There was nothing more they could do. Ron and Harry had no options other than to follow the aurors on as many reported sightings as possible. They wasted their time in fruitless searches for more dead ends. None of the sightings they had been on had turned up more than a neighbor with a grudge. To their dismay, after a while, even the sightings became few and far between as the Death Eater fervor finally drew to a close, and the Daily Profit was no longer running a daily column on the whereabouts of Bellatrix Lestrange.
They had returned to normal living in 12 Grimmauld Place with heavy hearts. When the days turned to weeks and the warm, sunny weather began to remind them all that summer holidays were close around the bend, Hermione began to return once again to the subject of their N.E.W.T.S. She had kept graciously silent about them during the first few days of panic, and had kept to mere reminders of the homework that was due as the general frustration of losing their quarry had set in, but as more and more days passed without the slightest sign of evil aunt or nephew, Harry noticed her visibly more strained whenever she asked them about the week's homework.
In an attempt to avoid Hermione, he found himself spending more time in the ministry vaults going over old information and hoping for something that he had missed. Finally, he reached a point where he could no longer fool himself. There was nothing that he had missed.
Letting out his last breath in a disappointed puff, Harry put down the papers that he was rereading and put his hands to his temples, trying to console himself with thoughts of tomorrow. He would be travelling to Hogsmeade to meet with Ginny and a few of her friends. They had asked for help with the practical part of their Defense Against the Dark Arts N.E.W.T. The idea of seeing Ginny's cheerful face and having a whole day to spend time with her was growing more and more appealing by the second. She had been away at Hogwarts for way too long as far as he was concerned.
He also had a surprise in store for her. An owl had interrupted their dinner that day with a message for all three residents. Harry had read it aloud for the benefit of everyone at the table.
To Mr. Harry Potter, Mr. Ronald Weasley, and Ms. Hermione Granger,
Due to the unusual circumstances in the N.E.W.T. scheduling this year, all those students who missed the exams the following year are formally invited and greatly urged to reside in Hogwart's for the week that the exam requires. Quarters will be provided for all, and arrangements for travel have been prearranged. Please report to the Leaky Cauldron promptly at 11:00a.m. Sunday, the 10th of June.
Sincerely
Headmistress Minerva MacGonagal
Hermione had looked confused. "But I've already taken the N.E.W.T.S. Why would they want me back?"
Ron had snorted lovingly. "What? You think that just because you took them last year, their going to tell you, 'Sorry, all your friends are gonna be back there, but you can't come cuz your smarter than the rest of us!'? Not too likely."
Harry had smiled and headed quickly up to Sirius's room without another word. His mind had been on Ginny's reaction when he told her that he would be able to be her personal tutor for a whole week. He was sure the weekend was going to be wonderful.
The weekend was wonderful. Harry spent the day travelling to all of his favorite stores hand in hand with the most beautiful girl in the village. After a round of butterbeers with Ginny and her friends, they had all made their way happily back to Hogwarts—the only place where they could all practice defense spells without the threat of expulsion. Harry had felt so exuberant that he barely noticed the looks of fear and awe on nearly every face as he accompanied the four girls to an empty classroom. They locked the door behind them to avoid any interruptions, and it was there that Harry chose to tell Ginny about his coming week in Hogwarts.
"I was wondering when you were going to get to that," she said, smirking.
"You knew?"
"Of course! MacGonagal told us a few days ago!" She smiled knowingly. "I was hoping you'd want me to help you brush up on your Potions."
And so it was with an ecstatic lightness of foot that Harry entered the Leaky Cauldron on the tenth of June. He, Ron, and Hermione met an eager Seamus Finnigan waiting in the entrance.
"Hey you guys!" he greeted them a bit nervous. "Have you been studying this year? My parents have been trying to make me, but it's going to be so much easier at Hogwarts again!"
They all got in line behind two Ravenclaw girls that Harry didn't recognize. Mrs. Weasley fussed and fretted around them, exactly as if they were eleven years old and on their way to their first Hogwarts feast. When it was their turn, she hugged them all in turn.
"Mum, we're only gone for a week!" Ron exclaimed, annoyed. "You'd think we were headed off to Azkaban!"
Mrs. Weasley brushed his comment off with a flick of her wrist and passed him the floo powder. "Tell your sister that we miss her, dear," she said, and then Ron was gone in a flash of green. Harry and Hermione followed.
Ginny was waiting for them with an enormous grin as they each came out of the Gryffindor chimney. Neville and Luna were by her side. He rushed past them momentarily and gave Ginny a hug to match the size of her grin before turning to his other two friends.
"Hey, Harry!" came Neville's friendly greeting. "You'll never believe it! We have our exact same beds!"
They split up, the girls chattering excitedly as they made their way up the stairwell to their quarters, and the boys pushing and shoving to be the first to arrive at the place where they had all been so happy. Harry felt every dark memory of the last six months slowly fading away as it began to sink in that he was going to be allowed to be nothing more than a student for the next week. It was much easier than he had imagined to sink back into this role.
That night, he lay in his four poster bed with the curtains drawn around him, listening to Neville's snores and staring up into the familiar darkness of the room—his room—at Hogwarts, and he couldn't help but smile. He had spent the most perfect day studying with Ginny and Ron, greeting and regreeting all of his old schoolmates and teachers, and exploring all of the secret passageways that the castle held. Somewhere out in the night, a dangerous Death Eater was lurking, anxious for the chance to exact her revenge. Somewhere in the Slytherin house, a bed sat cold and empty, awaiting a student that was nowhere to be found. But for now, as the moon crept slowly behind the astronomy tower in its endless journey across the night sky, these thoughts were completely overshadowed. For now, Harry Potter felt like the luckiest wizard in the world.
The next morning's schedule was significantly less stress-free, however. The theory sections of both their Potions and Herbology N.E.W.T.s were scheduled for that day, with the practical sections later that afternoon. The general attitude at breakfast was one of tension as many students tried to get in a bit of last minute cramming. Harry silently thanked Hermione for six months worth of constant nagging. He felt prepared. Ginny, however, looked a bit green when he met her in the Great Hall for breakfast. She had her Herbology book open, and was alternating between it's yellowing pages and her notes.
"Don't talk to me until after the test," she said nervously as he kissed her lightly on the cheek. Hermione, who was seated next to her, smiled knowingly.
In the short break between the theory and the practical, Harry suggested that they make the trip down to visit Hagrid on the edge of the grounds. Ginny bowed out, claiming study time. The other three walked freely down to the cabin, watching a beautiful golden hawk flying gracefully over the ground in search of a meal.
Hagrid was ecstatic to see them. "I knew it was only a matter of time before your three would come down to see me!" he bellowed, patting Ron on the head so hard that his knees buckled. "How'd your first round of tests go, then?"
"Great," moaned Ron. Hagrid looked at him puzzled. "I'm just thinking of how long it'll take Hermione to lose the know-it-all grin she's got on now. It's because of her that we're doing so good."
They all stared amusedly over at Hermione, who was conveniently following the hawk's progress through the sky, but looking as if she had only recently cleared her face of just such a grin. Hagrid invited them in for tea. They accepted happily.
"So, you three, what changes have you noticed?" he asked, pouring teas into three cups the size of soup bowls.
"Not much," admitted Harry. "It's like coming home again."
"Yeah, except to a better home because Malfoy's not here to ruin it," added Ron. Hermione scowled at him. Harry and Hagrid frowned as well.
"Any news on that front?" Hagrid asked, obviously not wanting to spoil the good mood.
"Nothing yet," replied Harry, glowering.
Hagrid quickly changed the subject. "Well, I wish we could go back a few years to the day when you three were first years," he said. "The kids nowadays haven't got the respect they need for their teachers. I'm trying to catch one right now who keeps stealing things from my food stores…right out from under my nose!" He glared over at the enormous boarhound asleep in the corner. "And Fang's!"
"That sounds like something Fred and George would have done," snorted Ron. There was a flash of pain as he remembered Fred.
"Nah," negated Hadrid. "They never stole nothin' from the teachers. Only took what the house elves gave 'em. This one's down to outright thievery!"
Hermione took a gulp of her tea, and then looked over at a shoddy looking clock on Hagrid's mantle. She choked.
"We've got to go! You two have the Potions practical in ten minutes!" she exclaimed. The three of them jumped up in alarm. The time always passed so fast when they were talking to Hagrid. They turned toward him guiltily. He shrugged them off.
"Get out of here!" he laughed. "And don't let me hear about any low marks!"
The rest of the week flew by much like their Monday, with large random doses of stress that always seemed to turn up directly before certain N.E.W.T.s. After the Herbolgy exam, Ginny seemed to be in a much better mood, and Harry was free to spend the time that he was not studying in her company. They escaped from the castle as much as possible, avoiding the probing eyes that seemed to follow Harry and his scar wherever they went. They passed the time walking down by the lake, and laying in the cool grass discussing their exams and their futures, watching the now familiar golden hawk as it circled high above their heads, and vehemently avoiding any talk of once dead Death Eaters.
The expression on Ron's face as he walked out of the final practical exam—Astronomy—caused everyone around him to laugh. It was a mixture of pain, confusion, exhaustion, and relief.
"No tests…ever again," he mumbled in a slight daze. Hermione laughed.
"You're in the auror program!" she snorted as they followed the eager crowd back to the Gryffindor common room. "You've got years worth of practical exams yet."
"Well, that's not the same. Truffle Tart!" he spoke to the Fat Lady. The portrait opened to a spectacular amount of noise. The fifth years had finished their O.W.L.s much earlier, and their end of exam celebration was in full swing. A pretty blond girl danced over to Ron and Harry as they entered. She smiled up at them with bright blue eyes.
"Will you join us?" she asked, paying no attention at all to the fuming red-head on Harry's left arm. Harry turned his eyes to Ginny questioningly.
"Let's go up and put our books away first," she said, civilly enough, but Harry wasn't fooled. He smiled. A little bit of jealousy wasn't going to kill her. After all, he had once had to suffer through and entire six months of imagining her and Dean Thomas snogging around every corner.
They all went up to the boys quarters. Hermione left to put her books away, but Ginny sat on Harry's bed, and watched as he put his books into his trunk, smirking. He liked feeling her eyes on him, even if it was just for a moment, and even if her brother was only yards away and watching their every move. He grinned over at her when his books were stowed, and found that her eyes were not on him, but at the window, gazing puzzled at a small form.
Harry followed her gaze. It was the hawk that they had spent so much time following through the sky. He opened the window, and it flew in. As it did so, the tiniest flash of gold caught Harry's eye, and he followed the bird where it landed just out of reach on his bed. Their eyes lit up in shock. Wrapped double around the bird's feathered neck was a small gold locket. The oval charm that was so exactly alike the one in Harry's possession right now was swinging innocently from the hawk's golden breast. They all looked at each other, frozen.
Ginny reacted first. She made to grab the hawk, but it let out a furious screech, and flew towards the closed door. At just that time, Hermione reentered the room, causing a flush of feathers as the bird quickly changed course and escaped out into the hallway. They gave chase without pausing to explain.
There was a frantic dash to the common room, where the bird escaped effortlessly through the portrait hole when two first years entered. They received the fright of their lives as it flew directly at them, followed by four frantic seventh…and eighth years. They chased it down the corridor and out into the entryway. It seemed to know exactly where it needed to go to escape. It paused at the large doors, but soon found the tiny window above that was always left open for owl post. Without a second thought, Harry opened the doors and ran into the night. It flew in tiny circles always just ahead of them, always frustratingly far out of reach until it lighted on a high branch at the border of the dark forest.
They stared up at it curiously, but it did seemed secure enough with the distance between them to remain motionless. Harry took out his wand.
"Accio…" But at that moment, a crack from the forest caught their attention, and suddenly four lighted wands were pointed threateningly at a slight figure that had been hiding just beyond the light. Harry's mouth dropped in shock. Ron managed a low rumbling sound, and Hermione actually dropped her wand. Ginny simply stared silently at the gaunt figure that was advancing toward them cautiously, hands held high in a gesture of peace.
Draco Malfoy stepped humbly from the bushes.