this little guy, may I hold him?"

"James you want to go visit Aunt Minerva?" Harry asked as he handed the little boy over.

"Oh I can tell that when you come to school here you will be a rule breaker just like your parents and grandfather. We will need to balance you with someone more like your mother and grandmother as to make sure that you do not get in too much trouble. I do not think that we have ever had a Potter in this school that was not a rule breaker so why stop tradition." Professor McGonogall said with a smile and light laugh. "As you know students will arrive later tonight so I will show you to your rooms. Now before you ask when I say rooms, which means one for you two to share and one for James. They will be connected so you do not have to worry." She handed James back to Harry

"Can I call you Mac?"

"Yes James you may call me Mac." Minerva said to the little boy.

"I like her, she is fun." James said, trying to whisper and not exceeding at quite part.

"Well she was my favorite teacher when I was a student here." Harry told him.

"Should we be on our way to your room? I think this the first time that in Hogwarts history that we have needed a two bedroom living space. You will find that it has already been decorated and arranged for you, but if you like you can change it around."
"Thank you Professor McGonogall." Harry said.

"Harry, Hermione, you are no longer students where, please call me Minerva." Professor McGonogall said. "Here we are. I believe you know how to put a password on the door.

"Yes Pro...er...Minerva." Hermione said.

"Alright, by the way we will arrange for someone to watch to watch over James while you two are in school. Luna Lovegood will be helping out in the hospital wing. I have a feeling that she would love to watch over this little guy." Professor McGonogall said.
"She will have the room right next to yours so that she can come on a moments notice. So I will see you all at the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony."

"See you later Minerva." Harry said. "We will be down in about three hours. I think that we will unpack and relax until we need to be down to the Great Hall."


After Professor McGonogall left them as a family, they walked into the room that would be theirs while they were teaching at Hogwarts. It was a huge area they would be calling home for the next couple of months. The rooms were all decked out in Gryffindor colors, since that was both Harry's and Hermione's house when they attended Hogwarts.

Looking around the room, there was a living space, and two sleeping areas. In the living area there were two desks on opposite walls in the room. On the wall that was connected to the hallway there was a fire place that provided heat and communication to the Order. In front of the fireplace were a chair and a couch with a side table. There were three bookcases in the room, two were on the back wall against the corners that framed the opening to the main bedroom. The other bookcase was next to the desk on the left side of the room.

In the back of the room was where Harry and Hermione's bedroom. It was a spacious room. In the center was a four poster bed, which had black curtains that could be pulled down for privacy. On the left side was a wardrobe cabinet that went the entire length of the room. On the right side was a partition to allow for changing and farther down was a door that led to a private bathroom.

"Hey James, you want to check out your room?" Harry asked. The little boy's face lit up with excitement, even though he was sleepy. "Well let's go."

Together the three of them walked back to the living area to the second door to the room, which was in the same corner as the door to go out. They walked in to a smaller room. He had a twin bed that was in the corner by the wall that attached in the living area. At the foot of the bed against the wall was a wardrobe. On the opposite side of the room across from the door was a bookshelf, what at his age it would be filled with toys. Next to the bed was a door that led to his bathroom. Unlike the rest of the rooms, James's room was decorated in midnight blue and dark wood.

"So James what do you think about your new bedroom?" Hermione asked.

"I love it mummy, I get the best room because I don't have to share it with anyone." James said with a smile.

"So how about while mummy unpacks your stuff, while I tuck you in for your nap because we are going to have a long night." Harry said.

"But daddy..."

"No complaints, you will be able to see the castle later tonight and tomorrow, mummy and I will give you the Grand Tour of this place. We will show you things that many have never seen, even some things that other Professors have never seen." Harry said.

"If you are really good, I will let daddy take you on a broom ride tomorrow." Hermione added.

"Okay, can I have a story?"

"If I tell you a story now you do not get one tonight."

"I'll have it tonight, than I want the story of you and mum." James said with a yawn.

"We will wake you up when it comes time for supper." Harry said.

Hermione took Harry's hand as they walked out of James's room. They turned off the light before shutting the door. She led him back to their room and pulled the curtain which Harry had not seen before.

Once the curtain was closed Harry pulled his wife close and started kissing her passionately. His hands were roaming up and down her sides. She started unbuttoning his dress shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. He lifted her up and took her to their bed.

"Harry we cannot do this." Hermione said.

"Why?" He took a break from kissing her neck long enough to ask the one question.

"Because we are at school." Hermione stated.

"Hermione why should that matter? We are two consenting, married adults. I think that people will know that we have done it at least twice. If you are worried about people hearing, don't worry I placed a charm on our room, it is not like we are sneaking into the library." This time it was Hermione who pulled Harry into a kiss.


Three Hours Later
Harry, Hermione and James entered the Great Hall, they were one of the first of the teachers to enter the hall. There were two professors already sitting down and they both turned towards the new comers.

"Why if it isn't Hogwarts own Harry Potter and Hermione Granger?" Professor Flitwick said with a smile. "So to what do we owe the honor of you two?"

"Actually we will be teaching here. I will be teaching Potions, while Harry is teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." Hermione said.

"Well who better to teach people Defense Against the Dark Arts then the man who rid us of the He-Who-Must-Be-Named. Ms. Granger you were one our best potion makers. It is great to have you two here." Professor Flitwick said.

"Who is this little guy?" Professor Spout asked.

"My name is James Sirius Potter." James said with a little sleep in his voice. He rested his head on his father's shoulder. He did a small wave to the two professors.

"This is our son, who is three years old." Hermione added.

"So it is Hermione Potter now?" Professor Spout asked.

"Yes, has been for almost five years. Surprised you did not read about it." Hermione said.

"Well around here we have stopped receiving the 'Daily Prophet' around the time of Professor Dumbledore's death. It was only filled with lies." Professor Flitwick said.

"So planning on anymore kids?" Professor Spout asked.

Harry slide his arm around Hermione's still slender waist. The pregnancy was not showing yet. "Yeah we are, in fact Hermione is pregnant with our second child. She is two months along." Harry said with pride.

"We are planning to have four children, but that might change." Hermione said.

"James are you excited to be an older brother?"

"Yeah." The little boy face lit up with excitement. "I am going to teach him lots."

James leaned over to his father's ear and whispered something in to him. "Alright we will be right back. James needs to make a visit to Myrtle. So why don't you save our seat and we will be right back?" Harry gave Hermione a kiss before walking towards the boy's bathroom.

When Harry and James came back to the hall, there were students starting to filter into the Great Hall and take their seat at their respective tables. When James saw people he demanded to walk over to mum, so instead of carrying James, he held his hand.

Many of the teachers were now sitting down at the head table. He took his seat next to Hermione, when Harry had sat down James climbed into his lap. He put one arm around his son to prevent him from falling and the other was holding his wife's hand.
Harry looked over to the other side of him. Sitting there was Luna. "Hey Luna, how have you been. I don't think that I have seen you since James's 1st Birthday? We used to see Neville all the time when we worked at the Ministry, how are you two doing?"
"Oh we are good, in fact you must of not received your invitation, we will be getting married at the end of the school year. He sends all of his love to you and your family, and congratulation on your upcoming little one."

"Thank you, James do you remember Luna?" The little boy shook his head no. "She is a good friend of mummy and I's. You will be spending a lot of time with Luna, because she will be watching you while mummy and I are teaching. She will probably teach you many things."

"She taught daddy and I many things over the years. You remember uncle Neville right?" He shook his head yes. "Well she and uncle Neville bring out the best of each other."

"Attention everyone, please have a seat as we start the sorting of our first year students. When your name is called, please come up to have the hat sort you into one of the four houses." Professor McGonogall.

"Michael Weasley." A red hair boy walked up to the stool, where the hat placed on his head. This was Charlie and Anna's oldest boy. He was much like his father in looks and had received his personality from his uncles George and Fred. Charlie and Anna had their hands full with all of his pranks.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The table of the house went wild with the new member walking towards the table.

"Sydney Digory." This was Cedric's youngest sister. She had long brown hair and a stunning smile that would be similar to her older brother's.
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted.

The hat sorted about thirty more students, into the four different houses of the school. It was now time for the beginning of the year speech.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As always our groundkeeper Mr. Filch would like me to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest, is just that, forbidden. Now before we start the feast we have a few students who have returned to us as teachers. First we have Professor Draco Malfoy who will be the Transfiguration teacher along with being the head of Slytherin." Draco stood up and nodded his head toward the Slytherin table.

"Next we have Madame Luna Lovegood, she will be helping Madame Promfrey in the hospital wing." Luna stood up and waved her hand at all the students.
"And finally we have Professors Potter and Granger." Both of them stood up together. Harry was still holding James and holding Hermione's hand. "Professor Hermione Granger will be your Potions teacher and Professor Harry Potter will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts, he will also be the head of Gryffindor." The Gryffindor table went wild with a standing ovation.

"Alright before we eat, I would like to remind everyone tryouts for Quidditch start next week for open positions, which will be posted by the captain and the head of the house. Any other position can be challenged after the rest of the team has been placed." Professor McGonogall said. "Enjoy."

Food started filling up on the table.  

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