The school was in shock about Professor Lupin, who had been a very popular teacher. Many students left tributes to him in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
As the end of term approached, Dudley found he had more free time. Defence Against the Dark Arts was canceled and so was Potions as Professor Snape was still in Saint Mungo's. Dudley was subject of much muttering and curious glances when he walked through the school. Everybody knew rumors of what had happened—that Dudley and Hermione had caught Sirius Black and that Snape had saved them from Lupin.
Luna, too, was seeing a newfound popularity. She caught up to Dudley and his friends when they were leaving charms.
"I have friends now," she said, without even giving a greeting.
"You always had friends," Dudley said. "Ginny, me, Hermione …"
"Us too," said Neville. Dean and Ron nodded in agreement.
Luna beamed at them.
"Thanks, but I also have friends in Ravenclaw. They've stopped calling me Loony now. They all wanted to know about how you rescued me from Stubby Boardman."
Dudley held back a laugh. Ron's mouth had dropped open in astonishment.
"Stubby bloody Boardman!" he said, once Luna had left.
They all laughed.
"I quite like her," Ron announced. "She's brilliant."
"Yeah, she is," Dudley agreed.
Hermione gave him a smug, knowing look which irritated him immensely.
"Shut up," he growled.
"I didn't say anything," she said, innocently.
Ron, Dean and Neville were looking at them curiously, so Dudley quickly changed the subject.
"We get our results today," he announced. "How do you think we did?"
They talked about the exams as they walked, passing the door to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. As they passed, Dudley stopped talking and looked at the door, suddenly feeling sad.
"You miss him, don't you?" Hermione said, quietly.
"Yeah, he seemed nice. What happened to him was … well … horrible. I wish I could forget it," Dudley admitted. He shuddered, remembering the sight of Lupin's burnt body and the sickening smell of charred flesh.
Hermione seemed to know what Dudley was thinking. "Snape saved us," she said. "It had to be done—werewolves are very dangerous. If Snape hesitated, he would have died and we would have died."
"I know," Dudley sighed. "Though, I guess this means we can trust him, even if he was a Death Eater. He's braver than I thought."
"I think next year we need to practice the patronus," Hermione said. "You know, for our little dueling group. If we ever meet them again …"
"Yeah, I really hate those things. They're vile. Azkaban must be like hell."
Ron chimed in, he had heard what they were talking about. "Dad had to visit it once, he came back weak and trembling. Mum had to pour him an extra-large brandy in his tea to calm his nerves."
The exam results came on the last day of term. They all gathered together in the common room to open their parchments.
"I got almost full marks in Care of Magical Creatures," Dudley announced, pleased.
"No surprise, you're Hagrid's apple polisher," Dean muttered, he was reading his own results and looked pleased. "Passed everything," he said, putting his parchment down for them all to see.
He had passed everything, scoring high marks in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms, with above average in everything else.
Dudley had scraped a pass in potions and transfiguration, failed history, failed astronomy, scored highly in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies and done average with Charms and Herbology.
Like Dean, Ron had passed everything with just above average grades. Neville had scraped passed in most subjects but had failed potions. His herbology score was higher even than Hermione's, so he was very pleased.
At the end of term feast, there were no colored hangings for once. Instead, above each table hung a black banner in honor of Professor Lupin. Before they heard the results of the House Cup, Dumbledore gave a speech.
"Before we dine, we are going to remember a very brave and a very good man," Dumbledore said. "Professor Remus Lupin led a life more difficult than any of us can image. Yes, he was a werewolf. He was bitten at a young age and yet he managed to overcome his ailment and find a role in society. He joined our staff as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and I am sure you will all agree, carried out his duties exceptionally."
"Here, here!" cried Fred.
The hall broke out into applause, even at the Slytherin table.
Dumbledore waited until the applause had died down. "Remus Lupin embodied everything that is Gryffindor. He was brave. He was chivalrous. He was strong. His strength was shown throughout his difficult life, where he didn't' succumb to anger or grief over the prejudices he faced, but rather channeled them into bettering himself. He also exhibited traits from the other houses. He was loyal to his friends, kind, honest and hardworking. He was very intelligent—one of the best students during his time at Hogwarts and, much like our Slytherin friends, he always looked out for his those around him. We will now raise our glasses and share a toast to Professor Remus Lupin."
"Professor Remus Lupin!" the hall echoed.
Beside him, Hermione was crying. So too was Ginny, a little further along. Percy had his arm around her, comforting her.
Dumbledore then announced the winners of the Quidditch Cup. Dudley applauded loudly as the Gryffindor team, led by an exuberant Oliver Wood went to collect the trophy. Ron was beaming all over his face as they posed for a photo.
Next, Dumbledore announced the winners of the House Cup. Thanks largely due to the points they achieved in quidditch, Gryffindor won again, with Slytherin in second, Ravenclaw in third and Hufflepuff in fourth place.
The celebrations continued in the common room that night. Fred and George disappeared for a couple of hours and returned carrying armfuls of Honeydukes sweets and bottles of butterbeer.
"You two are marvels!" Angelina said as she tucked into a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
Dudley sat with his friends in a table at the back.
"What do you think next year will bring?" Ron asked, as he drank his butterbeer.
"I just want a normal, nice, quiet year where nothing happens at all," Hermione said.
"That's not going to happen if you're friends with Dudley," Dean said. "I've never known someone who attracts so much trouble."
"Come off it, I'm not that bad," Dudley protested.
"Quirrell stealing the stone, your feud with Malfoy, finding the Chamber of Secrets, dueling Slytherin's Serpent, getting Lucius Malfoy arrested, having Black try and kill you, capturing Black …" Dean listed.
"Ok, you may have a point," Dudley admitted. "Next year will be different though. You'll see."