The teens exited the chamber, heading toward the lifts to talk to the head of the DMLE. Amelia Bones had narrowly escaped a Death Eater raid over the summer and Harry, at Neville's suggestion, thought she and her niece, Susan, could be useful allies. The rest of the group went to watch his back, surprised at how quickly they'd learned to trust one another. It helped that they had all been quite open about things and while they may not all be best friends, they trusted each other far more than they trusted anyone else.
A shot of red light headed toward Harry, and Draco shifted, deliberately taking the stunner as Harry spun and disarmed their attacker. Aurors came rushing as the peculiar wand flipped, end over end, before Harry caught it. Green eyes narrowed as he saw Dumbledore, sprawled against the side of the fountain. The two Aurors eyed the group and then looked at the elder wizard as Ginny woke Draco.
Kingsley Shacklebolt looked at his partner. "Did I really just see Dumbledore try to stun Potter?" he asked, his deep voice carrying.
"Sure looks that way. Wotcher, everyone," Tonks said, looking at the group. "Mind if I bring you lot upstairs so we can get your statements?"
"That's fine, Tonks. We were headed up to speak with Madam Bones anyway," Hermione answered. Harry had yet to take his eyes off Dumbledore and the emerald orbs were looking dangerous. "I don't think Harry'll be letting go of the old man's wand though, at least not until we're upstairs."
"It won't matter if I let it go," Harry murmured. "It's chosen me, much like my original wand. But it feels wrong at the same time." He stuffed it into the pocket where his cloak rested, the two items seeming to glow slightly.
The statements took a few hours, and Dumbledore was fined a healthy amount for firing an unprovoked shot on the Head of two Ancient and Noble Houses. Harry and Amelia had established a decent alliance, and the rest of the group were watching him worriedly. Most took advantage of Amelia's offer to use her Floo, heading back to Hogwarts, but Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna and Draco chose to stay a bit longer. The five who had been involved in the Department of Mysteries the previous spring were hoping they could apologize to the Unspeakables, and possibly stop in the Veil Room so Harry could really take the time to mourn his godfather.
It took a little smoothing over, but most of the Unspeakables placed the blame rather firmly on the shoulders of the Death Eaters, not the kids who had been outnumbered so badly. It was when they entered the chamber that something seemed to urge Harry to pull out Dumbledore's wand, as well as his cloak. In the same pocket was a ring, the same one he'd seen in Dumbledore's office, before Hermione had gotten help from the others to make him see. It had been the old man's lessons that made her wonder about the sacrifice bit.
As if in a trance, Harry placed the cloak on the floor in front of the veil, followed by the wand and the ring and then he stepped back. The veil formed a hand, reaching out to pull the items in. A mysterious voice seemed to echo in the chamber. "Well done, Mr. Potter. You have brought me the Hallows, though you knew not what they were. You have done far better than expected against odds that should have overwhelmed. For this, I shall help you," the voice said. "Step up next to the veil, so I may take my final offering, and then I shall give you all the help in my power."
Ginny tried to stop him, she didn't want to lose her new brother, but neither she nor Hermione were fast enough. Luna appeared serene, as if she had expected this all along. Draco and Neville looked confused beyond words, but they stood back, somehow sensing that Harry had to do this. When he dropped to his knees, the mysterious hand reaching out to touch his scar, they tried to move but quickly found they couldn't. A scream erupted from Harry as a black mist tore from the old wound, leaving a slight bit of blood around the injury. The Boy Who Lived fell backwards, away from the veil as it pulled itself aside. A booted foot stepped through, followed by the person who'd last fallen through in the spring.
"Hang on, the others are coming," Sirius Black said as his godson stared up, unbelieving.
"Death says you gave two pieces of the bastard's soul, plus you offered up the Hallows freely. He'll leave you the cloak, and is giving you four gifts in return," the next person said, an easy smile on his face.
"Cedric?" Hermione asked, disbelieving. But it was the final two to step through, side by side, that had them all trying not to cry. James and Lily Potter both smiled as Harry, after a quick look up to Sirius followed by a nod, fell into their arms. Lily looked over to Ginny and held out her arm after a moment.
"You can't think we wouldn't want our daughter too? Even if she came in an unusual way," Lily said, as Ginny joined the embrace.
Sirius stepped over to Draco and clamped a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad to see you made the right choices, cousin," he said quietly, earning a smile from Draco as Hermione hugged the older man from the other side.
Harry pulled back from his parents. "Mum, Dad, this is Ginny, " he said, starting the introductions. "Ginevra Lily Potter, as of this morning. That's Hermione, who I'm sure Sirius told you about. Draco Malfoy, who isn't nearly so much of a prat now. Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom."
Lily smiled. "Neville, you look so much like your Mum. Come now, I haven't seen my godson in far too long," she said, moving to hug him as he tried to hide his tears.
"Alright, who wants to see if we can get Minnie to have kittens?" James said, wringing his hands together with a slightly maniacal grin.
"I'm more worried about Moony having pups," Sirius said with a laugh as the teenagers shook their heads.
"We need to get back to Hogwarts anyway, the rest of the group needs to know you guys are back. Cedric, do you want us to Floo your dad or would you rather do it after you see Sprout?"
"I'll Floo him after. I'd rather have Pomfrey nearby when he and Mum find out," the Hufflepuff said with a boyish grin. The ten left the chamber, Harry stuffing his cloak back into his pocket as they headed for the nearest Floo.