Chapter 11: The End
Faith stopped falling and Buffy using her wand floated Faith back to the top of the tower.
"You used that spell that Harry used for the troll's club?" Faith asked.
"Yeah," Buffy said, "didn't want to lose a friend."
Faith smiled and nodded. They turned and looked over the edge of the tower and saw Ben lying on the ground. They couldn't tell from this distance but they were sure he was dead.
They turned and headed out of the tower. They ran into Dumbledore on the way. He had Harry in his arms and was heading towards the Hospital wing.
"D," Faith said, "what happened?"
"Harry faced Voldemort and won," Dumbledore said.
June 18, 1992
Dumbledore excused Buffy and Dawn from their classes, he knew that there was no way either of them would leave Harry's side till he regained consciousness. Madame Pomfrey even prepared the beds on either side of Harry for them.
It was three days after Harry had faced Voldemort that Harry finally regained consciousness. He saw Buffy and Dawn sitting on either side of him in chairs. "Bells? Dawnie? How long have I been in here?"
"Three days, Three very long days," said Buffy as she smiled for the first time since her brother had been brought to the hospital wing. "The longest three days of my life. After I left you, I found Faith and we searched the castle, we found Dawn in the Astronomy Tower. As you can see, we saved her. Faith being the Slayer beat Glory back till she retreated into her mortal shell. It was that guy that Faith found that had said he had been held captive by Glory. She leapt of the tower with him."
"So, does that mean," Harry said fearing that Faith was dead.
"No," Dawn said, "Buffy saved her with the Wingardium Leviosa charm. But the Ben guy he's dead and with him so is Glory. I'm safe so Faith and Wesley are returning to the U.S. to the Hellmouth."
They heard a cough from behind Buffy and Dawn and they turned to find the smiling face of Dumbledore.
"Good afternoon, Harry, Buffy, Dawn," said Dumbledore as he noticed the table piled high with what looked like half the candy shop. "Tokens from your friends and admirers. What happened down in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so, naturally, the whole school knows. I believe your friends Misters Fred and George Weasley were responsible for trying to send you a toilet seat. No doubt they thought it would amuse you. Madam Pomfrey, however, felt it might not be very hygienic, and confiscated it."
Harry looked at Buffy and Dawn. He smiled at them before looking at the Headmaster, "Professor, what happened to the stone?"
"Professor Quirrell did not manage to take it from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, although you were doing very well on your own, I must say. No sooner had I reached London than it became clear to me that the place I should be was the one I had just left. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you. I feared I might be too late."
"You nearly were, I couldn't have kept him off the Stone much longer—" Harry admitted.
"Not the Stone, boy, you—the effort involved nearly killed you. For one terrible moment there, I was afraid it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."
"Destroyed?" said Harry blankly. "But your friend—Nicolas Flamel—"
"Oh, you know about Nicolas?" said Dumbledore, sounding quite delighted. "I assume you found that information when you were looking for information on Glorificus?" Harry, Buffy and Dawn nodded. "Well, Nicolas and I have had a little chat, and agreed it's all for the best."
"But that means he and his wife will die, won't they?"
"They have enough Elixir stored to set their affairs in order and then, yes, they will die."
Dumbledore smiled at the look of amazement on Harry's face.
"To one as young as you, I'm sure it seems incredible, but to Nicolas and Perenelle, it really is like going to bed after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure. You know, the Stone was really not such a wonderful thing. As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all—the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them."
"If I may ask, sir," said Harry. "Why couldn't Professor Quirrell touch me."
"I believe your sister knows the answer to that question," said Dumbledore as he looked toward Buffy.
Buffy looked at Harry and then back at Dumbledore, "Love?"
Dumbledore smiled at Buffy and nodded, "Yes, Love. You see, Harry, your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn't realize that love as powerful as your mother's for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign… to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good. That said though what were you thinking about when you touched Professor Quirrell?"
Harry looked at Buffy and then Dawn, "My sisters, and that I hoped they were safe, and how much I loved both of them." Harry had come to the same realization as Buffy that while he and Dawn were actually cousins, he loved her like he did Buffy. And as far as he was concerned Dawn was as much his sister as Buffy was. And Joyce despite actually being his aunt, he loved just like she was his mother.
Dumbledore smiled, "And that was how you defeated Voldemort. The love your left on your and the love you felt for them was a strong magical barrier that he was unable to penetrate." He turned and left the trio, thinking things might just turn out to be alright.
June 19, 1992
Buffy, Dawn and Harry made their way down to the end-of-year feast. The Great Hall was already full. It was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the House Cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.
When Harry, Dawn and Buffy walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. They slipped into a seat next to Willow, Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at them.
Fortunately, Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.
"Another year gone!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were… you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts…"
"Now, as I understand it, the House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."
A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table.
"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," said Dumbledore. "However, recent events must be taken into account."
The room went very still. The Slytherins' smiles faded a little.
"Ahem," said Dumbledore. "I have a few last-minute points to dish out. Let me see. Yes… First—to Mr. Ronald Weasley…"
Ron went purple in the face; he looked like a radish with a bad sunburn.
"…for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House thirty points."
Gryffindor cheers nearly raised the bewitched ceiling; the stars overhead seemed to quiver. Percy could be heard telling the other prefects, "My brother, you know! My youngest brother! Got past McGonagall's giant chess set!"
At last there was silence again.
"Second—to Miss Hermione Granger… for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House thirty points."
Hermione buried her face in her arms as Harry patted her on the back. "Good Job," he said.
"Third—to Mr. Harry Potter…" said Dumbledore. The room went deadly quiet. "…for pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House forty-five points. Fourth—to Ms. Isabella "Buffy" Potter, for finding that love knows and has no bounds, I award Gryffindor house forty-five points."
The din was deafening. Those who could add up while yelling themselves hoarse knew that Gryffindor now had four hundred and seventy-two points—exactly the same as Slytherin. They had tied for the House Cup—if only Dumbledore had given any one just one more point.
"We're tied with Slytherin!" Hermione said excitedly.
Dumbledore raised his hand. The room gradually fell silent. "There are all kinds of courage," said Dumbledore, smiling. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. I therefore award ten points to Mr. Neville Longbottom."
Someone standing outside the Great Hall might well have thought some sort of explosion had taken place, so loud was the noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table.
Buffy looked at Neville; Harry, Ron and Hermione had told her and Dawn how Neville had stood up to them when they had gone to stop Quirrell. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Neville blushed, "What was that for?"
Buffy laughed, "Because you deserve it."
"Which means," Dumbledore called over the storm of applause, for even Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin, "we need a little change of decoration."
He clapped his hands. In an instant, the green hangings became scarlet and the silver became gold; the huge Slytherin serpent vanished and a towering Gryffindor lion took its place.
"Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"
June 20, 1992
The next day everyone was boarding the train to return home for the summer. As Harry and Buffy prepare to board, they turned to face Hagrid motioning for students to get on the train.
Hermione looked at the twins, "Come on, Harry, Buffy."
Harry and Buffy looked at Hermione as they both spoke at the same time, "One minute."
They quickly made their way over to Hagrid who smiled at them, "Thought you were leaving without saying good-bye, didja?" Hagrid took a red album out of his coat pocket and handed it to Harry. "This is for both of you."
Harry opened the album to find a picture of him and Buffy as babies being held by their parents. He handed the album to Buffy.
Buffy looked at the picture of her and Harry as infants in their birth parents arms. Then she flipped a page and a tear escaped her eye. There was a picture of her as an infant in Joyce's arms. She handed the album back to Harry and he smiled as his sister turned and gave Hagrid a hug. "Thank you," she said.
Hagrid nodded, "I wrote to all of your mom and dad's friends, and even to Joyce. I had them send what pictures they could. The album is filled with all kinds of pictures of the both of you with James and Lily as well as others as you see." He motioned to the picture that Harry was looking at, the one of Joyce holding Buffy.
Harry smiled and shook Hagrid's hand. He then joined Buffy in on the hug. "Thanks, Hagrid," he said.
Hagrid stood there hugging the two back for a moment, "Now you two better get on before you miss the train. And tell Joyce I said hello, won't you?"
The twins nodded and walked back to where Hermione, Dawn, Ron and Willow were waiting.
Hermione waved to Hagrid and then looked at Buffy and Harry, "Feels strange to be going home, doesn't it?"
Harry and Buffy look at each other and then at Dawn. Both of them shook their heads as Harry spoke up, "Not anymore it doesn't. If you had asked me that a year ago before I met Hagrid I would have said yes. But I have sisters now and an adopted mother who loves me." Ron, Willow and Hermione looked at Harry and knew that like Buffy that Harry had come to consider Joyce is mother when in reality she wasn't. "Though Hogwarts feels like home at the same time. It's weird in a way, I now have two homes."
Buffy hugged her brother and smiled, "I have to agree with Harry."
They all got on the train moments before it pulled out of the station and started on its journey towards London.