Harriet Potter and the Minister of Magic

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize from the HP books in this story. All I own is the plot. Everything else belongs to JK Rowling.

Notes: Nothing to say anymore, really. Enjoy the chapter! :D

Chapter 43 – Epilogue

"Is she ready?"

Standing beside the entrance to the bridal suite, Hermione looked up at the sound of James' voice and smiled as he approached her, decked out in a dark gray tuxedo.

"She's waiting for you, Minister." Hermione nodded, gesturing towards the door.

"Don't call me that." James made a face at his interim title. "A few more weeks and I'll no longer be the Minister of Magic. Instead, you can call me Headmaster." He winked at her, causing Hermione to laugh. When she gestured for him to enter, James gave her a grateful nod and pushed through the doors, only to step back and stare in awe at the sight that greeted him.

At his reaction, his 18-year-old daughter turned around from where she had been staring at herself in front of a full-length mirror and gave him a small, uncertain smile. She was wearing a white wedding gown with a modest sweetheart neckline designed with beautiful, intricate lace that went up to her collarbone, and then spread down her arms past her elbows.

James smiled softly at the beautiful young bride who stood before him.

"Well?" Harriet bit her lip and spun around once to show him the full ensemble. "What do you think? Is it too much? I modified Mom's wedding gown a bit, I hope you don't' mind—"

"Y—you…You look—"

James realized that his breath had caught in his throat and so he swallowed and hastily tore his eyes away so she couldn't see the mistiness forming in his eyes.

"You look beautiful, Prongslet." He said tenderly when he finally managed to glance at her again, his stunned expression softening into an admiring smile.

"Exactly like your mother."

"You think so?" Harriet smiled back at him, her own green eyes glistening with emotion as she reached out and picked up the long veil from where it hung from the gown' mannequin. Then, without waiting for James to answer, she walked toward him and handed him the veil.

"Will you help me put this on?"

Not trusting himself to answer without breaking down, James took the veil from her hands and carefully fastened it onto the top of her carefully styled curls. As he pulled the long veil over her so that it covered her face, James couldn't help chuckling when he realized that the veil couldn't seem to hide the way Harriet's green eyes were practically glowing with happiness.

"Well then." Clearing his throat, James stepped toward her and offered his elbow with a small grin on his face. "So what do you say we go out there and get you married?" He teased.

"Only if you promise not to maim the groom." Harriet quipped back, grinning.

"I'll try." James drawled back, causing his daughter to roll her eyes at him.

"So, Harry." As they began walking out of the room, James pretended to make a face and leaned down slightly so he could whisper inconspicuously into his bemused daughter's ear. "Are you absolutely sure about marrying a Slytherin? I mean, you could still back out you know. I can help you out by distracting everyone while you make a break for…. Romania?" He kidded.

"I think it's too late for that." She answered wryly.

"Ah well, I thought so. I mean, we already paid the caterer."

Laughing, Harriet swatted James' arm and, after throwing a smile at Hermione outside the room, both father and daughter began walking down the path leading towards the church.

"By the powers vested in me…I now pronounce you…Husband and Wife."

There was a lovely blush on Harriet's cheeks as she turned to face Draco, smiling as he reached out and gently took the lace veil that was covering her face. Slowly, as he pulled it back, the expression on his face became tender and he smiled at her, meeting her green eyes with his.

The priest on the altar in front of them smiled at the beautiful young couple.

"You may now kiss the bride."

Grinning wickedly, Draco didn't wait for Harriet's response as he wrapped his arms around his bride's waist, pulled her toward him and pressed his lips against hers in a long, deep kiss. Squealing, Harriet had to link her arms around his neck when he had bent her backwards slightly to kiss her deeper, eliciting a chorus of cheers and catcalls from some of their younger guests while a few others – James and Sirius included – scowled slightly at the intimate scene.

"May I present…Master and Mistress Malfoy!" The priest announced cheerfully when the young couple finally managed to pull away from each other and turned to face their guests.

Rolling her eyes as she pulled away, Harriet smiled and waved at the crowd of families and friends filling the church behind them. She took note of all of them carefully – her father, Sirius and Remus were seated at the very front, all three of which were clapping and cheering loudly. Along the same row of seats, on the opposite side of the church, Narcissa was partly smiling, partly crying when she walked up to them, hugging Draco tightly, then hugging Harriet.

As soon as she was released, however, Harriet found herself yanked into yet another hug as Hermione, her teary-eyed maid of honor, glomped her from the side of the altar, causing Harriet to laugh and hug the other Gryffindor back. From the corner of her eye, she saw Blaise Zabini, as the Best Man, grinning wryly as he extended his hand out to Draco in congratulations.

After another round of hugs and cheers from their friends and family – and dozens of pictures taken by the press and their wedding photographers, Draco finally rolled his eyes in exasperation and took Harriet's hand, leading his new bride down the altar towards the exit of the church. As they made their way down the aisle, most of their friends and family rushed towards the church doors and just as the glowing newly weds made it to the exit, Hermione and Tonks, as well as the rest of the women, began squealing and tossing handfuls of white confetti into the air, causing Harriet to laugh again as she and Draco ended up covered from head to toe.

"What the—the bloody hell is this?!" Draco complained, making a face as he made to brush the confetti out of his hair.

"I don't remember this in the wedding program!" He huffed.

"It's a muggle tradition." Harriet explained, still laughing as she allowed him to pull her away from the crowd towards the luxurious carriage that was parked by the front of the church. "Hermione said it was supposed to signify the couple's marriage being fruitful or…er…uhm—"

"Fertile?" The grin on his face suddenly became lecherous and his voice dropped into a murmur as they stopped in front of the carriage entrance. When Harriet's eyes narrowed and she opened her mouth to tell him off, he smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist again, pulling her against him so that they were pressed together and his forehead rested on hers.

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that, Potter. I fully intend to make this marriage as fruitful as I can." He chuckled at the way she reddened at his words and, ignoring her glare at him, he pulled her close and lifted her off the ground, smashing their lips together in a sweet, deep kiss.

"Where is she? Has she left already?!"

James' eyebrows were furrowed together in growing impatience as his eyes scanned the garden reception area in search of his daughter. Sitting beside him, Sirius and Remus were only half-listening to James as they continued to laugh and joke around with the other guests. Fortunately, Tonks – who was sitting beside Remus and bouncing little Teddy in her lap – saw James' disheartened expression and called his attention, pointing him towards the dance floor.

"She hasn't left yet, James. I think she's about to toss the bridal bouquet." Tonks told him, and she stifled a smile when James' expression suddenly relaxed and he nodded in relief.

Following Tonks' gaze, James turned his attention to the center of the dance floor just as Harriet was raising her bouquet up into the air, shooting a wink over her shoulder at the squealing group of bridesmaids and single women who had crowded behind her. Amusingly enough, Hermione and Ginny were among those standing at the very front of the group and at the sight of them, Ron and Neville began catcalling and shouting their teasing remarks out loud.

"Good luck, ladies!"

"I'm rooting for you, 'Mione!" Neville called out.

"Woohoo! Catch that bouquet, Ginny!"

"Shut it!" Ginny yelled warningly at her brothers.

Cedric, on the other hand, was shaking his head and laughing from where he was watching the scene with several of the other Groomsmen. When Hermione shot him a glare, however, Cedric offered her a disarming smile and ducked his head sheepishly behind his hand.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Harriet waited until she received several cheers of acknowledgment before she raised the bouquet up in the air again.

"Here we go! One…two…three!"

As soon as she released the bouquet from her hands, Harriet whirled around and watched as the crowd of single young women behind her went wild – screaming and shoving and clawing at each other in order to retrieve the bouquet. At the end of it all, it was Luna who emerged victorious from the bloodbath. She smiled and raised the bridal bouquet up into the air again – earning laughs and yells of acknowledgment from Harriet and the rest of their guests.

Finally, as soon as everyone had managed to settle down again, James looked up and watched with a small smile as Draco approached Harriet from across the room. As they joined the throng of other dancers who were gliding around the dance floor, James sat back against his seat as he was once again hit with the regret and nostalgia that had been plaguing him all day.

Our little girl is all grown up, Lily. James thought sadly as he watched Draco twirl Harriet around, causing the black-haired Gryffindor to laugh and reward him with a kiss on the cheek. She's exactly how you imagined her to be. So I guess you were there to guide her all along, huh?

As that thought crossed his mind, James smiled again and shook his head, dropping his gaze down to stare tenderly at the silver wedding ring he had returned to his left ring finger. Sensing the shift in his mood, Sirius nudged him from the side, causing James to look up at him.

"I reckon Lily would have loved to be here." Sirius thought out loud, drawing Remus' attention as the werewolf looked up and glanced at them.

"You did good, Prongs." He chimed.

"We did good." James corrected him as he gave his best friends a conspiratorial grin, causing both Sirius and Remus to smile back at him. "I never would have been able to raise Harriet without you two. I think you both even did most of the work for me." He added guiltily.

"Hey, come on now. Don't be like that, Prongs." Remus offered him a consoling pat on the shoulder. "Lily would have been proud of you too. You made mistakes along the way but you tried to make up for them as best as you could. Give yourself some credit." He told him.

"Maybe." James offered him a reluctant smile and shrugged. "But if I'm proud of anything, it's that…my daughter just got married today." He chuckled and shook his head. "And I could not be more proud of the fact that she chose a man who could truly make her happy."

"Now hold on a minute there, Potter. One year ago, weren't you the one who was so adamant about how Draco reminded you so much of yourself?" Sirius snorted and raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you honestly that self-absorbed so as to be proud Harriet married him?"

"That was my mistake." James conceded, rolling his eyes at Sirius' reaction. "That Slytherin does remind me of myself…But when I realized exactly why Harriet chose him, I knew."

"Knew what?" Remus asked.

Looking up to meet their curious expressions, James chuckled.

"He's a much better version of me."

Rolling their eyes at their friend's melodramatics, Sirius and Remus shot each other an amused smile before they shook their heads and raised their wine glasses up at him in a toast.

After James raised his own glass at them and downed the rest of his drink, he looked up again and froze in dismay when he saw that Harriet and Draco were already waving at the crowd and making their way back to their carriage. James knew for a fact that the newly weds were due to leave for their honeymoon the very next morning, and seeing as how he wouldn't be able to see his daughter during those agonizing 2 months, James stood up in alarm.

Ignoring Sirius and Remus' looks of confusion, he began weaving his way hastily through the crowd after them.

"Harry! Harry, wait—"

To James' frustration, his calls were drowned out by the loud chorus of 'goodbyes' and 'congratulations' that seemed to emanate from all around him as he pushed through the crowd of guests towards them. Unfortunately, before James had even managed to make it halfway through the large crowd, Draco and Harriet had already reached the beautiful white carriage parked by the side of the garden entrance. At that point, James' face fell as watched Draco offering his hand to Harriet to help her climb into the magical carriage. His shoulders slumping in disappointment, he was just about to turn around and trudge back to Sirius and Remus when—

"DAD!"

Feeling his heart leap into his throat, James turned around slowly, his eyes growing wide with a mixture of warmth and happiness when he saw Harriet excusing herself from Draco, picking up her skirts and weaving her way back through the crowd towards him. With a tender smile on his face, James opened his arms out to her and she ran into his arms, hugging him tightly and burying her tear-filled face against his shoulder. They held onto each other for a few moments, laughing softly at their own heightened emotions, before James reluctantly released her and leaned down, dropping an affectionate kiss onto the top of her head. She smiled at him then – the exact same way James remembered she used to when she was just a scruffy-haired marauder and she would smile up at him with bright, adoring green eyes that always seemed to make James feel as though he was the most perfect man alive when it came to his little girl.

He may no longer be the only man in her life anymore, but James finally realized in that very moment, that no matter what happened, his daughter would always look at him that way.

And that was more than enough for him.

As though reading his thoughts, Harriet managed a choked-up, teary laugh.

"I love you, old man." She teased, sticking her tongue out at him.

James' eyes warmed at her words and he ruffled her hair affectionately in response.

"I love you too, brat." He gave Harriet one last quick hug before he shook his head and began ushering her gently back to where Draco was waiting for her beside their carriage. "Now go on, you two get out of here and have fun! But don't talk to strangers!" He added warningly.

"We won't, Dad." Rolling her eyes at James' predictability, Harriet gave him one last smile before she finally released her grip on his hand and began walking back through the crowd to where Draco had been watching their entire exchange with an amused smile on his face. After offering a hand to help Harriet into the carriage, he paused just as he was about to go in after her and glanced over his shoulder, meeting James' hazel eyes for a few moments. They held each other's solemn gaze for a long time, both men seeming to understand exactly what the other wanted to say even without saying the words, until finally, James gave him a slow nod.

Take care of her.

Draco heard the unspoken words and offered the Minister of Magic a smile.

With that, James smiled back and watched as his daughter and son-in-law waved at him one last time before they finally climbed into their horse-less magical carriage and drove away.

As he watched the carriage disappear from his line of sight, James couldn't help caressing the ring on his left hand, smiling as he thought of his own wedding twenty years ago.

~ 4 Years Later ~

"…and that's the story of how your mother defeated the Dark Lord."

James allowed a dramatic pause for effect before he looked down, frowning in mild disappointment when he saw that his 3-year-old grandson, Scorpius Lucius Malfoy, hadn't been paying attention to him at all and was more interested in playing with the miniature toy dragons that James had laid out for him on the dining table. When he called for the little toddler's attention, however, Scorpius blinked and smiled brightly up at him with big emerald green eyes.

"GAN-PA!"

He exclaimed gleefully, slapping his tiny hands on the table.

"PLAY!"

Sighing in amused exasperation, James ignored the wry smirks he received from Sirius and Remus across the table and reached out to ruffle his grandson's mane of platinum blonde hair.

"Honestly, Scorp. After that story, that's all you can say?" He asked, stifling a chuckle as he reached out and used a napkin to wipe the smudge of chocolate cake from Scorpius' cheeks.

"Gan-pa! Play with me?" Scorpius, who not only looked like his father but was clearly every bit as Slytherin as Draco was – not to mention every bit a marauder as his grandfather, blinked and looked up at him with a rather impatient scowl. "Gan-pa! Let's play!" He demanded.

"Alright, alright!" In spite of himself, James laughed as he obliged the blonde toddler by picking up one of his toy dragons and pretending to attack the one that Scorpius was holding.

"No! No cheat, Gan-pa!" Scorpius protested loudly, scowling at him.

"I'm not cheating!" James laughed at his reaction and held his hands up in surrender.

"If I may comment, James." Shaking his head, Remus looked up from the newspaper he was holding and peered at James with his one good eye. Surprisingly, even with only one eye – the one he hadn't lost during the war – Remus could still manage to give James a disapproving glare. 5-year-old Teddy Lupin, who was sitting beside Remus, giggled gleefully at their exchange.

"I seem to recall your story a little differently." Remus began, but before he could finish, Sirius had scoffed beside him and set the bottle of firewhiskey he held down loudly on the table.

"You mean aside from the fact that Prongs was talking about how he singlehandedly went up against that Welsh Green back in Gringotts? What a load of rubbish!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Hey. Watch it, Padfoot before I give you another battle scar on your hideous face." James growled as he looked up from where he was playing with Scorpius and gave Sirius a glare.

"Right." Sirius snorted as he traced the diagonal scar he had gotten from Bellatrix on his face.

"No matter how many scars I have, I reckon I'd still be better looking than you, broomhair."

"Shut it, you wanker!" James snapped.

"Shut it, you wanker!" Scorpius echoed loudly, clapping his hands.

Remus and James both froze in horror at that while Sirius burst out laughing.

"No, no, no! Scorp, I told you! You're not supposed to say stuff like that! Your mother is going to get mad at me again!" James groaned as he slapped a hand over his forehead in dismay.

"James! My son can also hear you, you know!" Remus growled at him.

Sighing, he turned to look at the grinning blonde toddler again. "Scorp, you shouldn't say awful words—"

"Shut it, you wanker!" Scorpius echoed again, grinning unrepentantly at Remus.

"Oh bugger." James grumbled.

"Oh bugger!" Scorpius squealed excitedly, clapping his hands and giggling.

"Seriously, stop!" Remus blurted out as he rose up from his chair and hastily covered Teddy's ears with both of his hands. "If you want your grandson to have a potty mouth, go right ahead. But do leave my son out of this!" He pointed out, glaring at James and shaking his head.

"It's not my fault! That kid soaks everything up like a sponge!" James protested.

Sirius was beside himself with laughter now as he fell back into his seat, clutching his sides. "Harry is going to be so mad at you, Prongs!" He turned to Scorpius and gave him a mischievous wink. "What do you think, Scorp? Think ol' Gramps will be in trouble?" He grinned.

Instead of answering, Scorpius gave him a gleeful half-marauader, half-Slytherin smile.

"Mudblood!"

There was a long moment of silence as all three marauders froze and stared at the giggling toddler in stunned dismay. For his part, Scorpius seemed to find their reactions amusing and he bounced happily in his seat before clapping his hands and picking up his toy dragon again.

"Before either of you say anything—" James' lips curled into a helpless smile when Remus and Sirius both glared accusingly at him. "—pretty sure that one didn't come from me."

"Pa-foot! Cake!" Scorpius turned to Sirius and began pounding his hands impatiently on the table a few times. When Sirius glanced at him, he pointed to the cake that Sirius was eating.

"You want cake again? I don't think you should eat anymore, Scorp—"

"CAKE!" Scorpius blurted out and scowled at him.

"Ugh, fine! Hold on. Here you go." Unaware of the smirk on James' face, as Sirius reached across the table and offered a spoonful of chocolate cake to the blonde toddler, Scorpius suddenly changed his mind and instead of taking a bite, he giggled and pushed the spoon away – effectively causing a smudge of chocolate cake to mash itself against Sirius' face.

As Sirius sputtered and grabbed a napkin to wipe his face, James and Remus and Teddy began laughing. Grinning proudly, James chuckled and reached down, ruffling Scorpius' hair.

"You're a regular marauder in the making aren't you, Scorp?" He teased. "Just make sure you end up like your grandfather though, okay? Don't take after your stupid Uncles here."

Reaching out, James extracted the 3-year-old from his high chair and began bouncing him on his knee, causing Scorpius to squeal with laughter and clap his tiny hands in excitement.

"Stupid Un-cos!" He exclaimed knowingly, pointing at Sirius and Remus.

When James settled him back down, however, and Scorpius caught a glance of his grandfather's wand on the table, he reached for it – only for James to wince and pull him away.

"Now, now, little tyke. That's not for you—"

"No! My wand! Mine!" Scorpius screamed and began whining loudly, his eyes scrunching up and his features beginning to crumple in the familiar way that James knew from personal experience meant a raving temper tantrum was sure to follow. Fortunately enough, just when it looked like Scorpius was going to start screaming, Teddy had suddenly reached across the table and handed the 3-year-old one of his toy trains. This seemed to distract Scorpius immediately as the toddler took the train in his hands and began gurgling in baby talk.

"That's my boy. Quick thinking, Ted." Remus smiled as he ruffled his son's hair, causing the metamorphagus to look up and give him a toothy grin. "Now go play with Scorp, will you?"

When Teddy answered his father with an angelic smile and jumped down from his seat to do as he asked, James couldn't help scowling. Sighing, he shot Remus an exasperated look.

"How do you get him to follow you?" He asked, wincing as Scorpius wrestled himself out of his grandfather's arms and plopped down onto the floor beside Teddy to play with his toys.

"It's really not that hard, James." Smirking at the helpless look on the other marauder's face, Remus shrugged and answered him with a smug smile. "But I suppose it probably doesn't help that Scorpius seems to have inherited that legendary stubbornness you have." He quipped.

"Not to mention, there's both Black and Malfoy in this kid." Sirius added with a laugh as he watched Scorpius scowling and beginning to smash his toys against the floor in impatience. "Those are three generations of crazy all rolled into this blonde little tyke right here." He kidded.

Growing bored of banging his toys against the floor, Scorpius peered back up at James and, flashing his grandfather a mischievous grin, he stood up and began toddling his way back to the table. Then, before James could realize what he was doing, he stood on his toes and began reaching his hands across the table to where James' wand lay discarded beside his cup of tea.

"Play with magic?"

"Scorpius, no!" James shook his head and hastily snatched his wand out of the 3-year-old toddler's reach. Scorpius looked up at his grandfather, allowing James to see the way his face was scrunching up into a scowl and his green eyes were beginning to brighten with tears.

Wincing helplessly, James was just about to brace himself for that legendary temper tantrum that he just knew was coming when, to his relief, Teddy distracted Scorpius' attention again as the purple-haired metamorphagus stood up, said something incomprehensible in toddler talk, and handed Scorpius another one of his toys. Effectively forgetting why he had been crying in the first place, the scowl on Scorpius' face disappeared and he gurgled something back to Teddy, giggling when Teddy answered him by morphing his nose into a long bird's beak.

When Scorpius sat back down onto the floor – his grandfather's wand completely forgotten – James finally released a sigh of relief and he flashed Remus a sheepish, grateful grin.

"That's two times your son saved me." He kidded as he watched the two toddlers resume their playing from where they sat on the carpeted floor. "Your son is an angel, Moony."

"That he is." Remus answered with a proud smile as he watched them.

Rolling his eyes, James was just about to answer him when they heard the distinct sound of someone arriving via the floo in the living room. James waited for a few minutes, as he already had an inkling of who it was, and sure enough, he heard Harriet's voice calling for them.

"WHERE IS EVERYONE?!"

"WE'RE IN THE DINING ROOM, PRONGSLET!" James called back.

Recognizing his mother's voice, Scorpius' face brightened and he looked up from his toys just in time to see his parents walking into the large dining room and heading towards them. At the sight of his beautiful 22-year-old daughter, wearing a green evening dress and with her long black hair styled into curls, pinned into an elegant coif at the top of her head, James smiled. Beside her, his son-in-law was wearing a dark formal suit that was tailored perfectly to fit his tall frame.

"Well don't you two look classy?" James greeted them with a teasing grin.

"Oh don't you start, Dad." Harriet rolled her eyes and gave him a pointed look. "You were supposed to go to this stupid Ministry Fundraiser with us, I can't believe you're not going. That goes double for the two of you!" She added, throwing a miffed glare at Sirius and Remus.

"Aw come on, Prongslet. We've gone to our fair share of those parties during our time. I think we've pretty much earned the right to skip these parties at our age." Sirius pointed out.

"DADDY!" Scorpius squealed loudly. His toys temporarily forgotten, he shot up from the floor and ran over to Draco, happily hugging and attaching himself to his father's leg. Rolling his eyes at his son's exuberance, Draco bent down to scoop the giggling toddler up into his arms.

"Scorpius, I have told you countless times to call me 'Father'. And what is all of this on your mouth?" Draco made a face as he used a handkerchief to wipe the smudges of chocolate on his son's chin. "Didn't your mother tell you that you aren't allowed to eat too much sweets?"

"Er…Sorry, that would be my fault, Malfoy." Sirius chimed in with a laugh from where he was sitting across James on the table. "He wouldn't stop whining so we gave him some cake."

"If it helps, we regretted it immediately afterwards. That kid is ridiculously hyped up on sugar right now." Remus pointed out as he called Teddy back over to sit on the chair beside him.

"CAKE!" Scorpius squealed again, clapping his hands with a gleeful laugh.

"Shhh. Keep it down, Scorp. Your little sister is still sleeping." Harriet spoke up from behind Draco, finally drawing everyone's attention to the tiny bundle of pink blankets she was cradling in her arms. Staring at his sleeping 6-month-old granddaughter, Callista Dorea Malfoy, James' expression softened. He stood up from his seat and began to walk over towards them.

Surprisingly enough, Scorpius seemed to understand his mother's words and, casting one glance at his baby sister, he immediately quieted down. When Draco took the seat that James had vacated, Scorpius bounded over to him and allowed his father to pull him onto his lap.

"Why hello there, baby Lily. Don't you look pretty?" James cooed, choosing to use his and Harriet's chosen nickname for the beautiful black-haired, silver-eyed infant. Smiling at him, Harriet rolled her eyes but obliged by carefully depositing the tiny baby into her father's arms.

"Be careful, Dad. Please don't wake her. She was up all night and she woke up crying again this afternoon. I just got her to go to sleep." Harriet told him with an exhausted grimace.

"She's a regular troublemaker, alright. Just like her mother." James kidded, flashing Harriet a wink as he cradled baby Lily in his arms and rocked her back and forth, gently stroking the black tufts of hair on her head. Curious, Sirius and Remus both stood up from their seats and walked over to crowd around Lily, all three marauders staring in awe at the tiny, sleeping baby.

"Merlin, don't scare her. She might have nightmares." Draco drawled, smirking as he watched them cooing over his daughter. "Imagine waking up to faces like that staring at you."

"Shut it, Malfoy." Sirius retorted, though his attention remained focused on Lily as he peered at her over James' shoulder. "But she is an adorable little thing, isn't she?" He quipped.

"That she is." James agreed softly as he reached down and stroked a finger very gently against Lily's baby soft cheek.

"She looks just like her grandmother." He commented, smiling.

From where she stood beside Draco near the table, Harriet watched the tender scene for a few minutes with a small smile lingering on her face. Finally, when they dispersed, Harriet took the seat beside her husband and she reached out to ruffle Teddy's purple hair in greeting.

"Hey Ted." She greeted her godson by dropping a kiss onto the top of his head.

"Hawwy! Lookie! I can change the color of my hair!" Teddy smiled toothily at her and when his hair suddenly turned into bright, neon orange, Harriet laughed and clapped her hands.

"That's wonderful, Ted. Keep at it!" She grinned just as Sirius and Remus sat back down onto the seats across from them. Meanwhile, James was still cradling Lily in his arms as he took the seat on Draco's other side and very carefully adjusted the sleeping baby against his chest.

At the sight of his mother, however, Scorpius suddenly began wrestling himself out of his father's arms and began whining loudly, causing Draco to give him a stern, warning glare.

"Scorpius, stop that. Behave yourself." He warned in an authoritative voice.

Scorpius ignored him, however, and began reaching his arms out towards Harriet.

Unfortunately, when Draco tried to distract him by handing him another toy, the scowl on Scorpius' face deepened and he began wailing louder, tears pooling rapidly in his green eyes.

"Mommy! Want mommy!"Ignoring his father's adamant protests, he begin squirming wildly and reaching his arms out towards his mother.

"Mommy, up! Want up!" He whimpered.

"Scorp, you're getting too heavy for your mother to carry you all the time!" Draco scolded him, but his words did nothing but make Scorpius sniff and scrunch his face up at him.

"Scorpius Lucius Malfoy, I will not stand for such—"

"No it's fine, Draco. I can carry him for a while. Here, give him to me."

Laughing at their father-son antics, Harriet just shook her head and interrupted Draco by reaching her hands out towards Scorpius.

Sighing in exasperation, Draco rolled his eyes at his wife's coddling but obliged, depositing the wriggling toddler into Harriet's arms. Immediately, Scorpius stopped crying and he gurgled something in baby talk, taking the snake stuffed toy Harriet handed him and happily hugging it as he nestled his cheek against the crook of his mother's neck. When he grinned and raised the snake up to her face, hissing something to her in parseltongue, Harriet smiled and obliged him by kissing the snake's nose and hissing something back. Scorpius let out a high-pitched giggle at that, bouncing before he pulled the toy away and hugged it against his chest.

Having witnessed the entire scene, Sirius gave Draco a bemused look.

"Is Scorpius even aware when he does that? When he speaks in parseltongue, I mean." He asked, looking curious.

Draco shook his head and answered him with a wry smirk. "Harry here didn't even realize she could speak to snakes until she was twelve. So I doubt Scorpius realizes it at this age."

Eventually, as Sirius and Remus began to engage Draco in a rather lively discussion about the recent developments that have been going on in the Ministry of Magic, Harriet rested her chin onto the top of Scorpius' head. She listened to them, occasionally giving his hair an affectionate nuzzle with her nose. After awhile, the toddler yawned and rubbed his eyes with his fists, leaning back against Harriet and resting his cheek sleepily against his mother's shoulder.

"Uh-oh. The little princess is awake." James suddenly drew everyone's attention as he stood up, and shifted a sleepy-looking baby Lily around in his arms. "Prongslet, do you have—"

"In that big baby bag, Dad." Harriet rolled her eyes as she gestured to the pink bag on the table. Giving her a sheepish smile, James rifled through it and pulled out a warm bottle of milk. As he sat back down, feeding baby Lily through her bottle, James finally turned to address Draco.

"So…Draco. I heard from Narcissa that you've just been accepted into the Wizengamot. How are those stuffy old geezers doing these days?" He mentioned, looking up and giving his son-in-law a wry smile. "At such a young age too. Are you aiming to be Minister?" He quipped.

"Oh you know me, Dad. Just aiming to beat your record." Draco smirked back, though when James snorted and raised an eyebrow at him, he shook his head. "Kidding aside though, I have no intention of being Minister of Magic. I think Diggory wants that title. My end goal in the Ministry of Magic is to be appointed as the Head Warlock of the Wizengamot." He said smugly.

"Why don't you apply for Minister again, James?" Remus pointed out as he looked up from where had been feeding Teddy from his plate of vegetables. "Everyone thought highly of your interim term after the war and you received good ratings back then. I'm sure if you want to be Minister of Magic again, you'd be able to win back the title hands down." He mused out loud.

"I don't think so, Remus." James shook his head firmly, turning his attention back to the squirming baby in his arms. "I have no intention of joining the Ministry of Magic again. Besides, school's about to resume next month and I'm quite happy as the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"Pretty soon, he'll be getting gray hairs and growing a beard just like ol' Dumbledore." Sirius quipped under his breath, causing Draco to smirk and stifle his snigger behind his hand.

"—besides—" James narrowed his eyes warningly at Sirius and Draco when he noticed the way the two were trying hard not to smirk. "—Arthur has been doing well as the Minister—"

"Oh please." Draco made a face at James' words and shook his head. "If you ask me, he's being way too complacent about the whole 'cooperation with muggles' movement he has going on right now. If he's not bloody careful, he could expose the entire magical community to the rest of the world. And wouldn't that bit make quite a lot of mudbloods happy." He grumbled.

"Draco, there is nothing wrong with mudbloo—muggleborns!" Harriet corrected herself hastily, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I thought the war taught you that, at least!"

"It did! I didn't say I didn't like them! I just said we might have to accommodate more of them should Arthur Weasley's bloody reign of muggle cooperation continue." He drawled back.

Glaring knowingly at him, Harriet opened her mouth to tell him off again when—

"Mudbloods!" Scorpius suddenly squealed happily, effectively cutting off his mother's carefully-worded tirade and meeting her scandalized expression with a smile that was so scarily reminiscent of James' own grin that instead of getting angry, Harriet's lips twitched with mirth.

When Scorpius grew bored of their stunned reactions and began playing with his toy snake again, James shook his head and gave Draco a knowing, though slightly admonishing glare.

"So that's where my grandson learned that word." He drawled.

For his part, Draco had the temerity to look ashamed and he gave him a sheepish smile.

Fortunately, he was saved from the need to say anything when Harriet spoke up again, drawing her father's attention back to her as she adjusted her happily squirming son on her lap.

"How are things at Hogwarts, Dad? I've heard from Luna at the Ministry that Neville recently signed on to teach Herbology." Harriet mused, unaware of the face Draco made beside her. "I've been meaning to congratulate you on that, by the way. Hogwarts has been getting a lot of mention in the Prophet about its faculty, and about how it's the best in years." She added.

"Ah, well." James smiled at that and answered her with a wayward shrug. "I figured the best way to rise from the ashes after the war was to rebuild the school's reputation, and what better way is there to do that than to hire the best teachers." He gave Sirius a mischievous wink.

"Well, the best teacher right now is obviously DADA courtesy of yours truly." Sirius remarked with a knowing grin as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against his seat. "Though, with Perigreen teaching Charms and Snivellus teaching Potions, I do have to admit that this is one of the best faculties Hogwarts has had in the last decade." He chuckled.

"Maybe I should teach part-time in Hogwarts." Draco wondered out loud, earning a dubious look from his wife. "What? I can be a good teacher! And I promise to only set them on fire if they don't give me the correct answer." He smirked, causing Harriet to roll her eyes at him.

She was just about to chastise him otherwise when Scorpius suddenly let out another loud, impatient whine, causing both of his parents to wince and glance at him just as the toddler had resumed his squirming in his mother's arms. When Scorpius scowled and made a tearful face up at his mother, Draco's mercury eyes narrowed and he shot his son another quelling glare.

"Scorpius, don't test my patience." Draco growled, though if anything, his reprimand did nothing but make the young Malfoy heir whine even louder and scowl at his father in defiance.

"Ugh. I swear, I don't know which is worse, to be honest." Harriet muttered under her breath as she shifted Scorpius so that she was cradling him to her chest. "The fact that this kid takes after his father's brattiness or the fact that he's just as stubborn and bull-headed as his grandfather." She observed wryly, causing both James and Draco to flush and glare back at her.

"Well, look on the bright side." James offered as he glanced at his scowling grandson. "With his genes, at least you can be sure that he's going to grow up to be a handsome little tyke. Isn't that right, Scorp?" James winked at him but Scorpius, not being able to understand his grandfather's words, only shook his head and scowled again, wriggling out of his mother's arms.

"Scorp, stop that!" Harriet blurted out in exasperation, wincing when she realized that her son had, in fact, become way too heavy for her – especially when he was thrashing around.

"Scorpius." Draco's voice had an edge of warning to it as he glared at his stubborn son. With narrowed eyes, he was just about to carry the toddler out of the room when, to their relief, Remus took pity on them as he stood up from the table with Teddy and walked over to Harriet.

"Here. Let me take him." Remus offered as he bent down and offered his arms out to Scorpius. "How about it, Scorp? Teddy and I are going to go outside to play Quidditch. Do you want to come with us? We'll fly around the back yard." He chuckled when Scorpius' scowl instantly vanished and his green eyes brightened with excitement at his Uncle Remus' words.

"PLAY KIDDITCH!" Scorpius chirped happily in agreement, and needing no further invitation, he stretched his arms out and allowed Remus to scoop him up from Harriet's arms.

"Thanks for that." Harriet let out an exhale of relief and gave Remus a grateful smile. He shifted Scorpius around in his arms for a few seconds before he shook his head and grimaced.

"Merlin's beard – you weren't kidding, Draco. This kid is getting pretty heavy." Remus commented in amusement, causing James to chuckle at his reaction and give him a wry smile.

"That would be due to his Potter genes, I'd reckon. If I recall correctly, I was more than nine pounds when my mother gave birth to me." He mused, causing Draco to smirk back at him.

"I think I was about the same weight as an infant. Though—" Draco paused and, with a glance at his petite wife, chuckled. "—Scorpius was very close to ten pounds when he was born."

"Don't I know it." Harriet muttered darkly under her breath, though none of the men seemed to have heard her.

"Right. Come on then, Ted! Let's go play some quidditch!" Sirius rose from his seat and scooped Teddy up from the floor, causing the young metamorphagus to giggle and throw his arms around Sirius' neck. At the sight of him, James and Remus all carrying children, Sirius snorted and nudged the other marauder, giving him a self-depreciating smirk. "At the rate we're going, maybe we should open up a daycare center. Marauders' Babysitting Service!" He quipped.

"Oh shut up, Padfoot." Rolling his eyes, Remus sighed in exasperation. Shaking his head, he gave Harriet and Draco one last smile before he carried Scorpius out of the dining room, Sirius and Teddy at his heels. As soon as they were gone, James directed a glance at his daughter.

"I met up with Amos the other day. He mentioned that Cedric's been appointed as Deputy Minister. What do you know? I never would have guessed." James mused with a smirk.

"He's earned that promotion. He has been working pretty hard lately." Harriet shrugged and reached out, stroking baby Lily's hair. "Hermione mentioned that the Minister has Cedric working on all kinds of projects right now, mostly joint cooperation projects with Bulgaria and Germany. Though, I think she's actually a little worried about him being able to balance his schedule. I think she's due in about a month or so." Harriet remarked, much to James' surprise.

"Hermione's pregnant again?"

"Third one in three years." Draco smirked. "One more child out of them and they'll be giving Weasley a run for his money—ow!"

He scowled when Harriet whacked him on the arm.

"Cedric's a good man." Ignoring their antics, James chuckled and turned his attention back to his squirming granddaughter. "I doubt he'll turn out to be the same workaholic I was when I was Minister. He'll be a good father." He told them, and Harriet gave him a small smile.

"And what am I, chopped liver?" Draco grumbled, still rubbing the sore spot on his arm where his wife had hit him.

"If you ask me, Diggory's still the same old boring, Hufflepuff prick."

"Draco!"

"It's true! The man wears bright, Hufflepuff-yellow, badger-patterned socks to work, for Merlin's sake! I saw him wearing them during our meeting the other day!" Draco complained.

"Alright, now that's just hideous." James suddenly looked up and met Draco's disgusted expression with wide, horrified eyes.

"He'll never be appointed as Minister of Magic like that."

"Dad!"

"That's exactly what I told her!" Draco sniggered, gesturing his thumb towards Harriet.

"I can't believe you two!" Harriet's jaw dropped and she flicked her glare back and forth between them in disbelief. When both men just smirked back at her, she rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her baby daughter instead, dropping a kiss onto Lily's soft, rosy cheek.

"In some countries, people consider it irresponsible if I continue to let my baby girl be exposed to such bad influences." She pointed out, causing both her father and husband to laugh. Sighing at their reactions, she would have said more had she not noticed the time on her watch. When she saw that it was almost nine, her eyes widened and she shot up from her seat in alarm.

"Oh bugger, it's getting late." Biting her lip, she turned to her husband and gave him a panicked look. "We'd better get going if we want to make it to the introductory speeches – otherwise, Hermione is going to kill me." Harriet groaned, causing Draco to roll his eyes at her.

"Potter, it'll be fine—"

He was about to stand up but Harriet pushed him back into his seat and shook her head.

"No, no wait. Stay there; I'll be right back. I just have to powder my nose and freshen up. Excuse me." She ignored her husband's exasperated glare at her and rushed out of the room, leaving Draco and James sharing a knowing look with each other. While waiting, Draco leaned back against his chair, watching in amusement as James continued to coo and fuss over baby Lily.

Apparently, in the midst of her parents' conversation, baby Lily was now fully awake and was blinking up at her grandfather with wide, curious mercury gray eyes. When James made a few funny faces at her and kissed her tiny hands, she giggled and squirmed happily in his arms.

"Hey uhm…Dad?" Draco waited until James had looked up to meet his gaze before he continued. "Would you happen to be friends with a certain Elphias Doge? He's my mentor right now in the Wizengamot." He mentioned, causing James to raise an eyebrow in mild surprise.

"We've worked on a few projects before. Why, what about him?" James asked.

"Well, he's kind of giving me a really hard time right now with my training. When I told him as much, he mentioned that it's because I was a Death Eater and he doesn't like me. I was wondering if maybe you could…I don't know…Give him a talk for me. Get him to ease up a little." He grimaced before glancing up and giving his father-in-law an imploring, sheepish smile.

"So apparently, that old bat is still being a bigot." James snorted to himself and rolled his eyes before he answered. "Don't worry about it. I can pull some strings for you." He smirked.

"Appreciate it." Draco grinned at him. "I know I may have said this a thousand times but I could really get used to this whole, being related to the former Minister thing." He drawled.

"So what exactly did you promise him this time, Dad?" Harriet's annoyed voice interrupted both men from their conversation as they both looked up to see the former Gryffindor striding back into the room. At the innocent look they gave her, her green eyes narrowed even further.

"Nothing I wouldn't do for family, Prongslet. You know that." James answered teasingly as he stood back up and allowed Harriet to give him goodbye kiss on the cheek. "Besides, you should have anticipated as much. After all, you were the one who married him." He pointed out.

"And I still don't know why." Harriet retorted, earning a glare from Draco as she leaned down and gave her gurgling daughter a kiss on her cheek.

"Good bye, darling. Mommy will see you soon. Be a good girl for Grandpa." She cooed, laughing when baby Lily smiled back sweetly at her.

When she straightened, she gave James another apologetic smile. "Dad, are you really sure you're okay with taking care of them tonight? I can still call a baby sitter, just in case. I'm really sorry for being so last minute but Narcissa is helping Andromeda run some errands so—"

"Harry, don't worry about it. It's perfectly fine." James rolled his eyes at her and gave her a brief, though one-armed, hug. "I'm their grandfather, of course I can take care of them."

"See you soon, pretty girl." Draco cajoled as he approached James and leaned down to press a quick kiss onto the tip of baby Lily's nose. When she gurgled again, Draco pretended to nibble on her tiny feet and nuzzled her stomach, causing the infant to squirm and giggle softly.

After Draco and Harriet nodded one last time at James and proceeded to walk out of the dining room towards the floo fireplace in the living room, James finally sat back down onto his seat and stared at the beautiful baby in his arms, smiling when she blinked up curiously at him.

For a few minutes, he marveled at the fact that – despite inheriting Harriet's jet black locks and Draco's gray eyes – baby Lily looked so remarkably like her grandmother. And to have her smiling up at him right now made James realize, more than anything, that despite losing the love of his life and all the mistakes that he had made raising his daughter, there was still always hope.

The kind of hope that no matter what happened, there will always be something to look forward to.

Rousing himself from his own thoughts, James sighed softly and stared down at the squirming baby girl in his arms again.

"Let me tell you about that time when we broke into Gringgotts Wizarding Bank...And your grandfather singlehandedly had to go face to face with a Dragon."

When his granddaughter giggled at him, James smiled at the adorable sound.

All was well.

~ END ~

A/N: And that's it for Harriet Potter and the Minister of Magic! :D

No sequel for this, I'm afraid. To be honest, I've exhausted all my creative ideas for this story. I'm just happy I was able to finish this story through to the end, so I hope you guys enjoyed it!

At the moment, I'm still thinking if I should post a short one-shot about Lily's first day and sorting at Hogwarts. Not sure yet though. But if you guys have requests for one shots that you'd like to see from this universe (whether it's about Harriet and Draco, the Marauders, or Scorpius and Lily, or even the others) just send me a PM and I'll let you know if I can write it out. :D

Again, thank you to everyone who saw this massive story through to the very end! Thank you guys so much for the love, support and the patience! You're all bloody brilliant in my book. :D

So closing off HP&MOM for the last time, this is slytherin-nette signing out.

Peace, love and cheers to you all! :D