Disclaimer: I own no part of Harry Potter or its associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.

(A/N): After an ineveitable delay, the next part of the story.

Chapter 42

Examination

Having enough presence of mind to realize Ron and Hermione weren't likely up yet and not wanting to sort interview requests in his dorm room, Harry slipped into the first empty classroom he could find and locked the door. Summoning a table and chair from the pile against the wall, he pulled out the bundle of envelopes from his pocket and set them on the desktop with a thud. Dropping into the seat he reached for the first envelope, from Wizard Week in Review, tore through the seal and pulled out the letter.

It was clear from the first line that the publication was a no nonsense sort of business paper. The request was concise, perfectly worded and included the absolute minimum amount of flattery. Smiling a little at the simple and straight forward request he slid it back into the envelope and started his 'maybe' pile. Grabbing the next he found it so full of vapid flattery and mindless worship that he not only set it in the 'no' pile but started the 'destroy with terrible fire' pile. Sadly that one grew the quickest as he looked through the remaining envelopes.

Coming at the last to the Prophet's request, he barely skimmed the contents before tossing it in the 'maybe' pile with the other two. In the end it was likely he'd go with them simply for their circulation, but he wanted at least a couple other options. After all the nonsense they had done either willingly or through Ministry coercion in the last couple years, he didn't want them to think they had de facto rights to his interview. Sticking those three back in his pocket, he raised his wand to the others. A moment later they were consumed in a small blaze that turned the paper to less than ashes before extinguishing itself.

Banishing the ashes to nothingness he rose and turned back to the door. A flick of his wand sent the desk and chair back to their stacked positions as he unlocked the door and stepped out into the still rather silent castle. Being still early Saturday morning, few people were up and about, most enjoying the last weekend before class resumed by sleeping in. He would have rather liked to have been among that number, but it was not to be. Instead he had meetings and interviews to attend to.

Tossing the three remaining possibilities back and forth in his mind as he walked, he headed for the owlery. Better to take care of this as soon as possible to give Fudge his shot. By the time he had reached the sanctuary full of returning and sleeping birds he had made his decision. As expected the Prophet would get first dibs though he made a personal promise to speak with Wizard Week and the Quibbler later. Finding the few pieces of parchment and quill always left near the entrance he rapidly scratched out his reply and requested tomorrow morning. That would let Fudge announce the reopening of the Ministry on Monday. It would also allow him to wrap up the deal before having to focus on classes again come the new week.

Glancing up he sought the white plume of feathers that would indicate Hedwig. Searching for several moments he finally found her as she glided in through one of the high windows. Her sharp eyes spotted him and the offered treat in his hand a second later. Spiraling sharply down through the large room she came lightly to a rest on his extended arm and took the morsel. Moving to the side so she could hop off onto a perch, he tied the envelope to her extended leg and appreciatively stroked her feathers.

"Rest as long as you need to girl. No rush." She nodded and let out a small coo before going back to another offered treat. Scratching her behind the ear once more he bowed himself away and headed for the door. Blinking at the rising sun he squinted as his adjusted to the light and he made his way back to the school proper. He let out a deep breath that that part was now taken care of. The reporters at the Prophet were likely to come to blows over who got to do what would surely be the biggest interview of the year. Of course, that gave him a bit of power as well. Should whoever won the assignment start acting like the fools most of the reporters were, he could likely ask for someone else and get them. As long as it wasn't Rita though, everything should go fine. Should being the operative word there.

Striding through the hallways, Harry tried to sort out the myriad ideas coursing through his head. He wasn't paying much attention to where he was meandering though and nearly ran Ginny over before noticing her waiting for him at the doors to the Great Hall. "Hey!" It wasn't much of a morning greeting, but he did his best to make up for it with a deep kiss a moment later. The resultant smile seemed to be affirmation that he was forgiven. He glanced around for a moment before grabbing her hand and pulling her off, not toward the Hall but, into an abandoned section of the corridor.

"What the hell are you doing? I'm hungry." The simple statement of fact threw him off for a moment during which he stared at her quizzically. Shaking his head clear he managed to respond.

"Quiddich!" He expected this to elicit a stronger reaction than it did. All she did do was stare at him uncomprehendingly and gesture for him to continue. Of course, context. "McGonagall's going to cram a Quiddich season into the last two months of school!" That did it. Ginny's eyes grew wide as her face lit up in both recognition and surprise.

"Really!" He nodded vigorously in confirmation. Her face however fell a bit in contemplation. "But…will we have time…?"

"We'll make time. Now listen, we've got most of the team set already and I think Dean can step up as a third chaser. We'll get Ron and we can spend this afternoon going over plans for the team. Between the three of us we should be able to whip up some awesome ideas for our few games. First…" He trailed off as he noticed the cutting look in her eyes. "What?"

"This afternoon… This afternoon?" He stared back, momentarily confused as to both the concern and the emphasis in her voice. Then it struck him.

"Oh! Your parents! It'll only take a couple hours to get them on their way and then we can get back her and get to planning. I was thinking we could reuse a couple of our odder plays from…last…year…" He trailed off again, seeing the look still plastered on her face. Surprised, his mouth worked soundlessly while he wracked his brain trying to figure out what it was that was causing this particular reaction. She was almost as Quiddich crazy as he was, sometimes more so, and he expected her to nearly explode at the news she would be able to play this year. Obviously it wasn't the reinstatement of the game so…

She had stressed this afternoon… Perhaps the timing was what was important? Let's see…it was Saturday afternoon…what had they planned for that? Help her parents move home and then… Oh….hell…

His eyes grew wide and unfocused at realizing what had annoyed her. He suddenly felt very annoyed himself…and slightly ashamed. And then embarrassed that he was ashamed. And then ashamed that he was embarrassed. It was a vicious cycle that culminated in slapping himself in the forehead. He had completely forgotten their planned time together at Grimmauld tonight. Okay…this could still be salvaged. They'd just have to skip the planning…and telling Ron or he'd never let them go without talking tactics all night. No problem. They'd have plenty of time to sleep in tomorrow.

Another realization stuck him and this time his hand was insufficient. Instead his forehead rebounded a second later of the hard stone of the wall. In retrospect, it was a rather stupid move, but it seemed sufficient at the time. Clutching his forehead in pain, for once not caused by his scar, he felt her hand on his shoulder and heard her voice. "What?"

"Interview with the Prophet. 8am tomorrow." The blessedly light smack to the back of his head a moment later did nothing to alleviate the headache building between his ears. "Yeah…I deserved that."

"Yes…yes you did." She paused for a moment before her voice dropped to a deathly whisper. "Just answer me one thing….how in the name of Merlin could you forget?" The tone told him he had better come up with one hell of a reason or she would be using his head for a quaffle. Using the cover of his self imposed head injury for as long as he could, he furiously tried to construct an explanation that didn't sound idiotically flimsy or foolishly self centered. Banking that this was one of those times where the truth might work, he answered.

"I…I got drug out bed at seven by Neville for an urgent meeting with McGonagall…and Fudge as it turned out to discuss some students returning to class now that Voldemort is dead and restarting Quiddich. After we got done with that Fudge wanted to talk to me alone, a conversation during which we were discussing the reopening of the Ministry and brining its employees back to work. And then…he offered me a job as an Auror. Or rather…an Auror trainee. That was a bit of shocker as you can imagine. Then I stopped by the Defense classroom to talk to Professor Keystone and he was having an argument with Professor Montoya that sounded like it could have been me and Hermione and…" He trailed off, the true scope of all that had happened in the last couple hours flowing over him again. "I know it was stupid and I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."

The severity of her face dissipated in a heartbeat and melted into a rather seductive smile. She stepped forward so she was less than a hand's-breadth from him, her head tilted up so her chin pointed at the center of his chest where her hand now rested. "Yes you will." Grabbing a handful of his shirt she pulled him down into a deep kiss. When they broke apart several moments later they were both wearing wide grins. "We'll just have to work twice as fast to get my parents packed and out the door." He smiled a little wider and nodded firmly in response. Yeah…they could still have plenty of time alone and he could be back for his interview if they got her parents out of Grimmauld quickly. Mrs. Weasley would be anxious to get back to the Burrow so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Heading for the Great Hall they found Ron and Hermione already seated with plates before them loaded with breakfast. They both fought hard not to inform Ron of the fact that Quiddich was back, both instinctively aware of the actions this would incite. Snippets of conversation passed back and forth but they were mostly concerned with eating. They both tore through their meals with a ferocity that spooked even Ron. In an attempt to keep them from choking he asked a question.

"So…what are you planning for today?" Harry managed a perfect combination of bite, chew and talk that Ron was forced to admire. After all, it was a technique he had been trying to perfect himself.

"Going to Grimmauld to help your parents move out and start packing Ginny's room."

"Ah." Ron had nowhere to go from there and turned to Hermione for help. She simply shrugged and continued eating. Harry and Ginny stayed around for approximately three seconds longer than was absolutely necessary before bolting from the room and tearing through the school to their own rooms, much to the annoyance of several students they nearly bowled over busting through the portrait hole at dangerous speeds.

Collecting small packages of 'work clothes', they made straight for the heads' room and found the others were still at at breakfast. Counting their lucky stars, Harry pulled out the same old rusted key they had been using for nearly the entire year and held it out. Ginny took hold and they had to wait only moments before being pulled across time and space to the basement of Zonko's, likely soon to be a branch of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Taking only a moment to make sure they were all together, they both turned in place and appeared a moment later in the entryway to Harry's house.

He was momentarily surprised to see a large portrait frame holding a picture consisting of only a comfortable armchair, a small table and a pair of half moon spectacles hanging where Mrs. Black had previously been, but he quickly made a mental note to thank Molly for acquiring a picture of Dumbledore so quickly. At the sound of a rattling pot they descended to the kitchen and found the witch herself stacking some cook ware. "Good morning!" The woman rounded quickly, apparently surprised they were their already.

"Morning mum."

"Oh! Hello. You're early." Harry nodded in affirmation.

"Yeah…thought we'd make and early start of it. You must be anxious to get back to the Burrow." Mrs. Weasley nodded slowly looking a little abashed.

"Not that I don't appreciate the hospitality you've shown us, the whole family really, but…"

"It's not quite home?" She nodded again. "Don't worry. I understand completely. After the last of the Death Eaters are rounded up I'll swing by with Professor Flitwick and we can remove the Fidelus Charm." She nodded again, her eyes drifting off as she considered the protection her surrogate son had taken it upon himself to create for her home. Harry's eyes followed her gaze and found her clock hanging once again one the wall. He grinned widely at seeing none of the hands now pointed to Mortal Peril. Most were at work while his registered home and Mrs. Weasley's sat at traveling. Ginny's oddly wavered between the two every few seconds, as if not sure of her location. Mrs. Weasley noticed that as well.

"Well…that's odd… I'll take it in tomorrow and have it looked at." She went back to packing up a few other things before turning back to them. "I can handle the room Arthur and I used, what I need you two to do is scour the house for anything else I might have left behind. You can start down here and work your way up." After receiving nods from both of them she passed between them with a smile and started up the stairs. Harry stepped over to the wall and reached up to remove the clock. It dropped lightly into his hand and he set it atop the pile of her things. A grin crossed his face again as Ginny's hand seemed to move more firmly to Home. Turning back he found the girl herself looking around.

"Well…this shouldn't take long. Start in the living room?" She nodded and they quickly ascended the stairs, eager to complete their assigned tasks as quickly as possible. They were whirlwinds of activity as they tore through every room in the house from the expansive first floor, a couple rooms of which Harry hadn't even bothered to explore yet, to spacious bedroom levels. The things they found were collected and placed in a box that hovered behind them, waiting patiently at each door thanks to a charm Ginny placed on it.

There was actually very little to be found as Mrs. Weasley was a very thorough housekeeper, but they did come across the occasional sock or plate that needed to be sent back to the kitchen. Reaching the third floor they skipped Ron and Hermione's rooms as they searched the others. They also skipped Harry's room as they had Ginny's, somehow it just didn't feel right. Finishing with that floor they continued up into the peaks of the mansion to search the dusty attics. This took the longest as there were plenty of badly lit nooks and crannies for them to find stuff in. There was nothing that belonged to the Weasleys, but there was a fair number of bits and bobs formerly belonging to the Blacks that Harry made mental notes to investigate further when he had more time.

All in all it took them just over three hours to scrounge around the massive home and collect the couple boxes of various artifacts that they sent down to the first floor to go home with her parents. Having finished they took a few minutes to get cleaned up rest on an old wrought iron bench in one corner of the attic. It was placed just so it had a view out a large picture window and over the surrounding neighborhood. Clouds dotted the sky at they were content to rest and stare out over the suburbs. As the sun reached its zenith they finally rose and headed down to find Mrs. Weasley. Reaching her room they found it completely packed up, but with no sign of the witch.

Glancing at each other, identical looks of concern on their faces, they simultaneously drew wands and stalked down the next flight of stairs to the entrance. Looking around they found it silent and similarly empty. Glancing down to the kitchen they noticed the door ajar and the lights inside had been turned off. Something felt definitely off, they could both feel it. Stepping silently down the stairs Harry led and kicked open the door, wand igniting.

"SURPRISE! WHOA!" He was shocked to find several members of the Order, including Ron and Hermione suspiciously enough, gathered around the kitchen, first cheering and then shying back from the light emanating from his wand. Igniting the other lights he doused his wand. That was the point at which he noticed the cake. Harry was fairly sure, as the grin fixed itself on his face, that his thoughts were going along much the same lines as Ginny's. The whole universe was apparently conspiring to keep them apart. And just when he thought he'd stopped the main conspirator against him too.

They party to celebrate the fall of Lord Voldemort went late into the evening and Harry finally had to use the excuse of the next morning's interview to extricate himself, by which time he was thoroughly exhausted and could barely stand. Ginny caught up with him as he reached the landing and collapsed on the stairs up to the second floor, sitting and facing the main door. Bits of the continuing merriment below drifted up as she sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder. He glanced over apologetically at her, not sure exactly what to say. Fortunately, she spoke first.

"Talk about lousy timing huh?" He smiled a little and nodded.

"Yeah." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Look…I'm sorry but…I'm just totally beat right now." For a wonder she nodded slowly and smiled back.

"Well…so am I. I've waited this long. I can wait a little longer. Just a little longer." She glanced back toward the kitchen door. "After all…it's not like you planned this. Right?"

"I had no idea." After a couple more moments she rose and extended her hand. He took it and gratefully accepted the help getting back to his feet. Pulling her into a close embrace, he turned on the spot and appeared back in Zonko's basement. Grabbing hold of the key, they were back in Ron and Hermione's room a few seconds later. He yawned deeply as he passed through the halls and was thankful for the bit of support she gave him as he walked. A light kiss was there parting, both seeming to know that anything more might tempt them too far. He fell into bed and asleep almost instantly; his dreams filled with images of what he had hoped to be doing right then in the real world.

Harry Potter Tells All!

The banner headline across the full width of the Monday morning edition of the Prophet was slightly misleading. He hadn't actually told all but he had revealed much more than the public, much less the papers, had known before. Reports had already reached him by owl as he sat over breakfast that this would be the best selling edition of the paper ever. He knew full and well exactly what the interview contained, but this was his own personal check to make sure they hadn't distorted his words to fit their ideals. Fortunately the reporter had shown rare self control and printed his responses almost word for word with virtually no editorializing.

For four pages it went on with him answering the widest variety of questions he could imagine. Some…many in fact received a flat no comment and though they would have often been the most in depth and interesting response, they were also the most dangerous. He had double checked his responses before saying them to make sure no one might be able to construct the more dangerous elements of Voldemort's existence from pieces of various answers. He was confident after a quick glance that even Hermione would be hard pressed to create anything from his answers.

Folding the paper he focused his attention on the witch herself as she sat across form him with Ron. Ginny fell in beside him and glanced at the shot of his face that adorned the middle of the page. She smiled a little before turning her attention to breakfast. Before any of them could speak, Harry heard a small disturbance coming from the doorway. Turning, he found that Draco and the other seventh year Slytherins had arrived with their Auror minders and were looking around the room. Several people stared at them for a moment before turning to Harry to see how to react. Draco's eyes also sought him and met his a moment later.

Harry nodded firmly, a gesture returned by Draco, and turned back to his plate. Over the next few moments the rest of the room did the same and Draco drifted off to join his housemates at the Slytherin table. Slowly the low buzz of the room returned and a sense of normalcy descended once again. It was an event that repeated itself on a minor scale as each of a dozen more students who had been absent for most of the year appeared and rejoined their houses.

Each member of the quartet opened their mouths to say something at various times during the meal, but each time they seemed to decide it wasn't needed. A strange harmony had formed between them that meant they could often tell what the others were thinking, meaning actually talking was rarely needed. In silence they also rose from the table and headed for their first class of the week, as it had been all year, Defense Against the Dark Arts. For once there was less a sense of urgency about what they were going to learn. They had passed the challenge they were training for, the rest was gravy now.

They had received notes the previous evening saying class would be held once again completely within the classroom. Many students were relieved at this as it meant they could spend the morning recovering from the weekend celebrations instead of running. The quartet filed in and took there seats, looking around as the rest filled up and feeling a pang at the two they knew would never be filled again by the students that had had them all year. The class had reorganized itself a little so the two empty seats now both sat at the front table to the left of Harry. As the opening bell neared they discovered who would be filling those empty seats. Accompanied by their minders, who stayed near the door, Draco and Daphne entered and slowly took their places at the table.

Harry was again surprised at the lack of defiance in Draco's features. Instead of challenging anyone with a look of even meeting their eyes, he simply strode forward and sat staring straight ahead. He had gotten some fresh Slytherin robes, the green and silver a welcome change from the dead black of his last allegiance. A few of the others eyed him warily and their hands half reached for their wands. Each though turned their attention straight ahead as the bell rang and the professor strode in from his office, the black fabric still tied across his face. Many, especially Draco and Daphne, went wide eyed at finally seeing him up close after the battle. He took his customary stool and looked around.

"Good morning class. Welcome back. I see we have new students." He focused on the Slyterins. Harry thought he might have put emphasis on the word see, but it could as easily have been his own ears. "Welcome." He turned back to the class at large. "You might wonder why we're meeting here this morning instead or out in the courtyard as we usually do. Firstly it's because I imagine you'd all like a chance to recover from the weekend. Just this once you get it. Secondly I have a number of announcements to make." He pulled out a small piece of parchment and began scanning it.

"Firstly, as you know, Quiddich has been reinstated and captains will be assembling their teams this week so be aware of that. Next…we will be back in the courtyard next week so be sure to wear comfortable clothes. Now…the big one. NEWTs are coming up in just a couple months and it's my job to make sure you pass the Defense portion with flying colors. Personally, I believe you could pass blindfolded right now, but that doesn't mean we can skip review. So, each week we'll be going over a potion of the exam. Speaking of the exam, I've been informed by the Headmistress that Sixth years in defense will have the option of taking the NEWT for it this year and skipping Defense next year." Looks of shock floated between the various sixth year students as they considered this possibility and more reserved shock passed amongst the seventh years.

"I'll make no suggestions as you likely know your own level or preparedness far better than I do, though I will be available over the next couple weeks to discuss the option if you wish it. See me after class to set up a time." He checked over the parchment again before turning his attention finally to the class. "So…shall we begin?" Starting once again with the most basic things he began to review all they had learned in Defense.

The Slyterins remained quiet for the majority of the class, simply observing the rest of the class and the professor interacting. It was a pattern that would repeat itself several times over the next several weeks and through all their classes. As the NEWTs neared, they did become a little more communicative but both still had the passive expressions that had worn almost continuously since the battle. Harry paid no attention to it as he had other things on his mind. Once again Captain of the Quiddich team, he had assembled his force in record time and was training them continuously in the rare free moments.

As he had predicted, the exercise in defense class had created the leanest, fastest and fittest teams Hogwarts had ever seen. With Ginny, Ron and Harry all on their team, Gryffindor benefited the most from this, especially with Ginny and her super fast Firebolt. Despite slim pickings though, Draco's determination as captain of his team had shown through once more and they were making a run at the cup that only the undefeated Gryffindor seemed to able to challenge. With two matches every Saturday, each house had faced all of the others once by the end of April and only Gryffindor had managed a victory against the green and silver team, making their rematch for the championship a certainty. The second week of matches did see a record set when Gryffindor faced Ravenclaw in the morning game.

As always the teams faced off with their Seekers high above, Luna once again commentating, something she had demonstrated more focus with this year. As the players waited Madam Hooch grabbed the Quaffle and stood below. She tossed it in the air and blew her whistle. "The game begins with Ginny Weasley taking command of the Quaffle and tossing it to Thomas-" Hooch's whistle sounded again, followed a stunned second later by the continuation of Luna's commentary. "Gryffindor wins!" The rest of the players, as stunned at the crowd, turned from their places frozen in mid action to see Harry Potter, about a meter to the right of his starting position, arm extended, holding the Snitch in his fingers.

It took the stadium several seconds to explode in cheers after the shortest game of Quiddich, clocking in at five seconds, in the history of Hogwarts came to an end. Harry could only shrug embarrassedly and try to explain how he had just stabbed out his hand at a glint and caught the snitch. A number of his teammates oddly were most annoyed as it had deprived them of a perfectly good chance to play. He offered to let the snitch go and resume play, but the rules were clear, Gryffindor had won.

The final pair of games, Slytherin and Gryffindor for the championship and Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff for third place, was scheduled for early May and would be the grand finale of an extremely condensed season. Combined with their continued studying for the NEWTs, it gave them little time to do anything else, a fact that particularly irked Harry and Ginny.

Eventually though, the faithful week arrived. During the weekend the final games, complete with scouts in the bleachers from most of the professional teams, commenced. The final result was Hufflepuff taking third in the standings and Gryffindor managing a win for the cup. Half the school was taken with excessive celebration once again as the victory were commemorated and loses consoled. The seventh and many of the sixth years however had no time to sleep though as NEWT testing began the following Monday and throughout the week in lieu of normal classes.

Harry had expected Hermione to be the usual anxious wreck that she always was at exam time, though this year she was oddly calm and spent much less time worrying that she had totally screwed up. It was a refreshing change from her normal hysteria. Harry also found himself oddly calm as he went from one test to the next each day. The knowledge that he had a job waiting either way had relieved much of the pressure and allowed him to answer the questions and move on.

Having finally reached last test on Friday afternoon Harry met up with the others and headed out onto the grounds to relax. Finding a now fully bloomed tree to sit beneath, he lay back on the grass while the others gathered around and let out a deep breath. He hadn't thought of it, but they looked much like the Marauders so many years past.

(A/N): If you feel it is warranted feel free to review. I welcome any and all opinions.