Until the very End - [Harry Potter xF!Oc]

2014

The next morning Harry woke up feeling like he was made of cement. Bruises had formed throughout the night, and unfortunately, not all of them had been made by Mel. It had been a closer call than he'd led his wife to believe, but there was no point in worrying her when he was back in —mostly— one piece.

The night prior, Mel had given him all the good news he'd missed while being away, as well as some fresh gossip about Reg and Emily Flint he had definitely not expected, but Mel was not at all surprised by it. She was rarely surprised by anything now that she was older, but Harry still took pride in being one of those who could still take her by surprise.

He was home, in bed with the love of his life, and his children were peacefully sleeping in the other rooms, which gave him a sense of unaltered bliss he'd missed. Harry pushed himself sideways to wrap his arm around Mel and pull her closer, but the moment he tried to, his muscles cried out in pain and he grunted, scooting closer instead.

Mel stirred slightly, the movement behind her after so long sleeping alone bringing her out of her slumber. "Harry?" She spoke groggily.

He hushed her tenderly, speaking against her hair. "Go back to sleep."

"Are you hungry?" She asked, her nurturing instincts immediately kicking in as her memory started functioning. "Merlin, I should change the bandage on your face—"

"Mel, shut up," he groaned, "m'alright, I just want to go back to sleep..."

The woman in his hold relaxed, hearing the weariness in his voice. "Very well," she conceded gently. "The children will wake up soon enough and drag us out of bed anyway, as soon as they realize you're back..."

He groaned again, though his chest fluttered with anticipation. He'd missed those lovely youthful brats of his as much as he'd missed Mel. "No..."

Mel's speech relented, as time went by she'd had no choice but to admit that sometimes silence was much better than keeping a conversation going just to hear someone grumble a "you're right". 

They managed to sleep another hour before hasty, thunderous steps came flying up the stairs after the twins discovered their father's travel cloak hanging by the door.

"DAD!" They were shouting all the way to their parents's room. "DADDY! YOU'RE BACK!"

Their door slammed open and in came two ten-year-olds, both with thick light-brown hair and eyes brimming with tears. Mel sat up and blindly opened her arms to tackle the children before they could drop onto their father's beaten body. She trapped them in a hug.

"Wait! Emmeline, James, stop!" Mel groaned, trying to contain them. "Your father is tired! He came home very late last night!" She of course left out the part in which Harry's sleep had been pushed back for another two whole hours as soon as she got her hands on him. 

Harry carefully sat up, rubbing his eyes and reaching for his glasses. In the little time it took him to come out of his drowsiness, two other children had joined the fight, trying to climb over their poor mother to reach him.

"Mellow, s'alright, let them," he mumbled groggily. 

"But..." she glanced at him worryingly. Harry's body was conveniently covered with a long-sleeved shirt so the children couldn't see his injuries, but she knew they were there. 

"Whatever they do, I'll take happily," He didn't need to say it plainly for her to understand. The pain inflicted by the fierce hugs of his sons and daughters would be wonderful torture to him.

Mel dropped the defences, and the twins jumped into their father's arms. The woman reached down and pulled Lily up, while Matthew climbed on his own and sneaked his way in between the twins to cling to his father. All of them were crying.