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Chapter 2

As soon as the castle came into view, Harry felt a sense of peace. This place would always feel like home. After all the years of abuse he had endured at the hands of his aunt and uncle, this had been a sanctuary over the years. Memories flew into his mind, good and bad. He smiled at the castle sadly as he and his fellow classmates started up the castle's stairs to their final days of school.

Harry, along with Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, were all escorted up the Headmaster's office by Professor McGonagal. As the door opened Harry held his breath. Could this be a trap? Or a lie to save Snape's life? He hope it wasn't. Then he would have another mission - to avenge Dumbledore's life.

The four of them entered the office to find Dumbledore sitting in his seat as usual. Yet, he looked far older and more tired than he ever had before. He gave them a weak smile as they came in.

"Ah. . . welcome back to Hogwarts. I do believe I have some explaining to do," he started, his voice soft and rough. Harry blinked slowly and sat down in one of the four leather chairs that had been placed in front of the desk for them.

"It is good to see you alive, sir," Harry said. Dumbledore smiled a little brighter.

"Thank you. It is good to see all of you alive and well. No on to what I have to tell you. I never died, as you can see. Snape and I had discussed what Voldemort wanted to do. He wanted me out of the way to lure you out of Hogwarts. With me dead he could take you at Hogwarts if he really wanted to. He knew that as long as I was alive that you would be protected here. Very protected. So Snape and I created a spell that knocked me out. That is the reason why I flew through the air and landed far away from the battle. We wanted to ensure that I didn't get trampled on during the battle that was to come. Snape and I made this spell together. It was intented to knock me out for a couple of weeks. However, his own turmoil added a little boost to the spell making me comotose for a couple of months instead. So you see Snape has always been the good guy. I don't want you to go after him," Dumbledore explained.

"So you lured Voldemort into a false sense of security. That is what helped us win the war," Hermione spoked up. Dumbledore nodded as he peered at her over his half moon glasses.

"Very right Ms. Granger. Now, enough with speculations and seriousness. There is a nice warm dinner for all of you in the Great Hall. Classes start on Monday for all of you," Dumbledore said.

"Will you be coming down to dinner Professor?" Ginny asked him. Dumbledore shook his head slowly.

"I'm still recovering. Don't worry. I will be fine soon," he said with a smile. They nodded and got up. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny started for the door, but Harry just stood there.

"Is it really all over?" He asked him, causing his friends to turn around. Dumbledore gave him a smile.

"Yes, Harry. It is all over. It is time for you to learn how to live life without your life being in danger," he answered. Harry nodded.

"I will try sir," he said. Dumbledore nodded his head.

"First thing to do is go down to the Great Hall and get some food. It will do you a world of good," he advised. Harry nodded once again and headed for the door. Dumbledore sighed as he watched the four students leave his office.

"They have seen so much and have done so much. I only hope that they can have the nice year that I have always wished for them," he said to McGonagal.

"Don't worry Albus. They will," she reassured, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

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The Great Hall was a buzz with the prospect of the war being over and so many of the students having finally returned. The band that had called themselves Dumbledore's Army sat at one end of the Gryffindor table. Harry sat next to Ginny and across from them Hermione and Ron sat together on the other side.

"It is odd," Neville said softly, "That we have ended the war." The group nodded.

"We did the right thing by chosing to go and stop the evil instead of waiting for it to come to us," Luna said, giving Neville's hand a squeeze. He flashed her a small smile.

"What do we do now?" Harry asked as he stared into his pumpkin juice. Ginny set down her glass and cleared her throat.

"We live. That is what we do. We play Quidditch and go on dates. We pull pranks and cause mischief. We learn and study and pass our NEWTS. We go swimming in the lake. We fly our brooms, go to the Room of Requirement, and just be teenagers. That is what we do now. We have an opportunity to live, to breath, to be teenagers. That is something that we have never been allowed to do. Now we have freedom from fear and we are allowed to live," Ginny said.

Hermione smiled at her.

"You are right. Let's vow to make this the most wonderful year of all," she said to the group. They looked around at one another and nodded. Ron raised his glass, a bright smile upon his face.

"To the greatest year of our lives at Hogwarts!" He toasted. Everyone clinked glasses and giggled. Their new lives had begun.