Harry Potter strides purposefully through the door to the late Headmaster's Office, Ginny Weasley not far behind him. I watch him take in the silver instruments that line the walls, the great telescope that sat in the higher level of the tower, the vast mahogany desk that has lasted since the time of the Seventh Headmaster…
Yes, even though he looks nothing like the lad I knew, he looks enough like a Potter that his identity is obvious to those of us who knew Matthew and Charles Potter. I chuckle slightly to myself. That hair is inescapable.
This, of course, sets me thinking about my good friend Matthew, Charles' father. He was my dorm mate for seven years, and my friend for nearly a hundred years after that. I remember…
Flashback…
A small boy, messy black hair nearly covering his forehead but not his bright amber eyes, gazed up at Potions Professor Aeneas Xavier. A taller boy, lanky and red-haired with twinkling blue eyes, stood at his side, looking a little less confident and more scared than his companion.
"An accident, it was, Professor! Honest!" says the first boy in singsong Welsh-English.
"Aye, honest!" piped in the red-headed fellow, nodding his head enthusiastically.
"And I suppose that you just happened to add the lionfish stinging cells at just the right moment, so they would cause the Boil-Curing Potion to become a highly potent Sneezing Solution?"
Both boys nodded at the stern brown-haired professor.
Xavier sighed, and shook his head. "That's not nearly good enough an explanation, Potter, Dumbledore. Detention for the both of you – and if I may give you two a hint," he smiled, and bent down so that his head was level with the two boys': "A good backup plan – and escape route – is always a fine idea, as is an airtight alibi."
He straightened up and resumed the 'stern professor' outlook. "Now, I ever catch you doing something along the lines of this again, you'll both be scrubbing out the dungeons on your knees, understand?"
The two boys nodded, and skittered off to Transfiguration…
End Flashback…
Ah, and so many adventures we had, most of which involved danger - or pranks; Lots and lots of pranks.
Harry Potter's voice broke me out of my reverie. "We are looking for what?"
"We're looking for Professor Dumbledore's wand. It wasn't buried with him, and since, well…" Ginny trailed off.
"Aye, I know, Scrimgeour-the-ever-stupid-scum-of-politics had mine snapped and burned."
"Even you can't do everything wandlessly - or at least not without harming yourselfiii - and since Professor Dumbledore's wand is also phoenix tail feather and holly…"
"You think that his wand will respond to me as mine did." Harry finished her thought. "You do know that my staff functions well enough in that regard?"
"You can't use a staff for the finer works, like enchanting needles to knit a jumper."
"Point taken… aha! Found it!"
I watch keenly as Harry pulls my wand out from the cabinet that once housed my Pensieve. He gives it a wave, and it responds by humming a bit of phoenix song, enveloping both the two people in the office and all of the portraits, refreshing and comforting us.
An identical grin crosses the faces of both Harry and Ginny. "I get the feeling that –"
This scene is disrupted by Daedalus Diggle bursting in the door. "Lord Potter! Lord Potter!"
Harry turns toward the short and frizzy haired, pale and shaking man standing before him. "What news, Daedalus?"
Diggle continues to shake as he mumbles out an incomprehensible answer.
"Come again?" Harry replies blankly. Judging by Ginny's void look, she doesn't hear him either.
Daedalus repeats himself unsteadily. "D-death E-eater attack at King's Cross Station. Death Eaters made two trains jump the tracks and collide head-on. Two hundred Muggles are dead, and fifteen magical folk as well."
"Any of ours?" Harry looks grave.
"A-Andromeda and T-Ted Tonks, Penelope Clearwater, Auror Michael Wood, and Elphias Doge."
Tears brim in Harry's eyes as he speaks. "Send condolences to their families, and organize a hero's funeral for each of them."
"Y-Yes, sir."
As Diggle turns to go, Harry grabs his arm. Gazing into the shorter man's eyes, Harry utters the ancient blessing of those who were going to war. "May Merlin smile on you, Daedalus."
Diggle smiles wanly. "And on you, my Lord."
Harry sighs as soon as Diggle isn't there to hear him. He looks at Ginny. "Here I was, thinking that just because Voldemort is dead I can live my own life. And yet, I see that only now has the battle begun."