"So," Harry began over lunch, which he and the others had elected to take out on the same veranda where the glorious party had been held the night before, "what's on everyone's agenda for the summer? I've got some vague plans, but they're pretty, well, vague."
"Well," Mr. Granger answered, after it became clear no one else would go first, "Emma and I talked about taking Hermione over to the 'States for a week or two, but I'm not sure how well that would go, given the state of... well, things here. Hard to beat a wealthy, handsome young suitor with the old family vacation, you know?"
"Please, Daddy," Hermione snorted as Harry turned red, "we both know I'd love to go, there's no reason to tease Harry. There's many places over there I'd like to visit. Broadway, the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, the National Mall..."
"All of which would be delightful," Emma agreed, "though we had a bit of something else in mind. Of course, while we couldn't possibly bring everyone you might invite, if others did want to come, and Harry wouldn't mind financing, or they themselves...? I'm not sure what magical transportation might be like internationally."
"It is done by Floo, mostly," Fleur answered, her accent faint with her growing use of the Queen's English, "though only locally. Acrozz Europe, for example, there are 'undreds of Floo stations one might take from country to country. But acrozz the Atlantic...? Ships, or flying. Portkeys would make a person sick, and it iz too far to Apparate or fly on a broom, so zhe muggle airlines are zhe next best thing."
"Airlines...?" Daniel asked, sounding quite surprised.
"Yes. Zhere is a 'hole ozher terminal in 'Eathrow most muggles never see."
"Fascinating," the older man exhaled, "and they just... use that to board our flights?"
Fleur nodded, "Zhat is my understanding. I 'ave never flown zhat way, but Mama and Papa 'ave done so many times, 'e prefers to fly from Paris to London zhan take two Floo trips, even if it is much slower."
"I've... never been outside the country," Harry said quietly, "Don't you need, like, a passport? Or something?"
"Well, yes, but we can probably arrange that," Daniel replied, "And you don't need to be embarrassed about that, Harry. Plenty of people don't travel abroad. Normally it can take months, but with a bit of palm-greasing- nothing illegal, Hermione, don't get all up in arms, just a little help- you can expedite the process down to a few days or weeks. Emma's quite good at cutting through the red tape like that."
"If that's what you want to call it," his wife muttered with a roll of her eyes, "I just know how to find who to talk to. It's really not bribes, Hermione, you should know that by now. At any rate, that's all we had planned, but we obviously understand if that's got to change."
"I'm not sure why it would," Harry shrugged, "There's plenty of time to do several things, and my plans are vague anyway. I know more what I want to accomplish than how to do it."
"I... I'm in kind of the same situation," Pansy murmured, "I'd... I know I'd like to learn some Healing. I don't know if I want to work for St. Mungo's, as they're administered by the Ministry, and that's increasingly corrupt... but I talked to Katie a fair bit about it last night, and Fleur this morning. It... it seems like something I might enjoy."
"You should talk to Madam Pomfrey when we get back to Hogwarts, too, then," Hermione suggested. "I've spoken to her about it before, she's got a lot to say on the subject. She gets paid better than most Healers at St. Mungo's, and only has to deal with the relatively minor catastrophes at school. Yes, she has a larger total number of people to care for, but she says it's well worth the trade-off."
"I'll do that, thank you, Hermione," Pansy beamed.
Harry smiled, too. Just in the last six months, the two girls had come a long, long way to undoing the damage they had suffered at each other's hands due to the bullying that had gone on in previous years. Now, they were not just lovers, but also friends. He knew he was largely responsible for kicking things into motion, but the work had been their own... and it showed.
Maybe, just maybe, they were evidence that his plans for his family were actually something that might happen, rather than the lust-mad fever-dream of a pubescent wizard. Not that there wasn't plenty of that, too, he had to acknowledge... but there was more to it than that. As always, his love and admiration and, yes, a probably-unhealthy level of envy for those with a decent family life was at the forefront of his motivations.
He wanted not just a family... but a big one. The best one. A huge, loving family that were devoted to not just the pursuit of selfish, worldly pleasures and showmanship against the neighbors, but a family that truly loved and cared for each other.
Harry James Potter could think of no better dream.
Which meant, perhaps, that this was the time to openly discuss his plans with more than just Lilith. But first, a bit of warmup might be in order. "I agree with Hermione, Pansy, that sounds like a great idea. I know you've mentioned Healing before, but hadn't realized you were that passionate about it, I'm sorry. I'll support you every step of the way."
"Thank you," the raven-haired beauty replied quietly, blushing a little as the whole table, much smaller though it was than the night before or even at breakfast, congratulated her and gave her their well-wishes.