While Harry and Ginny started their lives as responsible adults, Mary Windsor began to adjust herself to the swing of school once more. After having one of the best summers of her life, considering the circumstances, she was not exactly looking forward to being a whole year without living with her guardians.
Mary marvelled at how important Harry and Ginny had become to her in the past year. She thought about her guardian and his selflessness. He had lost just as much as her, if not more, and he still found it in himself to aid a small girl in need. Mary, of course, was ever grateful.
As the student body piled into the Great Hall for the Starting Feast, Mary found her way to the Ravenclaw table with her friends. She saw McGonagall gesture to Professor Sprout, and the stout witch herded a group of small first years to the base of the dais. She placed the worn-down Sorting Hat on a three-legged stool and the hat broke into song.
Last year's song had essentially congratulated Hogwarts and its students in fending off the forces of evil in the final Battle. During the summer, Harry had informed her that the hat spent the entirety of the school year composing a new song for the Starting Feast. This year, the Sorting Hat reminded them profusely of the importance of uniting as a whole and not let House boundaries create enmities among them. Mary thought that this was mostly for the Slytherins, but didn't comment on it.
She was absently making small talk with her friends when the Headmistress stood behind the podium at the front. She waited barely a minute before chatter broke down.
"Welcome, students, to a new school year," she began, "I trust you had a pleasant summer. A few announcements before you make your way to your dormitories. First, Professor O'Brian has accepted to take on the full job of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. As I have taken on the responsibility of Headmistress, Professor O'Brian will become the new Head of Gryffindor." She waited until the clapping subsided, "As for new appointments, I am happy to announce that we have found a suitable Transfiguration teacher, as I will no longer be a teacher from now on. Please welcome Professor Mallory," the entire Hall applauded a tall slim witch that sat between Professors Sprout and Babbling, waving and smiling at the students. McGonagall nodded and raised her hands once more.
"I also remind the first years that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off-limits to students without a teacher accompanying them. Older students might do well to remember that, as well," she added with a stern gaze towards the senior end of the Gryffindor table, "Well, I've taken enough of your time. Off to bed," she dismissed them.
Mary walked to the Ravenclaw tower with her dorm-mates and all five of them made their way to the second year girls' dormitory. Once inside, they all changed into their pyjamas and sat down on their four-poster beds. A tall brunette named Jenny spoke up first.
"It will be weird having DADA without Professor Potter this year, won't it?" Her roommates nodded in agreement.
"I know. He was the best, and he could always spare time for questions, no matter how silly they were," Juliet, a short, rather chubby girl replied.
"Plus, he is very cute," Annie, Mary's best friend confessed. The other girls just giggled and kept talking about their summers. At one point, Jenny looked over at Mary, who was drawing absently on a sketchbook Harry had gotten her for her birthday.
"What about you, Mary. You haven't spoken since the Feast," she said. Mary looked up from the drawing and shrugged.
"What would you like me to say, Jen?" she asked.
"Well, we've been talking about Harry Potter for the better part of half an hour and you, his legal ward, haven't said a word about it," Annie pointed out. This made Mary sigh.
"So what do you want to know, exactly?" she inquired. She loved her friends to bits, but sometimes they could be so tactless.
"Is it true that he's richer than Merlin himself?" Jenny asked with a smile. So tactless, Mary thought. Harry, of course, had shown her the Burrow Family Vault over the summer. Her knees had almost given way below her at the sight of that much gold and silver. He had promised that that would always be available to her when she needed it. Then, he had handed her a golden key, which she kept safe in a small jewellery box in her trunk.
She didn't want to betray Harry's trust, as he had said many times that he was almost ashamed to own that much money. She also knew that her friends were not dumb. They were in Ravenclaw, after all. She opted for some masked truths.
"I don't know about that, but he is well off, I think." She shrugged. "Why do you even ask?"
"It just seemed weird that they let him be your guardian after having known you for a year. That may have swayed the court," Jenny said with a shrug of her own.
"Okay," said Mary sceptically, before closing the curtains on her four-poster and bidding her roommates goodnight.
Over the next two weeks, Mary got into the swing of classes quite easily. She had always been a good student, and her grades last year had proven that. What could she say? She loved to study. Okay, that sounded nerdy, she thought, but she didn't care. He knew that Harry's best friend, Hermione, had been a sort of know-it-all when they were in school, and she had gotten to know her over the previous year and over the summer. She was quite a great friend, and a good confidant, Mary realised.
Hermione, Ginny, and Mary had formed a close bond over the previous year. Unlike with Harry, this bond was a sisterly one, and Mary realised that she could come to them with any questions that she had felt uncomfortable talking about with Harry. That didn't mean that he didn't talk to Harry, though. In fact, they had promised to write to each other at least twice a month with updates of their lives. Mary had noticed too late that she didn't actually have an owl of her own, and she would need to wait for Harry to write to her.
As Mary made short work of her dinner on the second Tuesday in September, a barn owl soared into the Great Hall and made its way to her. She almost shrieked when it landed soundlessly beside her plate and began taking small sips of her pumpkin juice. It had a piece of parchment attached to its leg.
"Hey there, boy," Mary said as she stroked the owl's feathers. She took the parchment and the owl nipped her finger affectionately. "What do you have there?"
As she opened the letter and began reading she grinned to herself. It was from Harry.
"Dear Mary,
Hey little one, how was your first full week back to Hogwarts. Miss me already? I have to say, I was getting used to you being around here and now I only have Ginny to keep me company. Okay, I know that's still amazing, but I still miss you. We all do. How's second year treating you? I hear from Minerva that your summer homework was amazing, so congratulations on that.
Ginny had her first practice on Saturday, and I took Teddy to see her. You should have seen it! She killed it. Soon enough I will be known for being Ginny Potter's husband, and not just Harry Potter. Ginny Potter, that sounds amazing. I can't wait for the wedding. Okay, I'm rambling. So hear this: apparently they have named a move after me! I kid you not; some of Ginny's teammates asked me to perform something called the 'Potter Feint' for them. They explained that they named that dive I performed against Slytherin after me, just because no-one's been able to replicate it. Dumb, right?
So I accepted – grudgingly, mind you – and performed the damned thing. When I landed, Ginny said I had been going over 200 miles an hour. Neat, huh? Turns out there was a scout among the crowd watching me do it, because not two minutes later this guy – some Ogglethorpe bloke – tells me I would be a great addition to a professional team, and that he wanted to offer me a job. Can you believe it? I hadn't even started on Auror training, and I was getting a job offer. I said no, obviously.
The following day I had my first day. It was interesting, to say the least. We had to pass this obstacle course, which apparently was fitted to the specific witch or wizard who entered the room. The first part was easy enough, I guess. I had to rescue a baby from the middle of a creepy lake that was infested with grindylows. No, it wasn't actually a real baby. After that, it was a boggart, which you will probably learn about next year. Basically, it shows you your greatest fear. Creepy stuff. The other two tasks were way too easy in my opinion. They had me repel ten dementors, which is kind of dumb since I had quite a lot of practice from my third year. Remember my stories of the year my godfather escaped from Azkaban to kill the animagus Peter Pettigrew, who was disguising himself as Ron's rat? Good times. After that, they had me heat up some water in an electric kettle for tea. Can you believe it? Don't they know I lived with muggles my whole life?
Okay, enough about that. After that, the fun started. They had us duel with the Aurors, which proved to be quite hard for most people. For me, it was quite invigorating. I could finally put my non-verbal-casting skills to the test, and it worked out pretty well. I even ended up beating every Auror and Disarming the Minister wandlessly! You know I don't normally brag, but I was pretty proud of myself, so give me a break.
So, today was fun I guess. They reviewed our results and partnered me up with a woman named Abigail Smith. Lucky for me, Ginny didn't have a reason to be jealous, as I only have eyes for her. Abby – she insisted that I don't call her Abigail – showed me the ins and outs of the office and we got to know each other. She even asked me about Ginny and our engagement. Not much else happened, really.
I almost forgot; we forgot to get you an owl so you could write home while at school. So, voila! This is your owl. He doesn't have a name, so you can name him yourself. Let me know what you name it on your letter. I hope you're well, little one. Tell me all about your time there!
Love,
Harry."
Mary sighed when she finished the letter. So much had happened in less than three days, she thought. She noticed how he conveniently forgot to mention anything about the new house. No matter, she thought. She would see it over the Christmas break. She turned to the barn owl and stroked his head.
"What should I name you, little guy?" She noticed that he was a bit smaller than regular owls. Harry must have probably done it to mock her, Mary thought. She remembered a character from a book she read a couple of years ago that was very small for his age. His name was Armand. She looked up at the owl and smiled, "How does Armand sound, boy?"
She got a hoot and an affectionate nibble of her finger, so she figured that was a yes. Armand climbed onto her shoulder and together they made their way to Ravenclaw tower. Once she'd answered the riddle and she was inside the common room, Mary took out some parchment and started writing her letter on one of the many desks that lined the walls.
"Dear Harry,
Wow, so much has happened. I'm sure Ginny was amazing. She's an excellent flier. I can't wait for your wedding either. You both deserve to be happy! I would have loved to see your face when they asked you about the 'Potter Feint', though! That would have been great for a drawing... I actually can believe that you'd get a job offer as a flier. You're just as good a flier as Ginny, if not better.
That first day sounds exhausting. That boggart thing sounds scary, though. I don't even know what my biggest fear is, but I wouldn't want to face it in a test. I can see why it would appear in an obstacle course too. I do remember the story of your third year. Don't they know that you fought off like a hundred dementors? Ten of them should be a joke for you! I feel like they use the kettle part of the course to determine whether you could blend in in a muggle house? I'm not really sure, though. That's my theory.
I think it's a good thing that you can be proud of that, Harry! Ginny always said that you are too noble and modest for your own good. Plus, Disarming the Minister without your wand? That's amazing! I read that wandless magic usually only consists of small healing spells, though. If you're not careful, they'll be comparing you to Merlin soon enough, haha!
This Abby girl sounds fun, I guess? It's good that you only have eyes for Ginny, though. You two make the cutest couple.
As for me, school has been a bit boring, if I'm being honest. Don't get me wrong; I love my friends, and the lessons are quite fascinating. But not having you or Ginny or Hermione around is weird. I got so used to you guys that I forgot I wouldn't be seeing you as much this year. We don't have much homework yet, but that may be because I always do it the moment they give it to us... I've been going down to Hagrid's hut every so often. You were right, he's the sweetest! I usually go there when I need to clear my head, and I have started sketching his dog, Fang. He even said he would pay for a drawing of both of them! Can you believe it? I told him I'd do it for free, of course, but he insisted...
Not much else has happened so far, but I do miss you already. Can't wait for Christmas break so I can see the new house! Okay, I have to go now; I haven't started on next week's DADA essay! Hope you're well. Send my best to Ginny and the Weasleys.
Love,
Little one."
As weeks passed by, Mary kept correspondence with both Harry and Ginny. They were both having a blast at their jobs, and she could tell. Harry was thoroughly enjoying the field work he was getting put through with his partner Abby, and he had even hinted that Mary might be seeing him sooner than she thought. She wondered what he meant by that. He also complained to her that the research seminars were starting to get as tedious as school. She had just laughed at him. "School's not tedious," she had told him.
Surprisingly, he had also told her about his nightmare. His reasoning was that he didn't want to have secrets with her. Unfortunately, she hadn't had any insights as to what the dream might mean. She was just as stumped by it as Ginny and Harry were. They weren't too worried about it, though. Apparently, Harry had so many nightmares in his life that he didn't think this one meant much. Or so he hoped.
Ginny was also enjoying her time with the Harpies. Around mid-October, she had had her first official game. Mary had been in stitches when Harry told her about his fiancée's first goal. Apparently, the Keeper for the Appleby Arrows had said a rather rude comment about Ginny's bum. So, Ginny being Ginny, she had shot the Quaffle directly into the Keeper's stomach, who in turn went through the left goalpost; Quaffle and all. She had been quite proud that that had been her first official professional goal.
As for Mary, she had finished the drawing of Fang, which now hung over the fireplace at Hagrid's hut. He had said that since Fang was getting on in years, he was happy to have something to remember him by when he was gone. She was, of course, doing excellently on all her classes, and the professors made a point of mentioning it often enough. They often compared her to Hermione, which made her blush to the roots of her blonde hair. She still wondered what Harry had meant by that letter, though.
Surprisingly, the answer to that question came on the last Saturday of October, one day before Halloween. While walking down the corridor to the Great Hall for lunch, she had spotted a nest of jet black hair and bright green eyes looking directly at her from beside the staff table. She gasped and ran at him at full speed. When she got there, he was already waiting for her, arms open.
"Harry!" she exclaimed, launching herself at him.
"Hey, little one. Staying out of trouble?" he said, smiling warmly down at her.
"Always,' she told him sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"
He feigned shock and grasped his heart, "Didn't you miss me? I could just go, you know?"
Mary rolled her eyes and slapping his shoulder playfully, "Of course I missed you, silly. You know what I meant."
"Robards seems to think that I have much to share with the younger generation. Something about me experiencing more than ten Aurors combined in my seven years here or something. So he has tasked me with giving a sort of speech and question and answer here at Hogwarts," he explained.
"About Defence?" she asked. Harry nodded and she said, "Will second years be able to attend?" she inquired hopefully. He nodded again.
"Yeah, this will be for first through fifth years," he told her, "I'll be doing another one for the sixth and seventh years next term, though."
"That's so cool,' she exclaimed, "Prepare yourself for very personal questions, though," she warned. At that, Harry paled.
"You don't think people will ask about my personal life, do you?"
"A lot of students have never met you, Harry, and most of those that have still talk about you a lot. And so, they want to know the man behind the legend," she teased. Harry groaned loudly and rolled his eyes.
"I am most certainly not a legend," he said exasperatedly.
"Oh, but you are," she reminded him, standing on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek. After some small talk, Harry informed her that she would see her after the speech, which would start after lunch.
After dessert had been served, the first-through-fifth year students of all houses sat at the Great Hall, looking up at a nervous Harry. He was sitting on a stool he had conjured and cleared his throat.
"Good afternoon, students," he started. Great start, Potter, he thought. "I am here today to talk to you all about Defence Against the Dark Arts. I understand Professor O'Brian has been doing a great job of it so far, but the Minister seems to think that I might have some interesting insights to share with you, considering my life," he said with a small smile. He thought it worked when he heard faint chuckles from his audience.
"Many of you can probably guess that DADA is one of the most important subjects here at Hogwarts," he continued, "it is there that you learn to defend yourselves, not only against dark witches and wizards but against any threat that might befall you. You are aware that more than a year ago, the final battle led to the final downfall of Lord Voldemort." He noticed with pride that not many students even flinched at the name. "The end of the war marked a pivotal point in all of our lives and brought a time of relative peace. You should be aware, though, that the end of one dark wizard does not mean the end of them all," he reminded them.
"Now, I'm not asking you to become paranoid and not trust people. My point is that you should strive to do well in DADA. Not because of a grade, or because the professor wants to teach you a certain spell. But because you will, at one point or another, need that defence in your life. I do hope that none of you have to experience what we did in the war, even though I know a number of you even belonged to Dumbledore's Army," he added with a grin. He saw many faces perk up at the mention of the DA.
After that, he began the part of the speech that he had practiced so many times in the last two weeks. He had been very nervous to do this, but he noticed just how easy it was to talk to a group of students. He thought not for the first time if becoming a Professor at one point was not such a bad idea. Twenty minutes later, he started with the questions. He gestured for a blonde third year who had lifted her hand to speak.
"Um, what spell or jinx would you recommend for, say, a battle?" she asked timidly. He was relieved that they hadn't started with personal questions right off the bat.
"Well, there's the stunning spell. My fiancée's quite fond of the Bat-Bogey Hex," he added with a grin. He saw many students staring at him in confusion, "Don't ask. But the most useful would be Expelliarmus," he said. He frowned when he heard a snort from the fifth year section of the Hufflepuffs.
"Come on, a Disarming spell? How's that going to help against a dark wizard?" he asked incredulously. To his surprise, Harry smiled at him.
"I set a lot of store by that particular spell. It is, after all, the spell I used to defeat Voldemort in our final battle, as well as at the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament in my fourth year," he reminded him. The look of shock on the fifth year was mirrored in many faces around the Hall. Of course, none of them had been at the final battle, so they wouldn't have known that.
He kept answering smaller calibre questions for about fifteen minutes before one of them took him by surprise.
"Do you regret having been the Chosen One?" a second-year Ravenclaw asked. He knew she must have been a friend of Mary's but couldn't quite place the name. He thought hard about his answer and took a deep breath.
"Honestly, sometimes I do," he admitted, "being the Chosen One took my parents, my godfather and more friends than I'd like to count. But I also know something else. I wouldn't change it for the world. After having defeated him, I realise that I love the way my life has turned out. Sure, there were many shifts and turns, but that's a part of life," he told them. He closed his eyes, the weight on his shoulders seemingly deepening, "I can also sleep better knowing that my being the Chosen One has prevented many more from suffering the same childhood I had..." he finished. He hadn't even realised his eyes were glistening, clouding his already atrocious vision.
After his statement, there was an eerie silence draped over the Great Hall. To the surprise of all present, including Harry, Mary stood from the second year group and made her way to her guardian. Without hesitation, he wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him in a fierce hug that would have made Molly Weasley proud.
Harry accepted the embrace and whispered in her ear, "Thank you, little one."
"No problem, Harry. What are friends for, right?" she replied, kissing his cheek. When she realised what she had done in front of half the school, she blushed and took her seat again. Composing himself again, Harry continued with the questions for another fifteen minutes.
All in all, it had been a pretty good day, Harry thought as he lay on his bed next to Ginny that night. When he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, he could only groan. He was at the Department of Mysteries again. This would be a restless night...