Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters/situations that revolve around him or Hogwarts. JK Rowling owns them. I do not own JK Rowling. She owns herself. This is merely a very simple case of "why not," in a world full of "what ifs …."
Ormandria
JK took her glasses off and wiped the tears away from her face. She took a deep breath to steady herself before looking up at the man that sat across from her at her kitchen table.
"So, that's it?" she asked, amazed that after all this time he still looked exactly as he had all those years ago when he first approached her with this wondrous tale.
"Yes," said the red-haired young man in his twenties. His demeanor was subdued, a far cry from the person that he apparently use to be. Though she was almost positive that it had more to do with his recounting the events of the last seven years, more then that he had lost the fire he had as a child. She guessed this based solely on the fact that there were always certain moments, in his tale, where he became vibrant and even laughed and smiled at the memories.
"I don't quite understand though, you've told me so much about everything that happened, so that it could be written down and even published, but you've never mentioned the reasons behind wanting it published."
"Oh?" He looked surprised for the time since they had met in the café several years ago. "I thought that would have been obvious by now. Dumbledore and Harry both wanted the world to know what happened. They figured that maybe if muggles knew the story, it would help protect them, as well as us. Even if they do believe it is nothing more then fiction. It opens the door to a world of possibilities. One of those possibilities being more open muggle/wizard relations."
"And why me? Why did you chose me?" she pressed.
The man shrugged. "Don't know. You just looked honest and hard-working. Trustworthy even." He glanced down at the pile of thin books that lay scattered across the table. "Funny, but did I tell you that none of us knew he kept those? He was never one for writing, or so we thought, so we didn't expect that he had been keeping diaries about his experiences at Hogwarts or at home."
"We think," he continued after a momentary pause. "That when he discovered what had happened to my sister, what with that cracked diary and all, that it had just solidified the importance of writing it all down."
"You think?"
"Yea, well, he didn't exactly tell us. Just sort of handed them over when he and Dumbledore came up with this idea. And we never really asked. Didn't seem the sort of thing to do, under the circumstances."
JK smiled, nodding slightly in understanding. "So what will you do now?"
"What, me and the others, or the wizarding world as a whole?"
The author thought for a moment, chewing her lip. "Both," she said finally and firmly.
"Well, I guess first we will re-build everything that was lost in the war. There's loads to do. Buildings that were destroyed need to be re-built. Old alliances need to be mended and Dumbledore is positive that this is going to be a great time to re-construct the way we wizards deal with other magical creatures, such as giants, centaurs and house-elves."
JK laughed. "I bet that'll please your wife," she smirked.
"Oi, you're not kidding. They've only just started and already she won't let me hear the end of it." He smiled though as he pictured the love of his life going on and on. "Of course, she is rather cute when she prattles on like that."
"And after all that?" she asked. Curiousity was definitely one of her strong suits.
The red-headed man smiled at her. "We'll survive. Like we always have. Like we always will. We know that now. He taught us that."
He nodded down at that pile on the table.
"I should be going now though," he started, but she quickly rose from her seat, holding a hand out to stop him.
"Just one last thing. Please. Since this is the last book, I have no way of knowing when I'll see you again, if I see you again."
"Alright," he shrugged. "Shot."
"How …."
She didn't get the chance to complete her question before he started laughing and answered her.
"Time-turner. Don't worry," he smiled at the sudden worry on her face. "Dumbledore fixed it so that it can go forward in time as well. That way I could get all this done in what for me would be only a few months, while still giving you years to work on it. Also, this way we were able to get word out a little sooner. Something that actually helped our cause, believe it or not." He winked at her for good measure, before he waved goodbye and disapparited in a loud pop.
Her youngest child, still an infant, let out a short cry at being awoken by the sudden noise, but quickly quieted down.
It was JK's turn to laugh at herself. Why would she not have thought of magic? They were wizards after all. And it definitely explained why the young man had never aged.
Turning her attention back to the pile before her, she opened her own large notebook in preparation for going through the last of the journals. She only had six months to glean all that she could from them before they would disappear and go back to the Ministry of Magic, where they were normally kept on display.
In a small, cramped script, she began writing on top of the first page. "Notes from the journals of Harry Potter, Saviour of the Wizarding World, to be used in Book 7."
A photo drifted from the top of the pile to the table, settling next to her hand. In it, a young man, no more then 17, with a thick crop of messy-black hair, glasses and long lightning shaped scar on his forehead, grinned and waved at her.
She paused only a moment in her writing to look at the photo.
"Thank you Harry," she said softly. "Thank you for being the Boy Who Lived."
A/N: Okay, this is sort of MY own thank you to JK Rowling and all that have helped bring us all things Harry Potter over the years, and that will continue to do so. I know it is a bit pre-mature, since the last book isn't out yet, but it just sort of happened.
And yes, that is Ron that she is talking to, and Hermione is his wife. As for whether Harry is alive or dead, well, I guess that we'll just have to wait for book seven to come out before we find out that answer to that one;-)
