Chapter 38: A Conclusion ******************** "So much for endings. Beginnings are always more fun. True connoiseurs, however, are known to favor the stretch in between, since it's the hardest to do anything with." -Margaret Atwood, Happy Endings ********************* Hermione looked helplessly at Harry. "It isn't true," she said plainly. "How could I be a Seer? What are you talking about?" "Hermione, you just made a prophecy!" Ron said excitedly. "You said that both sides are growing stronger, and uh... something about other prophecies... and that the phoenix's cry will tell who wins the battle!" He finished triumphantly. Hermione looked at Harry, comprehension slowly dawning in her eyes. "But... no, I couldn't have!" she cried, obviously in denial. "Harry, that didn't happen, did it?" Silently, he nodded. "And just think, you were the one Trelawney said had no hope for Divination! And look at you now, you're a Seer!" Ron said. "This is preposterous," Hermione replied, standing up and brushing herself off. "Divination, who really believes that stuff anyway..." "Hermione, I saw Trelawney when she gave a real prophecy. It was exactly like that," Harry interrupted. She shook her head. "Why don't we go see Dumbledore about this. I really don't know what else to do." Harry and Ron nodded, walking out of the door with her. "I still feel dizzy," she mumbled. The boys held onto her arms for support as they walked towards the Headmaster's office. "Twizzler," the three of them chanted together, and the gargoyles leapt aside. They followed the spiral staircase upwards, coming to Dumbledore's office door. Harry shuddered involuntarily, thinking of the horrible memories he had of this room; just a few weeks before, he had been inside fighting off the Dark Lord. Luckily, he was disrupted from his thoughts as Dumbledore answered the door. "Welcome," he said smiling, as he ushured the group inside. "I was just about to go downstairs for dinner. What can I do for you?" "Well, Professor," Hermione began, eyeing Harry and Ron suspiciously. "Hermione's a Seer!" Ron interrupted excitedly. "She just predicted something a few minutes ago," Harry added. Hermione glared at them both. "Honestly, this prophecy stuff is quite ridiculous..." she said, crossing her arms. The Headmaster was grinning broadly. "Earlier, Harry, I believe you asked why Hermione was taken?" Harry nodded and his mouth dropped open as he realized he knew the answer to the question. Hermione, standing beside him, gasped loudly as she did also. Ron simply looked from one to the other, trying to figure out what was going on. "What?" he asked. "Why was Hermione taken?" Dumbledore smiled gently. "For those who are very powerful, it is often easy to see abilities in others that the common witch or wizard would not recognize. Lord Voldemort obviously saw that Hermione would be a Seer, and thought that having her around would come in handy - which it clearly would have, had she given the prophecy to him instead of to you and Harry," Dumbledore stated. "But... how would he know?" Ron asked, confused. Dumbledore simply smiled. "Mr. Weasley, not every question has an answer. Now, downstairs everyone, dinner's about to start and I'm starving. I hear we're having a delicious pudding for dessert..." The trio made their way down the stairs and to the Great Hall. ****************** The next few days passed in a flurry of studying for the practice N.E.W.T. exams. Not surprisingly, Hermione had been hitting the books harder than anyone else in their year. Harry would study for a few hours, then take extended breaks with Ron, who was studying the least out of them all. He was suffering from Hermione's wrath as she constantly chastised him for slacking off. "Really, Hermione, they're practice N.E.W.T.s. I'll study for the real thing!" he said one afternoon, for what seemed to Harry to be the millionth time. Hermione sighed angrily. "Ron, they are supposed to predict what you'll get on the real N.E.W.T. tests! If you don't try now, you'll have no idea how much learning you really need to do before next year!" she informed him, picking up a heavy-looking book called "Transfiguration: Foods into Fortresses". Ron grabbed the thick volume out of her hands. "'Foods into Fortresses?'" he said, laughing. "Who really needs this stuff? When's the last time you were enjoying your supper and suddenly decided you needed a castle?" Harry tried valiantly to hold back his laughter but failed. Hermione grabbed the book back huffily. "It covers any edible item and how to make it into a variety of protective shields," she countered. "If you two aren't going to study, then leave me in peace! The test is tomorrow, you know! I need to study!" Taking the hint, Ron and Harry left the library and headed out onto the Hogwart's grounds. There were a few other students outside, as the weather had become simply gorgeous, but no other sixth years. The two young men sat in the shade of an oak tree along the bank of the lake. Ron sighed as he lay on his back in the cool grass. "Harry, what do you want to be? You know, after you graduate?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry sighed, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. "I dunno... if I ever survive this Voldemort thing, you mean," he said sarcastically, as Ron laughed. "I would really like to be an Auror, I just don't know if I could pass the test. And if I didn't, after another two years of training..." "Of course you would pass the test," Ron said, dismissing Harry's doubts with a wave of his hand. "Blimey, even Hermione's admitted you're great at Defense Against the Dark Arts! I think you'd make a great Auror." Harry couldn't help but smile; he was happy that, even with everything that was happening, his friends still supported him and were thinking about a future beyond Hogwart's. "What about you, Ron? What'd you like to do?" he asked. Ron studied the leaves of the tree above him intently. "I think I'd fancy working in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. I'm okay at school lessons, but not as good as you or Hermione. I know I'll probably end up working in the Ministry, so might as well make it fun. I don't want to end up in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office like my dad." They both laughed, but inside they were happy that they could dream of a future, a future that for Harry would involve a normal life - one without the threat of Voldemort. ****************** From Harry's point of view, the practice N.E.W.T. tests the next day were awful. Just the idea of spending an entire day indoors when the sun was shining outside was enough to make him anxious. The sixth years spent hours filling out questions, ranging from "How do you identify a Romanian Longhorn dragon?" to "List the ingredients and measurements needed to create a Confusing Concoction." As the day wore on, students began to leave the room one by one as they finished their tests. Harry finished the last few questions, hoping he had done okay. He glanced across the room at Ron, who was slumped in his chair, his hand against his forehead and his eyes crinkled in concentration. He had to stifle a laugh at Ron's appearance, seeing how he hadn't worried a bit about studying beforehand. Harry rose and turned in his test before heading back upstairs to the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was already there, curled up in a chair reading a book. "Hermione, you just studied for weeks and spent an entire day taking a test! What are you reading again for?" he asked her, collapsing tiredly into the chair next to her. "Oh, I'm not studying. Just reading for the fun of it," she replied, turning the book so that Harry could read the cover, which said "Legends of Spain: Mystery, Secrets, and Myths in History". "Looks interesting," Harry lied. Hermione smiled. "I found it in the library yesterday. It's fascinating, they explain all about La Gema de Dominio." This reminded Harry of Rachel. "I'm gonna go see if anyone else is done with the test," he said, standing up. "I'll see you at dinner!" "Bye," Hermione mumbled, already engulfed in the book again. Harry walked through the hallways, eventually coming across the Hufflepuff common room. He had not been there for quite some time and had no idea what the password was, so he sat down on the cold brick floor and waited for someone else to open the door. Almost immediately, he saw Ernie Macmillan walking towards him. "Harry, that test was a bit difficult, eh?" he said, shaking his head. "I studied for weeks and I still didn't know every one!" "I know how you feel," Harry replied, standing as Ernie gave the password and the entrance swung open. They walked inside and Harry saw Rachel sitting in a chair in the common room, chatting with Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones. "Hey Rach," he greeted her and sitting down across from her. "Oh hi, we were just talking about the Potions section. Dreadful, wasn't it?" Hannah commented, shaking her head. "I'm sure I got them all wrong..." Rachel shrugged. "Too late now," she said. "But at least it's over!" They heard a tapping at the window and everyone turned to see a small tawny owl carrying a letter. "Pancho!" Rachel cried, hurrying over to the window to let it inside. The owl flew to her shoulder. "He must have come now because we never really had a break earlier to get mail," Rachel mused, untying the letter. The owl, a tuft of feathers sticking out of his head oddly, perched on the arm of her chair. She opened the letter and Harry leaned over to read it over her shoulder. He was immediately surprised as he realized it was written all in Spanish. "Who's it from?" he asked, a bit confused. "My aunt Sofia," Rachel replied, still reading. Harry felt a little stupid that he had never considered the fact that Rachel, having lived in Spain for most of her life, was probably fluent in Spanish. "What does it say?" he asked her. "Oh, nothing much, she's just still worried about Death Eaters breaking in to Hogwart's, and asking how I think I did on the practice N.E.W.T.s," she replied. Harry nodded. "Well, I think I'm going to take a bit of a nap before dinner," he replied, standing up. "Okay," Rachel answered. "Don't oversleep though - no one wants to miss the leaving feast!" Harry walked slowly through the halls back to his own common room. The leaving feast, he thought to himself. It's our last night here, I really should be packing for tomorrow... In all honesty, he didn't want to leave. Just like every other year. ******************** The feast that night was spectacular, as students, staff, and ghosts alike participated in the festivities. Although most students were happy to be on summer holiday, Harry was slightly depressed, as usual. As he left after the meal, Rachel rushed over to him. "Harry, I owled my aunt back after she sent me that letter, and I just got a reply - she wants you to come visit us in Spain over the summer!" Rachel said happily. Harry felt a dead weight in his stomach. "Wow, Rachel! That sounds fantastic," he said, his voice fakely happy. In reality, it made him quite nervous to be meeting the closest thing to his girlfriends' parents. Rachel seemed to sense his anxiety. "Don't worry, I'm sure they'll love you," she assured him. I hope so, Harry thought to himself. ******************* The train ride back to King's Cross seemed to take less time than ever before. The minutes flew by as Harry, accompanied by Ron, Hermione, Rachel, Neville, Ginny, and Luna all laughed and talked, crammed into one tiny compartment. The door slid open suddenly and everyone drew their wands, expecting Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's silhouettes to be filling the doorway. Parvati Patil gasped in horror. "Guys - it's just me!" she stuttered. Everyone laughed. "Sorry, Parvati, we thought it would be Malfoy," Harry said, still laughing. "That's not very nice," Lavendar Brown commented, joining the compartment as well. "I can't even move anymore!" Neville whined, struggling to sit up in the tiny space now crammed with passengers. Everyone laughed, and the Hogwart's Express screeched to a halt. "We're here," Ron said gloomily. Harry felt exactly the same way. The students gathered their luggage and left the train, saying their goodbyes. Hermione held Harry and Ron in a giant bear hug before kissing Ron on the cheek and promising him she'd see him later that summer. Harry turned to Rachel. "I'll talk to my aunt about you visiting, I'm sure you'll be able to," she said, glancing over to where the Dursleys were waiting impatiently for Harry. "I won't let you be stuck with the muggles for too long," she whispered, giggling. "Thanks," Harry replied, grinning. Rachel wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the lips; he felt his face burning with embarassment at this sudden public display of affection. "I'll see you later, Harry Potter," Rachel said, a sly grin on her face. Harry smiled as well, dragging his luggage towards the Dursleys' car. Hopefully this summer holiday would be better than the last. ******************* THE END!! Thanks guys for all of your wonderful reviews.
