A/N: Well, here it is, the final chapter and what we have been building too.

Thank you for all the positive reviews, favourites and follows.

Thank you to Arnel for her amazing editing!

Disclaimer: I do not own, nor have I ever owned Harry Potter.

Harry and Ginny landed with a thud as their Portkey deposited them in their living room. The couple were quick to drop their luggage so they could resume their honeymoon activities. Harry had barely begun devouring his wife's neck when their Floo flared to life and a head appeared.

"Harry!" Kingsley's voice called out, causing the couple to pull apart and turn towards the Floo.

"Kingsley?" Harry replied as they approached the fireplace and knelt down in front of it.

"I know you have just returned home, but I have something urgent I must speak to you about," the Minister said with a worried voice.

The newlyweds looked at each other in fear, wondering what had got Kingsley so concerned.

"Do you want to come over?" Ginny politely asked.

Kingsley nodded and within minutes, they were all sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of tea each in front of them. Kingsley rubbed his eyes wearily before he spoke.

"Your marriage is to be revealed tomorrow, via the Daily Prophet," Kingsley told the couple bluntly. "I can't be sure as to who discovered it, but I do believe the records were accessed earlier today. I received word that the article would be going to print tomorrow."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and appeared to have a silent conversation. With a nod of agreement from the both of them, Ginny reached out and clasped the Minister's hand.

"Its fine, Kingsley," she told him with a warm smile.

It had been a subject they had discussed before they had even married. Yes, it would mean their hand had been forced in regards to informing the family sooner rather than later. However, the very fact it had not happened until after they had returned from their honeymoon was even better in their opinion.

Kingsley, on the other hand, seemed shocked by their response. He knew Harry hated the attention, especially the numerous newspaper articles with false information, so he had expected an explosion from them about his failing to keep it hidden as he had promised.

"Kingsley, it really is fine," Harry said in response to his confused expression. "The very fact that we have managed to keep our relationship private for as long as we have is a miracle in itself. To be honest, the news would have broken the first time Ginny flew out with the Harpies and had Potter on her robes instead of Weasley. Ginny and I talked about this happening and we were prepared for it. With the records being available to the public, it was bound to happen, no matter what you did, so we arranged with the Quibbler to run an article if this happened."

"Which means I better Floo call Luna and give her the go-ahead," Ginny said getting up from the table to do so. "And Harry, we really do need to buy an owl now."

Harry chuckled at the look of visible shock on Kingsley's face.

"I have to say I am amazed by how well you are handling this," Kingsley finally said. "Though I don't envy you having to tell Molly."

"And that is why we are so calm over the article," Harry admitted with a nervous laugh. "At least we know what to expect with the papers. Ginny's family is more of the problem as we haven't a clue how they'll react to the news, especially considering none of them has realised we are even in a relationship."

Kingsley shook his head in disbelief. "I still don't understand how they don't know."

"Well, it's not like we advertised the fact we are together," Ginny responded as she came back into the kitchen. "But we haven't hidden it either. Yes, we have been discreet and yes, I have at times misled my family as to where I am and to who I am with when I have actually been with Harry, but in our defence, that was mainly to maintain our privacy."

"It could go either way when the news breaks," Harry said, pulling Ginny into his lap. "Though if we get a Howler from Molly, then we'll know what we can expect when we see the family."

HP&GW

HARRY POTTER, SAVIOUR OF THE WIZARDING WORLD, MARRIED!

By M. Carneirus

It has come to attention of the Daily Prophet that Harry Potter, the Saviour of the Wizarding World, 18, had married his childhood sweetheart, Ginevra Weasley, aged 17.

While not all the facts are currently known, it was during this newspaper's periodic check of the public records that their marriage was discovered.

It seems Mr Potter and Miss Weasley wed in a private ceremony in Wales on July 14th. The Minister of Magic himself, a known friend to the couple, performed the bonding. The ceremony was witnessed by Mr Neville Longbottom, 18, and Miss Luna Lovegood, 18.

The marriage has come as a surprise to the wizarding world as it appears it was not known that the pair was in a relationship beforehand. However, we, here at the Daily Prophet, would like to send our heartfelt congratulations to the new Mr and Mrs Potter on their marriage and wish them a life full of love and happiness together.

We will bring our readers more details of the relationship and wedding as and when we discover them.

"Well, that could have been a whole lot worse," Harry said as he passed the paper to his wife. The couple were curled up in bed together enjoying a Sunday morning lie in.

"The only thing that intrigues me is how they knew we are childhood sweethearts, especially if they were unaware of our relationship to begin with," Ginny replied with a frown.

Before Harry could answer, a tapping at their bedroom window distracted them. Even from where they were sitting, they could see the red envelope that indicated a Howler had indeed been sent. Harry was just grateful they knew who it was from as the majority of his mail was still being sorted via the Ministry. He dreaded to think of the potential number of complaints he could have received all because he had made the decision to marry Ginny.

Neither said anything as Harry slipped out of bed and let the owl in. As soon as Ginny had removed the letter, the owl quickly swooped away as though it knew what was coming.

"Might as well get it over with," Harry plainly stated as he threw a Silencing Charm up around the room.

Ginny nervously opened the Howler and just seconds later, a loud angry voice filled the room.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! HOW IS IT THAT YOU HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED WITHOUT ME KNOWING? I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT YOU AND HARRY HAVE EVEN BEEN TOGETHER LONG ENOUGH TO CONSIDER GETTING MARRIED! I HIGHLY SUGGEST THAT THE PAIR OF YOU MAKE AN APPEARANCE TODAY FOR LUNCH SO YOU CAN EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAVE FELT THE NEED TO RUSH INTO SUCH A BIG DECISION AND WITHOUT US KNOWING!"

The Howler burst into flames as the voice disappeared before falling in ashes to the floor. Harry promptly Vanished the mess and climbed back into bed and pulled Ginny into his arms. The couple sat in silence as they processed Molly's words.

Ginny honestly wasn't surprised by her mother's reaction. While her mother had not figured it out and Ginny had not been upfront about it, she had tried to drop to hints that she was dating someone. However, with her mother not being receptive to her hints, it had just been easier to leave telling her until she was in a better place emotionally. But to suggest she and Harry had rushed into the marriage was more than enough to show her how ignorant her family had been of their relationship.

"All you have to do is remind them of how they have become so grief-stricken that they missed out on the world moving on without them," Harry quietly told her.

Ginny looked up in surprise at her husband's suggestion.

"It might seem blunt," Harry said with a shrug. "Hell, it might even be harsh, but it is the truth. If it hadn't been for you and Teddy, I probably would have been the same as your mum and George. In all honesty, me and you, we held each other up and moved forward together, even if it hasn't been easy at times."

Ginny placed one hand on the back of his head and pulled him down into a searing kiss.

"Thank you," she said as they ended the kiss. "You always know what to say."

"Not always," Harry said with a laugh.

"To me, you do," Ginny said with a genuine sincerity. "And that is what matters to me."

Harry smiled shyly at the compliment and softly kissed her in thanks. "Let's go and get this over with."

HP&GW

The couple appeared, hand in hand, with a pop as they Apparated to the edge of The Burrow's property line. For a second, they stared at the ramshackle home as they took the chance to mentally prepare for the coming confrontation.

"We'll leave if they cannot accept our decision, even after we explain it to them," Harry stated calmly despite the raging nerves that filled him inside.

Ginny didn't respond as she knew that this confrontation would be about more than their elopement. The family as a whole was going to have to face the hard truth about their behaviour over the past year and she knew it would not end well for any of them.

The newlyweds slowly eased up the path only stopping once they reached the door. Giving each other a look of reassurance that they had each other's backs, they gripped their joined hands tighter. However, before either one of them could knock on the door, it swung open.

"Dad!" Ginny sighed in relief at it not being her mum who had opened the door.

For a moment, Arthur's facial expression gave nothing away to how he was feeling which made both Harry and Ginny extremely nervous.

"I'm on your side," Arthur told them with a smile.

It was enough of a reassurance for Ginny to pull her hand from Harry's so she could hug her father firmly in thanks.

"I'm not the only one either," Arthur continued as Ginny moved aside so the two men could shake hands. "But either way, there is a fair amount of confusion and anger."

"We expected as much," Harry admitted.

Arthur gave a nod in acknowledgement and then led the couple inside to where the rest of the family had gathered in the sitting room. He moved across the room to his normal chair and sat as Harry and Ginny remained just inside the door of the room and took in everyone's reaction to them being there.

Bill and Fleur were sat together, smiling at the younger couple. Charlie stood at the other end of the room, eyeing the couple with confusion. Percy sat nearby with a woman neither of them recognised. Whoever she was, it was clear that she felt uncomfortable with the situation, whereas Percy seemed to be wearing a look of utter contempt for the newlyweds. George, to their upmost surprise, sat on the floor near the fireplace with a mischievous look in his eyes and a smirk on his lips.

However, it was the look upon the faces of Harry's two best friends that upset him the most. Ron's face had grown red with anger, whereas Hermione's just appeared to be disappointed. If anyone was to be on their side and actually happy for them, Harry had hoped it would the two of them, but he could tell that it just wasn't to be.

"Oh, good," Molly spoke as she walked into the room and saw Harry and Ginny. "You're here. We'll talk first and then we can eat."

Everyone stared at the couple as though they were waiting for something.

"I'll take it you want us to begin the discussion, then," Ginny said with a hint of anger in her voice. Neither Harry, nor Ginny had yet to move away from the spot they occupied and Harry knew Ginny was beginning to feel unwelcome in her childhood home. He quickly conjured a couple of chairs and led his wife into one.

"Of course, you can begin," Molly said angrily in response. "You can explain how it is that the two of you are all of sudden married when no one had any reason to believe you were in a relationship to begin with."

"And why do you think that was the case?" Ginny snapped. "Because if anyone had actually opened their eyes for even a second and looked properly, you would have seen that we were in a relationship. We never hid it from you, but out of respect for all of you, we never flaunted it in your faces either."

The entire family seemed taken aback by Ginny's harsh words, but no one could deny that they had been blind to what had been happening right in front of them.

"Just how long have the two of you been together?" her father calmly asked as he recognised the hidden sadness within Ginny's anger.

Ginny looked to Harry, her eyes pleading with him to answer on their behalf while she battle to push her anger away. Harry squeezed her hand in understanding, knowing his wife had wanted to have a calm and civil conversation about their marriage and not a shouting match.

"A little over two years, Mr Weasley," Harry answered to the shock of the family.

"THAT'S A LIE!" Ron roared in disgust as he stood from where he had been sitting. "That is a complete lie and you both know it. You dumped her! You broke her heart! You promised me you would stay away from her! The entire time we were on the run, you never once acted like you cared about her. You didn't even pay attention to her in the aftermath of the battle."

Ginny couldn't help but burst into laughter at her brother's ignorance. Harry just shook his head in amusement at just how blind his best friend was when it came to his feelings for his sister.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Ron spat angrily as the tip of his ears grew red at an alarming rate. "You both know I am telling the truth."

"Your sister is laughing because it could not be much further from the truth if you tried," Harry snapped. "I didn't dump her as you so bluntly put it. I pushed her away for her own safety. Yes, it broke her heart, but you know what, it broke mine too. It hurt me enough that I couldn't bear to talk about her to either you or Hermione purely out of fear that we would be overheard or that I would do something stupid like going back for her. I ended up watching her on my map regularly, because it was the only thing most days that would keep me remotely sane."

Harry paused to calm himself down. The room remained quiet as he regained control of his emotions, though the occupants were very much confused about what was just said.

"Ginny and I reunited just before I went upstairs to speak to Kingsley and then head to bed. Every spare minute we have had over this past year has been spent together when possible. We just didn't want to wait any longer before getting married when we made the decision to do so."

Arthur rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses as he desperately hoped they could get through this with no more shouting.

"Why get married without telling us, then?" Molly demanded in anger at being denied the chance of helping her only daughter plan her wedding.

"Because we have been too consumed by our grief for Fred to even care about what was happening with Ginny, Mum," George said in defence of the newlyweds to everyone's surprise. He stood up and approached the couple with a genuine smile on his face. "Congratulations, guys. I am truly happy for you. Fred would have been, too."

He hugged both of them individually, receiving whispered thanks, before he left by Floo to his shop. He knew now was the time to truly pull himself out of his grief, rather than continue drifting along as he had been. George's easy acceptance of the marriage spurred Bill and Fleur to congratulate the couple, before they chose to return to Shell Cottage, instead of remaining for lunch.

"Would you please tell us about your relationship?" Arthur asked when he saw no one else planned to leave or even say anything. "It may help us understand your decisions better."

Molly glared at her husband with a look that screamed, 'I don't want to understand'. She felt that Harry and Ginny were too young to have married so quickly, as in her eyes, it was impossible that they had been together for as long as they claimed to have been.

Ginny, seeing her mother was not interested in hearing what they had to say, stood and Banished the chair in which she had been sitting, before turning to her mother.

"It is obvious to me that you don't want to hear us out, Mum," she said through gritted teeth in an attempt to control her anger. "And it is blindingly obvious that you will not choose to be happy for us, even if we do fully explain everything to you. Until you are prepared to listen, and I mean truly listen to us, then I refuse to remain in this house."

She turned on her heel and stormed out of The Burrow.

Harry made to follow his wife as he Banished his own chair and moved to leave. However, he stopped and turned round, desperate for the Weasleys to understand just how much Ginny meant to him.

"We may have made the wrong decision in not being honest with you about our relationship," Harry said in defence of their marriage. "But we both want the privacy and the time to just be together without interference from anyone. The problem is not one of you noticed what Ginny was doing, where she was going or even how she was feeling in the months immediately after the final battle. The number of times she has spent at my house or out in the Muggle world with me has been more than she has actually spent here."

Harry paused as he could feel himself beginning to get angry with the people who were supposed to be his family. He wanted to do this calmly as he knew getting angry would not solve anything.

"She was the one who got me through the aftermath and in return, I helped her. We know you were all grieving over the loss of Fred, but so were we! But just being together made the days bearable and the idea of moving on became more acceptable as a result. The amount of times, though, that I had to calm her down after someone in this family ignored or forgot about her was far too many for my liking. In the same way you all had someone to turn to or something to immerse yourself in, she turned to me. But she hated that you were all so consumed by your own grief that she went forgotten about most days."

Harry stopped once more as Ron stormed angrily from the room. Hermione, flashing Harry an apologetic look, followed her boyfriend.

"The only reason we delayed time and time again," Harry continued as he pushed aside the hurt he felt from his best friends walking out, "was because this was the reaction she feared most and she felt that if she could prove to you just how serious we were, then, you would more than likely accept it with no issues. The longer we left it, the stronger the need for us to marry became and in the end, as I said earlier, we just couldn't wait any longer. No matter what you think about our marriage, you need to remember that she is seventeen, fast approaching eighteen and she is of age. She is no longer a child and quite honestly, she hasn't been a child since she was eleven. And remember, neither am I a child. I fought a bloody way just to be with her. I walked to what I thought would be my own death just so she could live in a peaceful world. Now that my life is my own, no one will tell me what I can and cannot do. And no one should ever insult my wife in front of me or hurt her feelings!"

Harry stormed out of The Burrow as he left behind a bewildered family. It wasn't long, however, until both Percy, along with his girlfriend, Audrey, and Charlie left the house as well.

Arthur sighed in defeat before standing to head to his shed.

"You've pushed them away, Molly," he told her firmly, not allowing room for argument from her. "Their reasons were understandable, even George was able to see that. They found a way to climb their way out of the grief that has consumed this family for far too long just by being with each other. Don't you think it's time for you to find your own way out of it as well, Molly?"

He walked across the room, only to pause at the door to speak one more time.

"You know what the worse thing is about whole mess? It is the very fact that everyone who knows Harry and Ginny personally knew they were in a relationship this entire time. According to Kingsley, who I spoke to this morning, everyone, Molly, everyone but this family knew."

He left the house, leaving his wife to wonder what she had done.

HP&GW

The weeks passed swiftly by with only a strained relationship between the Weasleys and the Potters to show as a result of the conversation. Harry had returned to work following his birthday celebrations, which had been spent with their friends, Bill, Fleur, George, Andromeda and Teddy. Ginny had begun training with the Harpies, channelling her anger from her family's reaction into her flying. Her birthday, however, was spent with just Harry as she felt too exhausted from training to even care about going out to celebrate it.

The news of their marriage had truly had an effect on George in the most positive way possible. He had channelled his energy back into running the shop and creating new products, something he had neglected to do over the past year. He had also reconnected with Angelina, whom he had pushed away due to his grief, and it was not long before the pair had begun dating.

Charlie had returned to Romania not long after the disastrous conversation. The solitude he was afforded at the Dragon Sanctuary gave him time to think about his sister and her marriage to Harry. He realised that, at times, he still saw her as the ten-year-old she had been when he had moved out of the country. With such minimal visits over the last few years, he had neglected to see she had grown up and had now found the one person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. The very fact it was the boy who had saved her from certain death in the Chamber and then vanquished the Dark Lord for good made him realise that she could not find a better man to settle down with if she tried.

Percy found his realisation that he was wrong in his opinion about Harry and Ginny through a very stern telling-off from his girlfriend, Audrey. She made him see that he was still holding on to old grudges, ones he knew now to be ridiculous. It was through his own choice that he had stayed away and missed what were three of the toughest years for his sister and then when he made the decision to come back and reunite with his family, he had spent more time with George and his parents than he had with his other siblings. On top of that, he understood what Harry said about having someone turn to was true as he had turned to Audrey in the aftermath of the war and the loss of his brother, something he had felt guilty for, despite knowing it was not and never would be his fault.

Hermione spent the month after the argument doing what she had done back in fourth year, trying to make Ron see his reaction was a mistake. Having started work at the Ministry, working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, she could see the strain and tension between Harry and Ron as they continued their training and work within the Auror Department. She also knew that Ron would have to be the one who made the first move and apologise for his actions. It took a lot of talking, arguments and even a threat of leaving him for Ron to come around and realise that his best mate and sister were happy and in love.

Arthur stayed in contact with the Potters over the next month or so, keeping them informed of the family and the eventual understanding and acceptance of the couple's marriage. He was truly happy for them and while he hated that he had missed out on giving away his only daughter, he could understand their reasons for keeping the relationship to themselves, especially considering they had managed to keep the press out of the relationship until after their honeymoon. He was also in agreement with the Potters that the family needed to approach them first and apologise as only then would they would speak to them about their relationship. Arthur had managed to get them to agree to a party to celebrate once the family had reunited properly.

HP&GW

Harry climbed the final few steps into the box that had been granted for the use of himself, the Weasleys and a few of their friends. He smiled as he reached the top and looked out over the stadium. While this was not the first match he had attended since Ginny started training with the Harpies, this would be the first match in which she had played. One of the main Chasers had taken a nasty hit to the head with a Bludger during practice just a couple of days earlier and even though, she was the newest reserve, Gwenog felt she was the best player to replace the injured Chaser. The result of Ginny starting the match today and them being given the box had been last minute invitations being sent to all those Ginny had wanted to come and watch her as she played her first full professional Quidditch match.

However, it would be the first time the family had been altogether since the day he and Ginny had gone to The Burrow to explain to them about their marriage. They had spent time with George, Bill and Fleur since then due to their quick acceptance of the change in their relationship status. They had also kept in contact with Arthur, who had promised to make sure Molly was on her best behaviour today if she chose not to apologise on seeing Harry. Letters had also been received from Charlie and Percy, both apologising for not understanding that Ginny was no longer a child and had been through more than enough to know what she wanted.

The only person Harry was truly concerned about was Ron. The tension between them at work had been unbearable to the point that they had been unable to work together on smaller investigations they had been given. Hermione had yet to contact him in any manner, though he suspected she had always accepted the marriage, but was, instead, more upset by having not been invited to her best friend's wedding. He could only hope that the couple would show up today to support Ginny and be civil if they chose not to apologise.

"Harry!" a voice called, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Harry turned to see Andromeda entering the family box, along with Teddy, who she was carrying, and Bill and Fleur. He quickly greeted them and scooped Teddy out of his grandmother's arms.

Slowly but surely, the box began to fill with those who were closest to him and Ginny. Neville, Luna, George and Angelina, Percy and Audrey, Charlie and even Professor McGonagall, who was delighted to be there to support one of her Lions, and the Minister of Magic himself.

It was with fifteen minutes to go that the four final invitees showed up. The tension amongst the group suddenly increased as they all saw Arthur, Molly, Ron and Hermione enter the family box. Harry, knowing he wanted this dealt with before the match, handed his godson back to Andromeda and headed over to the four newcomers.

"Arthur," Harry greeted his father-in-law with a handshake.

"Harry," he responded with a smile of delight at seeing his son-in-law.

"Harry, I'm so very sorry," Molly said as Harry turned to her. "I should never have been so unaccepting of your decision to marry."

Harry sighed at hearing the words he knew his wife would appreciate hearing. "It hurt us to have you respond in that way, but it is Ginny, more than anyone, who you need to apologise to. Out of everyone, it was you who hurt her the most. She hated not being able to share our relationship with you, not having you there to organise the wedding and be the proud mother of the bride. She did try so hard to tell you by dropping hints in hopes that you would ask. She was actually convinced that you would just know that she was in a relationship by Christmas, but you let her down. You were caught up in your grief for Fred and it meant she was unable to share with you the one thing she had found to make her happy."

The look of regret on Molly's face made Harry see that she truly understood what she had done to her daughter.

"I am very happy you two have found each other," she told him with absolute sincerity. "I always hoped you would become a couple. I couldn't be more proud to have you as my son-in-law."

Harry smiled before initiating a hug with his mother-in-law and whispering in her ear, "Thank you."

Harry pulled away and turned to his best friends as his in-laws went to greet the rest of their family and friends. He watched in amusement as Hermione nudged Ron forward to speak.

"Harry, look…I'm sorry for behaving the way I did," Ron said nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck. "It seems I misunderstood why you broke up with Ginny at the end of our sixth year."

"Don't you mean Hermione made you understand why I did what I did?" Harry replied with a knowing look on his face.

"Well, yeah," Ron sheepishly admitted, before leaning in to whisper to his best mate, "She threatened to leave me."

"That would do it, then," Harry said as he winked at Hermione.

The tension within the box dissipated as Ron finally congratulated his best mate on marrying his sister and Harry apologised to his best friends for not informing them or inviting them to his wedding.

Just as the three friends took their seats, the commentator announced the teams. As Ginny's name was announced, the entire family rose to their feet in support and cheered as the newest Potter took to the skies. Ginny turned her head in the direction of the noise and saw her entire family standing together the way she had wanted them to stand in support for her just a couple of months previously. With a broad smile, she turned her broom in the direction of the stands and flew past the family with a quick wave, happy to see them reunited.