33. Epilogue
The transition from slumber to wakefulness was slow for Harry Potter. It started with a feeling of contentment and the strong desire to return to the comfort of sleep. But Harry's sense of responsibility, and curiosity, eventually prodded his mind to awaken. He next became aware of presence next to him, his arm curled around it. Something tickled his face, and Harry wrinkled his nose in irritation. Harry brushed aside whatever it was that was bothering him and then snuggled into the warm body that lay beside him. Warm body? Harry's eyelids snapped open with the realization. He was greeted with the sight of a mass of brown, which didn't reveal much. Harry carefully raised himself on one elbow, and almost cried out in happiness at the sight before him - curled up next to him lay Hermione. Harry stared at the sleeping face of the woman he loved for a minute, as men all throughout the world, Muggle and wizard alike, have done over the centuries. Satisfied that he was not dreaming, Harry lay back down and held her comfortably, allowing his mind to recollect the events of the prior night.
After the defeat of Voldemort, a weariness and exhaustion hit Harry with a force previously not felt. Drained and injured from the fight itself, Harry was suddenly faced with the understanding that it was over – seventeen years of being hunted and having his closest friends in danger was finally over. Harry limped his way towards where Dumbledore lay and cut away his bonds. Using Harry's wand, Dumbledore summoned his own from the bag and proceeded to free the rest of the captives. Harry didn't wait for his wand to be returned though; he had immediate made his way to where Hermione was, though in his injured state, she was freed before he reached her. She gathered him in a bone-crushing hug and happy kisses, though not without an admonishment or two ("I can't believe you did that to me! If you do something so stupid again I'll kill you myself!"*)
After that moment, things became somewhat of a blur for Harry, due equally to his weakened state and the fact that his mind was focused only on Hermione. He did, however, remember Dumbledore sneaking off with Ron to retrieve the Marauders' Map. He vaguely remembered them returning and forming groups of adults and seventh-year students to rid the castle of the Death Eaters. With the aid of the Marauders' Map, it was quick work. Through it all, Harry lay in the comfort of Hermione's arms, protected from the questions and awe-struck babbling of those who witnessed his triumph. Once the Aurors had arrived and the castle was clear, Hermione helped Harry to his bed in the dorm room, where he fell asleep instantly. He hadn't remembered Hermione climbing into bed next to him, but he was happy that she had. Harry was broken out of his reverie by the soft movements of the body nuzzled against him. Harry watched as Hermione slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times, before a sleepy grin formed on her face when she saw Harry.
"Morning, sleepy head" Harry said fondly, careful to keep his chin raised and thus spare Hermione from the curse of morning-breath.
"Mmmmmm," Hermione responded as she stretched, her arms raised and her back arched. That feat completed (to Harry's very wide eyes), she turned and looked at him intently. "Are you feeling better?"
Harry nodded. "Much better," he said, pulling her closer. She didn't resist and nestled her head underneath his chin.
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Harry sat in the fairly comfortable chair outside on the lawn of the castle, watching as various witches and wizards stood and crossed the stage that had been erected in front of the doors to the castle. The professors had truly made the grounds beautiful for the graduation ceremony, and Professor Sprout had truly outdone herself with the beautiful flowers placed around them. Predictably, the ceremony had been delayed a week. After Voldemort's defeat, the ministry and media had quickly descended upon Hogwarts in droves. Aurors, ministry officials, and reporters had questioned each and every witness to the duel between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort. Voldemort's death had been confirmed, and the day had been proclaimed a wizarding holiday. Harry, once he had time to recover, had faced a barrage of people trying to get a piece of his time. Although Dumbledore, Hermione, and the Weasleys tried to protect him as much as they could, Harry found himself firmly in the spotlight. Midweek, Harry received another Order of Merlin, though 1st class this time. Offers of employment (less actual work, more just being a name to be used) flooded in, even from professional Quidditch teams cared less for his skill and more for his ability to draw paying crowds. It was a veritable circus.
Although sad to be leaving the only real home he'd known, Harry was looking forward to the next phase of his life. Hermione had earned a prestigious internship at St. Mungo's, while Ron had secured a job at the Ministry, as his OWLs and NEWTs weren't high enough to earn him a spot in Auror training. After graduation, Harry would stay at the Burrow (there being no need to return to the Dursleys, ever) until he and Ron could find a nice three bedroom flat in London. Hermione would spend the summer with her mother and father, though she would apparate to London to give her final approval or disapproval on the flat they would share. The idea had been rather sudden. Originally, with the threat of Voldemort still strong, it was assumed Harry would return to the Dursley's or Grimmauld Place to continue the war. Now, with Voldemort merely swirling about in the soul gem, the three friends had decided to live together after graduation in London; considering where both Hermione and Ron were to work, it was the obvious choice. Harry was initially reluctant about the idea, afraid of how the dynamics between the three friends would change now that two of them were involved intimately. He hadn't had to worry though, as Ron had smoothly adjusted to the idea, even anticipating that his two friends would eventually fall in love. When he asked Hermione about Ron's surprising attitude, she only smirked and said that they'd had a "discussion."
Harry returned his attention to the ceremony as the Patil sisters received their diplomas. Although reporters crowded the stands, aiming to get a picture of the graduation of Harry Potter, Harry was mostly left in peace among his friends. Although plenty of students were in awe of him as well, most of the Gryffindors were by now used to his exploits and were slightly less awestruck. Ernie and Hermione, as Head Boy and Girl, had given nice speeches, and the diplomas signifying fully qualified witches and wizards were being handed out. Only in his deepest, most closely guarded hopes and dreams did Harry believe he would live to see his graduation. And, as he made eye contact and shared a smile with Hermione, he knew that his life truly lay open in front of him, free of dark wizards and prophecies.
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Harry Potter sat on a bench, watching a pack of children playing in the snow. They alternated between building snow wizards, complete with pointy hats, and furious snowball fights, filled with squeals and laughter. Harry was filled with utter contentment as he watched the scene of innocence and joy. He was broken out of his reverie by the beeping of his watch. Looking at his wrist, Harry saw that it was time to go.
"Emma! Emma, time to go!" he called out. A small girl, her curly black hair hidden underneath a homemade woolen hat, broke away from the group of children and said her goodbyes to her playmates. Harry kneeled down and opened his arms wide, and the little girl ran into them. He lifted her up and carried her as the two left.
"Time to get Mummy?" the little girl asked animately.
"That's right. We go get Mummy and then go skating." The little girl seemed excited by this news, and she nestled comfortably against Harry's neck. He walked for a few minutes until he spotted a brown-eyed witch.
"Mummy!" the little girl cried, sitting up and leaning over to her, arms outstretched.
Hermione reached for her daughter. "How's my little pumpkin?" she asked, smiling. Hermione listened as Emma recounted her snowy adventures.
"How was your day?" Harry asked his wife as they made their way to the skating rink. They found a bench and sat.
"Tiring," Hermione said. "I keep bumping into things, including the patients!" she said amused.
Harry patted her growing stomach. "Only a few months more," he said smiling.
"Skate mummy! Skate!" Emma cried out.
Hermione looked at her. "Of course darling. Coming, Harry?"
Harry shook his head. "Not just yet. I'd rather watch for now." Hermione nodded and carried their daughter to the entrance of the rink as Harry settled into the bench. Hermione paid and mother and daughter held hands as they skated in lazy circles. Harry was suddenly reminded of another Christmas, in this exact place, years ago. He had felt content back then also, but he was alone at the time. Now, many years later, Harry was back with a family of his own. Harry smiled, ever thankful for his life.
The end!
*Thanks to Ankalagon for providing the perfect words so I didn't have too :)
Author's Notes:
I hope you enjoyed our little trip. It was great fun to write, and I'm absolutely flabbergasted by the reviews! I would write a sequel if I could think of a plot, so any ideas would be welcome. This was my story that tried to stay as true to canon as possible; now I'll indulge in some AU stuff.
Just to let you know, my original epilogue was only the last scene at the skating rink. But after all the great feedback, I knew I should write more. It was a good thing FanFiction was down yesterday (at least for me) because that &$^@(# game two nights destroyed any ability to write. Yesterday's game was simply depressing (twenty years of life waiting for a World Series!) and not as blindly enraging, so I was able to cobble the rest of the epilogue together.
One thing that was a bit clumsy in the writing was the fact that Harry had such an audience in the last battle, all tied up around the platform. I could have easily had Harry and Voldemort have a more private fight, but I wanted Harry to have witnesses. In all his adventures so far, there really wasn't anyone to see what he'd accomplished except for his friends. This way, everyone who's anyone saw his defeat of Voldemort.
What would I do differently/change:
First, if I were to ever go back, I would bolster the front end of the story (before Harry runs off). I could probably add another 5k to 10k words by adding dialogue and a couple of scenes. At the time, I just wanted to get to the good part and hurried through it. Plus, this being my first piece of fiction ever, I'd like to think my writing got better as the story went along.
Second, I might try and interweave the Harry and Hermione stories rather than have them completely separate. But I think I'm too lazy to do that.
Thanks to my reviewers:
I hate to thank only certain reviewers, since it might make it sound like I didn't appreciate everyone's reviews. But some deserve special mention:
ears91 and onkel: you two are the best! Definitely my most prolific reviewers (twice as many reviews as the next) and reviewing since the very beginning, I know you two would have reviewed every chapter if I hadn't updated so fast. In fact, near the end I delayed an update or two until you could get a review in. Thanks for always being there!
In alphabetical order, thanks to: babyjayy, Devonny Rose, Facade1, hermionegreen, keebler-elmo, Linda_Ishtar, Maxx77, Romm, and Squirrelface RAE: These guys/gals came on strong at the end. Multiple reviewers who, from whichever chapter you started, reviewed until the last chapter. Thanks!
Responses to my reviewers:
Devonny Rose: Well, at least the Sox still have a chance. Good luck tonight! I don't think I'll be able to watch any more baseball this year though…too painful.
SilverDagger: Thanks for the review. Don't be surprised if I shoot you an email asking for advice about the confusing bits (can't do it from work though). Eek! I do give my chapters a once-over before posting to avoid grammar errors, and while Word does spell-check for me, it won't catch things like their vs. there. Ah well, that's the problem when you edit your own work. I kept the metric units in the story since it's supposed to be British. I threw in the English conversions for US readers.
Romm: Hehe I debated on keeping the whole apology-to-the-parents bit in, seemed a bit cheesy, but I figured Harry's always been a polite guy. Besides, there's no reason to completely piss off your future in-laws, even if you do save their lives.
NasserPotter: You're correct about Voldemort being more powerful. While Harry was off by himself, he focused only mastering his "basic" spells, increasing the potency of them, and increasing his ability to withstand magical attacks. He knew he didn't compare in magical knowledge, so trying to effectively learn every counter-curse to what Voldemort knows would be futile (also, I'm no good at making up spells). Voldemort would have wiped the floor with Harry if not for the brother wands, which in effect was a counter-curse to almost everything Voldemort used against him.
keebler-elmo: the whole too obvious of his disguise: Harry was worried about it too. It would have been smarter for Harry to be in a different House, but he really couldn't see himself as anything other than Gryffindor. It would have been smarter for Harry to start 6th year over, since academically it would be easier, but he felt it would be too hard seeing his old friends in different classes. He really couldn't help being a seeker, since playing Quidditch is one of his few joys, and he never told anyone the exact number of OWLs he got. Besides, I'm sure subconsciously he wanted to get caught ;)
Hermione and Ron had felt too much guilt to feel angry with Harry. They blamed themselves for his capture (since they weren't there for him when he ran after Hagrid) and subsequent torture, and even for not stopping him when he fled. So, while they were sorta mad that he kept the secret, their overwhelming guilt and plain happiness at his return mitigated any anger. Harry was never really mad at either of his two friends: by now he's accustomed to Ron's temper, and Harry feels a lot of guilt himself for getting Hermione hurt in the Dept of Mysteries. He could never be truly angry with Hermione: she's the only one who always stood by him (except in my story, of course), and he understands that everything she does is for him. Now, I did mess up in that Harry should be much more angry with Dumbledore, but I forgot all about that.
Ankalagon: neither telepathy or cliché…simply genius on our parts!
Romm: good idea! Sometimes when they dismantle an old stadium, they sell pieces of it, like the old Chicago Stadium and Boston Gardens. I can have Harry sell "bits o' Voldemort" to collectors…he can sign and number them, and he would make a fortune!