Chapter Text
Harry James potter was a man of Integrity he would argue, he would also argue that his life was a bit of a mess and even while he had always pictured a very clear future for himself he had never achieved it. He had always pictured himself marrying and then having a bunch of kids and hopefully retiring as well and just spending his time like that and then possibly picking up a hobby, maybe making it into a passion project and from that turning it into a profession. He had pictured something… relaxed, something full of family and nice things. A person he loved with everything he had but… it wasn't what had happened.
After the war had been won Harry had become an auror. It had been the obvious choice, not something he had actively wanted anymore at that point but death eaters had still been out and about, England was chaos and everyone… Everyone relied on him. So… he had become an auror, he had thought it would be temporary, it hadn't been. At one point even he had realized that he was kind of stuck in that job and he had put in effort, he always had but he had done a lot. Like he had even joined the hitmages during their training, coming often enough until even rosene had stopped making remarks. He probably had turned into the only auror the hitmages didn't make fun of.
So yeah, Harry was a damn good auror, he had broken some records and just like mad eye moody back in the day Harry had kept hunting for death eaters and other terrorists. So yeah, he had a reputation, one that had also been the reason, he admitted, why it was pretty much impossible to retire… people still relied on him a whole lot.
Maybe he would have been happy if it had just been that, if he had just been stuck in a job he was good at but wasn't actually what he wanted but all the other areas of his life? It had not gone well. He and Ginny had never worked out again, they had tried but it had simply not worked and often times when he had met someone it had just turned into another saviorfetish so no, his romantic life hadn't worked out well either. So no wife or husband at his side and kids? Well he had given his best to be a good godparent, visiting teddy when he had a day off and also helping him with anything teddy hadn't wanted to talk with his grandma about.
But… that was literally it, he hadn't even accidentally put a bastard into the world, nothing like that and while he had lived alone, spending his days at a workplace he hadn't really wanted to be at? Everyone had moved on. Fleur and Bill had been the first ones with children, Ron and Hermione had not needed long either. Harry couldn't even remember how many weddings he had attended or how many introductions to newborns he had made. Well he probably could but not off the top of his head… there had been a lot. A damn lot and all while he returned every evening to his very empty House, which had turned even emptier after Kreacher had died.
He knew he lived a bit of a sorry existence, still single, still alone, still stuck in a job he didn't like and all that while his friends were moving on. Ron had quit being an auror, now helping his brother with his prank shop, Hermione was still with the ministry doing changes for the better and the same could be said about literally any of Harry's friends. Honestly? It was depressing and Harry knew it well. He strictly speaking had nothing going for him which was quite outrageous if he thought about who he was, what all he had done for the wizarding world… only to end up with nothing. It made him bitter if he was honest.
Possibly one of the reasons why he had asked to get the mirror of erised when they had come across it in a raid, not like the ministry had minded and harry? Well… he didn't even know why he had done it, spur of the moment, maybe sparing the poor sod who would be inevitably caught in front of it just like Harry had been as a kid.
And this was his reality, 58 with no kids, no partner, a shit job and a whole bottle of firewhiskey while he was sitting in front of the bloody mirror. Just that it was different this time.
Was Harry still seeing his younger self surrounded by his family? Yeah. Were there the obvious additions of Remus and Sirius in it? Also yeah and some others he missed but that was kinda what made it less enchanting. As a kid it had been everything he had wanted but now? It just represented once again how much Harry had lost. It was infuriating, it was… impossible. Anything in this mirror couldn't become real no matter how much harry wanted it and maybe it was the old ache in his chest, the fact that he still hated how everything has transpired or it was plain and simple the firewhiskey In his system as he raised his wand, pausing for a moment before he rolled his eyes at the fact that it was once again the elderwand, the damn thing had followed him, but possibly a better choice for a priceless artifact with who knew how much old and powerful magic in it. He could summon his actual wand right now or pull it out of the holster it hopefully was still in but he couldn't be bothered. A wand was a wand and maybe the elderwand could finally have a use again.
Hermione back in the day had told him he wasn't very good at thinking, right now he would still rather blame the alcohol as he spoke out the bombarda. He should have at least considered that the explosion of glass shards would be catastrophic but he hadn't and even more problematic? The explosion of magic and somehow all Harry could think of before the world turned black was; shit.