The Easy Choice

You are not used to your life being your own. For years, you've been shepherded by the Dursleys, Dumbledore, Voldemort, and the thrice-accursed prophecy. Now, Dumbledore and Voldemort are dead, the prophecy is fulfilled, and you never have to see the Dursleys again, if you don't want to.

(You don't.)

So you flounder, try to follow the path your father set: Married just after school, an auror, your first child quickly conceived. But you aren't your father, never have been, and it doesn't take long to realize that this isn't the life you want.

Being an Auror is too reminiscent of the war you were born into.

(Convicts aren't afraid of Avada Kedavras and you aren't immune, any more.)

Being married just means one more person is woken by your nightmares

(She moves to another room. It's for the best.)

Being a father just gives you three more people you're terrified of losing.

(They call you overprotective. Of course you are.)

Little James is spoiled beyond belief, as badly as Dudley, because your best example of a loving family is the Dursleys. When Ginny tells you to be tougher, less generous, a disciplinarian, you again imitate what you remember from your own childhood. Your actions terrify her. Albus Severus, only three at the time, never forgets. He's such a timid boy, so much like you at that age. You tell yourself that it isn't your fault, it's his natural temperament, but you've always been awful at lying. Eventually, you find a middle ground, and Lily is almost normal.

(She was always more of a momma's girl, anyway.)

Predictably, Lily's temper grows to rival that of her mother and grandmothers. You occasionally regret naming your children after the dead. At first, it seemed like nothing more than a tribute, a quiet nod to the lost, but the children resemble their namesakes too strongly. James pulls more pranks than the twins ever did, Al is bullied by James, and Lily grows sickeningly tolerant of Professors calling her Evans.

(You overhear James calling Al "Snivellus," once. He swears he came up with it.)

You shouldn't have to remind yourself that your children aren't your parents, you love your wife, and you were the one who told McGonagall that you wanted to be an Auror. These things should come naturally to you.

(They don't.)

Dumbledore once said you would have to choose between what is right and what is easy. He was talking about fighting Voldemort, then, but you never really had a choice about that. No, your first real choice came after the war, when you chose to follow in your father's footsteps. You aren't sure if that choice was the right one, but you know one thing:

It was far too easy.

A/N: Just a dark little musing. As always, reviews (and reviewers) are adored. While I'll never withhold material in exchange for reviews, they definitely serve as inspiration, encouragement, and an aid in my quest to improve. Regardless, thanks for reading.