Y/N's POV

The aftermath of the war was mainly happy. However, the joy and happiness of Voldemort's demise had been diluted by the tragedy of the war.

Axel. He was a fallen soldier from the war. We honoured him by holding a small ceremony for him after his life was tragically ended by one of Voldemort's Death Eaters in the war. He had died a hero, he had died saving an innocent life.

The very few Death Eaters that remained either went into hiding or tried to start a new life - although it was difficult. They had spent years under Voldemort's rule and their beliefs were hard to alter.

I had found a broken Madison Whitmore after the war, sat before her dead parents - mourning their death. When I found her, I comforted her. I wanted her to change for the better, perhaps she wasn't inherently evil, she was just brought up in the wrong environment. After having a conversation with her, explaining to her the options she had, she was unwilling at first but eventually agreed to be placed under the care of Hogwarts.

Next it was Draco, he and his mother went and lived a quiet life, a life far away from all the Dark Arts they had been involved in. I would visit them from time to time and try to repair my relationship with Draco. It didn't take him long to forgive me, it seemed like he deep down resented his father for everything he put him through. After all, he was just a boy.

Nick spent the majority of the war seeking refuge at the Burrow - there was only so much he could do. After the war he was unofficially adopted by the Weasleys and continued living with them. There was no bad blood between the two of us regarding the Hermione situation, in a way he said he always knew she'd go back to me.

Issac continued Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes with George after a long period of the store being shut. The two would never fully be able to move on from the death of Fred but they tried to continue the store to honour his memory.

Then there was me. My relationship with Hermione was back but we were far from perfect together. I was still haunted by the memories of what I had done and I had been plagued with nightmares despite the war being over.

There were always the same memories being replayed in my head.

The intense training regime with Voldemort.

The murder of my father.

The events of the Wilson family.

The massacre at Malfoy Manor.

The library during the Battle of Hogwarts.

I would often get scenarios where Hermione would leave me because she had come to her senses and realised I was not good enough for her. I would also get scenarios that I would accidentally do something to hurt Hermione. In the day, I was fine but at night, everything reappeared. Almost every night I would wake up in a cold sweat next to Hermione, tears rolling down my face and my body shaking uncontrollably. Every night Hermione would do the same thing, she would wake up and she would sit me up. Then she would envelope me in her comforting arms and whisper words of reassurance. At first I would distance myself from her, but as time passed I realised she was there to stay.

It had been a difficult period of readjustment for me, there would be passers-by in the streets who would stare at me like I was the next Voldemort, I would get harassed by random people for something I couldn't control. Not everyone seemed to truly understand the role I was forced to play. To those who didn't understand, Harry Potter was their saviour and I was the villain.

I wished ever so desperately to be rid of the Dark Mark but it was impossible. It had faded over time after Voldemort's death and resembled a scar but I could never truly be rid of it. It was an ugly reminder of everything I had gone through.

I thought F/N Malfoy would be gone, but it seemed as though he had never truly left me. I spent every day trying to repent for the countless sins I had committed, trying to prove that I was indeed worthy of the second chance I was given.

When five years after the war had passed, I had made considerable progress yet I was still struggling. I had sought professional help regarding the trauma that remained from the Battle of Hogwarts and after years of consistency, I began to see some results.

Within those five years, a lot more had happened. After we all went back to re-do our final year at Hogwarts, Hermione and I had gone to Australia to try and find her parents and restore their memories whilst Harry and Ron began their training to be Aurors for the reformed Ministry of Magic - now under the leadership of Kingsley Shacklebolt.

As with me and Ron, we were never really the same after the war. It was hard to see past everything he had done to me. We did apologise to each other though but it seemed as though it wasn't enough for us to be as close as we were before. We were friends still, but we weren't the childhood best friends we used to be. It was sad, but I knew that it was better to accept it rather than try to force something that wouldn't work.

Madison had been making slow but steady progress at Hogwarts, I would occasionally visit her from time to time. Initially she was upset that I was back together with Hermione but eventually she had gotten to grips with it as she started getting closer to someone else - Nick. He had been offered the role of being a Professor at Hogwarts for Muggle Studies and despite not knowing exactly how to teach and what to teach he accepted and soon flourished in his new role.

As the five years passed, I rekindled my love of Quidditch and played locally before being scouted for Puddlemore United - the same team that Oliver Wood played for. It was a nice escape from everything and it did fulfil my boyhood fantasies of playing professionally. It wasn't long into my professional career I was invited to try out for the national team and with the Quidditch World Cup happening soon, I wasn't going to let this opportunity slip.

It felt like after everything I had been through, perhaps things were starting to look up. It was the 2002 Quidditch World Cup, four years after the war had ended and there I was. I looked around at my teammates who hadn't been this hopeful in years - previously England were disappointing and usually were knocked out in the group stages.

However, this year, it seemed like we actually had a chance. I was in the form of my life, playing Quidditch made me feel so free of all the constraints I had, all the issues I faced. Every match I played in I excelled, I was even labelled the favourite for 'Player of the Tournament'.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked me as I prepared myself to go into the team locker room. The England team had swept past our competition in the knockout stages and now we were in the finals against Bulgaria - my match up would be none other than Viktor Krum.

It was quite ironic really that my first world cup final would be against none other than the guy who tried to steal Hermione and take her to the Yule Ball. Of course I held a slight bitterness towards him, which would make this victory all the sweeter if it happened.

I smiled at my girlfriend. "It's a weird feeling actually, I still remember that time in the library where me and Krum were competing to be your date to the Yule Ball."

"I remember that," Hermione said with a laugh, "it was a very awkward situation to be in but I don't regret my choice."

She gave me a quick kiss and I smiled. I then heard my teammates call for me, the game was nearly about to start.

"Wish me luck." I said with a grin.

Hermione kissed me once more. "Good luck, you'll be amazing."

I then watched Hermione walk off to her seats with the others and then made my way to where the rest of the national team were.

"Alright lads," I said to the rest of my teammates who were all huddled around me, "this is the big one. We leave everything we have out there, they're stronger but we're smarter."

A collective cheer exploded from the entire team and before we made our way to the tunnel, I turned to Oliver Wood.

"Just like old times eh?"

He nodded with a chuckle. "Just like old times."

As I mounted my broom, dressed in the red and white robes, I could feel nerves inside of me. This was the biggest game of my career. I remember so many years ago the nerves I felt before a school Quidditch game - that was nothing compared to this.

"Introducing...your men's England national Quidditch team!" roared the voice of Bagman. "Wood! Vosper! Hawksworth! Flitney! Withey! Choudry! Aaaaaaaand L/N!"

I pushed off from the platform I was stood on and joined the rest of my team before beginning to lead them around the stadium. From the back of our brooms we had a mixture of red and white - mimicking the colours of the English flag. Cheers boomed from around the stadium and it didn't take long for me to identify Hermione - sat with Harry and the others - in a VIP box. As I flew past her I gave her a quick wink before making my way to the starting position.

After what seemed like forever, the match finally began and it was instantly fast paced, each team were playing to win. I couldn't locate the Snitch at first and Krum was the same. We found ourselves opposite each other where I gave him a hard stare, he looked at me with his usual expression before darting off. I followed him immediately, thinking that he had saw the Snitch but soon realised it was a ploy. I broke off from him and began searching for the Golden Snitch on my own.

Every so often I would check in with the score of the game, Bulgaria took an early lead but it was quickly evened out by our superb Chasers. I had to make sure I didn't catch the Snitch at inconvenient times but also I didn't miss it and give Krum an opportunity because I was too fixated on the other events within the game.

As more and more time passed I began to get increasingly more nervous. I had spotted the Snitch several times but never managed to catch it. I was currently head to head with Krum, diving downwards towards the Snitch but before I followed Krum any further, I pulled my broomstick up sharply and pulled out of the dive. I knew that this was another of Krum's tactics, his infamous Wronksi Feint I saw around 8 years ago.

Krum became more and more agitated with me but I simply ignored him. I had one sole focus and that was to catch the Snitch and win. My opportunity arose when we were winning in terms of the score and I saw the glimmer of the Snitch beneath me. I dived instantly and Krum, catching on, immediately followed. The wind rushed through my hair as I outstretched one of my arms to try and clasp my hand over the Snitch.

Krum was next to me now, he barged into me slightly trying to throw me off my momentum but I was locked in. I raced forward quicker than ever, my arm outstretched as far as it could until finally...

"AND HE'S GOT IT!" Bagman yelled over the cheers. "Y/N L/N has won England the Quidditch World Cup for the very first time!"

I flew around the stadium, the Snitch firmly within my hand as I held up up with a triumphant fist. My teammates all gathered around me and celebrated as I bathed in this pure euphoria. In this moment, I didn't think about the trauma of the war but rather the joy that filled me as I fulfilled my boyhood dream.

I shook hands with Krum at the end of the game and he displayed sportsmanlike behaviour. Obviously he was upset he didn't win but he didn't sulk about it nor display any dislike towards me.

When we collected the trophy, I was given the honour to be the one to hold it. I made my way to the centre of my teammates before raising the glorious trophy triumphantly.

After the official proceedings, there was a more informal gathering on the pitch. Family members and friends were invited to join the players and Hermione Granger immediately ran towards me. I picked her up effortlessly and spun her around.

"You did it! Y/N you did it! I'm so proud of you!" she smiled.

"Thank you 'Mione," I replied, "I couldn't have done it without you."

I received congratulations from other important people in my life, Issac was there, my mother was there, the Weasley family were there and other friends.

I led Hermione to the trophy so that she could admire it before I picked it up and raised it high into the air again - the crowd cheering loudly as I showed off this piece of silverware to the crowd.

I looked back at Hermione who was beaming, she looked at me with eyes filled with joy and happiness.

And just like when I won the Quidditch Cup at Hogwarts all those years ago, I kissed her.