When Harry arrived at Hogwarts this morning, he stood before the Gates and couldn't help but admire the sight in front of him. Though he was married to the Headmistress for almost three years, he couldn't visit as much as he'd like. Harry had also thought about flooing straight up to Minerva's office, but he wanted to take a stroll on the grounds and enjoy the feeling of being back to the place that would always be his first home. The home on which grounds he had fought and died on. His home he helped to rebuild after the war had left most of the castle in ruins.

Like always when he was here, he visited the great Memorial they had built near the lake. A white granite wall surrounded by flowers on which the names of the fallen stood so that the Witches and Wizards who had lost their lives for freedom and peace would never be forgotten. Next to each of the names stood little candles which burned day and night, and many who visited also left some flowers, like Harry did every time he came.

Harry had thought it would be difficult to come back after the war, after everything they had seen and been through at this place. It had been hard in the beginning, when they had rebuilt the castle. All of them had flashbacks and were plagued by nightmares of the fight. But as they turned their home back to the state it was before in all it's glory, it was like they were healing too. With every stone they rebuilt together, it was like they were rebuilding themselves, putting the pieces of their broken souls back together.

Until the castle and its residents once again stood tall and proud in the light. Many of them left with cracks on their bodies and souls, but still united and even stronger than before.

But today, his visit would be short because he and Minerva were invited to a Charity Event in New York, and they would be leaving this morning. Upon walking inside the Entrance Hall, he immediately saw a familiar face between the students who were walking to their next class.

"Hey Ferret Face!" he called out to Draco, who was just about to leave down the Dungeons. Many heads turned around and looked at him as they started to whisper in shock as none of them expected someone would dare to disrespect their strict Potions Professor.

"For Merlin's sake, I'm a Professor show some respect Scar Face before I give you detention," Draco answered, annoyed as he turned around as Harry walked towards him.

"Oh, I beg your pardon Professor Ferret Face."

"Just shut up," Draco said and then spotted a student raising his wand at another student over Harry's shoulder, "Five points from Ravenclaw Mr. Jordan, and if you don't want to get detention you better never raise your wand outside of class again!" Harry looked back just in time to see a boy dash up the Grant Staircase.

"If somebody gave us a Knut every time we heard that as students, we'd be even richer than we already are. "he said and then looked back at his friend.

"True, but what are you doing here, and what the fuck is that on your face?" Draco asked.

"Well, first of all, that's called a beard, just because you can't grow real facial hair doesn't mean others can't either," Harry said stroking over his short beard while remembering the horrible attempt of Draco to do the same a year ago, "And secondly I'm picking up Mina for the event in New York. Our portkey goes off in about half an hour."

"Oh yes, the event, I almost forgot that, but since you already mention your wife, what's up with her? She's been briefing poor old Flitwick all morning like he hasn't taken over the school before, seriously I'm afraid he'll break down any minute." Draco told him.

"I really have no idea, maybe some important school board meeting is coming up or something like that, and she just wants to make sure everything goes as planned?"

"Probably, well, I've got to go and teach some dunderheads how to fucking stir a potion correctly. Have fun in New York!"

"We will! Greet Tori and Scorpius from me." Draco just raised his hand as he walked away, letting Harry know he heard him, while Harry went to his wife's office.

On his way up, he greeted students and Ghosts alike. Everyone was curious about what he was doing here, as a visit from the husband of the Headmistress was always a reason for gossip. When he finally arrived at her office and walked through the door, he was greeted by a strange and equally amusing sight.

Minerva was pacing back and forth behind her desk, giving out orders and requests alike in breakneck speed to helpless looking Professor Flitwick, who was seated in a chair in front of her desk almost hidden by books and parchments not able to say anything.

"What the-? Mina, what are you doing?" she hadn't even noticed her husband had entered until he spoke up.

"Harry! What are you doing here?" he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, I said I would be here to pick you up around ten o'clock, you remember? New York, the Event? Does that ring a bell?"

"Of course! I was just surprised it was already this late, I still have so much to do!" Minerva answered and pointed at the parchments and letters on her desk.

"Darling, Filius has taken over for you many times before and for longer periods than one weekend. What's going on, are you alright?"

"Harry's right Minerva, everything will be taken care of, but I appreciate the update on the behavioral code in case of a Dragon attack on the school from 1756," Flitwick said, pointing to the top parchment of the tower in front of him.

"Oh, I'm sorry Filius, I don't know what came over me." Minerva apologized slightly embarrassed, while Harry suppressed another chuckle, and Filius let the flood of parchments and Books sort themselves back to their places in the bookshelves around the office with a wave of his wand.

"Alright, now that is taken care of, are you ready to go?" Harry asked as he walked over to Minerva and gave her a short kiss as he hadn't done so since yesterday morning when they had last seen each other. His wife returned the kiss before nodding.

"Yes, we're ready to go. Do you have the portkey back home?" Minerva asked, and Harry decided to have some fun with her.

"Well, about that, I have a surprise for you." he began with a sly smile, and Minerva arched one eyebrow at him, knowing her husband this could easily end in disaster.

"What surprise?"

"We won't be taking a portkey."

"The train then?" she asked though she thought they had agreed they wouldn't take the train to the States leaving from Platform 3 at Kings Cross.

"Not quite, we are going to take a plane to New York," Harry said with a fake excited expression on his face, while his wife blinked at him confused before she turned to look at her colleague.

"Did he just say 'a plane'?" Flitwick only nodded, knowing that if this was going to end in an argument, it was always better to stay on Minerva's side.

"I did, come on neither of us has ever been on a plane before. Plus, we won't be bothered by other Witches or Wizards on the flight."

"Are you crazy? Harry, we can't take a plane there! That's going take us forever, and I will not spend hours in such a- a metal death trap! Nobody would bother us on a broom either, but we're not flying to New York, are we?" Minerva argued, and Harry couldn't help himself and began to laugh.

"Why are you-" then she realized he had only been joking and playfully slapped his shoulder "Stop laughing at me. That was not funny!" she said, watching as her husband calmed down again and tried as hard as she could to not crack a smile herself.

"I'm sorry Minerva, but your face was priceless," Harry said and leaned in to kiss her once more, though he was not entirely forgiven Minerva kissed him back and made a mental note to get back on him. "Now let's go home and catch our portkey to the Big Apple," he added, and Minerva nodded before turning to her colleague who smiled at them.

"Thanks again Filius and if anything-"

"Serious is going on I'll let you know. Everything will be fine, you go and enjoy your time in the States." with that being said, the happy couple said goodbye and flooed to their house so they could take the portkey to New York.

Once they arrived in a swirl of colours at the MACUSA portkey arriving point, Harry had to hold Minerva up so she wouldn't fall, which was rather unusual for her. It usually was Harry who had trouble travelling gracefully via floopowder or portkey. To this day, he rarely arrived at a place without ruining furniture near the fireplace with soot.

"Hey, is everything alright?" Harry asked as he pulled Minerva against him.

"Yes, I'm just a little dizzy," Minerva answered, blinking a couple of times to clear her vision, and Harry frowned at her.

"Have you been skipping meals again? I swear I'll force Kreacher to bring you something to eat every day when we're back, and he won't leave until you actually eat something!" he said seriously knowing she had the tendency to forget to eat if a lot was going on, but Minerva only rolled her eyes.

"It was just breakfast I skipped, so please don't be overdramatic," she answered and turned to the young witch in MACUSA robes standing by the door.

"Welcome to the MACUSA Mr. and Mrs. Potter, my name is Tanya Walters, and I'll be responsible for you during your stay. If you need anything, just use this two-way mirror." the young witch said and handed them a small, nicely decorated mirror.

"Thank you very much, Miss Walters, but it's actually McGonagall-Potter," Minerva said friendly, but the cheeks of the young witch still turned red in embarrassment.

"Oh- I'm so sorry, I didn't know!" she said, and Minerva gave her a small smile.

"It's alright, but magical folk tends to degrade women to accessories of their husbands once they marry and I certainly don't plan to accustom to that," she explained, and Harry had to hold back a laugh as he would ever be able to degrade Minerva to a trophy wife, she would hex him into the next century if he only thought about that.

"I'll keep that in mind. Would you like to go to your hotel?"

"Yes, that would be great," Harry answered, and the witch leads them out of the room and into the busy Entrance Hall of the MACUSA. Unsurprisingly there were a few reporters and photographers that tried to reach them, but all of them were blocked by the security wizards of the MACUSA.

"I'm sorry, we tried to keep them out as best as possible, but they always find reasons to get inside," Tanya explained, but Harry dismissed that with a wave of his hand.

"Believe me, we know, and you did a good job at keeping them at bay," he said as they walked outside the building where a car was waiting to bring them to their hotel. Their hotel, the 'Seven Seasons', was located next to Central Park, and their luxury suit on one of the top floors had a breathtaking view of the park and the skyline of the city.

"Even though I could never live here, it certainly a wonderful view," Minerva said as she stood in front of the large windows and looked outside. Harry walked up behind her, laid his arms around her, and he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Not as beautiful as you but still appealing." he murmured and could practically hear her rolling her eyes at his words. They simply enjoyed the moment until Harry remembered an interview he had given a French magazine and had to chuckle.

"What?" Minerva asked and turned slightly to look at her husband.

"Do you remember the interview I gave that French magazine two years ago? When I was asked about my favourite place to stay in Diagon Alley, and I said it was the Leaky Cauldron and all these fancy French Wizards turned up in Hannah's Pub?" both had to laugh at the memory Hannah had shown them of that day.

"I wonder why they never interviewed you again."

"Yeah me too, Merlin I received so many howlers that day, luckily I couldn't understand one word all those people were yelling at me," Harry answered, "I also don't know what their problem was, I lived at the Leaky Cauldron when I was thirteen and thought it was alright and back then it was still run by Tom. I think Hannah turned it to a really nice place."

"Well, I think that might be because you described this place, but instead, they got rather small, quite rustically rooms, of which most had a view on a shabby Muggle market."

"Nah, that can't be the reason." with that, he turned Minerva around in his arms and kissed her. They hadn't seen each other often the last week because both of them had been so busy with their work. That was the main reason for Harry to do such events around the world because even if there was something to do or somewhere to be, they got to spend time together.

"I love you," he mumbled against her lips before capturing them in a loving kiss again.

"I love you too," Minerva said once they had parted, and the fingers of her right stroked over the hair on his jaw, "And have I already told you that I like that beard of yours?"

"No, I don't think so; you really like it?"

"Oh definitely, it's very sexy," she replied, and Harry grinned.

"Then it surely fulfilled its purpose." they kissed again and then decided to use the rest of the day before the event this evening to go sightseeing. They dressed as Muggles with Harry wearing a simple outfit containing jeans, trainers, a shirt, and a thin jacket. Minerva also chose some tight jeans, a loose dark red shirt, and a cream coloured cardigan.

Hand in hand, they strolled through Central Park, went to see the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the Met Fifth Avenue. Harry had also spontaneously bought a camera to take pictures of them and the city to show their friends and families back home. After that, they visited some of the magical sights the city had to offer.

First was the counterpart of Diagon Alley named Eighth Avenue, which looked like a more modern and posh version of Diagon Alley. Then the Memorial of the war against Grindelwald, and after that, the Witches Shelter. It was a shelter build by witches for other witches who had been hunted by Muggles and Wizards alike in the seventeenth century. As Quidditch fans themselves, they also visited the American Quidditch League Museum and the new underground Quidditch Stadium under Madison Square Garden.

"Wow, that was a brilliant but exhausting day," Harry said as they entered their hotel room a little over two hours before the event at the MACUSA.

"Yes, the right way to end this day would be a glass of wine and a nice bath," Minerva said as she put the bags of little gifts for their friends, including a stuffed Jackalope and Demiguise for Scorpius and Rose, on a chair.

"That does sound wonderful," Harry said as he kicked his shoes off and stretched. He would love to just spend the rest of the evening and the night at their hotel room, no event, no cameras or reporters, only the two of them.

While Minerva went to the bathroom, Harry decided that they should enjoy a few more moments alone and searched the bar for a bottle of Champagne, which he quickly found and filled two glasses. Like Minerva had when they arrived, he stood in front of the windows and admired the view as the sun began to set over the city.

"It looks even better now," Minerva said as she came to stand beside him, and Harry handed her one of the glasses with a smile.

"It does." they clinked glasses, and Harry took a sip while he laid his right arm around Minerva, and she leaned into his side.

"You know...it was such a beautiful day, and there are so many great things to see, and to do, we should come back here when the baby is old enough," Minerva said quietly, and Harry smiled.

"Yes, we should," he replied before his brain had processed her words, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Wait- what?" his glass slipped through his fingers and burst at his feet, but Harry only stared at Minerva with his mouth wide open. He was sure he had misunderstood her, there was no way she could have said when the baby is old enough.

"We're having a baby," Minerva said with a bright smile on her face and put the untouched glass of Champagne on the table beside her without looking away from his still shocked expression.

"Say- say that again," Harry begged her, barely able to form the words. They had stopped using protection around Christmas over four months ago, deciding they wanted to start a family. So this wasn't coming out of nowhere, but still, Harry's heart was thumping so fast and strong in his chest that he thought it would just jump out as Minerva took his face in her hands.

"I'm pregnant, we're having a baby." a second later, she found herself in his arms and felt his lips on hers in a fierce kiss. Harry's whole world exploded in happiness, he had only ever felt this way twice before when she had told him for the first time she loved him and when said 'Yes' on their wedding day. But at this moment, knowing he was going to be a father, that the love of his life, his soulmate carried his child, their love manifested in a human being was the best day of his life so far.

"I love you, oh Merlin I love you so much! Please tell me this isn't a dream." Harry said and didn't even try to hide the happy tears that well in his eyes and ran down his cheeks.

"It's not a dream, it's one hundred percent real, we are going to be parents by the end of the year," Minerva answered and didn't know if it were her hormones or just the fact that Harry so happy, that she couldn't hold back her own tears.

"I love you. After our wedding, this...this is the best day of my life." they continued to just hold each other in their arms and basked in the happiness of the moment until Minerva spoke again.

"We should get dress, the event starts in two hours." but Harry shook his head.

"Screw them, we're not going. I'll donate them all the money they want, but I don't want to spend tonight with strangers. This is our night, and we will celebrate it together, just the three of us." at his words, the happiest smile Minerva had ever seen laid on his lips.

Harry then laid his hands on her still flat stomach. He couldn't wait until it was big with their child until he could feel the movement of their baby against her skin, that magical moment Ron and Draco had told him about. Harry had envied both of them because they had lived his dream, but now it was happening. He was going to be a father!

"Do you know how far along?" Harry asked, his hands gently caressing her belly.

"Almost eight weeks," she smiled, "I'm pretty sure it was that Valentine's Day gift of yours." he grinned at the memory. He had rented them a small, lonely cottage on the east coast, away from everything and everyone. They had spent the whole weekend naked and loving each other on every surface, his favourite being in front of the fireplace.

"I wanted to wait a little longer before I tell you, but during the last week, I started to feel some nausea throughout the days, and I knew I couldn't keep that from you for long," she said, and Harry kissed her once more.

"I'm glad you told me now."

"Me too."

"You know what? A beautiful and brilliant witch I happen to know mentioned a bath earlier. How does that sound?" Harry asked her, and Minerva smiled.

"Like the best thing in the world." he then picked her up bridal style and carried her into the bathroom.

Two hours later, a disappointed crowd of reporters and cameraman and a desperate organiser realized that the famous British couple wouldn't turn up for the event as advertised. There while the renowned couple enjoyed a relaxing bath in a luxury suite, imagining their future life as a family.

Hello there!

I hope you like the new update, I just had to write some happy Harry and Minerva! Who won the bet? Draco or Ron?

Thanks for every review that was left so far and everyone who favoured and followed the story!

Stay safe and inside your homes people!

Patti