I'm back again with a new chapter. Sorry for the long wait but I've been working by butt off in my olive grove (not sure it's the right word, searched on google translate) for their seasonal care, my back is hating me at the moment but on a positive note my trees got a new haircut and I've got enough firewood to last me for three years.

Enough about me, hope you enjoy the chapter!

"Remind me again, why are we flying with a muggle plane instead of taking a portkey?" the man grunted trying to keep an eye on both their baggage and gaggle of children.

"Because our three youngest get sick" Harry replied bouncing slightly on his feet to keep the baby strapped on his chest blissfully asleep even with all the noise in the airport "I hate portkeys aaand... we would be forced to arrive in one of the Ministry chambers so everyone in Britain would know I'm back in minutes"

The man slumped defeated "I hate planes. Makes me claustrophobic"

"No, they don't. You just hate having those long legs of yours cramped for hours" Harry laughed snatching Ivy's hand, the three years old girl liked wandering away and then they would find her in a puddle of tears moments later when she lost sight of her daddies.

"Don't worry" Harry placated him "We're flying first class this time, plenty of space"

"Daddy how long does it take to get to our new home?"

"A lot, Ethan. So you need to be good children and not throw any tantrums"

"Yes, but how long? And how does the plane stay in the air without falling?" he kept asking

"Fall?" Faith asked suddenly terrified "The plane can fall?"

"Of course it can" Alex sniggered

"Shut up! You're scaring her!" Grace snapped punching his arm

"Children. What did your dad just say about behaving?" the man gave them all a stern look. He was all for play and fun, but when it was time to be serious, he didn't want to repeat things twice. Maybe it was his curse that made him less inclined to tolerate disrespect from his pups, but while his sixteen-year-old self would have been horrified, now that he was a father, he actually felt bad for always being a pain in the ass for his parents. He understood their feelings much better now.

"He started it!" Alex said pointing to the younger boy

"No, Ethan asked a question, though maybe it could have been avoided at this particular moment in time. You took advantage of your sister's fear to scare her more. And Grace don't think that punch was all right"

Teddy sighed, shoving his hands in his jean pockets "Why is it always such a mess whenever we travel"

"Because we have a big family." Harry answered with a small smile watching his husband lecture the kids "If Mrs. Weasley could do it, so can we."

"We have an extra kid though"

"And that's where you're wrong Ted. She had two extra kids. Me and Hermione" Harry laughed "Come on, let's round the troop and see if we can get on that plane"

§§

Harry groaned in pain, using all his strength to drag Fred into one of the classrooms away from the worst of the damaged castle. It had been torture. Both for him, who was exhausted and in pain; and for Fred who was severely injured.

The fact that he had shoved pain and healing potion's down the other wizard's throat didn't seem to make much of a difference.

"Take a pepper up" Fred rasped from his place on the floor, eyes tightly shut trying to will away the pain that threatened to overwhelm him.

"I don't need it"

"You do. You are physically and magically at your limits!" Fred snapped "If you want to die do it where I won't have to smell your decaying carcass while I wait for my own demise!"

"Stop saying you're going to die!" he snapped back "I won't let you"

"You won't… Merlin Potter. Can't you understand?" the man asked rubbing his face awkwardly with one hand. The other had been bound in a makeshift bandage so the wrist would set back correctly.

"What?"

"I'm fucking paralyzed. My own magical core is empty and in a week it will be the full moon. Got that? The whole transformation where all your bones and organs shift and you become a werewolf? In my condition it's going to kill me! And if by any chance I survive the transformation, I will turn on myself once my wolf realizes it can't freaking move!"

"You…."

"Yes, I was bitten months ago. When they attacked the shop, it was the full moon and one of them bit me. George is the only one who knows" Fred said "Do you understand now why all you're trying to do it's completely pointless?"

"But if they healed you…"

"They won't." he insisted "Once they realize I'm a werewolf, they'll let me rot in one of their high security rooms, that is if they don't kick me out right away. Plus, as I already told you. They can't heal the spine"

Harry frowned at being talked to like an imbecile, but he guessed that Fred had all the rights to be an ass in his conditions. He knew that he would be even worse in his place.

"Then what? You plan on stating in this room and wait to starve? Or be killed by the full moon?" He asked "People will come back here in less than a week"

"Why? You've already taken back all the bodies. They have no reason to venture here until they start the reconstruction to the castle" the redhead pointed out "and that will take months. Plenty of time to die"

"Stop saying that" He nearly moaned in pain. he had already lost so many people. How could Fred expect him to just sit there and be alright with his lack of plans to at least try to keep living? It was ridiculous!

"What's your big plan then?" Fred asked "I won't go back to my family. It would just make them mourn me twice, when the moon kills me. Find another solution and I will take it into consideration"

"You swear?"

Fred sighed, suddenly wishing to fall asleep "Yeah. I swear"

"Alright. I'll think of something." Harry said "You rest, I'll go back and find something for you to eat and some water."

"Mmh mmh. See you later" he mumbled already giving into unconsciousness.

§§

The whole ordeal had been worse than he first expected. The last time they had travelled by plane, there had only been three children and it had been perfectly manageable. This time not so much. Finally though, they were halfway through the flight and silence reigned.

Teddy and Alex were seated together and playing with their video games. The twins were sleeping cuddled together looking like two dolls. Ethan, his ever studious son, was reading a book on the history of London; while Rowan was listening to him with concentration. His husband was reclined back on the seat with their one year old toddler sleeping on his chest and he was cuddling their last one, three year old Ivy who was valiantly trying to resist sleep.

He wondered what his friends were doing back home. It had been difficult keeping up with their lives or with the British wizarding world in general. Not many news ever reached the other side of the pond. Americans weren't fond of them in general, looking at their society in the continent with something akin to disdain. Their statue of secrecy was absolute and while they accepted everything new to integrate better in the muggle world, actually mixing with muggles was strictly prohibited. There were no mixed relationships allowed, the punishment was obliviation for the muggle and prison for the magical. Being friends with them was fine, as long as they remained ignorant about the existence of magic; dating or marrying them was not. On one hand it was positive, there was no blood prejudice in America because there were no different blood status; on the other, it limited the gene pool and magical births would start to drastically reduce in the following decades in Harry's opinion.

But back on topic, he hoped that Ron and Hermione had finally managed to get together after the battle. He hadn't stayed enough to see for himself.

What he knew was that the Ministry should be a better place now. Kinglsey had become Minister and was still in position, though ready to retire sometime soon. The Malfoys had been pardoned, Draco and Narcissa that is, while Lucius had been sentenced to eight years in Azkaban. His only saving grace had been not participating in the final battle and his help in rounding up the escaped death eaters by supplying the aurors with information had his prison time reduced to only four years. Luckily for him, Dementors had been taken away from Azkaban and confined on a deserted island, never to terrorize human race again. They were only waiting on someone to figure out how to completely destroy them.

His information from home sadly stopped there. So they were going to fly blind, so to speak.

He really hoped their family and friends would understand. His husband would be broken if they were to reject him.

§§

"What's with the baby?" Fred croaked as Harry settled back on the floor next to him

"He's Teddy. Remus and Tonks' son." Harry said "They died in the battle and apparently Andromeda took it so badly that the healer took away her custody of him. I'll take care of him now"

"Good for you" the redhead said "You'll make sure he grows up happy and knows about his parents"

"You're the first to say that" Harry muttered "McGonagall asked me twice if I was sure and Mione said it outright, that I'm a kid and wouldn't know where to start. That and a load of bullshit about coming back to repeat seventh year and joining the aurors"

"Ok.. that's crazy" the man laughed shallowly "Seriously what kind of messed up person would expect a traumatized guy to go back to the place he had to fight for his life?"

"Dunno. Hermione it seems"

"Forget it. As for not knowing what you're doing. Newsflash, no new parent knows" Fred reassured him "Mum often liked to tell us that when she had Bill she was a complete mess. He would cry all the time and she couldn't understand how to calm him down until he was six months. Every time he cried she would end up a mess of tears right along with him until dad came home and put both of them to bed"

"Really?" he asked incredulous " but your mum is so.."

"Great? Yeah, took a lot of practice to achieve her lever of motherness perfection"

"Is motherness a word?"

"Dunno. Anyway, you'll mess up, he'll make your hairs go prematurely gray… but you'll both be fine. Don't stress so much" Fred waved carelessly with his good hand.

"Thank you" Harry whispered "For believing I can do it. I was starting to get some major break down about it"

"No worries. As for the auror thing. It would be normal for your plans to have changed. You went through a war already, some peace and calm away from the fighting is more than earned I would say"

"Yeah. I don't know what else I would do, but not that"

"You have time to decide and plenty of money to keep you going"

"Not so much, my trust is nearly empty. That is if the goblins even let me back after the break in and running away with their dragon business" he complained

"Potter, you can't be so naïve. Yours is an old pureblood family. Well, pureblood until your father married a muggleborn, at least. You have more than your trust vault, which is as the name suggest a trust until you're of age. You're filthy rich"

"I… no one ever told me"

"Why do you think Ronnie was always so jealous of you whenever you spent some money?" Fred asked "I sure hope he's grown out of it"

"I really had no idea." He huffed irritably "people always looked at me to save the day but I don't even know anything about the wizarding world, hell, I don't know shit about my family either it seems"

"You can learn. Buy books about it and stop whining"

"Gee, thank you"

"You're welcome"

"I'm leaving" Harry blurted after a few moments of silence

"Ok."

"No, I mean I'm leaving the wizarding world. Leaving Great Britain." Harry said "I want to get away from all of this"

Fred hummed thoughtfully "Good for you. You'll get to be your own person away from here, just Harry"

"Want to come with me?"

"What?" the man laughed disbelievingly

"You said that if I had a plan you would think about it"

"And you're plan is take me somewhere else to die?"

Harry growled fed up with this dying nonsense.

"That's a Troll. Absolutely pitiful growling Potter." Fred pronounced "And said by a werewolf too"

"Shut up. I want to go to the States. Maybe there they could treat you. We could even let muggle doctors examine you, they could do something"

"And when I sprout fur and howl at the moon how are you going to explain it to them?"

"I'd take you away before the full moon of course"

"Let's say I agree to come with you. The full moon is only a week away, what could they do in so little time and how I am supposed to get there in the first place?" he asked "You can't make an illegal portkey to the States, they are rigidly controlled over there, and you can't get one from the Ministry. Not only they would never let you go, but it would definitely defeat my purpose of appearing dead to the world"

"Plane" he deadpanned "We're going to travel muggle"

Fred looked at him in silence judging just how far gone the younger wizard was. "You're serious"

"Deadly so"

"I… it's crazy." The man sighed "and useless"

"It going to be my time wasted then." Harry rebuked "You have nothing to lose. You're going to get out of this dusty room, experience muggle flying... maybe even visit a bit of the States before you snuff it"

"Nothing to lose, uh?"

"Nope"

"You better go to Gringotts then and withdraw the Potter fortune. Have the goblins seal your properties too" Fred said resignedly "Don't offer them compensation for the damage caused, they would take advantage of it. Tell them that there was an horcrux in the vault and that that other goblin, whathisname, betrayed you. That you already offered him the Sword of Gryffindor… they won't be able to blame you for it then. Worst they do is ban you from the bank after you take everything of yours away"

"You sure?" he bit his lip. It seemed terribly presumptuous to behave like that with goblins.

"Yeah, Bills deals with them everyday, remember? He taught us how to behave with them in any situation, especially after we opened the shop. Wanted us to be prepared for anything given our penchant for troublemaking."

"Alright, then. I should go right away, then I'll come back to fetch you so we can leave with the first flight"

"Go for it!" he cheered without enthusiasm raising a fist in the air.

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