Welcome to the first chapter of the much awaited sequel to Forbidden: A Tale of Four Friends. Please read the first story, or this one won't make any sense.

Forbidden: Four Fates


Warnings: Slash, Femslash, Het, cross dressing, BDSM, and other awesome things. MATURE readers only please.

So, to catch you up. Where we last left off, Hogwarts has been destroyed, and Voldemort has been defeated, along with Malfoy Sr. However, all of the Deatheaters still remain. It was to be their seventh year, however, with the school destroyed, everyone's education is put to an abrupt halt.

Now, on to the story.


Chapter One: What Now?

Harry was exhausted. They had spent the entire day cleaning up the remains of the school, alongside the staff members that were able to help. The House elves also helped clean up, however the rest of the creatures in the Forest stayed put. The villagers from Hogsmeade had come and helped as well, and as nighttime fell, several tents were erected for the clean up crew.

Harry and his friends had a tent to themselves. They had set up their tent on the shore of the lake, far enough away from the damage so that it wouldn't be disturbed. It was a magical tent, so it was much larger on the inside than it was on the outside. Currently, he was taking off his boots inside their tent, while Neville and Luna were attempting to make some dinner.

Draco was already lying in bed, drained. His Father had died, and he was literally the last Malfoy. They knew that the Aurors were going to question them tomorrow, so they wanted to rest while they could.

Harry looked at Draco sadly. "Draco…everything will be okay."

Draco sat up. "No it won't. Mother is gone. Father is gone. And…and that baby. I think my Family must be cursed or something."

"Draco, don't say that." Harry said, leaning forward to hug him. "You're a good man. You're nothing like your Father." Draco's arms tightened around his middle. "Your family isn't cursed. You'll see." He pulled away just slightly, smiling playfully at him.

Draco cracked a smile, and Harry felt a little better. Draco looked over at Luna. "Lu, what are you making? I think it's burning, whatever it is."

"Grilled cheese sandwiches. And they're supposed to be burnt." Luna chirped, making a face at Draco over her shoulder.

Harry got up from the bed, and looked over as someone knocked on the outside of their tent. "May I come in?" Remus.

Harry let him in. "Remmy. How are you?"

"I'm fine- but…are you guys okay?" Remus asked worriedly, looking to the others.

Neville set out bowls onto the small table. "Yeah. We're alright. You want a grilled cheese sandwich and some soup?"

Remus' stomach rumbled. "That sounds pretty good, actually."

"Hope you like them burned." Harry whispered to Remus. He smoothed his hair back. "I'm so tired. And tomorrow, all those Aurors will be here."

"And reporters." Remus said, making a face.

"Ugh." Harry poured some juice into glasses for everyone. Draco got up from the bed with a sigh, and set out the utensils.

After a quiet dinner, Remus spoke up. "Albus asked me if I knew anything about this wand of yours, Harry."

Harry sighed. "I figured. What did you tell him?"

"Told him that was your business to tell. He asked Flitwick and Hagrid too. They said the same thing."

"Hagrid's still got his hut and stables. I wonder why those things remained." Luna said.

"No one is really sure. The Headmaster believes it might be because the building was built rather recently, when Hagrid was kept on at the school."

Neville spoke up. "So are we going to rebuild?"

"We're going to have to. There aren't any other magical schools in the UK." Remus said with a frown. "Students might have to go abroad this year while we rebuild."

"But…what if they don't want to come back?" Harry whispered. "What if they like…Beaubaxtons or whatever place they're sent to more?"

"We can't keep them from getting their education, Kit. It's rather up to them." Draco said.

"Well, hopefully the Chamber is still intact. Maybe the Dungeons?" Harry asked hopefully.

Draco shook his head. "Severus and I already checked it out today. Completely ruined. Lake water's flooded it all, and what isn't flooded is buried underneath all that rubble. Everything will have to be re-done."

"So…all of the books are gone. All of the artifacts. Merlin…" Harry breathed, looking as though he was nearly going to cry. "All that information was lost."

"But we read all of those books." Luna said. "So the information isn't really lost. It's all in our heads."

The four of them looked around at each other. Remus spoke up. "And I know the four of you read quite a bit of Hogwart's library. And with the collective knowledge of the staff, and their own private collections of books, I think we'll be okay."

"Firenze said that the school was Fated to end. Does that mean we build an entirely new school?" Luna asked.

"I…I think so." Harry said softly.

"Another Hogwarts, or another school entirely?" Draco asked.

Harry straightened up, and looked as though an Big Idea had just occurred to him. "Another school. Something completely new."

He grinned widely. "What's the best way to completely change a community?"

The others glanced at each other. Luna looked thoughtful. "Build or make something new."

"Right. But how to change a community the quickest?"

"What?" Neville asked.

Harry sighed. "Think about it. Every single generation of witch and wizard in the UK for the past thousand years went to Hogwarts. Every single one of them was somehow influenced by the school, whether it be their classmates, teachers, or whatever House they were sorted into."

Everyone nodded slowly.

"So…what happens if we make an entirely new school…and change it slightly? Those changes will influence the next generation of students, onwards, right?"

Luna grinned. "Okay, so what are you thinking?"

Draco handed Harry some paper, and the boy started to write things down feverishly. "We need to travel. Check out all the magical schools we can. I want to see the best traits of each school, and see how we could combine them to make a school that is something we can be proud of. Then we build it."

"But…money? Time? And what if people just want to rebuild Hogwarts?" Draco asked.

"They can't. Literally. The Ley lines can't support the school. They will need to build it elsewhere, or they will need to build it entirely without magic, or…" Harry trailed off, and wrote some more. "First, though, we need to figure out what will happen here."

After Remus left, the four of them piled into the bed together, and got comfortable. Harry and Luna had their backs to one another, cuddling up with Neville and Draco respectively. Neville was holding Harry to his chest, Harry's head resting on the boy's shoulder.

"Nev…things are going to change, aren't they?"

"Yeah Kit, they are."

"Why can't we just have a normal year?"

"What is normal anyways?" Luna giggled into Draco's neck, kissing it. Draco gave her a ghost of a smile.

"Everything will sort itself out. With Voldemort gone, we can think about other things now." He said softly.

Harry's eyes flicked up to Neville's. "I'm sad that we don't have the Chamber anymore. I'm going to miss that bed."

Neville gave him a grin. "It's not really the bed that matters- it's what you do in it that counts." A hand stroked down his side, a smirk spreading on his face.

Harry tilted up his head, connecting their lips in a soft kiss. Harry sighed, feeling a tongue slip in between his lips. The hand that stroked down his side pulled him forward by the hip, making Harry get on top of Neville.

Harry and Neville kissed languidly, Harry feeling Neville's hands intertwine in his hair. He pulled at it a bit, making Harry pull away, baring his neck. Neville started to kiss it. Harry looked over to see Draco and Luna watching them, with grins on their faces.

He squeaked as Neville rolled them over, so that he was on his back. He could hear the others laughing, and Harry started to laugh too, but cut himself off with a gasp when Neville nipped at his collarbone. Harry could feel another pair of lips started to kiss the other side of his neck, and another pair of lips on his mouth. Harry groaned, shifting his hips as hands joined the fray, stroking his skin.

It took him just a moment to recognize that Draco was the one kissing him on the lips- he had a very distinctive kiss. However distinctive it was, though, Neville was the best kisser, in Harry's opinion. Harry arched up slightly as Neville bit at his nipple, and nails scratching up his thighs, spreading his legs.

He pulled away from Draco's lips, gasping for breath. He felt them shift around, and Draco got on his other side, while Luna and Neville continued their ministrations. Luna began to stroke his cock while Neville slowly prepared him.

Draco kissed him once more, distracting him a bit from Neville's preparations. Harry groaned as he felt Neville enter him, and Luna's hand quicken. "Fuck!"

"Kit used a bad word. Kit, do we need to get the soap?" Neville said in a low voice.

Harry shook his head, panting.

"Yes or No, Kit."

"N-no. Don't stop." He whispered, clutching at the boy's shoulders at a particularly deep thrust. Draco's hand joined Luna's on his cock, teasing it. Neville pulled him into a sitting position into his lap, and shoved Harry down onto his cock.

Harry cried out, wrapping his arms around Neville's neck. "Oh…Nev….Gods-"

Another pair of hands held him from behind, and as Neville left his hole, another cock entered him. His head lolled back onto Draco's shoulder. "Draco!"

The two boys took turns entering him, one, then the other, creating delicious friction between the three of them. Harry's mouth was occupied with Luna's, and distracted him so thoroughly that he noticed a moment too late that two cocks had entered him at once.

He stiffened for just a moment at the burning sensation- they hadn't done this before. "You okay kit?" Neville whispered.

Harry nodded quickly. "Yes. Just…slow."

He shifted his hips slightly, moving down slowly, then back up. Luna's hand stroked at his cock, and began to kiss him once more. He grunted as both cocks began to thrust into him slowly, and began to go faster. Finally, he pulled away from Luna, clinging to Neville as he just let it ride out.

He barely had any control over his muscles, groaning loudly he felt one of them come, and then the other. He gasped, shuddering, as Draco moved out from behind him, and Neville pushed him back onto the bed roughly. Harry laid there, gasping for breath, limp and sated. He watched sleepily as Draco went down on Luna, while Neville held onto her arms, kissing her thoroughly.

He smiled, watching them.

Well, not everything would change. He felt as though they would always have each other.

The next morning, they were up early and exited their tent, looking around them in shock. The Grounds were…filled with people. Kids and parents worked side by side cleaning up the rubble, with American, French, Spanish, and British Aurors. They searched the crowds, and found Hermione, grinning at them.

"Hey Harry."

"Hi…what are you doing here?"

"Cleaning all this up, of course. Everyone heard what happened last night. It was all over the papers this morning. I came over, and it seemed like everyone else had the same idea."

"Wow. There's so many people here."

Hermione nodded quickly. "There are. Everyone's off of work today anyways." She motioned to Hagrid's hut. "The Professors are over there with the Minister, if you want to talk to them."

Harry nodded quickly, and the four of them went through the crowd, shaking hands and greeted many people as they passed. They saw Hagrid first, and the man waved them over with a wide grin. Harry's smile spread as he saw the American President, Adam Smith, along with his son Mike standing with the Headmaster, Scrimengour, and Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter!" The President greeted. Harry gave him a small smile, shaking hands with him.

"Harry, Luna, Draco, Neville- good to see you again." Mike said with a smile. Harry grew uncomfortable under the stares of the Minister, Headmaster, and McGonagall.

Harry gave them a small smile, and turned to the Headmaster. "So…what's happening today?"

"Well, everyone is cleaning up the grounds. We're hoping that it won't take more than a few weeks. We want reconstruction to start within the month, and we want it to be finished before the first snow fall." The Headmaster said.

Harry bit his lip. "Sir, Firenze said-"

"Of course, The Ministry of Magic will donate a good amount of money towards reconstruction, but considering we also have to rebuild Diagon Alley and Hogsme-" Scrimengour cut in.

"Sir, Firenze said-"

"Mr. Potter, why don't you go help the others with the cleaning up? We've got quite a bit of work ahead of us, my boy."

Harry put his hands on his hips. "We can't rebuild. Not here."

"Why not?" The President asked.

"Firenze said that Hogwarts was Fated to fall."

"Who is Firenze?"

"A Centaur. He's rather nice." Luna chirped.

"Harry, really-" Dumbledore said, shaking his head.

"The lay lines can't support it! We can't build Hogwarts as it was- unless you want it to collapse again. We were lucky this time- we had warning!" Harry yelled, getting angry. He did NOT want to play Neville's card- he was officially Gryffindor's heir, and as he was the only heir left that was still alive, he could 'claim' the grounds as his, but that would give them more attention- something that the teens didn't want.

"We can't rebuild. Not yet. We have to wait for the lay lines to recover. We also need to find a way so that the school doesn't feed from them so much- it's stripping the magic from the Forest."

"It's just a forest." Scrimengour muttered.

"Just A FOREST?" Harry yelped, and Neville grabbed his arm warningly. "Sir, it is not just a Forest. Some of the rarest magical creatures in the world inhabit that Forest. It has been a sanctuary for over a thousand years for them."

Scrimengour looked thoughtful. "How rare? I don't believe I've ever been in that Forest."

"It's called Forbidden for a reason." The Headmaster said, looking thoughtful. "Harry, the children need to go to school. We can't just make them stay home."

The President spoke up. "You still have all of your staff, correct?"

The Headmaster nodded.

"Set up classrooms in the tents. Have the children commute from their homes to here. In the meantime, you can search for other areas where you can rebuild."

"Breaking a thousand years of tradition? Headmaster, surely we could build here." Scrimengour said.

Harry sighed roughly, and approached Hagrid, pulling him aside.

"Hagrid, when you first got this cabin built, how was it built?"

"I did it me self." Hagrid said proudly. "Stone by stone."

"You didn't magick any of it?"

Hagrid shook his head. "Nope."

Harry looked thoughtfully at the ground, and slowly smiled. He interrupted the Headmaster's debate with Scrimengour.

"Headmaster, could we possibly build the new school entirely without magic?"

They all stared at him. "What?"

"Well, the school was feeding off of the lay lines. If it was built entirely without magic, then it wouldn't feed off of the lay lines, now would it?"

He turned to Scrimengour. "So the school could still be built here. It won't be Hogwarts of course, since that couldn't be recreated without magic, but it will be a new school."

"Only muggles know how to build without magic." Scrimengour said, frowning.

"Actually, that's not true." The President said with a smile. He looked at Harry. "I think that's a wonderful idea, Mr. Potter. Of course, construction will be longer, and harder, but it might just work."

Harry grinned, looking at the Headmaster hopefully.

"It will cost more." Dumbledore said, frowning. "Rufus, you will need to appeal to the Wizengamot, and I will talk to the Board. We can either find a new location, or build a new school entirely. We will research and find out which option will be best."

The Minister nodded, and the Headmaster rolled up some papers, looking thoughtful.

The President turned to Harry and his friends. "So, are you four going to be here at the grounds?"

Harry bit his lip, glancing to the others. Honestly, there was a lot to do, and it all couldn't be done on the grounds.

"Well, we're going to help with the clean up, but there are other things that need to be done." Harry said reluctantly.

The President nodded. "Well, if you ever decide to come to the U.S for a visit, please come by and see us."

Mike spoke up. "I've nearly finished with the Masters program. Are you going to go for your Masters as well?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure." Harry said, glancing to the others. He looked to the mass of people cleaning up. "Well, I suppose we could go help out." He motioned to the others.

It took two weeks for the rubble to clear. Tents had been erected out of the way so that the kids could begin their classes. When not in class, they either helped with the cleanup, or were sent back to their homes. It was hard, making do with what supplies they had, but everyone was managing.

Harry and his friends organized a benefit concert to raise money. A stage was built under a large tent. The Twins set up special fireworks, while Sam, Mike, and Harry got some special equipment together. The Creevey brothers were taking pictures like mad for the Advertisements. Draco organized for Celestina Warbeck to perform, as well as the Weird Sisters. Forbidden was going to open for them!

Luna advertised for the benefit concert, putting ads in the Quibbler and all of the newspapers in the UK. All Hogwarts students would be able to attend for free, while alumni and other guests would pay a minimum of a 5 Galleon donation to attend the benefit.

The night of the Benefit, Harry and the others were preparing backstage, getting terribly nervous. Neville was pacing back and forth, mumbling lyrics under his breath, while Draco kept messing with the clasp of his robe. Luna was sitting quite calmly, while Harry was putting some last touch ups on his makeup.

Colin popped his head in. "Guys, you need to get on stage."

Draco straightened his shoulders, leading the way out. They passed the Weird Sisters, who were getting their instruments ready for the show, and Celestina Warbeck, who was talking to several rather handsome men. They quickly got to their places on the stage- it was pitch black. They could hear the rumble of over 20,000 witches and wizards- an unheard of amount of people to get together outside of the Quidditch World Cup- witches and wizards from all over, even from outside the country were gathered. The people were spread all over the grounds, the equipment allowing them to hear and see the concert perfectly.

Harry took a deep, calming breath as he gripped his microphone, and began to sing softly, the light shining on him. He wore a plain black robe, his head bent down so they couldn't see his face properly. They wore robes that looked similar to Hogwarts robes. Everyone grew silent, watching expectantly.

"The moon is silent,

The water is still"

Luna joined in, the lights illuminating on her- she also wore a robe.

The air quiet,

The grass grows,

Draco and Neville both sang, the lights shining down on them, in the same robes.

There is a forest,

Up on a hill,

A Forbidden forest,

And nothing seems to be there,

Now, the Twins' tricks came in, and the stage was flooded with blue and green light, washing out over the crowd.

Nothing but the trees,

Nothing but the air,

No nests are even there,

I walk through the forest,

Wondering why it's quiet,

Wishing my friends were there,

Sparks of red and white seemed to float in the air above everyone's heads

The trees are tall,

The grass green,

I feel so very small,

Because I am not alone,

Things are hidden every-where,

Beneath the grass,

Above the tall, tall trees

There is a song

No human can sing-

I can hear it,

Can you?

The sparks began to form shapes, from shooting stars to flowers, to birds, and other animals. Their voices grew stronger, and they raised their faces up.

There is a Forest,

A Forbidden Forest,

Up on a hill,

At first glance,

Nothing is there-

But if you look closer,

Take another look,

You'll find something more,

Something you'll never find in a book-

The sparks and shapes began to dive into the crowd, zipping narrowly by people's heads, making them ooh and ahh.

There is a Forest,

A Forbidden Forest,

Up on a hill,

A song sweetly sings,

In the clear midnight air,

That drives away feelings of despair,

And you'll find creatures hidden deep,

Some nice,

Some thrice as big as we-

Some that you cannot even see-

The Forbidden Forest,

Is no longer quiet,

I no longer feel small,

Because, Our home is there."

And suddenly, all the lights went out completely- even the sparks and the lights onstage. People began to clap and cheer- and then the lights flooded the stage once more, and the four of them had their robes off.

Harry grinned at all of their astonished faces, flipping his hair over his shoulder. They should be shocked, considering what he was wearing. He was wearing Sirius' black leather jacket over a pale pink sweater, and black leather shorts- his collar fully visible, which happened rarely when they were out and about in the magical community. He had his thigh-highs on, with his boots. "Hi. I'm Kit." He grabbed the microphone, leaning against it. "I'm glad all of you could come tonight- it's for a really good cause. Thank you for coming!"

He motioned to Luna. Luna was wearing a loose grey tank top that didn't hide much, with a pair of skin tight pants and boots. "That smokin' girl is Lu. Say hello, Lu."

Luna laughed, grabbing her microphone, leaning her other arm on her guitar. "Hello Lu."

Laughter filled the crowd. "And that boy of mine is Draco" Luna waved over to Draco, who riffed on his violin, winking. He was wearing a black button down shirt that was only buttoned partially, with black slacks.

"And I'm Nev." Neville said. He was wearing a black thin tank top and jeans, showing off his svelte body. You could practically see the girls drooling over him.

"And we are FORBIDDEN!" They all yelled, and fireworks shot up into the air. They played for nearly an hour with some high powered stuff, getting everyone excited and pumped for the show. All four of them danced around, goofing off, having loads of fun. People were cheering them on, and Harry's heart soared as he could hear them chanting their names-

Harry led them offstage, bumping into the Weird Sisters, who were gawking at them. "What the hell was that?" One of them cried out.

"Music." Luna said with a smile.

"I think that's pretty darned good. Celestina, I hope you can follow them."

The singer smiled. She was a rather pretty woman- somewhere in her thirties. She had inky black hair and pale skin, with dark blue eyes. She was wearing a very revealing gown in dark red, her hair twisted and curled perfectly. "Of course I can, hon." Her voice was soft and smooth, but Harry couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not- she was hard to read. She winked at Draco, and then checked out Neville. "You both looked wonderful out there." She gave a considering look to Luna, and then eyed Harry. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kit." Harry said.

"Kit who? I've never heard of you before."

"That's because we've only really performed at Hogwarts and in the muggle world." Luna piped up.

Draco rolled his eyes. "That's Harry Potter."

The woman's jaw dropped, and she gave him a look over once more, eyes lingering on his chest, legs, and face. The Weird Sisters went forward, shaking hands thoroughly with him. The woman spoke up finally. "Well dear, you are certainly got it. I do hope we can do this again sometime." She said with a smirk, and sashayed onto the stage.

One of the singers from the Weird singers leant forward. "Don't pay any attention to her. She's a Diva, that's what she is."

"Of course she is, for what I'm paying for her." Draco mumbled as they could hear the fans go wild onstage.

As the night wore on, the Weird Sisters took to the stage, and for the last song of the night, they managed to bring Celestina Warbeck and Forbidden up with them. They all performed the Hogwarts Song, much to the changrin and delight of every alumni- and the crowd sang along.

It was nearly 3AM before Harry and the others managed to get into their tents that had been moved aside for the Concert. Neville peeled off his tank top, and the others were about to get undressed when someone spoke up outside their tent.

"Hey, can we come in for a bit?"

Harry and Neville exchanged a look. It was the Weird Sisters! Draco and Luna hastened to clear off the table of some schematics and plans, as well as putting out some chairs.

"Sure, come on in." Harry said, and they came in. Celestina Warbeck was with them as well, but she had changed out of her gown into a dark blue dress that looked a bit more casual. The Weird Sisters hadn't changed just yet- they looked all punked out.

"Take a seat, Would you guys like anything to drink?" Harry asked.

"Any firewhiskey?" One of the guys spoke up, sitting down. The others sat down as well, while Celestina conjured her own chair, and perched at the end of it, crossing her legs at the ankle.

"Oh, well, we haven't any." Luna said.

"No problem dear, I've got some Elf made wine right here." Celestina said, bringing out a bottle from her handbag, while the Weird Sisters crew dug out their own alcohol.

Harry poured the wine, and they all toasted for a good show. "Well, I heard that we made about 300,000 Galleons tonight for the school, isn't that fantastic?" Harry said as soon as he got over the taste of the wine.

"Yes, that's great. That should help a bit, yeah? So, how long have you guys been playing together?"

Draco spoke up. "Well, Kit and I started playing in our first year, the first time was at my parent's holiday party. Then Luna and Neville began to play the following year with us. But we really formed the band after our Fifth year. So…it's just been a couple of years."

"You play really well together. So, who is usually the Lead singer?" Celestina asked, pouring everyone some more wine.

"I am. Usually. We sometimes switch off for specific songs. At first, we took turns to see who everyone liked the most." Harry said, watching his glass fill up once more.

Celestina winked at him. "Of course, it helps that all four of you are already well known."

Harry chuckled. "Sort of. I mean, most of the public knows me as Harry Potter, but not as Kit. Unless you've gone to school with us. Kit is…"

"A stage persona." Draco cut in when he saw Harry struggling with how to explain things.

"But sometimes Kit comes out when we're not on stage." Neville said flirtatiously. Harry blushed.

"Ooh, do tell!" One of the girls squealed. "So, you and Nev are together, Kit?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. We've been together for a while now. So are Luna and Draco."

"Aw, how sweet. How long?" Celestina asked.

Harry and Neville exchanged a look. "Well…second year? So about five years or so."

"Wow. I don't think I've ever had a boyfriend that long." One of them mumbled.

Luna giggled. "Well, it's hard sometimes, you know, because Draco and Neville are so handsome- but Kit and I manage."

"It helps that you're pretty cute too." Draco said huskily, wrapping his arms around her. Luna giggled, and Harry felt a little fuzzy around the edges- he thought he might be a bit tipsy. They had only ever drank once before, and that had been a couple of years ago.

Neville pulled him into his lap. "So, how long have you guys been playing?" Harry motioned to the Weird sisters.

"About…twenty years or so? Merlin, I feel old. You kids weren't even born yet."

"We're all big fans." Harry said, wrapping his arms around Neville's neck. "We loved it when you guys played at Hogwarts. We had so much fun!"

Draco nodded. "That was a fun night." He smirked at Luna, who blushed. They began to kiss, and it started to get pretty heated.

Neville spoke up, interrupting the stares. "Well, it's getting pretty late. We have things to do in the morning. It was great working with all of you." He said, pushing Harry out of his lap, shaking everyone's hands.

Everyone was a bit giggly and tipsy as they left. It didn't take long for the four of them to dive under the covers, giggling and groping until they fell asleep.

Harry frowned, staring at his transfiguration notes. They were covering something he'd studied over a year ago. Why was he here? He glanced out of the tent, seeing the Headmaster and the Minister of Magic walk by, talking seriously. The wizarding community was still debating whether to rebuild elsewhere, and whether it should be another 'Hogwarts'. He wished he could be right along with them, in these discussions.

"Mr. Potter?"

Harry looked up to see McGonagall looking at him. "Yes ma'am?"

She glanced down at his notes, and then at him. "Are you quite alright? You've been looking at that same page for fifteen minutes now."

Harry blinked down at the page. "Oh." He glanced out onto the grounds. Many people were gone now- only the students were there for their classes. "I can't…concentrate."

She sighed. "I know it's hard." She looked thoughtful, glancing around at the other seventh years who were studying, or trying to study. They had a test next class, and Harry knew he would ace it. It just seemed like he was…wasting his time by being here. He had other things to do.

"Follow me. You can leave your things here." Harry glanced to Neville, who gave him a slight nod. Harry got up from his seat, and followed the Deputy Headmistress out of the tent. They began to walk. All of the 'Classroom' tents were set up side by side- each of them were filled with students and their respective professors. All of the students were dressed rather casually, as no one had uniforms.

McGonagall spoke, putting her hands behind her back as they walked past the Charms tent. "Mr. Potter, I get the impression that you are bored."

Harry bit his lip. "I'm sorry." He blurted. "It's not you-"

She gave him a small smile. "I know." She looked over the grounds consideringly. "With everything that's been happening, I know you have much to worry about and much to work on. You're bored with the classwork, as you aren't learning anything new, am I correct?"

Harry blushed. "Yes ma'am. I…I learnt what we are having a test on today over a year ago."

She gave him a slight nod. "I understand that you and your friends studied quite a bit ahead because of the war. Now that…He's gone, what do you plan to do?"

Harry fidgeted, and stopped walked. "Ma'am…to be honest, we don't want Hogwarts to be rebuilt."

She stared at him. "But…you love Hogwarts! You always have!"

Harry shook his head. "Maybe nostalgic, but I didn't love the school. It's a building. What I loved about it the most though, was everyone that I met there. Ma'am, I've been trying to tell everyone…we can't recreate Hogwarts. Not as it was. We just can't. None of us are the Four Founders. We couldn't possibly recreate what they did."

McGonagall sighed, looking down slightly. "I know. Part of me…wishes that we could, but I know realistically that it's impossible." She met his eyes, looking shrewd. "Yet you are all for making a new school here."

"Well, yes. It's a good area. If we leave, Hogsmeade loses their business. And…I don't want to leave the forest."

The Professor glanced to the Forest. "Harry…I must say, that day, when you came out of the Forest, with…all those creatures behind you, I thought I'd been dreaming or hallucinating."

Harry stared at her.

She went on quietly. "But now that I've…thought about it these past few weeks, I can see how you were able to defeat Him. From your first year, I thought that you were quite special." She gave him a small smile. "Not just because of what your name is, or what you have done over the years, but…just…something that told me that you were destined to do great things."

Harry opened his mouth, but she shook her head. "More than defeating Him, Harry. You must realize that you are still young. That you have a long life ahead of you- so what are you going to do with it?"

"Um…" Harry bit his lip. "I do have plans, but I can't really do them right now."

"You're bored. Why are you still here?"

Harry stared at her. "What? But-"

"You and your friends are more than able to earn your NEWTS right now if you so wished. All you would have to do is get the paperwork and a recommendation."

Harry's jaw dropped.

"Kit, you're a good student. I know you'll keep learning all of your life. That's just what you do. I know you want to change things- make the most of this mess. You can't do that by being stuck in a classroom."

First, Harry was surprised that McGonagall had called him Kit. None of his Professors had ever called him that before. Secondly…she was saying it was okay to drop out of Hogwarts?

"You want me to drop out?"

She chuckled, winding an arm through his. He realized to his dismay that he was an inch shorter than her. Still. "No dear. I'm saying you should test ahead for your examinations. Right now, the Ministry is offering it for free, in light of the situation. Several other students are planning on doing just that this year."

"Oh."

They walked a bit more.

"I want to travel." Harry blurted.

"I would too, if I were your age."

Harry gave her a slight smile. "I don't think the Headmaster will be happy. He seems to like to watch over me."

"Well, Albus has always had a habit of keeping a close eye on those he…" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. You're of age. You have a man that loves you very much, and friends that care about you. We just want you to be happy. You're not very happy here, are you?"

"Well, I…"

"You are happy there-" She motioned to the Forest. "And you are happy learning on your own. You are happy trying something new. You are happy being with your friends." She gave him a Mock-stern look. "I'm not telling you to leave- I'm insisting. Bored children are troublemakers- I ought to know."

Harry gave her a slight smile. "Oh?"

She squeezed his arm. "I taught your Father, didn't I?" She sighed, looking over where the Castle once stood. "Harry, just promise me that you'll never do something just because you can."

Harry furrowed his brow. "I don't understand."

McGonagall sighed. "He…Tom destroyed Hogwarts. Why? He was a student here too, you know, and from what I knew about him, he loved this school just as much as anyone else. So…why would he risk destroying something he loved?"

"Because he was Mad?"

She nodded slightly. "But also because he could. The difference between you and other powerful wizards is not your age, or the House you were sorted into, but…the way that you use your magic and how you use other people. You don't use them for your own gain. You don't use your magic just to show off or frighten other people into doing what you want them to do."

"I use it to help others." Harry said quietly.

"Right." She looked to the Headmaster and the Minister, who were standing on the Lake of the Shore some ways away. "You see, the Headmaster helps others too, but he does it in a very different way." She looked at him with a steely look. "You and I both know how he 'helps'. I hope you remember that if you are ever in his position." She ended sharply.

"Um…yes ma'am."

"Minerva, dear."

"Oh." Harry mumbled. They ambled back towards the classroom tents.

"So, once you pass your NEWTS with flying colors, what are your plans?"

"Um…traveling, research. And maybe doing a bit more with the band."

She gave him a slight nod. "I do hope you'll at least check in."

"I can't believe she said that." Draco said, sipping his tea.

"I know. But…it makes sense. What are we doing here? We know all the stuff that they're teaching us- the only way we'd learn something new was if we had private lessons like we used to, but none of them have the time." Harry said, ruffling his bangs.

Neville leant over, straightening them out. "You're right. So…we're going to take our NEWTS, and then what?"

"Dunno." Harry said, shrugging.


Harry sighed, glancing at the clock on the wall. They were at a Ministry function, particularly an award ceremony for those who were given the Order of Merlin. Harry and his friends had all received the award, First Class, and many of the Order had received awards as well. Dumbledore received a special award, for his contribution to the war.

Harry didn't care much for everything- the reporters were milling about, their cameras flashing. Harry sipped his drink, watching Draco and Luna talking to some Ministry officials. Neville was talking to several Herbologists.

In addition to getting his award, Harry had been nominated as a ICW Junior Ambassador. Dumbledore had been the last wizard to have that position, and it was a great honor. Harry wanted to turn it down, frankly, but his friends told him that it would be considered rude to do so. So he accepted.

It was really just another title, mostly for the papers to talk about, and the Ministry to feel good about something. Harry didn't care much. However, one good thing about the title was that he was expected to travel and visit Foreign Ministries, something he was already planning on doing.

The last few weeks had been filled with hectic meetings, studying, and exams- they had completed their NEWTS. Susan and Daphne, along with Hermione, had done as well. Susan and Daphne wanted to move to the muggle world, to London, as soon as they got a bit of money. The two girls were looking for jobs now, as was Hermione.

Remus approached him, giving Harry a small smile, and raising his glass of champagne slightly in greeting. Harry returned the smile. "Hi Remmy."

The werewolf drank his champagne. "Harry. The Ministry really sprung for this party, didn't they?"

Harry chuckled. "Yeah. You'd think they would spend their money on more important things."

Remus chuckled, waving slightly to Tonks, who was standing next to Shacklebolt. "Anyways, I've got a date with Tonks next week."

"Oh?" Harry raised a brow. "When did this happen?"

Remus sipped some more champagne, looking nostalgic. "Make the most of this time. Travel and do all sorts of things before you get too old."

Harry made a face at him. "You aren't old, Remmy."

Remus shrugged. "I feel like it sometimes." He gave a slight nod to Harry. "I'll go see what Tonks is up to."

Harry watched the man go, finger playing with the edge of his glass. Neville sidled up to him. "Hey."

"Remus and Tonks are going out." Harry said with a relish. "I think they'll be good for each other."

Neville laughed, wrapping his arm around Harry's waist. "C'mon Kit, I want to introduce you to some people."


Yay! You like? I hope you do...

So, where will the foursome go from here? Will they travel to exotic locale? Or will they be burdened with their responsibilities? Will anyone ever find out the true nature of their relationship? All that and more will be answered in the upcoming chapters! Please review, I will give you lots of cookies and brownies.

I really, really appreciate everyone who waited so patiently for this story to come out! I hope to update weekly, more, if I'm inspired enough. (hint, hint.)

Lots of love and spankings, Hecateslover