Disclaimer: All characters herein except those otherwise noted belong to
J.K. Rowling, who I think, on occasion, to be some sort of goddess.
Inspired by another fic of mine, and throught out while sitting through
much boredom at work. Spoilers for all five books, I suppose.
Notes: Thanks to Kathy for reading these (not this one, probably) before I post them, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed the previous chapters. I appreciate it so, so much. Thanks.
Through Time
Epilogue: Never Forget
Seventeen-year-old Harry James Potter folded his school robes into his trunk for the last time, reaching one hand up to brush dark hair from his eyes where it had grown too long since his last haircut. His fingers brushed lovingly over a worn scarlet and gold necktie, much to small to have ever been his own.
He smiled down at it, before placing it lovingly into the trunk and closing the top. Around the room he heard other trunks closing-the last time these trunks would close in the boys' dormitory of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He turned around, looking at his friends. Seamus Finnigan with his close cropped blond hair and innocent smile, who was a friend, though he may not have always taken Harry's side in things. Dean Thomas, his hair grown longer and braided to his head, his teeth so white in his dark skin as he joked with Seamus, dark eyes glittering with happiness.
Harry looked to Neville, grown taller and out of his baby fat, his eyes so slightly haunted by deaths that had occurred, both at his hands and at the hands of others-his father had passed away the summer between sixth and seventh year, and his mother had gone on the following winter. His dark hair was carefully fixed in a muggle style, and his brown eyes momentarily caught Harry's, giving him a smile that meant everything and nothing at the same time, such a guarded thing.
Harry turned to Ron last, his best friend. Ron had grown his hair out long, similar to his brother Bill's (drove his mother insane, that did), and had finally grown into his lanky frame. He grinned at Harry.
"We're going home Harry. No more school, ever!" Ron declared. The other boys cheered.
Harry said nothing. Hogwarts had been the best home he had ever known, much better than the ten years he'd spent with the Dursley's, much better than any summer he'd spent there. He planned to move into a flat in London, maybe alone.
Maybe not, he thought, and smiled to himself.
~`~
Hermione was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, her long hair, though still slightly bushy, falling around her face in dark waves. She traced patterns in the dirt with her toes, not looking up at her two companions. Blaise Zabini, dark haired Slytherin goddess, sat beside her, regal in the way she held herself. She and Hermione had become close-closer than Hermione had become to any Gryffindors in Hermione's year-because of shared ordeal. On Hermione's other side was Padma Patil, her deeply tanned skin seeming to shimmer in the summer sunlight. She and Blaise were threading slender golden and scarlet ribbons into tiny braids in Hermione's hair.
"I don't want to leave," Hermione said.
"I think you'll change your mind," Blaise said, her voice soft and deep as she spoke.
"I know someone else who doesn't want to leave," Padma whispered, and motioned with her head to the young couple across the courtyard, a still life made of living fire, and living ice-Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley.
Hermione smiled.
~`~
". The house cup will be awarded to Gryffindor, as you can see by the decorations. Good show!" Dumbledore announced. "Now, before we commence eating, I would be happy to have. one moment, I have a list somewhere." he rummaged about in his scarlet robes before withdrawing a slip of parchment. "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Neville Longbottom in the small chamber off the great hall." He paused while everyone looked at each other, then the eight filed out of the hall.
Dumbledore followed them into the room after beginning the feast, and closed the door.
"You have all been through a great many things," Dumbledore began, inviting the eight young men and women to have a seat at a long trestle table that ran the length of the room. "From the time of your birth" he paused and looked pointedly at Harry, then Neville "your lives have been endangered by others' desire for power." His eyes found Draco and Blaise, whose fathers had been executed for the crime of being Death Eaters. "All of you have been through many trials, and you have persevered. You have faced death, and you have triumphed, to sit before me now. I, as well as the other teachers at this school are filled with pride to be able to send you forth from our school."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said, the spokesman for the group of students that he seemed to have banded together.
"Though Ginny and Luna will not be leaving us until next year, I felt it necessary to present all of you with a token of rememberance, a memento to remind you of those who have helped to make you what you are." Dumbledore said. He walked along the table, handing each student a silver clasp, emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest, and with a tiny catch on the side.
"Within these cloak-clasps, you will find ten threads, woven together, to remind you of the unity that you have all showed these last few years. Black and yellow, the colors of Hufflepuff, taken from the tie of Sirius-or Mugwhomp-Black." Dumbledore said.
Harry's eyes widened, and he looked at Hermione, turning his clasp over and opening it.
"Silver and blue, from the tie of Romulus Syclo-our time-traveling Remus Lupin." He looked at Ginny, who looked up at him, her eyes suddenly shining with tears. Draco put his hand on hers then, but he didn't know-Ginny hadn't told him, never would-about the kiss. "Silver and green, from the tie of James Potter-but maybe you know him as Jeremiah James, who taught not only you, but one of our professors, very much."
Harry grinned. Snape had certainly been less evil this term than usual.
"Lastly, if you look closely, you will note that there are two gold and two scarlet threads. One set is from Lily Evans, Harry's mother. The other two are from Harry himself. I'm sure you are all aware that you would not be here together if not for him.
"Now then," Dumbledore said. "You may proceed back into the hall to the feast. Oh, Harry, please remain for another moment, if you would."
All of the students went back into the hall except Harry.
"Harry," Dumbledore said, holding out a small pinkish crystal in a velvet- lined box. "This portkey will take us somewhere very, very important."
Harry hesitantly reached out and took hold of the crystal, at the same time as Dumbledore reached out with the hand not protected by the box. Harry felt the familiar tugging behind his navel, and closed his eyes.
Then it stopped, and he opened them, to find himself standing in a graveyard.
"What?" he asked, looking around wildly. Memories of the last time he had been portkeyed to a graveyard surfaced in full force, and he felt sick.
"Read the headstone before you," Dumbledore said.
Harry read it. And read it again. James Potter. Lily Potter. His parents.
"Why.?" Harry asked.
"We wanted you to see where they were buried," said a familiar voice, and Harry turned to see Lupin, his hair more gray, his face tired. "I wanted you to see."
"Thank you," Harry said, and tears began flowing down his cheeks. Lupin moved forward and hugged him, his thin body warm against Harry's. "Thank you."
"We've arranged for you to stay with me until your eighteenth birthday, Harry," Lupin said. "After that, you can go wherever you want."
"Thank you," Harry said again.
"Now," Dumbledore said. "Shall we feast?"
Harry nodded mutely, wiping at his cheeks.
"Would you like to join us, Remus?" Dumbledore asked.
"I would never miss the opportunity to attend a Hogwarts feast, sir." Lupin said, smiling.
They went back, and into the feast. Harry sat in the seat saved for him beside Hermione. It seemed the entire school had mixed up, milled around until Draco Malfoy was sitting at the Gryffindor table, much to Harry's surprise. Next to Ginny, which still made Ron foam at the mouth. The Gryffindor table seemed to be very full, in fact, with Padma Patil sitting between her boyfriend and her sister, Luna Lovegood cuddled on the bench next to Neville, and Blaise sitting much closer to Seamus than Harry ever would have expected.
The moment his bottom touched the seat, Draco stood.
"I'd like to make a toast-and you're all going to humor me, thank you very much-to the end of the war, the end of our schooling, the end of an era. and to Harry Potter." Draco said. He lifted his goblet high above his head, as did the students sitting around Harry.
"To Harry!" they chorused, and drank from their glasses.
"To Dumbledore!" Draco shouted, his voice ringing clear over the hall. The whole of the hall echoed it, voices ringing high into the enchanted ceiling. "To Hogwarts."
The echoing cheers rang out into the sky, through the castle.
A fitting end to their stay at Hogwarts, Harry though.
Fitting, indeed.
The End
Thank you again, to all those who read and reviewed, and I hope to see you in the possible sequel!
Notes: Thanks to Kathy for reading these (not this one, probably) before I post them, and thanks to everyone who has reviewed the previous chapters. I appreciate it so, so much. Thanks.
Through Time
Epilogue: Never Forget
Seventeen-year-old Harry James Potter folded his school robes into his trunk for the last time, reaching one hand up to brush dark hair from his eyes where it had grown too long since his last haircut. His fingers brushed lovingly over a worn scarlet and gold necktie, much to small to have ever been his own.
He smiled down at it, before placing it lovingly into the trunk and closing the top. Around the room he heard other trunks closing-the last time these trunks would close in the boys' dormitory of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He turned around, looking at his friends. Seamus Finnigan with his close cropped blond hair and innocent smile, who was a friend, though he may not have always taken Harry's side in things. Dean Thomas, his hair grown longer and braided to his head, his teeth so white in his dark skin as he joked with Seamus, dark eyes glittering with happiness.
Harry looked to Neville, grown taller and out of his baby fat, his eyes so slightly haunted by deaths that had occurred, both at his hands and at the hands of others-his father had passed away the summer between sixth and seventh year, and his mother had gone on the following winter. His dark hair was carefully fixed in a muggle style, and his brown eyes momentarily caught Harry's, giving him a smile that meant everything and nothing at the same time, such a guarded thing.
Harry turned to Ron last, his best friend. Ron had grown his hair out long, similar to his brother Bill's (drove his mother insane, that did), and had finally grown into his lanky frame. He grinned at Harry.
"We're going home Harry. No more school, ever!" Ron declared. The other boys cheered.
Harry said nothing. Hogwarts had been the best home he had ever known, much better than the ten years he'd spent with the Dursley's, much better than any summer he'd spent there. He planned to move into a flat in London, maybe alone.
Maybe not, he thought, and smiled to himself.
~`~
Hermione was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, her long hair, though still slightly bushy, falling around her face in dark waves. She traced patterns in the dirt with her toes, not looking up at her two companions. Blaise Zabini, dark haired Slytherin goddess, sat beside her, regal in the way she held herself. She and Hermione had become close-closer than Hermione had become to any Gryffindors in Hermione's year-because of shared ordeal. On Hermione's other side was Padma Patil, her deeply tanned skin seeming to shimmer in the summer sunlight. She and Blaise were threading slender golden and scarlet ribbons into tiny braids in Hermione's hair.
"I don't want to leave," Hermione said.
"I think you'll change your mind," Blaise said, her voice soft and deep as she spoke.
"I know someone else who doesn't want to leave," Padma whispered, and motioned with her head to the young couple across the courtyard, a still life made of living fire, and living ice-Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley.
Hermione smiled.
~`~
". The house cup will be awarded to Gryffindor, as you can see by the decorations. Good show!" Dumbledore announced. "Now, before we commence eating, I would be happy to have. one moment, I have a list somewhere." he rummaged about in his scarlet robes before withdrawing a slip of parchment. "Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Neville Longbottom in the small chamber off the great hall." He paused while everyone looked at each other, then the eight filed out of the hall.
Dumbledore followed them into the room after beginning the feast, and closed the door.
"You have all been through a great many things," Dumbledore began, inviting the eight young men and women to have a seat at a long trestle table that ran the length of the room. "From the time of your birth" he paused and looked pointedly at Harry, then Neville "your lives have been endangered by others' desire for power." His eyes found Draco and Blaise, whose fathers had been executed for the crime of being Death Eaters. "All of you have been through many trials, and you have persevered. You have faced death, and you have triumphed, to sit before me now. I, as well as the other teachers at this school are filled with pride to be able to send you forth from our school."
"Thank you, sir," Harry said, the spokesman for the group of students that he seemed to have banded together.
"Though Ginny and Luna will not be leaving us until next year, I felt it necessary to present all of you with a token of rememberance, a memento to remind you of those who have helped to make you what you are." Dumbledore said. He walked along the table, handing each student a silver clasp, emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest, and with a tiny catch on the side.
"Within these cloak-clasps, you will find ten threads, woven together, to remind you of the unity that you have all showed these last few years. Black and yellow, the colors of Hufflepuff, taken from the tie of Sirius-or Mugwhomp-Black." Dumbledore said.
Harry's eyes widened, and he looked at Hermione, turning his clasp over and opening it.
"Silver and blue, from the tie of Romulus Syclo-our time-traveling Remus Lupin." He looked at Ginny, who looked up at him, her eyes suddenly shining with tears. Draco put his hand on hers then, but he didn't know-Ginny hadn't told him, never would-about the kiss. "Silver and green, from the tie of James Potter-but maybe you know him as Jeremiah James, who taught not only you, but one of our professors, very much."
Harry grinned. Snape had certainly been less evil this term than usual.
"Lastly, if you look closely, you will note that there are two gold and two scarlet threads. One set is from Lily Evans, Harry's mother. The other two are from Harry himself. I'm sure you are all aware that you would not be here together if not for him.
"Now then," Dumbledore said. "You may proceed back into the hall to the feast. Oh, Harry, please remain for another moment, if you would."
All of the students went back into the hall except Harry.
"Harry," Dumbledore said, holding out a small pinkish crystal in a velvet- lined box. "This portkey will take us somewhere very, very important."
Harry hesitantly reached out and took hold of the crystal, at the same time as Dumbledore reached out with the hand not protected by the box. Harry felt the familiar tugging behind his navel, and closed his eyes.
Then it stopped, and he opened them, to find himself standing in a graveyard.
"What?" he asked, looking around wildly. Memories of the last time he had been portkeyed to a graveyard surfaced in full force, and he felt sick.
"Read the headstone before you," Dumbledore said.
Harry read it. And read it again. James Potter. Lily Potter. His parents.
"Why.?" Harry asked.
"We wanted you to see where they were buried," said a familiar voice, and Harry turned to see Lupin, his hair more gray, his face tired. "I wanted you to see."
"Thank you," Harry said, and tears began flowing down his cheeks. Lupin moved forward and hugged him, his thin body warm against Harry's. "Thank you."
"We've arranged for you to stay with me until your eighteenth birthday, Harry," Lupin said. "After that, you can go wherever you want."
"Thank you," Harry said again.
"Now," Dumbledore said. "Shall we feast?"
Harry nodded mutely, wiping at his cheeks.
"Would you like to join us, Remus?" Dumbledore asked.
"I would never miss the opportunity to attend a Hogwarts feast, sir." Lupin said, smiling.
They went back, and into the feast. Harry sat in the seat saved for him beside Hermione. It seemed the entire school had mixed up, milled around until Draco Malfoy was sitting at the Gryffindor table, much to Harry's surprise. Next to Ginny, which still made Ron foam at the mouth. The Gryffindor table seemed to be very full, in fact, with Padma Patil sitting between her boyfriend and her sister, Luna Lovegood cuddled on the bench next to Neville, and Blaise sitting much closer to Seamus than Harry ever would have expected.
The moment his bottom touched the seat, Draco stood.
"I'd like to make a toast-and you're all going to humor me, thank you very much-to the end of the war, the end of our schooling, the end of an era. and to Harry Potter." Draco said. He lifted his goblet high above his head, as did the students sitting around Harry.
"To Harry!" they chorused, and drank from their glasses.
"To Dumbledore!" Draco shouted, his voice ringing clear over the hall. The whole of the hall echoed it, voices ringing high into the enchanted ceiling. "To Hogwarts."
The echoing cheers rang out into the sky, through the castle.
A fitting end to their stay at Hogwarts, Harry though.
Fitting, indeed.
The End
Thank you again, to all those who read and reviewed, and I hope to see you in the possible sequel!