Much to Draco's surprise and delight, he spent the day with Harry. He had first feared being rejected, and even believed he deserved it. He had resigned himself to never being able to talk to him like he used to, or even having the opportunity to explain himself. It was Ginny who insisted that he visit him at his apartment so that he could at least try. He had first flatly refused, unable to face him after the look he had given him at the club, but Ginny knew Harry well, and even better than anyone else about his feelings, having been his girlfriend. So she knew Draco had a chance, and as he watched Harry talking beside him on the sofa, so beautiful, so perfect in his eyes, he thanked Ginny a thousand times for pushing him to take that first step. Talking to Harry, Harry Potter, and not Harry Byrd, was different. He felt like they were starting all over again, and yet they just continued on their way together. He knew deep down that he would remain Harry Byrd, that this part of him would never leave, but would cohabit with his past. But Draco still felt slightly intimidated. Harry knew him now, knew his flaws, his past, and their complicated teenage-hood relationship. He was feeling naked and vulnerable, ashamed and unworthy. So he apologized, over and over again, every chance he got, until Harry told him to stop. He apologized for that as well. And Harry gave him a second kiss, perhaps out of desire or perhaps to silence him. Time always seemed to stand still when he was with him. He no longer cared about anything but Harry, as if nothing else mattered or even had value to him anymore. He hoped to stay by his side forever, to live with him and one day die in his arms.

After thinking long and hard about what he should do, Harry finally decided to go see Hermione and Ron in the middle of the afternoon. He eventually realized that he couldn't leave his best friends behind when he had already reconnected with Ginny and Draco. He then wondered why it was even more difficult to confront them, more so than anyone else. He decided to talk about it to Draco, who helped him put his feelings into words. He realized then that he probably felt a lot more pressure because they were the most important people in his life.

First, he took a long, much-needed shower, before they headed to the hotel together, where Harry could talk privately with the couple while Draco got some rest after not having slept for over thirty hours. The hotel lobby was empty except for the concierge, still dozing behind his counter. The couple headed for the elevator, when it opened, revealing Ginny and Luna deep in conversation. The two young girls stopped talking when they saw their friends not far from them, and big smiles appeared on their respective faces.

"Hey Draco, hey Harry!" Luna exclaimed as she approached them, with Ginny right behind her.

Harry watched his friend approach him, her big blue eyes so familiar that he wondered how he could have forgotten them.

"Hi, Luna..."

The two young friends stood facing each other for a few moments, unsure of how they should greet each other.

"You remember me?" she asked.

He nodded with a slight smile, then awkwardly opened his arms towards her like an invitation. He didn't remember ever hugging Luna, but he'd had this desire for closeness ever since he'd talked to Ginny and Draco again, mixed with his habit of being more tactile since he had known Saki and Albert (having no real choice with them). Luna enthusiastically accepted his invitation and hugged him on her tiptoes so that her head could rest on his shoulder. While Harry and Luna were reconnecting with each other, Ginny watched Draco with her usual smile only reserved for him, that teasing but proud grin that always embarrassed him.

"I'm glad to have you back, Harry" Luna said, "and I'm glad you forgave Draco, he seemed very depressed last night."

Draco's embarrassment increased tenfold, his cheeks turning as red as the carpet.

"Thanks, Luna..." He muttered, avoiding Harry and Ginny's mocking gaze.

"It's true, I'm not kidding, I think he's very much in love."

"Ok Luna, we'll leave them alone; they probably have a lot to do."

Ginny took her best friend's hand and started to walk away towards the exit of the hotel.

"We are going to the hospital, are you going to come today?" She asked when she walked past them.

"Yeah, we'll go right after what I have to do" Harry replied.

She nodded and gently squeezed Draco's forearm as she passed, as a sign of congratulations, which he thanked with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Did I say something that made them feel uncomfortable?" Luna asked Ginny as the two young women walked away, causing the couple to laugh again in front of the elevator.

"She's funny," Draco observed. "But very tactless."

Harry laughed and pressed the elevator button.

"She is the best."

(***)

Hermione and Ron were lying on their perfectly edged bed, snuggled together but with their minds elsewhere. They had spoken at length during this long day of waiting and uncertainty, about their future, their future child, their marriage, which they had never dared to celebrate, having each kept the faint hope that Harry might return and be present for this important event. Their future was going to take a considerable turn, but many questions still arose. Ron also talked about the memorial they had missed, and Hermione sought to comfort him, telling him that the memory of their loved ones was forever with them, no matter where they were. They imagined then the memorial held for Harry's passing, his empty grave that sufficed people who surely hadn't looked any further than what the Ministry had told them. Ron hoped his family was okay and didn't blame them for being away. He had sent a message to reassure them but had not revealed the truth about the events that had caused them not to return in time for the memorial. He felt a bit guilty for not telling them that Harry was alive, but the past few weeks had been so uncertain; they hadn't known if Harry would ever return; they hadn't even known that he would regain his memory until that night.

Someone knocked on the door, waking them both from their daydreams. Hermione, who was lying with her head on Ron's arm, his fingers rooted in her curls, got up stealthily, her eyes fixed on the door.

"It must be Ginny," grumbled Ron, who didn't bother to straighten up, as he was convinced to see his sister on the doorstep.

Hermione got up from the bed and approached the door, which she opened slightly in case the individual happened to be a member of the hotel staff. But it was Harry's green eyes that met her gaze, making her heart stop dead. His shy smile hit her in the face like a slap, waking her from a bad dream.

"Harry…"

She couldn't believe it. She didn't expect to see him here, after avoiding them all night.

"Hey," He said in a soft voice, without any hint of animosity.

"Hey…"

"Did you just say Harry…?" Ron's voice came from the back of the room.

She opened the door wide so her boyfriend could see the person behind the door, and Ron opened his mouth as if he had just seen a basilisk.

"Can I come in…?" Harry asked in front of his two dumbfounded and motionless best friends, who were staring at him as if to prove to themselves that he was real. Hermione nodded immediately and invited him into their bedroom, while Ron staggered out of bed, his gaze still glued to Harry. Hermione closed the door and followed the young man, who, after smiling awkwardly at Ron, turned to give her a long look, a look she returned with the same intensity. Then he hugged her, tenderly but firmly, for the first time in two long years. He returned the hug she had given him that night at the club, the love she had expressed to him, and which he hadn't been able to return at that time. He tightened his embrace of his sister, his best friend, and his confidante, as he sensed her tears staining his t-shirt.

"I'm so sorry, I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, I'm sorry I made you wait for me, I'm sorry I hurt you." He whispered, rocking her gently, his head in her curly hair. She shook her head and sobbed.

"It's okay Harry" and she cried even harder "I'm sorry too, for having let you down, for not having looked enough for you…"

"You never let me down, none of you." He whispered between Hermione's sobs.

The crying of the young woman brought tears to his eyes, he hated to see her in pain. He finally slowly pulled out of his arms and turned to Ron, who also had red eyes. They both seemed to hesitate for a moment, then fell into each other's arms, like the two brothers they had always been.

"I'm sorry too, Ron," he said to him in a trembling voice, his tears not being able to hold back any longer. He had hoped to be able to restrain himself from crying but in vain. All the emotions he had contained freed themselves, and he sobbed in the arms of his brother.

"I got you, I got you," Ron assured him, patting him on the back. His voice was as shaky as Harry's.

After letting them find each other for a few minutes, Hermione moved closer to them, and they naturally opened their arms to welcome her into their embrace, just like the last time in the ruins of the castle.

"We missed you so much," Ron said, which had the effect of making all three of them cry even more.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, buddy, and we're sorry too."

Ron kissed Harry's temple, before they rested their heads together, enjoying every second, every minute of their reunion, of their simple presence and company.

"I should have recognized you, you more than anyone else," Harry cried. Ron patted his head gently while shaking his.

"It's okay Harry, we don't blame you for that. I promise we don't."

"But... you gave me so many signs; the roof..." he exclaimed; remembering clearly the conversation they had had with Ron, his sadness when he talked about his brother and his friend... him

"Oh my god, Ron, I'm so sorry."

He cried and cried again, to the point of wondering where he got all his tears. His two friends kept telling him that it wasn't his fault, that they didn't blame him, but it was a difficult reality for him to conceive. He finally calmed down, more out of exhaustion than peace, cradled in Ron and Hermione's arms, by their scent he finally remembered, by their reassuring voices, their touch, just them.

"Congratulations guys," Harry then whispered after a long silence during which they had stood in each other's arms.

She lifted her head to meet his gaze, and saw his smile. Ron had also pulled his head back to observe his friend curiously.

"For the baby, is that what you wanted to tell us, right?"

"How… how do you know?" She asked, dumbfounded.

He shrugged.

"The way you guys are acting, and there's something different about you... I can't explain."

"But... how could you feel something was different if you didn't remember us?" Ron asked with a frown.

Harry looked up at him, directly into his blue eyes.

"I'm not sure; maybe there's a part of me that never completely forgot about you."

The couple looked at him for a moment in silence, as if analyzing what he had just said, and then they both took him back in their arms simultaneously.

"Thank you, Harry," Hermione cried, squeezing him and Ron with all her heart.

What Harry had thought would be a reunion of a few minutes before going to the hospital, ended up being hours. The trio always seemed to find something to say to each other, to show off, and when they weren't talking, it was because they were in each other's arms, laughing or crying. They told him about their life over the past two years, the development of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Hermione's brilliant career at the Ministry, and even if Harry didn't seem to grasp everything—not having fully recovered his memory—he listened intently and didn't miss a single detail about their lives Then Ron showed Harry a photo of the Weasley family to help him put faces to names, which had the effect of making Harry cry even harder. He cried when he remembered Molly, the first mother figure in his life; he cried for Arthur, who had guided him like a father throughout his adolescence; then he cried for Fred, who had left so young; and for Georges, who must have felt so alone without his brother. He felt exhausted, exhausted by all his emotions that were coming back, and exhausted by all the memories, the faces that were gradually redrawn in his brain finally took their place in his memory, thus filling a void that had almost too comfortably settled for the past two years. He was lying on their bed next to them, staring absently at the Weasley family photo that Ron had ended up putting on the mattress between him and Harry before sitting down on the mattress with Hermione against him.

"Harry" Ron finally spoke after long minutes of silence.

Harry looked up at him, his lenses starting to itch his eyes from crying so much, making it difficult for him to see clearly. "We will soon be going back to England, my family will start to worry..." "Oh," Harry replied in a low, weak voice. He lowered his eyes again, which naturally fell back on the photo. Ron cleared his throat and continued after a deep breath:

"Do you want to come back with us...? Maybe to see my family again. Your leaving has meant a lot to them… Especially mum, she is devastated, she thinks she has lost two sons... " Ron tried to continue his persuasive arguments, but his voice cracked and died away at the mention of their deaths. The piercing memories of Fred's funeral, then of Harry's sudden departure, leading to his many nightmares about the suicide of his best friend, resurfaced and parasitized his thoughts. Harry didn't look up at him, he seemed to be thinking, hesitating, doubting. He didn't want to return to the wizarding world, where his name was known to everyone, where it was written in every newspaper and spoken in every language; he didn't want to find himself in the middle of this, where he had pushed him to flee. But he also didn't want to continue hurting his loved ones with his absence, and if he owed Mrs. and Mrs. Weasley one thing, it was an apology.

"Ok, I'll come."

Ron and Hermione made the same sound of amazement.

"But only if Saki is awake in the meantime. I won't leave her, I don't want to be far if something happens. "

"What are you planning to do about Saki…?" Hermione asked shyly, "Do you want her memories of that night erased?"

"Nope." He cut, "I don't want her to forget anything."

"But…" Ron began before Harry cut him off.

"Saki is my sister, and she will always be my sister. Having my memory back won't change anything. And I don't want to hide anything from her. She's been helping me all this time trying to get my memory back. She's always been there for me, I don't want to live a lie after everything we've been through."

He had now straightened up and was sitting cross-legged on the bed facing his two friends, who were watching him intently.

"It's a risk to reveal the existence of this world to her, I don't know how she will take it, but I have to tell her."

"All right, Harry, it's your choice and we will respect it." Hermione nodded, placing her hand over his with an encouraging smile.

(***)

The hallway leading to Saki's room was crowded with people. Harry barely had time to see his father near the door when a pair of arms crushed every bone in his body.

"Harry! Thank God you're fine, if you knew how worried sick we were when we learned about the attack at the club! What is wrong with this world? There really are weirdos everywhere!"

"Albert, drop him or he'll end up getting hurt too," Chloë said desperately.

Albert released Harry, who regained the use of his limbs, but the man kept observing him as a parent watching over his newborn baby.

"Another attack by homophobic crazies. I swear, this country really needs to change its mentality. Thank God Saki is fine."

He had tears in his eyes and seemed agitated. He kept fingering Harry's arm, probably to remind himself that he too was alive and well, and kept talking, filling in any silences that seemed too gloomy to him. Harry, followed by Draco, ended up drawing closer to his father, while Ron and Hermione joined Ginny and Luna. Gary hugged his son, who quietly thanked him for the story he had told the team members.

"A nurse is changing Saki's bandages. We should be able to go see her as soon as he's out." The older man said when he released him, his hand still on his shoulder. Harry nodded and leaned against the wall, while Draco stayed up in front of Gary, looking slightly embarrassed.

Gary watched him for a moment in silence. He could hear Albert Steve and Chloë's heated discussions behind him, a conversation he longed to join rather than have to bear the judgment of the man who was none other than her boyfriend's father. But to his amazement, Gary ended up squeezing his shoulder, under the surprised looks of Harry and the other wizards and witches.

"I guess I've been wrong about you, young man. If my son loves you and is happy with you, then I can do nothing else than accept you into the family. I hope you won't make me regret it."

"I won't, I promise," Draco rushed to answer. Gary nodded and moved back to his original place beside Harry, then put his arm around his son's shoulders, who was smiling at Draco. The blond young man was relieved by this turnaround, but his cheeks were still scarlet red. The nurse eventually left the room, allowing only a small group of people to re-enter. Gary Harry and Ginny moved closer to the bed, while the others went to wait in the cafeteria. Saki had regained her colors. She no longer seemed to be in a coma but rather to be sleeping peacefully, as if under these sheets there was no presence of injury. They waited by her bedside in silence, their eyes fixed on her peaceful face, their minds filled with thoughts of her. Hours passed, and the room was visited by people coming and going; nurses, friends, doctors, and friends again, but Harry and Gary remained constantly by her side. Then night fell, and almost everyone had gone home except for the two of them, as well as Ginny and Draco. Harry felt himself dozing off, sleep calling him, begging him to join it, his eyes continually threatening to close for good, but he struggled to stay awake. Draco sat down next to him by the bed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Maybe we should go home, Harry, you're exhausted," he whispered to him while stroking his curls.

Harry shook his head with a small smile, his eyes fixed on Saki.

"You can go first, I'll stay."

"No, I'll stay with you."

Harry tore his gaze from his sister to meet Draco's. He looked at him with a love that burned his stomach, and he wondered how Draco had become the person he was today, and he wondered how life had allowed him to love someone so much.

"Thank you," he whispered.

He suddenly felt something move in his hand resting on the bed, and when he realized it was Saki's, he abruptly turned his head toward her.

"Saki!"

"What, what's going on?" Gary asked, sitting up in his seat.

"Her hand, it moved!"

"Are you sure?"

Harry nodded, his attention focused on the hand that wasn't moving anymore. He was sure he felt it. It couldn't be his imagination.

"Maybe it's just a reflex, maybe she's dreaming?" Draco suggested, his eyes also riveted to her still hand.

Harry sighed. He didn't want to wait any longer, he didn't want to live another minute without Saki.

"She's going to wake up Harry, her condition is stable," his father reassured him from the other side of the bed. Draco backed up his assertion with a nod, his palm circling against his boyfriend's back.

"I know but…"

But before he could say more, Saki slowly opened her eyes before squinting them because of the blinding light above her head.

"Saki!" Harry exclaimed again and leaned in towards her. His scream startled Draco, who pulled his hand away from his back, as Gary and Ginny abruptly rose from their chairs. Saki slowly turned her head towards her brother and stared at him for a long time, as if trying to figure out who he was.

"Saki… You're awake, it's okay, everything is okay now, you're at the hospital, and you're safe. "

She continued to look at him, frowning, then ended up sketching a slight smile.

"Hey bro," She says in a low, hoarse voice.

He chuckled and dried the tears forming in his eyes with his sleeve.

"Hey, sis."

She lifted her arms slightly towards him, inviting him into her arms. He then leaned towards her and took her as delicately as possible in his arms, carefully avoiding the pipes connected to different parts of her body. The greatest comfort he could receive was feeling the warmth of her skin against his, the beating of her heart against him, and her breath against his neck.

"You scared me, Saki, don't scare me like that ever again," he whispered in her ear before kissing her cheek.

"At least now I have scars too," she whispered back. He chuckled, a small laugh mixed with tears of relief and sadness. He was relieved to be able to hear her voice again, and sad that she had to go through this new ordeal because of him. She had always told him that joke—every time she cut herself with a glass or tripped in the street—that at least she would have a scar, and he wouldn't be alone. Harry knew she was joking, and that it was a way to show her empathy and remind her that she understood him. But the fact that this joke was finally turning out to be a reality no longer made him laugh at all.

"Don't say that," He cried in her arms.

"But it's true now."

He didn't answer and hugged her a little tighter, wishing he never had to let go again. They eventually released each other after what felt like hours. She looked at him lovingly, her smile that Harry adored so much on her mouth, then Gary took over and kissed her, leaning back on the bed. Harry got up from his seat and moved closer to Ginny, who didn't seem to dare interfere in the family's intimacy. He gave her a reassuring smile, which she returned shyly, and then he passed his hand behind her back as if to encourage her to come forward toward Saki. Gary finally let go of Saki, whose eyes came to rest on Ginny and never left her, gazing at her as if for the first time. Ginny felt Harry's hand pushing her gently towards the bed, and her body didn't hold her back. Her sweaty hands brushed absently against her pants but never dried. She could have blamed the wet weather, as the rain beat harder and harder against the small bedroom window, but she knew it did not correlate with her current condition. She arrived in front of Saki, who hadn't taken her eyes off her, and she felt the attention the others behind her were giving her.

"Hi," She said awkwardly. She felt silly. Didn't she have anything better to say than a simple hi to her friend who had just been close to death?

But Saki smiled and held out her hand, which she shyly took in hers.

"Hi, Ginny," Saki replied in a soft voice. "I am happy to wake up seeing so many beautiful faces."

Ginny heard the others laugh slightly behind her, but she didn't. On the contrary, she began to cry, as she had rarely cried in her life. Saki shot a panicked look at her family and Draco, but no one knew how to react until Gary rested his hands on Harry and Draco's shoulders and waved them out. Harry looked one last time at Ginny, then at Saki, who nodded at him, and he followed the two men towards the door, taking the hand that Draco held out to him. Ginny didn't hear them slip away, all the anxiety and emotions she had been trying to contain finally released in front of the bewildered girl.

"Hey, come here" Saki whispered, pulling her hand towards her to force her to sit on the bed. She wiped away her girlfriend's tears with her hand, which Ginny pressed against her cheek as she continued to cry all the tears in her body. Then Saki sat up on her bed and hugged her despite the discomfort of her injury in this new position.

"Don't cry, it's okay sweetheart, I'm okay."

"I know," she moaned, "but I was so scared, I don't want to lose anyone anymore."

Saki hugged her tightly and began rocking her gently to calm her down. "You won't lose me, I promise you, I'm tough, you know, and I'm sorry I scared you"

Ginny snorted and shook her head, "Don't apologize."

"So don't cry, okay?"

"Ok, but it's hard," she said, half crying, half chuckling.

"I know it's hard, but it's okay now, I want to see your smile."

She felt Ginny's head nod on her shoulder, and even though she knew the girl was still crying, she guessed a faint smile Ginny was trying to put on to reassure her. Saki withdrew from his arms and took her head in her hands in order to place a kiss on her lips, salted by her tears. Her soft lips, addictive lips, her lips that she hoped she could kiss again and again until she knew them by heart.

(***)

Harry had been dreading the moment when he would have to tell Saki the truth. And their conversation took place in three parts. The first time, Harry was accompanied by his father and Ginny, who spent an entire night talking to Saki. Harry revealed to her that he had regained his memory, and said that he knew Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Draco. They had to reveal to her the existence of magic and the fact that they were part of it. Harry had to explain who he was in that world, and with Ginny's help, he described in more or less detail the major events of his story and the consequences it had had on the Wizarding world. All of this information was incredibly hard to digest, but Saki listened. She didn't say anything as they talked, and they didn't know what was going on in her head when they revealed all these incredible things. When they had finished the main lines, she took a moment before saying anything. She thought she was dreaming. She wondered if they were making fun of her, if it was a joke, or if she was still in a coma. But she also knew that Harry and Gary would never lie to her like that, especially about something that big. Part of her was scared, another part was shocked, but she also felt awestruck. She had always believed in the supernatural. She remembered the stories her aunt read to her when she was little in Japan, how much she had dreamed that all these universes and creatures existed, and today she learned that her loved ones were wizards and that the person she loved the most in the world was even famous, a legend in the eyes of many people, and had saved their world according to Ginny's words, even if he had refuted this part of the story.

The second time Harry talked to her, they were with Gary, on the last day before she was discharged from the hospital. Gary had decided to tell them his story, how he was born to a wizard father and a Muggle mother; the discrimination his mother had received from his father's family to the point that her husband ended up abandoning them when Gary was young; how he ended up leaving Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry before finishing his studies to take care of his sick mother, and never felt the urge to return after her death, feeling better in the muggle world. After having spoken at length about Gary's life, Harry revealed more intimate parts of his: his childhood, his difficult relationship with the Dursleys; he also spoke of Sirius, feeling the need to confide in his traumas, as if to finally put his discomfort into words, a discomfort Gary and Saki had both had to put up with for the past two years. He thought it was the least he could do for them. He explained each scar, the memories coming back to him as he talked about them, then he finally stopped talking when Saki and his father were in tears.

The third time was the first night after Saki left the hospital. She had come straight to sleep at his place, and they had talked almost all night. She had asked many questions, and Harry had done his best to answer them. He then shared positive stories after all the dark events he had already told. He talked about Hermione and Ron, his discovery of Hogwarts, his afternoons in Hogsmeade, Quidditch, Hagrid, the Weasleys, Ginny; he told her stories about her, how good she was at quidditch, how funny and popular she was at school. Saki drank in his words, her eyes sparkling with wonder at this world that seemed unreal and so fascinating. She projected herself with him, imagined how she would have felt in his place, what house she would have been in, and what class she would have preferred. She imagined herself in the halls of the castle waiting for Ginny after class, in the great hall eating with Harry and the others, drinking tea with this half-giant that Harry described as a loving and caring uncle. She was relieved to know that Harry had also been happy, had also received love, and had been surrounded by good and generous people. She then asked him if she could accompany him to England. He first refused, as if by protective reflex; then, after she insisted, he ended up accepting, as he couldn't find convincing arguments against her request.

(***)

Their departure was scheduled for the weekend, early evening. Ron had already told his parents that he would be home that day with Hermione and Ginny but hadn't mentioned Harry. Draco had already decided to go see his mother directly when he arrived, the fear that something had happened to her gradually growing in him. The others also suspected that he didn't want to face the Weasleys, especially alongside Harry, but they said nothing and let him arrange his return as he preferred. Saki seemed excited about traveling to England, she kept talking to Harry and Ginny about it. She was trying to learn all about wizarding manners to look as polite as possible to the Weasleys, even after Ginny explained to her for the umpteenth time that she didn't need to act differently with them. Gary had also asked if he could accompany them, much to the amazement of his son, who was used to his father remaining discreet and relatively far from people and places he did not know. But this time was different. He wanted to know everything about Harry, he wanted to meet the people who had surrounded him before. He also knew that this trip was important and stressful for Harry, and he would do anything for his son. He thus gave the keys to the club to Albert, explaining that he was going on vacation with his children after the difficult events of the past few days, and then they prepared for departure.

Harry was indeed anxious, scared even. He didn't sleep the night before they left, thinking about his reunion with the Weasleys; what if they weren't happy to know he was alive? What if George resented him for surviving? What if Mrs. Weasley had never forgiven him for the words he had said to her? The fact that Saki and his father were accompanying him somehow reassured him, but it also gave him other reasons to overthink. He couldn't figure out how he felt about their presence on this trip, but either way, he knew they wouldn't change their minds, especially Saki, who was more eager than ever to discover the world he had evolved in.

On D-Day, they all gathered in a narrow alleyway behind the hotel after having eaten one last time at Dahn's, finally ready to return to the burrow after their more than intense adventures in New York. It was finally time to bid farewell to this country that had welcomed them and allowed them to find Harry. Harry and Ginny had spent the day trying to explain to Saki how a portkey worked, but the girl was still unable to comprehend the idea of such a means of transport.

"Okay, are you all ready? You didn't forget anything?" Hermione asked the group who had crouched around the old leather shoe. Everyone nodded in unison, Saki taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Harry grabbed her hand and forced her to look at him "It's going to be fine, we're here," he told her in a low voice. She nodded and tightened her fingers around his hand. "I won't let you go," he added, smiling.
"Don't forget to hold the shoe," Ginny added, on the other side of the young woman.

Hermione started counting down, forcing them to focus on the object in front of them. Harry met everyone's gaze. He looked one last time at Saki, who continued to breathe heavily, then at his father, who seemed very pensive, then at Luna, Ron, Hermione, and finally at Draco, who returned his gaze with a smile, before disappearing with the others when they finally touched the shoe. The unpleasant sensation of his navel being pulled violently caused him to close his eyes, and they left New York. It was too late; he couldn't change his mind; the next land under his feet would be that of England, the Burrow, the same land he had last walked through before his life changed drastically. And when he opens his eyes again, he will see this house in the middle of the countryside, whose walls rise and twist, whose lights are on in the kitchen, and in front of the door, he will see faces, once so familiar, who are waiting without imagining what they will soon discover.