A/N Thank you for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing. Thank you for making it this far. You make sharing this a delight.

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Harry spent the morning in a boring meeting with the American liaison to the British Auror office. At eleven o'clock, he visited Percy in the latter's office in the same building. Percy had pinned up vacation photos of his two children over the desk, and he kept a meticulously trimmed bonsai tree in a silver bowl. Percy asked after Ginny and his brothers, whom he saw less of these days now that they lived an ocean away from him and all but Charlie were busy with young children. Harry caught him up on the small dramas and comic anecdotes of recent family life – Bill and his family had spent the summer in France, and Fleur had made a play to transfer the kids to Beauxbatons. Ron's two had taken up wizard chess with such passion that they now played during meals and in the bath. George was talking about expanding the Wizard Wheezes into the Asian market. The sun never set on the Weasley empire.

At eleven thirty, Luna's Patronus appeared on the grey office carpet. It asked if Harry would like to meet her in Central Park, as they were due to arrive at any minute, having successfully found and interviewed a jackalope, and would Harry like to travel with them back to London this evening. Harry sent a reply in the affirmative and bade goodbye to Percy, who was looking eagerly at a foot-high stack of tedious-looking interdepartmental memos that had just arrived. He had mellowed a bit, but he was still Percy.

Harry waited on a park bench under a bowed and ancient oak tree, the light dappling onto him through green leaves. The sounds of cabs and joggers and children playing by a water fountain filled his ears. No one recognized him, or if they did, they did not approach. That was a nice thing about New York – people ignored fame here. Here, on this park bench, for five whole minutes, Harry was deliciously anonymous. For someone who had had enough of the public eye for a lifetime, this was quiet bliss.

And then he saw them: Luna, dreamy and unhurried as ever; Rolf Scamander, whom Harry had met once at an otherwise forgettable Ministry function; Teddy, looking distinctly tan and happy; and a young woman with a curtain of long, dark hair which, at a distance, reminded Harry fleetingly of Cho Chang.

Teddy waved and grinned at Harry. As they came closer, Harry observed that the heart-achy look Teddy had worn for the last year had changed; it was still there around the edges, but was now overwritten with good humor. Here at last you could see that this was the son of Nymphadora Tonks, queen of amusing party tricks, and Remus Lupin, Marauder and inveterate joker.

Well done, Luna, Harry thought.

"Hi! We stopped in Jersey for donuts," said Teddy, proffering a box of glossy cream-filled ones at Harry. "They're sticky and horrible for you. Want one?"

Harry took one, very aware that he was making a face of arch, godfatherly amusement. "Should you be eating this much before Apparating three thousand miles?" he asked.

"Worried I'll vomit on you?"

"Frankly, yes."

"Lily and James vomit on you all the time," said Teddy, grinning, his mouth now full of raspberry jam donut.

"Hi," said the young woman, extending her hand. "Nice to meet you, Harry."

"Sorry, sorry, I'm the worst at introductions," said Rolf. "Harry, Dolores, Dolores, Harry."

"Rolf, don't call me Dolores," said the girl.

"Hi, Harry," said Luna.

"Hi," said Harry, folding his arms around her in a friendly hug. "Whatever you did, well done," he whispered into her ear.

"Oh, it wasn't that much," she said softly. "But I do like playing godmother sometimes."

Teddy set down his rucksack and hugged Lola. "Bye, Lo," he said.

"Bye, Teds. Text me. Or owl me, or whatever. Let me know how your lady problem goes."

"I will," said Teddy. "Ring me up next time you're in London."

Rolf put his hands on Luna's shoulders and kissed her passionately. "I'll meet you in Marrakech in three days," he said, practically trembling with earnestness. "Don't forget about me."

"Oh, I don't think that's very likely, Rolf," said Luna. "But if I did, I would be able to meet you all over again, and that would be interesting."

Harry stifled a snort as Rolf said, "That's true. How fun would that be!"

"Come on," said Lola, tapping Rolf on the shoulder. "We need to settle up with the birdsitter. And you have an interview at four."

"She's my boss," Rolf explained to Harry. Lola rolled her eyes, but smirked happily. "Nice to see you, Harry. I'm sure we'll meet again soon," said Rolf.

"Yes, likewise," said Harry, looking from Rolf to Luna. Harry had a feeling he would indeed be seeing a lot more of Rolf Scamander going forward.

After a few more hugs and whispered goodbyes to their erstwhile traveling companions, Rolf and Lola walked into an oncoming herd of grey-suited stockbrokers and disappeared.

"Summer romance?" asked Harry, chewing thoughtfully on a Bavarian creme.

"Nah, she's just my friend," said Teddy.

With that, Harry, Luna, and Teddy made their way to the portkey room in Union Square and journeyed back up the coast of Canada and across the sea. It was past six o'clock when they arrived in Ireland. The sun had already begun to set over the cliffs and grass and rolling waves. None of their party vomited.

"Ron's meeting me in the Leaky Cauldron. Want to join us for a drink?" asked Harry.

Teddy and Luna agreed, and, inhaling a last sniff of sea air, they took the final portkey – a truly ugly ceramic kitten that might have come from Umbridge's own horrible collection. Harry was quite happy to leave the hateful thing in the fusty portkey room.

Outside, the Diagon Alley street lamps cast gold and green pools of enchanted light in the rain-slick street. The clouds had parted, and the night was unusually clear. School books were already featured prominently in the window display at Flourish and Blott's, and a new crop of skiving snackboxes was stacked in the window of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

At the tavern, Harry opened the door for his two companions, and they stowed their unneeded umbrellas in a stand by the door. Hannah looked up from the bar and waved at them. She looked happy about something. Harry and Teddy took a round of butterbeers from her and settled in a booth. Luna hung back and spoke quietly to Hannah, both women beaming.

"Tell me about your adventure," said Harry. "Tell me about the jackalope."

"Well, we ran around shouting at it for a while," said Teddy, "but in the end, we just got it really pissed."

Luna joined them in the booth, the corners of her mouth still curled in a smile.

Harry looked up as the door opened again, revealing a group of three fifth-year girls, one of whom had pinned her new prefect's badge onto her summer dress. She tossed her wavy blonde hair and adjusted the parcels of school supplies under her arm. She had acquired a few new freckles in France. Harry waited for the inevitable thud and splash of Teddy dropping his butterbeer at the sight of Victoire Weasley, but the sound never came.

Instead, Teddy quietly scooped up his drink, waited for the girls to find seats at the bar, and then got to his feet.

"Back in ten minutes," Teddy said over his shoulder as he walked, straight-backed, toward the trio of girls.

Harry smiled at Luna. Their party had dwindled to two, but he didn't mind. He rarely had the opportunity to talk to Luna alone; there were almost always children underfoot.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm well," she said. "I'm happy."

"Had a good summer, then?"

"Yes. I did," she said. "Eventful."

They both glanced at Teddy. It seemed to be going well. Victoire's two friends tittered in the usual manner of teenage girls in the presence of romantic overtures. Victoire leaned forward on her seat and smiled indulgently at her suitor.

"I'm really sorry about your Dad," said Harry, turning back to Luna. "I didn't get the chance to tell you before."

"Thanks, Harry. You are sweet. But we both know it's not really the end. I sometimes feel that when it comes to death, you and I have an unspoken understanding."

"Why's that?" asked Harry, although he thought he already knew the answer.

"Because we both accepted our mortality before we were out of our teens. It does make one stand out," she said.

Harry fiddled with his mug of butterbeer, which had sweat a ring of condensation onto the oak table. "Yeah, reckon it does a bit," he said, thinking of thestrals and hallows and horcruxes. "Is that what happened to Teddy when you were in the States? Acceptance of mortality?"

Luna tilted her head curiously, blinked her silvery eyes, and said, "Oh, no. He just learned how to talk to girls."

Grinning at Luna's serene assessment, Harry held up his butterbeer, tapped it against hers, and said, "Cheers, Luna."

"Cheers, Harry."

Mischief managed, again.

...

FIN