"What classes did you finally decide on, Hermione?" I asked the young witch, as McGonagall did a final whip-round of the breakfast table to confirm the rising third-years' electives. The banners around the room were still in Gryffindor colors after the previous night's feast, and we were all trying to hurriedly top up on protein and carbs before the long train ride home.

"You convinced me," she sighed, "I'm just taking three classes. I looked deeper into the available research on temporal theory and while the general consensus is that time is self-consistent, there's still a lot of scholarship about the risk of paradox and I don't know if I want to worry about that, so…" she finally took a breath, "...runes, arithmancy, and muggle studies." She took in my raised eyebrow at the last class, which she could probably teach, and explained, "I can take it with my roommates, and Professor McGonagall said I can do an extra credit project to outline possible improvements to the curriculum. Plus, Hagrid said he'd be happy to help me self-study care of magical creatures, and I met Professor Trelawney and I think you're right about how much I'd learn from her versus just taking the material independently."

I nodded. I hadn't had much interaction with the flakey divination professor myself since my placement exams, but my impression was that serious, task-oriented Hermione Granger might be in danger of eventually stabbing the poor woman, especially sleep-deprived from squeezing extra hours into every day with a time machine. Hopefully she wouldn't be similarly upset once she actually found out how confused Professor Burbage was about the muggle world. A lot of things might have been different if Quirrell had just stuck around in the position rather than going off to get possessed by Voldemort.

Though, now that I thought about it, maybe the tidbits about the muggle world Quirrell had dropped in his defense classes were more a sign about how much Voldemort knew. I had missed my chance to find out if Voldemort-prime had ever updated his musical tastes from the Beatles, but Tom Riddle had actually grown up muggle, a lot like I had, honestly. Dumbledore had eventually mentioned to me that Tom had been left at an orphanage after the death of his magical parent (through whom he, presumably, descended from old Sal).

I liked to think that I was much better adjusted than Tom Riddle, despite my years in the system.

"What about you, mate?" Ron asked. "Are you going to be the professor's assistant for defense?"

I nodded, "Re– I mean Professor Lupin basically insisted, though more for weekend and evening tutoring than sitting in on classes. I still have a full class load myself." After both of us realized I'd basically figured out Lockhart's curriculum for the year for him, even though he'd then memory charmed it out of my brain, it seemed natural that I'd help Remus write his own lesson plan over the summer and let helping out be most of my NEWT grade. I was pretty sure I'd also get called on to substitute teach for the lower-years on the days he was recovering from the full moon.

"Students, you now have one hour until you need to be packed and getting on the coaches down to Hogsmeade," McGonagall announced, kicking off a frantic scrambling of Gryffindors that hadn't even started to pack yet. The other houses seemed a little more sedate about it.

As the table cleared, I couldn't help but get a good look across the way at Maeve, effortlessly moving from group to group getting final yearbook signatures and chatting away as if they were her best friends. She'd clearly already gotten her hooks into a bunch of Hufflepuff as she'd intimated earlier in the year, and some of the middle-year Ravenclaws that were furthest away from Penny and Luna's influence on either end. It worried me.

"We'll stop her," Mathilda told me, "somehow."

I smiled. The forces arrayed against me were powerful and incomprehensible, but I had people in my corner, too. I wrapped my arm around my witch's shoulder and asked, "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Well," she pretended to think, "Saving the school from a giant snake? Driving off an undead dark lord? Multiple times! But if that isn't enough, you can pay down that imposter syndrome by helping me carry my trunk down to the coaches?"

"Deal," I smiled, and we went about the business of navigating the chaos of end-of-year in Gryffindor tower.

An hour later we were rattling down the drive to Hogsmeade, sharing a Thestral-drawn carriage with Oliver and Alexis (who were still together after the year and who, Oliver had smugly told me after spring break, would also have to pass on any future trips to visit the unicorns). "So is there a final summer plan?" Oliver asked.

"Still a little up in the air," I shrugged. "Sounds like money's still a little tight for the Weasleys, so they're not sure how long of a trip they can take. Internships and camps?"

Mathilda explained, "Charlie Weasley is probably going to be there, yeah? He can supervise my 'internship' for credit! My uncle can sign off on it as long as we go to some of the local creature preserves. Lots of cool magical beasts in Egypt!"

"I wish my family was that deep in the Ministry," Alexis pouted. "I don't have to work, at least, and I can go as long as I get my summer homework done and apprenticeship applications out before we leave."

"I'm just doin' two weeks of the camp this year," Oliver allowed. "Though hopefully wi' most of the team probably goin', we can get some practice in over'n Egypt." I was sure that would go over great with the rest of them.

"Cool. Hopefully everyone else is equally flexible," I simply agreed. "I was thinking about working for Ms. Dervish again, but two months really isn't very much summer break if there's a vacation in the middle." At least it would give Remus time to move fully into his professor's accommodations at the school. I really appreciated that he was still putting me up for probably half the summer. But maybe I should start figuring out what I'd do for the next winter holiday. Or for when I had to find my own living arrangements after I graduated.

Also, when it came down to it, I was now probably even higher on a lich's hit list than Albus Dumbledore, the most powerful wizard of the age. And I was somehow deeply wrapped up in an inscrutable elfin plot that had placed a sidhe queen to serve as my school's very own mean girl. And I still had a one-strike-and-you're-out legal ruling due to a hard-headed auror that may never be rescinded since I'd burned my bridges with the senior undersecretary of the Ministry.

But all of that would keep. For the first time in my life I seemed to have it all: a support network of friends, a girlfriend, adults I could count on, and enough money in my pocket that I didn't have to worry about the next meal. For one short summer, I had all the privileges of an adult and all the freedoms of a teenager.

I could fret later, but I decided to count my blessings now. The perils of the world would still be there after I took my last summer vacation as a student.

End of Year 2


Thanks for reading, everyone! As with last year, there will be a couple of appendices and then the preview for year 3 that goes up simultaneously with the new story being posted. I got most of the way through year 3 during NaNoWriMo, so I don't foresee any delays or changes to the posting schedule.

If you've enjoyed this (and if you follow the next story) reviews are very appreciated for giving me an idea of what people are enjoying and what they want to see more of. I reply to most of them in private messaging, particularly if they have questions!