Thank you again for all the reviews and the favourites! I continue to find the cross-section of opinions interesting. My aim with this story was to tell a Harry v Ron tale where neither side was all right or all wrong, and both were acting for what they thought were the best of reasons. I guess it's up to you readers to decide if I succeeded. Enjoy the last chapter!

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: A Final Farewell

Rose was facing the most difficult meeting of her life. The thing that made it most difficult of all was that she was having it with her father, her husband and her brother. Three of the people that, a few months earlier, she'd have said she was closest to in the world. She lowered her head. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to say that,"Ron told her. "This isn't about who's to blame, who's wrong."

"We all thought we were right,"Hugo mused. "Maybe we were all wrong."

"We could have handled it better,"Scorpius agreed.

"Maybe I should have listened to you in the first place,"Ron suggested. "You thought that there'd be opposition, that pushing ahead with the policy would cause trouble."

"But I could have come to you,"Rose pointed out. "I could have told you how I felt, not gone straight to Mum and Uncle Harry."

"I didn't really give you a chance,"Ron admitted. "I didn't tell any of you what I was going to do, didn't ask for your opinion. And by then, it was too late."

"Harry made it too late,"Hugo argued. "Once he'd made that statement to the press, made it known he opposed you…"

"I could only dig my heels in and oppose him?" Ron shook his head. "It doesn't work like that."

"You're still a good minister,"Scorpius told him. "Probably the best we've ever had."

Rose nodded. "Can't argue with that."

Ron looked at her. "You still want to work with me?"

"If you'll still have me."

Her father smiled. "I can't ever imagine not."

The Weasley family plot. Harry had been there many times before. He'd buried his wife there, along with two of her brothers and her sister-in-law…and their son. And now he stood before the graves of his former parents-in-law. So many people who stood have been standing at their grave had been buried before them. That was what had driven Ron to extremes. Maybe it was what had driven Harry to extremes. Both of them in their own way had been trying to fight the evil that had taken so many people they cared about from them. They'd just ended up fighting the wrong people. They'd come very close to adding to the tragedy.

Harry wasn't alone. Hermione was at his side, as she had been all along. Their children were there, along with practically the whole of the extended Weasley family. And others, members of the Order of the Phoenix, now expanded to re-admit those who'd left to support the ministry. The key members of Dumbledore's Army, and other people who'd supported both sides…as many as they could get together for this gesture of reconciliation, of solidarity. It would be difficult for some families. Harry had seen the awkward reunion of the Wood family: Katie, Martin and Susannah had fought on one side, Oliver, Timothy and Helena on the other. Forgiveness for that could take some time. He noticed Neville and Luna standing nearby, hands held as if they'd never been apart. Sometimes love could conquer a difference of opinion. The Weasleys continued to view him with a certain amount of suspicion. They'd forgiven him once before, for the sake of the family, for the children...and now the grandchildren. Time. Always time.

Nymphadora stepped forward and James, Rose, Lily and Hugo fell into step behind her. The youngest sibling was holding a wreath which she placed on the grave before tooking a step backwards to join the others. They all bowed together.

Ron cleared his throat. "Thank you all for coming. I'm sure my parents would have appreciated it. Some of you knew them well, some of you barely at all, some only by reputation. To me, they always represented the best of the world. I'm now going to surrender the floor to the leader of the Order of the Phoenix."

Harry almost took a step forward before he checked himself. He looked at James, who stepped forward into the centre of the gathering. There was a slightly murmuring among those who were unaware of his new position. James took a deep breath.

"As long as I've known, my grandparents' house was a happy place, a place where you felt safe and loved. That might seem strange, because my grandparents had a lot of reasons to be bitter. But they knew that if you let the bad things that have happened to you change you, then that's the worst defeat of all. Everyone here is willing to fight for what they believe in, for the people they love, for what is right. But we've learned the dangers of being too willing to fight. Of seeing enemies and dangers behind every corner. There are times when the bravest thing to do is not to fight, not to want to hurt those who are on the other side as you. Because being on the other side doesn't always make someone evil, and as long as there's good people on both sides of an argument, then war can be avoided. We are the champions of light and to do that we have to stay light wizards. We have to fight only when there's no choice. We have to follow the examples of my grandparents and be true heroes: Those who build a nurturing home where everyone is safe."

All opinions welcome!