Chapter 35

The Final Solution Ending

The years since Harry and Luna's escape from the puzzle had slowly created a long, mystery-filled life for the both of them. What had started as two casual friends sharing the unusual fact that they had experienced a strange dream combined with the discovery, in the case of Harry a necklace and statue of a gold elephant, and in the case of Luna a rock star tattoo, had gradually become an insatiable monster consuming their lives and all around them.

The two of them had shared several fascinating, sometimes startling adventures throughout the years of unraveling the truth behind their shared dream. To their credit, in all of that time, they had remained faithful to their spouses and families, never straying across the forbidden line of infidelity, not even after the discovery that they were married with children in a different reality. Now, here they were in Hermione's office following a visit to the Room of Requirement along with Ginny and Rolf. They were trying to reach a final solution that could put the dream to rest once and for all and let them go on with the enjoyment of their lives.

Prior to the trip, the dream and its related problems seemed like inconvenient, annoying nuisances to Ginny and Rolf. Now, they had taken on the specter aura of a demonic tormentor looking to control and subjugate their lives.

"I think the trip to the Room of Requirement explained things quite well," said Hermione. She had recreated the room full of books detailing all of the years of life for Harry and Luna inside the puzzle. Much of it was unsettling for Ginny and Rolf. They had to experience their spouses disappearing from their lives before they even became boyfriends and girlfriends. The details of their struggles with the serial killers were gruesome, sometimes hideous, but endurable. On the other hand, watching Harry and Luna fall in love, enjoy all of the young love, sex, and the creation of a beautiful but totally different family was torturous.

"This is a lot to digest," said Ginny, looking uncharacteristically vulnerable.

"It is very disturbing," added Rolf in agreeing with Ginny. "It is almost like a living nightmare. I don't think I could have ever imagined such a thing on my own."

"It's very unsettling for us as well," said Harry, trying to explain that none of this was planned.

"We have been tortured by this revelation ever since Hermione created the room the first time," added Luna, her normally chipper persona seeming depressed and worried.

"I don't think anyone believes the two of you did any of this on purpose," said Hermione.

"I know," replied Harry. "But nonetheless, it is an unimaginable scenario without anything resembling an answer where everyone is going to be satisfied with the outcome."

"Yeah. What happened to us?" asked Ginny, looking over at Rolf and then the others. "If I didn't grow up to marry Harry and have our kids, then what happened? The same goes for Rolf."

"That's an intriguing question," replied Hermione. "But I don't think there is any way we can know that."

"If we could create a room to explain Harry's and my life, why can we create one to explain theirs?" asked Luna, cutting to the heart of the matter.

All of the eyes in the room turned to Luna, then to Hermione as she grimaced, trying to figure out how to address the question.

"I...uh...well...I...I'm not sure that's possible," sputtered Hermione as she looked at Luna. "The Room of Requirement created the room we were just in to explain the Puzzle Room that it created for you. All of the information necessary to create that room was already inside the Room of Requirement. I think this could be a request outside of its abilities."

"You said a while ago that no one knows its true abilities," replied Luna as all of the eyes returned to her. "I think we should at least try."

Everyone was now looking at Hermione. Luna had made a couple of very good points deserving of consideration. As much as almost everyone in the magical world was in awe of Hermione's brilliance and clear logic, Luna's brilliance and oft times even clear vision were diminished in most eyes by her accompanying eccentricity. They were waiting for Hermione to say something...to reply to Luna...to offer a plan.

"Well…" she finally managed after several moments of quiet thinking. "I guess we can try it. Is everyone ready to take another trip back to Hogwarts?

"I'm ready," announced Ginny, never one to wait for others to stand up or speak.

"Okay," said Harry. "I think we need to give it a go. I'm ready for anything that can bring this situation to an end."

"Are you ready," asked Ginny as she looked at Luna. "It's your idea."

"Yes. I'm ready," she replied as Rolf quietly nodded in agreement. "I am most anxious to see an end to this as well."

By now, Hermione was standing. The look on her face indicated she was ready to proceed. This whole fiasco was as trying on her as any of them. If this trip could bring about a solution, then she was more than ready.

A short while later the group reappeared in Honeyduke's cellar. It had only been a couple of hours since they had left there following the viewing of the room explaining the dream. They now needed to make another traverse through the damp darkness of the passage into the castle.

A long walk through the dank darkness later the group eventually made their way into the castle by way of the hidden door on the hump of a statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor. As always, they had to brush away the evidence of their travels. The secret passages in and out of the castle were every bit as dirty as traveling through the floo network.

"We were just in the passage a few hours ago," observed Luna. "How can it get so cobwebby so fast?"

"It is always full of cobwebs," laughed Harry. "It used to drive Ron barmy thinking about how many spiders must live in it."

Hermione and Ginny exchanged a pair of smirky smiles at Harry's statement. Hermione could not count the times she had to 'save' Ron from a spider over the years. As sharp as Ron was with his auror training, even the tiniest spider could still disarm him in an instant. Ginny, on the other hand, was recalling her countless pranks involving Ron and the villainous eight-legged menaces.

Once they were all properly dusted off and decobwebbed, they started up the stairs toward the seventh floor. It was Sunday, and school was not in session, so they easily made the trip unnoticed. When they finally arrived at the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy, they paused to catch their breath. They were not in the same condition they were in as students. The stairs were a bit of a workout.

"What are you going to ask for?" inquired Ginny as she looked at Hermione.

"I've been thinking about that," she replied. "I think I will ask for a room that can tell us about the life of you and Rolf after Luna and Harry disappear into the puzzle it constructed."

"Do you think that will work?" asked Harry.

"I don't know. I can't think of another way to phrase it. We want to see Ginny's and Rolf's life from the time you disappear in your fifth year forward. I can't imagine the uproar your disappearances will create. I don't really know what your feelings were for each other. Harry was interested in Cho at the time as I recall. I can't recall who you fancied at the time," said Hermione as she looked at Ginny.

"I was seeing Michael Corner for a while," answered Ginny.

"Oh, yes. I remember that now. It made Ron mad, but it didn't work out in the end. You two were always arguing about quidditch."

"Yeah, that's about it," grumbled Ginny.

"I never had a boyfriend or very many friends before entering the puzzle," said Luna in a somewhat sad voice. "I was quite lonely much of the time."

"So, you're saying you and Harry had a much better life in the puzzle than here," said Ginny.

"No," replied Hermione before Luna had a chance to answer. "I don't think she is saying that at all. She has a wonderful life here with Rolf. They travel all over the world searching for interesting creatures and have two great kids."

"Thanks, Hermione," said Luna, finally getting to speak. "I do love my life here with my family."

Luna moved closer to Rolf as Harry stepped up. "I don't think you appreciate how difficult this is, Gin. We have amazing lives in both worlds. You don't know how many nights I have spent awake wishing I had never entered that bloody room that day. This decision is harder than anything I ever faced in the Triwizard Tournament, or escaping from Voldemort."

"Then you're saying you haven't made up your mind about the future."

"No. Yes. Uh...no, I don't know what I am saying."

"This isn't very helpful," interrupted Hermione. We came here to look at the future lives of Ginny and Rolf. I think we need to concentrate on doing that."

"Thank you, Hermione," said Rolf as the others calmed down. "I was feeling very uncomfortable."

Hermione walked in front of the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy and started talking. "We would like a room that will explain the lives of Ginny Weasley and Rolf Scamander after Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter disappear into the room you created for them during Harry's fifth year," she said as she paced back and forth.

After her third pass, there was a low, grinding sound of stone against stone. The large, wooden doors to the room slowly materialized out the stone of the wall. Everyone began looking at each other in anxious anticipation. Even though they had all seen this happen many times, it was anyone's guess what was lying behind them this time.

"Is everyone ready," asked Hermione as she stepped toward the doors. There was a lot of nervous nodding and muffled answers. She turned the handle on one of the doors and cracked it open as the faces behind her grimaced, fighting between curiosity and the fear of the unknown waiting inside. Now that it was in front of them, did they really want to know the answers to the questions they were asking?

There was a groan from the hinges brought on by the weight of the massive doors as Hermione pulled them open. An unseen light inside illuminated an almost empty room. Inside, sitting in the middle of the room, was a table with two large books resting on it.

Hermione hesitated, taking time to look back at the others, then stepped through the doorway. The others followed her, not daring to speak. The tension was as thick as the pea soup in The Leaky Cauldron. Now that they were faced with their request, did they really want to know the answer to the question they were asking?

The books looked remarkably similar to the books detailing Harry and Luna's time inside the puzzle. The room must have used the same bindery. The book on the left was covered in ornate, dark brown leather with Rolf Newton Scamander written on it with rich, gold calligraphic letters. The book on the right was similar, but reddish-brown in color with Ginerva Molly Weasley likewise inscribed on it.

Hermione looked at the books then back at the others, not certain which book she should open first. Her left hand wavered between them like it was trying to see which one would draw her to it. Finally, after several moments of indecision, she turned open the cover of Rolf's book.

"Rolf Newton Scamander," said a full, rich voice that startled the group, "Was in the library studying for a test on equine magical creatures including hippogriffs, unicorns, and Abraxan, Granian and Aethonan horses at the time Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter entered the puzzle. Because he was not interested in quidditch, he did not learn of Harry and Luna's disappearance until he heard some of his fellow Hufflepuffs discussion it at dinner that evening."

"Rolf had deep, unspoken affections for Luna at the time, so while the vanishing of the school's most famous student was disturbing, Luna's disappearance affected him even more greatly. Most at the school thought Harry's had taken off to avoid the match with Draco Malfoy. This rumor was greatly fueled by Draco and his Slytherin cohorts. The fact that Luna was also missing gave rise to the manufacturing of many salacious suggestions that further dug into Rolf's mind.

As the days passed and the likelihood of their discovery and safe return grew smaller and smaller, the pain in Rolf's heart grew larger. He had spent considerable time trying to figure out how to get Luna to notice him. He was working up his courage to speak to her, to maybe even ask her to join him for a drink and treat at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Now it was appearing to be too late.

"I didn't know you liked me back then," said Luna as she put her arm around Rolf. "I didn't think any boy did."

"I did," replied Rolf, putting his arm around her.

"That's very sweet."

"Soon," continued the invisible narration, "the story of Harry hiding from Draco lost traction. The idea that Harry and Luna had runaway together also started to fade away. A new rumor involving Voldemort began to grow. Even with the Minister for Magic vehemently denying the rumor of Voldemort's return sparked last year by the death of Cedric Diggory and Harry's claim that he was murdered by Voldemort, other incidents caused the rumor to stay alive and to grow."

Rolf tried to assuage the loss of Luna by plunging deeper and deeper into his studies. Lacking the knowledge of what was driving Rolf forward, the professors at the school, led by Professor Rubeus Hagrid, began to take note of his exceptional academics.

Tom Riddle aka Lord Voldemort was emboldened by the disappearance of Harry and became more brazen with his attacks. Dumbledore continued his search for the horcruxes, eventually discovering the location of the Slytherin locket. He put a tracking spell on it and then let it slip to Voldemort through Severus Snape that he was planning to return to its hiding place and destroy it. Predictably, Voldemort retrieved it before going to check on the safety of the diadem and cup. As the Second Battle of Hogwarts approached, Dumbledore retrieved and destroyed them during the initial assault.

It was learned through Snape that Voldemort's only remaining horcrux, at least to the best of his knowledge, was a venomous species of python born from a female maledictus named Nagini. Rolf teamed up with a student named Neville Longbottom. He used his skills as a future magizoologist to lure away the snake and entrap it so Neville could kill it with the Sword of Gryffindor. Nagini's death infuriated Voldemort causing him to attack Dumbledore. Between Dumbledore's possession of the Elder Wand and Voldemort's unbridled fury, an explosion occurred in which both were killed.

In the year following the battle, Rolf returned to his studies and became a noted magizoologist. He never fully recovered from the loss of Luna and never again considered seeking female companionship. He made several discoveries during his years. His most famous discovery was an elusive ruminant native to Sweden he dubbed a Crumple Horned Snorkack in remembrance of Luna. He died a bachelor at the age of 114 leaving behind no heirs."

Luna moved close to Rolf and embraced him. "I'm so sorry I disappeared on you, darling. I didn't know how you felt," she said as tears welled up in her eyes. "I would have been incredibly thrilled by your attention. I love you so much."

Rolf returned her embrace and in a rare display of emotion for his normally reserved self, he kissed her passionately without regard to the others in the room. "I love you too, dear."

Harry, Ginny, and Hermione stood quietly by for fear of disturbing this tender moment. None of them had ever witnessed a crack of emotion from Rolf. It would be a crime to interrupt it now that it was occurring.

Inside his head, all of this bothered Harry. Knowing that the inverse situation his return to Luna and his life in Buenos Aires would create was yet another wrinkle in the attempt to resolve their lives. It was becoming more and more obvious that no solution could exist where everyone lived happily ever after.

Ginny could see the trouble boiling behind Harry's eyes. She wrapped an arm around him, knowing that the time to open the book was quickly approaching. While Rolf's life was amazing in several spots, the romantic heart within her felt a pain for him caused by his unfulfilled love for Luna and eventual solitary existence. She feared what was waiting for her inside her book. Could it be more of the same for her? What would life without Harry hold? Did she really want to know?

Rolf and Luna finally ended their moment and turned back to the others. "My," said Hermione, grasping for words against the tension of Rolf's story and the subsequent event. "That was...uh...that was a fascinating story."

"Yes. Yes, it was," breathed Ginny. "Very interesting."

Harry walked over and gave Rolf a guy hug. He then embraced Luna as Ginny looked on.

"There's no way you could have known," said Harry in a soft voice. There is nothing you could do about it. But it's not horrible. It could have been far worse."

"Yes," she replied in a much more melancholy voice than her usual cheery one.

Harry walked back to Ginny and put his arm around her. He could sense the smoldering emotion in her brought on by Rolf's story as the time to open her book loomed over the room. "Are you sure you want to do this, Gin?" he asked. "You don't have to do this unless you want to do it."

"Yes, I need to do it," she said in a quiet, nervous voice. "I need to know what happens to me if you go back."

"Okay. As long as you're certain."

They both looked at Hermione. It was her job to open the book and to start the narration of Ginny's alternate life. Hermione hesitated, waiting for any last-second changes of heart. Then she opened the cover and stepped back.

"Ginerva Molly Weasley, or Ginny as she is known," began the same rich, soothing voice, "was deeply upset by the disappearance of her friends, Luna Lovegood, and Harry Potter. Luna was like a sister to her who was smarter and full of good advice and observations. However, she was smaller and physically weaker than Ginny. Ginny was her guardian against those who wanted to bully her. Luna's disappearance made Ginny feel like she had somehow failed in her duties.

"Ginny had carried a crush on Harry Potter since the summer before she entered Hogwarts, but she was too immature to act on it and Harry never seemed to feel the same way. He treated her like a little sister or perhaps cousin because of his friendship with Ron. So, it eventually withered on the vine before ever blossoming and she abandoned it early in her fourth year. At the time of Harry and Luna's disappearance, she was quietly dating Michael Corner. The disappearance disrupted her relationship, but it was ultimately the constant arguments about quidditch that brought it to an end. After Michael, she dated Dean Thomas and a few other boys, but her assertive personality and subconscious comparisons to her idealized view of a previous dream relationship with the now long-missing Harry caused all of them to fail.

"Following the Second Battle of Hogwarts, a battle in which she fought courageously despite being too young to be a combatant according to the decree laid down by Dumbledore, she started concentrating on quidditch as a means of easing the pain brought on by the loss of her brothers Fred and Percy, as well as many other friends. Her prowess on the quidditch pitch caused her to become close friends with Katie Bell, who was mourning the loss of her friend Leanne in the battle. Like the rest of the school, she had no idea at first how close Katie and Leanne really were during their time together.

"Ginny and Katie's friendship crashed into becoming a clandestine affair following a night of partying where Katie introduced her to a world of forbidden sex. Ginny, who had remained a virgin up unto then, was more than ready for it. The affair was hot and steamy, but like a candle burning from both ends, it only managed to last until shortly after her graduation. They genuinely loved each other, even after their parting. However, the haunting pain hanging over both of them from their losses in the battle eventually overwhelmed their lust and pushed them apart.

"Ginny left to play quidditch for the Holyhead Harpies. She had a brief affair with Gwenog Jones, who had recruited Ginny. However, the age difference and the fact Gwenog's powerful personality turned Ginny into a submissive partner, instead of an equal member of their relationship. This situation became intolerable to Ginny and attempted to walk away from it. Gwenog responded by turning her into a dung beetle.

"Ginny remained a dung beetle for six months until she managed to spell out the word HELP with the olives on a food tray in the Minister's suite at a quidditch match. The spell was reversed and Ginny was set free. Gwenog was suspended for six months with the proviso that if there was any further reprisal against Ginny she would find herself in Azkaban and be permanently banned from playing professional quidditch. Ginny stated two months later that everything she ate still tasted a bit like poop.

Ginny managed to stay away from dating for two years after that until she changed lifestyle courses and returned to heterosexuality following her meeting Tiberius Abruzzo, the rising international star chaser of the Italian Tatzelwurms. Ginny was like a dewy-eyed schoolgirl around him. She loved Tiberius to the point of slowly forgetting her family and life before him. She moved away from the UK to his villa near a rural town in the Piedmont region of Italy and began a family. Blinded by her love, she never saw how she was being treated more as a possession to make babies and be carted out as need be. By the time he left her for a young movie actress and a place on the Mediterranean near Nice, he was an international star and she was a beleaguered mother with four spoiled, bratty children and no prospects of ever being able to return to quidditch.

"With a broken heart and her children in tow, she crawled like a shadow of her former self back home to The Burrow in hopes of finding a forgiving family willing to give her and her children a home. Instead, she found her parents living there alone. Her mother was quickly slipping into the fog of dementia. Every time she left and reentered the room where her mother sat in a chair knitting jumpers she had to reintroduce herself like a stranger in her own home. Her children avoided their grandmother, deeming her scary and totally bonkers. Her father was an overworked, over-stressed wreck trying to care for her mother while trying to hang onto his job at the Ministry. He had virtually no time to help with her problems or children.

"Fleur and Bill visited occasionally but spent most of their time raising their children while living in Shell Cottage. She was not allowed to bring her children there because of the destruction and havoc that followed them. Charlie's visits were infrequent. He was still working with dragons in Romania would not on Bill's advice invite them there.

"Ron was busy trying to raise a family with Hermione who was busy with her career at the Ministry. George had not been the same since the loss of Fred and Percy in the battle. He lived by himself in the attic of what remained of a once-thriving joke shop. Ron helped him when he could. But his heart was no longer in jokes and fun like it was before Fred's death.

"Still, Ginny tried to carry on raising her out-of-control children with hopes they would eventually get into Hogwarts and finally start growing up. All of the pressures caused her to become more and more depressed and withdrawn. Finally, when Ron came to visit and found her sitting naked in the middle of the front room cutting off all of her hair while babbling incoherently, the family was forced to act.

"Ginny was committed to St. Mungo's with the help of Hermione's connections at the Ministry. She was placed in the same Janus Thickey Ward as the now elderly Longbottoms even though her condition was not caused by a spell. She remains there to this day cutting out dolls she calls 'our children' with toy scissors and talking about her non-existent marriage to Harry.

Five faces registered shock and horror as the book closed itself on Ginny's story. Rolf's story was sad, but not horrendous. Ginny's story, on the other hand, was off the hook worse than anyone could have imagined. Ginny was going to be trapped in a slow-motion train wreck going off a collapsing bridge after the disappearance of Harry and Luna.

Ginny was paralyzed, stunned into a near-catatonic stupor as Harry and the others looked at her.

"Oh my gawd," gasped Harry, stepping up and putting his arms around her. "That is unbelievable. It's horrible."

"I'm not going to live that life!" she suddenly blurted as she sprung back to life and pushed herself away from Harry. "That is never going to happen."

"It doesn't have to happen," replied Harry, backing away. "Even if we did go back, we wouldn't have to go to the very beginning. We could…"

"...So! You want to abandon me and go back to your lovely life in Buenos Aires. I knew your story about both of you behaving since this whole dream thing started was a load of waffle."

Hermione was standing behind the table with the books, scared to intervene. Luna and Rolf had backed up to the doors where they hugged each other. The rage emanating from Ginny's face was palpable.

"No, Ginny. Please calm down. It's not like that," pleaded Harry.

"You're lying!" screamed Ginny as she pulled her wand out of her wand pocket. "Avada Kedavra!"

A beam of hot, green light shot across the room and hit Harry squarely in the chest. He crumpled onto the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut."

She turned toward Hermione with her wand at the ready as Luna and Rolf ducked onto the ground. But Hermione already had her wand out.

"Avada Ke…" she started to shout as the purple light of the Petrificus Totalus spell hit her in the midsection. Her wand dropped from her hand and her limbs clenched together and she fell to the ground helplessly paralyzed.

Luna and Rolf were sitting huddled together against the doors. Luna was sobbing as Hermione inspected Harry. Ginny had done what Voldemort could not. She had killed Harry Potter, and in the process destroyed the last remaining horcrux. Voldemort was gone forever, but so was Harry.

Ginny was turned over for trial before the Wizengamot in Courtroom Ten of the Ministry. Following her conviction for killing Harry and using an Unforgiveable Curse, many of them wanted her to be executed by being sent through the arch containing The Veil in the Department of Mysteries. However, she was given a much crueler punishment, one even worse than the commital to St. Mungo's she avoided. She was placed in Azkaban with no possibility of release where the dementors would be charged with making her remaining 10,000 or so days a living hell.