One Year Later...

One year had never gone by so quickly.

In some ways, I couldn't believe it had been a year already since I had last seen Harry alive, but on the other hand I felt so completely removed from that portion of my life. In my chest, I ached deeply. I missed him so much.

After helping Al plan his funeral and getting the money Harry had left me, I did exactly what he wanted me to do: I went traveling. I didn't really tell anyone where I was going, and spent six months bouncing around the world. I went as far north as Russia, south to Egypt, and spent a lot of time exploring the Mediterranean.

I spent six months completely liberated, doing whatever I wanted when I wanted. I spent a lot of time in cities, going to the museums, watching the people and experiencing the culture of the countries. Harry had given me a great gift. I never would have done it if Al hadn't told me it was his wish for me to travel. It gave me exactly what I needed. Working with him had been a very draining experience, and the trip had allowed me to recover in the best way. I wanted to make the most of it.

And I did. I came back with a better sense of who I was. The first person I went to see was Al. He had been so surprised to see me at his house, rightfully so, as it was the middle of the night. My new impulsiveness was one thing that developed over my travels.

We talked all night, catching up on the six months we had been apart. He had bought a house with the money Harry had left him and taken a promotion at work. He was still grieving the loss of his father terribly, and for the first time I had a partner in my grief. It felt great. I told him all about my travels, about the great things I had experienced. As the sun came up, he asked me to move in with him.

I was hesitant at first, but realized that I didn't really have any reason to be. I had known Al since I was eleven, even if we hadn't been so close for many of the years. We had a special bond now and I wanted to see where our relationship would go.

I had moved in with him two days later and we were still together now, six months later. We had a very unconventional relationship, but it had worked out well so far. I was happy and so was he.

My career was up in the air. I knew I could return to St. Mungo's, but I wasn't sure that would make me happy. For now, I stayed home during the day and took care of Sylvia while Al worked. I came to love his little girl, and was pleased doing what I did for now. I knew eventually I would want to work outside of the house, but wanted to wait until I had found something I loved. Al had no problem with this, and I felt really lucky.

The rest of the Potter family accepted me about as well as I could have hoped. Lily and I got along pretty well, and I always enjoyed it when James and his family were around. Things weren't perfect, but I was starting to get what I wanted: that wonderful feeling of having a large family.

Al had started to bring up the subject of marriage, but I wanted to wait a little longer. Our six months together so far had been great, but I wanted more time to get to know him. He respected this, but we both knew we would probably end up getting married by the end of the year. I was content with that.

I reflected on the sheer volume of things that had happened to me in the last year as I lay in bed that morning. It was early, but Al had to work and wanted to go visit Harry's grave. It was far earlier than I was used to getting up, but he had promised me he would make breakfast.

I rolled over, drifting back into sleep by accident, only for him to wake me up. "Norah, get up," he said. In his arms was a tray and I could smell pancakes. I sat up and he placed the tray on our bed. Luckily, he took a seat next to me.

We were silent, but exchanged a few blissful glances as we ate, we were so happy together. When the food was gone, I felt more awake and we got dressed. With Sylvia still sleepy, resting her head on my shoulder, we left for Harry's grave.

I approved of the burial place Harry had chosen for himself. It was next to Ginny's grave, and the two sat together under a nice willow tree. It was beautiful and peaceful here, and I did feel a sort of connection with him here.

Al kneeled in the dirt in front of his parent's graves, his head bowed. I knew that if I felt a little bit of a connection here, Al had a direct line. He came here often, while this was one of my first trips since he was buried. I placed some flowers in between their graves, just to brighten them up. Summer was coming, and it was evident by the warm breeze that floated around us.

I rested my hand on Al's shoulder, and thought. Did I ever regret what I had helped Harry with? I had not, and that was something I was immensely proud of. He would have been proud of me too. There was no reason to regret it. He had gone out peacefully, which was exactly what he wanted. Of course, I missed him terribly, even if I had only known him for a short time. He had made such an impression on me, it was truly life changing.

I closed my eyes and just tried to breath in where I was and how far I had come. I had never predicted this would come out of simply running into Al Potter at our reunion.

He stood up and brushed off, looking to me.

"Thank you, Al," I said, simply.

He looked just a little confused. "For what?" he asked, softly.

"Signing up for the reunion last year. If we hadn't run into each other and ditched the reunion, we wouldn't be here. I never would have helped your dad, I never would have gotten to travel, and I never would be here with you, and I've never been so happy."

He smiled, and pulled me close to him. I sunk into the embrace blissfully.

Wherever Harry was, I knew he was happy. Things had worked out pretty perfectly.

Author's Note: I know it's been practically forever... partly because I've been really busy and partly because I really wanted everyone to just mull over the ending. I think it was good. A big thank you to people who reviewed faithfully: you go girl, LivingInTheClouds, snakesandemeralds,xxalesanaxx, Val, malfoyforever, and jasminebrooke. If I left you off, my sincere apologies (except not to you, Edward). And a HUGE thank you to my fantastic beta, potter-reading-coastie, for being all around awesome, and letting me use your idea of Sedation Serum, and supplying me with a title. You're the best :) As for what's coming up for me: I'm working on a new story, set in the Trio's Hogwarts Years, called "Not Alone". The first chapter should be up soon, so keep your eyes peeled! Thanks everyone!