A/N: Well, here it is... the LAST CHAPTER!!! AAAAAAHHH!!! This is particularly eventful for me because this is the first story of this length that I've actually FINISHED... *wipes sweat of brow* Whew. Huge accomplishment, I say. I started writing this in late November of 2002, and finished it in early February of 2003. (Posted 11-28-02, finished 2-2-03) So that's like, a little over two months. This story is over a hundred and forty pages long on my computer, and I wrote that in a little over two months. *blinks and stares blankly at computer screen* I am a zombie. Someone get me some caffeine.
Thanks to everyone who has read and/or left a review. I never really expected anyone to read this, so when I look at my stats page and it says Trust Me: 114 reviews (as of Feb. 1, 2003), I get this warm fuzzy feeling inside me that just makes me want to hug something. *grabs calculus book and hugs it, then realizes she's hugging calculus book and throws it across room* Okay, now it's DEFINITELY time for some caffeine.
~~ Epilogue ~~
When Lucius came to, he was in a bed in the hospital wing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The last thing he could remember was seeing the Nundu fall and realizing that Icarus Knight's reign of terror was over. And now he was here. How did that happen?
"Oh, good, you're awake."
Lucius recognized Minerva Dumbledore's voice, and as his vision came into focus, he saw the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts sitting in a chair at his bedside. Behind her, with his hands on her shoulders, stood Albus Dumbledore. "What's going on?" Lucius asked. "What happened? Where are the others?"
"Easy, Lucius," Dumbledore said with a gentle smile. "They're all fine. After you killed the Nundu, Severus and I Apparated to London to get help."
"Alina!" Lucius cried, and sat up quickly. That turned out to be a bad idea, and pain shot through his battered body. He cringed and managed to say, "Where's Alina?"
"She's fine," Minerva assured him. "She was released three days ago. The Musical Enchantment study group is meeting right now."
"And Minister Chang?" Lucius asked, slowly lowering himself back down in hopes to make it as painless as possible. No such luck.
"Eko is fine as well," said Dumbledore. "He's back in London carrying out his duties."
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"A week."
He shook his head in disbelief. A week. Ay carumba. That was a long time. "And the Nundu? It's dead?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, it is very dead. So is Icarus Knight - for real, this time."
Minerva lifted her hand to her shoulder and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He lifted her hand up, kissed it, and then set it back down again. Lucius smiled, almost subconsciously. "What?" Dumbledore asked, grinning as well.
Lucius's smile grew wider, and he was well aware of it. "You two," he said. "You're just so... well, forgive me, but cute."
"Cute," Dumbledore repeated. "Are you hearing this, Minerva? We seemed to be condemned to eternal cuteness."
"There are worse things we could be condemned to," she pointed out.
"Oh, true," he said, and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
Lucius laughed. "I rest my case." He then decided to ask the question that had been on his mind since seeing Dumbledore transform into a falcon when they were battling the Nundu. "When were you going to tell us that you're an Animagus, Albus?"
Dumbledore's expression went from amused to perplexed. "Animagus? You mean the falcon?"
Lucius nodded.
"I'm not an Animagus." He pointed at Minerva, who smiled innocently. "She did that."
"You two never cease to amaze me." Lucius then decided to ask the other question he had been wondering about, this time since waking up. "When can I see Draco and Alina?"
"Why don't I go get them right now?" said Minerva, standing up. "And if I'm not mistaken, the Musical Enchantment study group has been planning a little surprise for you." Then she smiled.
"What did she mean by that?" Lucius asked as Minerva exited the hospital wing.
"I can't tell you," said Dumbledore. "It's a surprise."
"So glad you could be here with us tonight, ladies and gentlemen," Oliver Wood said to his four-person audience of Lucius Malfoy, Albus and Minerva Dumbledore, and Poppy Pomfrey. "Before we begin our show, I would like to introduce the members of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Musical Enchantment Study Group Chamber.. erm... Ensemble, starting with Draco Malfoy on French horn!"
Draco smiled and held up his French horn for emphasis.
"Moving right along, we have the lovely Hermione Granger on cello," Oliver said.
Hermione grinned and blushed slightly.
"Next, we have Lisa Turpin on tenor saxophone and Anthony Goldstein on the triangle," said Oliver. Both of them were wearing dark sunglasses. "And rounding out our unusual combination of musicians are myself, Oliver Wood, violin player, and our fearless leader, soprano Alina Terringer! Give it up for the H. S. double W. M. E. S. G. C. E!"
"He deserves the applause just for remembering all those letters," Madam Pomfrey commented to Minerva, who nodded her head once in agreement.
Oliver brought his violin up to his shoulder and lifted up his bow. "Ready? One, two, one two three four..."
For the next two and a half minutes, the six of them played whatever music came to mind. The only ones that sounded halfway decent were Oliver and Alina. The purpose of this performance, however, was to entertain with humor, not music, and they did THAT quite well. By the time they were finished, their audience was laughing so hard they were in tears.
Oliver smiled and set his violin down. "Thank you. You've been a wonderful audience. It's been a pleasure playing for you."
It had been a long day, and Minerva Dumbledore was ready for bed. Her husband, however, seemed to have a different idea - he was standing by one of the windows in their bedroom and hadn't moved for almost ten minutes. She was starting to get worried, so she walked over to him and asked him if he was all right.
Dumbledore smiled at her, but it was more a smile of acknowledgement than affection. "I was just thinking about Peter Pettigrew. Why him? Why did Knight use him?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, but we don't have to worry about Knight anymore. He's dead."
"And so is Pettigrew." He looked out the window again, and his proud head drooped slightly. "Two wrongs don't make a right."
Minerva sighed. "You're still convinced you killed him, aren't you?"
"Well, I thought he was Icarus Knight then, but yes, Minerva, I did kill him."
"You didn't kill him, Albus." She placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face toward her. "Knight used the Imperius Curse on him. Icarus Knight killed Peter Pettigrew, maybe not in flesh, but in mind. Let go of your guilt. It wasn't your fault."
"I still failed him, as a teacher, and as a fellow wizard."
"A few bad apples do not spoil the tree from which they fell." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Even the most fruitful sometimes produce one or two with a worm in it."
"You're tired," he said, running his fingers through her soft black hair, which reached its end just beyond her shoulders. "Don't let me keep you awake."
"Albus Dumbledore," she said sternly, "if you do not go to bed this instant, I will have no choice but to stay awake until you do, and if I do, I will never have any ground to stand on when I lecture the students and take points away for being awake after hours."
This time, his smile was for real. "Well, we can't have that, now can we?"
He lifted her up and carried her over to the bed. She laughed and said, "This is not dignified! Put me down."
"As you wish." He gently set her down on the bed, and sat down next to her. For the next few minutes, all he could do was look at her. He loved her so much. It had taken them so long to find each other, and then to come so close to losing her... The thought of losing her was almost unbearable. If it hadn't been for Knight's blunder with the Killing Curse, Minerva probably would be dead. They were lucky Knight was so stupid.
"Are you going to sleep or what?" Minerva asked, almost impatiently.
Dumbledore smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Or what."
The next afternoon was chilly, but clear, and the long-overdue rematch between Slytherin and Hufflepuff had been delayed long enough. At the moment, Hufflepuff was leading fifty to forty, but Draco had the Golden Snitch in sight and was just inches in front of Hufflepuff's Seeker in pursuit of the tiny ball. If he could just reach it...
"Come on, Slytherin!"
"Get that Snitch, Malfoy!"
"Let's go, Slytherin!"
Up in the teachers' box, Minerva smiled to herself and shook her head. "I can honestly say I never thought I would hear that coming from the Gryffindor section."
"Well, people change," said a voice from behind.
Minerva glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Lucius Malfoy. "Yes, Lucius, they certainly do change. I'm sorry I doubted you."
"Well, Professor," said Lucius, "it's not like your mistrust of me wasn't justifiable." He reached for the hand of the woman sitting next to him and gripped it tightly. "After all, leopards don't change their spots, but spots are only skin deep."
"That's right," said Alina. She then spotted something flying toward Draco and said, "Ack! Draco! Bludger! Duck!"
Draco saw the Bludger coming in plenty of time to get out of the way and still manage to remain in hot pursuit of the Snitch.
Alina let out a long sigh of relief. "That was close."
"And Malfoy sees the Bludger coming a mile away and has no trouble dodging it as he pursues the Golden Snitch, with Hufflepuff right on his tail," said commentator Lee Jordan. "Meanwhile, downfield, Flint and Warrington are having no trouble advancing the Quaffle past the Hufflepuff chasers, but it's another story getting it past Diggory - Warrington throws the Quaffle at the goal, and it is blocked, which is really no surprise. Macmillan takes the Quaffle, but what's this? Ooh, nice play by a Slytherin beater - knocked the Quaffle right out of Macmillan's hands and into Pucey's. Pucey moves downfield, throws, and BLOCKED by Diggory! Hufflepuff again takes possession. It's a pass! It's an interception! It's another pass! And ANOTHER interception! We could be here all day! Catch that Snitch whenever you're ready, Malfoy! Just try not to go too high, though; really wouldn't want another incident li-"
"JORDAN!" Minerva shouted.
"Sorry, Professor," said Lee, and continued his commentary.
Draco had no time to pay attention to what was going on downfield. He had a Snitch to catch, and he was getting closer... closer... almost close enough to touch it... His right hand left the handle of his Nimbus 2001 and reached for the tiny gold ball. Just a little bit closer, and...
"MALFOY CATCHES THE GOLDEN SNITCH!!!" Lee shouted into the microphone as the observers burst into a round of applause and cheering. "Slytherin wins the game! They now move to second place behind Gryffindor and... oh, I'm unplugged."
"It'll be interesting to see how that Gryffindor-Slytherin game turns out," Dumbledore commented, turning to his wife to get her opinion on the topic.
Minerva grinned. "Yes, it certainly will, especially with the little bet Severus and I have."
"A bet?" Lucius said. "Oh, dear. What are the stakes?"
"Slytherin wins, he picks everything I wear for a month. Gryffindor wins, I give him a haircut." She leaned over and whispered something into Alina's ear. Alina covered her mouth and began shaking from holding in laughter. "You don't think that's too cruel, do you?"
Alina pulled her hand away and said, "Oh, no, not at all. I think Severus will look wonderful with a mullet."
FINITE
Thanks to everyone who has read and/or left a review. I never really expected anyone to read this, so when I look at my stats page and it says Trust Me: 114 reviews (as of Feb. 1, 2003), I get this warm fuzzy feeling inside me that just makes me want to hug something. *grabs calculus book and hugs it, then realizes she's hugging calculus book and throws it across room* Okay, now it's DEFINITELY time for some caffeine.
~~ Epilogue ~~
When Lucius came to, he was in a bed in the hospital wing of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The last thing he could remember was seeing the Nundu fall and realizing that Icarus Knight's reign of terror was over. And now he was here. How did that happen?
"Oh, good, you're awake."
Lucius recognized Minerva Dumbledore's voice, and as his vision came into focus, he saw the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts sitting in a chair at his bedside. Behind her, with his hands on her shoulders, stood Albus Dumbledore. "What's going on?" Lucius asked. "What happened? Where are the others?"
"Easy, Lucius," Dumbledore said with a gentle smile. "They're all fine. After you killed the Nundu, Severus and I Apparated to London to get help."
"Alina!" Lucius cried, and sat up quickly. That turned out to be a bad idea, and pain shot through his battered body. He cringed and managed to say, "Where's Alina?"
"She's fine," Minerva assured him. "She was released three days ago. The Musical Enchantment study group is meeting right now."
"And Minister Chang?" Lucius asked, slowly lowering himself back down in hopes to make it as painless as possible. No such luck.
"Eko is fine as well," said Dumbledore. "He's back in London carrying out his duties."
"How long have I been unconscious?"
"A week."
He shook his head in disbelief. A week. Ay carumba. That was a long time. "And the Nundu? It's dead?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, it is very dead. So is Icarus Knight - for real, this time."
Minerva lifted her hand to her shoulder and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He lifted her hand up, kissed it, and then set it back down again. Lucius smiled, almost subconsciously. "What?" Dumbledore asked, grinning as well.
Lucius's smile grew wider, and he was well aware of it. "You two," he said. "You're just so... well, forgive me, but cute."
"Cute," Dumbledore repeated. "Are you hearing this, Minerva? We seemed to be condemned to eternal cuteness."
"There are worse things we could be condemned to," she pointed out.
"Oh, true," he said, and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.
Lucius laughed. "I rest my case." He then decided to ask the question that had been on his mind since seeing Dumbledore transform into a falcon when they were battling the Nundu. "When were you going to tell us that you're an Animagus, Albus?"
Dumbledore's expression went from amused to perplexed. "Animagus? You mean the falcon?"
Lucius nodded.
"I'm not an Animagus." He pointed at Minerva, who smiled innocently. "She did that."
"You two never cease to amaze me." Lucius then decided to ask the other question he had been wondering about, this time since waking up. "When can I see Draco and Alina?"
"Why don't I go get them right now?" said Minerva, standing up. "And if I'm not mistaken, the Musical Enchantment study group has been planning a little surprise for you." Then she smiled.
"What did she mean by that?" Lucius asked as Minerva exited the hospital wing.
"I can't tell you," said Dumbledore. "It's a surprise."
"So glad you could be here with us tonight, ladies and gentlemen," Oliver Wood said to his four-person audience of Lucius Malfoy, Albus and Minerva Dumbledore, and Poppy Pomfrey. "Before we begin our show, I would like to introduce the members of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Musical Enchantment Study Group Chamber.. erm... Ensemble, starting with Draco Malfoy on French horn!"
Draco smiled and held up his French horn for emphasis.
"Moving right along, we have the lovely Hermione Granger on cello," Oliver said.
Hermione grinned and blushed slightly.
"Next, we have Lisa Turpin on tenor saxophone and Anthony Goldstein on the triangle," said Oliver. Both of them were wearing dark sunglasses. "And rounding out our unusual combination of musicians are myself, Oliver Wood, violin player, and our fearless leader, soprano Alina Terringer! Give it up for the H. S. double W. M. E. S. G. C. E!"
"He deserves the applause just for remembering all those letters," Madam Pomfrey commented to Minerva, who nodded her head once in agreement.
Oliver brought his violin up to his shoulder and lifted up his bow. "Ready? One, two, one two three four..."
For the next two and a half minutes, the six of them played whatever music came to mind. The only ones that sounded halfway decent were Oliver and Alina. The purpose of this performance, however, was to entertain with humor, not music, and they did THAT quite well. By the time they were finished, their audience was laughing so hard they were in tears.
Oliver smiled and set his violin down. "Thank you. You've been a wonderful audience. It's been a pleasure playing for you."
It had been a long day, and Minerva Dumbledore was ready for bed. Her husband, however, seemed to have a different idea - he was standing by one of the windows in their bedroom and hadn't moved for almost ten minutes. She was starting to get worried, so she walked over to him and asked him if he was all right.
Dumbledore smiled at her, but it was more a smile of acknowledgement than affection. "I was just thinking about Peter Pettigrew. Why him? Why did Knight use him?"
She shook her head. "I don't know, but we don't have to worry about Knight anymore. He's dead."
"And so is Pettigrew." He looked out the window again, and his proud head drooped slightly. "Two wrongs don't make a right."
Minerva sighed. "You're still convinced you killed him, aren't you?"
"Well, I thought he was Icarus Knight then, but yes, Minerva, I did kill him."
"You didn't kill him, Albus." She placed her hand on his cheek and turned his face toward her. "Knight used the Imperius Curse on him. Icarus Knight killed Peter Pettigrew, maybe not in flesh, but in mind. Let go of your guilt. It wasn't your fault."
"I still failed him, as a teacher, and as a fellow wizard."
"A few bad apples do not spoil the tree from which they fell." She leaned forward and kissed him. "Even the most fruitful sometimes produce one or two with a worm in it."
"You're tired," he said, running his fingers through her soft black hair, which reached its end just beyond her shoulders. "Don't let me keep you awake."
"Albus Dumbledore," she said sternly, "if you do not go to bed this instant, I will have no choice but to stay awake until you do, and if I do, I will never have any ground to stand on when I lecture the students and take points away for being awake after hours."
This time, his smile was for real. "Well, we can't have that, now can we?"
He lifted her up and carried her over to the bed. She laughed and said, "This is not dignified! Put me down."
"As you wish." He gently set her down on the bed, and sat down next to her. For the next few minutes, all he could do was look at her. He loved her so much. It had taken them so long to find each other, and then to come so close to losing her... The thought of losing her was almost unbearable. If it hadn't been for Knight's blunder with the Killing Curse, Minerva probably would be dead. They were lucky Knight was so stupid.
"Are you going to sleep or what?" Minerva asked, almost impatiently.
Dumbledore smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "Or what."
The next afternoon was chilly, but clear, and the long-overdue rematch between Slytherin and Hufflepuff had been delayed long enough. At the moment, Hufflepuff was leading fifty to forty, but Draco had the Golden Snitch in sight and was just inches in front of Hufflepuff's Seeker in pursuit of the tiny ball. If he could just reach it...
"Come on, Slytherin!"
"Get that Snitch, Malfoy!"
"Let's go, Slytherin!"
Up in the teachers' box, Minerva smiled to herself and shook her head. "I can honestly say I never thought I would hear that coming from the Gryffindor section."
"Well, people change," said a voice from behind.
Minerva glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Lucius Malfoy. "Yes, Lucius, they certainly do change. I'm sorry I doubted you."
"Well, Professor," said Lucius, "it's not like your mistrust of me wasn't justifiable." He reached for the hand of the woman sitting next to him and gripped it tightly. "After all, leopards don't change their spots, but spots are only skin deep."
"That's right," said Alina. She then spotted something flying toward Draco and said, "Ack! Draco! Bludger! Duck!"
Draco saw the Bludger coming in plenty of time to get out of the way and still manage to remain in hot pursuit of the Snitch.
Alina let out a long sigh of relief. "That was close."
"And Malfoy sees the Bludger coming a mile away and has no trouble dodging it as he pursues the Golden Snitch, with Hufflepuff right on his tail," said commentator Lee Jordan. "Meanwhile, downfield, Flint and Warrington are having no trouble advancing the Quaffle past the Hufflepuff chasers, but it's another story getting it past Diggory - Warrington throws the Quaffle at the goal, and it is blocked, which is really no surprise. Macmillan takes the Quaffle, but what's this? Ooh, nice play by a Slytherin beater - knocked the Quaffle right out of Macmillan's hands and into Pucey's. Pucey moves downfield, throws, and BLOCKED by Diggory! Hufflepuff again takes possession. It's a pass! It's an interception! It's another pass! And ANOTHER interception! We could be here all day! Catch that Snitch whenever you're ready, Malfoy! Just try not to go too high, though; really wouldn't want another incident li-"
"JORDAN!" Minerva shouted.
"Sorry, Professor," said Lee, and continued his commentary.
Draco had no time to pay attention to what was going on downfield. He had a Snitch to catch, and he was getting closer... closer... almost close enough to touch it... His right hand left the handle of his Nimbus 2001 and reached for the tiny gold ball. Just a little bit closer, and...
"MALFOY CATCHES THE GOLDEN SNITCH!!!" Lee shouted into the microphone as the observers burst into a round of applause and cheering. "Slytherin wins the game! They now move to second place behind Gryffindor and... oh, I'm unplugged."
"It'll be interesting to see how that Gryffindor-Slytherin game turns out," Dumbledore commented, turning to his wife to get her opinion on the topic.
Minerva grinned. "Yes, it certainly will, especially with the little bet Severus and I have."
"A bet?" Lucius said. "Oh, dear. What are the stakes?"
"Slytherin wins, he picks everything I wear for a month. Gryffindor wins, I give him a haircut." She leaned over and whispered something into Alina's ear. Alina covered her mouth and began shaking from holding in laughter. "You don't think that's too cruel, do you?"
Alina pulled her hand away and said, "Oh, no, not at all. I think Severus will look wonderful with a mullet."
FINITE