A/N: Hi guys! This is the last chapter of the story. I want to say thank you to everyone who stuck with me and very much thanks if you've followed the first installment to the sequel. I'm afraid there will be no third installment. I'm taking a short break to cool things down and I am working on another chaptered Story!
Here goes…
--
Happily Ever After (At Last)
Harry sped through the halls of Hogwarts, expertly avoiding all students. He had the Marauder's Map in his hand and was working his way to saying the opening password without stopping
He found out that Ginny was on her way to the Abandoned Classroom. He was about to take a sharp turn when voices reached his ears
"I wonder who found out Lavender's secret?" A girl asked
"I don't know…but they sure embarrassed her in front Hogwarts" A guy said
"Serves her right…"
Harry glanced and saw that students exiting the Great Hall were carrying fliers with a moving picture of what looked like a deformed banshee. Quenching his curiosity, he picked up one of the fallen fliers and saw the headline.
His eyes flew wide open and his mouth burst into laughter.
"So you've seen it huh?" Dennis Creevey approached him
"This photo style is vaguely familiar" Harry smiled
"You'd recognize Collin's style anywhere" Dennis whispered as he sped down the hall
"Collin?"
--
"Gonna have a party…to celebrate the downfall of a girl who's corky…Revenge can be so sweet…Its Lavender I want to hit" Ginny crazily hummed to herself as she flicked her wand at the many directions of the room. Soon, it was spick and span
Lavender got what she deserved. Everyone's happy. All except for her
"Did I overestimate the common sense of Harry?"
She had dropped down as many clues as she could give. She had been dropping hints to his closest friends. She herself had spoken with him.
And still he didn't get it?
Oh well, not everybody can get their happily-ever-after. But she the-hell deserved it. After all she's been through, putting it all together, she walks away with absolutely nothing.
--
Harry almost forgot his goal but he looked at the map and remembered
"Oh man!" He cried to himself as he sped up the stairs. A normal person would get tired of climbing all that staircases. Blame adrenalin.
--
Lavender sat at a toilet sobbing her heart out. Her reputation was ruined. The thing she worked hard for was gone. All the things she did: Hours in front of the mirror, making up convincing gossip, playing hard to get with Potter…Gone with the freaking wind
Somehow, something made her think of Ginny Weasley. Something made her suspicious. Somehow, she knew Ginny was linked to all of this.
She was there when Potter broke up with her and with the mention of Cinderella, she left
She had vibrant red hair
The Blood-traitor is Cinderella
Parvati, who had been at her side all the time, was acknowledged by Lavender
"Parvati, Ginny Weasley is Cinderella" Lavender croaked
"Shush, Lavender. Now isn't the time for such silly jokes" Parvati crooned while patting her hair
"I'm not joking, idiot" Lavender whispered as she slapped Parvati's hand down
"So…" Parvati gasped
"Yes" Lavender hissed "Do you know where she is now?"
"Well, she and her unstylish friends always go to the Abandoned Classroom…" Parvati was cut off when Lavender stood up
"Let's go…" Lavender gravely said, wiping tears from her eyes
"To where?"
"To stop her"
--
Harry looked at the door which leads to the Abandoned Classroom. He could hear her voice humming out senseless words. Then it hit him
I don't know what to say.
He hadn't rehearsed anything on what he should say or do. He was so preoccupied with finding the girl that he forgot to think about what he should say. There was no turning back. This was what he wanted. And he got it
--
No way was she going to be that predictable and go through the main entrance of the abandoned classroom. Hello! She was the Lavender Brown.
Every classroom on this floor had two entrances. One on the back and the other up front. Most likely, people would be going through the front so that left the back door open
--
Both doors opened at once and…
"Harry?"
"Ginny"
""Well, what a good reunion! But unfortunately for you Weasley, Your finished" Lavender scathingly said
"Lavender, what the hell are you doing here?" Ginny shockly asked
"Like you don't know, you're done for, red head" Lavender scoffed
"Brown, if I had known you, you would have been at the bathroom right now, crying a river" Harry incredulously said
"I guess you don't know me then, Potter" Lavender sneered
"So, what are you going to do?" Ginny asked
"To get revenge"
Ginny's eyes went mad open and she turned pale. She knew what was going to happen
"What did she do to you?" Harry said, playing the role of hero perfectly
"She destroyed my reputation. Admit it Potter, even without you, I was popular…but this girl…she destroyed me" Lavender's eyes narrowed
"It was Collin who broadcasted the picture" Harry said
"Come on; use your senses, Harry! Do you think the Collin could do that? No. Ginny's always been the little ringleader of their gang. And I suppose Loony and Padma had been involved" Lavender explained
"Why you little…" Harry started but Ginny cut him off
"Harry, this is between me and that with. You don't need to help me. I've done this many times. You didn't appear to my help days ago so I got used to it…step aside. This is my war" Ginny snarled
"Ginny…" Harry said
"No! So what'll it be, Brown, wands or hand-to-hand combat?" Ginny challenged
"Wait a minute" Harry screamed. Both girls looked at him sharply
"What!" They both cried
"What are you supposed to be fighting about? I want the freaking whole story!"
The two stared at him dumbfounded.
"Don't you get it, Harry, she's the reason we broke up!" Lavender cried
"That's where you're wrong! You yourself were the reason we broke up. You're a selfish, mean little brat! You have no true friends!" Harry bitterly said
"As for the conceited outlook, I had to have it. I dream of fame, Potter! Unlike the lucky ones, I wasn't born with fame. We were not born famous for something involving a prophecy. I didn't defeat the Dark Lord before I could crawl. When you, Harry, you have pawns over the Wizard world waiting to do your bidding! Just for something you didn't mean to do!" Lavender cried
"Do you think it's easy, having the fate of everyone in your hands? Lavender, half of me would want to switch places with you and you being the 'chosen one' but we wouldn't want a brat to save us? Please, if you were the 'chosen one', you would be bragging about it and use it as an advantage to bully people." Harry gravely responded
"Your right Potter, I would! I would feel blessed to be a heroine. You see, there are two types of people in the world. One with fame in their blood the second they were born, and the other who work hard for fame. But lets not get out of the subject, Harry; this is not a talk about fame. This is about me and my reputation" Lavender said
"Lavender, there are two types of reputation: One, the good kind where you have a rep for being good, kind and nice that it spreads out and you become popular. The second is the bad type, that's where you belong. You use bullying to make people fear you. That's your kind of rep and that rep doesn't last long" Ginny butted in
"I don't care. Weasley, if you hadn't pranced into the Great Hall in the ball, I would have had a future with Harry. On that I had always wanted" Lavender said
"Truth be told, Lavender, before the ball, I was already playing Silent Treatment with you. Sure, you were okay for 1st to 5th year but in 6th year, the power seemed to get to your head" Harry said
"Whatever. Expelliarmus" Lavender threw an unexpected spell at Ginny and she was lunged backward and fell to the floor
"That's unfair! You're a coward Lavender, you only attack when the opponent isn't looking because your afraid if the adversary is looking, you might lose" Harry said as he helped Ginny sit up
"I cheat for fame" Was all she said
Ginny threw a Bat-Bogey hex at Lavender which threw her down a moment.
"Lavender, get out. I don't ever want to see your face again" Harry simply said
Lavender fumed to herself and the spell wore off. She glared at the pair, stood up, and stalked off
"She's taken care off" Ginny grinned
"Hey Gin, I figured it out" Harry smiled
He didn't have to explain for Ginny knew what it meant. Ginny gasped and threw herself into his arms
"I'm so glad you found out" Ginny's face was tear-streaked
"I'm sorry it took so long" Harry softly said as he stroked her hair. Then, the hug let go
The door creaked open and in came Hermione and Ron. The other door slammed open and entered Collin, Padma and Luna
"What happened here?" Collin asked
"Lavender's gone…for good. I couldn't have bashed her without you guys" Ginny sighed as she pulled the three of them to a hug
Suddenly, Padma pinched Ginny
"Does he know?"
"Yeah! He helped me. Lavender was here and there was this fight and…you know…"
Ginny smiled
"Hey Harry, what happened over here?" Hermione asked
"Lavender came in. We had a fight…she lost and she's gone…Ginny helped" Harry said
"Are you two together now?" Ron asked
Harry glanced at Ginny
"Yeah…I think we are"
"Hey, we came here to party! What say we get it started?" Ginny cried. Hermione flicked her wand and a disco ball came out and lights were there and the food was prepared. People streamed in and they had a party. Meanwhile, at the back, Harry stole a conversation with Ginny
"What is it?" Ginny asked
"Will you be…you know…my girlfriend?" Harry awkwardly asked
"Sure"
"Whatver happens, nothing can come between us" Harry seriously told her
"Nothing…No Lavender, No friends and no Voldemort" Ginny smiled and they hugged
--
At the other end of the room, Hermione and Ron were talking
"Look at both of them" Ron motioned to Harry and Ginny
"They look happy" Hermione observed
"I'm glad they are" Ron said
"Well, Harry and Ginny were really meant for each other" Hermione muttered
"Yeah…I want to have that kind of happily ever after too" Ron said
"Pray tell, with whom?"
"Its…personal" Ron said
"Oh come on! We've been friends since ever! No secrets" Hermione playfully slapped him
"I'm sure you would like to have one too. Ladies first, tell me. Plus, your more brave than I am" Ron reasoned
"Okay fine…but don't laugh" Hermione said
"Promise"
"Its you"
"Excuse me…did you say Terry Boot?" Ron didn't want to admit it. He heard correctly but…They had mutual feelings
"You know perfectly well who I said. I've liked you since…5th year" Hermione confessed
"The feeling has been mutual since the summer between 5th and 6th year" Ron confessed
"That's sweet" Then they kissed
--
So that's it. They lived happily ever after. Harry and Ginny got married and it was the best day ever
"This will be the greatest day in the universe" Harry muttered to Ron as a girl in a white gown stepped out of a carriage. Ginny smiled
Ron and Hermione married too and are very happy with their lives.
"I'm an auror" Ron told the big news
"That's great" Hermione cried out.
They felt blessed that all fortune came their way. That fate hadn't found it impossible and given up. That destiny, amidst all their dilemmas, scooted a way to bring them peace. That Lavender moved to Australia and never bothered them again
Life isn't picture perfect and if a story ends with happily ever after, it doesn't mean they won't encounter problems. Problems are a part of life and we learn from them. So when I end this story with happily ever after, consider this: They will have problems but getting through them is a good adventure"
They Lived Happily Ever After