"𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
𝐋𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡
𝐍𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧
𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫

𝐌𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞
𝐈𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞
𝐈'𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲

𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞
𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞."

~

Laurel brushed his fingers through Alden's braids, his fingers messing with the red and gold ribbon in her hair, that shone in the moonlight of the St. Mungo's hospital room. He knew he should try to get some sleep, that in a matter of hours Alden would have to sneakily stumble her way to her own hospital room, but he simply couldn't. Perhaps it was the consistent pain of his injuries, or perhaps it was the fact that he could hold Alden before they had to separate once again.

"You should be asleep, Laurie."

"You as well."

The pair laughed and then winced from aggravation the laughter brought to their injuries, it had been nearly a week since they had woken up in St. Mungo's. The hospital felt foreign, and Laurel's memories of the battle were fuzzy, one moment he was looking for Alden and the next he was waking up here, with pains all over his body, and his father asleep in his bedside chair. Beside him were letters, and when Laurel squinted he could tell that they were for him, he sat up expecting to slide out of bed and make the short trek from his bedside to read the letters, instead he was met with a searing throbbing pain from his neck down, and he suddenly was hyper aware of the bandages that wrapped around various parts like his body like vines as he let out a sharp pained yell. A yell that woke his father, who stared at him for a moment before his eyes filled with something Laurel wasn't used to seeing in his eyes. Pride.

Every word that left his father's mouth from then on was worriedful, asking how Laurel was feeling, if he was hungry, if he needed something to drink. It all went in one ear for Laurel and out the other, as he only had one thing resting on his mind.

"Alden?"

His father had smiled as he leaned back in his seat, his worry seemingly evaporating in that moment.

"Room next over. Has been asking about you every time I send Collette to check on her. Woke up as soon as we had arrived at the hospital once they informed us you both were here."

The boy relaxed for a moment before his stomach began growling, taking center stage of his worries now that he knew Alden was alright. His father got up from his seat and began walking towards the door of the room muttering about grabbing something from a nearby sweet shop.

"You know they're calling it the 'Battle of Hogwarts'?"

Laurel was pulled back to the present with Alden's voice, he glanced over at her, she too was fixated on the night sky outside, she smiled, and Laurel found himself smiling back.

"Really?"

"Saw it on the newspaper Mama was reading."

The pair sat in silence for a moment.

"Does any of it feel real to you Denden? The 'battle' I mean."

"No. None of it does, the only way I know it happened is the physical pain I feel. I doubt it will feel real for a while but I think I prefer it this way. Being numb to it."

~

Laurel was tired of funerals, it felt like a terrible thing to say, but he was utterly tired of funerals.

Ever since he left the hospital he had attended funeral after funeral, honoring those who died in the 'Battle of Hogwarts', every coffin, every tear, and every hand squeeze with Alden served as a harsh grounding force, that the Battle did happen, that they survived, while others unfortunately didn't. Laurel found himself wondering why some died and others lived, his thoughts spiraling as he drowned in the faces of the fallen. Some were too young to even be in the battle, yet charged in valiantly anyways, amongst these thoughts however, he thought selfishly as well.

He found it selfish that he was glad his friends survived, for the most part unscathed, while many others didn't.

"How did you get your hands on a polyjuice potion again?"

"Durga and Liya, Durga nicked a hair from one of the other Hufflepuffs, and Liya grabbed me a uniform!"

"Merlin's Opal you scare me."

"I was going into that battle one way or another, even if I had to knock out the professors guarding the dungeon."

Laurel was relieved his friends survived, it felt like a miracle that they all made it through, and were now sitting in the living room of his home. Granted they were dressed in dreary black following their latest funeral, hopefully the last they would have to attend for a long time. Laurel pulled Alden close as the group continued to share bits and pieces of their experience in the battle.

"Merlin I was so relieved when I found you all after the battle, I thought you would have..."

Durga trailed off, picking at her nails for a moment before Liya rested a hand on top of hers.

"We all thought the same."

Liya leaned back, and Laurel was reminded of her letters from his time in St. Mungo's, how they begged for his forgiveness, Alden's as well. That she couldn't keep hiding her relationship with Nadeleine any longer, it was written prior to the battle, she sent the letters out by owls, in case she died in the fight. She didn't want to die with a dirty conscience. Him and Alden got into a mild argument about the situation, both of them too riddled with pain and soreness to put much passion into their words. Alden chose to empathize saying that if she was in her shoes, loving someone who did something so terrible for the small puddle of people they cared for, she would wish for at least understanding. Laurel chose to sweep it under the rug, finding he didn't have the energy to continue to be angry at Liya so openly.

The couple did agree on one point, that they doubted either of them could ever forgive Nadeleine for her betrayal. This led the girl to sit outside the house, on the porch steps as she waited for Liya to finish talking with her friends, with a cup of chilled butterbeer given to her on the insistence of Mrs. Noyer, who fussed about the kitchen attempting to make hearty cakes for the teens to take home with them.

"I will never forget the long eyed stare that was on Durga's face when I told her we had won."

Liya smiled as Durga rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in protest.

"I was in shock."

"She stared at me, deep into my eyes as well. And simply said, 'I don't know what to do now, I didn't think I would get this far.'"

"I was in shock!"

The group laughed, and Laurel couldn't help but feel relieved that they were able to crack jokes at their expenses about the Battle. He felt like a third year again, casting riddikulus on his boggart, it made him feel like he was healing, finally.

A loud crack was all the boy heard before he dove towards the floor of his home, grabbing Alden's arm and pulling her down with him. He glanced around, finding his friends had ducked to the ground as well, he checked them all over quickly, looking for glassy stares or eerily still bodies.

"Merde!"

"Are you alright, Fauna."

"Oui. Oui. Juniper knocked over a cake tin."

Relief flooded Laurel's body when he heard the voices of Mrs. Noyer and Collette from the kitchen, followed by the mischievous giggles and mashed words of his brother in the kitchen. He sat up and watched as his friends did so as well, all of them sitting on the ground, rather than bothering to sit in the chairs again. They sat there in silence for a moment, unable to think of what to say in that moment, until Mrs. Noyer rounded the corner, followed by Tondy, carrying eight cakes in total, two cakes being carried by Mrs. Noyer the other six being balanced by Tondy. Mrs. Noyer paused, seeing the teenagers on the ground, furrowing her brows for a moment.

"What are you all doing on the floor, you're not healed enough to be sitting on the ground. Any of you!"

Alden waved her hand dismissively in her mother's direction.

"We felt more comfortable down here maman, don't worry."

The older Noyer woman smiled before setting down her two cakes onto the table, she then took the cakes from Tondy, two at a time. She then straightened up, clasping her hands together.

"Take your cakes dear, before you leave, each of you take two. You deserve it, for being such brave heroes."

She turned on her heel before heading back towards the kitchen, and the group stayed silent, Laurel found himself still trying to calm his shakiness as his mind replayed the crash sound over and over. Soon it melted into his memories of the Battle, morphing from a tiny mistake into a monstrous noise that could have signaled his downfall.

~

"I asked mother to free Tondy."

"Merlin. How did that go?"

"Quite well, actually."

Laurel smiled as he looked up at Alden, who tilted her head back and forth, seeming to think about how the interaction with her mother went. The noon sun forming a halo in his eyes around her two puffs that were wrapped in red and gold ribbon, it almost made him laugh to see the ribbons, they were no longer students at Hogwarts, that much was evident as that day would have been the day they would be making their way to the Hogwarts Express. And yet, here they were, amongst their four oak trees, surrounded by a disarray of snacks for their impromptu picnic, out of the need to get out of their houses, to escape the noise of the radios that continuously droned on about the efforts being made to clean up following Voldermort.

"Tondy was gleeful to leave, he pretended not to be for Maman sake but they were so glad to leave, I believe they are going to work in the Hogwarts Kitchens or perhaps find other work. They plan to visit as well!"

"Well that's good, I was expecting your mother would make quite the fuss."

"She did. However father did remind her that I almost died only a month ago, it was the least that they could do for me."

Alden laughed and soon Laurel did as well, the boy was sure that Mr. Noyer was glad to see the House Elf freed, he could see the smirk upon his face as he comforted his wife and convinced her to let the poor creature go free.

"Enough about me, does Juniper like the toy broom?"

"Merlin, he loves it! This morning when I went for a flight on my broom he came trotting out right behind me wheeling along his broom."

Alden laughed and Laurel smiled as he watched her do so, he reached up and brushed one of her braids through his fingers. Alden looked down at him with a smile and held onto his hand, pressing it against her cheek, which Laurel began to rub his thumb against.

"You should take him for a flight on your broom."

"I can't consistently get his sister-in-law to fly on a broom with me, I don't think I am ready to take him for a flight yet."

Laurel watched as Alden rolled her eyes but soon her expression of playful annoyance turned it into one of confusion, she furrowed her brows as she looked at Laurel, her eyes following him as he sat up from her lap.

"Sister-In-Law?"

"Yes."

"His Sister- In-Law."

"Yes."

She pointed to herself, with her eyebrows still furrowed in confusion as she did so and Laurel couldn't help but laugh as he nodded. He cupped her face with his hand and pulled her close to him, planting a quick kiss against her lips that had him quickly hungering for another.

"I plan to make good on our promise, on every single promise we have ever made to each other."

~

19 years later.

Laurel watched Alden kiss their children's heads. Enough times to make the stars jealous. He was sure of it.

Their twins Kamari and Elliot, both energetic boys of eleven years old, reserved themselves to be showered in their mother's affection one last time before getting on the train to Hogwarts. He wouldn't mention it but as much as the boys attempted to keep neutral or play it smooth Laurel could see the tears pricking at their eyes. It made him wish to laugh, thinking about how he spent the morning attempting to bolster the boys with the confidence that Hogwarts was nothing to be scared of only for it to be torn down by their mother and her sweet sorrow filled goodbyes.

"Oh my sweet boys, my sweet dear boys. I love you, I love you both so much. Don't forget to send me plenty of letters."

Laurel watched as Alden finally tore herself from their children and approached the two boys, he knelt down slightly to meet their height. He still vividly remembered the day they were born, wrapped in quilts made by Cecelia, so small and vulnerable, the moment their little fingers attempted to grasp his own Laurel felt as if something was put back on a shelf inside of him, as if their presence alone glued something back together.

Now here the two boys stood, shrouded in first year robes rather than quilts and Laurel could feel a lump begin to form in his throat, the years passed by too quickly in his opinion. His little boys couldn't be going off to Hogwarts just yet, impossible, he swallowed the lump as he kept himself together for just a few moments longer.

"You're off on a great adventure, no matter what house you end up in, your mother and I will be proud of you both. Make an effort to make friends, you never know when you will need them."

Kamari looked up at Laurel, his eyes a brownish green in color, Laurel always found it funny, how much Alden would repeat their sons eyes were some of the prettiest she had ever seen.

"Like Uncle Dareen?"

"Yes, like Uncle Dareen, Auntie Durga, Auntie Liya, and your Uncle Opal. Your mother and I met them when we were just starting at Hogwarts as well, and they were life-long friends."

"Your Godfathers too."

Laurel glanced over to find Alden, slowly kneeling beside him, clutching her handkerchief, her eyes still damp with fresh tears.

"If you have any problems I'm sure your cousins will help you out. They're waiting on you both right now, look."

Alden pointed behind the boys, causing them to turn around, Laurel as well turned his gaze in the direction his wife pointed in, where he found a boy and two girls. Ryder and Ophelia's daughter Claire, a fourth year, who held Ryder's mischievous look in her eyes waved to the two boys waving them over, causing her black hair to bob slightly and whipped her hufflepuff sleeves to whip around excitedly. Her own parents talked to each other, every once in a while tapping their daughter on the shoulder to pull her into a conversation that left them all in a fit of laughter. Quinn and Calia's son Evander, a fifth year, fixed his Gryffindor prefect pin as his mother fussed over it, their daughter Diantha, a third year, poured over a book as her father fixed the blue and silver ribbon in her hair.

Soon the train whistle blew, signaling that it was time for their final goodbyes, and the twin boys looked at their parents, tears filling their eyes, and soon Alden was crying once again, pulling the boys close as she hugged them tightly. Laurel wrapped his arms around his family, closing his own eyes to prevent his own tears from joining their own.

"Remember our promise. We're Densleys, we stick together. No matter what, Hogwarts will only change you for the better, and at the end of the day we are already so proud of you both."

Soon the hug gave way and the twin boys rushed off to join their cousins as they proceeded onto the express, Laurel watched as Kamari and Elliot waved goodbye to him and Alden as the train left the station. He held Alden close as she sobbed, wiping her face with her handkerchief.

"You think they'll be alright Laurie?"

"They'll be fine. They have a great mother."

He felt Alden relax against his shoulder, her sobs finally stopping as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"And an amazing father."

Laurel let himself be engulfed in Alden's vanilla perfume, even after all these years, that perfume signaled peace and happiness to him. She pulled him in close for a kiss and Laurel found himself chasing after it.

"I love you Denden."

"I love you too Laurie."