It seemed like so long ago that they themselves had been students here. Ten years had passed since that had happened, and most of the old teachers had retired since then. Harry was now the new Headmaster, Hermione was teaching History of Magic, Ginny was the new school nurse, and Ron was the new Quidditch professor.
Five years ago they had had a double wedding, and since their appointments were now living at Hogwarts year round. Most of the other teachers had homes that they went home to during the summer holidays, but the four friends liked nothing better than to stay at Hogwarts and enjoy the solitude that they had. They could play Quidditch and they had Hogsmead to visit when they wished. What more could anyone ask for?
Harry leaned back in his chair, a nostalgic smile upon his face. Raising his glass of elf made wine, he looked around at his friends, "Here's to you three, the best friends a man could ask for."
He thought about how the four of them had been through a lot since they had first met. In her 6th year at Hogwarts, Ginny'd had the horrible experience of having her brother Percy join Voldemort and kill her father. But after the Death Eaters came after her, Percy recanted his loyalty and was killed at the hands of Voldemort himself. She confided to him that she still had nightmares regarding the Chamber of Secrets, knowing how close she came to killing her friends, brothers, professors and him, the man who was now her husband. She had fought valiantly with Harry and the others during the final battle with Voldemort and they had defeated him, thank goodness.
Ron's memory of his brother's betrayal still haunted him, although he refused to show it. The pain of losing both his father and his brother cut through him like a knife sometimes. He had gone to find the horcruces with Harry in their seventh year, along with Hermione who was now his wife. They were halfway finished when they received an urgent owl to come back right away. The three of them returned to hear the dreadful news of his father's passing and the even more dreadful news that Percy had been the one to cast the fateful Avada Kedavra curse. They had stayed for Arthur's funeral, and Harry had told him that he didn't need to finish the journey with him, but Ron had been more determined than ever to help defeat the wizard who had turned his brother against his family.
Hermione had also lost her parents before her schooling ended at Hogwarts. Due to her helping Harry destroy Voldemort, a few of the remaining Death Eaters had targetted and killed them. Some of the remaining Aurors sought them out and sent them to Azkaban, and a special task force was appointed to become guards there since the Dementors which remained after the battle was over were no longer trustworthy.
Harry himself, the Chosen One, the Boy who Lived, had thankfully retained his sanity after all he had been through. Despite his aunt and uncle's cruelty while he was growing up, he saved them from an attack during the war and they were even cordial to him now. He wouldn't call them his friends, but they were on better terms than they were. After Voldemort had been destroyed, his scar which had one graced his brow disappeared.
Coming back to the present, he looked around at his friends and colleagues, glad that the past was over now and they could enjoy the friendship now without the worries of the evil in the world. Of course, there were still some rather unsavory characters in the wizarding world, and you never knew when another Dark Lord just might pop up, but for now he felt that it was safe.
Hermione looked down at the child nestled in her arms. Little Harmony Weasley, born in June. She had Ron's red hair and her big brown eyes. She already knew that one day she would be going to Hogwarts, she already was showing some magical promise. Standing up, she went over and put her in her basinette so that she could sleep.
"She's such a beautiful baby, Ron and Hermione," Harry said, smiling at then, "I can't wait til she's old enough to start learning magic.
"Me either," Hermione said, sitting back down, "We already know she is definitely going to be a witch."
"She takes after her mum that way, she's very smart," Ron said, proudly.
They were talking for a few minutes when Harry noticed something glowing in the back of the office, something he didn't remember seeing before. Standing up, he went towards the glowing area and came back holding a box full of phials.
"This is odd," He said, placing the box on his desk, "These remind me of the phial that Dumbledore used to keep his memories in to look at later in the pensieve," Opening the box further, he found a note inside.
Dear Harry,
These are memories that I have collected over the years for you and your friends and they have been waiting for just the right time to become active enough that you can see them. Please send me an owl when this happens, and Minerva and I will join you.
Sincerely,
Albus
Dumbledore
"Wow!" Harry exclaimed, his eyes wide in wonder, "They ARE memories, and Dumbledore left them for us to find," Taking a parchment out, Harry wrote a quick note to Albus.
Dear Albus,
I am contacting you as you requested regarding the memories. We will not look at any until you and Minerva get here. We are all in my office, if you want to use the Floo Network.
Sincerely,
Harry James Potter
Harry eagerly sent the note off with Hedwig, then turned to his friends, "We'll have to wait for Albus and Minerva to get here, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a great deal today."
"That's interesting that he did this for us, Harry. I wonder what kind of memories they are," Ginny said curiously.
"It would be great if there was something about the founders, wouldn't it?" Hermione said excitedly.
"Or maybe about Quidditch!" Ron chimed in and the other three laughed; Ron was such a Quidditch buff.
"I hope there's something in there about my mum and dad," Harry said, quietly.
Ginny reached over and took his hand, "I'm sure there will be, Harry. After all they were very famous and well liked, from what Sirius and Remus have told us."
Just then, green flames filled the fireplace and Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black stepped out. There was a flurry of activity as the group greeted one another and hugs were exchanged.
"I hope you four don't mind us bringing Remus and Sirius with us," Albus said, grinning mischeviously, "They didn't want to miss this, and thought maybe you would have questions for them after we look at some of the memories.
"Not at all, Albus," Harry said, beaming at him, "You know that I always enjoy a visit from some old friends.
"Well, Harry, I feel like I owe you an explanation," Albus said, as Harry drew up chairs for them, "Now that you are Headmaster and have some good years under your belt, I felt that it was time to share with you some memories and some truth that may have been difficult for you to learn in the past. Now, don't get me wrong. A lot of the memories are good ones and ones I hope you will find very useful. There are some from the founders, from your parents..."
"My parents? Mum and Dad left memories?" Harry said, a note of excitement in his voice.
"Yes, your Mum and Dad left memories for you. So, we'll take a trip back through time and you all will find out some things, some good, some bad, and have some questions answered."
Harry brought the pensieve out and they gathered around it. Dumbledore selected a phial from the box and poured it into the pensieve, and they found themselves falling into the bowl...into the memory.