Chapter 18: Going Home

The next morning, when I woke up, I immediately went to see if Harry was awake, but he wasn't. I asked Madam Pomfrey if he had woken up at all and she told me he hadn't. She also told me that she had given Ron something to sleep longer after Professor Dumbledore explained what he had been through. Apparently, he needed rest. I wanted to stay in the hospital with them, but she refused, so I was forced to leave and go to the Great Hall for breakfast.

When I got to the Gryffindor table, I saw that Neville was sitting alone, and I remembered the curse I had performed on him the night before, and again, I felt horrible. I went over to sit with him and tried to apologize.

"Listen Neville, about last night," I began. "I'm really sorry about cursing you, it's just that Harry, Ron and I, we really had to leave last night and…"

I realized I wasn't doing a very good job of explaining myself, so I decided to tell him the whole story. When I was finished, Neville just stared at me.

"Neville?" I asked.

"You're serious? That actually happened?" he asked, his face one of amazement.

"Yes, but Neville, promise you won't tell anyone? I don't know if we're supposed to keep it quiet or not," I said, realizing Professor Dumbledore might not want everyone knowing about this.

After breakfast, I returned to the hospital wing to check on Harry and Ron. Ron had apparently just woken up, and Madam Pomfrey was trying to force him to drink some potion. When Madam Pomfrey was done tending to Ron, she sent us away, telling us that Harry wouldn't be awake anytime soon.

When we entered Gryffindor Tower, we were met by applause. I looked around and I saw Neville standing to the side, an apologetic look on his face. I surmised that he told someone about last night and that now everyone knew. Someone asked where Harry was and I told them that he was still unconscious in the hospital wing, which seemed to dampen everyone's mood a bit.

As soon as I could, I escaped the common room and headed up to my dormitory, where I hoped I could get a little bit of sleep. Lavender and Parvati followed me up and began to ask me millions of questions. Apparently now that I'd helped to saving the world from the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, I was finally cool.

But I ignored them and pulled the hangings of my bed closed. Eventually, I heard them return downstairs, and I was able to go to sleep.

Ron and I visited the hospital wing every three hours or so over the next two days, as classes had finished and we were free to do what we wanted, but still Harry didn't wake. A few times, we crossed paths with Professor Dumbledore, coming or going from the wing. We attended the last Quidditch game of the season – Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. Without Harry on the team, Gryffindor played horribly and Ravenclaw won.

Finally, on the third day, when we entered the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey informed us that Harry was awake. Madam Ponfrey reluctantly gave us five minutes to talk to Harry before she forced him to rest some more, and we hurried behind the curtains surrounding his bed to see how our friend was doing.

Once ascertaining that Harry seemed alright, Ron and I insisted he tell us what had happened after I left him in the room with the potions.

I was shocked to find out that it was Professor Quirrell and not Professor Snape who had been trying to steal the stone, though I now understood why I hadn't seen Professor Quirrell in the past few days. When Harry told us what was under Professor Quirrell's turban, I screamed out loud and I got a hard look from Madam Pomfrey.

Then Harry asked about us, so I explained how I had gone back for Ron and running into Professor Dumbledore in the hall. We talked for a little longer, and then Madam Pomfrey came over and forced Ron and me out, claiming that we had stayed ten minutes longer than she'd intended.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The next day was the end-of-year feast. The Great Hall was decorated in Slytherin colors, as they had the most house points, and therefore won the house cup. But then Professor Dumbledore stood up and awarded a total of a hundred and seventy points to Harry, Ron, Neville, and I, making Gryffindor the winner of the year-long competition.

My eardrums were ready to burst from the amount of noise issuing from our table. I stood and cheered with the rest of my house, a huge smile on my face. I didn't think I could get any happier. Especially after being awarded fifty whole points of my very own in front of the entire school. It sure made up for the points I'd lost getting caught out after curfew.

The next day, our exam results were released. I had gotten top marks in every one of my classes; some of them even over a hundred percent. I was so excited to return home and show my parents my achievement. I knew that once they saw my grades, they would finally come to accept my new life.

I felt like this was an affirmation that I really did belong in this world, even though I had only just entered it this year. Harry and Ron had gotten decent marks, and I decided it was only because of my help that they had passed at all.

Sooner than I would have thought possible, we were all packed and getting onto the Hogwarts Express and speeding home for the summer holidays. When we got to the platform, it took a while to get off the train, especially with all of our luggage, and then there was a hold-up getting through the barrier, but eventually, we got through.

When we were through the barrier and approaching Ron's family, a little girl, who I assumed was his sister was pointing at Harry, apparently very excited. Harry spoke to Ron's mother for a moment, and then a large man approached to collect Harry.

Ron and I waved as he walked away, and then I turned around and spotted my parents. I waved them over and introduced them to Ron, and Ron introduced us to his family properly. His father seemed particularly interested with my parents, and Ron explained that his father worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry of Magic and that he was fascinated by muggles.

Finally, Ron had to tear his dad away from my parents, who I noticed were seeming a bit overwhelmed, and I promised him I'd write soon. Then dad took my trunk from me and we headed back out to the car and settled in.

"Did you have a good term?" Mum asked as Dad started the car and began to pull out of the parking lot.

"It was crazy!" I exclaimed. I hadn't written Mum and Dad since returning to Hogwarts after Christmas, and I had so many stories to tell them.

I hesitated as I tried to decide where to start. I contemplated telling them about the Philosopher's Stone and Professor Quirrell and everything but decided against it. That story could wait until Dad wasn't driving a car.

"So, there's this girl in my year, her name's Lavender," I began, starting with a more innocuous story. "And Professor Snape, he's my potions professor, he paired us up to brew herbicide potion."

"That's nice sweetie," Mum said, almost absentmindedly. "And did you have fun with your friends?"

"Don't you want to hear my story about potions class?" I frowned. Mum had totally cut me off.

"Oh, maybe another time sweetheart," Dad spoke up. "We wouldn't want you to tell all your stories now and then have nothing to talk about all summer."

"That's right," Mum agreed. "We must save some stories for another day."

"But that was only my first one…" I muttered, disappointed.

It was clear that my parents weren't over their unease with my association with the magical world. Any story that involved mention of anything magical, they just shut down right away. It was like simply hearing the words 'potion', 'charm', or 'spell' made them so uncomfortable they had to completely change the subject.

I decided that it was time to stop hoping that my parents would get over their discomfort. Obviously, it was just how they felt, and there would be no changing their minds about it. I would just have to watch what I said from now on and keep my schoolwork to myself.

It would be difficult, having to watch my words around my parents. I'd never had to filter what I said around them before, and it was going to be strange doing so now. But if that's what it took, I would do it. I was tired of this distance between us. Maybe if I stopped bringing magic up, we'd be able to be close again. At least, I hoped so.

We arrived home, and Dad helped carry my trunk up to my room, where I carefully unpacked the contents. I placed all my textbooks and school supplies inside my closet, closing the door so that they wouldn't be visible if my parents walked into the room. I'd take them out and do my homework while my parents were out at work. Whenever they were in the house, I'd keep my magical items hidden away.

A little while later, Mum called me down for dinner, and I carefully stowed my wand in the drawer of my bedside cabinet. It wasn't as though I could do magic at home anyway – there were strict rules about that. Then, I took a deep breath, and headed down the stairs as I tried to think of a story, I could tell from my time away that wouldn't reference magic or wizardry in any way.