The next day was the last full day at Hogwarts for all of its students. Early the following morning the Hogwart's Express would leave Hogsmeade headed for Kings Cross Station and summer would officially begin. As was often the case, most people in the castle spent their time trying to gather up all of their possessions and force them back into their trunks for the journey home. What time remained after that was spent with friends discussing the year that had passed and what their plans for the time before they returned would be. Lunch in the Great Hall was louder than normal and it seemed, at least for those few precious moments, most of them had forgotten the revelations of the previous day and the fact that their world had just become much more dangerous.
"Neville! Over here!" Harry called from his seat at the table. Daphne was sitting to his right and Hermione across from him as usually happened when Daphne decided to abandon the Slytherin table to sit with the Gryffindors. Neville's head turned to where he had heard Harry talking and smiled at his friends before rushing over.
"Hey guys." Neville said while sitting down. "Guess what I got on my potions exam."
"You got an 'O', didn't you?" Harry asked.
"Nope, I got a 'T'." Neville answered, but he was still smiling.
"A troll?" Hermione said, surprised. "But Neville, that's the worst grade possible!"
"I know." Neville replied. "Professor Snape said my potion was too good and that I must have cheated so he gave me a 'T'. Professor McGonagall said she would talk to him and get him to give me the grade I deserve."
"That's great, Neville." Daphne told him. "Looks like all of your hard work paid off then."
"It turns out that Harry is a lot better teacher than Snape ever was." Neville responded with a laugh. "Although it helps that Harry doesn't glare at me waiting for me to make a mistake every time we're trying to learn something."
"All I need to do is work on scowling at people and then maybe I can just replace the greasy git." Harry joked. "Hey Neville, when are you going to get your new wand?"
"Hopefully in the next few weeks, but since we can't use magic in the summer I guess it doesn't really matter. Why?"
"If you can wait two weeks I could come with you." Harry suggested. "It'll be a good way to celebrate my release from the Dursley's."
"Sure." Neville happily agreed. "Would you two like to come?" he asked, turning towards Hermione and Daphne.
"Sorry Neville but I can't." Hermione answered. "My parents and I are going to Spain in a week. I'm really looking forward to it, in fact I heard there is a wizarding section of Madrid bigger than Diagon Alley!"
"I might be able to go." Daphne said. "I'll know once I can talk to my parents about it. Sounds like fun, though." Neville nodded eagerly, happy to have friends that wanted to spend time with him. His first few years at Hogwarts had been somewhat lonely but he felt that things had really changed for the better this year. He would also gladly welcome an excuse to leave his house during the summer where the only people around were his loving but odd grandmother and his great-uncles who had always treated him somewhat cruelly especially when they thought he might be a squib.
"I promised Hagrid I would come see him before I left." Harry said as he pushed his chair back from the table. "I've got to hurry because Dumbledore wanted to talk to me, too. Any of you want to come with me?"
Eventually it was decided that Hermione would accompany Harry to meet their half-giant friend while Daphne made sure her sister Astoria was ready to leave and Neville checked on his plants in the greenhouses one last time. They were all a little sad to see the year end but were enjoying the time they had left as much as they could.
A few hours later Harry reluctantly left Hagrid's hut and headed back into the castle to meet with Professor Dumbledore. Unknown to him, a very intense conversation was underway involving the Headmaster and his spy amongst the Death Eaters Severus Snape. Dumbledore sat calmly behind his desk listening to his anxious potions professor report on the latest goings on with Voldemort.
"The Dark Lord continues to request strengthening potions." Snape said. "It's quite odd, I was allowed to study the ritual used to restore his body and by my calculations any lingering negative effects should have worn off by now."
"Is it possible a mistake was made?" Dumbledore asked hopefully.
"Perhaps, but not likely." Snape answered uncertainly. "The potion required contains some very hard to find ingredients but is none the less quite simple to brew. Even an idiot like Pettigrew should not have had a problem with it, and even if he did the Dark Lord was there observing his work and would have noticed any errors."
"The ritual he used is not well understood, it is possible that the problems he is experiencing are not out of the ordinary at all." Dumbledore suggested. "Is he able to reach his full strength with the aid of the strengthening potions?"
"Yes." Snape replied. "However, such potions are addictive and produce diminishing returns with excessive use. If the Dark Lord continues to use the potions at this pace by the end of next month they will have almost no effect on him whatsoever, but the need to continue taking them will remain."
"I trust that Voldemort is aware of this dilemma?"
"He must be, but his demands remain the same." Snape said. "I have not noticed any other issues in his well being, but he has not done anything strenuous since his return. Assuming a mistake was made in the ritual, he will most likely order me to seek out its cause and how to correct it."
"Is it possible?" Dumbledore asked.
"Perhaps, but not easily." Snape answered. "The only way to be sure would be to repeat the ritual but that would involve the Dark Lord dying again and I doubt he would be willing to do that."
"Definitely not." Dumbledore said. "Voldemort would never trust anyone enough to willingly put his life in their hands in such a way. Perhaps we can determine if a mistake was made, and I have reason to believe it was. Harry Potter is on his way here as we speak, and with his permission I would like to show you the memory of Voldemort's resurrection that he provided to me. I am curious to see if you come to the same conclusion I have."
"Very well." Snape said as he sat down and began to wait for Harry to arrive. His mind was too busy to even think about his dislike for the son of James Potter. A few minutes later Dumbledore arose from his desk a mere moment before a knock was heard at the door.
"Enter." Dumbledore called from his desk. The doors opened to reveal Harry who briefly looked surprised at seeing Professor Snape though he attempted to hide his reaction. "Thank you for coming, Harry. How are you feeling?"
"Much better, sir." Harry reported. "The pain from the Cruciatus is almost gone."
"Excellent." Dumbledore responded. "I would like to know if you would allow Professor Snape to view your memory of what happened at the cemetery. I would not ask if it were not important."
"Why?" Harry asked suspiciously. Dumbledore might trust Snape, but he definitely did not.
"We have reason to believe that something went wrong during the ritual, this may allow us to confirm that."
"Ok, then." Harry said after a few moments. He thought back to that fateful night but couldn't remember anything happening that would upset the ritual. In retrospect he was a little disappointed with how he handled the situation but there wasn't much else he could do. The three of them approached Dumbledore's pensieve where the memory had already been prepared for viewing.
"You don't have to view this again if you don't want to, Harry." Dumbledore said.
"No, it's ok." Harry assured him. "Let's go." With that they leaned closer and felt their consciousnesses being transported into the memory. Harry saw that his past self was already tied up in preparation for the ritual. Once again he saw Wormtail place Voldemort into the cauldron and add the 'bone of the father' while he struggled to free himself. Snape was watching with a great deal of fascination while Dumbledore, who had already viewed the memory, watched how the others reacted.
"Flesh of the servant... willingly given... you will revive your master."
"Peter, stop!" Harry yelled. "Please don't do this."
"It's too late for that, Harry." Wormtail answered and raised the knife again.
"You don't have to do this!" Harry replied, still hoping that the man would change his mind.
"But I do. I have no choice, you see. If I don't do this he will kill me."
"I saved your life! You owe me." Harry said, but he knew his words were having little impact.
"It doesn't work that way." Wormtail then turned away placed the knife on his wrist once again. He closed his eyes as if trying to work up the courage to go through with the act and then, with all his strength, pushed the blade through the flesh and bone of his arm. When he was done his entire hand dropped into the cauldron and he howled in pain.
Soon after the memory ended and the viewers exited the pensieve. When they were all sat back down Dumbledore looked at Snape and signaled for him to voice his thoughts on what he had just seen.
"It was Pettigrew's fault after all." Snape finally declared. Dumbledore smiled and nodded at the comment while Harry looked at them both in confusion. He had not noticed Wormtail making an obvious mistake, but then again he was not familiar with the ritual so maybe there was something there he did not see.
"What did he do wrong?" Harry finally asked.
"The final ingredients of the potion require not only bone, flesh, and blood but that they be taken unknowingly, willingly, and forcefully." Dumbledore explained. "What did Pettigrew say just before he severed his hand?"
"That he had no choice, Voldemort would kill him if he didn't do it." Harry said in realization.
"Exactly." Dumbledore said happily. "His statement indicates that he was acting under duress, not willingly as the ritual had required."
"So Wormtail never could have performed it correctly?" Harry asked.
"I believe in fact that he could have." Dumbledore answered. "What mattered is the emotion he was feeling as he placed his flesh into the cauldron. If you had not attempted to talk him out of doing so it is possible he would not have thought about why he was slicing off his hand and everything would have gone according to plan. It seems you inadvertently seriously weakened Voldemort."
"Weakened?" Harry said disbelievingly. "He didn't seem weak when we fought."
"Silly child." Snape said, interrupting the conversation. "Do you truly believe that the Dark Lord needed to be at full strength to defeat you? The Potter arrogance shows itself again."
"Severus is, unfortunately, correct. Even in his weakened state Voldemort is still likely the most powerful wizard in the world." Dumbledore said sadly.
"But not more powerful than you, right?" Harry asked.
"Yes, even more powerful than I." Dumbledore confirmed. "True, I am one of the more powerful wizards alive but my main strength has always been my skill and creativity during a duel. Voldemort possesses so much power that he has rarely had to rely on anything else. That is a key weakness you would be wise to remember."
"Do you really think encouraging Potter to seek out confrontations against the Dark Lord is wise, Albus?" Snape asked.
"Of course not, and Harry I would hope that you know that is not what I mean." Dumbledore answered. "One day you will be ready to face him, but until then you should do everything in your power to avoid him."
"Of course, Professer." Harry answered. His battle with Voldemort days earlier had shown him that he was not prepared to fight Voldemort yet, and it was hard to predict when he would be ready to. He believed even before hearing the prophecy that his purpose in life was to fight the evil man who had killed his parents, and now that he knew for certain it was his destiny he knew that he would have to do whatever he needed to accomplish it.
"Thank you for allowing us to view that memory, Harry." Dumbledore said. "Remember that the End of Year Feast will begin in a few hours." Harry knew he was being dismissed and stood to leave.
"No problem, professor. See you then." Harry replied as he walked out of the room, leaving Dumbledore and Snape alone again.
"The Dark Lord is gathering his forces." Snape said a few minutes after Harry had left. "He's planning something, although I do not know what. The ministry is a vulnerable target now that Fudge is out and no new minister has been elected."
"Rufus Scrimgeour has been appointed interim minister, he should be able to hold things together until next week." Dumbledore answered.
"Scrimgeour is a buffoon and you know it. Furthermore the Dark Lord knows it." Snape explained. "Mark my words Albus, open warfare will begin before the week ends."
"There is little we can do to prevent that, Severus."
"Attack him now. In a few days whatever temporary advantage you could have gained will be gone." Snape implored him.
"The time is not right. I dislike that fact as much as you but I can not change it. We are ill prepared to launch an offensive against Voldemort at this time. As a result we must continue to enlist support for our side." Dumbledore explained. "I am sorry Severus, but it must be done."
"Very well, but I stand by my warning." Snape said in frustration. Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement as Snape rose out of his chair and left the office. Dumbledore could sense his spy's worries but believed that he was doing the right thing. There would be a time for offense later, but now was not that time. As leader of the Order of the Phoenix this was just one of the difficult decisions he had to make, and he knew it would not be the last.
The end of year feast was in full swing several hours later. During such occasions the Hogwarts staff of house elves went all out to ensure that everyone had a good time. They enjoyed this time of year as well because for them it meant that the summer would begin and bring with it several months of deep cleaning that could not be done with hundreds of children around. Despite what some bushy haired elf rights crusaders believed, the house elves truly enjoyed their lives and were incredibly proud of their work.
As the food was being served and devoured all of the professors, even Snape who detested such events, sat at the head table having their own conversations and watching the students to make sure they didn't get into any last minute trouble. Luckily for them this feast was tame in that respect compared to others in the recent past. The Weasley twins had somehow managed to turn the robes of all the other house's Quidditch players Gryffindor colors and had written "Gryffindor Quidditch Rules!" on their backs. The victims of their prank might have been angrier if it had not reminded them that in a few short months they would be back to playing their favorite sport instead of watching a tournament in which only a few competed. This led to impromptu team meetings in all four houses in which the team captains demanded that their players be ready to win by the time school started again.
Once Angelina Johnson, Gryffindor's new captain since Oliver Wood graduated, finally finished giving out practice instructions for the summer Harry made his way back to his normal spot in the table where Hermione and Neville were waiting for him.
"I think Johnson's been taking lessons from Wood!" Harry said as he sat down. "She would have us practicing all summer if she could."
"Think we'll be any good next year?" Neville asked. Although he was not obsessed with the game like Ron Weasley, he did enjoy watching it.
"Should be." Harry answered. "The only weak spot will be at Keeper. There's no way we'll find a replacement as talented as Wood, he was good enough to make the team with Puddlemere United this year." Neville nodded in agreement before returning his attention towards his dinner. As Harry was about to lift a fork full of food to his mouth the doors to the Great Hall slammed open, causing everyone to jump a little. When Harry saw who had opened the doors he dropped his fork and jumped out of his chair.
"Sirius!" Harry yelled as he ran towards his godfather, not caring that the rest of the student body was watching them.
"Hello, pup." Sirius said as he hugged his godson. "It's been too long, but I'm a free man now and that can change just like we had hoped it would."
"I know." Harry answered, letting go of the hug. "Would you like to sit with us?"
"Sure." Sirius replied with a laugh. "It's been a couple of years since I last sat at the Gryffindor table. In fact the last time I did was at the end of year feast during my seventh year. McGonagall kicked James and I out of the hall and threatened to not let us graduate."
"What did you do?" Harry asked, knowing it must have been fairly serious?
"Why Harry, are you suggesting that I would break the rules? Nonsense!" Sirius laughed as they began heading back towards the table. "It could have been anyone that confunded Snape into thinking his robes were on fire after all. McGonagall never even bothered to check our wands, just assumed it was us."
"So who did it?"
"Moony! And he got away with it, too. Last prank of the year was on us, I suppose." Sirius answered as they sat down. The rest of the Gryffindors were looking at them oddly, it was out of ordinary for an adult to be sitting at their table. Sirius seemed oblivious to their stares and proceeded to help himself to some of the food that was available. "I've missed Hogwart's cooking." he said between bites.
"A little better than what they serve in Azkaban?" Harry asked.
"You have no idea!" Sirius replied with a grin. "That was enough to make me want to escape by itself." Harry laughed and then noticed that Dumbledore was staring at them strangely from the head table while McGonagall was laughing at something.
"Sirius, did you tell Dumbledore you were going to show up early?"
"Of course not. Where would the fun in that be?" Sirius answered. The two continued to happily talk for the rest of the meal and Harry was beginning to look forward to spending his summer with Sirius even more. The two had had very few opportunities to talk face to face since Sirius went on the run again after Harry had discovered his innocence. Although they had gotten along perfectly so far a small part of Harry wondered what it would be like when they did live in the same house.
Harry's thoughts on the subject were interrupted when Professor Dumbledore rose from his chair and began to signal for everyone to quiet down so he could give his usual speech.
"Another year has passed at Hogwarts..." Dumbledore began "And I must first thank all of you for the graciousness and hospitality you showed our guests from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. I am truly proud of all of you. The Triwizard Tournament was an unexpected event for all of you but you managed to handle the changes admirably. Let us also applaud both of our champions: Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff!" Cedric stood up and waved as everyone, including the Slytherins clapped for him. "And the winner of the Triwizard Tournament, Harry Potter of Gryffindor!" Harry smiled and stood like Cedric had done while the student body applauded his achievement. Their reaction to him was about the same as towards Cedric, except the Slytherins refused to clap for him at all.
"But as the year ends we must also acknowledge the changes that have happened as well. As you have heard by now, Lord Voldemort has returned." Most of the students, and some of the professors, gasped at Dumbledore's use of the name Voldemort. "Hogwarts remains the safest place in the world, and while you are here you should have no fear of Voldemort. But while you are gone you must be aware of your surroundings at all times. Many good witches and wizards have lost their lives because they were not paying attention to what they were doing."
"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Professor Moody yelled from the other end of the table, prompting a few people to nervously laugh.
"Indeed." Dumbledore agreed. "If you do find yourselves in trouble seek help from Aurors if possible or any trustworthy adults that may be in the area. I wish to see all of you again in September so please heed my warnings. There is a war brewing in our world, one that has lain dormant for the past thirteen years but has now returned. Good must answer the challenge of evil if our way of life is to persevere. One day you will all be asked to take your place and join the fight, but for now it is important that you dedicate yourselves to learning and focus on protecting yourselves and those you love.
"For some of you this is your last year at Hogwarts and you are now faced with the decision of what to do with your lives. I urge you to seek out where you can best serve our society, because we need you now more than ever. Harsh times surely lay ahead, and I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you plan on doing. It has been a pleasure teaching you these past seven years and watching you grow into fine young witches and wizards. Rely on each other, and we will make it through these troubling times." Dumbledore raised his cup at this point to make a toast. "To you, the Hogwarts class of 1995."
Everyone applauded again at this point, but many of them were a bit disturbed with the tone that Dumbledore's speech had taken. The students were all too young to remember what it had been like during Voldemort's reign of power and were clearly unsure of what his rebirth meant for them. But still they clapped politely, or excitedly in the case of the seventh years, and went on with their meal as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"Hey Sirius," Harry said a few minutes later, "Where are we going to be staying this summer?"
"Don't worry about that, Harry." Sirius assured him. "The Blacks are an old family and owned a few homes that, since I am the last of the Blacks, are now mine. We'll be staying in one of them, the house I grew up in actually. It wasn't the happiest place but it will do."
"It can't be any worse than the Dursley's." Harry commented.
"No, not anymore." Sirius laughed. "You know I met your aunt Petunia once. She called me a freak and ran out of the room."
"Sounds exactly like her." Harry agreed. "That is pretty much how she acts around me, too."
"I tried to convince Dumbledore not to make you go back there at all this summer." Sirius explained, "But he wouldn't back down. Next year will be different, even if the old goat disagrees."
"It's ok Sirius, really. I can handle the Dursley's." Harry assured his godfather.
"Of course you can." Sirius answered. The feast was beginning to end as people left the Great Hall and headed out for one last night of fun in the castle. "So, I still want to meet this girlfriend of yours. You're not trying to hide me from her are you?"
"Maybe I am." Harry replied jokingly. "She's still sitting at the Slytherin table with her little sister. Let's go and I'll introduce you." They both stood up and walked over to the other table where they received a mixture of glares and confused looks from the students. Two seats across from the Greengrass girls were open so Harry and Sirius sat down. "Daphne, Astoria; I'd like you to meet my godfather Sirius Black. Sirius, this is Daphne and Astoria."
"A pleasure to meet you both." Sirius said with a small bow of his head.
"Funny, you don't look like someone who spent a decade in Azkaban." Astoria replied.
"Astoria, that's rude." Daphne commented with a small sigh.
"No, no, it's ok." Sirius assured her with a grin as he looked back at the younger girl. "I've had a year out and am feeling much better now. If you'd like we can all take a field trip there this summer so I can reminisce. I'll even bring the chocolate."
"No thanks." Astoria said instantly. She doubted the man was serious, but his eyes held a mischievous look that made her uncertain about that.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr Black." Daphne said. "Harry talks about you a lot."
"All good I should hope, and please just call me Sirius. 'Mr Black' makes me feel ancient." Sirius responded. "You're Daniel Greengrass's daughter, correct?"
"So you know him?" Daphne asked.
"I did, long ago. We both worked at the Ministry for a few years, though in different departments." Sirius explained. "Also our families were in some of the same social circles. He was a good man then, I trust he still is."
"I think so." Daphne answered. "Perhaps we should have you both over for dinner sometime soon."
"Lovely." Sirius replied. "And I am sure Harry is eagerly awaiting a chance to spend time with your family." The other laughed at this thinly veiled reference to Harry's worry about whether or not Daphne's parents would like him.
"Yes, Sirius." Harry confirmed. "Eagerly."
"What do you think about Harry dating a Slytherin?" Astoria asked, wanting to see if there was any tension over the situation.
"I have no problems with it. Why should I?" Sirius replied. He then looked over at Harry and pretended to whisper, although the volume of his voice did not lower much at all. "When you're older I'll tell you about the time in sixth year when Professor McGonagall caught me in a broom closet with the seventh year Slytherin girls prefect. Two weeks of detention for that, but it was well worth it."
"I think you just told me all I want to know about it." Harry answered with a small shake of his head. As they continued talking for the next half hour Harry was quite relieved to see that Sirius seemed to like Daphne and she enjoyed his sometimes odd sense of humor. By the time they had finished their conversation and left the Great Hall Sirius had told Daphne to feel free to come to his home and visit Harry any time she wanted to, another fact that made Harry happy.
Eventually it was time for Sirius to leave, which he reluctantly did. Harry tried not to get too down about it because he knew that in just two weeks they would see each other again. Daphne and Harry accompanied him to the front gates to see him off and stayed until Sirius had walked past the wards and apparated away.
"He's not what I expected." Daphne said once Sirius was gone.
"How so?" Harry asked.
"It's amazing that after all that time in Azkaban he can still laugh and smile. He must have a very strong will."
"It helped that he was innocent." Harry commented. "Remus says that Azkaban changed him into a more serious version of himself, but prison could never break him." Daphne nodded at Harry's statement and wrapped her arm around Harry, bringing him into a hug. They stayed that way for a few moments before Harry said "Last night here, what do you want to do?"
"Let's take a walk by the lake, it's one of my favorite places." Daphne said. "It reminds me of you."
Harry smiled and led her down to the lake where they had often sat and talked over the last year. As they did they both reflected on how things had dramatically changed since the beginning of the year. The previous September they rarely spoke to each other, Harry spent his time with Ron & Hermione, Daphne alone or with her Slytherin classmates, neither of them seriously worried about the future, and the world was at peace. Now they both hated to spend too much time apart, their group of friends consisted mainly of themselves, Neville, and Hermione, and they both spent much of their time worrying about what was to come now that the war with Voldemort was restarting. There were definitely things they would change about the past year if they had the chance but both were happier now than they had been before despite the problems they faced.
For Harry their situation made him think of his parents and what they must have felt when they were teenagers. Like them, James Potter and Lily Evans had been forced to balance their love for each other with the stresses that life during wartime forced on them. Harry wished they were still alive so he could talk to them and ask them how they did it, but sadly he could not. The pain of losing that part of his family was eased by the realization that he had gained in his friends and godfather a replacement family that would be there for in a way the Dursley's, though they were his relatives, never would.
Hours later the night ended with the couple going to their respective dorms for their last night in the castle of the year. Tomorrow morning they would leave the safety of Hogwarts and be forced to face a wizarding world that had been vastly changed in the past few days and the uncertainty that went with it. They both hoped they would be able to protect the other during this new challenge.
Author's Note:
Congrats to those of you who recognized that my inspiration behind the green haired summoner was in fact Rydia from Final Fantasy IV. This, however, is not a crossover story and I purposefully did not explicitly state that it was Rydia. Think of it as more of a cameo appearance than a true crossover if you want. I haven't decided if I might borrow some of their more interesting summons but it is possible. I will add this though, ever since I had the idea to base a (minor) character on the story on Rydia I have been wanting to have Harry cast Meteo on somebody, perhaps a spoony bard of some sort.
Anyhow, school's over and we can now get into the summer. Onward, ho!