Draco Malfoy, Seeker Of Souls
Chapter Eighteen
The End Of One Era, And The Beginning Of Another
**~~~~~**
I held Ginny's hand as our little group watched Tom Riddle's coffin being lowered into the grave. Dumbledore had managed to find the final resting place of Tom's mother, and we had him buried next to her, rather than by his father. We figured he would want it that way. The stone read:
Thomas Marvolo Riddle
Born 19--, Died 19--
~You Are Never Alone~
Snape said it was too good for "scum like him," but I thought it was fitting. I think Dumbledore did too, even after all the horrible things he did. I remembered that Dumbledore knew what Tom was like as a boy, and would be glad to see him at peace at last.
As we walked away from the grave, a nice-looking couple in their late thirties approached us. They were trembling visibly, and they held each other's hands very tightly. Dumbledore looked at Ginny and me and nodded slightly. I nodded back and squeezed Ginny's hand. "Do we have to do this?" she asked me. "I know he's not really ours, but…I'll miss him so much."
I smiled at her. "We can still see him all the time. They live right in Hogsmeade." She lowered her head. "Ginny…we're too young to be parents. We're still just children ourselves. He needs someone who can devote all their time to him. You know that Dumbledore and Snape agree."
"I know. I'm too young to be a real mother. But I did enjoy having someone to take care of. And I love him so much. He's so much a part of us. But I still do want to be a teenager, and finish school, and go to university. It's probably for the best."
The couple approached us and smiled kindly. The man spoke first. "We're Henry and Charlotte Middleton. Professor Dumbledore contacted us and told us the rather…strange circumstances."
"Is it true? Is our baby really alive?" Tears jumped into to Mrs. Middleton's eyes, and we immediately knew we were making the right decision. Ginny and I had lots of time to have children, but these kind people didn't. They had lost their baby fifteen years ago, and had missed him dreadfully every day.
Ginny sniffled and held up Nathaniel. "This is Nattie – I mean, Nathaniel."
Mrs. Middleton gasped. "How did you know his name was Nathaniel?"
Ginny smiled. "I'm a Seer."
At this point, the parents focused on Nathaniel, and everything else stopped. It was like they were being presented with their baby again for the first time. As if he remembered, Nathaniel immediately reached out his pudgy hands and wrapped them around his real mother's neck. She rocked him back and forth, crying from years spent without him. Ginny and I stood, our hands clasped tightly, moved to the depths of our souls. Even if it was painful to give him back, this reunion was the best thing we had ever seen.
"How can we ever thank you for bringing him back to us?" asked Mr. Middleton.
"Will we get to see him sometimes?" I asked, wanting to be sure.
"Any time at all! Really, we would be most honored if you would be his godparents."
Ginny and I smiled at each other. We had done well, and he would still be in our lives.
*~~~~~*
Later that evening, Ginny and I sat in the grass at the Burrow, while the others played Quiddich by the light of the setting sun. Ginny leaned forwards and hugged her knees. "What do you think you're going to do with yourself next year, Draco? I'm sure our adventure days are over."
"Do you see that?" I leaned back on my elbows and looked up at the sky.
She chuckled. "No. But now that Voldemort is gone, we won't have anything dangerous or exciting to do. We'll just be like regular kids. Er…at least like regular wizarding kids."
"Won't that be nice, though? I spent my first five years wishing I had an exciting life like Harry does, and now I wish I could take it all back for a little bit of peace. Besides…" I grinned in a superior way. "I'm going to be the most powerful wizard in the world!"
She shook her head. "Now don't you get all swelled up with power! I'm going to be your advisor, remember, and I'll keep you in line!"
"And don't forget me, either!" Harry swooped down on his broom, clutching my redeeming snitch in his hand. "I share a half of that power you're talking about. I'm the Child Of Dark."
"And I'm the Child of Light. Who has the better title?" I stuck out my tongue.
"My title is more mysterious." Harry grinned.
"Well, mine is more angelic and pretty, just like me."
"Oye!" Ginny rolled over onto her back, and covered her eyes with her hand.
I continued, "But at least we figured out why the Sorting Hat said the same thing to both of us. It knew we would both be great right from the start." I reached out my hand. "We'll always be friends, won't we Harry?"
He smiled and took my hand. "Always."
Ron and Hermione joined us then, and we all sat in the grass, watching the first stars add their sparkle to the sky.
End
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Yes! This thing is DONE!! And there is not a sequel in the works, so keep in mind that I am done. lol I had a hard enough time just coughing this out. But I hope you enjoyed it. I had the battle chapter written for a long time and couldn't post it until I was finished with the Mystic chapters, which seemed very hard to write. It then went through many, MANY revisions before it finally hit your eyes, and it might even be changed more in the future. But we'll go with this version for now. Sorry for any inconstancies. I'm sure there are still more bugs to work out before it's 100% complete.
I apologize to Nathaniel fans, who are disappointed that the baby did not stay with Draco and Ginny, but before anyone sends me unreasonable flames, please keep in mind that they are very young, and not exactly ready to raise a baby into childhood. I guess I couldn't realistically see them keeping Nathaniel as they try to finish school, I couldn't see the Weasleys raising him, and I especially couldn't see Draco and Ginny with a teenager at 27! So I figured they would be the godparents. It was supposed to be happy too, that this couple was given their baby back at the end, so one of Tom's major wrongs was righted. I also apologize to the Ron and Hermione fans, as those characters didn't get a great deal of exposure in this third story, but this was mostly a Draco story anyway. You knew that. :)
Thanks so much to everyone who e-mailed me and supported me through the writing of these three stories, and to everyone who was patient with me, as it took me a long time to write this. I love you all.
Always,
Lady Grizabella
setsuna_haruka_michiru@yahoo.com
http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/ladygrizdrawings/harry_potter.html