A Very Short Chapter Eight

Madam Promfrey walked out of her office at the sound of fire flaring. She stared, slightly stunned, at the four students that now graced the hospital wing with their sooty presence.

"What have you done this time, Mr. Potter?" Madam Promfrey looed at the young man critically.

"Nothing much," Harry smiled warily, "I just have a broken leg; you'll be able to fix that in a jiffy."

"Of course, Mr. Potter." Madam Promfrey's voice showed her disbelief; after all, when was the last time Harry just broke something? "Sit up on that bed and I'll take a look at you."

Harry quickly complied with the Medi-Witch's request. Madam Promfrey removed Hermione's splint spell and proceeded to cast several other spells over Harry's broken limb.

"Well, Mr. Potter, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that your leg will heal just fine, the bad news is that it was caused by some very dark magic and will subsequently have to heal the muggle way." Madam Promfrey cast a couple of summoning spells in the direction of her store cupboard, and a few curious-looking bottles flew out. "You'll be using these crutches for six to eight weeks while the bone re-fuses itself and if the pain gets too much you may take one of these potions."

"Thank you." Harry slid off the bed, thankful that the binding spell was back in place. "We'll just go home now."

"Not so fast. I think I better give you all a check up just to be sure that you're all ok." Madam Promfrey gave the group a stern glare as if daring them to defy her wishes.

Forty minutes later the group appeared on the steps to the Granger residence. The sun was still below the horizon but colour was slowly beginning to creep back into the world and the four students could all see quite clearly.

Hermione charmed the lock on the door open with a spell and ushered everybody in.

It was still much darker in the house and those not familiar with the house could only just make out where the stairs leading up were. "Do you think anyone will have noticed that we've been missing?" Ron asked as they shut to door quietly behind them.

"Oh, I think you're absence has been noticed." A deep male voice answered.

Hermione flicked on the hall light and there, on the stairs, sat Remus, looking at the four teens with an amused glint in his eye but a stern glare upon his face.

"Where have you all been…? And what happened to your leg, Harry?" Lupin stared at the crutches under Harry's arms suspiciously.

"It's a really long story." Harry smiled sheepishly, "Maybe we could leave it until after we open the presents?"

Lupin shook his head, "Harry, don't act like a child: you will tell the rest of the adults and I where you have all been gallivanting off to in the middle of the night, and you will do it before anyone opens any presents."

"Thanks a lot, Harry." George whined from the top of the stairs.

"Yeah, this better be the abridged version of the story: I want to see Ron's face when he sees what we got him." Fred grinned mischievously at his younger brother; Ron's face paled a shade or two.

As it turned out, the entire household sat down and listened to Harry talk about his night. Half way through Dumbledore turned up and he was quickly filled in on the story so far before Harry continued on. It took a lot longer than necessary because Hermione kept interrupting with back-story about the orb and Draco kept interrupting with statements about how heroic he'd been and each time that happened Ron would dispute Draco's claims.

The presents were opened after lunch.

Epilogue

Hermione lay on her back on the lawns of Hogwarts. Above her flew her husband, her friend and the saviour of the wizarding world. It was their last day at Hogwarts and they had all graduated with honours, though Draco kept insisting that Ron didn't deserve the award he had received, which like Harry's was for bravery.

Harry was still trying to decide what he wanted to do. He had decided not to become an auror because he didn't think very much of the ministry; they had told the wizarding world that they had organised the attack on Voldemort and orchestrated his downfall. Several people were suspicious of this claim, as it was a group of seventeen-year-olds that had acted out the plan and surely the ministry wouldn't be stupid or careless enough to put children in such a dangerous position. Everyone else in the wizarding world seemed to believe that it was the ministries plan because they did think that the ministry was that stupid.

Dumbledore had offered to teach Harry advanced Defence Against the Dark Arts and had even offered Harry a position teaching it at the end of the course.

Harry was seriously considering the offer.

Ron was going to try out for a place on his favourite Quidditch team and, failing that, he planned to try again while working with Fred and George… hopefully not as a test subject. Neither Fred nor George had been overly clear about what Ron would be doing at their shop.

Hermione had spoken to Mrs. Weasley about it and Molly had assured her that she would ensure Ron's safety… Draco had commented that his dignity might be in shatters if it was his mummy still fighting his battles with his brothers. It had been Draco's idea in the first place.

Draco and Hermione were planning to stay together. Draco wanted to travel and Hermione wanted to go to university. They had compromised. Hermione would study for a year then they would take six months off to travel after which Hermione would finish her course before getting a job that was flexible enough to allow her to take long holidays.

Draco had no intention of actually working, and seeing as his father was in Azkaban and his mother refusing to take control of the estate, Draco had no need to work. Hermione had told him about the stock market and he planned to learn more about it. He was also considering doing something in politics so he could be an influential person in wizarding society; he was a Slytherin, and all Slytherins like power, after all.

Hermione smiled.

Life was going to be ok.

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