Chapter Seventeen: Year One Finale
Luckily, Athena and the General were not too terribly harmed from the battle. Exhausted, yes, but not perilously harmed, thank God. George had woken up two days after the battle, and had to Jump back immediately in order to take care of the duties that he had missed. Athena, on the other hand, slept for about a week, for the ritual had taken a lot of power out of her, and only woke up on the day before the leaving feast.
Her friends visited her, keeping her updated on the gossip circling around Hogwarts school. Soon, they all walked to the feast together, talking excitedly about their plans for the summer.
'So, what is everyone doing this summer?" Hermione asked.
"Me and my mother are going on a trip to Italy," Draco informed them, grinning. "Father has to stay home to deal with work."
"I'm going on a cruise," Flora said, dancing around.
"I'm going to spy on the British side for my father," Athena smirked at their gobsmacked expressions, giggling. "I kid you not; I am literally going to do that! Or, of course, he may have me serve as his ambassador to the Continental Congress. It all depends on how paranoid he feels after this most recent… incident."
Her friends nodded, as they sat down at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall.
The feast went by quickly, as they all enjoyed heaping amounts of food and laughed harder than ever, enjoying each other's companionship before not seeing them for a whole summer. Dumbledore announced that Ravenclaw won the house cup, to thunderous applause from every house that is not Slytherin. Professor Snape could be seen sighing heavily and inconspicuously handing ten galleons to Professor McGonagall as she hi-fived Professor Burbage under the table.
"Knew Ravenclaw would win," McGonagall muttered out of the corner of her mouth to Charity, who nodded. "I would prefer it if Gryffindor won, but at least the winner was not Slytherin."
Charity chuckled, and Severus glared at them icily. Dumbledore just shook his head fondly.
Soon, all the trunks were packed, and the dorm rooms were as bare as a tree in wintertime. Students scurried around, searching for the library books they had to turn in before the last day, their old socks, and other small, elusive items. Amidst the warm summer air, the first years rode the boats back across the lake, and raced each other to Hogsmeade Station, where they boarded the Hogwarts Express with their peers. They all watched the castle fade away into the distance as the train started moving.
"Here's to the end of our first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" cheered Athena, and she hi-fived all of her friends, who cheered with her.
"And here's to six more years of happiness to come." Draco said cheerily, dancing around.
The Express pulled into King's Cross not a moment after eleven o'clock, An eager wave of students flooded the barrier as they greeted family and friends, having been reunited with them after months of separation. Athena scanned the platform eagerly for George, eventually finding him standing a little further away from the commotion with Captain Hamilton at his side. Happily, she raced forward, pulling the war-hardened General into a hug as Hamilton watched in amusement.
Athena couldn't believe she had almost lost George to death, and couldn't fathom the idea of the world without him.
George couldn't believe that he had almost been killed, and that he had almost been forced to leave the little girl he loved more than anything. Through the troubled times back home, she was his shining ray of hope, and he knew that he was hers.
"General Washington! A pleasure to see you again!" A voice said excitedly, and George broke free from the hug to see Hermione Granger jogging up to them with two people he could only assume were her mother and father. "Hey, Athena!"
The two girls hugged, and suddenly Flora and Draco had joined the group, greeting the adults happily. Chatting amongst each other, they all went back into the muggle world together, crossing the bridge between worlds.
It had been a good year, and Athena was prepared for more.
THE END
