An Unexpected Predicament

Chapter 22 - A Life in the Limelight

The story broke worldwide after Harry and Neville had given their interviews. The entire wizarding world knew the truth about Harry Potter, and his serious boyfriend, Neville Longbottom. Their interview to the Quibbler was seen by Harry's small, but very loyal and supportive fan base. They had decided not to give an interview to the Prophet after all that had happened. But the interview that mattered was that which they had given to Witch Weekly. Regardless of the things people said about the magazine and its gossipying nature, it was sold in wizarding shops across the world. It had more reach than any other publication which was exactly what they needed.

So, for the first time ever Harry bought a copy of Witch Weekly, and he and Neville read it together in bed that morning. The front cover was a picture of them both, in black and white, looking quite attractive if he said so himself. The bottom right corner loudly shouted, '"EXCLUSIVE!" followed by a short summary of what their interview was about.

"Potter and Longbottom open up about their relationship, Auror training and the prejudices they suffer!"

Harry smiled slightly, 'Well, it's out there now, in the way we want it to be.'

'Can't take it back now,' Neville agreed.

'Not that I'd want to,' Harry said honestly, 'I feel free for the first time. I don't feel trapped anymore, like I can be who I want to be. I don't give a shit about whether people will like that person or not.'

Neville grinned at him and rolled over to kiss him, 'You have no idea how much more I want you now that you're this selfless, sexy, hero again.'

Harry laughed against his lips, 'I think I do, you've mentioned it a lot.'

Neville chuckled, 'Yeah well I never thought I would miss your hero complex, but there you have it, I did.'

'What are you reading?'

'Witch Weekly,' Hermione smiled as Ron walked into the kitchen ready for work.

'Is that Harry and Neville?' Ron asked in disbelief.

'Yes, they decided to tell their story their own way,' Hermione said as she glanced up at him, 'they really do love each other, Ron.'

'I know,' Ron sighed, 'Percy was talking to me about it last night…it's just Ginny…'

'I understand,' Hermione said, looking away once more. She expected him to leave, he was going to be late for work if he didn't. But instead he sat down next to Hermione at the kitchen table and looked at her expectantly.

'What?' Hermione asked with a frown.

Ron smiled slightly, 'Go on, read it to me.'

Hermione positively beamed at him and wasted no time reading the short interview aloud.

"The New Power Couple!

The wizarding world is going to see a drastic change now that Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom have come out as the first high profile figures in a 'homosexual' relationship! They seem incredibly relaxed as I sit here and drink tea with them both for our interview, are you ready for change? Because it's coming!

So boys, don't you feel worried about the negative reactions to your relationship?

Neville: Nah. We expected it, we aren't exactly happy about it but we knew this was coming. But at the end of the day, we'll deal with things as they come.

Harry: We are already thinking about ways to improve awareness, that was why we wanted to give you our first big interview. There must be so many people in our situation, terrified to talk to anyone about it.

Well, we really appreciate that. It can't have been easy, dealing with feelings that must have been new and scary, while training to be Aurors.

Harry: No it wasn't. We both got the distinct impression we wouldn't be wanted there if they knew, so things were very secretive.

Neville: I didn't even know he was gay until we'd been at training for a year!

Harry: Sorry about that, Nev.

Neville: Ah, it's alright. I've almost forgiven you.

So was it the pressure that made you feel like you had to quit, Neville?

Neville: No, not really. I basically had a choice, with the rules being as they were, we couldn't be together and both train together. So one of us had to quit, and Harry loves the job more than I do. It's a good thing I quit, he's been having nightmares about me taking over the world with an army of venomous tentacula!

Harry: Blame Draco Malfoy for that one, he put the idea in my head!"

Hermione had to pause to wait for Ron to stop laughing at the image that had popped into his head of Neville leading an army of venomous tentacula while wearing a cardigan and brandishing the sword of Gryffindor. She hid a smile of amusement at his behaviour, she was just grateful that it looked like he was going to start speaking to Harry again.

"Ah, then the rumours are true about you and top notch lawyer Draco Malfoy working together to try and bring awareness of this issue of inequality to the fore?

Harry: Yes, they are true. As difficult as it is to believe I have somehow become good friends with Draco Malfoy. I don't believe it myself, to be honest.

We all had to take a short break there as the interview descended into silliness! So, apart from Harry's odd dream, everything is normal, despite the crazy circumstances?

Neville: As normal as things can be in a relationship with Harry Potter!

Harry: Very funny Nev. But no, everything is normal. Neville starts Herbology College a week today, and I go back to Auror training too. I fully expect to get hell there because of the fact I'm gay, but I've got some great friends who I know support me.

Neville: We really do have the best friends we could wish for, and that makes such a difference.

I bet. Well, one last question then. The typical one, I'm afraid! Who's the woman in the relationship?

Harry [while laughing]: Merlin, well I think it's both of us in different ways! Neville gets emotional easier than I do, I think.

Neville: But I'm useless around the house, Harry cooks and does cleaning charms, I'm just so lazy.

Harry: He's so messy, and I am a bit of a clean freak these days, actually. But at least I don't cry at Disney movies Neville…"

Ron was still chortling as Hermione shut the magazine.

'Neville cries at Disney movies?' Ron said as he wiped away tears of laughter, 'that was hilarious.'

'And perfect,' Hermione smiled, 'they are doing a wonderful thing. They're right, being gay is not accepted here and that's ridiculous. You don't pick how you are born, you don't get to pick to be a Pureblood, or a Muggle-born, or a Blood traitor, you don't get a choice between liking men or women. It should be accepted, and their interview proves that they have a normal relationship, just like a man and a woman would.'

Ron watched her thoughtfully, 'You should help them with this Hermione.'

'I already am Ron,' Hermione said honestly, 'I've promised to do everything that I can to help.'

Ron nodded, apparently deep in thought. After a moment he glanced at the clock, 'I'm going to go by Harry's, I'm already late for work. I need to put things right.'

Hermione gave him a watery smile as she threw her arms around him, 'I'm so proud of you Ron!'

When Ron stepped out of the floo the living room was empty, and there was no way he was walking into Harry's bedroom. He didn't know what he'd find there.

'Harry?' He instead called from the hallway.

'Ron, is that you?' Harry's voice called back, he sounded surprised.

'Yeah, are you two…decent?' Ron asked awkwardly.

Harry laughed, 'Yeah, Neville's in the shower, it's safe to come in.'

Ron edged into the bedroom where Harry was standing in front of the mirror attempting to tame his hair, 'Are you here to tell me I'm late for work?'

Ron shook his head, 'Nah, I'm late too. Hermione wanted to read me that article this morning, in Witch Weekly.'

'You saw that?' Harry asked, catching his best friend's eye.

Ron nodded, 'And I wanted to put things right. You know, when we were fighting once Hermione said I should have been a Hufflepuff because I'm so loyal to my family. I think she was right, I can't stand anyone hurting them, and then with Ginny…I'm so protective of her, we all are.'

'I know,' Harry said honestly, 'and what I did was wrong, Ron. You're right to be angry with me, I treated Ginny like shit. I shouldn't have tried to make things normal, I shouldn't have tried to make myself normal-'

'You are normal Harry,' Ron interrupted.

Harry smiled slightly at the redhead, 'I don't feel like I am right now Ron. I feel like half the wizarding world are behind me, and the other half are abandoning me because of who I fell in love with.'

'Well Hermione and me are in the half that are behind you,' Ron said honestly, 'she said to me, Hermione, after you and Neville had that big duel…she said to me that she didn't think she would ever forgive me for what I did in the war. And do you want the truth? I don't think you will either, and I know why you can't, because I can't forgive myself-'

'Ron-'

'No,' Ron said with a shake of his head, 'I left you, you were in your time of need and I left you. That's not the kind of thing a friend does, but I was a coward and Hermione's right, every time something goes wrong, I abandon you. But I'm not going to do that anymore Harry, I'll be here if you ever need anything. And I'll help, with this charity if you want, I can put up posters in the shop for you, I mean with the Hogsmeade branch that will help won't it? Because there must be people at Hogwarts going through the same thing who-'

Harry pulled Ron into a hug, his eyes a little watery, 'Ron, I'll never understand you,' he said fondly.

'You are the second person to hug me and cry today,' Ron said in amusement.

Harry laughed and wiped his eyes as he pulled back, 'I'll seriously never understand you though mate. One minute you're an angry arse, and then you can be so thoughtful. It was like when you thought about the house elves, in the final battle.'

'The thought that won me Hermione,' Ron joked.

Harry smiled, 'Thank you, and we'd really appreciate it, if you'd put posters up. That would be fantastic.'

'Alright,' Ron said with a smile, 'then consider it done. But I better get to work, I'm already half an hour later.'

'And I'll be even later,' Harry laughed as Ron rushed in the direction of the fireplace.

"POTTER AND LONGBOTTOM SET UP CHARITY TO HELP HOMOSEXUAL WITCHES AND WIZARDS!"

'It's going well,' Harry beamed.

'It's fantastic,' Neville agreed as they stood in front of their charity's HQ, a simple building in Hogsmeade.

'I really think this is going to make a difference, to a lot of these kids,' Harry said as he glanced around at the small group making their way into the building.

'Might even save lives,' Neville said cheerfully, and a little tearfully.

'It's a much better way to spend a summer, than going to Africa, or Brazil,' Harry said as he slipped his hand into Neville's, they didn't care about the reporters or the photographers lurking up ahead. This was public knowledge now, it had been for the past year, and while Harry had gotten shit for it at Auror training he had managed to get it to stop after a few weeks and a lot of duelling.

Neville smiled over at him, 'It's good isn't it? To look at this, and know we did it all ourselves.'

'With a little help from your friends!' Hermione's voice said as she jumped on Harry's back.

He caught her before she could slip and laughed, 'You're lucky I still have seekers reflexes.'

'Would have been funnier if you dropped her,' Ron remarked as he appeared at Neville's other side.

'Oh hush Ronald,' Hermione said, a little teary herself, 'I'm just so proud of you Harry,' she said as she kissed his cheek.

They were engaged now, a diamond ring sparkled on Hermione's hand and Ron had never been happier. None of them had been. Despite the pain that had come with this revelation, Harry felt free, and he knew that Neville felt the same.

'We helped too,' another voice said as Daphne jumped onto Neville's back, he grabbed her quickly and smirked.

'Daph, you painted one wall,' Neville grinned.

'She's awfully lazy,' Draco said as he sauntered up behind them, 'compared to her wonderful husband who did all of the legal work for this charity.'

'We owe you so much Draco,' Neville said gratefully, 'we'd never have been able to set it up if it wasn't for you.'

'It would never have gotten off of the ground if it hadn't been for all of you,' Harry said as he looked around at them all.

Neville frowned slightly, 'Speaking of that, not all of you are here. Where's Susan?'

'She's running late,' Daphne grinned as she jumped down from Neville's back and took her place at Draco's side, 'she 'accidentally' stayed over last night.'

Harry snorted, 'How do you accidentally stay over at the Assistant Minister for Magic's flat?'

'I think she fell asleep, after their rendezvous,' Daphne said with a mischievous grin, 'and yet she's still trying to tell me that it's not serious.'

'I still can't believe anyone is dating my brother,' Ron said with a shake of his head, 'he's a pompous, boring git.'

'Not in the bedroom, apparently,' Hermione said in amusement.

Ron looked entirely disturbed, 'Hermione! That is far too much information! Erase my memories, now!'

"POTTER AND LONGBOTTOM APPEAL FOR FURTHER AWARENESS OF SEXUALITY RELATED BULLYING AT HOGWARTS!"

'Honestly, it's ridiculous!' Hermione said from her desk at the charity. She was the main boss, she basically ran the place. Harry and Neville owned it, and did as much work there as possible. But Hermione was the one who kept it running.

'It's not ridiculous, it's illegal,' Harry spat, 'and the little shit who did it should be punished!'

'I think he's been punished enough,' Neville said quietly, 'he has to live with what he did, for the rest of his life. Look at Snape, Harry. Look at how much it hurt him to deal with what he accidentally did to your Mother and Father, to you.'

'This wasn't an accident, Neville!' Harry said as he paced the main office, 'this kid bullied that boy so much that he took his own life! That's murder!'

'I'd be inclined to agree with you Harry,' Hermione said angrily, 'but what difference does it make? You're an Auror, you know that he wouldn't even get time in Azkaban, he's a minor.'

'But letting him off scot free?' Harry asked in disbelief, 'I've had Thomas's parents in here, crying their eyes out, asking me why we couldn't do more for him! And I don't have an answer, because why could we not stop the bullying?'

'Because what happens at Hogwarts is out of our jurisdiction,' Neville said quietly, 'but that is changing Harry. This new campaign is going to fix that, we can set up an office in the school so that a counsellor can be there for the kids.'

'But the board have to accept it,' Hermione pointed out.

'The board will accept it,' Harry said firmly, 'and we're going to fix this.'

Neville smiled slightly, 'We'll fix it Harry. But the core issues haven't been fixed at all. People are still bullied for being gay, gay people still can't get married, or adopt children. Even the surrogacy programme at St. Mungo's is closed to them.'

'Then we'll fix it all,' Harry said, the fire in his eyes burning brighter than before, 'all it takes is a little hard work and campaigning. Look what we've done so far! They said I'd never make it as an Auror because I'm gay, and look at me, I'm the best bloody one in the department! We will do this, Neville.'

'You know I'm with you to the end Harry,' Neville smiled gently, 'you don't have to convince me, you'll never have to convince me. I'll always follow you.'

'Like a bloody sheep,' Harry said fondly.

"POTTER AND LONGBOTTOM'S LONG FIGHT FOR SAME SEX MARRIAGE TO BE LEGALIZED IS FINALLY OVER!"

'As of midnight tonight, people like us can get married.'

'You sound stunned,' Hermione whispered, she was holding her daughter, Rose, who was going to turn one on New Year's Day. The little redheaded child had just fallen asleep, after much gurning.

'I am,' Harry said honestly, 'we've been campaigning for them to legalize it for the last 4 years. But…I never thought it would really happen.'

Draco smiled from across the room where he was holding his son, Scorpius, who was just over a year old now. The little blonde boy was asleep, his thumb in his mouth, 'so when's the big day?'

Harry frowned and looked up, 'Huh?'

Daphne grinned, 'You've spent 4 years campaigning for this. You better bloody ask Neville to marry you now!'

'Tonight,' Susan added from where she sat next to her fiancée, Percy Weasley, who just happened to have been elected as Minister for Magic after Kingsley's tenure ended. He was in his third year of office now.

'Tonight?' Harry asked nervously, 'but, it's Christmas Eve.'

'Which makes it all the more romantic,' Hermione grinned, 'he's coming home tonight isn't he? From his latest trip?'

'He's been in Africa for two weeks,' Harry replied.

'Well give him a nice homecoming then, I bet he doesn't know about this yet!' Susan said excitably.

Ron laughed, 'You're getting cold feet now that it's actually legal, aren't you mate?'

'Nah, nah of course not,' Harry said honestly, 'I want to marry Neville, I want to spend my life with him. I'm just a bit, well, in shock that I actually can.'

'Then don't waste this opportunity,' Hermione said as she threw something Harry's way. He caught it with his seekers reflexes and frowned when he looked at it. It was a ring, a simple gold band with a silver streak in the middle.

'It was your Fathers,' Hermione said, 'I got it from your Gringotts vault the last time we went out shopping. I thought you'd need a bit of a nudge when this day came.'

Harry smiled weakly, 'You think of everything Mione.'

'She's rather good like that,' Ron agreed with a smile as Rose curled her hand around his finger in her sleep. They had a baby, just as Draco and Daphne did, and even Susan was engaged. Harry and Neville had no trouble with commitment to each other, they'd even bought a little cottage close to their charity in Hogsmeade but they were the only ones in their friend group who hadn't settled down in that sense.

Harry was pulled from his thoughts when the door to the cottage snapped open. He shoved the ring in his pocket and stood to walk to the door. They were just having a little pre-Christmas get together in the living room as the snow fell around them. They were all drinking egg nog and munching on snacks as they waited for the final member of their group to arrive home.

'Harry!' Neville grinned as he walked towards the slightly shorter man, wrapped up in winter wear and covered in snow. When he reached Harry he grabbed his face, and kissed him. Harry was glad he'd gone to the hallway, because it was really quite an impassioned kiss. But then again, they had been apart for two weeks.

'Welcome home,' Harry said brightly, if a little breathlessly as he pulled away, 'come on, everyone's waiting, I've made egg nog and there's snacks.'

Neville smiled at him, 'Merlin's balls, you really are the woman in this relationship.'

Harry snorted, 'Don't say that or I'll put Frozen on and you'll have to try not to bawl your eyes out in front of our mates.'

They had walked into the living room on those words, and everybody who understood the reference sniggered.

'Wow, did you do this all yourself?' Neville asked as he looked around the living room where a Christmas tree stood proudly, with hundreds of fairies lighting it up, and lights and decorations covered the room.

'Nah, Hermione helped,' Harry said as he sat a mug of eggnog down in front of Neville, 'wasn't the same this year, putting the tree up without you though.'

'I'm sorry,' Neville sighed, 'but I do have good news, so I'm glad everyone is together. I was offered a new job last night.'

Harry frowned a little, 'Does it involve more travelling?'

Neville shook his head and smiled as Scorpius began to wake up and gurn, 'Here, I'll take him Draco.'

Draco, who looked exhausted, happily handed over his son to Neville who began to rock him. The baby almost immediately stopped his gurning, 'No, Harry, it's the opposite actually. It's Pomona, she's tired these days, her bones ache. She asked me to take over as Herbology professor up at the school.'

Harry's eyes widened, 'That's perfect Neville! That's exactly what you've been hoping for!'

'Shh,' Neville hushed through his laughter as the noise began to disturb Scorpius.

Daphne chuckled, 'Harry's so loud, he always wakes him. Give him here Nev, I'll take him into the kitchen and sort out a bottle for him.'

'Here you go,' Neville said gently as he handed the boy over to his mother. He turned back to Harry, 'So you want me to take the job?'

'Of course, I do,' Harry said happily, 'you've wanted it for years. Take it, definitely take it.'

Neville grinned, 'I thought you'd say that. I had no objections to you becoming Assistant Head Auror, even though it meant longer hours because it also meant less fieldwork. This is a similar situation, after all.'

'I think Harry has something to ask you too Neville,' Daphne said as she returned from the adjoining kitchen with a bottle in her hand.

'Oh, what's your news?' Neville asked brightly, 'the owls in Africa were useless, I feel like I've missed so much.'

'Oh you really have,' Susan grinned.

'Are you alright Harry?' Neville asked with a frown, Harry had paled significantly.

Harry nodded, and cleared his throat, 'Well Neville. The thing is, you know I love you, everyone knows that, I don't make it half obvious after all. But, well we've bought this house together and I know we basically intend to be together for our whole lives even if we could never properly be together but-'

'Harry, spit it out for Salazar's sake,' Draco interrupted in amusement.

'I was wondering if you'd like to marry me, Neville,' Harry said quickly.

Neville's jaw dropped, 'Marry you?'

Harry nodded and thrust the newspaper, a little too violently in his nervous state, into Neville's hands. He noticed they were shaking as he scanned the headline, and the article. When he looked up he was crying, and Harry laughed weakly, 'I've always said you were more emotional than me.'

'You're serious?'

'No, I'm Harry, Sirius was my Godfather,' Harry joked feebly.

'Harry,' Hermione chastised from the sofa.

'No, Neville, I mean it,' Harry said seriously, he pulled the ring from his pocket and held it out to Neville in the palm of his hand, 'so, will you?'

'Of course I'll marry you, you bloody clueless idiot,' Neville choked out, and somehow Harry managed to put the ring on his finger without crying. They kissed, and Draco jokingly covered Scorpius's eyes as Hermione snapped the moment on her wizarding camera.

The bells in the church down the street rang as they broke apart and Harry grinned at the tearful man in front of him, 'Merry Christmas Nev.'

'Merry Christmas Harry.'

"WAR HEROES HARRY POTTER AND NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM BECOME THE FIRST SAME SEX COUPLE TO WED UNDER NEW LEGISLATION!"

'Honestly, you just had to make the wedding the night before her birthday,' Hermione joked as she straightened Harry's tie.

'Hermione, she's a baby,' Harry said in amusement, 'it's not like she's going to be angry that we're stealing her thunder.'

'Yes, but it's her 1st birthday tomorrow, and you two are her Godfathers. You should be there,' Hermione said.

'Well it's a good thing we decided to wait until the 2nd to head to the states, isn't it?' Harry asked his best friend with a smile.

'You're staying for her birthday?' Hermione asked with relief.

'Hermione, what kind of friend would I be if I missed my Goddaughters 1st birthday?' Harry asked with a shake of his head.

Hermione beamed and hugged him, 'Oh Harry, thank you, I'm so grateful!'

Harry just smiled at her, 'Oi Ted! What's taking so long?'

His 7 year old Godson walked into the room, 'I can't do my tie Uncle Harry.'

'Aw don't worry about it Ted, neither can I,' Harry laughed, 'Aunt Hermione always does mine.'

Hermione smiled fondly at the little boy, 'Come here Teddy, let me sort that out for you.'

Teddy obligingly walked over to Hermione, and Ron ducked into the room, 'Alright mate? We're all set downstairs, just waiting for you and Nev.'

'I bet he's already ready,' Harry said in amusement.

Ron grinned, 'Yeah Draco said they're waiting for you, and he told me to tell you that you're definitely the woman.'

'Who did, Draco or Neville?'

'Neville,' Ron laughed.

'Yeah well, I like to take my time,' Harry said defensively as he began to shuffle from foot to foot.

'Honestly Harry, I have no idea why you're so nervous,' Hermione said as she finished Teddy's tie, 'this is Neville. You've been together for 6 years now, what's the big deal?'

'The big deal is that this is the first wedding in the wizarding world where two men have gotten married,' Harry said as he blew out a breath, 'I mean it's not really a wedding is it? We walk down the aisle together, we agree to be man and man? It's like an anti-wedding.'

Hermione suppressed a giggle, and Teddy said, 'But Uncle Harry, you love each other. And it doesn't matter if a man loves a man or a woman does it? You can marry anyone that you love.'

Harry smiled at his Godson, 'How very wise of you Teddy,' he said as he picked the little boy up, and ruffled his hair, 'come on then, we have a wedding to get to.'

It was a small evening wedding on New Year's Eve, in the back garden of their little cottage. Hermione had spelled it to stay warm, even though it was snowing. The guests were few, and there were definitely no reporters, or photographers amongst them. It was intimate, private and perfect. And it didn't matter that they were agreeing to be man and man, husband and husband, or whatever. It mattered that for the first time ever they had been able to commit to each other with more than words. They had agreed to both keep their own names, so nothing much was going to change after marriage, or at least, so they thought.

"ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR HEALTH HERMIONE GRANGER CHALLENGES THE BAN ON SAME SEX COUPLES USING ST. MUNGO'S SURROGACY PROGRAMME!"

'So you're actually doing this?'

'Of course I am!' Hermione fumed, 'this is the wizarding world! We have the magic available to create a child, from the DNA of two men, and yet we don't because it's 'wrong'! It's ridiculous, as long as the two men can find a surrogate happy to do it, then what is the problem?'

'Are you doing this because you think it's wrong, or are you doing it for us, Hermione?' Harry asked simply.

'Of course I'm doing it for you,' Hermione replied, 'for both of you. You've been together for 10 years, and married for 4 of those years! Between you both you are Godfathers to 8 children, and all you want is your own! Why shouldn't you be able to have them?'

Neville smiled at their friend, 'We appreciate that Hermione. But it's not something that's going to change quickly it's-'

'It's already done,' Hermione said, a smug smile slipping onto her face, 'I asked for Draco's help, and he was more than willing to help me out. You know he's the best wizarding lawyer in the country, the legislation is changing, within weeks.'

'Seriously?' Harry asked in surprise.

'Seriously,' Hermione replied, 'the only thing you need to find is someone willing to carry the baby. I mean I'd offer, I thought about it, but Ron wasn't so keen on the idea. And Hugo is still breastfeeding so-'

'No, don't be ridiculous,' Neville said quickly, 'you've done enough for us already, more than enough. We would never dream of asking any of you, not when you all have young kids that need you.'

'I don't know who we could ask, mind you,' Harry said, the hope in his voice fading away.

'I do,' Neville said with a smile, 'Luna.'

Harry frowned, and Hermione chuckled, 'Luna, of course.'

'The twins aren't too young now, and you know she would say yes, in a heartbeat,' Neville said.

'I know,' Harry said softly.

They were all silent.

'Are we actually doing this?' Neville asked, 'are we actually going to have kids?'

Harry grinned, 'Well, now is as good a time as ever. We're hitting 30 next year, after all.'

"FIRST SURROGATE BABIES BORN WITH THE DNA OF TWO FATHERS!"

'You realise we haven't even thought of names?' Neville asked as he sat on one side of Luna's hospital bed, while Harry sat on the other, both of them holding a small baby.

'A boy and a girl,' Harry murmured, 'isn't that odd Luna? How your own children were twins, and these two are as well.'

'The best things come in pairs,' Luna said thoughtfully, 'my Mother always used to say that.'

'These two are certainly the best thing I've ever seen,' Neville said as he stared at the baby girl in his arms. They looked like Harry and Neville, which was something that still amazed Harry. They weren't identical, but they both had Neville's mousy brown hair, and Harry's emerald green eyes, they had been born premature as was often the case with twins, and although they were tiny they were perfect.

'We should name them after our parents,' Harry said as the thought struck him.

'Alice Lily Longbottom-Potter.'

'I think Lily Alice sounds better,' Harry mused, 'and Frank James Longbottom-Potter.'

Neville smiled, he hadn't taken his eyes off of his daughter since the healer had handed her to him, 'I think they sound perfect.'

'Oh the names would suit them beautifully,' Luna agreed with a yawn.

'Get some sleep Luna,' Neville said gently as he tore his eyes away from his daughter to look at his best friend, 'you must be exhausted.'

He had barely gotten the sentence out before she fell asleep. Neville moved to the other side of the bed and sat down next to Harry. They wouldn't have long until the visitors began piling in, and Hermione and Ron, and Draco and Daphne, both had two children now. Rose had gained a little brother in Hugo, who was now 2 years old, and Scorpius had gotten a little sister in Callidora, who was a little older, nearly 3 years old now. Susan and Percy had gotten married, and now had 1 and half year old Molly. Harry and Neville were last, but they had been lucky enough to be blessed with two little miracles.

'Lily, and Frank,' Harry breathed as he watched the babies move closer to each other in their sleep, 'they're perfect.'

'Are you crying?' Neville asked gently.

Harry nodded, he didn't even attempt to hide his tears, or quickly wipe them away like he normally did.

'I never thought I'd see this day Neville,' Harry said tearfully, 'when I fell in love with you, I told myself that I was making a choice. I chose you, but by doing that I gave up any chance I had at a normal life, any chance I had of ever having a family…but look at them…look at their hair, and their eyes, and even their noses…it's the same shape yours was before I broke it.'

'There's no denying that they are ours,' Neville said as tears brimmed behind his own eyes, 'and I never thought I'd see this day either, Harry. I never thought people like us would be able to get married, but we prove everyone wrong. They said we could never be together like a man and a woman, but we're married, and we have two beautiful children.'

'They said I'd never make it to Head Auror,' Harry said as a smile played at his lips, 'but I did, and they say I'm the best since Kingsley.'

'Aren't you glad you didn't marry Ginny, all those years ago?' Neville asked, an amused smile on his lips.

'So glad,' Harry said honestly as he caught Neville's eye, 'we've had the best life, Neville. And these two are just the cherry on top of the cake. We've seen the world, we've gotten our dream jobs, and we have so many perfect Godchildren. That would have been enough for me, you would always have been enough for me….but this…'

He trailed off as he ran his hand over Frank's face, and the baby boy smiled at his touch. His voice was lost in his throat, and Neville gripped Harry's free hand. His own voice was rough with emotion when he finally choked out, 'This, is perfection.'

The End! :)

A/N: Really hope you have all enjoyed the story guys and thanks for sticking with it till the end! I was bawling my eyes out writing this last scene...

Thanks so much for reading! :)

xxx