Among the First

A.N. Well, I'm finally finishing this story and will be starting on the Tenshi story, I really wanted to write. The real story of the Tenshi at Hogwarts. This story though, will have several spin-offs, mostly just to explain some of the things mentioned here. For example-how Tom and Robin knew each other and fell in love. What's up with James and Riley? Just stuff like that. Ok, an explanation for the title.

This is the epilogue. But I thought it should have a title anyways, so there it is. I'm calling it Among the First, because I like the way it sounds and it does come into play somewhere in this chapter. Plus, it's like the other chapter titles, it makes you think. Some of the titles are obvious in their connection with the chapters and the others aren't. Why? Because I felt like it. And as for the main title-Bittersweet Symphony. Well I like that song, two because despite what the world has gained-the death of Voldemort, people still lost something. For Robin-she lost somebody she loved. The school got burned down-students died. Ginny got kidnapped and well you get the picture. Everything that happened was bittersweet. So thus-Bittersweet Symphony. Ok, I think that explains some things. Enough talk and on with the story.

Disclaimer: Me no own. It's as simple as that. Harry Potter is not mine, nor ever will be. None of the characters are in my possession under a patient/copyright/trademark. You get the idea. But the Tenshi are real people. So therefore, you can not use them without permission. Thank you very much.

Dedication: To my Remus: as usual. Thank you for making my birthday special and I'm glad we got to go marauding yesterday, since it was the full moon. Riley: My dear friend. You get the hero of the books. What else could you ask for?

Ron was the first to wake up followed shortly by Harry. They went to the restroom, found some food, and then sat down again and waited, hoping that the Tenshi would wake. They had been sitting there for an hour, talking in silent whispers, when Sirius and Remus came in. They yawned and looked at the boys.

"Any signs of movement?"

Ron shook his head. "No. I don't understand. They've been like this for about three days now."

"Just give them awhile. The girls exhausted their strength. They practically drained their powers when they performed that spell. They defeated a great evil. It will take them awhile to wake up." Remus said.

Another hour went by and still none of the comatose patients showed signs of waking. The clock was about to strike the 9th hour of the day and the third they'd been awake, when Snape stirred. They all stood up and watched as he groaned, twitched, groaned some more, and then finally opened his eyes. "Where am I?" He asked.

"You're at St. Mungo's. You've been out for about three days." Remus answered.

"What happened?"

"None of us are sure about that at the moment. But it appears the Voldemort has been defeated at last." Sirius replied.

Snape sat up and looked around. "Are you sure? How is that possible?"

Remus and Sirius nodded towards the Tenshi. "We have them to thank for it. And yes, we're quite sure."

Snape swung himself out of bed and went to Robin's bed. He conjured up a chair and sat down and...watched her. He just sat there, silent, not moving, watching her, waiting for her to wake up. The only movement he made, was to breathe or blink. That was it.

Everyone sat in the room with their own thoughts. Remus and Sirius had put into words what everybody was thinking, but hardly daring to believe. Voldemort, dead. The last time that anybody had dared to believe that Voldemort was defeated, everybody had been proven wrong. But now, now it seemed like it was true. Even to Remus, Sirius, and Snape. The feeling was there, that, maybe, just maybe, it was finally true.

Evening came and finally Robin woke up. She opened her eyes and smiled, as she saw Snape, sitting there, waiting for her to wake up, just like he had promised. "I see you found your way, Severus." She said.

He smiled. "I had an angel guide me." He replied and began to chuckle. Robin began laughing.

Needless to say, everybody else in the room was stunned. They had never known Snape to laugh, much less smile. Ron and Harry exchanged looks and Remus and Sirius had both jumped a mile at the sight and sound of Snape laughing.

Riley was the next one to wake up. Harry rushed to her side and she gave him this 'what's the matter?' look.

"You're awake!" He exclaimed.

"Nice to see you too!" She replied, before yawning. "Oh your Father says he's proud of you and he and Lily love you."

Harry sat up sharply and gasped. "What did you say?"

Riley smiled and repeated her message. "Trust me on this Harry. They're proud of you and happy for you. They both love you very much." Tears sprang unbidden to Harry's eyes and he stood up and walked quickly out of the room.

Ron and Sirius stood up to go after him, but Remus shook his head and stopped them. "He needs to be alone right now."

Ron sat back down and waited for Nicole to wake up. When he looked at her, he gasped, for she was staring straight at him, with a little grin on her face. "Ron, you can stop squeezing my hand, ya know."

Ron blushed and quickly let go. He mumbled an apology and then looked back at Nicole. "How long have you been awake?"

"I woke up at the same time as Riley. But everybody was too busy paying attention to her and Harry, that nobody noticed."

"Oh."

"And yes, Voldemort is defeated. He won't be coming back anymore. Just in case you all wanted to know." Nicole stated.

Everybody just looked at each other at first and then grins spread over their faces. Soon they were laughing. Only before the dark years had they known such joy and it was highly contagious. They continued laughing even after Harry came back in. They only stopped when Harry brought up a point of interest.

"Why are you three wearing dresses?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There were many things to do now that Voldemort and his followers were gone. Among the first things done, though, was the rebuilding of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dumbledore was offered the position of headmaster, again, but he declined the offer, saying his time was over. McGonagall also declined the position, declaring that it wasn't her place, nor her desire to be headmistress. But both Dumbledore and McGonagall had a nomination as to who the next headmaster should be. Arthur Weasely approved the decision and soon, Remus J. Lupin was the new Headmaster of Hogwarts.

By the time Harry was 16, the school was ready to be opened again, just in time for the new school term. Riley, Robin, and Nicole would be joining the trio for the last two years at Hogwarts. But there was still the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts that needed to be filled. And for this, Snape offered a suggestion, which Remus took into consideration, and soon the position was filled.

Professor Sirius Black sat in the seat reserved for the DADA and smiled broadly as the Sorting Ceremony took place, with three 16 year old girls, getting the first turn at the Sorting Hat. That evening was the one of the most memorable evenings in Harry's life. His life was together and he was safe. He no longer had to fear Voldemort. He could now live life like a normal teenage boy, who focused on girls, friends, and Quidditch. Ok, so maybe not like any normal teenage boy, but like a normal teenage wizard.

~The End~

A. N.: It's been a long road. The trouble I've had uploading, writing, and just working on this story in general has made the completion of it, so much sweeter. Thank you to everybody who read this fanfic, who gave me hints and tips on how to improve it, and those who nudged me along into finishing this instead of scraping it when I thought that this story wasn't worth telling. Thank you to everybody. There may be spin-offs, I don't know. We'll see. ^.~

K. T.