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The Time of Destiny
By Abraxan

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Category: Post-OotP, Buried Gems
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Fluff, General
Warnings: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 503
Summary: Sequel to "The Refiner's Fire." Harry Potter returns to Privet Drive for the last time, prior to his Seventh Year at Hogwarts. Much to the Dursley's surprise, Remus is going to stay with him due to a head injury Harry received on the train. The Dursleys are not happy with this situation, as you can well-imagine. This fic covers both the summer before Harry's seventh year, and his entire last year at school. Canon-based with some OC. Ships, for those who care: H/G, R/H, R/T
Hitcount: Story Total: 508218; Chapter Total: 17087
Awards: View Trophy Room






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DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Author notes: Many thanks to my brilliant Brit-picker, Kelpie, and my betas, Starfox, Blakeavich, Iris and Asad!

You can join the Yahoo! Group for this fic here.

New chapters are regularly posted each Tuesday (EST) on the Yahoo! Group.



Chapter 34 — New Beginnings



Harry’s remaining time before he could do magic passed slowly, but at last, he was free. At breakfast that morning, Dumbledore stopped by their table.

“Harry? How are you feeling today?” he asked cordially.

“I’m fine,” Harry said with a cheery smile. “Really, I feel great.”

“Excellent! Then after breakfast, could you join me in my office? We’ll start working on that control issue of yours.”

“OK! See you then,” Harry agreed.

“Why don’t you bring Merlin,” Dumbledore added. “Fawkes would enjoy his company.”


* * * * *


In Dumbledore’s office a short time later, Harry was eager to begin. “What would you like me to do first?”

“I’d like you to tell me exactly how it felt to remove that snake from Professor Snape’s arm,” Dumbledore replied as he sat in an armchair by the window. “I didn’t ask you for details while you were ill because I didn’t want to tire you. Now that you’re healthy again, if your magic should emerge while you’re telling the tale, it won’t injure you. Go ahead.”

Harry stood in surprised silence for a long moment, his head tilted to one side as he considered what he’d just heard. “If my magic should emerge — huh?” he said as he took a chair opposite his grandfather.

“We don’t know what it will do, do we, Merlin?” Dumbledore said, addressing the phoenix sitting on the arm of a nearby chair. Merlin, too, was watching Harry carefully. He turned to the headmaster and chirruped a bit. “Yes, I quite agree, old friend,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “No matter what happens, it will be fascinating. We’ll worry about your magic when and if it gives us a problem. Do go on with the story, Harry.”

“Uh, OK,” Harry said. He was totally confused about what his grandfather was expecting his magic to do when he was just talking. He cleared his throat nervously, then began.

“Well, um . . . . When Professor Snape reached for something, his sleeve slid up his arm a bit and it reminded me I hadn’t finished removing that Dark Mark. While I was ill, I wondered if Parseltongue would be a help. Parseltongue is so easy for me, I thought I could try it without it hurting me. But once I started, I felt as if I was, erm, trapped. It felt . . . it felt as if I was wrapped up in the coils of a big snake, as if it was crushing me. I couldn’t get away from it.” The memory made him shudder. He was so involved in the story, he didn’t notice Dumbledore and Merlin’s suddenly sharpened looks.

“Harry?” Dumbledore said carefully. “How do you feel?”

“Fine.”

“Seriously, Harry, tell me exactly how you feel,” the old wizard urged. “Emotionally as well as physically.”

Harry thought a moment before he answered. “Tense. Nervous. But I’m fine. I don’t feel ill. Why?”

Dumbledore relaxed. “Nothing. Go on with your story.”

“Erm, OK. It was hissing curses at me, and I was doing my best to counter them, but I’d never heard of some of the curses it used.”

“I’m not surprised,” Dumbledore commented. “Voldemort spent his lifetime studying Dark curses. You simply haven’t had time to do the research he did. Go on.”

“Um. . .well, I was doing the counter-curses as fast as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough. I tried to go faster, and suddenly my magic just took over. I could feel it building — it went from me just using Parseltongue to being at full power so fast, it shocked me. And then I couldn’t pull it back. I tried, but I was busy fighting the snake, too, and I just couldn’t manage everything at once.” He shrugged, then dropped his hands in his lap, looking at his grandfather hopefully. “That’s it. So now what?”

“Now we go back to the beginning and teach you how to control your magic again, just as we did after the Refiner’s Fire,” Dumbledore replied. “What happened was this: you matured as a wizard and a man during the battle. Your aura emerging was a visible sign that your Refiner’s Fire powers were fully developed at that point, although they’re not fully trained yet. I explained this to you in the hospital, do you remember?” Harry nodded. “You were in control of your magic then because, despite being injured, you were essentially healthy and strong, since your injuries to that point were not life-threatening. The power grew gradually during the battle, rather than hitting you suddenly as it did in Professor Snape’s office. Since then, you’ve been desperately ill and quite weak, yet you’ve used powerful magic several times, successfully, yes, but you weren’t in complete control of it. Using powerful magic when you’re as ill as you were weakens you further. That’s why it took you so long to heal. Now that you’re well, we’ll work on control. Let’s go down to our practice field, shall we?”

“Yes,” Harry agreed, chuckling. “I’d rather not blow up your office again.”

“Indeed,” Dumbledore said, his moustache twitching as an amused smile creased his wizened face.

“Why did you ask how I felt a few minutes ago?”

“When you said it felt as if you were being crushed by the snake, small sparks came out of your fingers and your aura appeared very briefly,” Dumbledore explained. “As soon as I distracted you by asking the question, they disappeared and you were fine after that.”

Harry was stunned. “Why would it show up then?”

“Probably because you were under great emotional stress at that moment,” the headmaster replied. “Our work on your control should help you with that kind of thing.”

“I hope so,” Harry said fervently. “I’d hate to have sparks coming out of my fingers when I don’t mean to.”

Dumbledore smiled. “You’ll be in good control again soon, Harry, don’t worry. Let’s try your Animagus transformation. Can you change into a phoenix?”

“I think so,” Harry said, then did the change.

“Excellent! Let’s flash down to the practice field, then,” Dumbledore said. “Merlin, Fawkes, would you like to join us?”

Moments later, four phoenixes flashed from his office to the most distant field on Hogwarts’ grounds, where Harry had learned to use his new wand. Two of the phoenixes became wizards again as soon as they arrived. The other phoenixes soared overhead, enjoying the beautiful day.

Dumbledore conjured a bag of feathers. “All right, back to basics,” he said, smiling at his grandson. “Levitate one feather out of this bag.”

“Old wand or new wand?”

“We can start with the old one if you’d prefer. Use whichever one you want.”

“OK,” Harry said, pointing his old wand at the bag and doing the “swish-and-flick” motion required while murmuring, “Wingardium Leviosa.” He jumped back in shock when the bag exploded, all of the feathers turning instantly into flaming cinders that floated away on the light breeze, dissolving into ash within seconds. “Uh . . . oops?” he said, blushing.

“Oops, indeed! Let’s try it again, shall we?” Dumbledore said, chuckling as he conjured another bag of feathers. “I suspect it was wise of you to choose the old wand for now.” Harry grinned and nodded, holding his wand ready for the next try.


* * * * *


On the way back to the castle after several hours of working on Harry’s control with both his old and new wands, Dumbledore said, “Have you tried flying yet?”

“No,” the young man said, a hopeful gleam in his eye.

“Do you have your broom with you?”

“Always!” Harry said, grinning. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Shrinking Charmed Firebolt Excalibur. “Here it is.”

“Are you too tired?” the headmaster asked.

“I’m never too tired to fly!” Harry cried happily. “May I?”

“Please do. Just start off slowly, all right? I’ll sit here and watch you,” Dumbledore said, conjuring a comfy chintz armchair for himself. Fawkes and Merlin perched on the back of the chair, watching Harry expectantly.

“Cool,” Harry breathed, then enlarged his broom and mounted it.

From his posture, Dumbledore could tell Harry was ready to zoom off. “Slowly, Harry, at least at first. See how it feels.”

“OK,” Harry agreed then kicked off very gently, his broom moving at a snail’s pace. “Is this slow enough?” he said with a cheeky grin.

Dumbledore chuckled. “How does it feel?”

“Too slow!” Harry retorted merrily.

“Then go a bit faster, but gradually. You need to test yourself bit by bit, not jump into things with both feet. You’ve been sick a long time, remember,” the old man cautioned.

“I know,” the young man said. He sped up little by little, spiralling slowly up into the sky, then began doing First Year manoeuvres, increasing his speed by larger increments as his confidence grew.

“How does it feel?” Dumbledore called.

“TOO SLOW!” Harry shouted, laughing.

“Then add a bit of speed. Just be careful, all right?”

“I will!” Harry said, then whooped with delight as he zoomed across the sky. “This is better!”

Dumbledore sat and watched the increasingly complex aerobatics going on overhead with delight. Harry was back! He certainly had excellent control of the broom. Apparently, the only areas where he still needed to work on controlling his magic were in casting spells and controlling his magic when experiencing strong emotions. The old wizard smiled with satisfaction. If Harry could fly, everything else would come in its time. The boy simply lived to fly, and Merlin’s beard, wasn’t he magnificent?

Harry pushed the Excalibur into a steep dive, heading straight down, then levelled off just a few feet before he would have crashed. He circled his grandfather at breakneck speed, then zoomed right over him, grabbing the old wizard’s pointed hat and flying away with it. Harry’s laughter floated on the light breeze that ruffled the old man’s long white hair.

Dumbledore chuckled, wondering what the boy was going to do next. He didn’t have to wait long. Harry flew toward him swiftly, braked in an instant, flipped upside down and placed the hat gently on his grandfather’s head, grinning broadly all the while. Dumbledore laughed at the sight of the young man with his hair hanging down in a dark halo around his happy face. Harry righted the broom, then whooped with joy as he zoomed off again.

“I’d say you have good control of your flying,” Dumbledore said at last. “Ready to go in?”

“If you insist,” Harry said, landing lightly beside his grandfather’s chair. “That was fantastic! I’ve missed flying.” He put a Shrinking Charm on his broom, wrapped it carefully in the soft old handkerchief he kept it in, and put it back in his pocket.

“You truly are the best flyer I’ve ever seen, and as old as I am, that’s saying something,” Dumbledore said as he Vanished his conjured chair and started walking beside his grandson toward the castle.

Harry smiled, touched by the compliment.

“I’d like you to consider something.”

Harry looked at him curiously. “OK.”

“What is your timetable like with the Lions and Auror School?”

“I have Quidditch practice on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and games on alternate weekends,” Harry replied. “My Auror classes are on Monday and Wednesday evenings.”

“So you do have some free time, yes?”

“Yes. I plan to come up on Tuesdays or Thursdays to visit Ginny, as well as the weekends I’m free. But I need to set some time aside to study, so I’ll only visit her once or twice a week, not three times.” He looked up at his grandfather, suddenly worried. “That will be all right, won’t it? It just occurred to me — I don’t know of anyone who’s had such a frequent visitor. But I simply can’t wait until the holidays to see her!”

“School rules dictate that you can’t visit her so often,” Dumbledore replied, “however, I think I have a solution to your problem, which will also solve a problem for me.”

“What is it?”

“As I said, you are, by far, the finest flyer I’ve ever seen. And you are an outstanding teacher, as we learned from your work with the D.A. I seem to be short a Flying Instructor, since Madam Hooch’s death. Would you be willing to spend one day a week teaching flying to the First and Second Year classes?”

Harry stopped walking and turned to look at his grandfather, his face alight with joy. “Would I? That would be fun! And then I could visit Ginny, right?”

“Yes,” Dumbledore agreed. “I can rearrange the class timetables so that all the flying classes are on one day. You’ll be given a small salary and will also have quarters so you’ll have a quiet place to rest, study, or stay the night if you wish. You will, of course, have access to the Chamber of Knowledge whenever you want, and I’ll be happy to work with you on more spells, if you have the time and interest.”

“Wow! Thanks, Grandfather!” Harry cried. “That’s absolutely brilliant!” His face grew thoughtful as they resumed walking. “I have a question.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll be making good money with the Lions. Could you use my salary to buy the school new brooms? Would it be enough? There’s a new Comet that would be great for beginning fliers, and it isn’t horribly expensive. The school brooms buck and stutter so much, it’s hard for kids to learn to fly on them, and the ones who have to play Quidditch on them have a lot of trouble with them, too.”

“That’s a very generous idea, Harry, and a good one. Yes, if you’d like to donate your salary to buy the school new brooms that would be fine. Fill out an order form and give it to me during the summer. We’ll have new brooms here in time for the next school term.”

“Brilliant!”


* * * * *


A short time later, they entered the castle. Dumbledore led Harry down a corridor on the first floor, on the far side of the castle from the Great Hall. “Madam Hooch lived in Hogsmeade, but these rooms were her quarters here at school,” he said as he opened the door. “The house-elves have removed all of her personal items, but I thought you might enjoy looking at her books on flying.”

“Yeah, that’d be great,” Harry said. His heart lurched a bit to see the sparse furnishings and simple décor that reminded him of the brusque, businesslike Madam Hooch. Frills would not have been her style. He lifted a book from the small book shelf and flipped through it. He stopped when he found a crumbling rose pressed between its pages. A rose? Did she have a sweetheart? Harry glanced up at his grandfather, the question in his eyes.

“Madam Hooch left no family, Harry. She was married many years ago, but her husband was killed by Voldemort in the first war,” Dumbledore said sadly. “That rose must have meant something to her, for her to press it like that. If such things bother you, I’ll have the books removed.”

“No, that’s all right. I want to remember her. She was a good teacher,” Harry said, replacing the rose carefully where he’d found it, then shelving the book again.

“You can decorate these rooms however you wish,” his grandfather said. “The bedroom’s through there, the bathroom beyond. It’s not as grand as the one in your home, but it should do quite nicely for the time you’re here.”

Harry looked appreciatively at the work table, the two chairs by it, the pair of comfortable armchairs by the fireplace. “I’ll be fine here.”

“Excellent!” Dumbledore said. “Madam Hooch’s lesson plans are in the top drawer of her desk. Feel free to use those or make up your own. Since you have some free time before the end of term, you can look them over now if you wish.”

“That’s a good idea,” Harry said, pulling the book out of the drawer.

“Well, then, I’ll leave you to it,” Dumbledore said, putting his hand on the doorknob. “By the way, you can set your own password on the door. I’ll change the spell as I leave to have it obey you. Only the house-elves will be able to enter without your permission, and they won’t come in when you’re here. This fire is attached only to the intra-school Floo Network. If you need to make an outside call, you’re welcome to use the fire in my office.”

“Thanks!”

“I’ll see you later, then. Don’t work too hard. You should rest after so much effort today,” Dumbledore reminded him.

“I’ll lie down in a bit,” Harry promised. “Maybe I’ll look at these books.” His eyes roved the shelves as his mind began working on lesson plans. A sudden thought made him stop his grandfather from leaving. “Oh, wait!”

“Yes?” Dumbledore said, turning back into the room.

“If I bring my friends in here to visit or study, will it set off alarms?” he asked uneasily.

“No, Harry. Staff quarters do not include alarms,” Dumbledore assured him, his eyes twinkling.

Harry blushed, but smiled. “OK. Thanks.”

Dumbledore had been gone only a few moments when Harry checked the time to make sure Ginny wasn’t in an exam, then called her on his ring. “Guess what?” he said when she answered.

“I haven’t the foggiest. My brain is mush. That Herbology exam about did me in,” she said, sounding quite tired.

“You look as if you could use a nap,” he said, a grin tickling his mouth.

“Yeah,” she yawned, “I could.”

“Are you busy?”

“I have revising to do, of course,” she said grumpily, “but I could do with a distraction for a while.”

“Meet me in the Entrance Hall as soon as possible,” he told her.

“Shall I bring Ron and Hermione?”

“Not this time. I’ll tell them later.”

“Good, because they want to go swimming this afternoon. I may join them. Since we can all do gills now, swimming is a lot more tempting as a study break. D’you want to come?”

“Maybe later. Come meet me now, and we’ll talk about it,” he replied.

“OK.”

Minutes later, Ginny came running down the stairs to the Entrance Hall. “What’s up?”

“I want to show you something,” he said, grabbing her hand and leading her down the corridor.

“What is it?”

“You’ll see,” he said mysteriously. He stopped in front of a door and cleared his throat importantly before saying, “Firebolt!”

“Firebolt?” Ginny said, puzzled, but then said, “Oh, OK,” when the door swung open. “Where are we?”

“In my quarters,” Harry said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Your . . . quarters?”

“They were Madam Hooch’s. They’re mine now. I’m the new Flying Instructor for next term,” he told her happily. “I’ll be here every Tuesday to teach the First and Second Years how to fly, and can spend the rest of my time with you, or in here studying, or both! I can stay the night and flash back to London the next morning in time for Quidditch practice. Isn’t it brilliant?”

“That’s fantastic! How did this happen?”

“Grandfather asked me,” Harry explained. “Come see my new digs,” he said grandly as he led her toward the bedroom. “Bedroom here, loo beyond that door, comfy chairs in both rooms, books on flying, a place to do my homework and lesson plans. What more could I ask?”

“What more indeed?” Ginny said, impressed.

“Well, I know one thing more I could ask,” he said, putting a gentle finger under her chin and lifting her face to his. “You.”

“We’ll set off alarms!” Ginny warned, pulling away from him.

“Grandfather said there aren’t alarms on staff housing,” Harry assured her.

“I guess we’ll find out, then, won’t we?” she murmured as their lips met.

They kissed hesitantly at first, both of them listening for alarms of any kind. Nothing! With a laugh, Harry swept Ginny up in his arms and carried her to the bed, where he plunked her down and plopped on the bed beside her, bouncing both of them merrily.

“Do you really think we can get away with this?” she said as he bent over her.

“He would have warned me if there was any danger,” he replied, trailing kisses down her lovely throat. “Mmmm, you taste good.”

“And that feels good,” she sighed.

Something in her voice made him stop. “What’s wrong?” he said as he straightened. “Oh, baby, why are you crying?”

“I . . . I . . . you were so sick, and I . . .” she sobbed.

“Never thought we’d do this again?” he said softly. She nodded. “Me too, when I was awake enough to know how much trouble I was in.” He kissed away her tears and got back to work, loving her in every way he could think of.

Finally, spent and sleepy, he buried his face in her neck and inhaled the lovely rich smell of his woman before settling his head on her shoulder. “I’m so happy.” He was already falling asleep.

“Me too,” she murmured, turning her head to rub her cheek against his hair. As she moved, she opened her eyes a bit, then gasped.

“Huh? Whassup?” he muttered sleepily.

“Your aura! It’s out. And . . . and . . .” she looked around frantically. “We’re floating, Harry!”

“What?” he said, alert now. He pushed away from her a bit and looked around. It felt as if they were on a solid bed, but the bed was a good six feet below them! He gasped as he felt the magic in him change. He held Ginny tightly to him and spun in midair so he was on the bottom, just before they crashed onto the bed. “OOF!” he said as her body knocked the wind out of his. “Are you all right?”

“Fine! You?” she said worriedly.

“Fine,” he replied, then started to giggle. “Well, that was interesting.”

“Yeah, it was! And fun!” she agreed. “Your aura disappeared when you sat up and looked around. Did you see it?”

“No. I can’t see it,” he replied. “I felt something change and knew we were going to fall, though. I wonder how that happened? I mean, we were floating in midair!”

“Yeah, and it felt like it, too,” she purred, nuzzling his neck. “Let’s try it again, see if we can repeat the experience.”

“Oh, going into research mode now, are we?” he teased.

“This phenomenon is something I’d be willing to spend my life researching,” she murmured just before kissing him quite thoroughly.

“Mmm, I’m with you,” he agreed, and they repeated the “experiment.” When they were both spent again, Harry flipped them so he was on the bottom and said “Aresto Momentum,” slowing their descent back to the bed.

“At least five feet in height that time, six feet before,” Ginny observed. “Hmm. Either you’re getting tired, or getting used to whatever’s causing this floating thing to happen.”

“We could research this all night, if you want,” Harry offered quite sincerely.

“I have studying to do. I’d better go,” she said reluctantly.

He lay on his side, his head propped up on his hand, watching her hair shimmer across her ivory skin as she picked up her clothes. “You are so incredibly beautiful. It’s a shame you have to cover that body.”

Ginny blushed and giggled. “I hope you always feel that way.”

“I will,” he vowed.

“What about when I’m old and fat and have wrinkles?”

“That will be just more of you to love,” he said sweetly, “and I’ll be a wrinkled bag of skin by then too. I am older than you, remember.”

“Only a year,” she reminded him.

“A year and eleven days!” he said with a laugh. “I suppose I should get up and do something useful.” He groaned as he sat up. “I flew today for the first time. I’m a bit sore from it.”

“And from me falling on you twice,” Ginny teased.

“Yeah,” he agreed with a grin. “So Ron and Hermione went swimming?”

“That’s what they planned to do. D’you want to go swimming too?” she said as she finished buttoning her blouse.

“You need to study and I’ve already taken up some of your time,” he said, tucking a tendril of hair behind her ear. “And I’ve worked hard today, too. I guess it would be better if I waited a day or two to go swimming, so I don’t push it too much.” He sighed. “I’ll be glad when I’m back to my full strength!”

“Me too,” she said sincerely, “although you seemed pretty energetic this afternoon.” She grinned at him wickedly, making him laugh. “It really is too bad that I have to get back to work.”

“Come on, then,” Harry said. “I’ll take some of these books and the lesson plans to the Common Room and sit with you while you study.”


* * * * *


“So then two grindylows attacked us!” Ron said excitedly that evening at dinner. “One of them got Hermione by the hair! It was awful! I started breaking their fingers to get her free — that’s what Remus told us to do Third Year, remember?” Harry nodded. “Then Hermione pulled out her wand and did a spell.”

“I remembered you telling us about the Second Task and the grindylows attacking you, so I used the Relashio Charm,” Hermione added, looking quite pleased with herself. “They left in a hurry when that boiling water came their way!”

“Sounds as if you both had fun despite that little adventure,” Harry said with a grin.

“Yeah, it was fantastic,” Ron enthused.

“Except for the bits of grindylow fingers stuck in my hair,” Hermione said, making a disgusted face. “It took forever to get them all out, even with a Cleaning Charm.”

“Except for that, we had a great time,” Ron said with a happy smile. “I wish you and Ginny could have joined us.”

“We were too tired to swim,” Harry replied, exchanging a teasing look with Ginny, who grinned at him. “Maybe we can before term is over.”

“Not many days left of term, mate,” Ron said, looking around the Great Hall. “It’s so strange to think we won’t be coming back here.”

“Harry will,” Ginny said, bursting to share his news. Ron and Hermione had been so excited about their first swim in the lake with gills that they’d been talking non-stop ever since they sat down for dinner.

“Huh?” Ron said, a puzzled look on his face.

“What’s she talking about?” Hermione asked Harry.

“Grandfather’s asked me to be the Flying Instructor next term,” Harry said with a grin. “I’ve got quarters and everything.”

“Quarters?” Hermione said.

“Madam Hooch’s quarters. They’re mine now.”

“You’re moving out of the dorm? Before the end of term?” Ron said, looking shocked.

“No!” Harry replied, laughing. “But I’ll be using them to plan class work for next year. She has loads of great books on flying. I’ll show you around later, if you want.”

“Yeah, cool!” Ron said.

“Congratulations, Harry!” Hermione said with a warm smile. “You’ll be a wonderful Flying Instructor!”

“Thanks. I think it will be great fun!” he replied.

“But how are you going to do that along with playing Quidditch and going to Auror School?” Ron said, frowning as he tried to sort things out.

“We have Tuesdays and Thursdays off,” Harry reminded him. “I was going to come up here to visit Ginny one or the other day every week anyway. I didn’t know school rules wouldn’t allow such frequent visits,” he said with a rueful grin. “This way, I’m visiting her legally, and helping out the school. I’ll be taking more lessons with Grandfather, as well.”

“Wicked!” Ron said, grinning. “And another salary!”

“No, I’m not taking the salary,” Harry said. He explained the terms of his agreement with the school.

“New school brooms?” Ron said. “Ruddy brilliant!”

“I think the new Comet 450 will do very well, and it isn’t that expensive,” Harry said. “What do you think?”

“The Comet? Yeah, that would be a huge improvement over the old Shooting Stars the school owns!”

Talk turned to Quidditch, a conversation that continued all the way to Harry’s new quarters. Ron and Hermione were appropriately impressed with his small office setup and living quarters.

“You’re welcome to study here if you want,” Harry offered. “It’s quieter than the Common Room.”

“Yeah, that would be great!” Ron said, plopping down in one of the armchairs by the fire. Hermione sat in the chair opposite him and they got back to the very serious work of revising for their exams.

Ginny sat across the table from Harry, re-reading a huge pile of notes while he perused the various books on the shelves. They passed a quiet, happy evening together.

Ron finally straightened up, his back cracking as he stretched. “I’m knackered. I don’t think I can cram another thing in my head, either.”

“It’s late. We should go,” Hermione said, looking at her watch. “This was wonderful, Harry! I got so much more done without the distractions of the Common Room! Too bad we only have one exam left.”

Ron and Ginny both exploded. “Too bad?” “One exam?” “Are you CRAZY?” Harry laughed at their reactions.

Hermione’s eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink. “Sorry.”


* * * * *


Exams were finally over for everyone. Harry and Ginny were lazing in the shade of the beech tree. Ron and Hermione had gone to Hogsmeade, where Ron said he had an errand to do.

Ginny sat with her back against the tree’s massive trunk, Harry’s head in her lap. She ran her fingers through his hair, petting him as if he were a lap cat. He did his best imitation of a cat’s purr on occasion, enjoying the attention immensely, then finally fell asleep.

Sometime later, he opened his eyes and saw her smiling down at him. “Hi,” he said with a smile.

“Hi, yourself. What were you dreaming about?”

“Dreaming . . . huh?” he said, waking up a bit more.

“You were muttering and smiling in your sleep,” she said, stroking his cheek gently.

“What was it . . . um . . . oh! I remember!” he said. “I dreamed we were loads older, and we had children. They were great kids!”

“How many?”

“Seven. Twin boys, another boy, another pair of twin boys, then twin girls,” he said, counting them off. “All of the boys had black hair, and the girls were redheads.”

“Cool! I could live with that,” Ginny said, grinning at his enthusiasm.

“Ron had three boys, the twins had two sets of twins each — all boys — and all of them looked exactly alike! It was bizarre!”

“Where were we, that you saw all these children together?”

“I don’t remember. I do remember thinking it would be hard on the staff at Hogwarts when the kids all arrive — all of the oldest ones were all about the same age.”

“How can that many kids all be the same age, Harry?” she teased him.

“I don’t know, it was a dream! It didn’t have to be logical,” he said, chuckling.

“I think it’s sweet, you dreaming about our children,” Ginny said contentedly. “What were their names?”

“I don’t know. I saw them more than hearing anything. I don’t remember now what everyone was doing. It was like a big family gathering, a picnic or something, I don’t know. There were so many redheads!” He laughed. “Can you imagine Snape’s reaction to having that many Potters and Weasleys in school?”

“I’d love to see his face when they arrive,” she agreed. “His look of horror would be priceless!”

“Yeah,” Harry said, still chuckling. “When are Ron and Hermione coming back, do you know?”

“No. What was his errand?”

“Dunno. He did say they were going swimming when they got back. Do you want to go swimming later?” he said, lifting a tendril of her hair and tickling her nose with it.

“If you want to,” she agreed, “but you seem to be pretty tired. Dumbledore worked you hard this morning, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, we have to get my magic under good control before I leave school,” he replied. “If it isn’t, I’ll need to stay a bit longer and work with him more, and I should be starting practice with the Lions in a couple of weeks. I need to get back to running around the lake to get fit for Quidditch, but Marcus says I have to wait a bit longer to start that.” He shook his head in frustration. “It’s taking such a long time to get back to normal. It’s driving me crazy!”

“I know,” she said sympathetically, “but you’re making progress every day. And you nearly died several times recently. It’s amazing you’re as strong as you are now. Just remember that.”

“I know, but it’s just driving me mad. I wish I could wave my wand and have my strength back as well as my control. There are so many things I’d rather be doing than Third Year charms and resting so much!” he grumbled.

“You’re not enjoying resting?” she said plaintively, teasing him.

He grinned up at her, knowing she was playing with him. “This is a great way to rest,” he said, his eyes sparkling with mischief, “although there are other ways that are fun, as well.”

“Those ways don’t involve as much rest as this one does,” she reminded him primly.

“Spoil-sport!” he teased.

They chatted about inconsequential things a few more minutes, and then Harry fell asleep again. Ginny played with his hair and stroked his cheek, thankful that he was regaining his strength as quickly as he was. She’d come so close to losing him. She shook her head, forcing that thought out of her mind, then leaned her head against the tree and dozed off herself.


* * * * *


“Why don’t you go ahead to Scrivenshaft’s,” Ron suggested when he and Hermione reached Hogsmeade. “I’ll get my errand done and catch up with you.”

“What is this mysterious errand?” she teased. “You’re being awfully secretive.”

Ron’s ears turned fiery red. “It’s nothing important,” he said, trying to act nonchalant. “I’ll catch you up later, all right?”

“OK, see you in a bit, then,” she said, an indulgent grin on her face as they parted. She had the feeling Ron wanted to get her an end-of-term present. She decided to pop into the Quidditch shop and get one for him, as well.

An hour later, Ron and Hermione finally found each other.

“Was your errand successful?” Hermione asked, a teasing glint in her eye.

“Erm, yeah, I think so,” Ron muttered, blushing madly again. He cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders determinedly. “Let’s head back, OK?”

“Sure,” she agreed. She prepared to Apparate, but he put his hand on her arm, stopping her.

“It’s a beautiful day,” he said, smiling at her. “Let’s just walk.”

“OK.”

They walked hand-in-hand down the path that led to Hogwarts, greeting friends who were going to the village or hurrying back to school for some reason. When they reached the turnoff that led to the clearing where Harry had first changed into a thestral to get Ginny flying again, Ron tugged on Hermione’s hand and said, “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” she asked as she followed him through the trees to the quiet glade.

“Just . . . about . . . here,” Ron said, taking a big breath and blowing it out before turning to face her. He let go of her hand and leaned heavily on his cane, lowering himself to one knee with great difficulty. His bad leg didn’t hurt much anymore, but it still hadn’t regained its strength.

“What are you doing?” Hermione cried, reaching out to help him get up. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I’m just not as . . . as graceful as I once was,” he said with a hint of disgust as he took her hand in his. “Now let me get on with this so I don’t screw it up, OK?”

“Get on with–oh!” she said, gasping when she realized her boyfriend was down on one knee in front of her, looking up at her with hope in his blue eyes and a small box in his open hand.

“Hermione, I’ve asked you before, but this time I’m doing it the right way,” Ron said, swallowing hard and soldiering on. “Will you marry me?” He opened the box and a beautiful ring gleamed in the dappled sunlight that filtered through the trees overhead.

Tears filled Hermione’s eyes as she looked from his beloved face to the ring that must have cost him his entire signing bonus with the Lions. “Oh, Ron! You didn’t have to do this!”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear, Hermione,” he chided her. “I love you. I think you love me. Can you please, for once in your life, give me a quick, simple answer to a question?”

She laughed through her tears. “Yes! Yes, of course! I’d love to be your wife! I love you so much!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, throwing him off-balance so they both fell to the ground. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Are you all right?”

“Never better,” he said, pulling her closer. “You finally agreed to marry me. I can’t believe it!”

“Me, either,” she breathed as their lips met.


* * * * *


Some time later, Harry awoke with a startled gasp.

“What is it?” Ginny said sleepily.

“Shush,” he said warily. He fumbled in the grass for his glasses and put them on, his eyes scanning the small clearing and trying to see into the trees beyond, then across the lake. Pulling out his wand, Harry got up, staying low to the ground. “Stay here.”

“What’s wrong?” Ginny said, pulling her own wand.

“I don’t know. Just stay here,” he said, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze as he crept silently toward the lakeshore. He hid in some bushes, then tried to locate whatever had made the hair on the back of his head stand up, glancing back at Ginny every so often to be certain she was still safe.

“Harry!” Ginny hissed as quietly as she could.

“What?”

“Your aura is showing! It will give you away!” she whispered.

“Damn,” he murmured, looking around him. He wished he could see it when it was out. Ginny was right, it would give him away if there was an enemy nearby. He worked harder at controlling his magic while still trying to see, hear or feel who might be nearby. Suddenly he stood up. “It’s Ron!”

“What?” Ginny said, startled.

“He’s in trouble!” Harry cried, running toward the lake. “They’re in the lake, and they’re in trouble.”

“How do you know?” She ran to join him at the edge of the lake.

As he bent over to pull off his shoes and socks, he held out his wrist with the watch she’d given him months ago. The hands for Ron and Hermione showed both of them in “Mortal Peril.”

“How did you know? Did the watch vibrate or something?” She’d knotted her shoelaces by accident while trying to untie them, so she yanked her shoes off in frustration, then pulled off her socks.

“No, I sensed something, then checked the watch. I can’t explain any better than that. I knew it was Ron, though,” he said, tugging his shirt over his head and tossing it aside as he ran into the water. “You stay here. I’ll Adfero you if I need Merlin or Dumbledore.”

“No, I coming with you!” she cried, dropping her shoes and socks and running into the water.

“I can move faster if I’m not worrying about you, sweetheart,” he said seriously as he moved into deeper water. “Please. And I do need you here to pass on messages. I can’t call Merlin to come to me underwater. You can call him if I need him and he’ll be safe. All right?”

“OK,” she said in a small voice. “Be careful!”

“I will.” He blew her a kiss, did his gill transformation and submerged. He swam as fast as he could, homing in on Ron’s cries for help. He must be trying to send Adferos, Harry thought. I don’t know how else I’d hear him. He sent an Adfero to Ron to let him know he was coming, and to keep calling so Harry could find him.

It felt as though he’d been swimming for hours when Harry finally found his friends. Hermione was curled up on the bottom of the lake, with Ron hovering over her, shooting spells at the huge group of grindylows that were attacking them. Harry pulled out his wand, pointed it at them and did the Relacio Charm over and over, sending boiling water at the grindylows surrounding his friends. He did his best to aim the spells so Ron and Hermione wouldn’t be hit by the steamy blasts. Ron was doing the same charm, forcing Harry to dodge the boiling water coming from Ron’s spells. Finally, the nasty little creatures gave up and cleared out.

Ron looked exhausted and heartsick. Harry squeezed his shoulder and bent over Hermione. Trickles of blood floated around her, coming from cuts on her forehead, arms and back. Her foot was stuck between rocks on the lake floor. Harry looked at Ron and pointed to Hermione, indicating with gestures that Ron should hold on to her while Harry Levitated the rock off of her foot. Soon Hermione’s foot was free and the two boys swam back to where Harry had left Ginny, carrying the unconscious Hermione between them.

When they reached the shore, Harry and Ron removed their own gills and Ron removed Hermione’s, then lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the lake.

“What happened?” Ginny cried as she ran to them.

“She’s hurt,” Ron said, his voice breaking. “I thought we were going to die down there. How did you know?” he said, looking at Harry.

“I sensed you calling for help,” Harry replied, “and then my watch confirmed that you were in trouble. Did the grindylows do this?” he said, looking at the cuts all over Hermione’s body.

“Yeah,” Ron said darkly. “I was swimming a bit ahead of her. I guess ’Mione saw something on the bottom and wanted to see what it was. She was off before I noticed she wasn’t with me,” he sighed, shaking his head. “I heard something and looked round, and rocks had shifted. She was caught, and then the grindylows attacked.”

As Ron spoke, Harry worked his healing magic on his best friend, sensing for injuries. He worked much more slowly than usual, since he still didn’t have good control of his magic. He was afraid he’d hurt her if he wasn’t extremely careful.

“Did the grindylows shift the rocks?” Ginny said in amazement.

“I don’t think so. I think ’Mione stepped on one that tilted or something, and then her foot got caught between two of them,” he said with a shrug. “There were so many grindylows! They attacked her before I could get to her. That’s why she’s cut up like that. One of them pounced on her and she hit her head on a rock. At least, I think that’s why she’s unconscious,” he said worriedly. “How is she, Harry?”

“All I can find wrong with her is a broken ankle,” Harry replied. He did a quick Ferula Charm on her leg, creating a splint and bandages. “That will hold her for a while, but she’ll need some potion to heal it quickly. I can fix her cuts, though.” With that, he changed into a phoenix and began dripping tears into her cuts.

“You finally remembered you can do that,” Ginny said with a smile. “Well done, Harry!”

“What about her being unconscious?” Ron worried.

“Madam Pomfrey can fix her up, don’t worry,” Ginny replied. “Harry can flash us there when he’s finished healing her cuts. Look how quickly they’re closing up! That’s great, Harry!” she added encouragingly.

The phoenix changed back into Harry, who bent over Hermione again, making sure he hadn’t missed any wounds. “OK,” he said approvingly. He looked up at Ron. “Where are her clothes?”

“Over by Hagrid’s,” Ron said, pointing across the lake.

“I could Accio them, I suppose,” Harry mused.

“Or we could transfigure her swim suit into robes,” Ginny suggested, and the boys nodded.

Just then, Hermione woke up.

“Welcome back,” Ron said tenderly. “How are you feeling?”

“Ow. My head! And my foot! What’s wrong with me?” she moaned.

“What do you remember?” Ron said solicitously.

“I saw . . . I don’t know. I remember grindylows,” she said, her eyes confused.

“I’ll explain later,” Ron said. “First we need to get you to the hospital wing. Your ankle is broken.”

“You probably have a concussion, too,” Harry added, running his hand over her head checking for lumps. “Yeah. You have a real goose-egg here, Hermione.”

“Ow! That hurts!”

“Sorry,” Harry replied. “I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss any cuts in your hair.”

“Cuts? My hair? Huh?”

“Never mind,” Ron said, bending down and putting his arms around her. “Harry’s going to flash us there. Hold on to me.”

“No, I’d rather be Levitated, if you don’t mind,” she said, gazing at Harry. “My ankle really hurts, and flashing can be a bit rough sometimes.”

“No problem,” Harry said. He looked at Ron and grinned. Hermione always wanted them Levitated to the hospital wing when they felt ill or were injured, and they always refused. She was about to find out why.

“OK, if you’re sure,” Ron said, winking at Harry. Ginny made a face at the two of them, but said nothing.

“It’s the logical thing to do,” Hermione insisted.

“Here you go, then,” Ron said, Levitating her carefully and moving her along in front of him as they started walking slowly around the lake.

Harry watched them go as he pulled on his shirt, socks and shoes, then Summoned Ron’s cane and their clothes from across the lake. He caught up with them and wrapped Hermione in her robes, then handed Ron his cane and draped his robes around his shoulders.

“Thanks, mate,” Ron said, sliding his arms into the sleeves and getting a better grip on his cane. “That’s better.” Ginny kept Hermione levitating while Ron put on his socks and shoes.

“Yeah, I thought those robes would feel good,” Harry agreed, carefully not mentioning the cane. Ron had been hobbling along painfully before Harry gave him his cane. Now he walked with a much surer step.

Ginny grabbed Harry’s hand and held him back a few paces as they followed Ron and Hermione. “Did you see?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” he replied, grinning.

“OK, I just wanted to be sure you noticed too,” she said, her eyes dancing.

Just then, Hermione moaned. “Oooooh.”

“What’s wrong?” Ginny said, hurrying to catch up with her brother and best friend.

“I feel ill. Set me down, OK?” she said weakly. Her face was a nasty shade of green. Ron settled her gently on the ground, then knelt beside her, taking her hand in his.

“Is it your foot?” Harry asked, checking the spell he’d put on it to stabilize it.

“No, it’s my stomach. It’s the motion. It’s like being seasick,” she whinged.

“Take some deep breaths, you’ll feel better in a minute,” Harry advised her.

“Now you know why we don’t like to be Levitated when we don’t feel well,” Ron said, smiling a bit.

“OK. You’re both right and I’m wrong,” she groaned. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s OK, Hermione. You haven’t been hurt nearly as often as we have, so you just didn’t know,” Harry reasoned.

“And I do seem to need to learn some lessons the hard way,” she agreed, her voice stronger.

“You look better now,” Ron commented.

“I feel better. Harry, could you flash me there?”

“Yeah, hang on,” he said, then changed into the phoenix. Moments later, all of them were in the hospital wing.

“Now what?” Madam Pomfrey said. “And where’s Mr. Potter?”

“Right here,” Harry said playfully as he changed back into himself. “Miss me?”

“You haven’t been gone long enough for me to miss you,” was her tart reply, but then she gave him a doting smile. She’d grown quite fond of Harry over the years. “What happened to Miss Granger?”

Before long, the tale was told and Hermione was on the road to recovery, having suffered only a mild concussion and the broken ankle, which Madam Pomfrey fixed in a trice, just as promised.

“Will I be well in time for the feast?” Hermione asked worriedly. With the delay in the school timetable caused by the battle and so many students being injured, the exams had been pushed back, leaving them only a couple of days between the end of exams and the end of term, rather than the normal two weeks. Their exam results would be owled to them after they left school.

“Yes, you’ll be fine by morning,” the nurse promised.

“Oh, good! I was afraid I was going to miss our last Leaving Feast!” Hermione said. “I’d hate that!”

“Yeah, me, too,” Ron agreed.

When the nurse moved away, Ginny and Harry looked at each other and grinned. “OK, who’s going to explain what that is on her hand?” Ginny demanded.

“What what is?” Hermione said, then blushed so hard, she was nearly as red-faced as Ron. “Oh . . . erm . . .”

“Hermione agreed to marry me,” Ron said with quiet pride despite his flaming red ears.

“Congratulations!” Harry said sincerely. “May I kiss the bride?” he added, leaning over Hermione, who blushed again. He gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek, then straightened up and shook Ron’s hand while Ginny hugged Hermione.

“When’s the wedding?” Ginny said eagerly.

“We haven’t talked about it much,” Ron said, glancing at his fiancé shyly, his cheeks as red as his ears now.

“Actually, we haven’t talked about much else,” Hermione laughed.

“I’d like to get married right away, but Hermione wants some time,” Ron said with a shrug.

“She needs time to plan it and get things ready, you great prat!” Ginny scolded him. “Have you told Mum and Dad yet?”

“No, I just asked her today. That’s why we had to go to Hogsmeade. I had to pick up the ring so I could ask her properly,” Ron replied, blushing again.

“It’s beautiful!” Ginny said, looking at the lovely ring. It was a diamond with a small sapphire on either side in a dainty setting.

“Well done, mate,” Harry said with approval.

“Mr. Joyero takes good care of us,” Ron said.

“Harry? I need to ask you something,” Hermione said suddenly.

“What?”

“Would you walk me down the aisle? Give me away?” she said, her eyes imploring.

“Of course! I’d be honoured,” he replied with a grin.

“Hey! I wanted you to be my best man!” Ron protested.

“I can do both,” Harry said, laughing. “I’ll walk her down the aisle and then stand up with you. How’s that?”

“Works for me,” Ron agreed.

“Ginny, would you stand up with me?” Hermione said.

“Of course! Just let us know when and where!” Ginny grinned happily. “Mum’s going to be over the moon about this!”

“You think?” Hermione said cautiously.

“Yeah. She loves you, and she knows you love Ron. She’ll be very happy about it,” Ginny assured her. “Do you have any idea when you want to get married?” she asked Hermione.

“I always thought a fall wedding would be nice,” she said hesitantly. “It’s just. . .well, I always thought my parents. . .” She stopped and sighed. “I can’t right now.”

“I understand,” Ginny said sympathetically. “We’re all still in shock over everything. It’s best not to rush into things.”

“That’s what I thought, yeah,” Hermione agreed.

“The twins are going to throw you a wicked bachelor party,” Harry told Ron with a mischievous grin.

Ron groaned. “I can imagine! You will look out for me, won’t you? So I’m not a butterfly or something worse on the day I’m supposed to be married?”

“Yeah, mate, I’ll look out for you,” Harry assured him. “And you’ll have to do the same for me when it’s our turn.”

“Since Hermione wants to wait, we could do a double ceremony when Harry and I get married next year,” Ginny suggested.

“That would be cool,” Ron agreed, “but I don’t want to wait that long.”

“We’ll think about it,” Hermione said. “Thanks for the offer — it would be fun! Have you set a date?”

“As soon as possible after school is out!” Ginny said with a grin. “Mum’s checking with the church in Ottery St. Catchpole. Since Voldemort is gone and Order members can be seen together now, we can have the fancy wedding in a church I’ve always dreamed about.”

“That’s wonderful!” Hermione said, smiling at her friends. Ginny was glowing, and Harry was blushing but looking quite pleased at the whole idea. “Harry, what do you think of a fancy church wedding?”

“I told Ginny and her mum I’d do anything they want but sing,” he reminded her, making all of them laugh.

“Harry? I want you to sing to me during the ceremony!” Ginny teased.

Harry looked at her, laughter in his eyes, then burst into a horrible warble, acting the song out as he sang:

“Little Bunny Foo Foo,
Hopping through the forest
Scooping up the field mice
And boppin' 'em on the head.”

He managed to totally demolish the song’s melody and made his voice sound like a hippogriff in excruciating pain. His gestures were equally dramatic. His friends’ reactions were everything he could want them to be. They were laughing so hard, they were holding their sides and wiping tears from their eyes. He stopped singing and gave them a very smug smile as he bowed with a theatrical flourish.

When she was finally able to calm down, Ginny said, “Erm . . . no. That’s OK.”

“I warned you!” he said with a mischievous grin.

“I happen to know you have a lovely singing voice,” Hermione said, gazing at him reproachfully when she was able to stop laughing.

“How would you know that?” Harry said, astounded.

“I’ve heard you sing with Merlin,” she replied.

“And I’ve heard you humming when you’re working on stuff — your mosaics, working in the twins’ shop, sometimes when you’re reading Quidditch books,” Ron added. “And in Potions a few times, as well. There’s nothing wrong with your voice.”

“Well . . . that’s different,” he said, blushing.

“And I’ve heard him too, but if he doesn’t want to,” Ginny said, smiling sweetly, “it’s no problem. I just enjoy provoking him every so often. You never know how he’ll respond!”

Harry made a silly face at her, then drew her into his arms. He held her close and leaned down by her ear, then sang softly, “I love you, I always will, but if you think I’m singing in front of people, you’re wrong. . . .” His voice was melodious and sweet, as was his smile when he pulled back to grin at her.

“You can sing just for me then,” she said, sliding her arms around his neck. “I expect frequent concerts!”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he agreed.


* * * * *


The Leaving Feast was delicious, as usual. The Great Hall was decorated in Gryffindor scarlet and gold, since they’d won the House Cup again. The Quidditch Cup sat at Professor McGonagall’s place. She smiled at the students in her House proudly. Who knew when such a fine group would pass through her House again? She was going to miss those who were leaving the school.

The staff table was crowded with staff and guests. Madam Bones was there, along with a photographer, a reporter and a clerk. Seven wizards wearing official-looking badges were also at the head table. The school buzzed with speculation about these strangers. Their robes were of widely varying designs, making them look quite foreign.

“Who are those people?” Hermione wondered.

“No idea,” Harry replied uneasily. He’d had some bad experiences with strangers at Hogwarts, and hoped these people weren’t going to add to that list.

Arthur, Molly, Charlie, Fred and George Weasley were seated with the Gryffindors, since the staff table was so full. Arthur, Molly and Charlie had received their awards, and Bill’s, at an awards ceremony held for the Aurors and Order members the previous week. The twins would get their awards with the D.A. members they’d trained. Now George leaned across the table. “I heard McGonagall talking to Professor Sprout in the corridor. Those are officials from other countries!” he said eagerly.

“Why are they here?” Ginny asked.

“Dunno. There are a lot of them, aren’t there?” George said, looking up at the staff table again.

“Yeah,” Harry said darkly. He had a bad feeling about their presence — not that they were dangerous, but that they were somehow going to be involved with him. He’d much rather sit at his place and watch than be involved in the proceedings, but he knew from Madam Bones’ presence that he’d probably be more involved in the evening’s festivities than he’d like, if given the choice.

Remus caught Harry’s eye and tilted his head toward the side of the room. Harry looked puzzled, and Remus started to rise from his seat, again tilting his head that way. Harry stood up and met his godfather in the doorway to the small room off the Great Hall where Harry had first met with the other Tri-Wizard Champions.

“I see you’ve noticed our guests,” Remus said with a smile. Harry nodded. “As you might have guessed, they’re here for you. They have awards for you from their governments. I don’t know exactly what’s involved, but I do know that you don’t like this kind of thing. However, your grandfather and Madam Bones have both asked me to talk to you about this. It’s very important that you cooperate and appear grateful for whatever they give you. If you don’t, it will insult not only these people, but their countries, which could cause an international incident. You can do what you want with what they give you when this is over, but for now, just accept everything graciously, all right?”

Harry sighed. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all any of us can ask,” Remus replied. “I’m proud of you, lad. You’re receiving some tremendous honours tonight, and every one of them is well-earned.” He smiled and clapped the young man on the shoulder.

“What are they going to do?” Harry said as he glanced back toward the Great Hall. He was a bit worried about all the ceremonial accoutrements that were being set up in front of the staff table.

“The Minister and these other officials are going to give out medals and other awards,” Remus said. “Nothing to worry about. You don’t have to make a speech — unless you want to, of course. But all they expect of you is to stand straight and tall and say ‘thank you’ and shake the hands of those who give you things. You can do that, right?” He grinned teasingly at Harry.

“I guess it’ll be easier than some things I’ve done,” Harry agreed, smiling ruefully.

“That’s my boy,” Remus replied, squeezing his shoulder. “I’ll let you get back to your friends now.”

“Thanks for the heads-up,” Harry said as they parted.

“Not at all. Try to enjoy this a bit, will you?” he teased.

“I’ll try,” Harry said, grinning.

“What was all that about?” Ginny asked when Harry sat back down.

“Just my godfather trying to make certain I remember to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you,’” Harry said with a shrug.

“Huh?”

“Tell you later,” he said, noticing that his grandfather had stood and was approaching the podium.

Dumbledore did his usual welcome speech and then read out the House Points. Gryffindor had won by a landslide this year. He passed out various school awards, then commended the D.A. on their performance in battle.

He lifted his goblet, his face suddenly solemn. “Please lift your goblets to honour those who fell in battle. Susan Bones of Hufflepuff.”

“Susan Bones,” the crowd said. There were tears and sniffles at the Hufflepuff table. Susan had been well-liked, a sweet and pleasant girl. Harry saw Madam Bones remove her monocle and wipe her eyes as her niece was named. He glanced at Ron, then Neville, and saw them gulping hard. They’d both enjoyed dating her.

“Fiona Ryan, Gryffindor,” Dumbledore said, and the crowd repeated her name. The Gryffindors grieved for Fiona, who had been a fine Quiddich player as well as a very popular girl.

“Zacharias Smith,” Dumbledore said. As the Hufflepuff boy’s name rang across the hall, Harry thought about all the times Smith had annoyed him, Ginny, Ron and Hermione in D.A. meetings. He’d been quite an unpleasant person in many ways, yet he died trying to protect two D.A. members who were injured and lying helpless on the ground. His sacrifice bought enough time for Aurors to kill their attackers.

“Madam Hooch,” the headmaster said, naming the only staff member who’d died, and the last of the Hogwarts casualties of this battle. Everyone was glad the list of students and staff who’d died was so short this time

“These were good people who died doing their part to help us break free from the oppression brought about by Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters,” Dumbledore said, looking around the room with a fierce light in his eyes. “These students all had bright futures ahead of them. Madam Hooch was a fine teacher. Remember their sacrifice and do whatever it takes to never let such evil get even a toehold in our world again.” With that, he turned the podium over to Madam Bones.

It took the Minister a moment to calm herself and get down to business. Susan’s death had hit her hard.

“Once again, the Ministry of Magic is humbled by the magnificent display of courage and skill shown by the leaders and members of Dumbledore’s Army,” she began. “I have medals here for those who participated in the battle, as well as for those who were wounded. These awards are for both students and staff. Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, would you come forward to receive your medals and help me present them to your fellow warriors?”

Harry and Ron looked at each other and got to their feet. Although he no longer needed a cane, Ron was still limping badly, and always would. Harry slowed his gait to match Ron’s, and they once again marched shoulder to shoulder up to the staff table, accepting their medals from Madam Bones with good grace.

“Those who were wounded, please get your medals from Mr. Potter, and a battle medal from me. These medals will be sent to the families of those who died in battle, as well.” The Minister’s voice broke as she said this. She would be the one receiving Susan’s medals since Susan’s parents had been killed by Death Eaters earlier in the year. She swallowed hard and went on. “Those of you who fought in the battle but weren’t wounded, please get your medals from Mr. Weasley.”

Soon there were two queues snaking down the centre of the Great Hall. Dumbledore called off the students’ and staff members’ names as they received their medals. Finally, they were all back in their seats, looking at the Minister of Magic expectantly. She still had a number of boxes on the table from which she’d been awarding medals.

Harry and Ron looked at Madam Bones questioningly. They’d learned from the previous year’s awards ceremony that they might not be finished with their work when they’d handed out medals to the D.A.

“Neville Longbottom and Alex McCullough, please come forward.” When the two boys were standing before her, Madam Bones said, “These two gentlemen were on the Healer Squad. They were attacked while trying to help injured classmates. Their courage in that fight, and the lengths they went to in order to protect their patients, have earned them the Golden Star Award. Mr. Longbottom earned this award last year as well, which proves he is consistently courageous. Well done, Mr. Longbottom! Well done, Mr. McCullough. Thank you for your service to our people.” She pinned the awards on their robes and shook their hands. Neville blushed madly and Alex simply looked stunned. They turned to face the crowd and allowed the applause to wash over them for a moment before starting for their seats.

“The Ministry is pleased to present a posthumous Golden Star award for courage to Zacharias Smith, who died while protecting two other students. Mr. Smith’s award will be sent to his family.”

“The Ministry is pleased to present a posthumous Golden Star award for courage to Madam Rolanda Hooch, who gave her life while protecting her Flying Squad members. Since she has no family, her award will go to Hogwarts’ Trophy Room.

“Fred and George Weasley, if you would come forward please?” Madam Bones said. She turned to Harry and Ron beside her and handed each of them a heavy bag.

Fred had received medals along with the D.A. members, since he’d led the Flying Squad after Madam Hooch died. Now he and George walked to the front, George still limping slightly, and stood in front of Madam Bones, Harry and Ron.

“On behalf of the Ministry of Magic, I would like to award you these Crystal Cauldron Awards for the weapons you created, and for your excellent training and leadership of the Flying Squad,” Madam Bones said as she pinned medals on both men’s robes. “These medals include a cash award,” she said, nodding to Harry and Ron, who handed over the heavy bags of gold, one to each twin. “Thank you for your service to your country, gentlemen.”

“Thank you, Minister,” both twins said politely. When they took the bags of gold from Harry and Ron, their eyes lit up with glee. There were loads of galleons in each bag. They could fund weapons research, or a huge variety of new joke products with this much money. They grinned at each other and silently agreed, with Voldemort gone, joke products were once again on the front burner! They sauntered back to their seats looking quite pleased with themselves.

“Professor Severus Snape, please?” Madam Bones said next. Snape strode quietly to the front of the staff table. “For many years now, Professor Snape has done a difficult and thankless job as a spy embedded within Voldemort’s ranks. In doing so, he performed a tremendous service to the wizarding world, at great personal risk. He also offered his life to save that of a student during the recent battle. For these acts, I am pleased to award him the Order of Merlin, Second Class. Thank you for your service to your country, Professor.”

“Thank you, Minister,” Snape said, bowing his head so she could place the ribbon around his neck. Once the medal was in place, he straightened up and squared his shoulders. After shaking hands with the Minister, Harry and Ron, he walked back to his place with great dignity.

Snape looked more like an eagle than a bat now, Harry thought curiously, more regal, less sneaky. Could all the years of being a spy have made him the way he’d been? Or was it the Dark Mark’s influence that had darkened his soul? Snape was still not a happy, cheerful person, but there was a distinct difference about him since the removal of the Dark Mark.

“Miss Hermione Granger, Miss Ginny Weasley, would you come forward, please?” Minister Bones said. Hermione and Ginny walked to the front, standing nervously in front of her. “Turn around, ladies, and stand by these gentlemen,” she added, nodding toward Harry and Ron.

The girls stood by their boyfriends, waiting to see what would happen next. They didn’t have to wait long.

Madam Bones looked at the four students, then waved her wand, conjuring four tall stools behind them. “Please, sit down. I know you gentlemen haven’t been out of the hospital long, and I do have some things to do before I’m finished with you up here.” She smiled warmly at them as they sat down. When they were settled, she turned back to the audience.

“Harry Potter came up with an ingenious method of destroying Lord Voldemort,” Madam Bones began. “Those of you who were at the battle may have seen it, but most of you were busy fighting and probably didn’t have the chance to observe some truly remarkable magic. He created a sphere around Voldemort, and at a certain point, these three friends joined him and cast spheres over his. Then he put a spell inside the sphere that somehow distilled the evil out of Voldemort, thus killing him. That’s the simple version. I’d like to show you the film we took of the scene now.”

She nodded and Mr. Filch opened a screen on the side wall behind the Slytherin table. Everyone turned to face it. The torches and candles all dimmed with a wave of Dumbledore’s hand as a flickering light came from a magical projector. Soon, larger-than-life-sized figures played out the last scenes of Voldemort’s life. Harry’s aura burst suddenly from his body in a glorious aurora of pulsating golden light, then spread to both sides of the screen, making the view of Hermione on his right and Ginny on his left a bit hazy. Due to the height and angle of the camera, which was shooting from behind Harry’s back and at least twenty feet in the air, Ron’s bright red hair glimmered where the top of the aura thinned as it rose into the sky. Huge golden sparks flew from the ends of Harry’s hair and fingers in a nearly constant stream. His robes billowed wildly in a wind created by his magic. The film shifted to another camera’s point of view, now watching from behind Hermione. Inside the sphere, Voldemort could clearly be seen screaming and spinning in place. Ghosts passed through Harry’s shuddering back into his wand and thus, into the sphere.

The Great Hall was filled with gasps and murmurs as people watched the scene before them. When Seamus, Katie and Cho appeared, people from their houses cried out and pointed at their ghosts.

Harry sat as still as a statue, his eyes locked on the screen, his face a ghastly white. He’d seen photos of this same scene, but they didn’t have the impact of the huge images before him. He felt as if he couldn’t breathe. The sight of his aura scared him — what must other people think of it? There could be no doubt about the tremendous power he possessed. Would people be afraid of him now?

He looked at the images of his friends as they stood steadfastly around the sphere, doing their best to help him. Ginny’s face and Hermione’s posture looked frightened but determined. Ron was stoic. Harry could see in Ron’s face the knowledge that this spell might very well kill him, yet he stayed rock-steady, willing to give his life to help his friend. Harry blinked hard, knowing what was coming in just a few seconds, not wanting to watch it, and yet he knew he must. There it was — he and Ron both stepped between the girls and the sphere, and Harry pushed the sphere away from them as much as he could. Then the image on the screen flared as if the sun had burst, making the screen blank for a few seconds. The cameras had kept rolling. When images reappeared, there was Ron on the ground, his big body covering Hermione, protecting her as well as he could. His leg was a mangled, bloody mess. Ginny lay still off to one side, Harry actually farther away, thrown a distance by the blast.

Harry felt a small, trembling hand slide into his. He glanced down at Ginny and squeezed her hand comfortingly. He appreciated the distraction she’d just provided. He’d been lost in the horror of the image on the screen. It was good to be reminded that they’d all survived, they were all sitting here nearly whole, as healthy as any of them could hope for this soon after the battle.

Harry went back to watching the film. When he saw the girls destroy Malfoy, he glanced down at Ginny, then leaned around Ron to look at Hermione and whispered, “Well done!” Both of them smiled at him in response.

His eyes hardened when he saw Dumbledore talking to Riddle. He heard the collective gasp in the Hall as Voldemort died and Dumbledore rid the world of his body forever.

The film rolled on relentlessly. Harry wondered why they hadn’t stopped it there. He looked around and noticed that all eyes were still on the screen. Many mouths were gaped open in shock. There wasn’t a sound in the room except for the quiet whirr of the projector.

He turned his eyes back to the screen and watched the procession of ghosts stopping to pay their respects to him. His heart turned over when he saw Casey merge with Ginny and bend down to kiss him. Oh, Casey, he thought, it was so unfair that they killed you. I’m so sorry. He swallowed hard, and shook his head slightly, trying to control his emotions, then felt Ginny release his hand and lean her head against his shoulder, her arm wrapped around his waist. He glanced down at her and saw her looking up at him, love in her eyes. He smiled in return as he draped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her, glad of the comfort she always provided.

Harry made himself look at the film again. This might be the only time he’d see it in his life, and he was determined to see the whole thing, at least this once. Ginny had told him everything she knew about what had happened, but seeing it himself — he found it heart wrenching, and yet uplifting, somehow. All of those people cared enough about him to come and help him in his time of need. He smiled at the image of his parents sitting with him, and grinned for a moment when Sirius made his parting comments. Marcus had given Harry the parchment he and Ginny had written, noting what Harry had said about being “between.” Harry was glad to have read that, because it brought the images fresh to his mind, so he could remember them. He cherished the memory of hugging his mum and dad, how strong and healthy they’d felt, how well Sirius had looked, the scent of his mother. It was almost worth nearly dying to feel their arms around him again, hear their voices, see their smiles.

Finally, the film ended and the lights were raised again. The Hall remained silent for several long moments.

“As you saw,” Madam Bones said, breaking the absolute quiet, “Harry Potter and his friends did something truly remarkable. Therefore, the Ministry is pleased to present Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger with the Order of Merlin, Second Class, for courage far above and beyond anything we could hope for, as well as a remarkable achievement in magic well beyond N.E.W.T. standard.” The three of them stood as she moved in front of them and hung the beautiful ribbons around their necks, the huge golden medallions glinting in the torchlight.

“The Ministry is also pleased to present full scholarships to Auror School to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley; a full scholarship to Oxford Wizarding University for Hermione Granger; and one to St. Mungo’s Healer School for Ginny Weasley. Cash awards have also been deposited in Gringotts in the name of each of these young people,” she told the audience, then turned to smile at the four astonished faces beside her.

“Thank you!” Hermione breathed excitedly.

“Yeah, thanks!” Ron said, his face split in an amazed grin.

“Wow,” Ginny whispered. “A full scholarship?” Madam Bones nodded. “Thanks!”

“Thank you, Madam Bones,” Harry said to the minister, who was standing beside him. “That’s very kind of you.”

“It’s the least we can do,” she said with a smile. She shook hands with all four, then told Ron, Hermione and Ginny they could go back to their seats at the Gryffindor table. “Mr. Potter, I need you to stay up here a bit longer.” He stifled a sigh and nodded.

Madam Bones turned back to the audience. “These guests,” she said, indicating the group of people at one end of the staff table, “are emissaries from countries that also suffered from Lord Voldemort’s attacks. They have come to thank Harry Potter for ridding the world of this monster.” She stood to one side and introduced wizards and witches from France, Germany, Austria, Albania, Spain, Rumania and Bulgaria. Each one shook hands with Harry, murmured something in more or less heavily-accented English, then hung a heavy gold medal around Harry’s neck. Several left large bags of gold on the table beside him, as well. The Austrian emissary presented Harry with a bag of cut emeralds, rubies and other precious stones.

When the procession of foreign dignitaries ended, Madam Bones put her hand on Harry’s arm, keeping him in front of the Hall a bit longer.

“Harry Potter, as you all know, was awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class last year. We have had no higher award than that in our history, but the Ministry felt it was time to create one, specifically for this purpose. It is my great honour to present the first-ever Nebula Award to Harry Potter for destroying the most evil wizard the world has ever known. This medal,” she said as she pulled a huge golden medallion from a familiar red box with gold ribbons, “was created by Mr. Anthony Joyero of Joyero Jewellery in Hogsmeade. It is a one of a kind piece. No mould was made, so there can never be another award exactly like this, which is what the Ministry intended.” She turned to Harry and continued speaking as she fastened the ribbon around his neck. “Harry Potter, please accept this award with the heartfelt gratitude of the Ministry of Magic and the entire wizarding world.”

“Thank you,” Harry replied, shaking her hand warmly as the Great Hall rang with applause and cheers.

“Would you like to say anything, Harry?” she asked as she released his hand and the Hall quieted.

“Erm . . . yeah, OK,” he said. She stepped away from him and he lifted his eyes to the crowd. “Um . . . I want to thank the Aurors who came to fight with us. They saved a lot of students’ lives, and they helped us train in practices, as well. You D.A. members, Fred and George, Professor Dumbledore and Professor Lupin — you were brilliant. Thank you for all you did. I honestly could not have managed this without the help of all of you, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix. And Ron, Hermione, Ginny — there’s no way to thank you for everything. There’s no greater love than to be willing to die to help your friends, and you three did that for me.” He stopped and cleared his throat. “I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to repay you for that. Thanks.” He glanced at Madam Bones, blushing a bit. “That’s all.”

“Thank you, Mr. Potter,” she said, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. She turned to face the crowd again. “Thanks to this modest young man, we are free from the horrors of the worst Dark wizard the world has ever known. Let’s show Harry Potter, and the heroes who helped him, our gratitude for our newfound freedom!” She led a huge round of applause, which included many cheers and whistles.

Harry blushed madly and hung his head a bit, but as the cheers rolled on, he raised his eyes and looked around the room. He wondered if these people truly understood the sense of freedom he felt now that Voldemort was gone. Maybe they did. Certainly the atmosphere in the school was different, with people laughing and smiling more than usual even during the long, exhausting days of exams, from what he’d heard from his friends. The staff looked less harried, more rested, more cheerful than he remembered from years past. Yes, there was grief over those who had died, but the dark shadow that had covered every aspect of their lives for so long was gone now. Somehow, colours seemed brighter, crisper, food tasted better, and even serious things didn’t seem quite so serious anymore.

Harry stood and gazed at the cheering crowd and finally relaxed and smiled a bit when he saw Ginny’s face. She was standing on a bench to see him over the taller people standing around her, applauding and cheering as hard as everyone else in the room. His eyes locked with hers and he felt her love envelope him, lifting his spirits in a way nothing else could.


* * * * *


Harry was sore from so many people pounding him on the back in congratulations as he tried to make his way to Ginny, Ron and Hermione. Suddenly, Ginny wriggled between people and stood in front of him. She took his hand and managed to lead him through the crowd, with only occasional stops to congratulate other award winners or speak to well-wishers. Ron and Hermione met them in the doorway.

“Party in Gryffindor Tower tonight!” Dean called as he passed.

“We’ll be there soon,” Ron said, grinning at his friend. He was enjoying all the attention and was reluctant to leave the Great Hall.

Harry smiled at his friends, then glanced down at Ginny. “I need to stop by my quarters for some books. We’ll see you later.”

“OK,” Ron said, turning to speak to other people who wanted to congratulate him and Hermione.

Harry and Ginny shook a few more hands, accepted a few more compliments, then managed to escape down the corridor to his quarters. When they got inside, Harry began fighting with the clasps on his ribbons, cursing fluently as he did so.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny said, surprised by his sudden change in behaviour.

“These things are tangled in my hair!” he growled, tugging at a clasp impatiently.

“Sit down, let me do it,” she said calmly. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t want to create an international incident,” he said with a crooked grin. He moaned in relief as some of the medals came free and dropped into his hands. “Thank you! They were breaking my neck!”

“Oh, poor baby. Do you have too many medals?” she teased.

“Yes!”

“Well, I think it’s nice that everyone is so grateful for what you’ve done for them,” she replied, finally freeing him of the last medal. “There. That better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” he said, rubbing his neck.

“May I see the Nebula Award? It looked interesting,” she said, looking at the mound of medals in his hands.

“Sure,” he replied, carefully separating that one from the rest. He smoothed the ribbons, knowing that at various points in his life he might be required to wear at least some of these medals again.

“Oh, Harry, have you looked at this?” Ginny breathed. “I could see it was beautiful from a distance, but Mr. Joyero outdid himself this time!” She held the medal out for his inspection.

Harry took the medal and looked at the large blue-grey cabochon stone set in the centre. It sparkled as if it had tiny lights inside it. “Wonder what kind of stone this is?” he mused.

“Did you see what’s in the middle of it?” she prompted.

He looked closer. A nebula showed just off-centre in the stone, glorious pinks, yellows, blues and greens surrounding its deep golden core. Constellations were suspended around it, their light the sparkles Harry had noted at a distance. “Wow, that’s amazing!” he said, impressed more than ever with Mr. Joyero’s talents. The medallion itself was spectacular, a sunburst shape at least four inches across. It was emblazoned with griffins and phoenixes, spangled with good-sized diamonds and rubies. A large Gryffindor lion was carved on the back, with words engraved around the edge of the circle enclosing it. The words read, “The Nebula Award, proudly presented to Harry Potter by a grateful nation, in thanks for his destruction of Lord Voldemort.” The medallion hung from a red and gold ribbon with a large ruby on the golden catch.

“That must have cost a fortune!” Ginny said, admiring the medal.

“Yeah,” Harry said. He smiled. “This one and the Order of Merlin are the only ones whose catches didn’t pull my hair. I wonder if he makes the Order of Merlin medals as well?” He lifted his Order of Merlin, looked at the back and grinned, then looked at Ginny’s as well. “Congratulations by the way,” he said as he lay the medal back on her chest. “Yes, they both have his mark on the back. See?” He showed her the jeweller’s stamped logo, a slanted “J,” hidden in the decorative swirls carved near the edge.

“He must be a really famous jeweller to make these for the Ministry,” Ginny said, impressed. “Wonder why he lives in Hogsmeade if he’s so famous?”

“Because he likes it up here, I suspect,” Harry replied. “Wouldn’t you rather live here than London?”

“Well, I wouldn’t miss the cold,” she replied, “but yeah, London isn’t my first choice of places to live. But we’ll be fine on Grimmauld Place for a while,” she added bracingly.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling at her with love in his eyes. “We’ll build our house in Godric’s Hollow in time for the children to grow up there.”

“There you go, talking about children again,” she said, sliding her arms around his neck.

“We’re going to be so happy together,” he said with satisfaction.

“Um-hmm,” she agreed as she kissed him. “Let’s be happy together now.”

Harry laughed, delighted with her playful nature. “Your parents are waiting for us to join the party in Gryffindor Tower,” he reminded her.

“They’ll wait,” she breathed, kissing him more deeply.

Harry groaned with pleasure, laying the medals on the worktable, then lifting Ginny in his arms and taking her into his bedroom. He set her gently on his bed, then turned and put extra wards on the door to his quarters and changed the password so no one else could enter.

“Now then, where shall I start,” he said, his eyes roving from her head to her feet. “I know. I’ll start at the bottom and work my way up.” He tugged off her shoes and socks and kissed each toe, then the top of her dainty foot, and then nibbled on the side of her ankle, making her giggle.

“Harry, we really don’t have a lot of time,” she reminded him as he worked his way slowly, tantalizingly up her leg.

“Are you enjoying this or not?” he asked, licking the back of her knee.

She moaned. “Yes, but . . .”

“Hush, woman, and let me be creative,” he said, biting her knee gently. He soon had her groaning and sighing in ecstasy.

“Come here, you,” she said huskily, pulling him up to kiss her.

As they became one, Harry felt his aura activating and glanced up, noticing they were floating again. He laughed, filled with more joy than he could have imagined, then casually waved his hand to take control of the levitation they were experiencing. When they were both spent, he lowered them carefully to the bed.

“Getting the hang of this flying thing, eh?” Ginny teased.

“Flying?”

“Flying, levitation, whatever it is,” she said, smiling. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He nuzzled her neck, drinking in the dizzying scent of her hair and skin. He sighed happily.

“We’d better go soon,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, I know,” he murmured, wishing he never had to move again except to love her more.


* * * * *


A short time later, they climbed through the portrait hole and were hit with a wall of sound. Gryffindor’s Common Room was full of people celebrating the end of term, new awards, the simple joy of being alive, young and relatively healthy. Molly, Arthur, Fred, George and Charlie Weasley were enjoying the party along with Remus, Tonks, Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore.

Harry blushed to see the huge group of adults in the Common Room. He’d known the Weasleys would be there, but Dumbledore or McGonagall might question them a bit closely about where they’d been. He knew Remus and Tonks would just smile at him.

“HARRY!” several people called when they noticed him and Ginny in the doorway. Drinks were pressed into their hands, and trays of food passed by, which they refused. Both of them had their hands full of Harry’s medals as well as some books from his quarters. He was wearing the Order of Merlin and the Nebula Award, but carrying all of the others.

“Harry, dear, why aren’t you wearing your medals?” Molly asked when she saw him.

“They were pulling my hair,” he explained with a shrug, “and they’re awfully heavy on my neck.”

“Why didn’t you just shorten your hair then?” she asked reasonably.

“That would have hurt!” he whinged. “They were caught pretty badly. It took Ginny quite a while to get me untangled.” This was the excuse they’d come up with for their lateness.

“Oh, you poor dear!” Molly sympathized, patting his cheek. “I do understand. Let’s see them, then.”

He and Ginny held out the medals in their hands and let Molly and many others examine and exclaim over them.

“You went off and left all those bags of gold and jewels on the table, mate,” Fred told Harry casually, “so we just helped ourselves.”

“Good!” Harry said with a grin.

“The twins are teasing you, Harry,” Arthur said with a tolerant smile. “Madam Bones said she’d deposit it in your account in Gringotts so you wouldn’t have to carry it home.”

“That was nice of her,” Harry replied. Truthfully, he wouldn’t have minded much if the twins had taken his gold, but then again, he was going to have a family to take care of in a few years. His priorities would be changing soon. He would have a new house to build, and probably quite a few Hogwarts educations to pay for, if they managed to have the large brood of children they hoped for. He needed to start planning for a life of freedom he’d never really thought he’d have. He looked at Ginny and grinned. He couldn’t wait to get started on his future!


* * * * *


The next morning, Professor Dumbledore stood by the line of carriages saying goodbye to his departing students and guests. The Weasleys, Minister Bones and most of the dignitaries had stayed in guest quarters overnight and would ride the Hogwarts thestral-drawn carriages down to Hogsmeade before Apparating home. Harry, Ron and Hermione wanted to ride the Hogwarts Express one last time, so rather than simply flashing to Grimmauld Place, they were riding the carriages to the train station.

“Dear boy,” Dumbledore said as he stood by Harry’s carriage, “I am so looking forward to your return as a teacher. Come and see me when you can, all right?”

“I will. Thank you for everything. I’ll send you tickets to our games,” Harry promised. Dumbledore extended his hand to shake Harry’s, but Harry pulled him into a hug. “Come and visit soon, Grandfather. You’re always welcome.”

“Thank you, Harry, I’ll do that. Safe journey.” Dumbledore gave him a final pat on the back and Harry climbed into the carriage, choosing a backwards-facing seat. He leaned out of the window waving at his grandfather until a turn in the road hid the old wizard from sight. Harry sat back in his seat and leaned his head against the glass, watching the castle as long as possible.

At the train platform, Hagrid stood waiting to see everyone off. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione went to tell him goodbye.

“Hogwarts won’t be the same without you lot,” Hagrid said, wiping tears from his eyes with his polka-dotted handkerchief.

“We’ll miss you, Hagrid,” Hermione said.

“Come and see us. We’re all staying with Harry until the Burrow is rebuilt,” Ginny added.

“You’ll have a houseful, then, won’t you, Harry?” Hagrid said, smiling at his friend.

“Yeah, but it will be fun,” Harry agreed.

“I can’t imagine Hogwarts without yer, Harry. It seems as if it was yesterday when I firs’ told yer that yer were a wizard.”

Harry smiled up at his friend. “For me, as well. But you won’t have to imagine Hogwarts without me for long. I’m the Flying Instructor next term.”

“I heard that! Congratulations! But you won’t be up to your usual shenanigans if you’re a teacher, now will you?” he teased.

Harry shrugged. “I suppose I’ll have to behave a bit better than usual,” he agreed. “Thanks for everything, Hagrid. See you.”

“See you, Harry,” Hagrid said, pulling the young wizard into a bone-crunching hug.

Once on the train, they found a compartment and settled the huge bag of sweets Mr. Honeyduke had sent them on the floor under the window between the seats. Harry chose a backwards-facing seat again as Ginny, Ron and Hermione left to do their Prefect, Head Boy and Head Girl duties.

“Are you all right?” Ginny said a bit later as she entered the compartment to find him with his face pressed hard against the glass.

“I can still see Hogwarts,” he said wistfully, “but it’s almost — there, it’s out of sight.”

“What’s wrong?” She sat next to him and took his hand, looking at his sad eyes in concern. “You’ll be back next term.”

“I know,” he said, trying to smile. “It’s just that it won’t be home anymore. This is the first real home I ever had.”

“We’ll have a wonderful home soon,” Ginny assured him.

“Yeah, we will,” he agreed, wrapping his arms around her as she snuggled against his side. He kissed her, glad as always that she was so good at getting him past the hard spots in his life.

“Snogging again?” Ron teased as he and Hermione entered the compartment. “Ten points from Gryffindor for that, mate.”

“Right,” Harry said with a laugh. “Want to play some Exploding Snap?”

“Yeah!” Ron agreed. “Chuck us a chocolate frog, OK?”

Harry pulled four frogs from the bag of sweets Honeydukes had sent to thank them for killing Voldemort and handed them to each of his friends. He laughed when he discovered he had gotten one of his own Famous Wizard cards.

The cheeky image of Harry waved madly when he saw the real Harry. “Look at the back!” little Harry said.

Harry turned the card over and saw they’d added several lines to his credits: “Survivor of The Refiner’s Fire. Multiple Animagus by age 17. Killed Lord Voldemort, the most evil wizard the world has ever known, at age 17. Winner of the Nebula Award for this deed. Seeker for the London Lions.” His other awards were listed as well. Harry turned the card back over and looked at the photo, which had been updated to show him in his London Lions uniform.

“Don’t you go getting a big head,” Harry warned his small photographic self, which made a face at him in return. Harry handed the card to Ginny, who pocketed it gleefully after looking at the changes on it. Soon a raucous game of Exploding Snap was underway, which was always good for whiling away the time on the train.

Harry smiled at his friends: Ron, who was busy trying to pile up points before his cards exploded; Hermione, who was watching Ron with amusement and love in her eyes; and Ginny, who was playing with as much excitement as the boys, and winning at the moment. Could anyone have better friends? And they were going to be a family, all of them, for the rest of their lives. He felt his heart swell with contentment, then got back to the serious business of winning the game.



The End



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Watch for Part One of the Epilogue to “The Time of Destiny” to be posted next week!


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Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
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