It's A Visit, Just A Visit

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Somehow, a single butterbeer with an old friend had turned into a floo trip and a late supper with said old friend and his wife.

"This is really good, Hannah, I may have to get the recipe from you to take back with me," Harry said.

Hannah Longbottom visibly preened.

"One condition, Harry – you don't cook it anywhere in Britain," she said mock-sternly.

"You have my word," Harry promised.

"Take back, Harry?" Neville asked. "I thought that you were back for good now."

Harry shook his head. "I've got a business to run back in New York."

"And it's not as though he could move it here," Hannah stated. "Between the Cauldron and the Three Broomsticks and the Hogg's Head in Hogsmeade, there really isn't a need for another pub. Is there, Harry?"

Harry chuckled at the fierce glare Hannah was giving him.

"I'd never try to muscle in on your territory," Harry promised. "Besides, after the ... clientele that I get in the Den, I think I'd find things a little too ... sedate."

"Sedate?" Hannah repeated incredulously. "This place is always hopping and you never know who you're going to get come in. Last week an entire coven of vampires turned up; scared all of my regulars away for the night."

"What sort of people do you get at your place, Harry?" Neville asked.

"Mostly regular people off the street, much like Hannah would have. But the Den's the go-to hang out place for one of the high schools nearby, they're in before and after school every day, and sometimes during the day as well if they've got a spare."

"Every day?" Neville asked, clearly surprised.

Harry chuckled. "It's not like Hogwarts. These kids don't board at the school, they go home every night. There are some schools that take boarders, but even they let the students come and go – with strict curfews, of course – as often as they like; allows them to blow off steam and experience the 'real' world."

Neville shook his head at the alien thought. "Sounds kinda dangerous."

"Can be," Harry shrugged. "But the majority of kids know how to look after themselves and how to keep out of trouble."

"That's your main customers, then? Regular people and school kids? Doesn't sound so different," Hannah asked.

"For the most part," Harry shrugged. "Although I've been known to have superheroes and gods drop by occasionally."

Neville laughed.

"I'd forgotten you had such a sense of humour, Harry," he said.

"I wasn't joking, Nev," Harry replied seriously. "I do have those sorts of people come in. Helps that they're friends of mine, have been since the Chitauri invasion."

"Chitauri?" Hannah asked, looking to her husband to see if he knew the strange word.

Harry shook his head. "I'd forgotten how sheltered the magical world is. A while back, New York was invaded by aliens from outer space. Took a group of extraordinary people to drive them back off world. One of the few places that wasn't damaged was the Den – that's how I got to know them, when they came in to chill after the battle."

Neville stared wide-eyed at Harry. "That is the craziest thing I've ever heard. And I can't tell whether you're being serious or making it up. Now if you were George Weasley, I'd know you were spinning a tale."

"I'm not making it up, Nev, Hannah. It actually happened. There's a whole bunch of weird and wacky people out there who can do extraordinary things without magic that normal people can't do," Harry tried to explain.

"I think I'm glad that I live in the magical world," Hannah said with a shiver. "Sounds too dangerous out in the muggle world."

"Not really; at least, not for the average person," Harry tried to reassure her. "The non-magical world has lots to offer if you'd only give it a chance."

"I don't know, Harry, I think my greenhouses can be enough of a challenge for me at times," Neville replied.

"You don't know what you're missing," Harry sighed, taking a last swallow of his drink. "Thanks for dinner, guys, but I should probably head, it's getting late and you've both got work tomorrow."

"No worries, Harry," Neville said. "We'll get together again soon and catch up some more."

"And you know that there'll be others wanting to see you," Hannah added. "Everyone in the old DA, at least. Hey! That's an idea. Harry, keep Friday night free, we'll get the old crowd back together. Don't worry, I'll arrange everything."

"Sure, Hannah, sounds good," Harry replied easily.

ooo00ooo

The doorbell had barely finished ringing before the door was pulled open and Harry was being yanked inside and into a massive hug.

"Hi, Andy," he managed through a mouthful of hair. "It's good to see you, too."

Andy released him before pushing him back slightly, her hands remaining on his shoulders as she looked him up and down.

"It's about time you came here," Andy admonished. "I heard from Teddy yesterday that you'd already been up to Hogwarts to see him."

"Well, I knew that there was a Wizengamot session yesterday and I didn't want to intrude," Harry said.

"Oh, tosh!" Andy replied with a wave of her hand. "You have more right than most to be there."

"I'm not a sitting member," Harry protested.

"You should be, though," Andy huffed. "Just because your reprobate of a godfather managed to name me as the voice of the Ancient House of Black – not that I have figured out how he got around the family magic in order to do that yet – did not mean that you had to follow his lead and then make me the proxy for your other two seats."

"It's only because I trust you so much, Andy," Harry replied with a great grin.

Andromeda Tonks huffed a second time before turning to shut the door.

"Well, come on, then," she said, setting off for the kitchen. "I'll make us a cup of tea and tell you all about the votes that I've cast in your name recently, since we're on the topic; might as well get the boring stuff out of the way before we settle in for a proper catch-up."

Dutifully, Harry nodded and followed her down the portrait-lined hallway. Unlike most magical homes, these portraits weren't imbued with magic, being simple non-magical photographs. Harry found himself pausing to stare at and lightly touch quite a number of them: Ted Tonks; Just-Call-Me-Tonks Tonks; Remus; and a multitude of Teddy as he grew from baby to toddler to child to teen.

A simple tap of Andy's wand on the kettle had it floating across to the sink to fill itself before it landed atop the stove. A wave had the stovetop lit and the kettle beginning to heat as the two sat.

"It hasn't been easy of late," Andy began. "Most of the momentum from after the war seems to have dried up."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"You know that the Wizengamot from before the war had been decimated of most of its pureblood base allowing the muggle-born laws to all be repealed," she said, to which Harry nodded. "Well, a lot of those seats have now been filled by the next generation and they're slowly pushing back towards laws that favour the pureblood once more."

"What?" a startled Harry asked – Hermione hadn't mentioned anything like that.

"Oh, it's nothing much at the moment, but it has the potential to be a real pain in the future, thus why myself and those I'm aligned closely with are doing all that we can to ensure that there remains a balance," Andy explained. "The downside is that all of those creature laws that we want either replaced or overhauled are taking so much longer than we thought they would."

Harry cocked her head at her. "I thought they were all overturned years ago."

"The harshest ones were," Andy confirmed, "but others, the ones that have been in place for centuries were never going to be changed in a hurry – the ones like only witches and wizards can sit in the Wizengamot, no creatures or those of other species, like goblins, centaurs, mer-people or dwarves. The house elf laws have stalled completely, even if all we were aiming for was a basic code of how to treat them."

Harry shook his head at the bigotry that he was hearing. While yes, it existed in the non-magical world, it was getting better as time passed – men and women were able to vote and colour of skin mattered little, at least for the most part in the western world.

"We could really use someone with some political clout and a name that everyone respects and looks up to, to champion the cause," Andy stated.

"Oh no you don't," Harry protested instantly, waving his hands in emphasis. "I'd be pants at sitting around a chamber of old people talking out of their asses all day just to hear themselves and to make sure the status quo remains in place. I'd probably last a day before I started hexing everyone in there. That's why I made you my proxy."

"Can't help me from trying," Andy shrugged, and Harry breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Andy was well aware of his stance. "You will, one day, have to come up with an alternative; I'm not getting any younger, you know."

"I know, Andy, and maybe one day I'll be ready to settle down to that sort of life, but it's just not now," Harry replied. "For now, I'm happy to simply read the monthly reports that you send me."

"Oh, so you do read them! I did wonder, considering you never respond to what I put in them," she admonished.

"If I don't respond, it simply means that I agree with everything you've voted on," Harry replied quickly. "Now, tell me how Teddy's been doing."

Andy gave him a nonplussed look that screamed that she knew that he was changing the topic.

"Teddy's been good," Andy said. "Although there's times that he nearly gives me heart attacks. I caught him last summer standing at the top of the stairs with that horrid pink hair that Nym used to favour. He'd morphed her face as well; could have sworn that it was her standing there, especially when he stumbled and only just caught himself before he fell down the stairs, just like his mother used to. It wasn't until he laughed at himself and I recognised his voice that I realised that it was Teddy and not Nymphadora."

Harry laid a hand on her arm in sympathy. Even after all this time, he missed Tonks and Remus as well.

"I'm just glad that he takes after his father as well," Andy continued. "I cherish the days where he curls up with a book and just reads the day away, it's nice to have a break every now and again. Mind you, I do miss him when he's away at Hogwarts."

"So, you won't mind if Teddy comes over to visit me during the summer holidays for few weeks then?" Harry asked.

"Oh, Merlin, no," Andy smiled. "It'll be good for him to spend some time with you and I'm sure that he'd enjoy it."

ooo00ooo

The party was already in full swing by the time that Harry and Hermione walked through the doors.

Hannah had joined three of the Leaky Cauldron's private rooms together and then enlarged the space. A large table, filled with platters, dishes and tureen's containing all manner of food lined the wall to one side, while on the opposite side, half a dozen tables had been set up. A small bar had been installed against the back wall and this seemed to be where the majority of those there were congregated.

"Harry!"

The call went up from George and was quickly echoed by all of those there, along with a number of cheers and even a whistle that could only be Seamus.

Harry raised his hand in greeting, giving them a wave and, it seemed, incidentally, signalling a stampede. The first to reach him were Angelina, Alicia and Katie who wrapped him in a four-way hug, each managing to plant a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"It's good to see you guys, too," Harry laughed as he took one hand off of Katie's back to shake hands with Dean, followed by Dennis, Lee and Oliver.

"Let the guy breathe, why don't ya?" Ron said, pulling the girls off Harry only to promptly wrap him in a gigantic bear-hug.

"Hey, Ron," Harry said. "How's things?"

"Yeah, you know," Ron replied, running a hand through hair that Harry noted was starting to thin. "Good. Cannons are having their best season in years."

"Heard they'd finally gotten a decent keeper," Harry replied.

"Boys," Hermione mock-huffed, her smile giving away her true feelings.

"Here you go, Harry."

Harry felt a tankard thrust into his hands and looked to see the distinctive foam of butterbeer in his hand.

"Thanks, Susan," Harry said.

"It's been too long, mate," Ron complained. "Thought you'd be done with your wandering years ago. Seeker's spot is still yours if you want it, just say the word. I assume you can still fly as great as you used to?"

"What? Of course, I can," Harry replied indignantly, images of him and Spider-man patrolling the city flitting through his mind.

"Forget it, Ron," Oliver interjected. "When Harry goes professional, you know he's going to join the best team in the league. Puddlemere."

"Puddlemere?" an aghast Ron protested. "Why in the world would he play with them when he can play with his best mate?"

"Well, we are the top team in the league. Have been for the past four years running. And a Seeker needs the best Captain and Keeper backing him up," Oliver boasted.

"What? You?" Ron spluttered.

Harry felt his arm pulled.

"Come on, once those two get going, nothing can stop them," Hermione whispered.

Harry grinned at her. Suddenly it was as though the years had just melted away and they were back in the Gryffindor common room once again. It was probably those thoughts that helped him focus on the woman half-hidden in the corner at one of the tables.

"Is that Lavender?" he asked, nodding in her direction.

Hermione looked over, surprise written on her face. "Yes, it is. It's surprising that she's here, actually."

When Harry looked at her curiously, she continued.

"It's rare to see her these days, she gets shunned a lot. You remember how Remus used to be treated? Well, it's like that, only worse, her being a girl. Her scars don't make it easy. At least she feels comfortable enough with us."

Harry frowned in annoyance at the ridiculousness of the wizarding world. Lavender Brown was a hero of the Battle of Hogwarts. She fought when so many didn't. Harry'd seen her that day, holding her own against Death Eaters two, three and four times her age. And she'd survived. The last that Harry'd heard, she'd earnt herself a respectable position as a lead writer with Teen Witch Weekly. Obviously, his information was out of date.

Squaring his shoulders, he marched across the room, greeting others here and there as he did, but not allowing himself to be waylaid for more than a second or two here and there.

"Hi, Lav, mind if I sit here?" Harry asked.

Lavender looked up in surprise. Her long hair was draped over half of her face, covering the scars that Fenrir Greyback had given her.

"Um, sure, Harry, if you want to," she said.

"How've you been?" he asked as he sat.

She shrugged noncommittedly. "You know. Good, I guess."

"I'm guessing Parvati and Padma are still in India?" he asked.

"Pad visits occasionally, but Parv is married now and has two boys and a third on the way, so she doesn't get to travel much any more," Lavender replied.

"She's married?" Harry asked with a shake of his head. "You go away for a few years and everything changes. Right. Looks like I've come to the right person; fill me in on all the goss."

It was almost like he's flipped a switch in the woman. Her face lit up and she even leant towards him, coming out of the shadows somewhat.

What followed next was an hour of the most in-depth discussion of what'd been happening in the wizarding world that Harry'd ever heard. And Lavender wasn't the only one getting in on the discussion. Everyone there drifted over at some point, adding in what they knew, not only about the couples that had formed, the weddings attended and the children born, but also the jobs that they'd settled into.

And through it all, Harry made sure that he kept smiling and laughing along with everyone else. Inside, though, he was cringing. Nothing had really changed. These people he once knew so well, his friends with so much potential, had hardly moved on at all. They had the same jobs as their parents, with very few exceptions. Life for them revolved around the same few things: family, jobs, quidditch, the Ministry and, to some extent, Hogwarts. And that was life for them.

To be honest, it wasn't much different in the non-magical world. People there lived their normal, everyday lives, focussing on family and friends, jobs and the government and their sport of choice. It was exactly the life that Vernon and Petunia Dursley had always emphasised.

But to Harry, it sounded almost like a prison sentence. Where was the excitement? The challenges? The adventure?

And when he compared it to his own life he shuddered.

He'd left this world behind. He'd travelled the world, seen wonders, met people, eaten food that no one here could even imagine. And when he'd finally 'settled', it was only to almost instantly fall into a life of adventure with the Avengers. Tony, Peter, Matt, even Doreen and Gwen kept life exciting, unpredictable, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Harry!" a high-pitched squeal interrupted his musing.

Before he'd even had a chance to look around, his face was full of long, red hair and his lap was filled with a lithe, female body.

"Hi, Ginny," he smiled once he'd recovered the breath that she'd knocked out of him.

"It's so good to see you again," she said, wiggling around until she was sitting sidewards on his lap, one arm draped around his shoulders.

"You, too," he said, shooting a look at Hermione, a look she promptly ignored.

"You should have told me you were coming, I'd have gotten you season tickets with the Harpy's," she continued. "As it is, I can use my connections to get you in the top box at our next home match."

His mouth snapped closed as she continued talking, not allowing him a chance to respond.

"And you've simply got to come home to the Burrow. Mum is dying to see you again. She's promised to cook all of your favourites; we'll make it a family reunion. Where are you staying? I hope it's not here – no offence, Hannah. Doesn't matter, you can come stay at my place, with me. We've got so much to catch up on, now that you've got your wandering out of your system. And I can introduce you to all the important people, of course."

Harry looked around the table at the faces sitting there grinning madly at him as she continued babbling on. Dean seemed to be almost laughing, a fact that Harry wasn't amused with, especially considering that Ginny had apparently only broken up with him – again – a month or so back.

"Ginny. Ginny. Ginny!" he said, getting progressively louder. Finally, he'd caught her attention enough to interrupt her latest sentence. "Thanks for the offer, but I've got a place, remember? Grimmauld? And as for your Mum and Dad, of course I'll make sure to go over and visit while I'm here, but this is just a visit. I'm heading back to New York when I'm done here."

Hearing that caused every conversation to stop and heads to swivel to look firstly at him and then at each other.

The party seemed to stutter then and it wasn't long before the first ones began leaving – after all, most had children to get home to. When it seemed polite, Harry, too, made his farewells and gave his thanks to Hannah and Neville

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